I created this ribbon for Atheist Solidarity Day, An Atheist Holiday, which is June 21st. It’s a Facebook group and I really like the idea of godless heathens having a holiday for themselves, just because! (see below for more info)
Edit: Now there’s an Atheist Solidarity website!
Here’s the description from the page: Read the rest of this entry »
The other day I received the following email:
Without criticizing or judging your page in any way, I just would like to ask you, why are you so vocal about your non-beliefs?
Can you see any correlation to the obnoxious holy-rollers that most people dislike?
Perhaps its just a need for self-expression, expressed. I guess it was the “Atheist/Humanist/Skeptical/Freethinker Group” poll that got me. Why do you need help to think freely? Or company? How is it not the antithesis of a prayer group?
I just think perhaps you need balance. I found mine, or the closest I’ve ever come to it, in the martial arts. Self-defense, but a wonderful integration of the physical and the spiritual, however one defines that, and although its frequently tied to a religion, that can be left to the individual.
I ran across the movie “The Secret” and found your website from a Google search entitled “the secret is bullshit”.
Have a good one.
By the way, I am a political conservative and a Christian, although most would argue (if they were interested, which they are not) I am not a practicing one. Just a believer.
These days, when someone tries to subtly insult me, I usually just brush it off and move on. But this email reminded me that maybe I need to speak louder, slower and more clearly.
First, this blog is for atheists and skeptics, not christians and mindless believers. This blog is by a skeptical atheist for people who like to think and use their minds. If you don’t like it, no one is making you read it. Go mind your own business elsewhere. I’m not coming into your backyard and whining. I’ll thank you to give me the same courtesy. Read the rest of this entry »
I gave up God long ago. Awhile after that I gave up spirituality and all things “airy fairy”, like the idea of reincarnation, the concept of the universe having some kind of intelligence and connectedness, and the belief that “energy” was in everything and could be tapped and manipulated for healing and other magical uses. Now I use my skeptical powers and scientific wonder to evaluate new information. It gets much easier with practice.
One thing I never gave up was meditation. That’s because I was never able to do it in the first place. Long ago I tried it and hated it. I was a dismal failure at it.
But, as a science-minded skeptical atheist, I love to learn about new research. For that I use keep an eye on Science Daily and Scientific American. Recently Science Daily reported that Brief Meditative Exercise Helps Cognition (see below for some of the report)
This intrigued me, because it said brief, not expert meditation. As a middle-aged woman, I find myself increasingly struggling to think clearly when it comes to reading or processing information. It’s alarming and disturbing. So when I saw this study I thought, what the hell, that’s something I can experiment with myself. Why not just try it and see if I can then think better?
So, based on the information in the report, I looked up Samatha Meditation and also found BuddhaNet.
So I tried it, just focusing on my breathing. I said I’d do it for 1 minute, just to see if I could. I read that doing a short burst of it often is better than trying to force yourself into a long session. So here’s the amazing bit, I comfortably meditated, focusing on my breathing and letting thoughts go, for 10 minutes! I think I can do this! After I opened my eyes I felt refreshed and happy. I think I like it!
~Later: I tried another two times today. Once I meditated easily for 20 minutes which refreshed me as much as a 3 hour nap. A bit ago I wanted to wash dishes but my shoulder was burning (a recurring problem I’ve had for awhile now). Normally nothing makes it better, not painkillers, stretching, nothing. I thought, hey, what if I meditate for 10 minutes? I’ve heard that can help with chronic pain. I’ll be damned 10 minutes later I was stretching and feeling pain-free. It came back but only after an hour and not nearly as bad. I think de-stressing and relaxing is very healthy for such things. 
~
Here’s the thing. The information I found was all stuffed full of “musts” about some god or other and mystical energy, and a bunch of other nonsense. Getting through all of that to get to the instruction on the actual meditation technique is a challenge.
It would be nice to find online instruction on mindfulness meditation from a secular point of view. Does anyone have any resources?
An excerpt of the report: Read the rest of this entry »
This one has a good point, actually. But I don’t know that it’s a good idea. 
