Virginia Atheists & Agnostics

This thread has asploded ...

2009-10-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Please continue any and all arguments about the scientific method, the existence and nature of God, the limits of technology, and attestations to alien abduction, ghost stories, and near-death experiences here. Thank you. Have at.

Rev. Moon Marries 45,000 in Global Mass Wedding

2009-10-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

For those of you who remember last year's Unification Church talk, here is an example of mass weddings as performed by the Unification Church, along with a general rationale for them.

Your mama's a bigger monkey than we thought

2009-10-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

Interesting article from Science (via the excellent io9 blog) pushing back our idea on the age of bipedial apes. pushing it WAAAAAAY back. good for a read.

Possible future discussion topic? Yay/Nay?

"Find God, win a trip to Mecca (or Jerusalem, or Tibet)"

2009-07-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

The title of this post links to an article about a future Turkish gameshow with the objective of converting at least one of ten atheist contestants to Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, or Christianity.

Let's Try Something New...

2009-05-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'd like to see if I can get a discussion going on the blog. The topic is:

Should Atheists engage Theists in debate?

Here are some rough thoughts to get the ball rolling. Please weigh in in the comments. (Anonymous commenting now available.)

Yes: Not debating means your side won't be heard; Might convince some people on the fence; Can correct some common mistaken beliefs about atheism.

No: Not going to convince Theists; It's a false dichotomy--there's no "Atheist side" to represent; Atheists already handicapped in debate by cognitive biases in favor of Theism.

Hulu Takes Down Family Guy Episode on Atheism [Edited: Not because of the Atheism]

2009-04-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Edit:

Autumn comments: The issue has something to do with a joke made earlier in the show about William Shatner's wife. I have read that there is a pending libel issue because of this which caused Fox to take the show off their site and ask Hulu to do the same. The fact that this was the Atheism episode was an unfortunate coincidence.

If you're like me and addicted to both television and internet, then Hulu is like a bowl of cocaine-flavored ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Basically, it's a service that allows you to stream episodes from popular TV shows with minimal commercial breaks. One of their more popular shows is Family Guy, which recently showed an episode in which Atheism is pitted against hardcore Christianity (Spoiler: Atheism wins.)

But you can't find this episode on Hulu. Why?

Due to a legal matter, we've had to pull the episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" from the site temporarily. We'll get the episode posted back up shortly, after the content owner has resolved the issue.

I'm not going to pretend I know the whole story. It just seems a bit odd that it's this particular episode that gets special treatment. I'll keep you guys updated when if I find out more, but if you want to watch the episode, it is available on other sites on the interwebs.

Open-Mindedness

2009-04-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

Found this video on Pharyngula:

So I'm personally into "atheist evangelizing," by which I mean explaining my lack of belief in a god to others and why this view makes more sense than believing in a god. But I'm still trying to come up with a better way of explaining to people that "I do not believe in any god" =/= "I believe that no gods exist." The video helps but it's a bit too long-winded for arguments.

No true believers in hospice beds?

2009-03-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

The oft-toted benefits (to society) of religious faith include greater happiness and charitable giving; the oft-toted primary benefit to the individual is the promise of life beyond the grave. Linked article reports that far from fearlessly facing the ends of their lives, terminal cancer patients who reported the highest importance of religious "coping" were more than twice as likely to request invasive, painful procedures such as resuscitation even when their doctors explained that the procedure was not likely to prolong their lives nor improve their quality of life.

(As far as I can tell the study doesn't disentangle the two most obvious hypotheses: "religious people have a greater fear of death" vs. "religious people suffer less under terminal conditions.")

Naked Apes!

2009-02-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

In Germany, where fully one-third of the populace are non-believers (according to an unimpeachable German colleague), an unofficial contest to make the best music video in honor of Darwin Day produced this. Evolutionists will likely find it amusing; anti-evolutionists disturbing, and probably for some of same the reasons.

Podcast on Chuck Darwin

2009-02-24T19:32:00.000-08:00

Just had to share this really interesting/touching/informative podcast on Charles Darwin. From Radio lab. Check it out here.

I love the part about Charles' relationship with Emma, his wife.

Atheist v. Apologist

2009-02-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

Matt Slick, a Christian Apologist, has been on The Atheist Experience twice recently, using the the TAG to argue for the existence of god. It's an interesting argument, not one that I've heard very often, but of course it's completely and utterly flawed. Read it here.

Here's part 1 of the debate. It's a great example of (1) how to debate apologists effectively, (2) what apologists do when they realize their argument is flawed, and (3) why debating apologists is such a f**king headache.

ID/Evolution CAGE MATCH

2009-02-22T08:02:00.000-08:00

Post your views in the comments.

Christopher Hitchens beaten for free speech in Lebanon

2009-02-18T18:05:00.000-08:00

This just in from Beirut.

Purgatory Parole?

