John B Hodges's Blog (47)

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Instant-Runoff malfunctions in Burlington, Vermont

Just for the record, I'd like subscribers of this list to be aware of

the 2009 Mayor's election in Burlington, Vermont (USA).





http://rangevoting.org/Burlington.html


Candidate(Party)..............1st Round.........2nd Round.....Final

Bob KISS(Progr)................2585(29%).........2981.............4313 (wins)

Kurt…
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Added by John B Hodges on November 7, 2010 at 2:27am — No Comments

News: Openly Atheist Candidate runs for Congress in Virginia (forwarded material)

(Begin forwarded material)





-------- Original Message --------

Subject: Openly Atheist Candidate Runs







http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/10/openly_atheist_candidate_runs.php





*Openly Atheist Candidate Runs Against Forbes …



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Added by John B Hodges on October 12, 2010 at 11:00pm — 3 Comments

On Philosophical Arguments for God

(JBH) Greetings- I have a thought I'd like to toss out for discussion.


A blogger I read recently said he had "backslid" from atheism to agnosticism, because he had read a new and improved version of a certain philosophical argument for the existence of God. He was aware that many such arguments have been refuted, and some past refutations have been overcome by revisions in the pro-god arguments, and so forth. There are still some professional philosophers…
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Added by John B Hodges on September 19, 2010 at 2:56pm — 1 Comment

Passive and Active Atheism

PASSIVE AND ACTIVE ATHEISM



Atheism is often defined as "the absence of god-beliefs". This

definition is useful in debate, because it does not assume any burden of…

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Added by John B Hodges on August 29, 2010 at 6:00am — 6 Comments

Deconstructing "Christian" Morality: Leaflet, Jesus' Ethics in Ten Easy Lessons

Those who claim to believe in "absolute" moralities usually don't actually follow them, and don't even pretend to try.


A few years back I decided to study the ethical teachings of Jesus. I sat down with a notebook and pen and a Bible, and (over the course of a week, off and on) read through the four Gospels, taking note every time Jesus said something about what we should DO. I skipped through the biography,…
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Added by John B Hodges on August 3, 2010 at 1:52pm — No Comments

"Ought". Where I part ways with Objectivism.

August 16, 1998. First post to IOS discussion list. All "oughts" are
hypothetical.


Greetings-
I do not call myself an Objectivist (large "O"), because I differ on
a number of significant points. Rather, I call myself a Secular
Humanist, and at times a Freethinker. These are broader terms,
referring to larger sets, than Objectivist. All Objectivists qualify
as Secular Humanists, and all Humanists…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 30, 2010 at 4:13am — 10 Comments

Stuff I've written on abortion



Some reposts from my "attic":

-------------

(JBH) I'm bewildered by this argument. (That this argument happens at all.)…

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Added by John B Hodges on July 24, 2010 at 11:22am — No Comments

Sequential Reincarnation

I received a revelation from God last Thursday.


God has decided that the system of Heaven and Hell was just not working. Torturing prisoners had grown boring, and hymns of praise even more boring. So he has abolished Heaven and Hell and set up a new system of sequential reincarnation. When you die, your soul will go to the back of a line. When you reach the front of the line, you go into the next available human body.


He has declared…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 24, 2010 at 10:30am — No Comments

Who is the Enemy?

(This was written shortly after September 11, 2001, for a general audience.)


I've followed, more or less, the discussions about who the "enemy" is, in the "war on terrorism"; the "Clash of Civilizations" thesis, and so forth. I confess I think of it in different terms. The enemy is theocracy. It comes in Islamic, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, AND secular forms.


The freethinking, skeptical, scientific "frame of mind" is functionally and…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 12, 2010 at 1:45pm — No Comments

Jesus on Hell

I have sometimes encountered Christians who argue that the concept of a fiery Hell was not part of Jesus' original teaching; rather that it was introduced some centuries later by Church theologians. For easy reference, I have collected the following.
--------------------------
Matt 3:12…

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Added by John B Hodges on July 12, 2010 at 1:23pm — No Comments

Atheist Ethics in 500 Words

ATHEIST ETHICS IN 500 WORDS. John B. Hodges, Dec. 21, 2007.


How can you have any ethics if you don't believe in God?


The question must BE questioned. How can you have any ethics if you DO believe in a god?


Religious folk misunderstand morality at its roots. Religion teaches a child's view of ethics, that "being good" means "obeying your parent". Just as religious faith is believing what you are told, so…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 12, 2010 at 1:07pm — 2 Comments

"The Rapture Has Already Happened"

I propose, as an idea for a bumper sticker, "The Rapture has already happened."



Elsewhere on this blog I have posted an essay, "The Ethics of Jesus", in which I reported what I had found by collecting everything Jesus is reported to have said about what we should DO. I…

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Added by John B Hodges on July 10, 2010 at 9:04pm — No Comments

Corliss Lamont's Definition of Humanism

August 24, 1997. Corliss Lamont's definition of Humanism.


