Free Republic

From day one, angry atheists have made outlandish claims about the Ground Zero Cross – the two intersecting steal beams in the shape of a cross that was found in the wreckage of the World Trade Center following 9/11. Not only have they made these absurd claims in public (calling it “offensive and repugnant”), they’ve made them in federal court. Now a federal appeals court is calling them out and demanding they provide a rational explanation as to how their “offense” constitutes a constitutional claim. When the American Atheists first filed their lawsuit in state court seeking to have the...

'House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that when Sunday dawns, she is more a praying woman and far less a partisan politician.“I was thinking about it on Sunday when I was praying for the Republicans in church, as I do at least every Sunday,” Ms. Pelosi also said, during a press conference on Capitol Hill. :“I pray for the Democrats and the Republicans, for our country."' Nancy Pelosi: I pray for Republicans ‘every Sunday’(Washington times (June 20, 2014) Yes I believe you on that Nancy, but Satan is too busy in the middle East right now to help you in...

Tim Lambesis, lead singer and founder of Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying, recently confessed that he and other members of his band had become atheists but kept claiming to be Christians so they could keep making money selling records to Christians. In a wide-ranging interview with Alternative Press shortly before he was sentenced to six years in prison last month for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife, Meggan Murphy Lambesis, the singer addressed a claim he made last year in a YouTube video about his spiritual allegiance after fans started saying he had become...

WASHINGTON – The United States Navy has denied an application from an outspoken atheist who sought to become a chaplain to the Godless in the military. As previously reported, 38-year-old Jason Heap submitted his application last July, noting that he had earned master’s degrees from both Oxford University and Brite Divinity School, with substantial experience in human resources. He also successfully completed the necessary paperwork and all the required physical tests. Heap told reporters at that time that a position as chaplain would be a chance for him “to give back to my country."

Atheist parents and students wanted the Pledge of Allegiance banned in schools in Massachusetts because it contains the phrase "under God," but the state's highest court has ruled that reciting it does not violate the commonwealth's constitution or laws. "We hold that the recitation of the pledge, which is entirely voluntary, violates neither the Constitution nor the statute [which prohibits discrimination in Massachusetts public school education] ...," the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said Friday in Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District. "Simply being offended by something does not make it a violation of the Massachusetts Constitution," said Senior Legal Counsel...

The Pledge of Allegiance does not discriminate against atheists and can be recited at the start of the day in public schools, Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Friday. The Supreme Judicial Court said the words “under God” in the pledge reflect patriotic practice, not a religious one. They acknowledged that the wording has a “religious tinge” but said it is fundamentally patriotic and voluntary. The court was ruling in a 2010 lawsuit filed by an atheist family from Acton who claimed that the daily recitation of the pledge in classrooms violated their three children’s equal protection rights under the state constitution,...

Humorist: Brad Stine Tolerate This! "Atheists Are Irrational"

The hot seat just got hotter for Air Force officials at today’s [March 14, 2014] House Armed Services hearing. With the backdrop of Scripture scrubbing and Christian harassment at the branch’s Academy, a routine budget debate turned into a fireworks display over the Air Force’s growing hostility towards faith in the ranks. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Walsh were originally scheduled to talk about branch spending until conservatives intervened, demanding a detailed explanation of the events that unfolded at the Academy. Representatives from Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) to Democrat Mike McIntyre (N.C.)...

...‘Christian’ Putin has returned the brutal heel of the Marxism-Leninism ideology which made atheism the official doctrine of the Soviet Union down on the people of Russia’s newly-acquired Crimea. Throughout the 70-year history of the Soviet Union, Christianity was suppressed and persecuted uninterrupted until Pope John Paul 11, President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher brought down the Iron Curtain and Soviet Communism. {SNIP} The Soviet Union didn’t change when it became plain Mother Russia. The KGB tiger called Putin has never changed his stripes. With yesterday’s cheers still resounding from the overwhelming 96.77 percent for Crimea to...

Author’s Note: Those wishing to follow this column should note that the subject of the controversy, a course syllabus, can be accessed here (http://www.uncw.edu/soccrm/documents/proceduresyllabus.pdf). Last Friday I was sitting in my office with a couple of students. We were going over an exam and talking about the schedule for the rest of the semester. While we were talking, I got an unexpected email from another professor. I shared it with my students. After reading it, they begged me to respond and to share my response with others. Because I am a faithful public servant, I decided to honor their request....

