The University of Western Australia recently invited singer/songwriter/provocateur Tim Minchin to give a graduation speech, and as with just about everything he does, he delivered beautifully: The best part of the video is watching the man behind Minchin giggle as he speaks… Minchin’s advice boils down to this: [Click headline for more…] Read more
As regular readers know, several years ago, I wrote a book called I Sold My Soul on eBay about the time a former Christian pastor Jim Henderson paid money on eBay to send me to a variety of churches. While I ended up writing my own book about the experience, Jim partnered up with another atheist, Matt Casper, and the two jointly wrote a book called Jim and Casper Go to Church, written mostly from Jim’s perspective, doing essentially the same thing: telling Christians what their churches looked like through the eyes of an atheist. It’s been a while, but Jim and Casper have teamed up once again to write a book about what the “conversion conversation” looks like from the atheist perspective and how Christians get it wrong. It’s called Saving Casper: Below is an exclusive excerpt from the book — one from Casper’s perspective — about what advice he would give Christians who mean well but fail at converting him. (Keep in mind the book is published by a Christian publisher and intended for a Christian audience): [Click headline for more…] Read more
Kuma’s Corner, a burger joint on Chicago’s north side, has created a burger that’s not only offending people, but also spurring religious conversation. That’s what happens when one of your toppings is a communion wafer: Kuma’s Corner… is featuring a 10-ounce burger topped with a red wine reduction and an unconsecrated communion wafer, a menu item that, depending on whom you talk to, is either tasty or in poor taste. The Ghost, named after the Swedish metal band Ghost B.C., costs $17 and comes with fries, chips or a side salad. In addition to the ingredients that ostensibly represent the body and blood of Jesus, the burger served on a pretzel bun includes a portion of slowly braised goat shoulder, aged white cheddar cheese and Ghost chile aioli. $17 for a burger and fries?! It might be edible, but I’m having a hard time imagining a burger that’s $17 good. (Then again, I’m also vegetarian.) To no one’s surprise, some Catholics are acting like a mortal sin has been committed: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Last night, I had the chance to introduce and watch Richard Dawkins speak to a crowd at Northwestern University (with Jerry Coyne as his on-stage interviewer). I was expecting to hear Dawkins say a lot of things I’d heard before, but there were two particular ideas that I had to jot down because I’d never heard them put so elegantly. The first came during a discussion over whether science and religion really had to be in a perpetual fight against each other. Dawkins said (and I’m paraphrasing): I kind of like, in a paradoxical way, that some people are brought up to believe that evolution is the enemy of religion. Because it’s easy to prove that evolution is true. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses whether President Obama is secretly an atheist: 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
We know exactly how many frogs were on Noah’s Ark. Zero. There were zero frogs. Also, there were zero humans and zebras and giraffes because the Great Flood didn’t happen. But that didn’t stop Tom Hennigan, a professor at (Christian) Truett-McConnell College, from speculating otherwise in the Creationist Answers Research Journal. Most of his paper consists of descriptions of different kinds of frogs and whether or not they may have been on the boat, with summaries like this: [Click headline for more…] Read more
“We don’t cater to you people.” That was the incendiary reply from a Hobby Lobby employee when a Jewish customer recently inquired about Hanukkah merchandise. To be clear, the problem (to me) isn’t that the annoyingly Christian Hobby Lobby doesn’t stock Jewish paraphernalia. I’m pretty sure the 561-store chain doesn’t sell glittery pentagrams and cute Ramadan calendars, either. There’s no law that says a store owner has to cater to all demographics, religious or otherwise. (Think of it this way: If I were to open a craft store, as an atheist, wouldn’t I be well within my rights to decline selling decorative plastic crosses or scrapbooking supplies featuring angels?) [Click headline for more…] Read more
Michelle Mosby is a first-time councilwoman for Richmond, Virginia who works alongside colleague Cynthia Newbille. Both councilwomen want to stop the rampant violence in our public schools and they’ve figured out the perfect way to do it: Through prayer. Mosby says it was a divine inspiration that gave her the idea to organize a community hour of prayer this Saturday at all 49 Richmond public school buildings. … Flyers distributed for the event list Newbille and Mosby as council members and sponsors of the community prayer. Mosby’s staff person employed by the city is listed as the point of contact, and even though the event is not put on by the city, the few hundred fliers were printed in city council offices by city staffers. “I guess you’re dealing with an out of the box thinker,” said Mosby when asked about the decision to print the flyers at city hall. That’s one way to deflect Constitutional concerns: Just praise yourself for having a mind so brilliant, it can’t understand how the law works. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Richard Dawkins is in the middle of his book tour for An Appetite for Wonder and he’ll be appearing at Northwestern University tonight. Jerry Coyne will be interviewing Dawkins on stage and I’ll be introducing the two as well as moderating the Q&A afterwards (which you *know* is going to be the craziest part of the night). If you’re curious what the discussions are like, here’s a nice example from the Royal Institution of Great Britain — Adam Rutherford, a science broadcaster, was the host for the evening: [Click headline for more…] Read more
