Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
It’s safe to say that Minneapolis St. Paul Archbishop John Nienstedt (below) won’t look back on 2013 with a great deal of satisfaction. Even as an investigation into child sexual abuse appeared to taint his archdiocese, he thought it necessary to point the finger at gays and atheists (among others): Sodomy, abortion, contraception, pornography, the redefinition of marriage, and the denial of objective truth are just some of the forces threatening the stability of our civilization. The source of these machinations is none other than the Father of Lies. … and got roundly taken to task for it. Read more
“An absolute disgrace,” thundered new Geelong (Australia) mayor Darryn Lyons about the Christmas tree that had been purchased by his very own town. Proclaiming it “the worst Christmas tree in the world,” it didn’t help Lyons’ mood that the purchase price reportedly was $27,000 U.S. dollars. “I think I’d rather donate it to the English cricket team,” he said. “They can cut a few bats out of it and see how they go in the Melbourne test match.” Read more
I sympathize with Reverend Steve Goodbody’s plight. It has to be hard to offer a world view and a way of life that fewer and fewer people want. From the Telegraph: A vicar has criticised people who only attend Church over the festive season telling them: “God is for life — not just for Christmas”. Read more
The War on Christmas meme must not be going too well if you have to resort to making shit up. How about this wild tale: A San Francisco elementary school suspended a 9-year-old student the other week because he wished the homeroom teacher “Merry Christmas.” The teacher is an “outspoken Atheist”; obviously, therefore, the student’s insolent act of cheer and holiday spirit had to be punished. It’s not even remotely true, but the hoax went viral anyway. Read more
This Harris poll — under the headline “Americans’ Belief in God, Miracles and Heaven Declines” — is a great holiday gift. It finds that … [W]hile a strong majority (74%) of U.S. adults do believe in God, this belief is in decline when compared to previous years as just over four in five (82%) expressed a belief in God in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Here are some other popular superstitions, according to the poll, along with their adherents. Read more
