People Are Using AI to Talk to Jesus. Why It's Controversial
https://www.today.com/news/religious-chatbot-apps-rcna243671
Text With Jesus offers users an interactive experience with a religious deity. In other words, users can text questions to Jesus and get a response. (Premium users can also converse with Satan.)
Why Can't We Admit That Religion Is F***ing Crazy? | The Daily Banter
http://thedailybanter.com/2013/04/why-cant-we-admit-that-religion-is-fing-crazy/
No, a religious belief doesn’t need to be respected just because it’s a religious belief.
Why Can't We Admit That Religion Is F***ing Crazy? | The Daily Banter
http://thedailybanter.com/2013/04/why-cant-we-admit-that-religion-is-fing-crazy
No, a religious belief doesn’t need to be respected just because it’s a religious belief.
God, Darwin and My College Biology Class - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/opinion/sunday/god-darwin-and-my-college-biology-class.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=0
EVERY year around this time, with the college year starting, I give my students The Talk. It isn’t, as you might expect, about sex, but about evolution and religion, and how they get along. More to the point, how they don’t.
God, Darwin and My College Biology Class - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/opinion/sunday/god-darwin-and-my-college-biology-class.html?WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=0&action=click&module=MostEmailed&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&src=me&version=Full
EVERY year around this time, with the college year starting, I give my students The Talk. It isn’t, as you might expect, about sex, but about evolution and religion, and how they get along. More to the point, how they don’t.
The Satanic Temple’s hilarious response to a pro-religion court ruling - Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/2014/09/16/satanic_temple_hands_out_activity_books_to_schools_in_response_to_judicial_ruling/
Last month a judge ruled that religious pamphlets could be distributed in a school district in Orange County, Florida, according to Raw Story. In the wake of this ruling, the Satanic Temple is handing out its own religious literature to Orange County schools: “The Satanic Children’s Big Book of Activities.”
The Satanic Temple’s hilarious response to a pro-religion court ruling - Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/2014/09/16/satanic_temple_hands_out_activity_books_to_schools_in_response_to_judicial_ruling
Last month a judge ruled that religious pamphlets could be distributed in a school district in Orange County, Florida, according to Raw Story. In the wake of this ruling, the Satanic Temple is handing out its own religious literature to Orange County schools: “The Satanic Children’s Big Book of Activities.”
Faith in science and religion: Truth, authority, and the orderliness of nature.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/11/faith_in_science_and_religion_truth_authority_and_the_orderliness_of_nature.html
The conflation of faith as “unevidenced belief” with faith as “justified confidence” is simply a word trick used to buttress religion.
Why Fundamentalist Christians Fear Intellectualism - The God Article
http://www.thegodarticle.com/7/post/2013/10/-why-fundamentalist-christians-fear-intellectualism.html
Intellectualism invites the constant assessment of the “correctness” of a person's belief system. That's dangerous ground for a fundamentalist Christian. When you confront them on a particular belief you are not only confronting them on an idea that they have held to more rigidly for a longer time than most other folks but you are confronting the very core of who they understand themselves to be. For them, it is on those core beliefs upon which their salvation hangs in the balance, at least in part. Questioning it doesn't just question the thought but, for them, it puts into question a lifetime of holding on tightly to that thought.
Rowan Williams: 'Persecuted' Christians Must 'Grow Up' | The Bilerico Project
http://www.bilerico.com/2013/08/rowan_williams_grow_up.php
Amazing, right? Williams is essentially telling anti-gay Western Christians with a persecution complex to buck up, find some perspective, and get the hell over it.
Measles outbreak tied to Texas megachurch sickens 21 - NBC News.com
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/measles-outbreak-tied-texas-megachurch-sickens-21-8C11009315
An outbreak of measles tied to a Texas megachurch where ministers have questioned vaccination has sickened at least 21 people, including a 4-month-old infant -- and it’s expected to grow, state and federal health officials said.
Det Missionerande Kopimistsamfundet | English
http://kopimistsamfundet.se/english/
* All knowledge to all
* The search for knowledge is sacred
* The circulation of knowledge is sacred
* The act of copying is sacred.
Det Missionerande Kopimistsamfundet | English
http://kopimistsamfundet.se/english
* All knowledge to all
* The search for knowledge is sacred
* The circulation of knowledge is sacred
* The act of copying is sacred.
