Dale McGowan tells a story in which his knowledge of the Bible works against him in a contest. The setup: At his wife’s (super religious) family reunion, a Baptist minister was asking everyone in the audience to guess a number to win a prize. He gave away t-shirts and pins… Then came the finale. With a bit of ceremony, he produced a small wooden box. He told a story of being approached by a man who was raising money for… Read more
Only a couple months ago, the Central Arkansas Coalition of Reason wanted to put up the following ad on 18 buses in the Little Rock area: The total cost would have been $5,620. Those ads never went up, though, because the Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA) and its advertising agent, On the Move Advertising, rejected the ad. It was too “controversial” for them. At the time, the United Coalition of Reason filed a lawsuit, with the help of the Appignani… Read more
Just as the Boy Scouts of America are happy to kick you out of the organization if you’re openly atheist or gay, Girlguiding UK (their version of the Girl Scouts) is telling a seven-year-old that she needs to pledge an oath to God if she wants to remain in the group: The pledge reads: ‘I promise that I will do my best, to love my God, to serve the Queen and my country, to help other people and to keep… Read more
David Hayward points out one of the most divisive weapons we’ve ever created: The Bible isn’t the only problem, though. It’s any holy book. Or, more broadly, it’s anything dogmatic, anything that tells you “This is the Absolute Truth and anyone who disagrees is the enemy.” (via nakedpastor) Read more
While I was gone, reader Leanna came out as an atheist! Who’s Leanna? A homeschooling mother living in Kentucky. (So this cant be easy for her.) … I could join one of several wonderful homeschooling co-ops that are available in the area, if I were willing to sign a statement of faith and either teach my children creationism, or teach them to lie and say they believed in it. Neither route is acceptable to me, as I am homeschooling with… Read more
Every now and then, we come across a situation where it’s not entirely clear how atheists should respond. Is every public mention of a god by a politician deserving of a lawsuit? Are there times when a religious issue may be controversial but worth fighting for, regardless of the PR ramifications? Are there ever times when it’s a smarter move to keep our mouths shut on an issue? Of course, the answers to all these questions depend on the particular… Read more
Reader Paul liked those Brazilian atheist billboards so much that he went ahead and Anglicized them for all of us: Hats off to the Associação Brasileira de Ateus e Agnósticos (Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics) for going bold and direct with their message! Read more
While I was gone last week, Nightline ran a segment about out-of-body experiences and Bob Woodruff interviewed atheist superwoman Margaret Downey for a perspective that doesn’t involve the supernatural. She sets him straight about why those visions occur, politely counters when he brings up his own memories of a “spiritual experience,” and generally comes off as a voice of reason. (Especially when juxtaposed with a woman who begins speaking in tongues…) I think she comes off wonderfully. Of course, Woodruff… Read more
Richard Dawkins’ next book, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True, is set to be released on October 4th: Dawkins is making a few appearances in the U.S. to promote the book in October. Stops include Miami, Houston, New York City, Virginia, and Kentucky. Check out the link for more details. … Meanwhile, that Sam Harris book none of you read is set to come out in paperback on September 13th: So here’s your chance to pick… Read more
Remember how awesome it was that the top three finishers at the Google Science Fair were all girls? They got some well-deserved attention for that. Here’s a story that probably won’t get as much press, but it’s just as impressive considering how few women go into mathematics. At the 2011 International Mathematical Olympiad, 18-year-old Lisa Sauermann not only obtained a perfect score — giving her sole possession of first place — her gold medal performance put her atop the IMO… Read more
