A Burgeoning Atheist's Letter to God, Age 6

So, uh, God. I totally have faith, but what's with this existing forever thing? Prove it. Love, Kate. P.S. Here's my contact info.




I wish I remembered the results.

The Official Podcast Drinking Game is Here!

Just follow the instructions to play along. We have a studio time but we don't know when the air date will be yet. In the meantime have fun and be responsible. And go to the Discovery Institute and claim to be a skeptic and atheist and see what sort of reception you have. Just saying is all.



To see the large, printable version, go here.

Tiana, Kate, Seattle, Skepticality!

So, gentle readers, this coming weekend I'm flying up to Seattle to see my fabulous friend Tiana. There shall be drinks. There shall be fun. There shall be ... doing an interview for a Skepticality podcast about our time at the Discovery Institute, what? Yes! Stay tuned for more information, but realize in the meantime that it shall be awesome. I only wish I was flying into Seattle on Friday so we could visit Casey Luskin and pals one last time so Tiana and I could test the theory that all skeptics are welcome at the DI with open arms.

I'll be sure to post the date it comes out because I'm sure you'll all want to tune in. We can even make a drinking game. Every time Tiana and I saw 'Bwaha' for Behe (as in Michael Behe), take a shot. Every time we mention the term 'Country Club Christian' take a shot, etc. We'll formalize this as time goes on, but I think it's a fantastic idea.

Cuddles

Sitting in an airport

One hears a lot of woo. Last time I heard a lot of skeptic bashing over an acai berry product. "Oh, so-and-so is a skeptic so naturally she didn't even listen to me when I asked her to buy my product." A product, I (mona-vie) I might mention is about $40 a bottle. Today I'm in the Burlington airport and people are talking about mold toxins. I come from post-Katrina Gulf Coast and I can tell you. It's hype. Well, if you have conditions that cause mold, you have conditions that cause other conditions. It's as simple as that.

The question is, why aren't people critical thinkers?

Shy Atheists, Bashful Skeptics

I am sure you know or have met somebody who thinks like this. You may, in fact, be one of these people I'm about to describe. If you are, I strongly urge you to consider what I'm about to say.

You're an atheist, but you feel that too many hard-nosed vitriolic cynics have given the label a bad name so now you refuse to refer to yourself as what you truly are. And yet. Yet, you could always make an effort to proudly assert that yes, you are an atheist but that you're willing to discuss your (lack of) belief system with anyone in an open and non-biting fashion. It's what I do. So many people, after talking to me, remark in surprise that they thought atheists were supposed to be bitter and angry and closed to all other arguments. They walk away with at least one new example of atheism and I feel good about myself for representing both myself and my belief system in a positive light.

The same is true of the 'skeptic' label. So many choose the term 'critical thinker' which is fine, but I don't see why a word I view as positive (skeptic) should be taken away from us because others choose to use it negatively. I choose to take it back. I explain, with a smile on my face, what being a skeptic means to me and how I use it to view the world and make decisions by thinking critically. At this point nearly everyone agrees with me and I feel I've reclaimed the world for happy skeptics everywhere.

My point here today is that there is no reason we should let the terms 'atheism' and 'skepticism' become negative words. I've been called an atheist before in a negative fashion. It was spat at me like a slur. I should have wanted to laugh but it stung and I never want anyone to feel that particular arrow again. There is no reason, if you lack a god belief, to not declare yourself an atheist (unless, of course, your job depends on it which will hopefully seem a ludicrous notion one day). So, if you can put a positive face to these labels, by all means do so. In fact, I see it as your duty. Let's move forward for the next generation.