This year, the phenomenon of restaurant customers writing aggressive, even hateful “Christian” messages on credit card receipts in lieu of a tip seems to have reached, well, a tipping point. We’ve also seen that it’s common in some circles to leave, rather than a gratuity, a fake ten-dollar bill with a Bible verse printed on the back. And a few years ago, we got reports that some Christians who go out to dine on Sunday tell the wait staff they won’t tip … because they don’t approve of people working on the Christian Sabbath. How did it get like this? Maybe there’s some copy-catting going on here; bad behavior can be contagious. Perhaps it was always this widespread, and the spread of camera phones and social media just makes this kind of douchebaggery more visible. Before I dive a little deeper, I guess it’s time to toss in my own story about Christian tipping here. Read more
Pennsylvania legislators just can’t get enough of God in the government. These are the Republicans who have sponsored legislation promoting the “Year of the Bible” and the “National Day of Prayer” and putting up the words “In God We Trust” in every public school in the state. Now, they want to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the words “Under God” being added to the Pledge of Allegiance. The proposed resolution will be sponsored by Republican Rep. John McGinnis: Read more
Miracles happen every day, a woman named Rebecca exclaims on her Facebook page. For instance? Behold, the curious vanishing of Rebecca’s awful burn wound: She offers no further information, so we are left with questions. Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, answers the question Do I feel sorry for religious people?: We’d love to hear your thoughts on the project — more videos will be posted soon — and we’d also appreciate your suggestions as to which questions we ought to tackle next! Read more
Darwin on the Palouse is a free event that’s all about celebrating Charles Darwin’s contributions to the world — and it’s taking place in Idaho early next year. The Humanists of the Palouse are fundraising whatever they can in order to bring in speakers and make sure this event remains free of charge — so please help them out if you can! More information about the venue, speakers, and topics will be available on the event’s website soon! Read more
The biggest complaint atheists have about prayer — at least when it comes to praying for something as opposed to mere meditation — is that it makes you think you’re doing something useful when you’re totally not. Catholic blogger Meg Hunter-Kilmer has a list of 50 ways people can talk to God. I’m not calling attention to it because she’s advocating for prayer (a Catholic is acting Catholic? Shocking!), but because some of her examples are so obviously useless for the task they’re trying to accomplish. Like #1: Close your eyes and just repeat the name of Jesus. Our God is a good God… a good, egomaniacal God who wants you to repeat his Son’s name ad nauseam. (Which, by the way, is kind of hard to do. Try it.) And #7: Hold a crucifix while you pray. Read more
Whenever you hear Christians talk about “living biblically,” it’s hard not to roll your eyes. Because anyone who’s read the Bible knows that it’s full of passages (that usually go unmentioned in churches) that ought to make anyone question why so many hold the book in such high esteem. Now, “Horus Gilgamesh” and illustrator “Agnes Tickheathen” (Agnostic Heathen) have put out a book called the Awkward Moments (Not Found In Your Average) Children’s Bible documenting many of these little-known verses. The finished product is simply incredible. The book features beautiful/disturbing illustrations of several Bible passages that no Christians want to admit are in their holy book. Searching for a gift to give your Reddit Secret Santa or atheist friends this Christmas Festivus? Look no further. Just take a look at some of the pages: This one quotes Exodus 21:20-21: Read more
It would be unseemly to laugh, wouldn’t it? From the Telegraph: Militant Islamist rebels in Syria linked to al-Qaeda have asked for “understanding and forgiveness” for cutting off and putting on display the wrong man’s head. In a public appearance filmed and posted online, members of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham [ISIS], one brandishing a knife, held up a bearded head before a crowd in Aleppo. They triumphantly described the execution of what they said was a member of an Iraqi Shia militia fighting for President Bashar al-Assad. It wasn’t, the beheaders soon discovered to their not inconsiderable chagrin. Read more
On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 20th, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is expected to sign a law granting same-sex couples the right to legally marry. So naturally, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Paprocki has made plans to lead a rite of exorcism “in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage” just after the legislation is enacted. Clergy and laity alike are invited to participate. Read more
Take a very inquisitive 9-year-old with an excellent question and let Neil deGrasse Tyson take a crack at it. The result is pure awesomeness. Read more
