New York comedian Hari Kondabolu explains why praying to God about the small things (like your bowling score) may actually work:
(via Sepia Mutiny)
Author Archive for Hemant MehtaPage 2 of 76
Trevor Boeckmann was the president of the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers (UNIFI) this past year and he tells the story of what his group did for Blasphemy Day in the latest issue of Free Inquiry.
His group chalked the campus that day with the understanding that “religion does not deserve any special protection from criticism.”
What happened as a result?
I will never forget that night — scrawling the words of Richard Dawkins in front of the music building, quoting Deuteronomy in front of the campanile, and drawing stick figures of Muhammad on the way to the business building. The response was immediate. Curious onlookers approached, many of them engaging us in conversation. Shortly after came the defacing.
My phone started ringing off the hook. People all over campus were defacing our chalking. Some were walking around with water bottles, washing out what they could. Others were spitting on it or scratching it out with their feet. Still more were chalking back.
…
We started riding down a sidewalk and saw derogatory messages written in response to ours. Next to Thomas Jefferson’s “Question with boldness even the existence of a god” was the less elegant “Imagine my cock in your eye socket, fun times you cunts.” At the end of the sidewalk, hunched down by another of our chalkings, was the author of that sentiment. We raced to him and snapped some pictures, inquiring as to what he was doing. “Don’t worry,” he protested, “we’re fixing it.” We explained that we were the ones who originally did the chalking. He was rendered motionless by the realization. Then he lunged at my camera, managing only to graze it before sprinting away.
This is why Blasphemy Day is so important and why I’m now such a strong supporter of it.
It’s not about mocking religion or calling a believer names.
It’s about the freedom of speech and the idea that religion (along with other strongly-held beliefs) should be open to criticism.
No one should be able to silence you because they don’t like what you say.
Incidentally, the Center For Inquiry has launched their Campaign for Free Expression Video Contest. Make a video explaining why free expression is so important and you could win $2,000!
A couple days ago, I posted this story about how the non-denominational Dove World Outreach Center church in Florida was going to host an “International Burn A Koran Day” on September 11th.
I had a chance to ask the pastor of that church, Dr. Terry D. Jones, a few questions and he gave me the following responses. Feel free to discuss his answers in the comments.
I am posting them here unedited:
Who is the audience for your event?
We hope to reach Moslems and Non-Moslems to awake and awareness that the Koran is a book of lies and that the only true salvation is in Jesus Christ.
Do you think Muslims will turn to Christ as a result of this?
This is our prayer and desire that they would seriously reexamine their religion. They will then come to the conclusion that Islam is of the devil and Christianity is the only true religion.
While you may feel “Islam is a lie” (as it says on your website), do you think this is a smart thing to do strategically?
Yes, we believe it is a smart thing because it will get the attention of thousands of people hopefully causing them to reexamine their relationship with God.
Do you worry about being accused of spreading hate? Is any publicity good publicity?
No, we are not worried about spreading hate because we are spreading the truth. Truth is love and the hope of salvation.
Do you fear any backlash from the Muslim community?
Of course we do becaue Islam has proven itself to be a violent religion and Muhammed promoted violence in the Koran.
Have any of the media reports of this event portrayed you unfairly or inaccurately? Would you like to set the record straight on any particular issue?
We have been accused of being racist. We are not attacking a race. In other words, we are not attacking the Moslem. We love the Moslems and hope that they would come to true salvation. What we are attacking is Islam, the religion, and Sharia law, the political system.
It’s called an “International” event, but is any group/church outside of yours planning on joining you?
We have gotten responses from all around the world. Yes, we are expecting hundreds to attend.
Would you support a Muslim (or atheist) group that felt Christianity was a problem and made plans to burn copies of the Bible?
We, of course, would not support them, but we would support their first amendment rights of freedom of expression
How do you respond to Christians who feel this does more harm than good for spreading the faith?
This is the way that we have chosen to do it. To those Christians who disagree, we would encourage them to choose their own method of spreading the gospel and do so.
The Secular Coalition for America has started its Capitol Hill Scholars program — a fantastic step to get young atheists and Humanists involved in national government.
… Our goal is to encourage the best young minds within the secular community to work within the Washington, D.C. political system and establish a presence where federal policy is formed. Our Scholars take on unpaid internships with U.S. Congressional offices, and they are sponsored by the Secular Coalition for America through stipends that help to defray the costs of living during their internships.
