No Feminists at Beliefnet

Beliefnet, in its own words:

Beliefnet, a property of BN Media, LLC, is the most comprehensive online resource for inspiration and spirituality. With a mission to help people find and walk a spiritual path that instills comfort, hope, strength and happiness for people who are exploring their own faith or are curious about others, Beliefnet is the leading source of information spiritual information presented without a defined editorial point-of-view. Whether you’re looking for spirituality, health and wellness, entertainment or more, Beliefnet has something for everyone. [emphasis theirs]

Kristine Holmgren, in her own words:

As a pastor — especially as a woman pastor — the Rev. Kristine Holmgren is used to being in the public eye.

In addition to speaking from the pulpit, Holmgren has reached people across the country through the informally syndicated column she wrote for the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune and as a commentator for National Public Radio.

That exposure has perhaps helped prepare her for her newest venture as a playwright.

Sounds like a match made in that heaven they share a belief in, right?  Well, not according to the news from Jim Romanesko. Continue reading “No Feminists at Beliefnet”

No Feminists at Beliefnet
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Nothing Changes When You Add Sex

This post is an answer to Libby Anne and Dan’s question, “What would you tell teenagers about sex?” This is part of their Forward Thinking project. Answers are being collected in the comments on Libby Anne’s post and on Dan’s blog a week from next Monday.

While the title of this post is the short form of my answer, I should note that it’s more aspirational than descriptive currently. As a society, we (speaking from a U.S. perspective here) tend to treat sex as this thing that is completely outside normal life. The fact that most of us have sex with the rest of the world on the other side of a door means we act like sex happens in another world with rules of its own.

That’s a problem because we act as though all the things we knew on the other side of that door are useless when it comes to sex. They aren’t, of course. Sex is a number of things: (frequently) a social interaction, bodily mechanics, pleasure, risk. We already deal with all of those in the rest of our lives, and we already know plenty about how to deal with them.

Continue reading “Nothing Changes When You Add Sex”

Nothing Changes When You Add Sex

Real World Atheism: Godless Activism and Cultural Relevancy

Hey, Chicago friends! You busy March 8?

Join the DePaul Alliance for Free Thought, in association with the Secular Student Alliance, Center for Inquiry, African Americans for Humanism, and the Women’s Center at DePaul as we host a panel of some of the best minds in the secular movement to talk about the state of atheism, its current predicaments regarding discrimination, and attempt to chart a path towards greater involvement in the world at large.

This event will be held in room 103 of DePaul’s Arts and Letters Hall, located at 2315 N Kenmore, Chicago, Illinois. The building is fully handicapable accessible, and accommodation can be provided upon request.

This event is free and open to the public.

Our panelists are:

Sikivu Hutchinson

Anthony Pinn

Ashley F. Miller

  • Writer and activist, blogger at FreethoughtBlogs
  • Currently getting PhD in Mass Communications, focusing on Women’s Studies and Reality TV

More Info: https://www.secularstudents.org/speakers/AshleyMiller

Stephanie Zvan

  • Associate President of Minnesota Atheists (incoming)
  • Blogger at FreethoughtBlogs

Ian Cromwell

  • Blogger at FreethoughtBlogs

You may recognize a few of those names. Any you don’t recognize, you’ll probably want to.

When Andrew approached me about moderating this panel, I had one reservation. I said, “I’m getting tired of repeatedly talking about why we need to do this sort of thing. I’d much rather we talked about how.” He said that was exactly what he was hoping for.

The fun part, for me, is that I’ll learn something. I don’t know much about how we make atheist activism relevant to the real world, even after listening to and reading the other panelists talk about the need. But that’s the joy of moderating something like this. I get to ask questions.

If you’re as interested as I am in the answers, I hope you can make it out.

Real World Atheism: Godless Activism and Cultural Relevancy

"That Must Be Awful!"

What do people say about migraine disease or other headache disorders that annoys or angers you?

Somebody Heal Me runs a blog carnival on migraines and other headache disorders. This was their prompt for the current carnival. As someone who has incredibly frequent migraines, I have an answer to this question, of course. In fact, I had a hard time choosing.

The first one that bugs me is “How is your head doing today?” Look, I understand that people want to be nice. I get that I can be a private person, and it can be hard to add a personal touch to a conversation because of that. I get that this is something people know about me that is unusual and, thus, memorable. I appreciate all that.

