9
POPSReligious Tests? Once again we're presented with examples of outright bigoted prejudice. Perhaps not surprising if it was put forth from a stereotypical Nascar dad but from a contender to the presidency it seems a bit out of line.
7
POPSGrandpa McCain Don't Like Them Atheists! Promulgating the idea of bigoted, separatist thought seems to take up a lot of the energies of the Republicans these days. Of course this has been their bread and butter issue for years. Give us someone to hate and forget about the real issues that plague the common man. They're the first to cry foul over class issues but they certainly have no qualms about using them to instill fear and prejudice if it suits their corporate aims.
6
POPSReligion and Abortion This article makes a cogent argument that religion actually promotes abortions rather than diminishes them. Link to full article for more info.
4
POPSReligious Dogma Invades Healthcare Cline makes a good point that professionals like doctors and pharmacists knowingly enter professions that could compromise their religious beliefs. What could be their justification for then using these religious beliefs to refuse services to certain individuals?
6
POPSGimme That Ole Time Religion Some of us look back on this tragedy and discount it as due to ignorance. Yet it is more than that. Think of the present day belief in satanic possession that exists 316 years after this hysteria overtook the town of Salem. As far as I'm concerned they have much in common and display a disappointing lack of rationality in a large segment of the population.
11
POPSScientific Icon Found As often happens following one of these scientific miracles expect a spat of similar instances to follow. Just this morning I found a forgotten bag of bread covered with Rhizopus stolonifer that suspiciously resembled the image of Charles Darwin. I'm thinking perhaps a shrine is in order.
2
POPSJesus in My Oatmeal For those of you out there who have recently been awed by the appearance of Jesus or Mary in your marmalade here's a more rational explanation for you to try on. Rationality. It's really a good thing.
10
POPSMuslim Bullying How absurd for any religious group to expect for persons of differing faiths or no faith at all to adhere to their quaint religious practices. It reminds me of the resistance to teach evolution in public schools or the attempts to force religion into the public arena. Both spheres have a similar lack of credibility and rationale. Kudos to Wikipedia for not kowtowing to religious fanatics.
12
POPSThose Noisy Atheists Cultural taboos against religious criticism are deeply ingrained. But are they justified? Apparently they are not. What happens is that generally people take criticism of their religious beliefs personally. It's as though religious beliefs hold some sort of position that is materially different from other beliefs that they hold. Except for the fact that religious beliefs are not reality based they are still simply ideas that a person has come across and decided to adopt.
3
POPSYou Gotta Have God in Brazil I'm not surprised in the least. A significant number of people hold the belief that believing in a deity is a necessary condition when judging a person as being moral. Although this belief is unfounded and easily disproved it continues to influence opinions.
3
POPSReligious Violence in India Proselytizing Christians anger Hindus in this latest saga of religious violence to sprout up in the world. Of course, atheists look at this and can't help but shake their heads at how nonsensical religionists are.
5
POPSFloridians See the Light? I just clipped another article concerning this topic and then came across this article. Well, that was a short lived controversy. It seems the Florida creationists sipped from the reality cup just in time. Good news.
4
POPSFlorida Religionists Cling to Myth As in Texas, Florida is also debating whether or not to include Intelligent Design in its science curriculum. Following the Dover Pennsylvania trial you'd think these yahoos would have gotten the word. ID is not science. We'll have to wait and see if they cling to their Bronze Age myths or join the rest of us who live in a reality based world.
8
POPSChristian Panic Once again we're presented with the curious sight of grown people (at least in a chronological sense) getting in a lather over a display that is contrary to their sacred view of the world. Fear seems to be the driving force behind most of the actions of religious people and that fear is exhibited here. Predictably, their response is unfortunately representative of a school yard fight instead of adults addressing a difference of opinion. We'll get to it! You can imagine their moral outrage if the shoe was on the other foot. Acceptance is a concept that they have yet to learn.
8
POPSRomney's "Religion" Romney's blatant rejection of the substantial number of non-believers in the country was deeply disturbing. His declaration equating religion and freedom was a slap in the face of the estimated 20-30 million non-believers that are US citizens. I'm gratified that this has attracted some attention in the media. Of concern is the blasé manner in which Romney put this idea forth. This was a prepared speech and I'm sure much thought went into it. If it was an ad lib moment he might duck under the cover of "misspeak" but in this instance he can't. Time will tell if this simply fades away or if it will come back to haunt him on election day.
0
POPSRabbi not much of a teacher The rabbi states that faith strengthens itself by intelligent challenge but I've only seen the opposite. Then he trots out Stalin and Mao strawmen. How tiresome seeing the same dead horses again being dragged out of their resting places to be mercilessly beat by the yardsticks of theist apologists. The good rabbi then continues by lamenting that by rejecting religion we reject all the art, music, and literature that it has inspired. What poppycock! There's a name for it. Argument from fear (sorry, I forgot the Latin version). And so the article goes. Nothing really new. Oh well...:-(
5
POPSDawkins/McGrath conversation A splendid debate between Dawkins and McGrath. Although I found myself not agreeing with all of Dawkins comments by and large I throughly enjoyed the exchange.
0
POPSChristian Nation Justification It's interesting that I've often pointed to the god-free Constitution to refute Conservative Christian's claims that America is a Christian Nation. I've never considered the dearth of justification to be had in the Christian Bible.
6
POPSLet me share the Good News with you... How true this is. I decided to simple not put up with it anymore. I have no proof but my gut tells me that proselytizing is the major complaint people have against Christians.
1
POPSThe Uphill Climb for Atheist's Rights While the door has been cracked ajar there is still much to be done. Free expression of non-belief is a right afforded all Americans but mainstream America doesn't seem ready to accept it.
4
POPSThose Crazy Atheists This is being used now as a major objection to Sam Harris's views on religion. Austin Cline provides a rational retort.
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