(www.sass-pants.com) — This UK atheism advertising campaign has got me thinking about atheism. (Mission accomplished, Richard Dawkins and Ariane Sherine.) The campaign slogan is “There’s probably no God. Not stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Perhaps I have had a misunderstanding rather than an understanding of atheism all this time, but I though it was denial in the existence of God, not an admission of the possibility that there could be no God. So I’m confused. What exactly is atheism?

Web addict that I am, my first stop was Google, where I searched “atheism,” followed by a quick hop over to Twitter, where I tweeted,

In this post, I’ll share what I found via through my Google search.

Common trends:

• There are two types of atheism: strong and weak.
• Disbelief / lack of belief in a God or gods should not be confused with belief that there is no God or gods.
• Atheism, agnosticism, and skepticism are distinctive belief systems.

From the organization American Atheists’ About page:

An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now – here on earth – for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist accepts that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it. An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help lead to a life of fulfillment.

According to Wikipedia’s Atheism entry:

Atheism, as an explicit position, can be either the affirmation of the nonexistence of gods, or the rejection of theism. It is also defined more broadly as an absence of belief in deities, or nontheism.

Many self-described atheists are skeptical of all supernatural beings and cite a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities. Others argue for atheism on philosophical, social or historical grounds. Although many self-described atheists tend toward secular philosophies such as humanism and naturalism, there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere; and some religions, such as Jainism and Buddhism, do not require belief in a personal god.

The term atheism originated as a pejorative epithet applied to any person or belief in conflict with established religion. With the spread of freethought, scientific skepticism, and criticism of religion, the term began to gather a more specific meaning and has been increasingly used as a self-description by atheists.

The guide to Atheism / Agnosticism at About.com had this to say:

The more common understanding of atheism among atheists is “not believing in any gods.” No claims or denials are made — an atheist is a person who is not a theist. Sometimes this broader understanding is called “weak” or “implicit” atheism. There is also a narrower sort of atheism, sometimes called “strong” or “explicit” atheism. Here, the atheist explicitly denies the existence of any gods — making a strong claim which will deserve support at some point.

The “Definitions of the term ‘Atheism’” page at ReligiousTolerance.org reads:

Most of the North American public define an “Atheist” is a person who believes that no deity exists: neither a God, nor a Goddess, nor a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. This definition is reflected in American dictionaries — not just because most publishers are Christian, but because it is the purpose of dictionaries to follow the public’s word usage. Some individuals who consider themselves Atheists mesh well with that definition. But they may be in the minority. Many, perhaps most, Atheists simply have no belief about deity. For them, Atheism is not disbelief in a deity or deities; it is simply a lack of belief in any of them.

It is worth noting that most of the people of the world can be regarded as a type of Atheist. Of the Gods and Goddesses who have been worshiped down through the ages — Athena, Baal, Bacchus, Bast, Brahman, Bridget, Diana, Eostre, Fergus, Freya, Horus, Isis, Marduk, Mithras, Nerrivik, Odin, Pluto, Quetzalcoatl, Ra, Shiva, Sophia, Thor, Vishnu, Vulcan, Zeus, and thousands of others, the vast majority of people believe in only a few. Most believe in a single deity — the Trinity in Christianity, Allah in Islam, Yahweh in Judaism — and thus deny the existence of the thousands of other deities. Such people can be considered Atheists towards these other Gods and Goddesses. In the same way, Roman Pagans considered Christians to be Atheists in the early years of the Church, because followers of Jesus denied the existence of all of the dozens of Roman deities.

All About Philosophy’s Atheism page says:

There are two basic forms of atheism: “strong” atheism and “weak” atheism. Strong atheism is the doctrine that there is no God or gods. Weak atheism is the disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.

Weak atheism is often confused with agnosticism, the lack of belief or disbelief in God or gods, and skepticism, the doctrine that the absolute knowledge of God’s existence is unobtainable by mere man. Many agnostics and skeptics are “practical atheists” in that they actively pursue an atheistic lifestyle. The exclusion of God necessitates moral relativism.

