Frank Zindler, temporary president of American Atheists, answers a few questions (as best he can) about former president Ellen Johnson’s dismissal: “Thank you for writing to American Atheists concerning the dismissal of President Ellen Johnson. Please be assured that this was not an action that was taken lightly or without an immense amount of agonizing on the part of all members of the board. Two special meetings of the Boards of Directors of American Atheists, Inc., and its four affiliated… Read more
A reader at Cynical-C Blog writes: I raised my daughter without religion. She’s 19 now, and all her friends have something to belong to, her boyfriends make fun of her over what she puts on forms under “religious affiliation.” She has zero religious belief. I want to make her proud and confident about being an atheist. Do you have any suggestions? You can check out what was said over there and/or offer your own suggestions here. [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
Christian apologist Frank Turek (author of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist) just wants you to consider these questions in light of the California Supreme Court decision to overturn the gay marriage ban: 1. For what secular purpose does the state endorse traditional marriage (i.e. what benefits does the state experience from traditional marriage)? 2. What would be the results to society if every adult lived faithfully in traditional marriage? 3. What would be the results to… Read more
Retired priests and nuns are getting ready for what I can only assume will be the Final Battle: The duelling pensioners at Melbourne’s Catholic Homes Corpus Christi, most of whom are former priests and nuns, have spent nine months learning to lunge like Zorro – with a little help from their Zimmer frames and instructor Joseph D’Onofrio, 73. Wait for it… “It’s very unusual at our age,” said 93-year-old Sister Delores Kirby, a retired nun of the Faithful Companions of… Read more
Last week, I ran this contest: What programming would appear on an atheist cable TV network? Here are the Top 10 responses (with submitters)! 10| Porn. If we’re going to be immoral, we’ve got to do it right, dammit! (Asylum Seeker) 9| Survivor: Galapagos ;-P (the Shaggy) 8| One Life to Live obviously. (Scott) 7| Touched by His Noodly Appendage FSM himself comes to earth disguised as a normal person to save people from non-pasta related meal plans. (Cade) 6|… Read more
(ring, ring) “Hello?” “Uh, hi Honey, it’s me.” “Oh hi Sweetheart. What’s up?” “Well, I just wanted to check to be sure, uh, are we okay with each other?” “What are you talking about?” “I mean in our marriage. Is our marriage okay?” “Of course it is. What’s going on?” “Well I just heard that the California Supreme Court ruled that no one can be discriminated against in their right to marry whomever they love, and that includes same-sex couples.”… Read more
I’ll be speaking at the University of Toronto the last weekend in June. (That’s in Canada! Woo!) More information on that to come. To promote the event, I did an interview with blogger Katie Kish. You can download it here (MP3). She has such an amusing Canadian accent 🙂 And she like Sufjan Stevens. Who is amazing. Therefore, you should listen to the interview. [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
The next Chicagoland Skepchick party will take place this Saturday night, May 17th at 8:30 p.m. Brought to you by Elyse at Skepchick: Galway Arms 2442 N Clark St Chicago, IL … Why: Because it’s May. Because Skepchick loves you. Because it’s an excuse to drink beer. You know you want to come. Hope to see you there! (Actually, I hope to see me there, too. Curse this cold and cough I have!) [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
The top Vatican astronomer says that it’s okay to believe in extraterrestrials, that it’s not contrary to the faith and that we should consider them as our brothers. Jesuit Father Jose Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, said Christians should consider alien life as an “extraterrestrial brother” and a part of God’s creation. But wait, it gets better. He says they may not need redemption. If aliens exist, they may be a different life form that does not need Christ’s… Read more