Why Are There So Few Resurrected Corpses in the United States? - Heather Horn - The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/why-are-there-so-few-resurrected-corpses-in-the-united-states/274681/
I suspect United States is in fact ahead of the African nations in bringing the dead back to life. It's hard to find a good estimate of how many bodies are resurrected in the U.S. each year, but let's go with this vastly oversimplified figure: 92,000. 92,000 is the number of people the American Heart Association estimates are saved in the U.S. each year after their hearts or their lungs have stopped moving, i.e. by CPR. Or let's go with a percentage: 45.3%. That's the success rate in the bottom-quarter of American hospitals in a 2012 study in restoring circulation to a body whose heart has completely flatlined. 14.5% of the bodies treated managed leave the hospital. And that's in the hospitals with the lowest performance. Wait till you see American rates for getting the lame to walk and the blind to see.
Why Are There So Few Resurrected Corpses in the United States? - Heather Horn - The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/why-are-there-so-few-resurrected-corpses-in-the-united-states/274681
I suspect United States is in fact ahead of the African nations in bringing the dead back to life. It's hard to find a good estimate of how many bodies are resurrected in the U.S. each year, but let's go with this vastly oversimplified figure: 92,000. 92,000 is the number of people the American Heart Association estimates are saved in the U.S. each year after their hearts or their lungs have stopped moving, i.e. by CPR. Or let's go with a percentage: 45.3%. That's the success rate in the bottom-quarter of American hospitals in a 2012 study in restoring circulation to a body whose heart has completely flatlined. 14.5% of the bodies treated managed leave the hospital. And that's in the hospitals with the lowest performance. Wait till you see American rates for getting the lame to walk and the blind to see.
Reproductive Rights
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/reproductive-rights
Third, I see birth as a firm dividing line because until then the fetus inhabits a woman’s body. A woman’s body is private property – it’s hers. She shouldn’t be forced to let another creature live in it. Once that other creature is out of her body, that’s when it gets rights. Until then, any rights it gets would be taking away from the woman’s rights over her own body. And to me, that matters.
How I Lost Faith in the “Pro-Life” Movement
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2012/10/how-i-lost-faith-in-the-pro-life-movement.html
The reality is that so-called pro-life movement is not about saving babies. It’s about regulating sex. That’s why they oppose birth control. That’s why they want to ban abortion even though doing so will simply drive women to have dangerous back alley abortions. That’s why they want to penalize women who take public assistance and then dare to have sex, leaving an exemption for those who become pregnant from rape. It’s not about babies. If it were about babies, they would be making access to birth control widespread and free and creating a comprehensive social safety net so that no woman finds herself with a pregnancy she can’t afford. They would be raising money for research on why half of all zygotes fail to implant and working to prevent miscarriages. It’s not about babies. It’s about controlling women. It’s about making sure they have consequences for having unapproved sex.
Speech and Kirk Cameron – Whatever
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/03/07/speech-and-kirk-cameron/
Well, Kirk Cameron, here’s the thing. You are correct when you say you should be able to express your moral views on social issues, and as a staunch defender of the First Amendment, I will defend to the death your right to say whatever ridiculous, ignorant and bigoted thing that has been fermenting in that cracked clay pot you call a brain pan. But the First Amendment also means that when you say such things, other people have the a right to mock you and the silly, stupid words that have dribbled out of your skull through that word hole above your chin. If you call someone “unnatural,” they might call you an “asshole.” That’s the deal.
Speech and Kirk Cameron – Whatever
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/03/07/speech-and-kirk-cameron
Well, Kirk Cameron, here’s the thing. You are correct when you say you should be able to express your moral views on social issues, and as a staunch defender of the First Amendment, I will defend to the death your right to say whatever ridiculous, ignorant and bigoted thing that has been fermenting in that cracked clay pot you call a brain pan. But the First Amendment also means that when you say such things, other people have the a right to mock you and the silly, stupid words that have dribbled out of your skull through that word hole above your chin. If you call someone “unnatural,” they might call you an “asshole.” That’s the deal.
Laughing in Purgatory: Mississippi Passes Anti-Richard Dawkins Legislation
http://www.laughinginpurgatory.com/2012/07/mississippi-passes-anti-richard-dawkins.html
Today we struck a blow for religious freedom in the great state of Mississippi. For too long our children have been unprotected against the nefarious teachings of Richard Dawkins. I have personally talked to many concerned parents who said that they were horrified when their children told them that God was a delusion or that human beings are simply carbon-based robots who took orders from the D-N-A. This law puts the end of that nonsense now. Let's pray that Mississippi will be a beacon of hope for the rest of our Christian nation.
