According to my friend (and eBay-buyer) Jim Henderson of Off the Map, 2006 was The Year of the Atheist. As you know, in life there are things you plan for and things that happen to you. In 2006 we worked to achieve our goals but also got interrupted by God. His interruptions proved to be not only entertaining – but also strategic. God’s unplanned actions launched us into the national spotlight… Jim is referring to the “eBay atheist” story as… Read more
After my interview with Annie Laurie Gaylor, Devika posted the following: A question for Ms. Gaylor: When you mentioned your religious side of your family in your interview with Mr. Mehta, I couldn’t help but reflect on one my own conundrums. My family is staunch Catholic and although I don’t live with them, I often have to interact with their social circle, which includes a great number of priests, nuns, etc. I have no issue with addressing nuns as “sister”,… Read more
Remember Justice Sunday? And its sequel… and threequel? Those were the events when conservative Christians tried to persuade Congress to let through their picks for the federal courts. While talking about Roe v. Wade and those wicked homosexuals… (yay, tolerance!) Watch some excerpts here: Anyway, now we have Evolution Sunday. On Sunday, February 11 (the day before Charles Darwin’s birthday), church leaders across the country will be discussing through sermons and in small groups how a person doesn’t have to… Read more
***Update: If you would like to pose questions to Brian Sapient, Rational Response Squad co-founder (and thus, one of the leaders of the Blasphemy Challenge project), please write them in the comments. An interview with Sapient is forthcoming*** Even Newsweek is getting in on the action. The Blasphemy Challenge is where people submit videos to YouTube saying the catch phrase “I deny the Holy Spirit” in exchange for a free copy of The God Who Wasn’t There. For some reason,… Read more
The American Atheists (Founders) scholarship of $2000 is given annually to a student who has proven his/her activism in the atheist community. What constitutes activism? Maybe you wrote letters-to-the-editor to your local newspaper that were published or you started/led a local atheist group. You can also write an essay if you’d like. It’s all acceptable as part of your application. There is also a separate $1000 (Chinn) scholarship for an outstanding gay/lesbian atheist– the same requirements as stated above apply…. Read more
Yes, says Jonah Goldberg, Editor-at-Large of National Review Online. Read his article here. They printed this column in the commentary page of yesterday’s Chicago Tribune. It ruined my breakfast, I tell you. Goldberg says the following: The further to the left you are — particularly to the secular left — the less likely you are to donate your time or money to charity. Imagine two demographically identical people, except that Joe goes to church regularly and rejects the idea that… Read more
This weekend, the PBS show Religion and Ethics Newsweekly will air a special segment on atheism in America. Included in the segment are Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Julia Sweeney, and Paul Kurtz. You can check the PBS website for when the show airs in your local area. Everything will be available to download next week by clicking here. [tags]PBS, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, atheism, atheist, Betty Rollin, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Julia Sweeney, Paul Kurtz[/tags] Read more
Remember the uproar than ensued when Pat Robertson not-so-subtlely called for the assassination of Hugo Chavez…? So I was watching one of my favorite televangelist podcasts last night: Jack Van Impe Presents. (You can watch it, too. The audio can be downloaded here and video can be downloaded here.) That’s when I heard Jack make this comment (At the 5:53 mark of the video): … that’s the corruption that goes on in the United Nations. And there have been 50… Read more
Annie Laurie Gaylor is the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) as well as the editor of Freethought Today. She is also the author of several books, including Women Without Superstition: No Gods, No Masters, a collection of writings by women freethinkers. The Freedom From Religion Foundation was founded in 1978 by Annie Laurie’s mother, Anne Nicol Gaylor. FFRF has over 8,000 members and has been growing faster of late, likely due to its numerous (successful)lawsuits, including a… Read more
Tomorrow’s edition of The Christian Science Monitor shows how atheists are putting themselves out there. It’s a pretty positive article, mentioning such staples of non-religiousness as the Secular Coalition for America, the Blasphemy Challenge, and… um… The New York Times. There are some great soundbytes in the article. From Lori Lipman Brown, lobbyist for the Secular Coalition for America: “In some parts of the country, children are ostracized if someone finds out their families are atheists… We need to educate… Read more
