That’s not how the people at Willow Springs Water Park were spinning it, though. They said church groups could get a $5 discount per child on Mondays — a discount no other group received: Leifel Jackson, executive director of the charitable Reaching Our Children and Neighborhoods (ROCAN), asked the water park if the discount would extend to his non-profit. Jackson was told that ROCAN could not receive the discount because it is not a church group. … … without the… Read more
The other day, I mentioned a planned boycott at an event where Richard Dawkins was going to speak. Now, groups are calling on Dawkins to take part in a debate on God’s existence and Dawkins isn’t taking the (de)bait. He explains why: … in their shoes, perhaps I would be clamouring for debates as well. If your case depends on pulpit-style oratory, manipulating the emotions of your audience and playing with words, debates will probably work for you very well…. Read more
This is a toy model of Noah’s Ark: And the Creation Museum’s Ken Ham can’t stand it because it’s not real enough: … when we allow children to think Noah’s Ark looked like one of these “bathtub Arks,” we are reinforcing the false idea that the account of the Ark was just a fairy tale. … We need instead to show children that Noah’s Ark was a real ship — a great ship — with plenty of room to fit… Read more
According to the note at the beginning of the video, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has aired the following video on public television stations nationwide. In fact, it’s about to air “500 times in the next three months and reach three million people.” While I really like the commentary, the whole clip looks like one of those movies I watched in grade school and fell asleep during… still, more of this, please. I suspect other people will love it. If… Read more
Daddy blogger Nick Shell thinks it’s a good idea for everybody to take their children to church, “not from a religious perspective, but from more of a scientific one.” Because, you know, surveys show churches are good for your well-being. This is for the agnostics who are curious about taking their kids to church, as well as, for those who haven’t had much exposure to church but are curious enough to consider checking it out. Ok, ok, I’m an atheist… Read more
I need a few people willing to read through the book and offer their input. That means tracking changes, telling me when something’s confusing, telling me when to elaborate on a topic, suggesting better phrasing if you think something is awkwardly worded, etc. The turnaround time would be 1-2 days… which I know is incredibly short. But if you’re able to help, please Send me an email (at this address) letting me know why you’d be a good person to… Read more
The Center for Inquiry’s Ron Lindsay offers some constructive criticism for American Atheists and their latest billboards: One problem I have with the wording on the billboards is that it doesn’t match up with what AA says they’re doing with the billboards. The stated purpose of the billboards is to show “the foolishness of mixing religion with politics.” However, the billboards don’t highlight any remark by a politician in which s/he tries to base public policy on a religious belief…. Read more
Zach Weiner has clearly never taught introductory proofs to Geometry students: The rest of the strip is here 🙂 (via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) Read more
