The man who confessed to murdering eight people in three metro-Atlanta massage parlors denies that the rampage was a hate crime. But we’re not taking his word for it. We’re considering the ethnic identity of the victims, the past year of anti-Asian rhetoric and surge in anti-Asian violence, and the long history of anti-Asian racism… Continue reading Robert Aaron Long and the Equation of Sex and Sin
Category: religion
Praying, But Not to God
I write this on International Pizza Day, so I wish you a Happy IPD, and a tasty pie made just the way you like it. We’re sad not to be celebrating in the usual way, i.e., the one described in How to Start Your Own Holiday. Also, please enjoy this essay I wrote about prayer… Continue reading Praying, But Not to God
Why All the Dead Babies?
Passover makes it especially clear: religion is not where morality comes from. This piece was originally published in FaithStreet years ago, but when I searched for it recently it was gone. So I’m reprising it here, slightly updated. It’s a bit of an antidote to my recent concession that religion can be useful. As an… Continue reading Why All the Dead Babies?
God? No. Religion? Maybe a Little.
I need events that can’t be canceled. We don’t need religion any more to explain the universe. And we obviously don’t need it to tell us right from wrong. But it must be useful, or why would people hang on to it? This essay is about one of those uses. Read the whole thing here… Continue reading God? No. Religion? Maybe a Little.
Tiptoeing Around God Again
By me, for The Washington Post. Read the rest here. Read the rest here.
Mayor Pete, the Religious Left, and Me
I’m not saying he is. I’m just asking him not to. Check it out at The Washington Post. Read the rest at The Washington Post.
Precedent
The most recent ruling on whether it’s constitutional to have “In God We Trust” as our national motto came in late August, from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. You can read it if you want, but I should warn you, the plaintiff list alone will make your eyes glaze over: New Doe Child #1;… Continue reading Precedent
7 Things You Don’t Have to Do to Be an Atheist
Courtesy of Bustle.com. And I won’t judge you if you go on to read “7 Weird Signs You’re Not Sleeping Well” or “The 10 Worst Cities for People with Allergies.” As long as you start by clicking on this link . . .
The Radical Fairness of Opting In
The week before Adam’s official swearing in, the other members of the Town Board fondly ribbed him about taking the oath. They knew his wife was an atheist, and someone quipped that when I held the Bible for him to swear on it would burst into flames. Adam doesn’t mind being teased, but the joking did… Continue reading The Radical Fairness of Opting In
The Church of Baseball
On a railing in the stands facing left field in Camden Yards, seven large medallions, six orange and one blue, sport seven numbers: 20, 5, 4, 22, 33, 8, and 42. Baseball fans know what those are: the retired numbers of the team’s most honored players. Orioles fans know who those are. I knew two… Continue reading The Church of Baseball