Thanks to Don Morgan for forwarding this to me: “The ‘anthropic principle’ states that the laws of nature were fine-tuned by the Great Designer to allow the existence of beings so intelligent that they could discover the anthropic principle. This is so incredibly deep that something happens to scientists who dwell on it too long.” … The Anthropic Principle

There are obviously many non-Christians who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. Air Force (USAF), but there is growing evidence that the USAF is, despite claims to the contrary, institutionally Christian. According to a recent article in USA Today, an Air Force recruiter has filed suit against the USAF because of consistent … Is the U.S. Air Force a Christian Air Force?

I’ve recently discovered the stop-motion animated show “Moral Orel” on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. It’s the story of a very devout 11-year-old boy, Orel, who lives in the fictional town of Moralton in the fictional state of Statesota (located between Kansas and Missouri). Orel loves church, but frequently misunderstands the religious moral principles … Moral Orel

The rapture index, now at 156, has been trending lower recently which is great because I’m not ready for Old Pitch to start ruling the world just yet. Of course there is another upside. If the rapture happens tomorrow then those of us left behind can just walk around and take our pick of nice … Are you Rapture Ready?

There was a great opinion piece in the Sunday Times by Slavoj Zizek (behind the subscription firewall here). An atheist from the former Yugoslavia, Zizek criticizes the “Karamozov fallacy” in which Christians have long-argued that without God everything is permitted. As he points out, the Enlightenment principles in Europe that led to large numbers of … Everything is Permitted Under God

DePaul University graduate student Hemant Mehta–an atheist and chairman of the Secular Student Alliance–sold, on eBay, the chance to save his soul. His offer was that for each $10 of the final bid, he would attend one hour of church services, and document the results on his blog. The winning bidder (at $504, which was … Atheist sells chance to save soul on eBay

The church fires of the past three months were very puzzling. At first, with black churches being set ablaze, it seemed like a classic hate crime. But then white churches went up in flames too. The mystery is only partly solved with the just-announced arrest of three white college students, all of whom met each … Church Burnings

Henry M. Morris, the leading figure of creationism in the 20th century, died on February 25 (See also the ICR site). He was instrumental in the revival of young-earth creationism, through his writings, his tireless work among conservative Christians, and his institution-building. His influence will live on for a long time yet; even Muslim creationists … Henry M. Morris

There’s an interesting selection from an interview with Wafa Sultan, a secular Arab-American, broadcast on Al Jazeera. (Thanks to D J Grothe for mentioning this.) It’s an eloquent expression of secularist frustration with fundamentalist Islam. It’s unfortunate that this appears on the web site of MEMRI, a right-wing Islamophobic organization who I don’t trust very … Wafa Sultan interview