As you may have noticed, I haven’t been posting as much as I usually do. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will recognize that this happens from time to time. This time I have an explanation. Part of it is I’ve been sleeping better. If you suffer from sleep related problems, Melatonin works wonders. Sure my sleep is not perfect, nor do I ever expect it to be, but it definitely has improved. This in turn has improved my mood. This coupled with the fact that I haven’t been perusing the internet as much, has resulted in less posts. Overall it comes down to me being less angry. Anger fuels this blog. Almost all of my posts are angry rants about whatever has happened to piss me off recently. I aim to rectify this as soon as possible. I will strive to be more angry; for you my reader.

Today I have a guest post from Alexis Bonari.

Most atheists find out very early in their deconversion experience that they hold a minority opinion. The vast majority of the human population believes in some sort of deity or divine force, if not in a personal god. For that reason alone, reading intelligently written books detailing our varying philosophies can be intellectually engaging and uplifting. Better yet, such books serve to explain the atheist point of view to a general public who often assumes that atheists live lives without direction or a true sense of morality. So, for your reading pleasure, here are five of the best contemporary books on the subject of atheism:

1. Why I Became an Atheist by John Loftus

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Became-Atheist-Preacher-Christianity/dp/1591025923

Loftus is no lifetime atheist. He was a long-time minister who studied with William Lane Craig, one of the foremost Christian apologists in the world. While this book is written to Christians and believers in general, atheists will also enjoy the story of his deconversion.

2. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
(http://www.amazon.com/God-Delusion-Richard-Dawkins/dp/0618918248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278952859&sr=1-1)
Dawkins attempts and succeeds at doing the nearly impossible: taking a comprehensive, broad-brush, approach to arguing against religion without losing focus. He makes logical arguments against the probability of a supreme being. Further, he highlights the negative effects of religion from a historical and psychological standpoint.

3. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
(http://www.amazon.com/Letter-Christian-Nation-Vintage-Harris/dp/0307278778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278953111&sr=1-1)
Harrisí book is primarily directed at American Christians, but still holds interest for foreign atheists who are interested in American-style Christianity. This book is a response to the letters he received following the release of his previous book, The End of Faith. After receiving hundreds of correspondences from concerned Christians, Harris took it upon himself to address their questions and beliefs head-on.

4. God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist. by Victor Stenger
(http://www.amazon.com/God-Failed-Hypothesis-Science-Shows/dp/1591026520/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278953166&sr=1-1)
What sets Stengerís work apart is his exclusive reliance upon science. Instead of getting embroiled in one philosophical go-round after another, he simply weighs the claims made by proponents of religion against the most current scientific truths. The outcome, while predictable, is well supported.

5. Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett
(http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Spell-Religion-Natural-Phenomenon/dp/0143038338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278953235&sr=1-1)
The ìspellî Denett hopes to break is not religion. Instead, he hopes to open religion up to scientific inquiry. For most of human history, science has been hands-off when it comes to religious quesitons. Dennett argues that there is no reason to exempt religion from scientific inquiry.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching online college degree programs. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Today at around 7:10 EST, I’ll be on ReapSowRadio discussing the ad campaign. To help get attract more funds, my friend Kenny Wyland has offered to double all donations for the next week until Thursday the 26th. If you were considering donating to the campaign, now is really the best time to get the most bang for your buck and provide the most help to the campaign. For more info click on the Billboard tab on my site or simply visit: http://AtlantaAtheistAd.com

Take this and your hairdryer and you are ready to perform your own de-baptisms.

Like most people, some of my friends are also atheists. Some of them also tend to live by or in the close vicinity of a church. Many also complain about this fact. All I have to say is, what’s the big fucking deal?

I really think this is a non-issue. I mean really, what is the main problem here? Yes, it is a religious institution they do not believe in. Whoop-dee-do. How exactly is it hurting them? Are the prayers melting their souls? I highly doubt it. I’ll admit there is a degree of irony with the nonreligious living directly adjacent to a religious place. I just do not see what the problem is. Many atheists like myself try to avoid shoving things down people’s throats and just generally attacking people. My bet is that this church is not even aware of their existence and therefore is not doing anything to them. Even if they did know there was a “heathen” down the lane, I still doubt it would be a huge issue. At least in all the complaints I’ve heard from friends there is not any real harm being done than the effects of their own bigotry and prejudice. Just grow up.

All I have to say is finally. It appears as if gay marriage will once more be legal and valid in California. Sure it’s only one state, but then there is what I like to call “California Syndrome”. It seems like when big events like this are passed in California, many other states follow suite soon after. I hope this trend will continue with the overruling of Prop 8.

Barring anything catastrophic, the way will be cleared for same-sex marriages on August 18. Personally, I just don’t see this getting overturned as an article I read said:

Legal standing, Ms. Cooper explains, dictates “you have to be directly affected by the outcome.” According to Walker, the backers of Prop 8 – the “proponents” – have not demonstrated that.

“If anyone is going to be ordered to implement Prop 8, that would have to be the state of California, and the governor and attorney general have made it clear that they have no interest in enforcing Prop 8,” says Cooper.

Essentially it comes back to one of my favorite rebuttals against those who oppose equal rights. If you don’t like gay marriages, nobody is forcing you to have one. Honestly, I fail to see how two women getting married would destroy somebody else’s marriage.

Let’s say for a moment that there is in fact one true, magical, all-powerful, deity up there in the sky somewhere. Why the fuck are there so many different opinions? Seriously. Look around at all these different religions that all claim to be “the one, true and only answer”. Obviously they can’t all be right, but why are there so many different theories on this? If there truly were a God up there watching and wanting His presence to be known and recognized, I’d think he would’ve given some more helpful hints. If it was me, I’d show myself and let people know. Instead, we have a supposedly secretive God up there who relies on faith to feed His ego. It simply seems like things should not be so confusing if there really is a God. Instead, it’s really just a toss of the coin mixed with what your parents believed that decides most people’s religions.