Atheist Revolution

Do Our Souls Require a Gender?

2025-08-17T10:42:00.001-05:00

Do you regularly operate a motor vehicle of some kind? If so, is your motor vehicle male or female? This will seem like a nonsensical question to some. Machines don't have a gender! Others might think of their vehicle as male or female. We sometimes hear it in how they talk about their vehicle. But I'd argue that most recognize that this has more to do with them than their vehicles. If pushed, few would insist that their vehicles have a gender. They'd acknowledge that this is how they like to think about them even though they know it isn't accurate.

When it comes to humans, gender takes on far more meaning. Consider the case of Jim. He was born biologically male, and he always identified as a man. Being male felt right to him. He never wondered if he might be a woman or wished that he was one. He didn't question his gender identity because he never had any reason to do so. It might not surprise you to learn that Jim approached his Christian faith in much the same way. He regarded it as an important part of who he was. He didn't question it, at least not seriously, because he never needed to. It felt right, and it worked for him.

How Does One Become a Christian Today?

2025-08-13T05:48:00.003-05:00

Suppose I woke up tomorrow morning and decided that I wanted to be a Christian. I realize that seems unlikely, but that's not the point here. And because it isn't the case that I want to be a Christian, we can set aside the "why" questions. What I'd like us to consider is the far more intriguing "how" questions. How would I become a Christian? Is there a series of steps I could go through that would get me there? If I got there, how would I know I was there? And if I thought I was there, would most Christians accept me as one of them?

What might be a good first step if I wanted to be a Christian? How about joining a church? That seems like an obvious one. But we now have to imagine a Christian in the audience protesting. "Going to church doesn't make somebody a Christian." And we'd have to concede that this is a valid point. I've gone to church as an atheist. The experience didn't transform me into a Christian. At the end of the service, I was still an atheist. I've known atheists who have done this for years, and they remained atheists.

Dying Without Withdrawing From Your Faith Savings Account

2025-08-03T09:17:00.001-05:00

Imagine that your parents set up a savings account for you when you were a child. They did so to teach you about money, the importance of savings, and whatever else. Every month, they required you to make a small deposit into the account. It was never much. It might have only been 10% of your allowance for the month. They also prohibited you from withdrawing from the account. This seemed unfair in the beginning, but you decided to maintain this practice as you grew up. You found that there was something reassuring about it. Your money was growing, and it would be there when you most needed it. And so, you stuck with it.

Now we skip ahead. Way ahead. You are near death, and you have never withdrawn funds from this account. You had others that you used, of course, but this one was off-limits. And even now, though withdrawing might help you, you do not do so. You die without ever spending a dollar from this account. I hope this seems farfetched. I am still trying to wrap my head around how my mother did something like this. Only in her case, it wasn't a savings account or money; it was religion.

Some Lessons Learned During My Angry Atheist Phases

2025-07-27T08:31:00.001-05:00

I've gone through at least two prolonged "angry atheist" phases in my life so far. I regret one of them. I knew it was counterproductive and hard to justify at the time. This insight wasn't enough to stop me, but I was at least able to learn from my mistakes. These lessons are still with me today, much like the scars of youth. I don't regret the other phase at all. I still get in touch with a less intense version of it today. I'm more in control of the anger now, and I am usually able to channel it toward something positive.

My first "angry atheist" phase started around the age of 18 and lasted until my late 20s. It is hard to say when it ended. It started fading in my mid-20s, and I had moved on by 30. The best way to describe this phase would be to say that it was a reaction to what I'd seen from too many Christians. I'd had enough of the bigotry, hate, and hypocrisy. Defending myself and others had grown tiresome. The claim that Christians had moral superiority over everyone else was one I heard often. But I'd seen no evidence to support it.

I Live My Life As if Bigfoot Does Not Exist

2025-07-20T08:49:00.002-05:00

Do Bigfoot creatures exist? I don't know, but it strikes me as quite unlikely. It would be cool if they did, but that isn't an adequate basis for believing that they do. And yet, it would not occur to me to claim that I know they don't exist. How could I know that? I could devote my entire life to searching for them and never find one. Even that wouldn't mean that they couldn't exist somewhere. And while I can't be sure that they don't exist, I do view this as the most likely scenario. If I had to place a bet, I'd bet against them being real.

