I’ve heard it said before out of the mouths of some of the most prominent atheists today that atheism has an identity problem, that we can’t find one another, or that we don’t even know, really, whether atheism is the right term to use. After all, how do you define something you’re not? And how do we explain to our kids what we’re not?

Atheism is not this cold, arbitrary, removed thought process or ideology that promotes immortality or unethical behavior, as so many people think. In fact, atheism generally includes quite an extensive set of rational beliefs that just about everyone can agree with (or at least not disagree with); the general public just doesn’t know enough about it, and they have a lot of disinformation and misinformation to sort through in order to come to some sort of a conclusion that’s based on fact.

And I am worried a bit about how to explain to my now-16-month-old daughter, as she gets older, exactly what Mom and Dad believe, why we believe it, and why we so often seem to disregard the beliefs of other people she encounters, especially the beliefs repeated by their children.

» Continue reading “Kids Confronting Faith as Fact”

It’s almost Mother’s Day, which means moms around the country (at least those with a Hallmark store nearby) will celebrate the day. We all know being a mom is a hard job, but who has more hardships and hurdles than others? Save the Children has released their State of the World’s Mothers 2010 report, in which countries are ranked on where it’s best (and worst) to be a mother. The data is based on, “health, nutrition, education and political participation” of 160 countries.

The top places to be a mom are Norway, Australia, and Iceland. The worst places are Chad, Niger and then Afghanistan at the very bottom. Surprising (to me) was that the U.S. ranks 28th, which is actually down a spot from the previous year. Here’s why:

» Continue reading “Best Places to Be a Mom”

A conversation from this morning:

Me: Wanna get some bagels at Einstein Brothers’?
Leo: You know, Einstein is dead.
Me: Really? That’s too bad. What happened to him?
Leo: People don’t survive for a very long time.
Me: Oh, I see. You’re saying that he lived a long time ago, and he got old and died.
Leo: That’s why when I’m adult, I’m going to make Happy Planet/Mad Planet/Sad Planet*. On Happy Planet/Mad Planet/Sad Planet people don’t die because they have the perfect conditions for humans to survive.
Nico: But Earth has the perfect conditions for humans to survive, and people still get old and die.
Leo: But on Happy Planet/Mad Planet/Sad Planet people don’t get old.

* Leo invented three planets: one where he sends people he likes, and two others where he banishes the people who are mean to him.