Recently we Americans have been forced to confront real questions arising from our use of torture. Do we rationalize its use in certain circumstances but not others? Even ignoring the question of whether it actually works, does the end ever really justify the means? Is torture acceptable when our government is responsible but unacceptable when…
Most of us who are reading this article pride ourselves in our fact-based understanding of objective reality. When it comes to most things that we experience in the external world, we hold fast to soundly scientific explanations. But when it comes to our inner world, to our consciousness and perception of self, we often exceed…
The encouraging trend is that Americans are increasingly tolerant toward atheists and the expression of atheist perspectives in public discourse. But the bigger picture must include a recognition that this greater tolerance does not translate into proportionately greater respect for atheist arguments or for atheists themselves. Atheists still lag far behind all comparable groups in…
When I wrote my book, “Belief in Science and the Science of Belief,” I intentionally treated belief as just – belief. I tried to soften any characterizations that might be excessively inflammatory and personal. But one must ask whether the word belief is far too weak and benign, even inaccurate, to describe many of the…
We Atheists take great pride in pointing out that we are not monolithic in our politics. In fact we heatedly insist that Atheism transcends political ideologies and includes people from every political outlook. And yes, we are indeed a very diverse community and in theory, anyone of any political and social viewpoint can be an…
Of all the questions that we Atheists get asked, of all the unintentional criticisms, perhaps the most common and the most confounding is, “Why bother with Atheism?” It often gets posed with utmost sincerity by our most like-minded friends and associates. Implicit in the question is their bewilderment as to why we would focus so…
In April of 1963, Martin Luther King found himself enduring harsh treatment in the Birmingham jail. He had been incarcerated, along with some fellow non-violent protestors, for disobeying a blanket injunction against “parading, demonstrating, boycotting, trespassing and picketing” in response to a long history of brutal racism and segregation in Alabama and broken promises negotiated…
In the 2012 feature film Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise plays the title role of a military police officer working in an elite investigations unit. While tracking down a rogue ex-military assassin, Jack observes that: “There are four types of people who join the military. For some, it’s family trade. Others are patriots, eager to serve….
When we argue with believers, inevitably the moment arrives when they scold us, as if we are daft: “But god must exist,” they say. “How else did we get here! Planets, stars and people just don’t happen by accident. There had to be a creator.” I usually reply, “If you want to argue that god…
Over the last few years the Conservative Right has public schools, or any political subdivisions of the launched a massive campaign of state-by-state State from making laws respecting an establishment of legislation to advance its agenda. The campaign is religion.” unprecedented in sheer volume and audacity. They have clearly decided that whatever they cannot According…