Godless Woman

Think Atheist Book Club

2009-03-15T21:20:00.002-04:00

I am not sure how many of my readers are members of Think Atheist, but for those that are or may be interested in joining they have just started a book club. The first book on the agenda is The God Delusion. The preface and the first chapter are slated to be discussed Sunday, March 22nd.

I have already read this book, but I am planning on reading it again. The first time that I read it, when I started, I wasn't ready to call myself an atheist. By the end though I had my answer. This was a life changing book for me and I am excited to read it again now that I have been an atheist for 2 years.

Naming Computers and a Server

2009-03-10T22:20:00.002-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

We currently have a naming scheme of atheist metaphors for our computers. It all started when I named my laptop Teapot after Bertrand Russell's teapot analogy. Then we decided to call our new computers Unicorn and Monster after The Invisible Pink Unicorn and The Flying Spaghetti Monster. Then the computer that we run Myth TV on is going to be called Hank after the story Kissing Hank's Ass. All we have left to name is a server that needs to mesh well with this theme, but I can't think of another name that would fit in. So, I am turning to you guys I know you are brilliant and will help me. Thanks a million!

Dawkins Lecture

2009-03-03T01:14:00.007-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

As many of you know I went to see Richard Dawkins speak at the Wharton Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing yesterday. The title of his lecture was "The Purpose of Purpose". When we arrived we were greeted just outside the door by fundies passing out fliers which basically just had a bunch of the same worn out crap that they think proves their invisible man is real. I might share some of this in a later post; some of the wording is good for a few laughs. Anyway, after that we made our way into the building and up to the center of the second to last row in the huge auditorium and waited for Dawkins to start.

His lecture began with how natural selection isn't bullshit and how even though some think Intelligent Design is correct, they are most certainly wrong. To elaborate on this point, he played the following video by Ray Comfort.

After the laughter died down, he then went into how animals in the wild are survival machines and basically everything they do is so that they survive and pass on their genes. He then pointed out how humans are different and we do things that actually hurt our chances of passing on our DNA, such as adopting other peoples' kids or using contraception. We have goals beyond just surviving and passing on our genes. He then explained that this is due to the fact that our brains have evolved to be flexible, and therefore we are able to change our goals away from just survival mode. He also showed that we weren't the only ones to change our minds about our goals. Sheep dogs have done the same thing, which is evident when you see that the way that they herd sheep and the way that wolves hunt their prey are identical.

He then gave examples of ways that we have subverted our goals in the areas of hunger, sex, parental roles and a few other areas. After that there was a short question and answer period. There really weren't any really hard questions or questions that I felt were particularly insightful.

Overall I felt that this was a great lecture and was very happy that I had the chance to go. The only thing that I have to complain about was the fact that the audio wasn't delayed properly so we heard a major echo effect that, coupled with Dawkins' thick accent, made it difficult to hear parts of the lecture.

I hope that those of you that have yet to see Dawkins live will get the chance to do so when he is in your neck of the woods.

New Cat

2009-02-26T13:34:00.005-05:00

We adopted another cat from the Humane Society. This time it was a 1 year old female and we named her Phoenix (thanks to dreid for the name suggestion). She is very playful and her and Apollo are getting along great. I know that isn't the greatest picture, but she will barely sit still for a moment. We now have 3 cats which I am being told by my husband that means I am on the border of becoming "the crazy cat lady". I don't really mind the title, but we are going to be giving Gemini to my brother-in-law because when we took her there on vacation she seemed to really like being the only cat in the place. It will be sad to see her go, but I know that she will be happier.

Now for a bit of advertisement for the Humane Society. If you are ever looking for a new pet go to the humane society. Depending on your location they may have more than just cats and dogs so keep that in mind if you are in the mood for a more exotic pet. Now more than ever the shelters need your help. Most of them are over populated because of the economy which just puts more stress on the animals. So please if you can afford to take in just one animal do it, every single animal deserves to have a home.

God in Public Schools

2009-02-25T13:33:00.003-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

My head is hurting after reading this article form One News Now. Here are some of the highlights.

"God has become THE four-letter word in most public schools in the United States," says Whitehead, founder of The Rutherford Institute. And he explains in a commentary why that has come to pass: "An elite segment of society that views God as irrelevant has come to predominate."

Hint they are public schools! That means that many people of all different faiths are going to attend them and they all have the right to an education free of bullshit. Don't try to pull that crap about being silenced you guys still are more than welcome to gather in churches and enjoy a host of other special privileges because of your imaginary friend.

"What's happened is [that] the elitists -- the people who run American society, from the public education system to certain governmental institutions and figures -- have basically decided that God is irrelevant to public discussion," says Whitehead during an interview with OneNewsNow.

There is this thing called separation of church and state, ever heard of it? Also, God is talked about a lot in public discussions, watch the news, or read a newspaper it seems like they are always talking about God, religion, churches or a miracle of some sort.

Now for the best part some of the comments:

If God is a four-letter word in public schools, perhaps the schools should spend more time teaching spelling and less time teaching "intelligent design."

It is the parents' duty to educate children about religion, not the schools. In a melting pot country where many religions are practiced and where even those who call themselves Christians do not always agree, it is counter productive to the things school is supposed to teach: reading, writing, math, science, history, civics, etcs.

Maybe it's the fact that there can be no state-sponsored religion. If we teach about God, then we have to teach about Allah, Shiva, Zeus, and Flying Spaghetti Monster too. Isn't it more efficient to let parents handle teaching their kids religion at home?

"Whitehead believes that what exists now in America is akin to the old Soviet Union and China, where it is religious believers fending off the state." Sounds to me like he needs to crack open a history book. Are believers being killed en masse? Are they being driven off of their land by a governmental force? Aren't they free to meet openly in public, when and where ever they want? This is nothing like China or the USSR.

Thinking

2009-02-25T11:01:00.002-05:00

Image via

I have been thinking about getting my own domain and running wordpress. In addition to a blog I was thinking the new site could also have a forum, photo and video galleries, as well as a section that has my reading list with a way for viewers to submit books that maybe I have overlooked.

So, what do you guys think? Is there anything else that I should add to it?

Lonely

2009-02-21T22:03:00.003-05:00

Recently I have been getting really lonely. Between deconverting and moving away from where I grew up I have lost all my friends, except for my husband. I have tried to get more involved in online social networks but it isn't the same as having a someone that I can hang out with.

I am considering checking out a local UU church, but I don't think that I will be comfortable in that enviroment. I really like the fact that being an atheist means that you don't have to waste part of the weekend in church.

I have looked for atheist meet-up groups in this area and saw that there is one that meets in Livonia and another in Southfield, but most of the time their meetings conflict with my schedule so I haven't been able to get involved with them yet.

With all that said, if anyone is in the Ann Arbor area and would like to get together let me know. I need friends!

Atheist Bus Sign Generator

2009-02-01T22:21:00.005-05:00

I found out via Friendly Atheist that there is an atheist bus sign generator. So, of course I had to make my own. It says "There is no God! So stop talking to yourself and eat your dinner."

Google Reader

2009-01-13T20:05:00.001-05:00

Image via WikipediaI have started using Google Reader so that I can more efficiently read all the different blogs that I love. Not only is it really easy to use, but it also makes it easy for me to find new blogs that I am interested in. I hope that this will save me a lot of time so that I have more time to blog, twitter, and research while I am online.

With all this new efficiency I added several blogs to my reading list. So, I thought that this would be a good time to share the atheist blogs that I currently subscribe to with all of you. Feel free to recommend others that you think I should be reading. I am sure that I am missing out on some real gems and I don't want to be.

