A Load of BrightA Load of BrightAn atheists' views on religion and the supernatural Articles
Meeting Richard Dawkins: Update
2007-06-21 22:47:00 As I previously told you all, earlier in the month I attended a radio interview with Richard Dawkins , and was lucky enough to ask him a question. I have now received this email from the BBC regarding the broadcast date. Here are the listening details: You can listen to the Richard Dawkins World Book Club programme ... More About: Science , Evolution , Update
My Recommended Reading
2007-06-20 00:50:00 I?ve always been fascinated by de-conversion stories. I couldn?t even estimate how many I?ve read, I really can?t get enough of them. I?ve always pestered my friend Ellis14 (author of Evanescent), who was raised as a Jehovah?s Witness to write his, but he?s always been reluctant. He has now finally written it, ... More About: Science , Atheism , Christianity , Reading , Skepticism
Something is Rotten in the Garden of Eden
2007-06-17 16:43:00 Any claim which is built on multiple absolutes makes itself vulnerable to logical contradictions. This is seen as clearly in the Problem of Evil as anywhere else. The Christian god is presented as omnipotent, omniscient and omni-benevolent, and yet we live in a world which is plagued with evil and suffering. Ironically, ... More About: Atheism , Religion , Christianity , Women , Garden
Dawkins vs. McGrath ? The Lost Interview
2007-06-14 00:53:00 Regular readers will know my thoughts on Alister McGrath from my previous articles. In an article in the Daily Mail, he had this to say about an alleged recording of Dawkins interviewing him for his documentary The Root of All Evil?, which was left out of the final cut. We were also filmed having a ... More About: Science , Atheism , Religion , Christianity , Lost
Carnival Alert
2007-06-10 10:30:00 The 3rd Humanist Symposium is now up at Black Sun Journal. My recent article Absent Friends is included. More About: Carnival , Humanism , Alert
Absent Friends
2007-06-09 11:15:00 Today is my mother?s birthday. She would have been 61, but she had a sudden heart attack and died 12 years ago, when I was 13 and my brothers were 17 and 5. No-one need ever tell me that Christians can be good, she was all the evidence I will ever need of that. ... More About: Atheism , Religion , Christianity , Women , Friends
Meeting Richard Dawkins
2007-06-08 15:07:00 Last week I was contacted by a researcher at the BBC. The World Service had scheduled Richard Dawkins to be interviewed on the monthly World Book Club program about The Selfish Gene, and he was looking for fans to offer questions that could be put to Dawkins during the recording. The researcher, having ... More About: Science , Evolution , Creationism
Site Announcement: Another Milestone
2007-06-05 19:26:00 Yesterday, this site received its 10,000th hit, just one week short of its three month anniversary. So, whoever it was that accidentally found their way to my blog while looking for porn around 9:30pm (GMT) last night, email me, and I’ll send you a beer voucher. More About: Announcement , Site , Milestone , Tone , Anno
An Impromptu Carnival
2007-06-04 21:01:00 Even though I’ve become aware of more atheist blogs since I started this site, I’ve found myself with less and less time to actually read them. More than ever, I find myself ‘scan-reading’. In recent weeks, I’ve found that the emphasis has shifted more and more on to the ‘scanning’ rather than the ‘reading’, and I’m actually taking in and retaining very little. This has lead to me developing a guilt complex about falling behind on the blogs of those people who are kind enough to read and comment on just about every article I write. So, this weekend, rather than researching a new article of my own, I’ve really taken the time to read other blogs and get back up to speed. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this indulgence, although it has left me lamenting the temporal drought that denies me the luxury of addressing my reading and writing quotas equally. So, I find myself needing to write a post today, and I’ve done no research. There are plenty of articles I’ve r... More About: Carnival , Prompt
A New Argument against the Death Penalty
2007-06-01 12:05:00 I am opposed to capital punishment. That is not to say I don?t think strong arguments can be made in its favour, on the contrary, I think it is a very difficult dilemma to decide, and by no means clear cut. Personally, I find the idea of an innocent man being executed in ... More About: Politics , Ethics , Humanism , Morality , Death
Supernatural TV
2007-05-30 13:06:00 I use Google News Alerts to keep a steady supply of material coming in. Among other things, I have a list of any news stories containing the words ?paranormal? or ?supernatural? emailed to me every twenty four hours. But I rarely find a topic to write about in them, the reason being that ... More About: Religion , Supernatural , Paranormal , Natur , Natura
Why I Changed My Mind about Abortion
2007-05-28 15:40:00 I was pro-life all my life until I became an atheist. But even when I became an atheist, it took a long time before I switched to pro-choice, about a year, in fact. I knew that most atheists were pro-choice, but I didn?t want to change my mind for that reason. Atheism ... More About: Politics , Religion , Abortion , Mind , Chang
Blogroll Update
2007-05-27 23:37:00 The Blue Linchpin is the newest member of my blogroll (hat tip to the Spanish Inquisitor for bringing it to my attention). The author is a 16 year old girl, who introduces her maiden post with this passage. I’m slowly dying of cancer (I’m estimated to have a year at the least), and because of ... More About: Blogroll , General , Update
A Tribute to Ebon Musings
2007-05-26 17:38:00 Previously I have posted tribute articles to The Skeptic?s Dictionary and Derren Brown. I now intend to develop this theme into an ongoing series in which I will show my gratitude to the people who have inspired me and humbled me by greatly influencing my thinking, and the course my life has taken. This edition ... More About: Religion , Musings , Bute , Tribute , Tribu
Site Announcement: A Date for your Diary
2007-05-25 20:51:00 I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting the 76th Carnival of the Godless, on September 30th 2007 here at A Load of Bright. I will, of course, remind you all nearer the time, but please feel free to mark your calenders with a big X. More About: Diary , General , Announcement , Site , Cement
Scientology and Me
2007-05-24 23:08:00 On Monday 14th May, the BBC aired their Panorama documentary, Scientology and Me. Only half an hour long, it attempted to tackle the question of the nature of Scientology as a belief system, most particularly the numerous allegations that it is a cult. It made intriguing viewing. Having previously done some reading on The ... More About: Religion , Ology
The Beginners Guide to Starting a Blog
2007-05-21 23:24:00 Not one of my most cryptic titles, but there you go. Just a note before I begin. This is not a guide written by an expert, experienced, seasoned blogger. It is written by a beginner. That?s why it?s called ?The Beginners Guid e ??. I know quite a few seasoned bloggers, and ... More About: General , Blog , Tart
Carnival Alert
2007-05-21 00:16:00 The 2nd Humanist Symposium, including my article The Control Group, is now up at Confessions of an Anonymous Coward. The first edition was everything it was billed to be, I can’t wait to see what the follow up has to offer! The next edition will be held at Black Sun Journal on June 10th. More About: Religion , Carnival , General , Alert
Why I would not attend a Child?s Christening
2007-05-19 14:14:00 I would have no reservations about attending a church for a wedding (other than my own) or a funeral (again, other than my own!). I hold no principles that would prohibit such a visit to a place of worship. Of course, I would not participate in any of the religious rituals that either ... More About: Religion , Child , Would , Christen
Take a look?
2007-05-18 14:46:00 There’s a nice bit of artwork over at Naked Pastor. Made me giggle. More About: Religion , Look
Book Review: I Sold My Soul on eBay, by Hemant Mehta
2007-05-17 02:01:00 If you had told me a month ago that someone could write a book about religion that could be read by both Christians and atheists, and that they could both enjoy it, be challenged by it, and draw a positive message from it without feeling attacked, I wouldn?t have believed you. And yet, this ... More About: Religion , Book Review , Review , Book , Soul
Is Atheism Dishonest?
2007-05-16 07:29:00 No. Next question, please? If only it were that simple. Bruce Walker, in his article Militant Atheism and Mendacity (subtitle: How the rise of atheism is destroying truth) warrants - although doesn?t necessarily deserve - a more detailed response. The hidden horror of atheism is a greater loss than just the grave which faces us ... More About: Religion , Honest , Nest , Theism
Announcment: Jerry Falwell has died
2007-05-15 20:11:00 Breaking news on the internet is that Jerry Falwell has passed away, aged 73. Falwell stood for everything that I despise about religious dogma and bigotry, but there will be plenty of other occasions to talk about that. Human life is the most treasured possession we have, and I cannot revel in this news. My ... More About: Religion , Died , Well
A Shout-Out to Pat Condell
2007-05-15 02:01:00 I would like to draw your attention to the work of my fellow Englishman, atheist stand-up comedian Pat Conde ll. He has lately been posting articles and videos from his Myspace page, his website and Youtube. Although he is very funny, hilarious, in fact, I?ve been far more impressed with his content for its ... More About: Religion , Shout
Blogroll Update
2007-05-14 02:01:00 I have another new addition, ladies and gentlemen, to my esteemed blogroll. I give you Letters from Le Vrai. The writer, Juno Walker, describes the blog with the subtitle, ?Analysis and commentary from a naturalistic perspective?, and promises to tackle issues including, ?education, foreign policy, criminal justice, social justice, addiction & behavioral health, human sexuality, ... More About: Religion , Blogroll , General , Update
Carnival Alert
2007-05-13 12:21:00 The 66th Carnival of the Godless, including my Book Review: The Dawkins Delusion, by Alister McGrath is now up at The Atheist Experience. Edit: The next edition, on May 27th, will be hosted at Letters from a Broad (not Friendly Atheist, as I was originally lead to believe). More About: Religion , General , Alert
What Good is Half an Eye?
2007-05-12 02:58:00 I?m sure that by now, most readers will be aware of the debate that took place on ABC Nightline between Christians Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, and atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly of the Rational Response Squad. Many bloggers have put their two cents in on this one, and I don?t think there?s really ... More About: Religion , Good , Half
Blogroll Update
2007-05-11 08:22:00 I am adding two new blogs to my blogroll today. Atheist One is fairly new to the blogosphere. I?ve only really discovered it in the last week, but it?s really caught my attention. Very well written and very promising. Atheist Ethicist is a blog I?ve been vaguely aware of for some time, but only recently ... More About: Religion , Blogroll , Update
Just for laughs
2007-05-10 08:09:00 Regular readers of this blog will have realised how greatly I value humour. No More Hornets has observed that atheists are seriously discriminated when it comes to starring roles in jokes, and I’m inclined to agree. He posted a great list, but I’d like to add two more. (By the way, do read ... More About: Religion , Laugh
Misquoting Harris
More articles from this author:2007-05-08 07:55:00 Yesterday morning, I stumbled upon this article by Madeleine Bunting on The Guardian website. It seemed to be the usual moaning about ?new? atheists being too aggressive, intolerant and ignoring the real debate about the ?remarkable benefits? of religion. It was most irritating, but repeated themes that are ever more common in the ... More About: Religion , Arri , Harris 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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