- The Contributions of Freethinkers: Wole Soyinka
The Loft • September 30, 2011
I wasn't familiar with Wole Soyinka, the first African author ever to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, until I got a Google alert for his name the other day. You can probably guess why - it turns out he's an atheist, as I learned from this article in the Nigerian Tribune grousing about it:
Although [...]
- Further Thoughts on Penn's Libertarianism
The Rotunda • September 28, 2011
The last thread about Penn Jillette's book sparked some debate, so I'd like to revisit the topic. This is what Penn says is his view of the legitimate powers of government:
If I had a gun, and I knew a murder was happening... I would use that gun to stop that murder. I might be too [...]
- Take Action: Speak Out on "Conscience Clauses"
The Foyer • September 27, 2011
The other day, I got this action alert from FFRF that I thought was worth passing along:
As you may know, on August 1st, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services jointly announced new guidelines for access to preventative care. The new regulations greatly expand access to preventative [...]
- Theocracy Causes Famine
The Rotunda • September 26, 2011
Recently, I got an e-mail from the Foundation Beyond Belief, which is working with USAID to raise awareness of the continuing drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. The toll in lives is already appalling, including over 29,000 deaths from starvation and outbreaks of measles and cholera, and hundreds more dying every day. The [...]
- His Noodly Appendage, Now in Yarn Form
The Foyer • September 25, 2011
I'm inordinately pleased by this. :)
Earlier this summer, I threw in for a fundraising contest for Camp Quest, pitting a team of us lowlier bloggers against the Dark Overlord himself. The over $30,000 we collectively raised was reward enough for me, but I just received a completely unexpected thank-you gift in the mail: a hand-crocheted [...]
- The Foo Fighters Outsmart Fred Phelps
The Rotunda • September 24, 2011
Last week, the Westboro Baptist Church (which is choosing increasingly random and bizarre protest targets, including a Swedish vacuum cleaner store) decided to picket a Foo Fighters concert in Kansas City, Missouri. As is their usual strategy, they were no doubt hoping to provoke police or counterprotesters into assaulting them or otherwise violating their constitutional [...]
- Why the Anti-Science Creationist Movement Is So Dangerous
The Observatory • September 23, 2011
This essay was originally published on AlterNet.
A few weeks ago, Jon Huntsman torpedoed his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination by making the following announcement:
To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.
It's a pathetic commentary on the anti-intellectualism rampant in American politics that this is newsworthy: a [...]
- The Duty of External Obedience
The Loft • September 21, 2011
While I was doing research for "The Ordinary and Universal Magisterium", I came across some amazing passages in the New Advent Catholic encyclopedia's article on infallibility. Since it can be safely assumed that these still represent the Catholic church's viewpoint, I thought it was worth calling some wider attention to them.
The article starts out by [...]
- Near-Death Experiences Without Being Near Death
The Observatory • September 19, 2011
I've written before about near-death experiences and what they can prove about the existence of the soul. Now another study has come to my attention, one that has an even more potent conclusion. (HT: Boing Boing)
It's long been known that the content of NDEs is influenced by religion and culture. People who have them consistently [...]
- The Ordinary and Universal Magisterium
The Rotunda • September 16, 2011
Although many sects of Christianity consider their own beliefs to be infallible, Catholicism has a formal, bureaucratic process for adding new inerrant teachings to its canon. When the pope speaks "ex cathedra", officially defining a new dogma, it's becomes something that all Catholics are required to profess. (I like to think he has a special [...]
- Catch Me on Ring of Fire This Weekend
The Foyer • September 15, 2011
I'm very pleased to announce that I'm going to be on Ring of Fire Radio this weekend, discussing my recent AlterNet article on creationism with Mike Papantonio. (Some of you may remember Papantonio as the voice of reason in Jesus Camp. They also used to be part of Air America, and it's good to see [...]
- We Don't Need Religion to Have Morality
The Library • September 14, 2011
This essay was originally published on AlterNet.
The most common stereotype about atheists, the most common reason why religious people fear and distrust us, is the belief that people who don't believe in God have no reason to behave morally. In the view of the planet's major religions, the way we know what's right and what's [...]
- Got a Question for Penn Jillette?
The Foyer • September 13, 2011
If you've read Penn Jillette's new book God, No! and want to ask him something about it - or if you just have a general question you've been dying to ask him - then this is your lucky day!
My soon-to-be blog home, Big Think, is having Penn back for an interview on Friday, and they're [...]
- Escaping Christian Patriarchy
The Garden • September 13, 2011
Ophelia of Butterflies and Wheels has been writing some excellent posts lately about the abuse and oppression of women in Christian communities. One of them led me to an outstanding blog titled Love, Joy, Feminism. Its author, Libby Anne, grew up in an incredibly strict and fundamentalist Christian home that practiced a way of life [...]
- New on AlterNet: Why Creationism Is Dangerous
The Observatory • September 12, 2011
My latest article has been posted on AlterNet, Why the Anti-Science Creationist Movement Is So Dangerous. In it, I survey the history of the modern creationist movement, point out how it's completely captured one of America's two major political parties, and illuminate the larger ideological goals that lie behind the assault on evolution. Read the [...]
- Never Quote Discworld to an Atheist
The Library • September 9, 2011
The other day, I found this article from a Google alert: an essay on the religious website First Things by the author and Catholic apologist Elizabeth Scalia (who also blogs as The Anchoress).
The post was about Terry Pratchett, the celebrated fantasy author and secular humanist. Since his personal beliefs come through clearly in his writing, [...]
- Daylight Atheism Moves to Big Think
The Foyer • September 8, 2011
Well, I think I've kept you all in suspense long enough. :)
Today, I'm announcing that I've accepted an offer to join Big Think, a media website whose purpose is to bring together ideas, opinions and commentary from some of today's great minds. Big Think's signature offering is its video interviews with an impressive range of [...]
- Book Review: God, No!
The Library • September 7, 2011
(Author's Note: The following review was solicited and is written in accordance with this site's policy for such reviews.)
Summary: Just what you'd expect from its author: outspoken, boisterous, crude, frequently vulgar, often hilarious. Unapologetically atheist, but more about Penn Jillette the person than about atheism per se.
God, No! is written by Penn Jillette, the louder [...]
- How to Create (Not Find) the Meaning of Your Life
The Garden • September 6, 2011
Guest post by Samantha Eliza Benten
A friend recently paraphrased a statement from The Nature of Existence (the documentary, I believe, though I haven't seen it) as follows: "People should spend more time thinking about the meaning of their own lives, than the meaning of life in general." This strikes a chord with a notion I've [...]
- Thanks to Chicago Readers
The Foyer • September 5, 2011
Thanks to all who attended the meetup in Chicago this past weekend! As always, it was a pleasure to meet and talk to the real people who read Daylight Atheism, including one who made a very long drive to attend. (I still find it weirdly flattering that people are interested in meeting me.) I also [...]
- Rebutting Reasonable Faith: The Evangelical Conspiracy Theory
The Library • September 2, 2011
In "The Aura of Infallibility", I mentioned William Lane Craig's belief in something he calls the "self-authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit", which he considers to be the most persuasive, crowning argument for Christianity. Basically, all it boils down to is that Craig has a really strong feeling that Christianity is true, and he believes [...]
- A Change Is In the Air
The Foyer • September 1, 2011
Here in New York, it's been a hot, relentless summer. But in the last few days, the first hints of fall are making themselves known: the earlier fading of the light, a sudden crispness in the air, a touch of cool in the breeze. And since autumn is a time of change and transition in [...]
