Date: 7/3/02
Great site. Lots of content is never enough. I am outraged about the vouchers decision! I don't even know how to start writing on the subject - there's just too much to say. I am also outraged at the amount of ignorance over the 9th Circuit decision. That our president actually called it a "stupid decision," is example of his and his kind's inability to understand a fundamental ideal in our constitution. Keep being amicable! For me. Because I'm not always so nice to believers.
Pure atheist; James.
Name: Ed Z
Date: 6/3/02
Just Surfin..
Hello From Gold Coast Australia..
Well Done..
Name: Serendipity
Date: 5/26/02
hey atheist person! - just had to do it and sign your guest book :) stopped by whilst looking for some opinions on atheism to put before my year 6 class tomorrow. i myself am a "bible bashing" committed christian amen lol. found it quite interesting how you managed to mention christianity so often in your page - and also that you stated one reason for being an atheist was that you could sleep in on a sunday morning without feeling guilty - lol - i do, the church that i go to meets in the evenings - anyway - i thought that it was quite an insight, as in order to feel this you must have felt guilty at some point - interesting - some call it conviction lol
anyway enough of the nit picking eh? thanks for the page - will come in useful take care and though you believe in him not may god bless you xxx seren
aka snork maiden
Name: The Whyman
Date: 5/12/02
Surely, it is madness even to consider that there be any reason or meaning to life...isn't it?
If there WERE a reason would it not logically follow that one would wish to learn of it?
If that were so, wouldn't it therefore be madness NOT to weigh and consider the merits of that reason if it were freely placed within your grasp?
Name: Ashley
Date: 5/2/02
Meretricula,
BRAVO!!! I am impressed with your website about atheism. I am a proud atheist myself. I was astonished at how our opinions about things were exactly the same. I greatly enjoyed your essay on "Are Atheists afraid of death?" Religion is totoally based on fear. I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of the pain that might come with death. And yes, I do too think at night while lying in bed about how vast the universe is and how it is absolutley impossible that any human could comprehend it all. I only have a short time on earth compared to the billions of years before and after me. i'm living my life to my own satisfaction. I don't do things that may hurt my body b/c i want to live a long life. But I do drink and enjoy what is around me. I really loved your peom. The Dave Matthew's Band is my all time favorite band. when I read that I was so siked !!! I mean I wish that I could somehow explain to you how much your website means to me. but there are not enough words for me to use. I live in a city where religion is dominant. So basically I'm a loner with no one to console to. But your website as made my heart jump b/c i now know that there are people out there with the same exact thoughts as myself. thanks again for your awesome website!!
In humankind that we trust...
Ashley
Name: Ashley
Date: 5/1/02
I love this sight!!! I almost cried when I read the material on the page "An atheist , by definition,..." i'm an atheist in hiding. I cannot reveal myself to anyone b/c they can't understand. Thank you for having this sight. It makes me feel more proud of my atheism. I support your sight 110%!! We are a minority but we are strong and we can think for ourselves. We are not hypnotized by false tales. Thank you for this sight!
Name: Cindy
Date: 4/29/02
I feel sorry for you.( Not intending sarcasm) I guess time will tell if there truely is an after life or not. Unfortunately for you it will be too late to make a difference to you. You are right about alot of things though. The Bible even says it is better to be hot or cold then lukewarm. Cause when you are lukewarm you don't enjoy either life really. So, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die!!
By the way if Christians do tend to push their views onto people it is because it is so real to them (for good reason I might add)So, they want others to experience the same peace, hope and joy that they have. It is out of compassion for the individual. Think about it, our view if it is true does make a difference in the outcome, yours doesn't!!! If we die and there isn't an after life so be it. We are all in the same boat.
If Christians are right then unfortunately we won't be. As far as pushing to get our views taught in school I think you need to study a little about history. Our schools were God fearing. Look up the foundation of our ivy league schools such as Princeton and Harvard. You will be surprised. Why did atheist have to fight to get our views out and theirs in?? Also, study Canadian and American history. We were built on Godly principles. Atheist have been the ones fighting to change things!!
And evolution is still just a theory!!!! With all the fossils we have found to date we still haven't found the missing link fossil that shows life in different transition forms that hasn't been a hoax!! And why is it that even scientist disagree with one another? And seem to be always having new and different theories from before? I reccomend you get the book NO FREE LUNCH by William A. Dembski. He doesn't try to prove the God of Christianity but he does show scientifically that there must be an intelligent designer! A good student doesn't hold too strongly on what they have been taught but are continually willing to learn new stuff as it presents itself You seemed intelligent to me. But you did seem to take pride on the fact that the Bible says the fool says in his heart there is no God. So maybe you don't want to know!
Just one more thing, I don't think little green men abduct people, I know Elvis isn't still alive I was at his grave. So, don't pick on Christians and do the exact same thing you claim they do to everyone else.
Name: Krista
Date: 4/24/02
I just wanted to say that I totally agree with everything in your site! Your right that there are atheist people out there and i think people shouldn't beleive in some crazy god!
Name: Mina
Date: 4/21/02
I'm atheist and I totally agree on your site. I just have a little comment to make. I think some people belive in god- and continue belive in god because they need Faith. Maybe some dont want to look forward to dying and just being dead, it helps some live, and continue living. I know it helps my mom deal with the loss of my dad. And well I dont agree with religion- I think you just got to let people have faith (sorry, this doesnt really have much to do with your site, but like I said this is just a little comment I wanted to make :)
Name: Sara
Date: 4/21/02
Meretricula~
I'm only 15, and I've been like very confused about religion, what to belive and such. I was reading your site, and alot of it made so much sense to me. And I wanted to thank you for making the site. I'm not sure if I'm atheist, but I know I'm not Christian. When I went to caticisim class- I disagreed with alot of things- like if your not baptised-you'll go to hell, so I guess that means that all those people who practice other religions, and are good and never did anything bad in their whole life, are going to go to hell. Lol- did you hear about those churches burning Harry Potter books? I found it slightly humerous, I guess they were burning them because it taught "witchcraft" Anyways- this is just some food for thought. Thanks again.
