by The Atheist Geek Image by Dan Patterson via Flickr I I was almost 18 when I attended my first meeting at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Or I would have attended it if I had found the Hall before the meeting started. I had been talking to a girl at High School about The Watchtower Society 's teachings for a few weeks when I asked her for directions to the Hall. Her directions were wrong, so I was late. I sat in the Kingdom Hall's parking lot for an hour that night because I didn't want to interrupt the meeting. The Witnesses were already leaving their book study when I finally walked up to the front door. The conductor was just locking up when I stepped into the light. He was a congregation Elder. He shook my hand as the girl who'd invited me came over to say hi. Then he accused me of attending the meeting just to get into her pants. A few minutes later, he was handing me a couple of magazines to read. I came back two days later. Things went OK for a w...

By Daniel Brown S ummer is time for fun—swimming, fireworks, family reunions, and trips to Disney World . It’s also prime time for unfettered Christian indoctrination of our youth. Yes, I’m referring to Vacation Bible School (VBS). One of the most effective ways to convert a person to Christianity is to capture their mind as a child. All religions and totalitarian regimes understand this. Take for instance the Hitler Youth . A ruthless and harsh organization whose goal was to indoctrinate German youths so that, once adults, they would fight faithfully for the Third Reich . Likewise, Christians have established Vacation Bible School. By contrast, VBS is filled with fun, games, cookies, and harmless child’s play. However, at the beginning of each day, the children are called to congregate to recite Scripture, pledge allegiance to the Bible and Christian flag, and listen to a dogmatic lesson about a nonexistent afterlife and a zombie magician. As a child in VBS, I remember singing “Onwa...

By Daniel Brown Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr C hristian men are very insecure. As with all insecure people, they must domineer others to feel good about themselves. Once they snag a woman, the goal is to force them to submit. Women must be kept under their thumb at all times. Physical abuse isn’t necessary as emotional, psychological, and religious abuse are usually much more effective. Below are some methods whereby Christian men accomplish this: Make lots of babies. After all, this is her ONLY purpose in life. Right? Make the woman homeschool them. Keep her nice and plump so no other men look at her. Buy her books about being a “Christian” mother. Make her wear frumpy clothes. Encourage her to have a benign hobby like scrapbooking , Pampered Chef , etc. Send her to Beth Moore conferences. Demean her. After all, she IS beneath you. Buy her new kitchen appliances so she gets the hint. Break her spirit. I’m sure there are other methods I’m unaware of, but you get the p...

" Militant Atheists" - a letter on the term to those who use it. • http://www.youtube.com/RobTheMonk8 A (biased?) Wikipedia article on antitheism and militant atheism : • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitheism ATHEIST (n.): one without a belief in, or one who lacks belief in, the existence of god or gods. Secular Humanism : • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9_Vsd... Rejecting Atheism : • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0zSCp...

By Valerie Tarico How Viral Ideas Hook Us D id you know that Temple Baptist Church was built on land that sold for 57 cents, the amount saved by a little girl that had been turned away from their Sunday school? Did you hear about the guy who died in his sleep, killed by his own farts? Can you believe it?! Elvis Presley said, "The only thing a nigger can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes." And,guess what--scholars at the Smithsonian Institution have uncovered new interpretations of Nostradamus that relate to Barack Obama . The above statements are false. But that hasn’t kept them from circulating the internet for years. Each of them is the heart of a viral email, which means that each has some quality that makes people forward it, over and over and over. The first is a kind of message commonly known as “glurge,” too-sweet-to-be-true stories that nevertheless give people a warm feeling or even chills. The second makes us laugh and piques our sense of curiosity. Th...

Image by sakura_chihaya+ via Flickr A lthough this may need some polishing, this is what I wish to one-day say to my mother, but having difficulty working up the courage due to her anger when I say something contradictory to her beliefs. It is more or less in open-letter form, boldly packed with much emotion, which I have yet to send to her, if I ever do. She will never see it on the net, because she has some issues with modern technology, but none the less I wrote it and maybe one day soon I can say these things to her or at least mail this to her to read. Regardless of the intent, I still see her reacting vehemently with anger. That is the way it has been when I stepped “out-of-line” in her view and probably will always be until one of us dies- hopefully in the order nature intended. The thing is I have always been better at saying my thoughts in writing than verbally, regardless of other people’s reactions to my words. Mother, have you ever noticed that when I left home twenty...

By Kevin B Image by doug88888 via Flickr I t has been of my assertion ever since I broke free of childhood that religion quite simply does not make sense. It completely blows my mind to see intelligent people say they believe in Jesus and that they know that God exists. It makes me think to myself, humans as smart as we are, may not have the mental capacity to fully understand exactly what is going on. We have invented great things and advanced a long way but the basis of our intelligence may just be far too low to comprehend exactly how the universe and our world came to be. We see this on earth, where a species can get to a level of comprehension of something but fail to fully understand. If you teach a chimpanzee to sign, does it really fully understand the language? Is it possible that we could one day teach that chimpanzee to talk and function in our world? The answer is no, and it is because the chimps brain is just not at a level to fully be on par with our own. I think...

