Meet An Atheist

Belief in God 'childish,' Einstein

2008-05-13T16:36:00.000-04:00

Belief in God 'childish,' Jews not chosen people: Einstein letter

Tue May 13, 9:02 AM ET

Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.

The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fuelled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.

As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people".

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.

"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.

The German-language letter is being sold Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, said the auction house's managing director Rupert Powell.

In it, the renowned scientist, who declined an invitation to become Israel's second president, rejected the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people.

"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he said.

"And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people."

And he added: "As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

Previously the great scientist's comments on religion -- such as "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" -- have been the subject of much debate, used notably to back up arguments in favour of faith.

Powell said the letter being sold this week gave a clear reflection of Einstein's real thoughts on the subject. "He's fairly unequivocal as to what he's saying. There's no beating about the bush," he told AFP.

Pat Condell on Pat Robertson

2008-01-09T00:08:00.000-05:00

A Word to Islamofascists

2007-11-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

Conservative Christians Losing Power

2007-10-01T23:10:00.000-04:00

And it is about time!

Conservatives consider 3rd-party run

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Mon Oct 1, 5:01 PM ET

Some of the nation's most politically influential conservative Christians, alarmed by the prospect of a Republican presidential nominee who supports abortion rights, are considering acking a third-party candidate.

More than 40 Christian conservatives attended a meeting Saturday in Salt Lake City to discuss the possibility, and planned more gatherings on how they should move forward, according to Richard A. Viguerie, the direct-mail expert and longtime conservative activist.

Rudy Giuliani, who supports abortion rights and gay rights, leads in national polls of the Republican presidential candidates. Campaigning in New Jersey on Monday, Giuliani brushed aside talk of an upstart effort by religious conservatives.

"I'm working on one party right now — the Republican Party," Giuliani said. "I believe we are reaching out very, very well to Republicans. The emphasis is on fiscal conservatism, which brings Republicans together."

Other participants in the meeting included James Dobson, founder of the Focus on the Family evangelical ministry in Colorado Springs, Colo., and, according to Viguerie, Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, a conservative policy group in Washington.

Dobson attended the meeting, but is not yet participating in any planning for a third party, said Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for Focus on the Family Action. Dobson and others spoke out against the idea at the meeting, even though both major parties could nominate candidates who back abortion rights and other policies that conservative Christians oppose, Schneeberger said.

A spokesman for Perkins did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Viguerie would not give specifics of the proposal or reveal additional names of participants, but said President Bush "would not have been elected in '04 without the people in that room."

"There is such jaundiced feelings about any promises or commitments from any Republican leaders," he said in a phone interview. "You could almost cut the anger and the frustration with a knife in that room it's so strong. Because they don't know what else to do, they're talking third party."

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee did not respond to a request for comment.

The participants were in Salt Lake City for a separate meeting of the secretive Council for National Policy, a group of conservative business, religious and political leaders that was co-founded years ago by Tim LaHaye, author of the "Left Behind" series of books. Vice President Dick Cheney flew into the city Friday to address the group, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

Christian conservatives, who hold considerable sway in the Republican Party, have been deeply unhappy about the field of GOP presidential candidates.

Dobson has said he wouldn't support Giuliani, calling the former New York mayor an "unapologetic supporter of abortion on demand." Dobson has also rejected former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson as wrong on social issues, and wouldn't back John McCain because of the Arizona senator's opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Viguerie said conservatives "are still open" to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, but said, "we haven't seen anything that guarantees that he will hold to the positions that he's articulating." Romney has been questioned about his record on gay rights.

However, the proposal to consider a third-party candidate comes from anger that the Republicans whom Christians have helped elect for decades have failed to act on policy issues important to evangelicals on abortion, marriage and school prayer.

"Conservatives have been treated like a mistress as long as any of us can remember," Viguerie said. "They'll have lots of private meetings with us, tell us how much they appreciate it and how much they value us, but if you see me on the street please don't speak with me."

A third-party run would be a long shot, requiring millions of dollars and challenges to ballot access. Such a bid could prove disastrous for the GOP by splitting the vote.

Richard Land, head of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, was not at the meeting. But he said no one floating the idea of a third party thinks there's much chance the candidate would win. He considers the proposal a reaction to "moguls of the Republican establishment" who think conservative Christians will support the GOP no matter what.

