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July 2009 Blog Posts (229)

Freethinking for kids

In their latest issue, New Humanist magazine has an article by Danny Postel in which he discusses his attempts to provide his children with some humaist reading material, partly as a counterbalance to the Christian texts (and religious services) their mother, a Catholic, has introduced them to.

His attempts raised some interesting questions and the article is well worth a read.

Added by Paul on July 23, 2009 at 11:35am — 1 Comment

And baby came too

“Morning, Vicar. We’d like to get married. Oh, can you sprinkle the sprog with some of that holy water while you’re at it. Oh, and Grandma’s dropped dead. Perhaps you can fit in a few words over the box.

“We’ll have had hatch, match and dispatch all in one, then, ha, ha.

“Oh, can you bless our nanny goat?”

OK, bit of hyperbole. But it’s true that the Church of England is now going to allow people to get married (heterosexual couples, that is – but of course) and… Continue

Added by Andy Armitage on July 23, 2009 at 3:30am — No Comments

What happens when your kid’s an atheist and you send them to Sunday school…

Mom thought she’d jerk a not in her young atheist son’s tail so she sent him with the neighbors kids to Sunday school. The subject was going to be Moses and his taking his people to safety.

The kid comes home and mom asks, “Well, what did you learn today?”

“Well mom”, the boys starts,

“There was this heavy hitter ‘made” man named Rambo Moses who went off to Egypt to free some people.

He humped a 100 pound rucksack across the burning desert sands and went behind… Continue

Added by Rick on July 23, 2009 at 3:00am — 1 Comment

The mind plays weird games with us

Ok so this is my first blog post and I would very much appreciate any feedback on my writing you may have.

Since I acknowledged that I was an atheist, at least to myself, the mental filters that blocked out most religious remarks from family have been utterly demolished. What I mean is that before admitting my atheism I didn't notice very many remarks mentioning god, but now I notice at least one every day. For instance this morning my parents were watching TV and my mom sang the… Continue

Added by David Lee Halle II on July 23, 2009 at 12:44am — 1 Comment

Westboro Baptist hate group

AN, I'm sure you're all aware of these folk, but I thought I'd repost this here anyway, if for the latest on them if nothing else. Please visit me at Good Reason News if you get the chance. Thanks.

There's some talk in atheist circles that the bible, taken to it's logical conclusions, would result in more groups like the Westboro Baptist Church. These… Continue

Added by Billy Deaton on July 22, 2009 at 10:30pm — 6 Comments

Religious Indoctrination in Iowa Schools

The Spencer, Iowa school district is considering opening up its doors to religious indoctrination. According to the Des Moines Register, "Public school students in Spencer will get to study the Bible and pray at graduation if school district leaders approve a proposed "religious liberties" policy, the first of its kind in Iowa.

The plan calls for elective classes such as "Critic of Darwinism," which includes arguments against the theory of evolution, and "The Bible in History and… Continue

Added by Brad on July 22, 2009 at 10:09pm — 2 Comments

The Creation According to Atheists

I am not sure what the point is but I think he is trying to call atheist silly.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-creation-according-to-atheists/

Added by Fr33think3r on July 22, 2009 at 3:49pm — 2 Comments

Sex and Religion in Manila.

Jacqueline Sarah Homan sent me a very disturbing video about Sex and Religion in Manila. I haven’t been so pissed off at the Catholic Church since Brother George failed me in religion and spoiled my academic record. With 90s in the NYS Regents in science and math, I was turned down by two universities because of my apathy and animosity to Catholicism.

Years ago in Mirror Reversal I… Continue

Added by Richard Goscicki on July 22, 2009 at 9:30am — 4 Comments

Christian Extremism in America: The Family

Who is "the Family?" The Family is described as "committed to a political theology that views democracy as a form of secular humanism, to which they're deeply opposed."

[More]

Added by Rooker on July 22, 2009 at 7:40am — No Comments

Hard-line Israelis have secularism under siege

Another example of why atheists should care so much about the religious. It is because they have a tendency to do things like this:

An ultra-Orthodox Jew burns garbage in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood on July 16, during a protest against the arrest of an Orthodox woman on suspicion of starving her three-year-old child. Patrick Martin examines how the growth of ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities has led to violent clashes and the encroachment of religion on…

Continue

Added by Rooker on July 22, 2009 at 5:45am — No Comments

Irrefutable Proof That Evolution Is A Fairy Tale

It's hard to argue with logic like that. I may have to peel the Darwin sticker off my laptop.

(h/t Mixter's… Continue

Added by Rooker on July 22, 2009 at 2:10am — 7 Comments

Religion - The House of Insanity built on a Foundation of Ignorance

Maybe it’s getting to me, but all the stories of cult leaders raping and swapping children and wives; Mormon fathers beating their daughters; Muslims stoning to death a 13 year old rape victim because she lost her virginity; Catholic bishops making a 9 year old rape victim carry to term: etc..., you start to wonder if the insanity will ever end (and how). Now I’m not naive that terrible things didn’t happen before I became more interested in all this, but just seeing the shear volume collected… Continue

Added by Dave Rogers on July 21, 2009 at 7:39pm — 2 Comments

On losing an individual battle on the educational frontier of the evolution-creation culture war!

Its an odd coincidence that I got a message from Atheist Nexus today, causing me to log in after a long time. Not that I put much stock in coincidences, but I feel distinctly odd. Odd because the email came right after I got out of a meeting with my born-again devout christian graduate student who announced they were quitting the biology graduate program after a prolonged struggle, and much prayer, to try to reconcile faith with evolution!

I won't go into all the details of the back… Continue

Added by Madhusudan Katti on July 21, 2009 at 6:16pm — 11 Comments

Much ado about a lawsuit - FFRF sues to keep religious engravings out of CVC

There is much ado being made of the lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) to keep religious words from being engraved in the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). Specifically, according to a FFRF press release, the lawsuit was filed "to stop the prominent engraving of 'In God We Trust' and the religious Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol."

The media has grabbed hold of this story and doesn't seem to want to let go. Most of reports on the lawsuit are less than… Continue

Added by Trina Hoaks on July 21, 2009 at 5:55pm — No Comments

Who's gay?

Are there any Doctor Who fans out there in Atheism-dom? I suspect there are. The BBC have released pics of the new Doctor (Matt Smith) and his pretty companion, and on Pink Triangle my colleague Dean Braithwaite has posted an interesting article about atheism in Doctor Who, with one or two pertinent links.

– Andy, Pink…

Added by Andy Armitage on July 21, 2009 at 4:59am — 1 Comment

solar eclipse superstition

Apparently there will be a solar eclipse this week. If someone knows the exact date, please tell me because I want to watch! I have seen lunar and solar eclipses before, and while they were definitely cool, I never noticed any fear or worry surrounding them. Apparently, the eclipse that will occur this week is supposed to be unique according to astrologers. The article, however, does not explain why this solar eclipse will cause tragic events and not all the other ones. Have there been any… Continue

Added by Shireen on July 20, 2009 at 11:23pm — No Comments

On Obama Birthers and the Obama Citizenship Conspiracy

If you've been living under a rock since the 2008 Presidential Election, you may need the following information.

In the United States we have a stupid, fucking, unjustified Constitutional stipulation that dictates that only US Citizens who are citizens by birth are eligible for the office of the President. Whether not you agree with it, it is the law.

Now, since Barack Obama has become the President there are those who still cannot come to terms with election and have… Continue

Added by Louis on July 20, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments