Cate Laskovics, president of the Secular Alliance at the University of Pittsburgh, says her group is all ready for International Blasphemy Rights Day today. They’re even having a Blasphemous Bake Sale on campus… with cupcakes: Cate, I want all of those. I’ll pay you all $98324923423 of my Internet money. Read more
On October 8th, Pastor Mark Driscoll (founder of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington) will be speaking at the LoveLife Conference in Athens, Georgia. This is the same Driscoll whose ignorance about feminism and homosexuality is evident with just about everything he says… If you’re not familiar with him, here are just a few choice quotations (courtesy of Stephen Joiner of the UGAtheists): “I like Catholics and Orthodox people. I believe that they are part of a Christian denomination or… Read more
David Kinnaman, the president of the Barna Group (a Christian-focused polling organization), just released his newest book, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith. So why are Christians — real, churchgoing Christians — leaving the faith later in life? No single reason dominated the break-up between church and young adults. Instead, a variety of reasons emerged. Overall, the research uncovered six significant themes why nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%) disconnect either… Read more
over a year ago i moved into a new department at work and became friends with a cool guy who shared my nerdy interests. he talked about gaming and his wife and kids and i talked about gaming and my cats. he’s smart, funny, and we’ve commiserated over work together. very recently, indirectly, i found out that he is a Creationist. it was in a Facebook post of a mutual friend referring to a local event where a Creationist had… Read more
Why should you take part in (or at least acknowledge) International Blasphemy Rights Day tomorrow? The members of the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers (UNIFI) made this awesome video with their answers: As the saying goes, blasphemy is a victimless crime. So take the time to appreciate your free speech rights on Friday. (via UNIFI) ***Update***: This is what they’re doing at the University of Illinois: Illini Secular Student Alliance members will be inviting passersby to add their… Read more
At Kwik Kar Lube & Service in Plano, Texas, owner Charlie Whittington has a deal for you: Recite John 3:16 and he’ll give you a discount on an oil change. Don’t want to recite it? Well, screw you. Resident Marshall Wei, who had been to the Kwik Kar on Custer Road in Plano before, was happy to find the coupon hanging on his door last week. Above the promised $19.99 price though, the coupon says customers must quote the New… Read more
When you call yourself a Minister, you can get away with almost anything… unless your victims speak up. That’s what Linda Erickson is doing in Illinois. She is coming forward with news that Philip Livingston, who “broke away from South Barrington-based Willow Creek Community Church to start his own Life of the World Ministries” held improper “religious therapy sessions” that involved her having to get naked to receive healing: Livingston would hold “light therapy” sessions where he and other church… Read more
I’ll be speaking at the University of South Carolina (in Columbia) on Sunday night, October 9th! (When you’re a teacher in the middle of the school year, this is how you make the most of your long weekends.) And the topic is… not atheism! Nope. We’re gonna talk about math. (Don’t run away! I promise it’ll be interesting.) Believe it or not, there’s a connection between the two worlds. Hemant Mehta… will be visiting USC and giving an excellent talk… Read more
I’ve known Dale McGowan for several years now — long before we began working on his vision for Foundation Beyond Belief. He’s always been the nicest guy in the room as well as the perfect atheist ambassador to religious groups. If you’ve ever been to one of his parenting workshops, you know all of this. But I *love* the somewhat snarky way he dealt with two Jehovah’s Witnesses who recently showed up at his door. You can read the whole… Read more
Last week, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said that “atheism is cool” and that’s why the church is having so many problems getting its message across. Yesterday, I responded to that comment in the Washington Post’s On Faith section. In short, I think he’s right about our coolness. But we’re only part of the reason people are running away from religion. An excerpt from the article is below: Atheists, on the other hand, pose a rational opposition. We know… Read more
