The Vatican is planning to host a series of debates in Paris next year where atheists will be pitted against the Church’s “top theologians.” The “Courtyard of the Gentiles”, as the foundation is known, is being set up by the Pontifical Council for Culture, the influential Vatican department that is charged with fostering better relations with non-Catholics. It was founded by Pope John Paul II in 1982 to spearhead his attempts to create a better dialogue with other cultures and… Read more
After writing about the Boot Protest against nomad campus preacher Brother Jed, reader JT from Missouri State University let me know how his campus handled Jed when he stopped by for a visit. They used the opportunity to raise money for Heifer International. Brother Jed even played along, which was pretty decent of him… If you only have a minute, skip to the 2:20 mark. (Parts of the video are possibly NSFW). Read more
A couple months ago, Rev. Roger Butts of the High Plains Unitarian Universalist Church wrote a wonderful defense of atheists doing good works in the Colorado Springs Gazette. Now, he’ll be leading free classes on religious humanism: Beginning Wednesday at High Plains, Butts will teach a free four-week course on religious humanism and its place in society. Classes are open to anyone and no registration is required. “I want to lift up religious humanism as an alternative to (religious) orthodoxy,”… Read more
There’s a new “psychic” company starting up and they’re currently looking for “gifted psychics who have prior experience”… I should apply. I once said the Cubs were going to win a baseball game… and they did! I have a gift. So do all of you. You could make some decent money, too: Generous hourly rates will be paid based on gross sales of psychic services rendered through website (currently between $53.55 per hour and $116.55 per hour of logged talk/chat… Read more
I have no idea what I’d say to this woman if I met her… It’s easy to say you have to either suppress your sexuality or lose your faith. But neither one is easy or she would’ve done it already. It’s the same dilemma as being a gay Christian. Where do you go from there? (via PostSecret) Read more
Next week, the British Medical Association may “lobby for homoeopathy to be banned from the UK National Health Service.” It’s a long overdue move. Homeopathic medicine is nothing but a placebo that gullible people choose to take. The government shouldn’t be paying for their delusional thinking. Pratik Kanjilal writes in the Hindustan Times that this would be a foolish move. Here’s just one excerpt from his irresponsible piece: … homoeopathy is routinely denounced because no one knows how it works…. Read more
Greenwood High School is the place where students voted to have a graduation prayer, a judge said no, and then the school told speakers they would not screen their speeches beforehand. The class president invoked the Christian god (which she had a legal right to do). The valedictorian, Eric Workman, talked about the importance of church/state separation. Many of you have asked for a transcript of his speech. I spoke with Eric and got a copy of it. Damn… This… Read more
My friend Jeannette Watland was recently featured in the Minnesota Women’s Press and it’s a terrific article. Jeannette is the president of Camp Quest of Minnesota and former president of Minnesota Atheists. Her pleasant demeanor has helped her out in the strangest places, too… Building bridges rather than walls has been rewarding for Watland. She once made a connection with someone she calls a “‘God-hates-fags’-type protestor.” Watland, a vocal gay-rights supporter, looked at the other protestor as an individual rather… Read more
Last week, I mentioned the “largest ever gathering of black atheists.” Now, NPR has a story on the African Americans for Humanism conference in Washington, D.C. featuring CFI’s Norm Allen and The Root’s Jamila Bey. You can listen to the whole piece by going here. [Host Tony Cox:] So, Norm, why is this such an issue for black people who believe in either humanism or atheism? Allen: … there have been many negative aspects to religion. For example, even though… Read more
Greenwood High School in Indiana is the place where school officials wanted to inject prayer into the graduation, let students vote on the matter (as if breaking the law is something you can vote on), were told by a judge that was illegal, and finally decided to simply “not screen” the graduation speeches. Last night was the graduation. How did it go? Eric Workman, the valedictorian, showed exactly why he’s at the top of his class: … Workman, who hadn’t… Read more