There has been so much news lately of schools, organizations, and individuals being harassed by atheist groups, but this one sets a new low. In this case, a grieving mother erected a roadside cross where her son was killed, and now an atheist group has forced her to take it down. What is wrong with these people??? As reported by The Press Enterprise, a roadside cross was erected for 19-year-old Anthony Vincent Devaney who in May 2012 was killed crossing a street. A complaint prompted the American Humanist Association in Washington, D.C., to intervene, contending the placement of the symbol...

An atheist group is suing to prevent the World Trade Center Cross from being put on display at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The 17 foot steel crossbeam was found in the wreckage at Ground Zero in the days after the September 11 attacks. For many, the cross was a symbol of hope during a time of tragedy. …

"It is an attack on God Himself." This was how Brent Bozell, founder of the conservative Media Research Center, felt about the prospect of representatives from the American Atheists attending the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference, the annual gathering of conservative leaders and organizations in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, the Atheists announced they would host a booth at the conference next week; within hours, they had been disinvited. The group "misrepresented itself about their willingness to engage in positive dialogue and work together to promote limited government," a CPAC spokesperson told the Washington Post yesterday. The American Atheists were invited—and...

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – A high school football coach in North Carolina has been ordered to cease leading his team in prayers following a complaint by a prominent atheist activist organization. Officials with the Mooresville Graded School District recently told Mooresville High School football coach Hal Capps to stop leading the Blue Devils in prayer, and Capps has agreed to discontinue to the practice. The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) had contacted the district last fall after learning of Capps’ practice and asserted that the prayers were unlawful. According to reports, a parent of a student had complained to...

British professor Antony Flew wrote over thirty philosophical works which established the foundations for atheism for half a century. His 1950 paper "Theology and Falsification" was the most reprinted philosophical publication of the 20th century. In December 2004 Flew announced in a symposium and subsequent video that he had completely changed his view and now, based on scientific evidence, believed that God exists. In 2007 he wrote the book There Is a God (Amazon USA) (Amazon UK) , subtitled How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind. This is the man without whose ideas the various Richard Dawkins,...

Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor Ryan Bell made an unusual New Year's resolution: to live for one year without God. He used to lead a congregation in Southern California, but in March, he was asked to step down after voicing some of the doubts that led to this decision to "try on" atheism. Just a few days into the new year, after announcing his resolution, Bell was asked to leave the teaching positions he held at the Christian Azusa Pacific University and Fuller Theological Seminary. Bell spoke with NPR's Arun Rath about his flirtation with atheism and how he arrived at...

Ryan Bell, a former pastor who lost all his jobs after announcing he will experiment with atheism for a year, is currently getting overwhelming financial support from atheists and others after revealing in the fourth day of his controversial experiment that he was running out of money. "So I find myself, on Day 4, without any employment. My savings will run out in about two weeks and I'm scrambling to find immediate work doing, well…anything—manual labor, waiting tables, other teaching and consulting, or whatever I can find," wrote Bell, a Seventh Day Adventist, on his blog 'Year Without God'. Atheist...

A new display proposed for the Florida Capitol rotunda may leave you asking if the devil made them do it. After the state agreed to allow a private Christian group to put up a nativity scene and a private group to put up a Festivus pole made up of empty beer cans; more groups are applying to put their own displays in the rotunda. The latest filings for a Capitol display are from the Satanic Temple and from the Tallahassee Atheists, according to the News Service of Florida. The Satanic Temple hasn’t said what it would put on display in...

It seems that those who favor the all or nothing inclusion of December symbols in the annual display in front of the municipal building have been successful in making that happen. Over the weekend - with it still unclear if the lighted tree is to be called a "Christmas tree" or a "Holiday tree" - a crèche and an atheist sign were added to the display. Meanwhile the official name for the lighted tree in the display remains an issue for some. Resident Tim Wagner and others said they will continue to press for administrative action to call the "Holiday...

Prompted by a billboard calling Christmas a myth, the Catholic League erected a pro-Jesus billboard Tuesday. MANHATTAN — The Catholic League, upset over an anti-Christmas billboard at the New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, threw a "counterpunch" at atheists Tuesday with a billboard of their own on the New York side of the tunnel.The new 26-by-24-foot billboard at Dyer Avenue and West 31st Street features a depiction of Joseph and Mary looking adoringly at baby Jesus, with the message: "You know it's real. This season, celebrate Jesus. Merry Christmas from the Catholic League," according to the Catholic League's website....