However, I don’t really want to discuss the details of my health with people just because they want to make conversation. First off, the reason you don’t know much about me is because I am a private person. You wouldn’t know anything at all about my migraines if they weren’t disabling enough to affect my activities.

Secondly, my migraines already play a large enough role in my life, thank you very much. I don’t want to be the person who has migraines instead of kids. I don’t want to spend more time talking about them, except with those few people who are in a position to make my life easier or who are owed some explanation of why I’m making their lives harder. Every other conversation about my migraines is simply taking up more time with a disorder that affects days out of each week.

“Several days a week? That must be awful! When I get a migraine….” That’s the real pet peeve. It’s a little hard to explain why, but I’ll try. Continue reading “"That Must Be Awful!"”

"That Must Be Awful!"

The (Very) Simple Virtues

Alain de Botton has found another piece of religion he thinks atheists should adopt. He thinks we should claim the idea of virtues for ourselves–with changes, of course. In fact, he’s listed ten of them.

They are…simple. I mean that in a couple of ways. They are not only obvious choices for virtues (you won’t find any surprises on that page), but they are also presented simply. An example:

1. Resilience. Keeping going even when things are looking dark; accepting that reversals are normal; remembering that human nature is, in the end, tough. Not frightening others with your fears.

Hurrah for resilience! Hurrah for people who keep going in the face of continued setbacks! Hurrah for the people who stick anything out, no matter how ugly! Hurrah for the people who exhaust their resources! Hurrah for the people who suffer fear in silence!

Or, you know, not.
Continue reading “The (Very) Simple Virtues”

The (Very) Simple Virtues

I Don't Get Email

Well, not chain emails anyway. If I were a believer, I’d think this made me beloved of the gods.

My mother, on the other hand, gets emails.

First, let’s start with where I’m coming from. Back in junior high, I came across a bumper sticker I kept for decades: “In God we trust. All others pay cash.” That’s my kind of sense of humor.

Lately there’s been way too much attention to whether and where those first four words appear. A couple years back, there was a big bruhaha about the new dollar coins. Email chains were going around posing a boycott because those words didn’t appear on the coins. Of course, the idiots proposing said boycott didn’t seem to realize that the rim of the coins, where the words did actually appear, were actually a part of the coins!

Last night, prior to the Super Bowl, another idiotic chain proposing a boycott was going around. Rich and Brenda were sitting there with me, in preparation for watching a commercial blitz – who cared about the game? – and got the chain a couple times. Was this another government-related item? Oh no, this time it was about… wait for it… Pepsi!

If you read the rest of that, you’ll see where I get some of my snark.

I Don't Get Email

Of Book Burnings and Fundamentalism

Damion Reinhardt has decided that he would, sort of, accept my terms for having a discussion of our differences (although he talks about “ceasefire terms”). He has some conditions of his own, however. I thought they were worth dealing with at a detailed level, so you’ll find both his post and my reactions below.  Continue reading “Of Book Burnings and Fundamentalism”

Of Book Burnings and Fundamentalism

Last Day for Applications!

This is your friendly (sometimes), neighborhood (if you live in the right place) blog host reminding you that today is the last day for FtB community members who are not male to send me their applications for a travel grant to the Women in Secularism 2 conference this May. Details tucked below the fold for those who may have missed them the first time. Continue reading “Last Day for Applications!”

Last Day for Applications!

The Evolution of Creationism

PZ’s talks on biology are okay and stuff. I mean, they’re educational and all, but…don’t tell PZ, but bio just doesn’t sing to me the way it does to a lot of people.

I just like this talk better. I saw it at the Midwest Science of Origins conference in Morris this past March. He’s been giving it locally but not at conferences, to the best of my knowledge. Luckily, he’s been captured on video.

It’s fascinating to watch how what were once fairly reasonable ideas, given the state of knowledge at the time, became sacred and entrenched. It’s appalling to see how contorted thinking became so that people could hold on to those ideas. At its root, creationism is like any other pseudoscience that grew out of ignorant beliefs too important to be shed, but it’s rare to get to see a history this complete.

The Evolution of Creationism

Godless Money

Once upon a time, the United States was a land in which money was allowed to do its job, and that job did not include proselytizing. Minnesota Atheists have a small collection of this money, and they’ll be auctioning it off to raise funds to keep Atheists Talk radio on the air.

Back of a $20 bill, without the phrase "In God We Trust".

The first auction is up. It’s a series 1950 B $20 bill. If you’d like some god-free money, head on over.

Godless Money