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: 0 0 6 9452

Articles from Atheist Revolution

"Churches Should Leave the Public Alone" 2007-07-06 14:39:00 Amy Korst has contributed a great opinion piece in The University of Washington's independent student paper, The Daily. Check it out and consider leaving a comment. Even though Seattle is far more progressive when it comes to religion than here in the bible belt, I'm betting that she'll hear from more than a few irate Christians. I want to make sure she hears from the reality-based community too.Tags: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, The Daily, reality-based, opinion, Christian ...

Is Fred Thompson Gay? 2007-07-06 08:29:00 We've already got a historic election with a viable African American candidate and a viable female candidate. Could we also have a gay conservative in the mix? Rumors are swirling that Republican hopeful Fred Thompson is gay. With Christian extremists already up in arms over Mitt Romney not being a real Christian, confirmation of Thompson's sexual orientation could be interesting.Tags: politics, 2008 election, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, gay ...

Presidental Scholars Tell Bush No Torture 2007-07-06 06:51:00 Just when you started to think that Bush couldn't fall any lower, something else comes along. It seems like this trend has been going on for far too long, doesn't it? Because the Libby story is so hot, another interesting story is receiving insufficient attention. Last week, President Bush met with a group of high school Presidential Scholars. He received more than his usual photo-op. The students gave him a letter they had written criticizing his administration's support for torture.According to DemocracyNow!,One of them handed him a handwritten letter signed by fifty of the students. It read: “As members of the Presidential Scholars class of 2007, we have been told that we represent the best and brightest of our nation. Therefore, we believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions. We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions and to apply the Geneva Con ...

Action Alert: Hold Cheney Accountable 2007-07-05 06:23:00 Now that President Bush has commuted Libby's sentence, it is time to pressure Congress to hold Cheney accountable for obstructing justice in the leak case and in the ongoing investigation of the illegal wiretapping program. This administration is not above the law and must be held accountable. Please join me in signing this petition asking Congress to force Vice President Cheney to respond to its subpoenas. If he continues to refuse, Congress has to begin impeachment proceedings against him.Tags: MoveOn.org, Cheney, Congress, politics, activism, petition, Libby, wiretapping ...

ACLU Opposes Jesus Painting in Louisiana Courthouse 2007-07-05 05:47:00 The town of Slidell, LA, is not too far from me. I can get there in an hour. Given my familiarity with the widespread Christian extremism in this area, I was not surprised by news that the ACLU is suing Slidell due to the latest local attempt to violate separation of church and state. The suit concerns a painting of Jee-zuhs in a city courthouse.The ACLU correctly points out that hanging a painting of Jee-zuhs in a courthouse lobby is a constitutional violation. That they actually have to bring suits like this in 2007 is a testament to the level of religious idiocy we have achieved in America.First, the ACLU asked the Slidell City Court to remove the painting voluntarily. Doing so would have avoided any legal action and certainly would have been the right thing to do."We did not file this lawsuit because the ACLU is anti-religion ... We did file this lawsuit because we believe this display is clearly in violation of the law," said Vincent Booth, president and acting executive director ...

Redemption for America 2007-07-04 06:08:00 This July 4, I will celebrate the idea of America and the knowledge that America once was as a great secular democracy. However, I cannot in good conscience celebrate what America has become. Long before George W. Bush, we sold our democracy to corporate interests. Fundraising has become the true test of a politician's suitability for office, making one's stand on the issues all but irrelevant. Shameless pandering to superstition and ignorance has largely replaced meaningful public discourse. We have abandoned our repeated commitment to provide international aid sufficient to meet the Millennium Development Goals, simply hoping the public will not notice or not care. And now, thanks to a foreign policy characterized by unilateralism, imperialism, Christian premilleniumism, and militarism, America has joined global terrorism as a major threat to the world's stability, security, and prosperity. And yet, I believe that redemption is possible.The Bush administration has done more than a ... America

What About the Hope Religion Offers? 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Many Christians understand at least some of the criticisms their religion faces. After all, fundamentalist rhetoric, efforts by Christian extremists to retard medical research on the basis of their religious beliefs, and religiously-motivated violence are not easy to ignore. Rather than engage in serious consideration of these very real problems, many attempt to steer the subject away from the obvious harm done by religion and put the critics on the defensive. "What about the hope religion provides to millions of people? Even if you think there are problems with religion, you cannot deny the joy, consolation, or hope it brings to so many."The essence of this claim seems to be that the good of religion outweighs the bad. I suspect that most theists use this claim strategically in order to force the atheist into a defensive posture rather than because they genuinely believe it.That people desire joy, consolation, or hope is a point which we can concede. Of course we desire it! But how is ...

