Goodbye, Christopher Hitchens.

Christopher Hitchens, author of The Portable Atheist and God is Not Great, dies at 62.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/arts/christopher-hitchens-is-dead-at-62-obituary.html?pagewanted=all

Would the World Be Better Off Without Religion?

I just found this Intelligence Squared U.S. debate on NPR.


The "Yes" side: A.C. Grayling and Matthew Chapman
The "No" side: Dinesh D'Souza and David Wolpe


Listen: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=142490736&m=142457000

Read: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/21/142470957/would-the-world-be-better-off-without-religion

Conversation on the TED group on LinkedIn: "How would you teach a child about Christianity without denying evolution?"

http://lnkd.in/r4h6Sb

I came across this discussion thread today. It's laughable how any time a question like this is asked in a forum, it becomes a pissing match between atheists/agnostics and believers. My favorite phrase from this discussion is "religious brain disease."

Just thinking about persecution

Recently, I've been listening to and reading about the ongoing debate (if you can even call it that) between the New Atheists (led  by personalities like Sam Harris) and radical evangelical christians. These right-wingers--like extreme Republicans and Tea Baggers--are really good at dragging the continuum to their side. And now they've dragged it far enough to make centrists seem like delusional misanthropes. Lately, I keep hearing christians talking about how atheists are persecuting them and how atheists are against religious freedom. It makes me ask the question, "How can an essentially powerless minority persecute the empowered overwhelming majority?"

Someone needs to explain the difference between people not agreeing with you and being persecuted to these grousers. I guess in the lightest sense of persecution, being equal to harassment, a few could claim persecution, like maybe the political candidate who says they don't believe in evolution or don't believe that the earth is more than 6,000 years old and then receives hate mail or is heckled from the crowd at a rally; however, most of the religious right who are crying persecution don't meet even this mild definition of persecution. Most of them are just unhappy because someone spoke out against them or their beliefs or even just has an opposing viewpoint that is getting some public notice (finally). We should set a higher bar for what constitutes persecution.

As a non-believer, my views are challenged in the media every day. Am I persecuted because of this? No. Just annoyed. It's different.

Article about Michele Bachmann's holy war in Rolling Stone

I just finished this article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone about Michele Bachmann and wanted to pass it on.


http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michele-bachmanns-holy-war-20110622


From the article:
"Michele was a member of [O.W. Coburn School of Law's] inaugural class in 1979.  Originally a division of Oral Roberts University, this august academy, dedicated to the teaching of "the law from a biblical worldview," has gone through no fewer than three names — including the Christian Broadcasting Network School of Law. Those familiar with the darker chapters in George W. Bush's presidency might recognize the school's current name, the Regent University School of Law. Yes, this was the tiny educational outhouse that, despite being the 136th-ranked law school in the country, where 60 percent of graduates flunked the bar, produced a flood of entrants into the Bush Justice Department."

Austrian Pastafarian wears colander as religious headgear for driver's license photo

Is it poking fun or making a point? I'd go with making a point.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14135523

A.C. Grayling on The Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert interviews A.C. Grayling about his humanist "bible," The Good Book.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/382819/april-26-2011/a-c--grayling

Stephen Hawking on the "fairy story" of the afterlife

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark." ~Stephen Hawking


http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110516/us_yblog_thelookout/stephen-hawking-says-afterlife-is-a-fairy-story

Updated links

I've updated broken links in old posts. I've decided to spend some time on this blog lately because of a dramatic increase in visits.

Why do Americans dislike atheists?

This Washington Post article has a lot of links to related studies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-do-americans-still-dislike-atheists/2011/02/18/AFqgnwGF_story.html

The Black Atheist

I came across this article through an NPR article, and I liked this quote:


"Among black folks, if you're a criminal who shows up at a service on whatever Sabbath you subscribe to, you're just a fallen human who is worthy of love and redemption. But if you're a moral and decent human who doesn't believe in a supernatural force, you'll soon find that your kind is most unwelcome."


Full Article: http://www.theroot.com/views/black-women-who-use-word?page=0,0


The NPR Article I saw first: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127239913

Penn Gillette on atheism on NPR's This I Believe

I heard this when it was first aired a few years ago, and it has stuck with me. One of my favorite quotes from it is, "Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around."


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557

Bart Ehrman interview on the Colbert Report

This is a couple years old now, but I laugh out loud watching Stephen Colbert "school" Bart Ehrman.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/224128/april-09-2009/bart-ehrman

Here's an even older one from 2006:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/70912/june-20-2006/bart-ehrman

Skeptics in the Pub

I just learned about this. If I was a joiner, this might be fun. It might not be. Enough beer and all conversations end up here anyway, right?

http://skeptic.org.uk/events/skeptics-in-the-pub

List of famous Atheists and Agnostics

Some of my favorite thinkers, writers, comedians, programmers, CEOs, leaders, musicians, pundits, actors, directors and scientists are non-believers. So is Keanu Reeves.
http://www.celebatheists.com/wiki/Main_Page

The Sunset Limited by Cormack McCarthy

Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones came together to bring Cormack McCarthy's The Sunset Limited to HBO. Of the movies in the two-dudes-talking-in-one-room genre I've seen, this ranks among the best, if not #1.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117944524

Children must have theory-of-mind to believe in supernatural signs...and gods.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=signs-signs-everywhere-signs-seeing-2011-03-13#

http://www.slate.com/id/2283372/

The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life's Religious Knowledge survey

http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/U-S-Religious-Knowledge-Survey.aspx

Spoiler: Only 8% of Americans knew that Maimonides was Jewish.

NPR story: Atheists and agnostics know more about religion

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/09/28/130191248/atheists-and-agnostics-know-more-about-bible-than-religious