"A lot of them won't hold their nose and do it," Land said.

religion,,atheist,atheism,christianity,

Freedom, Palestinian Style

2007-09-27T22:35:00.000-04:00

Get ready United Kingdom, France and Denmark; The Muslim 'Morality Police' will be coming to your neighborhoods soon. I am rather sick of people bellowing about the poor Palestinians. Do any of these people actually look at the kind of government and society the Palestinians wish to impose? To get an idea of the kind of freedom people are fighting for in Palestine, read the quote in the article from a writer, Hassan Dandees, from the West Bank.

New piety squad patrols Ramallah

By DALIA NAMMARI, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 27, 4:44 PM ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank - A new squad of morality police has begun detaining Palestinians who eat or drink in public during Ramadan in the West Bank, where the Islamic month of daytime fasting was always widely observed but never imposed.

The 12-member squad appears to be an attempt by President Mahmoud Abbas' West Bank government to challenge the monopoly on religious righteousness claimed by the militant group Hamas, the rival ruler of Gaza.

The sudden deployment of Ramadan police was unexpected in Ramallah, the seat of Abbas' government and the most cosmopolitan and well-to-do of the Palestinian cities. Ramadan squads have not been set up in other West Bank towns.

Watching observers arrive at one of the town's main mosques one recent afternoon, vice squad Lt. Murad Qendah got a radio call telling him a suspect has been spotted in the street imbibing "karoub" — a local soft drink made from carob pods. He ordered his six-man squad to seize the man's papers pending investigation. Police say violators are usually held for 24 hours.

"If anybody violates respect for Ramadan in the street, we take their identity papers and hold them for investigation," said Qendah, 27, whose officers wear red shoulder badges reading "morality police."

Police spokesman Adnan al-Damari said police have arrested at least 50 alleged public morality offenders in Ramallah since the start of Ramadan, but would not be going after people who break the fast in their own homes.

"The duty of the morality police is to preserve public manners in public places, and to preserve the feelings of the people who are fasting," he said. "Violating the holiness of Ramadan is a violation of people's freedom. "

Islamic custom demands that believers fast and refrain from self-indulgence between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan, which began Sept. 13 in the West Bank this year. The fast is largely observed across the Muslim world; voluntarily in some countries and under strict enforcement in others such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Writer Hassan Dandees, 58, said the government was right to seek to uphold religious standards.

"This is not a violation of anybody's freedom," he said. "Ramadan has a holiness every person should respect."

But Ruba el-Mimi, 21, said she opposes the police action.

"It interferes with the privacy of the individual. People are free to fast or not," she said. "If somebody is not fasting, he's not doing harm."

In addition to booking smokers, snackers and carob juice drinkers, Qendah is also on the alert for young men whistling at girls or drivers playing their car stereos too loud.

Although the piety squad has government sanction, Cabinet minister Ashraf al-Ajrami, said he is uncomfortable with the operation and the impression that the government was trying to be more zealous than Hamas.

"We are studying this issue, and there's a possibility we shall end it," he said. "We don't want to change the order of things and appear as if we are following in the footsteps of somebody or imitating somebody."

Hamas rode support for its pious and incorruptible image to a landslide parliamentary election victory in 2006, then ran Fatah out of the Gaza Strip by force in June.

The religious party has imposed no Ramadan patrol of its own in Gaza, where the population is overwhelmingly conservative and social pressure alone is enough to stop public violations of the fast. Even members of the strip's small Christian community are careful not to cause offense by breaching the Ramadan code in front of their Muslim neighbors.

atheism atheist islam muslim

palestine palestinian

Atheists Should Just Shut Up (Remix)

2007-09-27T15:01:00.000-04:00

A Youtube user has done a wonderful job of remixing a biased report from CNN earlier this year about the persecution of atheists. In this wonderful piece of journalism (read sarcasm), the all religious panel goes on to demean and verbally persecute atheists. An atheist was not even on the panel.

The most disturbing person on the panel is a "Professor" of journalism, Karen Hunter, who is probably the most ignorant and intolerant of all the panel members. She teaches at Hunter College. It is truly scary to think that she is influencing future journalists in this country when she knows so little about freedom of speech.

I would encourage you to let Karen Hunter hear from you, since she repeats continously through this panel discussion that 'atheists should just shut up'. She can be reached through Hunter College at professorhunter@aol.com .

Before you write, please view this video also which contains the whole panel discussion. Karen Hunter is the first to respond that '.. atheists want us to take got off of money'. Her hatred is so clear in this interview.

