In the year 2024, they apparently still say the Pledge of Allegiance in school, but it doesn’t include the phrase “Under God” and there’s still controversy when people don’t stand during its recitation. At least that’s the world envisioned in the new CW show “Star-Crossed.” On Monday night’s premiere, which you can watch here since the CW doesn’t believe in embedding, there’s a scene that features humans pledging allegiance to the flag while members of the alien race (“Atrians”) remain seated. The scene begins around the 14:16 mark: Read more
One of the big media dustups of 2013 occurred when people watching the History Channel’s miniseries The Bible noticed an uncanny similarity between Satan (portrayed by Moroccan actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni) and a certain politician: When producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey rejiggered their original footage for a 135-minute feature film called Son of God, out next week, the devil ended up without a single scene. Read more
Days after Kiera Feldman’s expose of sexual assault at the conservative Christian Patrick Henry College, Chancellor Michael Farris can’t figure out how to respond to the piece. On his Facebook page, when confronted with a question about allegations made in the article, Farris tried to respond, in part, by claiming he doesn’t run the school (that he founded and is chancellor of…) and that the piece is inaccurate (without further elaboration): Read more
Journalist and historian Peter Watson has written a lengthy, substantive book about atheism as it has played out over the past 150 years, covering the major players, promoters, and philosophers. It’s called The Age of Atheists: How We Have Sought to Live Since the Death of God and it’s available online beginning today. In the excerpt below from the introduction to the book, Watson reminds us of the plight of Salman Rushdie and what modern atheism may still be missing: Read more
If, after you see the new movie Persecuted, you crave more fantasy fare about the oppression of Christians, I recommend you go see Persecuted. Both are apparently due this year, and we have the trailers for your viewing pleasure. First, Persecuted: Read more
The first time I chuckled out loud over something Pastor Daniel K. Norris wrote was a couple of weeks ago, when he reminded parents not to brag about their children, only to divulge in the same piece that his daughter is “absolutely gorgeous” and that “I’m raising a Saint!” Modesty. Norris will no doubt tell you it’s one of his greatest virtues. Now he’s found my funny bone again, this time by chastising pastors, like those in the Clergy Project, who’ve begun to doubt their faith. He faults them for … not keeping a closed mind. I was waiting for some kind of twist on that eye-popping statement, some clever reveal, but Norris appears to mean it in all earnestness. Keeping your mind closed, he says, is the only lasting path to Jesus. Open-mindedness is celebrated as an enlightened virtue, one that should be embraced at all times towards all things. Yes, there are a multitude of things that I do not know, and I am very much open to learning. I love the art of discovery, as all God’s children should. However, sooner or later, your path of discovery has to lead you to a place of decision. Read more
About a month ago, Ernest Jones, the new assistant coach for the University of Connecticut’s football team explained how faith was part of his team’s philosophy: Read more
There are two awesome updates to share regarding the just-approved atheist group at Pisgah High School in Canton, North Carolina: Read more
A fringe Haredi sect in Canada is denying or downplaying allegations that it abuses its members, many of them children. The group, Lev Tahor, first butted heads with authorities in Québec in the fall of 2013, when the state found the sect’s homeschooling curriculum to be inadequate. About two hundred members fled, children and all, claiming religious persecution, and because they feared that some of the school-age kids would be taken away. Read more
Some wise words from someone not usually known for his religious musings: … Maybe we [the Jews] were wrong, but God is way too nice and too benevolent to punish kids for being wrong. Christians say that if you don’t accept Jesus as your savior, you don’t go to heaven. That’s kind of mean. What if God says, instead, “It’s not a kid’s fault that they were born into the wrong thing, so I’ll teach them about me when they get to heaven.” So then I took that a step further to Buddha, Confucius, and other faiths, and thought, What if you pray to them diligently so that, on the day you die, at least somebody is going to be there [that you recognize]. And guess who made that comment? Read more