~Sara~
Name: Nicko
Date: 4/8/02
You have a great site, and are quite the witty one (no, really). i have a friend who has some strange ideas about god. he stated that god works and exists outside the our conception of time and space, and thus the bible's "tale" about creation, and the amount of days it took god to create life, should be used as a metaphor for the possibility of a longer amount of time (1000 years, etc) it took to create. this seems bizzare to me, and not the actions of an all powerful god, but a flawed one. also, what is your position on the sidestepping of many christians, when the contradictions and inconsistences in the bible are brought to attention, and their answer of "its all just a metaphor". Thanks. Nicko.
Name: Gina
Date: 3/22/02
Keep up the good work. I live in the Bible Belt and I rarely get to speak to other atheists. Your site added a bit of sanity to my day! I enjoy reading the thoughts of others who are incapable of deluding themselves.
P.S. Why have I never met a stupid atheist? Hmmmm.
Name: Cynthia
Date: 2/1/02
I've just discovered your site by surfing an atheist ring. I find that after a day of being surrounded by the hordes of servile sheep that populate my wee country, surfing atheist sites refreshes me and serves as an antidote to my considerable cynicism. I enjoyed your FAQ. I wouldn't call it lame like you do, since it's straight to the point and non-belligerent. Clearly, judging by the hate mail you get, your positive attitude doesn't repel ignorance. A comment: you say that Christians are the only ones who push their beliefs on others (or words to that effect). I think Islam is also quite zealous when it comes to pushing its falsehoods down people's throats, although I have never seen their people go as far as knocking on doors like Jehova's Witnesses, so perhaps you're right and the Christians take first prize for pushyness.. But Islam followers are aggressive in forcing entire populations to worship their particular god, and not as live and let live as other cults. Thanks for maintaining an island of rationality in a sea of ignorance.
Name: Christine
Date: 1/31/02
Hi. I read parts of your site. I am a Christian and was curious about your thinking as an atheist. I don't know what to say except my religion is based on faith not reason. It does make sense to me but that is not why I believe. I think faith is the ultimate opening of the mind because it does not just use the mind which is limited by human reason. It uses the heart. I believe God wants our hearts. This is freeing because it enables one to open in love toward him and to all humankind. What a wonderful, loving outlook I have on the world because of my confidence in a God who loves me unconditionally as well as every person no matter who they are or what others think of them. When I pray, I pray that every one will sense His love. I think of people sleeping in the streets in the cities across the world. I pray that His work will be done through me and others whether Christian or not. I give to missions because I know they reach people in ways meaningful to their day to day existance through practical ways such as providing mills for their food and wells for their water. They will see the love of God through the actions of those who serve Him. Christ came to show us that. I don't know what else to say except that I feel I am a very confident and happy well adjusted person with a very healthy outlook on life because of my faith and my belief in a God who has a plan for me and everyone else. I see others as my brothers and sisters no matter if they are like me or not. This is what my faith has taught me.
Name: AD
Date: 1/14/02
I just wanted to say that I think your site is excellent! There are too many hatefilled sites from either site of the atheist/theist debate as it is, and your (non-hateful) site makes a refreshing change. So....bring on the tea!
Name: D1
Date: 12/16/01
The odds: There is a 50% chance God doesn't exist, and a 50% chance he does exist. For me, I know He exists because he found me when I was unbelieving of Him. Taking the first scenario, we live and die after ~60 years and nothing then matters. Taking scenario 2, God is real and if we live as if he weren’t real we are trading the some 60 years of rebellion for an eternity of life with our Lord. 100 percent evidence of God will not likely be obtained, but faith is what is required. We are sinners--the suffering of the world is evidence of that, and sin requires death. But, Jesus--being perfect, and having suffered for you and I--was the ultimate sign of love for humanity by being the perfect sacrifice to God. Saying we accept Jesus Christ means that our debt to God is paid, and the second death cannot harm us. Therefore accepting Jesus Christ and acknowledging sin, and trying to avoid future sin brings life eternal. Ignoring sin, and Jesus will bring the absence of life. If in doubt..pray that God shows you the truth, and believing he will, the truth of His glory will come to you because you are precious to God.
Name: Arthur
Date: 12/12/01
Hi Meretricula, I enjoyed your good humor and interesting page. Keep up the good work.
Arthur
Name: Andrew
Date: 12/10/01
I am an avowed atheist who is out to get my word on religion, along with all other atheists, a little more credibility. Religious hostility has almost pushed me over the edge. How come a "House of God" is tax exempt, but my "House of Lack of Belief" does't? Sounds like a lotta bullcrap to me. For those who ask, yes I have thoughts of burning churches, and would, if the law would let me... I try to remain neutral and logical, but find myself all the more hostile towards religion. About the FBI thingy on where did I hear about this site... I take that as either the FBI is saying "hey, this is what is real" or, it is a larger attempt to incriminate atheists. I fear that it may be of the latter.
Name: Peter
Date: 12/4/01
Greetings, My name is Peter and I just stumbled onto your site. I was just reading some of the emails to yourself and
would like to apoligize for the ones that are not based on good reason or any reason at all. I think that it is a
shame that so many Christians rely on weak arguments when there are so many solid arguments which are very much valid.
