Sent in by Eoban Binder The Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign has formed in Bloomington to spread the word: “You can be good without God.” Through advertising on buses across Indiana, the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign has partnered with the American Humanist Association in hopes of promoting a lively and respectful discussion in the community and to counter the stigma against voicing atheist views. The campaign has launched with a short video (above), which can also be seen at http://INatheistbus.org . INatheistbus.org also features information about atheism and quotes from famous supporters of the idea that people can be good without god or religion. “If you look at the numbers, about 15% of the population of the US are non-religious,” says Charlie Sitzes, a member of the campaign. That amounts to an estimated 46 million non-religious people in 2008, a number that has been growing over the past two decades. The Indiana campaign is modeled after the Atheist Bus Campaign , which began in...

The Rev. Mac Brunson A blogger critical of First Baptist Church wants to know why his Web site was investigated by a police detective who is also a member of the minister’s security detail. Thomas A. Rich also wants the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to explain what suspected crimes led Detective Robert Hinson to open the probe into his once-anonymous Web site. Rich also wants to know why Hinson revealed his name to the church despite finding no wrongdoing. Hinson obtained a subpoena from the State Attorney’s Office requiring Google Inc. to reveal the author of the blog. Rich’s unmasking led to an eventual trespass warning banning the longtime member and his wife from First Baptist, despite the fact that Brunson and a top church administrator conceded the blog never threatened violence. HOW THEY FOUND HIM In late 2008, Jacksonville Sheriff's Detective Robert Hinson opened an investigation into the identity of an anonymous blogger who had been critical of his pastor, the Rev. M...

Sent in by David A priest has been propagating the Xtian myth by altering Playmobil characters to illustrate Biblical fairy tales. link This has to be child abuse, akin to creating Kennedy and Krushchev action men that come with a big red button and one of them has to win the race. It must be wrong to fill a child's mind with mythology like this. Here in the UK , it is not allowed to advertise certain products when the TV schedule is full of kids' programs. Why are the religious nuts allowed to proselytize? At least Playmobil has the good sense to put a stop to it . Lawyers for the a legal firm based in Zirndorf , southern Germany have demanded 38-year-old priest Father Markus Bomhard to scrap his Playmobil Children's Bible Plan -- despite backing from the Pope -- telling him he has no permission for the project and must no longer use the name Playmobil, dress figures in Biblical costumes, or photograph them. That said, the modelling is quite cute, nonetheless. Relate...