In the latest issue of the Secular Student Alliance’s eMpirical, there’s a debate on Greg Epstein’s book Good Without God:

Sharon Moss, president of the Humanist Community of Central Ohio, is a fan of Epstein’s message:

If our message is going to reach beyond just white men — to get the majority of nontheists off the couch and into our movement — we need to get our faces out of the philosophy books from time to time. We can take cues from other movements and embrace both our firebrands and our diplomats. It takes all kinds — and different points of entry — to make a movement. Good Without God is a push to get us there.

Frank Bellamy, president of the Secular Student Alliance at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, thinks the book does more harm than good:

… what makes Good Without God offensive to me is that unlike the “new atheists” (as he calls them), who do not claim to represent all secular people, Epstein has the arrogance to claim he speaks for you, me, and everyone else who does not believe in a god (see the subtitle). He clearly does not. I agree with PZ Myers, who said, “just as we can be good without god, we can also be good without rituals, good without sacraments, [and] good without priests and chaplains.”

Where do you stand on the book and its premise?

Do you ever find yourself in a heated debate with Creationists and all you have with you is your iPhone?!

Yes. Yes, you do. Every day.

That’s why you want to download Creationist Claims by Insomnia Addict — it’s the iPhone version of The Counter-Creationism Handbook by Mark Isaak.

And it’s free!

How awesome is that?

(Thanks to Elsa for the link!)

This is what you need to know about Jeff and Marci Beagley:

They allowed their son to die of an inflammation of his urethra because they figured a god would cure him. Instead of taking him to a doctor for real help, they prayed… and sat back idly while he suffered.

A jury found them guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

The other day, they finally received their sentence:

Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Steven Maurer sentenced Jeffrey and Marci Beagley to 16 months in prison this afternoon, calling the couple’s decision to not seek medical care for their 16-year-old son, Neil Beagley, a “crime that was a product of an unwillingness to respect the boundaries of freedom of religious expression.”

… The sentence also includes three years of post-prison supervision.

A little over a year. They killed their own son and that’s all they have to serve for it.

I saw the video of their sentencing and I felt no sympathy for them.

I just hope this sends a lesson to other parents. Pray for your children’s health if you want, but god won’t help them as much as a good doctor will.

(via Religion Clause)

Wayne Laugesen, the editorial page editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette, has a piece in which he chides the atheist movement as a whole.

He says we had a good run, but we’re committing a comedy of errors:

… The organization Atheist Agenda, at the University of Texas-San Antonio, draws attention by offering pornography in exchange for Bibles, Torahs, Korans and other religious texts.

Here’s some unsolicited advice for the college atheists: Grown-ups don’t think it’s cute, and you don’t help the atheist cause by aligning it with porn. We’re just saying…

Meanwhile, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has decided to battle the U.S. Postal Service over its new Mother Teresa stamp….

He focuses on things like the recent chaos at the Richard Dawkins forums as evidence that our movement is fading fast.

That’s ridiculous. There are plenty of things atheists do that I like and much that I dislike. But overall, we’re heading in the right direction.

And when you have momentum on your side, a few distractions won’t change that.

The few blemishes we have don’t necessarily set us back all the way. I’m not a fan of Smut for Smut but I don’t think they’re going to undo everything that Dawkins and Sam Harris and the national organizations have been working toward. They don’t help, but they’re not the end of the world.

We’re not unified in our tactics but we don’t have to be. And we’re not going to keep our mouth shut if we don’t like what someone else is doing. That said, we are basically unified in our message that we would be better off living in a society where religion had less power than it does now. We’d be better off without all the superstitious nonsense. We’d be better off if people realized they could be good without a god.

But how does Laugesen treat the few instances where atheists don’t come off looking great?

As a collective, atheists are falling apart. Their movement probably has no great future. It may have seen all the momentum it ever will. The atheist community will thrive only if non-believers find positive and constructive causes, as Mother Teresa did. It will find a future only if disbelievers put time and money into soup kitchens, homeless shelters, hospitals and AIDS hospices — as Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians do. A movement can’t go far on negative energy alone… If atheists want acceptance, and to make a difference in this world, they need to find the love.

He’s overreacting.

But he has a point about the love. We can’t tear down religion without offering something to replace it. You can’t take away someone’s hope without inspiring them in another way. You can’t remove someone’s social network without offering them a new community to join.

The atheist movement is working on all of those things.

Laugesen neglects to mention groups like Foundation Beyond Belief (which I’m on the board of) which focus on getting Secular Americans to give to charity.

He forgets that young people are coming out, starting local groups, and being vocal about their non-theism moreso than ever before.

He doesn’t mention that we’re meeting with the White House, lobbying in Washington, D.C., and working together more than anyone would’ve ever thought possible.

Yes, there are a few individuals and groups who do things that might hurt our image. But the overall trend is favorable to us and that’s not about to change because of a few people.

(Thanks to Bob for the link)

That’s the latest rumor floating around, courtesy of Michael Middlebrooks:

Last night as I was leaving a pizzeria in Downtown St. Pete, I ran into a small group of people around Florida Governor Charlie Crist who was campaigning for a US Senate run. So, I walked over waited a moment to gain his attention and shook his hand. As we were shaking hands I asked him if he really believes that the letters he sent to Jerusalem prevent hurricanes from hitting Florida.

His smile immediately dropped and he replied “Who’s more powerful than God.” That wasn’t really an answer so asked him again to which I got a similar reply. While this was happening one of his people put a “Charlie Crist for US Senate 2010″ sticker on me. Then when I told Charlie that I did not believe in God he turned beat [sic] red and ripped the sticker off of my chest. He did a 180 to start shaking other peoples hands, and turned to scream over his shoulder that he feels sorry for me.

