this convo ensued after someone belittled my friend for posting a picture of the White House from her vacation and saying it's "Obama's crib" and hoping for 4 more. 

• Really girl? That man stands for everything that is…

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This one hit close to my feminist-atheist heart! Susan Jacoby is the person I hold most responsible for my path into freethought and, later, atheism.

 

Read the article here: The Unbelievers - New Atheism and the Old Boys' Club

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Women are God-fearing and don’t challenge institutions. Men, on the other hand, are skeptical and rational, and go out of…

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Excerpt:

 

"Imagine the kind of world we could live in if atheists were a political force. It would be a world where secularism is the unquestioned law of the land, where religious groups wouldn't interfere in politics unless they could put forward arguments backed by evidence that anyone could examine, and not just appeals to faith. We'd rely on science and rationality to shape public policy; humanity would heed the voice of reason, rather than gut feelings or superstitious…

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I remember being 9 or 10, doubting during the Xmas service at church...asking God to give me a sign. I saw one bulb on the Xmas tree moving furiously back and forth. I got so excited to have my sign that God existed...until I saw the heating vent positioned directly to the side of that section of tree.

 

I remember visiting my aunt's church around the same age and attending Sunday school there. The lesson was on Judas betraying Jesus. On the worksheet, we were to circle the…

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I've been feeling down since the shit hit the fan with my family. I've been avoiding my aunt's phone calls (the gossipy one), and I've been avoiding talking about this to any family member until I get my "why I'm not a Christian" speech down. Whenever I try to explain it, my mind shuts down. I think I'm still way to hurt and emotional about their reactions, and whenever I think about talking to them again, I go back to that terrible few days, and I just can't concentrate on anything… Continue

My nosey facebook aunt just outed me to my grandmother. Apparently my grandmother is now freaking out. I've only told certain people, and I'm only friends with certain family members on FB. Did she ever stop and think that this was something I was planning on talking to her about myself, and that I wasn't ready? Honestly, at a loss here about what to do now.

hey all! check out the new TA calendars on cafepress.com! girls: http://www.cafepress.com/ThinkAtheist.421090549

i'm ms. may!

Great blog post at http://atheism.about.com/b/2009/12/18/taking-christmas-out-of-christianity.htm



But even better is this blog comment made by poster "Simon" in response to "JesusFreak" :



"Jesus Freak:



You may feel like a pioneer, on the outskirts of Christendom evangelising the heathens, but we’ve had so many missionaries here that I doubt you have anything new to… Continue

Called my grandparents to catch up on my drive home from work today.



Gma-"I'm glad you called, I've been thinking about you. I saw you're an atheist now."



Me - *rubs eyes* wha?



When I recovered, I told her it was something I've felt for a long time (I didn't tell her how long...like, since I could form a rational thought) and that I'm just now getting more comfortable talking about it with people. I let her know that I didn't want any of my family to feel like… Continue

My husband is a musician/mad scientist. His new project is buying guitar pedal kits and building them himself. He received a new kit today, and included in the box was a "Million Dollar Bill" with the following on the back:

"The million dollar question: Will you go to heaven when you die? Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her as already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you looked with… Continue

A couple weeks ago, my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. At their party, I was sitting at a table with my husband, my mother, and my sister-in-law. Something funny/gross happened and my husband told me to put in on FB. I said, "No, my mom will see it!" The following conversation ensued:



Mom - "Oh, I see what you put on FB."

Me - "What, all the f-bombs?" (apparently, she doesn't approve of my vocabulary)

Mom - "Yes, the f-bombs...and everything… Continue

My aunt's FB status a few days ago:



"I'm NOT ASHAMED!!! Let's see how many people on FB aren't ashamed to show their love for God and admit that Jesus is their Savior. We need to get God back in America. If you're not ashamed, copy and paste this into your status! Thank you Jesus"



Messages like this do three things:

1) Intimidate everyone they are friends with (or, in the case of emails, everyone in their address book because they send these diatribes out… Continue