The Freethinker blog has an interview with atheist YouTube celebrity Pat Condell. Pat is as entertaining in print as he is in his videos. FT: What can we do to resist the growing influence of religion? PC: We can speak out. That’s what the internet is for, and it’s the only reason my voice is being heard. We need to make as much noise as religious people do, and with as much certainty about our right to do so. Nobody… Read more
Random question: As an atheist, have you ever given money to a Christian organization? (What was the reason?) Obviously, there are Christian groups like the Salvation Army that many people have donated to. However, I’m referring more to groups like Campus Crusade for Christ, which exist solely to advance the Christian faith (and everyone knows it). [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
On last night’s episode of American Idol, singer David Archuleta sang John Lennon’s song Imagine. The song contains these terrific lyrics: Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace Guess which verse was cut during his performance tonight…? Archuleta said he just “preferred” the other verses when pressed by judge Randy Jackson about why he left out that part of the… Read more
They’re both recipients of the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism given out by the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy and the Harvard Secular Society. Rushdie received the award last year. Greg Graffin, the lead singer/songwriter for the punk band Bad Religion, will be receiving it on April 26th. Before you dismiss Graffin as being in a different (lesser?) league from the noted author, take a look at an excerpt from his bio: Before becoming a professor at UCLA, Graffin received… Read more
Then we’d be smoking pot, buying tricks, killing the babies, crucifying Christians, and being altogether hypocritical. There would also be lots of the sex. NSFW video brought to you by The Blood of Christ Repertory Players. Is it real or satire? You decide. (Thanks to David for the link!) [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
Why bother with medical technology to figure out the sex of your child when you can just consult a chart? It is said that thousands of years ago the Chinese developed a calendar to predict a baby’s sex. It was supposedly discovered buried in a Royal tomb about 700 years ago. Sure it was. Blue is for boy; pink is for girl. Is it correct?! (Can someone recreate the code so that the blue colors create an image of a… Read more
Michael Amini was born into an active Mormon family in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was baptized as a full member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of 8 and soon became highly involved with them, obtaining many leadership positions along the way. He attended a full four years of Mormon seminary (a required course one takes during the high school years that teaches Scripture) and was accepted into Brigham Young University. But he’s… Read more
You get up to two questions. Renacier, who started the thread in the forums, put it this way: So it’s a cliche question. Sue me. If you died and found yourself face to…presence with God, what one question would you ask him? (Although since God is omnibenevolent, he surely wouldn’t begrudge you another one, would he?) Two, then. Two questions I would ask if I came face to whatever with God. Question one: What!? Question two: Are you freakin’ kidding… Read more
The city of Hudsonville, Michigan has this Mission Statement: Obviously, the government shouldn’t be “serving God.” If individuals in the government choose to do so, that’s their choice. But the city shouldn’t be taking a position on religion. The Freedom From Religion Foundation requested that this reference be removed: The presence of religion in the Mission Statement at a tax-supported city website establishes religion. A city should have no religious “beliefs.” That neutrality is the only way to ensure religious… Read more
The March issue of The Atlantic has a powerful article by Alan Wolfe (director of the Boisi Center for Religion and Public Life at Boston College) about the impact of religion: Every new outburst of religious passion, while producing ecstasy and revelation for some, has disrupted established loyalties, fueled intolerance, and led to violence between the chosen and the damned. There’s a little bit of the Doomsday scenario that Sam Harris wrote about in The End of Faith: A common… Read more
