This post is by Jesse Galef, who works for the American Humanist Association. He usually blogs at Rant & Reason. Jesse will now be a regular contributor to this site, so please welcome him to the group! … PZ Myers and Jerry Coyne each have posts mocking BioLogos, the Templeton Foundation-funded website by Francis Collins. Myers describes it as “fluffy bunnies and pious weasels to reconcile science and faith. It’s a rich vein of the worst of pseudo-scientific apologetics, and… Read more
The other day, I posted about Professor Sophia Wilberscheid of Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida who put an extra credit question dealing with Bible knowledge on a final exam for Introduction to Computer Applications for Business. There’s been a resolution to the story, courtesy of James Kirley of the TCPalm newspaper. An Indian River State College teacher’s extra credit question on a final exam wound up as discussion on a Web site devoted to atheism, prompting school… Read more
Flickr user jaynedemarco is back with more of her nifty artwork. The theme is: “This is what an atheist looks like.” Previous editions can be found here, here, here, here, and here. Among the new additions: Eddie Izzard (there’s a less manly version, too): Ani Difranco: Pat Tillman: You can see the entire collection here. (via Jayne DeMarco) Read more
There are many religious liberals who insist that the Bible is not meant to be taken literally. We should not trust what is written in the Old Testament — rather, we should only trust in and listen to Jesus. But Jesus says a lot of things that are ridiculous and untrue. So where do they draw the line? Is it possible for them to say, “Jesus was wrong” in these cases? Godless Girl points out several Biblical passages that could… Read more
This guest post is by Jesse Galef, who works for the American Humanist Association. He usually blogs at Rant & Reason. … This is the second time this month I’ve agreed with Steven Waldman. Uncanny and unexpected. In his piece on Beliefnet, he makes the case that our abortion policy shouldn’t focus on a distinct line between life and not-life. It’s a gradual process in which the embryo develops into a fetus and eventually into a conscious being. [C]onsider this… Read more
The Faith Fighter game released by Molleindustria had to be taken offline after complaints from religious groups worldwide. But the creators have replaced it with a different game: We regretted the use of irony and violence and this time we want to offer you a positive, nonviolent educational game that teaches the universal values of tolerance and respect. This is a very simple game that can be played by children of all ages, religious leaders and even journalists! You can… Read more
How do you grow your atheist group? It’s simple, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a college group, a MeetUp group, or a national organization’s affiliate group. I’ll quote Dr. Bruce Flamm, an atheist group leader himself: “Our group started growing when we realized people wanted to go out and enjoy life, not sit sound and talk about Spinoza.” I’ve sat through a number of those philosophical meetings… ugh. Am I the only atheist who doesn’t give a… Read more
Because of The New York Times article on atheism the other day, the ladies of The View were discussing religion on Monday. You know this will be entertaining. Or painful. Maybe both. The question to open up the discussion: “What if your child married an atheist?” To recap: Sherri Shepherd says marrying an atheist would make life “chaotic.” Because you have to deal with finances and shit and you apparently can’t do this with atheists… Elisabeth Hasselbeck thinks marrying an… Read more
Daniel Florien has some excellent advice for atheists/agnostics who come out to their family members and have to deal with criticism as a result. He goes into depth on each point, but here’s a rundown of his list: Don’t Return Criticism Be Sympathetic Talk to Them Privately Disagree Calmly Emphasize Your Open-Mindedness Admit When You’re Wrong Don’t Tell Them They’re Wrong Listen, Listen, Listen Focus on Areas of Agreement Love Them Anyway Is there anything else you would add? Read more
I just found this out. In Germany, ethics classes are mandatory, but religion classes are optional. (And that’s controversial for some.) It’s almost like the two are distinct areas… like you can have ethics without religion… Hm. Who knew. (Thanks to Hoverfrog for the link!) Read more
