Below is an index of some of the more interesting e-mails I have received. Follow the links to view the letters. My response is posted at the end of each.

Other e-mails without replies

2.6.2002 A reader sends me a few of the less frequently observed rules in the Bible.  Eating shellfish and calamari is an abomination just like homosexuality, but nobody seems to bother picketing oyster bars.

1.31.2002 A student, who is away at college, writes about how his mother is threatening to change the locks at home because she suspects he has become an atheist.  She accepted him as an agnostic, but asserts that atheists are not welcome in her home.

1.21.2002 Justin writes that since it is impossible to prove whether or not God exists, agnosticism is a more accurate and defendable position than atheism.

12.30.2001 An atheist mother of two in Arkansas describes how her sons deal with playmates who try to convert them to Christianity and adults who tell them that they are going to hell.

12.25.2001 Mike, an 18 year old evangelical Christian, tells me about how his father was visited by a demon after checking the Satanic Bible out from a library.  If demons and evil exist, God must exist too.

12.10.2001 The author of the 11.16.2001 letter asserts that since atoms and molecules have no will to survive and evolution has no consciousness to guide it, life could not have evolved.  He says that God is the only reason there is life and that I should read the Bible and ask God to enlighten me.

11.16.2001 A reader declares that I am evil and is certain that I perform evil in my personal life.  He writes that without God there is no love and no morality, only chaos.  

11.14.2001 A self-described angry atheist in Washington D.C. doesn't understand the issues many of the people who write this web site have with being atheists.  He says that anyone who challenges his beliefs will not live to see another day.

11.8.2001 James, a single atheist, describes the trials that differences of religion present to dating.

10.3.2001 A Christian mother, whose son frequents this site, fears I am leading him in the wrong direction.

9.13.2001 Two days after the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks, a reader writes of his frustration with religious hate and the small-minded rantings of some people on the Internet.

8.31.2001 An agnostic accuses me of being a coward and thinks I am a hypocrite for maintaining this website while condemning those who engage in religious conversion.

8.27.2001 A young atheist has just completed the Catholic ritual of confirmation, where "conscious adults" choose to become full members of the church.  The problem is that the ritual is typically performed at the age of 13 and it is an expectation rather than a choice.

8.21.2001 An atheist who shares an apartment with two Christians finds he has little say in apartment matters.  His roommates pray on apartment decisions and God always seems to take their side.

8.9.2001 A reader warns other atheists not to reveal their atheism to religious parents.  My long reply discusses the closet atheist issue and the title of this web site.

7.26.2001 A regular reader asks if he should try to intervene with his mother's new found, and expensive, New Age beliefs.

7.23.2001 A reader comments on my response to the Christian claim that people can't know the difference between right and wrong without God. My reply discusses why most religions share the same core values and family-like structure.

7.2.2001 Simon discovers that telling people at parties you are an atheist may not be a good idea. Even the Wiccans are more popular.

6.9.2001 A reader wonders if being an atheist means denying an important part of her black heritage.  Replies from two other readers are also posted.

5.8.2001 A Christian summarizes God's views on homosexuality and tells me that gays are close-minded minded perverts.  A reply to my response is also included.

5.8.2001 A philosophy student in the U.K. asks why it is okay for the religious to believe things simply because it is how they feel while atheists must have a thorough understanding of religion and science to defend their beliefs from constant scrutiny.

5.7.2001 A student tells me how she must endure bible verses scrawled on her dorm's bathroom mirrors and lectures on how to be the ideal Christian wife.  My reply includes a discussion about how our nation was not founded on Christianity.

4.25.2001 An atheist who has lost his job realizes that without God he has nobody to blame, except maybe George W. Bush.  He wonders if God is punishing him for watching porn and voting Democrat.

4.13.2001 A young man's parents, who can't come to grips with his atheism, make sure he adheres to a strict regiment of church, bible school and bible camp.  Things are erupting into a full scale debate.

4.12.2001 I am accused of spreading evil about something I haven't even prayed to God about and am told that God is a loving father who would never harm anyone.  If I would only meditate on John 3:16 I would be saved by the Lord's grace and mercy.

4.11.2001 An atheist in Arkansas writes about enduring people's constant attempts to convert him.  My reply includes survey data regarding George W. Bush's faith based charity programs and how American's feel about funding non-Christian religious groups.

