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! :)

Spot On!

I found this article the other day that I want to share with you. As an atheist I often get religious people making some pretty big assumptions about me. I'm sure you do too. They are boringly common, tediously repetitive and astoundingly stereotypical. (I freely admit though, I am just as guilty of making assumptions about religious people and people in general. It's a common thing to do)

So this woman, Alise Wright, is married to a man who deconverted. She said she made some pretty big assumptions when he told her he didn't believe in God anymore. So this is her advice to other Christians on dealing with us godless heathens. I think they are really great!

Surviving a Conversation with an Atheist

1. Please don’t assume that they’re evil. ...The idea that because someone doesn’t believe in God means that they will become a murderer is very frustrating, particularly as the wife of one of “those people.” C.S. Lewis suggested that one of the proofs for God is our common morality. To assume that because someone lacks belief in God means that they no longer possess a sense of right and wrong strikes me as a strange way to prove God’s existence.

Her thoughts here, the last sentence especially, are really excellent. I would add that people get their morality from society and their role models. Atheists, humanists and freethinkers discuss and try to improve their ethics as society evolves and matures.

2. Please don’t assume that it’s just a phase. Most atheists who have “deconverted” from a religious background have studied it and other religions thoroughly before choosing not to believe. Painting it as a “phase” denies the seriousness of both their study and their decision. I would certainly not want to have any encounter with God resulting in a closer devotion to my faith called a phase and neither should we use that terminology for those who have left the faith.

Right! Most atheists deconvert after much study of the religion they are leaving, as well as other religions of the world. It's a tough decision to make, and most do not take it lightly.

Doing Good, Spreading Inspiration

As those of you who follow my Facebook page know, I recently started an organization with my friend Eric called Viral Volunteer. In a nutshell, ViVo is about doing good deeds then going to the website and social media to tell others what you did and encourage them to do good things too.

Next Sunday, January 23rd, Eric and I, and a few of our friends, are going to the Ronald McDonald House here in Morgantown to make them lunch. We buy and prepare the meal, and then it gets served buffet style for parents and their children who are in treatment. It helps the parents and children have more time to spend together.

I know most of you don't live near me, but why not do your own local volunteering event? You can go to Viral Volunteer and fill out the form to let us know you'll be doing something and we'll post it to the site to encourage others to help their own community. Even if it's just you going out to your local park to pick up trash, let us know so we can inspire others to do something good too.

Also, we have a new form for those of you who have been inspired and helped by someone. Is there a person or group who has helped you? Have you been motivated by someone who helps others? Let us know. This is a wonderful way to encourage others and let people know you've been positively affected by someone.

You can also email me at Viral Volunteer if that would be an easier way for you to send pictures and/or tell your story.

Did you know that volunteering and helping others actually helps improve your health and increase your happiness and well-being? Find out how you can benefit from doing good deeds.

Don't know where to start? Here are some links and suggestions. If you have an organization that you think people should know about, leave a comment on that page, or here if you like.

As you know, I'm a godless heathen. Most, if not all, of the people helping out the Ronald McDonald House this Sunday are also atheists. A side benefit to doing good deeds as an atheist is that you help people realize that nonbelievers do good deeds too. That we care just as deeply and want to help our communities and our planet just as much as religious people. So when you fill out the form, feel free to let us know if you're volunteering in the name of your local atheist group (or any organization!). Also encourage your local group to start doing good deeds, and then have everyone fill out the form to start spreading the word. Atheists are good people too.

Letting the Holiday Pendulum Come to the Middle

I like things in balance. I like moderation. I don't always eat in moderation, but I understand I'd probably be happier if I did. I know we can't always be balanced, of course, but sometimes the middle ground is a nice, mellow place to be.

As you know, I don't talk about politics, but if you asked me what I am, I'd probably label myself some sort of moderate. I think both extremes are unhealthy. When you start talking about diets where something is given up, I think moderation is a much more realistic goal.

Certainly there are areas where denial of something is for the best, where something like alcohol or cigarettes are completely harmful (alcohol is not completely harmful to most people, but to someone who can't control their intake, then it is definitely a serious problem).

Anyway, what am I rambling on about? Well, I was raised in a traditional dysfunctional christian household with Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Even after I shed the heavy dead albatross of religion and became a godless heathen, I still put up a tree, gave christmas cards and gifts, and had christmas dinners with family.

Then a couple of years ago I completely swung the other way. I ditched the tree and decorations, told people I'd rather just spend time with them during the holidays than exchange gifts or cards (thereby abandoning the stress, guilt and huge expense), and basically just went to family dinners (well, can you blame me? Good food should never be forsaken!)

