Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, recently did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. He responded to the highest-rated questions in the video below: I haven’t seen it yet, but if there are any sections we should look at, please leave the timestamp (e.g. 1:22) in the comments! ***Update***: The answers are interesting, though I’m *really* enjoying hearing Harris just say the questioners’ names… “This question comes from steakmusic. Thanks, steakmusic.” Read more
I posted earlier about how Dylan Galos’ billboard was taken down because it had been placed on church property: The billboard has now been relocated. The billboard… has been relocated to East Main St., west of Alum Creek Dr., facing west. Good — Looks like there’s more traffic in that area, anyway, at least compared to where it used to be… Read more
According to a new Pew survey of Evangelical Christian leaders, the biggest threat to Evangelical Christianity is… us! Should I break out the party hats? Funny, though. I would’ve said the biggest threat to Evangelical Christianity is their stubbornness when it comes to issues of homosexuality, women’s rights, and science education. While the rest of the country gets more enlightened, they insist on staying in the dark. There’s hope that younger Christians see through some of the bullshit, but I… Read more
They need your support… won’t you consider helping just one child today? If you’d like to make a difference, you can become a Secular Student Alliance member here (or donate directly here). Your generosity will help children like PZ Myers jump higher! Read more
Meredith Heagney at The Columbus Dispatch has a few extra tidbits regarding how the Christ Cathedral Church removed the following harmless billboard from its property because it featured an atheist: First, we have the reaction from church leaders: The Rev. Waymon Malone ordered it removed, said Carolyn Kelley, his mother-in-law. Malone and his wife, Kimberlee, were out of town today and could not be reached for comment. “It upset him because of what it said,” Kelley said. “It said we… Read more
Reader Christine gets emails from an online coupon program and she discovered an interesting item among her deals: Damn. Babies are only $7.99? They must be in season. Read more
Sometimes the Christian Right wins a battle… only to have it backfire on them. For example, they were the ones who pushed to have Christian clubs in public high schools, and that’s the main reason Secular Student Alliance groups are now able to exist (and I predict they’ll spread quickly). Here’s another perfect example of that idea in action. There’s a (privately funded) Veteran’s Memorial in (publicly funded) Central Park in King, North Carolina. Since 2004, a Christian flag has… Read more
It hasn’t even been a week since gay marriage was legalized in New York, but already you have people of faith complaining that they won’t be able to do their jobs: Barbara MacEwen, the town clerk in upstate Volney who is responsible for signing marriage licenses in the town, said she’s morally opposed to same-sex weddings and does not intend to affix her signature to any marriage documents for gay or lesbian couples. … “If there’s any possible way to… Read more
I know we have sexism problems in our own movements — women aren’t always treated with respect and I’ve been to conferences that feature a dearth of female speakers. But because of people speaking out against this kind of thing, I have hopes we’ll get better in time. All that said, at least we’re not as bad as some Baptist groups: Apparently, women and non-white people aren’t qualified to speak about the Bible. Were they even considered…? Note to all… Read more
If there’s a better explanation of the difference between religion and science, I’d like to see it… Science figures things out, piece by piece. It’s not always easy, but you’ll occasionally have a breakthrough that allows you to fill in more pieces. The bigger picture ultimately becomes clear, even if the details aren’t complete. Religion just assigns an automatic explanation to everything. There’s no need to question. Nothing to figure out. Just accept it, move along, don’t bother putting any… Read more