I feel that to be fair I must tell you now that I do believe in God and profess Christ as my savior. I do very much
respect your views whether or not I believe them to be true (which of course I cannot do). But the question that has
been troubling me is that from your point of view, without a supreme being, how will we establish any kind of moral
code? For without an authority higher than ourselves, all we have are human opinions, and if our thoughts differ on
what is right and wrong, who's to say that my opinion is better than yours (or visa-versa). If you have a solution to
this problem please let me know because it is something I have always considered to be a weak point in the atheist
philosophy. Please understand that this is not a personal critique against your character, for I believe that we were
both created in the image of God.
Very Respectfully
Peter
Name: Poppie
Date: 11/9/01
Hi there! I really enjoy your web site. I have a site myself, although it's not nearly as impressive as yours! But I was hoping that you wouldn't mind if I link to you. You will notice, if you get around to surfing my page, that I am far nastier than you are! Sorry, hope you don't get offended!
But I admit that your way is more productive. I'm just a spitfire!
Heh.
Thanks for working so hard on your page, I really appreciate your work.
~Poppie
Name: Denise
Date: 10/20/01
Hi, I like your site. It's my first time visiting it but, I myself have beliefs that are viewed as "psycho" by others.
Maybe because I'm only 17, but that doesn't matter. I'm what I believe, not what I know or don't.
I'll keep coming back...latez.
Name: Eeyore
Date: 10/18/01
Hello,
In the article, "The Brown Stain of Jesus" You are misrepresenting the Christian faith. It may be that the particular type of christian in Indonesia is overwhelmingly Cathlic or Marianistic. All I know is that most Protestants in the US would be skeptical about this sort of thing. It is possible, I believe, to have something like this be directed by God. However, it is highly unlikely that that is so. One person could have thought that it looked like Jesus, and the whole Christian population would come even if they themselves didn't think that it looked like Jesus. They might have been told by a priest or something and since the priest is a higher form of authority, the people just believe no matter if it is divine or not.
In conclusion, I believe it to be extremely unfair to place all Christians in the same category. However, I know it is very possible that Jesus would come to help people, heal people, or comfort people. He's not the type that is so stuck up that he would come just for people to hold midnight vigils over him. He still needs to be respected though, and that's what was lacking in your article.
Sincerely,
Eeyore
Name: Susan
Date: 9/29/01
Hi, I just finished viewing your webpage and I just have a short comment. You say that you dread death because your conciousness will cease and you will no longer think or experience life. So what? You won't be concious of those things. If you no longer have a concious mind, you have no way to feel sadness, regret, or lonliness. It's not like you're going to be laying in your grave lamenting your plight. Just an opinion.
Susan
(who neither fears nor dreads death)
Name: Anonymous
Date: 9/20/01
Jerry Falwell salivates over Pat Robertson and is a fat Satan.
Name: Christina
Date: 9/17/01
Fascinating site! I'm only half-way through but I'll keep reading.
Name: Jamie Frevele
Date: 9/14/01
I'm not on my e-mail compatible browser right now, or else I would have sent an e-mail. After this week's tragic events, I had to visit a site such as this one to shake myself of all the god-speak going around. The writing on this site is asbolutely brilliant, and such a breath of fresh air. I can't understand how everyone can pray and say "God bless" to the same "god" that let this happen in the first place. I actually refused to mention anything about prayer on the web site I run because it seemed like a slap in the face. While I hold that opinion, I can't hold it against the President or whoever religion is helping right now. I think everyone would agree right now that we should cope however we can, regardless of beliefs. The spirit of the country is what will keep us free. Again, brilliant site! - Jamie
Name: Jason Lefebvre
Date: 9/11/01
Howdy,
I just wanted to let you know that I read your recreation of Pascal's Wager and found it to be brilliantly written. I'm familiar with Pascal's Wager and the common tangential arguments, but had never seen it placed into prose form so well. Good work.
-Jason
Name: Duron Smith
Date: 9/8/01
I am an 87 year old atheist gentleman. Have been an atheist since my age of REASON. Theistic thoughts just don't make sense to me. Too many contridictions in this thing called the bible anyway --- and who would believe the writings in the bible except a NUT? ! !!! Gotta go now and eat.
Name: Jeremy
Date: 9/5/01
I don't see how anyone could believe in an 'absolute' god where there is no 'absolute' proof. Every argument I've heard for God has been inductive. Scientific deduction proves things absolutely but what it proves are only considered 'interpretations' that hold no divine meaning. Kant and Hume argued that causality does not apply to God. Darwin proved that like everything in the natural world, we have evolved as well. Nietzsche flipped western metaphysical thought on its back. Einstein did not believe in a personal God. And relativity applies much more to the universe then just s pace & time. It's fairly clear that nothing is absolute and absolution could only be proved through an absolute proof. If God appeared before the world in his physical form I might accept that as absolute proof, but I doubt that will ever occur. And why do we accept these new testament gospels as truth? i've read books arguing from the Torah and many of the Roman discrimating gospels that Paul was the inventor of Christianity, and the inventor of this character who Christians consider 'divine' - though another Jesus existed though a much different man than Paul's. If Jesus was the divine messiah that was sent to spread the word of the Lord why did his teachings gracefully appear in Europe compared to the ungraceful oppression against the Egyptians and MesoAmericans? What I don't understand is why the majority choose to base their believes and sentiments on emotion rather then reason.
Name: Anonymous
Date: 8/31/01
I have been an atheist for 37 years, and find it more amazing everyday that so many people are in a state of brain disengaged mythological apathy. I am the opposite of Marx when it comes to economic conclusions, but he was right about religion being the opiate of the people. If you add sports to that category, you pretty much describe our brain dead culture. And if you observe just one cultural practice of having too large of families due to resistance to birthcontrol, our species is doomed to endure for a much shorter time than the 30 million years of the great dinosaurs. We wonder at why they died out so soon and here we are at 4 million years, and in a state of worldwide ignorance and non-cooperation. Even an ant colony has a better plan for survival than the collective leaders of the human race.
