Note: rough earlier versions of this post briefly appeared for some reason. I take full responsibility for that which I did not cause and cannot control.
Karl Payne is a certified demonologist, whatever that means. We can safely assume it means he deeply believes, or claims to deeply believe, in super-natural critters the rest of us can’t see or hear and science has never been able to detect. Apparently Halloween is a busy night for demonologists, kinda like New Year’s Eve in an ER. Karl Payne is deeply concerned that this Halloween will intentionally or unintentionally open the door for demons to swarm through from the pit of hell or nearest parallel dimension.
But you probably won’t be surprised to learn that back when Karl was trick or treating, it was all innocent fun and games, a harmless quest for candy undertaken by wholesome kids facilitated by red-blooded American neighbors. It’s only lately, when Karl is older and no longer participates, that Halloween has taken such a dark turn. Beyond that it just gets hilarious: [Read more…]
The Epistle of James is an interesting read even though scholars cannot agree on when exactly it was written and there is some debate about who James was; some arguing he may have been Christ’s younger brother. But most agree it was written shortly after Christ’s crucifixion and eventually some parts were included in the New Testament, as the Bible was developed more toward its modern form throughout the third century.
The Book of James includes warnings about fanaticism, ceremony and formalism over good grassroots faith, the corruption of wealth and the oppression of labor. Here’s some context for the latter: [Read more…]
HuffPo has a funny piece up promising a pic of all the atheists in Congress. It goes to a video of a cat. Which is why you should kick in a few bucks to that Paypal logo up there and send me to Congress to clean the woo up! allow me to blog another month and bitch about it. But the article did show one courageous congressman has outed himself: [Read more…]
Throughout history there have been Popes good and bad. We’ve had Popes who personally facilitated the most worst vanities and genocidal tendencies or Princes and dictators, and there have been Popes who more closely hew to the words of peace and mercy spoken by the man they worship as a God. The present Pope may be one of the latter: [Read more…]
An atheist org has bought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ads in papers across the nation celebrating the secular nature of the US Constitution. The ads, sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), pointed out our founding document is free of references to a deity despite what many political leaders like to say: [Read more…]
A few weeks ago, an atheist in New Jersey was denied the vanity license plate Athe1st. He tried to get an explanation and was told it was objectionable. Which begs the question, would Bapt1st have received the same treatment? [Read more…]
A California man is free and may be due compensation after being unlawfully returned to jail. His violation? He objected to a state-mandated 12-step program conducted with a clear religious prerequisite. Problem, he’s an atheist. Fortunately, there may be some relief in sight: [Read more…]
Fundamentalists have become their own worst enemy in the battle for market share among young people. At least that’s what atheist writer Hemant Mehta posted on CNN.com: [Read more…]