Atheist Revolution Religious belief is a destructive force that causes far more harm than good. Atheist Revolution is a blog dedicated to breaking free from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism in America. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 1 0 119 9348

Articles from Atheist Revolution

How Does Pascal's Wager Lead One To Christianity? 2007-10-19 07:00:00 Many Christians like Pascal's Wager and are quick to pull it out in debating atheists. While reading a post at Spanish Inquisitor, I found myself wondering what this odd little bit of philosophic gambling has to do with Christianity. I have to assume that Pascal offered this as justification for theism rather than Christianity. If one follows the idea of the wager, I see nothing that would lead one to Christianity as opposed to Islam or some other religion.Pascal expressed this famous bit of apologetics as follows:If you erroneously believe in God, you lose nothing (assuming that death is the absolute end), whereas if you correctly believe in God, you gain everything (eternal bliss). But if you correctly disbelieve in God, you gain nothing (death ends all), whereas if you erroneously disbelieve in God, you lose everything (eternal damnation).Some Christians claim that they find this compelling even though it seems like an incredibly poor reason to believe anything. But how is this sup ...

Horror Along the Lines of Jesus Camp 2007-10-18 15:15:00 Few films I have seen can compare with Jesus Camp for pure horror. And yet, this story from ABC News about "pint-size preachers" comes pretty damn close. In what universe is this not child abuse?For those tempted to say, "But it makes my child happy to praise Jee-zuhs," I'll point out that there are probably tons of things that would make your child happy that you will not allow him or her to do. I'll also point out that children of this age do not simply discover the joys of preaching about Jee-zuhs on their own; your influence is required. Furthermore, I'll suggest that what your child really enjoys is your approval. Sadly, in these cases you've made it contingent on his or her willingness to broadcast gibberish.That a parent would do this to their child makes me sick. To deprive a child of reason and fill his or her head with nonsense isn't cute; it is abusive.Tags: pint-size preachers, child abuse, religion, Christianity, Jesus Camp ...

Kentucky Erects Road Signs For Creation Museum 2007-10-18 09:31:00 Remember the infamous Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Kentucky? Of course you do. The opening of this grand monument to idiocy dominated the secular blogosphere for weeks. But if you thought the story was over, you were sadly mistaken. It now appears that the states of Kentucky and Indiana erected signs advertising the museum along local highways and interstates.Answers in Genesis evidently paid for the four signs ($5,000 each), but state workers put the signs up. Because the museum is considered some sort of tourist attraction, Answers merely had to convince state officials that the signs were necessary.How they managed to do this should be investigated further. According to The Cincinnati Post, it would have been necessary for Answers in Genesis to convince the relevant state committees that the museum has "cultural, historical, recreational, agricultural, educational or entertainment" value. How the museum was ultimately classified remains unknown, although it sounds like com ...

Atheism In America 2007-10-17 05:42:00 While reporting on the annual Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) convention in Madison, WI, the Associated Press notes that it has been a good year for atheism. I agree. Impressive sales of atheist-oriented books have pushed atheism into the American consciousness to a degree not seen during my lifetime. Not only do there appear to be increasing numbers of us, but we are slowly starting to become better organized. A national freethought radio show just launched, and membership in freethought organizations such as the FFRF are increasing. Growing numbers of nonbelievers are tiring of remaining in the closet and beginning to speak out. We seem to have that critical yet elusive force of momentum on our side. The challenge is how we can build on this year's accomplishments and sustain the current momentum while taking our growing movement to the next (and yet to be defined) level.I suppose this notion of needing to maintain our momentum as our secular movement expands is one of the m ... America

Suspending Disbelief 2007-10-16 05:42:00 I am a fan of horror films, especially those with ghosts and other supernatural forces. When I explain this to Christians, it is fairly common for me to get a reaction along the lines of, "But how can you enjoy such films if you don't believe in demons, devils, ghosts, etc.?" It is as if the believer thinks that I must watch the film criticizing every supernatural aspect. I suppose if I were to watch such films this way, it probably would limit my enjoyment of them. However, I have no trouble temporarily suspending disbelief for a good scare.Atheists are perfectly capable of suspending disbelief in instances like this. I have little difficulty turning off the rational part of my mind to heighten my experience of watching a good horror film. It is not that different from turning off the lights beforehand.Where atheists and believers part ways is that I reactivate that part of my mind after the movie is over and actually use it. In fairness to the believer, he or she does the same in mo ...

