March 2012
69 posts
“But we, wretched unbelievers, we bear our own burdens; we must say, ‘I myself...”
– Olive Schreiner, The Story of an African Farm, first quote, character of Lyndall, “A Boer-Wedding,” second quote, character of Waldo, “Times and Seasons,” (1883)
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I feel like shouting
There are days when being an atheist barely registers in my identity. I am Mom. Friend. Sister. Yoga Enthusiast. Liberal. Bibliophile. Wife.
Then there are other days… days like today when a huge majority of the updates on my Facebook are calls for prayer, thank yous to Jesus who healed someone that has been in the ICU for the last three weeks, hopes for God to help Mitt Romney/Rick...
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Dear theists intent on converting an atheist (part...
When you use the phrase “Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner,” ESPECIALLY when discussing LGBT rights, you sound like an asshole. ~JJ
Free your mind.
theilluminatedatheist:
Most Christians would say that Christianity is a religion of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Most Muslims say that Islam is a religion of peace. And guess what? They’re right….at least, according to their interpretations of their respective sacred texts.
The problem is that the interpretation of the texts of the world’s two most prominent religions as one of love,...
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Should we go play transformers now?
Scene: Watching a musical clip from the tv show Glee.
My seven-year-old son (pointing to Kurt and Rachel): Do those two love each other?
Me: Well, they love each other like friends, but not like boyfriend and girlfriend. Kurt is gay.
My son: Gay means he wants to marry a boy, right?
Me: Right.
My son: So which one is his boyfriend?
Me (pointing to the screen): Umm… I think that...
nonplussedbyreligion:
sonic-hip-attack:
Orthogonal coding: k-1 orthogonal contrasts are possible, contrasts must be orthogonal (but huge flexibility about how many sets of orthogonal contrasts are possible. Orthogonal implies indepence, 2 contrasts are orthogonal is Σaibi = 0, where ai = coefficient of 1st contrast and the bi = coefficient of second contrast. An example is Σaibi = 0,...
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“A learning experience is one of those things that says, ‘You know that...”
– Douglas Adams
This might be my next tattoo…. LOL ~JJ
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ashesaoirse replied to your post: Which God?
Can I huggle you, JJ?
Awwww! I would LOVE an Ashe hug! :-)
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theilluminatedatheist replied to your post: Which God?
It will happen so much that eventually it won’t bother you anymore, if it ever did. My friend once told me that someone telling her that she go to hell would be just like telling her that she was going to Hogwarts. Neither place exists. Peace. :)
Thanks, Ben. I have to admit that this was a person I had very little respect for to begin with...
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Which God?
After posting a few Dawkins and Tyson quotes on Facebook and sharing a few funny articles from The Thinking Atheist, I suppose this was inevitable. I’ve never made an “I’m an Atheist” announcement; it never really seemed necessary. But perhaps I should make an announcement in order to get all of these types of conversations out of the way in one shot?
A conversation with...
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Maracas
I laid my almost 2-year-old daughter in her crib tonight and smiled as she immediately snuggled into her blankets, stuck her thumb in her mouth and closed her eyes. ”Good night. I love you. Sweet dreams,” I whispered, stroking her hair then turning for the door.
“Mama?” her little voice called out.
“Yes, sweetie?” I replied, hoping for the elusive...
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nonplussedbyreligion:
teachthemhowtothink:
Yes. It’s true. Atheists do eat babies. ~JJ
This is just wonderful. She’s a good one to eat too because unlike your average toy wielding baby, she’s holding a pen. Oh to her lovely brain.
Thanks JJ, this made my day :)
I KNEW you would notice that! LOL! She was drawing balloons and elephants, if I remember correctly.
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Between the Reason Rally and the National Atheist...
religiousragings:
I’ve come, even more, to realize how important, how necessary, how very urgent, is the necessity of atheism. Now!
It’s not just that the lack of belief in a god is such a major insight to humanity. This lack of belief has been held by thinkers for thousands of years.
It’s that science has taken us so far, so quickly, that the moralities laid upon us by dogma threaten our...
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Attention atheists
mamaatheist:
Up with Chris Hayes this morning was an atheist’s dream. The entire panel was atheists, including Richard Dawkins via satellite, who was on fire! Lots of great discussion. Watch it online if you can. (msnbc)
Thanks for the heads up, mamaatheist! For those that haven’t seen this yet, you can watch all of it here: http://upwithchrishayes.msnbc.msn.com/.
A few favorite...
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“I have concluded, through careful empirical analysis and much thought, that...”
