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 0 114 8598

Articles from Atheist Revolution

Learn More About Atheism Sunday Morning on CBS 2007-08-18 06:22:00 CBS Sunday Morning tomorrow will feature Ellen Johnson, Christopher Hitchens, and Julia Sweeney. The show airs Sunday at 9am ET. For more information, see here. Lets hope CBS handles the topic a little better than CNN did.H/T to The Friendly AtheistTags: Ellen Johnson, Christopher Hitchens, Julia Sweeney, atheism, CBS Sunday Morning, television ...

Operation Foxhole Atheists 2007-08-17 12:58:00 The North Alabama Freethought Association and Blair Scott, the Alabama State Director for American Atheists, want you to know about Operation Foxhole Atheists.Atheist soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines need our support in Iraq! Regardless of your views of the war, we all recognize that politicians put us in Iraq, not the soldiers. As long as politicians are keeping our men and women in uniform there, they need our moral support.For more information please go to:http://www.alabamaatheist.org/operationfoxholeatheists.htmTags: North Alabama Freethought Association, Alabama, American Atheists, Operation Foxhole Atheists, atheist, atheism, military ...

Atheism: The Important Questions 2007-08-17 06:56:00 I long for a post-religious world where congregations of believers cling to private superstitions while science, education, and government are free from the toxic influence of religion. The atheist movement has done a remarkable job of demonstrating that theistic belief is both irrational and detrimental. Efforts to promote atheism are growing, and fundamentalist Christians are worried. Now, some atheists are beginning to explore potential next steps. In this post, I try to identify some of the important questions for us to consider as we work to progress beyond religion.I do not intend what follows to be an exhaustive list. I am trying to highlight what I think are the most critical of many possible questions we must address.What are the benefits individual believers derive (or think they derive) from theistic belief? We need to catalog the actual or imagined benefits to believers from belief itself, stripping away potential benefits derived more from the institution of religion. Secu ...

Know Them By Their Deeds: Pastor Prays For Harm to Befall AU Staff 2007-08-16 14:21:00 Americans United for Separation of Church and State recently asked the IRS to investigate unlawful politicking by the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, CA. Now the pastor of this church has responded, only it isn't what you'd expect. Rather than denying the allegations, this pastor decided to respond by calling on his congregation to pray for assorted bad things to happen to AU staff.AU's complaint indicated that the church's pastor had used church resources to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. That is, AU alleged that the church had violated the federal law prohibiting non-profit religious groups with tax-exempt status from endorsing candidates by promoting Huckabee as "god's candidate."“Federal tax law is clear,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “Churches and other non-profits may not endorse candidates, if they want to keep their tax exemption. I am confident that the vast majority of Americans do not want ...

Atheist Symbols: The Message Matters More 2007-08-16 06:48:00 Many symbols have been proposed to represent atheism and all have generated controversy within the secular community. The most recent example is the scarlet A championed by Richard Dawkins and adopted by many prominent atheist bloggers. It is natural to want such a symbol, but I'm not sure it is worth the attention many of us have been devoting to it. Instead, we must remember that the message matters far more than the symbol.When I was in graduate school, students rotated through a placement at the university's counseling center. Our work with students was supervised by counseling center staff. One of the staff members was openly gay, and I remember that he had a rainbow sign on his office door that said something like "GLBT friendly zone." Even if I've remembered some of the words incorrectly, this was definitely the message.Not only was this staff counselor gay, but working with GLBT students was his specialty. He carried a large load of such students, ran a number of relevant su ...

Mitt Romney "Not Running as Mormon?" 2007-08-15 06:44:00 What do you make of Mitt Romney's recent statement during an interview on conservative radio that he is "not running as a Mormon?" Unless I'm missing something fairly obvious here, Romney is running as a Mormon. He has chosen this faith freely and could reject it for a reality-based belief system if he wanted to do so. It seems absurd that he would not realize that his religion, which many Americans associate with polygamy, would not be a topic of interest.I noted how Romney said he was proud of his faith one minute and then indicated he did not want to talk about it the next. As Pam at Pam's House Blend explained, "Mitt's trying to navigate attracting the bible beaters by citing his faith without drawing too much attention to Mormonism specifically..." It does appear that he's trying to have it both ways, and it is hard to imagine that this will prove successful.It seems to me that when a candidate uses his or her religious beliefs to claim morality, as a rationale for opposing r ...

The Great American God-Out 2007-08-13 13:42:00 Smoking may be unhealthy, but it pales in comparison to the ill effects of theistic belief. Drawing on the Great American Smokeout for inspiration, Dr. Lydia Hartunian and her students are organizing a new holiday - The Great American God-Out - on November 15, 2007. Now she is calling on the secular community to make this "a huge success and an event the public and the media can not ignore."Hartunian says the God-Out will have two goals:It is a day to teach others how to live as if there is no god--even if just for one day. It is also a day to lobby for genuine separation of church and states and separation of church and science.She encourages all freethinkers to spread the word and consider organizing local events. The website also has some good ideas for how to observe the day:Plan ahead to to make time for friendly conversation with others about God and religion.Be cashless for just one day and do not exchange actual US currency stamped with "In God We Trust." Ask yourself whethe ...

