The Atheist Mama

Very much by accident, I came across a rare television series about atheism, Jonathan Miller’s A Rough History of Disbelief, produced for BBC 4 in England. It’s a three-part program in which Miller explores the origins, development, and current implications of atheism through conversations with scientists, historians, writers, and philosophers. Miller himself is articulate and insightful, and his personal observations bind the series together in a very compelling way.

One minor criticism I have is the captioning; not only is it distracting, but often inaccurate. If you can get past that, however, it is an hour well-spent.

Part 2 can be found here, but part 3 seems to have disappeared since I first found it a month ago. This really is a shame; perhaps someone out there can make sure it finds its way back.

Enjoy!

Allen

It’s a bitter-sweet morning for this central Ohioan voter.

I am ashamed to admit that I voted Straight Democrat. Why is this embarrassing to me? Well as most of you know, I’m not a Democrat - I’m a Libertarian. I was quite happy with my Libertarian choice for governer - Bill Pierce. But I didn’t feel comfortable with the overwhelming possibility that the Republicans would remain in control. So I voted democrat, all the way across the board. I feel that I wasn’t true to my beliefs, but I’m satisfied with the outcome.

I am happy to say that I voted “NO” on all Ohio issues, but disappointed in the fact that several of them passed. “Smoke Free Ohio” is one of those issues. Of course, I also voted no on “Smoke Less Ohio” as well. I just don’t support a smoking ban. Period. But apparently most Ohioans do support the idea of the government making yet another law. So it goes.

I was also disappointed in the fact that Ohioans voted to “Raise the Wage.” I’m not a supportive of a minimum wage hike. I don’t think that it can do anything but harm the economy. Small businesses have a hard enough time making ends meet. Now they’ll have to pay employees more, and as a result some of them may end up unemployed. A better idea would be to fix the heath insurance issues! Bring the price down so that people can afford it and employer can afford to help their employees pay for it. Anyway, this is a whole different post.

The only issue that I was unsure of how to vote for was Ohio’s Learn and Earn. Learn and Earn? Ha…
Let’s just call it what it is - Gambling in Ohio. Anyway, I voted no, but I tossed that one around a bit. I don’t like the idea of telling people whether they can gamble or not. But that’s not what this is about. I guess I would just rather they not do it here. There are plenty of places in this country that allow gambling. I have no problem with that. I enjoy it myself occasionally. But is it really necessary here?

I am cautiously optimistic. I really hope that “the change” all of our democratic candidates were talking up is something that we will see. They need to show the American people that they made the right choices!!

Why didn’t Jesus write His own life story?

I mean, if we are to believe He is God, all-powerful and such, why couldn’t He be bothered to produce and preserve a clear, first-hand narrative and explanation about His life and message to humanity? Why, in His infinite wisdom, did He leave the details of the most significant event in the history of the world in the hands of fallible humans?

–Allen

The picture of Ted Haggard in the post below was just asking for it!!

But be warned, this picture isn’t very safe for work.

You know, this is just so big that I don’t even know what to say that hasn’t been said already. But I’ve come across some really great pieces written by others, so I’ll start there.

This one is from Secular Rebellion on Myspace. He listed this under “Parties and Nightlife” LMAO! I loved the title.

Evangelism is SUPER, thanks for asking!

It seems that no matter how many of these mega-church pastors and evangelists make grave and outright lies to their congregations… the sheep that are under their control just lie down and take it as some sort of a ..test of faith.. or ..the influence of Satan… Jim Bakker, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Robert Tilton and now Rev. Haggard are all cheats, liars, deviants and philanderers- yet somehow through their ..higher calling.. they are forgiven by the sheep which they lead.

This came from Gary Lenaire, also on Myspace. He posted this as a bulletin.

Please notice […] that Ted Haggard has been lying and then changing his story. He lied and said he DID NOT KNOW the gay escort Mike Jones. Once Haggard found out that Jones could prove his affiliation with Haggard, Haggard changed his story. Now, being forced to tell the truth, Haggard is saying that he does know Jones, paid him for a “massageâ€? and bought meth from him. Haggard is now saying that he didn’t have “sexâ€? with Jones and that he bought meth but “threw it awayâ€? without using it.

PLEASE NOTICE: Haggard knows that there may be no way for Jones to prove the sex acts or that he actually used the meth. It seems to me that becuase of that Haggard is again lying about the allegations that cannot be proven. I mean, he bought meth and threw it away? Received a “massage� from a gay escort but didn’t have sex? Yeah right.

