February 14, 2018

Scott Pruitt takes Iron Age science advice

what's really amazing, though, is that there are people who think the head of the EPA referencing the Bible is a good thing.


https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/10/scott-pruitt-is-using-the-bible-as-his-guide-for-reorganizing-epas-science-boards/

February 14, 2018

Certain that my hearts

were given generally, not specifically, in the spirit of generosity and kindness that I've come to know you folks for. But still. They made me feel special. Thanks bunches! And wish I had the funds to fill up every member's every post.

February 2, 2018

Engaging with Believers

You guys have given me great insight in the past. In a few days I'm moderating a Deep Dive discussion on "Engaging with Believers" in our Meet-up Group. Most of us, I know, now have, or have had, difficulties in answering questions, communicating with family members and co-workers, etc., about our stance as atheists or agnostics. I'd be interested in knowing, especially, what works for you and what really doesn't. How do you answer the, "where do you go to church?" question. "What happened to you?" "Why don't you believe in God"?, etc. I'm mainly interested in hearing about how confrontational you choose to be. Or not. Do you exploit opportunities to lead others to rationality or let them slide? Is it better to lay low, or do you feel an ethical responsibility to speak up? What's the best way to engage with believers without burning all the bridges. Or should we care?

I'd be grateful for any experiences or insight you're willing to share.

January 24, 2018

Tump and the Evangelicals

Maybe I'm crazy, but I believe that the election, and Trump's antics, has done more to increase the population of "nones" than anything imaginable. The extent to which Evangelicals have gone to rationalize Trump's behavior has been revealing, even causing lots of the hardcore faithful to recoil and re-think. At the very least, I think that the Franklin Grahams, et al, are losing their political influence.

January 11, 2018

Trump and Libel Laws

Sooner or later, Shep Smith is going to leave the dark side.

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/01/shep-smith-libel-laws-trump-not-king

January 8, 2018

Received a robocall yesterday

Asking if I needed to make any prayer requests. Has this happened to anybody else?

January 4, 2018

SO, what are you folks going to do?

Buy Wolff's book and "discover" that that Trump is a lying, incompetent, treasonous, narcissistic, dull-witted vulgarian, or save your money?

December 30, 2017

Whatever happened to the three wise men?

Someone asked in another thread about whatever happened to these guys. Turns out, I'd recently researched the mystery.

"Despite presumably having hailed from three different continents (Africa, Europe and Asia, respectively), the three wise men had managed a reunion for the purposes of croaking, and being buried together, in the Land of Ind, where in the kind of happy coincidence that we’ve come to expect from Constantine's mom [Queen Helena, the founding mother of the relic biz], they were luckily discovered. Helena decided to put all the wise man bones into a single chest which she jazzed up with jewels and gold and other assorted bling and then she carted the whole thing back to the church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople. There the mummies rested comfortably until AD 1164 when Holy Roman Emperor Frederick moved them one last time to Cologne, where they reside to this very day. "

From "Exit Through the Grift Shop" in my forthcoming book, Laughing at the Gods.


You probably don't even want to know about what happened to Jesus' foreskin and other proliferating penis pieces.

December 23, 2017

My Christmas wish for everyone

is that you spend at least half an hour watching episodes of "You Suck at Cooking" on YouTube. I've spent an hour and think I now have a way to unTrump my mind, at least temporarily. SOOOO funny!

&t=25s

December 15, 2017

Conservatism/Tribalism as Religion

An extremely interesting, but ultimately depressing, article about where we are now. Long read, But worth it.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/12/15/why-trump-era-wont-pass-without-serious-damage-america