On Thursday night, American Atheists’ Dave Silverman debated Christian apologist Dr. Frank Turek at the Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. The topic: “What Better Explains Reality? Theism or Atheism?” The debate begins at the 10:48 mark below: I haven’t had a chance to watch the entire debate yet, only the opening statements, but both presenters are incredibly good speakers so the debate is very watchable, which is more than I can say about a lot of debates I’ve seen. If you hear any interesting moments, please leave the timestamp and summary in the comments! Read more
I was going to stop watching sermons by our friend Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. But then I saw that the subject of his most recent talk was 1 Corinthians 14… and that’s the part of the Bible that includes this verse: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. And since Anderson isn’t exactly known for his appreciation of women, I had to listen. And transcribe. And share with all of you because I know how much you love it. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The TED talks you see online tend to be pretty awesome. But that’s partially because we only get to see a small fraction of all the talks given at TED and TEDx conferences. Most of the talks never appear online because the content is curated and filtered. Anyone who has seen TED talks knows that they’re about spreading interesting ideas and starting fascinating conversations, even if you strongly disagree with what’s being said. As content providers, the TED staff isn’t opposed to controversy — nothing generates better discussion than a controversial topic — but the staff is also aware that they can’t post talks that are based in bullshit. A few months ago, a letter was sent out to the TEDx community informing them of the guidelines they should use when selecting speakers. Among them: Don’t invite people who use bad science or pseudoscience in their talks. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Atheists were excluded from the “interfaith” service in Boston earlier this week but that doesn’t mean they had no reason to mourn. Later today, the Humanist Community at Harvard will have a secular memorial service to pay respects to the four people who lost their lives as a result of the Boston bombings as well as the 170 who were wounded (including one of their own volunteers). Anyone, religious or not, is welcome to attend: [Click headline for more…] Read more
I had the unenviable job of following this talk at the American Atheists convention a couple of weeks ago and I can tell you firsthand that, despite the fact that it was early on Easter morning, former pastor Jerry DeWitt had the audience cheering him on all the way through his sermon: “Take the entire Bible, multiply it by a million, and it does not carry the weight of one single smile.” Preach it, Jerry! Read more
The members of the Philosophy Club group at Emporia State University (Kansas) and the local Emporia Area Community of Humanists had their work cut out for them on Thursday when they sat at a table for Ask An Atheist Day: Reader Austin shared with me his take on the day’s event as well as one memorable conversation: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Christopher Scott Roy, a former teacher at Tamaki College in Aukland, New Zealand, is claiming he was fired for being an atheist. Roy, who left the public school in 2010, describes the school’s outlook as being one that “saw Christian/Mormon faith as a core responsibility to which he was indifferent and reluctant to accept or practice as a condition of his employment.” [Click headline for more…] Read more
… as written and told by John Shore: The reason that we have so hated you is because we have so feared you. We feared you because we fear our own sexuality. We fear our own sexuality because its power is so far beyond what we are capable of controlling: so utterly, quickly, and inevitably does our sexual lust transform us from pious, composed believers into fevered, bucking animals. … And there you are, out and proud. There you are, embracing that within you which we can barely acknowledge in ourselves. There you are, consciously, purposefully, and wisely integrating your sexuality into the whole of your identity. There you are, with an audacity we now find inspiring and humbling, daring to believe that you, just as you are, are worthy of the most supreme love. You joyously claimed the rainbow; while we, mired in our stubbornness, insisted on seeing only blacks and whites. As one commenter seriously jokes: The last line of the piece should be “And then I woke up.” Read more
This is an article by Oscar Clarke. It appears in the May/June 2013 issue of The Humanist. You can read other articles from this issue and subscribe to the magazine by going to their website. Note: All URLs below are my own additions, because I thought they’d be helpful. … In a fantastically unfair appraisal (that ran in the New York Review of Books last December) of Salman Rushdie’s account of the years of freedom that were stolen from him by humorless, illiterate thugs, Zoë Heller’s last misrepresentation is the most bitter. She writes: [Click headline for more…] Read more
