There were a couple incredible news stories taking over the skeptic/atheist world yesterday. To recap: After Simon Singh won his recent appeal, the British Chiropractic Association has dropped their case against him (PDF)! This means Singh is almost done with this nightmare — which started because he spoke the truth about the BCA: their products are indeed “bogus.” They do nothing to help you and we’d all be better off not wasting our money on them. The next step is… Read more
For atheists near Chicago, there are a couple events in the city you might be interested in this weekend. Friday night, PZ Myers is coming to town to participate in a panel discussion on God and morality and how they shape our world. He’ll be joined by Communist Sunsara Taylor and Catholic priest Bob Bossie. The event is at the University of Chicago at 7:00 p.m. All the details are here. Barring some unforeseen weirdness, I hope to be there!… Read more
This post is courtesy of Ron Gold. Did you hear about little Nadia Bloom, an 11-year-old Florida girl with Asperger’s syndrome who was rescued yesterday after spending four days lost in a swamp? It’s definitely a feel good story, but I don’t see why the guy who found her has to call it a miracle: While Nadia’s parents spoke with reporters in Florida, her rescuer, James King, was in New York making the rounds of television shows. He clutched a… Read more
Cynical-C is trying to officially leave the Catholic Church and he’s written a letter to his bishop to put that process in motion: I am writing to inform you of my defection from the Roman Catholic Church. I was born an atheist and then baptized into the Catholic Church as an infant which of course made it impossible for me to give my consent. My mother was a Catholic and mistakenly believed that it was her duty to raise me… Read more
This painting of a crucified Jesus at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Oklahoma is making some people really upset. I can’t understand why… Artist Janet Jaime modeled the art after the San Damiano Cross: See? Just abs. But that’s not stopping others from seeing what they want to see: Molly Jenkins said she attended a funeral at the church recently and immediately noticed the crucifix. “I was appalled at the sexualization of Christ,” said Jenkins, who is not Catholic…. Read more
My friend Kate Miller recently lost her older brother Matt. He died of cancer at the age of 46. Kate’s family held a memorial service for him and they gave me permission to share the program for the service (PDF). It may be different than other funeral programs you’ve seen because Matt was a Humanist. The program includes a lot of Matt’s writings (which had a humorous, atheist slant) and ways to remember his life. There are no prayers or… Read more
There are many reasons it’s so important to have ever-expanding atheist outreach. One of the biggest is that it encourages people to come out of the closet. Reader Melissa sent me this email that I wanted to share: First, I came out to the evangelicals who came to my door last Easter. It was actually so scary and liberating to tell the obviously Christian strangers that I was an atheist that I had to call my husband at work and… Read more
I’ve mentioned Ted Cox before — he’s the guy who went undercover at a Gay Conversion Camp: An atheist, Ted Cox, spent the past two years going undercover as a gay man undergoing gay-to-straight therapy programs run by Christian groups (as if there were any other kind). What he found was precisely what you would think: These programs do nothing to “convert” you from gay to straight. They just try to make you suppress your (gay) sexual urges. They make… Read more
Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy in Fairfax, VA closed down last month because of a lack of customers. It didn’t help that there were two other pharmacies within walking distance. But why are those pharmacies still in business while this one is closing its doors? Well… check out what the Christian pharmacy didn’t sell, courtesy of Petula Dvorak at the Washington Post: … no birth control pills, no condoms, no porn, no tobacco and even no makeup… … It makes little… Read more
