Author: Adam Lee

(Author’s Note: “The Desert” is a work of short fiction in several parts. If you haven’t already done so, now would be a good time to go back and read the previous chapters so that you know what’s going on.) III: The Traditionalist I plodded on through the desert. The heat was mind-blasting in its…

(Author’s Note: “The Desert” is a work of short fiction in several parts. If you haven’t already done so, now would be a good time to go back and read the previous chapter so that you know what’s going on.) II: The Penitent The instant I crossed the boundary, the heat of the desert rose…

I: Prologue It was a late-summer day at my home, and as on most summer days, I was outdoors in my Garden. The air was heavy with the warm, rich scent of growth, and sunlight filtered through the leaves above in an explosion of green and gold. Butterflies flitted above me like little splashes of…

I’ve updated Daylight Atheism’s comment policy. I felt the old one was too vague, and I wanted to be clear in enumerating the types of comments I consider abusive. If you’re a regular visitor, you probably have no need to read this, but it’s there just in case. I’d also like to announce that Daylight…

The Ten Plagues The third installment of “Do You Really Believe That?” will examine another famous story of the Old Testament, the ten plagues of Egypt. As the Book of Exodus tells it, the Israelite prophet Moses was chosen by God to set his people free from their long slavery in Egypt. But when the…

Via Talking Points Memo, I’ve come across a story I still find almost unbelievable. It happened at the “Values Voter” debate for Republican presidential candidates that took place last week in Fort Lauderdale. This event was skipped by the major candidates, Rudolph Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mitt Romney, which left seven minor candidates…

The popular aphorism “there are no atheists in foxholes” implies that people can only be atheists in times of comfort and security, and that if the end of life is in view, they will inevitably cry out to God to save them. I wish everyone who uses this thoughtless and insulting slur could meet Claire…

For the fourth installment of Daylight Atheism’s Poetry Sunday, I’m presenting selections from the poem “Sunday Morning” by Wallace Stevens. In this work, Stevens’ nameless narrator finds happiness and comfort in a humanist philosophy, expressing the view that the only good we can expect to receive is from our fellow human beings, and that this…

The topic of today’s installment of Theocracy Watch is a lengthy one, and I don’t know if I can do full justice to it, but I will try. I’ve written in the past about how Christian fundamentalists disturbingly portray themselves and their mission in the language of war and violence, but this is a far…

Humans are communal creatures, and we have been ever since we roamed the African savannas. Our greatest evolutionary advantage is our intelligence, but even the world’s greatest genius would probably find that to be little help if forced to survive in total isolation. Intelligence is inherently a social adaptation; it works best among groups that…