Are atheists more religious than humanists?

If you are an atheist, and find the title of this essay provocative, it is not entirely an accident. I have a point, and now that I have your attention perhaps you will listen while I make it. Religions have survived over the millennia because they thrive on boundaries between the “us” and the “them”. This applies in spades to the three great monotheistic ones. Christianity and Islam not only have evolved elaborate rituals and behavioral requirements to provide instant … Read on…

Vengeance is mine saith the Lord!

Once again, I have been reminded of the incredible vanity and violent nature of that old white-haired Christian mirage in the sky, seeing two churches (one Lutheran, one generic Christian) in one day displaying the message “Never Forget” on their outdoor message boards. The reference, of course, is to 9/11, that action spurred by a false Arab god (as identified by the Christian false god) which resulted in so many deaths in New York City. No decent person is happy … Read on…

Roy Brown at the World Humanist Conference

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Editors’ Note: Frank Robinson attended the 17th World Humanist Conference in Washington D.C., jointly sponsored by the International Humanist & Ethical Union (IHEU) and The American Humanist Association (AHA), during the weekend of June 5-8, 2008. More information about the conference is still available here and here.Frank recorded, on his blog, commentary about various conference sessions/lectures that he had attended; his thoughtful descriptions deserved the attention of The Eloquent Atheist readership. Departing from his blog, we are including his expanded … Read on…

Cliff’s Notes: The Bible (Scene Six)

SCENE SIX: “BLASPHEMY” PREACHER LEVITICUS, Chapter 24: (SPEAKING PASSIONATELY) And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear us sin, and he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. And Moses spake to … Read on…

Cliff’s Notes: The Bible (Scene Four)

SCENE FOUR: “JEPHTHAH: A PROMISE IS A PROMISE” PREACHER Judges 11: Now, Jephthah, the Gileadite, was a mighty man of valor– JEPHTHAH (A COUNTRY BOY) –Don’t want to brag, but I could toe the mark with the best of ‘em. PREACHER And he was the son of an harlot; and Gilead begat Jephthah. JEPHTHAH Gilead, my Papa, took one look at Momma and moved her into his house, right alongside his wife and everbuddy.

The Banality of Evil

In September 2007, at the American Atheist International conference, Sam Harris recalled the American racial lynchings of the first half of the 20th century, when huge crowds in the Deep South-bankers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, ministers, newspaper editors, police, sometimes even Senators and Congressmen-turned out as if for a family picnic to watch the torture-death of some young man or woman, then the body hung on a tree or lamppost for public display. If you have doubts, click to this link … Read on…

Mormon Heaven Part 2 (of four)

The History of the LDS Church Let’s begin with a capsule history of the Church. The founder, Joseph Smith, was born on a farm in upstate New York in the early nineteenth century. That area later became known as The Burned-Over District, a nickname alluding to the many fire-and-brimstone preachers who roamed the area delivering jeremiads to the local residents in tent shows and so-called camp meetings, urging them to repent their sinful ways lest they burn eternally in Hell. … Read on…