1azy lizzie's blog
A Division by Zer0
Almost Diamonds
anatheist.net
Atheist Ethicist
Atheist Haven
Atheist Nation
Atheist Revolution
Bad Astronomy
Chicken Girl
Daylight Atheism
Deep Thoughts
Evolved and Rat/i/onal
Ex Christian
Exsisto Sane
Friendly Atheist
i get pissed
irReligion
Oz Atheist's Weblog
Pharyngula
Protium the Heathen
Radical Atheist
Sean the Blogonaut
The Atheist Blogger
The Good Atheist
The Summer Squirrel
Ungodly Cynic

The War on Supidity

2009-01-12T16:20:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia"if there were no god, there would be no atheists" That is the quote that I woke up to yesturday morning. I spent most of the day thinking about it and reading tweets in reply to that comment.

The stupidity behind that comment is very evident and can be shown if you just replace the word "god" with "Santa" and "atheist" with "people who don't believe in Santa" as StyxMaker on twitter did.

This however is not the reason for this post, it is just the back story. I am writing because I hate stupidity. I realize that everyone in their lifetime is going to have a stupid moment, that isn't what I am talking about. I am talking about people that even after they are shown a heaping pile of evidence they stick their fingers in their ears and close their eyes. These kind of people will never change their minds about what they believe and they are just dragging down anyone that is willing to listen to them. If it were just adults that were in danger of being stupid it would be one thing, but they are teaching children. At first it is just ignorance on the part of the children that they follow in the footsteps of their parent, but later on when they are presented with the facts of reality they turn and head in to the black hole of stupidity and that is when it is dangerous. Problems like this one occur or this one and pretty soon you realize that your living in a place controlled by stupid people with no immediate future of changing. This is why stupidity much be combated every time it shows itself.

Instruction Manual for Life

2009-01-11T15:04:00.002-05:00

This is a video that was posted over at exchristian.net. Enjoy!

AFA Takes On Pepsi

2009-01-08T18:22:00.000-05:00

Pepsi upsets the American Family Association (AFA). The saga begins with Pepsi donating $500,000 to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. AFA counters with the following letter:

Recently we noticed that PepsiCo gave a $500,000 donation to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. We were indeed surprised by PepsiCo’s support of the homosexual group. It would appear to us that PepsiCo would not involve itself in a political and culture war, especially supporting an organization seeking to redefine marriage and family.
We ask PepsiCo to remain neutral in this culture war, neither supporting nor opposing the homosexual agenda.

We would like to discuss this matter with PepsiCo. Would you have a representative of PepsiCo contact us?

Pepsi then put the AFA in their place with their response:

I’m responding to your letter to our Chairman. In 2008, the PepsiCo Foundation awarded a grant to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to support a national program specifically designed for workplace environments.

The initiative seeks to promote further understanding and equality in the places where people spend much of their time at work.

Among the values promoted by the PepsiCo Foundation is ensuring a work environment that is respectful and where associates are valued for their contributions. I hope this helps clarify this grant by the PepsiCo Foundation.

Now the AFA is asking their sheep herds to boycott Pepsi as well as call Pepsi to inform them of their decision. I sure hope that Pepsi is just having them leave a message so they don't have to really listen to the hoards of religious anti-gay nuts.

We all know that the AFA really doesn't want Pepsi to remain neutral in this cultural war that they are constantly fueling, but if they said that then their true bigot stripes would show. I also like how the AFA called this a "condescending letter" nothing that Pepsi said was condescending they just supported their position and stood up the the AFA.

Wasted Time

2009-01-05T16:37:00.004-05:00

I was thinking today about how wonderful my Christmas vacation was, I did what I wanted when I wanted. As I went back to work I heard so many people say that they had worked on Church Christmas parties and plays practically the whole break and didn't get to do things they really wanted to do.

I still look back and think about how much time I wasted and how many opportunities I may have missed out on because of religious activities. I know that if I had been able to work on Sunday's throughout high school I would have been able to make a lot more money to put towards college and other things that I wanted. I also would have qualified for a promotion and pay increase earlier.