Karen Hunter
bigot
atheist
atheism
Hunter College

Bill Maher on Religion

2007-09-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

religion,,atheist,atheism,christianity,

It's About Time Someone Sued God!

2007-09-18T08:56:00.000-04:00

One has to respect the nerve of this Nebraska politician to bring up this very valid point in this very christian nation.

Nebraska state senator sues God

By NATE JENKINS, Associated Press WriterMon Sep 17, 11:37 PM ET

The defendant in a state senator's lawsuit is accused of causing untold death and horror and threatening to cause more still. He can be sued in Douglas County, the legislator claims, because He's everywhere.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week. Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he's trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.

Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."

The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused "fearsome floods ... horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes."

He's seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.

Chambers said the lawsuit was triggered by a federal suit filed against a judge who recently barred words such as "rape" and "victim" from a sexual assault trial.

The accuser in the criminal case, Tory Bowen, sued Lancaster District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront, claiming that he violated her free speech rights.

Chambers said Bowen's lawsuit is inappropriate because the Nebraska Supreme Court has already considered the case and federal courts follow the decisions of state supreme courts on state matters.

"This lawsuit having been filed and being of such questionable merit creates a circumstance where my lawsuit is appropriately filed," Chambers said. "People might call it frivolous but if they read it they'll see there are very serious issues I have raised."

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf, in an order last week, expressed doubts about whether Bowen's lawsuit "has any legal basis whatsoever" and said sanctions may be imposed against Bowen and her attorneys if they fail to show cause for the lawsuit.

The Associated Press usually does not identify accusers in sex-assault cases, but Bowen has allowed her name to be used publicly because of the issue over the judge's language restrictions.

Cheuvront declared a mistrial in the sexual assault trial in July, saying pretrial publicity made it impossible to gather enough impartial jurors.

jesus,atheist,atheism,christianity,

No Thanks Osama

2007-09-12T00:04:00.000-04:00

A great video, as usual, by Pat Condell concerning Osama's plead for us all to convert to Islam in order to stop the slaughter. Jeez, sounds like a good idea huh?

atheism atheist islam terrorism

One For Us!

2007-09-07T02:18:00.000-04:00

The ridiculous practice of parceling off tiny tracts, sometimes even a matter of a few square yards, of public land and then pretending it is private land in order to allow crosses to remain on public lands has at last been recognized by the court for what it is.

Court bans Christian cross on private land in public park

Thu Sep 6, 3:45 PM ET

The U.S. government cannot trade a parcel of land to private hands to allow a Christian cross to remain in the middle of a vast federal preserve, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday.

At issue is the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which bars the government from favoring any one religion, as it applies to a lone white metal Latin cross in the Mojave National Preserve in southern California between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

In 2004, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a cross on a prominent rock on public land was unconstitutional, prompting Congress to pass a law allowing a trade so its immediate area would become private land.

People have been putting crosses in the spot since the 1930s, most recently with one man drilling a metal cross into the rock a decade ago without permission. In 1999, a man requested and was denied permission to build a Buddhist shrine there, setting the stage for a tangled legal fight.

"A grave constitutional injury already exists," Judge Margaret McKeown wrote for a three-judge panel that upheld a lower court ruling. "The permitting display of the Sunrise Rock cross in the Preserve is an impermissible governmental endorsement of religion.

"The government's long-standing efforts to preserve and maintain the cross atop Sunrise Rock lead us to the undeniable conclusion that the government's purpose in this case is to evade the injunction and keep the cross in place," the judge said. "Carving out a tiny parcel of property in the midst of this vast Preserve - like a donut hole with the cross atop it - will do nothing to minimize the impermissible governmental endorsement."

jesus,atheist,atheism,christianity,christian cross

Atheist Life vs Religious Life

2007-08-29T01:02:00.001-04:00

From Fighting Atheist

atheism
religion

Jesus Don't Smoke!

2007-08-24T22:22:00.000-04:00

Those nutty Malaysians are at it again!

Newspaper suspended over Jesus picture

By JULIA ZAPPEI, Associated Press WriterFri Aug 24, 6:15 AM ET

Malaysia's government ordered a Tamil-language daily to immediately halt publication for a month Friday as punishment for printing an image of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette, an official with the newspaper said.

