Atheism Is a Purely Emotional Response to Being Mad at God?
I’m amazed at the ability of the Godfull to miss the point and make false statements and generalizations about how atheists become atheists. The thought is on my mind because a theology student recently asked me to answer some survey questions (he’d been assigned an “interview an atheist” project). I’m not sure if the questions [...]
“Why me, Daddy?”
Today, me, my wife and our two children attended a conference for families dealing with children afflicted with Type 1 Diabetes. We attended because my seven year old son has been a Type 1 diabetic for close to two years. While the kids took advantage of the rare opportunity to play with others with similar [...]
Atheism Can Be Frightening
If fear has held you back from thinking god might not exist, I encourage you to press on – the rewards are truly immense. A mind-opening, perhaps even (dare I say it?) spiritual experience awaits you.
Godless ≠ Without Morals
I sometimes get emails. The latest one is from a Christian who shared his opinion (a tired old claim) that, without his god, there is no morality. As if that weren’t enough to get the last hair on my head standing up, last night I watched Dinesh D’Souza make the audacious claim that all of [...]
Does Religious Faith Instill Hatred & Distrust of Science?
I have a friend who I’m finding myself disagreeing with more and more lately. This person is intelligent and generally makes a lot of sense – even when we have ideological disagreements (such as on political matters). But lately, the disagreements have baffled and troubled me as I’ve put pieces of the puzzle together to [...]
The Secularization of Quebec
Have you ever thought it might be nice to move to a less religious part of the world? If so, you might have thought you’d have to go all the way to Scandinavia. Well, you’d be wrong. Starting in the early 1960′s, the province of Quebec, Canada went through a Quiet Revolution – a revolution [...]
Proof Not All “New Atheists” Are Condescending Jerks
Sure, we all have our moments (I certain have them) when we just want to grab believers by the neck and choke the belief system out of them. But many of us also know how hard it is to shed one’s belief in god. The following post on Reddit does a far better job than [...]
Let’s Talk About Evidence
Arguably the most common thing we atheists are heard saying is that there is no evidence for the existence of god. Just as commonly, we hear believers say that we must show evidence that god doesn’t exist (it’s at this point where you can usually hear an audible *sigh*). Before getting into the backward logic [...]
How to Piss A (Friendly) Atheist Off
Us so-called “New Atheists” have gotten a bad rap in many circles. As our numbers have grown, one counter-attack from the religious is that we are not like the old atheists – that we are militantly against religion and are attacking liberal-minded believers who are not concerned with our atheism. For my part, I am [...]
Proud Atheist Pappa
We took the kids for a treat tonight – dinner at Red Robins (one of their favorites). Almost as soon as we sat down, my daughter (11 years) mentioned how someone in the family thinks they saw a ghost at the side of her bed. My response was an immediate and confident, “there’s no such [...]
Why Religious “Objective Morality” is a Bunch of Balogne
An oft made claim believers make is that, without god, there is no objective morality. Meaning, without a higher power, we are free to make up whatever morality suits us, or the societies we live in. I call bullshit. Someone needs to explain how god’s morality can be so hopelessly confusing as to lead to [...]
Alberta Lives Up To Its ‘Texas of the North’ Handle – Introduces Legislation That Will Help Parents Protect Their Children From Science
This is a sad day for the province I call home. It should also end any discussion I’ve had with people who claim Canada is a ‘moderately’ religious nation.
The Emptiness of an Atheist’s Life
Ed is a Christian who’s chosen this place as one he’d like to do some converting in. Check my comments – you won’t have to look far for him. He’s trying quite valiantly to bring me and my readers to Christ. One of the lines of thought that keeps creeping into Ed’s conversation is that [...]
How I Will Raise Two Little Heathens
I became an atheist five years into my daughter’s education, and one year into my son’s. They both attend Catholic elementary school. My wife has also largely abandoned religion (believes in “a greater force” but not a personal god) so we are, for the most part, on the same page with regard to religion. But [...]
Three Crucial Things You Must Know Before Challenging An Atheist’s Unbelief
I propose that there are three categories of atheists: Natural Atheists: Those brought up by atheist parents who never experienced the conflict between religion and rationality. Apathetic Atheists: Those whose faith was not particularly strong and who, without a compelling drive to believe or not believe, defaulted to atheism – becoming an atheist involved very [...]
The Chocolate On Top of Shit Argument for God
I once asked a friend if he’d like to go bowling with my family. He said, “No thanks. I hate bowling”. I tried again. “It’s not just bowling – it’s neon bowling“. My friend: “Mark, do you like eating shit?”. “Uh, no”. “If I put chocolate on some shit, do you think you’d eat it”? [...]
Statistics: Awareness of Atheism
Disclaimer: From the school of you can make statistics say anything you want, I’ve collected some data and made some speculations (feel free to make your own). — I’ve heard it said that atheism is growing, but I wonder if the assertion is true. One way to get a clue is by surveying the public [...]