He then listed a few quotes from articles that are floating around. I also want to mention that Gary Lenair recently wrote An Infidel Manifesto. It’s coming out on December 11th. Check it out!

Here’s my thought about the meth. Haggard says, “I was tempted but I never used it…”
He was tempted to buy and use meth?? I don’t know about you, but I don’t go around fighting my meth temptations. Let me be honest, I’ve done my fair share of experimenting. But the typical person doesn’t just jump into speed without some past drug use. I’m sure it happens, but if a person is tempted to use meth, odds are they smoke a little bit of pot, or do a little coke, before asking to get hooked up with a “$100 or $200 supply.”

But I must say, Haggard’s choice in male prostitutes is quite good! Mike Jones is a hottie! Check out those muscles. I’m sure he gives one hell of a “rub down.”

CP @ GifS

So check this out - I got an email this morning (a long with several others) with a subject that said there there was a new post at Multae Sententiae.

Here is the link:

www.multisententiae.blogpot.com

Thanks!

Marco

I thought that it was strange to get an email like this from Marco, but I followed the link anyway. I was confused when I arrived at the site. Take a look to see what I mean. I had to go back to the email and look at the link closely.

So of course, I had to do some investigation and I figured that I would post this public information here.

blogpot.com

Registrant:
Doug Powell (DME) use this one (BLOGPOT-COM-DOM)
PO Box 10142
St Petersburg, FL 33733
US
+1.7275428374
amazingbible@verizon.net

Domain Name: BLOGPOT.COM
Status: PROTECTED

Administrative Contact:
Doug Powell (DME) use this one amazingbible@verizon.net
PO Box 10142
St Petersburg, FL 33733
US
+1.7275428374

Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Doug Powell (DME) use this one amazingbible@verizon.net
PO Box 10142
St Petersburg, FL 33733
US
+1.7275428374

Record last updated on 22-Aug-2006.
Record expires on 30-Oct-2008.
Record created on 30-Oct-2002.

Domain servers in listed order:

Name Server: ns1.ebibleonline.com
Name Server: ns5.dnsmadeeasy.com
Name Server: ns6.dnsmadeeasy.com

Feel free to drop him a line!

Update:
I guess this guy has been around the block a few times.

By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard about the Ted Haggard/male prostitute scandal. What a scumbag.

The Rev. Ted Haggard stepped aside as senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church and resigned today as president of the National Association of Evangelicals amid allegations by a former gay male escort that the two had a three-year sexual relationship.

Here’s a short clip from Jesus Camp - Ted Haggard talks about homosexuality.

I was shocked at the number of emails and messages I got about hiding the zodiac on Myspace. Since the hack, I lost that file and the link that is out there was broken.

So here it is! Let me know if you run into any issues.

So, things have been pretty exciting in the atheist blog community, huh? Four sites that I know of (including this one) were hacked and brought down. All of my backups were wiped out too. I don’t know if I should be pissed or feel honored… But I do know one thing - hacking blogs and their hosts? How Christ-like!! Your savior would be proud, huh? Does it piss you off that we all get back online? Do you know that these acts are criminal (in the US)?

I want to thank all of you who are blogging here. Allen, Amanda, Jim, Star and MomSquared (I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten your name) - thank you all!! LMAO, and feel free to continue if you would like! Things have been so nuts here… This is the first time I’ve gotten to sit down today (7:57 pm) - no exaggeration!

So tonight is Halloween. I went out before the trick or treating began to pick up some beer, and I passed an Evangelical church that I usually drive by on my daily route. There was a big shelter-like thing built on the front lawn. It looked like it was going to be a nativity. I was thinking it was a bit early for that… But as I got closer I saw the huge sign attached to it:

Not a trick, but the best treat ever.

I also noticed that it was a manger - complete with Mary, Joe and the baby Jesus (I think it was a doll). They were handing out candy to passers by. I have no doubt that they were slipping tracts into the bags of candy as well. I know the picture sucks. My normal digital is having battery issues, so I have to depend on my cell. But it’s better than nothing! :-)

Happy Halloween!!

Since I’ve been designated the “Atheist Daddy,â€? I’d like to explore a parenting issue that isn’t discussed as much as it really should be: what to tell your kids about Santa Claus.

Is belief in Santa just innocent fun, or is there something harmful or even sinister about it?

At the risk of being branded something worse than an atheist–a dirty, stinkin’ grinch–I’d advise the godless fathers and mothers who celebrate Christmas to consider carefully before inviting jolly old St. Nick into their homes.

