Sign outside Open Bible Wesleyan Church in Cartersville, Georgia: True story: I was holding a fork as I opened that email. The church may be on to something… (Thanks to Brian for the link!) Read more
Even when religious people try to do the right thing, their enemy is often their own faith. In Ontario, Canada, the government is instituting anti-bullying legislation in schools — including Catholic ones. The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board answered this call by creating a “20-page equity blueprint… to help teachers tackle all kinds of discrimination, from race and religion to disability and sexual orientation.” It looks pretty impressive (PDF) at the outset, talking about the problems… Read more
Dan Cohen is a finalist in Zinio’s “You Can Find Me On Zinio” sweepstakes. Long story short: Go here, click on VOTE NOW, click on Dan Cohen’s name, and the repeat every day until April 16th. If Dan wins, his company has promised to donate the $2,500 prize to Foundation Beyond Belief! You can vote once a day. Please tell your friends 🙂 Read more
David Ellis Dickerson is a frequent contributor to “This American Life” and his stories tend to revolve around his time as a fundamentalist Christian. I posted about one of them in particular last year. Now, he’s written a book called The Exy Book: Modern Myths of a Scandalous Goddess — about Xenia, a “skeptical trickster goddess.” She sounds all sorts of awesome: Xenianism celebrates the spirit and the power of unruly, unladylike, and blasphemous women. Why? Because misbehaving women are… Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Hi Richard, My son is in second grade and is coming under pressure from his friends. They are badgering him saying he is going to go to hell because he doesn’t believe in God. I know this won’t be the last time someone tries to force their religious views on him. And as a parent I want him to learn ways to handle it. Unfortunately, giving logical arguments doesn’t work… Read more
Just when you thought the story was finally over… David A. Bradley, the person who wrote the prayer banner (at the age of 12) at the center of Jessica Ahlquist’s successful lawsuit againt Cranston High School West, has a letter-to-the-editor appearing in today’s Hartford Courant. Turns out he’s not pleased with the fact that his banner has been torn down because a judge (and the Constitution) sided with Jessica. I read the article… about a fundraising campaign among atheists to… Read more
One of the problems with churches is that they get away with paying no taxes despite taking in buttloads of cash every week. With megachurches, it’s especially egregious. Before the economy tanked, many congregations bought new buildings to hosue them. They took out loans on the churches, confident they could pay the banks back. Now, with less money coming in each week, some of those churches are defaulting on their mortgage and banks dont want to refinance; they want the… Read more
The following billboard can now be seen in Richmond, Virginia! Less than two weeks till the big event… are you excited yet?! Read more