Atheism
sa smith | June 14, 2008Oklahoma. Were the home of Oral Robers University, Rhema, The Smalkowski Affair, GodTube, and a veritable cornucopia of Crazy Christian Crap. But that didnt stop the Tulsa Atheists from coming OUT in a big way! An ad on our local TV network!
Its simple, but its a start!
sa smith | June 10, 2008NOOOOO**!!!!!!!
GODDAMMIT!
Interview for her new movie, 'The Happening':
Interviewer: Your protagonist is a science teacher, and you also have a scientist at the end who talks about the limits of rational thought. How does that tie into the whole spiritual aspect?
Shyamalan: Right. Well, you know, I was reading the Einstein biography when I was writing the screenplay. I don't know if you've read it. It's just fantastic. The new one, by Isaacson. A beautiful, beautiful book. One of the things I was struck by--and when you read the book you may not even see that it's in there, but I saw it in…
gregladen | June 3, 2008A video image released by the computer game's creator showing an injured man may not appear to be graphic, but you may change your mind once you know who it is. It's the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
The new game, not yet released, is giving a voice to the atheist community, that's according to the game's creator, a University of Virginia graduate student. He wouldn't release his name, for fear of his safety.
"Atheists have never really had anything to speak for them like this. It's the general atheist premise that the world might be a better place without some of those religions," explained…
grrlscientist | June 1, 2008tags: atheism, godlessness, religion, philosophy, Epicurus, The Epicurean Paradox
The Epicurean Paradox
Is God willing to prevent evil, but unable?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
The he is malevolent.
Is he both able, and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God.
~Epicurus (Greek philosopher, BC 341-270)
sa smith | May 29, 2008We must keep this from the serfs, lest they gain literacy and threaten the landed gentry!!
Worried that some of us would start thinking Christians have a monopoly on teh stupid, Muslims in Indonesia have bravely stepped up to defend their faith against Evil Atheists like Richard Dawkins... By not letting people read his books...
Atheism books like Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, Sam Harris' The End of Faith or Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great may have been on the bestselling charts somewhere else and can now be spotted in nearly all international airports, but the top local…
gregladen | May 28, 2008In Boy Scouts, a person must agree to sign a 'Declaration of Religious Belief,' in which he must agree that "only a person who acknowledges his duty to God can be the best kind of citizen".
Freecamp thought is an alternative where you don't have to sell your soul ... which is good, because you don't have a soul...
Camp Quest is crossing the Atlantic to Great Britain next summer.
The residential summer camp for the children of freethinkers, skeptics and humanists, is planning on opening a site in the U.K. in July of 2009. ...
Camp Quest was created in 1996 by the Free Inquiry Group, Inc. (…
gregladen | May 26, 2008Well, I hope it was to church, because Ford is the new Motor Car of the Religious Right.
Pharynugla covers this latest example of a right wing yahoo retailer pandering to his god fearing bible humping audience by denigrating atheists. See also this piece at the Underground Believer.
Oh, by the way, do you know what "Ford" stands for?
Found on road, dead.
sa smith | May 19, 2008Just a few days ago, PZ wondered how in the hell Granny Spice, worst writer on the planet Earth, nay, the entire Milky Way, got nominated for some Christian writing award.
I know why.
You all wont believe me until you read this yourself, but Denyse O'Leary is not actually the worst writer ever. There is someone worse. Prepare yourselves, gentle readers. Do not say that I did not warn you:
Editor's note: Christianity has been taking a beating for years now, with one tony atheist tome after another rolling off the presses -- and still no end in sight.
Both a hilarious and edgy send-up of…
sa smith | May 12, 2008LOL!
After all these years, we won Einstein:
"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 this."
...
For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no…
gregladen | May 10, 2008Richard Dawkins does pretty good in the debate or discussion format. But here we have an example of Dawkins' skill combined with a bit of luck, the hubris of the interviewer, and other particularistic circumstances converging on a moment. A moment you absolutely have to hear to believe.
