Greeting everyone, this post is by Ron Gold. One of the reasons I respect Judaism more than most religions is that the faith mandates a relatively humane treatment towards animals. In contrast, every now and then I run into a Christian who seems to take the perspective that God put animals on the Earth for humans to exploit, putting them on a similar level to resources like oil or timber. But Jews rarely take that view, and indeed, Israel might… Read more
If you haven’t seen it, the ACLU of Mississippi has apologized to the American Humanist Association for not accepting donor Todd Stiefel’s donation. There are quotations and links to the aftermath on the original posting. Lots of good stuff, including soundbytes from the people involved in the story, ACLU national, and Stiefel himself. Read more
***Update***: The execution is now on hold. … Ali Hussain Sibat was the host of a popular show in Lebanon in which he “would predict the future on his show and give out advice to his audience.” In other words, he was a Middle Eastern Miss Cleo. Two years ago, he went to Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah. While he was there, police arrested him and took him to trial: … the judges in Medina issued a statement expressing… Read more
Christian author Don Miller has written a couple bestselling books (I read one of them and enjoyed it). He also gives really fantastic talks (I saw one of them and loved it — to watch, click here and find his name). But he wrote something today I had a problem with. He had on his website a list of reasons pastors are important. 1. They lead social movements that change the world. 2. They speak truths that create guardrails to… Read more
***Update***: The ACLU of Mississippi has apologized to the American Humanist Association. ***Update 2***: There are some choice quotations from this whole debacle: From the ACLU: A staff person at the ACLU of Mississippi made an error in judgment in sending an e-mail to the American Humanist Association expressing concerns about accepting its donation and sponsorship offer. To our understanding, MSSC has not made a decision regarding the acceptance of this funding and sponsorship offer. The decision is up to… Read more
Day 2 of the week long tour rolls on. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY was awesome — big crowd, fun questions. I even met frequent commenter Mike the Infidel! Today, I’m in Syracuse. And you should be, too! I promise not to mention the NCAA tournament… Read more
While many Christians are spending this weekend doing their Jesus thing, the Atheists, Agnostics, & Freethinkers at the University of Illinois have other plans. They’re using the day to “raise awareness about the Roman Catholic Church and its policies on contraception.” We will have a booth on the Quad on Good Friday to distribute information about the Church’s policies, especially those related to contraception and HIV/AIDS. The group will also be distributing free condoms. Just over a year ago, the… Read more
Trinity University in Texas is a private school that was founded by Presbyterians in 1869 but isn’t really religious anymore. It hasn’t been for over 40 years now. It has an independent board of trustees. The student body is made up of people from a variety of religious faiths and of no religious faith. Because of that, some students are upset that their diplomas say “In the Year of Our Lord” on them and they’re fighting to have it removed:… Read more
What happens when you combine babies and preaching and YouTube? 3:07 of video so messed up, you’ll have no choice but to tell your friends about it. Condoms, people. Use condoms. (Thanks to Bobby for the link!) Read more
Richard, I read your column with interest, as many of the issues pertain to my family situation. Immersed in Catholicism until age 19 when I quit the seminary and joined the US Navy, I left behind a thoroughly delusional extended family of Catholics, none of whom have ever doubted the world view they were indoctrinated into, and therefore never tested the waters of more worldly philosophic alternatives. That was 50 years ago. As a result, to this day they are… Read more