Finally, the BBC’s Religion & Ethics Page on Atheism says:

Atheists are people who believe that god or gods (or other supernatural beings) are man-made constructs, myths and legends or who believe that these concepts are not meaningful.

Now that we’ve got some “official definitions,” we’ll take a look at what atheism really means in practical terms in the next installment of this multipart exploration of atheism.

Questions? Suggestions? Opinions? Leave a comment.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

Sex Deemed a “Fundamental of the Economy”?

(http://sass-pants.com) — Hustler bigwig Larry Flynt and Joe Francis, the brilliant (ahem) mind behind the Girls Gone Wild franchise are demanding $5B in government money to bail out the struggling adult entertainment industry. According to Flynt, XXX video sales have dropped 25%, and sex toys are gathering dust on the shelves.

Evidently the economy isn’t the only thing that can’t seem to get up in the US today.

Okay, sorry, that was bad. But seriously, did I miss something here? Sex is free. Well, it is if you’re doing it right. If you have to pay for it, you shouldn’t doing it in the first place. And last time I checked, XXX entertainment and naughty accessories weren’t required for people to enjoy sexual healing despite economic hardship. (Hard, get it? Yeah, this post will be full of them.) And, if you can’t have or enjoy sex without added stimulus from adult videos, etc, then you have far bigger problems than not being able to afford your porn habit. You know, until another stimulus check comes along.

Believe me, I am all about sex. (Though I don’t particularly recommend it while recovering from a back injury. Just saying.) And not just because it’s fun. Sex is good for you. Having healthy, regular sex can add intimacy to a committed relationship, relieve stress, improve muscle tone, boost your immune system, and even reduces the risk of some cancers. And those are just a few of the many, many benefits sex brings.

But back to the porn industry. In my seldom-humble opinion, XXX videos and kinky add-ons get in the way of sex, not supplement it. Don’t even get me started on how absurd it is to make people think they have to spend a lot of money on a lot of ridiculous crap to have a happy and healthy sex life. Your only required investments are an appropriate form of birth control and some lube if you feel so inclined. Everything else is just surplus. Like buying bottled water when you have all the free water you want right out of your faucet. Sure, it’s all fancy and trendy, but seriously, let’s get back to basics.

Would it be such a bad thing if the porn industry folded? Not that it’s in any danger of doing so, if you ask me. What do you think? Is so-called adult entertainment a help or a hindrance to good sex?

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(image: SXC.hu)

(www.sass-pants.com) — I think it was God’s way of telling me that fast food really is bad for me. Okay, not really, but I won’t be swinging by the local McDonald’s for a snack again any time soon. When I stopped for a Big Mac Meal on Tuesday, I got in a car accident in the parking lot.

Let me describe the setup for you:

The building is fairly long and narrow, and perpendicular to the road. There is parking on all sides. If you’re facing the front, the drive-thru line starts on the right and exits on the left. The right side is one way toward the back of the building and the left side is one way toward the front of the building. When you exit the drive-thru, you can go straight out onto the road or you can drive through the one-way lane in front of the building, cross over the parking-lot entrance, and exit through the adjacent business’ parking lot. This is what I was trying to do on Tuesday.

I looked both ways, double-checked to make sure no one was pulling in from the road, and proceeded across the McDonald’s lot to exit next door since the drive-thru line was completely blocking the rear exit. And then, CRUNCH! The woman who was last in line for the drive-thru apparently got impatient and decided she wanted out. So, she backed up. Right into my car.

The woman was very apologetic and called her insurance company, StateFarm, and told them it was completely her fault, which I appreciated since it WAS. Like, seriously, who doesn’t look behind them before backing up? This chick, apparently! (She also hugged me and asked me not to let my husband hunt her down and killer her for what she did, which was decidedly strange.) But my car is still all dented and scratched up, and my back HURTS and it’s her fault for being a moron.