Bill Maher Has No Interest In Your Bullshit Religious University
http://gawker.com/5911650/bill-maher-has-no-interest-in-your-bullshit-religious-university
It's graduation time and that means various notables are giving commencement addresses like nobody's business. Last week, Mitt Romney spoke at Liberty University, which provided Bill Maher with a jumping off point on tonight's Real Time. I know this is gonna shock you, but Maher isn't a big fan of any part of it.
Full Wiccan Rede?
http://lycianwicca.info/The_Lycian_Sanctuary/Editorials/Entries/2011/8/16_Full_Wiccan_Rede.html
"An it harm none, do as you will. An it cause harm, do as you must."
Religious People Less Driven By Compassion Than Are Atheists And Agnostics, Study Says
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/religious-compassion-atheists-agnostics_n_1468006.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false
Atheists and agnostics are more driven by compassion to help others than are highly religious people, a new study finds.
Religious People Less Driven By Compassion Than Are Atheists And Agnostics, Study Says
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/religious-compassion-atheists-agnostics_n_1468006.html?comm_ref=false&ref=fb&src=sp
Atheists and agnostics are more driven by compassion to help others than are highly religious people, a new study finds.
Sinéad O'Connor: A Mea Culpa < PopMatters
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/154983-sinead-oconnor
It’s time to apologize to Sinéad O’Connor. Remember her? Ripped up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live before adding, “Fight the real enemy” to protest child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the complicity of the church hierarchy? Already a platinum record and a number one single to her name, Sinéad’s career was never the same again.
Cosmic Log - How monkeys handle moral outrage
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/20/10459741-how-monkeys-handle-moral-outrage
When Occupy Wall Street and similar protests played out over the past year, the phenomenon looked familiar to Emory University primatologist Frans de Waal: He's seen similar moral outrage over economic inequity expressed by monkeys and chimps. And he thinks we could learn a lesson or two from our fellow primates.
slacktivist » The ‘biblical view’ that’s younger than the Happy Meal
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/02/18/the-biblical-view-thats-younger-than-the-happy-meal/
In 1979, McDonald’s introduced the Happy Meal.
Sometime after that, it was decided that the Bible teaches that human life begins at conception.
slacktivist » The ‘biblical view’ that’s younger than the Happy Meal
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/02/18/the-biblical-view-thats-younger-than-the-happy-meal
In 1979, McDonald’s introduced the Happy Meal.
Sometime after that, it was decided that the Bible teaches that human life begins at conception.
Abortion saved my life - Abortion - Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/2011/05/26/abortion_saved_my_life/
My two kids at home almost lost their mother because someone decided that my life was worth less than that of a fetus that was going to die anyway. My husband had told them exactly what my regular doctor said, and the ER doctor had already warned us what would have to happen. Yet none of this mattered when confronted by the idea that no one needs an abortion. You shouldn’t need to know the details of why a woman aborts to trust her to make the best decision for herself. I don’t regret my abortion, but I would also never use my situation to suggest that the only time another woman should have the procedure is when her life is at stake. After my family found out I’d had an abortion, I got a phone call from a cousin who felt the need to tell me I was wrong to have interfered with God’s plan. And in that moment I understood exactly what kind of people judge a woman’s reproductive choices.
Abortion saved my life - Abortion - Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/2011/05/26/abortion_saved_my_life
My two kids at home almost lost their mother because someone decided that my life was worth less than that of a fetus that was going to die anyway. My husband had told them exactly what my regular doctor said, and the ER doctor had already warned us what would have to happen. Yet none of this mattered when confronted by the idea that no one needs an abortion. You shouldn’t need to know the details of why a woman aborts to trust her to make the best decision for herself. I don’t regret my abortion, but I would also never use my situation to suggest that the only time another woman should have the procedure is when her life is at stake. After my family found out I’d had an abortion, I got a phone call from a cousin who felt the need to tell me I was wrong to have interfered with God’s plan. And in that moment I understood exactly what kind of people judge a woman’s reproductive choices.
Atheism in America: Why won’t the U.S. accept its atheists? - Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/ft/2012/02/atheism_in_america_why_won_t_the_u_s_accept_its_atheists_.single.html
We challenge the whole concept that you can’t be good without God. We challenge the idea that religion is important in the first place, and that really makes them uncomfortable.
RealClearReligion - Quit Thinking School Prayer Is Banned
http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2011/12/08/quit_thinking_school_prayer_is_banned.html
Which is sooo close to being correct. The court actually prohibited mandatory school prayer. And that one word makes all the difference. (See: Twain, Mark on lightning-bug vs. lightning.)
Awesome New UFO Theory: Approaching Comet is Really a Borg Cube From Jesus
http://io9.com/5864585/awesome-new-ufo-theory-approaching-comet-is-really-a-borg-cube-from-jesus
There's nothing better than a wild UFO conspiracy theory — unless it's a UFO theory that wraps in a debunked comet, the Catholic Church, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
...