Name: Simon
Date: 8/28/01
Hi,
I just wanted to say firstly that I respect your right to have this page and to say what you believe, there's nothing more foolishly then someone saying to another person whom they don't know (or know for that matter) that they should "get off the net". You have every right to be there as I have to write to you on your invitation. I know I'm just stating the obvious but I don't want you to regard this as 'hate' mail. It would also be foolish of me to try and debate all you statements, this would take a lifetime.
Saying that, I must comment that your idea of what a Christian and Christianity is is very stero-typical and simplistic. I find your site quite humourous because some of your argument methods (eg. definite statements, "the bible *is* contridictory") are the same methods that some Christians use to convince people of their position. Let me just say that this statement is *your* opinion based on what you have been convinced of by the information that you have had access to (whether for or against what you believe). My belief statements come from the information that I have access to. So for you to make such a definite statement could you actually believe that you have found the ultimate truth on whether the bible is 'true' or 'false'. Somehow I don't think so. One web page doesn't give that much truth. BTW some of those contradictions seem to be based on poor logic, and I for one would agree that they bible is not a logical book, though not totally illogical either.
Go to go anyway.
If you want you can email me back, I don't really care either way. I just felt like saying something since I was free to do so.
Simon
Name: AmyymA
Date: 8/27/01
I, as a proud atheist :-), have enjoyed going through your site. Upon reading your article on atheists and death, I thought I might give you my opinion on the matter, however insignificant it might be.
I believe that whatever you believe happens after death happens to you. If you believe we just die, and that once our heart stops pumping we're gone, then you won't have and 'afterlife'. If you believe you're going to heaven, then I hope you like halos and big wings. If you believe you're going to hell because you forgot to brush your teeth last Thursday, then I hope you're a pyro. If you believe you're going to be a toaster in your next life, then don't burn the bread. I believe that, after I die, I'll be able to explore this world, and others as well. I believe I'll be able to go see my friends, wherever they might be. If my friends believe that, POOF!, after death, they're gone, then... well, in truth, I haven't figured that out yet.
You see, your mind is more powerful than your body. It's your mind that tells your hands to pick up that pencil. It's your mind that tells your feet "Gosh, this asphalt is hot!". It's your mind that tells you "Don't be such a wimp! Keep running! Faster! Faster! Faster!" It's all in your head, so to speak.
Your mind is always working, whether you're asleep, awake, or in physics class (though the latter could probably be classified with the first). Why should it stop just because your body stops?
You may be asking, "well, what about the Christians and such? If they expect to see you in heaven (or hell), and you're not there because that's not where you believe you're going, then...?" I believe that, if they believe they'll see you up (or down) there, then they will; they'll see their version of you (a.k.a. how they know you / knew you in life). I don't know about you, but I can be an entirely different person around different people.
Here is a website I found that gives an opinion similar to mine: http://www.spiritonline.com/files/messages/357/366.html?965426280. It is slightly different in that it pretty much says 'this is what happens to you and everyone else,' but it still has many good points in it. I encourage you to read it, and perhaps some of the other articles on that site as well.
Thank you for your time,
Amy
Name: Mutant
Date: 8/20/01
We abducted an alien once!! Enjoyed the web site. Made me laugh, cry and boogie (in equal measures). I gotta get me a hat.
Name: Jack Hughes
Date: 8/17/01
Excellent - Like the links and will spend some time looking them up. Trying to figure out how I became an atheist other than I just don't understand how anyone can believe the other stuff and I'm 66 so I've had time to think.. Of course my good buddies in Alcoholics Anonymous don't understand me either which is the reason I am spending time trying to find more info in hopes that I can find a group who is a wee bit more in line with my philosophy of life. But, they have been very supportive in quiting the booze one day at a time. Good job. Jack Like your humor
Name: Sophie
Date: 8/16/01
The main reason I am against the Christian religion is the
fact that even a man who commits murder is forgiven in the eyes of 'God.'
That's morality? Bull shit.(By the way, I go to a predominately
Christian/Republican, privately funded, all-girls school. By some mysterious
"miracle" we are not religiously based, or I wouldn't be there.) Some of
the greatest minds in history were Atheists, or at the very least
agnostic. I have no prejudices against those who do believe, but I feel I
live a healthy, happy, 'normal' life without believing in a higher power.
I have faith in myself and I believe in myself--that's all I need to
get by.
"I don't believe in God because I don't believe in Mother Goose."
(Clarence Darrow)
Name: ANGRY CHRISTIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: 8/16/01
LESS ATHEISM SHIT!!!!!!!!!!! just kidding. I'm actually an atheist. good site! I liked the Why I am An Atheist page...but then again, thats the only one i read so far.. O.o oh well! ^.^ ugh.. the power went out for half of the whole island i live on (Maui) and i have internet deprived for.. a whole hour! *sob* anyways, goodbye, i gotta go visit the aliens again, they said they'd take the tracking device out of my knee.. cause the goverment is out to get me... anyway, BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY!
Name: Bill
Date: 8/3/01
Name: Reidar Kristiansen
Date: 7/23/01
Thanks for some very nice and informative webpages. They are already in my favorites.
Doy
Name: Anonymous
Date: 6/12/01
Dear Meretricula
It's refreshing to find a heartfelt atheist who isn't of the hateful and/or ignorant kind. Few things are more frustrating to me as an atheist than those who intentionally offend and insult religious people as if that were the point. That kind shows no more tolerance than the fundamentalists. Healthy debate and respect for one another's views is what freedom of religion (and freedom from religion) is all about. Great job on the website - I'll visit again.
