I’m not looking for soundbyte quotations. And my attention span lasts only a sentence or three. So here’s the question: What was the best paragraph (or two) about religion/atheism you read this year? Self-promotion is allowed. If you wrote it, that’s fine. But please limit yourself to *the* best thing you wrote. In other words, not every blog post was a winner 🙂 Obviously, provide links to the posts! I’ll compile my favorites in a few weeks. Read more
The Christian OneNewsNow site says we are winning a war I didn’t even know we were waging! The article by Chad Groening references the Secular Coalition for America’s policy recommendations for the new President: The Secular Coalition for America recently held a news conference urging president-elect Barack Obama to, among other things, enact new rules against proselytizing and develop a new directive for all chaplains and commanders to eliminate public prayers from any mandatory attendance events for military troops. Gordon… Read more
The latest Cyanide and Happiness comic ends with this panel, so you *know* it must be good: Read more
Barney the Dinosaur asks a very important question to Don McLeroy, chairman of the Texas State Board of Education. The context is below. McLeroy has made it clear he does not accept evolution: Dr. McLeroy believes that Earth’s appearance is a recent geologic event — thousands of years old, not 4.5 billion. “I believe a lot of incredible things,” he said, “The most incredible thing I believe is the Christmas story. That little baby born in the manger was the… Read more
Are you planning anything special for the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth on February 12th, 2009? Whether it’s a formal group event or just a party with friends, DarwinDay.org wants to know! And if you want to get a head start on attending a nearby event, check out the listings of registered Darwin Day events near you. (via Humanist Network News) Read more
I was asked recently what interfaith activists could do to reach out to non-religious people. One way, I responded, could be to simply add the words “or no faith” to advertising. For example, “We are hosting an interfaith discussion for people of all faiths or no faith.” But I added that I wasn’t sure it was possible at all. There are a lot of atheists who don’t want to “cooperate” with other religions. They’re not mean or vengeful. They just… Read more
eHarmony hasn’t always been friendly to atheists and gays. It’s like the dating world’s version of the Boy Scouts. But thanks to a lawsuit, there will now be a gay version of eHarmony. It’s not *on* the same website… but it’ll be run by the company. It all makes perfect sense…: The settlement is the result of a complaint New Jersey resident Eric McKinley filed against the online matchmaker in 2005. McKinley, 46, said he was shocked when he tried… Read more
Atheist Tim Y. recently attended a Christian Apologetics conference, even though he’s not a Christian. He’s now writing about what he saw and heard there. Among the excerpts: [Focus on the Family’s James Dobson] overtly, repeatedly grouped all non-Christians into a ‘them’ category. Us versus them. They wanted the children. There is a culture war and if they win, the children will be their prize. He peppered his talk with condemnation of homosexuality and abortion, each time eliciting applause. Then… Read more
Can you help out with a project? Without going into details, a reader is looking for short snippets from the election season in which candidates/pundits/journalists said things that made atheists cringe. For example, “we are a nation of believers,” “Faith-based funding is great,” “Creationism belongs in public schools,” etc. Also, any examples of politicians pandering to religious groups would be helpful. I know we all remember the three Republicans raising their hands and proudly saying they didn’t accept evolution. And… Read more
Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker (who once incorrectly stated that “there are no atheists in foxholes”) is making the case that the Republican Party needs less religion: As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit. Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. … To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize… Read more