2009-02-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Fun Fact: One theory on the origins of Valentine's Day is that it was an attempt by the early Christian church to incorporate Lupercalia, an Roman festival in mid-February celebrating fertility.

Chaim sent me this interesting Slate article on Catholic indulgences. I'm still not sure what purgatory is since it's church doctrine says it's no longer a specific place. Maybe it's like a bureaucratic waiting room where you take a number and wait to be judged. Only it's apparently pretty hot as well.

The American Cargo Cult?

2009-02-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

Check out this random webpage I found on the Principles of the American Cargo Cult. It's an interesting list of blatant misconceptions that are common in America. I guess like a cargo cult ritual, you have to go outside your own culture to see how wrong it is? Actually, I'm not sure about the title.

As the author describes it:

"I wrote these principles after reflecting on the content of contemporary newspapers and broadcast media and why that content disquieted me. I saw that I was not disturbed so much by what was written or said as I was by what is not. The tacit assumptions underlying most popular content reflect a worldview that is orthogonal to reality in many ways. . . .
I call this worldview the American Cargo Cult, after the real New Guinea cargo cults that arose after the second world war. . . I really do think that most Americans believe these things at a deep level, and that these misbeliefs constantly underlie bad arguments in public debate."

Some of these might sound familiar to those who debate apologists:

"Certainty is strength, doubt is weakness"

"All interconnection is apparent"

"There will be justice"

This list is obviously incomplete. What about "there is no such thing as a coincidence" or "only mysterious things can have beauty"?

WBC Counter Protest

2008-11-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

So the VAA recently attended the counter-protest to the Westboro Baptist Church's protest of the "Laramie Project" at UVa. Although the WBC never showed up, the counter-protest was pretty darn awesome. Lots of people showed up to support the message of tolerance and love!

A bit of the crowd lining the walkway to the Chapel in support of those attending the play.

Also a Biblical fact.

The fabulous and splendid VAA members with their candles.

A Christian counter-protestor has a little reminder for the WBC.

A few more are over at my Picasa page.

Horse Series No Longer Supports Evolution?

2008-10-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

Signs point to "neigh."

Okay, that was terrible.
Aaaanyway, here's a link to article on the problems with the Horse Series, courtesy of Steve:
http://www.icr.org/article/4096/

Here is a detailed rebuttal that I have not yet read:
http://pigeonchess.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/more-scientific-ignorance-from-dr-john-morris/

Feel free to post your own thoughts in the comments.

My two cents: I think the "just so" story nature of some explanations of how certain traits or species evolved lead people to reject the theory of evolution itself when they find something wrong with the particular explanation. Part of Dr. Morris' argument seems to be that the scientists got it wrong in the textbooks so they must have it wrong in their minds. This may be a failure of popular science or science education that they give people enough information to think they know what they're talking about but not enough that they actually know what they're talking about. I'm totally guilty of this myself--I have no idea how fossils are dated or what experiments have produced the evolution of species, but I still feel like I can talk about the evidence for evolution to an ID supporter.

Does Religion Make People Nicer?

2008-10-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

No, but the feeling that you're being watched does.
This is a really cool article that links to several studies about how being watched by the big guy in the sky might make you more moral*.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/129304.html

*In the old days before people had a well-functioning justice system, I mean.

Hitchen-Turek Debate

2008-10-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the VCU folks who got this video together of the Hitchens-Turek debate from last month. And hooray for the intert00bz!

Public Service Announcement

2008-10-03T16:21:00.001-07:00

The "g" in Religulous is soft. Like the "g" from religion.

Religulous comes out today! Check out the trailer here.

Movie reviews will follow.

Thoughts on the Hitchens Debate

2008-09-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, a number of us went to a debate between Christopher Hitchens and Frank Turek. The United Secular Alliance at VCU did a great job in organizing and hosting the debate, even though they ended up with far more people than they expected, so props to them. A couple people who attended the event already blogged about it, so you can read about their impressions here, here, and here. (I'm a little late on the bandwagon.)

The topic of debate was "Does God exist?" (I'm pretty sure it was God with a capital G.) I think many Theists and Atheists would agree that this is not a very fun topic to debate. For one, it's been done to death. Arguments for God's existence have been hurled around for millienia, and people have been arguing against them for just as long. For another, most theists and atheists would agree that faith, not reason is the basis for their belief in God, so what's the point in having a debate?

This second point is illustrated in Frank Turek's arguments. His opening statement consisted of these arguments for the existence of God:

1. The universe came into existence out of nothing./Something can't come from nothing./Therefore, something that is timeless, spaceless, and massless created the universe.

2. The astronomical constants necessary for a universe that supports life are very exact./The probability that these constants occur in our universe is infinitesimally low./Therefore, something intelligent fine-tuned these constants to support life.

3. Objective morality exists./No human has the authority to dictate what morality is./Therefore, someone (?) morally good dictated what objective morality is.

