Donna recently spent the weekend with several evangelical Christian friends. Religion and politics was discussed, but there was no fighting, name-calling, yelling, etc. I’m sure that’s the case for most of us. Even when serious topics on are the table, friends can find a way to talk about them without resorting to the kind of rhetoric you see so often on television news shows. Why is that? Maybe it has to do with the notion of “others.” We don’t mind… Read more
Atheist writer Nica Lalli has an article at the On Faith blog titled “How to Say You Don’t Believe.” She discusses different ways to come out as an atheist. While some are serious, others are much more entertaining… Here are just a couple examples: The Door Knob Declaration … As you leave the family home, gathering or reunion you can make your statement of newly found life philosophy the very last thing you say. “Bye everyone, and there is no… Read more
The Elegance of Quantum Mechanics by George W. Bush. How to Dress Conservatively by Britney Spears. I ♥ the Discovery Institute by PZ Myers. Abstinence by Bristol Palin. It doesn’t make sense for certain people to be promoting certain ideas. (Thanks to Kurt for the link!) Read more
How many young Americans are not religious? According to Harvard University professor Robert Putnam — and I paraphrase here — a whole $%&#load. Putnam says the percentage of “nones” has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans… 30-40%? Incredible. The last time I heard a number for young “nones” was two years ago and that was an astounding 20%. It should be noted that the “nones” are not necessarily atheists: “Many of them are people… Read more
This post is by Jesse Galef, who works for the American Humanist Association … I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone an excellent National Day of Reason! In those elusive two weeks of spring in the Washington, DC area between freezing and baking, my girlfriend and I went to visit the National Monuments. When we were at the Jefferson Memorial we saw an elevator which took us underground to a section I’d never known about. Along the… Read more
Just in time for the National Day of Prayer, we’re reminded of another national pastime for Christian conservatives: lying. The American Patriot’s Bible is surely a new textbook for homeschooling parents. Because no sane public school district would allow this garbage to infest its young minds. The first mistake is that it implies that patriotism is tied to being a Christian. The second mistake is that it implies that God loves Americans more than citizens of other countries. When you… Read more
Here’s an interesting dilemma: Atheists spend a lot of time poking fun at religion and its many irrational beliefs. If you have kids, you want them to be critical thinkers… so what do you do if they end up making fun of the same things you do? Do you let them do it? Or do you stop them because they’re being little punks? Atheist parenting guru Dale McGowan raises this very scenario and then proposes one great way of handling… Read more
Chris Matthews, you’ve disappointed me. Yesterday, he brought Republican Congressman Mike Pence on his show to ask how Republicans could be so anti-science when they know so little about it. Pence knew next to nothing about evolution and Matthews delivered an excellent smackdown. Today, to continue the same discussion, Matthews had on former Republican Congressman Tim Tancredo. Tancredo, if you don’t remember, was one of the three Republican presidential candidates who raised his hands and said he did not accept… Read more
This is a new low for pareidolia fans. Now, we’re not even trying. Nancy Simoes was cooking fried salami when she saw God in the skillet. Let it out. You know you want to. Tell everyone you know to leave the room and then swear at the top of your lungs. I just did. Simoes realizes people may think she’s crazy. “I can’t make this up. … it’s there in the burn marks.” Explain to me why that couldn’t have… Read more
