- A God of Obsessions
The Loft • November 30, 2009
In the books of the Torah, Yahweh devotes entire chapters to explaining in exacting detail what kind of animal sacrifices he expects from his people. The one common thread, repeatedly emphasized, is that the animals to be slaughtered must be "without blemish":
"And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, [...]
- Photo Sunday: American Grandeur
The Foyer • November 29, 2009
Snow on the Teton Range, Jackson, Wyoming, September 2006. Photo credit: Jerry Donnelly.
- Revised "About the Author" Page
The Foyer • November 28, 2009
I've revised the "About the Author" page that can be found via a link on the bottom of the sidebar. The first version of this page was dashed off just before Daylight Atheism was launched, and was never very informative. The new version is more detailed, so if you want to know more about the [...]
- The Case for a Creator: Galileo the Troublemaker
The Observatory • November 27, 2009
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 7
To start off his interview, Lee Strobel asks Gonzalez and Richards about humankind's great demotion: the medieval religious belief that we were at "the center of the universe, sort of the throne of the cosmos, the most important place that everything revolved around" [p.160] and the overturning of this [...]
- The Lesson of Autumn Leaves: A Humanist Sermon
The Garden • November 25, 2009
November is a good month for poetry.
Most great poetry is about transience, and with autumn in full swing, there's much in November to inspire the poet's thoughts on that topic: the last yellow and brown leaves raining from the trees; the early fall of dusk as the days continue to shorten; the gray skies [...]
- A Sense of Kinship
The Observatory • November 23, 2009
This past summer, I was visiting the New York Botanical Gardens when serendipity struck: this beautiful little creature alighted on a stone railing around the edge of a pool, staying just long enough for me to snap this shot:
I think, though I'm not an expert, that this is a blue dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis.
I don't [...]
- Photo Sunday: Liberty Gold
The Foyer • November 22, 2009
Sunset over the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island ferry, May 2008. Photo credit: Alex Weaver.
- The Case for a Creator: All the Starry Heavens
The Observatory • November 20, 2009
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 7
Chapter 7 of Case is about the argument from planetary fine-tuning. This time, Strobel has two interviewees: Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Wesley Richards, both affiliated with the Discovery Institute. Since we're keeping count of scientific "authorities", which is whom Strobel claims to be interviewing, let me point out for [...]
- Flat Earth Follies: The Religious Right's Egg Crusade
The Rotunda • November 19, 2009
By Sikivu Hutchinson
Taking its "life begins at conception" charade from State Legislature to State Legislature, one of the most dangerous political forces in the U.S. is stepping up its crusade for the "rights" of the unborn. Backed by an organization called Personhood USA, the latest offensive from the Religious Right involves a renewed movement to [...]
- Book Review: 36 Arguments for the Existence of God
The Library • November 18, 2009
(Author's Note: The following review was solicited and is written in accordance with this site's policy for such reviews.)
Summary: Sparkling writing; marvelous characters; could have benefited from a tighter narrative.
This is the first time I've ever reviewed a work of fiction for Daylight Atheism, but this one was well in tune with my site's mission [...]
- Important Note
The Foyer • November 16, 2009
I have reason to believe that the database errors which caused my site to crash last week were the result of a malicious hacker trying to break in. As of now, I don't know whether DA was targeted specifically or whether the responsible party was just looking for any vulnerable site to attack.
Last night, I [...]
- On the Morality of: Polyamory
The Library • November 16, 2009
The comments in a recent thread on same-sex marriage have been heading in this direction, so I thought I'd offer some thoughts about polyamorous relationships and how we can view them from a humanist standpoint.
The reason I (and others) advocate full marriage equality for same-sex couples is straightforward. Marriage is a civil ceremony which confers [...]
- Photo Sunday: Fiery Sunset
The Foyer • November 15, 2009
Sunset with clouds, Hudson Valley, August 2009. Photo by the author. Click for larger version.
- Weekly Link Roundup
The Foyer • November 15, 2009
I've got plenty of goodies in the bag for this post. Frankly, more has been happening lately than I can write about - but that's okay, because there are lots of other fantastic atheist bloggers who've said it all!
• First, there's this outrageous story out of Washington, D.C., where the Catholic church has threatened to [...]