Recently I sent in my dues to join the American Humanist Association. They sent me a "welcome packet" including the Humanist Manifestos I and II, and a book, THE PHILOSOPY OF HUMANISM, by Corliss Lamont. First published in 1949, considered a classic. (Copyright currently held by Half-Moon Foundation, Inc; all rights reserved.)


There is a lot in that book, but I thought I would…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 10, 2010 at 8:45pm — No Comments

Determinism Irrelevant

Years ago I decided that the issue of "free will vs. determinism" is irrelevant to questions of ethics, and untestable with respect to matters of science. Since then I have tried to avoid wasting time on it. But it comes up every now and then in Freethinker circles, and many people are lured into arguing at length over it.


Our ordinary practice is to ascribe "free will" to beings which are conscious and intelligent. "Conscious" meaning that they have an internal…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 7, 2010 at 2:33pm — 13 Comments

The Uncensored Ten Commandments

The theocratic Right is conducting a "Hang Ten!" crusade, to get the Ten Commandments posted on the walls of government buildings such as schools and courthouses, to give government endorsement to them. But the versions posted are usually edited and paraphrased, creating a false impression. Perhaps people would be more wary of these efforts if they read the original text, and understood the "divinely ordained" penalties attached. The following quotes will help put the Commandments in…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 7, 2010 at 2:11pm — 6 Comments

Why Separation?

I had a victory on Oct. 31, 2001, got one of my essays printed in the Roanoke Times, at the top of the "commentary" page.


Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Authority from the governed, not from God
Church-state separation stands to reason




By JOHN…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 7, 2010 at 2:03pm — 2 Comments

The Apple



Would you bite the apple that gave knowledge of good and evil? Read on.


We find ourselves alive and conscious. What shall we do with our lives? Beware "fishers of men". If we demand that someone else supply us with a purpose, someone else may DO just that. Purpose is ours to choose.


There is a natural "default" purpose, which we may choose if we like. We all have parents, as did they, back to the beginning of life.…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 7, 2010 at 1:58pm — No Comments

The Bait, The Hook, and Deism

January 28, 2002, AACHAT... The Bait, the Hook, and Deism.


Deists are not atheists, they definitely believed in a god, and this has never been a secret. Even so, Atheists should count Thomas Paine and other Deists as friends and allies.


Religion has two aspects, the Bait and the Hook. There are lots of different kinds of bait. Relief from fear of death or misfortune, relief from loneliness by means of an imaginary companion, art,…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 7, 2010 at 1:50pm — No Comments

Holier Than Thou

Ocober 11, 1999. What is the measure of "holiness"? Different traditions seem to have different standards.


Most of the measures I will discuss can be seen as variations on obedience. There is some Supreme Authority, and holiness consists of obedience to this authority; hence "holier than thou" directly means "more obedient than thou". But the variations can be significant.


I first learned about spirituality from Ananda Marga (a sect…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 7, 2010 at 1:46pm — No Comments

Why Be Ethical?

April 12, 1997; Trying to address the question of "Why be ethical?" Why
care about other people, why work to make the world a better place? A
collection of reasons.


"What IS ethical?" and "Why BE ethical?" are two DIFFERENT questions,
but the answers are related. Different answers to the first make the
second a different question. If a theory of ethics does not answer the
second, its answer to the first is…
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Added by John B Hodges on July 7, 2010 at 1:33pm — No Comments

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HMRationalist

Posted by Debra Stevenson on May 21, 2013 at 8:59pm 47 Comments

Jonathan Brown
The world needs both Reason AND Compassion and this is what Humanistic Mormonism and what the Mormon Rationalist Association teaches.…
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Orthodox Mormon intolerance

Posted by Debra Stevenson on May 21, 2013 at 8:41pm 0 Comments

Nathan Young That's true Jonathan Brown.  At one time I was a member of the MRA board when it was more open towards hearing an orthodox Mormon views on things.  Since that time the MRA is now under the stewardship of a new 'religion' the 'Society for Humanistic Mormonism' which is merely another apostate religion.  It will fail just like all other apostate forms of Mormonism have failed including might I add the Mormon "Transhumanist" Association and their kind, and all the front…

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HM responses

Posted by Debra Stevenson on May 21, 2013 at 8:10pm 9 Comments

John Moriarty
Ayn Rand, is my hero.

Come together one and all

Posted by Holli Clay on May 21, 2013 at 6:53pm 0 Comments

Hello fellow atheists!  I have joined this site in an attempt to find other rational individuals, such as myself, and to promote a current charity drive that I am trying to get going for the Oklahoma tornado victims.  I have managed to get many groups from around my area, including the Beyond Belief Foundation to back me on this endeavor. 

I am located in Newnan, Ga and have my own atheist group entitled "Coweta County Atheists".  I am currently being backed by Spaulding Co.…

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