So will YOU be ready when Jesus of Borg arrives?
Pike church takes stand against interracial couples | Faith & Values | Kentucky.com
http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/30/1977453/small-pike-county-church-votes.html
A small Pike County church has voted not to accept interracial couples as members or let them take part in some worship activities.
Poe's Law - RationalWiki
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Poe's_Law
Poe's Law is an axiom suggesting that it's difficult to distinguish between parodies of religious fundamentalism and its genuine proponents, since they both seem equally insane. For example, some conservatives consider noted homophobe Fred Phelps to be so over-the-top that they argue he's a "deep cover liberal" trying to discredit more mainstream homophobes.
This $10 Tip Is Not The Best Way To Show Your Gratitude To Your Server - The Consumerist
http://consumerist.com/2011/11/this-10-tip-is-not-the-best-way-to-show-your-gratitude-to-your-server.html
"I have never been more of an atheist," writes the waiter, who will likely do horrible things to that diner's food if they ever dared to return.
Christian theocracy: How Newt Gingrich and the GOP would abolish courts and legislate morality. - Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/human_nature/2011/11/christian_theocracy_how_newt_gingrich_and_the_gop_would_abolish_courts_and_legislate_morality_.html
Is the United States sliding toward theocracy? That’s what Republican presidential candidates have told us for more than a year. Radical Islam, they’ve argued, is on the verge of taking over our country through Sharia law. But this weekend, at an Iowa forum sparsely covered by the press, the candidates made clear that they don’t mind theocracy—in fact, they’d like to impose it—as long as it’s Christian.
Penn Jillette's 10 Commandments for atheists – USATODAY.com
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-10-28/penn-jillette-ten-commandments/50978982/1
In his new book, "God, No!" atheist magician Penn Jillette tells how he was challenged by conservative radio host Glenn Beck to come up with an atheist's version of The Ten Commandments.
Republicans Shift Focus From Jobs to God : Roll Call
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_51/Republicans-Shift-Focus-From-Jobs-to-God-209903-1.html?zkMobileView=true
Republicans may be trying to focus their messaging on jobs and the economy — and hammering President Barack Obama for campaigning — but they still have time for some red meat base-baiting on the House floor.
Your Third Religion
http://blog.iangilman.com/2011/10/your-third-religion.html
"This devotion to an idea is one of the amazing things about being human, but you're not much good to the rest of us until you're on to your 3rd."
A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/tab/print
You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway.
The Bay Area needs to act like a city-state
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/10/INEK1EAPGN.DTL
Turkey: Archeological Dig Reshaping Human History - Newsweek.com
http://www.newsweek.com/id/233844
"Standing on the hill at dawn, overseeing a team of 40 Kurdish diggers, the German-born archeologist waves a hand over his discovery here, a revolution in the story of human origins. Schmidt has uncovered a vast and beautiful temple complex, a structure so ancient that it may be the very first thing human beings ever built. The site isn't just old, it redefines old: the temple was built 11,500 years ago—a staggering 7,000 years before the Great Pyramid, and more than 6,000 years before Stonehenge first took shape. The ruins are so early that they predate villages, pottery, domesticated animals, and even agriculture—the first embers of civilization. In fact, Schmidt thinks the temple itself, built after the end of the last Ice Age by hunter-gatherers, became that ember—the spark that launched mankind toward farming, urban life, and all that followed."
B10m: "Religious backfire"
http://tumblr.b10m.net/post/316033340/religious-backfire
Dear God, please confirm what I already believe - life - 30 November 2009 - New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18216-dear-god-please-confirm-what-i-already-believe.html
Gee, ya think? "God may have created man in his image, but it seems we return the favour. Believers subconsciously endow God with their own beliefs on controversial issues.
"Intuiting God's beliefs on important issues may not produce an independent guide, but may instead serve as an echo chamber to validate and justify one's own beliefs," writes a team led by Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Juniata College - News - Death From Above: Juniata Historian Talks on Medieval Retribution Tales
http://www.juniata.edu/services/news/index.html?SHOWARTICLE+4229=
"Tuten will explain how these digestively related tales date back before medieval times and talk of how monastic authors used these undignified deaths to connect sin, divine vengeance, greed and bowel afflictions as examples of the gruesome fate awaiting sinners and the perceived enemies of the monastery."
what's wrong with blasphemy?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1790632903235527840
Smut for Smut | Atheist Agenda
http://www.atheistagenda.org/projects/smut_for_smut
"During the the hours of 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. the Atheist Agenda, a student organization of The University of Texas at San Antonio, had a table on campus with the purpose of exchanging religious scripture for pornography."
pull the plug on atheism
http://pulltheplugonatheism.com
"Free articles and resources by best-selling author and TV co-host Ray Comfort that will help you to pull the plug on the rising tide of atheism."