- Anti-Atheist Bigotry in the Daily News
The Rotunda • November 14, 2009
Although the New York Daily News has no problem endorsing astrology on its news pages, the idea of giving sympathetic coverage to atheism is apparently too much for them to swallow. In a recent issue, they published this obnoxiously bigoted column from Gabriel Gillen, a Dominican friar, which manages to cram just about every anti-atheist [...]
- Prayer Cult Nation: Faith Healing Scams & Healthcare Reform
The Rotunda • November 12, 2009
By Sikivu Hutchinson
Recently on a popular Black Entertainment Network talk show, R&B singer Monica pitched her new reality show and extolled the virtues of prayer. Suited up in hip-high boots like an emissary from God's army, she credited God with guiding her through life and imbuing her with purpose. His word was her marching order, [...]
- Important Update on Kiva
The Foyer • November 12, 2009
Since I've endorsed Kiva in the past (and I stand by that endorsement), for transparency's sake it's worth linking to this post from David Roodman (see also the related article from the Times).
The quick summary is that the connection between Kiva lenders and loan recipients isn't as direct as you might have thought. Although the [...]
- Jehovah's Witnesses Hate the Smurfs
The Loft • November 11, 2009
By Sarah Braasch
In the early 80's, the primary preoccupations of the Jehovah's Witnesses were Armageddon, Smurfs, Michael Jackson and demonic attack, but not necessarily in that order. As a young Jehovah's Witness girl, my worldview was what you might describe as surreal. Smurfs were little blue imps disguised as Saturday morning cartoon characters. They were [...]
- Lighting the Way for Equality (Photos)
The Foyer • November 10, 2009
If you encountered any technical difficulties with the site earlier today, my apologies. There was a database issue I had to work with my host to clear up. It should be fixed now, so send me an e-mail if you're still having any problems (or if you can't see this message).
In the meantime, I wanted [...]
- The Case for a Creator: The Ultimate 747
The Observatory • November 9, 2009
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 6
In his frequently-maligned (but less-frequently read and understood) book The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins offers what I think is an underappreciated argument against all varieties of supernatural design, the "Ultimate 747" argument.
Briefly stated, it goes like this: If we accept ID advocates' reasoning, complexity and organization require a [...]
- Theocracy Watch: European Edition
The Rotunda • November 7, 2009
While we Americans have been focusing on this week's elections, there was another important piece of the news from across the Atlantic you might have missed: the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against displaying crucifixes in state-run Italian schools.
A panel of seven judges in Strasbourg said the display of Christian crosses, which is [...]
- How Long the Arc
The Rotunda • November 5, 2009
This past Tuesday, marriage equality suffered another setback at the hands of bigotry in the state of Maine. This defeat is especially disappointing because, from all accounts, the No on 1 campaign did everything right: running a well-organized, well-financed campaign with powerful advertising and a dedicated get-out-the-vote effort. But even the smartest and most well-crafted [...]
- Strange and Curious Sects: Asatru
The Library • November 4, 2009
I once wrote an essay for Ebon Musings, "Parting the Parthenon", that was a semi-serious debunking of the ancient Greek gods. I wrote this as a reply to Christian apologists who accuse atheists of singling out Christianity for criticism, but also to show how many similarities there are between these ancient myths and the modern [...]
- New on Ebon Musings: Some Mistakes of Scripture
The Foyer • November 3, 2009
I realize I haven't updated Ebon Musings much this year. Between writing for Daylight Atheism, work-related responsibilities, and other projects, I just haven't had as much time to write longer essays as I'd like to. But I don't intend to let Ebon Musings go dormant. I've still got plenty of things to say, and as [...]
- Did Christianity Abolish Slavery?
The Library • November 2, 2009
If you've got an ugly or uncomfortable historical record that you'd like to have whitewashed, then Christian fundamentalists are the ideologues for you. Here's their latest bit of doggerel: Christians deserve the credit for abolishing African slavery!
Slavery is one of the best examples — far from being a Western Christian invention, it was ubiquitous, and [...]
- Photo Sunday: Autumn Raindrops
The Foyer • November 1, 2009
Autumn raindrops on leaves, Hudson Valley, autumn 2009. Photo by the author. Click for larger version.
