The Snarky Humanist

The Snarky Humanist has been added to The Atheist Blogroll . You can see the blogroll in my sidebar. The Atheist blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to Atheist bloggers from around the world. If you would like to join, visit Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for more information.

Putting Atheists on a "National Registry" I am very much like the KKK, pedophiles, and terrorist groups. You should be able to go to a government website and pull up a map showing where people like me live, so you can make it a point to avoid knowing me. Oh, and for the love of all things unholy, don't bring your kid to my house on Halloween! Why? Because... Pastor Mike doesn't want this list to do anything other than give him a list of neighbors to witness to. Won't that be fun. What seems to upset the good pastor the most is that ALL ATHEISTS HATE GOD. I swear, I keep coming up with something new to be my number #1 atheism-related annoyance, and today's is this bizarre misconception held by many theists that atheists hate God. That statement is almost always followed by "why do you hate something you don't believe in?" (Pastor Mike didn't let me down). I don't want to speak for all atheists, but I'm ...

There IS. But if you're in the US, you have to travel halfway across the globe to benefit from his wisdom. PZ Myers posted this , and it tells of a Catholic priest in Australia who supports gay marriage and (because?) his faith is a private matter. THIS. EXACTLY. The husband and I were just talking last night about how most other countries treat faith as something private and not discussed (namely, Great Britain). It's not a "don't ask, don't tell" scenario. It's just simply not discussed in polite society. As such, atheism is less likely to ruffle feathers, presumably because the lack of need to share private beliefs also eradicates the need to debate, fight, and "save" people on the other side. I'm sure Britain isn't completely void of the shenanigans we deal with in the US, but it's certainly much...less. Geez. Sometimes I think the wrong side won the Revolutionary War.

Ok, so not so much secretly. All I can say is "UUUUU-RAH!!" About freakin time. As a Parris Island alum, I find myself irrationally proud. Obviously I had less than nothing to do with this, but I can't help but be glad that it is Parris Island leading the way. Now, I know nothing of Brigadier General Reynolds. She could be an absolutely awful person. She could be a devout Mormon, evolution-denying, kick-a-puppy-on-the-way-to-work-every-day, Tea-Partying, Klan-loving loon. For all I know, she voted for Dubbya four times. Don't care. None of that has anything to do with why this makes me happy. For me, who she is pales in comparison to what her appointment to this post represents. The Marine Corps is a small group, the smallest branch of the US Military. And its attitude is generally about as knuckle-draggingly neanderthal as you can get. It is also the oldest branch of the US Military, tracing its roots to before the American revolution. And they are BIG on the...

I read this post on the Friendly Atheist today, and I actually watched the entire "Are You a Good Person?" video: It's the normal insane Kirk Cameron stuff that we've grown to love to ridicule, but the first thing I thought of as I neared the end of the video was how astounding it is that this type of religion actually gains a following. There is the "normal" kind of faith where you believe in God, and you use this belief as a resource to help you with your various troubles. You love God, God loves you, and you're happy to spend your days doing good for your family and community through real action (as opposed to "witnessing" to random people and hoping for the best). I can get down with this type of faith, even if it's not for me. Kirk's faith, however, requires a ridiculous amount of work, and quite frankly I find people like him to be pretty irresponsible. There are plenty of impressionable people who buy into this bel...

A priest, a rabbi, and an atheist walk into a bar... ...What a fine example of an integrated and mutually tolerant society.

So I was catching up on some blogs yesterday, and came across a post on the Blonde Nonbeliever site. The post is about a website called Christianity Disproved . Now, while I don't particularly love the name, the site itself is fantastic. It was created by a former Pentecostal fundamentalist as a resource for anyone struggling with doubts about Christianity. The front page contains a little background about how his own journey to atheism began, and also the (fantastic) letter that he wrote to his family when he was ready to "come out". The rest of site contains resources and recommended reading and is set up in a kind of 7-step path to godlessness. While the focus is on "disproving" Christianity, some of the ideas have broader applications, and the skeptical methods used would be equally effective regardless of the reader's religion. Quibbles with the name choice aside (I don't think "disproved" is quite the right term), the site is very...

I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake since the following story occurred in July, but this is the first I've heard of it: First Town Clerk Announces Resignation in Light of Gay "Marriage" Legislation The jist: Laura L. Fotusky, the clerk for some crap town in New York that no one's ever heard of wants to quit because the bible doesn't explicitly state that it's ok for gays to marry. So...quit. And guess what? You can do so quietly, without sputtering out bible passage fragments and stating that God's law should be followed above man's. Yes, she actually said this. An elected government official. I realize it's probably too soon to post this since I used it so recently, but... Obviously the site that posted this article is one of those ultra-conservative-evangelical type places, and the only reason I'm aware of it is because a major media figure on the Internet blogged about it too. Off-topic: I'm "out...

I was lurking on a forum I like earlier today when someone asked whether or not it was rude of her to have an atheist-themed magnet on her fridge. Apparently a relative who is definitely not an atheist saw the magnet, threw a tantrum, and then threw the magnet in the trash and left. Obviously the vast majority of the people who responded said that the relative was a fucking loon, and it was beyond rude for her to react the way she did. Duh. But. A few people said that while the relative was out of line, the poster shouldn't have been surprised by the reaction because she was aware of her relative's strong beliefs. One responder said that the relative "probably" over-reacted, but that's because "people often get like that when they find their core beliefs being belittled." How disappointing that this attitude has become such a consistent theme lately. Is it not a parallel analogy for me to say that walking into a home where The Lord's Pr...

A push for creationism gains in Springboro The debate over whether creationism should be taught in public school is not new, and the article above isn't particularly shocking. However, there are a few quotes in this article that struck me as...say what? “Creationism is a significant part of the history of this country,” Kohls said. “It is an absolutely valid theory and to omit it means we are omitting part of the history of this country.” I simply don't get this. Where is the fairytale of creationism prevalent in our nation's history? At what point is it relevant? And is Kohls suggesting that creationism be taught in an American history class? Last time I checked, history teaches documented facts, not crackpot theories. Myers sits on the South-Western City school board in Grove City, south of Columbus and believes creation should be taught along side evolution. “If they’re teaching the one, why not?” she said. “I just haven’t brought it up.” Myers said she believes in...