One perk of being a teacher: I get a week off for spring break! I’m spending the week going to schools in Indiana and California to talk about the book and atheism! If you can make it to an event, that would be fantastic. I’ll even do a push up for you. (If you might be able to provide lodging near any of the schools in California, please let me know!) Here’s the basic info. More will be coming soon:… Read more
Not that you need yet another website about religion to check out, but SoulPancake was created in part by Rainn Wilson (a.k.a. Dwight Schrute from The Office). He mentioned it on Oprah’s Soul Series Webcast yesterday, so you *know* it must be good. He can tell you all about it: They have a 2-second theme song for the site? I want a 2-second theme song for my site 🙁 I’m jealous. Rainn Wilson must be defeated. Incidentally, Wilson is a… Read more
Here’s another reason not to have a gigantic cross in front of your church. Someone might come along, climb to the top of it, strip down, defecate and spread his waste on the cross, and act all suicidal. At least that’s what this guy did last week: Man, I hope that guy’s not an atheist… That photo is courtesy of AP’s Richard Vogel though more graphic photos are available at Jonathan Alcorn’s site. The only motive I’ve heard is that… Read more
Starting today, a handful of buses in Calgary (in Alberta, Canada) will feature atheist ads! Signs bearing the message, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” will appear on eight Calgary buses for four weeks. “It’s time that we show our point of view,” said Cliff Erasmus, executive director of the Calgary Centre for Inquiry. Keep them coming! I’m looking at you, Yukon Territory… Read more
Ex-Mormon Michael Amini can set this one up: The Mormon temples are considered the most sacred of spaces on Earth. Within the temples, several “saving ordinances” are performed, which are required to enter the highest levels of the Celestial Kingdom, including the Endowment and marriage sealings. It is a significant breach of Mormon law to discuss details of the temple ceremonies outside of the “Celestial Room” within the temple, and the church defends the secrecy of these details passionately, claiming… Read more
The American Religious Identification Survey has released numbers for 2008 (previous surveys were done in 2001 and 1990). The theme: Atheism is more popular than ever before, as is overall non-religiosity. Hallelujah! Not just that, our numbers are up in every state! USA Today has fantastic graphics if you want to check them out. I love the bit where you can see the changes in percentage in each state from 1990 to 2008. Watch the circles grow for the non-religious!… Read more
Pareidolia strikes again. Repeatedly. Do news programs really have nothing better to report on…? Humanity has disappointed me yet again. Don’t forget, the comprehensive Jesus Sightings list is at Cynical-C Blog. (via Atheist Media Blog) Read more
That’s one of the few scenarios in which I am *totally* getting into Heaven. Today’s cartoon is even better, though: (via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) Read more
Remember the moment you realized the religious “truths” you were raised with were nothing of the sort? Maybe, like me, when you became an atheist you realized there was so much you didn’t actually know — how evolution worked, what the Big Bang theory was all about, how you can make sense of the natural world without a God… You couldn’t get your hands on enough books. It was just amazing to figure this stuff out for once. Mark, the… Read more
In our modern society, it’s so old-fashioned to pray with your hands clasped together. The proper way to do it is to call God up on the phone. That’s what they do in the Netherlands… at least in one particular art exhibit: Dutch artist Johan van der Dong chose a mobile phone number to show that God was available anywhere and anytime, Radio Netherlands reported. … Forming part of an art installation in the town of Groningen, the voicemail message… Read more
