GASTONIA, N.C. – A Gaston County pastor will have to register as a sex offender and is facing 18 months probation. Harley Michael Keough, pastor of the King James Baptist Church in Bessemer City , was found guilty on two counts of sexual battery for groping several women at his church's food pantry over a three-year period. The 73-year-old took the stand Tuesday in his own defense and denied everything. Keough testified he's suffered from erectile dysfunction since the late 1990s. He said engaging in any kind of sexual behavior would have been pointless. “If I had done what they allege I had done and I just happened to get one of them excited and be called on to perform, I would be kind of SOL, because I’d stand there looking like an idiot because I couldn’t do anything,” Keough said. But the prosecution argued Keough's medical issues wouldn't stop him from touching people if he wanted to. And prosecutors said the accusers had no reason to lie. “Did any o...

By Sam -- I am a new skeptic and a new atheist . I have always been fascinated with Psychology and Sociology as well as Statistics and Probability. Image by Vidiot via Flickr After seeing many videos on the Psychology of religion by Darrel Ray on YouTube ; I thought I'd do some snooping on my own. I call this... The God ILLUSION Why do Theists think God exists? They claim they constantly see Him manifesting himself in reality all the time. Since I used to be a Christian, I will focus on the Christian version of God. They claim that, Words of Knowledge Prophets Speaking In Tongues Answered Prayer The Holy Spirit , and  Healing are all proof He manifests in reality. We can agree that anything which is within reality is and can be tested by science, yet the claim God can't be tested by science but he manifests in reality.. So aside from their ignorance, we will claim that the above list of claims can be tested. 1. Words of Knowledge Words of Knowledge a...

By Burning in Hades -- T his is my first post, and I just wanted to add a little bit of myself to the forums. I've been reading the posts for about a year, so here goes nothing. I may post more depending and how I feel about how it is presented. Image by jcoterhals via Flickr I was raised in a Christian family home, and my dad is actually a licensed minister, I'm 45. I don't remember ever not believing in god until a few years ago, but the more I asked tough questions the more I was convinced that there wasn't any god, in any religion, watching over us. Someone once posed a question that I have yet to find a valid response to, from any theist. The question was 'If God were to have died yesterday, how would you know? You see, the universe would continue along it's merry path, with or without humans, it has a few billion years left in its life cycle. Be that as it may, that isn't the reason that I don't believe any more. You see, I was married for ...

By Dealdoctor -- I n an article on Yahoo News I read, "Rome's center-right Mayor Gianni Alemanno was in the crowd, along with other pro-Vatican Italian officials. "We want to show our solidarity to the Pope and transmit the message that single individuals make mistakes but institutions, faith and religion cannot be questioned," Alemanno told Associated Press Television News. "We will not allow this." Image by tskdesign via Flickr "Hmmmmm-really." I thought as I read, “institutions, faith, and religion cannot be questioned.” But then the statement of authority and implied force,“ We will not allow this.” I do not think I have ever read a more concise statement of the mindset of someone under the dogmatism of religion. Certainly before the Enlightenment individuals had questioned religious faith but as an era the Enlightenment brought forth a questioning of those things mentioned above which ‘cannot be questioned’ and more and more peopl...

By Victor Webster, (retired surgeon), Sydney -- This is a genuine letter to an evangelical which, against all expectations, made him stop and re-consider: Vic Webster M y apologies for describing your writings as "gibberish". Science does not purport to have the answers to everything. There are many things we just do not know, and many things humans will never know the answers to. What you are asking is the age-old question - "why is there something rather than nothing?" Scientists don't know the answer to that. Like all mammals, our brain power has its limits. For example, you could try to teach, say, a dog the principles of calculus for 5 years non-stop, at the end of which he would not understand any of it. Similarly, understanding why there is something and not nothing - that is the real question -or why the universe exists at all - may well be simply incomprehensible to the human brain - let's hope not. To then say that some god or other ...

