The last time we heard from “ex-gay” pastor Ted Haggard, he needed money. He’s indirectly back in the news. The man who took over Haggard’s role as senior pastor at New Life Church, Brady Boyd, sent out this press release to friends of the church (emphasis mine): Brady Boyd Senior Pastor New Life Church Colorado Springs, CO FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ted Haggard’s leadership of New Life Church for many years was extraordinary and the depth of spiritual maturity that is… Read more
The Clinton School of Public Service (at the University of Arkansas) just released copies of its new publication Frank. The publication… embodies the Clinton School’s philosophy of straight forward, practical solutions through its “Academics for the Real World” curriculum. Joseph Ballard interviewed Richard Dawkins in the premier issue. FRANK: What would the “Richard Dawkins School of Public Service” look like? [RICHARD DAWKINS]: It would probably be similar to this school (Clinton School), but it might have a bit less emphasis… Read more
If you’re interested in sending your 6-8th grade child to Camp Quest West (in California), you have a chance to win a free campership! All the child has to do is write a 200-400 word essay (DOC) answering any one of these three questions: 1. Should Intelligent Design be taught in school along with evolution? Why or why not? 2. What, if anything, does evolution tell us about the interconnectedness of life and how we should treat each other? 3…. Read more
The image below (click it for a larger version) was made in 1918. What can we learn from it? The Dark Ages occurred in A.D. 1000. (And that was it.) The AntiChrist appeared in A.D. 2000. Satan’s around for another thousand years. Good thing no one believes in that type of foolish thinking anymore… (*sigh*) (via Tiny Frog) [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
Maria (aka Masala_Skeptic) is trying to send Basava Premanand to The Amaz!ng Meeting 6 in Las Vegas this summer. She writes: Premanand founded the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, which tours the villages of India to educate people by debunking gurus and fakirs. … I think it would be fascinating to hear from this man who has spent his life working directly against woo and pseudoscience in a very real sense. Unfortunately, at this time, the JREF cannot financially support… Read more
This is what you miss out on when you don’t join the Friendly Atheist Forums: That’s courtesy of SusanB, who I hope makes that into a t-shirt 🙂 If you haven’t joined the forums, jump right in! (via the aptly named Atheism and Coffee) [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
The proposal by Raymond Zbylut, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, to get a street named after the late founder of American Atheists has been rejected. The proposal was shot down with a 6-0 vote. Councilman Garry Gernandt said after the meeting that he was contacted by close to 200 constituents concerning the Murray O’Hair sign, and not a single one was in support. “They said we should keep religious and state issues separate,” Gernandt said. Constituents also said that because… Read more
Last night, Bill Maher appeared on Larry King Live. In the clip below, he discusses religion, the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue, and his upcoming movie Religulous: Whether you like him or not, you gotta admit he’s blunt, honest, and passionate. [tags]atheist, atheism[/tags] Read more
The cute couple above (and to the left) were wed in Poland’s first ever Humanist wedding ceremony. Jane Bechtel is the Scottish humanist celebrant who conducted it. Held in Warsaw on Sunday the 9th of December, as part of the 100th anniversary conference of the Polish Freethinkers Association, the wedding generated a lot of interest and publicity across the Polish Media. Humanist Ceremonies are very rare in Poland as 90% of the population is Catholic, however interest is increasing among… Read more
I’m voting later tonight. Barack. Easiest vote ever cast. If you’re an independent voter, listen to lawyer Eddie Tabash talk about the dangers we face with another conservative president and a Supreme Court that could be heading toward disaster with the next appointment. We don’t need that to happen for another four years. And Barack has the best chance of defeating John McCain. [tags]atheist, atheism, Point of Inquiry, Don Addis, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Freethought Today, Barack Obama[/tags] Read more
