It used to be you only needed to warn your kids not to trust strangers trying to lure them into their vehicles for fear they might be kidnapped. Now parents in Colorado Springs have to worry about the Cornerstone Baptist Church luring their kids inside their creepy vans in order to baptize them. That's what nearly happened to a 7th grader at Russell Middle School. Administrators immediately sent a warning o ...

Austin Cline over at About.com put together this comprehensive list of surveys showing just how despised atheists are as a minority. When Americans were asked who they would vote for, the atheist candidate was always the most hated one. For people like you and me, this kind of attitude seems pretty puzzling. Sure, we can be a bunch of killjoys at parties, but statistically, we are less likely to commit viol ...

It's bad enough the situation is Iraq is a mess; now we have to deal with the knowledge the Iraqi military is engaging in some sick and twisted tactics to torture and kill homosexuals in the country: “A prominent Iraqi human rights activist says that Iraqi militia have deployed a painful form of torture against homosexuals by closing their anuses using ‘Iranian gum.’ …Yina Mohammad told Alarabiya.net that, ...

I'm not a fear monger, but right now, the whole world needs to pay attention to what is going on in Pakistan. Taliban militants are continuing their assault, and have had a series of victories that continue to move them closer to the capital of Pakistan. It's risen fears the country is on the brink of collapse, and the secular Awami National party is on the verge of being overrun. If you don't think that's ...

People sometimes criticize me for taking such a strong stance against Islam. I'm told it's a religion of peace by many of its practitioners. I'd like very much to believe them, but the actions of its strictest adherents continues to shock and dismay. Take this story in Saudi Arabia where 15 school girls died in a fire. Their deaths could have been prevented, but the rescue was hindered by the fact the polic ...

I don't watch much British TV, but according to this article on a IK Christian website, it looks as though they are upset their religion is being mocked on TV. They site an episode of Eastenders in which a religious character looks buffoonish in her view of homosexuality. Other soaps apparently show characters complaining about the superstitious nature of religion, and how they target vulnerable people. So ...

An article here tries to make the case that both the Left and the Right are wrong about the Founding Fathers establishing (or not) a Christian nation. The author makes a good case for why religious conservatives are wrong, but he doesn't seem to say anything constructive about why the Left is mistaken. I must assume he feels perhaps secularists like myself may not fully appreciate the contribution Christian ...

I'm still amazed there are atheists out there who think the 'battle' is over. Although it may be true that close to 20% of the American population can effectively be called 'non-religious', this hasn't significantly changed how God fearing people see atheists. It would be nice to be able to live peacefully with one another without fear of persecution, bigotry, or hatred. Sadly, we do not yet live in a world ...

Here's an interesting article from The Economist that deals with the UN's resolution to make defamation of religion illegal. We're all aware of how toothless the UN really is, but it doesn't change the fact this resolution attempts to protect religious institutions instead of individuals. Think of it this way; when the UN was created shortly after the end of the Second World War, world governments realized ...

There've been many high profile economists who have come out publicly calling on the US to repeal drug prohibition laws. Today, it's Harvard Economist Jeffrey Miron talking to CNN.com. If you're wondering why so many economists are coming out of the woodwork to talk about prohibition, consider the last time the US faced a depression, one of the big policy changes that went into effect was the abolition of a ...