But I think that if you were to ask Turek, outside the debate, why he believes in God, he wouldn't give you these arguments. I'm assuming that Turek didn't one day read about the Big Bang theory in a science book and thought, "Wow! I should start believing in God now!" I bet, if he was truthful, he would answer, "I believe in God because of my personal faith." Fine. But to come up with reasons for the existence of God, you'd have to assume certain things that aren't universally agreed upon, and engage in circular reasoning. (Rudy Henkel does a good job of refuting Turek here)

Hitchen's opening statement, which was not supposed to address any of Turek's arguments, but only to lay out his own, basically started out by mocking some elements of Catholic dogma, pointing out the inconsistencies. Limbo used to be where unbaptized babies went, until the Pope got rid of it. Like in his book "God is Not Great," Hitchens talks about how immoral organized religion can be. His bottom line was not that "God does not exist" but that religion makes us all slaves and it's better to not believe in God. Turek did point out (and rightly so) that Hitchens did not argue about the debate topic, but he did spend some time on how there are many religions with conflicting truth claims and no evidence for the truth claims of any one particular religion. But neither did Turek try to refute any of Hitchen's points.

At this point, it was clear that Turek and Hitchens were talking to different audiences. I'd fault Hitchens for not sticking to the topic, except rarely. But I found it interesting that Turek conceded pretty much all of Hitchen's points about religious people being immoral while still clinging onto the argument that morality was evidence for the existence of God. In addition to argument #3 above, Turek made this argument: Atheists believe that people are solely comprised of molecules and chemicals (benzene and carbon were his favorite examples)./Molecules and chemicals don't have morality./Therefore, atheists can't explain where morality comes from. (But theists can explain that morality comes from God, therefore God exists?)

Hitchens clearly lost the debate through lack of trying. I was disappointed that when he did try to address Turek's points, he did so in a very unclear, roundabout way. For instance, I think he tried to explain that the lack of an alternative explanation to "God did it" indicates a lack of knowledge, not the existence of God. But Hitchens didn't go on to explain why "God did it" is a terrible way to decrease the amount of stuff we don't know about life, the universe, and everything.

I enjoyed listening to both sides talk--Hitchens was funny and verbally abusing as usual. Turek was more coherent and well-mannered than I expected. However, it was not a good debate. And one audience member very aptly pointed out that there was little chance either one would have convinced members of the audience to reject their preconcieved notions. I think atheists have a harder time convincing general audiences that God does not exist, because general audiences are mostly Christian and because scientific reasoning is not widely understood. But that doesn't mean that atheists should shy away from those debates and preach to their own choir, instead.

Tl;dr: Debate was entertaining. Turek made some circular/non-sequitur arguments. Hitchens was hilarious and verbally abusive but off-topic.

Edit: More debate blogging from Nicole here and here.

Surveys on What Atheists and Christians Believe

2008-09-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

I found these graphs on Sam Harris' website, from an online survey he conducted in May. Since the survey didn't use random sampling, these numbers shouldn't be treated as accurate, but it's still pretty interesting. There were about 5000 respondents, mostly Atheists, of whom about 250-700 were Christians.

Could be that Atheists are generally of more-than-average intelligence...or that they're more full of themselves...

Makes sense. If you're more skeptical of UFOs, you're probably more skeptical of God. And vice versa.

More graphs here. (Scroll to the links at the bottom of the page.)

A short lecture on "a God gene"

2008-09-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

John Cleese explains in this short video.

In other news... John Cleese has a podcast?!?!?!

Enjoy.

Dawkins Reads Fan(atic) Letters

2008-08-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the horrible witticism in the title.

Welcome back all the VAA members to another year of the Gospel According to the Internet. Welcome also to all the new students who signed up to the mail list today at the club fest. We hope to see you at our various functions throughout the year.

Today's hilarious tidbit comes from Richard Dawkins, who decided to read his hatemail aloud. hilarious to listen to and he even breaks in to lolling at one point.

(from Boing Boing)

Obama Supports Faith-Based Initiatives

2008-07-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

It seems that a lot of non-theists support Barack Obama for his liberal political views, rather than anything his stance on religion. Like any other presidential candidate (or really, any candidate running for political office), he's had to mention the importance of his faith and how often he goes to church. But at least he doesn't want to turn our secular government into a religious one, right?

Check out this yahoo news article that Seth sent out in the mailing list:

Taking a page from President Bush, Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he wants to expand White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups, risking protests in his own party with his latest aggressive reach for voters who usually vote Republican.

Isaah points out that this isn't just going to be an extension of Bush policies. As the article goes on to say (towards the end):

Obama also chose a different emphasis for why religious charities are an important answer to solving poverty and other social problems: because they better know the people who are hurting, instead of Bush's argument that religion itself is a transforming power the government must not be afraid to harness.

And while Bush supports allowing all religious groups to make any employment decisions based on faith, Obama proposes allowing religious institutions to hire and fire based on religion only in the non-taxpayer-funded portions of their activities — consistent with current federal, state and local laws. "That makes perfect sense," he said.