S.M. Periasamy, general manager of Makkal Osai, which caters to Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority, said his office received the directive by fax from the Internal Security Ministry.

"Of course we are shocked by this. My entire staff are all in tears. They will lose a month of income," Periasamy said, adding that the newspaper would abide by the order but plans to appeal the suspension.

Ministry officials in this Muslim-majority nation could not immediately be reached for comment.

The newspaper had said it published the photo by mistake Tuesday and carried a front-page apology Thursday.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Thursday that the picture was hurtful and an insult to Christians. Kuala Lumpur archbishop, Murphy Pakiam, criticized the picture as a "desecration," but later accepted the newspaper's apology.

Ethnic Indians comprise 10 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people, and are mostly Hindus with a sprinkling of Christians and Muslims. Chinese, who follow Christianity and Buddhism, make up 25 percent, while Malay Muslims comprise 60 percent.

Malaysia's newspapers operate under government licenses that bar them from publishing potentially provocative material on religion, race and other topics.

On Thursday, Periasamy said a graphic artist — who has since been suspended — downloaded a picture of Jesus from the Internet for use along with a quote from the Bible on the paper's front page on Tuesday. But the artist overlooked the fact that the picture had been altered to insert a cigarette in one hand and another object — a can or a book — in the other, he said.

The Malaysian Indian Congress, a party in Malaysia's ruling coalition, had called on the government to close the paper, which is generally critical of the MIC.

Makkal Osai is one of two Tamil-language newspapers catering to Malaysia's largely Tamil-speaking ethnic Indians. The other newspaper is aligned with the MIC.

jesus

Religious Doctors Not More Likely to Care for Poor

2007-07-31T18:14:00.000-04:00

Is this any surprise? Considering most religious doctors are conservative repuglican christians, wouldn't one expect them to ignore the poor and needy?

Religious doctors not more likely to care for poor: study

By Julie SteenhuysenTue Jul 31, 1:24 PM ET

U.S. physicians who identify themselves as religious are no more likely to care for poor, underserved patients than those who have no religious affiliation, researchers have found.

The study suggests doctors in the United States who see religion as a "master motive in their lives" are not more likely to care for the poor than others.

"Religious physicians are not disproportionately caring for the underserved," Dr. Farr Curlin, of the University of Chicago, said in a telephone interview on Monday.

Curlin, who considers himself religious, said he undertook the study because many religions include a call to serve the poor.

"I was curious about whether doctors who are more formed in their religious beliefs are more likely to take care of patients who are poor," said Curlin, whose study appears in the Annals of Family Medicine.

He and colleagues at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut mailed surveys to 1,820 practicing doctors. Of those, 63 percent responded.

The researchers ranked "intrinsic religiosity" according to how physicians answered questions about the role of religion as a motive in their lives.

Physicians also answered questions about how frequently they attended religious services, the extent they considered themselves to be spiritual, and whether they believed the practice of medicine was a calling.

What they found was physicians who were deemed more religious as reflected by intrinsic religiosity or frequency of attendance of religious services were not more likely to report caring for underserved patient populations -- those that tended to be poor, uninsured or on Medicaid, the federal program for the poor.

"It suggests, I think, that when doctors are making the connection between being people of faith and the practice of medicine, that connection does not seem to lead them ... to an added commitment to caring for the underserved," Curlin said.

christian doctors
religion health

Domino's Pizza Owner Creates Catholic Nutland

2007-07-24T01:32:00.000-04:00

As if there are not enough reasons to avoid eating Domino's Pizza, here is another one. The ultra-religious right-wing-nut owner of Domino's, Thomas Managhan, has created his own little piece of Catholic heaven on earth. A place where condoms are forbidden, streets are named for Popes and presumably a lot of pedophiles live.

(Also see this great article)

From the AP

Ave Maria not just for Catholics

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press WriterMon Jul 23, 3:36 PM ET

No, of course not, Ave Maria is not a Roman Catholic town, its builders say. Why would you think such a thing?

Yes, the streets have names like Annunciation Circle and John Paul II Boulevard. The town is laid out to catch the sunrise at a certain angle each March 25, the day Catholics celebrate the Feast of Annunciation. And the Catholic university whose towering 10-story church dominates the landscape bans the sale of condoms and warns that premarital sex can be grounds for expulsion.

But Ave Maria is open to everyone, said Blake Gable, project manager for the Barron Collier Cos., which is building the new town in partnership with Domino's Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan, an ardent Catholic.

