As we discuss and debate Senate Gender Balance, one common argument against the concept arises. If gender balance passes, we are asked, then why not also allocate legislative seats for racial minorities and/or religious groups? Why not have a percentage of seats set aside for African-Americans and Hispanics, for example, or ... [More]

Gender balance in government, and specifically in representative legislative bodies, is recognized as a desirable goal in democracies around the world. Because full participation of women in the available freedoms, educational opportunities, and economic and political activities of modern society is desirable, it is commonly understood that a healthy modern democracy ... [More]

Many of the the various names for what we do are packed into the title of my web guide:

Atheism / Freethought / Humanism / Ethical Culture / Rationalism / Agnosticism / Skepticism / Unbelief / Secularism / Church-State Separation Web Links

Still, I omitted other terms in use or historically

HUCK-A-VOLUTION

Huck Huck Huck

What the huck is evolution?

Did we come from apes and did Chuck Norris kill all those dinosaurs?
Huck your conservative evangelical friends want you to rewrite the constitution..all white evangelical men created superior under the eyes of Jebus the Cross...
Huck do you know where Pakisaudirandiasrael

Many philosophers (John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are two, and there are many others) have commented on “man in his natural state,” as if there is a natural condition that is common to all humans, an objective baseline for all of humanity. When we discuss this natural human condition, we reflexively ... [More]

One of the biggest problems in the freethought movement these days (besides the fact that we are the most distrusted minority in America) is our lack of one clear, defining identity. Some of us are atheists, while others hide from that label. Some are agnostic, but others feel that this label ... [More]

The other day we were talking about Mormonism, and it struck me how easy it is to create a new religion. All you have to do is take what makes perfect sense, turn it upside down, and write it in a book. Joseph Smith did so in the late 1800s.

The

Jeff Wismer’s Theory of…

According to Wikipedia:

TAG is an informal playground game that usually involves two or more players attempting to “tag” other players by touching them with an object, usually their hands. Played throughout the world,^[1] tag is inherently simple

V ampires T respassing

Reaction by a Virginia Tech Alum of the shootings and aftermath

By: Jeff Wismer

April 2007

What happened on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech, my alma mater, was incredibly sad. Unfortunately what happened in the aftermath of the shootings was also sad. Not the same degree

You knew it was coming. No series on superstition would be complete without a critical look at Big Red himself. Who is Satan, how has this character evolved from his simple role as Yahweh’s prosecutor in heaven into the Prince of Darkness, and what role does he play in superstition today, ... [More]

“Media bias” has become a popular buzz phrase in modern dialog. Virtually everyone is familiar with political arguments charging that “the media,” as though it were a uniform homogeneous entity, is left- or right-leaning. These arguments are made ad nauseum to the point where most citizens have grown numb to their ... [More]

Onfray, Michel. Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; translated from the French by Jeremy Leggatt. New York: Arcade Pub., distributed by Hackette Book Group, 2007.

Chapter III of Part IV is its final chapter and the final chapter of the book. It is titled “Toward a Post-Christian

Onfray, Michel. Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; translated from the French by Jeremy Leggatt. New York: Arcade Pub., distributed by Hackette Book Group, 2007.

Part III is devoted to Christianity.

I. The Construction of Jesus

The historical existence of Jesus has not been established. The history

Given your choice, who would you prefer to put your trust in: an imperfect, flawed human being or a perfect God who is the author of the Universe? On the surface, this seems like the answer should be obvious, especially if you are a True Christian who has let Jesus into ... [More]

Every year at this time I’m reminded of how much I still despise the Scouts. The Girl Scouts are in front of every store selling their cookies. I don’t buy. I generally refuse with a firm “no,” not a hint of friendliness, and no anger either. Matter of fact, absolutely “no.” ... [More]

Just for those that are interested, here is an excerpt from the essay, Thoughts, by the mathematician, logician and philosopher, Gottlob Frege. In the following passage he suggests that ‘truth’ is indefinable—which, dare I suggest, is a sort of foundational claim that “postmodernists” work off of and build upon. (NOTE: ... [More]

Onfray, Michel. Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; translated from the French by Jeremy Leggatt. New York: Arcade Pub., distributed by Hackette Book Group, 2007.

Is there anything new to be said in favor of atheism, some argument that hasn’t been presented thousands of times before? There

ABC News: Science + Religion = New Alliance to Save the Planet

This is a really good read. It’s heartwarming to see both theists & scientists alike actually working in conjunction toward a common goal. See? Not all theists are “ignorant, babbling sheep”... and not all scientists are “arrogant, babbling atheists”.

Saw the article on MSN, and I loved it... so much so that I just HAD to email the Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. See the message I wrote them below & a screenshot of their website form... just before I pressed the

For those who are tired of the religious right claiming moral superiority in America, the “coming out” of Rep. Pete Stark (D-California) this week as the first openly nontheistic member of Congress is cause for celebration. After decades of watching religious conservatives define morality in America, to the point that politicians ... [More]

As an outspoken atheist, I get a lot of e-mails from Christians looking to convert and/or debate me. Within the last few months, almost every Christian who has e-mailed me has said that atheists are arrogant. It seems odd to me that I rarely heard this claim from Christians in all ... [More]

The other day I bought some groceries, and the cashier said, “have a blessed day.” I realized I’ve been hearing it a lot and hate it.

“Good day ma’am,” I said. I hope my response was short enough. I don’t need or want a silly unction as part of everyday acivities

We all describe ourselves in numerous ways – by ethnicity, gender, education, careers, worldviews, and countless other factors. Using a variety of modifiers, we define our identity to the outside world and, importantly, to ourselves.

For many of us, certain aspects of identity are simply taken for granted. For example, if

Considering the Purposes of Religion:

Humans are unique in the animal kingdom in many ways, one being that they are the only animal with the intelligence to ask big questions about the universe. How did we get here? How can we explain the universe? Even as hunter-gatherers, the human animal pondered

The terminology of philosophy is fraught with ambiguities, multiple meanings, and meaning conflicts. The battles fought over and within philosophical terminology incorporate the battles of history and ideology. Naturalism is one of these terms. For our purposes, we can go with the relevant Wikipedia encyclopedia entries:

Naturalism (philosophy)

Metaphysical naturalism

The

That’s today, the birthday of the founder of modern science, Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564—January 8, 1642).

As a child, many many decades ago, I subscribed to an innocuous kid’s magazine called Highlights for Children. All I really cared about in those years was science and science

How even vigilant skeptics can be fooled.

Note: This article is scheduled to run in the Florida Tech university newspaper in February.

Note: This article was first printed in my university newspaper in January 2007.

In an age where information and nonsense are available at equally remarkable rates, injudicious claims of supernatural, paranormal, pseudoscientific or superstitious (SPPoS) origin are still commonplace in a vast cultural marketplace. While we use relatively futuristic devices to

Rethinking Radicalism—Chapter 3

Freethought activists would be wise to consider the notion of sudden and unexpected change. As we sit in the 21^st century, puzzled by the continuing popularity of religions that arose in ancient times, it is important to remember that major social changes often occur suddenly

Commonly Used Strategies

Faithful Democrats Adopting Fundamental Dogmatic Practices

Jeff Wismer

January 2007

Special thanks to Frederick Clarkson of Talk to Action for bringing this issue to my attention…

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/1/14/194840/882

When you click on this…

http://www.commongoodstrategies.com/

This is what’ll you’ll see..

First of all What is Common Good?

==========================================

According to

What a world of contradictions. A world of

Rethinking Radicalism: Chapter 2

Many freethinkers have, at one time or another, envisioned a world where the major religious institutions that have dominated Western culture for so long have finally collapsed under the weight of their own outdated doctrines, where reason-based ethics provide a common ground for humanity, where, in short,

After a particularly heated debate, an opponent directed me to this site: http://www.btinternet.com/–meirionhughes/Pub/page16.htm

Although revealing a subtle truth, this Meirion Hughes nonetheless jumps in the deep end of haphazard conjecture. The idea of science is quite remarkable—possibly the most sublime product of human thought. The practice of science, however, is a

Freedom from Religion: An Interview with Alexander Saxton by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
MR Zine, 9 Nov 06

This interview is overall quite good, and provides a welcome alternative to the asociological, ahistorical liberal crap that dominates the anti-religion best seller list now—Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and above all, Sam Harris. If

Sam Harris’ book The End of Faith was awful, but this article clinches the danger of his political ignorance. The full text is no longer available free to the general public. The original title I had is:

Head-in-the-Sand Liberals
Western civilization really is at risk from Muslim extremists.
Sam Harris

Quote:

Secular Fundamentalism or Dogmatism

By Jeff Wismer

January 2007

Have you been called a Secular Fundamentalist or Secular Dogmatist lately?
======================================
Christian Science Monitor
January 04, 2007 edition
Growing religious influence in the US government has led some nontheists to take positions some describe as secular fundamentalism
“They undermine their own