President Obama: Living Proof that Family Values Without Religion Build Character | Friendly Atheist by Hemant Mehta
http://friendlyatheist.com/2009/01/19/president-obama-living-proof-that-family-values-without-religion-build-character
"We hear so much these days about how traditional religious family values are necessary for raising moral children who can grow into accomplished adults,” said American Humanist Association Executive Director Roy Speckhardt, father of two. “But we humanists have known for a long, long time that ethical humanist values build character. The number of moral and accomplished humanists is legion. We’ve been honoring the greatest of them every year since 1953 at our annual conferences. Now Barack Obama has given us the opportunity to share this truth with those from around the country who come to our nation’s capital to share in the inauguration experience."
Pharyngula: Virgin male in dress chastises gay people for their confused sexuality
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/12/virgin_male_in_dress_chastises.php
Notable if only for the fact that Comic Sans is used whenever the Pope is quoted. "Yeah, the Pope babbles dicta against people who are different from him, so what else is new?"
The GOP ticket's appalling contempt for science and learning. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/id/2203120
"This is what the Republican Party has done to us this year: It has placed within reach of the Oval Office a woman who is a religious fanatic and a proud, boastful ignoramus. Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured. And those who prate of spiritual warfare and demons are not just "people of faith" but theocratic bullies. On Nov. 4, anyone who cares for the Constitution has a clear duty to repudiate this wickedness and stupidity."
Twelve Virtues of Rationality
http://yudkowsky.net/virtues
Sam Harris on Sarah Palin and Elitism | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008 | Newsweek.com
http://www.newsweek.com/id/160080
"Ask yourself: how has "elitism" become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earth—in fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn't seem too intelligent or well educated."
Charles Darwin to receive apology from the Church of England for rejecting evolution - Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/2910447/Charles-Darwin-to-receive-apology-from-the-Church-of-England-for-rejecting-evolution.html
Judge says UC can deny religious course credit
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/12/BAQT129NMG.DTL&tsp=1
"A federal judge says the University of California can deny course credit to applicants from Christian high schools whose textbooks declare the Bible infallible and reject evolution. ... Rejecting claims of religious discrimination and stifling of free expression, U.S. District Judge James Otero of Los Angeles said UC's review committees cited legitimate reasons for rejecting the texts - not because they contained religious viewpoints, but because they omitted important topics in science and history and failed to teach critical thinking."
Pharyngula: I don't think this is the message he wanted me to come away with
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/i_dont_think_this_is_the_messa.php
"Christianity is like sticking a fork in your face and your rectum and plugging them into a wall socket. Your insides will smoke and sizzle, you'll glow, sparks will shoot out of you, and you'll become a cooked vegetable."
Pharyngula: The Great Desecration
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/the_great_desecration.php
"By the way, I didn't want to single out just the cracker, so I nailed it to a few ripped-out pages from the Qur'an and The God Delusion. They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet. You are all human beings who must make your way through your life by thinking and learning, and you have the job of advancing humanity's knowledge by winnowing out the errors of past generations and finding deeper understanding of reality. You will not find wisdom in rituals and sacraments and dogma, which build only self-satisfied ignorance, but you can find truth by looking at your world with fresh eyes and a questioning mind."
Quote Details: Scott Adams: Ask a deeply religious... - The Quotations Page
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/40105.html
"On the scale of prejudice, atheists don’t seem so bad lately."
Moving On Up!
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1041/1041_01.asp?wpc=1041_01.asp&wpp=b
Einstein writes of 'childish superstition'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion
"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change
Atheist sees image of big bang in piece of toast
http://www.satireandcomment.com/0208toast.html
"however the direction and splatter patterns of the crumbs as well as the changing shades emanating outwards from this black hole were very clearly similar to the chaotic-dynamic non-linear patterns that one would expect following the big bang"
No ghosts: A Blunt Atheist FAQ
http://www.helsinki.fi/~ssyreeni/atheist/no-ghost-c-04
"There are already plenty of good FAQ’s about atheism out there, but I don’t think one more could do any damage"
New Jersey Court Case: The Adoption Of E
http://www.americanadoptions.com/adoption/article_view/article_id/2435?pg=1
"IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF "E", A CHILD, BY JOHN P. BURKE AND CYNTHIA D. BURKE, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS "
Can Atheists Be Parents? - TIME
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877155,00.html
"If they fail in their appeal, Eleanor Katherine may have to leave the only family she has ever known and await adoption by another couple whose religious convictions satisfy the State of New Jersey."
