As you probably know, all this week atheist bloggers are contributing a great deal of effort to support the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) in many different ways. Several are participating in non-stop blogathons, and my friend Dan Fincke, author of the remarkably intelligent and prolific blog Camels With Hammers, will be doing 24 blog posts in 24 hours! It’s already in progress right now, having started at 8:00 AM Eastern time. He’s going to be engaging in fascinating conversations online… Read more
Sometimes you read stories and they magnify every stereotype you have about the South… The Alabama Educational Television Commission (AETC) oversees Alabama Public Television (APT). Recently, AETC Commissioner Rodney Herring told APT executives that they should air The American Heritage Series, a 10-episode program featuring Christian pseudo-historian David Barton. Two of the APT executives, Allan Pizzato and Pauline Howland, questioned that decision: The programs “talked about how our government forefathers were very religious men,” Howland said, “how the country was… Read more
Did you all catch our friend Jesse Galef on CNN this morning talking about the Pew Research Center’s survey showing that fewer people “Never Doubt God’s Existence”? I love how he worked the SSA plug in at the end 🙂 I also thought he did a great job of steering the conversation toward the things he wanted to talk about instead of taking the bait from the host. … ***Update***: The SSA is already getting threatening phone calls. You can… Read more
I’ve got your feel good moment of the day right here! That’s Pastor Frederick Haynes III from Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and here’s what he has to say about President Obama and his personal stance on gay marriage: I’m sure some of y’all came here today wondering what I would have to say about what was said by the President of the United States this past week… The president remembered that when, on January the 20th, he lifted… Read more
The city of Weatherford, Texas wants to be sued. You know how I know? Because I read the last sentence of this article: Councilwoman Heidi Wilder said she felt that the possibility of litigation would be “remote.” Take a *wild* guess as to why someone might sue them… YES! More prayer. Because moments of silence just aren’t enough for people: At a May council meeting, some suggested having a moment of silence, rather than a prayer, to start the meetings…. Read more
Alexander Aan is the Indonesian who made the terrible, horrible mistake of posting “blasphemous” statements about Islam and statements asking for proof of god’s existence on a Facebook group page for the Minang Atheists. Aan was arrested in a small town in West Sumatra on January 18 after a number of local residents assaulted him at work in an act of self-styled vigilantism. They were reacting to some of his postings on a Facebook page devoted to atheism: a note… Read more
Phase Two of the Secular Coalition for America’s plan to create state chapters across the country begins in two weeks with conference calls for people interested in creating the chapters and the media is paying attention: “Some of the most egregious violations of church state separation are being promoted and passed at the state level, and we absolutely must act to stop it,” said Edwina Rogers, Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America. “There are 40 million Americans who… Read more
There is no more perfect a picture of absolute sexism in Christian doctrine than the doctrine of submission of women. There is no more perfect a picture of the horror of this doctrine in action than the practice of encouraging women to stay in abusive domestic partnerships. Vyckie Garrison wishes she “had more middle fingers with which to express my extreme irritation” at this article written by Darcy Ingraham, and I am more than happy to loan my own middle… Read more
