Author archive

So, I’ve been busy. I did a debate in Frisco, TX at the NTSSC. JT Eberhard and I teamed up against John Ferrer and Sloan Lee. That video is now up here: I couldn’t have asked for a better partner or been more pleased about the heavy lifting he did. It made room for my meta-level strategy and sermonizing. I also did a debate in Binghamton, NY against Jay Lucas. That video is up here (for now, only the left channel is working): Then I spoke at the Freethought Fest in Madison, WI. No video yet, but I had a great time! Last week, I served as the officiant in a wedding for some friends of mine and then I ran off and got re-elected as President of the ACA. This week, we’re going to try to do a Non-Prophets via Google+ hangout. No word yet on whether we’ll broadcast it…but there’s a lot to talk about. Last night, I was fortunate to sit in as a guest on the Cognitive Dissonance podcast. Next week, I’ll be at the Imagine No Religion 2 conference in Kamloops, British Columbia. I’m giving a talk and doing a team debate with Chris DiCarlo.

For those who aren’t aware, the Secular Coalition for America represents 11 member groups and it serves as the lobbyists for the secular community. I’ve been a vocal supporter of the SCA (and many of their member organizations) for years. A few days ago, they announced their new Executive Director and the secular community got very excited. Unfortunately, most of this excitement was rather negative. You see, the new Executive Director is Edwina Rogers, a republican lobbyist with a history that reads more like someone we’d be working against, than with. Read more

By the way, if you’ve invited me to speak/debate and don’t see your event on this list, contact me immediately! This is the rough schedule. I’ll get details added as I get them. Edit: Postponed (was March 24th) - Sam Houston University - Topic: The Superiority of Secular Morality My apologies…the event at Sam Houston University this Saturday has been postponed. As soon as I have a new date, I’ll let you know. In the meanwhile, if you’re not going to the Reason Rally, be sure to follow all of the bloggers and news stations that are covering it! April 14th - North Texas Secular Student Convention - Debate: “Does a god/God exist?” - JT Eberhard and Matt Dillahunty vs. John Ferrer and Dr. Lee April 21st - Binghamton, New York - Debate: “Does God Exist?” - Debaters: Jay Lucas vs. Matt Dillahunty - Time: 7PM to 9PM - Location: Binghamton University, Lecture Hall 1 April 28th - UW-Madison “AtheistFest” - Topic: The Superiority of Secular Morality May 18th-20th - Imagine No Religion 2 - Kamloops, British Columbia - Chris DiCarlo and Matt Dillahunty vs. July 6-8 - SSA Convention   Edit… my speaking schedule originally listed FreeOK (The Oklahoma Freethought Convention). That was a mistake. I did that event last year and won’t be speaking at this year…but you should all still go. It was a great event and looks like it may be even better this year! It’s June 23rd…go and free Oklahoma!

I loved the slavery billboard and thought the message was clear and good – but Sikivu Hutchinson argues that even when the message is understood, the imagery is unwelcome and that we have badly misunderstood the audience. On the subject of the billboard and whether or not it is racist, I’ll concede that there’s apparently enough contention that it’s the sort of image we should avoid. I look at that billboard and I’m outraged – but I’m outraged at the source that sanctioned and supported slavery, not at the individuals who are pointing this out. To me, the billboard is the equivalent of saying “Look, they sanctioned slavery, is this what you want to associate with?”…and that’s the sort of statement that one wouldn’t expect to be contentious. Perhaps Sikivu is right. Clearly there were some who were more than a little upset about the imagery. I’m not even sure I can comment on that, as my own privilege might be preventing a clear understanding. At the end of the day, though, if the billboard isn’t conveying the intended message and achieving its intended goal, then it failed and we need some other message. I don’t get to decide what someone else finds offensive, and I can’t easily put myself in someone else’s shoes…so I’ll simply agree that the billboard turned out to be a mistake, no matter what my personal impressions of it were. But when it comes to the religion in question, I won’t be giving an inch of ground away. She included this line, in her blog post: “Douglass prefaced his critique by contrasting the corrupt Christianity of a slaveholding nation and the so-called benevolent “Christianity of Christ” practiced by African slaves in liberation struggle.” Douglass was, if I’m understanding this summary correctly, wrong. There’s nothing “corrupt” about a Christianity that endorses...
Read more

  I’ve avoided doing much commenting on this and I’ll continue to, so that I don’t poison the responses I get back. That said, I generally enjoyed it and hope others will, as well. There’s always room for improvement…