February 2012
57 posts
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Nadine Dorries repeats infanticide slur against...
Last year, the Conservative MP Nadine Dorries sealed a landslide victory in our annual Bad Faith Award contest after accusing humanists of favouring infanticide. Her suggestion prompted numerous objections and refutations from humanists, who were keen to point out that a) they don’t support infanticide and b) even if someone who is a humanist did, it wouldn’t therefore apply to all...
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Pope or Hitler? →
This is a response to the Pope’s claim that the Nazi movement was atheist. When it was nothing of the sort.
Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live. I also recall the regime’s attitude to...
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Gay marriage would be forcing unwanted change on...
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that marriage should remain between opposite-sex couples - because anything else would be forcing unwanted change on the UK. The comments came in a speech at a World Council of Churches gathering in Geneva, yesterday. There, he told delegates that while anti-discrimination legislation was beneficial and necessary for protecting the...
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Doubts about 'the Jesus Discovery' →
Now that the word about “the Jesus Discovery” is out in the open, outside experts are weighing in — and many of them look upon the robotic exploration of a 1st-century Jerusalem tomb as a technological tour de force resulting in an archaeological faux pas.
On one level, the “Jesus Discovery” investigators saw this project as a follow-up on the sensational claim they made...
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No Rights: The Life of an Atheist →
The point of view expressed in this article does not necessarily reflect the point of view of the Panther Press, its staff, adviser, or school. As a current student in Government, I have realized that I feel that my rights as an Atheist are severely limited and unjust when compared to other students who are Christians. Not only are there multiple clubs featuring the Christian faith, but...
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Announcement
My computer has once again died a death, and its been collected for its third trip to the engineers.
This means that, for the next week or so, I’m limited to using the internet on my phone.
As I am sure you can appreciate, this makes things extremely awkward, so my posting here is going to be very limited.
Hopefully, in a week, everything will be back to normal.
~Mooglets
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“Whenever I hear the phrase “militant secularism”, I know that...”
– Joan Smith, Independent on Sunday
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Lawsuit or Not, the Rowan County Board of... →
Just over a month ago, the Supreme Court said they didn’t want to hear an appeal from the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners (in North Carolina), putting the final nail in the coffin on their attempts to keep praying to Jesus before meetings.
An hour away, it looks like the Rowan County Board of Commissioners don’t want to take the hint. In fact, they prayed to Jesus at their meeting...
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UK Christians are not "persecuted", says England's...
The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Rt Rev Vincent Nichols, has responded to the recent debates over “militant secularism” by saying that he does not believe Christians in Britain are the victim of persecution. “I personally don’t feel in the least bit persecuted,” he told the Guardian. “I don’t think Christians should use that...
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Evolution: Fact of Science, Not Theory
helvetebrann:
“Keep your mind open, kids, it is possible that the earth doesn’t revolve around the sun. It could be the other way around!” Can you imagine any teacher saying this in a public school classroom? As ridiculous as it sounds, it is as inappropriate as saying, “Keep your mind open kids, it is possible that the theory of evolution is wrong. We could be the product of...
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'Anti-gay' book puts Gove at centre of faith...
Michael Gove, the education secretary, is at the centre of an escalating row over how faith schools discuss homosexuality in sex education classes.
The TUC has accused Gove of failing in his legal duties by insisting that equality laws, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, do not extend to the school curriculum.
The TUC complains that the current situation...
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Mark Steel: If religion is 'marginal', I'm the...
If you’re going to complain that religion is becoming “marginal”, as Baroness Warsi did yesterday, it’s genius to do it when you’re a member of the Cabinet on a visit to the Pope. Maybe Warsi said to him, “For example, your Holiness, look how these days you’re tucked away in a backstreet in Rome which hardly even shows up on the A to Z.”
It...
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The faithful can't be trusted to have a political...
Baroness Warsi is right. Secularists are becoming more militant. Prayers at council meetings, religious speeches from politicians, bishops in the Lords – we want them all gone. We’d like to be more reasonable about it, but religious people, unfortunately, can’t be trusted.
They’ve been given several opportunities to behave responsibly and they keep dropping the ball. Most...
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“Top-down and institutional religion is in decline. Trying to restore or maintain...”
– Simon Barrow, Ekklesia
axioa asked: There's a poster in my english classroom with a bible verse on it as well. I live in NY and I really don't want to say anything about it because I like the teacher, but ah well. I wouldn't know any of it, anyway. My school has "god bless america" everywhere too but I never really bring it up, because I don't need to be outcast. :P
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“The Catholic Church is upset because they feel like the government is trying to...”
– Dagmar Bergan, The Commercial Appeal
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Michael Fry: Benign secularism suits the British...
Schism and sectarianism are as basic to religion as sanctity and ceremony. This holds true of all the world’s great religions except for Confucianism – the Chinese being far too sensible to dispute with, let alone fight and kill each other over dogmas admitting of no kind of proof.
So, something odd must be going on in the ranks of the religious when we hear a call from the core of the...
Anonymous asked: Hello. I was in class today, and was looking at the "motivational" posters on the wall. One of them had a bible verse on it, and I was wondering if this was legal, or breaking any rule at all? And what can be done about this, if anything? Thank you.
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“There is a suspicion in Britain that when politicians invoke religion they are...”
– Alastair Campbell, Financial Times
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“It’s precisely because of the predominance of secularism in the UK that...”
