The religious right group American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site seems to have an automatic filter that replaces the word “gay” with “homosexual.” Because they want to use the more harsh sounding term, perhaps? So when runner Tyson Gay won the 100 meter race at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials over the weekend, here’s what the news site wrote: The article has since been corrected. However, this article mentioning basketball player Rudy Gay, still needs some fixing… (via Right… Read more
The Secular Coalition for America is opposed to the D.C. Voucher program (euphemistically known as the “Opportunity Scholarship Program”). In essence, the program uses taxpayer money to foot the complete tuition for students choosing to go to religious schools. A couple weeks ago, the House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee voted to continue these scholarships. “The General Accountability Office concluded that these vouchers do not give D.C. students sufficient secular choice in education. The programs do not even ensure that recipients… Read more
Mark, the 40 Year Old Atheist, put together a nice little graphic of the 7 Pillars he tries to live by: Not a bad guide for all of us. It certainly answers the question of what you (as an atheist) do believe in. And it doesn’t have any trace of the wacky first four Commandments. [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
Sometimes I watch videos and I hope the people are joking… but deep down, I know they’re not. And that’s just sad. This guy says atheists have never made any contributions to science. And they never will. And adds that the atheist religion is very intolerant… “More Godless than Satanism… more violent than Islam… more anti-science than Scientology.” Oh, and you’re all Nazi Commies. That’s why he’s so over Star Trek. This is a joke, right? Right…? (Thanks to Skylar… Read more
Back from Canada! Toronto was a blast 🙂 Thanks to the University of Toronto and University of Guelph secular student groups and the Center for Inquiry for putting together a terrific event. Can’t wait to go back. Random highlights: Some students advertised my talk (“Viewing Faith Through an Atheist’s Eyes”) by putting fliers around campus. Maybe it was the word “atheist,” but many of the posters were ripped down. Who would do such a thing…? Apparently viewing faith pays cash…. Read more
I like to dream up future scenarios with just one or two set conditions in the proposition and see where they might go as kind of thought experiments. It’s a game that any number can play, and the fun is in seeing how each person’s logic, imagination and present view of the world lead them to different conclusions. The great part is unless you live long enough to reach the future you envision, no one can prove you wrong. Though… Read more
What do you see in the following image….? Last one coming up! [tags]atheist, atheism, Rorschach Test[/tags] Read more
Time to play Atheist Psychologist! What do you see in the following image….? [tags]atheist, atheism, Rorschach Test[/tags] Read more
Your neighbor is religious. Do you consider it your obligation to confront and challenge them on their beliefs (even in a “friendly” way)? Dale McGowan say no: I am opposed to aggressive evangelism of ALL kinds. And not because it isn’t “nice.” The reason is that uninvited personal critiques of belief, especially of irrational ones, are almost never effective. Of the scores of people I know who have given up religious beliefs, approximately zero did so as the result of… Read more
