Sam Harris writes: … [Congressman Pete] Stark is the first of our leaders to display a level of intellectual honesty befitting a consul of ancient Rome. Bravo. The truth is, there is not a person on Earth who has a good reason to believe that Jesus rose from the dead or that Muhammad spoke to the angel Gabriel in a cave. And yet billions of people claim to be certain about such things. He always finds a way to bring… Read more
Garrison Keillor (of public radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion”) has an essay up on Salon where he writes the following: I grew up the child of a mixed-gender marriage that lasted until death parted them, and I could tell you about how good that is for children, and you could pay me whatever you think it’s worth. … Nature is about continuation of the species — in other words, children. … Under the old monogamous system, we didn’t have the… Read more
Quick: What name comes to mind when I say the word “atheist”? . . . I’m guessing most of you think of Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. What name comes to mind when I say “Christian”? . . . Knowing the audience that reads this blog, maybe you thought of James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, or Pat Robertson. There are (obviously) many differences between the groups of people, but let me mention one I never hear much about: The most well-known… Read more
The campus newspaper of the University of Kansas is running a great story today on my friend Andrew Stangl, president of the sole secular group on campus– the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostic (SOMA)– and one of my colleagues on the Secular Student Alliance board of directors. “He’s a radical in choir boy’s clothing,” says Paul Scott, assistant professor of French and director of the 2005 study abroad program in France that Stangl participated in. Scott describes Stangl as… Read more
You *know* you want it. So here’s the deal. The book will not be released until April 17th. A month away. But I want to send you a free copy now. What I need to know is how you’re going to publicize the book for me 🙂 Maybe you’ll write a glowing review on your blog the week of the release… or you know someone who works in the media and might be interested in doing a story… or you’ll… Read more
