Diaphanitas

"Alius Iohannes et 2009 Canadian Blog Awards!"
"Other Ian and the 2009 Canadian Blog Awards!"

From Ian Bushfield's Facebook note:

I was browsing twitter, came across a link to someone plugging their blog in the 2009 Canadian Blog Awards, and wouldn’t you know it but I’ve been nominated in the Politics and Religion & Philosophy categories.

So thanks to whoever appreciates my writing. It keeps me from doing school work and being a “productive” member of society.

Get over there, check out some great Canadian Blogs and vote for those you like.

I'll vote for him!

"Modus Eveniendi ad Tuos Parentes Religiosos"
"How to Come Out to Your Religious Parents"

Nice video:

( Pellicula! )

"Atheismus Inherenter Offendit"
"Atheism Inherently Offends"

( !!! )

"Estne Nefas?"
"Is It Wrong?"

( !!! )

"Atheista Vicanus Fredericopolitanus!"
"The Village Atheist of Fredericton!"

PZ Myers once called himself the Village Atheist of the area around University of Minnesota Morris.

I am the one who had the idea to start a freethought group here in Fredericton. I seem to be the most vocal freethinker of the city. I am also the New Brunswick spokesperson for the Canadian Bus Campaign.

Is that all enough for me to be the Village Atheist of Fredericton?

I think so!

"Nunc Maher Verbo Atheist Utitur!"
"Now Maher Uses the Word Atheist!"

That's right:

http://www.celebatheists.com/wiki/Bill_Maher

( Res )

"Quidam Atheistae"
"Certain Atheists"

( !!! )

"Atheismus Iraquianus"
"Iraqi Atheism"

( !!! )

"Antonius Blair Fidentes Vocavit contra Atheistas"
"Tony Blair Calls Believers against Atheists"

Right:

Blair discusses threat to world religions

Arguing that there was “no hope” from atheists who scorn God, he said the best way to confront the secularist agenda was for all faiths to unite against it.

He said: “Those who scorn God and those who do violence in God’s name, both represent views of religion. But both offer no hope for faith in the twenty first century.”

Augh. Blah.

So, in other words, atheists really aren't any better than the dangerous religious nuts.

At any rate, the "secularist agenda" is amusing!

"Nova Ephemeris Interretialis: The Gaytheists"
"New Blog: The Gaytheists"

It's by Reed Braden:

http://gaytheists.org/

Hilarious kitty video:

( !!! )

"Bassista Evenit!"
"A Bassist Comes Out!"

Excellent:

Jazz Bassist Ben Allison Outs Himself As an Atheist

( Res )

LWotP: bassista -ae m. "bassist."

"Eveniens Tuae Familiae"
"Coming Out to Your Family"

This might be helpful to some of my FF members:

http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistactivism/p/ComeOutFamily.htm

LWotP: evenire "to come out."

"Sine Iesu..."
"Without Jesus..."

Interesting counter-message:

Christians once again demonstrating how their God is just a petty little tyrant

( !!! )

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

Some stuff:

( !!! )

"Res Stulta de Atheismo Militanti"
"A Stupid Thing about Militant Atheism"

The Last Days of the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport is a pretty good read, and I especially love the descriptions of Tatiana and her sisters. However, there is one particular passage that irritated me greatly. I have the North American edition. The passage in question is at the very bottom of page 165:

Had she been able to read it, Article 13 of the new Soviet constituion would have horrified the Tsaritsa, for it now laid down that church and state were to be separated, as too school from church, supposedly in a drive to secure for the workers 'real freedom of conscience'. From now on, every Soviet citizen had the right to take part in anti-religious propaganda, down to scrawling slogans on church walls and joining in wholesale looting and despoliation of churchs, tearing icons from their precious frames and burning them, driving priests from their congregations and overseeing the conversion of Russia's ancient churches to secular use. It was the beginning of a new state policy of militant atheism.

