On the night of October 18, 2004, Arthur Shelton called the cops… on himself. He had just shot and killed his atheist roommate Larry Hooper. The reason? … Shelton stated that Hooper was the devil and that he shot Hooper “hopefully enough” and “as many times as I could; I still want to keep going.” Shelton indicated he wanted to make sure that Hooper was “gone.” … Officers soon arrived on the scene and arrested Shelton, who was cooperative. Shelton told the officers several times that he did not want to talk to anyone unless that person believed in God. He further stated that he trusted the officers because he believed that the officers believed in God. Shelton also stated that he shot Hooper because Hooper was “evil” and “possibly the devil.” Shelton talked to the officers about God and being an Eagle Scout. Shelton stated that he could be trusted to tell the truth because he was an Eagle Scout. During Shelton’s trial, it was generally agreed upon that he was mentally ill, though he wasn’t declared legally insane. He was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison, making him eligible for parole in 2030, when he will be 76 years old. … That’s the story that came to my mind when I heard about how 33-year-old Douglas Yim was found guilty of first-degree murder yesterday for killing 25-year-old Dzuy Duhn Phan after an argument over God’s existence. Yim is a Christian. Phan was an atheist. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Pastor Steven Anderson was “giving the Gospel” to a group of Muslims. And in telling his congregation that story, he manages to work in a reference to Mecca as a “giant black GameCube” (1:48): The Muslims weren’t “saved,” Anderson says later, but he hoped a seed was planted. That’s optimism for you… Read more
Is a church allowed to put religious symbols on its own property? No problem, have at it. But what if it’s 11 stories tall — as in a 110-foot-high, 18-ton cross? So massive that the Federal Aviation Administration has to sign off on it? The planning commission of Brandon, Mississippi decided to oppose erecting such a cross in the town, for two reasons: the highest edifice in Brandon is just two stories tall, plus local zoning laws stipulate that “auxiliary structures,” such as the planned cross, may be no taller than 20 feet. Case closed? Not according to an outraged pastor Scott Thomas of Brandon’s First Baptist Church, who took his case to the media, including FOX News. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses books about Heaven, written for children: You can read more about the book in question 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
You remember Rebecca Vitsmun, the Oklahoma native whose family survived the nasty tornado this past spring. During an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, she had this notable exchange: Blitzer: Well, you’re blessed. Brian, your husband, is blessed. Anders is blessed… and I guess you gotta thank the Lord, right? Do you thank the Lord? For that split-second decision? Vitsmun: I… I… I’m… I’m actually an atheist… [Laughs] Blitzer: Oh, you are! [Laughs] But you made the right call! Vitsmun: Yeah, yep. We are here! And, you know, I don’t blame anybody for thanking the Lord. Blitzer: Of course not. It was fantastic 🙂 At the Atheist Alliance of America 2013 National Convention this past weekend, Vitsmun spoke about the disaster, the aftermath, and TIME magazine’s Joe Klein. (Skip to the 12:00 mark to hear the actual speech!) [Click headline for more…] Read more
Here’s Jackson County (Mississippi) Sheriff Mike Byrd on April 29 of this year, helping lead a local National Day of Prayer event: The [National Day of Prayer] observance for Jackson County-Pascagoula is set for 11:30 a.m. at the Jackson County Courthouse in Pascagoula. Praise and worship music begins at 11:30 a.m., and the prayer ceremony begins at noon. The program should run approximately 50-minutes. … Praise and worship will be provided by Scott Capers and Church At The Square praise team. Guest soloists include Charlotte Watts, vocalist and music director at Central Elementary School, Rev. John White, music minister at First Baptist Church Pascagoula and Sheriff Mike Byrd. And here’s Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd as of late last week: [Click headline for more…] Read more
This is an actual ad for an upcoming event for the Caldwell County Republican Party in Texas: Yes… clinging to their God and Guns (a reference to an awkwardly-worded statement made in 2008 by then-candidate Barack Obama). The best part may be the photo they used: A cowboy of sorts with a gun in one holster and a Bible in the other. [Click headline for more…] Read more
There’s a reason to watch the show as it heads into its 17th season: It’s time for this nerd to get dancin’. O yes, season 17 of #DWTS, here I come. #GMADancing— Bill Nye (@TheScienceGuy) September 4, 2013 Bill Nye’s competitors include ex-Scientologist (and “King of Queens” star) Leah Remini, comedian Bill Engvall, Showgirls and “Saved by the Bell” actress Elizabeth Berkley Lauren… And Snooki. Bill Nye and Snooki. Who will be linked together in the same sentences until one of them gets kicked off the show. Let that sink in. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Tyler Francke isn’t a fan of Ray Comfort’s new movie “Evolution vs. God” and he lets us know it in a blistering critique: Of the many, many possible ways to make an effective documentary, perhaps the last one you would choose would be to go up to random people, put a camera in their faces and ask them a series of leading questions about an incredibly complex topic (interspersed with non sequiturs like “Are you a good person?”), until you get at least a few of them to arrive at your preconceived conclusion. You wouldn’t use this technique, because it’s not very convincing. And it’s dishonest and unfair and fallacious and other even more colorful words. Unfortunately, this sums up the basis of “Evolution vs. God. There’s a reason that this particular review is special… [Click headline for more…] Read more
