The great people at Camp Quest have set up a donation fund in her honor. Sending a kid to CQ in memory of Helen is IMO a great way to donate some tax-deductible money.

ASIDE: The professional liar Ken Ham actually lowered himself even further than ever by launching a release commenting on Helen’s death in an attempt to reduce her accomplishments in the same breath he eulogizes another woman who also died. Interesting comparison. Perhaps we should correct his latter paragraphs to reflect “our side”? Would that be a crappy thing to do.

ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — The wife of televangelist Benny Hinn has filed for divorce from the high-profile pastor, whose reputation as an advocate of prosperity gospel has attracted millions of followers and criticism from lawmakers and watchdog groups over his lavish lifestyle.

Suzanne Hinn filed the papers in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1, citing irreconcilable differences, after more than 30 years of marriage. The papers note the two separated on Jan. 26 and that Hinn has been living in Dana Point, a wealthy coastal community in southern Orange County.

“Pastor Benny Hinn and his immediate family were shocked and saddened to learn of this news without any previous notice,” Benny Hinn Ministries said Thursday in a statement. “Although Pastor Hinn has faithfully endeavored to bring healing to their relationship, those efforts failed and were met with the petition for divorce that was filed without notice.”

Hinn is one of the best known advocates of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that Christians who are right with God will be rewarded with wealth and health in this lifetime.

read more

So what will it be? Place your bets today. Drugs? Women? Men? Fraud?

I think fraud.

Our Helen, AKA Edwin’s Helen, AKA She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, died today at 76. To say Our Helen will be missed is an understatement.

She was great. She smiled infectiously, loved children (who loved her back), and gave of herself selflessly, but that’s just the beginning.

Helen was one of the founders of Camp Quest, which has already had a direct positive impact on hundreds of children, with nearly unlimited potential for growth. This self-sustaining, quick-growing organization does one thing very well — it makes atheist children happy. That’s one hell of a legacy, one hell of a footprint, one hell of a ripple.

I don’t know if she drank at all, but I do know this: she’d approve of us toasting her, which I will do now. Goodbye, Our Helen.

AMERICAN ATHEISTS

http://www.atheists.org

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010

HELEN KAGIN, FREETHOUGHT
HEROINE, DEAD AT 76

HELEN KAGIN died early this evening following complications from cancer surgery. She was 76.

Kagin was a heroine and activist in the Atheist movement. Along with her husband, attorney Edwin Kagin, she co-founded Camp Quest, a summer camp for the children of nonbelievers, which has grown into an international outreach. She and Edwin were frequent guests at various conventions, and belonged to several freethought groups.

In 2005, Helen and Edwin were named “Atheists of the Year” at the National Convention of American Atheists. Helen was active in the Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She worked closely with Edwin and others organizing countless demonstrations and meetings, including the Rally for Reason which attracted hundreds of pro-science supporters who peacefully protested outside the opening of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY.

She was an outstanding wife, mother, friend to so many; and Helen also had an illustrious career as an anesthesiologist

We will miss her infectious laughter, her wonderful friendship and stalwart support for the cause of Reason and state-church separation.

Helen Kagin will be cremated. Edwin Kagin asks that expressions of sympathy in the form of donations be used to send kids to Camp Quest. There will be further announcements, including details of a Memorial event.

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

A self-proclaimed atheist can continue to serve as a local pastor of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and no longer faces disciplinary action because of his controversial position on how to describe God – writes Andreas Havinga.

A special assembly of Zierikzee, a regional church body tasked with investigating the theological statements of Pastor Klaas Hendrikse, has said its work is, “completed”.

…

Hendrikse criticised the ecclesiastical investigation as a time-wasting distraction.

In 2007, Hendrikse hit the headlines with the publication, in Dutch, of his book titled “Believing in a God that does not exist: the manifesto of an atheist pastor” (Geloven in een God die niet bestaat – manifest van een atheïstische dominee).

In the book, Hendrikse distinguishes between believing in God, which he affirms, and believing in the existence of God, which he rejects. Instead, he refers to God as, “happening”.

Read more

The article goes on to say that 1 in 6 preachers in the Protestant chruch has serious doubts of the existance of God, which is the real reason for this decision. They don’t want to lose a chunk of preachers for the simple reason that they don’t believe the dogma they are spreading.

Also, the older your preachers are, the more likely they are to have doubts, which underscores what we’ve been saying all along: the more you know about your religion, the less religious you become.

LOHAN IS TARGET OF RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY; AND
CATHOLIC LEAGUE’S DONOHUE NO FASHIONISTA

An Atheist civil rights group said today that the Catholic League and other Christian advocacy groups have “no business” demanding an apology from actress Lindsay Lohan because of photographs that appeared in a French fashion magazine.

Lohan, a former Roman Catholic who is involved in an openly gay relationship, appeared recently in a robe wearing a crown of thorns and a Latin Cross. Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights said that the photos were “inappropriate” due to the Lenten season, and demanded an apology from Lohan.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, described Donohue’s charges as “absurd,” adding that the Catholic leader was “no civil libertarian and no fashionista.”

“Actors, film makers and writers have a long history of being attacked by the churches, and this is just another example,” said Buckner. “Ms. Lohan is in good company — many pop stars have been the target of the Catholic League’s indignation, including Madonna and Britney Spears. What Donohue seems to forget is that no one is being forced to buy albums or magazines, and that in America, churches do not dictate the content of popular culture.”

Dave Silverman, Vice President and Communications Director of American Atheists, noted that Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists and other godless Americans do not try to censor religious artists who express their beliefs.

“If someone chooses to express themselves, no matter what the reason or position they take, that is a private matter and it is up to them,” said Mr. Silverman. “It is certainly not up to religious organizations to regulate or censor such a basic American right as Freedom of Expression, and we really wish they’d stop trying. Ms. Lohan can wear whatever she likes, wherever she likes, and owes nobody an apology.”

Did you notice how Mr. Donohue actually invoked his holiday to support his proposed regulation of Ms. Lohan’s clothing/shoot/ad? As if it is somehow important to non-Catholics that it’s Lent?