Name: Olivier Wacker
Date: 5/1/01
Good site. Enjoyed reading your texts about Anselm and Pascal. I am what you would term a theist. And I guess I am as unconvinced of your truth as you would be of mine. But it is nice to be able to read what you think in a amusing way. I prefer by much a convinced atheist to anybody who does not take any time to think seriously about God's existence and what it means for his or her life.
Name: Warren B.
Date: 4/22/01
Great site with well researched arguments. Loved the modified Pascal's Wager story. Its so nice to find a site thats, well, amicable. I think its great that at your relative young age you are so grounded in your atheism; I wish I'd had such well-formed ideas early on. I was raised strict Southern Baptist, rejected that as a teen but didn't tell anybody that I didn't believe in god(s) until I was 25. Then I told my mother and to my surprise, she didn't believe either, but thought raising her children in the church was a good way to instill a sense of morality. I used to describe myself as an agnostic with athiestic leanings, but now at 45 I am definitely an atheist, a strong one at that. My wife refuses to believe I am atheist, but how should she know what is truly in my mind? If she would only listen to what I say, she would know I don't believe in gods or any supernatural power. I recently moved from Utah to Oklahoma and have discovered, much to my dismay, that I am much more in the minority in Oklahoma than I was in Utah. The only problem I see with atheism, there is no amicable support organization.
Name: Brian Tamariki
Date: 4/19/01
Become a happy clappy Child of God, and be SAVED!!!
Name: Jerry Loethen
Date: 4/17/01
that robert lee is a loon!
Name: Scott T. Allen
Date: 4/16/01
Thank you for the review on The Holy Land Experience. Does sound rather cheezy, but I'll probably give it a try when my alternatives (while attending an upcoming conference in Orlando) are Disney and Universal.
Name: Suzanne
Date: 4/14/01
Date: 4/12/01 I like your why am i an atheist. "Christians do not see the mistakes because they want to believe."
Name: Sadiqi Az Zindiki
Date: 3/17/01
"Christianity is as false as any other religion in the world, but Christians are the only theists pushing their religion on everyone else. I have not recently heard about Wiccans attempting to get their creation myth taught in public schools, nor have I had Native Americans banging on my door."
Well, they aren't totally alone...cf. Islam, Christianity's no.2 competitor, which unequivocally promotes theocracy in the Sunni tradition...
Name: Anonymous
Date: 3/8/01
Name: David J. Dulin
Date: 2/25/01
being a nonbeliever as well (agnostic, atheist, call me what you will, i really don't care about labels, point being - i don't believe in religion), i'm glad there are sites like yours that truly concentrate on lucidly voicing freethought opinions and inquiries.
rock on!
sincerely,
david dulin
The hen is but an egg's way of creating another egg. - the Book of Darwin
Name: bk
Date: 2/12/01
Name: Matthew
Date: 2/6/01
Cool web page. I think you might be interested in sci.life-extension. Many there are looking for scientifically sound ways of extending life. I too feel ripped off with only statistically only 85 years in total to live. Maybe by the time I reach 85 science will extend it by another 20. Then before I use those up, it will be extended even further. That would be a good plan for immortality.
Nice talking to you.
Name: Cat Fight
Date: 1/23/01
Name: Freedom Warrior
Date: 1/19/01
It is about atheism and evolution and my disagreements with christianity and creationism.
Thanks!
Name: Stazia DeVine
Date: 1/18/01
Most of the Atheist sites I visited had a really angry, dark bent, and so I particularly e njoyed yours. Please come visit and share a link to your site in our Link Share program.
Much appreciated.
Blessings, light and love to you and yours,
Stazi
Name: No. 6
Date: 12/20/00
I think you need to put all the hellfire damnation etc responses on their own page. I love that stuff, I cannot get enough of it. "You must be angry with God" Why do you have to be angry with god to not beleive? Incredible. I'm a biologist and it just kills me when people refer to "EVILution" or have those lame little fish eating the darwin symbol on thier cars. I'm not an atheist, well, not in a strict sense, but I do not beleive in a Christian god who lets his "children" suffer eternally in hell. Anyway, nice web site, very well informed, Darwin was not an atheist as you said, but one wonders how he might have felt after formulating his theory. Who knows? God? Har har.
Name: Sophie
Date: 11/21/00
pictures,.pictures,pictures...or an autograph from mary
Name: Joe Zamecki
Date: 10/16/00
Doubt On!
Joe Zamecki
Atheist Activist in New Jersey
Name: Anonymous
Date: 10/15/00
I was raised a Christian in Alabama (the Bible Belt..aaaahhh!!) and have recently done a lot of thinking and decided it doesn't make a lot of sense. I am a very logical, open-minded person, and I just don't think there is sufficient evidence to convince me there is a God. For those strict southerners who think theirs is the only religion, I must say this: there are 1.1 billion Christians in the world, and 4.4 billion people of other religions or no religion at all. Hell sure is going to be crowded. And I say that with the utmost respect and tolerance for your beliefs, but please remember to do the same for me.
Name: Andy Hanks
Date: 9/19/00
excellent site Im glad Im not the only only one who fears
death yet knows I cant avoid it so well, fuck it! live forever!
Andy Hanks
Name: Jeanne Simon
Date: 8/27/00
I will pray daily for you Kari and Matt. The Lord, won't let you go. This is something I don't think I can accept, I won't let your salvation be distroyed. I love you too much.
Mom
[Meretricula's Note: Matt is my brother and Kari is his wife; Jeanne is Kari's mother. I'm not sure why she chose to sign my guestbook with comments directed towards them.]
Name: Ronald L. Coates
Date: 8/22/00
Just wanted to tell you that I like your attitude...I am 52 yrs old, and I agree with your opinions regarding death (dread and loathing). I don't think there is a hell, and if there is, then damn it, I would rather experience it than worship a god who would allow there to be a hell.
I have visited your website a few times over the last few months, and it is always refreshing to see someone like you who is not filled with a desire to "kill" the opposition.
