Hey Look: A drawing of Mohammed

Oppose Spiritual Heritage Week

Today, Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia, the Founder and Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, and twenty-four other members of the House of Representatives, co-sponsored a resolution in Congress that would “affirm the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history and express support for designation of the first week in May as America's Spiritual Heritage Week for the appreciation of and education on America's history of religious faith.”

The resolution, H.RES. 397, would put Congress on record as “recognize[ing] the religious foundations of faith on which America was built are critical underpinnings of our Nation's most valuable institutions and form the inseparable foundation for America's representative processes, legal systems, and societal structures.”

In addition, the resolution “rejects, in the strongest possible terms, any effort to remove, obscure, or purposely omit such history from our Nation's public buildings and educational resources” and justifies the need to keep “under God” in the pledge. 

Last year, when a similar measure was introduced, 93 members of the House of Representatives co-sponsored this legislation.

Our elected officials need to know that these "Christian nation" resolutions distort America's history and exclude the history of atheists, humanists, freethinkers and other nontheists who have made significant contributions to our nation. 

Their denial of the secular nature of our government means that these members of Congress are not only disagreeing with Americans who know that we are not a Christian nation (and never have been), but they are also disputing our President who recently promoted America’s secular heritage abroad during a trip to Turkey. 

In this new era of promoting science and evidence, no representative should feel compelled to support the agenda of the Congressional Prayer Caucus and their attempts to infuse personal religious values into public policy.

2010: Year of the Bible?

A Republican House member wants President Barack Obama to make 2010 the Year of the Bible.

There's no sign that Obama will get the chance in the foreseeable future. Georgia Rep. Paul Broun's resolution would have no force of law if passed. And it can't be passed unless majority Democrats, who referred it to a committee, bring it to the floor for a vote.

The resolution reads in part:"The president is encouraged ... to issue a proclamation calling upon citizens of all faiths to rediscover and apply the priceless, timeless message of the Holy Scripture which has profoundly influenced and shaped the United States and its greatDemocratic form of government, as well as its rich spiritual heritage, and which has unified, healed and strengthened its people for over 200 years."

Told of the measure, several Democrats and liberal and atheist bloggers objected. Some said it would violate the separation of church and state by advocating one book of faith over others.

Broun said the nation's values are based on those espoused in the Bible."The national year of the Bible resolution reminds us that our great nation was founded upon biblical principles and that religious freedom is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights," he said in a statement. The resolution has 14 co-sponsors.

There is precedent. By signing proclamation 5018, President Ronald Reagan designated 1983 the year of the Bible, "in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people."

"I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to re-examine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message," the proclamation reads.

Creationism as superstitious nonsense violates First Amendment?

A federal judge has ruled that a history teacher at a Southern California public high school violated the First Amendment when he called creationism "superstitious nonsense" during a classroom lecture.

U.S. District Judge James Selna issued the ruling Friday after a 16-month legal battle between student Chad Farnan and his former teacher, James Corbett.

Farnan's lawsuit alleged that Corbett made more than 20 statements that were disparaging to Christians and their beliefs.

The judge found that Corbett's reference to creationism as "religious, superstitious nonsense" violated the First Amendment's establishment clause. Courts have interpreted the clause as prohibiting government employees from displaying religious hostility.

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Was the Judge right?  Should a teacher be prohibited from saying creationism is "religious superstitious nonsense"?

Christians support torture more than non-believers

If you believe in Jesus, chances are you believe in torture. No doubt Jesus would be proud.


Results from a new Pew Forum poll show that evangelicals and Catholics are more likely than other groups (and more likely than average) to approve of "the use of torture against suspected terrorists." Those most likely to approve of torture some or most of the time are white evangelical Christians. Those least likely are "unaffiliated" and those who rarely or never attend church services. 
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Why are Christians more likely to support torture than non-believers?

Creationism in Texas

The Texas Board of Education votes this week on a new science curriculum. The new curriculum is designed to challenge evolution, and introduce creationism, a step that could influence what is taught in biology classes across the nation.

The proposed curriculum change would prompt teachers to raise doubts that all life on Earth is descended from common ancestry.

This is an assault on modern science, and an assault on reason. Good people need to stand up against religious ignorance and superstition.

The far right agenda must be stopped. Christianity is often a backward, ignorant world view that preaches hatred for those who are different or dare to speak out.

The repercussions could be devastating. Texas is such a huge textbook market that many publishers write to the state's standards, then market those books nationwide.

To deny evolution is like a denial of gravity. To deceive children by teaching creationism is criminal.

Texans should be outraged. Teaching creationism in a science class is child abuse.

