The Minnesota Atheists are putting together a book full of stories from non-religious people who have lived in or are currently living in the state. It’s called Atheists Voices of Minnesota and all the proceeds will benefit the group: Each essay should offer readers a unique atheist perspective. These should be personal narratives from your life or observations which would be a poignant read for others. The account may be humorous, sad, surprising, quirky — whatever works. Possible themes might… Read more
Note to readers: I usually don’t publish letters that are this long, but this letter is so poignant, so articulate, and so thorough that I couldn’t bring myself to shorten or paraphrase it. It depicts dilemmas similar to those that young atheists from devout families face in the U.S, but the main difference is the severity of what is at stake. Dear Richard, I’m writing to you from Europe where my family came to live before I was born. While… Read more
Almost ten years after he began writing his bestseller The End of Faith, Sam Harris’ new book Lying is now available as a $1.99 Kindle Single: This is his 4th book and his first e-only book. (It’s not available in hardcover/paperback.) Read more
The San Diego New Atheists and Agnostics are planning a “Positive Protest” of the local Creation and Earth “History” “Museum” on Saturday, September 24th. Organizer John V. explains what that entails: I’ve tried the angry-atheist thing before and, believe me, it doesn’t work… I think we should focus more on trying to improve the public image of science than on education and criticism of creationism (although education will certainly be a part of it). … Personally, I’ll be recommending my… Read more
College Humor points out how one particular group of people is always obsessing over minutiae, quoting old source material to back up certain arguments, and abstaining from pre-marital sex… (Thanks to Alex for the link!) Read more
Yes, there are categories of “diversity” other than gender and geographic location, but Brian Thompson at the James Randi Educational Foundation shares some numbers showing the skeptic community is at least doing better than we were before. Ideally, it’s an indication of what’s to come: … If the skeptics community is going to thrive and grow, it’s essential that no one feel unwelcome or excluded due to race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. And we think our programs are better… Read more
I’d never heard of the movie Mary and Max before, but I kinda want to see it now… According to reader Leslie, who sets up the following clip, it’s a movie about an 8-year-old girl (Mary) from Australia who becomes pen pals with a 44-year-old man (Max) from New York who has Asperger’s syndrome. At one point, Mary asks Max where babies come from, because her father told her they were found in beer bottles. She wonders if they are… Read more
In Kelowna, British Columbia, Mayor Sharon Shepherd has bowed down to a Christian group and issued a proclamation that says September 24th to October 2nd will be “Protect Human Life Week.” “It is the intention of this proclamation to promote respect and protection to all human life, especially the infirm, the aged, the handicapped and the unborn,” the Protect Human Life Week proclamation states. … “Aside from year one when she received a considerable amount of backlash from those who… Read more
The Foundation Beyond Belief (which I chair) has put together a resource page for parents who are raising their children without religion: This constantly evolving page brings resources to humanist parents wishing to help their children develop compassionate engagement with the world around them. In addition to general resources for encouraging generosity and mutual responsibility, this page will include books, online activities, and other resources related to the Foundation’s causes at a given time. Since one of the issues we’re… Read more
The Triangle Freethought Society in North Carolina is holding a Fall Fundraiser in Raleigh this October. Considering the group has put up billboards in the area, stopped infiltrations of church into state, and held a National Day of Reason event at the State Capitol building, the money is definitely being used for positive activism. If you’re in the area, make room in your schedule for the event! Read more
