godlessness
pharyngula | July 6, 2008If you're listening to Atheists Talk radio right now, you've been hearing a lot about the secular intent of the founding of the US government. The LA Times has an article on the Jefferson Bible — that greatly abridged version of the Bible that Jefferson made by chopping out all the miracles and unbelievable stuff, reducing it to a work of New Testament philosophy. The article asks,
"Can you imagine the reaction if word got out that a president of the United States cut out Bible passages with scissors, glued them onto paper and said, 'I only believe these parts?'"
My reaction would be "…
pharyngula | July 6, 2008Tune in at 9am Central time for Atheists Talk radio — today, it's a special Independence Day program, with Edward Tabash discussing the historical and legal status of the separation of church and state.
pharyngula | July 4, 2008I'm about to head off to get coffee and attend this conference and give my own talk, and then zoom, right after the talk I have to head off to the airport and fly back home. I'll be back this evening, but until then, you'll all have to entertain yourselves in the comments…which you all seem very good at, anyway.
Just to get you started: Pat Condell.
Maybe one of the fundagelical creobots haunting Pharyngula right now will find something to rave about in that.
pharyngula | July 1, 2008Karl Giberson is interviewed about the subject of his new book, Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). It looks interesting, in an aggravating sort of way, and it's on my long list of books to read and use to put dents in my wall. The interview reminds me why I detest the rarefied apologetics of sympathetic theologians as much as I do the bleatings of the purblind literalists — neither one even notices the fundamental flaws in their core of belief.
Let me be nice first. Giberson does say a number of eminently sensible things — he's a physicist by…
pharyngula | June 29, 2008Today is the day of the GLBT Pride Parade in the Twin Cities, so naturally today's Atheists Talk radio is all about the fight against discrimination and for equal rights for all. Tune in at 9am!
If you're godless, there's nothing to prevent you from supporting civil rights for everyone without regard for their sexual orientation. That doesn't seem to be the case if you're Catholic, however.
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has told a liberal Roman Catholic church in Minneapolis that it can't hold its annual gay pride prayer service because the event goes against the teachings of…
pharyngula | June 27, 2008You have an opportunity to participate in an Atheist Coming Out Party. You should! It'll be fun! Atheists always throw the best parties and have the best and smartest conversations!
grrlscientist | June 23, 2008tags: Religion is Bullshit, George Carlin, humor, comedy, streaming video
As usual these days, I was awake until the sun came up. So in the wee hours of the morning, I learned that one of my favorite people, George Carlin, died. I've always loved George Carlin even though I've never had the privilege to see him perform live. I especially enjoyed George's comments about religion, but he is so brilliant that I "especially enjoy" many things that he had to say. I know that he lived a long and wonderful life, with little mental or physical deterioration to rob him of his dignity and integrity,…
pharyngula | June 23, 2008Sad news in the war against reverence: one of our heroes, George Carlin, has died of heart failure at the age of 71. This was a man to whom nothing was sacred, and that was how he inspired us.
pharyngula | June 21, 2008Don't forget to tune in to Atheists Talk radio at 9am Central. This week, it's a celebration of Juneteenth and a discussion of African American freethinkers and civil rights.
pharyngula | June 17, 2008I just got around to reading this very nice article by Gregory Paul and Phil Zuckerman, which we godless heathen ought to find reassuring and optimistic. They describe how religion is fading, even here in the United States, and that it is a natural consequence of economic trends. In particular, the main reason atheism is growing isn't that we've got lots of wild-eyed proselytizers, it's simply that security and an absence of fear make religion irrelevant and even unattractive.
Rather than religion being an integral part of the American character, the main reason the United States is the only…
pharyngula | June 15, 2008Don't forget to tune in to Atheists Talk radio at 9am Central! Today Mark Borrello will be talking about the grand Evolution 2008 conference that will be taking place this coming week in Minneapolis (I'll be there — I'm even giving a talk in the education session on Sunday). You may recall Mark as the historian and philosopher of science who ably ripped apart John West's claims that 'darwinism' leads to fascism.
Also on the bill: George Erickson, an author. I don't know much about him; let's find out!
pharyngula | June 8, 2008Don't miss this one! At 9am Central, Atheists Talk radio will feature the physicist James Kakalios — ask him your questions about superheroes. Then August Berkshire will discuss the problem of evil…it must have something to do with supervillains, I guess.
pharyngula | June 7, 2008Dear Sir/Madam
I wish to complain about the fact that Katie Kish doesn't like my kind. I am quite certain that the universe has a law that requires that everyone find me likable, and I am surprised that the internets allow disagreement. I would appreciate your attention on this matter as I consider this deeply offensive.
(OK, yeah, atheist meetings need much more diversity, and more spokespeople would be great so everyone doesn't have to look at the same faces all the time. But we have to respect "spirituality"? Yuck. Bleh. Empty noise.)
grrlscientist | June 1, 2008tags: atheism, godlessness, religion, philosophy, Epicurus, The Epicurean Paradox
The Epicurean Paradox
Is God willing to prevent evil, but unable?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
The he is malevolent.
Is he both able, and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God.
~Epicurus (Greek philosopher, BC 341-270)
pharyngula | May 29, 2008I'm impressed: the car dealership has backed down on their offensive ad. Their apology is a bit disingenuous — they claim they really don't remember approving the ad, and they intended it to be humorous, which I don't really believe — but the letter writing was effective. The minority who phoned in a few cuss words … not so much.
grrlscientist | May 27, 2008tags: doctor seuss bible, comedy, humor, creationists, streaming video
This streaming video is an amusing but nonsensical reading of Doctor Seuss's Bible -- hey, it's kinda like the real Bible, isn't it? [2:29].
pharyngula | May 26, 2008A Ford dealership is taking a novel approach to advertising: by telling a small subset of their potential customer base to shut up.
But did you know that 86% of Americans say they believe in God? Since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians, who believe in God, we at Keiffe & Sons Ford wonder why we don't tell the other 14% to sit down and shut up. I guess maybe I just offended 14% of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case then I say that's tough, this is America folks, it's called free speech. None of us at Keiffe & Sons Ford are…
pharyngula | May 25, 2008Tune in at 9am Central to Atheists Talk — this week, it's humanists and godless soldiers. (In case you're wondering what a Minnesota zip code might be, you can try 56267.)
pharyngula | May 24, 2008There's a whole site dedicated to polling visitors on one question: Do you believe in God?. Just as it is, it's a testimonial to the worthlessness of internet polls (100% of the residents of Saint Lucia are atheists! n=1), so it seems superfluous to send the Atheist Legion in, but hey, go ahead, push this poll towards more disbelief. As a special bonus, if you come from a small country you'll be able to wield greater unrepresentative power!
pharyngula | May 23, 2008Yeah, I know, I already had you listen to our drecky Christian radio station earlier this week, but today at 5pm Central, KKMS-AM will have the president of Minnesota Atheists, August Berkshire, online for an interview titled "Understanding and Responding to Atheist's Beliefs". It could be interesting, just for the experience of seeing how these clowns treat August (I already know that August will be polite to them.)