Atheist arrested

Well we may not be in the most atheist-friendly country in the world. I'm often reminded of that as my coworkers go on their "This is a Christian nation" speeches. But at least we have the first amendment to protect our right to disagree. Your coworkers and family can tell you that you are wrong and that you're going to hell, but at least they can't lock you up.

In Indonesia their citizens have freedom of religion but not freedom from religion. As long as they choose to follow Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, or Hinduism then they are fine. I have heard   some people say that "this is a christian nation, and if you don't like it get out" and "the constitution says freedom of religion, not freedom from religion" and I wonder if this is the type of society that they hope for.

So, while we still have quite a way to go to reach a point where religion doesn't dominate politics and everything else, at least we live in a country in which we have the freedom to disagree. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/atheist-arrested-sent-to-jail-for-posting-god-doesn-t-exist-on-facebook

The Church Endorsed Same-sex Marriages

Next time you are having a conversation with someone and they insist that same-sex unions are against church teachings, just point them toward this article. John Boswell wrote a book about the history of same-sex marriages and how the church has actually sanctioned these marriages for centuries.

http://anthropologist.livejournal.com/1314574.html

a slightly more lengthy article with addditional info

Would you sell your soul?

Interesting story on this weeks Freakonomics podcast that I thought I would share with you guys. It's about a guy who put out an offer to purchase someone's soul. He made offers ranging from $1-$50 to atheists that he spoke with online. He claimed that none of those who he made the offer to would take him up on it. He finally found an atheist who did and they interview them both and discuss whether or not a soul is something you can sell or should be able to. They also look at it from an economists point of view.

So the questions I pose to my fellow Meanies and other readers are,
1) Do you believe in a soul?
2) would you be willing to sell yours, even if you don't believe in it?
3) If you don't believe, would there be anything wrong with selling your soul multiple times?

Let me know what you think, I'm interested.

Link to the podcast down below.



http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/05/07/soul-possession-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/

Enjoy THIS Life

The weather broke early this year, which is part of my excuse for not having posted anything in several weeks. With that warm weather came yard projects, covering vacation at work, and participating in my primary hobby, kayaking. It's a time consuming hobby because of the preparation prior to going, driving somewhere, spending hours on the water, then traveling back and cleaning up all my river funky stuff. One of my recent outings was a 25 mile paddle on the Verdigris River in Oklahoma, a very slow river, which gave me plenty of time to enjoy my surroundings.

You may be wondering, "what does kayaking have to do with atheism?" Well, as I embark on another trip this weekend from Jefferson City, MO to just south of Hartford, IL I will spend many hours immersed in nature. When you spend that much time on a river you see a lot of nature and the countryside that most people hardly ever see or have time to notice. Travelling under your own power also gives you a lot more time to watch your surroundings, not to mention my head won't even come up as high as the handrail on most of the boats we'll pass.

 In the 4.5 Billion years since the earth has formed this planet has been a hostile place for humans. Earth has only had a breathable atmosphere for about 500 million years. Knowing the real origin of the universe and our planet and the tiny chance that I am even here to witness everything around me, makes my surroundings even more beautiful. I have startled a beaver that was gnawing on a tree, a fox taking a drink of water, and unfortunately many Asian carp as well. (look them up on youtube and you'll understand) I can appreciate the beauty of nature without needing to feel that it was created just for us. Not only that but, every time I see something new, it makes me realize how little of our surroundings that we truly experience. Whether it is driving to work or paddling the Missouri River there are literally millions of lifeforms around me going about their lives. From bacteria, to insects, to all of the animals going about their business.

If I were gone tomorrow the world would go on as if I had never been here. I appreciate how precious our short time is here, we get just one chance to experience the world around us. So, Sunday morning I will be finishing a 24+ hour paddle and truly experiencing life instead of sitting in a building wasting my life worrying about an afterlife that doesn't exist. So remember to get out there and explore our world, visit a museum or a park, or just take a slow walk around your neighborhood and look closely and notice something you've never seen before.