How deluded is the Catholic Church? The men in charge of it recently accused nuns who fight poverty (but not gay rights and abortion rights) of promoting “radical feminist themes.” They’ve (wrongly) accused the Girl Scouts of partnering with Planned Parenthood and promoting contraception and abortion. Of course, they’ve argued with President Obama over their ability to restrict access to contraception. And there’s all the sex scandals and coverups… And they think the solution to all their problems is “better… Read more
You might remember former pastor Mike Aus as the man who went public with his atheism on Up with Chris Hayes the day after the Reason Rally. Aus recently spoke to the Humanists of Houston and video of his talk is now available: As always, if any parts stand out to you, please leave the timestamp and summary in the comments! Read more
Maybe you saw the story about the Mormon who is gay but happily married to a woman. Things are working out for them (so they say…) But what happens when you no longer want to suppress your spouse’s sexuality? Ashley is a 36-year-old Mormon who (knowingly) married a gay man, but unlike the other couple, they couldn’t ignore it and keep the charade going: I was quiet at first. He couldn’t look at me as he said it or after…. Read more
We know churches get tax exemptions, but how much money does that actually come out to? University of Tampa professor Ryan T. Cragun along with students Stephanie Yeager and Desmond Vega ran some calculations and figured out a number: While some people may be bothered by the fact that there are pastors who live in multimillion dollar homes, this is old news to most. But here is what should bother you about these expensive homes: You are helping to pay… Read more
The 2012-2013 student handbook for Bob Jones University is out and if you’d like to see a glimpse of what life is like for the most conservative of all conservative Christians, you’ll want to check out these excerpts… … When it comes to music, headphones are banned. Big Brother has to know what you’re listening to. And even when you’re listening to music out loud, there are some restrictions. For instance, you can’t listen to any of that awful, secular… Read more
These things are subject to change barring breaking news, but if things go as planned, I’m going to appear on CNN Saturday night at 7:00 (ET) to talk about the future of religion. Jesse Galef will be there as well! I’ll post video here afterwards, but my Twitter account will give you the behind-the-scenes experience if you’re interested. And, coincidentally or not, Dave Silverman is doing double-duty tomorrow, appearing at 8:30a to talk about the recent Gallup poll results regarding… Read more
My friends Eric and Rose have a website called The Coming Out Godless Project where they post stories about people who have left their faith. They also sell really awesome shirts on Zazzle. Last week, I suggested a few math-themed shirts that I’d love to see… and they designed them 🙂 If you get one, wear it proudly! I believe in higher powers… but not god: The limit does not exist… just like god: God = the Square Root of… Read more
A three-year-old girl named Emily Thomas has had major health problems her whole life, but things got worse this month: At 10 days old, baby Emily suffered a stroke as a result of an MRSA staph infection that spread to her blood. She was left legally blind, brain damaged and with cerebral palsy. … About two weeks ago, a common cold almost suffocated Emily. From their home in Tyler, Emily was flown by plane to Children’s Medical Center, where her… Read more
