60% of Science Teachers Are Afraid to Teach Evolution

Did you know that sixty percent of science teachers in America don't teach evolution? And it's not because they don't believe in evolution. It's because they're afraid.

The theory of evolution, the very foundation of modern biology and the best-proved theory in the history of the world, is being censored because the right-wing Christian campaign of fear is working. Teachers are afraid that teaching the truth will cost them their jobs.

If any of my readers think it's time to be optimistic, think again. I'm one of the most optimistic of the atheist bloggers (see my Is Christianity Dying series), but my optimism was seriously tempered this morning.

Arkansas Shows It Has More Than Hillbillies: Elton John Baby Pics

Here in the United States we have a bad habit of stereotyping our states. Kentucky has nothing but tough farmers with shotguns over their shoulders and a scarecrow in every field; Texas is filled with gun-toting cowboys; if you're from New York you are either Jewish or from Brooklyn or both ... and so on. And if you're from Arkansas, you're a dumb hillbilly.

Well, it seems the citizens of Arkansas have shown us that they're made of better stuff than that.

The story started when Us Weekly magazine put a big picture of Elton John, his husband and their newly adopted baby on the front cover of the magazine. This apparently offended the sensibilities of Harps Grocery story chain, which put a "family values" shield in front of it so that children couldn't see the cover.

That's the same shield they use to hide pornography from the kids. Not only that,

Mean Atheist or Nice Atheist: What should I do?

Should I be a nice atheist or a nasty atheist?

Honestly, I haven't decided which side of this purported divide I'm on. Should I be conciliatory and inclusive, or abrasive and critical? Am I trying to have a dialog or give a diatribe?

Last week I wrote a blog criticizing a Christian web site because although their motives were good, the language of their web pages gave a bad impression of their philosophy. A reader Jerry Ballwell, responded, "It's made me look closer at my own arguments and how they can be perceived by Christians. ... If Christians think that we're calling them idiots, and if they get offended with what we say, perhaps we should look at our presentation too?"

I really try to be friendly to everyone (unless they're overtly rude to me). I welcome all points of view and appreciate it when theists take the time to comment on my blog. I try to listen to all viewpoints and to treat everyone with respect.

Most importantly, I try to always remember that most religious people are sensible, thoughtful people who are sincere in their beliefs for good reasons. In other words, I try to stay on the "nice" side of the nice/nasty atheist divide.

And yet ... sometimes it's hard.

I'm falling victim to the cynicism that seems to pervade the non-theist

Why does this keep happening? Virginia school district posts Ten Commandments

Are these people living in the dark ages? Don't they have newspapers and the Internet?

A Virginia school district is restoring the Ten Commandments to their classroom walls in spite of being told by their own lawyers that it's illegal.

There are so many aspects of this that baffle me that it's hard to know where to begin.

Do they really think this is going to convince their children to believe in God and stay in their faith? Is their regular Sunday (and often Wednesday) church not enough?

Don't they have better ways to spend their money ... like on the kids' educations? This is certain to spark a lawsuit

Dead Birds! God Hates Homos! ... oh wait, the US government killed the birds

Remember that old joke, "Psychic conference cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances"? Well, here's another one.

Over the last few weeks, thousands of birds have fallen from the sky for no apparent reason. But Cindy Jacobs over at the Generals International is a prophet, with not one, but two PhDs in theology! And Dr. Cindy figured it out: God is pissed about that gay marriage thing that Bill Clinton started back in Arkansas that's now now infected our military:

But the blackbirds fell to the ground in Beebe, Arkansas. Well the Governor of Arkansas' name is Beebe. And also, there was something put out of Arkansas called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by a former Governor, this was proposed, Bill Clinton. As so, could there be a connection between this passage [Hosea 4] and now that we've had the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell, where people now legally in the United States have broken restraints with the Scripture because the Scripture says in Romans 1 that homosexuality is not allowed.

Egads, we should have been more careful! Why, if we'd known God would be so angry, we'd could have kicked all those homosexuals out of our army (never mind that they're brave, dedicated patriots risking their lives for us) and saved ourselves from being hit on the heads by falling birds!

And ... what's that? You say the government poisoned those birds? On purpose? Oops.

It seems the real story is that

Alabama Christian Governor: Do Politicians Have a Right to be Prejudiced?

Do politicians have a right to hold beliefs that are offensive to modern society? Do they have a right to espouse those beliefs in public? Should they be held to a higher standard than the rest of us?

Robert J. Bentley, the newly-elected governor of Alabama, is "raising eyebrows" according to the LA Times.

"If you're a Christian and you're saved ... it makes you and me brother and sister. Now I will have to say that, if we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister ..."

The governor made these remarks in church, not during his official duties as the state's governor. Does that make it OK?

I don't think so. Governor Bentley abused the power of his office, plain and simple. He used the State of Alabama to promote Christianity. It may not be illegal, but it certainly is unethical. The governor should be ashamed of himself.

Governor Bentley has a duty to represent all of the citizens of Alabama: people of all faiths and no faith, people of

More re: Changing the Face of Christianity

Monday I wrote a fairly harsh blog condemning the web site Changing the Face of Christianity. Brad White, the site's author, was kind enough to reply in detail, and he made some good points that I'd like to address today. (Click here to read my blog and Brad's reply if you missed it). Today I'm responding via an open letter to Brad, the site's founder and author.

Dear Brad,

In your comments to my blog, you argued that I essentially missed many of your points, and that I was assuming far too much about your opinions. In a nutshell, you pointed out that I was putting words in your mouth, claiming that you said things that you never said and don't believe. And I confess, that's exactly what I did. Guilty as charged.

But I'm still going to claim I was right to do so!

How can that be? How can I claim that my inaccurate portrayal of your opinions and thoughts is actually right?

I have done a great deal of GUI ("graphical user interface") design in my career. I create computer programs