This supposedly happened to Michael, a member of the Atheists of Florida group, and Atheist Alliance International put out this statement on their behalf:

Atheists of Florida is demanding an official apology for this outrageous behavior. Imagine if any public official had reacted this way to a Jew or a Muslim expressing their worldview, by invading their personal space to rip off a campaign sticker, then screaming that he “feels sorry” for them!

If this happened, it ought to be big news.

But you mean to tell me Crist — a Republican candidate for Senate — attacked someone he was talking to while on the campaign trail and there were no cameras around?

Show me the proof, the video, the eyewitnesses — and then we can start taking this to the press.

Until then, no one should take this seriously.

It’s just like the oft-mentioned soundbyte from George Bush (the elder): “No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”

In that case, the only person who heard it was an atheist (Rob Sherman)… and there’s no audio/video recording of the statement. Did it happen? Maybe, but without proof, who knows.

I’m not saying Middlebrooks is a liar. But I’m not going to take his claim seriously unless he can back it up. As far as I’ve seen, he hasn’t done that yet.

(via No God Blog)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s Dan Barker may make a brief appearance on tonight’s episode of The Daily Show.

Segments change depending on the news so it’s not a done deal, but keep an eye out for it tonight.

The question I don’t know the answer to: Why will he be on there…?

Any theories?

Yesterday, I was at a church (Willow Chicago) to talk with the pastor on stage about what Christians can learn from outsiders about how Jesus-followers and churches appear to the rest of us.

The talk was brief but it went well, I thought. And the people who stopped me afterwards were sweet and genuine with their questions — I didn’t get the feeling they were trying to convert me. If audio becomes available, I’ll post it.

I’ve done this sort of event a number of times ever since the book came out and it’s always been enjoyable — and from what I hear, the churchgoers like it, too. Not because it’s critical of what they do, but because it’s refreshing to hear an honest dialogue with someone who holds an opposing viewpoint.

Churches aren’t exactly known for allowing dissent among the ranks, so it takes some courage on the part of the pastors who invite me.

Pastor: I have an idea for next week’s sermon!

Church board: What is it?!

Pastor: I’ll have a conversation with an atheist!

Church board: … have you been drinking?

I’m sure that can’t be easy. But it has happened and it has worked.

Every time this has happened, though, it’s always been a conversation with the pastor on stage. Or, in some instances, they would take questions from the audience, filter through them, and then pose them to me. In all cases, I think the reception has been positive. None of these pastors were fired the next day. If anything, the congregation thanked them for doing something “risky.”

What I have NOT seen are churches brave enough to allow someone with a dissenting viewpoint to take the stage by themselves. (And why would they, right? It’s their church and their beliefs.) But if they’re strong in their faith, I’m sure they could allow someone to talk about the importance of questioning beliefs, or the problems a person has with Christianity (or Christians, specifically), or the truth about what non-Christians are really like… without fearing that the congregation is going to run away screaming. Think of it as an honest critique that would be a starting point for future conversations on how the church could improve.

When I had my atheist group in college, we invited speakers who disagreed with us quite a bit. For example, we once invited a lecturer who said he had good reason to believe that out-of-body experiences (like in a hospital emergency room while you were being operated on) were real. We’d hear him out and then pose our questions to him.

It would’ve been equally interesting to hear a good speaker talk specifically to our group about why pornography was evil, or why abortion should be outlawed, or why gay marriage should be banned. I’m sure the post-talk conversation would’ve been exciting for everyone.

With the right speaker, how interesting would that be? I think it’d be fantastic. And I’m confident enough in my beliefs on those issues that I could rebut whatever the speakers were throwing at me without feeling threatened by their presence

So, I’ll just throw this question out there:

Are there any churches out there that would let me speak to their congregation for at least 30 minutes?

I promise not to wreck your church, only to talk about the concerns I have as an atheist living in a predominantly-Christian country. I’ll ask some tough questions, share some personal stories, and even give credit to the church where it’s deserved. I won’t say/do anything that would get you in trouble with the law or try to dismantle the church in that time. That’s not my goal. You also don’t get to screen my talk beforehand — you have to trust that what I have to say is worth listening to. Other details, we could work out together.

I think it would get media attention, and I think it would draw in lots of people who wouldn’t normally step foot inside a church. You would be showing the world that you’re not afraid of criticism and opposing viewpoints — in fact, you welcome the challenge because it’d make you take a good hard look at your faith. And you’re confident you’d end up in a better position as a result.

I don’t know if any church would be willing to do this.

I also know this wouldn’t work with just any random atheist. But it might work with me. I think I have some pastors who could vouch for me as well as people who work for a Christian book publisher. I have references at your request.

Plus, I’ve seen enough sermons to know I could deliver a good one on my own terms. (The main speaker this weekend was author Donald Miller. Despite the Jesus-speak, I thought his talk was excellent.)

Who’s in?

I’m giving a couple talks this week and you’re welcome to come. In fact, I demand that you do. Or else.

This Wednesday night, I’ll be speaking at Beloit College in Wisconsin. The event is in Richardson Auditorium beginning at 8:30 p.m.

And this Friday night, I’ll be at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Noyes Lab at 7:00 p.m., courtesy of the Atheists, Agnostics, & Freethinkers group.

Come say hello. Bring me your babies. Buy me a root beer. It’ll be fun!

There’s an atheist bus ad making the rounds in Argentina:

The article (translated here) says this is all in promotion of an atheist conference taking place next month.

I love how this meme is spreading worldwide. What other countries need to get in on the action?

(Thanks to Facundo for the link)