It’s a question that you have to ask anytime you hear pastors say something ridiculous: Do they really believe that? Sadly, the answer is usually yes… but it’s not always the case. Author Daniel Dennett and clinical social worker Linda LaScola have interviewed several current pastors (current!) who have doubts about what they preach: With the help of a grant from a small foundation, administered through Tufts University, we set out to find some closeted nonbelievers who would agree to… Read more
Don’t like your current insurance or the proposed government solution to the health care crisis? NPR’s Jeff Brady has a story on what a group of Evangelical Christians are doing about it: pooling their health costs and paying for each other’s health care. James Lansberry, the vice president of Samaritan Ministries, says the concept is simple. First there’s a $170 annual fee to cover Samaritan’s administrative costs. His nonprofit group then compiles members’ health care bills and tells its 14,000… Read more
Dahlia wrote a long and eloquent letter which I have edited and paraphrased for space reasons. For greater anonymity, I have changed her name. Dear Richard, I’m an 18 year old girl from Sweden and I’m in my last year in high school. I’m not really an atheist myself, but I have read Friendly Atheist for quite a while now and know that you give good advice. I’ve always found ways to solve my problems myself, but this is such… Read more
The Detroit Coalition of Reason’s atheist bus ads were saying, “Don’t Believe in God? You’re Not Alone.” Some vandals couldn’t deal with that message so they decided to change it themselves, presumbly to suit their own point of view: “Acts like this give a striking reminder that our message is necessary,” said Ruthe Milan, coordinator of Detroit CoR. “Without a doubt, prejudice against atheists and agnostics is still very real in American life.” … “Because this has happened, we stand… Read more
Sam Harris’ Project Reason is running a video contest and it’s finally time to vote: The primary goal of Project Reason is to spread scientific thinking and secular values. We invite you to help us further our work by submitting a short video that conveys the message of the foundation. I don’t think that any is really worthy of a $10,000 prize… There are some terrific videos in the bunch, but do they really further the cause? In any case,… Read more
Curious about the Big Bang and how that all went down? ZOMGitsCriss has a nice video explaining the theory and the evidence in favor of it: If you want a more in-depth explanation, Simon Singh’s book Big Bang remains one of my favorite science books of all time. (Thanks to Jeff for the link!) Read more
by Jesse Galef – Three weeks ago I moved from Washington, DC to Columbus, Ohio to become the new Communications Director for the Secular Student Alliance! It’s been a hectic couple of months as I had to find an apartment, move, and start work. The job is great, and I joined just in time to drive back to DC to participate in the historic White House briefing visit. Everything has been happening so fast; I feel like I’m just now… Read more
Why is a high school putting graduation prayers up for a vote? It’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional, it’s… Indiana. That explains it. Greenwood High School in Indianapolis seems to think this is ok. Yet somehow, in the midst of an education system that can’t even understand the Constitution, they have produced at least one student who knows better: The top-ranked senior at Greenwood High School is asking a federal judge to stop a graduation prayer that the class voted to approve…. Read more
Evelyn Boyd locked herself in a room for three weeks straight, with nothing but water, so she could pray. And now she’s dead. I don’t understand how some people are surprised by this and I don’t feel bad for her. It sounds like she knew what she was doing. She brought this on herself. No one else killed her. “If she had been under 18, we’d have taken the parents to jail,” [Sheriff Grady] Judd said. “If she had been… Read more