Critical Thinking at the University: The Failure of BYU 2007-08-13 05:59:00 University-level education is supposed to be about more than just getting a job after graduation; it is supposed to be an opportunity to learn how to think effectively. Regardless of the academic discipline, students learn the history of their chosen field, recent developments in the area, and current controversies. And yet, most fields of study also extol the virtues of critical thinking. This is what makes university education such a potent friend to the reality-based community. Sadly, there are exceptions, as some universities have abandoned this noble goal in pursuit of ancient superstition.I recall my college years with fondness as a time of intense self-reflection, wide ranging interpersonal experience, identity development, and discovery. In every subject, the professors who made an impression were those who challenged my preconceptions and encouraged critical thinking. Even in religion courses (yes, I took two courses in religion), nothing was accepted at face value. Students w ...

Humanist Symposium #6 2007-08-12 13:25:00 The Humanist Symposium blog carnival is now up at A Load of Bright. A perfect way to spend a Sunday.Learn more about The Humanist SymposiumSubmit a blog post to a future edition of The Humanist SymposiumTags: blog carnival, humanist, humanism, secular ...

Know Them By Their Deeds: Pastor Drags Girl Behind Van 2007-08-12 07:58:00 Another tale of that Christian love you've heard so much about. This one comes out of San Antonio, TX, where a pastor and an employee of the Love Demonstrated Ministries' boot camp were arrested for aggravated assault. This "man of god," Charles E. Flowers, is accused of dragging a girl behind a van after she fell behind during a run.Surely, such a terrible accusation must be overblown by the media (unless Flowers is not a real Christian)! Somebody better call Bill O'Reilly. Or maybe not. According to ReligionNewsBlog,Authorities said both Flowers and Bassitt restrained the girl June 12, tying her to the back of a van with a piece of rope before dragging her on her stomach at the Love Demonstrated Ministries’ boot camp in Banquete, about 10 miles west of Corpus Christi.The alleged victim in this terrible incident, age 15, says that this is not the first time she was assaulted at the camp. If you are as new to the whole idea of Christian boot camps as I am, it might be helpful to h ...

Pray For The Miners 2007-08-11 15:23:00 The Utah mine collapse is all over the news. Several broadcasts show local residents displaying large banners that say something like "pray for the miners." When I see such signs, a question never fails to pop into my mind: Why? Of course, we're all hoping that they'll find the miners unharmed, but why would anyone call for prayer when there is clear evidence that intercessory prayer is ineffective?Of course, many believers find evidence completely irrelevant. They believe because their parents believed, and they've never really questioned it. They believe because they are rewarded by their communities for doing so. Most of all, they believe based on faith, precluding the use of reason or evidence.If I had a loved one who had either died or was trapped underground in the Utah mine collapse, I would not want to see any of these signs. I'd rather see my neighbors doing anything that would have a reasonable probability of actually helping. And when it became clear that there was nothi ...

Coming Out As An Atheist 2007-08-11 15:00:00 If you are considering being more open about your atheism, you might enjoy a unique new blog, Coming Out Godless, devoted to atheists sharing stories about "coming out." There are many thought-provoking posts, and one of the many things I take from them is the importance of supporting those who are navigating this difficult process.Check out Coming Out Godless, and share your story if you want.Tags: atheism, blog, godless, coming out ...

PBS To Air Dover ID Trial 2007-08-11 10:36:00 Thanks to Brother Richard at Life Without Faith for this announcement:PBS is planning to air a 2-hour special called Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial on November 13, 2007 at 8 pm ET. The special concerns the infamous 2004 trial in Dover, PA, during which Judge John E. Jones III ruled that teaching ID as science was unconstitutional (because ID is not science).It will be nice for this important case to receive more attention.Tags: entertainment, science, intelligent design, television, Dover, law, legal, trial, PBS ...

The OUT Campaign 2007-08-10 08:00:00 Regular readers may be surprised to learn that I do support the idea behind the OUT Campaign given my recent reaction to what I initially perceived as little more than a marketing strategy. Although my negative reaction focused on a statement made by PZ Myers at Pharyngula, I clearly expressed distaste for Dawkins' OUT Campaign. So how can I now say that I generally support the campaign? Dawkins has since clarified what the campaign is all about, and I now believe that it is something I can support.The negative comments I previously made about the OUT Campaign were based on the contents of the campaign website at that time and comments made by PZ Myers. I perceived the campaign as a way for Dawkins to line his pockets by encouraging atheists to buy t-shirts with his scarlet letter. However, I was careful to state, "In truth, my real objection has little to do with Dawkins trying to make a buck off of this and more to do with a statement by a certain prominent blogger that those who re ...

Future of Christianity Depends on Moderate Christians 2007-08-09 05:34:00 The future of Christianity in America depends far more on those Christians who would describe themselves as "moderate," "progressive," or "liberal" than on the fundamentalists who have recently championed the merging of religion and government. So far, many moderates have been content to ignore the fundamentalists. However, this must change if they want a form of Christianity they will recognize to endure.As Austin Cline suggests, an important task for moderate Christians involves shifting their energy from attacks on the secular community to the fundamentalists who give their religion such a bad name.Christians and religious believers should spend more time dealing with believers they think are giving them a bad name than with generalizations from atheists. Which is ultimately causing more harm: generalizations made by a few atheist bloggers, or the incessant privileging of religion, religious beliefs, and religious believers?It is understandable that moderate Christians resent being ...