Advocatus Atheist

‎"[T]he Bible's not for children. I have a 12-year-old and an 8-year-old. I won't let them read it. I won't let them read it. Those "Bible Stories for Children" books, they scare me. They really scare me. It's not suitable for children. The subject matter in the Bible is very adult, particularly in the narrative texts. There are episodes of treachery and incest and murder and rape. And the Bible is not for naïve optimists. It's hard-hitting stuff. And it speaks to those who are courageous enough to acknowledge that life is rife with pain and conflict, just as it's filled with compassion and joy. It's not for children in another sense. Like any literary masterpiece, the Bible is characterized by a sophistication of structure and style and an artistry of theme and metaphor, and believe me, that's lost on adult readers quite often. It makes its readers work."  -- Christine Hayes.   ( Robert F. and Patricia Ross Weis Professor of Relig...

Step 1) Vandalize perfectly harmless sign because you are threatened by any idea that differs from your own. Step 2) When the authorities refuse to take action, go vigilante and steal the sign yourself, thereby (temporarily) silencing those you disagree with, allowing you to freely censor the message like the little bitch you are. Step 3) Giggle like a little bitch as if you got away with it, at least until the next atheist sign goes up. If that happens... Step 4) Repeat steps one through three. Meanwhile, instead of vandalism and your basic close-minded dougebaggery, your friendly neighborhood atheists will be enjoying their Christmas doing a bit of this... And... Some of this... Because we godless heathens really love our eggnog. Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays everyone!  And to everyone a goodnight. 

Earlier this week I made the comment that, "Guns are simply tools designed for the purpose of killing.  Not protection. If you want protection, buy a taser, or rubber bullets, or a higher a body guard. Gun are tools and their purpose is to deal a lethal blow to your enemy." My pro gun friend stopped me and said: Nooooo! Guns are designed for shooting bullets. Well, yes. Technically, he's right. But this was his objection to my point. You see how it is flawed, right?  If we want to get real specific, we could say: guns are for propelling explosive metal projectiles at near the speed of sound in order to penetrate your enemy's face and render them dead. So, you see, if you use such an argument, please follow it to its logical conclusion. Other arguments I've heard that are just lame ducks are: Guns don't kill people. People kill people. That's like saying: toasters don't make toast. People do. Talk about your logic fails. No matter how hard I'...

I have written an article about Gun control on my Scideological blog. Check it out .

The Washington Post recently did an article on which countries you can be imprisoned and even killed with a state ordered execution for simply being an atheist. Now I ask you, what kind of sense does it make for killing people for what they DON'T rightly believe in? I have seven basic rules about what I consider a true civilized society. 1) You have to be for equality across the board (gender, sexual orientation, race, etc.). 2) You have to have healthcare for your people.  3) Blasphemy laws must be non-existent. 4) There has to be freedom of speech. 5) The must be freedom of religion and conversely freedom from religion. 6) Porn must not be illegal. And finally, 7) you have to be able to make and enjoy soft ice-cream. Only if these prerequisites are met would I consider a civilization a "true" civilization  Now I have many reasons for why these factors are important and why they contribute, and thereby constitute, civilized living ...

The concept of Free Will confuses me. It's one of those subjects I skirt around simply because I have no real opinion on it. Recently, however, I read something interesting in the American physicist Sean Carroll's book From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time. He mentions in the preface that Free Will is defined by the arrow of time. The arrow of time is the strange physical properties of space-time in which time seems to flow in only one direction, even as there is no clear reason for this. As such, all events seem to progress in a linear fashion along the direction of this arrow. This gives rise to causality. In other words, we can remember the past, and perceive the present, but we cannot see the future. So events seem to unfold in an A, B, C, or 1, 2, 3 type pattern. What this means is that all our experiences happen within the same framework of the arrow of time. So whatever choices we make, however we make them, appear...

If I haven't been around lately, it's because I am knee deep in piles of essays which I have to get edited for an upcoming anthology I'm producing with fellow skeptic Jonathan M.S. Pearce. Jon is a philosopher of religion and you can check out his blog A Tippling Philosopher at SIN ( Skeptic Ink Network ) as well as find his philosophical and religious publications online at Amazon.com . In the meantime, here is a sneak peak of the cover design I am currently working on. It's still tentative, but this is the basic concept thus far. Meanwhile, the book should be out sometime next spring.