Thanks for going to the trouble to have the site up.
ron
Name: Karen
Date: 8/21/00
Meretricula-
I just scanned Lee What's-His-Names site and couldn't bear it! What a shockingly, arrogant man.
Thanks for the link!
Karen
Name: dan scalf
Date: 8/20/00
Although I am a newly admitted non-believer who does not feel any god exists (ain't no way in shit it's the Christian version of a god), I do believe there are elements in this universe we are not aware of and could not possibly understand. So I consider myself more of a freethinking humanist than an athiest, but I thought your website was still a pleasant diversion. Kudos.
Name: Jordie Pancer
Date: 8/16/00
Just stopped by to see what was new. As always, Meretricula, your webpage is the internet's most upbeat, straightforward, and entertaining forum for the atheist/theist debate. Keep up the fantabulous work.
Name: Daniel Morrione
Date: 8/13/00
Shocking lack of nudity, otherwise pretty cool
Name: Megan Telliano
Date: 7/18/00
Why do you care so much? You must be very angry at God. He sitll loves you no matter what your anger and pain. Take care.
Thoughtfully
Me
Name:Ed Brownlee
Date: 7/11/00
Greetings from Pittsburgh, PA, yeah, I know, big deal. I liked what I saw. Especailly liked the links page. I hadn't thought about Mother Theresa since her death, I know she's probably going to be canonized, it's nice to find a link that doesn't fawn over her. Return visit welcomed.
Name: Spencer
Date: 7/1/00
I was fascinated in your debate with Lynn which has kept me up for the last half hour. The most difficult aspect of arguing with theists is making it quite clear that they are making a claim about the existence of something. They frequently make statements which already assume the existence of God and then charge their way through a series of more or less logical deductions from this intial statement before triumphantly proclaiming the truth of the assumption that they started out with. You did an excellent job of exposing this.
One area where I had a few differences with you was on the issue of causation. I am not a scientist but it strikes me as completely wrong to say, as Lynn did, that scientists are somehow obsessed with causation. What they are obsessed with is finding regularities and then formulating these as testable laws. The problem with causation is that it can lead into a complete minefield as in what caused the fire?- s/he dropped a match, the flammable qualities of the material on to which the match was droppped, the fact that s/he had just been to the shops to buy matches etc. etc. It is much easier when you have simple law like statements along the lines of x is always accompanied by y (eg. fire is always accompanied by heat.) The problem of course is that as Hume pointed out there is no reason at all why our universe should continue to behave in a lawlike manner today just because it did yesterday. And that is an even more difficult problem.
Any way I can't believe I troubled you over such a niggling point when all I really wanted to say was how pleased I was to see a site presenting an intelligent defence of Atheism which wasn't going to scare the horses.
All the best,
Spencer
Name: David J. Dulin
Date: 5/31/00
Hi. I just wanted to say that you've got a great site. It's visually appealing and well-organized. Keep it up.
A fellow Atheist,
D.J.D.
PS: I'm a former Catholic, but I am a content Atheist now - although, if you could call me religious, it's in a Pantheistic sense.
Name: Kari
Date: 4/20/00
Meretricula, I dub thee the Pope of Atheism. Your responses and writings are incredible. As a born-again Atheist I can understand where Christians get their views, but the explanations of an Atheist, such as yourself, are so much more clear.
Name: Rebecca
Date: 4/20/00
My father is an atheist, my mother is a lapsed protestant. I lean more towards my father's point of view than I do my mother's. People always either try to convert me or stay away from me when they find out I am an atheist. It's nice to know that I am not all alone.
Name: Karen Loethen
Date: 4/13/00
I've only just entered your site...but I will return for more!
Name: Mike
Date: 2/29/00
Saw the title of your homepage and was rather intruigued. I guess you might say that my curiousity of "What an Athiest would say" overcame me and I just had to check out your site.
Its pretty cool and I congratulate you on being able to freely speak your mind. Not many people are willing to voice an opinion that doesn't agree with the masses, its a comfort that there are people out there like you who are willing to step out of the box and just not go along with the crowd.
Take care and good luck in all that you do.
Mike
Name: Waldenfrosch
Date: 2/26/00
I just wanted to send a friendly hello. I've been looking around the various sites for non grumpy Atheists and appreciate your efforts. Mind you...I do enjoy a good angry rant now and again, I just like to see our contentment also on display. Perhaps I will get up enough nerve to submit an essay soon. It bothers me that many Atheists seem to accept the free-will myth as well as the existance of evil, and I would like to write something about that.
Thanks,
Rex
Name: Abulafia Rachkovsky
Date: 2/25/00
you have a lovely page my dear! Good form, nice style, very orderly,and actual content!!! Allthough, I do not believe in many of your philosophies, I was and am very interested in your beleif in them. come by my site sometime and sign my guestbook. It would be lovely.
Name: Eric
Date: 2/9/00
I've been checking in on your web page off and on. Your closing statement to your debate with that woman around x-mas is very good. I wonder if she didn't answer because the debate has caused some mental disturbances. I was a "fundie" in highschool, then, because I turned out to be a big ol' homo, switched to the New Age, then, Wicca, then Buddhism, then Taoism, then Pagan, then.... finally "admitted" to being an atheist, brought on mostly through reading every Carl Sagan book. A health scare (turned out to be nothing) challenged my new convictions (through fear, I laid in bed thinking about life, death, eternal punishment etc) and started to "back-slide" but didn't. It can be a hard road, but my grasp of life and the "real world" now is worth giving up the smoke and mirrors and pretty things of religion. The connection with the past that humans tend to desire, has switched in me from "biblical stories" and religious mumbo-jumbo as support and comfort, to understanding the connection of how many people, from the first homonids to us, have struggled to understand our enviroment and make a better life for ourselves and our loved ones. babble, babble, sorry so long, have good spring, Eric
Name: Tansar H
Date: 2/1/00
Hi, I hope you are fine. I was just surfing and came accross your page. With regards to being 'just'. I'm sure in your book 2 wrongs dont make a right. If youve commited a serious crime of course that person should pay the price. But how many are out there who get away with murder. According to Christianity Jesus (pbuh) has paid for thier sins, this belief obviously is misleading people. Im a muslim and believe that you will die with your good & bad deeds and that you will be questioned. No matter what colour/race, rich or poor. You are resposible for your own self. Remember the latter penalty is much harder. Regards.