Turn the Other Cheek
I’m increasingly bothered in some of my regular hangouts – places like the Atheism Reddit, YouTube and some atheist blogs. To my disappointment, I’m even bothered by some of my own writings. What’s bugging me is the arrogant, condescending attitude we often have toward believers. Certainly not everyone is guilty of this and, of those, [...]
The Lord’s Prayer – Sung by a 2 Year Old
A co-worker sent this to me – presumably because she thought it was cute. It did nothing except make me fill ill. If that weren’t enough to make me blow chunks there is a whole youtube channel devoted to this child’s religious indoctrination.
10 New Commandments for Fundamentalists, Evangelicals & Creationists
Your Comments
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Recent Articles
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Amazing Atheists
- AnAtheist.net run by James Tracy who also looks after ‘The Atheist Spot’ (an atheist link sharing service)
- Atheist Climber Thoughts about science, nature and religion, as well as politics, philosophy, atheism and the occasional rant
- Atheist Revolution by vjack – an unbelievably prolific writer on the subject of atheism
- Attempts At Rational Behavior Godless liberal firmly supporting separation of church and state
- August Cline is the atheism & agnosticism author at about.com. He is excellent.
- Common Sense Atheism Awesome, awesome, awesome awesome atheist blog. End of story.
- Dangerous Talk an atheist/progressive blog discussing the three most dangerous topics of polite conversation: Religion, Politics, and Sex
- Daylight Atheism Night time is for dreaming. Daylight is for action.
- Friendly Atheist warmth and wisdom from the guy who sold his soul on eBay
- God is for Suckers! Group blog, providing commentary, news, and rants on the evils and stupidity of belief in the big invisible daddy in the sky.
- Godless Girl Ex-christian sarcasm-a-tron armed with a vag and a brain. Curiosity killed the faith, not the sass.
- Greta Christina's Blog I don’t think anyone writes more powerfully about atheism than Greta
- Happy Jihad's House of Pancakes As the title suggests, HJHOP is a fun and quirky (but still thoughtful) critique of religion.
- Lousy Canuck He’s Canadian and he’s an atheist. Need I say more? ;)
- Monicks: Unleashed Monica is the tireless force behind the ‘Think Atheist’ community
- No Religion Blog Nice, clear explanations relating to historical accuracy/claims in the Bible, among other things
- Pharyngula by PZ Meyers – evolutionary biologist, heathen and communion cracker desecrator!
- Stupid Evil Bastard What the hell is wrong with you people? (I love that tagline)
- The Gaytheists group blog for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered) Atheists, Skeptics and Humanists
- Unreasonable Faith Excellent atheist blog (one of my favorites) by former evangelical Christian Daniel Florien
- Watching the Wheels see-er. do-er. writer. photographer. thinker. doodler. worker. lover. whiner. reader. cooker. planter. designer. laugher. cleaner (sometimes). remember-er. traveller. questioner. dreamer. organizer. learner. giver. crier. taker. sleeper. imagine-er. eater
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Heathen Bling!
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Awesome Atheism Websites
- Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Touch his noodley appendage!
- God is Imaginary 50 simple proofs for non-existence of god
- Iron Chariots Wiki Awesome encyclopedia of counters to Christian apologetics.
- Secular Web contains a simply fantastic article library from both modern and past atheist/agnostic writers
- Skeptic's Annotated Bible Great place to learn about the contradictions, scientific fails and absurdities within the Bible (and there are many)
- Talk Origins Archive Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy
- The Freethinker Excellent secular focused site based on the magazine founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion.
- The Panda's Thumb excellent site focusing on evolution/creationism & the defence of science
- Why Won't God Heal Amputees? Is God real, or is he imaginary?
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Skeptical Rulers of the Universe
- Doubtful “Skepticism is a process.” This is a great place to learn. Sharon really does her homework for our benefit.
- Grassroots Skeptics A volunteer organization promoting critical thinking and a reason-centered worldview by helping local skeptics groups to share tools, information and strategies, and connect with skeptical individuals and activists.
- ICBS Everywhere Knowledge, science, reason, education, philosophy, behavior, politics, religion, and B.S.
- James Randi Educational Foundation Not-for-profit organization that promotes critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today. Home of the $1 million paranormal challenge.
- Podblack Cat Science, Superstitions and Skeptical Life
- She Thought women. thinking critically.
- Skepchick A group of women (and one deserving guy) who write about science, skepticism, and pseudoscience. With intelligence, curiosity, and occasional snark, the group tackles diverse topics from astronomy to astrology, psychics to psychology.
- Skeptic North The first Canada-wide blog for skeptics. Its mission is to affect and promote positive, science-based change in mainstream media, Canadian culture and education, and in government policy
- Skeptic's Dictionary Definitions, arguments, and essays on topics ranging from acupuncture to zombies. Detailed information on the supernatural, paranormal, and pseudoscientific. Dozens of topics in logic, perception, science, and philosophy.
