Atheist Christopher Nolan got fired from a Wal-Mart in Maine because he didn’t want to dress up as Santa (and presumably take part in perpetuating that myth). But the news reports make an interesting statement, and I’m not sure if it’s the fault of the reporters or Nolan himself. Since multiple reports say the same thing, I’m thinking it was Nolan: Christopher Nolan, 27, claimed he was asked to dress as Santa last month at the Sanford Wal-Mart but would… Read more
He’s not an atheist, but I still think Barack Obama is the best viable candidate in terms of respecting a separation of state and church. If you’re in Iowa, here’s to hoping you’re caucusing for him. (And not just for that reason.) Hopefully you’re not as much of an anti-atheist bigot as the woman below: Meanwhile, Obama shook hands in a downtown food court. Although he had a lot of eager well-wishers, he did get one chilly question: is he… Read more
After reading the Time magazine article (from 1970) and perhaps seeing the comments made in the blogosphere, Jeremy is concerned. He’s an atheist parent with custody of his children and he’s worried that his atheism may one day be used against him: As some of you might know, I’m the residential parent for two beautiful young ladies (10 and 11). Their mother, an alcoholic mess who has paid a grand total of ten dollars in child support over 3 years,… Read more
I don’t have any other information on this. There’s no website for it that I can find. I think the winner just gets published copies of their writing. I’ll just put it out there: Incarnate Muse Press is seeking poems for its second atheist poetry anthology. Confront, question, or deny the god of your youth, the sacred text of your culture. Express your disbelief, disapproval, doubt, or dismay. Looking for honest, thought-provoking poetry daring to speak against the social norm… Read more
***UPDATE***: A few more responses to your questions are below. As for Christopher Hitchens’ publisher’s non-use of materials, BG says this: Thomas Nelson [BG’s publishers] required that writers must obtain permission for anything over 25 words. Christopher Hitchens’ publisher sent me a letter denying me permission to use any material from “God is Not Great.” … After I posted the interview with Becky Garrison (BG) about her new book The New Atheist Crusaders and Their Unholy Grail: The Misguided Quest… Read more
First, The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science had their OUT campaign: And now, there is a Christian OUT campaign: That’s apparently a C. Who knew. (Notice that they actually write the word Christian to make it obvious what the letter stands for :)) Why is this needed? Some may wonder why there is a need to ask Christians to “Come out”, for indeed there seems to be no short supply of television evangelists, churches on every corner, and… Read more
Around 1940, a couple was denied an adoption solely because they were non-religious. Eventually, court action prompted a change in rules and the couple was able to adopt a boy: John Burke, an atheist, and his wife, a pantheist, had left the line blank. As a result, the bureau denied the Burkes’ application. After the couple began court action, however, the bureau changed its regulations, and the couple was able to adopt a baby boy from the Children’s Aid and… Read more
The Center for Inquiry’s representative to the United Nations, Austin Dacey, has a book coming out in mid-March called Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life (Prometheus Books, 2008). Don’t let the title fool you. A number of prominent atheists have been raving about this book already: “The Secular Conscience reveals how simplistic notions of privacy, tolerance, and freedom keep dangerous ideas sheltered from public debate. This is an extraordinarily useful and lucid book.” — Sam Harris … “With… Read more
Becky Garrison is the author of the just-released The New Atheist Crusaders and Their Unholy Grail: The Misguided Quest to Destroy Your Faith (Thomas Nelson, 2008). She is also Senior Contributing Editor for The Wittenburg Door, an online Christian satire magazine. The book’s description (on Amazon) is this: … Garrison steels her pen and takes on the ungodly program of the New Atheists, skewering each argument with her sharp satiric wit. Garrison turns aside the atheists’ assault without ignoring its… Read more
Shelby Corbitt thought the rapture was going to happen in 2007. She had the website, 2007rapture.com, all set up. (***Update***: As of this moment, though, the site is down. Here’s a cache of the page before the year ended.) She wrote a book, 2007, all about it. She was pretty adamant about it. And now — shocker of all shockers — we’re all still here. Jesus never showed up. God’s children are still on this planet. But the best part… Read more
