How Do We Explain This to the Aliens?

The Importance of Conversations

Welcome to The Ex-Christian Observer: a weekly newsletter from a former Christian unpacking the madness that is evangelical Christian America.

I went to my first atheist conference on Saturday: NaNoCon…aka the “Nashville Nones Convention.”

My fiancee and I had an amazing time.

There were talks about leaving religion, confronting transphobia, human rights vs MAGA, and a lot more.

April Ajoy told her story of finding a true faith after leaving Christian nationalism.

Seth Andrews brought the house down with his rant “How Do We Explain This to the Aliens?” where Seth played out a conversation between himself and cosmic visitors seeking to understand our species in these bizarre and often terrible times.

Candace Gorham, president of the American Humanist Association, spoke about humanism in the 21st century and how you don’t need religion to have morals and ethics.

It was cool to meet so many people with whom I’ve only interacted online.

Here’s me and Anthony Magnabosco, Executive Director of Street Epistemology International.

If you’re not familiar with Anthony, you should change that!

Also, if you’re not familiar with Street Epistemology, here’s a description from the SE website:

Street Epistemology is a conversational approach that helps people critically reflect on the quality of their reasoning through thoughtful, civil conversations. It offers a novel yet accessible way for nearly anyone who wants to explore their own or others’ beliefs while prioritizing autonomy, authenticity, accuracy, and attentiveness.

I’ve been watching Anthony’s YouTube videos for years. It’s all about having better conversations with people, which leads me to my biggest takeaway from NaNoCon:

We need to have better conversations with people.

Seeing Anthony reminded me of how much I love watching his conversations with people who hold different beliefs.

It made me reflect on the conversations that I have.

On the content that I make.

On the responses that I give.

Chris Mallard of The Daily Atheist Morning Show hosted a panel called “What's so God-awful about Christian Nationalism?” with April Ajoy, Seth Andrews, and Democratic Tennessee State Senator, Heidi Campbell.

They had an interesting, intricate discussion about how atheists can create space for conversations with Christians who don’t align with the far-right, Christian nationalist movement.

It made me reflect on the conversations that I have.

On the content that I make.

On the responses that I give.

Bob Swanson, faculty sponsor of a secular student group, FAAMSU (Freethinkers, Atheists and Agnostics of Mississippi State University), held a workshop called Working with Interfaith Partners.

Workshop description:

This workshop will provide training empowering non-religious people on how to build effective coalitions with organizations that share our values of inclusivity, justice, and freedom of belief. Participants will learn strategies for fostering mutual respect, navigating differences, and leveraging collective strength to address issues like religious attacks on reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and the erosion of democratic principles. Together, we can amplify our impact and create a more just and equitable community.

Bob spoke about the importance of building relationships with those who don’t believe the same way that we do.

He talked about the dangers of certainty and encouraged us to ask more questions.

Bob’s workshop reminded me again of Anthony Magnabosco’s videos (Anthony was sitting next to us during Bob’s workshop, btw).

It made me reflect on the conversations that I have.

On the content that I make.

On the responses that I give.

Humor is very important to me; it always will be. But I’ve come to realize that many of the things I’ve posted over the years (memes, responses to hateful comments, etc) don’t always convey the message “I don’t hate Christianity; Christian nationalism is the problem.”

And that’s the message that I want to convey.

Going forward, I want to create space for believers and nonbelievers to unite in the fight against Christian nationalism.

You may notice a shift in my content; that’s intentional.

I want to talk more about humanism.

I want to criticize Christianity less generally and the far-right MAGA, hateful Christian supremacy movement, more specifically.

Not all Christians are bad.

Not all atheists are good.

Better conversations is the way, and I’m committed to going that direction.

I create the content that I do to remind us all we’re not alone in this Christian nationalist hellscape.

Remember: you don’t need a god to be good.

Until next time!

Kevin

All of my links: www.jesusunfollower.com

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