Science Text Attempts to Reconcile Religion and Science
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=21921300&sid=406714
"The point is this: there has never -- never ever ever -- been a single thing that has been taken out of the science basket and put back in the god basket. Not one. Ever."
Warren Ellis » God Hates The World
http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=5361
"The Westboro Baptist Church (that “God Hates Fags” crew from the heart of Jesusland USA) presents their cover “We Are the World,” rewritten and retitled as “God Hates the World.”"
Jesus loves 'His Dark Materials' / Shrill Bible-thumpers boycott 'The Golden Compass'; world's children grin devilishly
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/11/30/notes113007.DTL
"Shrill Bible-thumpers boycott 'The Golden Compass'; world's children grin devilishly"
"Compass" under fire over religious content - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071128/film_nm/goldencompass_religion_dc
I'll never understand why so many religious people are so scared by the existence of and being exposed to information contrary to their beliefs.
Deuteronomy 23:1 "No one who is emasculated or has his male organ
http://bible.cc/deuteronomy/23-1.htm
"A man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off may never join the assembly of the LORD."
Adactio: Journal—Delusion
http://adactio.com/journal/1377
"I suggest that if you recognize and acknowledge that purpose in life can only be derived from an imaginary friend, by whatever name you call him, then I’m afraid you do not grasp what “reality” is."
Greta Christina's Blog: Atheists and Anger
http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2007/10/atheists-and-an.html
"This has been a hard piece to write, and it may be a hard one to read. I'm not going to be as polite and good-tempered as I usually am in this blog; this piece is about anger, and for once I'm going to fucking well let myself be angry."
A Nation of Christians Is Not a Christian Nation - New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/opinion/07meacham.html?ei=5124&en=ce567656f6c31596&ex=1349409600&exprod=digg&partner=digg
"The founders were not anti-religion. ... But they wanted faith to be one thread in the country’s tapestry, not the whole tapestry."
LOLTheist: Blasphemy is Teh Funneh
http://loltheist.com
"Because LOLcats plus Jesus Equals High-larity! "
Richard Dawkins responds to Jerry Falwell's students • videosift.com
http://www.videosift.com/video/Richard-Dawkins-responds-to-Jerry-Falwells-students
The Pentecostal Church and The Holy Ghost Want You To Wear Pig Panties · Violent Acres
http://www.violentacres.com/archives/250/the-pentecostal-church-and-the-holy-ghost-want-you-to-wear-pig-panties
"The Holy Ghost was so fucking cool. It made the adults look like idiots!"
Religion beat became a test of faith - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lostfaith21jul21,0,3530015,full.story?coll=la-home-center
"Clearly, I saw now that belief in God, no matter how grounded, requires at some point a leap of faith. Either you have the gift of faith or you don't." I guess 'gift' is one way to describe it.
Crooks and Liars » Hitchens slams Falwell’s life
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/16/hitchens-slams-falwells-life
"The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing: that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called Reverend."
Those fanatical atheists - RichardDawkins.net - The Official Richard Dawkins Website
http://richarddawkins.net/article,990,Those-fanatical-atheists,Dan-Gardner-The-Ottawa-Citizen
"Private, quiet faith is one thing. But when the guy holding the launch codes believes the end of the world could come any day and that's a good thing, those who believe lives are limited to one per customer have a problem."
Daily Kos: Dinesh D'Souza, Atheism, Virginia Tech [Second Update]
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/4/19/18451/0971
"I am an atheist and a professor at Virginia Tech. Dinesh D’Souza says that I don’t exist, that I have nothing to say, that I am nowhere to be found."
Atheist's Wager: First Post
http://atheistwager.blogspot.com/2007/04/first-post.html
"The atheist may find himself in hell for his disbelief, but at least he is not a traitor. Until God accepts that religion is His responsibility and can provide some real proof and guidance as to His plan, He is completely unworthy of our worship."
onegoodmove: Hey Mom I'm an Atheist
http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2007/04/hey_mom_im_an_a.html
"last time i checked, presents weren't a reward for believing in god."
Elizabeth Edwards: Realistic About Her Prognosis - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17889146/site/newsweek
"I've had to come to grips with a God that fits my own experience, which is, my God could not be offering protection and not have protected my boy."
