As I am an official representative of American Atheists and even serve on their Board of Directors, my wife and I are going to be at their annual National Convention in Cincinnati on April 19th thru 21st. It’s always a good time for us.
American Atheists typically hold our National Convention in areas that are deeply-steeped in religion. For example, it was previously held in Memphis Tennessee and in Salt Lake City Utah. Although, to be fair, there was on in Austin too, in honor of the Atheist Community there.
This year’s Convention is in Cincinnati, specifically because it is so close to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Williamstown Kentucky. These are both owned by AnswersInGenesis.org, the world’s most prolific producer of religious extremist science denialist propaganda.
Being only twenty minutes away, the plan was that we’d participate in the “Answering Atheists” conference going on at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky; capitalizing on the proximity of our event. However, I called their people and checked their schedule and saw that this is not anything I’d be interested in. Nor could I get any useful video out of it. There are a couple lectures on evolution with speakers that I’d love to counter, but I don’t think their format would allow it; certainly not where the audience could hear it too. Not that it would even matter, because those are on that Wednesday and Thursday, and we won’t arrive until late Thursday evening.
The only thing going on that Friday and Saturday while we’re there, that would be free for atheists to attend is a lecture by that idiot fraud, Ray Comfort. No. I have no desire to meet that guy in person. Matt Dillahunty (of the Atheist Experience TV show) and I both whupped him in remote debates on AM980 and on RadioFairfax respectively, but Ray is so dishonest that neither of us will have anything more to do with him. I would not sit through Ray’s constant lying, distortions and fallacious misrepresentations; especially not when this format does not permit a reasoned response.
I would love to record a dialogue these people, but the “answering atheist” conference is ironically not about answering any of the challenges we’d actually present. Instead they want to control the floor to preach at us and lie about us while we can only listen silently. No. I’m not going to miss out on a party with friends to sit through that. None of us should even try to “participate” in this or any other event hosted by the scheming apologists at Answers In Genesis.
