One of the things I talk about in my books is the need for our society to begin a more rational dialogue about gods and religions and all the rest. The Religious Right complains there is a campaign to drive religion, and especially Christianity, from the public arena. However, religious criticism is not aimed at driving religion away. It’s goal is rather to bring religion and religious practice out into the open and to examine them with the light of reason.
For too long these areas have been regarded as immune from the sort of critical give and take characteristic of other aspects of existence. Somehow, once an idea or a concept is labeled “religious,” it gets placed in the box of “ideas we must pretend to respect and must never challenge for fear of hurting someone’s feelings.” This is real political correctness. Things that need to be said don’t get said. Ideas that need to be analyzed get a pass.
This web site is intended to contribute to the honest discussion of those ideas. My intention is to make the watchwords of that discussion “intellectual hospitality,” “candor,” and “clarity.” Unless otherwise indicated all material on this web site is copyrighted by me. I hope you will come back and visit often.
“Nothing about atheism prevents me from thinking about any idea. It is the very epitome of freethought. Atheism imposes no dogma and seeks no power over others.”
– George A. Ricker
Update 1/1/2010: George A. Ricker passed away on August 10, 2009. He is survived by his wife Judy, a daughter, a son, two stepdaughters and three grandsons. George was born May 26, 1941 and was 68 years old. This website will remain online indefinitely, as the content will be relevant for years to come, and shows the passion he had for a secular society. Here is a recent article George wrote about his lung problem and how he didn’t fall back on religion or a god in his time of need. My Left Lung.
Judy Ricker