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Winter Solstice & the "War on Christmas"

Originally posted on my personal blag, re-posted here.

We are all very excited about the upcoming holidays. Our presents are packed (and most of them shipped / delivered), the tree and lights are up and decorated, we've made cookies, and we've dove headfirst into the Winter Season media: The Grinch, Bing Crosby, Ultra Lounge, Muppet Christmas, etc.

The thing is, although all of this looks like the holiday we commonly… Continue

Added by Aaron on December 19, 2008 at 8:27pm — 7 Comments

Attempted "Logic" Fails

I just finished a blog post on RationalityNow.com about a letter to the editor that I read in the CantonRep.com news site. The author has an issue with the Freedom From Religion Foundation's "Imagine No Religion" billboard in Canton, Ohio and tried to use logic to refute statements made by Annie Laurie Gaylor. He was also making statements that blatantly showed his lack of understanding of the difference between protecting the First Amendment and protesting God.

In my longest blog… Continue

Added by Dan Gilbert on December 19, 2008 at 8:09pm — 1 Comment

8 Lessons and Carols For Godless People

[Cross-posted on Artificial Habitat, including links (which I haven't embedded here) and a selection of photographs from the Natural History Museum]

Yesterday (Thursday 18th) was my birthday. What better way to celebrate than attending a godless Christmas show in London (along with a visit to the Natural History Museum and over 4 hours of walking around London)!

Comedian Robin Ince was inspired by an encounter with the… Continue

Added by Andrew on December 19, 2008 at 7:30pm — No Comments

It's too bad I'm done with gift shopping this year...

This is my guilty pleasure:
http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/index.php?v=nbunbcnowjer

Added by Kevin on December 19, 2008 at 7:23pm — No Comments

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Good Waffles!? What the fuck is wrong with these people!

I'm sitting in my living room, cold because I'm too lazy to start the fire (leaving in an hour anyway) and I am streaming Air America Minnesota (airamericaminnesota.com, if you're so inclined, put in a MN zip code, like 55404 for instance), and they have news breaks by CNN at the top of the hour every hour.

This whole day, at least a solid minute of these have been devoted to the "finding" of Caylee Anthony.

Yes, the… Continue

Added by Kevin on December 19, 2008 at 6:12pm — No Comments

Tything/church is not charity

I sometimes pick up christian magazines that my parents have laying around the house and flip through, reading any articles that seem interesting (know your enemy, right? ha.) and December's issue of Christianity Today has a depiction of Scrooge on it, hoarding his money. The article is something like "Christian Scrooges, why people aren't tything more". Right away I said out loud, "What does Scrooge have to do with tything? That doesn't make any sense." Sister is behind me making Oreo balls… Continue

Added by Krista on December 19, 2008 at 5:57pm — 3 Comments

99% of christians are hypocrites

Don't you love it when you can turn the tables on religious hypocrites? It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to be able to calmly tell them they are doing the whole christian thing wrong.

I wrote about it in more detail at Heaving Dead… Continue

Added by Neece on December 19, 2008 at 5:44pm — 6 Comments

Howl at the moon

Are you tired of Christmas, the winter celebration hijacked by the cult of the zombie Jezuz? Of course you are but the real reason for the season, the winter solstice, occurs on Sunday, Dec 21 at 12:04 UTC (7:04am ET).

If you're looking for an alternate way to celebrate the "rebirth of the sun", here (from wikipedia) is a sampling of other winter customs.

Mummer's Day (Celtic, Cornish), or… Continue

Added by Father Nature on December 19, 2008 at 5:44pm — 1 Comment

If Programming languages were Religions

This is so beatiful I just have to re-post it so I won't loose it eventually.

Text taken from:

http://www.aegisub.net/2008/12/if-programming-languages-were-religions.html

###Original Text Follows###

C would be Judaism - it's old and restrictive, but most of the world is familiar with its laws and respects them. The catch is, you can't convert into it - you're either… Continue

Added by G.P.Plascencia on December 19, 2008 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

Howdy

I am now one with the Nexus!

If anyone's listening, feel free to visit State of Protest and let me know what you think, if you have any advice, criticisms, etc.

-Procrustes

Added by State of Protest on December 19, 2008 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

Why I call myself an atheist

I was never raised religious. My family was "officially" some kind of non-specific Christian though we never attended church and my mother subscribed more to a vague new-age type of spirituality. When I asked "why" questions, I was mostly given the actual, scientific answer.