Of course, at the time I didn't realize that I was wasting my time. I was brainwashed enough to think that by sacrificing my time to serve God I would be rewarded. I also did have fun socializing with all my friends during religious activities.

Even since I have come out to everyone as an atheist I have gone to a few religious activities because I didn't really want to rock the boat. Well, as another new year resolution I am not going to go to any religious activity that I don't want to. I feel that by going to religious activities now I am not only doing something I don't want to do I also giving false hope the Christians in my family. I really don't want to make them think that a sermon is going to change my mind.

Two More Atheists!

2009-01-03T19:36:00.007-05:00

My husband and I adopted two cats from the Humane Society today. They both seem to be enjoying their new home.

This one is Apollo, he is a year old and very playful. He can catch toys between his paws and bat them back.

This is Gemini. She is about 6 years old and very laid back and quiet. Since we've got home she has been hiding under the couch. I am sure once she is comfortable she will come out.

I am so glad that we got a two cats and even though it is a little more difficult to bring both home at the same time I am glad that we did. They had both been at the shelter for a few months so it was about time that they got a nice home.

Christians Leaving Public Schools

2009-01-02T13:46:00.003-05:00

One News Now is reporting that Christians are being urged to leave the public school system.

This sounds like a pretty good idea for a variety of reasons. First off, we might actually be able to teach real science in the classroom without them butting in and wanting their pseudoscience Intelligent Design BS given equal time.

Second, there might actually be a real sex ed section in health class that hasn't been watered down by the religious nuts who think that abstinence only education actually works. It is about time that public schools taught teens about STDs and how to protect themselves. This education is critical because, as all of us rational people know, many teens are having sex.

Third, classes could have honest discussions about social issues such as homosexuality, assisted suicide, and abortion, among others, without it turning into a argument of what each students invisible friend thinks about the issue.

There are only a few draw backs that I am seeing to this whole plan. First, the fact that public schools wouldn't get as much money because their student population would decrease. Also, since there wouldn't be as much money or student there would be a lot of teachers out of jobs. Although, many of the Christian teachers may go to Christian school since they would be in need of more brainwashers so maybe it would all sort of even out.

What do you think?

New Year Goals

2009-01-01T23:44:00.003-05:00

This is the first year that I am completely out as an Atheist and I am not going to hide anymore. For the last year or so I have just kept my mouth closed when the topic of religion has come up in conversations. Also, when situations made me uncomfortable I kept quiet and in doing that I have given religion the respect that it doesn't deserve. It is time to stand up for what I believe and tell people that they don't have the right to trample over my freedoms because of their beliefs.

Another goal that I have set for myself is to read a lot more. My husband and I have a bookshelf that is filled with books that I would love to read but I just haven't taken the time to do so. Most of the books are about atheism and would really help we when writing blog posts and when debating Christians. There are also books on evolution, which is a subject that I know very little about and really wish that I knew more.

If anyone would like to share their goals for this new year I would love to know them. Happy new years everyone!

Intense Debate

2009-01-01T13:43:00.003-05:00

I have been noticing that a lot of my favorite blogs have been using Intense Debate, so I decided it was time to hop on the band wagon. I like the format and I think that it will bring a little more traffic to this lonely blog. I hope that those of you who do comment like it and if you have any problems please send me an e-mail.

Spread the Word

2008-12-29T12:06:00.004-05:00

I was over at Atheist Revolution and read this blog post and thought that I would place the link over here to and make sure that others saw what was happening. Basically, there is a library in Indiana that has a nativity scene displayed and when a guy asked if they thought that was appropriate they went crazy and now are bad mouthing him and his family.

I have already signed up for an account on the thread and as soon as I get approved I am going to start setting these people straight. I also am working on an e-mail to the library board. Vjack is asking for comments on his blog if you have any suggestions about how this man can handle this situation so go over there if you have any ideas.

