1. Good News: Both our Foundations are now Officially Recognized as Charities

Comment #70319 by John the Atheist on September 14, 2007 at 11:41 pm

I'm truly honored to put my money where Professor Dawkins' mouth is.

Honored.

2. Interview with Richard Dawkins about 'The Enemies of Reason'

Comment #62996 by John the Atheist on August 12, 2007 at 7:55 pm

Sign me up for the DVD when it comes out...

3. Curriculum for Baptist School

Comment #62290 by John the Atheist on August 9, 2007 at 7:44 am

It's no joke, I went to Portland Christian High School, and their curriculum was nearly identical.

The only problem I have with Baptists is they don't hold them under long enough.

-unknown

4. God-Fearing People: Why are we so scared of offending Muslims?

Comment #60025 by John the Atheist on July 31, 2007 at 2:17 pm

Sam Harris once said:
"There is no possible future in which aspiring martyrs will make good neighbors."

I completely agree with Mr. Hitchens, allowing these whack jobs to infringe on our freedom of speech is dangerous and cannot be tolerated. Let's flood NY representatives and Hillary Clinton with mail and phone calls stating our case.

5. The US map of faith

Comment #56205 by John the Atheist on July 14, 2007 at 1:08 pm

I live in Oregon, and I don't want to pump my own
gas. I'm so thankful that we employ people to do that.

Oregon, while very liberal (thank FSM) as well as beautiful, also has a reputation for being the easiest city to live in if you happen to be confined to a wheelchair. An easy 90% of the businesses and public places are completely wheelchair friendly. There's no other place like it on Earth for someone in a chair, believe me, I've looked!

Now understand, it's not that the paraplegics cannot pump their own gas, but to get out of the car we have to assemble our chairs, transfer into them, roll to where the pumps are, try to reach them and the gas tank, etc. It can be done but it takes a long time, and I usually have gas on me by the time it's over.

Yes, it may seem like a pain to not be able to pump your own gas - but it does create jobs, and imagine how it feels if you CAN'T pump your own gas - Oregon's law suddenly makes life a lot more livable.

6. Bill O'Remix

Comment #35155 by John the Atheist on April 26, 2007 at 11:56 am

I had a Christian friend watch this (sight unseen) and after the interview they called me, and all they could say is "Science doesn't have the answers! Dawkins even admitted it!!!"

(huge sigh)

They only hear what they want to hear. They just disregard the rest.

:(

7. The Most Hated Family in America

Comment #29646 by John the Atheist on April 3, 2007 at 7:28 pm

The problem with Baptists is that they don't hold them under long enough.

8. The Fifth Flea!

Comment #28217 by John the Atheist on March 28, 2007 at 11:56 am

I think it's wonderful that they find Professor Dawkins to be such a threat that so many must respond to his book. Apparently Professor Dawkins has struck a nerve, as several faith-heads that I've been working on just needed to read his book to swing back to the way of reason.

Congratulations Professor!

9. Carl Sagan's Cosmos for Rednecks

Comment #25724 by John the Atheist on March 14, 2007 at 8:36 pm

"Billions and billions..."

10. The Archbishop whose words came from same hymnsheet as a Marxist

Comment #25063 by John the Atheist on March 10, 2007 at 1:21 am

Pardon the expression, but pride goeth before the fall.

11. Preaching the word via satellite: Megachurches branching out

Comment #22034 by John the Atheist on February 12, 2007 at 1:23 pm

It is ironic that Christians use the very fruits of scientific research and advancement that they adamately speak out against to perpetuate their anti-scientific wares.

Such hypocrisies should always be pointed out to them.

12. Evolution Sunday

Comment #21913 by John the Atheist on February 11, 2007 at 4:38 pm

(According to the article on NewScientist.com)

Support for "Evolution Sunday" has grown 13 per cent to 530 congregations this year, from the 467 that celebrated the inaugural event last year. Organisers see it as increasing proof that Christians are comfortable with evolution.

I wonder though, how many total congregations are there? Something tells me there are more than 530 churches in almost any given state.

13. Evolution Sunday

Comment #21899 by John the Atheist on February 11, 2007 at 2:38 pm

diamat1 said:

I can't see why atheists should go to church as an act of support.

