Today’s Doonesbury gets you where it hurts: Sad, but true. Though, as more of us demand truth via reason and evidence, the easier it will become to drown out the crazy voices. Read more
In a comment on my post, “Dealing With Evangelizers Who Seem Fragile,” Nomad asked a very good question: “Remember, the vulnerability is an illusion.”I don’t think that’s true. Many religious people are very vulnerable. Your suggestions are primarily for dealing with those who are not. So you really haven’t addressed how to deal with that proportion, however small, who are vulnerable. And the most vulnerable are often those closest to you. Or at least those are the ones you care… Read more
When I learned about reproduction in Biology, the line explaining sperm vs. egg production was always a joke about “quality vs. quantity.” Now, I know the true story behind that. In fact, we should just remove Biology from school curriculums and replace those classes with this one video. It explains everything we ever needed to know about our un-intelligently-designed bodies and how they developed: In retrospect, God really should’ve been able to guess Lucifer’s hand… (via NonStampCollector) Read more
I’ve been reading a book called Write These Laws on Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling (Beacon Press, August, 2009) by Robert Kunzman. The book is a look at six Christian families and how they homeschool their children. Not every family fits the stereotype I know I have in my mind. Some are impressive; others leave much to be desired. In the following passage, the author visits Bridgeway Academy, a homeschool umbrella organization (with over 100 families… Read more
Hey Richard, First, I want to say that I’m really loving your advice column. I’ve always respected the thought you put into your posts and comments, and I think this format really works. I hope it’s a permanent feature. My question deals with people who say their life was the subject of country songs before they found god. Every now and then I’ll have a religious conversation in which someone says that if they hadn’t found Jesus, they’d be on… Read more
Now here’s a talk that you won’t want to miss: “The Joy of Godless Sex” by Fred Edwords When it comes to sexuality, two sizes don’t fit all. Nor does one institution. That’s why a nontheistic, humanist approach recognizes sexual diversity, individuality, freedom, and responsibility. And that’s why humanists continue to work for an end to needless guilt and repression and actively call for a broadening of human possibilities and pleasures. The event takes place in the Marvin Center Amphitheater… Read more
The Columbus Dispatch reports on what some local residents are doing in the aftermath of a couple robberies: Many people who encounter sudden, unexpected violence have no idea how to react. For Melynda Workman, there was never any question. Last September, her husband, Jack, was shot in the stomach during a robbery of the couple’s Dairy Queen on Tamarack Circle South on the North Side. … Nine months later, after her husband had recovered and the business had reopened, Workman… Read more
How many times have you heard Christians use Pascal’s Wager in a debate? Or the canard that “it takes more faith to be an atheist”? Or the question of how we atheists can have morals or a purpose without religion? If you’re my inbox, you come across it often. I suspect most atheists who have been outspoken about their beliefs hear the same arguments from Christians over and over. It gets tiring responding to the same bad arguments all the… Read more
Have you ever wanted to be a card-carrying member of the atheist party? Here’s your chance: I like it. I think it’d be even cooler if the entire card was just the Scarlet A. How bad-ass would you feel giving that to someone?! (via Godless Girl) Read more
We already know the Religious Right gets mad that religion has been taken out of public schools (even though they’re wrong about that). So you might think if schools taught about many religions, those religious types would be ok with it. Of course that’s not the case. In Quebec, Christian parents sued because of a required course for students that teaches them about “a broad range of world religions” — they lost the case: In the Canadian province of Quebec,… Read more
