Whoever spares the rod hates their children...

He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. -- Exodus 21:15

He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. -- Exodus 21:17

I can't help but wonder exactly what part of the Bible 7 year old Roderick "R.J." Arrington failed to read that caused his stepfather, Markiece Palmer, to beat him so severely that he slipped into unconsciousness and died the next day. It probably wasn't one of the two verses above because most people like to pick and choose the "feel good" parts of the Bible and ignore the rest.

There's not much I can say about this story without getting upset, so I'll keep it short. These are rules set out by god for you to follow. They come right after the 10 commandments, so the old those were different rules for a different time argument won't fly.

A Message to My Facebook Family and Friends(and well, I guess the rest of you people can read it too)

I was thinking about my recent barrage of Facebook posts, and how it might be perceived by my friends and family. I've already had one family member unfriend me, and while I can't claim with any certainty that I know how everyone else feels, I spend a great deal of time speaking with theists of all stripes and the responses are all very similar.

That being said, I don't want people to think I hate Christians, am angry at God, or have had a bad experience with religion somehow. None of what I say concerning religion or gods is based on emotion. I'm just looking at things from a rational and skeptical point of view.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is not rude or invasive to inquire about someone's view on religion. Of course, as with any other possibly controversial topic, there are times and places where it would be inappropriate to discuss religion but the subject itself isn't off limits.

If at times I seem agitated or angry about something, it's likely because it saddens me to see people I care about short-change themselves by giving the credit for things they accomplished to someone other than themselves. That and the way theists are allowed to pick and choose when it comes to events in their lives. From the athlete that spends countless hours training and learning to play a game only to thank God for letting him win the championship to the person who sees Tucson shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords' situation as a miracle when six innocent people, including a 9 year old girl are killed.

So I'm challenging that. I'm challenging the idea that your god, whoever it may be, is not to be questioned. I'm challenging anyone who says that their god is great. I'm challenging the idea that an omnipotient, omniscient, omnipresent being can even exist. I'm doing this because I want to hold as many true beliefs and as few false beliefs as possible.

This post will serve as my standard "go to" response when someone asks me why I do what I do. If I've sent you here to read this, consider it a starting point because this by no means encompasses the entirety of my belief structure.

Weekend at Bradley's

Except the zombie in question is Jewish

Last weekend I headed down to Peoria, IL for the event being put on by the BU Skeptics. It was a whole weekend's worth of activities but I was only able to attend on Saturday. If you want a full run-down of what happened, Russell Glasser and Matt Dillahunty(who were a big part of the weekend, and hosts of the evermore popular show The Atheist Experience) have summed the whole thing up nicely.

I think fun was had by all, and it was definitely an experience to remember. I don't know where or when the video will be released, but I know there was a guy there with a camera and I believe he was affiliated with the college or the group. If I hear something I will post an update.

Since Matt and Russell did a great job with their recountings of the weekend, I will just post some pictures from the meeting for all to see. Enjoy!

Mclovin and company talking to Matt afterwards

My Problems with God

I've never read any of the holy books in their entirety. I've read bits and pieces of some, the Christian Bible more than any other, but not very much of any of them. I've had people tell me that if I've never read insert your favorite holy book here, that I can't possibly begin to comment on it's truth value. I'll set aside the idea that all of these supposed holy books have one thing in common: none of them have evidence to back up the miracles and deity to human communication that all of them claim to have happened. I'll do that because I can, for the sake of argument, assume that a god does exist and still have many monkey wrenches to throw in the gears that are their arguments.

There isn't a need to list them because even if none of those can convince you(and I know they won't) I can take a step back and say that even if any of those gods do exist, I wouldn't worship them. I would curse that god every day, telling him he is a coward like none other. I would dare him to show his face. Any theist who has ever heard me say that always replies the same way; when you stand in front of god, you WILL bow before him. I have always thought that could mean that I would either be so scared or awestruck that I would have to bow in his awesome presence or that he would force me to bow with his godly power. Maybe it's the tone of smug glee that comes standard with the aforementioned statement, but I really feel theists believe their god isn't above forcing someone to bow before him. That is a scary thought.

The Lord is my shepherd(if shepherd = pimp)

About a month ago, I had to drive up to Wisconsin and spend a few hours inside a church. While I was there I saw two kinds of hymnal books; one that looked like every other hymnal I had seen in any other church I had ever gone to while the other was quite unique. Curious, I grabbed one from a pew and opened it up.








While seeing such self deprecating language is neither new nor particularly shocking, the cover of this book puts everything in a different perspective.

That's right folks, statements such as "I am not good enough for [Jesus] to come to me." are being spoken by children before they're to participate in communion.

I invite theists of all stripes to help me understand how a child that is being given information like that from trusted individuals at such an early age allows for the child to have a fair and objective shot at making unbiased decisions on spirituality or lack thereof.

Just a thought: The overwhelming majority of people that ever accepted the premise that supernatural beings could exist were children.

The Unicorn has spoken.

It's not about how many times you fall down...

In an effort to stave off obesity I joined a flag football team this fall. I played exactly two games before I tore the ACL in my left knee. I had surgery to replace the damaged ligament, then spent the next seven weeks in a Vicodin haze. I tried to record a video for YouTube, but zombie isn't a good look for me.

I kicked the Vicodin, did some physical therapy, and now I'm well enough to start posting on a regular basis again. I'll be going back to school for the spring semester, but I don't expect that to make too much of an impact on what I do here.

Tomorrow I'll be back with more Rational Thoughts for Atheists, and I hope you'll join me.

Avoiding Jailtime on a Wing and a Prayer

Two Florida educators escaped unscathed from the hot water they were in late this week when they were found to not have violated a federal court order which barred them from praying at school events. Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman avoided possible fines and jail time when U.S. Supreme Court Judge Casey Rodgers decided the two hadn't “willfully”(read:intentionally) violated the consent decree they signed just nine days prior to the school event. I don't believe for a second they weren't aware of what they were doing, but the judge has ruled, and they are under even more scrutiny now. So I really don't care too much about it. I'll post a few links to other stories that lay out the issue greater detail.

Upon hearing about the pair's ordeal, several members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation wrote a letter supporting them. 58 other members of our government read and signed a letter that stated "The tradition of offering prayer in America has become so interwoven into our nation's spiritual heritage that to charge someone criminally for engaging in such a practice would astonish the men who founded this country on religious liberty."

I think those congressmen that signed that letter should think about the idea that there are many traditions this country was founded on that would not be acceptable today. Civil rights and Suffrage are two that come to mind right away.

By the way, just in case anyone forgot, not only is what they did unconstitutional, there was a consent decree signed just nine days earlier that prohibited this very kind of action.

Do we need the word “atheist”?

Theists often ask me why I care so much about something I don't believe in. When I first started openly questioning supernatural beings, I couldn't answer that question. I knew why, but I just couldn't put it into words yet. The reason is because the claims and actions of theists can be harmful to people, on a psychological and physical level. I don't refute the claims of Bigfoot sightings because while I don't believe in them, I also don't believe that other people believing in Bigfoot will have a negative effect on society in general, or even that person specifically. A belief in god can have profound effects on one's actions and thoughts, cognitive dissonance notwithstanding.

All of that is well and good, but why does this community of people need to have their own label? Well, the only reason there is a need to call attention to the fact that we haven't been convinced there is a god is because there are people out there trying to convince others there is a god. I can't speak for anyone else, but I didn't wake up one day and decide to boycott God Inc.. I don't hate god, the same way I don't hate Bigfoot because I don't believe in either one.

When I really think about it, I can understand why some theists might think atheism is this group that dissenters join when they are mad at god, or if they don't want to be responsible for their actions, allowing them to “live it up” with a clear conscience. Sometimes I hear some atheists speak as if they are speaking for atheists everywhere, and while it bothers me slightly because speaking on behalf of a group indicates that everyone in the group thinks the same way, and possibly because there is a doctrine that says they have to, I can't be too mad because usually atheists only speak in those kinds of terms for wholly accepted truths.

So yes, the word atheist is a necessity. In 100 years, I would hope it won't be. I'd love to just do like the London bus ads say, and get on with enjoying my life, but as long as there are people in the world that want to poison minds and are willing to destroy science in an effort to force others to see the world the way they do, there will be people in the world like me that will be there to enforce honesty and integrity. If we can't get that, then we will point you out as the liars you are. And we'll do it on a global stage. Welcome to the Information Age.

Steve Harvey's Barometer Must Be Broken...

Longtime comedian turned relationship "guru" Steve Harvey has been touring to promote his new book, titled Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, but he's also been offering his opinion on atheists and their morality in the media during the recent months.

His first comment(video below, link here) came on a March 24th appearance on the Tyra Banks Show, where he stated, "You sittin' up here talkin' to a dude and he tells you he's an atheist, you need to pack it up and go home!" while doling out relationship advice to a receptive crowd. There was some backlash in the atheist community, but Steve Harvey isn't a household name outside of the black community, so it wasn't such a big deal.

However, during his appearance on CNN's Larry King Live(hosted by Joy Behar on this particular evening) he decided to go into greater detail about atheists. Let us all bask in Steve's wisdom:

Charming. I find it interesting that Harvey chooses the word idiot to describe atheists. When you say things like "this spun out of a gastrous(?) ball, and then all of a sudden we were evolved from monkeys, why we still got monkeys?..." and "...if you don't believe in God then where is your moral barometer?" you have very little room to insult the intelligence of others.

And in the very small chance that this actually gets to Mr. Harvey's eyes, stop calling it a moral barometer. The term I think you're looking for is moral compass. A barometer measures atmospheric pressure and is therefore an ill fitting comparison for morals. A compass works as a much better example because it can point you in the right direction.

Invisibly yours,

The Invisble Pink Unicorn

The Beginning of Atheism for Beginners

Although this is the inaugural set of thoughts for what I consider to be a blog about Atheism, I believe it will inevitably lead down many paths which may or may not be related to Atheism. Hopefully they will be interesting enough to capture an audience.  I am quite new at this and have never had any interest in blogging before. I guess this is the part where I give you the backstory. Here goes...

I've never been a "believer". I mean, I've done the church thing and the praying thing (mostly in bad times) but outside of that I never gave it a moment of my time. Something just seemed inherently wrong about the way religion worked. It felt like the ultimate bribe/threat. So my life was what it was. Ignoring God till I needed "him" (him being some form of comfort), then discarding "him" as quickly as I had taken "him". That all ended a few months ago during one of my youtube sessions when I found  a video of a brilliant gentleman by the name of Richard Dawkins talking about evolution. Clip after clip, more information was being given to me that made all the things I've always thought deep down make more sense than ever before! Rational thinking in the face and against the grain of popular thought? Unapologetic use of logic? This man was an obvious rogue, not afraid to proclaim as proudly as any theist his stance on the matter. So what did I do? I took notes. 

This being an introduction to me, I'll allow this page to be just that. In parting, I would like theists as well as atheists to know that all opinions will be heard so long as they are brought to the table with a purpose. If you believe something someone says or does makes them a coward, you have the right to say so. Personal attacks for the sake of stoking the flames will not be tolerated. The Invisible Pink Unicorn has spoken.