Annom seems to be right and it's a good thing

Very interesting report. Atheism on the rise.

The WIN-Gallup International ‘Religion and Atheism Index’ which measures global self-perceptions on beliefs is based on interviews with more than 50,000 men and women selected from 57 countries across the globe in five continents. The survey also provides trend data for shifts in attitudes since 2005.

Interesting fact, China is the most atheist country in the world:
14% religious, 30% non-religious, 47% convinced atheist, 9% don't know / no response

Christopher Hitchens, still outrageous

One of my heroes. I hope, but doubt, he will get remission from his cancer.

Jim Jeffries on heaven and hell

Quite an extreme and angry atheist, but fucking funny too.

Fuck him

From Tim Minchin. He's a bit of a weird comedian, also known for:

More Tim Minchin which was featured on our blog.

Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions

A nice TED Talk. I think Harris makes some good points and is an eloquent speaker.

The Importance of Unbelief - Stephen Fry

Full version (61 minutes) here

Atheist buses denying God's existence take to streets

Organisers originally hoped to put the message on just a handful of London buses, as an antidote to posters put up by religious groups which they claimed were "threatening eternal damnation" to non-believers. But after the campaign received high-profile support from the prominent atheist Prof Richard Dawkins and the British Humanist Association, the modest £5,500 target was met within minutes and more than £140,000 has now been donated since the launch in October. Enough money has now been raised to place the message – "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" – on 200 bendy buses in the capital for a month, with the first ones taking to the streets . A further 600 buses carrying the adverts will be seen by passengers and passers-by in cities across England, Wales and Scotland, from Aberdeen and Dundee to York, Coventry, Swansea and Bristol. In addition, two large LCD screens bearing the atheist message have been placed in Oxford Street, central London, while 1,000 posters containing quotes from well-known non-believers will be placed on Underground trains for two weeks starting on Monday. Full Article.... As expected: 'No God' campaign draws complaint An atheist campaign claiming "There's probably no God" has been reported to the advertising regulator.

The Answer:

more music charts

God Only SEEMS Nonexistent

Atheist headstone

50 Atheism Quotes

A few of my favorites: Religion easily has the best bullshit story of all time. Think about it. Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money. -George Carlin Which is it, is man one of God’s blunders or is God one of man’s? -Friedrich Nietzsche What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of “humility.” This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism. -Albert Einstein “In God We Trust.” I don’t believe it would sound any better if it were true. -Mark Twain Lighthouses are more helpful then churches. -Benjamin Franklin What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. - Christopher Hitchens You’re basically killing each other to see who’s got the better imaginary friend. -Richard Jeni Quote One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion. -Arthur C. Clarke See the others here...

Atheists and Anger

"One of the most common criticisms lobbed at the newly-vocal atheist community is, "Why do you have to be so angry?" So I want to talk about: 1. Why atheists are angry; 2. Why our anger is valid, valuable, and necessary; And 3. Why it's completely fucked-up to try to take our anger away from us." A beautiful rant, maybe a bit long, but worth reading.

The Enemies of Reason

What have New Age, astrology, 9/11 conspiracies in common? Most of you lot already know the answer, but none of them are rational.

"Apparently harmless but utterly irrational belief systems from astrology to New Age mysticism, clairvoyance to alternative health remedies are booming. Richard Dawkins confronts what he sees as an epidemic of irrational, superstitious thinking...

He explains the dangers the pick and mix of knowledge and nonsense poses in the internet age, and passionately re-states the case for reason and science."

Episode 1 of 2: Slaves to Superstition

Annom edit: Richard Dawkins: An atheist's call to arms:

Fox News On The Netherlands

I love how they talk about many things that I hold dear about Europe in such a negative tone.

Students Trade Bibles for Porn

SAN ANTONIO — A group of atheists at the University of Texas at San Antonio is putting a novel twist on the toys-for-guns programs run by many urban police departments. But instead of toys, they are handing out porn in exchange for bibles.

“We consider the bible to be a very negative force in the history of the world,” student Ryan Walker said. Walker is part of a student group that calls itself the Atheist Agenda.

Club members this week posted fliers promoting what they call the “Smut for Smut” campaign then set up a table in the student union to collect religious materials and pass out adult magazines such as Black Label and Playboy.

The group is not officially sanctioned by the university and has raised the ire of several religious organizations on campus. Continue reading...

This I believe.org, by Penn Jillette

I believe that there is no God. I'm beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy -- you can't prove a negative, so there's no work to do. You can't prove that there isn't an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word ''elephant'' includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire? Full essay here. Listen to the essay: -------------------------------------------------------------------- An interesting view on belief, by Penn Jillette

The official god FAQ