Imagine being T-boned. Now imagine that the car T-boning you is backing up at a low speed. That’s what happened. So while I didn’t feel injured at the accident site, about 2 hours later the pain started and climbed down to my tailbone and up to the base of my skull over the next 6 hours. And it’s still here, when I turn my head, sit still, move around, sigh, cough, yawn, chew, swallow, sneeze, go to the bathroom, push a dog off of me, reach for a drink, everything.

But back to the accident day. After spending a considerable amount of time talking with Scott from StateFarm and then Terry from StateFarm, they told me they’d be covering the accident and, assuming there is a verifiably accident-related injury, medical costs. Nice, since my deductible with GEICO is $500 and I don’t have that kind of cash just lying around. Also a relief to know on the very day the accident happened that it was going to be taken care of.

That decision came while I was driving to my doctor’s office. Happy happy! Until I got to the doctor’s office and discovered that he was closed. All week. And when I called to see if there was some kind of referral on their answering machine, I got a fax machine. Well, crap! Not so happy happy after all.

So then I drove to the urgent care center that had treated me for some kind of insane stomach bug like 3 years ago. A 2-hour wait. And I didn’t bring a book. And it was like 43 bazillion degrees in there. And sick people were coughing on me. And children were screaming. Cranky cranky.

After 3 hours (2 hours in the waiting room, 45 minutes in the exam room including about 30 seconds with the actual doctor, another 15 minutes in the waiting room awaiting prescriptions), I went to the pharmacy for painkillers and a c-collar, and then the hospital for x-rays. Another 2 hours later, I made it home.

I’m still waiting on x-ray results (because the holidays are a GREAT time to get injured, let me tell you!) and still in pain and don’t know if something is cracked or if it’s just muscular or what. Terrified to move in case something IS fractured because I don’t know what could happen if there’s a break that isn’t stabilized or otherwise treated.

The meds are helping some, but not as much as I would like. I can sit down for only about 30 minutes at a time before needing to walk around or lie down, which isn’t great when you spend your work day in front of a computer. And the lack of response from the doctor’s office isn’t doing anything to relieve my stress level, that is for sure. Oh, and did I mention that my dogs ate 10 lbs of flour last night? That was really fun to clean up with a sore back.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(www.sass-pants.com) — Mental Floss posted a handy, albeit not brilliantly written, article that discusses the origins of popular Christmas traditions, including the date, the American obsession with the holiday, Christmas trees, Santa Claus, and Rudolph. You can read what they found here.

Me, I’ve done some research on these very topics myself, which led me to the decision that I don’t want anything to do with Christmas (see “No, Not Even Thanksgiving” for info on why I don’t celebrate that holiday). During Western European expansion into the rest of the world, Christian leaders adapted pagan traditions into acceptable practices by replacing many elements with Christian symbols and practices. One of the best-known instances of this is the revision of the Roman festival of Saturnalia, celebrating the birth of the sun, into a Christian celebration of the birth of the son of God, Jesus Christ. Many Christian beliefs and pagan traditions have been interwoven in what we now known as the Christmas season.

Jesus’ Birth

Historical evidence in the Bible account of Christ’s birth and other sources tells us that Christ was not actually born in December, but rather in October. This determination can be based on weather clues in the Gospels that indicate that the shepherds were sleeping with their flocks in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth, something that the cold rainy season that falls in December would have made impossible. Additional evidence comes from known the date of Jesus’ death and his age at his death. He was 33 and a half when he died on Nisan 15 on the Jewish calendar, which was April 3 in 2007 and will be April 20 in 2008. Counting backwards or forwards six months (because he was 33 and a HALF) puts us in October. So we know that Jesus was born in October, not December. Celebrating his birth on December 25 was a way to Christianize pagan traditions.

