If Jesus came out to dinner with me, I would *totally* be a believer.
But then he’d probaby eat meat and I would think nasty things about him.
(via Atheist Media Blog)
by Hemant Mehta
If Jesus came out to dinner with me, I would *totally* be a believer.
But then he’d probaby eat meat and I would think nasty things about him.
(via Atheist Media Blog)
Thank you, Hawaii Tribune-Herald, for publishing this well thought-out letter-to-the-editor:
On the eve of King Kamehameha Day, I had a vision of the king. He told me to warn everyone about the coming mandatory vaccination programs. The swine flu and other inoculations are toxic.
We have been warned.
Francis Pacheco
Hilo
Francis is quickly approaching Jenny McCarthy levels of anti-vax crazy.
(Thanks to Jeff for the link!)
I don’t know who writes to Billy Graham seeking advice, or why they take him seriously, or what newspapers would run his responses… but his latest column doesn’t make a strong case for reading him.
The letter writer asks why atheism appears to be on the rise and why it’s getting more attention these days.
Graham first explains that it’s really just a handful of successful authors:
They aren’t large in number, but they do tend to be aggressive in promoting their ideas.
You want to talk about aggressive?
Who’s more aggressive: Richard Dawkins, who gives lectures about science? Or Sam Harris, who started a non-profit called “The Reason Project“? Or Christopher Hitchens, who appears on television and writes magazine articles?
Or Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern, who passes a legal proclamation that says our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people, implying that atheists are not true citizens of America?
Graham later answers why the atheists are getting so much attention:
One reason, I believe, is because they know how to use the media very effectively.
Really? The highlight of the year for us has been seeing our ads on buses.
Christians get their own TV stations… as well as their own shows on regular channels on Sunday mornings and later at night the rest of the week.
Christians win the media battle hands down.
They also appeal to people who want to be free from God or any moral restraints.
Free from God? Yes, because we don’t believe in one.
Free from moral restraints? I don’t recall any of the New Atheists telling atheists to run off and fornicate with the next person they meet… or to steal their books from the bookstore. If anything, they explain how atheists can indeed be moral without a god.
Like the philosophers of Paul’s day who were constantly looking for new ideas to debate, many people today eagerly latch on to the latest fad (see Acts 17:21).
Atheism is a fad? Not even close.
Slap bracelets were a fad.
Pet rocks were a fad.
Atheism’s been around for a long time and it’ll be around for a long time. That’s not a fad; that’s a tradition.
The difference now is that we’re tired of being silent about it and we’re finally speaking up and voicing our (non-)belief. To hell with what others think.
Graham manages to get it right in one sentence, though:
In reality, however, modern atheists have very little new to say.
True. There are no new arguments against religion. The same ones still hold true as they always have. But again, in the past, you could’ve been killed for making those arguments. Not anymore. Since conservative Christians have attempted to take over politics in America and fundamentalist Muslims have killed around the world because of their beliefs, people are finally listening to what atheists have to say.
They’re tired of faith being a destructive force, and if religion isn’t going to offer something more positive and less divisive, atheists can fill that niche for more reasonable people.
Graham ends the response with some Christian platitudes, probably copied and pasted from the column he wrote the day before.
We need a syndicated atheist advice columnist. I nominate Richard Wade. Any reader who checks out his comments on this site knows what I’m talking about.
I mentioned yesterday that a series of articles in The Sunday Times (UK) was riddled with inaccuracies.
Samantha Stein, the camp director, has issued corrections to the pieces.
There are a *lot*:
“Dawkins sets up kids’ camp to groom atheists” (Headline)
Richard Dawkins is not setting up Camp Quest UK. The word “groom” is misleading, offensive and inaccurate.
…
“Dawkins, who is subsidising the camp, said it was designed to ‘encourage children to
think for themselves, sceptically and rationally’ “Richard Dawkins has no personal involvement with Camp Quest. He is not “subsidising” the camp. The Richard Dawkins Foundation has made a small one?off donation to Camp Quest.
Those are just two of many.
Take-home message: Even when it’s positive press, as this was intended to be, don’t trust everything you read verbatim. Reporters rarely get all the facts straight.
All this said, it was great publicity for Camp Quest UK — lots of major British media wanted to talk about it after the articles were published.
(via Science, Reason, and Critical Thinking)
Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern is back in the news. (She’s the lovely lady who said gays are a bigger threat in America than terrorists a little while back.)
So how much nuttier can she get?
