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Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 2:57 am
First, I want to mention that Lewis Black is the shit. I know The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore isn't so popular at the moment and I can see why, but tonight's (yesterday's: its 3am) episode was pretty great. The topic was Ted Cruz. When Lewis Black was asked his opinion he said something along the lines of "I don't want a president that believes the world is 6,000 years old". Instead of Larry steering the conversation away from that touchy subject, he stayed on it for a bit and criticized creationists. I thought it was pretty fucking awesome. It was pretty inspiring when the entire audience cheered in favor of what was said.
Secondly, CNN ran a special on Atheism. I missed the damn thing and was hoping that somebody here caught it and could share some thoughts. I would be curious to see what they got right and what they got wrong.
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 3:32 am
Nice! although that they criticize creationism doesn't necessarily mean that they are atheists
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 3:47 am
Yeah that's true. I remember them going harder on the crazy ideas of Christianity than my OP tells, but I waited too long to make this thread after viewing it to remember everything they touched on. I was going to wait until I found a video clip to make this thread, but I also wanted to get to the CNN special and ask about that. I got impatient 
I'm probably very premature, but I'm getting really excited about all the exposure atheism is getting on television. They say atheism is popular on the Internet and I see what they mean, but also... I don't really see what they mean. What does it mean to say atheism is popular on the internet? Those same atheists exist in the real world as well. Anyhow, I feel like T.V. exposure is a little more effective. People who wouldn't think to search for atheism on the net will get a chance to dispel some of the myths they hold about us. Then again I didn't get to watch the special, so maybe they found out about all the baby BBQ's that go on. NOBODY WATCHED IT?!?
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 4:25 am
I suppose atheism being popular on the Internet could point towards the group of people who are "out" online but have to hide it in real life. Just a guess.
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 6:32 am
I found a recorded live stream of the CNN special. It's an hour long and contains some odd bits of conversations done by whoever recorded the live stream during the commercials, but I just zipped through those. The feed craps out a few times but its not too bad.
I thought they did a pretty fair job of painting atheism. They didn't lean too heavy one way or the other. There isn't anything in it that an atheist wouldn't already be familiar with. The most interesting part to me was an interview with a current priest/atheist that they found throughThe Clergy Project. I also enjoyed the ex-evangelical preacher's story.
Again, nothing too groundbreaking, unless you consider a televised special about atheism that doesn't vilify us and paints us in a pretty fair light groundbreaking.
I can't remember where this verse is from, I think it got removed from canon:
"I don't hang around with mostly men because I'm gay. It's because men are better than women. Better trained, better equipped...better. Just better! I'm not gay."
For context, this is the previous verse:
"Hi Jesus" -robvalue
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 1:29 pm
That was great; thanks for posting!
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 6:53 pm
Talking about atheism in any even halfway reasonable way in mainstream media is a good thing. It is a sign that atheists are gaining acceptance. That, of course, does not mean that there is still not a long way to go, but it is an encouraging development.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 7:03 pm
My mom sent me some links to stuff about atheism from CNN this week. I was so proud of her! When she describes me as an atheist, she usually whispers, so we've made some steps!
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 7:10 pm
(March 25, 2015 at 7:03 pm)rexbeccarox Wrote: My mom sent me some links to stuff about atheism from CNN this week. I was so proud of her! When she describes me as an atheist, she usually whispers, so we've made some steps!
My mother won't use the "a" word. She's used everything from "ex-Catholic" to "fallen Catholic", and I always respond with "She means atheist".
At which point she cringes, especially when introducing me to church friends.
And she hates it that I won't call her priest, "Father". I just call him Bill, since I already have a perfectly good and functioning father.
Playing Cluedo with my mum while I was at Uni:
"You did WHAT? With WHO? WHERE???"
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RE: Atheism all over TV
March 25, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Watched it... america this, america that... Oh, look, Richard Dawkins... back to america this and that...
But I guess it's good... America needs this on such a well known tv channel. The more, the merrier, huh?
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