This Makes It All Worth It - A Followup

Earlier today I wrote about an email I received from Abraham (not his real name) and how he is starting to look to atheism. He said that it was partly due to deep thinking and partly due to things I said here on HDC. We had a very nice exchange of emails and he agreed to let me share them, which I did earlier today in This Makes It All Worth It

Well! Abraham read the emails I sent to him, and my elaboration on here (see above link) and said the following a bit ago:

Saw the post on the blog, and I appreciated it, and the comments. In terms of reading, not much so far. I did go to Wikipedia and looked up "atheism", and with your comment, it helped me greatly. I am now ready to say that I am, in fact, an atheist, and hope to be able to defend my knowing that God does not exist more in time (I did read your post on Dawkins Spectrum of Theistic Probablilty). I hope to learn more in time. I really am not that much into podcasts, but am willing to look at essays.

I told him he is now on the A-Team and that he will soon get to learn our secret handshake. :P

I had offered to share the podcasts with him that I feel have been so helpful to me. I also asked him which books he's read on the subject.

So hey, I need your help! Let's compile a list for new atheists. I'd like to put books, essays and anything else on there that you've found helpful in your godless travels. Believe it or not, I have read very little of the classic stuff on atheism/religion/etc.

What would you recommend to Abraham? Which one or 2 sources did you find most informative and helpful once you were comfortable calling yourself an atheist (or the label of your choice)? Remember, he's come over to the Dark Side now, so we don't have to convince him. Now it's about information, insight, and being able to defend his lack of belief in gods. Please leave comments with the books, essays or resources you recommend and briefly how you felt they were helpful to you. Thanks very much! :)

Rules and Guidelines for Participating on HDC

Here's a bit of HDC maintenance I've been meaning to get to.

Note: With the addition of BuddyPress, the main rule is to be civil. These rules can change at any time to reflect how the site is being used.

While I love your comments here at Heaving Dead Cats, spam and trolling are no fun for anyone. To give as much freedom for comments as possible, we need some rules and guidelines:

1. Any comments or links which require a significant effort to determine if they may or may not be legitimate are subject to deletion.


2. If you want to promote your own blog, that's fine. Do so by posting a relevant comment. Promote yourself by participating.


3. No Ad Hominem attacks. If you have an argument with someone, discuss it civilly. If you attack the person and get nasty I will delete the comment. We are grownups here. There's no need to play dirty.
   
   
   
   1. If you consistently attack others in a nasty way, you'll be banned from future commenting.
   
   
   
   


4. Be polite. Do not feed trolls. Do not be a troll. Trolls are banned.


5. No spam of any kind. If it feels like spam to me, it goes in the trash.

These rules are subject to my interpretation and may change at any time. If you think you have not been fairly treated, email me your concern and I will take it under consideration.

In Search Of Zingers

Inspiration comes from many sources. Today my mother told me that some jehovah's witnesses came a-calling and she wished she had some good, quick zingers to say to let them know she's a lost cause and they need to leave and never come back. I thought that was rather funny so I'm throwing it out to you.

If someone wants to proseletyze, what is a good, quick response to let them know they are dealing with a godless heathen who is a lost cause?

Please comment with your suggestions. Then I'll do another post with a nice neat list we can keep nearby for when someone wants to "tell us the good news". ;-)

100 Questions for christians

A fellow blogger, Angie the Anti-Theist is doing something very cool I want to share with you. She wants to come up with 100 great questions for christians that are creative, hypothetical and unique. They should make christians really have to think about their beliefs. Everyone knows the stale, tired old questions that have been done to death. These should be new, fresh and thoughtful.

So Angie would like us to come up with creative stump-the-fundie questions to add to her list.

You can see the first 10 questions to get you started on her blog post: Questions for christians.In her list are 2 videos you simply must watch. The first one is gay dolphin sex. I mean, come on, you really don't want to pass that up, do you? The second one is a music video that is just awesome. I hate country AND western music, but this was so good I watched the whole thing. Highly recommended.

Here is a quick list of her questions so far (but go to her post to see more detail)

1. If homosexuality is a sin, are gay dolphins sinning when they have gay sex in a public aquarium? (really, go watch the video. I'll wait. The kids watching are priceless, as is the dad recording)


2. Will there be jello molds with marshmallows in them in heaven? Explain.


3. Which is a bigger sin? (compare Noah's naked drunkenness to Lot's naked drunkenness plus sex with his daughters) Note: Noah and Lot were the best and holiest men in their communities and both got dead drunk and were naked in front of their kids. Lot had sex with his daughters too. Great role models, eh?


4. What Would Jesus Do? (go watch the video. It will crack you up. I'll wait for you.)


5. If god is better than we are, how come we can think up unicorns but he can't make them?


6. Same with mermaids.

Questions For You

Some days the creative juices flow easier than others. Sometimes I just can't think of great ideas to share with you. I'm sorry, I am a bit tapped out lately. More great stuff will come, I'm sure. I'll just have to pray about it, I guess. "Dear Mighty Invisible Pink Unicorn...."

I'm going to share some lolcats while I take the opportunity to ask you some questions.

1. Do you have any questions or thoughts you'd like to share with HDC? You can email us at HeavingDeadCats@gmail.com



2. Do you have a deconversion story you'd like to share with us? Send us an email with your story. We'd love to publish it for you. Reading how others have unshackled themselves from religion can be helpful to people who are struggling with such a decision.

A Happy, Frustrated Atheist

Hey everyone! First, let's catch up.

• Comments: Thanks for the great comments recently! I promise to reply to each of them but I am falling behind. I realized some of them really require a post devoted to them instead of just a reply. So please don't think I'm ignoring you. I will comment soon.


