Harassment By Evangelicals Lit My Path To Atheism
By The Atheist Geek | July 1, 2009
Just a quick link before I head off to work. I submitted an article to Ex-Christrian.net entitled Harassment By Evangelicals Lit My Path To Atheism and it appears there today. Some of the links were added by the folks over there in case you’re wondering.
Check it out at the link.
Topics: Atheist Commentary, Atheist News and Links, Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, Secular Atheist, XJW Commentary, XJW News and Links | No Comments »
News and Links for Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: Does Prince’s Religion Forbid Necessary Hip Replacement?
By The Atheist Geek | June 27, 2009
Does Prince’s Religion Forbid Necessary Hip Replacement?
But the real buzz on Prince is that his much reported hip problems of the past have now turned into need for a double hip replacement. Unfortunately, thanks to his practice as a Jehovah’s Witness, Prince still refuses surgery. JW’s don’t believe in blood transfusions. “He’s in a lot of pain,” said a source who was backstage with him last night at the Apollo. “He’s popping pain killers and hoping it will all go away.” But it won’t. Back in 2005 reports surfaced that Prince needed one hip replaced. He declined. Then again in 2007 and 2008 came more reports that he’d finally agreed to “secret surgery.”
There’s another, related article called Jehovah’s Witness Prince needs hip replacements but won’t get one if you’re interested.
Jehovah’s witnesses face increased risk of death during childbirth
New research to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has found that women who are Jehovah’s witnesses face a significantly increased risk of death during childbirth. The study found that women in this group are six times more likely to die, and three times more likely to have morbidity (serious complications), than average (compared to the general Dutch population). This increase includes a 130 fold increased risk of death from major obstetric haemorrhage.
Interesting. My wife has two brothers, and one is blind and retarded due to complications at birth. They’ve always suspected the hospital covered something up. I can’t help but wonder if there was any connection to the problems mentioned in this article.
Teen cannot refuse blood transfusion, top court rules
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a Manitoba law that denied an ill teenager the right to refuse a blood transfusion, even though she said it violated her religious beliefs as a devout Jehovah’s Witness. By a 6-1 margin, the court concluded that the legal tenet of the “best interests of the child” must be the overriding principle in deciding whether mature children under 16 have the right to make their own medical decisions.
For those who may not know it, it seems that Witnesses refusing blood transfusions has been big news up in Canada for a while.
Ex Jehovah ’s Witness Michael Jackson Dead
I was tempted not to give a link to any Michael Jackson articles since the only relevance to this site is that he’s (presumably) a former Witness. But this one does go into some issues about his past as a Witness.
VIDEO: A news lady asked Anthony some questions at the 2009 “Keep on the Watch” Convention at Qualcomm
This one is just cute. If you’re into kids being cute, click on the link.
Jehovah’s Witnesses: ‘End is near’ | Conversations with an Ex Jehovah’s Witness
The following is an article by WPTV (May 30, 2009) outlining the Watchtower’s “The End is Near” campaign. Seemingly capitalizing on the current state of the world’s economy, the 2009 convention series looks like it’s targeting folks who are finding themselves down and out, hopeless and in dispair. With all due respect, I can’t help but read this and feel like the Witnesses are upping their quota of “crazy talk”. I’m not one to poke fun at the witnesses and in truth I feel compassion and pity for the spokesperson quoted in this article.
Alarming consequences of raid on religious meeting in Russia
ASBEST, Russia—Mrs. Aleksandr Mastyugina, a pregnant woman who is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, suffered a miscarriage after police illegally raided a religious meeting that she attended on May 24, 2009. A 15-year-old boy is also being illegally detained without his parents’ consent.
Jehovah’s Witnesses recognized as 14th Religious Community
STRASBOURG — With today’s notification, the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture has recognized the religious community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria. It is now the 14th religious community in Austria that enjoys the status of a public law corporation.
Ramapo and Jehovah’s Witnesses talk payments instead of taxes
And you thought the Society was broke. Guess again.
Topics: Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, XJW News and Links | No Comments »
News and Links for Atheists: Video of Bill Maher Reading from “The Purpose Driven Life”
By The Atheist Geek | June 14, 2009
Bill Maher Reads from The Purpose Driven Life
I’m so there.
This week I was interviewed by Farrah, a puppet on the Hoggworks Studios video podcast called The Rant Puppets. He asked me about bird smarts, critical thinking, crystals, PZ Myers, and chiropractic medicine. I liked his hair. Enjoy…
Is Obama more religious than George W. Bush and can atheists trust him?
Maybe yes and maybe no. I still like what Obama is trying to do as President.
Why I Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus
An ancient book says a man 2,000 years ago was born of a virgin and was sired by God himself. I once believed this, because I believed the Bible — a book I thought God himself wrote.
I was wrong. Here are five reasons why I no longer believe in the virgin birth.
I’m with Daniel (the author) on this one. I even doubt that Jesus was a real person, much less a supernatural messiah.
