Jim Downard

Do Atheists have regular meetings or conventions ? Do they have potlucks? And if so do they have tuna casseroles?

If you could sit and talk for an hour to any atheist living or dead for an evening, who would it be?

Find out who our atheist writer picks!

The first issue is "which god did you have in mind"?  If it is a Pascal's Wager choice between only one contender and nothing, that is a somewhat simpler issue. But the truth is that there are not only a variety of competing tables even at the Christian Casino, there are also many other religion casinos just down the block, all operating with their own proprietary (and generally conflicting) house rules.

Did you ever believe in a god, and if so, why did you change your mind?  What hope do you have when you and your loved ones die and why are you OK with that?

Why do you suppose those with a belief in God are so concerned by the fact that you don't?

Q. Tell me about an experience of awe and take me to its source....

A. It is hard to pick a quick example, as I feel awe at so many great physical spaces, such as Brice Canyon, and with music and art (listening to Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" does it there).

Now to the fun.  The Discovery Institute’s John West talked on “The Darwinian Challenge to Faith, Ethics, and Culture,” in which he characterized Darwinism as a block of militant atheists out to squash all opposition to their godless materialist agenda.  Along the way West happened to show some slides of “Darwin Day” celebrations where atheist sentiments were on hand to suggest that Darwin Day was really a secularist religious holiday.