Atheism

Atheist groups are targeting African-American communities by asking them to think about leaving their church during Black History Month – but a number of pastors and scholars are saying that is not going to happen any time soon. 

National ad campaigns launched by atheist organizations have been growing in regularity in the U.S., but a new initiative by African-Americans for Humanism (AAH) is targeting black Americans in particular who have historically been strongly linked with religion.

"A lot of people think there's one black experience. A lot of people think that if someone's black it means that they're religious. So we want to be able to show people that that's not true, that there are non-religious people out there," said Debbie Goddard, director of AAH, referring to the billboards asking "Doubts about religion? You're one of many." The billboards feature images of famous historical black freethinkers alongside photos of a contemporary black atheist leader. more >>

The Atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation has vowed to sue the National Forest Service for renewing the contract of the Jesus Statue in Northern Montana, arguing on their official website that the statue's presence at the site is "unconstitutional."

On Tuesday, the Flathead National Forest Service approved the renewal of a 10-year lease for the Knights of Columbus's Statue of Jesus, which sits on federal land inside Whitefish Mountain Resort in Northern Montana.

The statue was erected in 1955 on Big Mountain, located in the Whitefish Mountain Resort, by World War II Veterans who were also members of the Knights of Columbus – a Catholic men's benefit society. The statue is homage for local WWII veterans. more >>

Atheist organizations from around the country have taken to billboard advertising to promote their views and their organizations over the last few months, but a new campaign by one atheist organization is focusing on reaching one group of people in particular: African-Americans.

"A lot of people think there's one black experience. A lot of people think that if someone's black it means that they're religious. So we want to be able to show people that that's not true, that there are non-religious people out there," Debbie Goddard, director of African Americans for Humanism (AAH), told The Christian Post on Wednesday.

The AAH launched an advertising campaign in late January in six major U.S. cities – New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Durham, North Carolina – with a seventh city, Dallas, being added on Feb. 6. The campaign was designed to coincide with February's Black History Month. more >>

The number one lie that Christians are often confronted with is the argument that evil, pain, and suffering prove that there is no God, said author and apologist Mark Mittelberg.

Providing a rebuttal to the question of why God would allow such things can be challenging, said Mittelberg, who is the author of The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask and other books about defending the Christian faith.

Mittelberg told The Christian Post recently that in fact, it was the issue of evil that initially led the renowned author and scholar C. S. Lewis into atheism. However, upon further reflection, Lewis began to see that if there is no God, then there is no such thing as evil either. more >>

An official from the Roman Catholic Church says that it is "impossible" to undergo "de-baptism" as a growing number of people in Western Europe and the United States request such a process.

Jeannine Marino, program specialist for evangelization & catechesis at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CP that atheists who seek to be "de-baptized" or "un-baptized" cannot technically do so.

"From the Church's perspective, it is impossible to 'un-baptize' or 'de-baptize' someone because we believe that baptism permanently seals the person to Christ and the Church," said Marino. more >>

David Attenborough - British broadcaster, naturalist and evolution theorist - said on a BBC broadcast on Sunday that he is now agnostic and believes that faith in God does not preclude belief in evolution.

Attenborough, who is considered one of the most well-traveled men in the world, spoke on the 70th anniversary of BBC radio's "Desert Island Discs." Host Kirsty Young asked the 85-year-old whether all his traveling has led to a belief in God or brought him "closer to the Lord."

"I don't think an understanding and an acceptance of the four billion-year-long history of life, I don't think that is any way inconsistent with a belief in a supreme being," Attenborough said. "I'm not so confident as to say that I am an atheist, I would prefer to say I'm an agnostic." more >>