Scientology Meets It’s Match Or More Religulousness From The Hollywood Elite
Last week’s invitation-only GATE event drew an audience of about 500 that included Adrian Grenier, Jackson Browne, Garry Shandling, and Virginia Madsen. Melissa Etheridge was among the speakers. And if you think this group isn’t serious about transformational entertainment, consider that the meeting continued for four hours. (Tolle teaches that time is an illusion so perhaps that was not a problem.)
[Jim] Carrey himself has long been into a mixed-bag of spirituality—a filmmaker once told me that the actor “talked about Jesus, Gandhi, and Mohammed in a way that made me think he had not done the reading.” He’s been into Tolle for a while now and at the meeting, he explained that he’d come to an understanding that his thoughts were illusory and thought is responsible for “if not all, most of the suffering we experience”—Tolle in a nutshell.
A Conversation With WhoIsYourCreator.Com
A reader sent in his email exchange with WhoIsYourCreator.Com, a Christian creationist website. It’s much longer than anything I normally post, but I thought it was interesting enough to pass on.
Instead of just quoting something from the article, I will quote PZ Myers who commented about it: “Dishonesty has consequences, and creationists are fundamentally distorting the evidence to fit their desired conclusion. That hurts them when people take a moment to actually examine what they are claiming.”
He’s right. The badly researched “Creation Book” was one of the things that pulled me out of the Watchtower Society.
The Unreasonable Faith of Martin Luther
Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 2 of 6
Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 3 of 6
I hope to read the rest of this series soon.
Outragously Irresponsible Claim by Weak-Minded Theist Group
The title may be a tad inflammatory, but so were the words this group put on their billboard: “Sweden is one of the most secular countries in the world. It’s a land of no color where children will you for candy.”
A Guide to Christian Clichés and Phrases
Charlotte Allen Anti-Atheist Editorial In LA Times
Charlotte Allen is bored of atheists? We’re bored of the standard Christian arguments and hate speech – there’s nothing new under the sun there.
This is a bit of a rant, but a good one.
Topics: Atheist News and Links, Secular Atheist | No Comments »
Why I Used To Believe In Ghosts And The Supernatural
By The Atheist Geek | June 10, 2009
 Good thing he was wearing a shroud. I’d hate to see his ghost wang. ::shudder:: |
I may be a secular atheist these days, but I grew up in a family that had a lot of experiences with ghosts and the supernatural. I believed in just about anything you might classify as “weird” or paranormal throughout my childhood. Especially ghosts, as my family had loads of ghost stories to tell from their personal experiences. It took decades for me to drop these beliefs.
My Family History With Ghosts
The way my mom tells it, she pretty much grew up in the Amityville Horror. Her whole family was kept awake many a night by loud thumping noises. Sometimes they would see ghoulish women looking out at them through the upstairs windows. My grandfather would run inside and charge up the stairs to catch the intruder, only to find no one was there. These events usually happened at night. Turns out that ghosts like it when things are dark. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Secular Atheist, Skepticism | 1 Comment »
News and Links for Atheists: Lotta Videos Today.
By The Atheist Geek | June 7, 2009
Stanford’s Robert Sapolsky, one of the most interesting anthropologists I’ve heard lecture, gives us 90 minutes on the evolutionary basis for literal religious belief, “metamagical thinking,” schizotypal personality and so on, explaining how evolutionarily, the mild schizophrenic expression we called “schizotypal personality” have enjoyed increased reproductive opportunities.
Betty Bowers Explains Traditional Marriage
This one you just have to see for yourself.
Video Contest by The Reason Project
The primary goal of The Reason Project is to promote critical thinking. We invite you to help us by participating in our yearly video contest.
The prize for the Winning Video of 2009 will be $10,000.
The prize for Second Place will be $4,000.
The prize for Third Place will be $1,000.
Stay tuned to this page: videos will be posted here, and visitors to the site will be able to vote for their favorites.
The revelation this month in GQ Magazine that Donald Rumsfeld as Defense Secretary embellished top-secret wartime memos with quotations from the Bible prompts a question. Why did he believe he could influence President Bush by that means?
The answer may lie in an alarming story about George Bush’s Christian millenarian beliefs that has yet to come to light.
Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology ‘cult’
A teenager is facing prosecution for using the word “cult” to describe the Church of Scientology.
The unnamed 15-year-old was served the summons by City of London police when he took part in a peaceful demonstration opposite the London headquarters of the controversial religion.
Officers confiscated a placard with the word “cult” on it from the youth, who is under 18, and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Are they sure that The Church of Scientology isn’t owned by the RIAA?
Support Simon Singh – support truth in science
Scientist and author Simon Singh is being sued by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for saying that the claims made for the “therapy” are unproven.
Are they sure that the British Chiropractic Association isn’t owned by … never mind.
A Review of THE CREATION MUSEUM
The Museum’s two themed alternatives—God’s Word versus Human Reason—might make it sound like it is presenting a choice between those famous opposites: blind faith and science. In fact, the Museum won’t concede that science points away from Genesis (although “secular scientists” and the “mass media” can make this mistake); it argues that when both are understood properly, Genesis and scientific findings support one another. It’s not so much that God is better than science; it’s that God is a better scientist. This is a pattern you will notice throughout: the Museum co-opts the hallmarks of the scientific method for its own ends. In his Dictionary of Received Ideas, Flaubert notes the common view: “A little science takes your religion away from you; a great deal brings you back to it.” This could be the Museum’s motto.
