While the East Coast was dealing with Hurricane Irene over the weekend, there was an apartment fire not far from me in Boystown (the “gay neighborhood” in Chicago). A lot of people are homeless right now (thankfully, though, it doesn’t look like any lives were lost). About 100 people were displaced by the blaze, since about 60 units were affected, according to the American Red Cross. Most of the residents who were displaced have been able to find temporary shelter… Read more
This is the ad that just went up on 11 buses in Spokane, Washington, just in time for the Spokane County Interstate Fair: The Spokane Coalition of Reason put up the ad (thanks to the United Coalition of Reason footing the $4,516 bill). Reaching out to the like minded isn’t the only goal of the effort: “We want people to understand that we are a legitimate part of the community,” said Ray Ideus, a former Lutheran minister-turned-atheist who now directs… Read more
Coming out as an atheist to her family provoked an unsurprising response from reader Amanda’s mother: My husband and I came out to our respective families two weeks ago (Yay! No more needless pressure to pretend anymore! No more paranoia over what their reactions would be!) and my mom very sternly suggested that I read [Lee Strobel’s] The Case for Christ “with an open mind and heart.” So Amanda read the book. She had actually read a version of it… Read more
Reader Nic shares this story (via email) about how Christians seem to get special parking privileges in Philadelphia: I used to live just two blocks from Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and I remember how the streets would fill with cars on Sunday mornings, all of them conspicuously parked in areas that would otherwise be off limits during the rest of the week (like, for instance, in one of the city’s few reserved bike lanes). They would all have a… Read more
… then I don’t think I qualify in either category. I totes want to jump on that trampoline. What does that suggest…? Anyway, if any man living near the Grapevine, Texas area can convince me why he should attend this conference, I’ll cover the registration costs for you. You just have to promise to write a guest post about what went down afterwards so we can all live vicariously through you 🙂 Let me know if you’re interested… (via Christian… Read more
WAIT! Don’t go away yet. This is worth it. This is a local group taking a controversial issue and addressing it directly. The Fellowship of Freethought Dallas had their monthly meeting last Sunday (August 21st). According to Meetup, 83 people were signed up (but the actual number could vary quite a bit). They provided childcare for attendees (so bring the kids!) and had a potluck lunch after the meeting to keep the conversation going. The backdrop was set for the… Read more
The annual Global Atheist Convention will take place in Melbourne, Australia next year from April 13th – 15th. The roster of speakers is fantastic. (In fact, I’m sitting in the fetal position as we speak awaiting my invitation and plane tickets.) For the general public, the tickets are a few hundred dollars apiece. That would effectively stop anyone under 20 from attending the event (and even many people older than that). But the Atheist Foundation of Australia and the Freethought… Read more
Jesus knew all sorts of amazing magic tricks: That one’s almost as good as his other tricks: Next thing you know, they’re gonna say Jesus didn’t even walk on water! Oh… (Cartoon by ndikol — via Reddit) Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Hi Richard. I just stumbled across your site a couple hours ago and have been reading your Ask Richard articles and I thought maybe you could help me. I am not quite an atheist, but I am close. I don’t believe any religions have it right from what little knowledge I have of them, but I still can’t help but think there must be a god or some other force… Read more
