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

I’d like to give a quick shout out to Andreas Heldal-Lund who continues to maintain Operation Clambake, a clearinghouse of valuable information on the Church of Scientology. Many of us infidels have corresponded with Andreas over the years and I remember a particularly tough time he went through five years ago keeping the secret library … Operation Clambake

Brad Harrub of Apologetics Press gave a talk at my university last week, to kick off a series of creationist presentations that went on in local churches. I like talking to creationists — their views at least have the virtue of being wrong, when so much else said in defense of religon is not even … Beleaguered Minority?

The New York Times has just published a rather stupid review of Daniel C. Dennett’s new book, Breaking the Spell. The intelligent design creationists like it, and just about anyone who buys into the traditional self-conception of philosophy as the fundamental intellectual discipline should find much in it to like as well. Wieseltier, the reviewer … Dennett review in NYT

If anyone is still interested in the points of connection between creationism and postmodernism, or just wants something that has less to do with modal navel-gazing, take a look at Norman Levitt writing on Steve Fuller and ID.

I haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been busy migrating the software that supports the secweb.org kiosk. That’s online now so I can breathe a little easier. Yesterday I read a fantastic article in the January/February issue of Foreign Affairs by primatologist Robert Sapolsky on primate behavior (also online here). The typical story of … Lessons from Primates

Here’s one that belongs in the category, “I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry.” When people see the words “Catholic priest” and “stand trial” used together, they will probably assume that the priest is either being prosecuted or sued for some sort of alleged sexual abuse. A recent court proceeding in Italy, however, … Frivolous Lawsuit on the Historicity of Jesus