Since all of you have sent me the story of the “lady who’s selling her soul on eBay,” I wanted to just point out a couple of things: 1) The listing has since been yanked off of eBay. 2) Her story is really depressing and my heart goes out to her. She’s been through a lot and the “cost” of her soul wouldn’t have been enough to fix everything. I really hope she gets better. 3) eBay does not allow… Read more
A reader named Chantelle was recently diagnosed with ALS. The only support group in her area met at a church and was all religious-y. So she’s curious if there are other atheists with life-threatening illnesses who may want to talk to each other. She created a Facebook group and would love to hear from people in the same situation. Read more
Todd Stiefel asked me what I would consider doing if Foundation Beyond Belief reached its goal of 5,400 total members for the Light the Night walk. (Right now, we only have 400.) I said I would grow a beard for a month. Then I remembered that I have to travel. And those aren’t a good mix for me… So PZ forced — FORCED, I TELL YOU! — me to get a tattoo. I don’t know why I agreed, but apparently… Read more
The (Christian) Alliance Defense Fund is changing its name to be even more misleading: The Alliance Defense Fund is changing its name to “Alliance Defending Freedom.” “Our mission remains the same — defending religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family. Only our name has changed,” said Alliance Defending Freedom President, CEO, and General Counsel Alan Sears. “The change is to help more people easily understand the work that we do and why it matters.” … The new… Read more
This is the atheist billboard that just went up in Omaha: The organizer of the Omaha Coalition of Reason doesn’t think it’s controversial and he’s right: “We put it up as a beacon to let them know that they’re not alone,” explained William Newman. Newman is with Omaha’s chapter of United Coalition of Reason and the man behind the sign. “The billboard is designed so it’s not [denigrating] anyone’s religion. We’re not coming out and telling people that there is… Read more
Phase Three of the Secular Coalition for America’s plan to create state chapters across the country begins next week with conference calls for people interested in creating the chapters! And more news on that front will be coming soon 🙂 Can’t wait to share it with you! If you’d like to help be a part of the SCA’s efforts in the Phase Three states, all the details are at the links below: Iowa Kansas Minnesota Mississippi New Mexico New York… Read more
It’s not like you need the Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation to tell you this, but black people are very religious. Black women, especially: The survey found that 74 percent of black women and 70 percent of black men said that “living a religious life” is very important. On that same question, the number falls to 57 percent of white women and 43 percent of white men. But in times of turmoil, about 87 percent of black women… Read more
I’ve already encouraged you all to sign up for the Light the Night walks across the nation — where atheists are coming together to raise $1,000,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Todd Stiefel has done the same: Now, Richard Dawkins is getting in on the action: I am proud to say that the US branch of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS) is an official supporter of the project, and I am also delighted to learn… Read more
