Carnival of the Godless #49

Welcome to another installment of the Carnival of the Godless. Enough idle chatter. Let's get to the posts.

This post by Alonzo over at the Atheist Ethicist reminds us that the struggle to raise the next generation of "Intellectually Responsibile" adults can't begin early enough and we should not be afraid to "Talk to the kids" and plant the seeds of doubt early on. And while we are on the subject of kids, Cassandra over at The Atheist Mama offers a nice alternative to the bedtime prayers that so many parents force upon their children.

So why all the fuss about children? Is brainwashing children with religion really that harmful? Adam over at Daylight Atheism answers this question with his post "Nightime is for Dreaming. Daylight is for Action." in which he explains that faith in an afterlife can be hazardous to this life (and also that Mother Teresa is a Masochist for Jesus). And Carl over at Hot Cup of Joe offers his two cents worth on whether religion is truly "evil".

With the 5th anniversary of 9/11 having just passed by, it seems appropriate that we have at least one post on the subject, and Matt (aka "olly") over at 10,000 Reasons to Doubt the Fish has written a nice little post about his reflections on the event, and also on how the theocrats in this country have exploited it in a cynical attempt to strengthen their own powerbase and destroy the secular underpinnings of our government.

Speaking of significant dates, did you know that 8/22 was supposedly another important date of apparently apocalyptic proportions? Well, The Hippo over at Hippo Campy appears to have come out of it unscathed.

And now let's turn to the epic struggle between science and religion. Ever been accused of having "faith" in science? Are the “Dogmatic Darwinists” keeping “Intelligent Design” under wrap? Well, Stuart over at Daily Irreverence wants the faith-based community to know that "Science is not Dogmatic". Speaking of dogma, according to the senile old man in the pointy white hat, we are losing our souls to scientific rationality, and according to BigHeathenMike over at Mike's Weekly Skeptic Rant, it's about damn time!

And now to play a little Devil's advocate. Stuart, yes the same Stuart above of Daily Irreverence, wonders out loud as to whether we need to speak out against every public display of religious symbolism and if we aren't wasting valuable resources and destroying what little public sympathy we have in waging a war against "a historical artifact in a veterans memorial." And Phil over at Phil for Humanity wonders whether Christians should even be putting up crosses in the first place?

And what Godless celebration would be complete without a little "sacrificial lamb"? Can a religious society under a secular government truly succeed for a continuous period of time? This is the question that Aisha E responds to over at Eteraz. Unfortunately, while trying to maintain a seemingly tolerant stance toward us ungodly heathens, the article turns into one big Bingo party.

Is your atheist blog about as popular as a Hare Krishna at an airport? Does your blog see less action than a night out with the Virgin Mary? Good News! NonProphet over at beware of the dogma has some helpful suggestions for increasing your blog traffic.

And now for the lighter side of godlessness. Mark over at the skwib entertains us with the ongoing adventures of that precocious prehistoric caveman Thag and how he found religion at the bottom of a bottle. And the Atheist Comedian has just returned from "The Hood" and he's got some Yo Mama jokes of the religious variety to share with you.

It has been a pleasure hosting this installment of the Carnival of the Godless. Next up is Martin over at Salto Sobrius on Oct 1.