Apostrophe Fail

2008-12-28T18:43:00.001-05:00

My husband and I were on our way to see my grandparents on Christmas day when we passed church sign that read "Gods' blessings to all". I really would like to know which gods they believe in my money is on Zeus and Thor, but I might be wrong.

Another Christmas Video

2008-12-24T13:41:00.002-05:00

No annoying religious music in this one.

Christmas History Video

2008-12-24T13:32:00.002-05:00

If you are like me and have had enough religious Christmas music to last you a lifetime fast forward to :51 for the part of the video that is more educational. I thought this was a great video to send to those annoying Christians who think that they are the founders of Christmas.

Think Atheist

2008-12-14T10:36:00.003-05:00

This long absence is due to the fact that I found a new site that is amazing, Think Atheist. It is another Atheist networking site, but it seems to a have more active chat room and groups. Here is my profile over there if you want to add me as a friend. Don't worry I am working on a few more substantial blog posts that should be ready in the next few days.

Put on Your Kid Gloves

2008-11-21T16:57:00.003-05:00

The city of Rancho Cucamonga had the "Imagine No Religion" billboard taken down. The billboard was put up by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

I am so sick of this country treating those who are brainwashed by religion with kid gloves. It seems that every time that they are offended and complain everyone scrambles to make them happy because they are afraid of a lawsuit. This kind of special treatment needs to end. There are thousands of people in this country that aren't religious and we deserve to have our ideas heard and to not have our freedom of speech squashed because religious people don't approve. I have seen numerous billboards that were put up by churches advocating their particular brand of religion These billboards don't offended me, they have every right to put of their billboards. Most of the time I get a good chuckle by reading them, or some blog fuel if they are particularly zany.

I am Being Persecuted! grin

2008-11-17T18:20:00.006-05:00

I just received an AFA action alert about the Michigan Senate hate crimes bill. Which increases the punishment by 50% if it is found that a person committed a crime against someone based on any of the following: (a) Disability. (b) Gender, gender identity, or expression of gender.(c) National origin or ancestry.(d) Race, color, or ethnicity.(e) Religion.(f) Sexual orientation.(g) Veterans. The AFA is claiming that if this bill passes it will suppress their religious free speech rights. I have read the bill a few times and this bill only applies to people who have committed a crime it says nothing about prosecuting people for protesting or speaking out agaist groups that they don't like. So, unless they are planning on committing crimes against gays rather than just talk about how immoral and awful they are not going to be prosecuted under this bill.

The AFA's outrage over this bill is nothing more than them claiming persecution when there really isn't any. This annoying persecution complex is fueled, in part, by the fact that their "holy" book claims that there will be more rewards in heaven for those that persevere through the persecution that they will encounter. Christians need to open up their eyes and look around they are not being persecuted! They enjoy many more freedoms than any other religion in America. What other religion has their dusty book in just about every hotel room? What other religion has their god mentioned on the currency and in the pledge? No one is stopping you from going to church any time you want. You can go door-to-door witnessing without fear of getting arrested. Your Church even gets to claim tax-exemption. I fail to see how you are being persecuted in any way shape or form, but feel free to comment on this post if you feel that you are persecuted.

Atheist Blogroll

2008-11-15T11:25:00.003-05:00

I added the Atheist Blogroll to my sidebar. Through this blogroll I am discovering new blogs and hope to expand my reading list.

The blogroll is maintained by Mojoey at Deep Thoughts.

Godless Woman

Think Atheist Book Club

Naming Computers and a Server

Dawkins Lecture

New Cat

God in Public Schools

Thinking

Lonely

Atheist Bus Sign Generator

Google Reader

The War on Supidity

Instruction Manual for Life

AFA Takes On Pepsi

Wasted Time

Two More Atheists!

Christians Leaving Public Schools

New Year Goals

Intense Debate

Spread the Word

Apostrophe Fail

Another Christmas Video

Christmas History Video

Think Atheist

Put on Your Kid Gloves

I am Being Persecuted! *grin*

Atheist Blogroll

I am Being Persecuted! grin