Atheism

Christians should understand that being able to give reasons for their faith is not merely an option – it's biblically mandated, says apologetics author and speaker Lee Strobel.

To help Christians better explain and defend their faith, Strobel and ministry associate Mark Mittelberg have launched The Institute at Cherry Hills, an apologetics and evangelism ministry at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colo. The institute is aimed at innovating new approaches to defending and sharing the faith.

Strobel and Mittelberg will kick off a series of national simulcasts to be hosted at churches starting in March with the event "The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask," based on Mittelberg's book by the same title. more >>

A newly appointed state director of an atheist activist group said that he will fight two national Christian-based organizations for what he alleges to be proselytizing at public schools while "targeting the impressionable minds of our children."

Al Stefanelli, the former president of United Atheist Front and presently the Georgia state director for American Atheists, Inc., said he will take action against the Child Evangelism Fellowship and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes this year. Both groups conduct after-school and break-time activities on school campuses throughout the United States with the approval of school officials.

When asked by The Christian Post as to what actions he would take against these groups, Stefanelli said, "I cannot get into specifics at this time, as we are still in the planning/strategizing stages. You can be confident that we will, as always, operate within the law, using peaceful means." more >>

After being called an "evil little thing" by a local politician, receiving violent threats via social media from classmates, and having her home address publicized in a newspaper – 16-year-old Jessica Ahlquist has returned to school as the apparently not-so-popular student who managed to have a 50-year-old prayer banner removed from campus.

Ahlquist, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), recently won a court case against her public school, Cranston High School West, that required officials to remove a prayer banner from its walls – and her challenge, and resulting victory, has angered residents. 

In the wake of that decision, Ahlquist, a self-proclaimed atheist, has faced rampant cyberbullying from peers and strangers alike. The abuse is so bad, Ahlquist says, that she might have to transfer to another school. more >>

Skeptics and atheists in South Africa remain divided over the Advertising Standards Authority’s ruling to remove a church billboard that was deemed “anti-atheist.”

Earlier this month, the ASA ruled that Rivers Church of Johannesburg could not display a billboard at their Sandton campus over what a complainant claimed was content offensive to atheists. The church had erected a billboard of a man holding his fingers against the temples of his face. Above the image is the quote, “An atheist is a man who believes himself to be an accident – Francis Thompson.”

Eugene Gerber had submitted a complaint to the ASA, an independent organization funded by South Africa’s communications marketing industry that oversees “self-regulation” of advertising content. The Advertising Standards Committee, a part of the ASA, ruled on the case. more >>

A 16-year-old Rhode Island girl and self-described atheist has won a legal battle against her high school over a prayer banner displayed on campus, with a federal court ruling Wednesday that the Christian mural, erected more than 50 years ago, has to be removed.

The banner’s removal is a reflection of "what true American values are," said Jessica Ahlquist, who attends Cranston High School West in Cranston. The teen insisted that the banner had no place in the high school and church and state had to remain separate.

"When I saw it there, I knew it didn't belong," Ahlquist told reporters, according to The Associated Press. "And every time that I saw it, it was a reminder that my school wasn't doing the right thing and that my school didn't necessarily support me and my views." more >>

While the religious turn to prayer and God for strength during a crisis, where do atheists turn?

Blair Scott, an American Atheist board member, reaches out to others or relies upon himself, he recently blogged, criticizing the role of what he deemed to be an invisible God or gods.

“During times of crisis I do not plead, ‘God please help me!’ or ‘God give me the strength!’ I simply tell myself that I can do it or that I can make it through it.” more >>