If any of you atheists have been “debaptized” at a ceremony or conference, please let me know. It’s for a reporter. This posting will self-destruct in about an hour… Read more
If you’re (literally) an Irish Catholic, and you want to leave the Roman Catholic Church, you now have an easy way out. It takes three steps. Hundreds of like-minded people have completed an “actus defectionis” or “declaration of defection” on the site since it went live last Wednesday. They have completed a three-step process that enables users to get the formal letter required by church officials to change baptism records and allow former followers officially to leave the faith. The… Read more
A couple weeks ago, I posted about Jason from Indiana. His request for a license plate reading NO GODS was rejected by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. There’s good news to report! Jason wrote this in an email: I got a letter on Friday stating that my initially rejected personalized license plate of “NO GODS” has now been approved… That may also be BMV code for “We don’t want to get sued.” Considering several websites mentioned this story, the ACLU… Read more
Now that Ireland has passed blasphemy laws, individuals and groups are ready to challenge it. Ian O’Doherty wrote this in The Irish Independent: So, we’re now officially the most religiously deranged country in the civilised world. Now that blasphemous libel has been introduced to the statue books, it will be a crime to have a pop at religions. So, here we go — Catholicism is a cannibal cult which eats its leader, Jews who believe that God wants them to… Read more
Remember those pharmacists who refused to dispense Plan B (a “morning-after” pill) because they were religiously opposed to it? And remember how pissed off you were because who the $#&% are they to decide what’s best for women? Pharmacists in Washington state had filed a lawsuit so they wouldn’t have to do their job and fill those orders. A district court agreed and granted them a temporary injunction saying they wouldn’t have to fill those prescriptions. On Wednesday, the U.S…. Read more
I thought it was overtly religious when college football quarterback Tim Tebow wore black strips under his eyes with religious phrasing during the BCS championship game: Apparently, that’s nothing. Check out what Brazilian soccer players Kaka (below) and Lucio did during the Confederations Cup last month: You may be asking: If a Brazilian people do it, can it be wrong? (Ha!) Yes. Yes it can. FIFA, the soccer governing body, has reminded the players they are not allowed to make… Read more
According to the hidden text, if you make the dice (die?) and send a picture, you get a million points! (via SMBC) Read more
I’m sure this sign would come in handy if atheists are ever having a picnic… (Image via Rod Keetch — Thanks to Rick for the link!) Read more
A few months ago, I posted a video of a talk by Joel Grus. That talk has now turned into a book: It doesn’t matter what you believe, Grus thinks your religion is false. To all those people who think the New Atheists focus too narrowly on Christianity, Grus counters that argument and blows it out of the water. He’s not making over-your-head philosophical arguments… he’s just pointing out the problems with each and every faith he can find. What… Read more
”Disbelieving on a Deadline” wrote a long and detailed letter about his relationship with his girlfriend. I have edited it to distill it down to the essential issues of their relationship. To summarize their background: They are both scientists, currently finishing their PhDs at the same university. He has a few months to go, and she has two years. He is 29 and she is a little younger. Pressure for finding work in their field as soon as they graduate… Read more
