Dealing with Anti-Gay Protesters at NEPA Pridefest

Image Credit: silentwitnesspa.org This weekend, members of the NEPA Freethought Society, a local community group of non-theists, attended NEPA Pridefest in order to show solidarity with the gay community, have fun, socialize, and most importantly engage the anti-gay protesters who were bound to show their faces. Instead of ignoring the protesters, like others do at these events, I felt it necessary […]

Disagreement, not Disrespect: Attacking Beliefs, not Persons

During many discussions about ‘hot-button issues,’ no matter what the specific topic is, people often feel that disagreement and scrutiny of arguments is a ‘confrontation’ and people are being attacked. This, I feel, is one of the greatest misconceptions I believe people have had in the many discussions I participated in during the last two […]

Is Materialism Incompatible with Mind, Meaning, and Morality?

Mike, a frequent commenter on my Facebook page, blog, and elsewhere, and someone I have met and chatted with in ‘real life,’ has recently authored a blog post alleging that materialism is incompatible with mind, meaning, and morality. He also claims that secularism is “vacuous and unrewarding” and that secularists are “partial to pervasive cynicism.” Mike […]