If you want to know whether Catholicism is about to get more conservative or liberal, don’t consider what the Church is saying about God. That stays more or less constant. Instead, look at what it has to say about the devil. From that perspective, it seems like the Church is heading into a very conservative historical moment with Pope Francis at the helm. [More…] Read more
There’s a new godless online community and it’s focused on serving the needs of LGBTQ atheists. As Gay Without God founder Blake Gallagher puts it, it’s “a place generally for gay atheists to rally together and bond over a shared vision of the world: namely one comprised of a society that is secular, rational, and rooted in a science-based view of the world.” The site offers discussion forums as well as blog posts dealing with life issues, science, religion, and politics. Here’s a sampling of recent posts: Read more
Tim Minchin doesn’t post videos of all of his songs so that live audiences can see new material, but he just posted a version of his song “Thank You God” as an Easter present to his fans 🙂 Enjoy! (Warning: NSFW lyrics) And in case you’d like the lyrics… [More…] Read more
If you’re a pastor who doesn’t believe in God, what do you do? If you look to prominent former pastors Teresa MacBain, Jerry DeWitt, and Catherine Dunphy, the answer may seem obvious: Stop hiding your secret. Tell people you don’t believe in God. You’ll be okay! But is it really always the best option? I asked those well-known former pastors a series of questions to find out if there were legitimate reasons not to come out of the closet if you were an atheist still in the pulpit. They didn’t brush off the questions and say that coming out was always a good idea. Instead, they gave me honest answers as to why, at the very least, it deserves a second thought, while still encouraging those pastors to work through the difficulties. [More…] Read more
I’m not surprised that many Christians are still opposed to gay marriage. I am surprised when they voice their opposition as boldly and badly as Jennifer LeClaire did for Charisma magazine with this article: Wow. Forget the whole “loving the sinner” guise they usually put on. This is just full out bigotry in action (emphasis hers). [More…] Read more
The Barna Group recently ran a study commissioned by the American Bible Society to find out what Americans really think about the Bible. While much of the report shows that the Bible is still a “cultural force” in that we all own one (I own about 19 myself) and many find it sacred, one bit of information is particularly striking: The number of people who are “antagonistic” toward the Bible — that is to say, the number of people who think of it as a book of myths — is at an all-time high, nearly doubling from just two years ago! [More…] Read more
I have mentioned before that the Secular Coalition for America is sponsoring a Lobby Day and Secular Summit this April. It’s a packed event full of educational meetings, panels about issues non-theists care about, and addresses by government officials. About that last part, my first reaction was, “Seriously? Who?!” Now we have at least part of the answer. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) will be a Keynote Speaker on the morning of Wednesday, April 25th: [More…] Read more
Nym, a “triphop/hiphop instrumentalist,” has just released an album called “Trembling in the Stone” I was listening to several of the tracks last night and they were totally unlike anything I ever listen to — and I mean that in a good way. This track below was all sorts of awesome: Read more