There are three items at this link, but the first one is the one to which I refer:
Richard Dawkins interviewed by John Humphrys on Cardinal Murphy O'Connor
Hat tip: Pharyngula.
gregladen | May 5, 2008Oh, I forgot ... that radio appearance was not free. I waived my usual fee of $1,500 per appearance in lieu of the following really cool gift from Minnesota Atheists:
(click the card to get yours!)
gregladen | May 5, 2008I'm talking about the May 4th Podcast of Atheist Talk, from the Minnesota Atheists. The first half was an interview of Lois Schadewald, editor of her brother's posthumous work "Worlds of their Own" ... a book of essays on pseudoscience.
The second half was an interview of Yours Truly by Mike Haubrich on "Academic Freedom" and stuff.
You have to understand that I did this interview against the advice of medical professionals, with a severe case of near-laryngitis. ... so no, that is not actually my voice .... plus I had a fever and was heavily drugged. And not enough coffee. And I was…
grrlscientist | April 25, 2008tags: Creationism-vs-evolution, fundamentalism, religion, culture wars
A friend, Dave, sent me an interesting article that was published several months ago in Science. This insightful and well-written article by Jennifer Couzin is important because it focuses on one scientist's trauma and ensuing lifelong journey with rejecting his evangelical creationist upbringing to accept evolution as scientific fact. Below the fold is a summary of this article for you to read.
Paleontologist Stephen Godfrey, curator of the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland, started out his life incongruously as…
gregladen | April 18, 2008
When I was a fairly precocious young man I became thoroughly impressed with the futility of the hopes and strivings that chase most men restlessly through life. Moreover, I soon discovered the cruelty of that chase, which in those years was much more carefully covered up by hypocrisy and glittering words than is the case today. By the mere existence of his stomach everyone was condemned to participate in that chase. The stomach might well be satisfied by such participation, but not man insofar as he is a thinking and feeling being.
As the first way out there was religion, which is implanted…
gregladen | April 13, 2008Former conservative speech writer discusses economy (he feels that the economy is very strong) and intelligent Design Creationism here.
[Hat Tip: Peter M.]
gregladen | April 11, 2008Worst Person in the World Monique Davis, who has a thing against atheists, apologized for her recent rant against atheism. after widespread public criticism. She called the object of her tirade, Rob Sherman, and said she was sorry.
Sherman says Davis told him she "took out her frustrations and emotions on me and that she shouldn't have done that." Sherman says Davis' explanation was "reasonable" and that he forgives her.
According to Sherman and State Rep. Jack Franks....Davis claims her outburst was triggered by learning shortly beforehand...that there'd been another Chicago Public…
gregladen | April 9, 2008Monique Davis!
Hey, I didn't know Abe Lincoln was an Atheist. Cool.
Hat Tip: Pharyngula
gregladen | April 7, 2008Following up on our discussion of how it is OK to be an Atheist as long as you know your place, we find a classic example of the kind of thinking that rationalist non-believers encounter all the time, even if it is not spoken out loud. This time it is spoken out loud:
This is a conversation between atheist Rob Sherman, presenting testimony before the House State Government Administration Committee in Illinois, and Democratic Representative Monique Davis, last Wednesday:
Davis: I don't know what you have against God, but some of us don't have much against him. We look forward to him and his…
gregladen | April 6, 2008Catholic Ex Wife looking rather holy.The players:
Dad. David Ryan, atheist. Plaintiff, represented by Ed Kagin of American Atheists.
Mom. Susin Bisig, Catholic (That's her in the photo, wrapping herself around the cross, it would appear.)
Kid. Michael.
The question: Where does Michael go to school, a Catholic School where both he and his mom want him to go, or to an academically equivalent public school, where his dad wants him to go?
This is a case being decided in Kentucky and pertaining to state constitutional law regarding religion. The case was effectively decided several…