Sternwallow has shed this mortal coil

[Kate]

It is with great sadness that we can announce that Sternwallow has passed away after battling a long and tedious illness.

I am honored to have known him, to be able to call him my friend. To be able to call him from wherever I was in the world for a healthy dose of intelligence and skepticism to bring me right.

I will miss him terribly.

[Smellyoldgit]

Indeed, it was with the saddest teary eyes that yesterday we found notice of the passing of our dearest Grumpy Geezer. Many of us were well aware that Sterny had struggled with cancer for many years, battling along with the aid of modern medicines to keep the inevitable at bay, but finally one of the imaginary god's greatest creations finally got the better of the ol' fella.

A number of us were in private contact with him over the years and last October I received a message that lead me to believe that although the body was falling apart - the mind was as sharp and as admirably positive as ever.

With minor edits, Stern wrote

How nice of you to inquire
Starting another round of chemo with all expectations that in a month, it will, yet again, bitch-slap my traitorous cells back to undetectability for a few months.
I am pretty much confined to the house except for medical appointments so the forum is about my only venue for serious discussion on topics I find interesting.
I definitely agree that some new meat would enliven the old threads. I do wish that they could bring some new arguments or new perspectives or at least come from some new locale so we could clean a different set of teeth. How about a bunch of recent graduates from the Hebrew School of Israel, for instance. Even if they had all the same arguments, at least they would have a different and, I think, refreshing way of phrasing them.
I agree that things seem a bit barren on the forum. I find myself reconsidering some of our group topics. I may post some controversial material for the combined forum intellect to shoot down. I am about to adjust (fine tune) my position on the hypothetical cause of the universe and even some recent Archaeological discoveries have affected my view. For instance, recently found Egyptian wall carvings depicting a dire time when desperate people turned to cannibalism. This contradicts the theist notion that there are no Egyptian records of the Hebrew slavery because the Egyptians would not record anything embarrassing to themselves.
I may post soon a rather different take on the difference between theist and rational logic.
If there are theists who just watch the forum, do you think it would be useful, effective and not mire us in uninteresting filth to issue a challenge on a small group of very specific issues. Perhaps "show us all your best reasons for believing in a talking snake", "convince us that God is incapable of achieving certain goals without causing evil acts to achieve them". We might make a thread per topic and just hammer that single point until something broke.
As to the Sternrollering, I encountered a claimed Christian with a very different religious experience than the one we generally encapsulate as a stereotype of gullible, stupid and crazy. This may color my approach at least to the extent of explicitly excluding this sort of believer from my criticism.
I do wonder from time to time about Cal. Do you think there is any chance that he has mellowed to the point where he could again be the somewhat charming though a little dotty correspondent of old, or do you think he has passed the orbit of the outermost planet and headed ever farther into the deeps of his own special somethingorother-osis?
I really appreciate your post; social contact here is nearly non-existent.
All best wishes to you.

The incisive Sternrollering will be no more, but I'm sure we'll all remember so much of his brilliant thinking and crisp articulation that nailed so many arses to the yard-arm over the years. Personally, the systematic taking apart of the catlicking bovine's ramblings along with the perpetual ridiculing of cal's nonsensical moments will always be with me. I'm sure many of you will praise his scripted delights with far more aplomb than my foreign typing skills can muster.

[ILOVEJESUS]

I cannot pretend to have known the fella in person, like some on here. But I found his posts interesting and also written with much care and attention to detail. I will certainly miss his amazing, (how nice to use superlatives you actually mean), contributions here, and have a, "belief", that we have lost a person that was not only a very well informed atheist, but also a bloody nice chap. I bet there was no death bed conversion for him. I hope that we can make sure that his posts live on somehow, like they deserve to, as there is a lot of helpful ad insightful wisdom for others to read, throughout the many threads here. R.i.p. Very very sad news.

[DyingStrong]

I am terribly sad knowing that he has died!!! I didn´t have the honor to have known him personally but I did get to know him through this forum I have loved for 8 years now.
I admired his intelligence, his brilliant way to communicate with words, his strength, his class and kindness.
I am going to truly miss him for long long time. The Raving Atheist Forum has lost a brilliant member and I wish we can save his comments as they have so much knowledge and value in them.
Oh Stern, I am crying now. I remember how much he liked my "Fucking Christians on my bike" videos...he had a blast watching them. I think I am gonna have to make a video to honor his memory; a video where I really give it to the Christians on my bike. Yes, I am mad, mad because he had died, mad because someone like him had passed away and a lot of bastards who hurt others in the name god of still around fucking others. Darn!

[Kinich Ahau]

"I will grieve. Grief is not a theistic concept."

That sentence is the last post of Sterny's, referring to Hitchens. I too only knew him in the virtual world but I shall grieve for Sternswallow, RA has lost one of its esteemed elders.

[Professor Chaos]

Goodbye, Sterny. Twas a pleasure to know you.

[Eternal]

You made me think harder than anyone and changed my mind on more than one occasion. For that I will always be grateful.

[West491]

I was just wondering about Sterny and why he hadn't posted in a long while. I was completely unaware that he was battling cancer. Anyone who can make me change my mind through reason and evidence will always have a piece of my respect. That's what Sterny did for me on multiple occasions and always in the most gentle, humble and kind manner. I don't usually say this about people whom I've never met in real life, but I will definitely miss him.

It was indeed a unique pleasure knowing him. I think that a lesson in mortality is something I need once in a while. I'm gonna call my mom, haven't spoken to her in weeks.

[West491]

And thank you Kate for letting us know.

[Irreligious]

Indeed.

It was a pleasure to have known Sterny. In addition to being wise and insightful, he was a very kind and thoughtful man who made our meetup in his hometown a few years back quite a pleasureable experience. We all came to Sterny with him being the one bearing gifts for us. I still have my little straw elephant and I will continue to treasure it in honor of having had the opportunity to get to know him.

But I will miss him all the same.

[psychodiva]

Oh Shit!!!

I am honoured to have known him for even a little while, to have argued, debated, laughed and raged with him - I wish I had met him in real life and not just here and through e-mails

I will miss him, his mind, his humanity and his neverending ability to put down the chew-toys with rationality and humour

I will miss him

[DyingStrong]

West491 wrote

And thank you Kate for letting us know.

Indeed. Thank you, Kate. I value your friendship a great deal, I just wanted you to know it.

[ghoulslime]

I just rolled in from Korea and am not prepared mentally or physically for this news. I am completely devastated by this profoundly sorrowful announcement. I find myself at a loss for words right now.

[ILOVEJESUS]

I also want to thank you Kate for passing on this news. It must be hard for you, so thank you for keeping us in the loop.

[clambake]

I too had the great honor of meeting Sternwallow in his home town, I will treasure those memories. Goodbye my friend, I will miss you.