Archive for the ‘atheism’ Category

First the Hitch, and now P-Zed?

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Say it ain’t so!  The indefatigable PZ Myers has posted that he’s about to undergo (and at this point may already have undergone) heart surgery.  The good news is it sounds like they caught whatever’s ailing him in time.  If I were a superstitious type, I’d think the Almighty had it out for his most vehement detractors deniers.  But since I’m rational, I’d say it’s just a bit of damned bad luck.

At any rate, we’ll be pulling for P-Zed to make a full and speedy recovery so he can get back to tweaking the righteous with style.

Meanwhile, enjoy Dr. Myers’ recent guest appearance on Mr. Deity.  I laugh every time I see this.

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Greydon Square: The Kardashev Scale

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

We heard Greydon Square perform at the 2007 Atheist Alliance International Convention in Washington, DC.  I admit I was a bit skeptical: a black rapper singing for several hundred mostly older, mostly white nonbelievers?  In the middle of the day?

Bottom line: I was impressed, both by his talent and his clever lyrics.  So I was glad to hear that Monsieur Square has a new album out.  The Kardashev Scale includes nineteen tracks (the title track refers to the theoretical method of measuring technological advancement, conceived by Soviet scientist Nikolai Kardashev in the 1960s) and cool sci-fi artwork from Chris Cold.

Available at iTunes or from the Greydon Square website in various forms physical and electronic.

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Books maybe you should know about, Pt. 2

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Back in April, I posted “Books maybe you should know about,” a list of upcoming freethought books I thought fellow freethinkers might like to read.  We were about to cover about half the books on that list.   And now, the march of progress continues!  Here are four more books coming out between now and the end of the year, and I’ll try my damnedest to cover them all:

C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy by Jeff Sharlet (pub. by Little, Brown & Co., Sept 2010) – Sharlet continues the work he started in his stunning expose on The Family.  Read my review of The Family, or listen to our podcast interview with Jeff Sharlet.

The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Moral Values by Sam Harris (pub. by Free Press, Oct 2010) – How often have you heard it said that science can tell us how things are, but not how they ought to be?  Sam Harris (The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation) may have bitten off more than he can chew with this one.  I’m also considering blogging my chapter-by-chapter reactions to this book, similar to what I did when reading Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth.

Hating God: The Untold Story of Misotheism by Bernard Schweizer (pub. by Oxford Univ. Press, Nov 2010) – Speaking of oft-heard questions, how many times have you been asked, once your atheism is revealed, “Why do you hate God?”  The answer, of course, is that atheists don’t hate God–they don’t think he even exists!  But it makes a certain twisted sense that some percentage of those who actually believe in God don’t see Him as the Loving, Merciful Creator.  (I’d never heard the term “misotheist” before, so I’m really looking forward to reading this one.)

The Good Atheist: Living a Purpose-Filled Life without God by Dan Barker (pub. by Ulysses Press, Dec 2010) – Something tells me the former reverend Barker will approach the problem of atheist ethics from a slightly different angle than Sam Harris.  Should be an interesting contrast–and just in time for Christmas!

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Answering “Seven Questions You Should Ask an Atheist”

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

I stumbled, quite by accident, across this blog entry by Tom Elliff (who has been, among other things, president of the SBC Pastors Conference and two-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention).  “Seven Questions You Should Ask an Atheist” is apparently Elliff’s idea of playing gotcha with the village atheist.  But really, I can’t help but thinking that if this is the best the good reverend can come up with, he isn’t really trying.

Elliff sets up his little pop quiz by mischaracterizing the so-called “New Atheist” movement.  According to Elliff, among other things, New Atheism “calls… for absolute intolerance of any belief in God, and the banishment of such belief by every possible means.”  Really?  “Absolute intolerance”?  “Banishment”?  “Every possible means”?  Is Elliff seriously implying that New Atheists call for outlawing religion, persecuting Christians–even murder?  Just about the only thing Elliff gets right is that atheists are increasingly unwilling to stay silent.

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Gettin’ Rational in Knoxville

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Good times in Knoxville, TN!  L to R: Vonda, David, Allison and John off Market Square in historic downtown Knoxville.  David, in his capacity as ambassador for Atheist Alliance International, gave a talk on Sunday, August 1st, to the Rationalists of East Tennessee.  The rest of us came along for the ride.  Knoxville is a town definitely worth a weekend visit–Market Square is pretty happenin’, with restaurants, shops, and Shakespeare in the Square (”Romeo and Juliet” this weekend).  We topped the evening off with cool jazz at the S&W Grand.  And the Rationalists could not have been a nicer crowd.

Sorry I haven’t posted much on the blog lately.  I’m pulling our presentation together for next weekend (Sunday, August 8th), when David and I will be presenting to the Atlanta Freethought Society.  Come see us if you’re in town!

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Podcast #97 – The Essential Freethought Library

Friday, July 23rd, 2010


We discuss the Essential Freethought Library, the result of a poll of dozens of notable personalities in the freethought community.  We asked them one simple question: “What ten books must the well-read freethinker have read?”

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The Essential Freethought Library

Monday, July 12th, 2010

We polled several dozen notable freethinkers, atheists and skeptics and asked them to recommend essential books for the well-read freethinker.  Find out what they think you should be reading here.  (Note that this is a new addition to our permanent Pages section, which can be found in the right-hand column.)

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Podcast #95 – Hitch-22

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Writer/activist Christopher Hitchens has announced he’ll be stepping out of the public light to undergo chemotherapy to treat esophageal cancer.  This is bad and scary news and we’re hoping for a speedy and relatively painless recovery.

Meanwhile, Hitchens has just published Hitch-22, a controversial memoir in which he reveals hitherto unknown details of his early life, and tries to explain his convoluted journey from hardcore Trotskyite to (for lack of a better term) neocon apologist.  It’s not a dull read, although much of the name-dropping will go over the heads of average American readers who only know Hitch from his recent elevation to the ranks of the Four Horsemen.  (Keep Wikipedia or Google handy and you’ll do just fine.)

Hitch-22 is available in hardcover, as an audiobook (read by Hitch himself) and in Kindle format.

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Ed Buckner stepping down from AA

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Ed Buckner has announced that he’ll be stepping down after two years as president of American Atheists.  A press release on the AA website says he’ll retire as early as September, assuming a suitable replacement can be found.  I’m sorry to see Ed go–I’ve known him for something like 15 years and have found him to be a consistently kind, well-spoken and thoughtful person.  Of course, Ed won’t really “go” anywhere.  I’m sure he’ll still be active in the atheist community, just not in a direct leadership role.  Filling his shoes will be a difficult task.

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Podcast #94 – John W. Loftus (The Christian Delusion)

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

We talk with minister-turned-atheist John W. Loftus, editor of The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, a collection of essays from contributors including Dan Barker, David Eller, Robert Price and Richard Carrier.  The Christian Delusion is published by Prometheus Books.  You should also check out Loftus’ first book Why I Became an Atheist.

Also mentioned in the podcast: 57th Fighter Group, a WWII-themed restaurant with a view of the runway at Dekalb Peachtree Airport in north metro Atlanta.

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