Come See Me at Skepticon 9 (Nov. 11-13)

If you happen to be within traveling distance of Springfield, MO the second weekend in November, I’ll be presenting a workshop at Skepticon 9 on the afternoon of Friday the 11th at 4pm. My topic? “Nonversations: How NOT to Talk to Very Religious People” If you’ve been following some of the ongoing discussion about how to [Read More…]

Five Times When Jesus Sounded Like a Humanist

I’ve said before that I’m not much of a fan of Jesus. If the reports of what he taught his followers have any truth to them, he said a number of things to which I object (and I don’t mean just the parts about believing in invisible spirits). The Jesus I Don’t Like For one thing, [Read More…]

An Atheist’s Take on the “Spirituality” of Sex

This month, Patheos is hosting a cross-channel discussion about the spirituality of sex, asking people from each religious tradition to weigh in on what their faith has to say about the subject. What kinds of rules does each tradition establish to manage and guide our sensual and romantic experiences? Are there any definitive texts that [Read More…]

Duck Dynasty Patriarch: God’s Not Dead, and He’s Mad as Hell

This weekend, the Political Action Committee (PAC) Citizens United (yes, that same Citizens United) releases in theaters a new film entitled Torchbearer, a movie aimed at stirring their conservative base into a frightened frenzy, mobilizing them to get out the vote, hoping to use the November election to put conservatives back into the White House before America [Read More…]

You Don’t Own Me

Over the past weekend, a Christian writer I’ve begun following wrote on her Facebook wall that marriage does not entitle a spouse to a sense of ownership of the other person. She began the discussion with a succinct, assertive statement: The text of her post reads: A man does not *own* a woman’s body (and vice [Read More…]

When Neither Atheists Nor Christians Offer You a Safe Space

Despite what many atheists would say, a lot of problems within Christian and other religious groups are mirrored in atheist groups. Both groups claim to be open minded, but there’s a reluctance to explore certain kinds of ideas within each camp. When exploring your beliefs while in a Christian group, they are certain that the [Read More…]

The Christmas That Wasn’t

Growing up, my favorite superhero was definitely Superman. Hands down, no one else captured my childhood imagination more perfectly than he did. I was also taught to idolize Jesus growing up, and it always delighted me that my boyhood idol so closely mirrored the object of my religious devotion as well.* Both of them were, [Read More…]

“Why Do You Go For A Murderer?” Children and Indoctrination

Every time I drive past a sign saying, “Trump/Pence 2016: Make America Great Again!” my little sister asks me, “Why do you go for a murderer?” She’s eight years old. My sister loves Donald Trump. When asked why she’ll say because he wants to Make America Great Again. She can’t tell you how he wants [Read More…]

Skeptrack Panel Discussion: Firebrands vs. Diplomats (Video)

This past Labor Day weekend, I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion at Dragon*Con in Atlanta between proponents of a more confrontational (a.k.a. “firebrand”) approach to atheism and those of us who take a more conversational one (a.k.a. “dipolomats”). I wrote out my own thoughts about that discussion a few days later: [Read More…]

Genesis Three and the Dangers of Thinking Too Much

I really meant it last week when I said that going quickly through the first three chapters of Genesis is like sprinting through a museum. We could spend hours in front of each passage, picking apart all the influences and nuances of meaning, the historical settings and the authorial intent(s). I suppose we could also create [Read More…]


CLOSE | X

HIDE | X