By E Chamberlain MD, San Diego CA Image by SamikRC via Flickr T he Apostle Paul reasons-- wrongly and without even bothering to cite evidence to make his case-- that one's failure to believe in God drowns the non-believer in a cesspool of immorality: "Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful." Paul tries to sneak this tenet of his by us right from the start (Romans Chapter 1) and declines to acknowledge that one can be agnostic or atheist -- not liking to "retain God," at least not Paul's God, in one's kn...

By Daniel Brown I t’s that time of year again! Pack your bags, round up your dusty ole passport, dig up that Hawaiian shirt you love so much (you know, the one that makes you look like Rick Warren ), and get your flippy-floppies out—it’s mission trip time again! Time to go tell some third-world peasants about Jesus, hammer a few nails in a decrepit schoolhouse, and catch some rays! Good times. I often reminisce about the days when I would travel to some god-forsaken place and tell uneducated, illiterate dark-skinned people about the zombie magic man. They latched on to the story immediately. Is there any wonder 500 people “come to know Christ” during these trips? A tall, well-dressed white man has come to their village to tell them of an invisible man in the sky who can give them anything they want if they just ask. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, as long as it makes you feel good. You're a god. After being in that dusty place for a couple of days, it’s time for the real trea...

By Valerie Tarico The Born-Again Experience Image by nickwheeleroz via Flickr I prayed harder and just then I felt like everything I was saying was being sucked into a vacuum. When I stood up, I felt like thin air; I had to brace myself. I felt this energy, it was a kind of an ecstasy.” Cathy “Something began to flow in me—a kind of energy . . . Then came the strange sensation that water was not only running down my cheeks, but surging through my body as well, cleansing and cooling as it went.” Colson “It was a beautiful feeling of well-being, warmth and loving . . . I went home and all night long these warm feelings kept coming up in my body.” Jean “I felt something real warm overwhelming me. It was in just a moment, yet it was like an eternity. . . . a joy, such a joy hit me with such a tremendous force that I jumped . . . and ran.” Helen. – from Conway & Siegelman, Snapping , pp 24, 32, 12, 31 For many Christians, being born again is unlike anything they have ever known. A ...

By Mriana Image via Wikipedia O ne of the things I have noticed over my lifetime is the death and destruction of the Religious Reich, everything from suicide to murder. They might not pull the trigger personally, but they do seem to find some poor bloke they manage to brainwash and mentally abuse to do it for them. All too often the Religious Reich wants to control the masses via religious dogma that makes absolutely no sense in light of scientific knowledge, especially and including Women’s Reproductive health. Sadly, when they cannot have control of the masses, they attempt to take it by force, in some manner, and then attempt to base it on their so-called “good book”, when that book can be shredded and put back together again after showing them just how much they do not know about it. I intend to do just that too, because as a Christian friend of mine has told others since the murder of Dr. Tiller, I will not back down or even stand down, at least not in writing, especially in t...

By Jack Image by .craig via Flickr NOTE: I'M NOT SAYING I BELIEVE THIS STUFF, I AM MERELY POSTING IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE AS IF IT IS THE TRUTH S o we have this god, who has infinite power, can do anything, and created everything. Anything he wants, he can get it at his finger tips (or whatever gods use). Wants to create a planet? Boom! The planet is HIS. Wants someone to have a billion dollars? It's all their's! Wants to eliminate anything that pisses HIM off? Darn right HE can do that! Now we have us humans. Most of us would kill for a millionth of the powers god has. Sure, the majority of us can walk, run, talk, and complete tasks, but that is limited. I can only run so far, work so hard, and unlike god, I will, eventually, die. Because of my limited lifespan, strengths, and knowledge, I can only do so much for my fellow humans, and absolutely nothing I posses can please a god (considering god created me and everyone else). I. HAVE. NOTHING. You'd think ...

Image via Wikipedia Today we are familiar with the “New Atheists” authors on the bookstands. Sometimes it does one good to read Robert Ingersoll , the prince of atheists. In 1894 he wrote “ About The Holy Bible ” and in the sections of that work below he discusses the two foundational beliefs of Christianity and slays them down to dust. What are we to think of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the "inspired" Holy Bible? If they are rejected what is the real Bible? -- dealdoctor WHY SHOULD WE PLACE CHRIST AT THE TOP AND SUMMIT OF THE HUMAN RACE? Was he kinder, more forgiving, more self-sacrificing than Buddha? Was he wiser, did he meet death with more perfect calmness, than Socrates? Was he more patient, more charitable, than Epictetus? Was he a greater philosopher, a deeper thinker, than Epicurus? In what respect was he the superior of Zoroaster? Was he gentler than Lao-tsze, more universal than Confucius? Were his ideas of human rights and duties superior to those of Zeno...