151. The empty myths peddled by evangelists of unbelief

Comment #97087 by Gymnopedie on December 11, 2007 at 11:43 am

Hilarious. Sad.

152. This deadly religious resistance to vaccinations

Comment #96906 by Gymnopedie on December 11, 2007 at 4:42 am

It is sad that there is a resistance to vaccines in the US, as well. I wouldn't say the resistance stems from religion, but rather it stems from a lack of critical thinking and outright pseudoscientific thinking. But I still don't understand why there is such a resistance.

And are the Mullahs in Africa really saying not to get vaccines because it is from the "evil west"? Is this just stone age thinking or is it more complicated than I see here?

153. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96499 by Gymnopedie on December 10, 2007 at 4:23 pm

Riley,

it seems embarrassingly obvious you have never been involved in any atheist activism or anti-religious activism. Putting up nice signs about the atheists in American history is great and all, but completely ignorable. You just don't want to cause any ripples, which is exactly why atheists/nonbelievers have the not-so-American status in America. It is advertisement, whether you like it or not, and powerful advertisement is the key, not fluff-junk (no matter how educational).

154. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96379 by Gymnopedie on December 10, 2007 at 1:04 pm

Riley, I think your general idea of the fuzzy feel-good holiday season is the same as mine, but I think you miss the point. The point is that if one religious group can have public space (which is unconstitutional), then any religious group (religious in the general categorical sense) can put up any display they want.

And also, the sign says "Imagine no Religion", not "Imagine no Religious People", or anything worse.

Was the sign in bad taste? Probably. I think the sign would still be controversial even without the "Imagine no Religion" poster, just as the Tree of Knowledge display was controversial.

155. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96322 by Gymnopedie on December 10, 2007 at 10:57 am

It would be interesting to see a movement on the national level like this. If the Christians and other religious folk put up their material, atheists and nonreligious folk have the same right to put up theirs. It is as simple as that!

I am still stunned that so many citizens don't understand what Freedom of Speech is. If you screen or censor speech, it isn't free!

156. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96253 by Gymnopedie on December 10, 2007 at 8:35 am

The Christians have put up a giant tree to block the sign... Isn't this symbolic of their mindset? "We dun like wut yer sayin! Letz block it!" They act like such children it makes me embarrassed we have common ancestry.

157. Highway to hysteria

Comment #94076 by Gymnopedie on December 4, 2007 at 5:59 pm

Reading PZ's comments and everyone elses' comments, I thought I was gonna see a human sacrifice or something. This is pretty typical religious behavior as far as I can see, except maybe the part about the highway of Jesus.

158. Boy dies of leukemia after refusing treatment for religious reasons

Comment #92026 by Gymnopedie on November 29, 2007 at 6:02 pm

A 14 is not an adult and can hardly make mature decisions (at least not regarding something this important), no matter how firmly he insists he believes in them. What a tragedy. All for an ambiguous verse in some mythology's holy book... sad.

159. Dutch lawmaker planning film criticizing the Quran

Comment #91569 by Gymnopedie on November 28, 2007 at 2:55 pm

What criterion would you use to compare the Koran and the Bible? Which denigrates unbelievers more? Which calls for more warfare against unbelievers? I'd say the Koran wins on both fronts.

The Bible calls nonbelievers "fools" and damns them to hell, but that's it. The Koran (and Hadith) call nonbelievers worthless maggots and condemns them to hell, but goes further and demands they be fought, taxed, or converted.

Anyway, Fanusi hit the nail on the head. When you insult/question Christianity, you get in a heated argument, at worst. When you insult/question Islam, you get death threats and quite possibly a knife in your back. Personally, I have never received a death threat from anyone besides Muslims while being involved in Secular activism.

Islam needs to be ridiculed in order to progress to the 21st century. Indeed, the moral equivalence BS needs to end.

160. This Friday: Debate between Dan Dennett and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #91556 by Gymnopedie on November 28, 2007 at 2:40 pm

Is anyone else finding the whole Dinesh situation reminiscent of Kent Hovind? They defend intellectually hollow concepts, yet seem to get audiences to cheer at their every sentence like - well - cheerleaders at a sports game. I view the whole thing as some sort of cosmic comedy.

