Joe Zamecki and fellow atheists in Austin, Texas have been helping the homeless frequently over the past couple years. They just did another food giveaway and here’s how it went: As I’ve said before, this is a great program for everyone involved. It’s a win-win situation regardless of your religious beliefs. There’s no proselytization taking place. No homeless person has to give up their faith to get some food. This is people helping people. You don’t need a god to… Read more
I like how Toys “R” Us categorized the Noah’s Ark Playset… (click to enlarge!) (Thanks to Jeff for the link!) Read more
The Southern Poverty Law Center makes very clear on their website that “viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing as hate groups.” What does qualify them for that designation? Generally, the SPLC’s listings of these groups is based on their propagation of known falsehoods — claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities — and repeated, groundless name-calling. And the Illinois Family Institute has made their list. SPLC even calls them more hateful… Read more
The Tennessee State Board of Equalization doesn’t tax churches. But what about the gyms, bookstores, and cafes that are found in so many megachurches? The state decided those are not part of the Christ Church ministry — they’re “commercial enterprises” — and therefore should be subject to taxation. $425,000 in property tax, to be exact. That makes perfect sense. Which must be why the church is trying so hard to fight it. The 2,300-member Christ Church insists that’s an outdated… Read more
PZ Myers must have been the inspiration for the Creation Museum’s new idea: The Creation Museum is planning a big announcement later this month about an expansion to its religious-themed attraction. Few details have been revealed, but Boone County residents said they’ve heard the Petersburg attraction plans to build a theme park that promotes the same biblical worldview. Or more like Ken Ham’s people saw the success of the Holy Land Experience theme park in Florida and wanted to take… Read more
Dear Richard, I have been seeking advice for a problem from several sources lately, and I would love your advice if you have the time to give it to me. I am struggling with a problem I have not heard spoken of directly. I would like to think that it falls under the category of “spiritual withdrawals” because otherwise I’m left to think much more disturbing things. When I was a Christian I would have these moments of emotional rapture… Read more
Regina Brett of The Cleveland Plain Dealer is very unhappy with the recent slate of atheists billboards. Don’t believe in God? Join the club. That holiday message is brought to you by your fellow atheists. Yes, the atheists are recruiting. … I checked out the ads that the Freedom from Religion Foundation posted on its website. One billboard shows a woman saying, “Keep your theology off my biology.” One featuring comedian Julia Sweeney says, “OMG, there is no god!” Cartoonist… Read more
You know how Rev. Cedric Miller demanded that members of his staff get off of Facebook so they could avoid temptation from people who were not their spouses? Then, you know how you heard he had threesomes with his wife and a male assistant in his church? It turns out it was a bit kinkier than that: … over the weekend Rev Miller’s local newspaper disclosed that he “didn’t need Facebook to be part of an extramarital affair”. It found… Read more
The latest issue of The Humanist has excerpts of Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Humanist of the Year award speech. It’s a terrific read if you haven’t seen the video: The big unsatisfying thing for me is when you have a bumper sticker that says, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” It doesn’t settle it for me. I was giving a talk in Texas a couple of years ago — this still circulates on the web… Read more
How depressing is this story…? An Anderson father says that because he professed religious doubt in a custody hearing, a judge took his children from him. Craig Scarberry, 29, this month was stripped of joint custody of his three children, Kaelyn, 7; William, 6, and Ayvah, 4, because he changed his religion from Christian to agnostic. … “I’m a good, loving father, and this ruling has taken my children away,” Scarberry said. “I wasn’t interfering in their right to be… Read more
