There’s one place where it’s perfectly acceptable for atheists to follow God: On Twitter. If you use the service at all, you may already be a fan of @almightygod. With nearly 25,000 followers, he may be the most popular deity out there, which, as we all know, makes everything he says totally true. He was kind enough to answer some of my questions: Do you exist? I tweet, therefore I am. Besides, If I don’t exist, then who pops up… Read more
You want a geekgasm? John Hodgman interviewing Neil deGrasse Tyson for 30 minutes on The Sound of Young America. Go listen to it. Or download it (MP3). It’s as amazing as you expect it to be. (My own interview with Dr. Tyson is here.) Read more
Earlier this week, in anticipation of the release of The Magic of Reality, the New York Times’ Michael Powell profiled Richard Dawkins. I pointed out my surprise that Powell pretty much ignored any real criticism of Dawkins within atheist circles (especially regarding Elevatorgate). Sarah Pulliam Bailey, a religion reporter herself, didn’t take that omission lightly at all. She wonders whether other controversial figures would have been treated in the same way: A profile is supposed to break new ground. If… Read more
Comedian Patton Oswalt just released his new stand-up album “Finest Hour”: I’ve only gotten through the first half so far, but I love this clip 🙂 In it, Oswalt talks about gay marriage, the Bible, and religious thinking — the language is NSFW: Read more
If you haven’t seen The Ledge, Matthew Chapman’s thriller featuring an atheist lead character, it’s now available as a DVD on Netflix (or Qwikster or whatever they want to be called now… the one with DVDs, dammit). I saw it a couple months ago and thought it was fantastic. You can read Greta Christina’s review of it here. Read more
There are a lot of stories out there about how a 14-year-old boy, Dakota Ary, got suspended from Western Hills High School in Fort Worth, Texas because he made a comment in German class that his teacher didn’t like: “We were talking about religions in Germany. I said, ‘I’m a Christian. I think being a homosexual is wrong,’” he said. “It wasn’t directed to anyone except my friend who was sitting behind me. I guess [the teacher] heard me. He… Read more
Despite the flimsy evidence that led to the death of Troy Davis earlier this week, Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wants everyone to know he still supports the death penalty. But how does he justify capital punishment with Biblical values? “The death penalty is not about retribution,” [Mohler said] in a podcast Sept. 22. “It is first of all about underlining the importance of every single human life.” Mohler, who has a Ph.D. in theology, said in… Read more
