
If the Ten Commandments were really the basis of our laws, they’d be a lot less tolerable.
Philosophy, Ethics, Atheism, Nietzsche
In The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking (Kindle Locations 940-956), Oliver Burkeman discusses research about the effects of meditation on the brain’s subjective perception of pain.

For this week’s Camels With Hammers Show I interviewed the playwright and actress Fariso Jordan about her subtle, nuanced, conversation starting one woman play Georgia which examines the theme of rape within committed relationships.
William Bauer interviews a Saudi atheist: “Please bear in mind, that people are witch hunting for us…so be careful which details you use,” Jabir begins. He is right to be concerned, for he is an atheist in a country where advocating beliefs other than those of a Sunni Muslim engender imprisonment, possible torture, and a [...]
“I aim to make clear to Christians that I was one of them, that all my life was willingly committed to their God and that all my emotions were on the side of their God when my intellect was dissuaded against my will. I was not, as much as they want to assume, looking to leave Christianity, biased against Christianity, unable or unwilling to dutifully follow the rules of Christianity, disposed against the God of Christianity, unfamiliar with the most sophisticated philosophical or theological versions of Christianity, or unfamiliar with how wonderful Christians or Christian community could be. I had been there, done that, and despite wanting nothing more than to believe, I had found that I could no longer believe–either rationally or ethically. The best arguments for the faith had failed. The best arguments against it were overwhelming. And as a matter of intellectual and moral conscience, I could no longer believe fantastic claims that had the preponderance of rational evidence stacked overwhelmingly against them. I deconverted against my will.”
I explain my former Christianity and my reasons for abandoning it in depth, in order to make clear why I get so indignant at Christians who flippantly speculate about the “real” reasons I deconverted.
Today a former classmate from my Christian days went the one place that makes me angriest and most likely to completely lose my temper. And I did. In this post I explain in intricate detail why what she did was so infuriating and consider whether I should nonetheless apologize for losing my cool.
Padawan Physicist, a physics graduate student with a love of philosophy and Camels With Hammers, has started a new blog to explain physics and its relevance to everyday atheists’ worldviews. In his inaugural post, he defines physics and what its three basic jobs are. In his follow up post, of special interest to Schrödinger fans, he gives a State of the Cat address.
Last weekend members of The Heresy Club were my special guests on The Camels With Hammers Show. Sundas Hoorain was one of them. Here is a video in which she discusses her journey out of Islam and the fascinatingly varied ways that social and cultural practices have changed over the years: Your Thoughts?
Bede Hazlet, an openly gay Benedictine monk, and I vigorously debate the moral and intellectual value of Roman Catholic authoritarianism and the Church’s views on gays. We also talk about Bede’s struggles with depression, the monastic life of celibacy, and whether celibacy infantilizing priests contributed to the child rape scandals in the Catholic church.

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