Archive for May, 2012

Today I’ve had another 9/11 Truther email me wanting a “debate,” and you know, I’m all out of love. As a skeptic and freethinker, I cherish good argument. I think we all do. But the question always arises regarding when argument is pointless. While I categorically reject the defeatist attitude some people give us, that Christians’ minds are carved in stone and any debate with them is a waste of time (all of us who came from Christianity to atheism, like myself and Matt and many of you, disprove that), it is the case that there are some people it’s pointless to try to reach rationally. And while everyone’s different, I can say one thing they all have in common is the use of their favorite, fallback phrase, which many of them wield as if it were some kind of secret smart-weapon. So this is a general post, both for the benefit of skeptics and believers, as to why the dumbest and most futile thing you can say in any argument you conduct is to tell your opponent they have a “closed mind.” And while it may seem somewhat ironic that I am saying this while, in the same breath, talking about people you can’t reach with a rational argument, you will see what I mean below, under point 3. Read more

In the recent public hysteria about marriage equality following Obama’s off-the-cuff endorsement, we’ve heard repeated complaints from the religious side of the fence that marriage is an institution ordained by their God, to be run a certain way (i.e. 1 man + 1 woman), and that the evil permissive secularists are ruining it by trying to redefine it so that just anyone can do it. Now, the Christian Right is, of course, claiming Christian ownership of marriage as a concept, though I’m sure they’d magnanimously agree that of course non-Christians can do it too, as long as it all stays properly traditional and heterosexual. It’s at times like these that it’s interesting to note how the supposed idyll of “traditional” marriage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and that in religious communities, circumstances can really go pear-shaped when you’re dealing with controlling, narcissistic men who’ve bought into the patriarchalism idea with open arms. Read more

I can’t imagine anyone of any taste or refinement choosing Branson, Missouri as their vacation hotspot. But it’s about to get even more tasteful, with the planned construction of a 20-story cross on a mountain nearby. Obviously, it would have been a complete waste of effort to put the millions it will cost to build this thing into improving schools or feeding the homeless. Okay, so it’s a free country and all that, but good grief. In this scintillating video, the partially embalmed Pastor Dean Brown explains his vision, often helpfully gesturing to the green screen behind him when he worries his viewers might need a little help understanding what he’s talking about. The country, it would seem, is being overrun by pain-in-the-ass malcontents like us, who insist that that darn church/state separation thing mentioned in the Constitution actually be respected, and that the Pledge of Allegiance, if we really have to have one, should revert to its original language rather than the revised version that privileges theists and makes everyone else second-class Americans. Read more

I met the fine crew from Mid-Ohio Atheists at Reason Rally, where they proudly informed me of their upcoming billboard campaign. And it turns out they have reason to be proud. This is how it’s done. Clean design. A simple, easily processed message. No clutter. Just the facts, ma’am. Read more