A new age dawns

[I have moved this post to the front page because I anticipate heavy traffic this week. More to come.]

Justin Vacula here! I will now be blogging here on SkepticBlogs and am working on transitioning from my old blog on Blogger at www.justinvacula.com (mind the construction). It’s wonderful to be a writer for this burgeoning new network of intrepid bloggers.

I’ve been an atheist since 2009. Soon after coming out of the ‘atheist closet’ and renouncing my former Roman Catholic beliefs, I was in the public eye following challenging the constitutionality of a local religious courthouse display. Following being dubbed ‘the third most hated person in Luzerne County’ by a local radio show host [judges implicated in the scandalous ‘Kids for Cash‘ affair were #1 and #2] and being the recipient of hate mail and threats from various persons in my community including fellow college students, I knew there was no turning back – a serious problem needed to be addressed concerning the matters of religious belief and the separation of church and state.

Graduating from a Catholic college and interacting with various teachers, ministers, and students on campus, I have gained an affinity for debate and discussion about religious belief (and majoring in philosophy was a huge help!). My style is an unwavering attack on ideas rather than persons – a respectful yet critical engagement which can hopefully lead others (and myself) to self-reflect and challenge cherished beliefs.

In 2012, while as a graduate student at yet another Catholic university, I proposed a bus ad reading “Atheists” with the URL and name of my local secular group — the NEPA Freethought Society — which I am the spokesperson, co-organizer, and a board member of. This ad was intentionally the least inoffensive bus ad ever and was intended to not only advertise my local group, but also to see what the reaction to this advertisement would be. Quite surprisingly (and hilariously), the advertisement was rejected – it was deemed “controversial” and “an attack on religion.” I am currently working with a legal group and intend to pursue this matter.

In addition to activism I noted above (see more in the ‘activism’ tab atop this website), I am the host of the NEPA Freethought Society Podcast which features prominent and upcoming members of the secular community including Portland State University philosophy professor Peter Boghossian in addition to Edwina Rogers and Kelly Damerow from the Secular Coalition for America. Most recently, for a special podcast episode, I debated Catholic philosopher Dr. Ronda Chervin (PhD, Fordham) concerning the topic “Does God Exist?” which was my second recorded formal debate following my debate with Rev. Marcelle Dotson of Field of Grace United Methodist Church.

The above information should be a good introduction — in addition to the ‘about’ tab atop this website — and provide resources for you to find my past content.

Apart from my involvement in the secular community, I enjoy listening to various genres of metal music (power, symphonic, progressive, doom, female-fronted, melodic, death, melodic death, and pirate) and to associated bands such as Epica, Within Temptation, Blind Guardian, At The Gates, Orphaned Land, Alestorm, Be’lakor, The 11th Hour, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Draconian, After Forever, and Theatre of Tragedy. I try to keep up-to-date on politics and civil liberties issues by listening to Democracy Now! on a daily basis. I enjoy World of Warcraft, Scrabble, Dungeons and Dragons, watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, and lurking the internet.

Feel free to add me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, circle me on Google Plus, and subscribe to my Youtube channel. I hope you enjoy me here on SkepticBlogs and have a smooth time transitioning from, if you are an old reader of mine, my previous URL.

…and there a new age dawns!

Say hello below!