News and Links for Atheists: “The Secret Knowledge is just ignorance by another name.”

The Secret Knowledge is just ignorance by another name

Meaning that body of information not everyone has, that body known only to those few people who had the good sense to go off the beaten path and seek it. It is information you’ll never see in your “newspapers” or “network news” or any other place overly concerned with verifiable “facts” and reliable “sources.” It will not come to you through a university “study,” peer-reviewed “article,” renowned “expert,” government “agency” or any other such traditional bastion of authority.

I have to agree, in general.

Your Brain Is Primed To Reach False Conclusions

But, as Offit’s story suggests, the fact that a child became sick after a vaccine is not strong evidence that the immunization was to blame. Psychologists have a name for the cognitive bias that makes us prone to assigning a causal relationship to two events simply because they happened one after the other: the “illusion of causality.” A study recently published in the British Journal of Psychology investigates how this illusion influences the way we process new information. Its finding: Causal illusions don’t just cement erroneous ideas in the mind; they can also prevent new information from correcting them.

Myths Debunked

Religious Right Activists Love To Spread False Information About The Separation Of Church And State. Here Are Ten Rebuttals:

Biology Professor Says Creationist Magazine Misquoted Him To Perpetuate Lies Against Evolution

This one is both for ex-Witnesses and atheists, really.

A biology professor is speaking out, demanding an apology and calling for an end to attempts to “perpetuate lies against evolution” after a statement from him was taken out of context in a creationist article in Awake!, a Jehovah’s Witness publication. He says that a portion of his statement was picked from the whole, leaving a completely different impression from his actual statement.

What? The Watchtower Society misrepresent someone’s point of view? I mean, they’ve been doing that for over a century, so why assume they’d stop now? Wait, that’s totally consistent. Sorry.

The dinosaur deniers

So now apparently it’s a thing amongst the devoutly religious not only to believe that evolution is false, but that dinosaurs never existed.

College Students Are Abandoning Religion In Record Numbers

More than 1,000 Ontario teens potentially exposed to measles at Toronto Christian concert, health officials warn

Crows Understand Analogies

 

News And Links For Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses And Atheists: Richard Dawkins on the Bill Maher Show – Overtime

VIDEO: Richard Dawkins on the Bill Maher Show – Overtime

VIDEO: Caller Pastor George on The Atheist Experience

VIDEO: The Atheist Experience Discusses the Difference Between Indoctrination (Cults) and Socialization

Children of religious parents at ‘more risk’ of abuse

Countering JW Shunning: How the Implications of Stanley Milgram’s Work May Suggest Using a Different Approach

In an attempt to force abandonment of the cruel practice of shunning, we’ve seen countless impassioned pleas from ex-JW members who point out how cruel and emotionally-painful it is for THEM, the targets of shunning. Although these painful accounts are absolutely heart-felt, they often are quite ineffective; the shunning continues, partly because the cries paradoxically CONFIRM the message that the WT delivers to their members, telling them shunning HAS to be uncomfortable for the shunned since it’s done “for their own good”! The Society claims that shunning WON’T be effective UNLESS it causes pain in the shunned!

Shameful Shunning in a Thousand Words

This is a picture of my dad eating. He had just made lunch for me, but he couldn’t eat it with me. I had to eat it at another table with my four-year-old son while he sat there away from me.
Why? Because that’s what the Watch Tower Society tells him to do.

What is Jehovah’s witnesses?

Add your answer today.

Science Of Cult Behavior


Finally, I am not dead. But posts will be far fewer during the college semester. Also, as happens every other month it seems like, updates continue to wreck the editor on my WordPress install. One minute it’s there, the next it isn’t. Grrr…

News And Links For Atheists: Glen Beck VS Reza Aslan

VIDEO: Beck vs. Aslan

Beck takes issue with a quote from Aslan, in which Aslan argued that the gospels “are not, nor were they ever meant to be, a historical documentation of Jesus’ life. These are not eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ words and deeds.”

Read more about Aslans book here.

VIDEO: Introducing Evolution at the 9th grade level

Presentation by AronRa.