161. Dutch lawmaker planning film criticizing the Quran

Comment #91499 by Gymnopedie on November 28, 2007 at 1:11 pm

I have to say I had a similiar reaction as you, Lord Asriel. The criticism of the Koran might be legit, but some of his plans sound outright fascist in themselves. I welcome the criticism, nonetheless, even if I disagree with the person's politics.

162. This Friday: Debate between Dan Dennett and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #91494 by Gymnopedie on November 28, 2007 at 1:00 pm

Oh dear, I fear Dinesh D'Souza likes to play the role of punching bag.

163. Islam and the modern world don't mix

Comment #91438 by Gymnopedie on November 28, 2007 at 9:57 am

A great article. Quite exceptional.

It baffles me that some people are afraid to condemn the 200 lashes or this incident outright. It seems some issues people might tip-toe around, but with something this obvious, all I can say is "Huh?". If I lived in one of these countries I would have been executed or jailed long ago. It is absolutely disturbing to contemplate living in a society where something so benign is regarded as so malignant and criminal.

Am I the only one who feels like they are reading a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland in all these articles? Naming Teddy Bears certain names will get you in serious trouble, but "honor" killing your daughter who has been raped, A-Okay!

164. Turkey probes atheist's 'God' book

Comment #91411 by Gymnopedie on November 28, 2007 at 8:55 am

Geeez. I was just thinking to myself yesterday that Turkey might finally be swinging back towards Western values. Guess not...

It is strange how Turkey is often referred to as the "beacon of hope" for Islamic reform, but then filth like this surfaces. The fact that this became an issue is bad enough. If it goes any further than this, Turkey retains its status as ridiculous and insane.

165. My life under a fatwa

Comment #91261 by Gymnopedie on November 27, 2007 at 8:11 pm

Spinoza – Yes, child marriage at the ages of 6 to 9 might have been common in the time. The problem with Islam here isn't just with the fact it hasn't changed its stance on this, it is that Muslims still insist that Muhammad is the greatest and most perfect example of a person in the history of the world. I in no way said that Muhammad was the first and only man in the world to marry an extremely young girl and have sex with her, so I'm not sure what the criticism about not knowing world/religious history is about.

We must absolutely judge historical norms in our time when people claim that historical norm should still be the norm and is a moral one in our time. Hopefully we can all see the difference here. Also, I definitely would not consider any moral judgment made in the past immune to criticism. Why can't we look back and say if something is moral or immoral? I can only assume we can look back at history and find moral reforms to praise that people have started. This means we recognize that something must have been immoral prior to the reform. Maybe there is some obvious point here I am missing.

Bonzai - The general consensus, according to the Hadith, is that the marriage was consummated at the age of 9, which is to say enough for this topic. Muhammad was the one that set the precedent that once a girl begins to menstruate, she is a woman (and marriageable).

166. My life under a fatwa

Comment #91230 by Gymnopedie on November 27, 2007 at 5:40 pm

Vinelectric, I'd love to know where this reform in Islam is happening (or at least in any relevant form). She simply means (I assume) that Islam and Islamism are one in the same. The closer you adhere to the Koran and the Hadiths, the more you are going to violate human rights. Advocating warfare against the unbelievers, beating women, raping nine year old girls... this is part of Islam and cannot be readily avoided, or at least I don't see how. If Muhammad is the ultimate and perfect example of a human life, then raping a nine year old girl is Okay!

How do Muslims reform this? View it as a metaphor?

167. My life under a fatwa

Comment #91227 by Gymnopedie on November 27, 2007 at 5:27 pm

Her "hard right" views aren't that absurd... many libertarians advocate doing away with the minimum wage, for example. As for the outbreeding topic, it seems like the answer is somewhat commonsense. As mentioned earlier, when women are essentially enslaved by the male population, they lose their reproductive rights and simply become incubators. Why wouldn't they try to outbreed the "infidels"? The males can basically abandon responsibility to his children and have multiple women in his possession to have them birth children to him. That isn't pointing out any fact that it is happening, but it makes it seem less absurd when you try to understand the context of the situation. Once you go head deep in this shit-for-brains barbarism, anything goes!

