Because I know what cake I want to get: Looks like someone already got a piece of this one, though. And later, someone finished it off. Mmm… babycakes. Surely, it’s an atheist’s birthday somewhere. Let’s celebrate! (Thanks to all 32948423 of you for the link!) Read more
I received a very sad email from a Christian woman who could really could use some advice. I don’t know any more information that what is written below: My daughter’s biological father committed suicide late last week and as she is next of kin but only 8 yrs. old it is up to me to settle his affairs. I’m Christian but he was an Atheist and I do not want a Christian service for him as I know he would… Read more
Greenwood High School in Indiana put a graduation prayer up to a vote a couple months ago. Students voted yes, so Constitution be damned, right? Not exactly. A wise judge said no — she issued an injunction against the school so they couldn’t say a prayer. So there you have it. No prayer during graduation, right? Not exactly. The school has found a loophole… A central Indiana high school that was the subject of a lawsuit over a graduation prayer… Read more
If you’ve ever visited Richard Dawkins’ website, you may have wondered why the URL was richarddawkins.net. Dot Net? Why did that happen? Presumably because richarddawkins.com was taken. The owner of RichardDawkins.com claimed that he was using the domain name merely as a fan site for Dawkins. There were affiliate links on the web site that linked to various products related to Dawkins, but the owner claimed that those links were there in exchange for free web hosting. Another benefit for… Read more
C.L. Hanson is an ex-Mormon and the author of the excellent blog Letters From a Broad…. Her new book about growing up Mormon, ExMormon, is finally available on Amazon: If you’re raised Mormon, you have a plan all laid out for you: baptism at age eight, meetings every week, scouting and the priesthood (if you’re a boy), perhaps a mission and/or BYU, then temple marriage, kids of your own, and finally exaltation. But not everybody sticks to the script. Exmormon… Read more
My husband and I have been a part of each other’s lives since high school, have been married almost 20 years and have children. When we wed and for most of our married life, we were both atheists. Open, honest communication and shared beliefs were the cornerstone of our relationship. Last year he told me he had decided to become a Catholic. It turns out he started believing in a god about three years ago, and hid it from me… Read more
by Jesse Galef – I’m usually so proud of the way atheists are willing to stand up for their views. But watching the drama unfold around Everybody Draw Muhammad Day, I’m left wondering what changed… and I’m a little disappointed. It’s strange to see atheists arguing and criticizing each other for promoting an important message for fear that the message might offend people. Some Secular Student Alliance affiliates had an important idea to express: “No religious figure should be so… Read more
The South Dakota Republican gubernatorial primary is being held in a couple weeks. One of the candidates is Gordon Howie, the Tea Party candidate. He doesn’t have the most money, but he thinks he still has a fighting chance: Of the five GOP candidates for governor, the two with all the money are Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Senate Majority Leader Dave Knudson. They’re the establishment candidates that Howie hopes to topple. In order to get support, what is Howie… Read more
The New York Times interviewed Ayaan Hirsi Ali about her new book, Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations. A couple parts of the exchange are below. This is just a sampling of how horrific Islamic societies can be: Your own life has been a case study in female subjugation. At age 5, you underwent genital mutilation under the supervision of your Somalian grandmother. Did that include stitching you shut? Of course I had… Read more
A couple weeks ago, Greenwood High School in Indiana put a graduation prayer to a vote. The majority of students voted “yes” to prayer, so that settled it, right? Of course not. You can’t vote on whether or not to follow the law. Greenwood students must have failed their own Government classes. A judge put an injunction on the prayer: U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker late Friday issued a preliminary injunction against Greenwood High School, which had planned the… Read more
