Reader Nicola sends along this movie trailer for God’s Not Dead from Christian company Pure|Flix. It features a mean atheist professor (played by Kevin Sorbo, who clearly lost a bet) and a brave Christian student… [Click headline for more…] Read more
Richard Dawkins is no stranger to saying provocative things that he finds harmless that also manage to offend plenty of other people. It’s fine, of course, when he’s criticizing religious beliefs or bad public policy. It’s harder to defend when he types out a tweet like the one he put out last month: All the world's Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though.— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) August 8, 2013 While technically true, it’s easy to see how that could be interpreted as a criticism of Muslim people (and a slam on their intelligence) and not something about, say, a repressive culture in many Islamic countries that doesn’t allow all people to reach their full potential. He managed to outdo himself this past weekend as he prepares for the release of his memoir An Appetite for Wonder. His (to put it mildly) inarticulate way of talking about a sensitive subject has led to all sorts of well-deserved criticism today. In an interview with The Times’ Giles Whittell, which is behind a paywall but which you can read in full here, Dawkins recalled a teacher he had who was sexually abusive to students, yet Dawkins can’t bring himself to fully condemn him: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Troy Fitzgerald just published a book last month called Cults and Closets in which he referred to himself as a “devout agnostic.” And now, in the span of a few weeks, he’s ready to shed that label, too: [Click headline for more…] Read more
This July, Bermuda passed legislation called the Human Rights Amendment Act which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. But that’s unfathomable to some religious leaders, who are pressuring the government to legalize discrimination so long as it falls under the category of “religious expression.” United for Change, a group comprised of about 80 pastors from 60 Bermuda churches, signed and publicized a statement explaining that the anti-discrimination law could adversely affect religious freedom. Their primary concerns? First, that preaching against LGBT people will constitute hate speech, and second, that this will ultimately lead to the legalization of marriage equality. And they can’t have that. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Just in time for the big Texas A&M game against #1-ranked Alabama this weekend, the newly-formed Brazos Valley Coalition of Reason has put up four billboards in the Bryan and College Station, Texas areas (near where the game will be played): [Click headline for more…] Read more
Regardless of what the United States ends up doing with regard to Syria, refugees are fleeing the country and need serious help. Foundation Beyond Belief (a group I work with) has launched a fundraising drive to benefit the International Rescue Committee, specifically to help those who have been displaced and separated from their families as a result of the chaos in the region: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Apostle Michael Canty of the Truth Ministries Holiness Church recently refused to marry a couple mere hours before the ceremony was to be performed. His reasoning? The bride’s dress was too sexy: [Click headline for more…] Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses a recent decision in Israel to give state-sponsored religious schools censored science books: You can read more about the issue here. 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
World Net Daily contributor David Rives is a Creationist and he appeared on the Eric-Hovind-hosted Creation Today show recently, explaining that the Big Bang was bad science because the Bible doesn’t back it up. Because that’s how science works. Eric Dolan at Raw Story has the clip: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Last night, supporters of the planned 110-foot cross that was to go up in Brandon, Mississippi, were sorely disappointed by this message that appeared on the Facebook page dedicated to the initiative: After prayerful consideration, the Pastor, Staff leadership and Deacons of First Baptist Church Brandon have elected to immediately withdraw the churchʼs application for a variance from the City of Brandon Zoning Ordinance to allow construction of a 110 foot cross on church property. The decision to withdraw the variance application and end this controversy is motivated by our churchʼs love for our community and our deep desire to effectively minister in the Name of Jesus to our community. First Baptist Church of Brandon believes that our ability to minister to our community, our Jerusalem, is a priority calling that no amount of controversy or negative exposure should be allowed to damage. This decision is not a reflection upon our belief in the merit of the cross project. We steadfastly believe that the symbol of Godʼs plan of redemption, the symbol of His unmerited favor, the symbol of His sinless substitute for sinful man, should be raised and displayed in as many places as possible. [Click headline for more…] Read more
