Christian Retailing, the trade journal for the Christian retailing industry, has a surprising story on their front page: To see the full PDF file and to read the accompanying story, click here. Besides talking about I Sold My Soul on eBay, they also mention Jim Henderson’s book, Jim & Casper Go To Church. Some corrections to the article: It says that Jim “asked if [I] would visit and critique a variety of churches, including Lakewood Church in Houston and New… Read more
Then be a part of the “I Sold My Soul on eBay” book release! event. As the description reads: This party will occur near your computer. And near computers all over the country. You might be thinking, “Where is everyone? What sort of lame party is this?” But rest assured you will be sharing in the festivities with all other group members! All of whom will be logged onto Amazon, buying multiple copies of “I Sold My Soul on eBay.”… Read more
Saturday is Ze Frank’s last day doing his video podcast. And I’m sad. I didn’t start watching until midway through his one-year project, and now he’s leaving 🙁 I don’t know who I’m going to watch now when I’m in bed but don’t want to go to sleep. I’ll think of Ze everytime I see a rubber duckie. An ugly MySpace page. A strange looking sign. Bread. Someone kicking someone else’s ass. A close-up. An eagle. And then I’ll quietly… Read more
Sam Harris writes: … [Congressman Pete] Stark is the first of our leaders to display a level of intellectual honesty befitting a consul of ancient Rome. Bravo. The truth is, there is not a person on Earth who has a good reason to believe that Jesus rose from the dead or that Muhammad spoke to the angel Gabriel in a cave. And yet billions of people claim to be certain about such things. He always finds a way to bring… Read more
Garrison Keillor (of public radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion”) has an essay up on Salon where he writes the following: I grew up the child of a mixed-gender marriage that lasted until death parted them, and I could tell you about how good that is for children, and you could pay me whatever you think it’s worth. … Nature is about continuation of the species — in other words, children. … Under the old monogamous system, we didn’t have the… Read more
Quick: What name comes to mind when I say the word “atheist”? . . . I’m guessing most of you think of Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. What name comes to mind when I say “Christian”? . . . Knowing the audience that reads this blog, maybe you thought of James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, or Pat Robertson. There are (obviously) many differences between the groups of people, but let me mention one I never hear much about: The most well-known… Read more
The campus newspaper of the University of Kansas is running a great story today on my friend Andrew Stangl, president of the sole secular group on campus– the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostic (SOMA)– and one of my colleagues on the Secular Student Alliance board of directors. “He’s a radical in choir boy’s clothing,” says Paul Scott, assistant professor of French and director of the 2005 study abroad program in France that Stangl participated in. Scott describes Stangl as… Read more
You *know* you want it. So here’s the deal. The book will not be released until April 17th. A month away. But I want to send you a free copy now. What I need to know is how you’re going to publicize the book for me 🙂 Maybe you’ll write a glowing review on your blog the week of the release… or you know someone who works in the media and might be interested in doing a story… or you’ll… Read more
The San Francisco Chronicle’s 2 Cents blog asked people the following question after Congressman Pete Stark’s announcement that he was a nontheist: Would a candidate’s atheism be a deal-breaker at the polls for you? The majority of responses show that people still support him (or don’t see his atheism as an issue at all). Here are a few of the more interesting comments: I’d vote for an atheist as long as I agreed with his or her political policies. Geez,… Read more
Austin Cline has a great roundup of issues dealing with coming out to your family as an atheist. Some categories he delves into: How Should You Reveal Your Atheism to Your Family? … you should avoid attacking your family’s religion. Even if you have come to conclude that it is evil, saying so will only serve to exacerbate the conflicts being created and the confusion being experienced by your family. It would also be wise not to take this opportunity… Read more
