A new movie, "God's Not Dead," is about to be released. From it, many church-going folks will have their stereotypes about atheists reinforced. Here's a list provided by Nell Carter at Patheos: 1. Atheist professors are predatory, and they are out to convert everyone into ideological clones of themselves. 2. Atheists are selfish, self-absorbed, greedy jerks. 3. Atheists are cocky, self-sure, and totally enamored with their own superiority. 4. Atheists will openly threaten you, bow up, get in your face, stare you down. 5. Atheists are clearly incapable of love. 6. Atheists lack ethical boundaries. 7. They disbelieve in God because something bad happened to them. 8. Atheists are angry at God. You can just hear it in all of their voices. 9. Atheists are miserable because they believe life is meaningless. 10. Atheists have no basis for morality.

Hemant Mehta, the editor of FriendlyAtheist.com, is launching this book project on Kickstarter. It is a book making the argument that the relationship many have with "God" is like a relationship with an abusive boyfriend.

Our goal is to get people to reconsider their relationship with God. We all know people who feel like they need Him, but we are both atheists who enjoy happy, fulfilling lives without religious faith. We know it's possible! So this is our way of offering a different perspective on God than the one people usually hear in church. If you're religious, we hope it nudges you to think differently. If you're not religious, we hope you find it entertaining and informative.

New video on Atheist TV feature video statements of prominent atheists, including an address given by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists at the group's 1990 convention. The clips start at about 5:30 min. These were radical statements in the United States in 1990. They are much more commonplace today, though they still aggravate many believers.

I just ran across this collection of Bill Maher stand-up routines on religion. I agree with most of his observations--cleverly presented. I found myself wondering what would go through the mind of a committed conservative Christian viewing this--I assume he or she would have an response to every particular jab, but I'm wondering whether any of this would get through and cause some need to rethink things, especially after a full hour of this. I know a least a couple Christians who write off Maher by simply stating he is "snarky" or "arrogant." That cheap ad hominem serves to kick the can down the road, and avoids the need to consider his arguments which, though they are dressed up in comedy, are serious challenges for Christians to rethink their religion from the ground up. Then again, people don't adopt a religion through intellectual evaluation. They don't shop for religions like they shop for cars, critically and skeptically examining the claims. It's not surprising, then, that they don't re-examine religion based on intellectual grounds. Further, blunt attacks on religion of the type the Maher is delivering will cause believers to circle the wagons and dig in. It is not Maher's sole purpose to de-convert--he's working primarily as a comedian. But he is clearly provoking people to reexamine their supernatural (and often oxymoronic) claims. As I viewed these clips, I wondered how Maher would adapt his presentation if his sole purpose were not to work as a comedian at all, but to cause Christians to reconsider the believes they have been repeating ever since they were taught these things as babies by their parents. I should add that I don't consider religion to always be a bad thing. As I see it, religion serves as a tool for social collaboration, tapping into subconscious tribal instincts. Good-hearted people use religion to collaborate to do impressive social good. Cold-hearted people use religion to collaborate with people like themselves to spread their social dysfunction. I see religion as a tool for social coordination, good or bad, and it's never actually about the core beliefs--public declarations regarding these core beliefs (e.g., dead people waking up) simply mark social territory--they serve as radar to tell members of congregation who is loyal to the group. I've written extensively about this elsewhere.