These Arizona House of Representative invocations are becoming must-see videos! After watching the godless invocations by Rep. Juan Mendez and Rep. Ruben Gallego, I wasn’t expecting to want to watch one delivered by a Catholic… but the invocation delivered by Democrat Rep. Mark Cardenas on February 18 (and uploaded to YouTube now) was fascinating. Cardenas’ invocation was only six seconds long. But it was preceded by a 30-second disclaimer about how this was only his personal view and how he doesn’t presume to speak for anyone but himself. Check it out: Read more
Do you have any idea how oppressed and persecuted American Christians are? So oppressed and persecuted that in order to prove it, pastors in Ohio called the local cops and requested to be taken into custody in front of their congregations. You heard right. The histrionic clergymen staged mock arrests — with the help of publicly funded police officers no less — to drive home how severely their Jesus faith has come under attack. Watch: Read more
First and foremost: Pope Francis emphasizes that marriage cannot be extended to same-sex couples because it is, by definition, a heterosexual union, just like the Catholic Catechism says. On the other hand, if we don’t call it marriage… heyyyy, that just might work! In comments he made during an interview for an Italian newspaper (in Italian), the Pope said that the Church could accept civil unions for same-sex couples. Read more
We know there are a lot of big-budget movies promoting Christianity coming out over the next few weeks — “Noah,” “Son of God,” “Heaven is for Real” — and there’s no shortage of Christian-themed films throughout history. Lawrence Krauss thinks that Hollywood, contrary to its stereotype as a bastion of liberal ideas, should really start making some atheism-themed films: Read more
Would you allow a doctor to inject you with a magical substance that will remove all pain for the rest of your life? If that sounds too good to be true, it’s in part because the doctor, John Michael Lonergan, 67, is a convicted felon — a former federal prison inmate who was convicted on eight felony counts (involving tax evasion, mail fraud, and healthcare fraud) in Ohio. Post-verdict, that state’s medical board indefinitely revoked Lonergan’s license to practice medicine. But after Lonergan, a native Oklahoman, got out of jail and moved back home, the Oklahoma medical board voted to allow Lonergan to be a doctor “under state supervision.” The disgraced physician settled close to Edmond, Oklahoma, where, a local news outlet claims, he has been peddling an all-purpose painkiller that lasts until you die — which may be sooner than you think, considering that he allegedly won’t tell what’s in the injection. All Lonergan will say to patients is that the remedy is called “the Jesus shot.” Oh, and the other thing he’ll say is, “That’ll be 300 dollars please.” Read more
On January 22, 2012, a book written by Pastor Marc Driscoll and his wife Grace debuted at #1 on the New York Times’ “Hardcover Advice & Misc.” bestsellers list. (For what it’s worth, we were not fans of the book at this site.) The following week, Real Marriage was off the list completely. Which seems strange… but it didn’t matter since the phrase “#1 New York Times Bestseller” could now be plastered atop all future editions of the book: Read more
BBH is a powerhouse London ad agency that made a pretty entertaining U.K. Christmas commercial for KFC late last year. With a daft, schmaltzy pop song, the two-and-a-half minute spot mocked both seasonal sappiness and unchecked materialism. Adweek named it its “Ad of the Day”: The spot… opens with a showdown in a store between angry moms. “I almost tore your hair out for the last doll in the store,” one sings. “But the things that once divided us don’t matter anymore,” the other one sings in reply. And we’re off on a grandiose musical journey, as traditional holiday foes (carolers and carolees, snowballers and snowballees, Santa Claus and incontinent children) put aside their differences and bond over the soothing comfort of 11 herbs and spices. It’s all amusingly goofy and completely over the top. Read more
Later today, lawyers for American Atheists will appear before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to make one last bid to stop the National September 11 Memorial & Museum from including a Christian cross display. Their main argument is that the cross isn’t part of 9/11 history. Rather, it was “created” after the fact (not hard to believe, since falling steel beams often form cross shapes) and it’s an example of Christian privilege at the exclusion of symbols from all other faiths. AA President Dave Silverman explained their reasoning in an email: Read more
Dateline: Natchez, Mississippi. Location: One of Sonic’s 3,500 drive-in restaurants. Note the free extra at the bottom of the receipt. Read more
