So You Want to Be an Emperor?

It has been observed that if you want to be an emperor, it is better by far to be one at the beginning of the empire than at the end, when the whole enterprise is collapsing. If so, this is as good a season as any to start thinking about how to get there. Empires have been out of fashion for several generations, but history moves in cycles, and the day of the empire is returning. Read on…

The African Religious Conflict

On Christmas day the west opened their presents under pine trees and celebrated over large family meals an occasion which has been celebrated for thousands of years, far back into the first societies in Europe. However, for the Christians of Nigeria it was a time of fear and violence. Thirty died as a bomb went off near the Nigerian capital of Abuja in just one of many attacks across the country on the Christian holy day. The attacks come only … Read on…

The Allure of Religious Violence

On the 21st of February, soldiers disposing of tools used by Afghan prisoners to exchange messages dumped a large volume of papers and books into a garbage pit to be burned. Amongst the texts were a number of Qurans. A superior, noticing the incredible error, doused the fires to retrieve what remained. But too late. Passing Afghan workers had spotted the thoughtless gesture, and within the day riots had spread across the capital. Over the past weeks protests have erupted … Read on…

An Interview with Ronald Aronson

aronson.jpg

Ronald Aronson is the author of Living Without God New Directions for Atheists, Agnostics, Secularists and the Undecided. Ronald Aronson is Distinguished Professor of the History of Ideas at Wayne State University and the author or editor of nine books, including Camus & Sartre: The Story of a Friendship and the Quarrel that Ended It, After Marxism, and “Stay out of Politics!” A Philosopher Views South Africa. He has published articles in The Nation, Bookforum, The Yale Review, The Chronicle … Read on…

Roy Brown at the World Humanist Conference

roy_brown.jpeg

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…

The “New Atheists”: Are They Saying Anything New?

From a presentation made by Marilyn Westfall at the Theatre of the Upper Arlington Library, Columbus, OH August 4, 2007. When I originally was asked to speak on this topic-“The New Atheists, Are They Saying Anything New?”-my memory went back to the time when I was a Catholic, which was at least nominally until about age 19. I recall how I wouldn’t dare to ask any priest or nun, “Are you saying anything new?” Such a question, if I were … Read on…

An Interview With Jason Torpy

An Interview With Jason Torpy President, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers Jason enlisted in the Army in 1994 as an Intelligence Interceptor. After earning top graduate honors from two intelligence training programs, Jason was offered direct admission to the United States Military Academy. Upon graduation, Jason was commissioned and served for five years in Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq with the Army’s 1st Armored Division. Jason left the service in 2005 at the rank of Captain.

An Interview with Jim Haught

James A. Haught was born in 1932 in a small West Virginia farm town that had no electricity or paved streets.  He graduated from a rural high school that had 13 students in the senior class.  He came to Charleston, worked as a delivery boy, then became a teen-age apprentice printer at the Charleston Daily Mail in 1951.  Developing a yen to be a reporter, he volunteered to work without pay in the Daily Mail newsroom on his days off, … Read on…

“Atheists Lose Ground”

The Economist has printed a disturbing article about the growing respectability of Evangelism in the United States. “The Bond Between God And Power” discusses religious encroachment in three areas: government, business, and education. President Bush has his White House prayer circle and we may assume his “Higher Father” has sent him on a Holy Crusade in Iraq. God has become the “Businessman’s Partner” in some companies, and a Texas law now has thousands of pupils reciting a new pledge to … Read on…

A Humanist’s Declaration of Independence

Dearest Family and Friends, At a point in my life, it became necessary to honestly examine the religious dogma presented to me as fact, and upon finding it lacking, throw off its shackles and assume personal responsibility for my actions. A decent respect to the opinions of family and friends requires a declaration of the causes that prompt my rejection of religion. This decision required a lifetime to reach, certainly not something that happened impulsively with little thought. There was … Read on…