religion
gregladen | October 10, 2008After both the state and federal courts rejected the attempts of Yoko Ono Lennon and EMI Records to enjoin the showing of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed on the ground it used a 15-second fragment of John Lennon's Imagine, all of the plaintiffs in both cases have now withdrawn their claims and dismissed their cases.
Bad for evolution, but probably good for the fair use doctrine. Here's some details.
pharyngula | October 10, 2008Today's must-read article is by Dan Savage, whose mother recently died of pulmonary fibrosis. It's personal and painful, and it also touches on the political. Washington state has a ballot measure coming up that would make it legal for doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication for the terminally ill, and Savage's mother, when her disease reached a crisis stage, had to choose what kind of painful death she wanted to face.
People must accept death at "the hour chosen by God," according to Pope Benedict XVI, leader of the Catholic Church, which is pouring money into the campaign against I-…
evolvingthoughts | October 9, 2008
As some of you may have figured out by now, my overarching Evil Plan is to get people thinking about their basic assumptions. Even when those people are the "good guys" and free thinkers. So in service of that I am giving a public talk for the Secular Freethinkers society on Tuesday next (details below the fold) on why secularism does not require the end of religion, and in fact why the religious ought to support it to protect their future standing in society. Anyone who's in Brisbane is free to attend and heckle, and if anyone asks "What about the workers!?" I have a Sellarsian response…
gregladen | October 6, 2008 Michele Bachmann Three born again Christians ... a member of the US Congress, the President of the United States, and a convicted felon now under investigation ... have been caught in a complex conspiracy involving money and a Presidential Pardon. At the very least, this is an excellent example of how religion distorts and corrupts personal and professional judgment, governance, and one's sense of justice.
In 2008, Craig Howse contributed $3,000 to the Michele Bachmann campaign, in four installments. Howse is or was a lobbiest for Frank Vennes. Frank Vennes is a convicted felon who…
evolvingthoughts | October 5, 2008
But, allowing that we were to take the operations of one part of nature upon another, for the foundation of our judgement concerning the origin of the whole, (which never can be admitted,) yet why select so minute, so weak, so bounded a principle, as the reason and design of animals is found to be upon this planet? What peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call thought, that we must thus make it the model of the whole universe? Our partiality in our own favour does indeed present it on all occasions; but sound philosophy ought carefully to guard against so…
pharyngula | October 5, 2008And I'm already a-scared! It is not recommended that you view this collection of video clips and links of Pentecostals spazzing out before bedtime, unless you really want to induce nightmares.
gregladen | October 5, 2008Speaking in Tongues, A Campaign for Jesus, The Third Wave and so on and so forth.
Please remember that this is the woman who, when asked if Dick Cheney's power grab as vice president was OK, replied 'yes, and I'd like to do even more'....
terrasig | October 5, 2008We here at Terra Sig are peripheral to Teh Atheist Cabal at ScienceBlogs so I had to do a consortium-wide search to be sure no one like PZ, revere, or Laden wrote about this lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The nation's largest group of atheists and agnostics is suing President Bush, the governor of Wisconsin and other officials over the federal law designating a National Day of Prayer.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sued Friday in U.S. district court, arguing that the president's mandated proclamations calling on Americans to pray violates a constitutional ban on…
grrlscientist | October 5, 2008tags: Holy Bible fiction, religion, religious fundamentalism, religious wingnuttery, religious fascism
I've often said that the bible needs a warning on the front cover, so I am pleased to see that someone has finally heard me and done this.
Image: Orphaned [larger view].
WARNING: This is a work of fiction. Do NOT take it literally.
CONTENT ADVISORY: Contains verses descriptive or advocating suicide, incest, bestiality, sadomasochism, sexjual activity in a violent context, murder, morbid violence, use of drugs or alcohol, homosexuality, voyeurism, revenge, undermining of authority figures…
grrlscientist | October 4, 2008tags: John Scopes, Scopes Monkey Trial, Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial, evolution, creationism, religious fundamentalism, education
Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial: John Thomas Scopes.
Image: Watson Davis (1896-1967), courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution (copyright free). [larger view].
