Acid Drops or Sugar Coated?

Much time and energy is devoted to discussion of whether or not science and atheism ought to be tactically linked and whether confrontational or placatory atheistic tactics are more likely to be successful.

Carnival of the Godless #76 linked to this post on Greta Christina's blog: Good Cop, Bad Cop: Atheist Activism.

Greta compares the current rise of vocal atheism to the queer activist movement of the '80s and '90s and argues convincingly that different styles of atheist activism are both individually appropriate and, more important, complementary.

But when it comes to the basic question of "sympathetic compromiser versus passionate idealist" tactics, I think we'd all be better off if we stopped spending our time and energy squabbling with each other, and left each other the hell alone to do what we're good at and what we're inspired to do.

From : Style Complementarity in Atheist Activism .

Articles : Thanks for the Facts. Now sell them .

Blogs : How Not to Defend Evolution, Part 1 and Part 2 . Why Pairing Science and Atheism is High-Brow, and responses, Jason Rosenhouse: Young on Dewey on Being High-Brow, Larry Moran: Jake Young Wants Atheist Scientists to Keep a Low Profile, PZ Myers: Taking exception to Jake . Peaceful Coexistence? .

atheismpoliticspsychologyreligionRichard DawkinsChristopher Hitchens

Guff im Himmel

Theists must resort to fallacious ad hominem attacks on atheists because, when it comes to evidence or philosophy*, theism has no evidential or logical leg to stand on. Contrary to a popular theist crow**, the burden of proof lies with those making religious claims. Atheists merely say, 'I don't believe that rot!'

Christianity, to pick on just one of the Big Three Abrahamic religions, has failed in almost 2,000 years to come up with any evidence beyond circular claims of being 'revealed religion' for any of its Guff im Himmel nonsense. Islam has failed for a shorter time, and Judaism for even longer.

In response to this piece of Godpuffery, 'My first thought was, “ How do you get passionate about nothing ? ” If no God exists, what is there to get passionate about ?'

I found two excellent responses Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: can Believing survive Seeing? and a shorter response in We “passionate” atheists in which PZ Myers exhibits his typical mixture of humor and good sense:

And oh, yeah, I'm passionate about atheism, but atheism isn't about nothing: it's about valuing reason over superstition, about conquering unfounded fears, about facing the real world without crutches and lies to hold you up. I'm sure someone is going to sit there and dissect the letters of the word and tell me that atheism means only an absence of belief in gods, but screw that — it's about a whole philosophy of thought that is built on materialism and naturalism. It is an idea with substance.

Mr Terry, however, finds his passion in an imaginary, nonsensical being with less immanence in our world than a grain of sand or a falling leaf, a delusion of no substance that can have less physical impact on his life than the secretions of even just one of his gut bacteria … at least that bacterium actually exists.

And he dares to rebuke us for believing in nothing? We believe in every thing.

* theology is merely special-interest philosopy
** the verb, not the bird

Also : Pharyngula: We "amoral" atheists : Pharyngula: We "naive" atheists : The Atheist Experience: Why do atheists speak out? This is why.

atheismChristianityfallacies of logicphilosophyreligiontheology

Luce-ifer's Apprentices?

Ron Luce, who was recently exposed in Christiane Amanpour's God's Christian Warriors is a showman who is making a small fortune marketing ever-popular conflict to credulous teens, so this incident put me in mind of Luce's BattleCry moneymaker.

As originally posted on Friendly Atheist:

"The home of a local outspoken atheist was vandalized overnight Friday, police said -- with eggs tossed at the house and cars, and crosses and religious words scrawled in chalk on the driveway.

A church bulletin also was stuck on the front door.

The incident comes days after Rob Sherman's daughter, Dawn, led a successful effort to have the song "God Bless America" yanked from Buffalo Grove High School's homecoming celebration. Dawn Sherman is a freshman on the student council.

The vandalism likely was the retaliatory work of youngsters, police Sgt. Mike Millett said -- since it came on the heels of the school incident and because one of the chalked words, "Jesus," was misspelled."

. . . Daily Herald 9/23/2007

One wonders just how thick even an American teenager must be to misspell a simple word like 'Jesus' as 'Jessus'. Of course, the actions may not be those of a teen but of a dyslexic, overpatriotic, adult Jesus-freak. Religious fundamentalists, after all, repeatedly demonstrate that ignorance is not confined to preschoolers.

On Atheist revolution:

"The police are convinced that angry teens are the culprits rather than some local Christian terrorist organization. Their evidence? The vandalism closely followed the incident at Sherman's daughter's school, and "Jesus" was misspelled. They may have a point about the proximity of the vandalism to the school incident, but the misspelling sounds like they are assuming Christian adults must have some modicum of intelligence. I'm not sure this is a safe assumption.

Had racist slurs and symbols been used to deface the home of an African American student, I wonder if the police would have the same response that this was simply an innocent prank by teens. Well, maybe in Jena they would."

atheismbigotryChristianityeducationreligionChristiane AmanpourGod's WarriorsRon Luce

Taking the Mickey

Linked on Nut Watch
Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
How to think like a fundy
Hundreds of Proofs of God’s Existence
Sex in Christ (sensitives beware)

1 2 3 Religious Comics
celestialvacations.com

Lend No Credence

Here's something that all atheist bloggers could do – Avoid authorizing stupidity!

Don't lend any credence to blogs and websites that advocate intolerant malevolence or terminal stupidity. Better to provide a Google link to moralistic intolerance, or creationist or intelligent designer stupidity than to link to a bigotted or creationist site.

Here are some other alternatives:
ȸ Anti-Discovery Institute (for sense, consult Americans United),
ȸ Center for Pseudoscience and ControlFreakism,
ȸ Deception re Genesis (for sense, consult No Answers in Genesis),
ȸ Evolution News and Biased Views (for sense, Talk Origins, there are so many good websites that a Google search may be best Evolution research)
ȸ Founding Fathers (for sense, consult The Christian Nation Myth or Founding Documents),
ȸ Religious Right (for sense, consult Religious Right Research),
ȸ Wedge Strategy, (for sense, consult Discovery Institute's "Wedge Project" Circulates Online)

A-borborygmi

Mojoey at Deep Thoughts is managing an enormous atheist blogroll (more than 350 websites). If you wish to submit your atheist blog, click on the image below and send him an email. His website is also worth visiting.

Gray Matters
Adeistic
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Eine Kleine Nattermusing
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eVolition
Galaria
Godspell Follies
MetaThoughts
Mimble Wimble
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palimpsest
Sechuam
Sintheist
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Weltschauung

Godborygmi

Adapted from the Greek for bowel rumblings, Godborygmi will include comments on religious gurglings, flatus, and scat.