Richard Dawkins was supposed to speak about his new book The Magic of Reality at the Wyndgate Country Club in Rochester Hills, Michigan last night… but, as you know by now, the owner canceled the event (after the contract was signed) after finding out that Dawkins was an atheist. Kimberly Danner is a student at Oakland University, close to where this all went down as well as the school Dawkins is visiting later today. She spoke to an employee at… Read more
Reader Amy saw this book at Walmart: We can all thank the American Bible Society for keeping the two things separate, just as they should be 🙂 Read more
Another article about how the American Cancer Society rejected the idea of the Foundation Beyond Belief’s nontheistic National Relay For Life teams. (Thanks, Greta Christina!) Another half-assed excuse-for-an-apology by the ACS that doesn’t even address the actual issue: I’m shocked by how horribly the ACS is handling this issue. It’s clear they’re just hoping no one notices, but their own Facebook wall suggests people aren’t letting them off the hook that easily. We need to keep the pressure on. Remember… Read more
Sure, there are plenty of things we all spend money on that could go to starving children… it’s not like Christians are the only ones guilty of this. But it’s hard to ignore how much excess is in some of these churches, especially when pastors constantly preach against materialism and greed. If they need to try this hard to draw people into their buildings, they’re practically admitting their message isn’t good enough on its own. (via Reddit) Read more
I know “psychic” James Van Praagh will never respond to the Million Dollar Challenge because he’s a con artist and he’s making too much money defrauding gullible people desperate for contact with their dead loved ones to “prove his powers.” But it’s good to see the James Randi Educational Foundation going after him directly in an open letter: It seems odd that you won’t return our messages. After all, if you can really do what you claim, we’re offering you… Read more
Back in June, on the brink of economic disaster, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania mayor Linda Thompson unveiled her brilliant plan to rescue the city: Thompson and a host of other religious leaders are about to embark on a three-day fast and prayer campaign to cure the city’s daunting money woes. … “Things that are above and beyond my control, I need God,” Thompson told WHTM TV, the region’s ABC news affiliate. “I depend on Him for guidance. Spiritual guidance. That’s why it’s… Read more
Are there any atheists working at FOX News? Is Bill O’Reilly really that clueless or is it all an act? Why didn’t American Atheists’ Dave Silverman tell O’Reilly how the tides actually work? All those questions are answered in this interview between Dave and David Pakman: (Thanks to Mike for the link!) Read more
Betty Bowers is a True ChristianTM and she knows exactly how we Americans ignore the words of Jesus: Highlight: If we give all our money to the poor, they’d be rich and we’d be poor, so we’d have to give it all right back to us! You just save a step and keep it. Trust me. You can’t be both Capitalist and Christian if you don’t have the stones to outsmart Commie Christ. (Thanks to Mimi for the link!) Read more
I know Pastor Robert Jeffress is under fire right now for calling Mormonism a “cult” — as if it’s any less cultish than, say, Catholicism — but Dr. James F. McGrath at Exploring the Matrix points out another fun little comment he made at the recent Values Voter Summit: [Jeffress] also lauded Perry’s “strong commitment to biblical values.” “Do we want a candidate who is skilled in rhetoric or one who is skilled in leadership? Do we want a candidate… Read more
This is the cover of the latest issue of the New Yorker: Ok, I “get” the image. I know it’s not about Steve Jobs’ faith and that it’s about his products’ omnipresence. I know the image is a “universally understood” icon of the afterlife. Still, does anyone else find it disrespectful that Jobs, a Buddhist (if anything at all), is being portrayed as a man making his way to the Pearly Gates of Christianity? Xavier Lanier feels the same way:… Read more
