David Hayward (a.k.a. nakedpastor) has a list of 10 questions meant to be asked to Christians who want to find unity with others. I think they could be asked to atheists as well: Do I truly believe that everyone has the right to their own beliefs or lack thereof? Can I respect the person, even though I may not respect their ideas? Do I have the capacity to recognize my own fallacies? Will it kill me if I were wrong?… Read more
This post is brought to you by Ron Gold. Would you believe someone if they told you that a Mormon senator from Utah just wrote a Hanukkah song? Well, it’s true: Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a solemn-faced Republican with a soft spot for Jews and a love of Barbra Streisand, has penned a catchy holiday tune, “Eight Days of Hanukkah.” The video was posted Tuesday night on Tablet, an online magazine of Jewish lifestyle and culture, just in time for Hanukkah…. Read more
Umm… for the second time this week, I’ve been not-so-subtlely told I’m not really a man. What can I say: gasoline just doesn’t do it for me. (Thank to Justin for the link!) Read more
by Jesse Galef – What will it take for nontheists to get political respect in government? At around 15% of the population, we can’t – and shouldn’t – expect to control things, but even so we’re badly underrepresented. Only one congressman is openly nontheistic (although at least 21 others secretly don’t believe in a god). Politicians feel comfortable bashing atheists in public. We all remember the sleazy ad that then-Senator Elizabeth Dole launched against Kay Hagan accusing her of associating… Read more
ZOMGitsCriss has a response to the laughable Christian Side Hug song. (It involves a rap of her own…) The video below starts with her discussing that song, but the beginning of it is important to listen to if you have a couple extra minutes to spare: Read more
You may have already this this clip featuring two of your favorite things: Pastor Rick Warren and FOX News Channel: Warren says a lot of idiotic things in the clip, but take special note of this line: “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.” Reader Ungullible writes this in an email and I’m curious if anyone has responses to his thoughts: Forget Rick Warren’s obvious flaws in logic for a moment. Forget that his premise is wrong –… Read more
by Jesse Galef – Funniest reaction to hell-spouter ever. We had our own campus preacher at the University of North Carolina, but I never got to see a counter-demonstration like this one at Yale: Melissa McEwen at ShakespearesSister provides a description:If you can’t view the image, it’s a picture of 25-year-old evangelist street preacher Jesse Morrell, who has been preaching about the “evils of sin” on Yale’s campus, wearing a sandwich-board reading: “REPENT: Fornicators, Homosexuals, Liars, Thieves, Masturbators, Obama Voters,… Read more
Note: When letter writers sign with their first names instead of a pseudonym or nickname, I randomly change their name for added anonymity. Hello Richard, Thank you for taking the time to read my email, I sincerely hope that you are able to answer it. My situation is this, my fiancé and I are both in our mid-twenties, and atheists. He is an only child with parents who are not religious in the slightest. My family….well, they’re Mormon. Very Mormon…. Read more
Stephen Prothero, the author of Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — And Doesn’t, wrote an article for USA Today about how atheists would be better off with some new voices. Specifically, friendlier, female-ier voices — as opposed to the “angry white male atheist” voices, which we already hear plenty of. (There’s been plenty of discussion on how that stereotype isn’t very fair or accurate — Richard Dawkins, for example, isn’t an “angry” guy; he’s just perceived as… Read more
Remember Cecil Bothwell? He was an atheist who ran for public office in Asheville, NC. He wanted to become a member of the City Council. Last month, we learned he won his race and earned one of three open seats. When I heard there was an update to the story, I figured it had to be something bad… “I’m not saying that Cecil Bothwell is not a good man, but if he’s an atheist, he’s not eligible to serve in… Read more
