Science is Hard!!!

My summer at atheist camp

When I tell people that last summer I volunteered at an American summer camp designed for the children of atheists, agnostics and other non-believers, I get very mixed reactions. Some even react as if I were trying to abolish religion, brainwashing children with my 'liberal agenda', or force communism on the innocent little ones. So, now that Camp Quest is due to arrive in the UK in 2009, I feel I should set the record straight...read article

Is there a dog?

Fun Things To Do In Church

1. Pull aside an unruly child in a preschool Sunday School class and say: "If you're bad in here, you'll go to Hell."
2. A week beforehand, find a member of ACT-UP. Tell him the scheduled sermon is entitled "Why God Sent AIDS to Punish Homosexuals".
3. Put stray dogs in coat closets.
4. Un-tune the piano.
5. Replace the pianist's sheet music with "Stairway to Heaven".
6. Going through all the hymnals, mark song 666.
7. Find an empty seat, and ask the person next to it: "Is this seat SAVED?"
8. Toss around a giant beach ball before service, like at Grateful Dead concerts.
read the rest

First Contact

Three Crucial Things to Know Before Challenging An Atheist’s Unbelief

propose that there are three categories of atheists:

Natural Atheists: Those brought up by atheist parents who never experienced the conflict between religion and rationality.
Apathetic Atheists: Those whose faith was not particularly strong and who, without a compelling drive to believe or not believe, defaulted to atheism - becoming an atheist involved very little internal debate and conflict.
Dissonant Atheists: Those who grew up with belief but who were overwhelmingly torn up over the incompatibility between faith and rationality. These people sought one thing - to rid themselves of the terrible cognitive dissonance cat #1 and #2 atheists are spared from.
I’m here to talk about category #3 atheists because, well, I fall in that grouping...read article

The Power Of Chrysler Compels You!


If you haven't already, go check out The Atheist Blogger!!!

Thor worshipper sues prison authorities

IN the very unlikely event of us ever feeling the need to worship a god, we could do a lot worse than choosing the Nordic deity, Thor.

Unlike the bad-tempered, psychotic old God of the Jews, Christians and Muslims, Thor – for all his antics with his mighty, magic hammer, Mjolnir – seems to have been an amiable sort of fella, who would never dream of visiting floods or pestilence upon innocent folk.

What’s more, he is so often portrayed as virile young hunk, not a grumpy, dysfunctional old git.

Nevertheless, we can understand why the authorities at the Utah Department of Corrections might be a tad nervous about allowing Michael Polk to worship Thor while in prison...read article

Thanks Jesus

10 Morals Atheism Gives Me

I would argue that my lack of a belief in God makes me a more moral person than someone who is religious. My moral choices aren’t made out of fear of eternal punishment. Just as I don’t have a reason to have “good” morals, I don’t have an excuse for bad ones, either...read article

Pete Stark

March 14, 2007
U.S. Rep. Pete Stark is probably not the first non-believer in the House — he’s just the first to admit it.
A milestone in American politics was reached this week when U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) stated that he has no belief in a supreme being.

Stark is the highest-ranking public official to come out of the closet as a non-believer. His emergence came about after the Secular Coalition for America, a Washington group that lobbies on behalf of non-religious Americans, sponsored a contest to find elected officials who openly hold no belief in God...read article

Ten Commandment Laws

Students to be taught there's no God

VICTORIAN state primary school students will soon be able to take religious education classes which teach there is no evidence God exists.
The Humanist Society of Victoria has developed a curriculum for primary pupils that the state government accreditation body says it intends to approve, The Sunday Age newspaper reported.

Accredited volunteers will be able to teach their philosophy in the class time allotted for religious instruction, the newspaper said.

As with lessons delivered by faith groups, parents will be able to request that their children do not participate...read article

Jesus is everywhere

Uh Oh


Comic #248

You laughed and yes, you are going to hell. AnotherRandomDay.com

How to Beat Your Wife

Warning!

Mental Disorders Theory, Parents’ Genes in Competition

Two scientists, drawing on their own powers of observation and a creative reading of recent genetic findings, have published a sweeping theory of brain development that would change the way mental disorders like autism and schizophrenia are understood.
The theory emerged in part from thinking about events other than mutations that can change gene behavior. And it suggests entirely new avenues of research, which, even if they prove the theory to be flawed, are likely to provide new insights into the biology of mental disease...read article

Jesus Fun

God's Total Quality Management Questionnaire

God would like to thank you for your belief and patronage. In order to better serve your needs, He asks that you take a few moments to answer the following questions. Please keep in mind that your responses will be kept completely confidential, and that you need not disclose your name or address unless you prefer a direct response to comments or suggestions...read survey

Agnostic Kitteh

Proofs for the Existence of God

Spoonbot has learned that some atheists don’t believe in God! How ludicrous. While there are an almost infinite number of proofs of the existence of God (in fact, the sheer number of proofs of the existence of God could be taken as, itself, an absolute proof of the existence of God) it wouldn’t hurt to put a couple more out there, to help some of these non-believing atheists to become better people...read article

