Jessica Ahlquist, Damon Fowler, and Harrison Hopkins, three of the high-school atheists who have fought recent church-state separation battles, are doing an “Ask Us Anything” on Reddit. The questions and responses are fantastic. I can’t even imagine doing anything like this when I was in high school… and that wasn’t too long ago. Did I even know which church/state separation was all about back then? Probably not. It’s just a testament to better networking and strong online communities for atheists…. Read more
Just a quick note: Because an article discussing the Damon Fowler situation is going to be published in the next couple days, I’ve extended the time people can make their donations to the end of the month (instead of on Friday). Hope that’s ok! I’ve talked to Damon and his brother and we’ve figured out a way to handle the funds, too. That answer (and more) will be up on this site tomorrow when I post an interview with the… Read more
Gotta hand it to everyone at the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy — they know how to use that name to their advantage. They got Family Guy and American Dad! creator Seth MacFarlane to accept their Humanist of the Year award on June 14th! June 4th. We are very excited MacFarlane was able to work this exclusive event, an award ceremony and fundraiser for our organization, into his schedule. While it is rare for someone his age to receive this honor, his… Read more
This must be Harold Camping’s calendar for any future Rapture-related predictions: He won’t admit he was wrong, though. That’d be downright unChristian of him. David Hayward understands this: … the mental and spiritual gymnastics [Christians] go through to desperately try to make it make sense is breathtaking. Why? Because if they admit they were wrong about hearing from God, then they’ve opened up a huge theological and spiritual problem. And they just can’t go there. Eventually, it’ll hit them that… Read more
I posted earlier about the cover of Richard Dawkins’ forthcoming book: The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True. But it turns out this was only the cover of the British version of the book: Here’s what the cover of the American version will look like: I understand why the covers are different. In America, the book will be published by Free Press; in Britain, it’ll be published by Bantam Press. Different publishers = different covers. But seriously…. Read more
There’s an atheist billboard in California right now that’ll be up through Memorial Day thanks to the Orange County Coalition of Reason: Somehow, that optimistic, welcoming message is offensive to some Christians. And they’re fighting back! A group of Christians who have been gathering to conduct Bible studies under a “Godless billboard” erected by a national atheist organization say they will do so until the sign comes down. Henry Longbrake, a Garden Grove resident who has been coordinating these sessions… Read more
Back in March, the Oregon House of Representatives voted (unanimously, 59-0) to remove “faith healing” exemptions from the law. That meant if parents decided not to take their sick child to a doctor because they wanted to pray for the child’s health instead — and the child died as a result — the parents could not cite their faith as a reason to escape from jail time. The “We’re not killers! We’re just religious!” defense would no longer hold up… Read more
Crispian Jago figured out how Harold Camping predicts the important events in the world! October 21st. Got it. End of the world? Sure, why not. (via Science, Reason and Critical Thinking) Read more
Manny Pacquiao may be a superstar in the boxing ring, but he’s an embarrassment as a politician. Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the Philippines last year and he’s finally entered into a debate on a controversial issue: Contraception. Pacquiao wants to stop the government from issuing condoms to people who can’t afford them… because safe sex is somehow immoral to him. By doing this, he’s siding with the Catholic Church, which has proven time and time… Read more
Why does preacher Will Graham (grandson of Billy Graham) deserve any more respect than Harold Camping after statements like this? “The end of the world didn’t happen yesterday,” Graham said Sunday night, according to [the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association], “but Jesus is returning. God will bring this present world to a close. Time will come to an end.” “Are you ready to stand before God?” … Graham said Sunday that the rapture is not something that can be predicted as… Read more
