One thing I’ve always found about people who are on the fence, and come over to atheism, is that they didn’t understand much about the positions of it. They maybe had this vague opinion that atheists were childish people, rebelling against authority. But when they start learning, they […]
This isn’t directed just at religious people, but they do seem to be the ones who most have this trait. Stop being so offended! A challenge to your belief is not necessarily an insult. Further, you should WELCOME challenges to your beliefs. I know I do. And I […]
Yesterday I was at work having a discussion with two religious guys (both of a different religion), and we were talking about how people use their beliefs to find a good thing and use it to change. We all agreed that all three of us had done […]
One of the charges I’m always responding to is that, as an atheist, I must be hostile to religion. Well, I’m hostile to some of the things that people do in the name of religion. I’m hostile to the idea shared by many religious people that they should […]
I have been accused of being hostile to religion, usually because I will defend atheism and challenge religion. Which I do not think is hostility; I think a free exchange of ideas is a good thing, as long the participants can be civil and act like adults. Further, […]
Many people accuse atheists of just being negative (you’re defined by what you don’t believe) and having no moral or ethical alternative to offer. But like most beliefs about atheism, this just isn’t true. There is humanism. It has a long tradition, going back to the Ancient Greeks […]
I’ve noticed that religious guys in prison are kind of like religious guys everywhere: they’re out-and-out victims of the confirmation bias. That is, they find a belief that seems to work for them, and run with it. No attempt is made to look at this belief critically. If […]
I was a Christian as a kid, and even into my teen years and first couple years in prison. Now I like to say that atheism is one of the things that saved me (that is, enabled me to transform my life; to be born again, to put […]
Recently a Christian guy got upset and accused me of “pushing” my atheism on others. But all I was doing was speaking to someone else, very cordially and reasonably about atheist societies in Europe that have lower crime rates and general better standards of living than very religious […]
The other day, a guy I was talking with made a comment about how atheists are all selfish (he didn’t know I’m an atheist). It’s just taken for granted, but it’s simply a thoughtless cliche, as ignorant and insultign as saying “Jews are greedy.” Now, I’m not personally […]
Every weekend morning when I do my studying in the common room, I bring down a book about atheism, rational thought, a critique of the Bible, something similar, to try to provoke discussion. And I’m consistently amazed by how many guys have just never been exposed to this […]
One thing I’ve noticed is almost always, the same people who are religious also believe in other supernatural or otherwise far-out things, such as ancient aliens, ghosts, conspiracy theories, etc. And it’s not so much WHAT they choose to believe, it’s the METHOD they use to determine what […]
Last night (3/24/15) on CNN there was a special about atheism in America. I thought it did a very good job of pointing out the atheists out there who are trying to do good things, trying to show that atheism/humanism stands for just more than a negation. There […]
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