Leviticus 24:14, a command from God to Moses, says this: “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.” The Atheist/Agnostic Association at Penn State University is holding a nifty fundraiser next week in “honor” of that verse. But, since stones hurt, they’re using water balloons: The Atheist/Agnostic Association is hosting a “Stone an Atheist” fundraiser, which consists of three days throwing… Read more
What do you do when Brother Jed and Sister Cindy come to preach fire and brimstone on your campus? At the University of Illinois, you pass out a BINGO card with their stock phrases. At Texas A&M University, you use the event to raise money for women’s groups, LGBT groups, and atheist groups — basically, everything they condemn. At the University of Minnesota, you join forces with other groups on campus to stage an entertaining protest: [Brother Jed’s] arrival on… Read more
The Toronto District School Board is facing a $110,000,000 budget shortfall so they need to come up with ways to save or make money before they resort to more drastic actions (like laying off staff). One example: Raising the cost for community groups to rent out school space. Not only is the price going up, there’s been an overhaul of the categories (PDF) indicating which groups get cheaper (subsidized) rates. Did you catch that bit at the end? Turns out… Read more
Despite all the drama surrounding “Atheism Plus,” and regardless of whether or not you personally want to use that label, many of us care a great deal about social justice and helping those in need. We see what religious groups do in response to these matters and we feel that we are just as capable of making things better. But what does that mean? What would it look like in action if atheists became more involved with issues beyond the existence of… Read more
For more than a decade now, the Beaumont Independent School District’s Taylor Career and Technology Center in Texas — which has the worst website you’ve seen in a long time — has offered an Adult Cosmetology class. It caters to a lot of single moms, according to instructor Cequada Clark, and she was excited for the new school year. But she recently found out the class was canceled by Principal Thomas Amons. Was it because of budget cuts? A bad… Read more
Earlier today, Dr Pepper posted this amusing ad on its Facebook page: It’s cute and very scientifically inaccurate 🙂 But unlike some of the other recent clever ads aiming to make a political point, Dr Pepper’s promoters were clearly just having some fun. Nearly two thousand comments later, you would think this has become the next battle in the culture wars: Are you for or against Dr Pepper? (Even more entertaining: Chick-fil-A sells the drink. CONTROVERSY!) Admittedly, looking through the… Read more
At the recent Ascent of Atheism Conference in Denver, Colorado, Seth Andrews (The Thinking Atheist) interviewed a few attendees about why they left their faith. While their responses aren’t necessarily unique, they obviously had a long way to go to leave their faith. It’s uplifting to know they broke free to the other side. Hell, it might resemble your own story: Read more
Exorcisms are so popular in Poland that Roman Catholic priests have created a monthly magazine devoted to “chasing out the devil”: “The rise in the number or exorcists from four to more than 120 over the course of 15 years in Poland is telling,” Father Aleksander Posacki, a professor of philosophy, theology and leading demonologist and exorcist told reporters in Warsaw at the Monday launch of the Egzorcysta monthly. … “If people can make money out of it, naturally it… Read more