Where does this leave me? It leaves me living my life as if Bigfoot creatures probably don't exist. I do not spend my time and resources searching for them. This does not detract from my enjoyment of a good hike in the woods. And when I'm out there, it doesn't make me oblivious to my surroundings. If I hear a strange noise coming from a different direction than where I'm heading, I may still turn my head. But when I do, I'm not expecting to see a Bigfoot.

I Have Known Few Atheists

2025-07-13T09:44:00.001-05:00

Living in the United States, it comes as no surprise that most of the people I've met have been Christians. I recently started to wonder how many atheists I've known. This question is much more difficult to answer than it should. Negative attitudes toward atheists make many people hesitant to identify as atheists. Even if they were atheists, they may not have wanted me to know. It is also true that many of us internalize these negative attitudes. I remember not wanting to admit to myself that I was an atheist. I'm sure I've known more people who didn't believe in gods than people who identified as atheists. I have little idea how to estimate their numbers.

The question of relevance comes into play here too. I'd bet that I've know some atheists without ever knowing they were atheists because it never came up. Our thoughts on religion might not have been relevant to our relationship. If religion never came up, how would anyone know who might be an atheist? Our relationship also might not have been the kind where either of us would have brought up religion.

If I wanted a rough estimate of how many atheists I've known, where would I start? Trying to guess who might have been an atheist introduces too much bias. I should only be able to count two types of people. First, I could count those who identified themselves as atheists. Without a good reason to think they were lying, this seems like a safe bet. Second, I could count those who said they didn't believe in gods. Since this is what atheism means, this seems fair even if they were reluctant to use the "atheist" label.

Is Identifying Oneself as an Atheist a Claim About Reality?

2025-07-03T06:25:00.004-05:00

Suppose someone proclaimed that there were no gods or insisted that gods don't exist. They would have made a claim about the world, right? Well, maybe not our world since gods aren't supposed to inhabit our world but to transcend it in various ways. But they would have made a claim about the nature of reality. I guess we could argue over whether the supernatural is part of reality, but let's set that aside. If the supernatural exists, I'd consider it part of reality. So I am content to say that this person is making a claim about reality.

How would others respond to such a claim? It isn't hard to imagine someone asking them to explain how they knew there were no gods. Are they sure there are no gods? If so, how are they sure? How did they come by this knowledge? Questions like these would seem appropriate, even reasonable. We'd ask similar questions in most contexts when faced with similar claims. Even if we were sympathetic to the claim, we'd want more from the person making it.

The Wheres and Whens of Growing Up Atheist

2025-06-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

What's it like to grow up in the United States and realize at some point along the way that one is an atheist? It depends a great deal on where one lives, doesn't it? The influence of religion varies a great deal by region. I grew up in an area where almost everyone was Christian. And yet, the kind of aggressive fundamentalist Christianity we see in some areas was rare. Despite there being lots of Christians, there were few Christian extremists. Those who were there were not vocal, and they had little influence. Most people valued the separation of church and state, at least to some degree. I now live in a hotbed of Christian extremism. There's no question that atheists growing up here have a very different experience than I did.

As important as the where is, I'd argue that the when is at least as important. The influence of religion fluctuates over time, as do perceptions of atheists. And of course, culture and technology both impact and reflect these changes. I grew up before the internet and before books about atheism were easy to find. There was a real shortage of information on the topic compared to today. It was easy to wonder if I was the only one who didn't believe in gods. Even more important than this, I grew up at a time when most people thought of atheists as their enemies.

When Uncomplicated Grief is a Luxury

2025-06-05T16:15:00.003-05:00

"Everybody grieves in different ways." This sentence has been replaying in my head since my mom died a week ago. It reminds me that it is okay to grieve and that I will do it sooner or later. I'll do it whether I want to or not. I'll do it because I'll need to do it. Losing her means that my world is less than what it was not so long ago. It will take time and effort for me to come to terms with that. I suppose that's why they say that grieving is a process.

