Dale McGowan — who has already cornered the market in writing about atheist parenting — just announced his next book project. It’s one a lot of you may appreciate: Read more
Today, during my lunch break, I walked out of my building in downtown Chicago to meet a friend across the river. It’s pretty chilly up here, but there were some young ladies handing out carnations on the sidewalk. For some reason, I have a hard time not taking crap that is handed to me… which is how I ended up with a yellow carnation with this card attached to it: Read more
You may have already heard about this horrific story coming out of Papua New Guinea in which a six-year-old boy died after being sick… and his relatives not only blamed 20-year-old Kepari Leniata for committing the crime, they accused her of sorcery and burned her alive. Read more
You may remember Jackson Middle School in Jackson, Ohio and the giant portrait of Jesus hanging on its walls: The Freedom From Religion Foundation had lodged a complaint with the school — but the school board decided last month to stand firm in their disregard for the Constitution. They voted to let the portrait stay. Read more
A trailer for the new movie The Unbelievers (Black Chalk Productions, 2013) was released yesterday. The movie features Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss as they travel around the world and speak about the importance of science and why we don’t need religious ideas in a modern world: Read more
My blogging-buddy Libby Anne has a blog header that looks like this: Love. Joy. Feminism. Cool! Another Patheos blogger writes about the intersection of feminism and her faith: No big deal, right? Well, Kristine Holmgren was recently invited to blog on a religion-based site I didn’t realize still existed — Beliefnet — and she proposed a title/subtitle for her blog to her superior, “marketing and business analyst” Sharon Kirk: “How about — ‘Sweet Truth — Thoughts of a Faithful Feminist’?” The response she got back from Kirk was astounding: Read more
I had no idea what to title this post because I had so many options. Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona just gave the greatest sermon *ever* on the qualities of a “virtuous woman.” It’s offensive, misogynistic, hilarious… and it’s all on video. Highlights are below! (Because I listened to the whole damn thing for you…) Read more
After the Newtown shootings, there were a number of interfaith vigils for the victims’ families and the community. One in particular featured leaders from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Baha’i backgrounds. Setting aside for a moment the issue of where the atheists were (or whether they were even invited), that actually sounds like a comforting event — religious people setting aside their differences for the common good. But now, Reverend Rob Morris of the Christ the King Lutheran Church, is apologizing for taking part in the event. Because it apparently gave the impression that he endorsed the beliefs of those who came from non-Lutheran backgrounds. Really. Read more
