Comments by Lickona | San Diego Reader

Matthew Lickona

Matthew Lickona is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Seismic Sensation

Barb, I think it was Faulkner who said that. m
— July 5, 2010 10:47 a.m.

San Diego Coalition of Reason

continued... THEREFORE those who read your article came away with your absolutely bullshyte message...non-believers have to have church, so atheism is just like believing in God...hee, hee, hee. [Wow, really? Could anyone read that story about Sagan and come away thinking that atheism is just like believing in God? Your line of reasoning contains a number of assumptions, it seems to me. If anything, I would argue that non-believers, being human, have a need for many of the things that a church can provide - community, support, affirmation of significant moments, etc. But that is hardly the same as claiming that atheists have to have church. And even if I believed that everybody has a need to worship something, that would be a long way from arguing that atheism is just like believing in God.] It was a misleading article, but it's understandable since your profession, writing about churches, almost demands such an approach. Perhaps if you'd pay a bit of attention, you'd notice that these actions such as putting up billboards have been spread through the media, particularly online social media. [What indications do you have that I have not paid attention? That I chose one particular local instance and interviewed the people involved with it?] Atheists don't have to congregate in person because we can exchange ideas online. Had you gone to any of those places, even a Flying Spaghetti Monster or Invisible Pink Unicorn site, you'd have found some genuine atheists who have no time or interest for what you described as modern atheism...equating us to frustrated wanna be church goers who are desperately lacking a God to give us guidance in life. [Trust me, I've spent plenty of time with the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I didn't describe modern atheism as anything. I described one group of people who advertised themselves to the local community. I made no larger claims.] In the end though, you should thank me deeply. Have you ever had this much interest in any of your articles? [Oh, Fred, you're too modest. This extraordinarily long comment thread has very little to do with my article, and nearly everything to do with you.] Best, Fred
— November 25, 2009 11:16 a.m.

San Diego Coalition of Reason

You started off with Swine Flu being the "reason" to finally investigate those weird atheists. [I never called them weird. Swine Flu was not the reason, but the occasion. I couldn't go to church, which is what I do for this column, so there was a certain logic in spending some time with the people who don't go to church at all.] That was funny. A good attention getting opening. But it also showed where you were going... [Really?] "once you’ve agreed that there’s no God, what is left to do? And what’s the point of doing it?" Uh, isn't that a walloping big assumption? Only God gives us purpose? Without God there's no point to life? [No, that's not what I was saying. I was expressing sympathy for the bit about organizing atheists being like herding cats. The question, "What is left to do?" here does not ask, "What is left to do with one's life?" but rather "What is left for an organization of atheists to do?" Because that's what the column is about - an organization of atheists. I didn't seek 'em out - they put up a billboard to attract attention, and they got mine. And there is no assumption about it - the question is not rhetorical. Rather, it is answered by the Coalition for Reason.] Maybe we can have rich and fulfulling lives, free from the distractions of weekly group-hypocracy sessions where we're charged 10% of our incomes to engage in "worship" of an imaginary invisible friend who helps football teams and punishes you, Matthew Lickona, for your guilty masturbation. [Wow, Fred.] But I digress. Back to the article... We can sum up your main points with "It’s the billboard as secular steeple." Perhaps because you write about churches you simply cannot conceive that the overwhelming majority of non-believers neither need nor want to herd together into an organization. [Or perhaps because I write about churches I find it appropriate to cover an organization of non-believers who behave in many of the same ways as a church - providing support and community, spreading the message, etc. - while being careful to note that they do not actually worship any gods.] So what do you do? After giving lip service to the "herding cats" metaphore, you interview...wait for it...organizations that claim to represent atheists. Uh huh. As you say, "it’s hard to miss the quasi-religious connotation of 'celebrant'." Exactly. First you mention that atheists don't typically join groups, then you find such groups as do exist, and point out that they're a lot like churches. [I didn't find them! They found me! By advertising themselves on a billboard! You keep suggesting that I went hunting for organized atheists in an attempt to prove something. This is not the case. Rather, I saw a billboard and went to check it out. As I mentioned, my first thought was that the billboard was for a church of believers.] continued...
— November 25, 2009 11:15 a.m.

San Diego Coalition of Reason

Fred Williams wrote: "I happen to have the time (between contracts) to participate in this discussion and propose the 'hardcare atheist' viewpoint, which was dismissed by the author of the article and many commentors here." Mr. Williams, I'm not sure why you say that I dismissed the hardcare atheist viewpoint. I did point out the various ways in which the CoR resembled a church, but I was careful to note that it did differ when it came to the actual worshipping of gods. I don't think that is necessarily dismissive. In particular, I thought the Sagan story and the comments from grateful atheists at the end of the piece gave the story a rather sympathetic tone.
— November 24, 2009 10:41 p.m.

United Church of Christ La Mesa

Ms. Hernandez, I tried to indicate the somewhat unusual character of Sunday's service in this graf: [So it was probably not accidental that the choir sang “Come, just as you are to worship/ Come, just as you are before your God” at the outset of the folksy contemporary service, held in the church hall instead of the sanctuary. Diaconate chair Joyce Gillespie explained that the “third Sunday contemporary service” was “the best format to fill the space between now and when the church is able to make decisions about what direction we want to follow in the future.” She asked the congregation to fill out a survey, which would eventually result in a recommendation by the diaconate to the church council, “and then the congregation will be involved. It’s not a process that is singled out by certain people.”] I'm sorry if it wasn't clear. Thank you for your kind invitation and your comments.
— September 24, 2009 3:39 p.m.

Ninth annual Cajon Classic Cruise – who are these people?

And if folks are really interested, I can also post photos of various other aspects of the shows mentioned here.
— August 27, 2009 12:33 p.m.

Ninth annual Cajon Classic Cruise – who are these people?

Pictures of the cars mentioned in this story may be found here: http://www.matthewlickona.com/blog/2009/08/pictur…
— August 27, 2009 12:07 p.m.

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Matthew Lickona

The Redneck Hipster of Country Strong

The Redneck Hipster of Country Strong

Minds think deeply at the 2010 Comic-Con

Seismic Sensation

San Diego Coalition of Reason

San Diego Coalition of Reason

San Diego Coalition of Reason

United Church of Christ La Mesa

Ninth annual Cajon Classic Cruise – who are these people?

Ninth annual Cajon Classic Cruise – who are these people?

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