They look very much alike, indeed: And yes, the artist has already heard the joke about how believers apparently see his name 🙂 (via nakedpastor) Read more
A reader sent this email and could use your help. He’s a former Jehovah’s Witness who is trying to help his still-religious family members see the rational side of things: Several of my family members are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and as far as they are concerned, they are 100% right. I have tried talking to them about various skeptical things to do with religion, but they point out that most of the criticism is directed at Christians, and “Christians do not… Read more
There are approximately 250 people joining the horde of atheists at the Creation Museum next week. Perhaps one of them would like to create a Secular Audio Tour Guide of the museum? Mark makes a fantastic suggestion: From this trip, it should be possible to make a well documented guide that corresponds to a map of the museum. At each display, each sign, the announcer can explain why (or not) an exhibit is wrong, and how we know it is… Read more
Madeline Kara Neumann was the 11-year-old girl killed by her parents because they prayed for her when she was deadly sick instead of taking her to a doctor. In May, her mother, Leilani Neumann, was found guilty of second-degree reckless homicide. She will be sentenced in October and could face up to 25 years in prison. I hope she receives the full penalty. Now, it’s the dad’s turn. Dale Neumann faces the same second-degree reckless homicide charge. His wife testified… Read more
They’ll just steal your car and drive away. Which could be a problem if the child is only 7-years-old. A 7-year-old boy in Utah was so desperate to avoid church that he ended up leading police officers on a car chase after driving off in his father’s car. … The car reached speeds of 40 mph before the boy stopped in a driveway and ran inside a home. A police spokesman said that when the boy’s father later confronted him,… Read more
Here’s the coolest article about Judas Iscariot I’ve read all week. It’s by Joan Acocella of the New Yorker: … If Jesus informs you that you will betray him, and tells you to hurry up and do it, are you really responsible for your act? Furthermore, if your act sets in motion the process — Christ’s Passion — whereby humankind is saved, shouldn’t somebody thank you? No, the Church says. If you betray your friend, you are a sinner, no… Read more
Reader Michael was inspired by Jason’s quest to get a NO GODS license plate in Indiana. So he decided to get the NO GODS plate in neighboring Ohio! Now, that’s solidarity! Good work, people. I wonder if that car would be allowed at the Creation Museum parking lot… … Actually, maybe I need to take all that back. This guy is putting you all to shame! And his license plate reads ATHEISM. (Thanks to Michael for the link!) Read more
The Illinois Constitution contains not-so-subtle wording that says we have a separation of church and state: ARTICLE X, SECTION 3. PUBLIC FUNDS FOR SECTARIAN PURPOSES FORBIDDEN — Neither the General Assembly nor any county, city, town, township, school district, or other public corporation, shall ever make any appropriation or pay from any public fund whatever, anything in aid of any church or sectarian purpose, or to help support or sustain any school, academy, seminary, college, university, or other literary or… Read more
The Illinois Family Institute’s Laurie Higgins would like you to know that she never compared homosexuals to Nazis: Those who made the false claim that I said homosexuals are the moral equivalents of Nazis are either obtuse or dishonest. She would never say such a thing. How dare anyone misquote her. Higgins adds: the only people who are truly Nazi-like are people who support abortion rights. If I were going to compare the Holocaust to another sin in terms of… Read more
I got an email recently from “Jen.” Jen’s a smart woman who told her parents she didn’t want to go to church anymore… when she was 8. They made her go, anyway, until she turned 15. That’s when she graduated high school (early) and moved out (there may have been some forging of signatures to make that happen…). She’s now 21, working a couple jobs, attending an Ivy League school (and is an honors student there), and hoping to go… Read more
