The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Big Fat Whale  |  Dr Love Monkey  |  Failure  |  Hoopleville  |  Idiot Box  |  Lifestyle Features  |  Reality Check

Not-so-sure guys

By GEORGIANA COHEN  |  March 19, 2009

So, in a room full of godless heathens, what sayeth a person of faith? Catholic and self-described “pop-culture girl” Jen DeChristofaro works with Watson and spends a lot of time hanging with the Skeptics. “You have to be pretty willing to step outside your box,” DeChristofaro admits, adding that listening to Watson made her consider for the first time why somebody would be an atheist. “If you respect other people’s ideas, you’re going to learn something. Even if you don’t agree with it 100 percent, you’re going to know something you didn’t know before.”

Yes, mutual respect is a big part of the skeptics’ creed, despite the common perception that they’re a bunch of know-it-all jerks. Or assholes.

“A lot of people just take things on faith. I don’t come out and confront them about it,” says Scott Frazer. He has a friend who believes in shamanism — which Frazer calls “legitimate BS” — but he doesn’t call him out. “There’s no point in an argument. I’ll lose him as a friend.”

Georgiana Cohen doesn’t believe a thing Rebecca Watson told her — especially about the high price of pancakes at the Asgard. She can be reached atgeorgy.cohen@gmail.com. Maybe.

< prev  1  |  2  |  3  | 
Related: Your own personal Darwin, Killer plants, ‘without remorse’, Some kind of salvation, More more >
  Topics: Lifestyle Features , Culture and Lifestyle, Swearing and Invective, Jackie Lavache,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments
Re: Not-so-sure guys
 having spent lots of time with the humanist communities (skeptics, athiests, etc) on the west coast, i can confidnetly say thay are NOT free or original thinkers- they are, in fact, threatened by free and original thought, they worship darwin and dawkins and belittle anything with which they disagree.  in other words, they are just as dogmatic as any fundamentalist christian...and i have begun referring to them as "evangelical athiests" because they want to "convert" everyone to their way of thinking...
By undrgrndgirl on 03/26/2009 at 12:57:06

ARTICLES BY GEORGIANA COHEN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   NOT-SO-SURE GUYS  |  March 19, 2009
    It’s a few days after Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday, and Rebecca Watson is posted up at the Asgard, a popular bar down the road from MIT, passing out leaflets promoting an upcoming “Skeptics in the Pub” event.
  •   HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT  |  January 26, 2009
    "So easy to learn, so hard to win." That's how Somerville resident Brian Loring describes the timeless game of rock-paper-scissors.
  •   REAL TIME SAVERS  |  December 17, 2008
    Breaking news: scientists have eradicated the social malady known as "watch tan." The cure, of course, was the advent of the cell phone.
  •   COMICS AND CRAFTS UNITE  |  December 12, 2008
    What differentiates Comicazi-con from this past month's Boston Comic Con, sponsored by Framingham's Bedrock Comics, is the big-tent approach. Comicazi-con won't be focusing solely on comics, but will include local merchants.
  •   GEEKY GIFTS 101  |  December 11, 2008
    “Smelly Yankee Candle for Grandma? Check. Tie for Dad? Got it. Toy dump truck for Tommy? Yup. Man, this holiday shopping stuff is easy. Now, who’s next? . . . Um. . . Hmmm.”

 See all articles by: GEORGIANA COHEN

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group