For Immediate Release Tuesday, March 9, 2010 ST PETERSBURG, Fla.—Governor Charlie Crist has been accused of assaulting a man for identifying himself as an atheist during a campaign event held in St. Petersburg. On Friday, March 5th, University of South Florida graduate student Michael Middlebrooks approached the Governor downtown and was greeted with a [...] [...more]
Most people don’t have to think very hard to come up with organizations they believe are compassionate and moral. Churches and faith-based organizations usually come to mind. It’s a misconception, however, that “religion” is the only measure of morality and that only religious people do good work. There are also many secular/atheist charitable organizations in the [...] [...more]
Lately I’ve been listening to the archived episodes of the Skepticality podcast. A few weeks back I heard a good quip, one that I’ve been thinking a lot about in the meantime. Unfortunately I’ve managed to forget not only the exact quote, but also the guest who quoted it as well. Leaning hard on my poor [...] [...more]
There is a preacher for every intelligence level. On the feeble fringe of the bell curve you’ve got the droolers watching Pastor Benny Hinn on cable TV perform his forehead-shoving healing miracles. Toward the other end of the believer IQ spectrum you’ve got well-groomed men who can tie a real tie and confident women capable [...] [...more]
As a child, I always had a deep reverence for the Presbyterian Church I attended in the Philadelphia suburbs. It wasn’t so much the religious teachings that inspired me as it was the ambiance – creaky wooden floors, hard brown pews, arched doorways and windows, a pleasant musty smell, rich stained-glass, colorful tapestries, graceful floral [...] [...more]
Because I don’t pray, nor imagine some invisible alpha watching over me, I am free to live in a state of hedonistic anarchy. Yah, right. The reality: I have inner, pro-social, drives. Call them “voices” if you must personify. I have a conscience, in other words. This conscience no doubt originated in my parents’ teachings [...] [...more]
Is killing a god a crime? If it is, I hope habeas corpus rights demand that the body be presented before I am convicted. As an atheist I could be accused of killing God. But that’s impossible. For there is not one god, but millions, perhaps billions. There is one god, or more, in every mind [...] [...more]
America’s secular heritage begins with the founding of the country in the late 1700’s. While 200 years may seem like a long time ago, it’s a blink compared to the history of secularism that has threaded through most civilizations over the past 3,000 years. Freethought is by no means an American invention. It appeared in various [...] [...more]
