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 0 8599

Articles from Atheist Revolution

Film Review: Independent America - The Two-Lane Search For Mom & Pop 2007-11-19 05:32:00 I caught a 2006 documentary titled Independent America: The Two-Lane Search for Mom & Pop recently on Sundance and thought I'd share a brief synopsis and review here on the chance that others might find it as interesting as I did. Briefly, the film explores the impact of big-box retailers, focusing on Wal-Mart, Borders, and Starbucks, on the character of American communities, documenting a growing discontent Americans are experiencing with the impact of such corporations. Two journalists, Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes, load up their Nissan Xterra with film equipment and their dog to travel across America. Beginning in Port Townsend, WA, they traverse America with two rules in mind. First, they will attempt to support only independent motels, restaurants, and stores. Second, they will try to stay on back roads, avoiding the newer freeways.Many of the communities they visit will be familiar, even if you have never visited those portions of America. They show how many towns invite ... America  Amp  Film

God's Customer Care Center 2007-11-18 13:59:00 A reader sent me a link to God's Customer Care Center, and it was simply too good not to share. Enjoy! ...

Time For Accountability: Help Impeach Cheney 2007-11-17 11:21:00 Time and time again, we have seen high-ranking officials in the Bush administration break the law without being held accountable for their actions. Beyond partisan bickering, it is imperative that we Americans find a way to repair our reputation abroad and begin to restore confidence in our government at home. It is my sincere hope that the 2008 presidential election will help with these goals, but I also believe that we must act now to hold high-ranking criminals accountable for their behavior. Fortunately, there are many simple yet effective steps we can now take to facilitate such accountability. I urge you to join me in taking action.Tags: politics, impeach, Cheney, activism, accountability ...

Dehumanization, Torture, and Christianity 2007-11-16 05:51:00 What is dehumanization, and how does it facilitate a host of atrocities? How is it now influencing the debate over waterboarding? What is the relationship of Christianity to dehumanization, and should this ancient religion be a source of concern in our dialogue on torture? These are difficult questions for which I do not pretend to have all the answers, however, this post will attempt to find a starting point in a long overdue discussion.DehumanizationDehumanization is a psychological process in which a defined enemy is perceived as less human and thus less deserving of the moral consideration one typically applies to one's fellow human. Classic examples include African slaves in the eyes of White Americans and Jews in the eyes of Nazis. Contemporary examples include illegal immigrants in the eyes of socially conservative Republicans and "Islamofascists" in the eyes of fundamentalist Christians.In most cases, dehumanization unfolds gradually, often requiring considerable time. Hitler ...

War on Christmas 2007: Battlefront Lake Placid 2007-11-15 05:12:00 With the 2007 War on Christmas well underway, we are likely to see more and more stories like this one out of Lake Placid, NY. I present this one not so much because the outcome is positive (which it is), but to highlight how clueless many people remain about why "Merry Christmas" signs are inappropriate in public buildings.According to the Lake Placid News, the issue of separation of church and state came up at a recent school board meeting.At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Jordanna Mallach brought the issue of holiday decorations before the board and asked that it respect the Supreme Court’s ruling on the separation of church and state. Her request stemmed from an incident last year when a sign with “Merry Christmas” on it was displayed in front of the elementary school.Okay, so a concerned citizen came forward to ask the board to comply with the Supreme Court this year. That it was necessary for a private citizen to make such a request - because the school was either ...

God Wants Animal Blood 2007-11-14 06:01:00 I'm continuing on with my cover-to-cover reading of the Christian bible, and it is time for another bit of commentary. At the time of my last post on the subject, I had finished Genesis and Exodus and was midway through Leviticus. My pace has slowed, as I haven't had as much reading time as I'd like. I've finished Leviticus and Numbers and am now into Deuteronomy (although I will refrain from commenting on Deuteronomy just yet).I was really fascinated by Leviticus. It shows that the Ten Commandments about which one hears so much from contemporary Christians were merely the tip of a massive iceberg. What I mean to say is that the law supposedly given to humankind by the god of the bible is far more extensive than the commandments. Christians who want to claim a biblical source for modern American law should certainly refer to Leviticus, for it would provide far more support for their claim than the Ten Commandments. What Leviticus and Numbers make abundantly clear is that we are sup ...

Art vs. Christianity 2007-11-13 05:33:00 It is often said that great art is supposed to be provocative, eliciting strong (and not necessarily) pleasant emotions in those who experience it. Mediocre art may simply produce mildly pleasant feelings, but the great art that ends up being remembered involves confrontation. It forces the audience to confront powerful ideas, and even when it produces unpleasant emotions, the audience is actually changed for having experienced it. It has taken me most of my life to fully comprehend this simple truth, and I cannot help but think that religion was one of the factors which stunted my growth.I think I must have been born without the part of the brain that gives one artistic ability. I've always loved art (especially music, literature, photography, and abstract painting) and had great admiration for this sort of talent. But outside of some limited writing ability, I've never seen any of this ability in myself.My early Christian indoctrination was about behaving oneself, defending against ...