I walked away from religion when I was 12. While it took me almost another 2 decades to become and accept that I am an atheist, I have basically lived without god for a long time. In fact, I’ve been an atheist for about 9 years and in that time, I have managed to refrain from killing anyone, stealing anything, cheating on my husband, and many other bad behaviors.
I do still drink copious amounts of coffee and swear a lot, but hey, nobody’s perfect.
I’ve met christians who have said they would kill, rape, steal and basically go on a rampage without god watching their every move. I’m very glad those amoral people are afraid of burning in hell because they have no moral compass like most of us do. Those few people who think they need god to be good need to stay religious. They have a screw loose.
Apparently research is finding that being moral is part of our evolution. Recently I’ve been hearing of studies that show morality in other animals. And awhile ago I read about E. Coli and how it sometimes sacrifices itself for the good of the colony. Basically, working within the framework of your given society is beneficial in fundamental ways, and that’s been with us and many other creatures for eons.
Still, religions think they have some kind of monopoly on morality. But if you actually read their “holy” books, you’ll find rampant murder, religious wars, rape, killing of women and children, wholesale slaughter of people who believed differently, and on and on. Recently I read the first part of God Hates You, Hate Him Back by CJ Werleman which goes through every book of the bible. I was reminded how much god hates everyone, even his chosen people, and how much he kills people and has his people kill people, children and animals. It’s heart-warming mind-numbing. That’s the main gist of the old testament. (the other main theme is how the chosen people aren’t worshiping god correctly, how they are worshiping other gods – wait, isn’t there just one? even god admits there are others! – and generally being bad followers and need to be punished. It’s very loving crazy-making to read it.) Read the rest of this entry »
The other day I got an email from an atheist couple who have two kids, one 9 and one 10. They asked me for information regarding websites or literature that might deal with “god pressure” for kids at school. This would be the 4th and 5th grade. Apparently kids at their school are proselytizing and mocking these 2 kids for not believing.
The parents don’t want their kids to feel like freaks and also want to help them counter the exasperated ‘you don’t believe in god!’ remarks. Sam, the father, admits that it can be lonely to not believe in god sometimes. I understand. I feel that way too, although not as much as before I belonged to Morgantown Atheists.
Diane, the mother, says they are open to ideas and suggestions. She says they have friends who aren’t religious but still believe in god. It’s not the same thing.
Seeing as how only about 10% of the population would go so far as to actually use the dreaded A-word, it can be isolating to be godless in a sea of believers. As I’ve mentioned, I still keep my atheism to myself when around Butch’s family. Some of them know we’re atheists but it’s never been brought up or mentioned. This means that a huge part of what I spend my time thinking about and being an activist over can’t be talked about when I spend time with others. It’s kind of lonely, in a way. Read the rest of this entry »
I found a site last week that I thought I really must share with you. It’s called Rapture Ready. The page I really want to share is The Rapture Index, which apparently is “the prophetic speedometer of end-time activity”.
With Sarah Palin and other fundie believers out there trying to bring on Armageddon, I figure this site is incredibly important.
There are numbers listed for 45 things like 1. False Christs, 29. Liberalism, and 38. Wild Weather. These numbers seem completely arbitrary. But according to the site at the time of this post, the Rapture Index is 165. That’s a net change of +1 so you’d better be ready!
Now, as a godless heathen, I am pretty sure if the Rapture happens, I’ll be left down here on Earth with all the cool people. Fun times will be had by all, and life will improve dramatically.
Of course, there is one small issue for Rapture Ready Fundies, though. Their pets! I’m sure you’ve heard of Eternal Earth-Bound Pets? These kindly atheists and heathens offer to take care of your pets when they get left behind and you go on to Jesus in Heaven.
What a noble cause. All I can say to that is why didn’t I think of it!?
So, just because you’re a godless heathen doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for the end-times. We know the fundies are working to make it happen in their lifetime. If it does, we have to be ready.
First we will have a fantastic party to celebrate. Then we can go loot all the stuff out of the True Christians’ houses since they won’t need it anymore. After that I guess we just get back to our lives, happier without all those pesky religious nuts trying to dictate legislation and force their god down our throats. Good Times, Good Times!
~~
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