Interestingly, there is no command in the Bible that Jesus’ birth be celebrated or observed in any way. Its exact date is not even recorded, despite the fact that many other dates are preserved and discussed repeatedly in the Bible. And in fact, the scriptures seem to discourage any birthday celebrations, saying that the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth (Ecclesiastes 7:1) and offering only 2 examples of birthdays in the Bible, in which horrific murders took place (Genesis 40:20-23, Matthew 14:6-13) including that of John the Baptizer. Jesus was nearby during Herod’s birthday celebration, but the scriptures make it clear that he did not attend.

However, Jesus himself commands that his death be commemorated at the last supper, which occurred on Passover and was to take its place (Matthew 26).

Santa Claus

The traditional symbol of Christmas is Santa Claus (also known as St. Nicholas, Pere Noel, Father Christmas, and many other titles around the world). The Santa we know today only really became firmly established in the American Christmas tradition in the early 1900s, though he made appearances as early as the 1800s.

Refined over time into the jolly, fat, red-suited bearded man we now know, Santa Claus is believed to be based in part on a real person, Catholic Bishop Nicholas, or St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas apparently delivered gifts to needy children and was supported by food (cookies, nuts, fruit, etc.) left out by parents and caregivers as he traveled the countryside.

Another theory of the origin of Santa Claus, and one perhaps better supported by the evidence, is that he is derived from either or both the Norse gods Odin/Woden or Thor. Thor is a particularly good match as the god of Yule (or Christmas time, hence the Yule log), who is characterized by a fat man with a white beard, with red as his signature color, a home in the northernmost parts of the world, a flying chariot drawn by goats, and association with chimneys and fireplaces. He was also accompanied by elves.

Other theories associated Santa clearly with Satan the Devil, pointing out that St. Nick’s name is too closely associated with the devil’s common name “Old Nick” in British and American vernacular, and various forms of “Nick” in multiple languages. The lengthy article “Santa Claus: The Great Impostor” goes into great detail with additional information on the origins of Santa Claus.

The Christmas Tree

Evergreen trees have long been a part of religious traditions, but prior to the association of the pine or fir tree with Christmas, these uses have been almost exclusively pagan. For instance, the druids and others during the Middle Ages regarded holly and mistletoe as signs of eternal life, and used pine boughs to ward off evil spirits, ghosts, and witches. Ancient Egyptians worshiped evergreens, and evergreen branches were a part of the Roman Saturnalia festival and Norse traditions surrounding Balder, god of the sun. Various pagan religions including Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic groups, were known to decorate evergreen trees during festivals to certain gods, and to give evergreen boughs to others as a symbol of luck.

How the Christmas tree became part of Christian tradition is debated, but two popular explanations involve St. Boniface and Martin Luther. Boniface is reported to have cut down an oak tree during a druid ritual, and a small evergreen tree sprung up from its stump and became a symbol of Christianity. Martin Luther allegedly cut down a fir tree, brought it into his home, and decorated it with small candles, starting the tradition. In Germany, the tradition dates back to the 16th century, when trees were cut down, brought inside, and decorated with fruit to represent the Tree of Paradise during the celebration of Adam and Eve on December 24.

Christmas trees were long resisted as being pagan, but beginning in the mid-1800s gained fairly broad acceptance in America and worldwide.

Gift Giving

Exchanging gifts was a major part of the Roman Saturnalia festival, and continued after it was converted into Christmas. Justification for maintaining the practice of annual gift giving at Christmastime, despite the Bible’s frequent admonishments against materialism, comes from the gifts the Magi brought to the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:10-11). In contrast, the Magi’s gifts were for Jesus and to honor god, but today’s holiday gift giving focuses on gifts to friends and family, which is the type of gift giving practiced during Saturnalia.

Bringing it All Together

Although Christmas is regarded as a Christian holiday, exploring its origins makes it clear that Christmas has little if anything to do with Christianity. It is supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but does so on a date unrelated to his birth, which he never commanded be celebrated or celebrated during his lifetime (nor did his disciples), and incorporates thousands of years of pagan traditions. The holiday focuses on and encourages human traditions, not religious practices, and promotes consumerism through its practice of excessive gift giving. Further, Christmas’ central symbol, Santa Claus, whose existence and yearly nocturnal visits are a lie, is closely aligned with pagan gods.