- SkepticReport Extremely well organized and laid out skeptic site. Lots of good information here.
- Skeptics Society A scientific and educational organization of scholars, scientists, historians, magicians, professors and teachers, and anyone curious about controversial ideas, extraordinary claims, revolutionary ideas, and the promotion of science.
- Skeptics Society Blog Official blog of the Skeptics Society, featuring the writings of Michael Shermer as well as many others.
- Skeptigirl dedicated to free thinking, critical thinking, science, and skepticism
- Woo Fighters Purpose is to promote critical, skeptical, and scientific thinking by inspiring students to become active promoters of scientific skepticism and defenders of science.
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Health & Medicine
- Quackwatch International network concerned with health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. Primary focus on difficult/impossible to find quackery-related information.
- Science-Based Medicine Exploring issues and controversies in the relationship between science and medicine
- Science-Based Pharmacy Turning an eye on the profession, separating fact from fiction on both sides of the counter.
- The Denialism Blog Discussing the problem of denialists, their standard arguing techniques, how to identify denialists and/or cranks, and discuss topics of general interest such as skepticism, medicine, law and science.
- The SkepDoc Retired family physician, former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and skeptic who writes about alternative medicine and quackery.
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Why I Blog
I'm here to help doubting believers let go of their fear and guilt, to provide an example of an atheist leading a happy, moral and fulfilling life, and to connect with fellow non-believers. Welcome!
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Navigation
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On Youtube
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Podcasts/Radio
- For Good Reason Interview program hosted by D.J. Grothe, promoting critical thinking and skepticism about the central beliefs of society.
- Skeptic's Guide to the Universe Home of one of the longest standing skeptical podcasts.
- Skepticality Official podcast of Skeptical Magazine
- Skeptically Speaking Live radio/podcast hosted by everyone’s favorite geek girl, Desiree Schell “Call in. Question Everything.”
- The Atheist Experience Fantastic call-in atheist TV show out of Austin, Texas with big focus on talking with believers.
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Great Reads
- Letter to a Christian Nation - by Sam Harris
- Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible & Why - by Bart Ehrman
- The God Delusion - by Richard Dawkins
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History & Statistics
- Adherents.com Excellent statistics and maps on the subject of religious adherence.
- History of the End of the World This is a great link showing the 220 times the world was predicted to end, but did not.
- Maps of War: History of Religion
- What Charles Darwin believed about religion an excerpt from his biography should clear things up
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Favorite Articles
- Frequently Asked Questions for the Newly Deconverted is for new atheists wondering where they go from here
- Jesus Myth the case against the historical Christ
- Why are atheists so angry? Greta Christina has a post that sums the reasons up quite well!
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Communities
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Advocacy & Activism
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Favorite Videos
- Atheist a simply made video with an incredibly inspiring message
- Intelligent Design on Trial An excellent documentary about the controversy that occured in Dover, Pennsylvania over the teaching of evolution.
- My Spirituality as an Atheist One of my favorite videos – truly poignant and beautiful.
- Pat Condell’s Youtube Channel is Atheism on the offensive (controversial, funny & brilliant)
- Potholer54′s Youtube Channel home of the amazing “Made Easy” series (evolution & natural selection, the scientific method, and history of the universe etc)
- Why Do People Laugh at Creationists? is an excellent 24 part Youtube video series by Thunderfoot
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The Four Horsemen
- Christopher Hitchens author of “God is Not Great”
- Daniel Dennet author of “Breaking the Spell”
- Richard Dawkins author of “The God Delusion”, “The Blind Watchmaker” & more
- Sam Harris author of “The End of Faith” & “Letter to a Christian Nation”
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Meaning of Life Type Stuff
- Ethic of Reciprocity “The Golden Rule” is one of things that guides my life
- One Source of Morality might be from our feelings of empathy
- Secular Humanism check out the Council of Secular Humanism affirmations and declarations
- Secular Humanism on Wikipedia atheism is what I don’t believe & secular humanism is, more or less, what I do
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Kick-Ass Science
- Action Bioscience Promoting bioscience literacy. Great articles on evolution, genomics, the environment, biotechnology and more.
- Bad Astronomy My favorite astronomy blog! Written by Phil Plait
- NASA Image of the Day Pure awesomeness!
- Sense About Science responds to the misrepresentation of science on issues that matter
- Wired Science Nice, eclectic mix of science articles from a variety of fields. Always entertaining.
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Fun/Entertaining
- Atheist Cartoons Best atheist related comics on the web!
- Jesus & Mo The adventures of modern-day Jesus and Mohammed. What could go wrong?
- The Onion News Network The best satire news on the web. Not an atheist site, but often satirizes religion and religious beliefs.
- xkcd A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language
