Deanna Joy Lyons has a wonderful way to take the money you plan to spend on Valentine’s Day gifts — typically a way to “show your love” for one person — and turn it into a way to show your love for a whole class of GLBT victims. Instead of wasting that money on one day’s worth of superficial gestures, we are pledging to donate the amount we would have spent to achieving lasting equality for everyone. We are choosing… Read more
It’s not like most American public schools are all that impressive, but Australian schools get it wrong when it comes to their mandatory religious training one hour per week — put on by Christians who get tens of millions of dollars each year. You can read more about that here. There are many things wrong with the whole arrangement, but one passage in this article captured my attention: A third parent Glen says children with non-christian faiths at Nowra High… Read more
A few weeks ago, I posted an interview with Brad White, the founder of the Texas-based non-profit group “Changing the Face of Christianity.” Brad said a lot of cringe-inducing things about gay marriage and you all let him have it. I did, too. He was pretty upset with the response because he really did believe he was doing something positive and different in the name of Christianity — and in some ways, he is — but we were all focused… Read more
I gave a talk at Purdue University last weekend and there was a nice story about it in the Exponent. Thought the first line got all of my attention…: Fashioning a polo shirt that complemented his witty humor, an atheist high school math teacher recounted how he won his tussle with an influential right-wing group. Yep. That’s me. Fashion icon. And don’t you forget it. (Somewhere, everyone I know is laughing at that thought….) ***Update***: Here’s an image from the… Read more
While the midwest is experiencing a massive snowstorm (or, as it’s known in Chicago, Snowprah Windfrey), the northeast coast of Australia was hit by a cyclone. With winds howling at up to 185 miles per hour, a huge cyclone made landfall in the predawn hours on Thursday along the coast of the already storm-battered state of Queensland, with widespread reports of property damage and power failures. Of course, this could’ve been prevented if only the Prime Minister would call on… Read more
I’ll admit I don’t really know what the Bloggies are, but I’m nominated for “Best Weblog About Religion.” Fun! Remember: If you go vote for me, Jesus will love you more. Come to think of it, I don’t mind getting 4th out of the 5 nominees, as long as I beat Jen. That’s really all that matters. Thanks in advance! Read more
A note to Bible tutors: Remember to include all the stories in the Bible, not just the cherry-picked ones. The kids will undoubtedly thank you for it: (via Atheist Media Blog) Read more
You might tear up when you watch Zach Wahls speak about how he’s doing pretty well, thank you very much, despite having two moms who are married: “If I was your son, Mr. Chairman, I believe I would make you very proud,” Wahls confidently testified. “I’m not really so different from any of your children. My family really isn’t so different from yours. After all, your family doesn’t derive its sense of worth from being told by the state, ‘You’re… Read more
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that the Agnostic and Atheist Student Group at Texas A&M was conducting a fundraiser called Donations Against Damnations. The goal was to raise money for the groups that notorious campus preachers like Brother Jed speak out against. (Jed’s the guy with the cane in the picture above.) Keri Bean of the AAS tells me the fundraiser was a huge success — they raised $600 total, $150 for each of four groups. The Texas A&M… Read more
It was less than a year ago when I lamented that the Smut for Smut campaign run by the Atheist Agenda group at the University of Texas at San Antonio was a bad idea: … I get the point. The Bible has smut and violence and that needs to be pointed out. It’s not all rainbows, flowers, and Jesus. But if the group’s goal is to get people to consider atheism as a reasonable way of looking at the world,… Read more