I think the most compelling indictment against the Santa tradition is that it involves lying to your children. Not exaggerating, not embellishing, but outright lying. And it’s not like you have to tell just one lie only one time, either; once you start lying, you find yourself telling more and more lies to counter doubts and questions. Then comes the day when your children finally figure out you’ve been deceiving them all along. They may shrug it off as innocent fun, but they may also see it as a huge betrayal of the trust they have in you.

But what concerns me almost as much as the blatant dishonesty about the Santa conspiracy is the way it fosters an uncritical acceptance of magic and miracles in very much the same way religion does. Skepticism is discouraged while faithfulness—believing without seeing—is the highest virtue.

And consider, too, how Santa himself has many attributes of a deity: he wields god–like omniscience to see us when we’re sleeping, to know when we’re awake, and if we’ve been bad or good; he controls space and time by visiting millions of houses in one night in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer; he rewards good (with presents) and punishes evil (with lumps of coal); and he answers “prayers� children send him in the form of letters. To encourage belief in such a fantasy undermines the ideals of reason and inquiry that atheist parents work so hard to instill.

This doesn’t mean, however, that Santa should be completely banned from Christmas. I think children can enjoy stories, music, television shows and movies about Santa while understanding he is just make-believe. They do need to know, of course, that other families take Santa much more seriously, and that’s all right for them. This way, you can preserve the integrity of your relationship with your children, promote the values of reason and honesty, and still have a merry Christmas.

–Allen

Well, sorry the site has been down for the last few days. Somehow the database became corrupt, and we had to restore from backup. Apparently it hasen’t been backed up for a little while. So we lost a whole bunch of posts and comments. :-(

There was also another issue that may suggest sabotage. No, this isn’t paranoia, a certain bit of information was missing that caused the site to disappear. That’s all I’m going to say about it at this point. We are in the process of digging for more info.

There is a possibility that it we may be able to back up the site with a more recent backup, but we’re not sure. So stay tuned…

Now here is a petition worth signing! Make sure you read it… It’s very funny!

1) The Holy Bible demands that readers murder hundreds of thousands of Wal-Mart employees.

In Exodus 31:15 the Holy Bible demands: “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.� This demand is repeated in Exodus 35:2: “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.�

Mr. Scott, you are in a unique position to understand how dangerous these statements are. Hundreds of thousands of Wal-Mart’s employees work on the Sabbath. The Holy Bible demands their murder. This threat to employee autonomy and safety should be both repugnant and highly offensive to Wal-Mart’s senior management team as well as Wal-Mart’s employees.

Hattip to UTI, Pharyngula, and the guy in my Ohio Atheists Yahoo! Group.

Seeing Stardust’s post of the Atheist “Prayer” prompted me to write this post. I wrote about the “Little Books” in a comment once on a post by The Freethought Mom (who has since disappeared…).

When our boys are ready for bed, we go into the bedroom and “do little books.” The “little books” is a collection of about 12 or 14 very small (maybe 2×2?) books all contained in a little box that’s made to look like a bed. All of the stories are short bedtime stories or songs. I got these as a gift while pregnant with my oldest. We started this probably about 2 years ago and we still do it. Even my 17 month old asks for the “little books” when we go into the bedroom.

They each get to pick one, and we read 3 or 4 of them. My oldest has them all memorized now. As soon as we’re done with the books, they get put away and they get into bed. My husband takes one boy and I take the other and we lay with them and talk about what they are going to dream about. Then my husband and I switch (they are in the same room) and we usually continue the dream talk (my oldest dreams about a lot!).
Then we say good night!

I wrote this several months ago. The 17 month old that I was speaking about will be 2 years old on the 7th. But we still “do little books” every night. I consider some of these books a great substitue for that evening prayer that so many children say. If and when we are faced with the question about why they don’t pray before bed (which I expect to hear from one of their friends some day in the future), they can say that while they don’t actually pray, they do have some stories that help them have good thoughts through the night. You can see the pictures of these books here (on Amazon).

Here are a few of those stories:

Good Night

Good night.
Good night.
Sleep tight…
Wake up bright,
In the morning light,
To do what’s right -
With all your might.

Come to the Window

Come to the window, my baby with me,
and look at the stars that shine on the sea!
There are two little stars that play at bo-peep,
with two little fishes far down in the deep.
And two little frogs cry, “Neap, neap, neap.”
I see a dear baby, who should be asleep.

And my favorite:

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

Sleep, baby, sleep,
Thy father guards the sheep.
Thy mother shakes the dreamland tree,
and from it fall sweet dreams for thee,
Sleep, baby, sleep.

Sleep, baby, sleep,
Down where the woodbines creep.
Be always like the lamb so mild,
A kind, and sweet, and gentle child.
Sleep, baby, sleep.

I encourage you to share these little stories with your children!! I think they are beautiful, and they have been a part of our bedtime routine for so long… They are sure to be precious memories some day.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to Vermont to see an old friend from high school get married. They live about an hour away from Stowe, and even closer to Canada. It’s such a beautiful part of the country, and it was the first time that I’ve been that far north in the United States.

The wedding was held at the groom’s folk’s house. They have a good
amount of land there. I don’t remember exactly… I heard 60 acres and 120 acres being discussed. They had a hog roast, and all of the food and the flowers were locally grown. It was a great experience, and a whole
different life than the one that I lead here in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio.

Oh, and “god” wasn’t mentioned once. Not that I would have minded… I was just there to be with my friends on this special day in their lives. But it was nice that there was no mention god. I know that the bride isn’t religious (despite the fact that her family is). She’s not an atheist. I’m not sure exactly what her beliefs are. But I was glad that they chose to leave god out of their ceremony.

You can pictures of the whole event here!

Today, Mike left me this comment:

Nice 80’s hair style first of all. I wanted to comment on your hate towards god and your love for sexual disease. Did you know 84% of HIV in the USA comes from men to men sexual contact and needle sharing. Oh and if you don’t think homosexual men are rude, violent, and threatning, check craig’s list where you can blog under rant and rave and see the filth you stand up for. Disease disease disease is all I have to say. Maybe you should spend less time spreading hate and more time raising your kids. I bet your kids aren’t in any sports or after school activites as you probably make no time for them. Gooooood job lady. I’d call you a mother if you were.

Yes!! I can feel the love!!

I’m not even going to respond to the 80’s hairstyle comment…

“Did you know 84% of HIV in the USA comes from men to men sexual contact and needle sharing…”
– Link please.

“Oh and if you don’t think homosexual men are rude, violent, and threatning, check craig’s list where you can blog under rant and rave and see the filth you stand up for.”
– What, no straight men are rude, violent and threatening? Hey, you have 1 (maybe 2) out of 3 yourself. Are you gay? (note: sarcasm)

“I bet your kids aren’t in any sports or after school activites as you probably make no time for them. Gooooood job lady. I’d call you a mother if you were.”
– Not that it’s any of your business, but my oldest is in pre-school and they are still too young for sports. But I was THE most involved parent in my son’s pre-school last year. I was also the only atheist. Go figure…

Thanks for coming by Mike! Keep the mail coming!!

So I’ve been driving by this thing several times a year for the last 3 years and I finally pulled over and took a picture of it a few days ago. This is located in Frostburg, Maryland on I-68. According to their website, they started construction on this boat in 1976. Not a thing has been done to this structure in the past 3 years. I wonder what the holdup is. Funding low??

The Ark is being constructed to the specifications of Noah’s original Ark–450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. To give you a better idea of what that will look like–Imagine a structure one and half
football fields long and three stories high!

So today, Dennis Mahoney from The Columbus Dispatch paid me a visit. Mr. Mahoney writes for the Faith & Values section of the paper. He contacted the president of the local Humanist community here in Ohio and told her that he was “doing a story on the segement of the population (both in U.S. and worldwide) that has no religious belief” and was interested in “talk[ing] to several local folks who fall into this category and explore why they think the way they do.” She recommended me, along with several other local atheists and humanists.

He was a very nice man and asked questions about what my family’s religious beliefs were, how I came to be an atheist, and how I plan to raise my children (as far as beliefs go). We also touched on morality, politics, and people. Overall, it was a great experience and opportunity!!

So the story is due out in 2 weeks or so. I’ll post the link when I see it!

verb

1. To instruct in a body of doctrine or belief: drill, inculcate. See teach/learn.

2. To teach to accept a system of thought uncritically: brainwash, propagandize. See teach/learn.

Bachodi over at The Bach recently emailed this image to me. Apparently it’s from a Christian children’s coloring book from 1954 called Listen and Do published by Pacific Press. Starlen over at splitlevel has scanned the whole coloring book and posted it over at Flickr. Defenitely check that baby out…

A comment from sketchgirl on the 30 Days post prompted me to look around for clips of the show. I was able to find this one - with the “In God We Trust” discussion that took place. Out of the whole show, this part was quite good. Take a look if you haven’t seen it yet!

Photo taken in Alexandria, VA a few days ago.