E is for Eggs

….and how the government has no right to tell me what to do with mine. Seriously. I definitely inherited my father’s righteous anger for social injustice. So far I have read (and written) about the state governments of Virginia, Arizona, and Georgia trying to interfere with the reproductive rights of women under the guise of “religious freedom”.

Now. I’m not religious. I do believe that people deserve the freedom to believe whatever they want to believe. You believe in god? Good for you. You believe in many gods and goddesses? You have a better memory than I do for all those names. You believe in the tooth fairy? Good for freaking you. Just don’t start yanking out my teeth to appease your god. Your right to religious freedom stops. Stops. With you. You do not have any right to impose your beliefs on others in the name of your religious freedom when... Shocker… it violates the personal and religious freedoms of another human being.

The government, an employer, a religious figurehead, has no right to tell me, or any woman what to do with our sexual and reproductive freedom.

I have a theory. I think that some of the reason all of these women’s reproductive rights issues are coming to the forefront now… in the year 2012… is a backlash against the recent developments and progress made in the gay rights movement.

I have a theory that old school conservative men in government feel threatened because the “traditional values” they hold are somehow being threatened. Never mind that how another person lives their life has no effect on the person living next door, but it’s a new way of living that challenges what these conservative ideals are used to.

And they don’t like it.

So in a desperate attempt to hold onto the things that they are comfortable with, they are trying to maintain their power, by taking away ours. By taking away our rights, by taking away our choice, by taking away our voice, they can hold on to the belief that the “right” way of living isn’t just an illusion of an era that no longer exists.

Tell you what. Let’s make a deal. You live your way. I’ll live mine. I won’t tell you what to do. And you can keep your politics out of my vagina. Thanks.

16 Things atheists need theists to know

Here's a post I found quite amusing. As you may have gathered I have a rather bizarre mishmosh of spiritual beliefs though I do consider myself an atheist. I saw this and thought I'd share because believe it or not, it comes up way more often than you'd think. And for the record, some of my best friends are theists =P haha.

Guest essay by Deborah Markus

Please stop hedging when you mention our lack of belief. Atheists are atheists. We're not "self-described," nor do we "claim" to be atheists. You don't want us to start saying things like, "This is my friend, Julie. She calls herself a Christian," do you? Then man up, brace yourself, and use the a-word all by itself. Practice in front of the mirror if you need to. You'll know you have the proper calm, factual tone when the glass doesn't shatter.

Please stop capitalizing the word "atheist." Unless it comes at the beginning of the sentence, you're just wasting ink. We know you're probably trying to be polite, but it doesn't work that way. There is no guy named Athe.

Some of you keep insisting that we're angry at your god. And then you laugh at us for being so silly – being angry at someone we don't even believe in. Well, you're right. That would be pretty darned silly. That's why we don't do it. Are you annoyed at Zeus? Do you have a grudge against the faerie folk? Of course not. It's the same for us – how could we feel anger or hatred toward a non-existent being? (Some of his followers cheese us off, but that's another story.)

Stop saying that deep down inside, we really do believe in your deity. Belief in the kind of guy who can create an entire universe with the force of a few well-turned phrases is not the sort of secret that fits neatly into a back pocket, as it were. If we thought this fellow was real, we'd be the first to know. And people don't tend to keep that particular nugget of information to themselves. Ever notice that?

Please understand that "You're such a nice person! I can't believe you're an atheist!" is not a compliment. More importantly, please understand that we understand that. Believe me, every single one of us has considered replying, "And you're so smart – I can't believe you're a Christian!" How about we all agree to not go there?


The only thing all occupants of foxholes have in common is access to weapons and a willingness to fight. It might be the better part of wisdom not to provoke them by insisting that you know more about their beliefs or lack thereof than they do.

How can our lives have any purpose without God? One word: chocolate.

It's sweet of you to worry about us, really it is. But it's not terribly helpful to tell us that we should go ahead and believe in your particular faith "just in case." Just in case what? In case a deity who can't distinguish heartfelt faith from apple-polishing affectation happens to be running the show?

Let's make a deal: we promise to stop asking that stupid question about whether God can make a rock so big he can't lift it. In exchange, please stop saying, "Well, God doesn't believe in atheists!" and then laughing like Shakespeare came back to life just long enough to write one last comedy.

Please quit asking us how or why we "turned our backs" on God. The whole point of being an atheist is that we don't see any reason to think we did any such thing.

Anyone who was born in an English-speaking country and is more than two minutes old has heard about God and Jesus. It's annoying when you assume that atheists just haven't heard enough about them, and that's why we're still atheists. Many of us have done extensive research on the subject of religion. Many of us credit our atheism to exactly that.

Please stop telling your atheist acquaintances that you'll miss us when you get to heaven. No, you won't. If youturn out to be right, you'll be in heaven – the place where, by definition, people don't feel sad. And if we'reright – well, guess who won't be feeling much of anything?

If you've ever said, "You can't prove there isn't a God" – first of all, congratulations. You're officially four years old. Second, we never said we could. But until you can show some serious proof that there is one, we see no reason to believe. There's nothing wrong with taking a leap of faith, provided you acknowledge that's what you're doing. Atheists simply prefer other forms of exercise.

Stop asking us how we can be moral without God. It's simple. We're awake, and we're not idiots. That's all it takes to figure out that sharing the planet with so many other people is a lot more pleasant when we also share some basic ideas about acceptable behavior. I don't like being stabbed; therefore I support laws against stabbing and promise not to stab anyone myself, no matter how much I may feel like doing so. See how easy?

So far as being a Christian is concerned, you're either a member of a persecuted minority, or part of a solid majority. Figure out which one of those is the case, and then live with it. You don't get to switch back and forth depending on whether you think you can smother dissent better at any given moment by either whining that everybody's always being mean to you, or bellowing that this is your house and you make the rules.


Speaking of persecuted minorities: Christianity used to be one. Did you fight your way to freedom of faith just so you could treat nonbelievers the same way they used to treat you?

Heaven is a Fairy Story

In what’s becoming a mildly disconcerting attempt to be more social at work I’ve been going to 10 o’clock coffee with some co-workers out in the shop. I imagine eventually I’ll feel less out of place. It would probably help if I wore jeans. I need to buy these. Anyways.

Someone brought up this news report concerning Stephen Hawkings assertion that heaven is a fairy story. Anyone who knows me knows that I agree. My analogies are different but I don’t believe in an afterlife of any sort. It’s all beetles, rot, and voids for me. You can believe what you want, but this is what I see. Or don’t see, as the case may be.

As is prevalent the guys I work with are majority Christian. Some are VERY Christian. I am VERY not Christian. I kept my mouth shut. I say kudos to me for this one. As if I don’t have a hard enough time not alienating myself from people as it is, I don’t need to stir up the colleagues. A lot of them were clearly angry about this article and the implications of it, especially the implication that people of faith are cowards… One guy was particularly offended that Heroes of war who are also men of faith would be considered cowards. I understand the viewpoint of cowardice. For all the courage and it takes to put yourself into that amount of danger, believing that this is not your end, provides something of a safety net. I did not say this.  Surprisingly another guy did.  More surprisingly, no one got offended. However, the conversation didn’t last much longer than this. People were not very receptive and generally dismissive of the entire notion.

One guy did mention repeatedly that it didn’t matter, Hawking was going to hell. Hah. This I found delightfully hypocritical; to condemn a man for ‘imposing’ his views, only to impose your own in their stead.

It was interesting to see people toe the issue though, from a perspective of those that clearly don’t question their ideas and are 1.) not entirely comfortable defending their ideas,  2.) afraid of what others will say about their ideas, and 3.) afraid to offend others with their own views. Of the entire group only that one guy presented a non-conformist view, even remarking that there may be something after death but it’s not what people think. He wasn’t met with encouragement but he wasn’t met with disdain either, though clearly many others hold a different point of view. That, I thought took courage. Then again, he may have had these kinds of conversations with these people many times as they’ve worked together for years.