Bus Sign

The God Simulator

You are eternal, omnipotent God. For the past boring eternity, You have been sitting around in darkness twiddling Your thumbs wondering what the hell You are supposed to be doing and pondering where You came from and what Your purpose is and why You look like an angry old white man. Suddenly, You are hit with the desire to do something...Play

Error

Group plans to sue city over removal of controversial billboard

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A Wisconsin group advocating the separation of church and state plans to sue the city for playing a role in the demise of a billboard on Archibald Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.
A billboard with the message "Imagine No Religion" by the Freedom From Religion Foundation was taken down by sign company General Outdoor less than a week after it went up. The move came after the city told the sign company it received 90 calls of complaint against the sign...read article

Easter Bunny Delusion

5 TV Shows that Predicted the Future

Sitting around watching television might not be as useless as you think. Certain shows have been remarkably accurate in their forecasts of the future. The list suggests that British TV producers are far more prophetic than their American counterparts. But that’s OK; when someone invents Warp Drive, I’ll revise the list....read article

Never Forget

Top 10 Arguments That Can’t Be Won

Since the time of fire, man has had arguments – rare or well done? Of course, arguments depend on your point of view, or in the case of husbands and wives, what the wife thinks. Some arguments are never-ending. Over the centuries, there have been some doozies that have kept philosophy students and teachers debating.
To be included on this list of Arguments That Can’t Be Won, the argument must have no clear answer that cannot be countered with another opposing view....read the article

The Ever After

Funny theist quotes

No, everyone is born Christian. Only later in life do people choose to stray from Jesus and worship satan instead. Atheists have the greatest "cover" of all, they insist they believe in no god yet most polls done and the latest research indicates that they are actually a different sect of Muslims.
Trinidad and Tobago, CARM [2006-Oct-01]

There are a lot of things I have concluded to be wrong, without studying them in-depth. Evolution is one of them. The fact that I don't know that much about it does not bother me in the least.
AV1611VET, Christian Forums

[on the sunject of a Bible printing company] Yes, that is a great company. I bought one of their large print version (old eyes... what can I say?). The only thing I don't like about them is they sell foreign language versions of the KJB. I don't think that's right. We know the only true translation is the 1600's version in English. It's too risky for anybody to translate that into other languages. Mistakes can creep in... and that can lead to heresy. True Christians should only read English.
leyenda , KJB only [2007-Aug-06]

Read more at FreeThoughtPedia

Kansas Classrooms

Oy, it's War on Christmas time again

Fresh off the British Humanist Associations's successful bus campaign, the American Humanist Association has fired up its own set of big signs on buses in the Washington DC area. Their message is "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake".

Of course, CNN considers this another salvo in the War on Christmas. Silly news organization. Didn't you get the word? The war on Christmas is over. We won. It's a secular holiday, atheists can celebrate it any way they want, Christians can continue to pretend it's baby Jesus' birthday, and everyone has the freedom to interpret the meaning of the day in whatever way they choose. The freethinkers of America are victorious...read the rest of this article from Pharyngula

Turn On Jesus

Stuff God Hates

I enjoyed this website so much. Finally, God is taking a stand, answering the hard hitting questions, and letting us in on the divine plan!

QUESTION #5:
Sue Doenimm: If you hate Africa, You must not like Bono much, then?
GOD: Of course not. What a dumb question. The answer is so obvious!

Double Duty

Religious Child Abuse

Now I have no idea if these tranlations are correct, but if they are...

But I do know this one is translated correctly...

Therapy

Would We Be Better Off Without Religion? - Debate

Decision Maker

Monks fight in Jerusalem's holiest church !

God is Coming

Does Religion Make You Nice?


Many Americans doubt the morality of atheists. According to a 2007 Gallup poll, a majority of Americans say that they would not vote for an otherwise qualified atheist as president, meaning a nonbeliever would have a harder time getting elected than a Muslim, a homosexual, or a Jew. Many would go further and agree with conservative commentator Laura Schlessinger that morality requires a belief in God—otherwise, all we have is our selfish desires...read article

Preacher is charged in heroin operation

Fayetteville police were told the man known as Preacher didn’t sell heroin on Sundays, at least not until church was over.

Preacher was tied up conducting worship services at the church where he was pastor, Burning Bush Missionary Baptist, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Wednesday in the Clerk of Court’s Office...read article

Bill Ney Quiz

I'm with Stupid

The 10 Signs of Intellectual Honesty

When it comes to just about any topic, it seems as if the public discourse on the internet is dominated by rhetoric and propaganda. People are either selling products or ideology. In fact, just because someone may come across as calm and knowledgeable does not mean you should let your guard down and trust what they say. What you need to look for is a track record of intellectual honesty. Let me therefore propose 10 signs of intellectual honesty...read article

Stem Cell Prayers

How Hatred Transforms Your Brain


When you see somebody you hate, whether it's an evil ex or a mean colleague, your brain undergoes a rather unexpected transformation. A new study published in PLoS One today reveals that hatred isn't the blind, irrational emotion it might seem. In fact, hate activates the brain regions associated with higher reason and the ability to predict what other people will do...read article

Atheists bond during 'de-baptism'


Belief in God symbolically evaporated when more than a hundred atheists were "de-baptized" with a blow dryer yesterday.

