His wraith having appeared at a National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Thomas Jefferson descants on George W. Bush's enunciated religious beliefs and occupation of Iraq.
What better to teach, in a science class, than the science of "intelligent" design? What better way is there to expose the fraud of ID than to begin by enlightening our children to its factual emptiness? What educator would not relish this opportunity to inform?
The ideas are as old as the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights: a free Nation, of, by and for the People; a nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. When the Nation begins to veer from the intent of these Documents, the Citizen has the right--nay, the responsibility--to protest against those who abrogate their duty to uphold the Spirit of Freedom ensured under the umbrella of protection these documents offer.
"I discovered HumanLight, the Christmas for Humanists. And laughed. Do we need HumanLight? This Humanist says not."
"'Atheist.' You can almost hear the thunder rolling in the background. Just in the last few days, I've seen 'atheist' written in ways that indicate that the word represents a menacing entity--or even something supernatural. This seems to tell me that 'atheist' and 'atheism' are not only terms commonly misunderstood, but also words outside normal, acceptable, rational speech."
In a recent article in The Leaf Chronicle, Jim Monday, with the help of the Barna Research Group, manages to paint a surreal picture of the State and Church separation issue that is a sad reflection of the overall misconceptions often found on the far right.
A simple explanation of the difference between religion and freethought is that religion is based on faith, while reason serves as the ground for freethought. These two life-stances can create vastly different attitudes on some issues. The issue of birth control serves as a vivid example.
Antony Flew is one of the most renowned atheists of the 20th century. He is now considering the possibility that there might be a God--sort of. What's going on? Carrier has had direct contact with Flew and tells us what's going on; it's certainly not, at least not yet, what some theists would like to think.
Misogyny in the Bible, "the stillborn child of a 2000-year-old flesh-mongering creed."
Every time the Book of Mormon has met a true challenge, the result has been nothing short of colossal failure.
Coming to a theatre near you: a little reminder of the effects of faith.
In a rare personal interview, Jesus reveals his position on various contemporary political issues.
"If there is a special Hell for atheists and other nonbelievers, I shall never fear for my comfort. I am in good company in my disbelief."
In the rural backwaters and isolated tribal hamlets of countries like India, missionaries routinely peddle the fruits of generosity--food and medicine--as "inducements" for conversion to Christianity. When these allurements fail, more-aggressive means may be employed, not barring fraud and intimidation. As we shall see below, in India at least, "harvesting" souls has become an end that justifies almost any means.
Michael Corey claimed in a recent debate that the Koran predicted the expanding universe. But did it? Only if you employ a liberal reading of the original text. Carrier uses the same interpretive methods on the poetry of Lucretius to show that Epicurus was a far more amazing prophet of modern science than Mohammed. Yet if Mohammed really had a pipeline to God, surely he would have done better than a mere mortal who used nothing more than human reason and observation.
Despite his repudiation of atheism, Shaw may have died an unwitting atheist. Though he called himself a mystic, his credentials were suspect.
Considering humankind's technological developments, war now has the potential to totally destroy life on our planet. Historically, Christianity has had three broad attitudes on war: pacifism, the just-war, and the crusade. Does present-day Christianity provide a viable system of guidelines for war and peace?
One of America's most important writers, Stephen Crane had by the age of thirteen rejected the Christian beliefs of his devout parents. In his repudiation of cultural illusions and pretensions, he was a forerunner of Modernism. In his poetry and fiction, he depicts a god-abandoned universe.
Separation of church and state is being undermined by those who see an advantage to promoting their own religious agenda. Emboldened by the favorable political climate in the current administration, and energized by the upcoming election, they seem to be intensifying their attacks; one egregious example is that of the Catholic Church. Unless stopped, they will succeed in changing the very foundation of this country, bringing to an end the religious liberty we now take for granted.
This is a powerful and penetrating chronicle of the author's experiences in an abusive, fundamentalist Christian home. Using scripture from both the Old and New Testament as an indictment of the biblical God, Archer demonstrates at the same time that Christian dogma can be harmful to children, to families, and to society as a whole.
The Transitional Administrative Law of Iraq carries a grave flaw. It has no provision for a separation between religion and government. Given the instability of postwar Iraq, the loophole in the charter must be sealed. If not, Iraq will have a door ajar for theocracy.
AÂ critique on the underlying themes and methodology of Mel Gibson's hit film The Passion of The Christ.
Substantial evidence in the Koran and the Bible lends credibility to Allah's contention that he and Yahweh are the same god. A dispassionate examination of the evidence was conducted by an evidence technician and a forensic profiler affiliated with the International Institute for the Investigation of Fraudulent Deities.
How can we know that Christianity, and particularly the alleged Resurrection, are true if Craig and other Christian apologists cannot show that they are true? For anyone to ask us to accept such on faith would be like a vacuum-cleaner salesman demonstrating his product in your living room: when the machine fails to suck up any dust, he asks you not to think ill of the vacuum; it's just that he, the salesman, can't get straight how to operate it properly--but he tells you that you ought to buy it anyway!
Is God smiling on you? It is evident by how prosperous you have been in the world. According to some believers, God grants material rewards to the faithful. No material rewards? Then that's your own fault.
"We should separate God from civic life in every way. 'Individual liberty is the essential characteristic of free government,' writes Constitutional historian Melvin Urofsky. Allow religious beliefs to take precedence over democratic liberties and we're finished. Freedom of speech, Freedom of the Press, Right to Assemble, Habeas Corpus, Due Process--forget it. History, Thomas Jefferson reminds us, 'furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government.'"
Kuchar suggests that the war on terrorism might be defined as "the opposition to organized, faith-based and indiscriminate violence." He goes on to suggest, however, that the war on terrorism is, itself, "an international, faith-based campaign of practically indiscriminate violence," and is thus, itself, terroristic, fostered by "blinkered administrations" who promote "patriotic allegiance to comforting slogans."
A Review of
The Science of Good and Evil : Why People Cheat, Share, Gossip, and Follow the Golden Rule by Michael Shermer, in which Shermer presents what he describes as "a new theory of provisional ethics."
In newspaper editorials and letters, new-fashioned theocrats try to subvert the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by adducing pious remarks of the first U. S. Presidents. The comments are supposed to demonstrate that the first presidents sanctioned sponsorship of religious interests. On the contrary, these presidents left considerable evidence that they favored a strict separation of church and state.
"Denying Evolution is about a cultural war that is currently being fought between conservative and progressive worldviews, but this book is not apologetic. It describes the limitations of science as a philosophy and a human endeavor, yet continually stresses that science is a process that has contributed to the quality of life that our society enjoys today. Denying Evolution is an honest, insightful critique about science, its limitations, and the perpetrators of the creation-evolution debate. The book clearly outlines the strategies and motivation of those who seek to destroy science."
