The American Atheists billboard near the Lincoln Tunnel got more than its money’s worth of publicity over the past month: That billboard has now been taken down, and there’s a new billboard in its place: That one’s put up by the Times Square Church (based in Manhattan). It’s fine — they’re allowed to have it up. I just don’t think anyone’s going to make a big deal out of it. There’s nothing remarkable there. Just a whole bunch of clichés… Read more
Reader Likundu was in San Fernando (Spain) and took a picture of a tile mosaic on the wall of an old building. On it were two well-known figures: On the left? Flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla. On the right? Jesus Nazareno. Not just Jesus, mind you, but Jesus Nazareno, a wooden sculpture that people take out on procession during the holy week. Are the two equal in the eyes of the locals? Should they be worshipped together? Is it… Read more
To Bill Donohue, Bill O’Reilly, and everyone else at Fox News Channel: There is no War on Christmas. This ad, no matter what you think it does, does not threaten Christmas or Christians: The next story, however, is what a War on Christmas really would look like, and it’s horrifying: On December 18, Hindu fundamentalists beat two dozen carolers, including young women, and took them to the police station in a Mumbai suburb, charging that by singing Christmas carols they… Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Richard, I always thought that I had it pretty easy as an atheist and that I’d never have to write one of these e-mails, but I guess I’ve made it to my first big atheist milestone. I’m a sophomore in college and I’ve been an atheist for about four years, and I was an agnostic for a few years before that. I was raised Catholic and went to church every… Read more
I always thought most church pastors make next to nothing. I don’t know if the guy I’m about to mention is an exception or run-of-the-mill, but maybe I need to rethink that… Check out this story from a tax preparer as he explains work he did for a local minister… The minister gets paid from his church, from which he received cash of $105,000 in 2009. He received a W-2 with wages of $40,000 and a “housing allowance” of $65,000…. Read more
Does the following excerpt look like it comes from an interview with Christopher Hitchens? Maybe Richard Dawkins? Wasn’t [science] also used to justify slavery, genocide and the subjugation of women? Why should we trust science when it comes to God? When was science used to justify slavery, genocide and the subjugation of women? There are bad people who believe in God and bad people who don’t but neither can claim to have science on their side when they commit their… Read more
Sgt. Justin Griffith recently took a test called the Soldier Fitness Tracker (SFT) that would test his competency in four areas: Emotional, Social, Family, and Spiritual. One of these things is not like the others… Why is Spiritual on that list? Who knows… Among the questions Justin had to answer on a scale of 1 (disagree) to 5 (agree): — My life has a lasting meaning — I feel connected to a being that is greater than me I believe… Read more
I’m impressed. Not only does Netflix know what movies you’d like to see, it knows which subscribers are atheists… (Thanks to Annie for the link!) Read more
Mark Mercer, a Philosophy professor, has a piece in The Ottawa Citizen that’s worth a read. As a civil libertarian, he argues that “freedom of religion” really isn’t necessary if other liberties are respected. And when we give special privileges to people of faith, we’re “[violating] our equality as citizens.” Courts have ruled that Sikh boys may wear small daggers, kirpans, to school. Other schoolchildren may not wear small daggers. Muslim women may be veiled while testifying in court, at… Read more
Don’t want to brush all the snow off your car in the morning? Godless Girl figured out a way to get someone else to do it for you at no cost. Just take advantage of anti-atheist prejudice: What if I wrote a little message on my windows to see what would happen? Many folks write phrases like “Jesus!” and “Wash me!” all over their cars. But what about something a bit more heathen? You can check out her site to… Read more