• Computers: It's true. Ask my poor long-suffering husband Butch, I am missing the Patience gene. My computer has been doing strange things since I reinstalled windows (which I do every 6 months to a year to keep things fresh and in working order, as every past geek friend of mine has recommended) and I found out through Lifehacker that Windows 7 beta is freely available for download. Well, of course I had to do it. I have waited as long as possible, but the ADD, Shiny-Loving Geek in me had to have it. I'm such a sucker for the shiny when it comes to geek stuff. (Luckily for Butch, I couldn't care less about diamonds and that kind of nonsense. Unfortunately though, I need gadgets and computers and stuff like that.) It's my kryptonite, I guess. So I just had to have windows 7, and now, of course, I'm having problems with the virtual memory. Sigh. So bear with me, it's taking me quite some time to try to figure out the issue and see if I can find a fix. On a completely unrelated note, I'm interviewing geeks to be my new BFF. Please apply within. :P

Ok, now, I want to talk to you briefly about happiness. Are you an atheist? Are you happy? This lingering idea keeps wandering around that all atheists are curmudgeonly, grumpy, miserable, fatalistic and depressed.

I've been an atheist for 9 years, and for many years before that I was basically an agnostic. I have to say, I think discarding religion was a huge relief. I think I felt better. Once I finally learned to think critically, I think I started really seeing rationally and really appreciating the natural wonders of the universe. If anything, this process has left me more happy, more fascinated by the world of science and discovery. I think I'm happier and calmer, yet always eager to learn and grow.

But I think I probably come across under certain circumstances as a furious cynic. Why would that be? Which is the real me? The happy atheist is who I think I'd identify with best. But my bullshit meter has become increasingly sensitive. So when someone says something that screams of ignorance and a total lack of thinking for oneself, I just tend to get irritated, frustrated and grumpy.

It seems that wherever I go I'm surrounded by sheeple people who let others think for them. They spew forth the rubbish and lies that had been told to them by people in some strange version of authority (whether that be their minister, the pope, the government, or a slick marketing campaign) and that's good enough for them. They wallow in their ignorance like it was some sort of universal remedy. Thinking is endangered and that pisses me off, and worries me.

Anyway, other than that, I'm quite a content person overall. Are you an atheist? Or a believer? Are you happy and content? Or are you angry and bitter and curmudgeonly? If you're happy, do you still get really angry over certain things? I look forward to your comments! Oh,and have a great evening! :D

A Little Spring Cleaning at HDC

Hello everyone. Sometimes a whim overtakes me and I just want to do a bit of sprucing up. I updated the theme I use here at HDC and it screwed things up a bit (like my header). Then I decided to look for a new theme that might work a bit better than the one I'm using now. So bear with me. I'm going to do some fiddling around which means things might look a bit wonky while I try to make it work.

If you see errors or problems, try refreshing after a few minutes, because I might be working on it. Or if you have comments, suggestions or complaints, comment away!

My Letter To President Obama

The other day I told you to write or call the White House to add your voice as an atheist regarding the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the issue of the separation of church and state. I thought I'd share my letter with you. Here it is, short and sweet.

Dear President Obama and staff,

Thank you for your hard work.
As an atheist and a taxpayer, I am dismayed and alarmed that my tax dollars are funding a faith based program like the Office Of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. I firmly believe in the separation of church and state. The government should not have anything to do with religion, as stated in the Bill of Rights. We are a country founded on freedom of - and from - religion.
If we must have a faith based program, please at least get rid of the Bush era rules that are still in place. Please issue an executive order barring proselytism and employment bias in all publicly funded programs run by faith based organizations. Please make these programs fully accountable to the public and please make sure my tax dollars do not go to an advancement of religion in any way.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
An ethical atheist

You can use the White House contact form like I did, or you can write or call:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121

Here's a link to the First Amendment if you'd like to refresh your memory on the wording. He's our president. Let's at least try to hold him accountable to our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Updates: A New Study and Obama's Faith Council

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about Sheeple: Studies About Social Conformity. I focused on 3 studies that show how people are easily influenced and manipulated, mostly by the authority figures in their lives. The other day a new study was published that added to this and I wanted to share it with you.

Financial Advice Causes "Off-loading" In The Brain shows that expert advice may shut down areas of the brain responsible for decision making processes, particularly when individuals are trying to evaluate a situation where risk is involved. This study focused on financial advice given by an "expert" to participants in an fMRI machine who were told to make a decision on how to spend money. I have a feeling that this is also the case in other areas of decision making as well. Hopefully it will be investigated and tested.

It makes sense though, when you look at how easily people are led by those in positions of authority. If someone is an "expert" this study shows that the brain offloads the decision making process. It trusts the expert and gives up responsibility for that choice.

"This study indicates that the brain relinquishes responsibility when a trusted authority provides expertise, says Berns, the study's lead researcher. "The problem with this tendency is that it can work to a person's detriment if the trusted source turns out to be incompetent or corrupt."

Microchipping Students in Rhode Island

It looks so harmless, doesn't it? A tiny little RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) chip. Its uses are only limited by the imagination, it seems.

Well, Middletown School District in Rhode Island has started a pilot program to monitor students by implanting these little chips in their schoolbags. The district is in partnership with MAP Information Technology Corp. and together they are going to tag 80 students. Two school busses will be outfitted readers for the chips and with GPS devices.

No More Droopy Drawers

In Flint Michigan, it's now illegal to have droopy drawers. The crime is disorderly conduct or indecent exposure and both misdemeanors are punishable by 93 days to a year in jail and/or fines up to $500.



The chief of police, David Dicks, says it's immoral, indecent, and a national nuisance. (found here)

While I personally can't stand the style of saggy pants, does it really require the police to intervene? I heard recently that they are trying to make a law against it in Florida somewhere. (I can't remember exactly where, sorry). I have very mixed feelings about this.