The Atheist Thirteen

Oh, heavens! I’ve been tagged! I… oh… the world is fading… I’m comin’ to join ya, Elizabeth!

Uh… ahem.

I’ve been tagged by the very splendid Splendid Elles for a meme that’s been going around the atheist blogosphere.

Q1. How would you define “atheism”?

I define “atheism” as the condition of not being able to honestly answer “yes” to the question, “do you believe in one or more gods?”

Q2. Was your upbringing religious? If so, what tradition?

I was raised United Methodist. My experience with them is quite a bit more conservative than their advertising (”Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”) would lead you to believe. There’s still a lot of opposition toward gay people (or there was as of the last time I went to church) and there were people in my congregation who believed in a literal “lake of fire” hell and thought Wiccans were actual “brides of Satan” witches.

Q3. How would you describe “Intelligent Design”, using only one word?

Moronitude.

Q4. What scientific endeavour really excites you?

I’ll have to go with Elles’ answer and say space travel. Star Trek says we’re supposed to meet the Vulcans in my lifetime!

Q5. If you could change one thing about the “atheist community”, what would it be and why?

This really doesn’t apply so much to the Planet Atheism community, but I wish IIDB and its spin-off boards weren’t full of assholes and bullies.

Q6. If your child came up to you and said “I’m joining the clergy”, what would be your first response?

“Well, I (hopefully) raised you right, so at least you’ll be One Of The Good Ones.”

Q7. What’s your favourite theistic argument, and how do you usually refute it?

I don’t think I really have a favorite theistic argument, but I do have a favorite refutation. Whenever people argue some variant of “Well, there has to be a god because the universe is too complicated to exist without a creator!” I like to counter with, “Okay. Then what created god? If it’s complicated enough to create the universe then it must also have been created, according to your own reasoning. And then whatever created it must also have been created, and then whatever created that entity must have been created, and…”

Apparently I made someone cry by doing this once.

Q8. What’s your most “controversial” (as far as general attitudes amongst other atheists goes) viewpoint?

I dunno. Maybe my insistence that all agnostics (that is, all people who use the word “agnostic” to describe themselves, because practically everyone is technically an agnostic, including theists) are, in fact, atheists because an atheist is someone who can’t answer “yes” to the question “do you believe in one or more gods?”. “I don’t know” is definitely not “yes”. And who really “doesn’t know” whether they believe in a god, anyway?

But I don’t know whether that’s all that controversial.

Q9. Of the “Four Horsemen” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris) who is your favourite, and why?

I likes me some Dawkins. I want to be Dawkins when I grow up.

Q10. If you could convince just one theistic person to abandon their beliefs, who would it be?

Hmm. How about the Pope?

Now name three other atheist blogs that you’d like to see take up the Atheist Thirteen gauntlet:

*CG aims the Blogger Tagging Gun and fires at…*

1. Silent Dave
2. The Barefoot Bum
3. NYC-Atheists Blog

Tags: Atheism, Memes, Quizzes