Seth has argued (and I'm paraphrasing so correct me if I'm wrong) that the federal government should not fund charities in general. This would be akin to a forced donation. Personally, I think we pay taxes to the government in exchange for services, and it's perfectly fine for the government to spend that money on things that benefit the country as a whole, including charities. Perhaps government money has a corrupting influence on private charities, but it's equally likely that fewer charities would exist if they didn't get any government funding. And helping people through funding private charities is probably more efficient than supporting the same people through welfare or medicaid.

The problem arises because most private charities are religious. There are huge first amendment problems when religious charities take government money and use it to proselytize, increase their numbers, or give perks to their congregation. Even though Obama says, for instance, that religious institutions can only hire and fire based on religion in the "non-taxpayer-funded portions of their activities," who is going to make sure? Are we going to have to fund a bureaucracy to watch the religious charities? I doubt that the small, grassroots organizations Obama is thinking of funding will be able to separate their personnel into those who work on taxpayer-funded activities and those who don't.

Charities can help solve our poverty issues and other social problems, religious or not. If a religious charity wants to spend their money and donations for religious purposes, let them. Just don't give them government money. If a religious charity wants some taxpayer money, it should be their responsibility to create a secular arm of their organization to administer the donations. What's the point in focusing on religious charities in particular? Obama's reasoning, that:

religious charities are an important answer to solving poverty and other social problems: because they better know the people who are hurting

sounds just like his blanket statement that poor people cling to their guns and religion.

"My name is Matt. My father was an alcoholic circus clown who used to beat me with his oversize shoes."

2008-05-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

A great story i saw on Rolling Stone (via boing boing) was an undercover reporter at a Mega-church retreat weekend. Matt Taibbi went undercover at a mega church in Texas for weeks and then went to an Encounter Weekend and lived to tell about it. its a hilarious and soemtimes frightening look inside the mind of the far right.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/20278737/jesus_made_me_puke/print

what i found most interesting is the whole process. Matt correctly points out that the whole weekend is just a jesus coated version of pop psychology and self-help seminars. it has you visualize your problems, see yourself as winner, play as a team etc etc. the outcome is that you attribute all these positive feelings to this new awesome cool swank group you now belong to. you follow your preacher cum guru and believe him because he helped you feel good before, so he MUST know what he's saying. group think at its finest.

read the article, its amazing.

Six Things Ben Stein Doesnt Want You to Know

2008-04-24T02:47:00.000-07:00

Most of you know this already, but Ben Stein is a scoundrel. A recent article in Scientific American outlines some of the problems with his new movie Expelled.

Click here to read the article from Scientific American

Maybe we will show this movie in the Fall just for laughs.

Potluck/BBQ Signups

2008-04-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

The feast this Friday (5PM) will be on the Dell (near Ruffner Hall). In case it rains, I'll send out an email and we'll probably relocate to someone's apartment. In the interests of ensuring that everyone does not bring sodas and no one brings any cups, I've prepared the following sign up sheet:

Food:
Appetizer
???: Dee
Mystery Appetizer #2: Katie
Entrée
Veggies on Kabobs: Caroline
Drunken Chicken, Various Meats, and Veggie Burgers: Isaah
Chicken: Chaim
Sides
Macaroni or Potato Salad: Autumn
Dessert
Muffins: Owen
Cookies or Cake: Anna

Drinks:
Ravi
'Stasia (also bringing ice)

Misc:
Plates: Dee
Cups: Ravi
Napkins: Dee
Utensils: Dee
Charcoal: Caroline

Let me know if you want to change anything/you want to sign up/you have any food preferences or allergies.

Money for conference

2008-04-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, this is just a reminder that if you want a travel grant to the SSA conference, Apply here today!

From August Brunsman:

I just wanted to remind everyone that today is the last day to apply for travel grants to the 2008 SSA conference. The conference is June 6-8 in Washington, DC. Speakers include Pete Stark, Philip Pullman, and Matthew LaClair.

Travel grant application: http://www.secularstudents.org/node/2010
More event info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=8237434955

See you in June!

A Pilgramage {SSA Confrence}

2008-04-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

[hey guys this is a great conference, just passing it along to you guys to signup!]

Secular Student Alliance Conference - June 2008

Submitted by august on Tue, 2008-04-01 10:21.

It's hard for us at Secular Student Alliance Headquarters to believe that it's been almost eleven months since we were at the New Humanism conference at Harvard. In less than two months we're going be at E Pluribus Unum: Reclaiming Humanist Values. This event will simultaneously be the 67th annual conference of the American Humanist Association, the 17th World Congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and the 8th annual conference of the Secular Student Alliance. The event will be June 5th through the 8th at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC.

SPEAKERS

Speakers for the event include Lori Lipman Brown of the Secular Coalition for America, Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal.

AWARDEES

Accepting the Humanist of the Year award is U.S. Representative Pete Stark, the first openly nontheistic member in Congress. Accepting the International Humanist Award is author Philip Pullman, author of the best-selling book The Golden Compass, now a major motion picture.