But a friend's status update on Facebook a few minutes ago reminded me that maybe my little black cindered grinch heart is still beating after all. My friend merely said that he was getting ready to celebrate Festivus and I thought, "Oh, that sounds like fun. A secular celebration!" So I don't have to seem like such a scrooge. I can just say I celebrate something different.

I'm Being Prayed For!

A pastor in Ohio has taken it upon himself to add me and a bunch of  "lost" godless heathens from Facebook to his prayer wall on his website. Why? Well, remember the rescue of the Chilean miners? My friend Mark made a poster and posted it on Facebook:



I commented on the picture and said I was going to share it with my friends, which I did on my HDC Facebook page. The pastor, Jeff Bobb, took it upon himself to have his congregation pray for us by name and asks that we be prayed for every day, to bring us before the throne.

I was added to the list the last week of October and I have to admit I've had my doubts lately about Christ. And I've had a terrible pain in my neck when I try to sleep. I think it's working! I think I'm cured of this horrible atheist affliction!

Finally a Non-AA Solution To Addiction: Lifering

I don't claim to know a lot about addiction to alcohol or drugs, since I don't drink, smoke or take drugs (unless prescribed). Of course, I am addicted to coffee and caffeine... and naps. Anyway, one thing that really frustrates me as a godless heathen, is how the only game in town for people who want to overcome their addiction to alcohol or drugs is AA or NA, which are heavily religious and not really based on scientific research.

The main idea behind AA/NA is that you admit you are helpless over your addiction and must turn your life over to a higher power. If you have a problem and end up getting pulled over for drunk driving or caught with drugs, you can end up being court-mandated to go to AA/NA. So if you're an atheist you still have to go and "work the program" and give your life over and admit you are powerless. If you fight it though, the court can't force you to go to AA, because even though "it's not deemed a religion, it contains enough religious components to make coerced attendance at AA meetings a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the constitution".

And then there are the studies done about the effectiveness of AA/NA. The results so far have been inconsistent. AA, which has been around since about 1939 (when the Alcoholics Anonymous book was published) and now has 1,867,212 members and 106,202 AA groups worldwide, still can't produce conclusive studies that show it works.

So far in the research that has been done, the participants have been self selected. So no randomized double blinded trials exist. I don't know how they would be able to do that, but certainly it shows a huge limitation that everyone is self selected. A Cochrane Review of 8 studies published between 1967 and 2005, measuring the effectiveness of AA, found "no experimental studies unequivocally demonstrated the effectiveness of AA" in treating alcoholism, based on a meta-analysis of the results of eight trials involving a total of 3,417 individuals. To determine further the effectiveness of AA, the authors suggested that more studies comparing treatment outcomes with control groups were necessary.

Also, most people who start AA drop out, 95% according to AA's own surveys. But there really hasn't been much of an alternative. Until recently.

Now there's Lifering Secular Recovery. Here are some facts about Lifering:

Atheist Solidarity Day June 21 An Atheist Holiday

I created this ribbon for Atheist Solidarity Day, An Atheist Holiday, which is June 21st. It's a Facebook group and I really like the idea of godless heathens having a holiday for themselves, just because! (see below for more info)

Edit: Now there's an Atheist Solidarity website!

Here's the description from the page:

Atheists Deserve A Community Too

The other day I received the following email:

Without criticizing or judging your page in any way, I just would like to ask you, why are you so vocal about your non-beliefs?
Can you see any correlation to the obnoxious holy-rollers that most people dislike?
Perhaps its just a need for self-expression, expressed. I guess it was the "Atheist/Humanist/Skeptical/Freethinker Group" poll that got me. Why do you need help to think freely? Or company? How is it not the antithesis of a prayer group?
I just think perhaps you need balance. I found mine, or the closest I've ever come to it, in the martial arts. Self-defense, but a wonderful integration of the physical and the spiritual, however one defines that, and although its frequently tied to a religion, that can be left to the individual.
I ran across the movie "The Secret" and found your website from a Google search entitled "the secret is bullshit".
Have a good one.
By the way, I am a political conservative and a Christian, although most would argue (if they were interested, which they are not) I am not a practicing one. Just a believer.

These days, when someone tries to subtly insult me, I usually just brush it off and move on. But this email reminded me that maybe I need to speak louder, slower and more clearly.

