Quabacook Area Atheists - Maine

11/22/2014

www.a-revolt.org : digital anarchy

11/18/2014

Hoping you'll enjoy something I just created as much as I enjoyed creating it...

09/07/2014

I just heard this quote from the movie, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) by the actor, Steve Buscemi, on CBS News Sunday Morning and it made my day!

(Character) Dr. Romero: "Do you think God stays in heaven because he, too, lives in fear of what he's created?"

Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) Quotes on IMDb: Memorable quotes and exchanges from movies, TV series and more...

08/07/2014

At the end of the Craigslist post I mentioned in an earlier post:

To religious believers:

We are accustomed to comments made by ignorant people, and an immunity is fully in place against remarks expressed by those who represent the ugly, hateful side of religion. Such comments will either simply be ignored, as will attempts to proselytize, or if comments are absurd enough, you grant us the right to ridicule them on our page.

08/07/2014

I posted an ad on Craigslist to find people interested in forming a physical group to meet - http://maine.craigslist.org/grp/4603181210.html

Of course, angry, ignorant responses are expected, and we received our first, which follows:
_______________________

"You're the same as the religious zealots, just on opposite ends of the spectrum. But still the same."

"You want to get people together to discuss common beliefs and interests. That's as good a definiton of a "church" as anything else."

"You say you don't want any proselytizing, yet that is exactly what you intend to do in your church. You or somebody like you will get up there at the podium (altar) and preach about the advantages of your beliefs."

"You're no different than they are. You're a close-minded bigot."

08/04/2014

LET'S FORM A GROUP HERE IN THE MERRYMEETING BAY (QUABACOOK) AREA!

"Indeed, organizing atheists has been compared to herding cats, because they tend to think independently and will not conform to authority. But a good first step would be to build up a critical mass of those willing to 'come out, thereby encouraging others to do so. Even if they can't be herded, cats in sufficient numbers can make a lot of noise and they cannot be ignored." ~ Richard Dawkins

CALLING ALL 'CATS'!

There are meetups in Portland and other distance places for freethinkers to gather, but nothing in the Bath, Brunswick, Topsham, or the Freeport area. This is an attempt to 'herd' some of us like-minded people together to form a fun, friendly group. It will simply be a gathering of people with common ideas and interests.

There would be no specific "goals" or "purposes" for this group as it isn't intended to be an activist group.

Why do we non-believers have a need to get together?

We are people who like to meet with other people with whom we can discuss our interests. Though atheism is just a lack of belief, atheists live in a world dominated by religious beliefs which present various levels of difficulties for atheists. It can be quite a delightful relief to gather together without the intrusion of religion. Also, some of us who no longer hold religious beliefs sometimes miss the sense of social connection we used to to have in our churches and communities.

There are many more people without a belief in god than most people realize. There are also some of us out there who, for various unfortunate reasons, are 'closeted'. (It's a safe bet that there are religious people who are bigots right here in our area who, without being aware of it, actually know someone without god-beliefs, and who honestly like them!) The more of us who have the courage to 'come out', the more non-believers will be accepted as no better or worse than anyone else, and the more quickly non-belief will become normalized in society (such as what has fortunately been happening in the LGBT community!).

If you are someone who would be interested in helping to form a group where we can find camaraderie and like-mindedness in the realistic view of our world, please share your thoughts here!

06/28/2014

"Atheist Record for the Ages"

There is a "Golden Record" aboard NASA's Voyagers 1 and 2 spacecraft (http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html), which is a kind of time capsule intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials.

For some time I've been thinking that, similarly, a digital record could well be of interest to the people of future generations, especially after everyone in the world has finally discarded all belief in gods. I'm calling it the "Atheist Record for the Ages".

It would be a list of a mere fraction of the millions of individual atheists who, during the twentieth century and the first decades of the twenty-first century, utilized reason and critical thinking in examining the evidence of the day to come to logical conclusions about our world. Those who would like their name to be on that list would simply submit a request.

And who among us wouldn't like to be recognized as a forebearer in the use of logic and reason that maps to reality in agreement with the conclusions of those in the future based on even more advanced scientific evidence?

So, I've put together a web page that I invite you to see at http://bit.ly/atheist_record. For now, it's on my own domain; hopefully this idea will catch on, and maybe in the future, someone might be willing to host the page at a popular atheist domain.

Also, if enough interest is shown, I'd like to also create a list on the same page for atheist organizations that would like to be listed.

I am aware that there would likely be issues with safety and privacy of people on such a list. I've included a cautionary advisory on the web page concerning possible risk of adding one's name to this public record. Anyone who requests putting their name on the record would need to disclose no more than their name, and country where they live. I've entered my name, location, and date as the first entry in the record.

A personalized, printable certificate has also been created that will be presented (via email) as a 'hard copy' expression of appreciation, and confirmation of a person's name being added to the record.

And before you ask, yes, I'm also aware of the idiot pastor who wanted to begin an 'atheist registry', and I've read the many disturbing comments from other people who liked the idea. I think, if done right, this atheist record won't be of much interest to the fanatically religious.

I welcome any comments and suggestions, and offers to assist me with this project.

11/27/2013

Imagine what the world would be like if religion did not exist. A world where knowledge and science prevail over fantasy.

05/28/2013

05/28/2013

"Quabacook" in the name of this page is an Abenaki Indian word for "duck watering place". The word was used to designate the Merrymeeting Bay area of Maine.