My early memories of Christmas involved dreaming about what presents would be waiting for me under the tree when I awoke. I also remember the occasional disappointment over the sweater or sock in my stocking, but generally despite the usual selfishness of children, the experience was fun and enjoyable. Like most of my friends, we celebrated Christmas for the presents, and although the story of Jesus was nev ...

On a normal day in February. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14 year old living in the small town of Lourdes in France, was gathering firewood with her sisters near a small grotto. She became aware of a presence, and claims a lady in a white robe with a golden rose on each foot appeared before her. Her sisters, who were present at the time, did not report seeing anything of the sort. Bernadette would return to the ...

Forgive the quality of the video above. Apparently, this spectator was too nervous at the sight of a bunch of nuns and monks dancing hypnotically at the basketball game to hold the damn camera steady. The troop, based out of Australia, is on tour in Italy, in perhaps the weirdest conversion ritual I've ever seen. ...

Here's an amusing site that jokes about the Genesis story through the eyes of a computer programmer. Click here to "login" WARNING** If you were not born in the age of DOS, you may not fully appreciate. ...

The headline would have been more effective as "finally, someone from Florida shows common sense", but the joke had to be sacrificed for the importance of this ruling. The Miami Judge found there was no rational basis for denying adoption rights to gays, and in the light of the tough times the homosexual community has endured, it's good to see positive news for once. There's undoubtedly going to be legal sa ...

Vampires have been part of human folklore in almost every culture and civilization. Creatures who suck life blood, energy, or souls have a long history of being cautionary tales against trusting strangers, against eating the dead, or simply an excuse to fear the dark. Although some cultures have very different ideas about how vampires operate, the modern Nosferatu legend is almost exclusively based on 18th ...

I was asked a few days ago by the Colorado Gazette do do a series of email interviews on a variety of subjects. They wanted an Atheist's perspective on a number of issues ranging from gay marriage to Internet access, and I was happy to oblige. The responses I wrote were probably too lengthy and detailed for them to be able to publish, and so I asked if I could post them up on the site for you who may find s ...

People who live in a bubble of delusion have a difficult time getting in touch with reality. Michael Jackson is the poster boy for delusion; this was the same man whose home was called 'Neverland', and who arrived at the Grammy Awards with a 12 year old boy as a date. In order for Mike to find redemption and hopefully lose his leper status, he's decided to convert to Islam, and Al-Qaeda sees this as a sign ...

I am often reminded one does not win popularity contests when attempting to shatter the delusions of others. I can certainly appreciate the fact no one wants to believe that they might be wrong, especially if this belief represents a form of comfort. It is then that I carefully remind people the truth is not a matter of popularity; we have plenty of examples in history of when popular beliefs have been held ...

I've always found it amusing when studies are performed on religion. Most of these consist of finding if religious people are happier, and now, there's a new one that came out saying if you subscribe to religion, you'll live up to 20% longer. Before I tear down how specious this line of reasoning is, I'd like to point out the sentence "can cut your chances of dying by 20%" sounds impressive, but like all go ...