The rudest yet serious is jim jeffries, if you have not googled him then do so but beware his atheist outlook on jokes are best heard with ear plugs lol

48 comments and I haven't seen any mention of Terry Pratchet. Please please let me know someone else here agrees with my suggestion.
I was reading his work long before I became an atheist. He was one of the greatest influences in my adolescence. Without his writing making me laugh, think & cry I would be a worse person now. Possibly theist.

Bart Erhman who is a Professor of Theology at Chapel Hill, South Carolina. Christopher Hitchens is my other choice of Historical Atheists. They are both on You Tube and have very convincing debates with any and all Scholars. Sarcastically I can also state without a doubt that Joel Olsteen, and Jimmy Swaggert are included for the fact that just watching them will make you seriously shake your head. George Carlin is another powerhouse for those who need comedy to make a case and can he be ever so much to the point.

Sam Harris. Also props to comedian Jim Jefferies and former NFL running backs Arian Foster and Robert Smith.

Check out Jim Jefferies:

Let me not forget the most famous writer of all time James Joyce. The Middle or Dark Ages Hosted Galileo, Copernicus and Newton whom are Fathers.

My kids, and, me....they are so strong. And, any who have fought for the right to think. No matter the race...

Carl Sagan. He first got me interested in science. It was a stepping stone to my freethinking which is who I am today. I greatly admire the man and his legacy.

Hitch.

I don't always agree with him, but he can tell you to go fuck yourself so eloquently.

Me

ME ...

I’m not sure about favorite, maybe Lawrence Krauss or Brian Cox, but funniest has to be Jim Jeffries. I know he’s a misogynist and I shouldn’t like him on principal but damn he’s funny as shit.

Bertrand Russell
His books literally changed my life

So many to choose from, but Jonathan Miller is pretty awesome.

I'm a Huge fan of comedy. So my list is George Carlin, Ricky Gervaius (surprised no one has mentioned), and Penn Jillette. Then the more conventional Sam, Neil, Richard, Stephen, and Carl.

My daughter. She's in her mid twenties now, so I feel my job is done. She, like myself enjoys engaging with 'God-botherers'. Enlightening them as to the bloody great big holes in their faiths.

George Carlin

Carl Sagan. That man was a legend. A true luminary. And one of the smartest and nicest people to ever live, or so I've been told. A rare breed indeed.

Among the living: Tracie Harris, of "The Atheist Experience." I admire her clarity of thought, her honesty, the completeness of her presentations, the gentle & respectful way she addresses the show's callers, and her good-natured & sometimes bawdy sense of humor. She's taken atheism to the Ambassador level, and yet she's still very approachable in person.

Mark Twain

Honorable mention goes to (in random order)
Sinclair Lewis
Lewis Sinclair
George Carlin
Bill Maher
Albert Eisnstein
Stephen Hawkings

and others I can't think of off hand

The man i admired the most was without question the late great Christopher Hitchens followed closely by prof. Richerd Dawkins and Sam Harris

That's easy, me. Well, besides me, I guess I'd have to say Carlin.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

David Attenborough. "It never really occurred to me to believe in God" sums up my own atheism perfectly.

I have a few, but I think Richard Dawkins stands out. I like the way he thinks.

Sam Harris