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.
Related:
Your own personal Darwin, Killer plants, ‘without remorse’, Some kind of salvation, More
- Your own personal Darwin
Dorothy and Elliott Schwartz meditate on the man behind the theory
- Killer plants, ‘without remorse’
On display behind a glass enclosure at the New England Carnivorous Plant Society's seventh annual show was a rare book, not a plant.
- Some kind of salvation
In 2008, Sean Faircloth, then a state representative from Bangor, lost his bid to become Maine's attorney general, mostly because lots of legislators questioned his credibility. When your credibility is so shaky that even politicians notice, you have a serious problem. It's sort of like if atheists complained about your ungodliness.
- She's crafty
What would Grandma say?
- Greg Epstein, Atheist Superstar
Once an intellectual taboo, atheism has become one of the great growth industries of the third millennium.
- High-powered hybrid
"It's pretty much impossible for us to have a predictable sound," said Rosalind Raskin earlier this week while discussing The Friend Ship (Moose Proof Records), the full-length debut from Roz Raskin and the Rice Cakes ( MySpace.com/RozRaskin ).
- Ideas and emotions
Grace takes place in the recent memories of the title character as well as in her difficult present. The basic concern here, which nags her like a toothache, is the non-existence of the divine.
- What is Filk?
Filk’s not so much a genre as a state of being.
- Indie invasion
Green living and government-subsidized health care and education are breeding smart indie-pop acts by the dozen.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat
"So easy to learn, so hard to win." That's how Somerville resident Brian Loring describes the timeless game of rock-paper-scissors.
- Award-worthy
The amount of research that Jason Notte conducted for his extensive article on the surge in suicides in the military is worthy of a Pulitzer Prize.
- Less

Topics:
Lifestyle Features
, Culture and Lifestyle, Swearing and Invective, Jackie Lavache, More
, Culture and Lifestyle, Swearing and Invective, Jackie Lavache, Religion, Harvard University, Hobbies and Pastimes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Oprah Winfrey, Magic and Illusions, Less