So I have always held largely the same beliefs. When I was young I was very interested in stories of the supernatural and strange mysteries and perhaps even wished for such things to be real, but I've become much… Continue

Added by MP Lockwood on December 19, 2008 at 12:59pm — No Comments

Greetings all you heathens

I figured this would probably be the best way to say hello and introduce myself a bit better. After many a bashful months, were I mulled over the idea of joining this site, I finally took the plunge. I had followed the discussions about AN on PZ Myers site and simply waited to hear any other news. Now, curiosity has the better of me and since I really can't stand MySpace and FaceBook, I came here.

K. E. Taylor is the name and I'm a former member of the US Coast Guard, current… Continue

Added by K. E. Taylor on December 19, 2008 at 11:42am — 2 Comments

10 minutes of my life that i'll never get back

this popped up as recommended viewing on youtube.

it's title was "if you want to stay an atheist, don't watch this."

oh. how provocative. christian propaganda for other christians.

some joke of a video on youtube will make me "see the light."

i guess i was bored, so i actually clicked the link. from the first 10 seconds i was already cringing. it's like a bad train wreck, you have to keep looking but you know you shouldn't.

it's so sad, not only… Continue

Added by markystar on December 19, 2008 at 11:16am — 4 Comments

The other atheist's non-Xmas

I was listening to the American Freethought podcast this morning and I was reminded of where I heard about the guy refered to in my previous post. He is going to be reading his own article on the Secular Nation podcast's next release, if I heard correctly. Someone is going to be reading a response to his article, as well. It might prove to be interesting.

Added by Aaron Grow on December 19, 2008 at 10:44am — No Comments

Where are we heading: Bush's New Federal Rule For Health Providers

The Bush administration, in its final days, "has issued a federal rule reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures because of religious or moral objections."

According to critics "the protections are so broad that they limit a patient's right to get care and accurate information. For example, they fear the rule could make it possible for a… Continue

Added by THE GRENADIAN FREETHINKER on December 19, 2008 at 9:06am — No Comments

God's simple plan of salvation

Taken from my blog http://godlesspaladin.wordpress.com/

One of the major unfortunate things about living in Lynchburg is that one often get inundated by religious pamphlets. I found this one in wal-mart and decided to look at it more closely. It’s titled “God’s simple plan of Salvation” by Lifegate inc. The pamphlet tells me that “I must first realize that I am a sinner.” Secondly, because I’m a sinner I’m “condemned to die and burn forever in hell.” It sounds a lot like the classic… Continue

Added by Dustin Sanders on December 19, 2008 at 2:39am — 3 Comments

Confrontation

To be non-confrontational or not to be confrontational, that is the question. Most every atheist I speak to is very lax in their atheism. I, however, am the atheist that makes others think there is fundamentalism in atheism. Not only am I open about it when it comes up, I carry a copy of The God Delusion wherever I go, daring someone to ask about it.

When I moved to where I am now, I was still in the closet. The thing that caused me to 'come out' as I remember, is I found a… Continue

Added by D. E. Hall on December 18, 2008 at 10:45pm — 5 Comments

Waffling in Suburbia

Heart and head hurt
too young to be feeling this old
too old in my head to be so young and ignored
crying myself a river
wah! wah! wah!
I thought of another line,
but I forgot it because I'm losing my mind

Ah, I've missed writing bad poetry
Here's another, just off the top of my noggin:

Blasted bitches trading gossip
at the elementary school
That one, there, with the green hat.
Gonna go and give her a slap

Added by Your girl Friday on December 18, 2008 at 10:24pm — No Comments

Imagine Yourself...

To imagine yourself in a different time period is a really really hard thing to do. We are so encompassed in our own culture of thinking, like most people would say, "If I traveled in time in WWII I would've killed Hitler", those people would face a few soldiers or guardsmen, before even getting near Hitler in WWII. You would have to imagine a elaborate plot to do such a thing, but its waay easier to just say it, than imagine it!

Many people don't put in perspective the time of… Continue

Added by Jennifer W on December 18, 2008 at 9:17pm — 2 Comments

An Oppertunity exists.....

Been chatting with an old friend of mine. He's a wiccian. Now, I divide wiccians into three groups. The first group actually believes in the ideas of wicca. The second group uses it as an excuse to party, and as one rocket scientiest said, "I might see my ol'lady get it on with another women..." Third, they use it to explain their not fitting in with the main stream. And I mean "ANY" main stream.

He's still in the Reserves. He found out that the Army is looking for a Wiccian "priest" or… Continue

Added by Rick on December 18, 2008 at 6:30pm — No Comments