Sorry, but militant atheism is not the same thing as religious persecution.

I have the feeling that Ms. Rappaport does not think much of atheists.

( Res )

"Argumentum ad Saxa"
"The Appeal to Rocks"

Last year, I made this post:

Quoddam Argumentum Vexans contra Atheismum

In that post, I say this:

( ... )

From now on, I am going to call this the Argumentum ad Saxa, The Appeal to Rocks.

"Commentatio Excellens de Novis Atheistis"
"A Great Article about the New Atheists"

Yeah:

Distortions of the New Atheists prevent substantive debate about their impact

Yeah, tell me about it.

Every couple of days now, it seems some columnist or public thinker decides to cast their lot with the anti-New Atheist crowd.

It's about time someone said that!

LWotP: Novi Atheistae m. "The New Atheists."

"Atheistae Utenses!"
"Atheists from Utah!"

Excellent:

http://friendlyatheist.com/2009/08/18/college-atheists-in-utah/

LWotP: Utensis -e "from Utah."

"Mea Culpa Homines, sed Faitheism et Faitheist Verba Iam Sunt!"
"Sorry Folks, but Faitheism and Faitheist Are Already Words!"

Jerry Coyne introduced some "new" words:

http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/we-have-a-winner/

Provide a snappy, one-word name for those atheists who are nonetheless soft on faith (i.e., atheist accommodationists).  You know them — the kind of people, like Michael Ruse,  who say, “I am an atheist, but . . .”.   In other words, the folks who, says Daniel Dennett, have “belief in belief.” That’s a snappy phrase, but it ain’t one word.

RULES:  Contest open for one week, answers on this thread.  Only two submissions per person.  Be clever, as it’s the word I want to use on this website from now on.  PLEASE do not post anything on this thread except your entries.

And:

And that winner is . . . . .

** FAITHEISTS,** contributed by Divalent.

Also:

Almost immediately there were two cute responses, Jesuits (by Darkling) and Unitarians (by blueollie).  Funny, yes, but not good for discussing the problem, as these terms already refer to something else.

Cute word, but it also already refers to something else:

http://philosopedia.org/index.php/F

FAITH ATHEISM (Faitheism) Faith Atheism is a recent Internet coinage. According to its proponents the “faitheists” agree on the following:

• No God or gods exist. • Neither humans nor the universe was created by a “higher” power. • There is no immortal soul nor is there an afterlife.

Calling themselves religious, the faitheists differ from the standard variety of atheists, who do not regard atheism as a religion. Instead, faitheists realize that it is impossible to prove that no god or gods exist, just as theists cannot prove that a god does exist. The faitheists, however, have faith that no god exists.

http://ecstathy.blogspot.com/2007/10/faitheism-and-im-politically-active-by.html

http://philosophersplayground.blogspot.com/2007/01/faitheism-does-atheism-require-faith.html

Honestly, faitheist more easily brings to my mind the "FAITH ATHEISM" definition of the word, since so many theists construe atheism as just another belief system.

My word would have been FIDATHEISTS for the atheist accommodationists, from Latin fides (pronounced like "fee-days"), English fideist (the position that faith has some kind of actual and real epistemological value), and atheists.

I really do hope that Coyne's use of the word faitheist does not completely drown out the older use because I thought that the word was a cute and funny name for an irritatingly common and erroneous conception of atheism.

You know, I find it hilarious that some of the sites that link to Coyne's post are touting Faitheists as a "newly coined word."

"Atheistae Manhattanenses et Laophoria Atheisticorum!"
"Manhattan Atheists and the Atheist Buses"

YAY:

Their Belief Is in the Power of Persuasion

For the city’s organized atheists — here’s hoping that doesn’t sound oxymoronic — the rotten economy would seem in one respect to be Heaven-sent.

“You got it,” Kenneth Bronstein said. Mr. Bronstein is president of New York City Atheists, whose name should be self-explanatory.

