News And Links For Atheists And Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: Candace Conti Awarded $28 Million in Jehovah’s Witness Child Molestation Case

College is siphoning all of my time and much of my will to live as I take four tests every week while trying to hold down a job. So I have not been able to put together much in the way of content here or anywhere else.

I still have some things that deserve mentioning, so I’m putting them together for you here.

Plaintiff Awarded $28 Million in Jehovah’s Witness Child Molestation Case

On June 17th, 2012 the New York Times reported that a Northern California jury awarded $28 million in damages to Candace Conti who said the Jehovah’s Witnesses allowed an adult member of a Fremont, Calif., church to molest her when she was 9 years old (Superior Court of California, case no. HG11558324). Molestation lawsuits encompass a broad range of circumstances including criminal charges filed on the behalf of a molested child. Now, AttorneyOne.com, a recognized authority on law, can provide helpful, proven advice and simple solutions including how to get in contact with legal counsel so anyone can easily and inexpensively deal with cases of Molestation. http://www.attorneyone.com/molestation/

You can go back and learn more about the case from documents available here.

Why I Am Not a Jehovah’s Witness

I was genetically designed to be a Jehovah’s Witness. I say that because, unlike so many others, I did not join the religion at the behest of a smiling face knocking at my door one morning but rather because my parents were Jeho­vah’s Witnesses. And they were both Jehovah’s Witnesses because their parents were Witnesses. There was no other route—no other reality—in my world than that of the Witnesses and the publishing company that dictates their doctrine, the Watchtower Society. I was taught from an early age that the Watchtower’s teachings were the truth, even to the point of calling them “the Truth.”

Blog Archive Mormon Blogger Faces Excommunication

Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Theory of Evolution – The Genesis Account

Our Knowledge vs. Their Knowledge

They will tell you that all of these others — these outsiders with their “evidence,” these people who claim to “know” things — are evil liars. They will explain to you that these others are part of a conspiracy. It is a huge, vast, global conspiracy of wicked people that encompasses everyone — everyone except, of course, them. And they will invite you to join them in opposing this conspiracy. They will invite you to join them in believing — without basis or evidence — the very worst things you can imagine about millions of people whom you have never met. They will invite you to join them in celebrating yourselves as uniquely righteous and as better than everyone else — the sole remnant of innocence in an irredeemably wicked world.

A Conversation With WhoIsYourCreator.Com

This is a long one, but worth it.

So here’s my story and subsequent conversations with whoisyourcreator.com. After a return trip along Interstate 5 in Southern Oregon, I noticed a billboard along the side of the freeway with the caption ‘Are they making a monkey out of you’? Having some higher education basics of science in biology, chemistry, and other related fields under my belt, I couldn’t help resist the urge to check out this website. When I did, I checked out the site and was blown away by the misrepresentation of science they were displaying. So I decided to contact them with a non-confrontational email to see how they would respond. Here’s the initial contact last year:

Jehovahs Witness Masturbation Video fully translated.

Firefly’s 15 Best Chinese Curses (and How to Say Them)

A bonus for the geek in all of us.

News And Links For Atheists: Westboro Baptist Church Military Protest Countered By Zombie Demonstrators

VIDEO: Westboro Baptist Church Military Protest Countered By Zombie Demonstrators

Publisher Pulls Controversial Thomas Jefferson Book, Citing Loss Of Confidence

The controversial book was written by Texas evangelical David Barton, who NPR’s Barbara Bradley Hagerty profiled on All Things Considered Wednesday. The publishing company says it’s ceasing publication because it found that “basic truths just were not there.”

And a related article…

The Most Influential Evangelist You’ve Never Heard Of : NPR

Christian Bigots Trying to Claim Persecution

Christian Bigotry is still Bigotry

I have not yet weighed in on the Chick-fil-A situation. I had not planned to do so. Two things changed that, a blog I read last night on CNN’s Belief Blogs by R. Albert Mohler Jr. titled “My Take: Chick-fil-A controversy reveals religious liberty under threat” and an article on the Charisma News titled Chick-fil-A Breaks World Sales Record After Hateful Attacks. These two articles together have created a need for me to weigh in.

Israeli scholar completes mission to ‘fix’ Bible

His edits, focusing primarily on grammatical blemishes and an intricate set of biblical symbols, mark the first major overhaul of the Hebrew Bible in nearly 500 years.

Mimi Faust’s Mother, Olaiya Odufunke: Her Life in Scientology’s Secret Service

Is Richard Dawkins a bully?

New fossils from Koobi Fora in northern Kenya confirm taxonomic diversity in early Homo

Fun Facts about the Preaching Work of Jehovah’s Witnesses

I know the author. He’s solid. 🙂

News And Links For Atheists: Videos Debating The Historicity Of Jesus.

VIDEO: YouTube series about Bart Ehrman’s book on the historicity of Jesus

The first video in the series is simply called “Bart Ehrman,” but the series covers the issue thoroughly.

VIDEO: Matt Dillahunty: The Superiority of Secular Morality

Study: Atheists Have Lowest ‘Retention Rate’ Compared to Religious Groups

“What these findings reflect is that in the U.S. atheists are for the most part ‘made’ as adults after being raised in another faith. It appears to be much more challenging to raise one’s child as an atheist and have them maintain this identity in their life,” Dr. Mark Gray wrote at CARA’s blog.