She is now saying that our country’s problems are due to Obama not being religious enough, the godless heathens and their pornography, and (of course) those sodomizing gays. The economic crisis, for example, is just a product of our immoral nature.
Here’s the full proclamation, which will be signed in July:
OKLAHOMA CITIZEN’S PROCLAMATION FOR MORALITY
We the People of Oklahoma, Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of Liberty; to secure just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.
WHEREAS, “It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand” (John Adams); and
WHEREAS, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and Morality” (John Adams); and
WHEREAS, “Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people” (John Adams); and
WHEREAS, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government… but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God” (James Madison); and
WHEREAS, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God (Benjamin Franklin); and
WHEREAS, “God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God” (Thomas Jefferson); and
WHEREAS, “Whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state” (Joseph Story); and
WHEREAS, “We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the people…the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion” (Roger Sherman); and
WHEREAS, “This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians” (Patrick Henry); and
WHEREAS, “When you… exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose just men who will rule in the fear of God” (Noah Webster); and
WHEREAS, “The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible” (Noah Webster); and
WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; and thought secure when we have removed
WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and
WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and
WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and
WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and
WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing that “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord,” and humbly implore all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of Almighty God; and
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God, our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.
Signed on the second day of July in the year of our Lord Christ Two Thousand and Nine.
The ACLU in Oklahoma made this statement:
“I think it’s very unfortunate, frankly, I haven’t seen scapegoating like this since pre-World War II Germany”, said C.S. Thornton, the Deputy Director of the ACLU Chapter of Oklahoma. “She blames all these things upon a great moral crisis that has in fact caused our national economic downtown, but nowhere in this parade of horribles does mention greedy Wall Street executives or government regulators who were asleep at the switch.”
Oklahoma, you make Texas look enlightened. Which ones of you voted her in…? Remind me to slap you next time we meet.
(via Jonathan Turley — Thanks to Rebecca for the link!)
Jason lives in Indiana, home of the “In God We Trust” license plates.
He applied for a personalized license plate reading NO GODS. Take a wild guess what happened…
Rejected.
Why? It was deemed inappropriate. According to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles:
Personalized license plates allow creativity; however, under Indiana Statue IC 9-18-15-4 (b) the BMV may refuse to issue a combination of letters or numerals, or both, that carry a connotation offensive to good taste and decency.
The BMV will deny a personalized license plate request if an objective, reasonable person would find that the customer’s proposed expression on the personalized license plate application is determined to carry a connotation offensive to good taste and decency, is misleading, or is otherwise prohibited.
Of course, some atheists could say “objective, reasonable” people wouldn’t believe in a god in the first place
But the dilemma is clear: Is simply saying NO GODS offensive? The BMV says yes. Jason says no.
He’s already contacted the ACLU in Indiana and FFRF. Sounds like he has a case, no?
***Update***: AxeGrrl informed me that there’s an older video of Björn speaking about his atheistic beliefs:
…
Here’s Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, talking about the Swedish atheist bus campaign and why the country shouldn’t be mixing religion with schools:
Without thinking too much about it at the time, when I wrote the lyrics for Abba’s songs the message I wished to convey tallies well with campaigns launched recently by humanist organisations in the UK, US and Australia:
“There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
Earlier this month the Swedish Humanist Association (Humanisterna) launched a similar campaign. And in light of the growing influence of religious schools in Sweden, the campaign could hardly be more timely.
…
A religious education makes it more difficult for children to form their own views on the world. It puts obstacles in their way that not all are capable of overcoming.
The headmasters also put it to me that there were plenty of famous free-thinking, prominent figures who had gone to Christian schools. But really this just annihilates their own argument. These people learned to be free thinkers despite, not because of, their Christian schooling.
I’ve resisted, but maybe I’ll finally go see “Mamma Mia” now…
(Thanks to Tony for the link!)
My fellow Secular Student Alliance board member Phil Ferguson is an avid Pharyngula reader and knows PZ Myers has an opinion or two about the Creation Museum. Since PZ is speaking at our conference the first weekend in August, he had an idea: Why not invite PZ to join us a day early, have as many people as possible join us, and lead a tour through the Creation Museum?
PZ graciously agreed to do it and now we’re inviting anyone interested to join us: On Friday, August 7th, at 10:00 a.m., we’ll be meeting at the museum entrance.
Ken Ham, the museum’s founder, will be invited to join us.