The Bible teaches that God should be worshiped in spirit and truth (John 4:23,24), not through man’s traditions and falsehoods. There is no record in the Bible of Christmas celebrations, including annual observance of Jesus’ birth, Christmas trees, Santa Claus, or ritualistic exchange of presents. Further, the Bible teaches that we should worship and pray to God alone for what we need and want, not to a beneficent holiday gift giver who rewards the nice and overlooks the naughty. In Matthew 4:10, Jesus chastises Satan for offering all of the kingdoms of the world in exchange for a single act of worship, saying, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Whether you are a devout Christian or someone who regards Christmas as a nonreligious tradition, the origins of the holiday and what its practice really means should play an important role in the decision-making process as to whether you should celebrate it. Mark 7:7-8 says that it’s in vain when people worship God with the teachings of men as their doctrine and neglect the commandment of God.

These traditions are no longer a part of my life, now that I know where they come from. Should they be part of yours?

Contents Copyright © 2008 Kristen King

(www.sass-pants.com) — I guess all the nostalgia of rereading my middle school and high school journals has thrown my skin into some kind of tailspin or mega regression, because I have the worst pimple of my life on my chin right now. My husband regarded it with a mix of horror and awe, observing, “Wow, it actually changes your whole jawline.” Gee, thanks, honey. You sure know how to make a girl feel attractive.

I tweeted about it the other day, and was disappointed not to receive more sympathy. (One of my tweeple laughed at me. Rightfully so, but still! She did later mitigate her callousness with, “I think you’re hilarious for having that fun attitude about it. Those things aren’t fun, but they happen to the best of us. ”) I guess since I don’t actually have to leave the house to go to work and no one sees it other than Jesse, the dogs, and my friends in the congregation (who, you know, aren’t judging my skin lest their skin be judged), I don’t warrant much sympathy in this regard.

That, plus evidently I’m not the only woman outside puberty who’s dealing with this absurdity. How do I stave off both wrinkles and acne? It occurs to me that I blog about my skin kind of a lot. Well, maybe not a lot, but this isn’t the first time. On my old women’s health blog, I did a whole series on Acne Free (like Proactiv, but a lot cheaper and available at Costco), my results, and the rash it gave me, and even posted an awesome guest article about acne in adults.

Somehow, it doesn’t make me feel one bit better to know that there are tons of other 20somethings, 30somethings, and even 40 and 50somethings who are still cringing in front of the mirror. I was told I would grow out of it. They LIED. I want retribution. Or a miracle skin care product that will solve the problem. Really, I could go either way.

Contents Copyright © 2008 Kristen King

(www.sass-pants.com) — Who said being married is no fun?

Him: <looking at the bank statement> Did you make an online purchase from something called Wicked Temptations?

Me: Uh, no.

Him: Are you sure?

Me: You’re kidding, right? I think I’d remember buying something from a place called Wicked Temptations.

Him: Well, maybe it didn’t say Wicked Temptations when you bought it.

Me: <googling> Evidently WickedTemptations.com is sexy lingerie at discount prices.

Him: Oh! It’s for Dave*!

Me: You bought sexy discount lingerie for Dave?

Him: No, it’s for his wife for Christmas.

Me: You bought sexy discount lingerie for Dave’s wife?

As it turns out, Dave asked if he could use Jesse’s card to make the purchase so his wife wouldn’t see it on the credit card statement and it would be a surprise. It sure surprised me! It was about four hours ago, and I’m still giggling. “You bought sexy discount lingerie for Dave?” I was so confused.

*Not his real name.

Contents Copyright © 2008 Kristen King

(www.sass-pants.com) — I recently rediscovered a stash of childhood journals, which include some laugh-out-loud entries. Like this one.

Dear Journal,

I just got back from the Lake Tranquility 4th of July party. The fireworks were awesome!

