Episode 59: Why Are You Atheists So Angry?

Special Thanks to Greta Christina. To buy Greta’s book:

This link has all the info on how people can order the book in all
formats: ebook, print, everything. It’s probably the best link to give
people for the book.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2012/05/15/wayasa/

Here’s the link for buying the ebook on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MCMKV6

Here’s the link for buying the print book at the Richard Dawkins Foundation:
http://store.richarddawkins.net/products/product

And here’s her blog:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/

News items this week:

9 comments on Episode 59: Why Are You Atheists So Angry?

  1. Rick says:

    Think Progress had an interesting link to a Republican making an unintended argument why we shouldn’t have insurance companies covering health care:

    http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/08/02/628981/flake-insurance-pre-existing-conditions/

  2. Dumbass says:

    Hey guys, great episode! I loved the discussion.

    I do disagree with a few points though. You guys were talking about how moderate and progressive religions don’t speak out against the rabid fundamentalists, and you surmised that the reason for that is because they just want to support the idea of faith.

    Well, this simply isn’t true. Moderate and progressive religious leaders speak out against the rabid fundamentalists all the time. This is true of both Christians and Muslims. The fact that you haven’t heard them doesn’t mean that they’re not doing their best to get the message out there.

    There are a couple of good reasons that you don’t know about this. First is that these kinds of religions are usually less centralized, less organized. They find it hard to generate a voice big enough to compete for attention.

    But the biggest reason I think that these people aren’t getting the kind of attention they should is basically because they’re reasonable. Being reasonable is a good thing, but it’s not a great way to get a lot of attention. Being batshit crazy – *that’s* how you get people’s attention!

    So I don’t think it’s completely fair to call out moderate and progressive religions and say that they’re just standing on the sidelines and ignoring the situation.

  3. Justin says:

    Great episode and interview. I realise that you use hyperbole to bring out the comic elements of religion and love the show for that (for example, the “raping hands” comment was gold).

    Just a couple of things:
    1. the government of Mali is at war with the rebels in control of northern Mali, and have no control over the region. In fact, those rebela have declared northern Mali to be independent from Mali. So the government of Mali are not really to blame for what happens there. For more info, google “Tuareg rebellion 2012”.
    2. It is winter in the Southern hemisphere (where I am) now, so the short days make it easy for those observing Ramadan (something I am not doing). Borneo is on the equator, so I guess they really don’t have winter or summer.

    Keep up the great comedy.

  4. JonFrancis says:

    Hey, Tom and Cecil.

    This is my first email to you guys- chalk it up to laziness. I’ve been a loyal listener of Cognitive Dissonance for several months now, having started with the latest episodes and subsequently listening to the earliest episodes (an oft-told story, I would imagine). I want to thank you guys for inflicting the world with anger, fury, and rants derived from, over the atrocities being committed everywhere- while still managing to make me laugh uncontrollably in the next moment.

    The latest episode, 59, with Greta Christina, was excellent! I picked up a physical copy of her book several days after I bought it on Kindle, only a few days after it was released. Wow, what a great read! I felt the same as you did, Cecil, while reading it- angry, yes, but not recoiling in horror because I feel as if I’ve been inoculated against the shit-insane, grotesquely irrational, utterly repulsive words and actions of the fundamentalists of the world.

    Greta’s book resonated so very deeply with me, sparking my desire to become an atheist activist. You guys, along with a few other podcasts, have stoked that fire in me to press on and do anything in my power for the secular cause.

    Anyway, thank you again for the great podcast you put out. I am almost through every episode and there is not a bad episode in the entire collection. I’ll continue to listen and support you guys so keep up the great work- I hope to be a listener for years to come!

    With love from the entire length of my tinyurl,
    Jon Francis

  5. Murff says:

    Again I seem to fall in the middle. The guy in Florida who shot the salesman is horrible and deserves the maximum penalty.

    That being said, the people who commented about “how many no trespassing signs did the guy need…” do have a point. How much common sense does it take to not approach a house with THREE No Trespassing signs. If I were a salesman, I know I’d skip that house…not for fear of being shot, but out of respect for the residents who obviously are less than open to visitors. He didn’t deserve to be shot, but I wonder what he thought when he saw the signs leading up to the house?

  6. Steven Doyle says:

    Less than ten years after the Constitution was ratified, it was being violently argued over — by the guys who wrote it. When schmucks like Scalia call themselves Originalists, it just means they’re pretending the “original intent” was whatever they want it to be.

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