I've been told I'll probably catch fire next time I get near a church, so count me out too. All joking aside, I will try and take this opportunity to discuss evolution with some of my Christian associates outside of church, though I seriously doubt their particular pastors will acknowledge Darwin in their sermons. I know very few moderates, but my extended family is made up of four fundamentalist pastors who honestly believe (and preach) "Evolutionary biology"=="Satan worship".

We've already been through the typical ignorant creationist challenges to evolution, so I'm hoping their defenses are wearing down. For those of you who would like a good evolution vs. ID resource, try Mark Vuletic's Defender's Guide to Science and Creation. Mr. Vuletic has done extensive research in this area, and has many references listed (including Prof. Dawkins) debunking virtually all the canned creationist challenges to evolution. For me it's been a valuable resource, I hope you may find it such as well.

From his website (about the author)

Mark I. Vuletic received an MA in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1997, where he has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics, and is in the final administrative phase of his program. He is a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps, and has deployed twice to Al Anbar province, Iraq, as a field MP, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II and III.

14. The God Delusion

Comment #21869 by John the Atheist on February 11, 2007 at 9:43 am

'Sex should only be used to propagate, I would have though atheists would approve on some level of that concept'.

I find that patently absurd. The following phrase is one I've seen somewhere (i.e. it's not mine) but it sums up well my (and probably others') position on this point:

Abstinence makes the Church grow fondlers.

Having said that, allow me to echo corylus who aptly said:

"I believe in freedom of speech, and I believe in your right to talk about your beliefs. It is only through discussion and thought that we can understand each other.

(edited for clarification)

15. Evolution Sunday

Comment #21858 by John the Atheist on February 11, 2007 at 8:52 am

Hear, hear!

"...we'll do far more to promote reason in this country if we withdraw from all participation in the church and let religion wither away from disuse, than we will by encouraging these modern day witch-doctors to spread their delusions."

I couldn't agree more.

edited for HTML content

16. Panel discussion on atheism where no atheists are included

Comment #21296 by John the Atheist on February 8, 2007 at 3:00 pm

Sure enough, the program schedule has been changed according to CNN's website - looks like we got shafted for now.

17. Panel discussion on atheism where no atheists are included

Comment #21283 by John the Atheist on February 8, 2007 at 1:18 pm

[Professor Hunter said] "Atheism is a choice, unlike race and ethnicity. You cannot be stopped from holding a job, living in a neighborhood, going to certain clubs, etc. because no one would know you are an atheist unless YOU made an issue of it. As far as living in a Judeo-Christian society, which this
is (and it is far more accepting than living in a Muslim society), you say you are subjected to things like the Pledge of Allegiance, our money, Christmas, etc. But none of that infringes on your ability to be an atheist. You can choose not say the "under God" part, you can refuse to pray when everyone else is praying. You can simply not do it.
Regarding your minority status, how many atheist had to drink from an Atheist Only water fountain, or have been hung from a tree for their beliefs? How many have been dragged behind a truck until his limbs fell off or shot at 50 times by police, simply because of his beliefs? How many had to sit at the back of the bus or have been denied access to a school? Please don't mix apples and oranges. Yours is not a civil rights issue."[/quote]

Tell that to Giordano Bruno who was burned at the stake for suggesting that people may live on other worlds. Or to Galileo who was imprisoned for suggesting the Earth orbits the Sun. How many scientists were burned at the stake or otherwise tortured for questioning irrational beliefs? How about the many victims of the inquisition? Not a civil rights issue? Think again! While we may not get literally burned at the stake anymore (thanks in part to the USA being a SECULAR nation), Christians still manage to find other ways to burn heretics.

18. Panel discussion on atheism where no atheists are included

Comment #21166 by John the Atheist on February 7, 2007 at 8:50 pm

I'm so glad Professor Dawkins is going to be representing us. I cannot think of a better, more intelligent person to speak for us infidels.

Thank you, Sir for rising to this occasion, you are truly appreciated!

19. Panel discussion on atheism where no atheists are included

Comment #21081 by John the Atheist on February 7, 2007 at 2:17 pm

"I didn't choose to be black" is an irrelevant argument. I didn't choose to be atheist either, I was born atheist like every other human being on this planet. They are the ones that choose to believe in imaginary beings, not us.