By doing this important work, our scholarship winners gain invaluable experience in public policy at the heart of American government, while showing to the political world the best of what the secular community has to offer.
I can’t wait to see this program expand. It’s something conservative Christians have perfected over the years and we need to catch up quickly.
The SCA is also offering college students in the D.C. area a chance to serve in the Secular Coalition Policy Leadership Program this fall.
Anyone else wish you had these opportunities available to you when you were in college?
I’m totally jealous.
When I was a child, I remember hearing a myth that if I pushed down on my sister’s head, she wouldn’t grow taller. (She never liked when I acted on this hunch…) Of course, it made no sense. If people are going to grow, they’re going to grow. There’s really nothing I could do to stop it.
Looking back, that was harmless teasing.
This, however, is just frightening.
Breast ironing… it’s exactly what you think it is and it’s happening at a startling rate in Cameroon.
Girls as young as 9 have their breasts ironed as soon as they start to develop, which is happening earlier and earlier as nutrition improves. According to CurrentTV, half of young girls under age 9 who develop early suffer from the practice. Not surprisingly, breast ironing causes numerous health problems, such as burns and abscesses — to say nothing of the psychological damage it must do.
The purpose is to make young girls who develop early less attractive to men.
If you’re able to stomach it, watch this (NSFW) video:
Ironically, while breast ironing is all too common in Cameroon, female genital mutilation is rare there.
Horrified much?
(via Pharyngula)
It’s tough for me to answer that question because I’m not one of them.
Writer Lauri Lebo wrote an article last month about the “social cost of atheism” — and there’s something to that. We’re distrusted, virtually unelectable, automatically accused of being immoral, etc.
After reading that post, a family member asked her to write a piece about the social cost of being a Christian. Lebo wasn’t sure what to do:
When I asked this person to identify how she feels Christians are stigmatized in this country, she couldn’t articulate beyond the fact that sometimes she and her fellow Christians hold back from witnessing to people because they’re not sure how they’ll be received. I pointed out to her that she’s confusing rude behavior with stigma.
I’m sure it’s not always easy to say out loud you’re a Bible-believing Christian.
Frankly, I don’t mind. If there’s stigma associated with being a Christian, it’s because Christians brought it upon themselves. Their anti-gay, anti-choice, anti-science, hypocritical ways ought to bring shame to Christians, including even the small percentage of them who don’t act that way.
I assure you it’d be easier being a Christian if more of them stood on the right side of the issues.
And, of course, Christians dominate all levels of government and attend tax-free churches. They have their own TV channels, bookstores, and genre of music. I still say that writing “I volunteer with my church youth group” would look good on a job application while “I was president of my campus atheist group” would hurt you.
Lebo asks — and I want to ask it, too — “Do Christians face social stigma in America today?”
So this is the secret Phil Plait has been hiding from us this whole time…
That looks all sorts of awesome. Massive congrats to Phil on this — can you imagine a viewing block of this + Mythbusters? Nerdgasms will erupt everywhere.
(via Skepchick)
I’m off for the next several days to the Secular Student Alliance annual conference in Columbus, Ohio. It’s one of the most exciting conferences I attend each year and it definitely gets students excited about going back to school so they can get to work with their student groups.
Even if you’re not registered, the Saturday evening sessions are free and open to the public. That includes the acceptance of the Freethought Backbone Award by Dr. Ellery Schempp and the Keynote Address from Greta Christina on “What Atheists Can Learn from the LGBT Movement.”
I’ll be back on Tuesday. The blog’s on autopost until then!
Tonight at 10:00 p.m. (ET), several YouTube activists will be on “God Discussion” to “talk about their experiences which led to non-belief and/or activism.”
All the details about how to listen, how to call in with a question, and how to chat with others during the episode can be found here. The show lasts for two hours and you know you love the subject matter 
…
My friend and fellow activist Todd Stiefel recently appeared on the Ethics Matters radio show in North Carolina with host James Coley.
You can download the episode here (but only for the next few days).
One of the reasons Todd was on the show was to promote The Stiefel Freethought Foundation. While his foundation is notable for giving large donations to several national atheist/Humanist organizations, he may be even more commended for sponsoring the Second Chance Prom for Constance McMillen.
It’s nice to hear a conversation with someone who has made freethought activism his full-time passion and find out what makes him tick.
Leave it to Christians to teach the world how to show love.
