Turns out there are only a handful of churches left in American that still handle snakes. (Besides the Catholic Church. ZING!) They’re all in West Virginia, and even there, it’s a bit sketchy. Kate Fowler and Mark Strandquist are putting together a documentary film called With Signs and Following in which they go into one of these churches, Lord Jesus Church, and explore the pastor and the congregation. The Paster and Congregation are not Responsible for anyone that handles the… Read more
The other day, I posted this image from PostSecret: Well, it’s no longer a secret who sent in that image. It was Michael Convente, a graduate student and someone who’s not religious at all. (He emailed me proof that he really was the sender). At the Daily Kos, Michael explains his rationale behind sending in the secret: I have heard before from certain groups of Christians who consider suicide a sin that results in that person’s soul being sent to… Read more
Libby Anne, a former “daughter of Christian patriarchy,” has a lot of insight about her former life. Like how one Christian group is “training” children to be “dominion-oriented.” This is an example of what Vision Forum, a group for Christian “families,” thinks is an appropriate image for their DVD about Christian boys: Ok… boy fishing with his father and grandfather. Seems harmless enough. And what’s an example of Vision Forum’s image for training Christian girls? Right… because good Christian girls… Read more
He’s never the most charismatic speaker on stage, but I would never have guessed Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, had a fear of public speaking: At the end of my senior year in high school, I learned that I was to be the class valedictorian. I declined the honor. And I managed to get into my thirties without directly confronting my fear of public speaking. At the age of thirty-three, I enrolled in graduate school, where I… Read more
If Texas Governor Rick Perry’s website was more honest, it would include these other images, too 🙂 (Thanks to Brian for the image!) Read more
I don’t know who started the “Scumbag Christian” meme but I’m amused. A few of my favorites: Sound like anyone you know? Or are these unfair strawmen and not-at-all representative of most Christians? In any case, here’s the template if you’d like to make your own: (via Reddit) Read more
What were evangelists like when they were much, much younger? David Hayward shows us: The baby’s logic and rhetoric is really no different from that of an “adult” evangelist, so I fully expect the parents to cave in. (via nakedpastor) Read more
I’ve said before that atheists could put up a billboard saying, “We exist,” and Christians would find a way to get offended. Case in point: The Center For Inquiry recently put this billboard up in several cities: “You don’t need God — to hope, to care, to love, to live.” Pretty mild, right? Now, check out how the local NBC affiliate in Niagara Falls, New York reacted to it: Really?! *That* billboard is too “anti-god” for you? The message isn’t… Read more
Beth Moore is a Christian evangelist. Fairly popular. John Piper is a Christian preacher/author. Also popular. Last week, someone asked Piper for his advice: I’m a guy. Is it wrong for me to listen to Beth Moore? (No, really, someone wanted advice about that. Because that’s a source of conflict in this guy’s mind.) Piper responded with the obvious answer: No, of course it’s not wrong. Listen to what she says. And if the advice is good, think about how… Read more
On Friday, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 (PDF) that public high schools holding graduation ceremonies inside churches were not violating the Establishment Clause and church/state separation. “There is no realistic endorsement of religion by the mere act of renting a building belonging to a religious group,” Judge Kenneth R. Ripple wrote for the majority. … … Graduates weren’t forced to participate in any religious exercise, Ripple wrote. As for the religious environment, the U.S. Constitution doesn’t shield… Read more