Name: Anita
Date: 1/4/00
Hello. I liked your page and found your links and resources very helpful. The debate was also interesting. I am in the process of making a page called Tamar's Ashes that is primarily about how religion has harmed women's status and well-being, but it will also envelop skepticism (naturally, since it is about how religion has degraded women, it would be anti-religion. :) and feminism (ditto). I would like to link to your page from the site if that's alright; please let me know. So far it is in the beginning processes but I have mighty plans. :0) If you would like to visit the homepage I've had for years, it is http://geocities.datacellar.net/neeterskeeter27 . I have bookmarked your page and will visit it again. :)~Anita
Name: Jake H.
Date: 11/23/00
While I myself am undecided as to whether I am a theist or atheist, I do think your site has a lot of good points. Very well informed too.
Name: yuki yamada
Date: 11/22/99
Hi, I just looked at your homepage talking about some Morality, and I suggest you to think or read over those material before you put on the net. Basically the way you are taking is relatively weak argument, with using invalid logical process. the main conclusion you had was that the denial of selfevidenced moral of christianity leads to the truth of common sense morality...but think about this a moment, there are some other things to think about in order to ascertain that C.S.M. is right
Name: Anonymous
Date: 11/19/99
Btichin' Web site! I love all the philosophical contributions, like Kant and Anselm :-) I hope more people contribute to your thoroughly amusing site. I'm going to book mark you site and read it every day, no wait, every hour; its just that good! That Lynn person in the Ongoing Debate is a bit of a silly, isn't she? Polytheism, pshaw! Next thing you know, she'll acuse you of being a Pantheist.
Name: Matt from the Dimples of God's Buttcheeks
Date: 11/11/99
I am quite impressed by your website, oh sister of mine! I didn't get a chance to read through the whole thing. I mostly just read the debate between you and the one called Lynn. I'll be sure to get through the rest of it this weekend. :-P
Name: Carl Bloom
Date: 10/28/99
Just some friendly mail! your web site is very well-done and informative. I was attracted to the "amicable" part, because some athiests tend to be as fundie as fundies in the way they argue!
I just found this today:
"Denigration and disrespect will never win the minds (not to mention the hearts) of these people. But the right combination of education and humility might extend a hand of fellowship and eventually end the embarrassing paradox of a technological nation entering a new millennium with nearly half its people actively denying the greatest biological discovery ever made." - Stephen Jay Gould on people who rejects theory of evolution
I pulled it off some other webpage so don't know where it came from, but probably his new book.
thanks,
Carl
Name: Colleen A. Zaccaria
Date: 10/23/99
Great site! It's nice to be reassured that we're not alone (my husband and I are minorities among our family and some friends) Thanks by the way, is that the Bates Motel you're standing in front of??:-)
Name: Shane Siemers
Date: 10/4/99
I like your site. There's no concept that seems harder to drum into people's skulls than the idea of secular morality. Your site was quite refreshing, I was worried by a few of the sites I ran into when I hit the "random" button on my Freethought webring. If you get a chance, drop by my own webpage, Mr. Secular's Big Top 'O Fun, and tell me what you think.
Here's the URL:
http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sesiemers
Yours,
Mr. Secular
Name: Crinis Villa
Date: 10/1/99
I am writing to express my gratitude for your web-site and the insights it offers into the minds of theists and atheists alike. I visit it almost daily for inspiration. Your effort to debate the theists in a civilised and rational forum is most laudable. I especially enjoy your problem of evil quotation from Epicurus. If you are a Latin buff like I am, then check out the signature attachment at the end of this file. If you are not...then respond and I will provide you a translation.
My 'bias' is atheism, though it wasn't always so. I grew up Catholic, and went to schools of the same flavour. I was even several times complemented for being a Christian philosopher. It wasn't until my college days that my girlfriend had gumption to ask me what I believe in(on our first date!). I answered 'Catholic but agnostic.' Since then I've realised I had never questioned my 'faith,' and soon came to the conclusion that I had none. I merely believed because I was told to by all my religious leaders and my family.
This frustrated me profusely, especially since I had once thought all my beliefs were based on logic and critical analysis. I now believe that I am an apologist Catholic, that is, I profusely apologise daily for once being Catholic :-) My religion and my agnosticism both collapsed, and because we MUST catagorise everything, I fall into the atheist bin.
I hope one day I can be as amicable as you about your atheism. I am still a bit angry at having been lied to for so long. I am glad, though, that free-thinking is not dead in America, and its torch burns bright in you.
Vale,
Crinis Villa
'si quidem deus est,unde mala?
Bona uero unde, si non est?'
Consolatio Philosophiae 1P4.30 - Boethius
Name: Kenneth Blackledge
Date: 10/1/99
I've been looking over your Website, and for the most part, I like what I see. I fully agree with your page on morality. However, regarding your statement, "I find it appalling, that there are still people who think like this.", I hope you don't find it surprising. These types seem to be in the majority, unfortunately. I recently wrote a letter to my local paper asking people to "look outside the religion box." So far they've printed three visceral responces by people saying we don't need more religion, we need God. *sigh*
One point I have to quibble with: on your "faq" page, you stated that Darwin was not an atheist. That is incorrect. Actually, I think only an atheist could have come up with the theory of evolution, since few Christians would be inclined to investigate the mechanics of life. For them, it's enough that "God did it." Although Darwin did study to become an Anglican priest, his studies of nature and the viciousness often found therein led him to doubt the idea of a loving, merciful God. The final straw appeared to be the death of his third child. So Darwin is certainly not unfamiliar with the "arguement from evil."