George Tiller and Bill Donohue: How Religion Twists the Moral Compass
I want to talk about the power that religion has to twist the human moral compass.
I’m going to start by being fair. Religion is far from the only belief system or ideology that can inspire people who think they’re doing good to commit terrible, heinous acts. Political ideology, for instance, can do the same thing: as we’ve seen in the Stalinist Soviet Union, or the United States in the W. Bush administration. The process of rationalization is far from limited to the world of religion. And because rationalization is often self- perpetuating — when we do something bad, we find a rationalization for why it wasn’t bad, which makes us more likely to do that bad thing again — it can lead otherwise sane and moral people, step by step, into committing atrocities we would otherwise recoil from in horror. This is not limited to religion: it is a fluke of how the human mind works.
Christians battle each other over evolution
Maybe this will keep’em occupied so they’ll leave the rest of us alone.
God’s place is in heaven, not deciding NBA Finals
Dwight Howard was asked a simple question. Howard’s answer shockingly veered off into some potentially highly controversial — if not offensive — territory.
Why, Howard was asked, should the Orlando Magic be picked by the media or others to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers?
“God,” was Howard’s response.
He apparently wasn’t joking. Howard was claiming that God favored the Magic.
Howard was given a chance to reconsider his words. He didn’t hesitate. “That’s the reason” the Magic would win, Howard continued, according to ESPN. “I’m telling you.”
This is one of those things that bugs me with religious believers: the tendency to give all credit to God. Apparently we mortals can do nothing without God making it so. Just had life saving surgery? God pulled you through. (Instead of just preventing the problem in the first place.) Survive a terrible accident? Lucky God was there. (It would have been even luckier if he’d stopped the accident, but anyway…) What about the humans who actually did the work of performing the operation or of engineering a car that could withstand the impact?
I think it’s nice for a religious believer to tell themselves that God was watching, that he cared, and that he stepped in. That means you’re favored a little more than the other guy who didn’t make it, ya know? Unless you’re a friend or relative of his. Then God just decided to “call them home” or something like that.
All I’m sayin’ is that there’s a lotta flip-flopping and rationalizing going on around here.
Topics: Atheist News and Links, Secular Atheist | No Comments »
News and Links For Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: Confrontational proselytizing has its followers – and its critics
By The Atheist Geek | May 27, 2009
Confrontational proselytizing, critics say, is no longer appropriate or effective in this age of heightened suspicion toward strangers and greater acceptance in America of other faiths besides Christianity as viable religious paths.
Indeed, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the two Christian denominations most committed to formal witnessing, recently modified their soul-winning approach.
This is one of my biggest beefs with hard core believers, too. And I used to do it myself! (Not that I liked it…)
Daily Sound — Butting heads over God
I know belief systems are a very sacred subject to most and I would never say anything to denigrate another’s path to inner love and fulfillment. No matter what your belief, I have no problem until arrogance, intolerance, anger, and violence enter the room. Then I feel inclined to speak.
Here here.
Man sees subtle victory in fight against Jehovah’s Witnesses
What it most clearly does not say is that Mr. Hughes is necessarily wrong in claiming that his daughter received problematic advice from lawyers working not just for her, but also for a religious body intent on seeing her denied the blood she needed. “If I was advising [the Watchtower Society and its lawyers] I would now say, ‘At some point, this is no longer going to work out for you,’ ” Ms. Woolley says.
My Girlfriend is a Jehovah’s Witness – The Landover Baptist Church Forums
This one is weird. Or kinda sad, actually. It’s in a forum for the Landover Baptist Church. No kidding. This guy just found out his girlfriend is a Jehovah’s Witness, but since they aren’t “true Christians” in his eyes, he doesn’t know what to do. Poor little fella.
Topics: Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, XJW News and Links | No Comments »
Review: J. J. Abram’s New Star Trek
By The Atheist Geek | May 12, 2009
As those who read some of my earlier Star Trek commentaries already know, the Trek franchise isn’t my favorite in sci-fi land these days. Sorry uber Trek-nerds, but the show is just too sterilized and bland for my tastes. I’ve been hoping for a much needed reimagining (or at least a reboot) ever since Star Trek: Enterprise first hit the airwaves. Then, low and behold, J. J. Abrams came along and made it happen! (Insert a chorus of angels singing here.) I’m sure many hardcore Trekkers began weeping openly when Abrams admitted he wasn’t a big fan of the series, but this only encouraged my dream for a better version. And by “better,” I mean one where humanity still has a long way to go before achieving paradise, or where battles are actually fast paced and (dare I say it?) exciting.
So … did my man J. J. Abrams deliver the goods? Or does the Star Trek reboot need a boot up its ass?
Topics: Geek Entertainment, Geek Review | No Comments »
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