20. Benny Hinn examined

Comment #19980 by John the Atheist on January 31, 2007 at 1:28 am

I agree, the people in wheelchairs certainly didn't arrive in them. It was very obvious that no one was going to let the real disabled people anywhere close to Benny Hinn. This was another thing that, at least to me, spoke volumes. Before I was injured, I would have tried as an able-bodied person to at least try and help the people who really needed healing up to the "healer". Otherwise, what's the point?

I was shocked that all the "believers" not only just let us sit there, but they crowded the isles so completely we couldn't move anywhere except out of the auditorium. Frustrated by this, I asked one Christian who rudely cut in front of me if he thought the same problem happened when Christ healed people, but he didn't respond.

I've since very politely told my cousin that unless they capture someone regenerating a severed limb on video, and she can produce the video so that I and others can examine it, she shouldn't bother inviting me to any more "faith healings".

I explained also that the trauma that was probably created in so many poor souls that DID expect (or at least hoped) to be healed and left gravely disappointed was a greater evil than all the good this man could do in a lifetime with his placebo healings. As for myself, it wasn't until I completely abandoned hope of a cure that I started getting on with my own life and found true happiness in acceptance. I've now been paralyzed for nearly 20 years. Even with stem cell therapy I'll never get anywhere close to what I once had been, but I'm ok with that since I prefer who I am.

Science might cure spinal cord injuries in the future with stem cell research (for newly injured people), and I hope they do for future patients, but oddly enough most mainstream Christians seem to vehemently oppose it. Go figure, eh?

21. Benny Hinn examined

Comment #19847 by John the Atheist on January 30, 2007 at 9:14 am

I have a personal experience I'd like to share about going to see this guy do his tricks. I have a deeply religious cousin who, though she didn't know I was an atheist at the time, begged me to join her at one of his "faith healings" in Portland, OR in 1996 or so. I had been paralyzed from a car accident since 1988, so she (with the best intentions) begged me to go with her because she honestly believed I would get healed if I went.

Naturally, I had no such expectation, but part of me wanted to prove to her that this guy must be a scam, so I agreed to join her on the condition that if I was not healed that she would take another look at her own beliefs.

We showed up, and there were people in need of healing arriving at the stadium in droves. LOTS of other people in wheelchairs like myself arrived and were seated (or parked) in the back area of the auditorium. We arrived an hour early to get the best seats but were told that close to the rear of the stadium is where the people in wheelchairs were supposed to be parked.

It was after I was sitting there for a while that I noticed there were two types of people in wheelchairs that were showing up to this thing. Those of us who were clearly disabled had our own chairs; most of them were pretty fancy as wheelchair technology really improved in the 1980's. Then there were several others that arrived with rented chairs from two local medical companies. These chairs were old fashioned, chrome, "Everest & Jennings", which are very heavy and cumbersome and not anything someone who is truly disabled (permanently or long term) would own or want to push around (they are much heavier than the lightweight models available). I should have rented one of those that day too.

At the end, when everyone was supposed to line up to get prayed for, it became very obvious that people who came in the rented chairs were taken (escorted) straight to Benny Hinn and many of them were "healed" (you can see one such wheelchair in this video). Those of us who showed up with our own wheelchairs were gracefully ignored, left in the back to watch the healings from a distance, and we ALL left in our own wheelchairs, not even able to get close enough for a chance to go up and be "touched" by him.

To me this spoke volumes, and I tried to explain it to my poor cousin who still believes Benny Hinn is a prophet (profit?) of the Almighty. Although she says that she did re-evaluate her faith, she's still a believer and will probably never see the truth.

I would love to hear if others have a similar story in a different city or country; no doubt there are many others out there with similar stories.

22. 'Hobbit' human 'is a new species'

Comment #19843 by John the Atheist on January 30, 2007 at 8:41 am

What an incredible find! I'm sure Prof. Dawkins and other science writers like Carl Zimmer are all over this one. I cannot wait to see what further research is gleaned from this!

We live in such exciting times! I can scarcely contain my excitement whenever science demonstrates it's uncanny ability to find the raw data and bring us closer to the truth.