A fellow Chicagoan and atheist, Bruce Critelli, has decided his 2011 Resolution is to read the entire King James Bible. If you’ve never read the Bible, this could be a comfortable way to do it: surrounded by other atheists. Bruce will read a little bit each day, write about his thoughts, and ask some general discussion questions. Along the way, there will hopefully be a productive two-way dialogue. The project begins on January 1st. (Side note: David Plotz at Slate… Read more
I know the NASDAQ Stock Market bell is often rung by celebrities (so much for taking it seriously), but why are they lending any sort of credibility to the American Medical College of Homeopathy? I know the stock market has problems, but giving the honor to a group that profits off of ignorance and pseudoscience sets a bad precedence. Who’s ringing the bell next? Psychics? Ghosthunters? Astrologists? Read more
Earlier this week, President Obama called the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles to congratulate him on giving I-went-to-jail-because-I-was-involved-in-an-illegal-dog-fighting-ring Michael Vick a second chance to play football. FOX News personality Tucker Carlson wasn’t happy with Obama’s decision and said this on the air: “I’m a Christian… I believe in second chances. But Michael Vick killed dogs… I think personally he should have been executed for that. He wasn’t…” Has a statement that begins with the words “I’m a Christian… but” ever… Read more
A couple days ago, I mentioned that Polk County (Florida) Sheriff Grady Judd removed basketball hoops from the county jail — because why should criminals be allowed any sort of fun recreation? — and gave them to local churches. The Atheists of Florida were already planning a lawsuit. What’s happened in the past couple days? Judd is bathing in his newfound power. With an offer of free legal representation, he’s telling the atheists to bring it on: “[The atheists] have… Read more
***Update***: You can see John’s original post here. … John W. Loftus, author of Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, suggests that the trouble with atheists is that we lack organization. He elaborates on each of his points, but the short versions are: 1) We don’t provide a united front. 2) We have no leaders. 3) We cannot agree on anything else but religion. 4) We have no agreed upon causes. 5) We cannot agree about… Read more
Bobby Henderson, the Prophet of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, is concerned about the future of the atheist movement and what he sees as an emerging trend. In a serious piece, he makes his case for us not to be dicks: What I worry most about, though, are the emails from young people who see in the Church of FSM an opportunity to bash religion in general and more specifically to bash people for being religious. Tolerance is… Read more
Hi Richard, Thanks for reading. My husband of one year doesn’t believe in God and I do. As we were both moderate people this never caused a problem before. I’m getting a bit alarmed though by his increasing involvement in what I would call “fundamentalist atheism.” I call it that because of the striking resemblance its members and community leaders (like Dawkins for instance) bear to the aggressive, cultish, right-wing elements of the church. Apparently they call themselves “skeptics.” Don’t… Read more
***Update***: A peaceful protest of the event will occur this Sunday, January 2nd, from 6:30a – 8:15a at Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW. If you can come, please bring signs showing how you feel. Examples include: “We Vote Too!” “There’s Room for Everyone in Government!” “Atheists Left Out in the Cold.” Please email Amanda if you plan to attend. … Washington, D.C. Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray (a Democrat, if it matters to you) is having a prayer service… Read more
In Florida, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd decided to remove basketball hoops from the county jail: “It just bothered me that people would drive by and say, ‘I’m working hard, and the guys are sitting in the county jail playing basketball,'” Judd told FOX 13 on Thursday. “Well, no basketball, no more.” Alright, fine. I’m not concerned with whether that was the right move or not. What concerns me is what he did afterwards: Judd is donating the hoops, backboards… Read more
