Support Hamza Kashgari However You Can

February 13, 2012 By 1 Comment

Maryam Namazie has been on top of the story of Hamza Kashgari, a 23 year old Saudi journalist whose life is on the line after he tweeted the following on Mohammad’s birthday: “On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Islam, Islam, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats Tagged With: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Maryam Namazie Attacks Shari'a And Defends Muslim Immigrants Against The Far Right

November 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A great lecture and Q&A my estimable Freethought Blogs colleague Maryam Namazie: . An important excerpt from the Q&A: Look, George Bush says he attacked Iraq for women’s rights and I’m a women’s rights campaigner, but I don’t believe him. It’s possible that a politician will say something, that they’ve done something for a reason and, [...]

Filed Under: Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Feminism, Feminism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, George W. Bush, George W. Bush, Islam, Islam, Koran, Koran, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues Leave a Comment

A Critique of Noble Lies And The "Theologies" They Create

November 10, 2011 By 34 Comments

In this long post, I begin by explaining Plato’s formulation of the concept of a noble lie for those unfamiliar with it and then I explain in detail numerous problems I see with employing noble lies and with attempts to persuade people through “theological” arguments. I think all theology is either an explicit or an [...]

Filed Under: Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Ethics, Ethics, Historical Ethics, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, History, Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Intellectual Virtues, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Morality, Morality, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, News Discussion, News Discussion, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religion and Science, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats, Virtues, Virtues 34 Comments

Questions For Those Who Oppose The Wall of Separation Between Church and State

September 27, 2011 By 10 Comments

I imagine that nearly everyone agrees that just because you may do something legally does not mean morally that you should do it. Now, I am firmly convinced that Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of a “wall of separation between church and state” is constitutional. But, let’s say you do not. Let’s say the Founders left it [...]

Filed Under: Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy Tagged With: , 10 Comments

Santorum's Hypocrisy and Backwardness on Questions of Epistemic Authority

September 1, 2011 By 5 Comments

My thoughts:

Filed Under: Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Christianity, Christianity, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Ethics, Faith, Faith, Free Speech, Free Speech, Gay Marriage, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy, Law, Law, LGBTQAA, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Psychology, Psychology, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Same Sex Marriage, Same Sex Marriage, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Teleology, Teleology, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats, Videos Tagged With: 5 Comments

9 Vital Points About The Public Relevance of Political Candidates' Religious Beliefs

September 1, 2011 By 5 Comments

Last week, Bill Keller had a good piece in the New York Times in which he discussed the importance of “asking tougher questions about faith” to the presidential candidates and then offered to each of the current Republican candidates for president a set of specific questions, tailored uniquely to each candidate, about their faiths and their [...]

Filed Under: Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Faith, Faith, Free Speech, Free Speech, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Law, Law, News Discussion, News Discussion, Philosophy, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats Tagged With: , , , , , , , 5 Comments

The Perfect Links For The Christian Theocrats In Your Life

August 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I do not think that the Bible or any other sectarian text should be the basis of one’s views on separation of church and state. Such views should be formed from a position of neutrality about all religious or anti-religious sources of authority and simply be grounded in fairness to each individual’s conscience. But for [...]

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Another Middle Eastern Dictator’s Regime Is Threatened

February 9, 2011 By 1 Comment

Yahweh is the latest under siege by a young, freedom movement: Speculation has been growing about whether God’s dictatorship will be the next to crumble under the demand for freedom that is sweeping the earth. Yahweh has now ruled without free elections for over 2,000 years. He seized power after the assassination of his son, [...]

Filed Under: Christianity, Christianity, Comedy, Comedy, God, God, Hilarious, Parody, Parody, Religion, Religion, Religious Satire, Religious Satire, Satire, Satire, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats 1 Comment

Pakistani Governor Murdered For Opposing Blasphemy Laws

January 4, 2011 By 1 Comment

Enraging news: Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) — The governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province was assassinated by his own security guard Tuesday, according to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, apparently because he spoke out against the country’s controversial blasphemy law. The security guard was arrested, Malik said. The shooting occurred at Islamabad’s Kohsar Market, which is frequented by [...]

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Projecting US Pathologies Onto Muslims

October 29, 2010 By 1 Comment

Glenn Greenwald offers a mirror for those of us who worry about the elements of theocratic expansionism which are enough a part of the Koran and early Islamic history to be considered potentially dangerous forms of the religion itself on its own terms (and not just of its appropriation by political agents): I’m always amazed [...]

Filed Under: Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Islam, Islam, News Discussion, News Discussion, Politics, Politics, Religion, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, World Affairs, World Affairs 1 Comment