If I had the time, I’d write a whole post about each of these. As it is, you can probably guess what I would say:
• There are atheists in the military!
• And for why this matters, see this post on Friendly Atheist, about a study finding that anti-atheist prejudice goes down as atheists become more numerous and visible.
• I wrote a post a few months ago asking about atheist apps for the Android platform. I’m happy to point out that a developer has answered the call.
• On Salon, an account of life with an Objectivist father. It’s about time those lazy, mooching 16-year-olds stopped getting a free ride from their parents! (I can’t reread that sentence without hearing it in Stephen Colbert’s voice.)
• William Lane Craig, Christian apologist extraordinaire, defends the Bible’s genocides. But don’t worry, he’s not completely heartless, as he explains:
So whom does God wrong in commanding the destruction of the Canaanites? Not the Canaanite adults, for they were corrupt and deserving of judgement. Not the children, for they inherit eternal life. So who is wronged? Ironically, I think the most difficult part of this whole debate is the apparent wrong done to the Israeli soldiers themselves. Can you imagine what it would be like to have to break into some house and kill a terrified woman and her children? The brutalizing effect on these Israeli soldiers is disturbing.
Feel that Christian love!
• Americans United reports on atheists who want to be legally ordained to perform weddings, and have had to file a lawsuit to demand that right – one of the most visible examples of the way anti-atheist prejudice is still enshrined in law.
• On another down note, the Supreme Court issues another horrendous decision further stripping atheists of the legal power to claim our rights when governments unconstitutionally hand out money to churches. Horrendous, but not surprising – this decision has been in the wings since the Hein case. As long as conservatives have a majority on the court, our power to fight encroaching theocracy will continue to erode away. (See also NFQ‘s excellent, detailed take.)
• But rather than close on that down note, let me leave you with something that’s surely worth a few grins: an article on the secret sex lives of students at Seattle Pacific University, a private Christian college. Just try to keep a straight face when you read what the prayer rooms were used for! (HT: Violet Blue, definitely NSFW).