Anyone wanting to attend the Reason Rally in Washington DC on March 24th, there will …
There’s no question that Skepticon 4 was worth attending. As with Skepticon 3, we …
Google has modified its qualifications to be recognized by Google as a non-profit. …
Here is another case of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest where the church …
(Crossposted at Kajed Heat) I had thought I had become completely jaded when it came …
Anyone wanting to attend the Reason Rally in Washington DC on March 24th, there will be a bus leaving from Springfield, Missouri. The bus will cost $130 per person. You can buy tickets to the bus here: http://reasonrally.dcrallybus.com/Travel/From/SpringfieldMO
There’s no question that Skepticon 4 was worth attending. As with Skepticon 3, we had the pleasure of hearing talks by Dan Barker, Greta Christina, PZ Myers, Sam Singleton, Joe Nickell, David Fitzgerald, and others. My two favorites this year were Dan Barker and Greta Christina. Christina’s talk on why atheists are so angry was so good that it would make for an excellent video night presentation for the group. I, for one, would love to see it again. It’s one of those speeches with so much packed into it that you can’t remember half of it, but you know it was all good. Of course, any of the other talks would be suitable for a group viewing as well, but in my humble opinion, Greta’s was top-notch.
Singleton, I feel, is also worthy of honorable mention. His sermon on “Giving Thanks” was both timely as Thanksgiving was fast approaching, and right. As he pointed out in his message, any gratitude on the part of Jesus is sorely lacking in the Gospels. I must confess, I had not noticed that before. Despite being an atheist evangelist who is primarily a comedian, he delivered a genuine message in his sermon.
Those who know me, and who attended this year, will not be surprised to learn that I could not disagree more with David Silverman, whom I consider to be very dogmatic and unenlightened. In his talk,
Google has modified its qualifications to be recognized by Google as a non-profit. The section that has some religious groups upset prohibits:
To see these new restrictions Click Here
There is also an article on ChristianityToday.com
Here is another case of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest where the church simply moved the priest so he could molest again instead of dealing with the issue. Sadly these are becoming all too common, almost to the point that they are no longer news worthy. I wanted to post this here, not just because it’s another case of abuse by the Catholic Church, but because this one happened so close to home.
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/29/3108476/former-kc-diocese-priest-faces.html
(Crossposted at Kajed Heat)
I had thought I had become completely jaded when it came to American Christianity’s ever-flowing haterade for women and children. Money-wasting, unconstitutional abortion restrictions? Saw them coming. Conscience clauses? Old hat.
But this one took me aback. Mainly because it takes place 35 miles from my house.
Welcome to New Beginnings Girls Academy.
New Beginnings describes itself as a character-building facility for “troubled teens,” and what Jeannie Marie heard in church that day was that this might be a place for her daughter to heal. While jogging earlier that year, the 17-year-old (whom I’ll call Roxy) had been pulled into a vehicle and assaulted by a group of men. Since then, she had begun acting up at home, as well as sneaking out and drinking. Two weeks after seeing the girls in church, Jeannie Marie and her husband left Roxy in McNamara’s care with the promise that she would receive counseling twice a week and stay at New Beginnings no longer than two months. “It sounded like a discipleship program,” Jeannie Marie recalls. “A safe place where a daughter can go to have time alone to find God and her direction.”
What would Jesus do with a troubled rape victim? How about cutting them off from family and breaking them! That ought to do it.
She was monitored day and night by two “buddies,” girls who’d been there awhile and knew the drill. They accompanied her to the shower and toilet, and introduced her to a life of communal isolation and rigid discipline. Girls were not allowed to converse except from 6 to 9 p.m. each Friday. They were not allowed contact with their families during their first month, or with anyone else for six months. By that time, Roxy said, most girls are “broken,” having been told that their families have abandoned them, and that the world outside is a sinful, dangerous place where girls who leave are murdered or raped.
It goes on. Force feeding, isolation chambers, oh how it goes on. And it’s all legal! Yay faith-based exemptions! After I posted this on Facebook, I’ve heard more tales of this place. And I’m frothing with white hot rage.
How long are we going to let people hurt children under the banner of faith?
Begging the question is a fallacy of reasoning in which the proponent of a claim presents an argument for that claim, but implicit throughout the argument is the assumption of the claim itself. In short, to beg the question is to assume what one is trying to prove. But a mere assumption by itself is not a legitimate argument, let alone a proof. Question-begging can be very hard to spot, the longer and more complex an argument is. But the principle is the same. It occurs when an argument justifies a particular claim on the basis of reason A, which is justified on the basis of reason B, which is justified on the basis of reason C, and so on, . . . , which is justified on the basis of reason X, which is justified on the basis of the original claim. For this reason, question-begging is also sometimes called circular reasoning.
1. The Bible is the infallible word of God.
An ad hominem (“to the man”) attack is a fallacy of reasoning in which a proponent tries to support one side of an issue by criticizing his/her opponent for something having nothing to do with the issue at hand. It is sort of the opposite of an appeal to authority. The appeal to authority fallacy involves accepting a claim made by someone simply because he/she is deemed praiseworthy for reasons unrelated to the claim. An ad hominem attack involves rejecting a claim made by someone simply because he/she is deemed untrustworthy for reasons unrelated to the claim. Because these reasons are unrelated to the claim, the ad hominem attack has no bearing on the issue at hand, and is rightly considered a fallacy.
Example: “I am so disgusted with the NRA and all the other gun rights supporters. They’re all just a bunch of
We know that people believe some pretty crazy stuff, but honestly, how many people actually believe we have been visited by aliens, let alone that those aliens are living among us? Click on the thumbnail above to go to GOOD.is where they, along with Column Five Media have put together an info-graphic on that very subject. The results we surprising to me.
According to The Washington Post, a court in Moscow has banned some literature by the church’s founder L. Ron Hubbard.. You can click here to go to their site and read the article. As a point of interest EnglishRussia, back in May of this year, did a photo tour of the Moscow Church of Scientology. (click here to check it out but you may have to ignore some of the ads at the bottom as they may not be safe for work)
Aaron Mayfield says: The quote from Isaiah 45:7 is VERY interesting. The NIV version says the Lord controls both prosperity AND disaster. ...
190 days ago
HumanistLogic says: unfortunately bills dictate that i cannot go.
198 days ago
Bradley says: Febian, Are you referring to my comments (bold)? or to god's (regular)? Personally, I find both offensive, and I ...
209 days ago
Doubting says: I never said that math was superior to science, or that science was inferior to logic, or that this discipline ...
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