Posts under ‘Essays’

On January 29th, a blogger calling himself Republican By Default wrote that these bills, introduced to the Washington State Legislature, are a liberal attack on religious freedom. For those who haven’t heard, the bills (which vary only slightly in their language), would revise the RCW employment discrimination sections thusly:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) An employer may not require an [...]

I hope you were as glad as I was to hear that the new President has decided to address the many Americans who profess no religion. In his inaugural address, President Obama said,
…We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus [...]

We’ve already addressed the holiday issue here (about how the Christmas holiday has pagan roots, and has been appropriated by the Christian newcomers).
Now, I’m going to show how the days of the week are based in ancient mythology and paganism. So, when you mention the days of the week, remember that you are invoking an [...]

Atheism is tricky. It’s easy to hide being an atheist, and there’s not much benefit to coming out. The risks of coming out of the closet are obvious — atheists are mocked, insulted, and rarely tolerated, both in “real life” and in popular culture. But, keep in mind that if you stay silent, evangelicals will [...]

Are Christians being persecuted in America? Americans United for the Separation of Church and State says no.
I’ve seen this a lot lately: Fundamentalists try to use the government to promote their faith. Whenever anyone objects to their tactics or language, or even voices a different opinion, they respond with accusations of hate speech, or say that [...]

There’s this thing called double-standards. You may have heard of it. It means that you hold others accountable for things which you yourself disregard. Things like standards of behavior, like insulting signs or language. Having a double standard means that you can carry an sign which is offensive, insulting, hurtful, demeaning, or derogatory, but object [...]

Pastors Ken Hutcherson and Wendy Treat launched salvos against atheists on Sunday, demanding they get lost — that we get out of political activity, the government, and the state capitol, as if we have no rights to be involved in government. There was a lot of sentiment expressed that Christians are being persecuted, and need [...]

Note: The comments that follow are my own, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Tacoma Atheists group. 
Someone asked me today if I was going to write something about the erupting controversy about the plaque that was installed in Olympia on Monday, particularly in response to the News Tribune Political Buzz blog (and [...]

This post is courtesy of Lex Maxwell, Member at Large of Seattle Atheists. The views expressed in guest posts do not necessarily represent the views of Tacoma Atheists or Seattle Atheists, or their members. 
The golden rule (“do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) actually doesn’t address this issue or many others, [...]

The Korean war was over. Jim Crow laws and racist attitudes were finally being challenged. McCarthyist anti-Communist hysteria was reaching a fever pitch — thousands of Americans were blacklisted, fired, and jailed. The Cold War was ramping up, and U.S. military strategy had become one of “massive retaliation.” To white Christian Americans, who felt vulnerable [...]