So we’re asking why some people won’t stop it, and why others who don’t deserve it must suffer. I guess the moon is in that phase, or something, because driving around running errands today, I caught a few minutes of this guy on the radio. Ehrman’s journey is one I can completely understand: from teen evangelical who converted to save himself from “hell,” to ministry student and biblical scholar, and finally to atheist. I guess he’s written some famous books too; they said Misquoting Jesus was a bestseller and that makes me glad. Today, he was talking about the book of Job (among other stories) and although I didn’t catch all the show, I wondered if he considered that part of the story that has always increased my atheism. Specifically, Job’s wife and kids.  Read more 

One of the guilty pleasures of WaPo’s new column on religious beliefs is watching Christianist shills get chewed on by the reality-based community. Read the comments section; it’s delicious. Take Cal Thomas—please:

[I]f God is not the Author of life, then we are evolutionary accidents who may treat each other as we please.

Nonsense. Human capacities for good and evil both evolved in nature because they both had survival value.  Read more