TRAVEL GRANTS

Student registration is only $40 and includes some meals (register today). We are offering $100 and $200 travel grants. The grants are awarded on a rolling basis and will go fast. Apply today for your 2008 conference travel grant! Information on affordable student housing can be found on the conference website.

CAMPUS GROUP BEST AWARDS

At all of our conference, the Secular Student Alliance awards a handful of its affiliate groups for outstanding performance in various areas and we give one group the Best Affiliate award. There are four awards for $300 each and the Best Affiliate award is $500. All the awards come with a nice, shiny plaque. May 1st 2008 is the deadline to apply. Learn more about the awards and apply today.

Suicide Terrorism Powerpoint

2008-04-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the powerpoint slides from Andy Thomson's lecture in March. I'm still testing out Authorstream so let me know if it doesn't work.

Justice Scalia Speaks at UVA

2008-04-13T17:52:00.001-07:00

So some of you might know that Justice Scalia spoke about the Wall of Separation at the law school last Thursday (because I sent an e-mail to the listserv about it). Unfortunately the auditorium was packed and Autumn and I didn't get in. I did find some live blogs on Scalia's visit to a con law class the next day.

The Hook on the Scalia's talk

Constitutional Law Class

Beware the Believers

2008-03-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

OK, I love this! Check out C. Darwin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaGgpGLxLQw

Talk Tonight!

2008-03-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, if youre reading this, youre missing a great talk!

We're down in OLSSON 120.
if youre going to miss the meeting, heres a link to a basic summary and movie of his talk at AAI.

http://midwestatheist.blogspot.com/2007/08/j-anderson-thomson-at-aai-we-few-we.html

Cheesus

2008-03-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

I just ran across a great video on CNN. Apparently, they've found Cheesus. Why don't we ask Cheesus to give us some insight into the great mysteries of the universe? For starters, I'd like to know if it really ain't easy bein' cheesy.

Click here to find Cheesus

Also, didn't Jesus say "Eat me" at the last supper or something? I say dig in!

Prepare To Have Your Mind Blown

2008-03-18T05:04:00.000-07:00

Craig Venter on CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE. (Science is starting to scare me.)
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/227

3/15 Scientology Protest Aftermath

2008-03-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here's what I missed (had exams, couldn't go.) This is from the Scientology protest in D.C. last Saturday and I think my friend Justin is in it. I'm not sure where he is though.

Rocking the Flock

2008-03-12T08:45:00.001-07:00

Hey im testing out Flock and its ability to post to my blogs. this is merely a test. Hopefully it will work well!

Blogged with Flock

A last supper that i can get behind

2008-03-04T07:40:00.001-08:00

While i dont believe in this Jesus "hooplah" i definitely believe that Caprica 6 is my personal Lord and Savior. Can i get a "so say we all!"

This spread comes from Entertainment Weekly, and is hosted by a gracious kidddrunkadelic14 over at flickr.

Punch your fat head for Jesus

2008-02-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

This is Matt Dillahunty (host of the Atheist Experience cable access show). Skip out to the 10:00 mark for the most relevant part, and at about 10:50 you'll hear the zinger...

Buuuuh WHAT?!?

2008-02-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

I frequent PZ Myer's site quite often. he's my science hero.

Decided to pass this little gem along. mainly because i want to spread the pain that ive experienced. have fun writhing on the floor in agony.

a little context: this is a video of a man having a conversation with some devout women about faith and politics. it becomes a very revealing little snippet of what the mentality of some of the faithful are when it comes to elections
what for these gems:
*faith base international politics (yeah what would jesus do about the falling american dollar?)
*hilarious mispronunciations of Barak Obama's name.
*references to the same horrible email that we've all heard a billion times and has been discredited on national TV
*lack of any knowledge of what the hell is going on in the political realm, yet MAKING WILD CLAIMS TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT
*totally ditching bush and saying that he's "sooo not doing what god wants" (my question...why the fuck did he get elected by you TWICE)

so in all its glory:

Nobody messes with Sir Barkley!

2008-02-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

So on Wolf Blitzer Sir Charles Motherfuckin' Barkley says that he will be running for Governor of Alabama in 2014 (because he needs to have residency in Alabama for 7 years and he just bought his house there).

Well he starts the most awesome campaign platform ever. Namely that the religious right makes him sick. He calls them fake Christians several times throughout the interview. He's pro gay marriage, pro-choice. now i dont think he could win...say...Alabama...but if he ran anywhere else, he'd be the new Awesome Candidate. Watch and Enjoy!

fake christians
by luvnews

Insta Update... TALK TODAY AT 5pm

2008-02-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

The Federalist Society in conjunction with the ACLU at the law school are sponsoring a debate on the establisment clause at 5pm at Withers-Brown Hall room 152.

ill try to get out there for the talk tonight. before our AWESOME TALK TONIGHT at Chem 304.