"When I lived in Washington, D.C., I looked out my window and I saw the National Cathedral. I didn't feel like I was in a religious environment," Gable said. "It's never occurred to me that it's a Catholic community."

The builders of Ave Maria, whose name is Latin for Hail Mary, have been struggling to get the message out that anyone can live here ever since Monaghan's headline-grabbing comments in 2005, when the site was still just a sod farm. Monaghan told a Catholic group at the time that the town would be governed by Roman Catholic principles. He said stores wouldn't carry contraceptives or pornography, and cable TV would have no adult channels.

In response, a Wall Street Journal opinion column quoted a critic of Ave Maria as calling it a "Catholic Jonestown." The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida threatened to sue. Critics called it un-American. And Monaghan backed off.

Monaghan now says that Ave Maria University, the school he is also bankrolling, will follow strict Catholic guidelines, but the town will be largely allowed to grow uninhibited — except for no adult novelty stores or topless clubs. The developers say they will merely suggest that merchants not sell contraceptives or porn, and cable TV offerings will not be restricted.

Even with that, Monaghan seems disappointed. If he had his way, Ave Maria would be God's town.

"I thought we owned the real estate, so we can lease to whoever we want and put things in the contract, but there are laws and there were lawsuits out there," Monaghan said.

The developers say that they will allow any denomination to build a house of worship in Ave Maria, and that gays are welcome, too.

In fact, the Web site for the town and university makes no mention of Catholicism at all, not even noting that the school will be Catholic.

"Ave Maria reinvents hometown living with a flourishing new community complementing a new university," the site says. "Ave Maria is an exciting place to live, work, play and learn for every family, every lifestyle and every dream."

Monaghan has spent more than $200 million building the school, which opens next month and hopes to attract 5,500 students. It is the first Catholic university built in the United States in four decades. Gable and Monaghan repeatedly note that the university and town are two separate entities.

But the school's 1,100-seat church will be the undisputed focal point of the community, with the town center wrapping around it like a pastel-colored Italian village with overhanging balconies, verandas and glass storefronts.

Ave Maria University President Nicholas Healy Jr. said the school would "encourage students to live a Catholic moral life."

"At a number of schools, there's a problem with binge drinking or recreational sex," Healy said. "We don't permit that. ... It would be a very serious violation. We teach what the Catholic church teaches, and the Catholic church teaches that contraception is a grave moral evil and we accept that."

Barron Collier has spent about $200 million constructing the town and aims to house more than 20,000 residents. Gable said sales have exceeded expectations, with about 250 homes sold since February, though just a few of those people have moved in.

As for whether Jews or others might be uncomfortable living in a town called Ave Maria, he said: "Do people who live in San Francisco feel offended? San Antonio?"

New York retirees Henry and Roseann Knetter moved into their home about a month ago. As Catholics, the religion aspect was a big draw.

"It just appeared to be a really nice concept with the church in town," said Roseann Knetter, 64.

But they said it wasn't just religion that attracted them.

"We wanted to be in a town that was going to grow up from its grass roots," Knetter said.

atheism atheist christianity
catholic
dominos

No Virgins For You!

2007-07-02T23:24:00.000-04:00

atheism atheist islam terrorism

Our Friends, The Saudi's

2007-06-28T00:38:00.000-04:00

An interview from Saudi television featuring a former presenter (host) who was viciously beaten by her husband. The interview includes both the wife and husband (separately). Remember that the Saudi Muslims, the Wahhabi, are our friends according to Bush and the conservatives.

Ned Flanders Meets Evolution

2007-06-20T02:09:00.001-04:00

Report: Big Three Faiths and Religious Extremism

2007-06-14T16:14:00.000-04:00

A report by the thinktank EastWest Institute indicates that religious extremist have much in common. We atheists already knew this. It also indicates that the threat from Muslim extremism is a much larger threat than from Christianity or Judaism.

Religious Extremist in 3 Faiths Share Views

By Claudia Parsons Wed Jun 13, 5:49 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Violent Muslim, Christian and Jewish extremists invoke the same rhetoric of "good" and "evil" and the best way to fight them is to tackle the problems that drive people to extremism, according to a report obtained by Reuters.

It said extremists from each of the three faiths often have tangible grievances -- social, economic or political -- but they invoke religion to recruit followers and to justify breaking the law, including killing civilians and members of their own faith.

