Holy War! Rise of the Atheists

From The Phoenix:

The events that have since overtaken Haggard do indeed bear the distinct imprint of what creationists call the argument from design. What more perfectly appointed doom could there be for an evangelical preacher than that he be revealed as a drug-snorting patron of male whores? Haggard, his ministry in ruins, was last seen emerging from three weeks of faith-based counseling with the declaration that he was now “completely heterosexual.” The infidel Dawkins has meanwhile sailed into riches and best-sellerdom. Even Mike Jones, the escort with whom Haggard shared his meth-romps, looks set to have a hit this summer with his upcoming kiss-and-tell I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted Haggard’s Fall (Seven Stories). “My muscles seemed to be my biggest attraction,” writes Jones. “Until I took off my pants.” Truly, the Lord works in mysterious fucking ways.

That just might be the best quote I've ever pasted into a blog form.

Proof that God Hates Republicans

Original is here.

Hmmm... Surely there must be some misunderstanding? After all these conservative fundamentalists said the hurricanes were the wrath of God?

Dear God...

Brainwashed religious children pray the darnest things!

The Dangers of Christian Extremism

Rippin' into Rosie

I hate Rosie. She says something that's correct: radical Christians are just as dangerous as radical Muslims, but then she can't explain why in a cogent fashion. She sputters and argues and, by making a fool of herself, she discredits a correctly drawn conclusion based on observing what radical Christians are doing.

Dark Sided Atheism Links for Tue Sept. 12 2006

God is Imaginary offers a series of proofs (50 of them) and for many of them, the site also offers common Christian rationalizations and rebuttals. Everything on God is Imaginary is written far better than anything I've written here, and there is an excellent forum (which I just joined).

Why I am an Atheist at ministerturnedatheist.org. Many, many atheists are not only former Christians, but former ministers. The reverse occurs infrequently enough to be worth noting. This one man's personal website is touching and, to me, inspiring (almost in a religious sense... heh).

Half Sigma's tag line is: The new politics of common sense. Neither Republican, Democratic, nor Libertarian. Even though it isn't, technically, about atheism or religion specifically, I include it here because of how it includes posts showcasing the religious extremism's detrimental behavior as an issue separate from party affiliation or identifications with conservatism or liberalism. This blog is, as it purports to be, very even-handed. It is also very much worth your time.

Why Be Openly Atheist?

Why be openly atheist? Why not just live my life and not get involved in what may be the world's most insoluble problem? I would prefer not to have to identify myself as an atheist at all, because to me it's self-evident as to why nobody should ever believe in any god or follow any religion.

For many years, I have stayed out of the debate but fumed quietly from the sidelines. I raised my stepkids as godless and with the faculties to think critically, and I felt that was the most important thing I could do to change the world (they are wonderful kids and I'm very proud of them).

Raising my children the way I think best isn't enough, because I have good cause to fear for their future safety and freedom, as well as my own. America is in danger of destroying itself from within. If the fundamentalist right has their way, our destruction is assured, and it will only be a matter of time. Radical Islam will still want to destroy us from within as well as without. Under the oppression of christofascism, America will not even be worth living in (although it would make a great setting for a social science fiction story).

I used to joke that I wasn't an activist... I was a deactivist. That little joke was good for a wry chuckle now and then among my family and friends. But I no longer think that. I perceive that the freedoms we in America hold dear are under threat, not just by Muslim extremism but by dominionist Christian extremism. Exposing this frightening doctrine is one of the reasons why I write this blog.

I suppose I could support the cause of freedom quietly, while outwardly do and say nothing to make theists think I am any different from them, but then I would be living a lie, and I can't do that. I do not believe the ends justify the means: that is the way of the cheater, the liar. That is how people convince themselves to commit atrocities. I believe the means justify the ends, and if I am to speak out against lies then I cannot live a lie. I will not sit by and hope other people do what I could be doing. I can leave my country or I can fight for it. I choose to fight for it (many years ago, I chose to fight for it another way by enlisting in the Marines, but that is a different story I'll tell later), and my first move is to declare myself openly an atheist.

If you have found yourself growing concerned over the the future of this country and the rise of the irrational religious right (both Islam and Christianity), you may have wondered if there is anything you can or should do about it.

There certainly are specific things you can do, but only you can decide if you should openly declare yourself as a person on the side of reason and rationality. There are many places online to begin learning if these ideas are entirely new to you. The links to the right or the book The End of Faith, by Sam Harris are good places to start.

We may be in the minority, but we could stand to have a stronger voice than we currently do. The song will be stronger if you add your voice to the choir (uh oh! church metaphors! look out!). One way to add your voice is to start your own blog. Chronicle your own observations of a world gone mad or your own personal journey into your outlook and philosophy. To show solidarity, to show that you are indeed part of a group that stands for freedom and for reason, you can link to other atheist and secularist blogs and websites. You can post links to social bookmarking sites. You can rejoin ridiculous comments left by ignorant fundies. I'm sure many atheists are wary of appearing to take on the same outward conventions as religion, and I understand that, but humans are social animals after all. We can band together for protection, strength, and friendship.

Somewhere out there, a young teenager may be just starting to think for herself. Who will she find when she types in her query at a search engine? Maybe it will be you, maybe it will be me. The more of us there are, the better, and that is why I am openly atheist. That is why I implore you to become more active if you've been holding back or, if you're unsure, to learn more. Know yourself. Be true to yourself. Being true to yourself can be surprisingly difficult, but it is worth it. For me, being true to myself means being openly atheist.

Crazy Right-Wing Fox Anchor Deals with Even Crazier Fundamentalist Nutjob Cult Bitch

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Watch nutjob @ YouTube

This is that batshit Phelps bitch from a cult in Topeka, Kansas, that consists mostly of her own family (breeding god's little army, apparently). She's such a nutjob that even the normally disgusting rightwing Fox news anchors can't stomach her.

She and her cult/family picket the funerals of American military service personnel killed in the line of duty with signs that say things like "Thank God for IEDs" and "God Hates Fags." They believe that everything bad that happens to America is the result of god's punishment for America being a fag-loving nation. These people make mormons and scientologists seem normal and catholics seem like pagans.

You think this is all very extreme, but there's a surprising amount of material from mainstream christians saying the same thing. It just doesn't seem as bad because they're not showing up at people's funerals. The first thing that ignorant dumbasses think when the volcano erupts is that the fire gods must be angry. This is the twenty-first fucking century and people are still this dumb?