Description: Taken the month before the Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial. June 1925
Creator/Photographer: Watson Davis
Medium: Black and white photographic print
Dimensions: 4.25 in x 3 in
Culture: American
Geography: USA
Date: 1925
Persistent URL
Repository: Smithsonian Institution Archives…
grrlscientist | October 4, 2008tags: John Scopes, Scopes Monkey Trial, Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial, evolution, creationism, religious fundamentalism, education
Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial: Privies outside the Rhea County (Tennessee) courthouse with "Read Your Bible" sign.
Image: Watson Davis (1896-1967), courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution (copyright free). [larger view].
For the first time ever, a series of 39 original photographs from the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial are now available for your viewing pleasure.
Description: Taken during the Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial. July 1925
Creator/…
pharyngula | October 4, 2008I wish religious nuts could get a little perspective when they talk about "miracles". The latest "miracle" is a piece of Ilan Ramon's diary that is going on display in Israel; Ramon was one of the astronauts on the space shuttle Columbia.
"It's almost a miracle that it survived -- it's incredible," Zalmona said. There is "no rational explanation" for how it was recovered when most of the shuttle was not, he said.
The diary was fragmentary, charred, and soaked, and it required months of restoration to be rendered partially readable. The human being Ilan Ramon was similarly fragmentary,…
pharyngula | October 3, 2008And it's not showing anywhere near me. In fact, I will be very surprised if it opens anywhere in this rural, religious area…I'll probably have to wait for it to come out on DVD. Religulous is the new movie by Bill Maher, an agnostic who thinks religion is a "load of nonsense", which by all reports is going to mock religion mercilessly — if this hysterical review by a devout fundamentalist is any indication, it's going to be great. Maher, though, isn't exactly an unblemished source with a deep dedication to reason, since he's fallen for some embarrassingly silly altie medicine nonsense before…
pharyngula | October 3, 2008And it doesn't feel good. Kroto is a Nobel-winning chemist, and I've had dinner with him — he's a good guy, a very outspoken atheist, strongly on the side of science education, and all around smart and personable. So I hate to say it, but this opinion piece on the Michael Reiss affair is just too exclusionist for even me. Reiss, you may recall, was the education director for the Royal Society who resigned after making some conciliatory (or reported as conciliatory) remarks about creationism.
I do not have a particularly big problem with scientists who may have some personal mystical beliefs…
grrlscientist | October 3, 2008A streaming review of Bill Maher's new film, Religulous, that is being released TODAY. I totally must see this film, and I must get the DVD, too! [4:23]
grrlscientist | October 3, 2008Comedian Bill Maher takes on religion in his new film, "Religulous." He tells Harry Smith that religion can be laughed at, and for good reason. This is a film for everyone who is afraid that the Sarah Palins of the World will take over. This film is scheduled for release TODAY (3 October 2008) [4:03]
grrlscientist | October 2, 2008Bill Maher discusses his film, Religulous, with Larry King. Part of this movie was filmed on location in Heaven. This film is scheduled for release on 3 October 2008 [7:58]
grrlscientist | October 1, 2008I want to go see Religulous SO BADLY, and today, I heard an interview on "Fresh Air" on WNYC with Bill Maher [MediaPlayer: 2:51] where he discussed the making of this film. This film is scheduled for release on 3 October 2008 [2:12]
pharyngula | September 29, 2008I've barred the doors — I'm sure that any moment now, a squadron of goose-stepping nuns will come marching up the street to wag their fingers at me and rebuke me for what I've started. It seems the Youth of Today are going on YouTube and…flaunting their disrespect for crackers!
People can find a video of almost anything on YouTube: babies' first steps, Saturday Night Live skits, news clips, concerts and now - to the shock of Catholics everywhere - desecration of the Eucharist.
YouTube has long been a destination for Catholics seeking video clips of Masses, apologetics lectures or devotions…
pharyngula | September 29, 2008…and this site is fertile ground for those seeking to spread the word of Jesus Christ. The readership here is far more in need of the word than Egypt, Colombia, Iraq, Solomon Islands, Malaysia, Zambia, Togo, Austria, Pakistan or Iran. So, please, get a bible. They're free, and if you don't take them, they'll be sent off to some poor innocent in some nice country like Egypt, Colombia, Iraq, Solomon Islands, Malaysia, Zambia, Togo, Austria, Pakistan or Iran, where they aren't needed as much.