Posted by RB on August 28, 2011 · 1 Comment
Many people believe that they and others derive moral believes from religious scriptures. I personally do not buy into this. However, given that many do, I am driven to ask: Theologically speaking, where do observant Jews and Conservative Christians derive their moral precepts?
Filed under Death By Trolley, Ethics & Morality, Politics, Religion · Tagged with Bible, Christianity, Conservative, conservative christian, Judaism, moral theology, Morals, New Testament, Old Testament, orthodox jew, right wing, Talmud, theology, Torah
Posted by RB on November 1, 2010 · 1 Comment
“I believe in world peace. I believe it is possible.” – Every politician or beauty pageant contestant ever. Highly unlikely. That’s not to say that it wouldn’t be desirable. It’s just not going to happen. Even in an idealistic world where everyone had enough food, followed the Golden Rule, did not covet status, wealth or … Continue reading →
Filed under Atheism, Death By Trolley, Ethics & Morality, Politics, Religion, Society & Culture · Tagged with abortion, Atheism, bioethics, birth control, Catholic Church, Christianity, communist, Conflict, Conservative, Daniel Quinn, developing world, ecology, Ethics, famine, fascist, freedom, global warming, habitat destruction, Hinduism, hunger, international relations, Ishmael, Islam, Jared Diamond, Judaism, liberal, libertarian, money, Morals, natural resources, new world order, one world government, overpopulation, peace, Philosophy, Politics, population, population control, population crisis, pro-choice, pro-life, progressive, Religion, Secularism, social justice, socialist, tax, third world, United Nations, values, war, welfare, world peace
Posted by RB on May 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment
The St. Petersburg Times (or the SP Times, heh) is reporting that to the chagrin of some petitioning locals who are primarily Scientologists, the Clearwater City Council has no intent of preventing Anonymous protesters from assembling in downtown Clearwater. As was posted on a few days ago, business workers, managers and owners – again, most of whom are Scientologists … Continue reading →
Filed under Politics, Religion, Scientology, Society & Culture · Tagged with Anonymous, Church of Scientology, Clearwater, Clearwater City Council, cult, cult of scientology, Frank Hibbard, Gallup, Judaism, News, protest, Religion, Scientologisrael, Scientology, SP, SP Times, suppressive person
Posted by RB on April 21, 2008 · 4 Comments
The following articles are must-reads: In the wake of the release of Ben Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, Science After Sunclipse writes an absolutely excellent piece (so excellent, in fact, that it was prominently linked on PZ Myers’ Pharyngula, which is, to my knowledge, the world’s most read science blog) on the depressing track record of … Continue reading →
Filed under Anti-Science and Pseudoscience, Atheism, Ethics & Morality, Evolution, Intelligent Design and Creationism, Politics, Religion, Science, Society & Culture · Tagged with adam and eve, anti-atheist, Ben Stein, bigotry, Canadian Centre for Progressive Christianity, Christianity, church-going atheists, Creationism, Cultural Christianity, cultural Judaism, Evolution, Expelled, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, freethought church, Fundamentalism, Gretta Vosper, humanism, Humanist Christianity, humanist Judaism, ID, Intelligent Design and Creationism, Judaism, Pharyngula, Progressive Christianity, PZ Myers, Times Argus, With or Without God
Posted by RB on April 16, 2008 · 2 Comments
I JUST KICKED ALL OF THEIR ASSES!!! And there’s more: I AM GOD AND SO CAN YOU! You can be (as well as fight) God in this game! You can also be or fight Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Budai, Ganesha and Xenu! Step into imagination land and test your mettle against some of the most revered and/or feared mythical … Continue reading →
Filed under Religion, Scientology · Tagged with Bodai, Buddha, Buddhism, Christianity, Church of Scientology, cult, cult of scientology, Faith Fighter, Ganesha, God, Hinduism, Islam, Jesus, Judaism, Mohammed, mythology, Religion, Scientology, Shinto, Taoism, video games, world religions, Xenu
Posted by RB on February 4, 2008 · 22 Comments
Michael Schmidt-Salomon and illustrator Helge Nyncke’s new children’s book Wo bitte geht’s zu Gott?, fraqte das kleine Ferkel (which roughly translates to How Do I Get to God, Asked the Small Piglet) currently holds top spot on Amazon in Germany. From what I have seen of it, it is also a boatload of disingenuous unreasonably … Continue reading →
Filed under Atheism, Ethics & Morality, Religion, Society & Culture · Tagged with Amazon, Books, Children, Christianity, Germany, God, hate, Helge Nyncke, How Do I get to God Asked the Small Piglet, Islam, Judaism, Michael Schmidt-Salomon, propaganda, Secularism, slander, the friendly atheist, Wo bitt geht's zu Gott? fraqte das kleine Ferkel
Posted by RB on January 28, 2008 · 1 Comment
Religious moderates and appeasing nontheists frequently admonish those critical of religious belief to respect the beliefs of others. They often frame the treatment of religious beliefs in terms of respect, civility and compassion. I have argued that these considerations are merely the tip of the iceberg, with main operative factor being political power. If considerations … Continue reading →
Filed under Politics, Religion, Society & Culture · Tagged with belief, Christianity, cults, events, Fundamentalism, hate, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Orlando, political correctness, religious moderates, religious tolerance, respect, Scientology
Posted by RB on January 20, 2008 · 4 Comments
Larry Moran asks At what point does something become an “ethical” issue for society? How many people have to be against something on “ethical” grounds” in order for it to become an ethical problem? What if their objections are irrational? For example I imagine that US Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is against stem cell research … Continue reading →
Filed under Ethics & Morality, Politics, Religion, Society & Culture · Tagged with belief, Christianity, dogmatism, Ethics, God, ideology, Islam, Judaism, Laurence Moran, Mike Huckabee, rationality, same-sex marriage, Sandwalk, society, stem cells
Posted by RB on January 17, 2008 · 3 Comments
Political correctness in the form of bending over to the extremist and genuinely oppressive subset of the Muslim population has entered The Frame Problem. In response to The Koran in Question? Powerful new evidence against Islam?, a reader submitted the following comment:
Filed under Free Speech and Censorship, Religion, Society & Culture · Tagged with belief, Censorship, Christianity, Free Speech, Gibril, Islam, Jesus, Judaism, Koran, Muhammed, political correctness
Posted by RB on January 16, 2008 · 6 Comments
Pascal Boyer introduces the concluding chapter Why Belief? of his excellent book Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought with the following passage: Some Fang people [a present daytribe in Africa] say that witches have an animal-like extra internal organ that flies away at night and ruins other people’s crops or poisons their blood. It … Continue reading →
Filed under Religion · Tagged with Africa, belief, Catholicism, Christianity, Fang, Garden of Eden, God, Islam, Judaism, Pascal Boyer, Protestantism, theology
The Frame Problem 