A group called American Atheists has posted a high-profile billboard in New York City's Times Square depicting Christianity as a “myth,� apparently mocking Jesus Christ on the cross. The group, which first launched its Christmas “myth� campaign in 2010, ramped up its campaign with a giant sign that features an image of Santa Claus, an equally large picture portraying a suffering Jesus on the cross, along with the phrase, “Keep the Merry — Dump the Myth!�David Silverman, president of the atheist club, claimed in a press release that his group thinks “a large population of Christians are actually 'atheists'...

I was asked by the Young Adult group in my parish to address some ads on our local buses and subway trains here in Washington. The members of the Young adult group found the ads offensive and troubling, especially since they were aimed at kids. The ads are posted by the American “Humanist� Association (AHA) and are indeed aimed at kids and teenagers. The focus of the message is “Kids without God: You’re not the only one.� I have altered the ad at the upper right of this post to avoid listing its website but as you can see God...

A reporter for a small Florida newspaper decided that he wanted to see if he could get the city of Chipley to remove its nativity scene from public property because he claims it is somehow against the US Constitution. There is that unbiased media we are so in love with, eh? Reporter” Randal Seyler of the Washington County News decided to try and use his position in the media to destroy a community nativity scene when he noticed that the decoration was put up at city hall. This biased, troublemaker ran to city hall and warned them he was going...

<p>SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. — Officials at Shaw Air Force Base are trying to determine what to do about a holiday display after a Nativity scene was taken down last week.</p> <p>Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Keavy (kev-EE) Rake said Tuesday a Nativity display was set up Friday by a group of volunteers from the base chapel at a small lake on the installation. The site was near where a tree lighting ceremony was scheduled Friday evening.</p>

There’s nothing like the holidays for laughing at anti-religious malcontents being driven to madness by the thought of Christians and Jews celebrating their faiths. Crosses, menorahs, happy people with satisfying personal lives – these things drive the militant atheists into a sputtering rage. Watching them fume is the gift that keeps on giving. Normal atheists just don’t believe in God, and those of us who do, figure that’s between them. They respect our religion and we respect their right to have no part of it. Sure, some religious folks talk to people about their faith, but it’s not clear why...

Imagine if an activist group blanketed a major city with 55 billboards urging that illegal aliens go back to their own country. Or that homosexuality is a crime against nature. Or that Muslims are responsible for most of the world’s terrorist attacks. The mainstream media would be all over the story. Organizations – like La Raza, like GLAAD, like CAIR – would organize protests. President Obama would publicly condemn the billboards (while defending illegals, homosexuals and Islam). And the sponsors of the billboards would be branded a “hate group.” Yet, there has been little outrage over the 55 billboards that...

Why do some atheists embarrass themselves year after year trying to eradicate Christmas from American culture? Why do they make themselves societal hemorrhoids during this hallowed season? Is it because they are crusaders for equality, secularism’s saviors and humanism’s heroes? I’m sure that’s what they tell themselves when they’re pouting on their couches all alone on Christmas Eve after every single one of their friends has dumped them for being a rabid jackass. I believe, however—and I could be wrong—that the reason some rage against the machine is that they hate God and love their sin, and bringing up Jesus...

Not long ago, I blogged about a movement led by British comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans to establish atheist “churches” across the globe. They’ve been on a world tour covering Great Britain, the U.S., and currently my homeland Australia, helping atheist groups establish “Sunday Assemblies”—basically, churches for atheists. (You can read my prior blog posts on these atheist churches at the following links: Atheist Church (Yes!) Now Meets on Sunday and Why Would They Do This?) Now, I’ve said before that the reason these atheists feel the need to establish some sort of church-like gathering is because they know...

Another day, another secularist attempt at religious cleansing. The United States Supreme Court, which, with jaw-dropping irony, opens every session with prayer, recently heard – for the umpteenth time – oral arguments on whether local governing bodies can likewise open every session with prayer. (The U.S. Congress does it, too. Always has.) The answer, of course, is a resounding “yes,” and, unless the high court goes completely off the rails this time (anything’s possible under its presently imbalanced liberal makeup), so it shall remain. The case is Town of Greece v. Galloway. Hyper-litigious atheists – always on the prowl for...