Gray also noted that, “of those raised as atheists, 30% are now affiliated with a Protestant denomination, 10% are Catholic, 2% are Jewish, 1% are Mormon, and 1% are Pagan.”

Jehovah’s Witness, congregationalist and holiness churches had the next lowest retention rates at 37 percent, 37 percent and 32 percent, respectively. Thirty-eight percent of those who grew up with no particular religious faith or belief system remained that way.

That’s right. We’re even lower than Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were the second (or was it third? This stupid post makes it hard to tell!) lowest group mentioned. This is kind of a bummer. Until you realize that, technically, we kicked their asses.

Really, it’s just measuring how many people remain in these groups who were raised to be members of them. I’m not sure what that means for the rest of us who turned to them later in life.

Scientology TV Is Coming

Someone took my 2nd most evil dream and actually went and did it. This, or a Watchtower Channel, would give me many hours of glorious riffing right in the comfort of my own home. If only the Society would bring back it’s old radio stations from yesteryear, we could all be having a blast right now.

Alas, I’m having a hard time believing that the Scientology Channel will come to pass. But the mere possibility of it deserves at least mention. If only in anticipation of the crazy that must follow.

Please, please, PLEASE do this Scientology. For me. And let us know if the Watchtower Society contacts you about the details of how it was done.

Kirk Cameron Named ‘Champion of Marriage’ in New Video

Please submit your funniest jokes to the comment form below.

And while you’re at it, I dare you NOT to visit the YouTube page and check the comments. And no, you can’t rate the video. (Typical.) Incidentally, I was as curious about this group as you probably are, especially in light of the fact that the video has a strong religious vibe. Before you ask, yes, the group is all about stopping gay marriage. Big shock.

Does anyone know how letting gays marry hurts the institution of marriage? Anyone? Anyone? Didn’t think so. But thanks for playing.

Dominionism: Conspiracy Theory or Actual Movement?

With the rise of the Religious Right in this country and the temporary liberal backlash that was seen in the election of Barack Obama, which led to a similar backswing right back to the right in the election of many Tea Party freshmen to the House of Representatives. There has been a rise in religious undertones in this country. There has also been a large increase in the number of people that publicly subscribe to conspiracy theories and what many mainstream people would outlandish ideas.

Death threats force sex-positive blogger underground

News And Links For Atheists: Atheist Video Documentaries

I’ve seen a few websites that offer documentaries for your viewing pleasure over the years. Here is one I had not heard of until recently. They have documentaries on all sorts of topics, including atheism, science, and indie films. And they’re free. There are several famous offerings for those who haven’t seen them yet. These are probably the two most famous:

VIDEO: Religulous

Follow comedian, Bill Maher, as he travels to the world’s religious destinations in order to interview some of religion’s strangest adherents. Various Muslims, Jews and Christians all pass before his jaundiced eye. Maher goes to a Creationist Museum in Kentucky, which shows that dinosaurs and people lived at the same time 5000 years ago.

I LOVED Religulous!

VIDEO: The God Who Wasn’t There

I actually won a DVD of this by participating in the Blasphemy Challenge a while back. But for those who don’t have it, you can see it here for free.

VIDEO: Believe and Be Saved – Christianity and Cognitive Science 1

In Christianity right belief is the toggle that sends people to heaven or hell. Belief is uniquely important to Christian spirituality. That makes the psychology of belief particularly important to understanding Christianity.

The one above is a series I’ve been watching on YouTube. It’s not very long, but it’s good.

Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman supports the historic existence of Jesus

[Ehrman’s] newest book has turned some of his perennial critics into fans, at least temporarily. In “Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth,” Ehrman decimates the persistent arguments of those who not only deny the divinity of Jesus but insist that no such man ever even existed.

I have read several of Ehrman’s books with great interest. I had heard that he wrote something defending the historicity of Jesus recently. That surprised me a little as I actually have doubts about the historicity of Jesus myself–the arguments against it (some of which are mentioned in The God Who Wasn’t There video above) seem compelling. I am aware of the claim that many scholars seem to feel that Jesus may have been based on a real person, but always thought that was merely their personal impression. (Or a way of keeping the torches and pitchforks at bay.) Some have already tried to refute Ehrman’s book. If you’ve read it, feel free to leave some remarks in the comments below for us.

Creepy crew reportedly from Church of Scientology keeping tabs on Katie Holmes, daughter Suri

Mormons quit church in mass resignation ceremony

I’ve actually been thinking that something like this could be an exciting news event for ex-Witnesses, too. A bunch of us have been bouncing it around on Facebook. Expect to see a Facebook group dedicated to the idea soon. Assuming it’s still safe, however, as…

Mormons turn to Facebook evangelism

Mormon missionaries are now using Facebook to try to convert new members – and have taken part in more than 1 million online chats in the last year alone.

All I can say is nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Anyone Heard Of Sparlock, The New Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Meme? – IsaacJ – RichardDawkins.net

I see my comment on Sparlock finally made an appearance at Richard Dawkins website. Care to talk with MANY others about it? I’m also trying to build entries for Sparlock on Wikipedia and even the Uncyclopedia. Feel free to drop by and lend a hand! Hopefully, they won’t be taken down before they’re whipped into shape.