Walk a Mile in an Atheist's Shoes...

... or in an atheist's t-shirt, perhaps:

20 Questions Atheists Struggle To Answer

A blogger who calls himself God's Advocate posted a list of 20 questions that "atheists struggle to answer," and claims that "there have not been any decent responses to them in the past 40yrs" (sic). Here's his list, followed by my explanation of why this list is stupid:

I am an...

This was an idea I had. Thought it'd be fun to make.

"Because if we can't protect reason, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it!"

Journey of One: Identity

[ This is part five of an ongoing series I call "Journey of One," which is meant to contain articles about me, my story, my journey, and the lessons learned from the life experiences. Here is the entire series so far: Journey of One. ]

My Personal Motto

Dead-Logic's Liturgical Calendar

In honor of today being Towel Day (i.e., the day celebrating the life and works of Douglas Adams), I thought I'd share with you my own personal liturgical calendar of holidays and events I celebrate throughout the year:

Where I Fall on Dawkins' Scale

I had some interesting responses to my post on The Dawkins' Scale. Bruce's comment made me think, though. How do we define "god"? I would typically say I'm closer to a 5 on the scale, but when it comes to specific god-concepts that humans have invented throughout the ages, I may be closer to a 6 and even a 7. When it comes to whether any kind of "god" exists (however the term is defined), I think I'm actually a 4, but that's because not only am I uncertain that anyone knows anything about whether a god exists, I am uncertain that anyone could define or describe such an entity. I find the specific descriptions/definitions of "god" much more dubious. The Abrahamic religions' construct of diety makes the least sense to me, so I'm between a 6 and 7 concerning that "god." I find the god-concept of eastern pantheistic monism, particularly in Hinduism, much more palatable. My lack of belief concerning such a view stems from the absolute lack of evidence for such a view. Here I'm closer to a 5 on Dawkins' scale.

If there's any god I could believe in, it'd probably be this one:

The Dawkins' Scale

Where do you fall on this scale?

Shawarma

Yes, it's true. The only reason I want to try shawarma is because of the Avengers movie. I really wish I could go all hipster and say "I was eating shawarma before Iron Man made it cool," but I can't. I will say though that, being from Chicago, I have been a long-time fan of the gyro, and I hear there's some similarities.

Now, to the heart of the matter: can anyone point me towards a shawarma joint anywhere in central Illinois, or do I need to drive back to Chicago to try it?

In the meantime, I'm heading out to grab a gyro (and for the record, it's pronounced "YEE-roh").

Happy weekend, everyone.

Who Needs The Avengers When We Have This?

Rated "E" for Evangelicals.

Journey of One: College

[ This is part four of an ongoing series I call "Journey of One," which is meant to contain articles about me, my story, my journey, and the lessons learned from the life experiences. Here is part one: Journey of One: Brotherhood, and part two: Journey of One: Purpose, and part three: Journey of One: Mortality. ]

Cristina Rad's Response to Neil deGrasse Tyson

Cristina Rad offers us much to think about in this video response to Neil deGrasse Tyson:

Why Elevatorgate is Still Relevant

Amidst the moans and groans (my own included) of "why are we still talking about Elevatorgate?" I realize now why Elevatorgate got so much attention - and why it's still a relevant topic today. Regardless of which side of the debate one finds herself, Elevatorgate touches on sensitive and important issues: feminism, women's rights, decent behavior, objectification of women, rape, sexuality, et al; moreover, Elevatorgate has revealed the worst in people. For reasons which are still unclear to me, Elevatorgate has elevated the emotional reactions of people to such issues which are already emotional firestarters. The results have been rather disturbing.

Bigotry is Alive and Well... For Now

The problem with being a Bible college graduate is that I'm friends on Facebook with a lot of other people who attended my alma mater. Usually that's not so bad. Sometimes, however, I see stuff like this:

Affected by Context

I mentioned before that I am a long-time Magic: the Gathering player. For those who don't know, Magic is a competitive trading card game with a fantasy theme: magic, wizards, angels, vampires, dragons, knights, zombies, et cetera. I've been playing the game since its release in 1993. I've made a lot of friends at local game stores along the way. I don't play nearly as often as I used to, but I still keep up with the latest news about the game by visiting some of the popular sites dedicated to Magic, such as StarCityGames.com, MTG Salvation, and Channel Fireball. Magic is one of many activities which fall under the "gamer" subculture, a culture frequently mocked, parodied or stereotyped (for example, Comic Book Guy).

Cinco De Mayo Link Round-up

I basically stole this "link round-up" idea from this guy. You know what they say, imitation is the sincerest form of... laziness, or something.

Open Letter to Believers Who Think Non-Believers Are Going To Hell

[I wrote this a couple days before I wrote The Path of a Critical Thinker (part five). This open letter prompted me to write that entry.]

Evidence

Mike D reminded me recently of the video series by YouTuber Evid3nc3, and this video in particular:

The Path of a Critical Thinker (part five)

From Plato's Cave to Descartes' Malignant Demon to the Wachowski brothers' virtual world of the Matrix, our assumptions of what we know (and think we know) about "the real" continue to be challenged. I've studied epistemology extensively, and I still can't quite tell you exactly how I know what I know, or what I know, or whatever. And I think we're all pretty much in the same boat. Herein lies the importance of critical thinking. A critical thinker holds her beliefs with an open hand, and doesn't stop examining, questioning, and studying, and doesn't assume that she's figured out all the mysteries of the universe, because she wants her beliefs to conform to reality as much as possible. A critical thinker bases her thoughts and actions on the best explanation of the evidence, requiring the application of logic, and the use of reason.

The Atheist Label (part two)

Predictably, Neil deGrasse Tyson's thoughts on the "atheist" label drew some mixed reviews. The criticism which, in my estimation, deserves the most attention is the argument that we do nothing to overcome the stigma attached to the "atheist" label by shunning or avoiding it. I think this is a point worth considering. I don't know whether NDT is uncomfortable with the label because of the negative baggage folks put on it; either way, I know many people who don't believe in god(s) - which, by definition, makes them atheists - who refuse to call themselves atheists because the word atheist is looked at as an evil word by so many ignorant people.

The Atheist Label

I won't be surprised if I learn that PZ Myers has written a scathing critique of Neil deGrasse Tyson's comments in the following video:

Does Life Have Value?

"How can life have any value," my former Christian apologist self would have inquired, "if the ultimate end of everyone is non-existence?" I, like many other defenders of the faith, stuffed the issue into a C.S. Lewis Box (a phrase I stole from Bee that's just a different and fun way to refer to a false dilemma or trilemma or any attempt to ignore other possible options): either life continues on for eternity or life has absolutely no value. More to the point a Christian apologist would attempt to make, either heaven awaits us or absolute nihilism is all we have. I argued along these lines back in my apologetics days: