Harry Taylor was convicted of “religiously aggravated harassment” for putting religion-teasing leaflets in an airport “prayer room.”… Read the rest
Susan Jacoby on Dorothy Height 
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She didn’t choose to be out of the limelight, she was shoved there.… Read the rest
Teacher Oluwatoyin Oluseesin murdered by students
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She confiscated some books to prevent cheating, and was beaten to death because one was the Koran.… Read the rest
Akwa-Ibom Child Witches
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Yemi Ademowo Johnson would like to be able to close down refuges for children accused of witchcraft. Alas, not yet.… Read the rest
The law simply acknowledges
Apr 23rd, 2010 12:39 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnd what business does the Obama administration have appealing the ruling that the “National Prayer Day” is unconstitutional? Yes I know they are under pressure from Fox News, but that’s going to be the case no matter what they do, and they weren’t elected to jump when Fox says jump.
Crabb ruled the government could not use its authority to try to influence when and whether individuals pray, writing: “In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.”…
The administration had argued the law simply acknowledges the role of religion in the United States.
What is that supposed to mean? And how can a law merely “acknowledge” something? And even … Read the rest
Secular Coalition for America Calls Upon Pentagon to Cancel ‘Christian-Themed’ Event
Apr 23rd, 2010 | By Secular Coalition for AmericaThe Pentagon should respect the constitutional separation of church and state and cancel a planned National Day of Prayer event, particularly in light of its recent labeling as a “Christian-themed event” by an Army spokesman, the Secular Coalition for America said today. The Pentagon should also sever all operational ties to the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a radical right wing organization headed by the wife of Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, and housed in Focus on the Family’s headquarters.
“It is bad enough that the administration is going ahead with an observance of the National Day of Prayer, correctly ruled unconstitutional by the courts only last week. But for the Pentagon to hold an explicitly ‘Christian-themed event’ … Read the rest
Obama admin will appeal Prayer Day ruling
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“I would have expected something better from a legal scholar,” FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said.… Read the rest
God we beseech thee bless this bullet
Apr 23rd, 2010 12:01 pm | By Ophelia BensonOkay, I give up – what is the Pentagon doing having a “special Pentagon prayer service”? Even before we ask what is it doing having Franklin Graham appearing at such a thing, what is it doing having such a thing in the first place?
And yet people wonder why atheists “proselytize” to the extent of pointing out that there are no genuinely good reasons to believe the things that make a “National Prayer Day” seem like something that an entity called God expects us to have once a year.… Read the rest
Franklin Graham uninvited to Pentagon ‘Prayer Day’
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What is the Pentagon doing having a ‘Prayer Day’?… Read the rest
Cristina Odone offers theocratic bullying nonsense
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Dr Death, abortion, euthanasia, faith schools, all life precious.… Read the rest
The terrible case of Lucia de Berk
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A Dutch nurse who has spent 6 years in jail on a life sentence for murdering 7 people, in a killing spree that never happened.… Read the rest
A spectacular reputational car crash for the BCA
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Until they sued, most people thought chiropractors just did backs, Ben Goldacre notes.… Read the rest
Pope named in Milwaukee abuse lawsuit
Apr 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
His lawyers want the Church to release any files it has on abuse cases involving priests. … Read the rest
A gentle tactful loving reminder
Apr 22nd, 2010 5:02 pm | By Ophelia BensonUse the formatting tools at the top of the comment box, willya! Half of you are typing in html, after Josh went to all the trouble of giving us tools, and you’re doing the wrong ones so they’re showing up and it looks stupid and bad. Whatsa matta wichoo?
I don’t mean it; you know I love you; but pull yourselves together.
(No I know, it’s not really half. It’s just a few. But we don’t want to embarrass The Few, so let’s say it’s half.)… Read the rest
50 Voices of Disbelief Review in First Things
Apr 22nd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
New atheism, pooh pooh, new atheists, yawn, new atheism, sheer banality, new atheists, will go away soon, new atheism, we all hates it.… Read the rest
Your mission, should you choose to accept it
Apr 22nd, 2010 12:25 pm | By Ophelia Benson“New” atheism is often accused of proselytizing, but I don’t think that’s right.
It’s not really proselytizing. We don’t have the explicit goal of turning everyone atheist. We don’t even really have the implicit goal of doing that. We know it’s vanishingly unlikely, and not necessarily desirable (most of us know that – maybe all of us do – it probably depends on exactly what is meant). Our goals are short of that – speaking broadly.
The most basic is probably to humble the claims somewhat – to chip away at the public assumption that there is nothing dubious about theism – that it’s perfectly reasonable to talk about God as one would talk about Gordon Brown or Sarah Palin. … Read the rest
Uncredible Hallq disputes Pigliucci
Apr 22nd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why try to turn these disagreements into proof that the New (read: Bad) Atheists are screwing everything up?… Read the rest
Herr Bischof, the tan suits you and I love the brooch
Apr 22nd, 2010 11:08 am | By Ophelia BensonA really nice touch – it’s not just that Bishop Walter Mixa has now admitted that he used to beat the children in a Bavarian orphanage –
Accusations have also surfaced of financial irregularities at the orphanage’s foundation.
A lawyer hired by the foundation has raised questions about thousands of dollars spent on wine, art, jewelry and even a tanning bed while Bishop Mixa was chairman of the foundation’s board, from 1975 to 1996, while he was a priest in the town of Schrobenhausen.
Isn’t that just typical. The Irish Catholic church sent a lot of the money the government gave it for the care of children in its prisons to Rome while the children slept in the cold and … Read the rest
Halal, Haram, and Negis
Apr 22nd, 2010 | By Jahanshah RashidianIf you walk at random in a Muslim district in the West, especially in Western Europe, you will certainly find somewhere, at least in one corner, an Islamic butcher’s shop with the word “halal” written on its shop-window. For the products of meat, the word “halal” is a badge of Islamic quality.
Muslims believe that since blood is not ritually a pure substance, slaughter is necessary to promote the thorough draining of all of the animal’s blood. Furthermore, the verse “Bismillah al Rahman Al Rahim”, in the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful, is necessary to render the meat halal or lawful to eat.
The word halal refers, here, to meat killed and prepared in line with Islamic dietary … Read the rest
Catholic church crumbles across Europe
Apr 22nd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Raping or beating children, spending orphanage money on wine and jewelry, refusing to admit – it all adds up.… Read the rest
