Not long ago, Hannah Gastonguay and her husband Sean concluded, for no rational reason, that the government was interfering too much in their religious life. They didn’t want to pay “taxes that pay for abortions we don’t agree with”… which doesn’t actually happen, unless you’re deluded enough to think that contraception amounts to infanticide. They also didn’t believe in “homosexuality… in the state-controlled church,” a statement that makes no sense no matter how you slice it, since homosexuals exist whether you want them to or not, and no church in the country has been forced to welcome them or honor their relationships. Also: state-controlled church? Who knew. So, a few months ago, the Gastonguays decided to make a break for it. They scooped up their kids, Rahab and Ardith, along with Sean’s father, and they set sail — literally — from San Diego to go to the island of Kiribati: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Just a quick heads-up: Barring some breaking news, like the Royal Baby burping, I’m scheduled to appear on CNN’s “New Day Sunday” at approximately 8:30a (ET) Sunday morning to talk about millennials and why we’re leaving church. Interestingly enough, the last time I was on CNN was a year ago to talk about why millennials increasingly doubted the existence of God: I’ll post the video when it becomes available! Read more
In September of 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a series of “blasphemous” cartoons (including the one below) featuring the Islamic prophet Muhammad: You remember what happened (months) after that. Mass chaos. Violent demonstrations. Death threats against the artists. Death, period. Ahmed Akkari, 28 at the time, was one of the leaders of that reactionary movement. A New York Times article from 2006 talked about his role in the protests: Ahmed Akkari, 28, a Lebanese-born Dane, acts as spokesman for the European Committee for Honoring the Prophet, an umbrella group of 27 Danish Muslim organizations to press the Danish government into action over the cartoons. … “Then the case moved to a new stage,” Mr. Akkari recalled. “We decided then that to be heard, it must come from influential people in the Muslim world.” Not long after his group went to the Muslim leaders, the riots began. Akkari is 35 now and, in a really amazing twist, he regrets his role in creating this shitstorm: [Click headline for more…] Read more
New York eye doctor Emil Chynn is a hopeless romantic. For a first date, he’ll shell out a $100 reward. He’ll offer free eyelash-enhancer Latisse or pay $200 for the second date; he’ll offer free Botox or pay $300 for a third date; he’ll offer free Juvederm injections or $400 for a fourth date; and free Lasek surgery on one eye worth $2,000 or $500 cash for a fifth date. But Chynn, 47, has his standards. He won’t even consider dating any applicants unless they confirm that they meet the following criteria. [Click headline for more…] Read more
This is really an incredible story… with two distinct interpretations of what went down. The first narrative that’s getting passed around is this one: 19-year-old Katie Lentz was driving in her convertible recently when a drunk driver crashed into her. As she got ever-so-close to dying, with the firefighters’ equipment failing, a mysterious man dressed as a Catholic priest randomly appeared, prayed, used some anointing oil, and left before anyone could get his name. (Stranger still was the fact that a perimeter had been created around the crash site to block out random people… which the mystery man got past.) All of a sudden, new equipment arrived from a nearby fire department and Lentz, still alive, was taken to a local hospital where she’s currently in critical condition. “I think that this time I’ve actually witnessed a guardian angel at work,” Jeremiah See of the New London Fire Department told ABC News. … “Whether it was just a priest as an angel, or an actual angel coming down,” Lentz’s friend Travis Wiseman said, “he was an angel to everyone and to Katie.” Amazing, right? [Click headline for more…] Read more
It’s a miracle in Rhode Island! No, not the cross, the thing etched onto the cross. You know, the Virgin Mary: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: Yes, but only with strong oversight. Samuel G. Freedman at the New York Times has an article in today’s paper about how a group of evangelical Christians are helping revitalize Roosevelt High School, a public school serving a lot of low-income families. They paint walls, repair bleachers, offer tutoring, help coach the football team, etc. Normally, that’s not a good match… but it seems to have worked out fairly well for this school and many others in the area: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Earlier this summer, I posted about how the Northeast Mississippi Secular Humanist Association wanted to purchase air conditioners for 10 families, including one with special needs: The campaign is over and there’s good news to report: [Click headline for more…] Read more
