Atheists vs Believers

Here's a good exchange between a religious crank and an atheist. Read through these and ask yourself who the reasonable one is? Who want to have an open and honest discussion? Who would you want teaching your kid?

The bible-banger posts this, [Nine Year Old Challenges NASA], basically bragging that he's proud his teachings are reaching kids and helping them discover what stooges these science-types are. (Actually, I'll bet the whole episode was setup by the mother. The kid could have played a part but it sounds like the mother was the driving force to me.)

My favorite atheist, [P.Z. Myers at Pharyngula] responds with this, very good, [letter-he-wouldn't-actually-send] to the kid.

[The bible-banger responds]", well, sort of, as he hides the atheist's arguments from his readers and paints all atheists and the letter as evil.

Then the [Evil Atheist responds].

Well, once again, who would you want teaching your kids?

tnb

The End of the World.

PZ Meyers at Pharyngula is pissed but he nails it.

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/05/_the_world_didnt_end.php

It's the very same rot, the poison of religion that twists minds away from reality and fastens them on hellish bogeymen. They're demented fuckwits, every one, and the big lie rests right on the fundamental beliefs of supernaturalism and deities, not on the ephemera of one crank's bizarre interpretations.

I wished I'd said that.

tnb

Religious Cults and Kooks

A few links about the non-rapture and other religious crazies.

First, from my favorite Athiest Pharyngula

On the non-rapture: [Followers preparing for the end] and [Excuses, Excuses]

Believers, sheesh: [Forcing others to pray to your god] and [Forcing others to pay for your god]

No More Mister Nice on why a main-stream religious kook wouldn't make a specific rapture date prediction. [Rapture Fail]

Wy couldn't this (false rapture prediction) have happened to Pat Robertson or David Barton or John Hagee or any of several dozen prominent Christian rightists? I'd be thrilled to see those guys with egg on their faces. (Glenn Beck? What about him?)

But see, this would never happen to any of them, because however many kooky pronouncements those guys make, they never take their eyes off the terrestrial prize. Harold Camping, by contrast, really lost himself in this.

If someone died because of this crazy rapture prediction, Harold Camping and a few of his followers should go to jail.

tnb

Religious Kooks

People give away everything they have because some wacky preacher thinks a book can tell him when the world's gonna end. [The worlds gonna end]

So, Mitch Daniels, tell me again about all those evil athiests. [Mitch Daniels thinks athiests are evil]

Mellinger: Is there part of you that is bothered by the aggressive atheism of a [Sam] Harris, a [Christopher] Hitchens, a [Richard] Dawkins? And what I mean is... this atheism is a little different than atheism has been in the past because it does seek to convert people.

Daniels: I'm not sure it's all that new. People who reject the idea of a God -who think that we're just accidental protoplasm- have always been with us. What bothers me is the implications -which not all such folks have thought through- because really, if we are just accidental, if this life is all there is, if there is no eternal standard of right and wrong, then all that matters is power.

And atheism leads to brutality. All the horrific crimes of the last century were committed by atheists -Stalin and Hitler and Mao and so forth- because it flows very naturally from an idea that there is no judgment and there is nothing other than the brief time we spend on this Earth.

Everyone's certainly entitled in our country to equal treatment regardless of their opinion. But yes, I think that folks who believe they've come to that opinion ought to think very carefully, first of all, about how different it is from the American tradition; how it leads to a very different set of outcomes in the real world

tnb

Liars for Jesus

Liars For Jesus - The Religious Rights Alternate Version of American History

This site takes on pseudo-historian David Barton and Fox News crazy-person Glenn Beck.

tnb

Pharyngula vs Newt

Pharyngula vs Newt

I think I understand, though — it doesn't matter what you do, all that matters is what you say. The Republicans support a version of marriage that rests on tradition, authority, and masculine dominance, and everything they do props up one leg of the tripod or the other. Public piety reinforces religious tradition; the insistence that there is one true form of marriage, between a man and a woman, which represents a legal and social commitment is part of the authoritarian impulse; and of course, if a man steps out of the matrimonial bounds, it's an expression of machismo and patriotism and entitlement.

(newt) There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate. And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn't trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing it. I found that I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness.

Gingrich was cheating on his wife, but it's OK — because he also tells us that it was wrong and inexcusable, and then he wraps it all up in God and country to make excuses for it. Hypocrisy is acceptable as long as the right words are said to reinforce the public face of propriety.

Pharyngula wins.

The real power of religion. It allows believers to do anything they like and no matter how wrong it is, it's OK, because they're covered by their god. The rules apply to everyone else.

Thank god I'm an Atheist.

tnb

Pharyngula: On Religion

Pharyngula: Calvinball No More.