2.1.2001 A critique of my "Debunking the Religious Monopoly on Morality" essay.  Jeffrey writes that man's value of human life has increased in the last 500 years and this is too short of a time for evolution to have played any role.  The influence of Christianity and God's teachings are the only explanation.

1.23.2001 Deborah, who is a Christian, tells me how man's pride and quest for all things physical has caused our world to decline.

1.10.2001 Jesse tells me how his grandparents planted the fear of God in him at every opportunity.  My reply discusses why Christianity is such a contagious meme.

1.5.2001 A man finds that a move to the religious south brings out the atheist in him.  The prevalence of superstition is also discussed.

12.5.2000 A sad and touching note from a man whose fiancée has left him because he would not convert to Christianity.

12.3.2000 A reader who has lost a loved one wants to believe in an afterlife but can't.  He also debates about whether to tell his friends he is an atheist.

11.24.2000 It is pointed out that since the most people adopt the religion of their parents, finding the "correct" route to salvation is a matter of luck and the odds are against you.

11.17.2000 Alaska Airlines distributes prayer cards with their meals on all of their flights.  I wrote the company to ask them about it.  Their reply is included.

10.21.2000 A fellow atheist describes how British are more tolerant of atheism and that there are openly atheist British politicians.  My reply includes data from a poll of US citizens which shows how acceptance of an atheist presidential candidate compares with other demographics.  Also posted are notes on this topic from another U.K. citizen, an Australian, and a Canadian.

9.28.2000 I am asked how I can "bash" God and Christians and at the same time write about tolerance.  I am also asked how there can be right and wrong without absolutes. 

9.23.2000 A reader points out how if Christians were less obtrusive, leading quietly by example, Christianity would be perceived as a kinder and gentler faith.

9.3.2000 An atheist woman tells me about the trials of dating a conservative Christian man from a conservative Christian family.  She also asks about the existence of a "faith gene."

8.11.2000 A Christian who is sympathetic toward science, explains how in life's search for meaning people go many routes.  He asks for mutual respect.

7.24.2000 A two letter thread in which a seventeen year old atheist who is questioning his lack of faith writes the Closet Atheist for help.

6.21.2000 A biology professor at the University of Tennessee tells me of the undergraduate students who refuse to listen to lectures on evolution because they are against their religion.  She also asks about efforts to remove "In God We Trust" from U.S. currency.

6.15.2000 I am asked why atheists spend so much time trying to disprove a God they don't believe in and am told that all will kneel and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, regardless of their beliefs.

6.13.2000 A student, the only atheist at his Christian high school, tells me about how he became an atheist and how many of his Christian peers abused drugs before finding Jesus.  My reply discusses why recovering addicts are prone to become Christians.

4.5.2000 An essay sent to me in which a leader of a tribe of head hunters describes how Christian missionaries helped his people find peace and escape their violent traditions. My reply is posted at the end.

4.3.2000 A young man from a religious, small Texas town explains why he is an atheist and shares his frustration with the assumption by most Americans that everyone is Christian.  A sympathetic reader's reply is also posted.

3.20.2000 Suzanne tells me about the Christians who welcomed her while she was in a lesbian relationship and asks me not to lump all Christians into the same category. She also tells me of how her family has defied the odds against HIV with God's help.

3.10.2000 This is a two letter thread where I am asked how there can be any basis for morality without God. I am also told why accepting Jesus is the only way enter Heaven and that my understanding of Christianity is childish.

2.26.2000 An agnostic woman who works for a small company where the employees are almost exclusively fundamentalist, tells me of how she must silently endure listening to their hypocrisy.

2.13.2000 A good argument for why the word "atheist" is a bad label. I am also asked to consider the difference between religious and spiritual and why a "personal moral system" can be liberating.

2.9.2000 A humorous letter with some ideas on how to promote atheist awareness. He also explains why he would be more inclined to invite an atheist going door to door into his house to watch porn and drink beer, than a Christian.

2.6.2000 An intelligent discussion about why evangelism and the Christian stance against science are signs of insecurity, why the Judeo-Christian work ethic makes America a great country, and why the belief in God, even if he doesn't exist, prevents moral decay.