To see a joint PZ/Ham tour would be well worth the price of admission… which is good because I’ve been there before and nothing else in the museum is worth it. A solo PZ tour wouldnt be so bad, either.
Having scientists visiting the museum — and then documenting the inanity inside for the general public — may be worth the few bucks you give up by going there.
While it’s not a requirement to join us for the Creation Museum trip, registration for the SSA Conference is still open! (And travel grants are available if you need help getting funding for a flight.) The festivities officially begin Friday night.
I have a grad school final Thursday evening in Chicago… but I’ll do everything I can to reschedule it so I can join in the “museum” tour. How often do you get a fun opportunity like that?
By the way, the other day, I mentioned a fundraiser that another board member, Ashley Paramore, was conducting on YouTube.
Check out how awesome you all are!
We haven’t reached the $5,000 goal yet, but this is pretty damn impressive. It’s not too late to give!
(via Pharyngula)
Last night, the anonymous atheist who donated money for the New York City atheist bus campaign was named “Worse” (i.e. #3) on Keith Olbermann‘s list of Worst Persons in the World:
Olbermann said the following:
Tonight’s worst persons in the world. The bronze: To the person who donated the scratch for ten thousand dollars worth of ads on the sides of buses in New York City, promoting atheism. They read, “You don’t have to believe in God to be a moral or ethical person.” The hope, from president Ken Bronstein of the group NYC Atheists, is to get people to stop hiding their non-belief — to stop hiding it. No complaint about the message — however, while Bronstein says, “We want to get atheists to come join us, to get out of the closet,” unfortunately the donor who made the ads possible is keeping his identity anonymous.
So I’m not all that upset with Olbermann. He treated it with sarcasm, like a joke, rather than anything evil.
I think the snark is uncalled for, though.
In most other cities, money for the ad campaigns came from hundreds of anonymous small donors.
In NYC, the money came from one large donor. (It’s not that they couldn’t get tons of small donors, but if someone wants to give you all the money for the ad, you take it.) Had the person *not* remained anonymous, I suspect much of the publicity they’ve received would’ve focused on the donor and why he/she wanted this message heard.
With the anonymity, the focus has been on the message itself. Just as it should be.
There’s also a possibility that the donor feared being associated with atheism (it could cost him/her a job or a spouse) but wanted the message to go out regardless. Some people don’t come out because of the stigma associated with the term “atheist.” You can still urge others to come out even if it may not be the right move for you personally.
Greta Christina takes this reason very seriously:
There are some realities about living as an atheist that you may not know about, Mr. Olbermann. Coming out as an atheist can have serious real-world consequences. Parents get denied custody of their children for being atheists. People get harassed and vandalized by their neighbors for being atheists. Teachers get suspended for being atheists. Teenagers get harassed and suspended from school for being atheists. Politicians whip up anti-atheist fear to try to get elected. (And that’s just in the US. I’m not even talking about parts of the world where atheism is a crime, punishable by imprisonment or death.)
I’m not calling for an apology from Olbermann. This isn’t all that serious, and at least he said he had no problem with the actual message. I do wonder, however, whether he ever considered the donor’s possible reasons for remaining anonymous.
(Thanks to Claudia for the link!)
Reports started going around this morning that President Obama had finally chosen a church:
Now, in an unexpected move, Obama has told White House aides that instead of joining a congregation in Washington, D.C., he will follow in George W. Bush’s footsteps and make his primary place of worship Evergreen Chapel, the nondenominational church at Camp David.
In a rush to break this news, Amy Sullivan at Time may have spoken to soon.
The Christian Science Monitor and several other sources say otherwise:
“The President and First Family continue to look for a church home. They have enjoyed worshipping at Camp David and several other congregations over the months, and will choose a church at the time that is best for their family,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki said in a statement.
There’s no rush on this, of course.
Obviously, I would love it if he just didn’t choose a church at all, choosing to worship in the privacy of his own bedroom. Is that not an option? Or are Christians so insecure that they have to see him sitting, bored out of his mind, in a public sanctuary?
The way the media would follow him wherever he goes, though, may be a practical reason not to choose one. He already has a religious advisory team. He says he is religious when he makes speeches. Going to church would just be for show, anyway. Despite being a politician, Obama doesn’t strike me as someone who would want to go to church just for the sake of appearances. He might have to eventually if his faith is in doubt by the voters, but I would assume we have more important things to think about.
Going to church isn’t a prerequisite to being a Christian, anyway.

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