For the last month, his group has run 12-foot-long advertisements on the sides of city buses in Manhattan. You may have seen them, though perhaps not. New York City Transit has 981 buses assigned to Manhattan, and the atheists could afford ads on only about two dozen.

More buses would be nice!

"Dictum Stultum de Dawkins"
"Something Stupid Said about Dawkins"

Augh:

Megan, how can you say Atheism is not a religion? Don't you believe that UFO's designed creation over millions of years like Richard Dawkins? Or do you believe in the great nothing. I guess it depends on which denomination of atheism you're from. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQXsMzub1E

Augh. I said this:

"Perhaps someone like Patrick could tell me the standard game rules of not playing chess."

But, you know, the best part was "denomination of atheism." Then again, I can kind of see where people like him come from. They honestly cannot think of a person not accepting theism at all. The lack of religion is itself a religion, and to those people, all atheists are really theists in denial.

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

( Nexus )

"Illi Homines 'Vehiculum Exornatum' Atheistarum Non Amant"
"Those People Don't Like the Atheist 'Float'"

Take a look:

http://community.livejournal.com/atheism/2089811.html

They were booing at it!

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

Some stuff:

( !!! )

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

This includes some stuff that I have been wanting to post for weeks:

( Res )

"900 Sodales!"
"900 Members!"

Right!

Blogroll Update: 900 Members

We seem to have reached stasis on the Atheist Blogroll. Each month I purge about as many obsolete blogs as I add. Our membership has slowly crept up. We hit 900 members today when A Recovering Catholic joined. We’ve been hovering in the high 800s for months now.

Excellent!

Congladuration! A winner is him!

"Alii in Atheosphaera"
"Others in the Atheosphere"

I find it amusing that almost nobody in the so-called Atheosphere (e.g. PZ, Alonzo Fyfe, Reed Braden) really acknowledges my existence.

That might be a good thing (for me)!

I read all of their blogs. They're all amusing!

"Cellia Atheistria Officiosa"
"Kelly the Servicey Atheist"

So, the rumors are true -- Kelly of the Rational Response Squad is a legal prostitute and a porno-type person.

( NSFW )

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

Stuff:

( Res )

"Provocationes Motui Atheistico"
"Challenges for the Atheist Movement"

I found this fascinating:

Challenges for the Atheist Movement

( Res )

"Desiste Impugnare Meam Religionem!"
"Stop Bashing My Religion!"

I like this article by Don Baker of the Atheist Community of Austin:

"Stop bashing my religion"

( Res )

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

Stuff:

( Res )

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

Some:

( !!! )

"Excellens Professor!"
"An Excellent Professor!"

Yes, yes, yes, yes:

Is Atheism Taboo in School Curriculums? Find Out Why...

He’s everything you ever thought an Ivy league professor could be: Stately, thoughtful, gentle and steeped in the Classics. But Dr. John Coleman, Emeritus Professor of Classics at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, is also something else: He’s a courageous debunker of religion. He is, in fact, the first professor to teach a course in Atheism in a major U.S. university.

Why can't this prof be at UNB? Why, why, why?

Why atheism? Partly, it was precisely because of his classics background. “I wanted to provide a historical perspective on beliefs about gods based on my studies of the classical world. And I wanted to go into the ancient origins of the conflict between science and religion,” he says.

I ask again: "Why can't this prof be at UNB?"

LWotP: professor -oris m. "professor."

"Pellicula: Atheistae"
"Video: The Atheists"

Interesting:

http://www.abc.net.au/compass/s2517600.htm

But the "skeptic" (who doesn't like the label "atheist") misrepresents Dawkins and Hitches and then pulls the old Stalin argument. Augh.

Replacing one kind of dogma with another kind and then getting more dogma-based stupidity is not an argument against atheism, but an argument against dogma.

