A couple weeks ago, a 21-year-old student named Ashton Pittman posted an incredible story on his blog about the first time he went to hear anti-gay Christian pastor Damon Thompson. It’s not simply that he was the first preacher I ever heard use anti-gay slurs in a sermon or make the suggestion that it was possible to change one’s sexuality; it’s that he was the first preacher I ever heard sell homophobia and self-hatred so effectively. At the time, Ashton… Read more
Does anyone know what we’re still arguing about…? Who cares! Now, we can all choose sides, anyway! Who’s your horse in this battle? … *Sigh* In case it’s not clear, I’m kidding. Stop taking sides. Please stop taking sides. Everyone is overreacting. All of you. (Yes, you too.) There are lessons we can learn from all this. As soon as you figure out what they are, you are welcome to share them in the comments. Read more
Ladies, does the guy talking to you at 4:00a at the Skeptics conference not get the hint? Guys, do you not know if your advances are welcome? Well, ladies, when the sun sets each night at The Amazing Meeting 9, just change into one of these shirts and you’ll stop any potential controversies before they even begin. Future crises averted! (In the unlikely event that anyone buys a shirt, all proceeds will go to JREF.) Read more
Here’s a catchy little song about atheism. Lyrics are below! Brothers and sisters, have you heard the news? The storm has lifted and there’s nothing to lose, So swap your confirmation for your dancing shoes, Because there never was no God. Step out of the darkness and onto the streets, Forget about the fast, let’s have a carnival feast, Raise up your lowered head to hear the liberation beat, Because there never was no God. There is no God, So… Read more
It’s been exactly two years since Richard Wade began offering advice to atheists on this site. He’s answered nearly 200 questions via his column and countless others via private emails. It seems like every time I give a talk anywhere in the country, readers come up to me to tell me how much they appreciate his wisdom and how he handles all the problems that come his way. I feel the same way 🙂 I’m thrilled that he’s such an… Read more
Following their attention-getting billboard campaign, American Atheists recently purchased overhead ribbons — meaning that planes would fly banners with their messages in 26 states this weekend. The ribbons would read “God-LESS America” or “Atheism is patriotic” followed by AA’s website URL. Mitch Albom, the columnist who wrote Tuesdays with Morrie, doesn’t get why the group would do such a thing: This is a classic example of an OK concept meeting a terrible idea. The group insists, on its Web site,… Read more
Following their attention-getting billboard campaign, American Atheists recently purchased overhead ribbons — meaning that planes would fly banners with their messages in 26 states this weekend. The ribbons would read “God-LESS America” or “Atheism is patriotic” followed by AA’s website URL. Mitch Albom, the columnist who wrote Tuesdays with Morrie, doesn’t get why the group would do such a thing: This is a classic example of an OK concept meeting a terrible idea. The group insists, on its Web site,… Read more
I don’t write about my parent’s religion here very often, but since this weekend marks the 16th Biennial Jaina Convention, we might as well discuss Jainism. For those who don’t know, Jainism’s major tenet is non-violence. If you know anything about Jainism, that’s what you know about it. Unfortunately, that one idea seems to negate all the other nonsense Jainism propagates. Sam Harris wrote about the non-violence aspect of Jainism in The End of Faith (where he argued that even… Read more
Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone else has had a go at it, so I might as well jump in, right? Here’s the story so far, from what I can gather. 1) Female 1 says she is tired and wants to go to bed. It’s 4:00a. 2) Unknown Male approaches Female 1 in the elevator and asks her if he’d like to come to her room. (Guys, that’s creepy. Don’t do that. No matter what you think, you’re never going to be… Read more
A month ago, a reader named Amanda wrote a great post about why she and her husband no longer attended church. Now, she’s back with more reasons and I suspect a lot of former Christians will sympathize with her. I particularly love this part: I’m currently reading Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, and my friends would think I was losing my mind if I pulled one sentence from the novel, applied the concept to my life, and then altered my… Read more
