A fantastic video of James Randi speaking at the 2007 TED conference has just been posted. Even if you know about JREF and the Million Dollar Challenge, this is a wonderful talk to watch: Read more
At this point, if Sarah Palin told me it was ok to cross the street, I’d be double checking every direction. You just have to believe the opposite of whatever she says. So when she spoke at the recent “Women of Joy” conference, she said exactly what you would expect her to say: a lie. “And then, hearing any leader declare that America isn’t a Christian nation and poking an ally like Israel in the eye, it’s mind-boggling to see… Read more
There’s a public radio show in Canada, hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, called WireTap. In a recent episode, Adam Davidson (of NPR’s Planet Money podcast) told a story about how his atheist family hired a Baptist minister for his atheist grandmother’s funeral. They told him the family was not religious. You can guess what happened next… There was essentially a fire-and-brimstone service in which he said the grandmother would be going to hell. During the episode, Goldstein and Davidson call that… Read more
For years, I’ve been torn about the Interfaith movement. I’m not sure whether to embrace them or reject them. In response to last week’s Chicago Tribune article about college atheists, Eboo Patel and Samantha Kirby of the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) wrote a piece for the Washington Post’s On Faith blog. They argue that young atheists are going in a good direction — from the “aggressive” anti-theism of the New Atheists to the more cooperative, interfaith-minded Humanism of the newer… Read more
Over the weekend, the Harvard Secular Society’s “Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism” was given to Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman (a.k.a. The Mythbusters). A transcript of Adam’s speech is now available online and you can read it here: I’m actually the fourth generation in my family to have no practical use for the church, or God, or religion. My children continue this trend. Here are a few things I’ve learned. Prayer doesn’t work because someone out there is… Read more
Greetings Richard, I am 17 years old. I have been professing Atheism for about 3-4 years now but have only recently ‘come out of the closet’ to my family, who are Protestant Christians. Even as a child, I remember distinctly my questioning of the faith was met with repression for not obeying god’s word. I seriously questioned the usual phrase “God’s ways are mysterious” on the grounds that not knowing the ways of the god you profess belief in is… Read more
Michael Tracey is the student who interviewed FOX News Channel host (and former presidential candidate) Mike Huckabee last week. The full background story, as well as an interview with Michael, can be read here. Huckabee got in trouble because he said if gay marriage was legalized, it would be a gateway allowing for incest and polygamy to follow. “That would be like saying, well there’s there are a lot of people who like to use drugs so let’s go ahead… Read more
There’s a nice profile of Paul Kurtz, who founded the Center For Inquiry, by Jay Tokasz of The Buffalo News. They focus on his legacy, which includes the more recent rift with the organization he founded: Kurtz appreciates the no-punches-pulled approach of writers such as Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, firebrands of what has been dubbed the “new atheism,” an especially uncompromising critique of religion. But it’s not what secular humanism and the Center for Inquiry that Kurtz envisioned are… Read more
Who knew Pat Robertson had an Iranian clone? Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, Tehran’s “acting Friday prayer leader,” is giving Robertson a run for his money. After hearing predictions that an earthquake could hit Iran soon, Sedighi explained why that would be happening: “Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.” That’s *totally* what my science textbooks all tell me… Sedighi is full of shit, obviously…. Read more
This Friday night, I’ll be speaking at UCLA for the Bruin Alliance of Skeptics and Secularists (BASS)! According to a statistic I just made up, 94% of all atheists live close to Los Angeles, so you all better come. Bonus: Richard Wade will be there! Double bonus: My sister is also coming (from Arizona). And if you ask nicely, she’ll tell you all sorts of dirt about me. The event takes place at Royce Hall 156 starting at 6:00 p.m…. Read more