The report was commissioned by security think tank EastWest Institute ahead of a conference on Thursday in New York titled "Towards a Common Response: New Thinking Against Violent Extremism and Radicalization." The report will be updated and published after the conference.

The authors compared ideologies, recruitment tactics and responses to violent religious extremists in three places -- Muslims in Britain, Jews in

Israel and Christians in the United States.

"What is striking ... is the similarity of the worldview and the rationale for violence," the report said.

It said that while Muslims were often perceived by the West as "the principal perpetrators of terrorist activity," there are violent extremists of other faiths. Always focusing on Muslim extremists alienates mainstream Muslims, it said.

The report said it was important to examine the root causes of violence by those of different faiths, without prejudice.

"It is, in each situation, a case of 'us' versus 'them,"' it said. "That God did not intend for civilization to take its current shape; and that the state had failed the righteous and genuine members of that nation, and therefore God's law supersedes man's law."

COMMON WORLDVIEW

This worldview was common to ultranationalist Jews, like Yigal Amir, who killed Israeli Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, to U.S. groups like Christian Identity, which is linked to white supremacist groups, and to other Christian groups that attacked abortion providers, it said.

"Extremists should never be dismissed simply as evil," said the report. "Trying to engage in a competition with religious extremists over who can offer a simpler answer to complex problems will be a losing proposition every time."

Harvard University lecturer Jessica Stern, the conference's keynote speaker, spent five years interviewing extremists for her 2003 book "Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill."

She said it was dangerous for U.S.

President George W. Bush to use terms such as "crusade" or "ridding the world of evil."

"It really is falling into the same trap that these terrorists fall into, black and white thinking," Stern told Reuters on Wednesday. "It's very exciting to extremists to hear an American president talking that way."

Stern said to compare violent extremists from the three faiths was not to suggest that the threat was the same.

"These are not equivalent," she said. "The problems arising from Christian or Jewish extremism are not threatening to the world in the same way as Muslim extremism is."

Conference organizers say their aim is to develop a nonpartisan strategy to combat religious extremism.

The guest list includes representatives of the State Department,

Homeland Security, the New York Police Department and the U.N. missions of Israel,

Iraq, Britain and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

atheism atheist islam christianity

Hell No We Won't 'Shut Up'

2007-05-25T00:14:00.000-04:00

What a great time to be an atheist! Yet another book by an atheist about atheism is at the top of the best-sellers list. And now, the media is forced to take note. It is about time!
However, we (atheists) are still at the mercy of reporters who are no doubt religious since they are covering religion for their respective media entities. Notice how this author has to refer to us as 'angry' and 'militant'.

Angry Atheist Authors Top Best Seller List (AP)

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Thu May 24, 2:16 PM ET

The time for polite debate is over. Militant, atheist writers are making an all-out assault on religious faith and reaching the top of the best-seller list, a sign of widespread resentment over the influence of religion in the world among nonbelievers.
Christopher Hitchens' book, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," has sold briskly ever since it was published last month, and his debates with clergy are drawing crowds at every stop.

Sam Harris was a little-known graduate student until he wrote the phenomenally successful "The End of Faith" and its follow-up, "Letter to a Christian Nation." Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and Daniel Dennett's "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" struck similar themes — and sold.

"There is something like a change in the Zeitgeist," Hitchens said, noting that sales of his latest book far outnumber those for his earlier work that had challenged faith. "There are a lot of people, in this country in particular, who are fed up with endless lectures by bogus clerics and endless bullying."

Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, a prominent evangelical school in Pasadena, Calif., said the books' success reflect a new vehemence in the atheist critique.

"I don't believe in conspiracy theories," Mouw said, "but it's almost like they all had a meeting and said, 'Let's counterattack.'"

The war metaphor is apt. The writers see themselves in a battle for reason in a world crippled by superstition. In their view, Muslim extremists, Jewish settlers and Christian right activists are from the same mold, using fairy tales posing as divine scripture to justify their lust for power. Bad behavior in the name of religion is behind some of the most dangerous global conflicts and the terrorist attacks in the U.S., London and Madrid, the atheists say.

As Hitchens puts it: "Religion kills."

The Rev. Douglas Wilson, senior fellow in theology at New Saint Andrews College, a Christian school in Moscow, Idaho, sees the books as a sign of secular panic. He says nonbelievers are finally realizing that, contrary to what they were taught in college, faith is not dead.