I stayed afterward, until Daddy had finished cleaning up the display. C. and I hung out together, and she told me that T.A. (M.’s little bro) wants her to go out with him…and to prove it, he French kissed her! She’s going out with R. (don’t even ask), so she doesn’t know what to say.

Speaking of M., I saw him tonight, too. He was majorly drunk. I’m not sure how much of what he’d had, but it must have been a lot. Plus, he was smoking, and he even offered C. and me a cigarette!

I’m so worried about him. I know that we’re not close, but we’re still friendly. I mean, he has the potential to be anything or anyone, but he’s throwing it away for a can of beer and a temporary high.

I don’t know what to do! Should I call him to make sure he’s alright, or should I just forget about it?

Dazed and concerned,

Kristen

P.S. I’m single, lonely, and 14 (still never been kissed)!

Okay then! This one’s not too bad because at least I remember who all of these people are, unlike many, many entries I’ve read over the last few days. But “throwing it all away for a can of beer and a temporary high”??? I can’t say I disagree with the logic, but seriously, what 14-year-old talks like that? Apparently I did. Maybe it was all the dazedness and concern. Or maybe the loneliness or lack of kissing. Who knows…

Contents Copyright © 1996-2008 Kristen King

(www.sass-pants.com) — I hate relish in tuna fish, but my husband loves it, and I love him. Something I’m learning about marriage (and it’s about time, since we just had our fourth anniversary in September) and relationships in general is that it’s not always about you — and any time you can make it about the other person, you should do it.

And I don’t mean that you should turn it around so it’s your partner’s fault if they call you out on something stupid you did and make the disagreement about them instead of you (which I am often guilty of and trying to work on). I’m talking about making small sacrifices because it makes the person you love happier. I’m talking about eating the stupid tuna anyway because the person you love made it for you and relish makes him happy even though it’s disgusting, and eating it with a smile and a thank-you at that.

I’m talking about biting your tongue when your mate says something careless instead of snapping back and potentially starting a fight. I’m talking about cleaning the kitchen yourself instead of nagging him or her to do it, because you know you wish your partner would do it for you. I’m talking about apologizing when you know you did something that inconvenienced, offended, or hurt your partner, even if he or she didn’t mention it, because you KNOW what you did even if it was unintentional.

Whatever you WISH your relationship was like — with your spouse, best friend, coworker, mom, whatever — you have the power to make it that way.

And don’t give me that crap about life being too short to eat relish tuna if you don’t like it. Life is too short to let little stuff that doesn’t matter get in the way of making your partner the happiest he or she can be and reaping the benefits in return. Suck it up. Swallow your pride. Fight the inclination to be defensive. Be the one who makes the peace. Put the other person first.

And tell me, what’s your “relish”?

Contents Copyright © 2008 Kristen King

(www.sass-pants.com)

Click to see the original artists, but this one is so much better.

Contents Copyright © 2008 Kristen King

(www.sass-pants.com) — Summer from Wired for Noise has an awesome post up today about why she chooses to raise her children without religion. An excerpt:

Even though I’m not an atheist myself I’m drawn in by atheist parenting blogs. In a way I almost respect them more than those of parents actively teaching their kids their religion. There is something braver, more sure, and far more logical in letting your kids find their own answers than to hand them a book and tell them all the answers are in there.

…It’s hard for the logical part of my brain to wrap around my own faith, or anyone else’s faith for that matter. I have my reasons for my beliefs, and while they often make no sense to even myself, they are mine and mine alone. And because they are mine, I won’t be passing them on to my kids. I share what my belief is, the basics of it, but the deeper stuff is left out. It’s their’s to find, if they want to. And if they choose to walk away, well so be it.

To summarize it would be to do a disservice, so I really encourage you to read it in its entirety, along with the comment trail (where you’ll find my response, #10, to Summer’s post).

Do you believe children need to be taught religious beliefs and values, or should learn them on their own, as they go? Leave a comment.

Contents Copyright © 2008 Kristen King

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