I have met the enemy and it is tribalism « Jon Udell
http://blog.jonudell.net/2007/03/21/i-have-met-the-enemy-and-it-is-tribalism
"The problem isn’t religion, Wilson said, it’s tribalism. The two often coincide but they are not the same thing. Religion is not a pernicious force in the world. Tribalism is."
Priests to purify site after Bush visit - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070309/ap_on_fe_st/guatemala_bush_purification
AlterNet: The Radical Christian Right Is Built on Suburban Despair
http://www.alternet.org/story/46908
"It is a movement built on the growing personal and economic despair of tens of millions of Americans, who watched helplessly as their communities were plunged into poverty by the flight of manufacturing jobs, their families and neighborhoods torn apart b
Woman jailed after reporting rape - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070130/ap_on_re_us/jailed_rape_victim
"While she was behind bars, according to the college student's attorney, a jail worker refused to give her a second dose of the morning-after contraceptive pill because of the worker's religious convictions."
000100000.jpg (JPEG Image, 700x700 pixels)
http://russellsteapot.com/images/rsgallery/original/000100000.jpg
"You have to seel everything you own to inherit eternal life!" "Seriously, I thought that was metaphorical."
Beliefwatch: Blasphemy - Newsweek Periscope - MSNBC.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16409851/site/newsweek
"Their intent was to encourage atheists to come forward and put their souls on the line, showing others that you don't have to be afraid of God."
Independent Online Edition Americas
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2119116.ece
"Mrs Bishop, who is co-pastor at a 4,000-congregation Ohio church, also claims that prayer cured her of breast cancer."
Lacrimae Rerum » Why I don’t believe in god
http://skatje.com/?p=103
"Shortcuts are cheating, damnit."
Scary Bible Quotes, NIV
http://home.earthlink.net/~owl233/biblequotes.htm
"If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property."
..: JOURNAL CHRETIEN [Ex-atheist and Ex-evolutionist Design Board Game] :..
http://www.spcm.org/Journal/spip.php?article5086=
"“Intelligent Design versus Evolution” is a new board game that was designed by actor Kirk Cameron and best-selling author Ray Comfort, to help fight against the what they maintain is the brainwashing of an entire generation."
Pharyngula: Irony Alert! Kirk Cameron explains his new board game
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/12/irony_alert_kirk_cameron_expla.php
"It's hard to believe, but there is more information on the absurd board game designed by Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort."
The Dilbert Blog: Atheists: The New Gays
http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/11/atheists_the_ne.html
"I think that in an election cycle or two you will see an atheist business leader emerge as a legitimate candidate for president. And his name will be Bill Gates."
YouTube - Baby Got Book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?eurl=&v=BqmNbBz7RiA
Is there a word in German for that squicked out feeling I get when I see an awkward Christian repurposing of something from pop culture?
Reality check: 95 percent of Americans had premarital sex - CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/12/19/premarital.sex.ap
"More than nine out of 10 Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex, according to a new study. The high rates extend even to women born in the 1940s, challenging perceptions that people were more chaste in the past."
An Atheist Can Believe in Christmas - New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/weekinreview/17kennedy.html?ei=5124&en=613c09c2527c7c39&ex=157680000&exprod=permalink&partner=permalink
"So, understanding full well that the phrase retains zero religious significance, I unhesitatingly wish everyone a Merry Christmas."
The Wall of Separation - Falwell’s Flub: Jerry-Rigged Policy Opens Door For Pagan Proselytizing In Virginia Public School
http://blog.au.org/2006/12/falwells_flub_j.html
"A group of Pagans in Albemarle County, Va., was recently given permission to advertise their multi-cultural holiday program to public school children – and they have the Rev. Jerry Falwell to thank for it."
Islam gets concessions; infidels get conquered - Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ibrahim5dec05,0,5108432.story
"By criticizing itself, apologizing and offering concessions — all things the Islamic world has yet to do — the West reaffirms that Islam has a privileged status in the world. "
Armed and Dangerous » Blog Archive » Cthulhu and Christ
http://esr.ibiblio.org/index.php?p=135
WHO WILL BE EATEN FIRST?
Wired News: So. Many. Letters
http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72220-0.html?tw=rss.index
"You all just started calmly talking. And talking. And talking. We got more responses to this article than to any piece in memory. Brimstone quotient: low."
Day 1 (Sam Harris): Why Are Atheists So Angry? | Jewcy.com
http://www.jewcy.com/dialogue/monday_why_are_atheists_so_angry_sam_harris
"Sam Harris and Dennis Prager inaugurate Jewcy’s “Big Question” series by arguing this very question."
