This is just too hilarious. I had to post it.

The Digg page:
http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Anti_God_Starbucks_cup_has_customer_steaming

The article:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55564

It is unfortunate the such a message can cause this much trouble. Such is the power of words. Even if someone disagrees with a message (note the one about the gay person further down the article page) doesn't mean it should be censored. Is it any surprise that a religious institution (Baylor U.) censored a message about homophobia? I can only call it bigotry.

Cheers!

[i]Chris,

I appreciate very much your reply and the subsequent qualifier. I truly want to commend you for the adamant way you set forth your position and the attempt to put yourself in the position of your detractor to uncover suspected incongruence.

Regarding the matter of the Christian nation issue, let me just say that I do not define or confine Christianity to any particular sect or denomination. It just seems to me that many (if not most) Western nations have moved away from some distinctively Christian principles. But again, this is a separate discussion that need not distract us from the main topics at hand.

Hi! first Blog. What about the value in placebos that actually help. Sugar pills therefore are medicine then. In that way 'faith' is really the miracle. Self-healing perhaps. It does not mean it isn't real. Like the sky to a blind man. There is not a sky for him but the sky is still truth. Don't get me wrong, I respect your beliefs, I just don't see what the big deal is. Whatever works is good. I appreciate feedback. Thanks!
asufi

[MOD EDIT - removed quoting from original blog post as it is not a quote]

HERE IS A COMPILATION OF A FEW HUMAN ANCESTOR FOSSILS:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/specimen.html

__________
The following was compiled by Yellow_Number_Five:
On Observed Speciation and Speciation Models:

Salamanders and Songbirds

More details on the salamanders, with additional links

London mosquitos

Another article on Himalayan song birds

My reading, on Thursday, of a missive concerning my dis-belief was met with the reactions I had expected. There were a few people who were a bit shocked, some people who were more on the apathetic side of things and those who were happy that I said what I said. This being Western Washington (it really does make a difference) no one was particularly offended. All in all, it was great!
Most of all, it was interesting to see the eye-brows raise and a few whispers tip-toe around. I was a tad nervous when starting off, but everything set in nicely and it felt good to throw myself and what I think out into the open. I have not been directly confronted by anyone yet; somewhat disappointing, but I suppose the lack of confrontation could be interpreted as a good sign.

Originally Posted Here

On Atheism

Author: Matthew (aka Mordagar)

    My friend Mark has posted a great deal of blogs here concerning his thoughts on God, so I thought I would post one as well. I mostly agree with what he says, though I don't always agree with how he says it. In the following essay, I will lay out a bit of my beliefs and why they correspond with atheism as opposed to theism. I didn't come to atheism lightly; it took a fair bit of searching on my part to arrive there. It started for me at about age 16; I began to realize there was more and more to Christianity that just wasn't tenable. My parents had raised me as a Christian, though even as a child I had trouble believing. I sincerely wanted to however, as I surely didn't want to end up in hell, and didn't want to face more immediate consequences such as my parents' chastisement.

[i]Chris,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to respond right away. Sometimes it may take a day or so before I can clear my docket and get down to offering the kind of answer you deserve.

Here’s my understanding of your remarks:

I. No True Scotsman Fallacy

I believe I gather what you’re aiming at here, but I’m not sure it accurately applies. There seems to be to be some ambiguity in the premise regarding what constitutes a Christian society (or nation), but the main thrust of your comment is well taken. Still, I don’t see how there can be any equivocation when there hasn’t been a bona fide “shoring up” of the challenged original. Be that as it may, it isn’t really germane to our discussion. (As an aside, some Supreme Court decisions have denominated the US as a “Christian” nation; other decisions do not so presuppose).

Due to some odd circumstances, the reading has been postponed until Thursday. I'm still not completely sure as to why. Though, It will still happen, as it always does. I still plan on writing a blog entry to explain how it all unravels. I may even post the actual missive as a blog post. But, it is a bit personal, so I will decide that later. It is also somewhat large, so I think I would have to post it to a separate webpage and link to it in a separate blog post here. We'll see.

Cheers! And Good Night.

See my earlier blog entry for part one. If you see anything here you think you've read before, it's because I plucked it from the great minds of other atheists.

[i]Chris,

Hello. My name is Michael, and I'm happy to discuss these issues with you. It appears that you and Josh have been exploring some pretty interesting subjects!

As to your question – it's a very good one. (I could argue about whether contemporary Western society is indeed "Christian", but for our purposes given the historical Christian roots of Western culture we can stipulate to that fact). Taking "punishments" in its broad sense I think you are right to reason that the prohibtions and penalties (e.g. execution) were not meant just for ancient Israel. I do think, however, that in some cases the Scriptures give flexibility and indicate the maximum allowable penalty. The Mosaic code has a high form of victim's rights embedded within it. For example, the maximum penalty for adultery is death for both the man and the woman (Lev. 20:10).