It’s unbelievable how out of touch with reality some people are. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently asked the chief of the Indonesian Supreme Court about the freedom of religion in his country: “Since its inception, the Supreme Court has guaranteed the freedom of atheists and communists in this country, as long as they do not disturb the freedom of people of other religions. Freedom is equality.” Mahfud (MD) said, He was lying through his teeth. We know that because Alexander… Read more
Kirk Cameron wants you to know he still doesn’t want gay people to have equal rights: It’s amazing how he gets though that whole video without once saying the word “gay.” He just uses the not-so-secret Christian code words of “family” and “faith”… positive language to cover up the fact that he doesn’t see any value in same-sex unions. How can you be a “Champion of Marriage” when you oppose gay marriage? If he really deserved that title, he would… Read more
After 25 years of opening their Board of Supervisors’ meetings with a prayer — often a not-so-subtle Christian one — Henrico County (Virginia) officials have decided to stop promoting religion at their meetings before they get sued: The decision was reached Tuesday evening following a closed session to address a complaint the county received June 13. An e-mailer, who was identified as a user of county services but not a resident, took issue with an invocation delivered the previous evening…. Read more
I know what you’re thinking: There’s just not enough to do in Washington, D.C. Yes, the Smithsonian. Yes, the White House. Yes, the Supreme Court. But what has D.C. done for me lately?! That’s why you’ll be happy to know a yet-to-be-named Bible museum will open its doors in four years: A sampling of the Bible museum’s offerings — from the collection of more than 40,000 artifacts — have been displayed in the Passages Exhibit at the Vatican and in… Read more
Ellwood City (in Pennsylvania) thinks it has a perfect plan for how to handle holiday displays this year. They want to find a legal way to put a Nativity Scene in City Hall, so they’re proposing a “lottery” system. Local residents can apply — I’m sure they assume Christians will flood the system with applications — and whoever gets picked gets to decide what goes up in City Hall! They’re not even being subtle about what they think will happen:… Read more
I don’t quite know why this is a story, but the other day, I called out a pastor for saying gay people (who presumably acted on their homosexuality) could still go to Heaven. He quoted the Bible, which was strange to me since verses nearby said the exact opposite thing. Anyway, The Christian Post wrote all about it: Mehta, author of I Sold My Soul on eBay, doesn’t accept [Pastor Craig] Gross’ argument. While Gross quoted the Bible to make… Read more
***Update***: For some reason, the bulk of this article got cut off earlier today. Here it is in its entirety. … So this is the punishment for pissing off Warren Jeffs’ polygamy-friendly Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: The kitten was discovered at the home of Isaac Wyler, a former church member, who has spoken out against the church and its controversial former leader Warren Jeffs… … Andrew Chatwin, who, like Wyler, is a former member of… Read more
Remember when Community Men’s Fellowship (a Christian group) gave the city of Bradford County, Florida the gift of a Ten Commandments monument to put outside the county courthouse? American Atheists filed a lawsuit (PDF) against the county when that happened. They asked nicely first, but the county didn’t comply, so now they have 60 days to respond or else. But there’s a little more to the story than that. County officials actually want the Monument removed. They know they’re on… Read more
Filmmaker Israel Luna saw a really conspicuous gap in the movie canon: There are no zombie apocalypse movies that force a group of Bible Thumpers and a group of The Gays to work together to survive. And he is filling that gap himself. His Kickstarter campaign just launched! What is Kicking Zombie Ass for Jesus (KZAFJ)? Kicking Zombie Ass For Jesus is a full-length feature about a zombie apocalypse where the only survivors are gay people and church people. They find themselves barricaded… Read more
Foundation Beyond Belief just released the results from the Second Quarter of 2012. Check out the donations — $42,310 in total given by atheists — to the following organizations: That chart doesn’t include the donations given directly to the Foundation itself. It’s the first time since we began the organization that the Poverty & Health category received the most contributions. And while I don’t personally give any of my donations to the Challenge the Gap charities — that’s the category… Read more