– Adam Savage, co-host of Mythbusters, at the Washington DC Reason Rally.
March 24, 2012.
(via mamaatheist)
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“If you think education is expensive, try the cost of ignorance.”
– Derek Bok
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Rethinking His Religion
Op-Ed in The New York Times yesterday. Covers a lot of ground - of all if important. ~JJ
By FRANK BRUNI
Published: March 24, 2012
I MOVED into my freshman-year dorm at the University of North Carolina after many of the other men on the hall. One had already begun decorating. I spotted the poster above his desk right away. It showed a loaf of bread and a chalice of red wine, with these words:...
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ialways-dreamed answered your question: Well hello there new followers!
I saw a post on nonplussedbyreligion and I really liked reading about your son. I hope if I have kids I can raise mine as well as you do!
thebrazilianatheist answered your question: Well hello there new followers!
i think your point of view and the posts about your kids quite good. When I become a mother I wanna be just...
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mockingnerd replied to your post: Well hello there new followers!
Nonplussedbyreligion kept plugging you and I couldn’t resist any longer!
mockingnerd replied to your post: berley answered your question: Well hello there…
Dolphins are toothed whales, and orcas are the largest dolphins, so you’re both kind of right. ;)
Ha! Well it’s a darn good thing you did! So, tomorrow I need...
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berley answered your question: Well hello there new followers!
I was linked to your tumblr from the “Thinking Athiest” video that you posted and decided that I like what you have to say. :)
monsieurleblanc answered your question: Well hello there new followers!
I like pretty much everything you post! Especially stuff like that lecture earlier today and the stuff about your kid. YAY!
Thank...
Well hello there new followers!
May I ask what brought you all here?
I don’t post often (as most of you know), but is there anything you’d like to see more of? Questions? Comments?
I’ll turn on anon for a bit if you’re shy. :-) ~JJ
?
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Teaching Discrimination
There is a weekly gathering of parents and kids that takes place in my area.
The topic this week was three-year-old development, and one of the things three year olds are notorious for doing is pointing out differences. Take a three year old to the store and he/she will be pointing and shouting out characteristics of just about everyone you’ll encounter: “She has glasses!”...
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Dear theists intent on converting an atheist (part...
Replace “God” with “Zeus” and “Jesus” with “Apollo” in those long paragraphs you type out about your deity’s wonderfulness.
Sounds kinda ridiculous now, doesn’t it?
That’s how you sound to us. ~JJ
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Open-Minded Man Grimly Realizes How Much Life He's...
THIS IS FROM THE ONION - IT IS SATIRE. Hilariously accurate, but satire. :-) ~JJ
CLEVELAND—During an unexpected moment of clarity Tuesday, open-minded man Blake Richman was suddenly struck by the grim realization that he’s squandered a significant portion of his life listening to everyone’s bullshit, the 38-year-old told reporters.
A visibly stunned and solemn Richman, who until...
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NOH8
only1incolor:
This is an e-mail written to Dan Savage, who is AMAZING and if you don’t know who he is, you should defintely check him out. His response to this question is just perfect.
I’ve been a loyal reader for half my life. Today, a friend and I got into a debate about you. My friend says your campaign to redefine “santorum” flies in the face of your anti-bullying “It Gets Better” campaign....
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nonplussedbyreligion: Politics Is Getting More... →
nonplussedbyreligion:
I saw this over on Facebook. Usually I don’t read through the comments on pages that aren’t run by friends, but the very first comment on this was hard to ignore. It said:
Citizen: I don’t want to be governed
Goverment: OK, bye.
I don’t know the person who posted that comment, and…
On the teeny tiny chance you are not following Kim, you should probably fix...
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I find the most bizarre things while working
This has nothing to do with atheism, secular parenting, politics or science, but it’s still really cool. :-D
It doesn’t get started until around the 30 second mark. ~JJ
http://www.viddler.com/v/81b301b
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Venus, Mars and Jupiter!
I stumbled across this article last night about an hour after I had put my 7-year-old to bed. Venus, Jupiter AND Mars, all easily visible? A gorgeous, clear night? A telescope sitting next to the door to the deck?
I just HAD to wake him up. I’m a bad mom like that.
It took a good five minutes to rouse him from sleep (which made me think, perhaps, waking him on a school night wasn’t the...
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nonplussedbyreligion: Would this advice have been... →
nonplussedbyreligion:
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been accused of never being a true Christian, because someone believed if I really was my faith would not have been shaken, and I would not have become an atheist. A post I made earlier explaining that the earthquake in Japan last year was what started the…
I read through this entire exchange three times. The first time I...