MEGA POST: HIGHLY HERETICAL, HIGHLY NSFW, HIGHLY HILARIOUS

2008-02-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

Tim Minchin, a comedy musician, has a hilarious couple of videos about religion.

Below for your viewing pleasure....highly notsafeforworkomgitshereticalslightlybiblicaltotallypiratical songs! its like if dawkins and ben folds had a very funny baby!

Videos from the Scientology Meeting

2008-02-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

The infamous Tom Cruise video (or at least the latest one)

The Eugene Mirman parody

The Steven Fishman tapes (There's A LOT. About 3.5 hrs worth)
More info on Steve Fishman.

Panorama on Scientology: John Sweeney v. Tommy Davis in a cage match
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

And finally, I'm sure everyone's seen this:
South Park Explains What Scientologists Actually Believe

Some Brain Food, Or 10 Questions for Atheists

2008-02-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Of course I'm an atheist so I don't really know what a non-atheist (a theist?) would ask. We need some starter questions for the Atheist on Atheism Panel, so suggest some more in the comments. Or answer these. Anyway, comment people!

1. Is atheism a religion?
2. Why do atheists demand proof of god's existance if they can't prove that god does not exist?
3. How did something as complex as the universe begin without a creator, and how can it be so fine-tuned for life?
4. Watches, cars, and computers are all designed, so how can atheists claim that something that is much more complex--the human body--was not a product of design?
5. Where does atheist morality come from?
6. Do you believe people have free will? (Without free will, how can we hold people responsible for their actions?)
7. There are so many things that science cannot explain at the moment, so isn't it possible there exists things--such as god or other supernatural entities--that science will never be able to explain?
8. What do you believe happens after you die?
9. Isn't being an atheist depressing?
10. What's wrong with people believing what they want to believe?

extras:
11. What if you're wrong about the nonexistence of god?
12. Why should atheists assert their beliefs to others?

Friendly Atheist Message Board

2008-02-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

Hemant over at Friendly Atheist just started up a message board. It is definitely worth checking out. There should be some great discussions going on. Hope to see you there!

Scientology: Are Your Children Safe?

2008-02-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

There's a meeting this Thursday on Scientology entitled "Xenu and You." We'll be talking about what Scientology is (hint: it's not related to science), Scientology's sordid and potentially criminal past, and the recent war between the Internet and Scientology. We've also got a new meeting room for this semester at Cabell Hall 337.

Hope to see you all there!

What: Xenu and You: Please Don't Sue Us, L. Ron Hubbard
When: Thursday Feb. 7th, 7 PM
Where: Cabell 337

Also, if anyone wants to get more involved in VAA, we'll be chalking for Darwin Day and other events coming up next week. We're meeting this Wednesday at 7:30 outside the SAC in Newcomb. Click for Facebook Event.

Robertson playing...the short odds

2008-01-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

Whilst i was digging through the the religious articles on the Virginia Pilot, i came across this little gem from Pat Robertson. I guess that Pattie loves to make predictions for the upcoming year every year, which are full of yule time cheer and terror usually.
heres the article
So here are his predictions going around for this year.

A Recession
Major stock market upheaval
Oil hitting 150 a barrel
"someone" will win the election but he's not telling because frankly Andy Rooney will make fun of him (seriously, he says that in the article)

I must say these are not predictions of biblical proportions, hell these are not predictions of mediocre proportions. The first prediction is kinda a easy one, as people are now shouting about it all over the papers, tv and intertewbs. The second is really probably going to be a result of the first. Neither take a genius/divinely inspired mediator/tv evangelist to predict because hey, with the brilliant fisical team that he helped to elect into office in 2000/4, we are planning on seeing a rather large economic down turn.

What i like about the article though is that the writer takes a properly skeptical approach and starts listing Robertsons very long list of failures. I can almost see the snarky face that he had when he began the list. delicious!

Thou Shall Not

2008-01-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

He's a great video of a list of commandments i can get behind. It was sent to me by a friend of mine Sorcha. Thanks Sorcha!

Huckabee Jumps shark....Isaah Hopes for a scene from Deep Blue Sea

2008-01-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

You know what scene i am talking about. The scene when Samuel L Jackson is giving the empassioned speech and the shark jumps out of the water and more or less says "STFU Sammy".

This is what i envision happening to Huckabee. He just jumped his umpteenth shark and is giving his "lets get those sharks speech" and then WHAM. SHARK-WITH-A-BRAIN grabs him off the side of the pool and eats him.

This crazy little Isaah-rant is brought you you by this little gem i pulled off Pharyngula. it is at the same time scary and hilarious. hilarious because he's spouting about changing the constitution to match the bible. Scary because he's spouting about changing the constitution to match the bible AND HE MAY BE ELECTABLE IN THIS COUNTRY.