Me? I’m attempting to be social. I don’t want to be too social. Explaining my beliefs takes forever. I’m more interested in the social dynamic around me. I almost never feel like I’m a part of the dynamic anyways, so observation is where I fall too naturally.  

It’s also amusing to me that I am so used to people that are not Christian and/or have alternative beliefs that Christian feels like the exception to me and not the norm. It is something I appreciate.

A statement made a in a different forum: After life you go back to the place you were before birth. What’s to fear in that?

This is an interesting notion to contemplate.

Merry Solstice! Belatedly...

Missed the Solstice celebration. Sort of. I’m either the worst witch or the best witch ever, haha. Ok, so I'm not really a witch but I am, eclectic, in my beliefs. By which I mean I refuse to choose any one type of spirituality and I don’t believe in religion. I think religion in itself is an institution formed primarily to control its practitioners. No thanks. I’ll believe what I want to believe as long as it makes sense to me and fits into my life. So what does that mean to me?

I’m technically agnostic, but a practicing atheist. I believe in no deities. That’s not to say that I deny the possibility for them though. To put it simply; I don’t care. If there’s something out there, there is. If there is not; there’s not. Regardless this does not affect how I will choose to live my life.

What is, is.

Nothing I have to say about this will change a thing.

I would prefer to live my life as a good person without the underlying threat of heaven/hell/purgatory. If I’m going to be good, I’m doing it because it’s how I choose to be, not because I fear some shitty afterlife party. Then again, I don’t believe in an afterlife so it’s all moot to me. My ideal would be reincarnation. I love the idea of the ‘soul’ learning, growing, and evolving through each lifetime. I think it’s a beautiful concept.

Right, back on topic. Pagan. I read the bible when I was 8. I found it… dissatisfying. I was drawn to the old world Earth religions. I primarily drew from my cultural heritage, so Druidism (Celtic), Asatru (Nordic), and Strega (Italian), though I’m open to anything that draws me. I admit to sourcing a lot through Wicca at first because that was what was most readily available when I was younger but I have never considered myself Wiccan. It’s not balanced properly for my tastes.  I’ve always felt a strong connection and grounding through the Earth and the Universe around me. Nature. The Natural world. Natural beliefs.

My beliefs are also heavily science based. I am a scientist and engineer by trade. This is what I do. I find math and numbers beautiful. If a spiritual/philosophical belief is in contrast with scientific principle, it is discarded for me. There cannot be discrepancies in belief.  I believe. I do not have faith. There is a distinction.

Back then, I did have tentative faiths in the pagan deities. By the time I was 16/17 I had lost faith. I adopted an atheistic stance of indifference before turning to Eastern philosophy. I picked up the Tao Te Ching and books on Chinese/Zen Buddhism. I immersed myself in this and found a place within my mind that was calm and centered. Whenever I am at my most turbulent I still pick up the Tao Te Ching and read through until I am once again grounded.  

So now, my beliefs, while lacking in a higher power, are an integrated spirituality of the Old Pagan ways and of Eastern philosophy.

I love the ritual that surrounds the Earth religions. There’s something beautiful in the structure and all the accoutrement help me focus my energy in a way that not utilizing these things does not allow me. So for these reasons I usually try to do full circle rituals on the Sabbats.

I’ve missed my full ritual work for the last couple. However I still observe. For summer solstice I worked on my summer mountain painting. It’s how I was feeling to usher in the new season and I like how it feels vibrant, colorful and alive. I also bake. I do this for most of my rituals. Incorporating elements internally as well as externally. Ok, so really this is a fancy way of saying I made yummy muffins to share with the guys at work. I made strawberry-banana muffins of fresh in-season fruit (locally grown strawberries). To me it represents sharing the abundance of the season with those around me. It’s something I love to do and since all of my rituals and beliefs are absolutely personal, I think it’s fitting.

I don’t use guides, I don’t take much direction. Everything I do, I’ve devised on my own over years of exploration and self-awareness. I miss not doing my formal rituals because it is something that is so grounding for me. However, I was very much feeling the need to not pressure myself and I think the evening I spent was spent well regardless. So…

Happy Solstice!