At the Oklahoma Freethought Convention a couple of weeks ago, Emily Boyer, a sexual and reproductive health activist, spoke about “Secular Facts on Sexual Acts” (possibly NSFW language). It’s the sex-ed class you (probably) didn’t have in high school but really should have: If any moments stand out to you, please leave the timestamp and summary in the comments! (via TheThinkingAtheist) Read more
This is the new commercial put out by the Samuel Adams beer folks. It shows a bartender trying to be all patriotic, explaining that the beer is named after Sam Adams because he signed the Declaration of Independence: [Click headline for more…] Read more
This kid, Ali Ahmed, is amazing. He speaks with poise and clarity and reason, and his arguments really do seem to come from deep within, rather than being a collection of learned-by-rote platitudes. The Arab world does not have to devolve into a pit of fundie misery. If it doesn’t, this young man — and other brave, brainy whippersnappers like him — will be the reason why. Read more
50% Jack Schaap, 50% P.T. Barnum, 100% monster: Larry Durant, 58, is charged with the sexual assault of three female church members. The minister at Word International Ministries in South Carolina has a criminal record, and many now wonder how Durant was allowed to hold a position of power. Durant allegedly used his position to get close to his victims, two of whom are between the ages of 11 and 14. He told the victims that the sexual acts were part of the “healing process” and “private prayer,” detectives told WLTX News. Court documents added that Durant said he was preventing them from “contracting sexual diseases or becoming pregnant early.” The pastor’s rap sheet lists convictions for selling pot, selling alcohol to a minor, burglary, and grand larceny. In a completely unrelated story, in South Carolina, churches are not required to perform background checks on candidates for clergy positions. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Pornography is the new bubonic plague. That’s according to Jay Dennis, pastor of the Church of the Mall in Lakeland, Florida. We’ll have to assume that Dennis is engaging in a little over-the-top hyperbole, because bubonic plague has a mortality rate of up to 75%; if a proportional impact was seen among Americans who like to look at pictures of other people getting it on, no doubt we’d see more than a hundred million corpses rotting in our streets and homes. Yes, porn is popular and plentiful, and these days it’s mostly free. This is a big problem for nannies, who simply cannot brook the thought of other people having fun, especially if there are various stages of undress involved. Dennis is issuing a call for one million Christian men to live porn-free. They must promise God, their pastors, and their wives/girlfriends that they’ll go cold turkey. Why has Dennis turned into a smutfighter? When you visit his site, you learn that porn “leads to broken marriages, child abuse, and physical harm”; that it is a “cancer,” a “war,” and a “deadly lure”; as well as “an addiction as powerful as crack” that is spread by “Satan.” [Click headline for more…] Read more
You may recall that an eagle-eyed St. Louis Cardinals fan recently noticed that there were Christian symbols on the mound when Adam Wainwright was pitching: As you can see, there’s a cross on the mound (as well as something that looks like a Jesus Fish but is actually a number 6 in honor of Cardinals great Stan Musial). After various news reports on the Christian symbols reached the team’s general manager John Mozeliak, he decided to take action. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the happy follow-up: [Click headline for more…] Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses how a new law will allow for religious proselytizing in Mississippi public schools: You can read more about the law 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
Last November, my friend Dan Riley wrote a book called Generation Atheist. It’s a collection of true stories about people who transitioned from godly to godless. Today, at least for a limited time, the book is free on Kindle. I urge you to get your copy now if you haven’t already! (Thanks to Rike for the link!) Read more
At the Oklahoma Freethought Convention a couple of weeks ago, Sean Faircloth, former Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America and current Director of Strategy and Policy at the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, spoke about what we can do for a secular America: If any moments stand out to you, please leave the timestamp and summary in the comments! (via TheThinkingAtheist) Read more
AntiCitizenX created a nice video explaining why it’s philosophically impossible to prove something doesn’t exist, including a helpful analogy about shopping for a new car: (Thanks to Brian for the link!) Read more
