Day: September 1, 2023

Atheist Preachers

In my list of favorite Christian preachers who turned atheist is Seth Andrews. Preachers have to have the gift of the gab since that’s the tool of their trade; Seth has that in spades. He is a delight to listen to — like listening to a virtuoso violinist. Years of preaching the Good Book does make one into a maestro in that business. A sample video coming up.

Another favorite is Dan Barker. He preached for 19 years. He was no ordinary preacher; he was the kind of preacher that you’d not want to sit next to on a bus (Richard Dawkins’ description of Dan in the preface to Dan’s book Godless.) He has even appeared on Oprah, talking about his de-conversion. A sample video of him in an Oxford Union debate will be up next. One of the people on the opposing side was Peter Hitchens, a devote Christian. That’s ironic considering that his brother, the late great Christopher Hitchens, was the world’s most celebrated atheist. Continue reading “Atheist Preachers”

Last time

I’ve refrained from posting because I heed George Eliot’s caution that “Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.” I have nothing to say.

Although in conversation I am never at a loss for words, it is not easy for me to write something meaningful without a prompt. I feel that if I write something unprovoked, it had better be worth reading. This is not one of those instances. This time I write just to see if I can still write. You’ve been cautioned.

***

I had the worst flight of my life a couple of days ago. The flight time was nearly 18 hours, non-stop from SFO to BLR. Of the hundreds of international flights (most of them between the US and India) and hundreds of domestic flights I have taken, I would rate this one as the worst I have endured. For the record, Finnair, which I took between Dallas TX and Mumbai the previous visit to India in November 2022, was the second worst. Continue reading “Last time”