Usually, when we hear about Christian views on sexual “purity,” modesty, abstinence, and relationships, it’s associated with women. But boys in Christian families are subject to it, too. That’s why you need to read this post by Kylar D. at Recovering Grace. Check out how his father talked to him about sex and how it affected him: … Dad wanted to know if I had ever had wrong thoughts about women. In truth, I had only just begun to find… Read more
Jerry Pittman Jr. and his boyfriend Dustin Lee recently visited Grace Fellowship Church in Fruitland, Tennessee — the church Pittman’s father leads — and they had greeters waiting for them: “I went over to take the keys out of the ignition and all the sudden I hear someone say ‘sick’em,” the younger Pittman explained. “My uncle and two other deacons came over to the car per my dad’s request. My uncle smash me in the door as the other deacon… Read more
Is arguing about religion a waste of time? Greta Christina doesn’t think so and she explained her reasons at the 2011 Secular Student Alliance conference: In short, there are plenty of reasons to do it, but you don’t want to waste your time on every single person who disagrees with you. There are good and bad ways to go about having that conversation. If there are any particular parts of Greta’s talk we should all see, please leave the timestamp… Read more
Despite there being nearly 300 Student Secular Alliance affiliates across the country, there hasn’t been a single successful one in Mississippi… until now. Enter, the Secular Student Alliance at Southern Miss, the new affiliate at the University of Southern Mississippi. It took them over five months to get officially recognized, but they were finally approved this week: I can’t wait until this group starts holding events. Or chalks the campus. Or brings in some inevitably-controversial speakers. Can you ever imagine… Read more
This is a scary story in so many ways… After students at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville, Tennessee wanted to start a Gay Straight Alliance, not a single teacher stepped up to sponsor it, effectively killing the group. Last week, Chris Sigler, a 17-year-old senior at the school, wore a shirt supporting the GSA. It read: “GSA: We’ve Got Your Back.” And this is how Principal Maurice Moser reacted: Sigler says that Moser then ordered all students out of the… Read more
This is a guest post by Don Cook. Don lives in Burleson, TX (birthplace of the famous “See You at the Pole” event) with his wife and two sons. He works in the IT field. You can read Zachary Moore’s experience at a different Christian Men’s Conference here. … I knew I would be excited when the moment came, but as the hour of departure neared I found that I was actually nervous. In just a few short hours I… Read more
If the universe had to have a First Cause… then everything religious people believe must be true. Makes perfect sense. (vía Jesus and Mo) Read more
It seems like PZ Myers has been working on his book forever, but it finally has a title and an ISBN number! The Happy Atheist: Dancing on the Graves of the Gods is scheduled to be released in June of 2012. (Aww, no Easter release?) Interestingly enough, the word “Atheist” is right in the title. Maybe that doesn’t seem weird to you, but the most popular books in the “New Atheist” movement have avoided it. It’s as if publishers think… Read more
Today the Supreme Court heard a case centering around whether teachers in religious schools should be exempt from civil rights laws. In 1999, Cheryl Perich began teaching at Hosanna-Tabor, a Lutheran Church-run school in eastern Michigan. Initially, she was a contract teacher. She later became a “called teacher” after she finished coursework at a Lutheran University. Perich primarily taught math and science, but she also led her classes in prayer, gave the homily in chapel several times a year, and… Read more
This is a guest post by Zachary Moore. Zachary is active in the Texas freethought community, serving as Coordinator of the Dallas/Fort Worth Coalition of Reason, Executive Director of the Fellowship of Freethought in Dallas, and Treasurer of Camp Quest Texas. He loves visiting churches and other houses of worship, and is not yet willing to admit that he may have a problem. Part 2, in which another atheist attended another Men’s Conference in Texas, will be posted tomorrow. …… Read more
