VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI has canceled his visit to a Rome university following protests by secular professors and students, the Vatican said today.

Such a cancellation of a scheduled papal event is extremely rare, and the few times it has happened in recent decades, the Vatican cited security concerns. No specific reason was given in a brief Vatican announcement and Vatican spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

There are numerous misconceptions about what atheism entails and who atheists are - not at all unsurprising, since even the basic definition of atheism is so misunderstood at times. Because we find people making these mistakes and assumptions in the forum, in the chat room and even in private email, it is important to address them and explain where they err.

Many of the myths and misconceptions addressed here will follow a similar pattern, exposing fallacious reasoning, faulty premises, or both. These arguments need to be identified as the fallacies they really are because that is the only way genuine arguments and dialogues can be made possible.

Note: because of some overlap in the nature of the different categories of myths below, you will find some of the myths appearing more than once.

If I have noticed anything on this campus on a regular basis it is the preponderance of different Christian groups. I see them praying in great circles, and sometimes they sing very pleasant songs. The Christians flood the streets with their fliers in an attempt to recruit more adherents for their student groups.

When one handed me a flier, I politely declined. But I started to think. Rather than inform them that I was in utter disagreement, I silenced my view. I did not want to excite them. But if someone puts their belief on the street, I see no reason why I should hide my own view.

The UEP Trust paid out $24,500 for a semester's worth of tuition for 16 kids. It's through a fund set up as part of a lawsuit settlement with the so-called "Lost Boys," a group of young men who were kicked out of the Fundamentalist LDS Church.

Today I read a Bible-inspired fire and brimstone article by Christian extremist Marsha West, which I found at the Christian Worldview Network. In it, she attacks all non-Christians and those Christians who are not Christian enough (see: not extreme/conservative enough). West also emphasizes the false concept that you cannot be a good person without religion, namely accepting her strict interpretation of Christianity, because you are hell bound otherwise. She then ends her pretentiously lengthy column with the assertion that evangelism is the job of every Christian to save us heathens. West’s entire diatribe serves as an excellent summary of many of the main reasons why atheists, Secular Humanists, religious skeptics, etc. take issue with Christianity, not least of which is the inability of Christians to mind their own business.

Christopher Hitchens turned 58 on April 13. The occasion might typically have passed with little fanfare, but this year, the scruffy British ex-pat had reason to celebrate. Early that day, on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial, he was sworn in as a citizen of the United States. It was a doff of the cap to a country he had already called home for more than a quarter century, but it was also a symbolic gesture of solidarity. As everyone knows by now, the reformed Trotskyite resigned from his post at the Nation after 9/11 to assume what has become his unofficial charge: indefatigable defender of the Bush Administration's adventures in Iraq. Application approved!