Watch and enjoy/cry

NAS and Evolution

2008-01-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

The NAS (National Academy of Sciences) just released another addition of their Science, Evolution and Creation book. Its like a basic science primer on the strengths of science and how the theory of evolution was constructed. It also is a great evaluation of the faults of the arguments of creationists. One of my pet loves is Science Education and this book as an introduction to people that are not knowledgable about science and evolution is great. We need to get more books like that out there.

Take a peek at the free 8page primer.

Romney speaks...and i develop a headache

2007-12-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

So as i was reading the NYT this morning (instead of work...I know) and i saw the article about Mitt Romney speech at the GHB Presidential Library on faith and his presidency. In it he goes on to say that he will not be beholden to his church leaders and that a President should not beholden to any one faith. Brought tears to this old mans eyes.

Then he had to go ruin my morning.

Continuing on, he says:

"We should acknowledge the Creator as did the Founders – in ceremony and word. He should remain on our currency, in our pledge, in the teaching of our history, and during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places. Our greatness would not long endure without judges who respect the foundation of faith upon which our Constitution rests. I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from 'the God who gave us liberty.'

I really see this as a missframing of the intentions of the founders. I think they wanted to protect religion/freedom of belief, just as they would all of our other freedoms, and not to, as he apparently wants us to believe, create space for religion within the decisions of our government. The fabled history he mentions of our currency and pledge are a fairly recent invention, not intended by the founders but later McCarthyism or decisions by the Treasury Dept. I personally have no problem with menorahs and nativity scenes in public places, we share this country with people of faith. However, i do not think the government should pay one dime for such displays and that people can use those same public spaces for their own declarations of faith. If you get your menorah, i get my Darwin Day display. Alls fair.

Why Faith has anything to do with Freedom is beyond me. I understand that they believe in a god that created everything and created free will. However this was the same guy, who after creating free will, demanded us only obey him. He also forbade eating from the tree of knowledge. What is freedom if we cannot use it, nor the knowledge to use it?

I think that we are naturally free, it is not a god given right endowed by a creator. Does one ask who gave a tiger or a sparrow its freedom? Of course not, they exist free in nature. So why cannot man exist in the same way. Our freedom exists because we exist. Our concept of free will arises out of the fact that we are sentient beings. We do not owe thanks to a creator for what we have evolved to posess. Why thank anything for a natural process. 'Thanks Gaia for all this gravity, love this falling shit that you brought us!' "Hey Vulcan, that metalworking thing really does come in handy! I just love my Dodge Ram!"

I dont think we will get away from religious nonsensce until we own up and accept that freewill is ours, and all the bad and good that has come from it is our damn fault.

....yeah i got a bit ranty in there

Evel Knievel's "Deathbed" Conversion

2007-12-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

I read an article on CNN.com this morning about the last interview Evel Knievel gave (it was with Maxim). In it, he discussed how he found God in a hotel in Daytona Beach after being an atheist for 68 years. Unfortunately, he did not take it upon himself to tell us which room in which hotel so that we could all go and visit God, but, oh well, I am sure that someone will run across him again eventually.

How deathbed conversion (he was not on his deathbed at the time, but had been diagnosed with a rare lung disease with no cure) has been portrayed doesn't sit well with me. This is mainly because the cause of it never is clear, however, everyone assumes it is because God came to save them or because they believed the whole time but didn't admit it. I see a few reasons one would convert on their deathbed.

(1) Their illness is causing them to hallucinate God, Jesus, angels, loved ones, etc. and provides them with the proof they needed to believe in God. There are a lot of stories of people experiencing this the days before their death. My grandmother, for one, had a long conversation with her deceased ex-husband in front of my dad and I. Seeing God, Jesus, or angels can be a pretty convincing argument to anyone if in the right state of mind. As for seeing loved ones, it would be possible for them to feel like they were crossing over into the afterlife during these moments.

(2) They succumb to the popular Christian comeback of "What if you are wrong? It wouldn't hurt you to try it just in case." I would think this would occur more often with people who have not yet come to terms or made peace with their own death. It may be more of a last minute grasp for life, not an actual change in beliefs.

(3) They want to put their loved ones at ease. Most of us are not fortunate to have all of our loved ones agree with our beliefs and we understand that, to them, it means that their son, daughter, sister, brother, etc. is going to hell and they will not be able to see them in the afterlife. Some non-believers may choose to take that step at the last moments so their loved ones can be at peace with the imminent death.

I think it would be impossible for us to say whether we would or would not do any of these during our last moments. Illness and fear could take over in ways we never prepared ourselves for, but if I ever do, hopefully it will be because of 1 or 3. I like the idea of being able to talk to someone that I love and haven't seen or spoken to in a while in my last moments and I don't see it as 100% bad to give a gift in the form of comfort to those I hold dear.

Meeting Tonight

2007-11-29T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys

This is just a reminder that we will be having our biweekly social meeting
at Starbucks. Meet upstairs at 7pm.

There has been some work done on our website by the illustrious Jordan. We
have pictures up from the feast of the flying spaghetti moster.

