Welcome, new visitors and regular readers, to the 113th edition of the Carnival of the Godless here at Daylight Atheism! I last hosted this gathering of the godless all the way back in July 2006, for its 44th edition, and nearly three years later, we’re still going strong. In fact, the carnival has grown considerably – so much so that I decided to feature only one submission from each entrant, for the sake of brevity – but even so, the sheer scope of this post is a welcome testament to the growing outspokenness and influence of atheism in the First World. So, without further ado, let’s get to the entries.
To begin with, I’ll list my editor’s picks: those few entries (out of the many worthy contenders) that especially caught my interest. Whether because they examine an old topic in a particularly new and insightful way, or because they brought up a brand-new issue I’d never considered before, I thought these deserved special mention:
Editor’s Pick: Belief Systems & Other BS writes about Weird Beliefs, a former fundamentalist’s view of how strange memes serve as identifying markers of one’s loyalty to a religious or ideological sect, both in keeping away outsiders and preventing insiders from escaping.
Editor’s Pick: State of Protest analogizes that Being an Atheist is Like Accepting the Fact that You Aren’t Going to Win the Lottery: a call to face up to worldly responsibility, rather than investing all our hopes and dreams in an improbable payoff.
Editor’s Pick: Hank of Dangerous Intersection muses on Muffins and the end of innocence, lamenting that many people prefer to live in darkness and ignorance rather than risk learning the truth, especially if that truth threatens beliefs that are treated as sacred.
Editor’s Pick: Travis Morgan writes eloquently of Atheism and hope: what we hope for, what we must come to accept, and how we differ from religious folk in both regards.
Editor’s Pick: BroadSnark asks How Are We A Christian Nation?, and brings up an excellent point that had never occurred to me: a large part of the reason why America is majority Christian is because of xenophobic and nativist laws that, for much of our country’s history, kept out foreigners who believed differently.
Bombs from the Left Coast proposes an Atheist Manifesto.
Rust Belt Philosophy examines the rational basis for ethics in Goodness me, young man, you’ve got Philosopher’s Disease.
You Made Me Say It considers why it is that theists regularly accuse us of being insincere, and asks who’s really showing Intellectual honesty?
Neon Bubble provides a very enlightening, and not at all parodic, Interview with Ray Comfort of banana-creationism fame.
The Imaginary Philosophy reviews Bart Ehrman’s new book in “Jesus, Interrupted”, Reviewed.
CyberLizard debunks the tale of a preacher who claims to have foreseen 9/11, in a post with the rather unlikely title, THE WORLD’S GOING TO END!!!!111!1ELEVENTYONE!1.
Dubito Ergo Sum ruminates on the distinction between fundamentalists and liberal believers, in On moderate and liberal Christians.
Greg Laden’s Blog gives us a synopsis of a talk by Richard Dawkins on purpose in human artifice versus the apparent purposes of the natural world, in Dawkins…. On Purpose.
The Atheist Blogger applies some skepticism to an often-heard statistic about the rates of atheists in prison, in Atheists In Prison, What Are The Facts?
PodBlack Cat proclaims, in a sarcastic commentary on the state of feminism, that I Was Liberated By A Washing Machine And Yet Excommunicated For Standing Up For My Child’s Rights.
verywide.net considers the question of what kind of god he could believe in, in What if… I believed?
The Evolving Mind finds echoes of our primate hierarchy in The Shock and Awe of Supernatural Feats.
Greta Christina, of Greta Christina’s Blog, turns her sights on a belief system often overlooked by atheist critiques, and writes an essay Against Deism.
VWXYNot? explains her discomfort with simplistic labels in Agnostic about Humanism.
Bay of Fundie finds amusement in creationists trying to draw supportive lessons from a work of fiction that actually supports the exact opposite point, in Access Research Network Announces: Rich Source of Irony Discovered.
An Apostate’s Chapel has some searing observations about how religion caused two Christians to view their dying coworker as a way to score god points, rather than a human being in need of sympathy and comfort, in How Religion Ruins Relationships.
vjack of Mississippi Atheists recounts life as a nonbeliever dwelling in the Bible Belt, in An Atheist in Mississippi.
The Invisible Pink Unicorn observes Fox News host Glenn Beck pushing paranoia and xenophobia in a cloak of patriotism and piety, in Glenn Beck Is Mad As Hell.
Living With Mormons has the encouraging news that efforts by Richard Dawkins and other prominent nonbelievers to promote atheism are having a positive effect, in Dawkins will be proud.
And lastly, Whiskey Before Breakfast pens some thoughts about God and the argument from comfort, in something borrowed.
That’s all the entries we have for today. Thanks to everyone who participated! The next edition of the Carnival of the Godless will be in two weeks at Deep Thoughts, and we look forward to seeing you there.