Since announcing that I will no longer be recording podcasts in the near future, a number of fans have asked if TGA will be shut down or closed. While I don’t plan on recording NEW podcasts, I would like to take some time to re-master my old work, piece together my favorite posts over the years, and find bloopers and gems that never made it to the shows.

The whole reason I started the podcast in the first place was to write my book. Over the years, my focus on the show took all the time and energy I wanted to devote to the book and put it elsewhere. This is my chance, now, to try and finish it. I’m enjoying doing the research for “Bible Stories”, which is the subject and title I’ve settled with. You guys seemed to flip out over those, so why not give you what you want?

There’s been some talk among the hard-core fanbase of changing TGA into a forum site in my absence. I like the idea, but would remind everyone that it would require some serious dedication from people who like the show. As one commentor put it, it’s the ATTITUDE of TGA that they will miss. Well, although I’ve cultivated this attitude for a number of years, I don’t own it.

I’ll be recording another 5 shows before hanging up the gloves, including a last mailbag episode where I promise to answer all your questions. I’ll be leaving on a high note. My biggest fear was continuing to do the podcast while working and having to witness the quality go down. I just couldn’t live with myself if I started producing crappy shows.

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It was a valiant effort, folks. I tried, hard as I might, to make a living spreading the “gospel’ of atheism, but in the end, I failed. It took me a little while to realize just how desperate the situation had become, but my failure to secure even the most modest of loans served as a cold reminder that outside of my tiny group of supporters, there is no recognizable value in what I do.

Part of me is honestly resentful of the scene. Were I some religious no-name douche-bag, my coffers would be overflowing with monies. Religious people might be gullible, but they are also aware of the importance of spreading their message, and the cost involved in doing so. For them, the idea of stretching their budget to accommodate their local pastor is just something they do. This dedication and generosity is in large part the reason why religions continue to spread and prosper. As atheists, we have no such dedication.

In many regards, my life is one of a “pastor”, in that the skills I have spent years crafting have no real importance in the 9-5 world. When a priest leaves his profession, he enters a world where his ability to sway the masses is essentially worthless. It’s why so many who have already lost their faith continue to preach the “good news” in order to pay their mortgage and put food on the table. In a way, my situation is similar. After spending years studying, researching and promoting my program, my isolation from the corporate world has lowered my stock. I’m at the bottom of the ladder, and that’s a terrifying prospect.

My eventual return to the working world spells the death of The Good Atheist. While I don’t doubt that the odd podcast may appear, I must now dedicate 100% of my effort to ensure my continued survival, leaving little time to contemplate matters of life, the universe, and the absurdity of existence. I stand defeated, and must now resolve myself to the fate that awaits me in the work-a-day world.

I would like to thank all the fans who have supported us over the years. The hard-core fans, in particular, helped to keep the show afloat for all these years. The tiny raft, set adrift in a sea of uncertainty, faced little chance of success. I’m grateful for all the wonderful messages I’ve received over the years from fans who expressed their love of the show. They were all touching, and I shall treasure them for as long as I live. I leave you in the capable hands of my fellow atheists, who will continue to fight the good fight.

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Krauss finds something in nothing from ASU News on Vimeo.

I love Laurence. He’s enthusiastic about his work, and his lectures have always been a lot of fun. He’s now making the rounds to promote his new book.
If anyone is feeling particularly generous, I’d love a copy of Laurence Krauss’ new book “A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing“.

I’m a Kindle whore, by the way.

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When you think of the word courage, what’s the first thing to cross your mind? If you happen to be gay and a catholic living in Connecticut, that word is about to take on a disturbing new meaning:

The Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, this month is beginning a program that ministers to gays and lesbians…The Vatican-endorsed program, called Courage…was started in 1980 by the late Terence Cardinal Cooke in Manhattan “to form a spiritual support system which would assist men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love.”

It’s basically an organization that emotionally tortures gays and lesbians into giving up their joy of sex and intimacy because it doesn’t conform with what the Vatican wants.

“These are people in the Roman Catholic Church who need our care and love,” Deacon Robert Pallotti, director of the Office of the Diaconate, told the Hartford TV station. “In some cases, they have been rejected by society. They need to be accepted, affirmed and supported as Roman Catholics trying to remain faithful to church teachings.

