So, maybe you have heard that there is this giant rally thing going on this weekend, but you’re not sure if you should go — after all, what will the kids be able to do? Luckily for you, Camp Quest will be there to help! Come by their tent for some awesome activities. We also have some delightful new stickers to boot! Evan Clark of the Secular Student Alliance and Kelley Freeman (yes, me) of Camp Quest South Carolina paired… Read more
Check out who’s joining the Patheos atheist blogging family (which currently includes myself, Daniel, and Leah): Libby Anne from Love, Joy, Feminism! If you didn’t read her over at FreethoughtBlogs, Libby managed to break free from a pretty conservative Christian lifestyle and has the inside scoop on what that world is like. Her posts offer an invaluable insight into the problems with the Christian Patriarchy movement. And just to point out the elephant in the room, yep, someone from FtB… Read more
Some wise words from (relatively) new mother Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the author of Infidel, in an interview in The Globe and Mail. When asked whether she will raise her son as an atheist: It’s very interesting that you ask that. My life before I had my child was abstract. Now, once you have the child, that’s no longer theory. You actually are now bringing up this tiny human being, innocent, helpless. And so you have to ask yourself, “Do I… Read more
Atheist Nexus is hosting one of the Reason Rally afterparties at the Bethesda North Marriott and Convention Center on Saturday night. It’s free and starts at 8:30p. There will be a debaptism ceremony at 8:00p for anyone who wants to partake in it, singer/songwriter Shelley Segal will perform starting at 9:00p, and there will also be some “mystery guests”… Hmm… who might they be? Brother Richard, who oversees the site, gave me permission to reveal one of the names to… Read more
Crocheting and politics should go together more often. A group called Government Free VJJ, started by my friend and knitter extraordinaire Donna Druchunas, is sending a message to the politicians voting against reproductive rights and preventing women from making their own health decisions: “Hands off my uterus! Here — have a knitted one of your own!” Yep, they’re sending knitted or crocheted uteri, cervixes, and vulvas to every male member of Congress. All the patterns are linked to on their… Read more
Several years ago, Greta Christina wrote a post about why atheists are angry that still resonates with a lot of people today. She has now fleshed out those thoughts and turned it into a wonderful new book, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Thing That Piss Off the Godless: I read it a few weeks ago and wasn’t kidding or exaggerating when I offered this blurb: Greta has done something truly impressive with this book: She explains in a… Read more
This image has been floating around the interwebs lately: While, I really want to appreciate the sentiment — Jesus is a really nice guy — I’m plagued by the OTHER things Jesus is quoted as saying in the very same book from which his peaceful, loving statements come. A few examples: Matthew 10:34 — “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” John… Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Hi Richard, I work in the animal health field in a large, progressive city so I don’t often get faced with situations like these, but when I do I’m never sure how to respond. Once upon a time I was a theist, but that way of thinking is so far behind me that I can hardly understand it anymore. No small part of my job is discussing the quality of… Read more
When I get emails from crazy people, I delete them. When Dear Abby gets them, she reinforces their lunacy. Like yesterday, when someone wrote in to talk about her psychic powers: DEAR ABBY: I will graduate from college in June and be a social worker. I am psychic, although I dislike that word because it conjures up visions of crystal balls, quacks and scams. For legitimate psychic individuals, it can be overwhelming to live this way. I first noticed my… Read more