( Res )

"Commentatio Bona de Atheismo"
"A Good Article about Atheism"

Very nice:

‘Coming out’ can be a trial for atheists and agnostics - The National Newspaper

( Res )

"Quinquaginta Brilliantissimi Atheistae"
"The 50 Most Brilliant Atheists"

Interesting list:

The 50 Most Brilliant Atheists of All Time

PZ is in there!

LWotP: brilliantissimus -a -um "most brilliant."

"Res Atheisticae"
"Atheist Stuff"

Various things:

( Res Atheisticae )

"Imagines ex Susceptione Laophoriorum Atheisticorum Ottavensi"
"Images from the Ottawa Atheist Bus Campaign"

Great:

http://picasaweb.google.com/atheistbusottawa

I love it!

"NY Times Res Positivas de Atheistis Dicit?"
"The NY Times Saying Positive Things about Atheists?"

I saw this:

The NY Times saying positive things about atheists?

And this:

More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops

Great article!

"Argumentum ad Precem"
"The Argument from Prayer"

Amusing:

( Res )

"Ephemeris Interretialis Nomine Attero Ignorantiam!"
"A Blog by the Name Attero Ignorantiam!"

Remember the guy who wrote that great article in The Brunswickan?

He has a blog:

http://atteroignorantiam.blogspot.com/

Excellenter! I like his posts.

Melissa and I should get together with him sometime!

LWotP:

"Ubi Omnes Non-Albi Atheistae Sunt?"
"Where Are All the Non-White Atheists?"

Hemant asked that question:

Where Are All the Non-White Atheists?

There never seem to be many of us minorities in the atheist crowd. You go to a conference or a local meeting, the percentage of minorities are a lot smaller than in the general population.

Quick: Name ten non-white atheists! (Can you do it? Are you struggling?)

Vjack has a theory about this:

Have a read! I find it interesting.

I have another question:

Where are all the Native American atheists?

It bothers me that I am the only Native American atheist I know of.

LWotP: ubi "where."

"Commentatio Bona in The Brunswickan"
"A Good Article in The Brunswickan"

I like it:

Faith in empirical evidence versus faith itself

I hope that guy would be interested in helping me with my group!

LWotP: fides -ei f. "faith."

"Tres Res Cruciales"
"Three Crucial Things"

Interesting article:

( !!! )

"Hoc Laophorium Atheisticorum Amo!"
"I Love This Atheist Bus!"

See it:

( Imago )

From here:

http://friendlyatheist.com/2009/04/09/this-would-be-better-than-an-atheist-bus-ad/

"Eheu, Hunc Gregem Odi"
"Groan, I Hate This Group"

This one:

For example, the Atheists, Agnostics and Freethinkers (AAF) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign exemplified what a successful secular campus group can accomplish with its charity project.

Well, okay, I don't hate them, but I envy them a little.

They look like a very good group, and I appreciate what they are doing, of course.

The problem is that as I am listening to all of the success stories, I am wondering how these people were able to get their groups started at all. I have had all sorts of trouble getting my group started, and I cannot seem to find anyone in the UNB faculty who would be interested to be an adviser.

Why oh why does it seem that I am the only person in Fredericton who actually cares about these issues?

"Situs Novus: The Canadian Atheist"
"New Site: The Canadian Atheist"

Here:

The Canadian Atheist

I'm listening to their podcast right now.

Augh, that Emily girl is saying something irritating to me. She basically wants atheism to be more than just atheism. She basically wants to appropriate atheism so that it becomes a basis of some sort of philosophy of ethics since such issues don't "exist in a bubble."

( Res Plures )

LWotP: situs -us m. "site."

"Bellum Perfectum Est"
"The War Is Over"

I find it amusing:

( Res )

"Dies Veneris: Atheist Pride Day"
"Friday: Atheist Pride Day"

At least according to this:

Friday is Atheist Pride Day!

More information is on the Facebook Event page. Already, there are over 3,000 people signed up to “attend”!

Excellent!

LWotP: magnificentia -ae f. "pride."