But I haven't had the luxury to grieve. Not yet. Mom's dying revealed an awful truth, one she had been hiding from me for some time. My grief will now be far more complicated than I'd hoped. It is now intermingled with the need to forgive my mom for this deception and the mess resulting from it. I know she meant well. I also know that holding a grudge against someone who's no longer here is pointless. I will get through it, but it won't happen overnight.

Finding the Balance Between Staying Informed and Sinking Into Despair

2025-05-12T06:52:00.003-05:00

If you ask most people why they interact with news sources, you'll hear some version of the same answer. We do it to stay informed. We want to know what's happening, and that's why we interact with the news. This changed for me a few years ago. I am no longer sure that staying informed is worth the emotional toll I must pay to do it.

I pulled out a piece of paper one evening and drew a vertical line down the middle. On the left side, I wrote "stay informed about what's happening." Yep, that's why I turn to the news. I couldn't think of anything else to add beneath it. That's the big pro, after all. Then I turned my attention to the right side of the page. Before I knew it, I had filled about half the page. I'd written things like "lose sleep," "stress," "despair," and "hopelessness." There were far more cons than pros. I had to will myself to stop.

Buying Less of What I Don’t Need: A Progress Report

2025-05-10T07:26:00.003-05:00

It has been about a month since I wrote a post called "We Are People and We Reject Being Labeled as Consumers." At the end of that post, I said I planned to buy less of what I don't need. I knew this wouldn't be easy. I'd need to disengage the auto pilot and be more deliberate about what I was doing. It hasn't been easy, but I'm happy to report that I've made a lot of progress. The catch is that I've had several unexpected and necessary expenses. I realize that this may have helped me in my goal of buying less needless stuff. The real challenge will be whether I can sustain this positive change going forward.

I've learned at least one hard lesson about myself in this process already. I enjoy researching potential purchases on the Internet. I may complain about it, but I do enjoy it. If I'm not careful, it could become an expensive hobby. This is a problem because there's very little objective information out there. Most reviews are crafted to funnel the reader toward the purchase. It is also a problem because once I put the time in on the research, it becomes much harder to decide not to buy. I'll find myself in an artificial trap where I buy what I've decided is the best choice. But the best choice is often not to buy anything!

May 4 Is the National Day of Reason

2025-05-04T06:11:00.002-05:00

Today, May 4, is the National Day of Reason. Secular organizations like the American Humanist Association have been promoting it for years. Have these efforts made a difference? Should they? Would you like to see more reason? Does it make sense to have a day reminding us all about why reason matters?

From the American Humanist Association's press release:

The National Day of Reason, celebrated annually on May 4th, honors the vital role that reason and critical thinking play in safeguarding secular democracy and upholding the separation of church and state. The resolution articulates the importance of reason in evidence-based policy making, protecting the separation of church and state, resisting the rise of authoritarianism in the US, and advancing civil and human rights.

Why Isn’t the Resurrection a Bigger Deal?

2025-04-20T09:13:00.002-05:00

"He died for your sins, bro!" It doesn't matter how many times I hear this. It still doesn't make any sense to me. I didn't know him, and I didn't ask him to die. Everybody dies, so that part seems inevitable. But I'll admit that few seem to die for something. I suppose that even fewer die for people who wouldn't be born for another 2,000 years or so.

But today is Easter. The "dying for your sins thing" seems trivial if he didn't stay dead. The suffering that went along with the death would still matter, but I'm not sure about the death itself. Shouldn't the message be that he returned from the dead? Isn't that the remarkable part of the story? Without that part, would we have ever heard of Christianity?

Making Sure Our Memories Are Accurate

2025-04-18T08:37:00.002-05:00

How much of what we remember from our childhood is accurate? How many of those memories reflect what happened? We know that some of our memories are not accurate. What we remember may be closer to what we wished would have happened. We may be wrong about many of the details. And it is hard to know how many of those memories are even ours.

I have some vague memories of the first friend I ever had. This would have been from before I started preschool. But is what little I remember real, or is it more a matter of me remembering what my parents told me about this friend? I've seen photographs of us together. Could that be how I remember what he looked like? It seems more than possible that few of these memories are genuine.

