The question, Mr. Smug, is why PZ Myers or any other atheist doesn't believe in god(s). For both PZ and me, the answer is quite simple. There's zero evidence for the existence of god(s). If there's no evidence for something, then why accept it? The proof is on those making a positive claim. If you believe in the existence of god(s) then pony up your proof. If you can't then PZ and I will continue to not believe in god(s). Sorry if this concept is too simple for you to understand or accept.

The Narwhals Song is the Official Atheist Theme Song™.

In Wisconsin in the 1970s there was an E-Scow with "HELP" painted upside down on the transom.

Over at Pharyngula there's a Calvinist complaining about how Richard Dawkins set up the Non-Believers Giving Aid project and PZ Myers has the effrontery to point out that There is a false perception that associates church attendance with selflessness and social responsibility, and that because non-believers do not make showy demonstrations of giving in the name of a deity, we must be uncaring. To the contrary, the godless have been quietly supporting good causes as independent agents all along.... The nerve of those atheists, giving aid to Haitians and being public about it. It's like we're shaming those good goddists by showing one doesn't have to be a goddist to give a damn about other people.

Someone who accepts microevolution but not macroevolution is saying that one can walk across a room but can't walk across a city. Macroevolution is made up of a large number of microevolutionary steps taking place over a long time. Incidentally, neither Eörs Szathmáry nor John Maynard Smith deny that macroevolution takes place. I suspect the Pope either misconstrued the quote or quotemined. Pope Benedict is a theologian and philosopher. He's not a scientist. He should confine his remarks to theology, where he knows what he's talking about and stay away from science where he displays his ignorance.

I'm a senior executive for a largish company. I attend a weekly meeting held by the company's president which he always opens with a short, nondenominational prayer. This president has hired and promoted Blacks, Asians, and women into high level jobs. He has privately admitted that he has only two prejudices, gays and atheists. He said that the law requires him to treat homosexuals without discrimination and he does so. He also said the law does not cover atheists and he feels he has free rein to smack them down. I would be a fool to come out of the atheist closet as long as this guy is running the company.

In her rant, Charlotte Allen wrote: "...haven't atheists heard that many religious people (including the late Pope John Paul II) don't have a problem with evolution but, rather, regard it as God's way of letting his living creation unfold?" Apparently Ms. Allen is unaware of how fundamentalist Christians are trying to get creationism (or its stepchild Intelligent Design) taught in public schools instead of evolution. There have been numerous court cases which have determined creationism is religion. In 2005, Kitzmiller v Dover Area School District (400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005)) shot down a board of education's decision to teach Intelligent Design. No, Ms. Allen, it's not just a tiny fringe of Christians who don't accept evolution. The Pope may accept it, but Pat Robertson, Rick Warren, James Dobson and Mike Huckabee are all creationists.