VIDEO: Another Butthurt Christian

Jaclyn Glen on YouTube deals with complaints from liberal Christians about her videos. I understand the view of those offering the complaints. Not all Christians are fundamentalist homophobes who hate evolution and blah blah…. But as someone who has worked on books about issues like these, I also get what she is saying. The English language does not lend itself well to these subtle distinctions. It’s even harder to do so in writing than it is in a video.

Your thoughts?

Bonus: Check out this video if you haven’t already. It’s the video that first put Jaclyn Glen on my radar.

The U.S. military has a problem with atheists

Apparently, the Marine Corps thinks a “lack or loss of spiritual faith” could be dangerous.
When an active-duty Marine was given a Marine Corps training document describing “potential risk indicators” commanders should look for to prevent loss of life among service members, he found one checkbox that didn’t seem to fit. Among warning signs like substance abuse and prior suicide attempts was “lack or loss of spiritual faith.”

Richard Dawkins criticised for Twitter comment about Muslims

There are times when I worry about the Professor…

Controversial scientist accused of ‘dressing his bigotry up as atheism’ following comments on social networking site

An atheist addresses some of this here.

Five Things Christian Fundamentalists Just Don’t Get

Victims raise profile of ‘spiritual abuse’

Turn away from her mother like the rest of her congregation, or be exterminated by God at Armageddon — which could come any moment — with no hope of resurrection.

Golly. I wonder what denomination she is from.

‘Atheism to Replace Religion by 2041’: A Clarification

Now that makes more sense. I have serious doubts that religion will truly disappear, but I can believe that humanism will come to rival it.

More Internet Vigilantism as Shermer Accused of Rape

PZ Myers (Pharyngula) recently published an email he allegedly received from a woman accusing Michael Shermer of raping her at a convention. PZ says that too much time has elapsed since the alleged incident for law enforcement to be a viable option. He also notes that he has “no personal, direct evidence” that the alleged incident occurred as described but says that he knows the author “and she has also been vouched for by one other person I trust.” Evidently, that is enough to let us bypass any sort of investigation to determine whether the allegations have merit and proceed directly to damaging Shermer’s reputation. Mob justice at its finest.

Shermer is also one of several famous nonbelievers being accused of sexism. I have no idea if either allegation is true. Regarding sexism, either we have too many old-guy atheists who think it’s the fifties or someone is up to something here. I have no idea which one it is, however.

Whatever you do, make sure to read Al Stefanelli’s article called My thoughts on Myers’ post about Michael Shermer

William Lane Craig Prison Rapes The Use Of The Word Faith

I’m sorry, Bill, I’ve heard you many times discuss your interaction and direct experience with the Holy Spirit. Your “knowledge” of this interaction is either through faith, or you are hearing audible voices and if that’s the case, you may wish to speak with a mental health professional.

Catholic school dismisses gay teacher after publicized wedding

Divisive Bloggers at Atheist Conventions

While many potential attendees are undoubtedly thrilled to have yet another opportunity to hear from their favorite bloggers, others are asking whether conventions interested in promoting a cohesive atheist movement might be making a mistake by selecting speakers with a reputation for being divisive within the atheist community.

Explaining Socialism To A Republican

Divorce Rates for Atheists and Christians in America

For The Disfellowshipped, The Bad Associates, And The Disowned: You Really Do Have A Choice

Whether you’re a former Jehovah’s Witness who has been disfellowshipped1 or an atheist who has been disowned from a deeply religious family, take heart. This doesn’t have to be a soul tearing rejection from the only family you will ever get. Far from it.

Here’s what you need to know: no matter what you’ve been told, you can choose your family. Only your relatives are determined by genes and blood. Family is different. Because family is about relationships. If your relatives are bad news…or reject you because they think you’re bad news…you can choose another family based on any criteria you like. Realizing this can put you back in charge of your own life. Even if that means striking out on your own and leaving your old, dysfunctional family behind.

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  1. Disfellowshipping is like being excommunicated with a huge dose of shunning iced on top. None of your Witness relatives or friends will even speak to you once you’ve been disfellowshipped. Of course, many ex-Witnesses are shunned just because they’re seen as a bad associate. But that’s another story.