Just a heads-up: I’ll be in Missouri this weekend to speak to the Ethical Society of Saint Louis on Sunday morning at 11:00a. Then, at 6:00p, I’ll be speaking to the St. Louis Atheist Meetup Group. If you’re in the area, hope you can make it out to one of those! Read more
When someone says the Creation Museum is “educational,” it’s depressing. When five Kentucky state representatives (all Republican) say the Creation Museum is “educational,” it’s downright frightening. Reps. Kim King, Bart Rowland, Tim Moore, C.B. Embry, and Mike Harmon were all present for opening day of the museum’s zip line attraction: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Maddy Blythe is a 12-year-old athlete from Locust Grove, Georgia and she was one of the stars of the football team at Strong Rock Christian School, where she was on the defensive line making tackles. That is, until this week, when she was kicked off the team. What did she do wrong? Was she not attending practice? Was she a bad player? Nope. It turns out God really doesn’t like female athletes and neither do the boys who might lust after her. [Click headline for more…] Read more
University of Illinois psychologist Ryan Ritter just published a study in Social Psychological and Personality Science in which his team analyzed tweets from Christians and atheists — known as such because of the people they followed: By looking at the kinds of words the followers used, Ritter confirmed what we might have expected: [Click headline for more…] Read more
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Peoples Temple’s mass murder/suicide in the jungle of Guyana, South America. It was the single greatest loss of American civilian life ever recorded in a non-natural disaster — not counting the attacks of 9/11. And although the events of November 1978 offer a cautionary tale about religious fervor and the mad demands of false messiahs, it’s also true that Jim Jones, the evil genius in question, was a deconverted Christian who had come to embrace marxism and atheism. On the demand of the Indiana-born cult leader, 908 people — including more than 300 children — ended their lives by gulping down a poisoned drink (an act that may have given rise to the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid”). Some of Jones’s followers imbibed the fatal beverage willingly, hoping to “step into another plane,” as their leader put it. Others were forced at gunpoint. Temple members hunted down and killed a visiting U.S. Congressman and members of the American press. Jones, a few hours after ordering and overseeing the carnage, ended his own life with a single bullet to the head. The next day, this was the scene from the air: An early remembrance of sorts comes to us via the website Dangerous Minds, which yesterday posted a mind-bending fly-on-the wall video of a San Francisco Peoples Temple gathering from around 1975, three years before the bizarre tragedy in Guyana. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The Kansas City Atheist Coalition will complete against members of the Abundant Life Baptist Church this weekend in a volleyball match with all proceeds going to a worthy cause: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Atheist Tabatha Leggett attended a six-week Alpha Course, which she refers to as “Christianity’s most successful recruitment program,” and wrote about her experience for New Statesman. Turns out it didn’t convince her to change her mind. But it’s still fun to read: [Click headline for more…] Read more
I’m working on a project with a local professor called The Atheist Voice in which I tackle some burning question people often ask atheists. Today, we tackled current events — Alan Chambers’ apology to the LGBTQ community, the closing of Exodus International, and what it all means for the Christian church: 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
The Mid-Ohio Atheists are sponsoring a statewide picnic on Sunday, July 21st for atheists and the (non-proselytizing) general public. I assume the signs they put up will look something like this: They’re also running a contest to benefit a local homeless shelter: A representative of Harmony House said what they need the most, and what most people don’t think to donate, is toilet paper, trash bags, and paper towels. So, the contest winner will be the one that brings the most of those three items. You can donate other things as well, but the contest will be decided on only the amount of toilet paper, trash bags, and paper towels that you bring. Prizes will be admission to the Great Lakes Atheists Convention in August, tee shirts, buttons, and pens. If you can make it, you’ll be able to meet some great local activists while helping out a worthy cause. All the details are here! Read more
Our friend and former Catholic priest Edward Tarte is still on YouTube and he just hit a major milestone: He recently posted his 1200th video: Anyone who’s seen his math challenges, piano clips, or atheism-related talks knows how much passion he brings to his videos and how honest he is when talking about his past. Congratulations, Edward! Here’s to many more. Read more