It looked like a typical Sunday morning at any mega-church. Hundreds packed in for more than an hour of rousing music, an inspirational sermon, a reading and some quiet reflection. The only thing missing was God. Dozens of gatherings dubbed “atheist mega-churches” by supporters and detractors are springing up around the U.S. after finding success in Great Britain earlier this year. The movement fueled by social media and spearheaded by two prominent British comedians is no joke. The inaugural Sunday Assembly in Los Angeles recently attracted more than 400 attendees, all bound by their belief in nonbelief. Read more here:...

A student from a Christian university in Oregon ditched the privacy of the confessional and went public about his faith, writing in the school newspaper: "I am an atheist. Yes, you read that correctly, I am an atheist." Eric Fromm, 21, a senior at Northwest Christian University in Eugene published his thoughts about not believing in God in the Beacon Bolt, the student-run online newspaper -- despite the fact that his university is a Christian school. Although Fromm didn't share the religious beliefs as the school, he said in his post he decided to enroll because Northwest Christian had a...

Sunday Assembly, a godless church, founded by two British comedians that meet to hear "great talks, sing songs and celebrate life" throughout 30 cities around the world, launched a new congregation in Nashville, Tenn., last night as part of their effort to expand as a non-religious "megachurch." The Sunday Assembly opened its first church in London in January and both Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, leaders of the atheist group, decided to break ground in Nashville as their way of "church planting" since the pair has already established stateside congregations in San Diego, New York and Washington, D.C. Close to...

The lawyer representing an atheist and another woman who sued to stop the practice of opening city hall meetings with sectarian prayers told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that devil worshipers might not be offended by prayers that include “the Almighty” if those worshipers believe that term applies to Satan. … Now the Supreme Court will issue a decision on whether prayers in legislative settings violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” …

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case examining whether sectarian prayer should be allowed at government meetings. The Supreme Court began the day’s session with its traditional opening, “God save the United States and this honorable court.” The irony of the high court hearing a public prayer complaint after its own mention of God was not lost on the justices. Atheists sued the town of Greece, N.Y. for its practice of opening its town council meetings with mostly Christian prayers, and asking everyone to rise for those prayers. A federal appeals court sided with the...

This post originally appeared at Pew Research Center’s Fact Tank blog. Estimating the number of atheists in the U.S. is complex. Some adults who describe themselves as atheists also say they do believe in God or a universal spirit, according to Pew Research Center surveys. At the same time, some people who identify with a religion (e.g., say they are Protestant, Catholic or Jewish) say they do not believe in God. The debate over the definition and identity of atheists came up recently during Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Diana Nyad, a self-identified atheist who recently gained attention for her Cuba-to-Florida...

Oprah and the AtheistsTrent Horn October 23, 2013 | Members of the atheist community are outraged, but not at their usual targets, such as conservative politicians or pastors. Instead, they have set their sights on Oprah Winfrey.This past weekend on her show Super Soul Sunday, Oprah interviewed Diana Nyad, the 64-year-old marathon swimmer, to discuss her amazing feat of swimming from Cuba to Florida in 53 hours. During the course of the interview the following exchange occurred:Nyad: I can stand at the beach’s edge with the most devout Christian, Jew, Buddhist, go on down the line, and weep with the...

It’s fascinating, the amount of emotion at least some non-Catholics seem to have about Catholic teaching. I can tell you that when I was in the anti-God period of my life, I did not give one whit what any church taught. I paid them the ultimate diss of not giving a care. But from what I’ve seen on this blog, there are a large number of people who claim to be atheist or some what-not version of what I was in my anti-God period, who appear to think about Christianity, the Catholic Church in particular, 24/7. They appear to be,...

Mikey Weinstein heads up an outfit called Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), which might be shortened to Murfs. These atheizers are not to be confused with those cuddly Smurfs. The little blue cartoon character Smurfs all wear Phrygian caps—a symbol of freedom. No, Murfs take it on themselves to smother religious freedom. Mikey and the Murfs are bragging about their latest score. It took just 68 minutes for the Murfs to pull down a poster at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Why? Because the poster promoted the honor system and said—“So help me God.” Well, Murfs can’t stand any mention...

A godless church may seem to some as an oxymoron, but it has become a reality as the oldest church in Leeds opens its doors for an atheist congregation. The Sunday Assembly Leeds is a non-profit organisation which has chosen to put away religion but still keep the traditions of song and sermons. Originally starting in London last January it was created by two comedians, Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans. After success in the capital they have now launched their movement worldwide in their ‘40 days and 40 nights tour’, which will be opening assemblies in the UK, including Leeds,...

