If you’re planning to fill out an NCAA tournament bracket this week, consider Vaxing Your Bracket! Read more
Tom Henry, the Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, wants to curb violence in his city, and he knows exactly how to do it: Lots and lots of prayer! (Interfaith prayer, even!) Because why deal with gun safety when you can just ask Jesus to send you some bulletproof vests?… Read more
In 2010, the Rowlett City Council in Texas changed their prayer policy. They used to have Christian prayers, then the Freedom From Religion Foundation warned them of the repercussions of doing that, so the council opted to go with non-sectarian prayers. As it turned out, though, since the town is predominantly Christian, those non-sectarian prayers have turned out to be almost all Christian prayers, anyway. Now, local atheists are calling them out on it: Read more
(The cartoon was drawn by Jessica Hagy, author of the just-released How to Be Interesting: (In 10 Simple Steps). Read more about the book here!) Read more
The founder of a Florida-based nonprofit is determined to wave gay pride in Westboro Baptist Church’s face — and he’s a lot closer than you may think. Read more
It’s pretty bad when both your local government and a local church join hands to do everything wrong, and that’s precisely what’s happening in Rowan County, North Carolina. The Rowan County Board of Commissioners has been opening its meetings with Christian prayers for over five years now, but local residents (with the help of the ACLU of North Carolina) are finally fighting back with a lawsuit (PDF): Read more
When I wrote I Sold My Soul on eBay, Rob Bell was the one pastor my publishers were hoping would write the foreword to the book. He was young, popular, on the rise, and someone who (they figured) would understand me. Rob not only spoke with me during the writing of the book, he ended up writing a really nice (and very Christian-y) introduction for it. He didn’t have to do it, so I really appreciated the gesture (and still do). Last year, Bell ignited a firestorm when, in his book Love Wins, he suggested that it was “misguided and toxic” for Christians to believe that only those who accepted Jesus would go to heaven while everyone else burned in hell. Traditional pastors basically called him a heretic — though it’s not like they were all that enamored with him in the first place — while Bell’s younger audience smiled and nodded along with him. And now, it’s happening again. Read more
(The cartoon was drawn by Jessica Hagy, author of the just-released How to Be Interesting: (In 10 Simple Steps). Read more about the book here!) Read more
In 2006, politicians in Kentucky passed a law requiring the state’s Department of Homeland Security to declare in its training materials that security was unattainable without reliance on “Almighty God.” It also required a plaque to be installed at the Department’s entrance saying as much. AA’s attorney Edwin Kagin called the law “one of the most egregiously and breathtakingly unconstitutional actions by a state legislature that I’ve ever seen.” After a long, drawn-out court battle that involved a lower court victory, an appellate court loss, and a “we’re not getting involved” from the Kentucky Supreme Court, AA appealed to the United States Supreme Court. [More…] Read more
