Myths of Charity: The Enduring Sham of Arthur Brooks

Six years ago Arthur Brooks published Who Really Cares (which has gone through several subtitles, from America’s Charity Divide to Who Gives, Who Doesn’t, and Why It Matters to The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism). This book is still triumphantly...

Help Rescue Our Colleagues from Murderers

This is a big one. We’ve been working secretly on rescuing our own Taslima Nasrin from a hit list in her own county and have now gotten her to safety at some continuing expense that we could really use your help with. We would also like to save several other...

Groovy Video Companion to A Better Life

I just watched Chris Johnson’s new documentary, A Better Life. The book was already fantastic. Beautiful photography, great interview excerpts, of both famous and everyday atheists with remarkable stories. The video companion lives up to it. This is a must-have...

Problems with the Mental Illness Model of Religion

I posted over the past week several criticisms of Peter Boghossian that generally put me off him (especially this). I think he’s not a very good philosopher, and is far too wrong about far too many important things. Yesterday I expanded on one of those...

Peter Boghossian on Gay Pride and Hobnobbing with an Online Misogynist

Yesterday I posted an enhanced edition of my Ohio speech on feminism. Today I am posting key material from my Portland speech that extends the same argument to a broader application, focusing on some of the recent public statements of Peter Boghossian… Gay Pride...

Appearing All Over Southern California Next Week

I will be appearing to speak at numerous venues in Southern California next week and the following week. And of course selling and signing my books. I might also be available for hanging out with nice folk over drinks now and again while I’m around there. Here...

Help Make Secular Women Work

Heina Dadabhoy spells it out far better than I could at Urgent Final Push for the Secular Women Work Conference. Only two days to go. And this new conference deserves to get closer to its kickstarter goal. It has superb people putting it together, it has an important...

Hicks: Murderer

That atheists can be good without God, does not mean they can’t be evil. Stalin usually comes to mind. Now we have Hicks. The best reads on this here at FtB so far are the short, informative, spot on commentaries by Heina Dadabhoy, Ed Brayton, Greta Christina,...

Jamila Bey Joins FtB!

Yay! It has now become official! Journalist and beloved radio host Jamila Bey (and that’s Jam-EEL-a Bay) is now blogging on our network. Go check out her own The Sex Politics and Religion Blog. She wrote a little on Black History Month a few days ago, partly by...

Historicity of Jesus: Live Q&A

This Sunday at 9am Pacific I’ll be doing a live Q&A on the historicity of Jesus. Post questions here in comments or on the matching Facebook post. (Comments here won’t publish, but I’ll see them. I’m still looking for time to get through my...

Get Greta Christina’s Essential Little Book on Death

When Greta Christina writes a book on a subject, it’s usually so thorough and well-written you won’t need any other. And her latest e-book (eventually to appear in print as well) continues the tradition. In less than eighty pages, Comforting Thoughts About...

Join Me in Western Canada Next Week!

I announced that I’d be visiting Regina, Saskatoon, Kelowna, and Calgary. Now I have the details. I’ll first be attending a fundraising dinner in Regina, SK, the evening of Tuesday, October 14 (details and how to get tickets here). Then at 6pm Wednesday,...

Victor Stenger: 1935-2014

Some called him the Fifth Horseman of New Atheism. He wrote openly and prolifically in defense of atheism, and in promotion of sensible physics against Christian and woo abuses of it. And only a few days ago he died. I had the honor of hanging out with Victor Stenger...

And Now Aoife O’Riordan Joins FtB!

I said two more. And here’s the third! Aoife O’Riordan (that’s ‘eefa’, like Eva with an f; and of course, oh-reer-d’n) has now brought over to FtB her more-popular-than-she-thinks blog Consider the Tea Cosy. See her inaugural post for an...