First, this blog is for atheists and skeptics, not christians and mindless believers. This blog is by a skeptical atheist for people who like to think and use their minds. If you don't like it, no one is making you read it. Go mind your own business elsewhere. I'm not coming into your backyard and whining. I'll thank you to give me the same courtesy.

Meditation For Godless Heathens

I gave up God long ago. Awhile after that I gave up spirituality and all things "airy fairy", like the idea of reincarnation, the concept of the universe having some kind of intelligence and connectedness, and the belief that "energy" was in everything and could be tapped and manipulated for healing and other magical uses. Now I use my skeptical powers and scientific wonder to evaluate new information. It gets much easier with practice.

One thing I never gave up was meditation. That's because I was never able to do it in the first place. Long ago I tried it and hated it. I was a dismal failure at it.

But, as a science-minded skeptical atheist, I love to learn about new research. For that I use keep an eye on Science Daily and Scientific American. Recently Science Daily reported that Brief Meditative Exercise Helps Cognition (see below for some of the report)

This intrigued me, because it said brief, not expert meditation. As a middle-aged woman, I find myself increasingly struggling to think clearly when it comes to reading or processing information. It's alarming and disturbing. So when I saw this study I thought, what the hell, that's something I can experiment with myself. Why not just try it and see if I can then think better?

So, based on the information in the report, I looked up Samatha Meditation and also found BuddhaNet.

So I tried it, just focusing on my breathing. I said I'd do it for 1 minute, just to see if I could. I read that doing a short burst of it often is better than trying to force yourself into a long session. So here's the amazing bit, I comfortably meditated, focusing on my breathing and letting thoughts go, for 10 minutes! I think I can do this! After I opened my eyes I felt refreshed and happy. I think I like it!

~Later: I tried another two times today. Once I meditated easily for 20 minutes which refreshed me as much as a 3 hour nap. A bit ago I wanted to wash dishes but my shoulder was burning (a recurring problem I've had for awhile now). Normally nothing makes it better, not painkillers, stretching, nothing. I thought, hey, what if I meditate for 10 minutes? I've heard that can help with chronic pain. I'll be damned 10 minutes later I was stretching and feeling pain-free. It came back but only after an hour and not nearly as bad. I think de-stressing and relaxing is very healthy for such things. :)

~

Here's the thing. The information I found was all stuffed full of "musts" about some god or other and mystical energy, and a bunch of other nonsense. Getting through all of that to get to the instruction on the actual meditation technique is a challenge.

It would be nice to find online instruction on mindfulness meditation from a secular point of view. Does anyone have any resources?

An excerpt of the report:

New Mr. Deity and Some Other Godless Entertainment

Mr. Deity and the Host

This one has a good point, actually. But I don't know that it's a good idea. :P

Being Good Without God Is Natural

I walked away from religion when I was 12. While it took me almost another 2 decades to become and accept that I am an atheist, I have basically lived without god for a long time. In fact, I've been an atheist for about 9 years and in that time, I have managed to refrain from killing anyone, stealing anything, cheating on my husband, and many other bad behaviors.

I do still drink copious amounts of coffee and swear a lot, but hey, nobody's perfect. :P

I've met christians who have said they would kill, rape, steal and basically go on a rampage without god watching their every move. I'm very glad those amoral people are afraid of burning in hell because they have no moral compass like most of us do. Those few people who think they need god to be good need to stay religious. They have a screw loose.

Apparently research is finding that being moral is part of our evolution. Recently I've been hearing of studies that show morality in other animals. And awhile ago I read about E. Coli and how it sometimes sacrifices itself for the good of the colony. Basically, working within the framework of your given society is beneficial in fundamental ways, and that's been with us and many other creatures for eons.

Still, religions think they have some kind of monopoly on morality. But if you actually read their "holy" books, you'll find rampant murder, religious wars, rape, killing of women and children, wholesale slaughter of people who believed differently, and on and on. Recently I read the first part of God Hates You, Hate Him Back by CJ Werleman which goes through every book of the bible. I was reminded how much god hates everyone, even his chosen people, and how much he kills people and has his people kill people, children and animals. It's heart-warming mind-numbing. That's the main gist of the old testament. (the other main theme is how the chosen people aren't worshiping god correctly, how they are worshiping other gods - wait, isn't there just one? even god admits there are others! - and generally being bad followers and need to be punished. It's very loving crazy-making to read it.)

Advice For Freethinking Kids?

The other day I got an email from an atheist couple who have two kids, one 9 and one 10. They asked me for information regarding websites or literature that might deal with "god pressure" for kids at school. This would be the 4th and 5th grade. Apparently kids at their school are proselytizing and mocking these 2 kids for not believing.

The parents don't want their kids to feel like freaks and also want to help them counter the exasperated 'you don't believe in god!' remarks. Sam, the father, admits that it can be lonely to not believe in god sometimes. I understand. I feel that way too, although not as much as before I belonged to Morgantown Atheists.

Diane, the mother, says they are open to ideas and suggestions. She says they have friends who aren't religious but still believe in god. It's not the same thing.

Seeing as how only about 10% of the population would go so far as to actually use the dreaded A-word, it can be isolating to be godless in a sea of believers. As I've mentioned, I still keep my atheism to myself when around Butch's family. Some of them know we're atheists but it's never been brought up or mentioned. This means that a huge part of what I spend my time thinking about and being an activist over can't be talked about when I spend time with others. It's kind of lonely, in a way.

Are You Rapture Ready?

I found a site last week that I thought I really must share with you. It's called Rapture Ready. The page I really want to share is The Rapture Index, which apparently is "the prophetic speedometer of end-time activity".

With Sarah Palin and other fundie believers out there trying to bring on Armageddon, I figure this site is incredibly important.

There are numbers listed for 45 things like 1. False Christs, 29. Liberalism, and 38. Wild Weather. These numbers seem completely arbitrary. But according to the site at the time of this post, the Rapture Index is 165. That's a net change of +1 so you'd better be ready!

Now, as a godless heathen, I am pretty sure if the Rapture happens, I'll be left down here on Earth with all the cool people. Fun times will be had by all, and life will improve dramatically.

Of course, there is one small issue for Rapture Ready Fundies, though. Their pets! I'm sure you've heard of Eternal Earth-Bound Pets? These kindly atheists and heathens offer to take care of your pets when they get left behind and you go on to Jesus in Heaven.

What a noble cause. All I can say to that is why didn't I think of it!?

So, just because you're a godless heathen doesn't mean you can't prepare for the end-times. We know the fundies are working to make it happen in their lifetime. If it does, we have to be ready.

First we will have a fantastic party to celebrate. Then we can go loot all the stuff out of the True Christians' houses since they won't need it anymore. After that I guess we just get back to our lives, happier without all those pesky religious nuts trying to dictate legislation and force their god down our throats. Good Times, Good Times!

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". ;-)

Happy Atheists! Survey Finds We're As Happy As Nuns

I have all this information to share with you, but I haven't had a chance to organize it properly. So I've decided to kind of throw it out to you with a few notes and let you process it at your leisure, instead of wait any longer. Last month the results of a survey were released. The survey was all about the godless and it was done by Professor Luke Galen.

Luke Galen does a podcast called Reasonable Doubts with two other awesome guys, Jeremy Beahan and David Fletcher. I love this podcast and have been listening to all the past episodes to try to catch up. Just recently I listened to episode 32, Profiles of the Godless where Dr. Galen addressed CFI Michigan with his results. This was recorded back in January of this year, before his paper was published. I highly recommend listening to the podcast as it makes the data come together to make sense.

Along with the podcast, you can look at Luke Galen's pdf presentation that he used for the talk. Note: He has zero sense of color or graphic design. The charts are pretty painful to look at. But if you follow along with them while you listen to the podcast it really helps. Use eyedrops to keep your eyes from bleeding. lol

Another take on the data is presented by the Center for Inquiry. They did a press release last month and summed it up briefly. And here is a 5 page pdf of the results that won't make your eyes bleed. It's mostly text as opposed to charts.

This study was really awesome. First, it looked at nonbelievers in all their different aspects and iterations. How many of us still claim to be spiritual, etc? And the chart I found most awesome was how atheists find themselves to be relatively happy (life satisfaction, page 16 of the pdf). The interesting bit there is that people who are comfortable and rather set in their belief or nonbelief are much happier than people who doubt, like agnostics. In other words, being certain in your belief or nonbelief of god(s) helps with emotional stability.

I did come to the conclusion that I'm a bit of a statistical anomoly, though. Most atheists tend to be white men who have higher education and make good money. The only thing I have in common with them is that they have fewer children (Oh, I'm white, too. LOL) So yeah, I'm a white woman with only a bit of college, mostly self-educated, I'm not spiritual in the least (whereas most female atheists also claim to be spiritual), I'm a housewife, and I have no kids. So I guess I'm not your typical atheist.

