After spouting off against atheists in interviews following his Civil Forum, pastor Rick Warren should have received some follow-up questions: (via 1 2 3 Religious Comics) Read more
The Democratic National Convention will open next week with an interfaith gathering. Representatives from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths will be there. No atheists, though. We weren’t invited. The Secular Coalition for America has tried to persuade Convention CEO Leah Daughtry to allow atheists to be a part of the gathering, but to no avail. Daughtry did, however, speak to the press about the SCA’s letter. From a piece by Ronald Aronson: “Atheists speaking at an interfaith service… does… Read more
It looks like Bill Maher wants his movie Religulous to win an Oscar for Best Documentary. What leads us to this conclusion? We know that “Religulous” is seriously in the derby for several reasons. First, Lionsgate hired veteran Oscars PR reps to handle its ballyhoo (Michele Robertson in L.A., Jeff Hill in New York). Secondly, the studio is giving the documentary its theatrical runs in L.A. and New York to qualify it for academy consideration, as Jeff Sneider notes at… Read more
Not that any study shows that… but a news headline did say this: Church Attendance Boosts Student GPAs Thank the Lord… right? Not exactly. And the article’s author knows this. “Surprisingly, the importance of religion to teens had very little impact on their educational outcomes,” [sociologist Jennifer] Glanville said. “That suggests that the act of attending church — the structure and the social aspects associated with it — could be more important to educational outcomes than the actual religion.” It… Read more
Pastor Michael Guglielmucci was an inspiration to many Christians because of his optimism and faith despite his ongoing battle with cancer. His song “Healer” was incredibly popular in the Christian music world — there are covers of it all over the place. [The song] has become an anthem of faith for believers, many of whom are suffering their own illness and were praying for a miracle.. On one YouTube video (now yanked off the site), Guglielmucci performs with an oxygen… Read more
An amusing sign seen outside the Waupun Assembly of God church in Wisconsin: (Thanks to Mick for the image!) Read more
The first day of classes are on Monday and I’m trying to make a point for my high school math students. You can guess where I’m trying to go with it. But I need a couple more examples of the following: What are things that could possibly help us one day but very few people know how to use them? So far, here’s what I’ve come up with: Fire extinguisher Car jack Can you think of anything else? Read more
In New Zealand, Massey University is offering a class (a.k.a. a “paper”) which examines attitudes toward magic. The university’s new magic and witchcraft paper allows students to make voodoo dolls or “magical curse tablets” for their first assignment. … It was devised by senior classics lecturer Gina Salapata, who said it involved staff across the history, classics and religious studies departments. “These things are not just made up. The format of a curse or spell must be based on real… Read more
The Wilson County fair had previously said those attendees who brought in a church bulletin would get a $2 discount on admission. This was illegal, considering it was a government-sponsored event, and atheists wanted a discount as well, so the county said they would also accept printouts from atheist websites. Good for them. Crisis averted. Too bad some Christians in the area are still angry about it. Check out this letter-to-the-editor in The Tennessean: I am saddened to see that… Read more
