Dear Richard, I’m an atheist, and although I’ve only been reading The Friendly Atheist for a couple of months, I suspect my situation is unique: I’m actually famous, literally, for the Christian music I used to write and perform. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, the son of a conservative, Christian pastor. I began writing Christian songs as a child. As a teenager, my music was already being performed on Christian TV programs. After attending a well-known Christian university… Read more
The New Yorker has a lengthy piece all about former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and his faith… because you really can’t have the former without the latter. A few excerpts are below. On homosexuality: Huckabee found the reflexive piety of his community “very pharisaical in nature” when he was young. “People would say boys and girls shouldn’t go to R-rated movies, or they shouldn’t swim together,” he said. “I was the guy that always asked why. ‘Because we said so.’… Read more
Want a happy way to start to your morning? You’re not getting it. Whetu Abraham is 54-years-old and a “partial tetraplegic with head injuries.” He sits in a wheelchair. He can’t afford dental care. He no longer has his life savings. Meanwhile, he has been giving the Napier, New Zealand Oasis Elim Church the little money he does have, year after year, and they have accepted it… seemingly without any guilt whatsoever: [Said Rest home manager Lucy Dever] “He’s got… Read more
It’s from a couple months ago, but I only saw it now… and it amused me 🙂 (via Rational Moms) Read more
The Secular Student Alliance staff has been seeing a new development on colleges lately. In our ten years of existence, we’ve worked hard to get a group for non-theistic students going on campuses nationwide. We have over 200 affiliates at the moment and that number is rising fast: (It’s rising *really* fast, actually. We could always use your support.) So what happens as these group numbers go up…? One effect is that you start seeing TWO affiliates on ONE campus…. Read more
Touchdown Jesus is no longer around. But why did the statue burn down? SFGate columnist Mark Morford has compiled a number of popular reasons God torched Jesus. These are just a few of the hilarious bits: 4] Oh sure, make all the jokes you want. “God struck down his only son. Again!” Or, “I guess God really hates Styrofoam!” Here’s what the fundamentalists think: “It’s genius! Don’t you see God’s master plan here? He started a holy conversation! We’re all… Read more
Check out the first few lines in the hit song “Breakeven” by the band The Script: I’m still alive but I’m barely breathin’ Just prayed to a god that I don’t believe in ‘Cause I got time while she got freedom ‘Cause when a heart breaks, no, it don’t break even Catchy. Cute. You get the gist of the song. The guy is going through a breakup and he’s having a hard time getting over the girl. A few radio… Read more
There were a few different Draw Muhammad Day groups on Facebook. Facebook cowardly banned those groups after they learned of them, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Pakistani officials. They want Facebook to die. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being investigated by Pakistani police under a section of the penal code that makes blasphemy against Muhammad punishable by death. … According to the paper, Section 295-C of the penal code reads: “Use of derogatory remark etc, in respect of… Read more
In Spartanburg, South Carolina, Mayor Junie White is a strong ally of the LGBT community. In late May, he signed a proclamation marking today, June 19th, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day. [The mayor signed] a resolution that states, “The city of Spartanburg supports efforts to ensure that everyone has the right to live in conditions of dignity, respect and peace” and “Pride Week celebrations contribute to reducing discrimination, isolation and barriers faced by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender… Read more
My friend Zack Ford is competing to win a scholarship to Netroots Nation, courtesy of Freedom To Marry. In order to win, he wrote a couple blog posts and answered some questions — you can read those here. But none of that technically matters because the winner is chosen through an Internet survey. Let’s Pharyngulate this baby. You can vote for Zack Ford once a day for the next week 🙂 Read more
