- A Tribute to Carl Sagan
The Observatory • November 30, 2006
Between the excitement of the midterm elections and the flood of atheism-related news that has occurred this month, there was one very important date that passed almost unnoticed, but that I would be remiss if I failed to mention. Namely, November 9 was the birthday of the famous astronomer and skeptic Carl Sagan. If he [...]
- New on Dangerous Intersection: Scorched-Earth Politics
The Foyer • November 29, 2006
To cap off an eventful day, I'm happy to announce that I've accepted an offer to become a guest author on the blog Dangerous Intersection. DI is one of the relatively few blogs I read daily, and is frequently updated with a diverse crew of contributors and an equally diverse set of viewpoints on politics, [...]
- Theocracy Watch VI: Thoughts in Captivity
The Rotunda • November 28, 2006
There have been many pieces of good news for atheists in November, and I'm happy to be able to report another one. As reported in the November issue of Freethought Today, the Freedom from Religion Foundation has done it again, winning a major victory against the creeping theocracy that is infiltrating our government due to [...]
- What Christians Care About?
The Rotunda • November 26, 2006
In a post from October, I wrote that evangelical Christianity in America today has become "a set of right-wing political talking points" and lamented:
Regrettably, the Christians who understand how the aggressive drive for secular power is rotting their faith's foundations from the inside out seem to be outnumbered by those who regard it as an [...]
- Should Scientists Speak Out Against Religion?
The Observatory • November 24, 2006
Thanksgiving season this year has been anything but peaceful. Providing further evidence of the growing assertiveness of atheists, the war of words between faith and reason has erupted into the headlines once again. This time it came in the form of a scientific forum in California titled "Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival", where [...]
- The Least We Can Do
The Garden • November 22, 2006
by Alexander Weaver
I drove from Sacramento to Portland (Rancho Cordova to Wilsonville, technically) last night (as of the original writing on 11/08/06), over mountains and through rain and what I would characterize as "pea soup fog." This is important in other contexts, but for our purposes the main relevance is that it got me to [...]
- We Are the Swing Vote
The Rotunda • November 21, 2006
In a post from October titled "Tipping the Scales", I wrote that although non-believers are still outnumbered by the conventionally religious, there are encouraging signs of recent growth and increasing organization among atheists and agnostics, signs which
...may well be the grains of sand that presage a much larger slide in the near future, and lead [...]
- So What If It Is?
The Loft • November 20, 2006
Despite the Democrats' smashing victory in the 2006 midterm elections, there is still distressing evidence that America as a nation has much moral progress left to make. I am speaking of gay marriage bans, which were approved by voters in seven states (Arizona being the exception, and the first state in the nation to reject [...]
- A World in Shadow III
The Library • November 18, 2006
A recent post from the blog Respectful Insolence, A different kind of alternative medicine "testimonial", graphically illustrated the danger of choosing non-scientific "alternative" treatments over evidence-based medicine when faced with a potentially fatal disease. The post told the tragic story of Michaela Jakubczyk-Eckert, a woman with malignant breast cancer who decided to forsake conventional medical [...]
- Religion's Harm to Women
The Rotunda • November 16, 2006
In our society, it is still widely considered rude to criticize opinions and practices that arise from religious belief, no matter how evil or abhorrent they are. Even when it comes to the murderous fanatics who kill in the name of Islam, politicians and other public figures who criticize them often take pains to label [...]
- New on Ebon Musings: The Screwtape Letters
The Foyer • November 15, 2006
A new essay has been posted on Ebon Musings, a review of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. While Lewis' attacks on atheism are largely misguided straw men, the book does offer a surprising amount of ammunition for atheists to use against fundamentalist Christianity.
This is an open thread. Comments and discussion are welcome.
- Name That God
The Loft • November 14, 2006
Think quickly: What was the religion of the person who wrote the following?
"Oh God, open all doors for me. Oh God who answers prayers and answers those who ask you, I am asking you for your help. I am asking you for forgiveness. I am asking you to lighten my way. I am asking you [...]
- Religious Bigotry Caught Red-Handed
The Rotunda • November 13, 2006
November has been quite the month for feeling schadenfreude. Between Kent Hovind's conviction, Ted Haggard's spectacular fall from grace, and the Republicans' crushing loss in the midterm elections, atheists have had much to rejoice over, and our political adversaries much occasion to mourn. And now, there is another encouraging piece of news where the good [...]
- What Will Replace Religion?
The Garden • November 12, 2006
One argument for theism that I have always found interesting is the argument that humans do not have desires for which there exists no corresponding object in the real world. For example, we desire water, and water exists; we desire food, and food exists; we desire love and friendship, and those things exist. Similarly, this [...]
- A Seriously Warped Moral Compass
The Rotunda • November 10, 2006
"So what would you consider immoral?" I asked.
It was a crisp, cold night, on the boundary between late fall and early winter, and the tang of frost and woodsmoke hung in the air. An orange gibbous moon was rising through the tangled leafless fingers of the trees into a clear, dark night sky. The air [...]
- Season's Change
The Rotunda • November 8, 2006
I awoke this morning to the pattering of a soft November rain. Though I am not usually a morning person, I don't mind saying that I sprang out of bed today with more enthusiasm than I have in a long time, and with good reason. Last night's preliminary election results made it clear that there [...]
- The Keys to Heaven
The Loft • November 7, 2006
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall [...]
- The Dog Owners: A Parable
The Loft • November 5, 2006
Inspired by the recent downfall of Ted Haggard:
Once upon a time there were two men, each of whom owned a dog. The first man was glad to own and care for his dog, knowing that pets, if properly cared for, can bring much joy into one's life. He took his dog on walks every day [...]
- In Memory of Allan Glenn
The Foyer • November 4, 2006
February 12, 2005, was the day I first met Allan Glenn. It was near the beginning of my second semester in graduate school, in New York City, and on that day I was playing host to a meetup of people from the Internet Infidels message board who lived in and around the city. Time inevitably [...]
- The System Works!
The Rotunda • November 3, 2006
I'm not normally one to indulge in schadenfreude, but here's a piece of news I cannot restrain my glee over hearing: Kent Hovind and his wife have been convicted of tax fraud - and it couldn't have happened to two nicer people.
The Hovinds were charged in July with twelve counts of willful failure to pay [...]
- Is Atheism Unnatural?
The Library • November 2, 2006
"This persistence is what any scientific attack on religion must explain — and this one doesn't. Dawkins mentions lots of modern atheist scientists who have tried to explain the puzzle: Robert Hinde, Scott Atran, Pascal Boyer, DS Wilson, Daniel Dennett, all of them worth reading. But he cannot accept the obvious conclusion to draw from [...]