I don't have my own Website, but I do have a friend (online aquaintance, actually,) who posted four essays by me on one of his own pages at www.bee.net/cardigan/attic/attic3.htm There's also a little bit about me on his Profiles page, elsewhere on his Website.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Blackledge
Name: Jordie
Date: 9/30/99
Whew! It's very refreshing to poke through a website witha non-crabby attitude toward the theism-atheism ideolgy. Thank you very much!
Name: Jonathan
Date: 9/29/99
I just finished reading as much as my head could take of this never-ending debate. Seems to me that the fundamental problem between both sides is this, as a believer, it cannot be proved to me that god doesn't exist. Yet from a nonbelievers point of view, I cannot prove that god does exist. I would like to say this, as thinking beings, with emotions, morals, convictions, I do find it hard to believe that we evolved from a single cell to a rational being. In the piece relating to morality, why did humans decide to be good, could morality have been based on survival of the fittest? And what if it had been? The Commandments would be vastly different, don't you think? The simple fact to me is that billions of people believe in some god, or supreme being. The downfall of religion is that history seems to acutely record the bad, immoral, greedy, power hungry people that have represented it. Religion itself will not go away. And frankly the less believers in some god, the more chaos ensues. Most people are not, as you say, knowledge seekers, most people seem to go with the masses, or just don't care, they have day to day, check to check lifestyles. Do you believer the world would be better religion free? I would like to not believe, for a day, to see what is the motivation. To gain for oneself seems greedy, and lots of greedy people would provide a hostile environment. Of coarse that is a simple and easily arguable statement. My point is, religion seems to herd the masses. Eastern religions, along with Christianity, and all other religions is good for people in my opinion. When it is forced upon, it is not. The Vatican recently released a statement that hell and heaven are not places, but a state of mind, or being. Religion is not some hocus pocus trick. Its not spirits in air, its the belief that a person can be a better person, and that no matter how good one is today, he/she can probably do better tomorrow. Now I do know that there are a million angles to respond to this submission. And I would love to here them all.
Joshua.
I must add my comment that I like this idea and format for this issue. Seems most people who have made their way to the site have been reasonably intelligent people. Well done.
Name: Jesse Shows
Date: 8/21/99
Very good site. I am currently agnostic, with athesistic tendencies, if that makes any sense....
Name: Northsider
Date: 7/31/99
Love your site, mostly because I agree with what you say; but, I would change the background as it makes your text hard to read.
Name: Ronald L. Coates
Date: 7/17/99
Thanks for your web page, its refreshing!
Name: Bryan Katzenmeyer
Date: 5/20/99
Just thought I'd put my 2 cents in. You have a great site! I've been looking to make a website of my own someday, and I think it will be atheistic in nature. And if I may say so, you seem like a great person. At least you seem pretty cool from what little I can find about you on your site. Keep up the good work, and keep fighting the good fight!
Name: J. Clow
Date: 5/11/99
I really like you site! I think most us atheists could do with gaining a little more artistic talent. Most of them are quite drab, so this was a pleasant surprise. I particularly liked the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy quote. I'll have to memorise that and use it sometime.
Name: Pedro
Date: 4/8/99
I love this site and I am one of the enemy. But even though my mind is open to all thoughts and ideas. Keeep up the great work babe. love Pedro
Name: brian k. smith
Date: 4/2/99
this is a very good page.
Name: Angela
Date: 3/23/99
If you are an athiest, then what do you think is going to happen to you and your soul when you leave this earth? Not all Christians say that people who don't believe in God will burn in Hell. Hell is not torture and fire and flames. To be in Hell is to not be with God and Jesus. I'm 20 years old and am very confused about a lot of things with my faith, but I am not so blind to give up on God--my creator and the one who loves me, totally!. I don't mean to be preachy. Believe what you will, but I can't see how your life can have any real meaning w/o recognizing that God and Jesus are a part of it. I myself am having touble dealing with that, but I refuse to give up. Giving up is the easy way out--and the chicken way out. Email me if you want. No hard feelings or judgments--I just don't understand how a person can be this way. I can't look at any more of this site--it is too sad. I pray for you.
Name: Bret aka UnrepentantSinnerAtheist
Date: 3/19/99
Great page. It always makes me feel that the tide is turning against ignorance whenever I find another web resource like your page. Keep up the great work. Keep banging the message boards and taking the fight to where they find it most uncomfortable - the truth.
Name: Anonymous
Date: 3/18/99
what is wrong with christianity? why are people so against it. could you rather believe in God than in nothing. remember your several chances of life when you are burning in hell. everyone makes misstakes, but you can be forgiven. ask christ into your life. God will change your darkness into his marvellous light. p.s.- i am not an arrogant christian either, i am just doing the will of my Father
Name: Jeff Abramsohn
Date: 3/17/99
Interesting articles on this page...good resource for free thinkers. Have the fundies started thumping yet?
Name: SynthetikRose
Date: 3/15/99
Groovalicious page babe. I am *very* impressed with it. Be prepared for email. The clergy know that I know that they know that they do not know.
SynthetikRose also has a great atheist website at The Garden of Atheism.
Name: dujoloaf
Date: 3/11/99
a very nice and interesting site it has inspired me to start my own page. But my God, Zilor, is a greater being and I will continue to do his bidding, until then christians watchout.