To mark the anniversary of September 11th this year, the non-denominational Dove World Outreach Center church in Florida will host an “International Burn A Koran Day.”
Pastor Terry Jones says he got the idea from “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” and that since the announcement was made, people have been sending him copies of the Koran for the event.
According to the Facebook Event page, the purpose of this event is:
To bring to awareness to the dangers of Islam and that the Koran is leading people to hell. Eternal fire is the only destination the Koran can lead people to so we want to put the Koran in it’s place — the fire!
They call it an “international” event but as far as I know, they’re the only ones doing it…
(Jones has a website for his book, Islam Is Of the Devil, by the way, that’s just full of Christian love.)
It’s amazing: I don’t care for the Koran. I think people have the right to burn their own books. Yet you put it all together like this, and I feel disgusted.
I’ve contacted Jones with a few questions and I’ll post his responses in full if I hear from him…
(via Religion Clause)
In Bhutan, a new law may penalize Christians who proselytize and try to convert you:
The amendment bill would punish “proselytizing” that “uses coercion or other forms of inducement” –- vaguely enough worded, Christians fear, that vigilantes could use it to jail them for following the commands of Christ to feed, clothe and otherwise care for the poor.
“Now, under section 463 [of the Penal Code of Bhutan], a defendant shall be guilty of the offense of proselytization if the defendant uses coercion or other forms of inducement to cause the conversion of a person from one religion or faith to another,” reported the government-run Kuensel newspaper on July 9.
…
… the National Council had proposed that offenses under the proposal be classified as misdemeanors, punishable by one to less than three years in prison.
They don’t specifically call out Christianity in the law, but that’s the underlying subtext. It’s not like Buddhists are knocking on your door.
But since attempting to convert other people is a requirement of their faith, some Christians are rightly worried that this is really just a law to crack down on their freedom of religion. Even helping the poor may be seen as an underhanded way to spread the faith.
What qualifies as proselytizing, anyway?
Bhutan: *sneeze*
Christian: Bless you.
Bhutan: YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL!
For what it’s worth, Christians make up under 1% of the population in Bhutan and don’t have any churches in the country — this proposed law would just be another in a long line of rulings to hamper the practice of Christianity.
Here’s the kicker:
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but the government has not officially recognized the presence of Christians, whose practice of faith remains confined to their homes.
One government official tried to explain how this anti-conversion law would be justified given the whole “freedom of religion” thing:
Home and Culture Minister Lyonpo Minjur Dorji told Compass that Bhutan’s government had “no problems” with Christianity or any other faith.
“But Bhutan is a small country, with a little more than 600,000 people, and a majority of them are Buddhist,” Dorji said. “We have Hindus, also mainly in southern parts. So why do we need more religions?”
You don’t. No one does. But everyone has a right to practice whatever faith they want, and the Christian demands are relatively harmless.
This is ridiculous and completely hypocritical. I’m an atheist who finds Christian proselytizing annoying as hell. But I defend their right to annoy the crap out of me. Here’s hoping all of you do, too.
(Thanks to Edward for the link)
Here’s Blair Scott, of American Atheists, referring to the Shirley Sherrod incident:
Critical thinking skills and the ability to use rational thought are vital to the survival of the species. We saw that break down this week as every politician (right, left, and center) and every news outlet (right, left, and center) took the word of a single person and ran with it. There was no verification of facts, no burden of proof, no skepticism, no questioning of the source, etc. The accumulation of logical fallacies was like watching an algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico: spreading its devastating effects the bigger it gets.
Well put, don’t you think?
Here’s your brief lesson in Islamic fashion (via The Islamic Standard and the BBC):
And here’s the big question right now: Should Muslim women be allowed to wear burkas, niqabs, and hijabs?
It’s possible your answer is Yes — Muslim women have the right to choose what they wear. No one should take that right away from them.
It’s possible your answer is No — This clothing is oppressive and subjugates women. In the words of French Parliamentarian Andre Gerin, the veil may be a marginal issue but “behind the iceberg is a black tide of fundamentalism which is happening in certain parts of our country.” It doesn’t matter if Muslim women want to wear it. In places like airports where security is important, cameras should be able to get a glimpse of your face and the veil becomes a security hazard. Not to mention it’s necessary in schools and business to have face-to-face communication and eye contact. Headscarves have no place in a secular world in which women are supposed to be equal to men.
It’s possible you go both ways — In public places, women should have the freedom to choose what they wear, but private institutions like schools and restaurants should have permission to ban them.
