Love and Weddings: A Beautiful Day in Southern California

To all my faithful readers,

I've been neglecting my blogging this week due to happy events in my life. My youngest son is getting married today, and things have been hectic with visitors and preparations.

This is going to be an interesting event because my family and my soon-to-be daughter-in-law's family have diametrically opposed religious views. On their side of the aisle there's a strong dose of evangelical Christianity, and on my side we're mostly atheists, agnostics, deists and a few liberal theists. My son's bride, in this regard, fits more on our side of the aisle.

The great thing about this is that we all seem to be respectful of one another's views. We had a pleasant rehearsal dinner last night, had a nice time meeting new people, and some great conversation.

Weddings are a wonderful time when we can all put aside our differences and celebrate the love of two young people. It's a beautiful, sunny day here in Southern California, with a light breeze and mid-seventies temperatures. The Jacaranda trees are blooming, the grass is green, there are oranges hanging in the trees from the orchard behind the wedding platform, the bride is absolutely beautiful, and the groom is handsome and managing to stay composed.

It's going to be a great day. See you next week!

Your dutiful blogger...

A Sad Joke: Christian Intolerance Fighter is Hypocritical

Why is the Friendly Atheist, known for his conciliatory approach to religious/atheist debates, criticizing a Christian who is trying to do the same thing?

When non-Christians are asked to describe the typical Christian, words like smug, homophobic, judgemental, hypocritical and closed-minded are often the first things that come to mind. According to atheist-turned-Christian Brad White, there's a good reason for these adjectives: too many Christians really do fit these descriptions. So Brad founded Changing the Face of Christianity, an organization devoted to educating Christians about negative Christian stereotypes and why they're true.

Christian hostility is no surprise to non-theists. We've experienced the aggressive intolerance of our non-belief first hand. But even Christians are often embarrassed by their brethren. Many Christians forget even the most basic lessons of Jesus:

• Judge not, lest you be judged
• The meek shall inherit the Earth
• The peacemakers will be the children of God
• You are not your brother's keeper

So I was pleased to hear of Brad's efforts. Who wouldn't be? If there's one thing we should all agree on, it would be the respect and tolerance of one another's beliefs.

But before I had a chance to check Brad's web site, Hemant Mehta over

Religulous: The Joy of Being With Friends

Like all good Athiests, I had to see Bill Maher's commentary on religion. All I can say is: Brilliant! Well done!

But what really made me happy was not the movie, but the audience reaction. It was like a huge, communal exhalation, a massive sigh of relief, a place where sensible, rational people could all simultaneously feel free to finally laugh out loud, to express their true feelings about what's going on in the world today.

This experience made me realize that, even though I think of myself as an out-of-the-closet Atheist, there is still discrimination all around. I'm surrounded by Christians who think of me as peculiar and misguided at best, and evil at the worst. I can't really be myself most of the time. Normally I just live with this repression, and I didn't even realize I was doing it. It wasn't until I was suddenly among friends, free to really express myself, that it was clear just how much we Atheists have to suppress our true opinions.

My wife is Jewish, and I always wondered why the Jews stick together so much. Now I have a better idea – it's not because they don't like their Christian friends and neighbors. It's because when they're together, that's the only time they can truly relax and feel free. We Athiests are ten times their numbers, yet we're still an oppressed minority. It took Religulous, and being among friends, to bring that message home, to make me realize just how much I feel the repression on a daily basis.

Tags: atheism atheist maher christian christianity discrimination jewish judaism religulous tolerance