The U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office patch used to look like: The motto is “Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus,” Latin for “Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money.” Except they’re not doing “God’s work.” I’ll be honest; I read the description of what the RCO does and it still doesn’t make much sense to me, but it’s pretty evident God is nowhere to be found in that office. So there’s no reason for the patch to say that…. Read more
My home state, Oklahoma, has a reputation for producing inept legislators. Last month, Sen. Ralph Shortey tried to ban aborted fetuses from our food (you know, just in case). Rep. Sally Kern declared in 2008 that “no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted for more than, you know, a few decades” — and that’s not even the most bigoted statement of her career. And now the forces of right-wing inanity have brought the Personhood Act to the state senate,… Read more
Here’s something that gets repeated a lot: Even though atheists fight against religion, there are plenty of opportunities to work with religious people toward common goals. Here’s something you don’t hear a lot, courtesy of Luke Gyure at WWJTD: Here’s the answer is to what theists and atheists can do together: secular work. If you’re really as committed to working together and finding common ground as you claim to be, then you have to concede that the common ground is… Read more
U.S Army Major Ray Bradley calls himself a Humanist. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we know that’s not synonymous with “atheist.” It’s atheism + ethics. It’s what you’re for instead of what you’re against. And people who use the “Humanism” label feel it’s a more thorough description of who they are — atheist just isn’t enough. (Dave Silverman, on the other hand, is an atheist, not a “Humanist.”) The military, however, doesn’t recognize the difference. They allow soldiers to… Read more
When Brother Jed comes to your campus to preach his message of bigotry and hate, the best way to respond is to turn the attention away from him and onto you, and that’s what the Secular Student Alliance at Texas State University did yesterday: The Secular Student Alliance showed up in force brandishing signs reading ‘This guy is full of shit,” “Sex: a lot of fun,” and “Keep your church out of my sex life and I won’t have sex… Read more
With our own Richard Wade providing the inspiration, Justin Vacula is one step closer to putting up what may be the Least Offensive (But-I’m-Sure-Someone-Will-Still-Complain) Atheist Bus Ad Ever: Just one word. And yet, someone in Scranton, Pennsylvania is bound to get all huffy about it. “Various ads placed by atheists on billboards, buses, and elsewhere — no matter how innocuous they may be — throughout the United States have been called ‘offensive’ by theists. This led me and others to… Read more
Remember the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California? In 2010, Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy. Now, the building is in the possession of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange — they paid $57,500,000 for the place. The Diocese doesn’t know what to name their new acquisition, though… and they’re asking for help. This can only end well: Before the building may be used as a Catholic cathedral several design and other changes must be made. In addition, the Bishop… Read more
Even though the image has been around for a few months now, a few different people sent it along saying the caption underneath it is simply beautiful. They’re absolutely right: It’s odd, thinking about death while being an atheist. To understand that afterward, you are simply not. Dawkins and Hitchens both know that what is coming is permanent. There is no happy ending, with no chance of reunion or redemption in some other plane. Death will be a final parting,… Read more
Christianity has had a bit of a sexism problem since it began; with all of the apologetics surrounding the issue, I believe that the problem starts with the opening narrative of man being created in God’s image and the woman a lesser copy, made in the image of man. Even in the most favorable of contexts, the Bible cannot be seen as a guide for any individual who values egalitarianism — it’s rife with issues of financial, gender, and racial… Read more
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