case for atheism

Atheist Survey Meme

I came across this a while back on Hemant Mehta’s blog, The Friendly Atheist. I don’t usually do things like this, but I figured it was harmless enough. At very best, it might inspire someone to read a new atheist book, attend a rally, or even invite a Jehovah’s witness into their home.

  1. Participated in the Blasphemy Challenge.
  2. Met at least one of the “Four Horsemen” (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris) in person.
  3. Created an atheist blog.
  4. Used the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a religious debate with someone.
  5. Gotten offended when someone called you an agnostic.
  6. Been unable to watch Growing Pains reruns because of Kirk Cameron.
  7. Own more Bibles than most Christians you know.
  8. Have at least one Bible with your personal annotations regarding contradictions, disturbing parts, etc.
  9. Have come out as an atheist to your family.
  10. Attended a campus or off-campus atheist gathering.
  11. Are a member of an organized atheist/Humanist/etc. organization.
  12. Had a Humanist wedding ceremony.
  13. Donated money to an atheist organization.
  14. Have a bookshelf dedicated solely to Richard Dawkins.
  15. Lost the friendship of someone you know because of your non-theism.
  16. Tried to argue or have a discussion with someone who stopped you on the street to proselytize.
  17. Had to hide your atheist beliefs on a first date because you didn’t want to scare him/her away.
  18. Own a stockpile of atheist paraphernalia (bumper stickers, buttons, shirts, etc).
  19. Attended a protest that involved religion.
  20. Attended an atheist conference.
  21. Subscribe to Pat Condell’s YouTube channel.
  22. Started an atheist group in your area or school.
  23. Successfully “de-converted” someone to atheism.
  24. Have already made plans to donate your body to science after you die.
  25. Told someone you’re an atheist only because you wanted to see the person’s reaction.
  26. Had to think twice before screaming “Oh God!” during sex. Or you said something else in its place.
  27. Lost a job because of your atheism.
  28. Formed a bond with someone specifically because of your mutual atheism (meeting this person at a local gathering or conference doesn’t count).
  29. Have crossed “In God We Trust” off of – or put a pro-church-state-separation stamp on – dollar bills.
  30. Refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
  31. Said “Gesundheit!” (or nothing at all) after someone sneezed because you didn’t want to say “Bless you!”
  32. Have ever chosen not to clasp your hands together out of fear someone might think you’re praying.
  33. Have turned on Christian TV because you needed something entertaining to watch.
  34. Are a 2nd or 3rd (or more) generation atheist.
  35. Have “atheism” listed on your Facebook or dating profile – and not a euphemistic variant.
  36. Attended an atheist’s funeral (i.e. a non-religious service).
  37. Subscribe to an freethought magazine (e.g. Free Inquiry, Skeptic)
  38. Have been interviewed by a reporter because of your atheism.
  39. Written a letter-to-the-editor about an issue related to your non-belief in God.
  40. Gave a friend or acquaintance a New Atheist book as a gift.
  41. Wear pro-atheist clothing in public.
  42. Have invited Mormons/Jehovah’s Witnesses into your house specifically because you wanted to argue with them.
  43. Have been physically threatened (or beaten up) because you didn’t believe in God.
  44. Receive Google Alerts on “atheism” (or variants).
  45. Received fewer Christmas presents than expected because people assumed you didnt celebrate it.
  46. Visited The Creation Museum or saw Ben Stein’s Expelled just so you could keep tabs on the “enemy.”
  47. Refuse to tell anyone what your “sign” is… because it doesn’t matter at all.
  48. Are on a mailing list for a Christian organization just so you can see what they’re up to…
  49. Have kept your eyes open while you watched others around you pray.
  50. Avoid even Unitarian churches because they’re too close to religion for you.

According to the grading scale on Hemant’s site:

21-30: You are an atheist, but babies aren’t running away from you. Yet.

I’m not going to pester anyone to repost this, but feel free to do so. If you do, it would be nice to link back to Hemant’s blog.

Religulous DVD. Buy It. Now.

Buy It. Watch It. Show It To Friends.

religulous2


On another happy note, as I had secretly hoped, T-Shirt Hell is NOT going out of business, and was just faking it to boost sales. Well played. Well played, indeed. Their 10% off sale is running through the end of the week, so now is the time to glom onto some very declarative apparel.

Religulous DVD Release on February 17th

religulous1Even though only ten days ago, I had no idea, Amazon has now listed a release date for Religulous. On February 17th, you and I will become owners of a great documentary that we can add to our arsenal of reason when we defend our decisions and illustrate lunacy. For the value price of $19.99, you can pre-order the DVD today.

Please take a moment to Digg, Stumble, or share this post on Facebook to help get the word out on this film. If you didn’t get to see it in the theater, it can be your personal way of thanking Bill Maher for a great movie.

Religulous Available Soon on DVD

So I finally saw Religulous while it was in theaters. Granted, I had to drive over 100 miles each way to see it, but every mile was worth it. I’m not a patient person, but I had no problem braving urban traffic in the rain knowing that I was going to see this film. My friend Megan was along for the ride, equally excited to see the film and equally angry that the film was not being shown anywhere in our state (it starts with “A” and ends with “labama”).

Like many of you, I am anxiously awaiting the release of the DVD, so that I may begin showing it to everyone who enters my home. I do this with another documentary as well that I won’t mention due to its political nature. However, I will say that I have opened a few eyes as a result of my screenings. I intend to do the same with this film. No concrete release date has been publicized at this time, but given the average turn-around time from screen to shelf, I’d say it has to be sometime fairly soon.

You can pre-order a copy of the DVD at Amazon at this time for $20.99. A cool feature that Amazon has is their Pre-Order Price Guarantee, which will refund you the difference in price if the price drops before it is actually released. You can also grab the Religulous cloud poster and toast poster if you want to decorate your room in a secular motif.

One last thing I wanted to share. I had copied this clipping (I don’t remember the source) from some time ago.

Bill Maher’s anti-religion documentary Religulous is on track to become the highest-grossing documentary of the year by next Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Wednesday). The film had already grossed more than $7 million in its first ten days at just 568 theaters. Ironically, the film is due to displace Expelled, Ben Stein’s creationist documentary, which grossed $7.7 million during its domestic run earlier this year. (It opened at 1,052 theaters.) In reporting on the box-office success of the two films, the Times commented that it “just does to show that when it comes to religion and movies, the box office is agnostic.”

Not only is it fantastic that it performed so well in it’s first ten days of limited release, but I am happy to report that with a total box office earnings of $12,995,673, Religulous has well surpassed Expelled which capped at $7,499,617 (Source: Yahoo Movies).

Pre-Order Religulous Today!