168. Secular Fundamentalists: There is no such thing...and the AAI conference doesn't make atheism a movement, either.

Comment #88284 by Gymnopedie on November 15, 2007 at 6:38 pm

I'm in complete agreement with OhioAtheist. Keep up the good work RRS.

169. 'Expelled' Movie: The Extended Trailer

Comment #88222 by Gymnopedie on November 15, 2007 at 12:27 pm

I'm not sure why everyone is caught up with the ID movie trailer, most of the event is a complete laugh-fest of spouting the first stupid thing that comes to mind.

170. Jesus Camp: A scary movie that should frighten us all

Comment #85363 by Gymnopedie on November 5, 2007 at 3:00 pm

Football would never be played by true Christians, because Christians aren't allowed to touch any pig product (think "pig skin"). Look it up in the good ol' book of Deuteronomy.

171. Response to Dinesh D'Souza op-ed

Comment #85239 by Gymnopedie on November 5, 2007 at 10:48 am

Dinesh D'Souza: Dishonest or Deluded?

Probably a good mix of both. His example, as the author points out, of using Thomas Jefferson as the Christian founder of the nation shows a blatant ignorance of American history, not to mention a very sloppy attempt to rewrite American history. He does avoid calling Jefferson a Christian outright, but I think he implies it quite conspicuously. Dishonest? For sure.

172. Debate between Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #81213 by Gymnopedie on October 24, 2007 at 12:23 pm

I can't figure out if Dinesh prefers to misrepresent his opposition's arguments or ignore the arguments. His arguments clearly show he hasn't understood Dawkins's, Hitchens's, and Harris's books that he claims to have read. IMO Hitchens might as well be debating a Bobo doll here.

I am a bit surprised that Hitchens received the large support he did in this venue.

173. Deep in the Sea, Imagining the Cradle of Life on Earth

Comment #79460 by Gymnopedie on October 17, 2007 at 10:04 am

After reading articles like this and articles on astronomy, I can't fathom why anyone would continue to hold an interest in the Bible or any sort of religious nonsense. The discoveries at the bottom of the ocean are far more fascinating than any gospel, not to mention more intellectually fulfilling.

174. We aim to misbehave

Comment #35121 by Gymnopedie on April 26, 2007 at 9:17 am

I always cringe when I hear an atheist compare his/her cause to the black civil rights movements or something of the like. Atheists never (or very rarely) have had to face unshackling themselves from the bonds of slavery or living in constant fear of being lynched. I do not say this to diminish the atheist cause in any way, but I just want to be realistic about our situation. The Feminist movement is the example I always use as a parallel to the atheist movement and this article truly expresses my feelings.

As for atheists facing discrimination, violence, and prejudice, there is absolutely no question we do. I am the vice president of an atheist organization at Wayne State University in Detroit (called SANE: Society of Agnostics, Nonbelievers, and the Enlightened) and at our last event on campus we had a bomb threat called in to the building we were having the event at. Here is a link to the article the school Newspaper (The South End) released after the occurrence: http://thesouthend.typepad.com/tsenews/2007/03/bomb_threat_emp.html#more.

Student Organizations at Wayne State University have the chance to put up display cases in the Student Center (high traffic building on campus with many facilities). The display cases are very large glass enclosures that are visible upon entering the building. Our second display case we had was entitled "God Hates Women". It cited verses from the Bible (and Koran) that show blatant disrespect toward women and promote oppression of women. It received much attention and a newspaper article was written about it: http://thesouthend.typepad.com/tsenews/2007/03/student_center_.html. To see what kind of opposition we have - as well as what kind of support we receive - read the comments left at the bottom of each article. Despite bomb threats and numerous death threats, our organization presses on undaunted and we continue to receive massive support.