Last Saturday, the New York Times had a story about the bells of the (Catholic) Church of Our Savior on a relatively quiet block of midtown Manhattan. The church’s neighbors had begun referring to the electronic, amplified bell sounds as “Chinese water torture.” It wasn’t so much the volume as the number of chimes that frayed their nerves. For years, the bells tolled twice a day, at noon and again at 6 p.m., but in September, when a new pastor arrived at the church, on Park Avenue and 38th Street in Murray Hill, he stepped up the chime schedule to 13 times a day, with additional tolls on the weekends. … The new pastor, the Rev. Robert J. Robbins, began a daily regimen of hourly chimes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., consisting of the tones of a hymn followed by a chiming of the hour. When a group of Murray Hill residents, Christians included, repeatedly asked the church if the bell-ringing could please revert to the old schedule, they got bupkis. Read more
This year, just like last year, the Freedom From Religion Foundation chapter in Chicago put up a sign at North School Park in Arlington Heights reminding passersby that they should let reason prevail: The Daily Herald even reported on the sign yesterday: Read more
Yesterday, UK supermarket Marks & Spencer made headlines with a policy that allowed Muslim employees to refuse to handle things like alcohol and pork that are against their religion, and even refuse to sell them to customers. Terry Firma began a discussion on that general topic on this site yesterday. It may be however, that this was misunderstood. Read more
While skimming news headlines on Google, I swear I thought this one said Church alliance pays for those with drugs, alcohol addiction. Such charity of the financial kind would have been refreshing. Alas, it turns out that I missed an “r” and that the church team is praying — not paying — for addicts to get help. The initiative would scarcely have been worth mentioning in this space if it hadn’t been for the final paragraph of the piece. The group passes out signs that carry the logo Praying Against Drugs and Alcohol to interested community members. The phone number listed on the sign, (606) 836-0442, connects callers with the FADE Drug Task Force, where they can report drug activities or get information on where they or others they might know can get the help they need to deal with addiction. Read more
Yesterday, the Modesto Bee reported that a local church is missing the star player from its nativity scene. When [pastor Ryan Cortright] arrived at the church, he noticed something missing from the Nativity scene in front of the church: Baby Jesus. “Mary and Joseph are still there, looking for him, but he’s not there,” Cortright said. The Bee doesn’t say if police were called, and whether an investigation ensued. My guess is that, these days, such a case would be low on the cops’ priority list. Read more
You’ll be happy to know that the least productive Congress in history is working on a resolution to remind everyone that Christians are still in the majority. And they must be protected from the War on Christmas, says Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), the sponsor of the most unnecessary piece of legislation since the last thing the GOP proposed. House Resolution 448 says that “the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected for use by those who celebrate Christmas.” As if people were actually trying to take that away… Read more
Sid Miller, a Texas Republican running to become the state’s Agriculture Commissioner, has to beef up his conservative credentials, so he just released a holiday campaign ad that includes a jab at atheists. Because I guess that’s how you get elected as a Republican in Texas. Read more
Get this: We’re used to vandalism on atheist billboards and banners, but the latest example of an atheist display getting destroyed took place at a senior center in California, where the Rossmoor Atheist and Agnostic Club had put up a Tree of Knowledge: Read more
Why does anyone bother with a Nativity scene when you can buy a Negativity scene for under $20?! Via This is Why I’m Broke, which explains the setup this way: Read more
I don’t know what I just watched but… I’m getting this funny feeling inside… like Jesus and ‘Merica all rolled into one. And it makes me want to take down the ACLU. WHO’S WITH ME?! That’s from a real 2012 movie called “Last Ounce of Courage.” Because, as we know, it’s very hard to be a Christian in America. (Thanks to Christopher for the link) Read more
