by Penn & Teller

by Mriana Image by pyota via Flickr I have not said very much about this because I find it a very painful and upsetting subject, even though it comes out in bits and pieces sometimes. However, I do not think my story would be complete if I did not touch upon the subject of taking religion so far that it causes death. Not just death, but even attempted suicide in some cases. For me, my grandfather was the first in a series of such things and I was twenty-three years old with a newborn son at the time. About twenty years ago, my grandfather killed himself. He did it in a manner in which my Evangelical Fundamentalist relatives could excuse it and say, “God called him home”, but I cannot believe that. In my honest opinion, it was suicide, pure and simple. In my opinion, they are making excuses and denying what his death really was. What exactly happened to this strong man that he would take his life? Well, first, he believed in an afterlife, but granted that alone is not enough to

by Matthew Dolezal Image via Wikipedia W ith the chaos of daily life in modern Western civilization, the consideration of a deep philosophical question like "What is the meaning of life?" seems quite low on one's list of priorities. There are countless tasks I must complete each day in order to maintain my socio-economic and cultural status. After realizing this cycle appears infinite, one assumes his/her "purpose" is to be a cog in a machine - indeed, the word "career" seems to have replaced "purpose" in our society. But eventually, there is a break - you have a moment of time that has not been reserved or booked or clouded with efficiency, and you look up at the stars and wonder what it’s all about. This is inevitable. Our brains are machines of curiosity. We wonder and speculate, and then, if the curiosity gets the best of us, and we begin to investigate. How did this all come about? What is my purpose? What will happen after I die?

By WizenedSage Image via Wikipedia I f you were God, would you provide your message exclusively to one prophet ? Wouldn’t it occur to you that some people would try a prophet scam once they saw how a prophet is revered and the recipient of special favors, money and power? This was an essential message of Al-Razi , a freethinking Moslem (864-930 CE) that seems to have slipped beneath the radar of many of us moderns. Of course, we can all see that at least some so-called prophets are not legitimate; even the religious can see this. No one today believes Jim Jones was an authentic prophet, and comparatively few believe in Joseph Smith . And, in the Western world , Mohammad is widely seen as a fake. Clearly, anyone with the gift of eloquence, especially if he also knows a few nifty magic tricks or illusions, is a potential prophet. Prophesying can be profitable. Al-Razi’s point here is not just that there have been many false prophets, but, much more importantly, that no sensible god woul

by Shawn Image by A Perfect Heart via Flickr S ince my de-conversion there is one statement from believers that irritates me time and time again. We have all heard it, it is the common fall back for just about every argument against Christianity. Every time I have argued the plagiarism, absurdities, contradictions, lies, cruelty and intolerance of the Bible, this statement, or something similar, invariably gets thrown in my face: “You just have to have faith”. Faith in what I ask. Define it. Describe it. I have faith. I have no shortage of faith, in fact, I have faith in spades. I have faith that through science we will be able to help the blind see, the mute speak, the deaf hear and the paralyzed to walk again. I have faith that if I do the right things, lead a good life and help my fellow man that I will live on, beyond my years, in the memory of my community, my children and my family. I have faith that if there is an afterlife that it is for us all, that it is something that no o

By Carl S Image by Gary Henderson via Flickr M y wife tells me that I think too much, to which I might point out that I’m just compensating for all those who refuse to think. For example, she watches those TV nature shows with animals in their native habitats . These shows aggravate me. I want to watch animals, but they keep interrupting by showing the faces of narrators or cameramen. Also, some insist on giving the animals names. I’ve watched gatherings of geese, ducks, turkeys, etc, and notice how at least one of them is assigned as lookout. So, I have my own commentary that ties into thinking too much, and here’s how it goes. “Harold” is lookout. He might not be the brightest or wisest, but it’s his turn. It’s a lot of responsibility, so he’s hyper-alert, stressed. Now if Harold has eaten the wrong grass, has had a hard previous night, and is super vigilant, he just might see things that aren’t there, sound the alarm, and everyone scatters. When all are scattering, doubt is not a

by JezuzFree Image by derpunk via Flickr I 'd like to share with you the last prayer I uttered as a Christian a few weeks ago. After 28 years of being a Christian, I'm now a very happy Atheist. This morning, Lord, I come before You A Holy Soldier at Your feet It is I, Nobody Special A Jar of Clay that You complete I’ve lived my life as a Believer Extolled Your virtues, praised Your name A Demon Hunter, Holy Soldier Saved by Grace, my only claim I’ve lived by faith, my Creed persistent A Living Sacrifice for You But where’s the proof? It’s nonexistent Imaginary will just not due An Ultimatum is before me Set by me by my free will The Crucified or rationality I want real truth to set me free My mind’s made up, I choose You not It’s Evanescence of the faith At Six Feet Deep I’ll simply rot The soul’s not Payable On Death I will not cry for Your Deliverance When my time comes As I Lay Dying Will love my neighbor and Die Happy Will c

By Astreja I work in a large metropolitan hospital . Every day, thousands of people come and go -- Doctors, nurses, secretaries, housekeeping staff, maintenance... Police, paramedics, pharmacy technicians... Hundreds of delivery vehicles, dropping off everything from paper towels to transplant organs... And, of course, the patients and their families and friends. This is a good place to work, but at the same time there's a bittersweet mood in the hallways. People come here because they need help for illness or injury. My daughter and I have both been patients here, as have many people that we know. On the way to the bus one day, I took a moment to really look at the people in the hallway. I don't know who they are, or what they believe; but I'm going to assume that they're essentially decent, caring individuals. Just like the people outside the hospital: My bus driver ; the clerk at the convenience store ; a man and woman waiting for the "Walk" sign at

by The Thinking Atheist

http://www.youtube.com/user/misterdeity

By Mriana Image by Untitled blue via Flickr "And how in the world Can the words that I said Send somebody so over the edge That they'd write me a letter Saying that I better shut up and sing Or my life will be over." T hat is basically the response I got from a long time friend that I thought I could trust or who I thought was a friend that I could trust, but, and I hope I am wrong, apparently there were conditions to that friendship. Before it was over she was telling me what I could not say, what I should write, and eventually, when I asked her two honest questions, she gave me what was, in my opinion, a trained response. It really was like I had threaten her beliefs and I could not believe she was a person who would feel insecure about her beliefs when someone expresses a different view, but I guess I was wrong. The words to the song ring so true, especially when it comes to the idea that one can just get over it and accept “true religion” as opposed to what my rela

by Doc Mike According to the New Testament , Jesus ' closest friends didn't recognize him after the resurrection. John tells us (in 20:14) that Mary Magdalene , a woman Jesus had a questionable past with, looked right at him but didn't know who he was. In Mark 16:12, two of Jesus' disciples didn't recognize him because he "appeared in another form." And according to Luke 24:16, their eyes were "holden" so they wouldn't know him. Assuming there was ever a historic Jesus and that the Gospels were even loosely based on actual events (which I greatly doubt), I think there is a much simpler explanation. Maybe it wasn't him at all! Maybe the disciples didn't recognize him because it wasn't the same dude! Maybe they wanted so much to believe that he had risen, that they voted in a new Messiah . "Sure, he looks different and walks with a limp, but he knows all the scriptures and what a great story this will make! He rose from the

by WizenedSage Image via Wikipedia C onsider the matter of the soul . Ask a Christian when the soul enters the body and he may say at conception, or some number of weeks after conception, or at birth. Ask him how he knows this and the only answer he can give is that he read it, someone told him, or “it just makes sense.” Christians have been arguing amongst themselves about this for thousands of years. Ask him how big the soul is and he may answer that it’s microscopic, or fills the whole body, or anything in between. Again, he knows this because he has read it or been told it. Ask him where in the body the soul resides and he may say the heart or that it’s diffused throughout the body. Again, he’s read this or been told this. Ask four Christians to define soul and you’ll likely get four different answers. Ask him if a six-month old baptized baby who dies will spend eternity as a six-month old baby and watch him squirm. If it happens that the soul simply doesn’t exist, then Christianit

By Aaron H i. My name is Aaron. I was a Christian for the better part of 24 years. I was very closed minded, fearful, rejecting of any other walk of life, and judgmental of any and all nouns not associated with my belief system. I also had a false moral compass. But that's not what I want to write about today... Within the past 2 months, I have deconverted, and now consider myself mostly to be an agnostic theist. Yesterday, I got my first phone call from a Christian acquaintance, asking me why I haven't been in contact. I explained my situation to him openly, and honestly. He responded, paraphrasing scripture: "Aaron, God will give you over to a debased mind if you want it. You have free will. But you need to know that you’re being a coward by dropping your weapons." This is me paraphrasing his paraphrasing, just to be clear. COMMENCE RANTING: A "debased" mind? Apparently, when a person decides to reject a man made ideology which is riddled with closed-minde