Religion has had a couple of millennia to make a case for its fundamental concepts: the existence of the supernatural, the existence of deities, the effectiveness of priestly intermediaries, etc. It has failed. It does not provide support in the form of evidence or logical consistency; it also fails to show any pragmatic utility. Religion never does what it claims to do. At what point do we learn from experience and simply reject the whole worthless mess out of hand? The abstract possibility that the god-wallopers will finally come up with a tiny scrap of evidence for their outrageous beliefs in the coming eon is not enough to win it credibility as a reasonable contender, either; you might just as well speculate that archaeologists could unearth artifacts from Middle Earth, or astronomers observing a galaxy far, far away will discover The Force. There is no cause to expect fictions and fantasies to manifest themselves as actual realities.

Religion plays Calvinball. There are no rules except what they make up as they go. You might think that maybe you ought to concede that they could get a score of 13 and beat your 12…but they are already convinced that their Q trumps your puny pair of digits. And if they get a score of Oatmeal-Sofa, they'll announce victory. Heck, if they somehow end up in the realm of numbers with you and get a 7, they'll declare that they win because they've got a Mersenne prime and we don't. Or because it's like a golf score. The mistake is to play the game in the expectation that the other side has the same respect for evidence that we do, or that evidence even matters.

well said

tnb

Business Elites: Religion: Ethics?

God-Washing Davos « The Business Ethics Blog

Asking religious leaders to help on business ethics? That's scary. Would you ask the Catholic church to consult on child day care? American Evangelicals to help teach your kids science? Israeli Jews about fair treatment of minorities? Consult with Muslim Fundamentalists about the treatment of women? Generally, religion and ethics mix like oil and water.

It sounds like a dog and pony show for the world's masses, an attempt to show that their leaders really care about ethical behavior.

tnb

Sunday Sacrilege: Pharyngula

A good, short commentary on religion from Pharyngula Sunday Sacrilege: Simple things

tnb

Atheist Sign

From Christ meets Bigfoot: More irreverent atheist ads set to hit Canadian cities

Atheists vs Believers

Atheists know more about religion than the believers. Imagine that.

Atheists Outdo Some Believers in Survey on Religion - NYTimes.com

Phone Calls from God

How do parents explain this to kids? The same way they explain Santa Claus.

Phone Calls From God

More good stuff from Pharyngula

Mitch Daniels - Christian Jihadist

Since he was interviewed on the national media this weekend, (Fox, I think) I thought I'd bring up my favorite "Mitch Daniels" quote.

atheism leads to brutality. All the horrific crimes of the last century were committed by atheists -Stalin and Hitler and Mao and so forth- because it flows very naturally from an idea that there is no judgment and there is nothing other than the brief time we spend on this Earth.

from .. Daniels talks candidly about his faith

Hey Mitch, Have you ever thought about how many people have died at the hands of Christianity through the ages?

Mitch Daniels can kiss my atheist ass.

Mitch Daniels - Religious Idiot

This is from possible 2012 presidential candidate, Mitch Daniels' interview posted on WANE.COM and found here: Daniels talks candidly about his faith.

Daniels:

.... And atheism leads to brutality. All the horrific crimes of the last century were committed by atheists -Stalin and Hitler and Mao and so forth- because it flows very naturally from an idea that there is no judgment and there is nothing other than the brief time we spend on this Earth.....

Yeah Mitch, like there's never been anything evil done in the name of religion. You fucking idiot.

One nation, Under God ?

I wonder if those right-wingers that always want to go back to their "Old America" would want to go back to 1954?

The Power of Prayer

There was a state-wide, day-of-prayer to stop the gulf oil leak on Sunday, June 20th and somewhere around then, maybe Monday the 21st I think, Sarah Palin passed the call for prayer along to her goofy followers.

Call for Day of Prayer

Palin's Call For Prayer

Then just three days later on Wednesday, June 23, an under-sea robot bumps into the cap forcing its temporary removal allowing even more oil to be dumped into the gulf.

Cap Removed

That prayer stuff really helps, eh?

Gulf Oil Spill

This should help. freakin' idiots.

FOX News - Praying to stop the leak.

CNN - Praying to stop the leak.

And our media thinks it deserves to be on the front page, more freakin' idiots.

Michelle Bachmann #2

She's also against these atheist, socialist, Marxist, etc.... liberals forcing their beliefs on god-fearing Christians but doesn't seem to have any problems with god-fearing Christians forcing their beliefs on atheist, socialist, Marxist, etc.... liberals.

God and Patriotism

A nice post at Pharyngula.

pharyngula

I agree,... the passage could have been written this week. It's a little scary really.

Two from Booman Tribune

Two good posts from the Booman Tribune.

A History Lesson for Sarah Palin

I doubt Ms. Palin or her supporters even care about history.


The Case for Peace in the Middle East