Dr. Galen also looks into the issue of labels, which I find interesting. We have friends that call themselves Brights and avoid the A word. And I would never call myself a Bright and am proud to be called Atheist. Some people like to be called Humanist or spiritual. So he looks into that. When forced to pick just one label, a lot of people chose atheist which was interesting.

I'd love to see this go further, to ask even more questions of atheists. Maybe then it wouldn't be so hard for us to come together, to unite for common causes.

What do you think? Your thoughts are welcome, as usual. :)

I Have 2 Dogs, But Neither Is god. I'm Sure.

I'm bored. I have about 5 matters I should be attending to, but I'm uninspired to tackle any of them at the long end of a productive day. So I'm doing what every self-respecting blogger/Geekess/hermit does. I'm stumbling the internet.

Oh, and now is the time to remind you that I officially live under a rock. Someday I'll take a picture of my rock so you can see how nice it is. But suffice it to say, I'm not a newshound, always up on the latest and greatest of everything.

So in my stumbles I come across a BusinessDay article, a South African paper. This is how I learned this awesome explanation of the difference between an atheist, 2 kinds of agnostics, and a theist. Here we go:

The difference between an atheist, an agnostic and a theist can be summarized by their responses to the question: do you have a dog?

The atheist will simply answer, “No”. If you go to his house to search for a dog, you won’t find one. There will be no signs in the house or the yard that there ever was a dog there. None of his relatives or friends will remember having seen a dog there. They’ll ask, “Does he have a dog? How could I not have known?” And they’ll be absolutely right. There are no signs that there could ever have been a dog at the atheist’s house or indeed anywhere where he spends his time. Not at his home, not at his work, nowhere.

The agnostic who thinks that there’s simply insufficient proof for either having or not having a dog will be a great deal less certain.

Holy Jesus In A Little Plastic Cup! How Convenient!

The interweb is an amazing place. There's stuff out there that just leaves me speechless. Or makes me laugh. Or like this rare case, I do both at the same time. What a MIRACLE, people! I laughed and was speechless! The lord works in mysterious ways. Can I hear an AMEN?

I know you're wondering WTF I'm talking about. Well, I use Gmail. There's this bar at the top that I have customized to show RSS feeds about science, Formula One (racing), and a bit of news. It also shows occasional sponsored ads and Google news. Well I don't remember what I was looking at that inspired this sponsored link. I think it was a Facebook message.

And Lo, a light shone upon me, and Google told me about  Prefilled Communion Cups. Bread and Juice IN ONE CUP! Jesus, it's so freaking convenient! I may buy some just for snacking on the lord of hosts between meals. Maybe as a light dessert after a hedonistic meal of pulled pork BBQ sammies with extra melted provolone cheese and cole slaw?

I am up in the air about giving links. Do you want links? Do you need links to these christian stores? They're everywhere if you Google the term "prefilled communion cup"

Ok, one link because the name of the site is so awful and their description and picture is the best of the bunch. Kingdom.com ... ... ... get it? kingdom com(e)? HAHAHAHAHA

I wonder how much they paid for that domain name.

Anyway, I've added some pictures of these communion cups. Another thing I find hilarious is that the cups are made of  jeezits, I mean, crackers and grape juice. I don't have my bible in front of me, but I don't remember the son of god telling his posse to drink grape juice and eat crackers to be closer to him. I think it was good bread and a nice chianti that would let them eat his flesh and drink his blood?

Maybe I have it confused. I'm just a godless heathen after all.

I also wonder how easy it would be to open the jeezit pack. It looks small and awkward. I would feel so bad if I had shaky hands and spilled the lord on my best Sunday dress. And I know my dogs would fight over, and snatch up, the jeezit in a heartbeat if I dropped it on the floor.

At least the catholics make a nice presentation with communion. If somebody handed me a Convenient Lord & Savior In A Plastic Cup I'd lose it. Literally.

20 Reasons I Am godless

Here are 20 reasons I have to be godless. Consider it a work in progress because I'm sure there are plenty of other great reasons I am not thinking of right now. I certainly welcome your suggestions for future lists and refinements.

1. I understand that Zeus, Santa, the Easter Bunny, Odin, Osiris and all of their ilk are fairy tale characters, stories made up to explain things that weren't known at the time, or to get weak-minded people to do what someone wanted. They are all just stories to tell to children or sheep, to keep them in line or entertain them. Jesus, Yahweh, Allah and Jehovah are no different. I've studied world religions. They're all mythical and steal from each other. They are all about submission and control of simple people through fear and coercion.