One Nasty Atheist 1969-12-31 17:59:59 With Pharyngula getting a G rating and Neural Gourmet a PG, I had to see how Atheist Revolution would be rated. I can't say I'm surprised. Long live the evil atheist conspiracy!To check your blog's rating, visit Mingle 2. ...

Atheist Revolution Adds Feedblitz 1969-12-31 17:59:59 While I absolutely love RSS feeds and cannot imagine how I'd keep up with the growing atheist blogosphere without my trusty RSS aggregator, I recognize that some readers would prefer to read their favorite blogs via e-mail. Now readers wishing to stay informed about what is happening at Atheist Revolution can now do so via e-mail using FeedBlitz. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address in the FeedBlitz box on the right sidebar, and you will receive posts directly to your e-mail account. And for those who prefer RSS, the RSS feed is not going anywhere.Tags: FeedBlitz, RSS, e-mail, blog, atheist ...

Carnival of the Godless #69 1969-12-31 17:59:59 COG #69 is up at The Uncredible Hallq. Check it out. ...

Great Letter to the Editor in the Georgetown News-Graphic 1969-12-31 17:59:59 A great letter to the editor was published in the Georgetown News-Graphic this morning by Daniel Kelley. I really admire Kelley for this and have to admit that I envy those who has moved beyond my need for anonymity to share themselves in this way. Can you imagine what would happen if every atheist in America starting writing this sort of letter to their local newspapers even if only a couple times a year?Although I urge you to read Kelley's letter in its entirety, I thought I'd provide a couple of my favorite excerpts below:I don't even want to believe in a God that will send me to hell because, despite the good that I do, I simply did not see enough evidence to convince me that he (or she, or it) was actually there. You want me to believe in you? Give me a reason. I understand that flies in the face of "faith," but I fail to understand why we should take some unseen being's word on that one simple fact when we as a species require proof and explanation for nearly everything else ...

Action Alert: Ask Your Senators to Support Matthew Shepard Act 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Religious Right Watch is encouraging all rational Americans to contact their Senators and ask them to support the Matthew Shepard Act. The Act is designed to extend federal hate crimes legislation to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Not surprisingly, it faces intense opposition from Christian extremists who probably do not think "gay bashing" should be illegal in the first place.I hope you will join me in promoting the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act.Tags: activism, Christian extremism, Matthew Shepard Act, gay, hate crime, politics ...

Will America Ever See an Ex-Muslim Group? 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Daily Atheist posted an interesting story from Reuters about how some folks are launching a London-based ex-Muslim group. Similar groups already exist in Germany and Scandinavia, and it sounds like one will soon start in Holland. Obviously, these countries have more prominent Muslim populations than the United States, but the post started me thinking about whether we'd ever see anything like that here.It seems that Americans are split between being terrified of Muslims and being insufficiently critical of Islam. Some would say that such a group would never make it here because Americans would fear the wrath of Muslims too much to permit it. Others would say that such a group would not be welcome because Islam, as all religions, deserves our respect under the banner of multiculturalism.Personally, I'd like to see ex-Muslim, ex-Christian, and ex-Jewish groups pop up all over. To worry about offending the international Muslim community through such groups is absurd, especially while we ... America

Know Them By Their Deeds: Christian Assaults Gay Marriage Supporter 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Diane Steele, a 52 year-old woman participating in a Christian extremist rally in Boston to support a same-sex marriage ban, was arraigned on assault charges for attacking a gay marriage supporter at an opposing rally. It seems that Ms. Steele went out of her way to express her Christian love, crossing the street to slap her surprised victim.Boston Police spokesperson James Kenneally said Steele apparently decided to "escalate" the debate into a physical confrontation.Unfortunate and hardly the first time this sort of thing has happened. It is bad enough that Christian extremists want to take away the freedom of two consenting American adults to marry without their having to resort to violence to express themselves.H/T to Pam's House BlendTags: gay marriage, religion, Christian extremism, Christian extremists, Christianity, Christian, intolerance, homophobia, Boston, assault, marriage ...

Christianity in Four Acts 1969-12-31 17:59:59 Religions often seem rather complicated. There are the "sacred" texts, but other writings are often relevant too. Clergy study in schools devoted to religious study so they can learn far more about the intricacies their religion than most believers will ever have the opportunity to do. Some universities even have departments of theology or religious studies to provide advanced education in these complex systems of inquiry. And yet, it seems that the bulk of these examples are necessary primarily to formulate answers to the common objection that the core doctrine of the religion simply falls apart under scrutiny.How hard would it be to boil a complicated religion down to the core message, the very heart of the faith? Take Christianity for example and ask yourself whether we cannot easily strip away the apologetics and arrive at the crucial essence to which legions of believers are attracted. I submit that it might look a lot like the following:Act IThere is an all-powerful, all-knowing, ...