Atheist vs. Theist
12 Step Program for Recovering Ex-Theists?
Submitted by Hambydammit on April 5, 2009 - 10:50pm.I found an atheist blog called "Heaving Dead Cats." Since I have a deadly Rambo Kitty as my personal assistant, I had to see what was going on over there. One post in particular caught my eye. It's 12 steps for ex-theists. Historically, I don't tend to go in for this kind of thing, but the more I've been thinking about it lately, the more I'm becoming convinced that a little schtick could be good for atheism. People like bumper stickers, and the nuts and bolts of a scientific worldview are difficult to learn and harder to explain to others. Maybe we need more simple, catchy gimmicks.
Anyway, here's the LINK and here are the 12 steps:
1. We admit we were oppressed by religion and that our lives had become incomprehensible and unmanageable under the guise of faith.
North Dakota recognizes the obvious, defeats bill to make zygotes "persons"
Submitted by Hambydammit on April 5, 2009 - 9:49pm.For some reason unknown to me, very few people seem to grasp the legal insanity that would result from granting personhood to fetuses. Luckily, the North Dakota Senate recognized the danger, and struck down a bill that would have done just that.
The Senate voted 29-16 Friday to defeat the controversial House Bill 1572, known as the personhood bill, with no debate.
Sen. Curt Olafson, R-Edinburg, the only person who spoke on it, said the bill would create more serious legal consequences for the state than any bill he’s ever seen as a lawmaker.
...He said it “reaches far beyond protecting human rights” into unrelated consequence because it declares all fertilized embryos persons for the purposes of myriad laws that have nothing to do protecting human rights.A physician “faces an impossible dilemma” if needing to treat a pregnant woman for cancer that could harm a fetus or embryo, or a woman experiencing an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, he said.
Please define "religion" and "religious"
Submitted by Cpt_pineapple on April 5, 2009 - 6:49pm.A post in Hamby's blog got me to thinking since most atheists here want to erdicate, yet I haven't really seen a consistent definition of what it means for something to be a "religion" or a person to be "religious"
I'll just repost part of the comment I'm talking about here
Under many of the definitions of religion from anti-religious atheists I see, religion will still be here even if everybody was atheist. Since religion by definition entails God belief, then this just doesn’t pan out.
i.e some will persist that Marxism/Nationalism/911 conspiracies/ etc…. are religious
Do you see how if you say “Religion is a scourge upon the Earth” different people will think different things? They may think “Yeah X Y Z is religious and a scourge upon the Earth” while you may or may not think X Y Z could fit into YOUR definition of religious. Take the three examples I listed above.
You see? So now you think Q W T are religious, Kevin thinks L T N are religious, Joe the anti-religious atheist thinks A B T are religious etc…..
You are bound to overlap somewhere, but you could still be talking about totally different things.
So tell me, is there a consensus of the definition of "religion" and "religious" at least here?
More offerings from the religion of peace.
Submitted by Kevin R Brown on April 5, 2009 - 2:35am.Vid more or less speaks for itself.
Islam = Fun Times
I lack the non-belief in God
Submitted by Anonymous on April 4, 2009 - 10:48am.Therefore, the burden of proof is on atheists. I do not have to defend my position. It is up to you to prove to me that God does not exist.
And if you say that you lack the lack of non-belief in God, then I will just say that I lack the lack of lack of non-belief in God.
So hahahahaha.
Great video on Openmindedness
Submitted by Hambydammit on April 3, 2009 - 6:54pm.Here's a ten minute explanation of why it's silly to call scientists or atheists closed-minded, and why once again, it's just theist projection.
Raise Your Hand if You Think This is NOT Indoctrination
Submitted by Hambydammit on April 3, 2009 - 5:01pm.
I mean, really... what else is there to say about this? We're taking young children and telling them that wearing magical pajamas will protect them from the invisible evil spirits that want to do bad things to them while they sleep.
I can't even work up a chuckle about how absurd this is. It's sad. I feel so very sorry for these poor children.
The Religious Agenda and the Morning After Pill
Submitted by Hambydammit on April 3, 2009 - 4:48pm.We in America have been told a lot of lies about sex, reproduction, and sexual health. A recent federal district court ruling in Tummino v. Torti has illuminated at least part of the system of corruption and anti-science religious agenda we’ve been subjected to over the past eight years. Judge Korman ruled that the FDA knowingly engaged in arbitrary and capricious decisionmaking regarding the emergency contraception known as “Plan B,” or the “morning after pill.”
For the rest of this post, I will use the words “religious” and “political” interchangeably. I do so with intent and without apologies. Anyone who doubts that the Bush administration was a theocracy needs to have their head examined. The evidence could not be more clear. At any rate, we should be familiar with the way the religious have pushed their agenda. We got a blueprint from the Shrub himself when he invaded Iraq. First, he stirred up emotional outrage, with the help of an unrelated terrorist attack. Then, he spread lies about the Iraqi government hiding WMDs, and trying to buy yellow cake uranium. Then, he strong-armed congress into doing his will with accusations of Anti-Americanism hanging over the heads of any dissenters.
OT Stories - Myths,Legends, Parables, or Real
Submitted by pauljohntheskeptic on April 1, 2009 - 10:24am.In discussions with Caposkia on his thread regarding his recommended book (New Atheist Crusaders) we have mutually agreed to open a discussion on the OT discussing reality versus myth for stories in the OT. My position is that the OT is largely myths and legends with little basis in reality. There may be stories that may be considered literature as Rook has suggested though it still incorporates myths and legends as well in my opinion. The intent is to examine major stories and discuss the mythical components versus the interpretations by Christians and Jews that these events were real. Caposkia has indicated in many of his posts that he agrees that some of the stories are reality based and in those areas I'm interested in understanding his reasoning or any other believer for acceptance versus others where he does not consider them to be. It may be there are a few where we may find agreement as to a story being a myth or it being real though my inclination is little more is reality based other than kingdoms existed in Palestine that were called Israel and Judah and they interacted with other nations in some fashion.
Texas to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the Bronze Age
Submitted by Kevin R Brown on March 31, 2009 - 7:01pm.Mr804 found this story a few days ago.
If you're in Canada or America (nevermind Texas), this is rather bad news. The Texas board of education has a lot of sway over what publishers will and will not print in their textbooks because of their overwhelming purchasing power. Since you can only buy what publishers release, well, guess what? Now everybody gets to recieve a watered down curriculum.
Watcher? Dead Again? Your state is broken (again).
Fix it!