Last month, Congressman Pete Stark (D-California) made history when he came out publicly as the first non-theistic, elected official. He did this at the prompting of the Secular Coalition for America, which had run a contest asking people to nominate the highest-ranking such official. At the time, the “second place” winner was a school board president. Well, after the positive press given to Stark, other elected officials are slowly following in Stark’s footsteps! (That’s right– officials. Plural!) But we’ll take… Read more
A couple days ago, an article discussing the upcoming The New Humanism conference at Harvard circulated through the Associated Press wire. The story was picked up by many papers, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Guardian. This was personally exciting if for no other reason that the Secular Student Alliance that I chair is working together with the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy in promoting the conference (the SSA is sandwiching the main event with our own “activist… Read more
The new Carnival of the Godless is at Abstract Nonsense. Go check it out! The next CotG is at Neural Gourmet in two weeks. Submit your entries here! [tags]atheist, atheism, Carnival of the Godless, Abstract Nonsense, Neural Gourmet[/tags] Read more
Several months ago, Time featured a debate between Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins on the subject of God. This week, Newsweek does something similar. Sam Harris visited the offices of Pastor Rick Warren and moderator Jon Meacham was there to watch it unfold. I was going to list some excerpts, but really, the whole thing is worth reading. I am kind of disappointed that Rick Warren resorts to age-old arguments. I keep wondering how many times atheists have to address… Read more
Pastor Robby Dawkins (no relation to Richard, I assume) used to weigh 425 lbs. back in 2003. And though he claims to have seen a lot of miracles, praying to God just wasn’t helping him lose weight. He did have Graves disease, a thyroid disorder that may have been a reason for the excess weight, but he wasn’t eating too healthy, either. One day, the fluctuating hormones in his body (a product of Graves Disease) stopped fluctuating– the doctor didn’t… Read more
Justin Trottier, the president of the Freethought Association of Canada, and his friend Peter Aruja were hanging posters on the night of March 27 promoting an upcoming lecture featuring Victor Stenger, author of God: The Failed Hypothesis at Ryerson University. Flyering buildings is a typical way that campus groups get word out about their events. Two men then approached Justin: The men asked for a copy of the poster, mumbled under their breath and tossed it to the ground. Mr…. Read more
The Victoria Philharmonic Choir in Canada is adding a twist to its version of Handel’s Samson. The choir’s version of the classic story turns the Biblical tale on its head by portraying Samson as a suicide bomber in 1946 Jerusalem. Simon Capet, the artistic director, says his goal is to “get people talking about music.” Though it looks like music will be one of the last things people will be talking about… The shock value, however, might enlighten some people… Read more
Saint Gasoline does a nice, quick job of arguing why atheist books should stay away from imitating the popular Christian I-always-smile-now-take-a-picture book covers: I suppose that wouldn’t sell so many copies. But it’s still more appealing than Christopher Hitchens’ book cover. I also enjoyed his commentary: The last thing I need when buying [a] book for a good intellectual romp is for the checkout clerk to think I’m buying some sort of lame self-help book because I am self-conscious about… Read more
Harold Henderson at the Daily Harold summarizes a recent Pew Research Center survey: It’s not easy being a traditionalist conservative. First, you assert that your views about gays and women are timeless truths. Then, you change them. According to the report (PDF), conservative values are falling by the wayside. Keeping in mind the value of good graphs and charts, here’s what the survey tells us: Those who claim to be atheist, agnostic, or of no religion rose from 7% to… Read more
If you’re in Chicago this Saturday night, come join me at the College of Complexes! I’ll be speaking about I Sold My Soul on eBay and positive atheism… I *might* even dance. Here’s the information: Where: Lincoln Restaurant (4008 N. Lincoln Avenue) When: Saturday, March 31. 8:00 p.m. Free parking is nearby! The cost of admission is a whopping $3 for “tuition” plus $5 for food and drink. Seeing me dance costs you an extra $1.50. And you have to… Read more