Rejected by society, eh? Could that have anything to do with the fact that your organization continues to support the bigoted idea that what they are doing is inherently bad? Remaining “faithful” to Roman Catholic teachings is just a nice way of saying that they don’t want gay dudes fucking each other in the ass anymore.

Honestly, there is no one on this planet that needs the Vatican getting involved in their sex life. They’ve already proven that their sexual philosophies are diseased. While they condemn homosexuality, the Vatican has provided an unprecedented level of financial, legal and emotional support to child rapists. This alone should bare them from the conversation.

The program, ironically called “Courage”, is just another way for a bunch of creepy celibate dudes in robes to try and tell everyone else how to live. I’ll tell you what Courage is: it’s not putting up with deluded assholes who care more about their money, power and interests than they care about human suffering (remember, they actually think that suffering makes you closer to God). Courage is rejecting old dogmas in favor of scientific truth, even when everyone around you still cling to these ancient superstitions. And above all else, Courage is staying true to yourself, no matter what.

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There are two things that raced through my mind when I listened to this tragedy of a song:

#1. Why do so many white people think that to rap effectively, one has to be completely tone deaf? (I’m looking at you, Blondie)
#2. You can sell any piece of crap as long as you put a cross on it.
#3: Christianity is a creepy death cult. If it hadn’t been part of your culture for so long, you’d realize that their rapturous embrace of eschatology borders on insanity. The early church fathers were so convinced that Jesus was going to end the world that they discouraged people from marrying or having kids. Once that bearded hippy started looking like he wasn’t coming back, they switched gears a little, but their incessant need to believe in his return isn’t only crazy: it’s dangerous. Does no one accept the possibility that one day, one of these nutjobs with enough power might want to “speed things up” a little when it comes to the end of the world?

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This week, we discuss the recent loss of Christopher Hitchens and Susan Jacoby’s recent article about the challenges facing atheists. I also share some exciting news about the future.

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Standard Podcast [ 52:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s worth a look. Be sure to check it out.

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This show seems like a lot of fun, but judging by all the comments, I think the host should:

1) Lose the facial hair. Dude looks like a rat in that thing.
2) Do something about the lens glare. Perhaps diffuse light might eliminate what is a distracting amount of glare shinning off those spectacles of his.
3) Get nicer clothing. L.L. Bean called, and they want their shitty shirts back, dude.

Otherwise everything else is super slick, short (which is important), fun, and well produced. All in all, I’m looking forward to watching these videos three times a week. Go subscribe to their channel now!

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This might be a minor grievance, but why do religious folks insist on singing “Imagine” when the song is so clearly anti-religious? I know it’s beautiful and melancholic, but surely they realize that the whole point of John Lennon’s immortal ballad is a call for peace and love by abandoning ideologies that needlessly divide us. Sure, it’s a song of peace, but it lays out the way to get there pretty fucking effectively. The “imagine no heaven/ no hell” line is meant to illustrate just how sick and twisted these kinds of ideas are. Eternal torment for refusing to believe that a 2000 year old Palestinian Jew was a God? Yeah, fucking prince of peace my ass.

Still, it doesn’t stop assholes from appropriating the songs and changing the lyrics to make it appear in favor of religion rather than against it. Here are a few things to keep in mind when singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” song:

#1. The song speaks out against patriotism, religion, and materialism. It is not a glorification of ideologies that causes needless suffering.
#2. Replacing “and no religion too” with “All religion is true” is the equivalent of kicking John Lennon in his rotting testicles.

We already have so few atheist songs; hearing some religious douchebag slaughter the words just hurts, man.

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You can always count on Ultra-Orthodox Jews to do something crazy. If they aren’t busy showing up at a Holocaust denier conference, they’re harassing little girls for dressing “imodestly”. All of this bad press has intensified resentment for these fundamentalist weirdos, so in an effort to fight this image problem, they decided to parade around town in uniforms similar to the ones worn by Jews in concentration camps.

Demonstrating against what they viewed as incitement against the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli media, about 1,000 men marched through the streets of their neighborhood, many of them dressed in concentration camp uniforms and wearing yellow Stars of David, which Jews were forced to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Well, that should convince everyone that you aren’t a bunch of out-of-touch, religious douche-bags without a clue.

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