More Restroom Hysteria 2007-11-12 05:59:00 When Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig made headlines after being caught in a gay sex sting in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, I was bombarded with media messages about anonymous gay sex in public restrooms. There appears to be a tiny minority within the GLBT community engaging in this sort of thing across America, but it can hardly be considered a part of gay culture. Even though I realized how little I knew about gay culture, I made the mistake of buying into some of this ridiculous coverage. Fortunately, several readers left comments helping me identify my mistakes. Now we have another case of gay restroom sex in the news again, this time at a Florida shopping mall. Let the hysteria begin!When I posted my initial reaction to the unfolding Larry Craig story, several readers jumped in to correct some of my misconceptions. From them I learned that the media was greatly exaggerating the prevalence of gay restroom sex in their Craig coverage. They are allowed to do this b ...

Carnival of the Godless #79 at Aardvarchaeology 2007-11-11 10:12:00 Yep, that's right. Your regular dose of Sunday godlessness is now available at Aardvarchaeology. Check it out, but remember not to gather any sticks today or you'll be put to death (Numbers 15:32, 36).Tags: Carnival of the Godless, godless, secular, atheism, blogging, blog carnival ...

Utah Voters Reject Private School Voucher Scheme 2007-11-11 07:15:00 According to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Utah voters rejected the latest private school voucher plan with a 60-40 margin. The Parents for Choice in Education Act would have provided money for each student attending private school. As Americans United Executive Director, Rev. Barry Lynn noted, "States don't come any redder than Utah, yet voters were quick to shoot down this misguided plan. Lawmakers in other states need to sit up and take notice."From the press release:Continued Lynn, "This vote proves that vouchers aren't popular with liberals, moderates or conservatives. The American people want to support public schools, not private religious education that teaches dogma, subjects staff to religious qualifications and discriminates in admissions."I agree with Lynn completely when he says that vouchers will not solve our many educational woes. What is needed is adequate funding of the public school system. I applaud efforts by Americans United and other grou ...

More Snake-Handling Idiocy 2007-11-10 10:13:00 Head on over to Outchurched to check out Rev. Dan's great post on the good ole Kentucky snake-handling. It appears that the family of a fundamentalist woman who died after being bitten by a rattlesnake she was playing with in church has decided to sue the hospital because they ridiculed her stupidity. This one is too good to miss.Tags: snake-handling, Kentucky, church, fundamentalist ...

Secular Holiday Cards 2007-11-10 08:46:00 For those of you who want to send holiday cards this time of year but aren't interested in those which promote Christian nonsense, check out these cards from the Order of St. Nick. It isn't every day we see products which can be branded "by atheists, for atheists," but I've been assured that this is indeed the case with these cards.Tags: holiday cards, Order of St. Nick, atheist, secular, secular holiday cards ...

America DOES Torture 2007-11-09 10:38:00 Republican proclamations to the contrary aside, it is well known around the world that the United States does in fact torture. Waterboarding is torture. The method has long been recognized as such by both U.S. and international law. This post explores the history of waterboarding and considers how Christianity facilitated the practice by Americans.The history of American waterboarding is as fascinating as it is disturbing. According to William Katz, author of over 40 U.S. history books, waterboarding was one of the many methods of torture used during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 1400s. It was exported from Spain to the Americas in the early 1500s and became a preferred method for detecting "witches."Waterboarding would first be embraced by the American military in 1899 while invading the Philippines in 1899.An extensive record of its use by the United States land forces exists in the records of the invasion and occupation of the Philippines that began in 1898. As the U.S. encoun ... America

Prominent Pastor Harasses Atheist 2007-11-09 05:45:00 According to Reed Branden, author of the Unorthodox Atheism blog, he received a fairly insulting e-mail from a prominent local pastor in his community. Evidently, this pastor does not see anything wrong with harassing local teenage atheists, especially if they also happen to be gay.From Reed's post:Tonight, a local pastor sent me an email saying, among other things, "I read enough of your blog to figure out that you are a queer athiest[sic] who lives with his CHristian[sic] parents. You should listen to your parents and go to church and maybe they wouldn't be so disappointed in you."Reed noted how the author of this e-mail, the head pastor of a large church in his community, appears to think that his parents must be disappointed in him for being a gay atheist and that more church will somehow fix him. He also mentions that the e-mail goes on to say that his parents are "probably disappointed in themselves for raising a kid like [me]." The pastor also advised Reed to move away from hi ...

Godless For A Day 2007-11-08 05:52:00 The first Great American God-Out will be held on November 15, 2007, with a VIP party in New York City featuring Dr. Michael Shermer and Margaret Downey. Tickets are on sale now for those who will be in the New York area. Those of us outside the New York area can celebrate in a variety of ways, from hosting our own god-out parties in our communities, to spreading the word about freethought throughout America, to lobbying for church-state separation.For more, see this article at the Institute For Humanist Studies.Tags: Great American God-Out, atheism, godless, secular, freethought, America, religion ...