Specifically why doesn’t anyone want to ally with us, even other secularists sometimes? We’re like red headed stepchildren; we can’t do anything right for a lot of people. We will also be discussing atheist vitriol to each other on The Nones . It is approaching toxic levels on the topic of feminism. Hayley wants to be a more vocal atheist, and she will be sharing her experiences growing up as an atheist in the Midwest. She ‘s an actress who appeared in The Ides of March. Shayrah, Aron, and myself are hardened atheists from living in atheist Hell here in the South. Flash and Sheila have the East Coast covered, but somehow they don’t sound as if they have the street cred in comparison. But they do! They are out there trying to organize atheists politically. Politics are the other fighting words with a lot of atheists. Flash is on the Executive Board of the National Atheist Party; soon to be the American Secular Party. Sheila blogs for NAP on Daily Kos also has the Feminatheist discussion group on Facebook. A lot of people know Tom Melchiorre, writer and editor of Secular Nation the voice of Atheist Alliance International. They brought us that lovely Atheist Census. Over 200,000 atheists have been counted; have you? Numbers Matter.
Anyways, I also wanted to thank everyone that supported the first 2 podcasts even though Shayrah and I are trying to figure out the technology thing. A lot of great atheists are supporting us by coming on the show. They are going to start messing with our mean image. Plus added on us pressure to not let them down.
The show will stream live to our youtube channel, and you can join via the google hangout page. We are also looking at uploading an audio version to www.blogtalkradio.com/thenones
*Update link to the video of the show…
Err not to be nit-picky, but which tomorrow is ‘tomorrow’? I can’t find a publish date on this article…. When can I listen to this?
Except I’m an idiot who didn’t see the tiny little date icon xD Looking forward to this, thank you!
fyi, your youtube link is messed up.
Aye, need that http (so http://www.youtube.com/th3n0nes ) or it’ll think you’re referring to a child page of the current site.
i.e. currently it links to http://www.youtube.com/th3n0nes so your browser assumes you mean http://www.patheos.com/blogs/reasonadvocates/2013/05/05/why-do-atheists-have-to-be-so-mean-podcast-tomorrow-with-actress-hayley-myers-tom-melchiore-and-naps-flash-kellish-and-sheila-blackadder/www.youtube.com/th3n0nes
Should it matter what method/tool a person uses (Atheism, Faith, Secularism, Skepticism) so long as they push for a better and equal world?
The problem is that faith is completely useless, if you’re trying to discover anything real. It’s not a pathway to truth.
nahli
Yes – because progress has to be secured for future generations.
“God given” rights are distinctly inferior to human rights because they are subject to theological reinterpretation based on the will of a being which to all appearances is made up.
If popular theology twists back to backing racism, the black rights movement goes back to square one. Gay rights won on the basis of “God is love” can be lost when society decides he isn’t.
That is pretty much what has happened in Uganda – gay people have been fighting a losing battle with regards to rights as a more conservative form of religion has become more popular.
Further when faith is used to win rights, faith groups will use that fact in order to shore up their position when the next fight for civil rights comes around. The American religious right hated Martin Luther King Jnr, right up until he was conveniently dead and a national hero. Now they act like he was one of their own, a conservative no-less, in a bid to further their anti-women, anti-gay agendas.
Every time faith is promoted as helping civil rights for one group, it runs a distinct risk of undermining the rights of another further down the line.
To build a better, more equal world one has to employ skeptical and secularist thought because reality isn’t quite so dependent on the vagaries of fashion, and it doesn’t leave the rights of the suffering up to the whims of some holy man’s opinion on some imaginary beings opinion on things.
Would you feel the same and say the same of a faith that held the following at the core of its practices?
(Yes, I know it’s long, however I would say it holds relevance.)
No matter the difference in body, mind, race, faith, preference or orientation all sentient rational and creative beings must be held and treated equally.
We hold as holy the ideals of, Flexible Adaptive Faith, Logical Liberty, Total Equality, Freedom In Life, Freedom Beyond Life, Limitless Thought, Limitless Love, Ethical Eclesiasm.