DOD Supported Military Proselytizing 2007-10-15 06:12:00 Just when I thought the ongoing saga of Christian extremist proselytizing in the U.S. military couldn't possibly get any worse, it now appears that this idiocy may have been explicitly approved by the Department of Defense (DOD) in clear violation of the Constitution. I suppose this should not come as a surprise given that we are witnessing a neo-conservative administration which has routinely the rule of law and appears to consider itself above the laws of our nation.According to Truthout,The Defense Department (DOD) allegedly provided two fundamentalist Christian organizations exclusive access to several military bases around the country. This access became official sanction for these groups to proselytize amid the ranks, despite the fact that such activities were in violation of federal law.Lest we think this is a simple error of oversight and not part of a much larger and far more deliberate strategy:According to a week-long investigation by the Military Religious Freedom Foundati ...

Call For Posts On Atheism 2007-10-14 08:14:00 I'm working on improving a couple of informational sites about atheism I developed (see Learn About Atheism and Atheism: Welcome to the Reality-Based Community) to promote understanding of atheism, and I'd like to link to some quality posts on other atheist blogs. If you are an atheist blogger and have written or are interested in writing on a handful of atheist-related topics, please consider leaving links to such posts in the comments. What I'm looking for right now are posts on any of the following topics:Definition of atheism (what it is and/or what it isn't)What it is like to live as an atheist in predominately Christian AmericaThe case for atheist activismPromoting atheismI can't guarantee that I'll use every post submitted. I have to be selective so we don't end up with too much redundant material. But even if I don't use the post on one of these pages, you can be sure that I'll read it and consider linking to it at some point.Tags: atheism, atheist ...

Good Godless Reading 2007-10-14 07:39:00 Like planets lining up perfectly for an eclipse, we are fortunate enough to witness two outstanding blog carnivals on the same day. Carnival of the Godless is up at The Skeptical Alchemist, and Humanist Symposium #9 is up at Greta Christina's Blog. Enjoy!H/T to A Load of BrightTags: Carnival of the Godless, Humanist Symposium, blog, blog carnival, blogging, atheism, humanism, secular, godless ...

Know Them By Their Deeds: Church Leader Accused Of Molesting Children 2007-10-13 06:57:00 Heyward Hickman, described as "a respected church leader" and senior warden at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Cayce, SC, has been charged with sexually molesting two young brothers (8 and 11) "more than 100 times each."The church must be traumatized. Their reaction?All Saints held a brief prayer service Thursday night. The vestry attended and determined that there are no allegations against Hickman pertaining to the church, Retzlaff said.“If the charges are true, obviously we grieve for the victims and do what a Christian community does,” he said. “Work on healing, on repentance, on forgiveness.” ... Children

New Generation Unhappy With Christianity 2007-10-12 13:33:00 According to a recent study by The Barna Group in which 16-29 year-olds were surveyed, the reputation of Christianity has declined considerably in just a decade. This finding holds for both non-Christian and Christian youth. Evidently, young people are increasingly skeptical of this ancient religion. Excellent news if you ask me.This article is worth a read, but here are some highlights:"16- to 29-year-olds exhibit a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than did previous generations when they were at the same stage of life.""...today’s young non-Christians are eight times less likely to experience positive associations toward evangelicals than were non-Christians of the Boomer generation...""...91% of the nation’s evangelicals believe that 'Americans are becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity.'""Common negative perceptions [of Christianity by non-Christians] include that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old-fashioned (78 ...