We Are People and We Reject Being Labeled As Consumers

2025-04-07T05:18:00.001-05:00

I found myself watching some TV news the other day, which is something I've been avoiding lately. The story that stood out started as a broad examination of the state of the U.S. economy. The commentators highlighted some of the more puzzling recent moves. Trump had campaigned on lowering prices; his tariffs would do the opposite. The Republican Congress wants to make tax cuts for the wealthy permanent. They plan to do so by demolishing safety net programs we've all been paying into. The commentators posed the question of whether these moves might have political implications. If so, might they help to revive a bruised and battered Democratic Party?

I was skeptical, but that's not what this post is about. In fact, this post isn't about Trump or even about U.S. politics. It is about a word the commentators used over and over to describe you and I. It is a word we've all heard. But it is also a word I found jarring in the context in which they repeated it several times. You may disagree and think I'm over-reacting, but it is a word I find dehumanizing. The word was consumers.

When Does the Irrational Belief Become Harmful?

2025-03-30T08:44:00.004-05:00

Suppose we have two worlds. World A and B are identical in every way but one. In World B, there is evidence that haunted houses are real. What kind of evidence, you ask? That's a good question! The evidence of haunted houses in World B is such that satisfies most reasonable people. And yes, this includes most scientists. It is possible to find people in World B who doubt the existence of haunted houses. They would be like fringe conspiracy theorists in our world.

If you were to ask most people in World B whether they believe in haunted houses, this would confuse them. From their perspective, belief would be irrelevant. With the kind of evidence available, it wouldn't matter. It would be like asking you if you believed in apples. Wouldn't that be a strange question? You don't believe in apples; you know they are real.

Arguments for the Existence of Gods Aren’t Needed in a Post-Truth Era

2025-03-16T09:24:00.001-05:00

I used to enjoy learning about the arguments Christians had put forward in support of their god. The philosophy of religion was a favorite topic while studying philosophy in college. We'd learn each argument and examine the various rebuttals against it. We would see how some of the arguments evolved to address the rebuttals. Others declined in popularity, limited to philosophy textbooks. I didn't find any of the arguments compelling enough to lead me back to god-belief.

Some of the arguments in support of god(s) were better than others. I remember observing how my Christian classmates would react. They latched on to some arguments, though few arrived at their belief through any of them. They believed first and found justification in some arguments much later. I saw little evidence that their religious belief originated in reason. It was more about faith, with post hoc appeals to reason for support.

Secularism Keeps Us Free From Imposed Religion

2025-03-10T05:55:00.001-05:00

There's a person out there somewhere who has religious beliefs. His religious beliefs are different from yours. You do not share his faith. Whatever he believes is different from what you believe. So why should his religious beliefs affect you in any way? They shouldn't, should they? But what if he has a lot of company? What if many other people share his faith? Why should that change anything?

There's a large group of people who hold religious beliefs you do not share. Should what they believe affect your rights when you do not share these beliefs? Should they be able to impose their beliefs on others? Should they be able to use positions of power to impose them on you? Secularism, or the separation of church and state if you prefer, says that they shouldn't. I can't help but agree. Someone else's religious beliefs should not constrain your actions or restrict your rights.

Craving Social Media Without the Doomscrolling

2025-03-04T05:38:00.001-06:00

It hit me the other day out of the blue. I've almost stopped doomscrolling on social media, and I don't miss it at all. But why only "almost", and what's holding me back from getting all the way there? To get where I am, I've had to stop using most social media platforms. I haven't found a way to use them that doesn't leave me feeling like I've been doom scrolling. I have to say "almost" because even a 30 second check-in means I'm scrolling through this stuff. It is hard when that content is everywhere.

I understand that the current administration is doing horrible things. I don't blame anybody for trying to raise awareness about any of it. But I've realized that this isn't what I'm looking for on social media. It makes me feel terrible, and I feel that way too often as it is. The last thing I need in my life right now is immersion in gloom and doom.

Are We Entering an Era of Meanness?

2025-02-22T08:03:00.002-06:00

Consider everything you dislike about organized religion. For some of you, the list will be a long one. Is possible that organized religion could morph into something even worse? I'm imagining something that took most of what we dislike about religion and built on it. The positive aspects would be abandoned, leaving the worst impulses behind. These impulses would then gain the justification that only religion can offer. Your enemy is inhuman and deserves every horror you can imagine.