There’s a long, controversial history of “Burka Bans” in Western Europe. For examples, Turkey currently bans all headscarves in universities. Last week, the lower house of parliament in France completely banned the niqab and burka — the Senate will vote on the issue in a couple months.
Most recently, Syria banned women from wearing the niqab at all universities, public and private. (Wearing a hijab is still ok, though.)
“We have given directives to all universities to ban niqab-wearing women from registering,” said an anonymous government official in an Associated Press report.
The ban is intended to secure Syria’s identity as a secular nation. Bassam Qadhi, a Syrian women’s rights activist, said that while many describe the choice to wear a niqab as a “personal freedom,” she believes the religious practice of requiring women to wear niqabs is oppressive.
I’m personally not sure how I feel about this. Right now, I side more with the civil liberty people — the symbolic meaning behind the headscarves be damned. Despite all the horrible things that burka stands for, we have no right telling women what they cannot wear.
Reader Matthew agreed and put it this way:
I would just as soon see fewer face veils myself, but I don’t agree with restricting a person’s freedom of expression in this way.
Are we on the wrong side of this issue?
Should all veils (in any form) be banned, only certain ones, or none at all?
After hearing about the Catholic Church’s recent misogynistic declaration that female ordination is in the “same category of crime under church law as clerical sex abuse of minors,” the Denver Post‘s Mike Keefe drew this:
I don’t know whether to laugh or weep.
Anyone who still remains in the Catholic Church should have to explain why they belong to this awful organization and why they accept this (misguided at best, horrific at worst) treatment of women and children.
(via Humanist Network News)
There’s a meetup next month on the south side of Chicago for anyone who might be in the area:
Where: Jenny’s SteakHouse (20 Kansas Street Frankfort, IL 60423)
When: Friday, August 13th, 6:00-11:00 p.m.
You can just show up, but it’d be great if people could sign up on Facebook or Atheist Nexus.
(Thanks to William for the link)
Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church will be picketing outside Comic-Con in San Diego Thursday afternoon from 1:15 -2:00 p.m.
You may be asking: Why?
Are you kidding?! If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent — so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.
Right…
There will be some counter-picketers there and it’d be great to add more to that crowd.
If you go, remember to be funny and clever if you bring signs. Don’t give them any ammo.
And if you’re there, remember to take pictures and send them to me
(Thanks to Tyler for the link!)
…
***Update***: Reader Mark took this great pic (click to enlarge):
The Catholic Church has issued a declaration which puts “female ordination in same category of crime under church law as clerical sex abuse of minors.”
[Insert your own joke about how that means the Church will simply ignore it.]
But think about that one: Ordaining a woman is now in the same category as raping a little boy.
Phil Ferguson has written a brief but straight-forward letter to the women who remain in the Catholic Church.
You must now realize that you will never hold the same status as men; you will never be seen as an equal. It is time for you to stand up for yourself. It is time to take your money from the people that are holding you down. It is time for you to show your strength. It is time to use your feet and walk away from the Catholic Church. It is time to take your family, your spouse, your children and leave. If not for you, then do it for your daughters and sons. It is time for you to stand up and break the cycle.
I’m with Phil.
I really want to know why any self-respecting women would remain in a Church that treats them so poorly.
Vickie Sandell Stangl, the president of the Great Plains (Kansas) Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, gave a godless invocation before a meeting of the Wichita City Council recently.
Believe it or not, some council members weren’t happy about it…
Council member Sue Schlapp later blessed the meeting since the invocation didn’t. And people who oppose prayers during city business meetings and council members debated the issue during the public comment period a few minutes later.
…
“We do open the invocation up to all,” Council member Lavonta Williams said. “I don’t think it’s just for us that we’re asking for in the prayers. I think that we’re asking that this day be blessed as well. I for one would like to continue to be blessed before our meeting.”
…
Council member Paul Gray said all societies have religion and that it has a place in public life. As he spoke, Sandell Stangl approached the podium to respond. Gray preempted that, saying: “And, ma’am, this is not an open debate.”
Gray’s right: It’s not an open debate. It’s settled law. There can be no government endorsement of religion.
It’s a tough order to vote them all out of office, but in the meantime, The Wichita Eagle has a poll for you to crash. And since PZ is on strike, we should take charge:
As I write this, the Yes and No votes are virtually the same.
Go make me proud!
(Thanks to Jon for the link!)
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