The Wrath Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 (edited) Not that this is particularly newsworthy, but I thought it was cool enough that I wanted to brag a little. It's also a bit of an exaggeration...I was at a Japanese tsunami fundraiser that he hosted in Maryland (which doubled as a plug for several secularist/rationalist causes), and wound up in a 2-on-2 game of pool against Dawkins and someone else. He had never played before, so we had to explain the finer points of stripes vs. solids and when to hit the 8-ball. Nice guy, although he was a little stand-offish, probably because he was tired of the numerous twenty-somethings who were fawning over him, treating him like a rockstar, and telling him how he had changed their lives. I also (unknowingly at first) fell into conversation with the president of American Atheists. Had an interesting talk with him about how to be in a romantic relationship with a religious person (as I am engaged to a Catholic, albeit an extremely lapsed and pretty apathetic one). Oddly enough, he's married to an observing Jew...which struck me as quite surprising, given his presidency of an organization dedicated to combating religion. Edited April 6, 2011 by The Wrath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wrath Posted April 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 The iPhone 3GS takes crappy pictures, but this is the only evidence I have of him playing pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wrath Posted April 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 (edited) And, me with David Silverman, president of American Atheists. Edited April 6, 2011 by The Wrath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapitalistSwine Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 That is pretty cool. Also, related to pool. I didn't really ever play myself until a year before college. Most people, in my experience, are not only stunned when you don't know how to play (and play decently well), but act like assholes about it, so it's nice to know there are people that still understand that not everyone has learned how to do things like they have, or as well, that is not the normal attitude in the college environment from what I have gathered. Also, that is one crazy tie Dawkins has on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wrath Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Yeah, I was a little disappointed that he didn't wear the crocoduck tie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSL Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Did Silverman say anything else regarding his marriage? That is quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wrath Posted April 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 He said his wife is extremely supportive and even edits his speeches for him. He also said that she has asked him to "convince her" that there is no God, but that his response has been that she needs to come by atheism according to her own reasoning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Rarden Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Sounds like a contradiction to me, don't you think ? What does objectism say about such marriage ? Can two people be married if they have diametrically opposed views ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoid Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Depends on what you mean by "diametrically opposed views." A married couple must share fundamental values, but this doesn't imply that they must agree on every issue. An atheist can marry someone who believes in God provided they have more important traits in common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volco Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Sounds like a contradiction to me, don't you think ? What does objectism say about such marriage ? Can two people be married if they have diametrically opposed views ? a non observing jew and an atheist are not that different. even observant jews are not required to "testify" to others their belief in a god the way all of Judaisms offshoot demand (xian, islam, etc). In Judaism, praying is regarded the more virtuous if done the most privately, while proselytizing is direcly seen as a sin. Hanna Arendt recalls that while being "rebellious" during her religious ed class, she declared she didn't believe in god, well her teacher just replied that no one asked her to. Of course religious jews do indoctrinate their young but only the harsher ones throw them out for not praying. Depends on what you mean by "diametrically opposed views." A married couple must share fundamental values, but this doesn't imply that they must agree on every issue. An atheist can marry someone who believes in God provided they have more important traits in common. still I don't know if this is different in the case of say, well, I don't know, Methodists like Rothbard's wife. Edited July 19, 2011 by volco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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