In Jennifer Fulwiler post referenced in my first post below on this subject she wrote.
I’ll leave it to the Archbolds to come up with some witty suggestions for how one might celebrate A Week (watching reruns of NOVA and gathering ‘round a wreath that is decidedly symbolic of nothing, perhaps?).
Despite the fact that she referenced my comrades at Creative Minority Report instead of yours truly, I must throw in my reply to this question. CMR’s response is here.
1. First off while NOVA would be perfectly respectful for Atheist Pride week, I would place instead another show. “Cosmos” with one of atheists favorite atheists Carl Sagan. Though Carl Sagan didn’t like the term atheist and called himself more of an agnostic. Regardless atheists would canonize him just for his phrase “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” which has so often been used by atheists.
2. Replay the following Steve Martin video each day of Atheist Pride Week. “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs”
Now while I am a fan of Steve Martin and think his Twitter feed consistently funny I would object to the contention “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs”. What about the Atheist Anthem written by John Lennon “Imagine.” Really this should be sung before all atheist events with you hand over your forehead (brain instead of heart). Plus there are a plethora of nihilist songs riding the air waves.
3. Go to a famous art museum and explore the beauty of paintings of Grand Masters and statues created by atheists. Oh wait – they were pretty much all believers. Well instead go to a museum of Modern Art almost totally devoid of beauty.
4. Have an Atheist Pride Parade. You don’t have to organize one, just let millions of years pass and one will evolve.
5. Join an atheist book club and read Christopher Hitchens “God is not great” and discuss how religion poisons everything while wearing Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot t-shirts.
6. Petition your local city council to be able to have a primordial swamp placed next to the Christmas Nativity scenes and Menorahs in the city park.
7. Have a Flying Spaghetti Monster Dinner Fundraiser for local atheist groups. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is such an excellent idea as an argument and have converted thousands of Christians to atheism. Well maybe only a thousand Christians, or perhaps a hundred, or maybe a couple though this was a well though out argument. Mockery always works to convince people.
8. Argue with believers about why there is no such thing as free will in a materially deterministic world. Because getting people to change their will and accept that there is no free will involves no contradictions whatsoever.
9. Go door to door in your neighborhood convincing others to become atheists. After all the joy that when you die that’s it and that good and evil are only society changing terms should get them to repent of belief in ultimate truth. Plus religion is an opiate that must be stopped, oh and afterwards you can get back to your drug legalization campaign.
10. Let people know that atheists can be good people. Just because we can’t define what good is and that again it is relativistic and defined by societal mores and getting along. Atheist can be good people even if atheist have to rely on a Christian’s definition of good.
11. Troll a Catholic blog because angry atheists full of venom always works in persuading Catholic bloggers about the truth of atheism. For myself I find getting cussed out by an atheist wants me to immediately reject the idea of a loving God.
8 comments
As a fellow ex-atheist, I’m sort of bummed that we don’t get our own week…’XA’ tee shirts?
Love it!
Number 4 would be best, but number 11 is probably what the atheist festivities will consist of.
Do you get a lot of converts to Christianity this way? You know, the mocking and lack of charity and all that? I, for one, am very saddened by your flippant comments because, you see, my dear father was an atheist.
Nice(Catholic)Lady
After reading this NiceLady, I’m sure that one of your dear father’s soul cells is most likely working on “IT” NOW, if you know what I mean? 🙂
God Bless All our souls.
I hear ya! Especially yours Victor! 🙂
Who’s laughing?
God Bless Peace
Have an Atheist Pride Parade. You don’t have to organize one, just let millions of years pass and one will evolve.
That is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Just perfect!
Wonderful! So well put… I went through my own “angry agnostic” stage for several years, until I really started thinking about the ramifications of my views and realized the foolishness, emptiness, and inconsistencies in them.
Numbers 9 and 10 on your list proved pivotal in my decision to abandon agnosticism. And like you, I am now–completely by the grace of God–in the Catholic fold. 🙂
Evan
[…] blogger The Curt Jester (real name: Jeff Miller–and a former atheist, by the way) has posted some wonderful ideas for those of the unbelieving persuasion to kick off Atheist Pride Week. I’ll pass them along […]