Earlier this week, PBS aired the first of three episodes of the documentary series “Your Inner Fish,” based off of paleontologist/evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin’s book of the same name: Read more
We should all celebrate the two year anniversary of the release of pseudohistorian David Barton’s book The Jefferson Lies, which was pulled from the shelves by his Christian publishers for containing too many lies, by reading Chris Rodda’s wonderful summary of what’s happened since then. And when you’re done trying to make sense of whatever Barton is doing, read Rodda’s rebuttal book for free right here. Read more
In 2012, a married couple from Massachusetts, Alain Beret and James Fairbanks, came across a for-sale 44-room mansion in Northridge that they decided they wanted to buy and turn into a hotel. The seller was the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester. The negotiations seemed to go well until the padres began to imagine what Fairbanks and Beret might do with the place. Would they perhaps (shudder) have gay weddings there? The very thought was too much, so the diocese instructed its real-estate broker to politely tell Fairbanks and Beret to buzz off. The reason behind the refusal might have never come to light if not for a dumb mistake by the broker. When she emailed the prospective buyers, she inadvertently sent along the message from Monsignor Thomas Sullivan to her. Read more
The Wall Street Journal has printed an abridged version of what Ayaan Hirsi Ali would’ve said upon receiving an honorary doctorate from Brandeis University… before they rescinded that offer after discovering (!) she’s a strong critic of Islam. Read more
People who dismiss the Bible as just a bunch of man-made stories are now as numerous as those who are so enamored of the Good Book that they read it at least four times a week: The number of Americans who read Scripture at least four times a week and believe that it is the inspired word of God has fallen to just under 1 in 5, according to new research from the American Bible Society (ABS). The same percentage of Americans (19 percent) are now “antagonistic” toward the Bible, reading it less than once per month and believing it is a book of teachings written by men that contain stories and advice. “Antagonistic” is a loaded descriptor, something the ABS belatedly realized. So after their initial release, earlier this week, the survey results were recast as follows, according to Christianity Today: Read more
The Mississippi legislature decided in 2011 that all seventh- and eighth-graders in the state should undergo sex education. It’s not been an unqualified success, to put it mildly. About one in eight school districts have not implemented any sex education at all, and where it has been put in place, male and female students are instructed in separate classrooms — and condom demonstrations are prohibited by law. Creative educators may, however, use a sock and their own foot to simulate what using a condom is like. (I kid you not.) And then there’s this: Read more
I can’t believe we’re still having a conversation about the Mount Soledad cross. But it looks like the U.S. Government wants to defend it, so we have to keep talking about it. A quick recap: This controversy, which began nearly 25 years ago, is the longest-running Establishment Clause case in American history. It involves the Mount Soledad cross in San Diego — a huge cross on public land erected in 1954. After the now-deceased Philip Paulson challenged the cross’ constitutionality more than two decades ago and after atheist Steve Trunk took up the case a few years ago, atheists have generally prevailed in the court system. In 2012, the Supreme Court declined to hear any more challenges from Christian groups, putting the future of the cross back in the hands of lower courts. Read more
When Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King announced in 2012 that a 2nd century fragment of papyrus containing the words “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife…’” had been found, speculation was rampant. Was Jesus really married? Would that change Catholic doctrine preventing priests from marrying? Who officiated that wedding? You get the idea. (The papyrus also supposedly quoted Jesus as saying “she will be able to be my disciple.”) At the time, King and her colleagues were quick to point out we didn’t actually know anything: “This fragment, this new piece of papyrus evidence, does not prove that (Jesus) was married, nor does it prove that he was not married. The earliest reliable historical tradition is completely silent on that. So we’re in the same position we were before it was found. We don’t know if he was married or not,” King said in a conference call with reporters. Yesterday, news broke that the “ink and papyrus are very likely ancient, and not a modern forgery.” What does that mean? Read more
Late last year, months after received a warning from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the mayor of Stratton, Ohio, John Abdalla, reluctantly took down the crosses that had adorned the Stratton Village Municipal Building for more than 20 years: Read more
