The Atheists are Coming! The Atheists are Coming!

So I was looking at the news of the day at the Houston Chronicle’s website today wondering what could have happened today that I might want to write about, and beyond finding out that Amanda Knox, the American expatriate student living in Italy that was accused of killing her roommate, has been totally exonerated because of questionable DNA evidence, there was nothing really newsworthy.

But if Amanda Knox doesn’t write a book and a screenplay and become deliriously rich over this, I’ll eat my hat.

Then I happened on this headline: “Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins speaking at atheist event in Houston.” Now this, in and of itself, is not very newsworthy. Both Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins are world-renowned atheists with many books under their belts. It would actually be more newsworthy if one, the other or  both were not going to be speaking at an atheist’s convention.

So no, not very newsworthy. Mostly ho-hum. But what is newsworthy that they are going to have an atheist's convention in Houston, Texas. Here in the Bible Belt. Here, where Rick Perry had a pray-in this past summer praying for rain and stuff (and got fires instead).

Here, in Southeast Texas where movies that have alternative views of the Christian Gospel get picketed.

Are. You. Kidding?

So I suspect that rather than The Chron making a big thing about Hitchens and Dawkins coming to Houston to speak, what they really wanted to put out there was that the atheists were coming to town.

Ho boy. If I had my preferences, I’d rather watch this thing unfold outside the Hyatt Regency at 1200 Louisiana St. in downtown Houston than inside (yes, they not only made the location known in the article, but also provided the link).

I’m bringing a lawn chair and popcorn.