(Updated November 14, 2011)

 

When I was growing up, my father was extremely harsh and controlling. He was never physically abusive, but he was an emotional nightmare. I don't hold a grudge against him any more; we've spoken and made amends, so to speak. As a small child, however, some things about him were terrifying; he was very tall, his voice was deep and loud, and every time he got mad, it was an explosion of rage that had built up because he insisted on holding everything…

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When I was in college, I frequently passed by this homeless guy who lived on a bridge. I saw him there for years, always felt bad and wondered what was going on with him, but never felt comfortable stopping to do anything - the city was full of panhandlers and it's not legal to give them money, plus I'm always wary of approaching strangers on the street. Anyway. There was an article posted about him last month; apparently he has gotten off the street and into a home. I just came across the… Continue

I had to go to church this morning because I'd agreed to assist with the music while the choir was off for the week. I grew up in this Episcopal church and it used to be a nice atmosphere to spend a Sunday morning in, even for an atheist. But the current priest is an idiot that nobody likes. There's a long story there, but for now, suffice it to say that his sermons are always terrible. He was absent today, but he wrote a sermon and had someone else stand and read it. It didn't have a…

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One of my Facebook friends posted this as his status today:

 

To my evangelical Christians out there, don't worry if they reject the Word of God the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 50th time...they may harden their hearts now, but just remember: Everything has a melting point! Just pray that God turns up the heat!

 

Someone named Ezekiel, of all things, commented and said that this should be the quote of the year, and as usual, four other Christians…

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I came across a comment by Eoganachta Mor on my last blog post that brought up some similar thoughts of my own. The original comment was as follows:

The irony is that people talk about 'coming out as an atheist' like they do with homosexuals admitting their nature to their parents and friends. It's like there is some great problem with these things. I cannot understand why people…

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I was at my parents' house for dinner the other night, and somehow the subject of an afterlife came up. My mother asserted that she "knows" she would go to Heaven if she died right now, and my father and I both corrected her, telling her she doesn't know, but she believes. She continued to argue against us for a few minutes, refusing to acknowledge the difference between knowing a fact and believing something that is unprovable. It was very frustrating, and I held back from… Continue