My friend, August Berkshire, was mentioned in an article in Minnesota’s The Free Press newspaper. The article talks about the cliché that you “find God” suddenly, maybe in a moment of difficulty, and you have “one of those a-ha moments.” August says that it’s not quite the same for atheists: But when someone decides to abandon their belief in God, things don’t happen quite so suddenly. August Berkshire of the group Minnesota Atheists says that becoming an atheist — which… Read more
You’re all invited to contribute to the (currently experimental) Flying Spaghetti Monster blog! All you have to do is register (on the right side of the page) to post your thoughts. Just remember to follow the ground rules. [tags]atheist, atheism, Pastafarian, FSM[/tags] Read more
The latest Humanist Network News podcast features students who attended the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization conference in India last year. You can listen to it below; it’s episode #22. The episode features these segments: Segment 1: International Humanist Youth in India The Society for Humanism (SOCH) Nepal reports on the IHEYO Conference held in India. This segment includes recordings from the speakers at the conference with commentary. End: 16:45 Segment 2: Humanism in the East and West Our… Read more
NPR ran a terrific interview today with Ellery Schempp (the man who helped put a stop to mandatory school prayer decades ago) and his biographer Stephen D. Solomon. They were promoting Solomon’s new book Ellery’s Protest: How One Young Man Defied Tradition and Sparked the Battle over School Prayer. (via the Secular Student Alliance blog) By the way, if your campus group is a Secular Student Alliance affiliate, the SSA can help bring Ellery (schedule permitting) to your campus! More… Read more
A new poll by YouGov in Britain has some surprising results (emphases mine): Only 16% of those polled called themselves atheists; 28% believed in God; 26% believed in “something” but were not sure what; and 9% regarded themselves as agnostics – like [poll commissioner John] Humphrys himself, who had a religious upbringing in Wales but calls himself a “doubter”. He writes: “Even though the dominant faith – by a massive margin – is Christianity, only 17% thought the influence of… Read more
I was all set to have a relaxing, uneventful long weekend. Grading students’ quizzes, watching the Cubs, reading… My best-laid plans have gone awry. The Exterminator has challenged me to solve his latest puzzle creation. And since no puzzle will defeat me, I have to accept. Unless you can beat me to it. Which you won’t. Because I’m off and running… [tags]athiest, atheism, puzzle[/tags] Read more
Tangled Up in Blue Guy Mike has seen some strange (and slightly infuriating) bumper stickers lately… The bumper sticker on the mini-van next to my car reads “If They Can Pray in Congress, Why Can’t They Pray in Public Schools?” Now have you ever been tempted to scratch the 1st Amendment’s Establishment Clause into the paint of a car? It was my first impulse, but I resisted. Mike’s commentary makes for a good, quick read. [tags]atheist, atheism, Christian, bumper sticker[/tags] Read more
Just read this quotation first: Queensland artist Priscilla Bracks denied she had deliberately set out to be offensive. “Absolutely not, no, no. I am not interested in being offensive. I am interested in having a discussion and asking questions about how we think about our world and what we accept and what we don’t accept,” she told ABC radio. Now: the picture in question. It’s a holographic image that “morphs” two separate images: Bracks’ work was in the running for… Read more
My friend Leslie Zukor (of Reed College in Oregon) has been working on a service project for the past couple years. She has been acquiring atheist books to send to prisoners. It’s a response to the abundant amount of religious material and I-found-Jesus stories you hear so much about in jail. She’s been pretty successful so far. Over 1,000 books have been received and donated to several prisons across the country. Last year, she earned the “Best Service Project” award… Read more
Bjorn finds all the good stuff. Like this genius quiz. All you have to do is remember the 10 Commandments. They even give you mnemonic devices. Afterwards, they tell you what you just learned: Can you see the Ten Commandments are like the mirror — they show us how bad we are, and how we need to be clean before the Day of Judgment. That is the Day God will punish people who have broken the Ten Commandments. They will… Read more
