I haven’t really followed the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce story because… well… who cares. But if it’s true that Scientology was the reason she left him and she wants to return to Catholicism, then this headline from The Daily Mash, a British satirical site, is perfect 🙂 “I’m starting with the Pope and all his colourful brand of magical batshittery, then gradually working my way back to normality. “I’ll hopefully be moving onto being a Methodist by the end of… Read more
Kaleena Menke lives in Colorado and she has a powerful piece at the Foundation Beyond Belief blog about what the wildfires look like from her perspective: I was still in Ohio finishing up my week volunteering as a camp counselor for Camp Quest when the Waldo Canyon Fire started near my childhood home in Colorado Springs on Saturday, June 23. By the time I flew home, the fire was already national news… … [My niece] Emily only had one day… Read more
Poet Philip Appleman has appeared on Moyers & Company a number of times over the years and there’s a collection of him reading his work on Bill Moyers’ site. Atheists might appreciate a couple of them in particular 🙂 “A Simple Explanation for Everything” (I love this one) … “Five Easy Prayers for Pagans” (from the book Karma, Dharma, Pudding & Pie) … Damn, I want to hear more from this guy… Incidentally, Appleman is the “Poet Laureate” of the… Read more
The Christian Right group American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is pissed off that officials from Henrico County, Virginia voted to stop reciting invocation prayers before their meetings. They know why the FFRF went after the officials, too: Because they were violating the principle of church/state separation of the economy. Really: In today’s lagging economy, FFRF knows that these local cities and towns across America don’t have the funds to defend lengthy and costly litigation, and a strongly worded… Read more
This story sure makes it sound like a Christian is getting wrongly persecuted just for holding a Bible study in his home…: Wait… that’s FOX News… we should all double check this. *Hemant turns on the Google* Well, that was easy: The problem is that the Salmans told the city they planned to use the building as a personal “game room.” Instead, they’re using it as a church. … … In the e-mails, sent in April just before the city… Read more
Betty Bowers teaches us all about the relationship between God and abortions. Turns out, if you read the Bible, it’s not a big deal at all! Read more
Seen outside the Taste of Chicago today (click to enlarge): (Thanks to Maggie for the picture!) Read more
Christian Piatt has a terrific list (and follow-up) of clichés Christians need to stop using: “If you died today, do you know where you’d spend the rest of eternity?” No, I don’t, and neither do you. So stop asking such a presumptuous question as this that implies you have some insider knowledge that the rest of us don’t. And seriously, if your faith is entirely founded upon the notion of eternal fire insurance, you’re not sharing testimony; you’re peddling propaganda…. Read more
