I had such a great time talking with my new friends Cash & Love of the Atheists on Air radio show and Dave Foda, friend of the show and all around remarkable human being. You can listen to the show or download it here. I can’t believe we talked for three hours. The time just flew by. I always learn so much from these conversations and that is one of the primary goals of my year long exploration: talk to as... Read more
Two months ago, Chris Mooney wrote a very interesting piece for Mother Jones entitled, 7 Reasons Why It’s Easier for Humans to Believe in God Than Evolution.[1] This article surveys one of my main areas of interest regarding belief and non-believe in a god or gods: namely the nature of religious belief itself. Why are human beings so prone to believe in a god or gods? Is this religious inclination universal in all societies across human history, as this report claims,... Read more
I said I would talk about my sense of the immediacy of life in the next post but this is not that post. Next time. Today I am reflect on a quote that a friend of mine posted on Facebook this morning, which perfectly captures what I’ve been trying to say about this journey. But first, a little background. The other day I was being interviewed by the Editor-in-Chief of The Clause (the student newspaper at Azusa Pacific University). I... Read more
A-theism is about the absence of—the lack of belief in—god. I’ve learned this much in three weeks (I’m a quick study, right?). There is a distinction that I’ve heard expressed, and that I’ve repeatedly violated, between saying “atheists believe there is no god,” and saying, “atheists don’t believe in a god.” The former is based in a level of certainty that, by definition, atheists most often find troubling. Even Richard Dawkins famously said he can’t be sure that god does... Read more
I’m grateful for the opportunity to share this journey with my friends down under! Click the image below to watch the video on the Sunrise website. Pretty surface level explanation, but that’s all that’s ever possible in these sort format interviews. Read more
I love a good conversation. I always have. One of the things I value most about a friendship is the ability to have a long conversation spanning many topics. I always learn so much. Plus, I tend to be an external processor, so I quite often figure out what I think about something as I’m saying it. It also means I may not end up agreeing with something I’m saying at any given moment, which, I admit, can be a... Read more
There has been a great deal of discussion about the question of whether I can “try on” atheism for a year, or any length of time. This question—the methodological question—seems to be the main concern about my exploration (aside, of course, from whether I engineered this as a huge media stunt). Over the next several weeks I will write more about my methodology, but today I want to begin by sharing what I understand to be the relationship between thinking/knowing... Read more
Two weeks ago, at the beginning of this journey, I asked the question, “What difference does God make?” This is a question for theists. For those who say that God makes all the difference, or a significant difference, what is that difference? I have found, in the past, as I have attempted to answer that question, atheists and some agnostics have answered that they experience the things I attribute to God without needing a god. The answer I have most... Read more
You can catch my interview with Arun Rath on All Things Considered today during the 5 pm hour or whenever All Things Considered airs in your area. I really enjoyed the conversation which we taped on Friday. I’m curious to see how it will come together in its final form. Media Roundup Here is a list of some of the media that my story has received in the past week. I think it’s worth emphasizing that this media attention is... Read more
That is what I have found myself saying all week long. What started out as a personal project has blown up into an international story. I am as surprised as anyone. I’ve taken the media requests because there has been such an outpouring of interest and support from so many sides of the question of god. If my journey provokes conversation, I believe that is a good thing. I will post a media round up later today and more posts... Read more
Year Without God
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