1. Atheists are nice people who will roast in hell, says Cardinal

Comment #177980 by theory on May 10, 2008 at 5:44 am

There's definitely a lot of egg on the faces of the people in this comment section. I've been roped in by satire in the past to be sure, but I'm surprised how many of you missed this.

2. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96389 by theory on December 10, 2007 at 1:17 pm

I don't see why it's relevant to get into the semantics of whether or not a sign as Riley described would be historically accurate or what not. I would argue that even if it were a completely agreed upon fact that the atrocities of Stalin were a direct result of atheism, it still wouldn't make the sign appropriate in the same way that the sign disparaging religion wouldn't be appropriate, mainly because a park isn't the appropriate venue for making such a statement.

That is to say, no one puts up a sign like that because they want to provoke deep thought and intellectual debate. They put it up to be provocative and offensive. I'd like to think that the community of rationalists would be above those kind of tactics.

3. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96347 by theory on December 10, 2007 at 12:26 pm

Riley I think you hit the nail on the head.

While it is of course a given that atheists and religious people alike share the right to say whatever they want, I think what it comes down to is whether or not the sign was in good taste, and I contend that it was not.

It can certainly be annoying to see the endless parade of Christian iconography around this time of year, but at least what one can say about the majority of it is that it isn't designed to be deliberately provocative or offensive, as this sign clearly was.

I don't see how things like this advance the cause of reason in any helpful way. All they appear to do is make us look like, in the words of Sam Harris, a cranky and marginal interest group.

4. The New Atheists on Organized Freethought

Comment #82300 by theory on October 26, 2007 at 2:47 am

I really enjoyed the interviews up until Rational Response Squad. I understand the casual attitude is part of their method, that's fine, but I was really taken aback by the way they addressed other people in the movement so callously. I don't really understand why they feel to need to project such smugness especially when conducting themselves around other like-minded individuals.

Please don't misconstrue this as me being a "hater"; we're part of the same movement so in that sense we're united, but how can we expect others to think critically if we don't practice our own self-criticality?

Humor is certainly an important aspect of the movement, but let's try to keep a clear separation between intelligent humor, and the kind of humor that might go over well in a high school classroom.