Action Alert: Stop Federal Funding Of Creationism In Louisiana 2007-10-12 07:34:00 From the Secular Coalition for America:Help us stop federal funding earmarked for the Louisiana Family Forum (LFF), a group whose mission is to "persuasively present biblical principles in centers of influence" including public schools. The Senate Appropriations Committee is now considering a bill that would send your tax dollars to the LFF.Visit our Action Alert now to see if your Senator is on the Appropriations Committee. We are targeting those members today. But even s/he isn't, you'll want to be informed about this issue in case the earmark is allowed to reach the Senate floor. Once you take action, you'll have a chance to tell your friends about this important Action Alert.The proposed earmark gives federal money to the LFF to be used for suggesting "improvements" (i.e, biblical perspectives) to science education in Louisiana. It would also pay for the LFF to develop and distribute educational materials. Even if you are not a Louisiana resident, it is important to send Congres ...

Paying For The Lie 2007-10-11 05:31:00 When confronted with someone who believes a falsehood, reactions range from fear to pity to rage. Personal responsibility is relevant, but must not be overstated. Just because some of us have broken free from religious delusion does not mean that it was easy for us or that it should be easy for someone else. If we are to make progress toward a reality-based society which values reason and evidence, we must do something about the cultural forces that shape and maintain false beliefs.When Nazi propaganda mastermind, Joseph Goebbels made the following statement, there was no way he could realize how well it would characterize the amalgam of contemporary American politics, money, "news," and Christianity so well.If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important fo ...

Sam Harris Is Wrong (And I Feel Fine) 2007-10-10 06:07:00 I really enjoyed Sam Harris' The End of Faith and am quick to recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the maladaptive nature of religion. But that does not mean I agreed with everything Harris said in the book. As but one example, I found much of his advocacy of Eastern spirituality to be absurd. My great respect for Harris does not prevent me from critically evaluating what he says or even from disagreeing with him on some important issues. You see, I am not blinded by faith; I think for myself and welcome the opportunity to evaluate information critically.Harris has been slammed throughout the atheist blogosphere for comments he made during a recent speech at the Atheist Alliance conference. In the speech, titled "The Problem with Atheism," Harris argued that we are making a mistake to use the word "atheist" and that this mistake has unfortunate consequences.So, let me make my somewhat seditious proposal explicit: We should not call ourselves “atheists.” We should not ...

Options For Uniting Nonbelievers 2007-10-09 05:44:00 This is the second post in a multi-part series designed to explore community-building among nonbelievers. In the first part, I argued that uniting the secular community is a worthy goal. This post considers some of the options for bringing nonbelievers together. My intent here is to keep the level of analysis primarily descriptive and to avoid making recommendations about the value of various options. That will be the subject of the next post.Uniting NonbelieversBefore considering the relative value of various options, it is necessary to identify the options to insure that potentially viable ideas are not prematurely rejected. Without getting hung up on whether any of the following are desirable, feasible, etc., what have I left out? What should be added to the list to make it as comprehensive as possible?United by Nonbelief. An obvious starting point involves forming communities of nonbelievers around nonbelief and promotion of nonbelief. Groups could form to offer an atheist identity ...

Dawkins Says Jewish Lobby Monopolizes U.S. Foreign Policy 2007-10-08 06:21:00 As if Richard Dawkins wasn't controversial enough, he has now been quoted as saying,When you think about how fantastically successful the Jewish lobby has been, though, in fact, they are less numerous I am told -- religious Jews anyway -- than atheists and [yet they] more or less monopolize American foreign policy as far as many people can see.Not surprisingly, this is quickly becoming a hot topic throughout the blogosphere. The outrage has began, anti-Semitism has been suggested, and I predict Dawkins will be called a Nazi by the middle of next week.Tags: Richard Dawkins, Jewish lobby, America, atheist ...