Polish Exchange Student in US: My Half-Year of Hell With Christian Fundamentalists - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,448350,00.html
"I would never have expected my host family to welcome me at the airport, wielding a Bible, and saying, 'Child, our Lord sent you half-way around the world to bring you to us.'"
In God We Trust
http://www.lava.net/~hcssc/godlessmoney.html
"Using a red pen or stamp, I mark a circle and slash over the word "God" (as pictured above) on every bill that passes my way"
Richard Dawkins Has a Posse on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86202233@N00/287450597
"Dawkins is the vanguard of modern free-thought and if ANYONE deserves a posse, it's him."
Edge: THANK GOODNESS! by Daniel C Dennett
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/dennett06/dennett06_index.html
"If you insist on keeping the myth of the effectiveness of prayer alive, you owe the rest of us a justification in the face of the evidence."
Richard Dawkins: Why There Almost Certainly Is No God - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20061023/cm_huffpost/032164
"We cannot, of course, disprove God, just as we can't disprove Thor, fairies, leprechauns and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. But, like those other fantasies that we can't disprove, we can say that God is very very improbable."
Rice's 'Mother-in-Law' Comment Raises Conservative Hackles - American Family Association - AgapePress news
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/162006a.asp
"A spokesman for a family-advocacy group in Washington, DC, is expressing disgust with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's swearing in of an openly homosexual man as global AIDS coordinator -- and in particular, with comments she made at the ceremony."
Great Falls Tribune - Lawmaker fires back at governor‘s comments on age of Earth
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061009/NEWS01/61009005/1002
"A Republican state lawmaker is criticizing Gov. Brian Schweitzer for comments he made to a newspaper here about the lawmaker‘s belief that the planet is not millions of years old."
Where Faith Abides, Employees Have Few Rights - New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/business/09religious.html?ei=5090&emc=rss&en=2daaf5a55c943b8c&ex=1318046400&partner=rssuserland
"His client was a middle-aged novice training to become a nun in a Roman Catholic religious order in Toledo. She said she had been dismissed by the order after she became seriously ill — including a diagnosis of breast cancer."
YouTube - Why do Atheists care about Religion?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4fQA9mt-Mg
"Atheists are often asked, "If you don't believe in God, why do you care about religion?" This is one atheist's answer to that very question."
The pro-life case for contraception. By William Saletan - Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/id/2150557/fr/rss
"From a pro-life standpoint, trading contraception for abstinence and a "culture of life" was a net loss."
Charles Krauthammer - Tolerance: A Two-Way Street - washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092101513_pf.html
"Religious fanatics, regardless of what name they give their jealous god, invariably have one thing in common: no sense of humor."
TigerHawk - Infantilizing Muslim "rage"
http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2006/09/infantilizing-muslim-rage.html
"The Muslim "street" did not respond until Friday, when the leaders of the Muslim religion called for their faithful to surge into the streets in an orgy of rage and violence. Not content only to burn Christian churches (neither of which follow the Cathol
The sources of atheist morality
http://mwillett.org/atheism/moralsource.htm
"Morality is a built-in condition of humanity; the moral tendency exists in just about everyone, barring psychopaths."
Pharyngula: Another accolade from a 'prestigious' journal
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/08/another_accolade_from_a_presti.php
"It's always such an honor to be hated by people who believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old, was conjured into existence in six days, and that not believing their god appeared on Earth, like Zeus before Leda, means your non-existent soul will bur
Rep. Harris Condemns Separation of Church, State
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501640.html
"Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) said this week that God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws" and that the separation of church and state is a "lie we have been told" to keep religious people out of politics."
Opinion Journal - Islamofascism
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008822
"Beware of a religion without irony."
Pharyngula: Put the blame where it belongs: God and the Republican Party
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/08/put_the_blame_where_it_belongs.php
"That's the result of a new survey of people's attitudes toward evolution. Notice where the United States lies: nearly dead last. We beat Turkey."
David Byrne Journal: 8.2.06: American Madrassas
http://journal.davidbyrne.com/2006/08/american_madras.html
"One asks if religious visions are better off kept as a personal thing, or at least confined to a small group — otherwise the death and destruction sown by and in the name of religions more or less balances out their moral and personal virtues (which ar
Testament Collection is Out! :: Douglas Rushkoff - Weblog ::
http://www.rushkoff.com/2006/07/testament-collection-is-out.php
"The first five issues of Testament are now available in a collected edition. This is the right way to read this comic book."
Bligbi - 10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Will Ruin Society
http://bligbi.com/2006/06/30/10-reasons-gay-marriage-will-ruin-society
"Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning."