- Are You a Hardcore Atheist?
- Donnie
- Speaker for the Dead
- Passionate About...
- Romance, or the Lack There Of
- Freethinker Match.com
- Access Counter
- Christian & Atheist Relationships
- A New Beginning
- God, or the Lack There Of
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Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it.- Churchill
Are You a Hardcore Atheist?
Date Posted: 12.16.08
- No Participated in the Blasphemy Challenge.
- No Met at least one of the "Four Horsemen" (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris) in person.
- No Created an atheist blog.
- Yes Used the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a religious debate with someone.
- Yes Gotten offended when someone called you an agnostic.
- Yes Been unable to watch Growing Pains reruns because of Kirk Cameron.
- Yes Own more Bibles than most Christians you know.
- No Have at least one Bible with your personal annotations regarding contradictions, disturbing parts, etc.
- Yes Have come out as an atheist to your family.
- No Attended a campus or off-campus atheist gathering.
- Yes Are a member of an organized atheist/Humanist/etc. organization.
- No Had a Humanist wedding ceremony.
- YesDonated money to an atheist organization.
- No Have a bookshelf dedicated solely to Richard Dawkins.
- No Lost the friendship of someone you know because of your non-theism.
- No Tried to argue or have a discussion with someone who stopped you on the street to proselytize.
- No Had to hide your atheist beliefs on a first date because you didn't want to scare him/her away.
- No Own a stockpile of atheist paraphernalia (bumper stickers, buttons, shirts, etc).
- No Attended a protest that involved religion.
- No Attended an atheist conference.
- No Subscribe to Pat Condell's YouTube channel.
- No Started an atheist group in your area or school.
- No Successfully "de-converted" someone to atheism.
- Yes Have already made plans to donate your body to science after you die.
- Yes Told someone you're an atheist only because you wanted to see the person's reaction.
- Yes Had to think twice before screaming "Oh God!" during sex. Or you said something else in its place.
- Yes Lost a job because of your atheism.
- Yes Formed a bond with someone specifically because of your mutual atheism (meeting this person at a local gathering or conference doesn't count).
- Yes Have crossed "In God We Trust" off of - or put a pro-church-state-separation stamp on - dollar bills.
- Yes Refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Yes Said "Gesundheit!" (or nothing at all) after someone sneezed because you didn't want to say "Bless you!"
- No Have ever chosen not to clasp your hands together out of fear someone might think you're praying.
- No Have turned on Christian TV because you need something entertaining to watch.
- Yes Are a 2nd or 3rd (or more) generation atheist.
- Yes Have "atheism" listed on your Facebook or dating profile - and not a euphemistic variant.
- No Attended an atheist's funeral (i.e. a non-religious service).
- Yes Subscribe to an freethought magazine (e.g. Free Inquiry, Skeptic)
- No Have been interviewed by a reporter because of your atheism.
- Yes Written a letter-to-the-editor about an issue related to your non-belief in God.
- Yes Gave a friend or acquaintance a New Atheist book as a gift.
- Yes Wear pro-atheist clothing in public.
- No Have invited Mormons/Jehovah's Witnesses into your house specifically because you wanted to argue with them.
- Yes Have been physically threatened (or beaten up) because you didn't believe in God.
- No Receive Google Alerts on "atheism" (or variants).
- No Received fewer Christmas presents than expected because people assumed you didn't celebrate it.
- Yes Visited The Creation Museum or saw Ben Stein's Expelled just so you could keep tabs on the "enemy."
- Yes Refuse to tell anyone what your "sign" is… because it doesn't matter at all.
- No Are on a mailing list for a Christian organization just so you can see what they're up to…
- No Have kept your eyes open while you watched others around you pray.
- Yes Avoid even Unitarian churches because they're too close to religion for you.
- Total = 25
0-10: Impressive, but not too far from agnosticism.
11-20: You are, literally, a "New Atheist." But you now have something to strive for! Go for the full 50!
21-30: You are an atheist, but babies aren't running away from you. Yet.
31-40: You are the 5th Horseman! Congratulations!
41-50: PZ Myers will now be taking lessons from you.
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Donnie
Date Posted: 05.06.08
It seems so little to describe a life. I want to tell the story of him accurately. I want to say the things I would have said if I had the chance to speak at the funeral. What would I have said? I am not really sure but I have to try.
Donnie was my brother. He was the kind of brother to kick the door down, steal my Barbie dolls and claim he "wasn't touching me" while holding his fingers mere centimeters from my face. He was the kind of brother who stuck out his chin and begged me to just smack him one. "Come on, come on, you know you wanna." Oh how I wanted to... Of course if I actually did it he would go howling to Mommy like I had beat him bloody."
Donnie was the kind of brother who tried to play matador with a bull and ended up having to run and slide under a barbed wire fence. Then of course he didn't want Grandmaw to know what he did so he just whined and howled and made me play doctor and pour iodine on him and fetch and carry for him like he was an invalid.
Donnie was the kid who lit fires just to watch them burn. Then he pushed them down hills in an old red wagon. Did anyone really think I (the responsible one) could stop him?
Donnie climbed mountains and explored caves. He covered himself in tattoos. He embraced pain and he ran from it. He tried everything, except maybe peace. He drove fast, he lived hard.
Donnie rarely told the truth. He was the best kind of liar because he believed his own lies. He could lie and say the sky was green and despite all your sensory input you might just believe it because he believed it so much.
Is that a gift? He created his own world. Maybe it was a gift.
Donnie did bad things. He fucked around. He had more sex than a soap opera heroine. He did drugs. He made drugs. He sold drugs. He fought. He may have even killed. He told me once that he did, or thought he did. He might have lied. He might not.
He stole my money, my jewelry, and my friends. Sometimes he stole my mothers love. He stole my life out from under me once. He made me into someone else but never gave me back the same. I never made him into anything. Maybe he was stronger than me that way.
I hated him once but he always loved me.
I was disappointed in him and he was proud of me. I wanted him to be more but he already thought I was the best.
We danced wildly around his room to Michael Jackson and Sir Mix-a-lot and he swore he would never tell anyone about it. I don't think he did.
He ate the cream out of Oreos and left the cookies behind.
He helped me sneak and unwrap the Christmas presents early. OK... That was mostly me, but really... "Donnie -made- me do it."
He could convince you to do anything! (almost)
He loved animals and kids and women. He loved a lot. He loved strong and well. He was kind.
He never wanted to grow up or old. He wanted to go on just living as fast as he could. He did. It is done now.
He loved. He lived. He was here. He mattered. He was my brother.
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Speaker for the Dead
Date Posted: 05.06.08
When my grandmother died I was mildly appalled by the near-sainthood she received. She was wonderful but she was also a lot more than that. It was the "more" that made her real, that made her -her-. I loved her, not a falsely-deified version. I wanted to scream to the world that she was real but no one wanted to hear it.
My brother died last week. I wonder if I can speak for him now.
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Passionate About...
Date Posted: 04.23.08
Someone on the fiendly atheist site asked a question about what people were passionate about. I answered it so I am going to post it here.
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Romance, or the Lack There Of
Date Posted: 02.17.08
Last Revision: 03.18.08
The first issue is co-dependency. I have a hard time imagining a relationship because it seems like I always end up with men who need me way too much.
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Freethinker Match.com
Date Posted: 02.16.08
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Access Counter
Date Posted: 01.01.08
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Christian & Atheist Relationships
Date Posted: 01.01.08
Last Revision: 01.02.08
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A New Beginning
Date Posted: 12.31.07
I know I said I wasn't going to do that but I have changed my mind. I think it might be cool to do this without my friends, families or coworkers reading it.
So... my life today:
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God, or the Lack There Of
Date Posted: 09.30.07
Last Revision: 02.16.08
Writing about God is inevitable. I have decided it is best to write about my personal belief or lack there of in one entry rather than explain it every time the subject comes up.
"I do not believe in god."
I do not believe in god in any form that I currently understand. I do not believe in any supreme being who hands down a moral or ethical code. I do not believe in a supreme being who sits back and watches but does not interfere. I do not believe in a supreme being who interferes arbitrarily. I do not believe in multiple beings on any higher plane who are capable of interfering with human life in any way.
Why not?
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