Organizers of the event in Westerville, described as a "coming out party" for atheists, agnostics and humanists, served root beer and crackers with peanut butter and honey to top off the late afternoon ceremony...read article

The New Christian Science Textbook



Idiot Box comic by Matt Bors: http://mattbors.com/
If you enjoyed this, please check out his other stuff at: http://mattbors.com/newstrip.html
Oh and be sure to subscribe to Matt's blog for more comics like this one: http://www.mattbors.com/blog

JesOS™

The First True Christian™ Computer Operating System!
Freehold, IA – Official Press Release: This month, Landover Baptist Community College Computer Science instructor, Pastor Isaac Peters, along with ten of his hard-working male students, unveiled the results of a six-month Christian Service Project that is sure to take the computer world by storm. They have developed the first known True Christian™ Operating System: JesOS™. The system is being released to the Christian public, although the log-in sound effect still needs some work...read article

10 Weird Psychology Studies

Psychologists are skilled at inventing unusual tests of human thought and behaviour, but some research is pretty weird. Over the past few months I've been examining some of the weirdest studies around. There's research into psychic dogs, invasions from Mars, the antidepressant properties of semen, pigeon-guided missiles and men's urination.

Have a read and then vote below for the study to be crowned PsyBlog's official 'weirdest' study...read article

Excuse

E-cards


Check out more of these e-cards.

Norway = Hell

Atheist Soldier Sues Over Mandatory Prayer

The U.S. Army has been subjecting soldiers to fundamentalist Christian prayer ceremonies against their will during mandatory military events in violation of their basic constitutional rights, according to a new lawsuit filed against Secretary of Defense Robert Gates by a U.S. Army soldier.

On at least three occasions beginning in December 2007, Army Spc. Dustin Chalker claims he was directed to attend military events, one of which was a barbecue, where an Army battalion chaplain led a Christian prayer ceremony for military personnel. Chalker, who said he is an atheist, asked his superiors for permission to leave the prayer sessions and on each occasion his request to be excused was denied, according to the lawsuit....read article

Ricky Gervais on Religion

Jesus Dress-Up Magnets

Honk !


Door to Door Atheism

Penn Jillette on God & Money

As heard on NPR's Morning Edition, November 21, 2005
I believe that there is no God. I'm beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy -- you can't prove a negative, so there's no work to do. You can't prove that there isn't an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word "elephant" includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire?...read article

In No God We Trust Penn - 3/17/07
They don’t know how many were printed but some guess about 50,000 new Washington dollar coins were printed without “In God we Trust” on the edge. Now the 1930’s Standing Liberty without “In God We Trust” goes for about 7 million, so this was a great chance to get an American coin without “In God We Trust” for a decent price. Only an obsessive nut would not allow the words “In God We Trust” in his pocket, and I cross the word “God” off every bill I touch, and I don’t carry change. That’s me...read article

Review of the Bible

Check out this book review on Amazon.com

One Commandment

King Me!



See more from cectic.com

Brainy Universe

God FAQs

Your questions answered about the existence of God.

Phone an Imaginary Friend


'Fossil' HIV reveals virus history

"A team of researchers from around the world has been trawling through decades-old tissue samples from African hospital archives in the hope of finding samples containing the HIV virus.
They struck it lucky with a sample that was collected back in 1960, from a woman living in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo"...
read article


Oldest 'Footprints' on Earth Found

The oldest-known tracks of a creature apparently using legs have been discovered in rock dated to 570 million years ago in what was once a shallow sea in Nevada.
Scientists think land beasts evolved from ancient creatures that left the sea and evolved lungs and legs. If the new finding is real — the discoverer anticipates skepticism — it pushes the advent of walking back 30 million years earlier than any previous solid finding....
read article

New Ways to Walk

These are animated segments of the geometrical bodies that were evolved during
October 2006 on http://www.darwinathome.org/ by people at
home ...watch the video below
.

How to Embalm a Body

Ok, it may be a little odd, but St. Fillan found this "How To" incredibly interesting.

"Though thin and energetic, Carla, a funeral director in New Jersey, manages to project calm and control. Over dinner, as she shared stories of picking up bodies for a medical examiner’s office, it wasn’t difficult to imagine her methodically removing"...read article.

Never Say Die: Why We Can't Imagine Death

Almost everyone has a tendency to imagine the mind continuing to exist after the death of the body. Even people who believe the mind ceases to exist at death show this type of psychological-continuity reasoning in studies. Rather than being a by-product of religion or an emotional security blanket, such beliefs stem from the very nature of our consciousness...read article

Daniel Dennett



Jesus Camp

Tyler Durden's 8 Rules of Innovation

We all want to do remarkable things, and lead remarkable lives.
No one wants to spend the day engaged in mundane productivity in pursuit of a meaningless consumer existence. Certainly not you, right?
So why do we find it so hard to break out of our rut and do truly innovative things?
Because it’s hard. Because it often requires us to significantly alter our perspectives and step outside our comfort zones.
It’s almost like becoming another person...read article
...

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