Biblical scholar Robert Price will be in Fort Wayne, Indiana in a few weeks to talk about his new book Top Secret: The Truth Behind Today’s Pop Mysticisms. All the details of the event can be found here. If you’re in the area, go check it out; this is an event well worth attending! [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
The Washington Post’s Style Invitational column has a contest this week that some of you may want to enter: Coin a religion or belief system and tell us its basic tenet or distinguishing characteristic. They mention George Carlin’s “Frisbeetarianism” (the belief that when you die, your soul is flung onto a roof and just stays there) as an example. I’m sure Pastafarianism would apply as well. Winners get fun swag, too! Winner gets the Inker, the official Style Invitational trophy…. Read more
Recently, a group of Christian fundamentalists were protesting outside a gay club in Tampa, FL, telling everyone entering the building that “they were going to die and burn in hell.” How do you respond in this situation? If you’re Jeremy Gloff, you come up with a hilarious solution: Hehe 🙂 [tags]homophobia, Rick Astley[/tags] Read more
A pastor was arrested for his handling of snakes. *snicker* More than 100 snakes, many of them deadly, were confiscated in the undercover sting after Thursday’s arrests, said Col. Bob Milligan, director of law enforcement for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Most were taken from the Middlesboro home of Gregory James Coots, including 42 copperheads, 11 timber rattlesnakes, three cottonmouth water moccasins, a western diamondback rattlesnake, two cobras and a puff adder. Why so many snakes? Handling snakes is practiced in… Read more
Rudis Muiznieks offers his own take on Wafergate: (via Cectic) [tags]atheist, atheism, Catholic, communion, wafer, transubstantiation[/tags] Read more
What an *amazing* coincidence. Just days after Wafergate, someone on Yahoo asks this question: I took a communion wafer home with me after mass this morning… Nobody noticed and I didn’t get any phone calls all day. I figured somebody would notice that it didn’t get eaten but no one has. I’m starting to feel guilty about it. Should I return it to the church or throw it away? So far, there are a lot of Catholics responding… yes, Please… Read more
You would think someone in the church would have said, “This could turn bad… very bad. Let’s not do it.” Instead, the plan went on as scheduled. It was stopped only when an instructor injured his foot and couldn’t attend: An Oklahoma church canceled plans for a gun giveaway Friday at its annual youth conference, a local news station reported. The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said the AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle was a means of luring young people as… Read more
The Humanist Symposium can be found this week at Faith in Honest Doubt. Go read it! The next HS is at Disillusioned Words in three weeks. Submit your entries here! [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
Simple question: What blog post are you proudest of writing? Note that it may not necessarily be your most popular posting. Personally, I was very happy with Why I’m Not an Angry Atheist. I’ve cited it in a number of my talks and the post still applies today. I’ll also mention my interview with Mike Jones, the male escort who was the subject of former pastor Ted Haggard’s sex scandal. I felt like a real reporter for this one :)… Read more
Here’s an ethical dilemma for you. Your phone line (which connects you to the Internet) isn’t working. You call the company and they send out a repairman. He comes over. You make small talk. Then at some point, he says: “You know how I was talking about how I like history? I wanted to show you a book that’s the most important history book I’ve ever read. I wish I had discovered it years ago. It has helped me understand… Read more
