Skepchicamp organizers flatter me so. They’re auctioning me off to the highest bidder. But I’m not going to church this time. The winner and I are just going on a date. Churches once bid on eBay for the chance to have Hemant Mehta, The Friendly Atheist, attend one of their services. Now you can bid on the chance to have him spend an evening with you. This auction will take place at the Skepchicamp fundraiser on January 23rd. Tickets are… Read more
Holly McClellan is a high school senior and teen correspondent for the Contra Costa Times and she has written a really interesting article about being a Christian: What first comes to mind when you think of Christians? They’re basically good people, but maybe a little confused, right? That’s one of the kinder descriptions I’ve heard. The mental image is often unflattering, and public opinion rarely seems sympathetic. They’re killjoys, zealots, narrow-minded bigots. Whether presented as laughable stock characters or intolerant… Read more
Fuck Pat Robertson. I keep hearing that “he doesn’t represent the Christian faith,” but he does. So does Rick Warren with his bigoted stance against gay rights. So does James Dobson with his views on women needing to be subservient to men. So do Rob Bell and Brian McLaren and Shane Claiborne and other, more progressive Christians you’ve probably never heard of. They all have their own opinions and people who don’t like them all say they don’t represent Christianity…. Read more
I’m up for a SATIRIST award! (Sexiest Atheist That I Read In (my) Spare Time) But I’m currently losing to a redheaded skeptic. (Blasphemy, I tell you!) PZ’s not included in this list, so I have a chance to pull out a victory! Hmm… wait… there’s an “Other” category? Oh, $&*%. Until I lose to “Other”… feel free to vote! (via Lagunatic) Read more
While the Walt Disney Company is under fire from evangelical Christians because their movie “The Princess and the Frog” contained things like voodoo and Ouija boards, we’re learning more about the namesake’s personal beliefs. This excerpt from an article in The Wall Street Journal is especially interesting: Walt Disney always called himself a Christian, but his biographers agree that he was skeptical about organized religion and rarely set foot inside a church. He insisted that any narrow portrayal of Protestant… Read more
The Secular Coalition for America is the Washington, D.C. lobbying group made up of several national freethought organizations: American Ethical Union American Atheists American Humanist Association Atheist Alliance International Camp Quest Freedom From Religion Foundation Institute for Humanist Studies Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers Secular Student Alliance Society for Humanistic Judaism As of this past Sunday, we have a new member — one that had previously been a glaring absence from the list: The Council for Secular Humanism. The… Read more
In the battle of Mexico City’s government versus the Roman Catholic clergy, on the issue of same-sex marriage… the victors are… the government! It’s about time. The Mexican capital’s legislative assembly overwhelmingly voted in mid-December to legalize gay marriage and agreed by a lesser margin to allow the same-sex betrothed to adopt. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, a leader of the same left-leaning party that dominates the assembly, is expected to sign the initiatives into law later this month allowing them to… Read more
Mary Linklater was once the choir director at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Two important members of the church (including the pastor) began making sexual advances towards her and Mary reported this to church leaders. How did that go over? When she rebuffed their advances and later reported their behavior to church leaders, both men became hostile towards her. The pastor, for example, repeatedly reprimanded her for insubordination in front of the congregation, required her to play the organ with… Read more
Hey friends, Mike Clawson here. I’m sure most of you know by now about the massive and devastating earthquake that struck the impoverished nation of Haiti yesterday evening. I was at the gym yesterday and saw it on CNN minutes after it happened, and my stomach just dropped. Some of you may remember that I have personal connections in Haiti, and have gone there in the past to help build a school and serve the people of a small village… Read more
B.A. Brooks has put together a 71-minute film about religion featuring news clips, interviews with atheists and comedians, and narration by Pastor Deacon Fred of Landover Baptist Church: The description: Sex, Drugs & Religion is a 71 minute look into the wacky world of religion. Targeting groups from Catholics to Baptists, this movie exposes the idiocy that is associated to religion in general. Sex, Drugs & Religion is the fourth film release from B.A. Brooks and is quickly causing quite… Read more