By Moving On -- No True Scotsman wears pants! I read in someone's post about KristinaLovesJesus and her video on youtube which states that there can be no such thing as an Ex-Christian. I watched this video and some related videos (one of them being the No True Scotsman video by theTRUTHgroup ). I found myself getting quite angry at their arrogant attitudes toward a subject which they quite obviously know nothing about. They are obviously still in that happy place where they know all and see all (or if they don't, at least god does, and he surely thinks like they do.) I also felt sad and ashamed at having ever been very much like them! :( I watched a few other videos that people had made in response to these, and those people, like me, were quite angry. I'm wondering why this is so? I am very happy to be free from all of the nonsense, the arrogance, the judgment, the false hopes and unanswered prayers and questions that come along with being a Christian. Why ...

By SeageVT -- Y esterday, my husband was admitted into an inpatient treatment center to be put on suicide watch and receive help with his sever anxiety disorder and the PTSD he has from a tour in Iraq where he was blown up by an IED . Image via Wikipedia His mother called me late last night, freaking out about it. Obviously she had been worried, but he had initially asked me not to tell her, because he had guessed what her reaction would be. She is an acclaimed Catholic . She use to preach to me about how I'm being led down the wrong path, yet all she could talk about last night; the money we owe her. Her son is in the hospital, wakes up several times every night in a cold sweat, talks about how he isn't worth anything and no one should suffer him to live, how he hate's himself and that I don't deserve the "stress" he puts me through. Even though I was the first to tell her about these things, even though my husband has asked me not to, all she could t...

by Vyckie @ No Longer Quiverin -- T he twenty-five years I lived as a born-again Christian was not just about living out the Quiverfull philosophy of welcoming all of the babies which the Lord chose to bless me with ~ it wasn't only about homeschooling, home fellowship, modest dress, sheltering our children from worldly influences and faithfully serving as a submissive helpmeet to my husband. When I first experienced the Lord's grace and forgiveness ~ when new life in Christ became my reality ~ I was overwhelmed by His love for me and His mercy toward me ~ an undeserving sinner. I read the story about Mary, the harlot who anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume and wiped them with her hair ~ His praise for this unworthy woman touched me deeply, "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." (Luke 7:47) Given my mixed-up background and all the guilt and sham...

By Melissa -- I came from a Apostolic pentecostal church. The woman had to wear skirts, not cut their hair, and do other things that were meant to make us more spiritual and pure. Image by harold.lloyd (won't somebokeh think of the body?) via Flickr About a year ago i got tired of living that life. I was being a fake person and I hated that church, so I went looking for another church of a different denomination to go to. I got to a point where I just stopped believing all together and became agnostic. I mean, if Christianity is the "truth," then why are there so many different belief systems in one religion? Well, my husband has been awful during this whole experience. He even went to the extreme as to get a vasectomy because he did not want more children with a "heathen." He says I am an embarrassment to him and our two boys; that I disgust him. Even the way he looks at me makes me a little sick. I can see that he does not love me anymore. This all...

By Renoliz -- I just wanted to say how nice it has been to be able to "speak up" on the topic of Christianity. The damn has burst and I have commented on several of the articles. Image by vicsaez via Flickr I have never participated in on-line discussions or made any comments before recently. Since it is anonymous, I do feel that in some ways I can say what is really on my mind. I truly hope that something I say here will be helpful to somebody else who is considering leaving Christianity. However, this has been liberating for me. Reading others thoughts and feelings has allowed me to work through an awful lot of anger and angst. There has been sadness and fear. Knowing that I am not the only one struggling with fundamentalist indoctrination has helped me to no end. Realizing that the "nice" church I went to as a child also instilled a fear of Hell in me has helped me crystalize my feelings that Christianity is not a healthy concept. Truthfully, I...

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama evangelist who authorities say terrorized his family while preaching at revivals has been sentenced to life plus 51 years in prison after being convicted of killing his wife and storing her body in a home freezer. Circuit Judge John Lockett imposed the sentence Thursday on Anthony Hopkins, 39, who showed no remorse during the proceeding. He got the maximum sentence of life for murder and additional time for convictions including sodomy and sexual abuse. Assistant District Attorney Ashley Rich called Hopkins "evil of the worst kind." She said he taught the eight children in his home things about the Bible that were not true and that helped him get away with his crimes for years. During Hopkins' trial in April, prosecutors said he killed his 36-year-old wife, Arletha Hopkins, in 2004 after she caught him molesting a girl, then stuffed her body in a freezer at their home in north Mobile . Investigators discovered the body in 2008 after...