Some of you may be wondering what I’m doing with all that free time now that I’m not slaving away over laboriously hand-typed blog posts. Well, here’s a partial answer. Life After Jesus (Teaser) from Deacon Duncan on Vimeo.
Category Archive: Community
Oct 11 2012
Counterfeminism
One of the things that really puzzles me is the number of women who are opposed to feminism. And not just reluctant, either. I’m talking hackles-raised, eyes-blazing hostility against the very people who are fighting to win them equal rights. It boggles my mind. But, as the saying goes, a boggled mind is of no …
Sep 18 2012
Fire brigades
Thanks to the Atheism+ debate, I’m getting to learn about something called “equity feminism” versus “gender feminism.” The difference seems to revolve around the degree of activism required. I’m new to this particular debate, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I thought I’d put my initial impressions out there so …
Sep 10 2012
Bridges and barricades
Atheists are a pretty diverse group, and maybe absolute unity lies somewhere between unrealistic and undesirable. We have enough in common, though, that it makes sense for us to form a united coalition, and that means being willing to build bridges instead of barricades. In that light, consider the following hypothetical post and comments: POST: …
Sep 08 2012
Atheism+: A legitimate concern
One thing that’s mystified me regarding the Atheism+ movement is why anyone would be against it. I’ve seen and heard about various forms of opposition and/or abuse aimed at trying to kill it off and silence those who speak up about it, but so far I haven’t seen anyone offer a thoughtful and reasonable argument …
Aug 24 2012
What you are, not what you aren’t
I have to say, I’m tremendously encouraged by the emergence of a new “Atheism+” movement as the logical outgrowth of the New Atheist movement. The problem with atheism (if you’ll pardon me phrasing it in those terms) is that it’s a definition based on what you’re not, or in other words on the things you …
Aug 19 2012
Heroes that actually deserve the name
There are relatively few people in this world today who impress me enough for me to call them heroes. But they exist. Belatedly, imperfectly, incompletely, I would like to thank them for inspiring me and encouraging me to expect more and better things. Here, in no particular order, are some of them. Please help me …
Jun 27 2012
Sexual panhandling
I haven’t actually been to any major atheist/skeptical/freethought conventions, but I’ve been to a few technical conferences, and I’ve always enjoyed the opportunity to travel to new parts of the country and do a little sightseeing on the side. One thing I’ve found, though, is that sometimes when you step outside of the hotel or …
Jun 26 2012
A modest baseline
I’ve been staying out of the current debate over sexism/feminism because frankly it’s a bigger issue than I have time to address. It’s a big deal, though, so here’s at least a couple cents worth: I’d like to propose a modest baseline for inter-gender interactions, and I’d like to aim it particularly at guys. The …
Apr 20 2012
The deacon’s backstory
Someone mentioned not knowing my backstory, so I thought I’d take a minute and share my background, and how I went from being a committed, conservative, Bible-believing Christian to being—well, whatever it is I am now. I grew up in a nominally Christian home, and generally believed in God by familial osmosis. We weren’t terribly …
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