The atheist community hailed last year’s scientific confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson, for which the British theoretical physicist Peter Higgs was co-recipient this past week of the Nobel Prize in Physics. Higgs had theorized, all the way back in 1964, that there must be something that gives subatomic particles their mass, which enables them to form atoms, which, in turn, form molecules, all of which is integral to creation as we know it. That something turned out to be the Higgs boson. And its discovery, declared Dan Barker, co-president of the so-called Freedom From Religion Foundation, an...

Evangelical group Answers in Genesis is borrowing a page from the atheist activist playbook, launching an effort this week to reach non-believers through a targeted Internet and billboard campaign. Their message? “Thank God you’re wrong.”

An Ohio school district has agreed to keep a portrait of Jesus Christ off school property and pay a $95,000 fine in the face of legal pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union. The Jackson City School District, located in Jackson, reached a deal on Friday after the ACLU, along with the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, sued the district in February, citing “unconstitutional” actions and charging that students and visitors to the school “will continue to suffer permanent, severe and irreparable harm and injury,” according to the lawsuit. The picture had been hanging in Jackson’s high school since 1947...

Pope Francis is significantly upping the Catholic Church's buzz quotient, but another congregation is hoping to take America (and other countries) by storm. Like Methodism and Episcopalianism, the Sunday Assembly is a British import, but with a difference: This church doesn't believe in God. It's motto is "live better, help often, and wonder more." It's striving to be a global atheist religion.

In comments likely to enhance his progressive reputation, Pope Francis has written a long, open letter to the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, Eugenio Scalfari, stating that non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences. Responding to a list of questions published in the paper by Mr Scalfari, who is not a Roman Catholic, Francis wrote: “You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying – and this is the fundamental thing – that God’s mercy has no limits if you go...

Americans who count themselves among the "nones" — as in atheists, agnostics or those of no definite religious affiliation — have launched a new political action committee. The goal? To support the election of like-minded lawmakers or, at a minimum, candidates committed to upholding the constitutional separation between church and state. "The Freethought Equality Fund will work to elect the nones ... in addition to those who will work for our rights so we can finally have the representation in Congress we deserve," said Maggie Ardiente of the American Humanist Association, at a Washington news conference Wednesday where the new...

Pope Francis, referring to atheists who refuse to believe in God, His Commandments and His Church, recently said, "God forgives those who obey their conscience." See here. Pope John Paul II, in his Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, explains that: "Conscience, as the judgment of an act, is not exempt from the possibility of error. As the Council [Vatican II] puts it, 'not infrequently conscience can be mistaken as a result of invincible ignorance, although it does not on that account forfeit its dignity; but this cannot be said when a man shows little concern for seeking what is true and...

Some atheists say that if God exists, He should show Himself to everyone so they can believe in Him and not go to Hell. Should a good God do this? I've heard atheists say that the best thing God could do would be to reveal Himself openly so that everyone could believe in Him, do what He wants, and not go to Hell. Since God does not do this, we know that either He does not exist or He is not good.When this comes up with your atheist friends, try exploring the question of what would happen if God were...

How atheists became the most colossally smug and annoying people on the planet When did atheists become so teeth-gratingly annoying? Surely non-believers in God weren't always the colossal pains in the collective backside that they are today? Surely there was a time when you could say to someone "I am an atheist" without them instantly assuming you were a smug, self-righteous loather of dumb hicks given to making pseudo-clever statements like, "Well, Leviticus also frowns upon having unkempt hair, did you know that?" Things are now so bad that I tend to keep my atheism to myself, and instead mumble...

An athiest group is believed to be behind an IED explosion at a war memorial cross in Coos Bay, Oregon. Coincidentally, the cross has been the recent target of lawsuits from the athiest group, “Freedom From Religion Foundation” (FFRF). If it is proven this group planted an IED, can we officially declare the FFRF group a terrorist organization? Luckily the explosion didn’t kill anyone and damage was minimal charring to the memorial. Todd Starnes at FoxNews reports the following: Someone ignited an improvised explosive device next to a war memorial cross that a prominent atheist group wanted removed from a...

Several Republican lawmakers are urging a federal district court in California to block the removal of a war memorial cross in a San Diego public park that was declared unconstitutional in 2011. "We're urging the court to permit a private organization to obtain and operate the war memorial – a remedy that would remove any constitutional questions and protect this longstanding tribute to our men and women in uniform," Sekulow said in a statement. The legal fight over the Mount Soledad cross began in 1989 when atheist Philip Paulson sued the city of San Diego.