Javier met his new college roommates and they are atheists… but they don’t seem to be as intellectual as the atheists he is used to meeting. In an email, Javier writes: … For example they are not very knowledgeable on any form of politics and their critical thinking skills, along with their spelling and English skills, are elementary at best… from my own personal experience I have found all the atheists I met to be of a higher intellectual standing…. Read more
Specialist Jeremy Hall, who had previously filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense, has now voluntarily withdrawn it. Earlier, he had stated that he was denied a promotion and prevented from holding a meeting for fellow atheists. He had also received a death threat from another soldier. Those charges still stand. However, since Hall is planning on leaving the Army in the spring, he dropped the lawsuit (PDF). Dropping the lawsuit avoids a fight over whether Hall has standing… Read more
According to Doug Phillips, the president of the Christian group Vision Forum, Sarah Palin is bad for our country. Really…? A conservative Christian saying she’s bad?! There must be a catch… His reason: she’s not conservative enough: “It’s pretty clear what it says in Titus 2 that women are to care for their children, love their husband, and be keepers at home; that the Word of God be not blasphemed,” Phillips explains. “And it’s also clear in 1 Corinthians 11,… Read more
When I came up with the name for this site — in a time crunch, right before I had a chance to plug it in an interview — I wanted to have something positive. “Friendly Atheist” came to mind and it stuck. I’ve tried explaining in interviews and talks I give that the name isn’t about me. Yes, I’m a friendly atheist, but I’m not The Friendly Atheist. I felt that most atheists I have met in my life have… Read more
This isn’t about atheism, but it is about unnecessary censorship. Which you know you care about. If you’ve ever seen an Indian movie, you know there isn’t much in the way of sex scenes. Suggestive looks and flirtation, yes. But you will rarely see even a kiss in a Bollywood film. So it’s a bit risqué that there is a makeout scene in the new movie Hello featuring former Miss India and Maxim model Gul Panag. Of course, this is… Read more
They need this equipment. They don’t have enough. It’s doubtful they can be successful in their missions without them. And based on this ad I saw, victory is within our grasps as soon as the soldiers receive them: *sigh* I don’t care if the soldiers want Bibles. So be it. And I’m fine with Campus Crusade for Christ being the conduit for people to donate money so that Bibles can be sent to the fighters. That’s what they do. But… Read more
We all know why Kay Hagan needs to wrestle that Senate seat away from Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina. Dole is an anti-atheist bigot and her campaign is trying to smear Hagan as some sort of (God forbid?) atheist sympathizer. The Digital Cuttlefish offers a poetic response: … I thought I saw an atheist, So “radical” and “vile” Wage war against America– A villain with a smile Promoting hate, promoting fear For petty, selfish gain— I looked again, and clearly… Read more
In Australia, the Sydney Atheists are embarking on a series of fantastic works for charity. They recently donated blood: (The picture is all the better for the child in the background image.) Alan writes: Often atheists get stigmatised as bad people because we don’t believe in a god, therefore we are immoral, baby-eating scum. One of the primary objectives of the Sydney Atheists is to show that we can be good without god. We have a charity branch to the… Read more
The Humanists and Freethinkers of Cape Fear in North Carolina set up a booth about Humanism and Freethinking at an annual street festival. Someone noticed a sign directed right at them at a local church nearby: I’m now very tempted to adopt the Humanist label… Then again, whoever wrote this clearly didn’t know the first thing about Humanism. It’s not anti-God. You can’t be against a God you don’t believe exists. It’s not “no right, no wrong, anything goes.” There… Read more