– Comment posted on BBC thread
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“Religion can have a role in political debate, but its adherents must stop trying...”
– Ian Dunt
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66: Religion v. Rights, Religion v. Law,... →
Just Tom & Chris this time as we discuss the week’s news: abortion movies, circumcision updates, adoption agency issues, gay marriage; as well as a length discussion about the relationship between religion and law, and a quick update about the unfortunate and disgusting antics of Scientology. Thanks for listening and let us know what you think via the site.
Interesting podcast.
...
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Breaking: Democratic Women Boycott House...
This morning, Democrats tore into House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) for preventing women and minorities from testifying before a hearing examining the Obama administration’s new regulation requiring employers and insurers to provide contraception coverage to their employees. Republicans oppose the administration’s rule and have sponsored legislation that would...
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Church of Scientology Accused of Child Labor in...
Bryan Seymour writing for Yahoo has the disturbing tale of a Scientology compound in rural Australia where members are forcibly kept and forced to work, including children.
A young man who escaped the place with the help of his father, Shane Kelsey says “I lived in that garage for about a year and a half, maybe two years.”
…
“You’re not allowed to read any books other than scientology...
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Re: Dawkins on Radio4
Dawkins said an “astonishing number couldn’t identify the first book in the New Testament.” But his claim that this indicated self-identified Christians were “not really Christian at all” was challenged by Fraser, who said the poll asked “silly little questions” to “trip” people up.
Giles Fraser: Richard, if I said to you what is the...
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“Telling an atheist to respect religion is like telling a black person to respect...”
– Andre Oliver
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30 Stars Thank God For Grammys In 60 Seconds... →
Yes. Because you put in the hard work and the blood, sweat and tears, so obviously God is the thing that did it all, not you, or the serrendipitous selection of you for the roles in the films/whatever that got you where you are. Nope. It was all the imaginary friend in the sky. So all thanks and praise should go to said imaginary friend, and not the people who helped you, selected you, recommended...
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AIBS State News on Teaching Evolution →
The federal education law, No Child Left Behind, requires states establish standards for student assessment. As a consequence, states across the country are working to develop K-12 science standards and model curricula that will ensure students meet these standards. This process has seemingly reinvigorated a host of organizations that oppose the inclusion of evolution in public school...
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'It’s time for Christians to fight back' →
The National Secular Society boasts about 7,000 members – the same number as the British Sausages Appreciation Society. (Angela Rippon, no less, will be on hand for its Bacon Connoisseurs week, March 19-25.) The bangers enthusiasts celebrate the succulent delights of pork in every guise: grilled, baked, or fried. Secularists, too, want their own pound of flesh – but only...
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Child Evangelism Fellowship's After School Good...
Since the Supreme Court’s 1962 decision banning prayer in the public school classrooms, conservative evangelical Christians have been at war with public education. Many conservatives point to that decision as the harbinger of America’s moral decline. For years, Christian Right organizations and their leaders have railed against teachers’ unions, opposed tax increases to...
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Britain being overtaken by 'militant secularists',...
British society is under threat from the rising tide of “militant secularisation” reminiscent of “totalitarian regimes”, a Cabinet minister will warn on Tuesday.
In an historic visit to the Vatican, Baroness Warsi will express her “fear” about the marginalisation of religion throughout Britain and Europe, saying that faith needs “a seat at the table in public life”.
In an article...
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Bishops Reject White House's New Plan on...
The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops have rejected a compromise on birth control coverage that President Obama offered on Friday and said they would continue to fight the president’s plan to find a way for employees of Catholic hospitals, universities and service agencies to receive free contraceptive coverage in their health insurance plans, without direct involvement or...
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America's Darwin Problem
America’s got a Darwin problem — and it matters. According to a 2009 Gallup poll taken on the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, fewer than 40% of Americans are willing to say that they “believe in evolution.” When another study asked if humans had developed from earlier species of animals, the American public split right down the middle. 40% said they ...
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Bishop calls on Christian MPs to rebel over gay...
A Roman Catholic Bishop has urged MPs “of Christian conscience” to rebel against their party leaderships and vote down plans to legalise same-sex marriage.
The Rt Rev Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury, urged politicians to help protect the “God-given meaning of marriage for the sake of all generations to come”.
He also criticised the idea that “progress” should mean a “continuous...
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Happy Darwin Day :D →
Darwin Day is a global celebration of science and reason held on or around Feb. 12, the birthday anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin.
On this website you can find all sorts of information about Charles Darwin and the International Darwin Day Fundation. If you are hosting a Darwin Day event, you can post information about it on our events listing. You can also locate Darwin...
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“For democracy to flourish, and to prevent it from degenerating into theocracy,...”
– Joe Jeerakathil, Star Phoenix
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“The crucial point is that the sharpest young opinion-formers are atheists. This...”
– Damian Thompson, Daily Telegraph
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Why is the Government consulting the Vatican on...
A large delegation of Government Ministers is to visit the Vatican next week to consult about British Government policy with the Pope. Among the six ministers going to Rome are Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport; Alan Duncan, the Minister for International Development; and Greg Barker, the Energy and Climate Change Minister.
The delegation will be led by...
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Bath Christian group's 'God can heal' adverts...
A Christian group has been banned from claiming that God can heal illnesses on its website and in leaflets.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it had concluded that the adverts by Healing on the Streets (HOTS) - Bath, were misleading.
It said a leaflet available to download from the group’s website said: “Need Healing? God can heal today!”
The group, based in...