Reposted from the Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson Every day I work with people who have an invisible friend. But being fond of many of them, talking about that is something I like to avoid. After all, it's not really relevant to what we do, and if their faith helps them to be more productive or feel better about what they're doing, it's no skin off my nose. That being so, I've been thinking lately about why religious (and more broadly, supernatural) ideas bother me, and whether it's important to speak up. The truth is that it's not too hard to avoid awkward moments where I work, because religious and supernatural topics hardly ever come up. Most such dialogues I've had a part in have occurred online, and even those have become infrequent. Perhaps this is because I no longer find it worthwhile to engage in a dialogue with those who, without a moment's hesitation, would consider me condemned. But whatever the reason, I've become even more reserved ...

From Xrayman Two Creationists take home schooled kids on a tour of a natural history museum filling their minds with Young Earth Creationist Bullshit.

By Geoff I am frequently told by a myriad of individuals that atheism is irrational, stupid, uncool and just plain negative, I am told that our worldview is asinine, that we are running from god and that we believe that we are descended from monkeys Hard to believe that two years ago this was essentially the same belief I held about atheism! I already submitted my testimony, I believe " We are one with the cosmos " was its title. Since then I have told one of my parents about my newfound (lack of) beliefs, argued with my fundie father, tried in vain to get out of church, and still continue to suffer through a Christian school BUT! That's just the bad. I can say with 100% certainty that despite my situation I have grown as a person in the past two years more then I could ever have imagined. The continual church services I'm forced to sit through has given me a myriad of ways to refute the various claims made by these people. The theology classes (I have been kicked ou...

By Sandra For years my son has put up with the fundy ways of his step mom. She calls him a Satan worshiper. He finally set her straight in this letter. I was so proud I wanted to share it. Devil Worshiper. Seriously? Ha. That's pretty funny. So I guess that in your mind, you picture me sitting around my house in a black cloak, sitting in a circle of candles on a pentagram in the floor and sipping the blood of some animal sacrifice, all while reading from some ancient spell book....and there I am, all spooky looking and chanting, giving praise to this little red guy with horns that has a pitchfork, which he uses of course to poke evil doers in the tushy. That's hilarious. I hate to spoil the fun, but no, I am not a devil worshiper. Before you label me, let's clear up a couple of misconceptions that you obviously have about me: -In order to be a "devil worshiper", one must believe in a devil. If I was a devil worshiper, I would have to believe that somewhere i...

A few quotes from some famous un-believers.

One atheist's opinion about respecting Christianity.

The book of Revelation includes so many ridiculous and horrible prophesies, it's obvious that "St. John" was either consciously trying to scare people into submission or he was on some kind of psychedelic substance; or both. To me, one of his most revealing claims is that the stars will fall to the earth. Of course at the time of his writing, people didn't know just how big and far away the stars really are. To them, they were just little lights in the sky. But if his "visions" where really coming from an omniscient god, wouldn't he have known? Here are the verses in question: Revelation 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sou...

By Michael Shermer I believe, but cannot prove, that reality exists independent of its human and social constructions. Science as a method, and naturalism as a philosophy, together create the best tool we have for understanding that reality. Because science is cumulative, building on itself in progressive fashion, we can achieve an ever-greater understanding of reality. Our knowledge of nature remains provisional because we can never know if we have final Truth. Because science is a human activity and nature is complex and dynamic, fuzzy logic and fractional probabilities best describe both nature and our approximate understanding of it. There is no such thing as the paranormal and the supernatural; there is only the normal and the natural and mysteries we have yet to explain. What separates science from all other human activities is its belief in the provisional nature of all conclusions. In science, knowledge is fluid and certainty fleeting. That is the heart of its limitation. It is...

How can we say we no longer believe in Jesus, after meeting Him and experiencing God? Comments?

By Valerie Tarico “Sunday was a day of just so much external restraint as public opinion absolutely demanded. I learned at last, as I came to be about seventeen, that my father was an entire freethinker, as much as I am now. It shocked me much, because he never taught me anything, allowed me to pick up religion from any one around me, and then scolded me because I embraced beliefs which he knew must condemn him. I think this neglect to be honest with children is a terrible evil. I have lost years of thought, and wandered wide and done such unwise conceited things, and encountered risks for soul and body, all of which might have been obviated by his frank teaching.” -- Moncure Daniel Conway, Autobiography (1904) " I did what I thought was the right thing so my children would not have to unlearn all that my church taught me--I took them out of the Methodist Sunday School and put them into a Unitarian church school which they then refused to attend. One was Jewish then Buddhist then...

ExChristian.Net has partnered with Alive Mind Media to offer The Atheism Tapes on DVD. Alive Mind Media holds exclusive rights to the The Atheism Tapes . The Atheism Tapes is a BBC television documentary series presented by Jonathan Miller. The material that makes up the series was originally filmed for another, more general series, Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief , but was too in-depth for inclusion. Instead, the BBC agreed to create The Atheism Tapes as a supplementary series of six programs, each consisting of an extended interview with one contributor. In these off-the-record interviews, neurologist turned playwright, filmmaker and self-described atheist Jonathan Miller filmed conversations with six of today's leading men of letters and science: the New York Times best-selling author Richard Dawkins, philosophers Daniel Dennett and Colin McGinn, distinguished playwright Arthur Miller, theologian Denys Turner and Nobel Prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg, who discu...

By Tim This is just a quick rant. A while back I called the principal of the West Memphis Christian School (which is part of the Church of Christ on Missouri Street ) to see if he might be able to find a volunteer to help me around the house once a month. I have two herniated discs in the middle of my back, recently injured both my legs, and had been in physical therapy for several months trying to get my legs in shape. Some things are just about impossible to do and I thought perhaps a young Christian lad wouldn't mind donating thirty minutes to an hour of his time once a month to help me do things like change a light bulb, move a heavy box, etc. I guess I was wrong. Sometime later I talked to the principal again and he told me that he couldn't find anyone to do it. It was really hard for me to believe that of all the male students in grades nine through eleven he couldn't find one willing to do this - even though I had told him I would be willing to PAY this person...

By DocMike TZIF! Thank Zeus it's Friday! If christians can thank a mythical god for good things that happen and things that are inevitable (like Fridays), why can't Atheists do the same? I think the christian god has had exclusive rights to Fridays for too long! It's time to dethrone him! So before some christian can recite their TGIF tag line, why not throw them a curve ball by thanking some other mythical character? I find it really freaks them out and often prompts some very interesting conversations... Happy Friday, everyone! Technorati Tags: humor Atheist God Christian Comics

By Xrayman My how time flies. I just turned 45, and this month marks the two year anniversary of that fateful mouse click that lead me down the road to complete and total freedom from God belief. In a matter of a couple weeks I had an epiphany and walked through the door of non belief that permanently slammed behind me. There was this wonderful giddy moment where a light flashed in my head, and I just knew without a doubt that religion was a complete sham. Although I was never very religious, I did truly believe in God, prayer, Heaven, and Hell. From the moment I discovered the amazing internet world of non believers, I became obsessed. I was absolutely captivated with the fact that I had discovered something astronomical. I had finally cracked the code of absolute truth and I knew it. I felt like Doc Brown on “Back to the Future” the moment when he discovered his time machine from the future was a success(insert stereotype crazy scientist laugh here). With this fact, I b...

By Donald Collins Don't you love surveys? The front page of the Feb. 26 Washington Post carried a story about a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It suggested that Americans are fickle about their religious choices. After the scandals that rocked the U.S. Catholic Church, it shouldn't surprise anyone, particularly Pope Benedict. The Catholic Church has lost more members than any religion practiced here. But it has replaced its losses from the massive immigration invasion by Latinos. Thus, Catholics still claim 23.9 percent of those polled. The mainline Protestant faiths (18.1 percent) have lost out to the newer Evangelical Protestants (26.3 percent). Mormons and Jews each represent only 1.7 percent of the faithful. Muslims, Hindus, Jehovah's Witnesses and others register at under 1 percent. Since I am a member of one of America's smallest denominations -- atheists -- I felt a surge of pride in knowing of my exclusive status. Of the 35,000 peo...

by Astreja It invariably comes as a bit of a shock to our Christian visitors when their words of wisdom are accorded a less-than-civil reception. Sometimes a zealous teenager swings by to warn us that we'd better straighten up and fly right, lest we be seized by demons and dragged off to an eternal all-expenses-paid vacation in a Very Hot Place. Or we're set upon by a gushy but seemingly well-meaning woman who assures us that we just practiced the wrong *version* of Christianity, and please keep looking for the True Church™ (Oh, and by the way, it's a ree- lay -shun-ship, not a religion). Another fairly common theme is the man who sees "miracles" in everything, and honestly believes that his unverifiable personal testimony is sufficient to convince total strangers over the Internet. And then there are folks who: Think that wars, earthquakes and other common calamities are proof of "End Times"; Can't or won't imagine a non-supernatural explanation...

This is Christopher Hitchens on Free Speech. This is the tail end of twenty minute speech given in Canada in November 2006. The reason I am posting this video here is because I would like to point out that Hitchens does not advocate hating Christians, Muslims, or other religious people. It is religion itself that he says should be hated. I think that hating individuals because they are infected with religious delusion is just as bigoted as hating people who are infected with a disease, or who are ignorant, or who are mistaken about something. I left Christianity when I figured out I had been duped by an ancient, well supported, propaganda campaign machine. I was angry about it. I felt deceived and cheated. But feeling anger, in my mind, is not hatred. When Christians try to evangelize me, I frequently feel irritated. Irritation, however, is also not hatred. Although I may hate what religion can do to a thinking mind, it is the parasitic meme that I despise, not the parasite's ho...