***Update***: The lawsuit in question has undergone some revisions (including new plaintiffs). A few changes have been made since my original posting. You can read further commentary on this lawsuit at Daily Kos here and here. … Atheist Michael Newdow (of “Under God” fame) and several other atheists are suing government officials over the injection of religion into the presidential Inauguration. The lawsuit is being filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. You can see… Read more
There’s a story about Humanists seen in several newspapers today — I saw it in the Chicago Tribune — that was first published a week ago. It’s by reporter Robin Shulman and it’s about how more atheist communities are now forming. Reporters usually don’t write their own headlines, though, and this can lead to problems. Dale McGowan, who is quoted in the article, has found a variety of ways newspapers are bending the exact same story to suit their own… Read more
If you get a chance, check out the new podcast from the Young Australian Skeptics. It’s available on iTunes. (Thanks to Jason for the link!) Read more
Perhaps you’ve seen ads for Arby’s restaurants lately, like the really disturbing one where the wife fulfills her husband’s bedroom fantasy by dressing up like an Arby’s server… Anyway, the slogan in this ad and others is “I’m thinking Arby’s”: Reader Lisa discovered that Arby’s really takes that slogan seriously. She drove past a local one and saw this: There’s only one letter being illuminated in the logo. It’s the Scarlet A! This can only mean one thing. Arby’s must… Read more
Writer Matthew Parris has been to Africa many times. There’s also no doubt he’s an atheist. He’s come to an interesting conclusion: Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real…. Read more
We all know there are indeed atheists in foxholes — atheists in all branches of the armed services. Many of them are open about it. As a result, they face a lot of hardships. One of these foxhole atheists has graciously offered to answer your questions. While he prefers to remain anonymous, I can tell you he’s a civilian contractor who provides communications services to the U.S. Army. He also fixes communications equipment. He is currently in Iraq, though he… Read more
Someone please explain this to me. This is the headline seen on Google News: If you click on the headline, this is the story you get: Church doesn’t seems all that relevant to the story. In fact, there’s only one quick paragraph in the middle of the story that even mentions church: Their Christmas did not include attending church. “The president-elect didn’t want to disrupt a church community on Christmas with the burdens that come with a presidential visit,” Obama… Read more
We know some people on the Religious Right want to see their home states inject religious beliefs or moral values on every license plate. Atheists don’t go that route. It seems we prefer vanity plates — a personalized way to express yourself. This new one from an atheist in North Carolina is no exception: I guess the ATHEIST plate was taken… Anyway, I wonder how long it’ll take before his car gets vandalized… On a side note, a lot of… Read more
You want to make Christians look bad? Ask them to explain what happened to a person like Mahatma Gandhi — a kind, non-violent, respected, revolutionary, non-Christian man — after he died. Honest Evangelical Christians will tell you what they believe: He’s currently rotting in hell. Atheists and Jews and gay people will suffer the same fate, too — unless they convert. (And since these Christians “love” you, they’ll do whatever it takes to “save” you from the misery.) It doesn’t… Read more