More Americans say they have no religion

A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

This is good news for all free thinkers who value reason and truth.

Be brave; be strong; be an atheist!

Atheist outrage in Arkansas

Rep. Richard Carroll has introduced a bill to repeal Article 19, Section 1 of the Arkansas state constitution, which says:

"No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court." 

In Arkansas an atheist is not allowed to hold office or testify in court!  And to think, some people deny that atheists are discriminated against.  How is it that such a blatant form of discrimination has been allowed to remain in the Arkansas constitution?  Where is the outrage?

The Bible and Truth

(this is my reponse to a post on current: http://current.com/items/89777589/the_bible_and_truth.htm
The Bible is a huge document with many authors, many strands, and indeed two distinct volumes - old and new testament.

To say the bible is true or false is a meaningless claim. The bible is a multiplicity and can not be reduced to a singular, binary, true/false proposition.

The short answer is this: there is no god, no heaven or hell, no life after death. There is only this natural world, which is much older than the bible claims. Man evolved from lower species; there was no creation and no creator.

Jesus was a man, albeit a great moral teacher, as was Socrates and Buddha.

Ultimately the bible and it's supporters encourage ignorance and fear and shun reason and knowledge. Hence, religious superstition is responsible for much of the worlds pain and suffering.

I encourage all good people to step out of the darkness of religious superstition and into the light of reason. Be brave; be strong; be an atheist!

Ceremonial Deism: The National Religion

Ever wonder why, when we pledge allegiance, we say "under God"? Ever wonder why our money says "in God we trust"? Do you ever wonder why these phrases, which seem to endorse and establish some sort of religious belief, i.e. god, are sanctioned by the US government? Even when the constitution explicitly forbids the establishment of religion? You are not alone.

Many people have wondered and complained, some through the courts. The US Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, settled on an explanation termed "Ceremonial Deism", a phrase coined by the former dean of Yale Law School, Eugene Rostow. Ceremonial Deism is a legal term used in the United States for nominally religious statements and practices deemed to be merely ritual and non-religious through long customary usage.

Ceremonial deism is offensive to everyone. The non believer is offended for obvious reasons. But the serious believer is also offended. The supreme court is allowing "in God we trust" on our money and "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because these phrases are deemed to be "merely ritual" and "non-religious". Hence the Supreme Court is telling the devout believer that when they say "under God" in the Pledge or read "in God we trust" on our money there is nothing of religious significance going on, merely some meaningless ritual.

Hence the Supreme Court offends everyone while pleasing no one. More than this, by allowing these religious phrases to be sanctioned by the US government, the Supreme Court is violating the first amendment to the constitution. The US Supreme Court, by embracing the explanatory force of Ceremonial Deism, is, in deed and word, establishing a national religion. This defacto national religion is, paradoxically, empty of any true religious faith or conviction; a religion that is shallow, superficial and without consequence.

And that is where we now stand. A little known phrase, Ceremonial Deism, stands as the official national religion, a religion that is by definition, merely empty ritual devoid of any religious depth or significance. Is this what we want for the USA?

Meet the Brights

What is a bright?

A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview
A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements
The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview
Is Your Worldview Naturalistic?
Think about your own worldview to decide if it is free of supernatural or mystical deities, forces, and entities. If you decide that you fit the description above, then you are, by definition, a bright!

On this website, you can simply say so and, by doing so, join with other brights from all over the world in an extraordinary effort to change the thinking of society—the Brights movement.

Reason and Purpose
Currently the naturalistic worldview is insufficiently expressed within most cultures, even politically/socially repressed. To be a Bright is to participate in a movement to address the situation. (Note: the upper case Bright signifies someone who fits the definition and registers on this Web site.)

There is a great diversity of persons who have a naturalistic worldview (free of supernatural and mystical elements). Some are members of existing organizations that foster a supernatural-free perspective. Far more individuals are not associated with any formal group or label. Under the broad umbrella of the naturalistic worldview, the constituency of Brights can undertake social and civic actions designed to influence a society otherwise permeated with supernaturalism.

The movement's three major aims are:

Promote the civic understanding and acknowledgment of the naturalistic worldview, which is free of supernatural and mystical elements.
Gain public recognition that persons who hold such a worldview can bring principled actions to bear on matters of civic importance.
Educate society toward accepting the full and equitable civic participation of all such individuals.

God

"God is a concept by which we measure our pain"  John Lennon

God is a fairy tale told to children to keep them complacent.  God has no fault, no agency, no existence.  The fault belongs to the believer in God, the victim of the hoax, the butt of the religious joke.  We must work to educate those people who are so weak of spirit or mind that they fall victim to such outlandish claims.