Almost anyone will believe almost anything. People will believe a lie because they want it to be true, or because they’re afraid it might be true. People can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool. Listen with your mind and your heart, but never be afraid to look beyond the words of others and find out for yourself.
Kindness and good intentions can be an insidious path to destruction. Sometimes doing what seems right is wrong, and can cause harm. The only counter to it is knowledge, wisdom, vigilance, forethought, and understanding the situation. Even then, that is not always enough.
Letting your emotions control your decisions may cause trouble for yourself and those around you.
No matter what a person says, you should watch that person’s actions to be sure that they do not deceive you.
What is, is; from this basic principle, all knowledge is built. It is the point from which life must be embraced. Thinking is a choice you must make. Wishes and whims are not facts neither are they a means to discover them. The process of reason is our only way of grasping the reality about us our primal human tool of survival. We may forgo thought and reason, but we are not free to avoid the penalty of the abyss that we refuse to see. Faith and feelings are part of you and enhance life’s joys. However it is logic that is the mind’s light. In rejecting reason, refusing to think, one embraces death.
Our history can teach us and our experiences prepare us for how the future might be. Our past can comfort us with beloved memories, and create a foundation of what has been accomplished. However only the future holds life. If we live only in the past we embrace what is dead. If we are to live life to the fullest, we must make each day a new experience. To be successful as rational, thinking beings, it is our intellect, not a blind devotion, or fear of what happened in the past, that should guide us.
To believe in a contradiction is to abandon all belief in the world around you and all the things there in. If you instead give up logic for any random imagining that strikes your fancy and suddenly assert that something is real simply because you wish it were none can trust the truth of your words or your mind.
Blind faith is the artifice of self-delusion, it is sleight of hand performed with words and emotions built upon any irrational notion that can be called up from impossible fantasy. Blind faith is the attempt to cause truth to surrender to whim. It is the effort of trying to give life to a lie by attempting to obfuscate the beauty of reality with the gossamer wings of empty wishes. Blind faith is the Elysium of fools, the ignorant, and the deluded, not of thinking, rational people. In reality, contradictions cannot exist. To grant them your belief you must abandon your prized possession: your rational mind. You put at stake in such a bargain your life, and in so doing lose what you wagered slowly. Day by day, lest you find your way to the light of logic.
When you ignore the truth you betray all that you hold dear, all for the sake of a lie that is more convenient to you than reality.
Seek always the truth in life for yourself, do not simply believe what you are told without our own rational understanding and clarity in that truth. For without your own cause and reason you will find yourself clinging to empty promises and following the path of the blind. What you learn by seeking the truth, if used wisely, is the key to enjoying life to its fullest. Those who use the truth without wisdom however, only betray themselves.
Article V – Ordinances
Section 1. Challenging: The act of Challenging each member to provide rational reasons for following this Faith. To keep sharp the minds of those following in this Faith, members are encouraged to question themselves and each other as to their reasons for pursuing truth and prevent blind obedience. Any game of stories, riddles, word puzzles and the like are also welcome as they keep within the spirit of building a strong or agile mind. In this practice we also ensure mutual independence and free thought. We acknowledge that though independent we hold certain traits and opinions in common thus strengthening our sense of community and fellowship. Any and all members are encouraged to conduct a Challenging whenever they see fit.
Section 2. The Working of the Mouth: In this act those of the Faith, through partaking of sustenance and sharing of information of common interest commemorate the idea that our wealth whether of knowledge or of material things (in this case food), should be shared. The spread of wealth, much like the spread of truth is counter to death and ignorance. Members should feel free to converse upon any topic as well as to freely wander among all topics relevant to them. Further any who show an interest should be welcomed to join and share in the wealth. Any form of gathering where both informed conversation and food are present, from a local pot-luck, to a group visit to a restaurant is an acceptable venue for this gathering. If possible The Working of the Mouth is encouraged to be held once a month.
Oh and as it is worth the mention, I don’t care for religion in the slightest. Historically speaking religion corrupts people and the the faith those people have. Faith should not exist to cause people to believe in the impossible. Faith should be an exercise in looking with hope toward the impossible and then in as many cases as possible using reason to bring those things into reality. Faith should also be admitted to be faith, belief in something without proof.