Could something like this already be happening? If we take a look at the current political climate of the United States, I'd suggest that it is. This strikes me as far more than the kind of political disagreements we've seen before. I see it more as a fundamental transformation of a nation. And while I'm reluctant to accept this, I worry that some of it may not be reversible. But even if much of it is, I have little doubt that many will be be harmed in the meantime.

It isn't easy to characterize what I see taking place, but I'll take a stab at it. I'd say that we are transitioning toward a culture of meanness. I know this sounds simplistic, but I see much of what the Trump administration is doing in these terms. Yes, they want to burn it all down. The kindest thing we could say would be that it doesn't bother them that their efforts harm people. A more realistic description would be to suggest that this is their goal.

I'm Considering Ending Atheist Revolution

2025-02-19T07:49:00.001-06:00

While considering my waning interest in atheism, I've asked myself several questions. Some have been easier to answer than others. Is it possible that I've addressed every facet of the subject? No, not even close. Atheism may be narrower than many topics, but there's far more one could say about it. There's even more I could say about it. But is it possible that I've said everything about it I'd like to say? We're getting warmer here. Yes, that seems possible. I'm not sure this will last, but it seems accurate for now.

This brings up a far more difficult set of questions. What now? Do I keep this blog going and hope my interest returns? Do I take a break and see if my interest returns? Do I conclude my atheism-focused writing, end the blog, and move on to other subjects? All seem like viable options, but not all are hold the same appeal.

Have Water Bottles Become Essential Accessories?

2025-02-15T07:59:00.001-06:00

There's one thing I can count on seeing in every meeting I attend. At least 20% of the attendees will have brought large water bottles, and the numbers are often much higher. I've been in meetings where I was the only one in the room without a water bottle. Some bottles are plain, and others have had stickers affixed to them. Some are visible sticking out of bags, but most have a place at the table or desk. At first, this seemed more common among younger people. That no longer seems to be the case.

The proliferation of water bottles is still new. At least, it is new enough that I have no trouble remembering before it started. I made it through too many years of school without seeing any water bottles in classrooms. I worked for at least 10 years before they showed up. You'd see them at the gym or in someone's car but not throughout the workplace. Some people brought one to work, but it stayed at their desk.

Are Democrats in Danger of Losing Voters of Color?

2025-02-09T14:12:00.003-06:00

Since the last U.S. presidential election, I've seen lots of blame assigned to White people. This keeps popping up, and I saw more of it as recently as today. Nobody is claiming that all White people voted for Trump, but far too many did. I'd agree with anyone suggesting that White people deserve much of the blame for the mess we have now.

The catch is many of the social media posts I've seen suggest that only White people voted for Trump. I wish that was true, but I've seen far too much reporting to the contrary. For example, polls showed that Trump had rising support among Latinos and Black men. It seems clear that not everyone supporting Trump is White, though most are.

How Does Any Group Thrive Without Schisms?

2025-01-22T14:14:00.001-06:00

Every online community I've ever been a part of has faced the threat of fragmentation at some point. Some people become dissatisfied with the status quo. It could be the moderation policies, the tone, the behavior of some members, or anything else. After a few rounds of public complaining, they decide to strike out on their own. They leave the community and create a new one.

The new community often fails to gain much traction. The old one is so much larger and well-established. It is bound to offer more content and opportunities for interaction. Many are content to remain part of it because it better meets their needs. They'll miss some of those who left but not enough to follow them.

Atheism Doesn't Hold the Appeal It Once Did

2025-01-17T05:43:00.001-06:00

Some aspects of our various identities fall outside our control. I can't control where I was born, for example. And while I recognize that this one will be more controversial for some, I can't control that I am an atheist. I can control whether I identify myself as an atheist to others, but I can't make myself believe in gods. And that's why I see being an atheist as one parts of my identity that is beyond my control.

That said, I acknowledge that I have some control over how central atheism is to my identity. I wouldn't say I have full control, but I have some. I mention this because I find that the importance of atheism to who I am has been declining for some time. I first noticed it about years ago, and it has continued erode since then. This doesn't make me any less of an atheist, but it does mean that atheism has become less important to me.