Signs of believers' political and cultural might abound.

Religious challenges to teaching evolution are still having an impact, 80 years after the infamous Scopes "Monkey" trial. The dramatic growth in homeschooling and private Christian schools is raising questions about the future of public education. Religious leaders have succeeded in putting some limits on stem-cell research.

And the recent

SEARCH

U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a national ban on a procedure critics call "partial-birth abortion" — the first federal curbs on an abortion procedure in a generation — came after decades of religious lobbying for conservative justices.

"It sort of dawned on the secular establishment that they might lose here," said Wilson, who is debating Hitchens on christianitytoday.com and has written the book "Letter from a Christian Citizen" in response to Harris. "All of this is happening precisely because there's a significant force that they have to deal with."

Indeed, believers far outnumber nonbelievers in America. In an 2005 AP-Ipsos poll on religion, only 2 percent of U.S. respondents said they did not believe in God. Other surveys concluded that 14 percent of Americans consider themselves secular, a term that can include believers who say they have no religion.

Some say liberal outrage over the policies of

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President Bush is partly fueling sales, even though Hitchens famously supported the invasion of

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Iraq.

To those Americans, the nation's born-again president is the No. 1 representative of the religious right activists who helped put him in office. Critics see Bush's Christian faith behind some of his worst decisions and his stubborn defense of the war in Iraq.

"There is this general sense that evangelicals have really gained a lot of power in the United States and the Bush administration seems to represent that in some significant ways," said Christian Smith, a sociologist of religion at the University of Notre Dame. "A certain group of people sees it that way and that's really disturbing."

Mouw said conservative Christians are partly to blame for the backlash. The rhetoric of some evangelical leaders has been so strident, they have invited the rebuke, the seminary president said.

"We have done a terrible job of presenting our perspective as a plausible world view that has implications for public life and for education, presenting that in a way that is sensitive to the concerns of people who may disagree," he said. "Whatever may be wrong with Christopher Hitchens attacks on religious leaders, we have certainly already matched it in our attacks."

Given the popularity of the anti-religion books so far, publishers are expected to roll out even more in the future. Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor for Publishers Weekly, says religion has been one of the fastest-growing categories in publishing in the last 15 years, and the rise of books by atheists is "the flip-side of that."

"It was just the time," she said, "for the atheists to take the gloves off."

atheism atheist christopher hitchens

Christopher Hitchens Eulogizes Jerry Falwell

2007-05-18T00:47:00.000-04:00

jerry falwell Christopher Hitchens

Falwell Dead: The Masses Rejoice

2007-05-16T01:24:00.000-04:00

I was going to refrain from posting about the death of Christian/Republican icon Jerry Falwell. However, after doing a quick search of blogs to see what kind of reaction his demise has spurred, I was rather shocked at the number of bloggers who are, like me, not saddened by his departure. I was also interested to see how the news coverage on CNN was not watered down to downplay his divisive and hateful nature.

I am not ashamed to admit that my initial reaction when hearing he was dead was to shout 'Yeah!' and pump both of my fists into the air. I am obviously not alone in my reaction. If ever there was an individual who this earth did not need, it was Jerry Falwell. As Perry Ferrell states in a Jane's Addiction song (the title of which I cannot remember), "Some people need to die. That's just unconscious knowledge"

jerry falwell pat robertson

Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' for Creationists

2007-05-14T17:20:00.000-04:00

It IS About Islam!

2007-05-08T16:28:00.000-04:00

I am constantly amazed at the ability of the gullible to believe something just because it is constantly repeated. The recent arrest of young Muslim men accused of plotting an attack at Fort Dix is a good example. A Muslim lawyer, Sohail Mohammed, located in New Jersey where the plot occurred is quoted as saying in regard to the plot by the Islamic men "Don't equate actions with religion,".

What? Don't equate Islamic fundaMentalism with Islam? Don't equate suicide bombers chanting Allah Akbar with Allah? Give me a break!

We hear this over and over again. Islam is a religion of peace; Extremist are hijacking a good religion; It (actions) are not about religion but about economics, race, etc, etc,

Bullshit!

