American Atheists just announced the winners of their inaugural “EVOLVE Awards” which are given to people who “portray atheists or atheism positively.” I’m on the list and there’s some very good company there, too. I think the world of the organization so it’s a thrill to be honored by them. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The First Baptist Church of Helena (Alabama) used to host meetings for a local Boy Scouts of America troop… but now that the BSA has allowed gay people to join their ranks, the church has kicked out the troop that met in their space: Here’s Pastor Greg Walker from that clip: It’s hard for us on a personal level to say to a troop of young boys who have done nothing wrong, and to the leaders who have done nothing wrong in Helena, you’re not welcome to be here anymore… I didn’t make that decision. Boy Scouts of America made that decision… I hate that this had to happen, I really do. That’s obviously a lie… [Click headline for more…] Read more
Ever since I heard about this project more than a month ago, I’ve been excited it share it with all of you. We know becoming an atheist rarely happens overnight — for more of us, it’s the result of a lot of introspection or conversations with trusted friends. But what happens when you don’t have anyone to talk to? What if you’re a church-goer who doesn’t really have any non-religious friends? What if you’re a teenager whose parents are very religious? What if you’re a pastor? That’s where The Hotline Project comes in. It was started by the folks at Recovering from Religion and it’ll offer a single phone number where anyone having religious doubts can call in — 24 hours a day! — to talk to a trained, trusted individual. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Adam Pascal originated the role of “Roger” in the hit Broadway musical “Rent” and he recently filmed a segment for Chris Johnson’s multimedia book about atheists and what gives them joy and meaning in life. In the segment below, Pascal talks about how “No Day But Today” — a message repeated throughout the musical — really takes on special meaning when you don’t believe in the afterlife: (via The Atheist Book) Read more
I was reading an article by Paul Strand of the Christian Broadcasting Network about how high school graduates are being encouraged by Christian lawyers to talk about God during their graduation speeches because we got your back… even though it’s news to me that anyone was persecuting them in the first place. The article is set up like a battle between the forces of Good and Evil; they’re the good Christian soldiers who just want to share God’s love and we atheists/secularists are the wicked ones trampling all over religious freedom. But there was one bit that caught my attention: [Click headline for more…] Read more
The Answers in Genesis “Research Journal” is a publication that honors those who can write about Biblical events using as many big words as possible. They just published a groundbreaking article on… wait for it… why Adam (of “Adam and Eve” fame) must have been a real human being. The proof? The Bible said so. (Why didn’t I think of that?!) The reason why men must accept Adam as historical is because it is the clear teaching of Scripture. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Dan Delzell, the pastor of Wellspring Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska, just found “irrefutable” mathematical proof for Christianity! Thankfully, it’s nothing like this: Even if you’re not a mathematician, see if you can detect his error: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Because everything tastes better with AussieMite spread: Elise Ramsey, AussieMite managing director, said: “We couldn’t afford to play it safe so the brief to the guys was to get AussieMite noticed and show how tasty our product is. They did that with humour that very much suits our brand.” [Click headline for more…] Read more
Glee’s Jane Lynch (who recently told TMZ she was “kind of an atheist”) and comedian Jordan Peele (of Key & Peele) just lent their support to a music video promoting the idea of church/state separation: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Let’s run through a short list of items a quality sex education lecture for teenagers shouldn’t include: Having students spit into a cup and then telling the class that drinking that cup is the equivalent of having sex with eight partners. Arguing that condoms break… so they’re not helpful at all. Telling ladies that they’re emotional after sex, so they’ll become attached to whomever they have sex with. Tell students that STIs will make them sterile… without adding that that might happen only if left untreated. State that medical textbooks say life begins at conception… when they don’t say that at all. Saying “There’s a new STD that they’re saying is going to be the new AIDS” without elaborating further… so no sex for anyone! Telling the students that you know two women who have had abortions and they both ended up with a perforated uterus because of the tools used during their procedures… so no abortions for anyone! Those were among the things Joi Wasill, the founder of Decisions, Choices and Options (a group with “strong Christian, Republican and anti-abortion ties”), and Beth Cox, who is on the board of directors for the group, said to a group of students at Hillsboro High School in Nashville, Tennessee earlier this month. [Click headline for more…] Read more
