Looks like Greensboro and Amarillo aren’t alone. The Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers have their own highway, too! Which other atheists groups have their own stretches of road? Someone needs to be cataloguing this… Read more
I’m no Jesus expert, but David Fitzgerald has been studying his existence for over a decade. He’s just released a new book: Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All. Check out the exclusive excerpt below and stick around for a chance to win a free copy of the book! (more…) Read more
I came home from the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear with some kind of bug. Extreme weakness and the highest fever I’ve ever had knocked me down like Mike Tyson hitting me with a George Foreman electric grill. After a few days I felt better and got active, resulting in a relapse that left me like Wile E. Coyote after the boulder falls on him from a mile up. A trip to urgent care rendered a diagnosis of pneumonia…. Read more
Mindposts.com has an excellent (and free) downloadable coloring book for children of atheist parents, explaining the history of the Christmas traditions: I *so* want to see an expanded version of this. With Daniel Dennett as Santa Claus. And Christopher Hitchens as Rudolph (he already has the red nose…) What would the other New Atheists be…? In any case, make it happen, artists! (Thanks to Rick for the link!) Read more
Ron Verstappen, a retired software entrepreneur and a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe, wants the Secular Student Alliance to keep up our good work supporting college atheist groups, so he has offered to match the next $15,000 worth of donations! That offer is only good through New Years Eve, though. If you’ve thought about donating, now’s the time to do it! We’re growing at an amazing rate and the students need your help…. Read more
The Jehovah’s Witnesses put out a monthly magazine called Awake! which is a companion publication to the Watchtower. In this month’s issue (PDF), the cover story on “Atheism on the March” has a very interesting beginning… Yes, how dare those New Atheists not keep their views to themselves!? It’s so rude when people just intrude upon you as if they have all the answers… (The publishers really don’t see the irony in that sentence, do they?) (Thanks to Caleb for… Read more
It’s always nice to hear a Christian admitting what we’ve all known for a long time: The term Christian film has become synonymous with substandard production values, stilted dialogue and childish plots. Why is Christian film no more than a side note to modern culture? Why are Christians left behind? … Rather than developing organically, the average Christian film is more pushy and sanctimonious than the global-warming agenda movies. Violence is almost non-existent, salty language never happens, unmarried people never… Read more
Earlier this year, Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola put out a report about pastors who were still in the pulpit but who no longer believed in a god. Last night, ABC News did a report on a couple of their subjects. The video’s not up on their site as I write this, but it should be available when you’re reading this. “The more I read the Bible, the more questions I had,” Jack said. “The more things didn’t make sense… Read more
Gary DeSomber, a member of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers, made a short film about an atheist trying to explain to a religious friend why God’s existence is no more factual than the Easter Bunny. It’s well made and the dialogue is as honest as you’ll ever see. (I know I’ve had similar conversations before.) And I appreciate that it’s not mean-spirited — just a pleasant dialogue between two people with different beliefs… at least until the end: I’d totally… Read more
All the Simon Singh drama of the past couple years shows how badly libel reform is needed in the UK. Right now, free speech appears to be at a premium. Bloggers, like print journalists, could get sued for mere criticism and not actual libel. The good news is that a draft Defamation Bill will be announced in the new year. Hopefully, the reforms will be majors ones, allowing the UK to catch up with other western countries on that front…. Read more