I think it is time that people of reason begin to strongly disagree with those who choose to blindly pretend that religious fundaMentalism has nothing to do with religion. Islam is NOT a religion of peace any more than Christianity is a religion of tolerance. While this doesn't mean that all Christians are intolerant or that all Muslims are militant, it also does not mean that religion has nothing to do with the actions that militant Muslims and intolerant Christians take. Isn't this just common sense?

islam terrorism atheism atheist

Public Reply To Karen "Atheist should just shut up" Hunter

2007-04-29T22:54:00.000-04:00

On January 31st Paula Zahn hosted a notorious 'atheist bashing' featuring several guests who launch into what can only be described as a 'hate fest'. The really disturbing thing is that one of the guests, Karen Hunter, is actually a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter college. This person is actually instructing prospective reporters and media agents on how to be 'fair and balanced'. If you haven't seen the 'interview' or for a taste of Karen's views, take a quick look and listen to this:

After the recent outing of a bigoted General and his disgusting comments regarding Pat Tillman, I took the time to let Karen Hunter know that, in my opinion, she is no different than the bigoted military official. To my surprise, I actually received a response which is posted below in it's entirety. I would encourage any of you who haven't made your views known to perhaps take and opportunity to NOT Shut Up!

On 4/27/07, professorhunter@aol.com <professorhunter@aol.com> wrote:

I never said atheists, or anyone was evil. I find it interesting that
you need to take such a leap to make a point. It sounds to me that you
are very insecure about your lack of faith in God or your atheist
position. There is nothing that you can say about my God that will make
me so angry to email anyone to convince them how wrong they are. It's
your opinion. You're entitled to it. And even if I think you're wrong,
I firmly believe that you have a right to be as wrong as you want to
be. I don't have to call you names or try to make you "see the light."
But thanks for reaching out (how many months ago was that show on
CNN?).

My point, for the record: How would anyone know that you (or anyone
else, for that matter) is an atheist? It's not like being black or an
observant Jew or Muslim. There is no way for anyone to know unless you
tell them and make an issue of it. My point again, is if you want to be
an atheist, who's stopping you. Simply don't pray. No one has to know.
Unless you're point is to ram your views down other people's throats
and if so, for what purpose? Hmmm.
Thanks again for sharing. Have a blessed day!

My reply to Karen Hunter:

Wow. Hunter College should be proud of their level of their educational staff. (read sarcasm)
How interesting that you say "There is nothing that you can say about my God that will make
me so angry to email anyone to convince them how wrong they are."

Really? I suppose our views do make you angry enough, however, to go on national television and make such notorious quotes as 'What do atheists believe? Nothing, right' and 'I think atheists should shut up' among many other classics. Give me a break Karen! How hypocritical can you get. Millions have seen and heard your rant and millions more will see it in the future. This tape is going to be with you for the rest of your life. You are going to be judged by it, like it or not. I think that anyone who watches it will easily recognize what it shows. In my view, it shows unfettered hatred, intolerance and stupidity. Your reply does nothing to change that opinion.

By the way, I love the little smirk after your opening volley of wit (hmm, hmm) in the interview. I have seen that smirk many times on small-minded intolerant people. And finally Karen Hunter, thank you so much for the great boost you have given to atheists all over this country who watched your rant and were jolted out of their silence. Thanks for reminding all of us, both atheists and all fair-minded tolerant people, of what it is we are fighting against - at it's worst.

Karen Hunter religious bigots atheist atheism

Pat Tillman is 'Worm Dirt"

2007-04-26T22:42:00.000-04:00

If you haven't been watching the news over the last few days, you may not have heard about the quote from the title of this posting. It was made by Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich in an interview with ESPN. Pat Tillman's family are in Washington to testify about the lies and cover-up initiated by the military to hide the face that he was killed by friendly fire.

It should be no surprise that the U.S. military is dominated by Christians. The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs has been dealing with right-wing Christian zealots in the administration for years. Clearly, the Scumbag Ralph Kauzlarich, is a Christian. In my opinion, his attitudes and statement are very typical of Christians in a position of control or power. Actually, they are typical of most Christians I have met.

The good news in this case is that the Democratic congress and the media are taking his comments very seriously. We atheists are apparently making strides when it comes to reacting to the 'atheist bashing' which has always been so acceptable in our society. The news media and non-conservatives in congress also seem equally concerned. Why the change? I think that the Internet and the growing number of atheists who no longer are in the closet or afraid to speak out is making it very difficult for media outlets, congressmen and scumbags like Ralph Kauzlaurich to get away with atheist bashing today.

Perhaps we are making some progress after all.