religion keeps the poor from mudering the rich…
One More Thing Always question authority and power. Today I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.” I think that’s right, but it’s also only part of the story. I think that the judicial system is also what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. And […]
Survey: Support for terror suspect torture differs among the faithful – CNN.com
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey. The Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture rallied on Capitol Hill in March 2008. More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — […]
Valerie Tarico: Ancient Sumerian Origins of the Easter Story
Let’s start with the first part of the myth. Inanna and Jesus both travel to a big city, where they are arrested by soldiers, put on trial, convicted, sentenced to death, stripped of their clothes, tortured, hung up on a stake, and die. And then, after 3 days, they are resurrected from the dead. Now […]
reminds me of…. something…
Death is unnatural You’re special Bad things shouldn’t happen to you. Pain is wrong Life should not hurt. It’s a Whiffle World. Tragedy is a synonym for calamity Bad things are never consequences of one’s own action or inaction. There will be justice Bad people get punished. You, however, will be forgiven. Principles of the […]
Attenborough reveals creationist hate mail for not crediting God | World news | The Guardian
Sir David Attenborough has revealed that he receives hate mail from viewers for failing to credit God in his documentaries. In an interview with this week’s Radio Times about his latest documentary, on Charles Darwin and natural selection, the broadcaster said: “They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance.” Telling the magazine that […]
interview with author of “misquoting jesus”
Bart Ehrman is the US author of the bestselling book “Misquoting Jesus” (In the UK “Whose word is it?”). He calls into question the authority of the New Testament as scribal changes over time have changed the documents. So can we trust the scripture? Bible scholar Peter Williams believes in the reliability of the New Testament and that Bart’s prognosis is […]
obama wearing sheep’s clothing?
Now, we probably shouldn’t jump on the guilt by association bandwagon (as Obama’s opponents were wont to do during the election), but there are significantly safer, more neutral, and more politically correct (forgive me) selections for an inaugural companion. And this news of the Warren selection is right on the heels of other questionable behavior […]
behold, i am coming soon
2,000 years and counting…
what is truth?
what is truth? is truth knowable? at what point is one satisfied that they have arrived at it? do we start with falsehood and whittle away until only truth is left? do we start with truth and add our own beliefs to it, diluting it? do we do both? are we capable of holding conflicting […]
‘Jesus was born in June’, astronomers claim – Telegraph
Using the St Matthew’s Gospel as a reference point, Mr Reneke pinpointed the planetary conjunction, which appeared in the constellation of Leo, to the exact date of June 17 in the year 2BC. The astronomy lecturer, who is also news editor of Sky and Space magazine, said: “We have software that can recreate exactly the […]
Palin’s Deceptions: The Nail in the Coffin
This position splintered this controversy into two prongs: one focusing on Bristol Palin, and a second focusing on Sarah Palin. It was always been the goal of the McCain campaign that the focus be on Bristol, in spite of their pious protestations that “children of candidates should be off limits,” because framing this story to […]
Skepchick: Critical Thinking at its Finest
A lot of Christians who have seen the billboards have found them offensive enough that they felt a need to complain. Some have even accused the billboards of being hate speech and denigrating Christians. One Christian driver who saw the billboard went so far as to say “It is a despicable act to allow that sign…â€Â I, for one, […]
obama and hell and christianity today
as i’ve spoken of before, the “hell” topic was one of the main bones of contention i ended up having with what most evangelical christians consider “orthodox”. i did a big study on it in 2004, and abandoned the idea of hell once i actually got my mind around what the bible actually does and […]