Badass Bible Verses

2007-11-29T10:21:00.000-08:00

Now you know I hate the bible as much as any of you guys, but sometimes, after watching an all night marathon of Die Hard, Alien, Aliens, Lethal Weapon, several of the Saw movies, i need to step the violence meter UP a notch. Thats where the Bible really comes in handy. If i need some really grotesque and awesome imagery, i flip to the OT and BAMF! its like Sam Fisher, Arnold Swarchenegger, Superman decided to have children!

Cause in the bible, you know exactly where you stand when you deal with people who don't believe.

Right on the very fucking top of a pile of their mangled corpses.

Check out the 9 most Badass Bible verses. My personal favorite? Elisha calling out fucking bears to maul 42 children for calling him bald. Now that is fucking hardcore.

Ideas....

2007-11-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

Hey guys

yeah as my inaugural post on this blog, i want to put out a call for ideas for topics of discussion that people want to hear about in our upcoming meetings. i think the Singularity talk was great with lots of great discussion. i would love to have more discussion like that one. someone put for the idea that we should definitely start doing skeptic topics. i would love to start a skeptics series of meetings in the club, maybe a Phenomenon themed month.

Looking for ideas! leave em in the comments.

also, pics to come from our Feast of the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Isaah on Elzinga on Atheism

2007-10-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, This is Isaah Im recording for posterity what is happening at the errr....Christian Fraternity Talk: Elzinga on Atheism at Newcomb Hall Theatre. Its packing up quite extensively....wish we had that kind of crowds. Freaking A. also lots of hot girls. I die alittle when I see a hot Christian. Okay.... A LOT.

We're in force here as well. Right now im in a ATHEIST BLOCK, a religious ghetto as it were. I see most of the council here tonight.

And now....the singing. Awesome. Im gonna pass on that. Not my thing. Im catholic, so ive done enough standing for a few lifetimes. STAND UP, SITDOWN, JUMP, STEP TO THE LEFT, SITDOWN, EAT BREAD. Its not that bad. Its just dark as shit in here. I think im disturbing the ambience with the light of my laptop. Dimming it. One Sec.

Alright, song two. Im just going to judge tempo. Not bad. Not really anything to dance to. These are catholics right? Where was this band at my church? I mean theres an acoustic guitar, how cool is that? And like drums. Question to the audience, does a Drummer in a church band get more booty than the rest of the band? Ah the unanswered questions of life. OH. THERE ARE WORDS ON THE OVERHEAD. I was wondering how everyone know these songs.

I am definitely impressed with the organization inherent in this production. i have just realized that I have written half a page here in about the same amount of time that I would spend writing a sentence in my thesis proposal. Guess its because I am enjoying this blogging thing. Hmmm I should just turn my camera and record this ..... one sec. Naw too much trouble. Anyways, Autumn Wade just informed me that someone was wiping a tear away. Perhaps im too shallow to cry but forget it. Sorry I just blacked out my screen out of respect for some praying. Frakking hellz, theyre doing the Move to the Center thing. THEY HAVE FILLED THE HOUSE. Congrats Chi Alpha. Its like a Star Wars premier with less body odor. And more women. Did I mention their hotness. Cause yeah. Purdy girls. (I die alittle more).

Ive now seen the Christian version of Greg Epstein. He definitely looks like gregs brother.

Alright. Theyre starting it up. The intro for Ken Elzinga. MC is definitely witty. And a Cubs fan. Ken definitely has teaching cred.

It begins.

Talk of opening lines. Moby dick. Peter Pan. Peanuts. Tale of Two Cities. And of course....IN THE BEGINGING, GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH.

Talks about the promoting of atheist. Causes. So that's Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris. ETC. Talking about how bold, how loud etc. etc. And the surprise. Doesn't like the title of Hitches book, maybe it's the surtitle. NOW THERE FIRECODE ISSUES. WOW GUYS. WAY TO GO! Talk about two different philosophies. Atheism and Sorta Christianity. I think it's a false dichotomy so I sorta. Hindus anyone? Ancestor worship?

SO talks about harris book. One issue that god cannot be proven. Says that the creation of the world via evolution takes a greater step of faith than believing "god created man"

Talks about moral relativism and the problem of evil. Evil? I don't think Evil exists. I think there are bad things but not a metaphysical Evil? Talk about harris assertion that Christianity brings about evil. I wouldn't go as far as harris. Or as him

DID HE JUST PLACE US IN THE SAME CAMP AS NAZIS AND STALINS? FUUUUUCK YOU. IF WE PLACES ALL THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT DIED AT THE HANDS OF JIHAD, ABORTION KILLINGS, THE PURGES IN EASTERN EUROPE.

QUOTE MINING LIKE WOAH. SAGAN ETC. ah ehm. Says that we have a deep seated belief not to believe. And begins to say that we're just doubters. And its as old as time.

Hey we're eve. FUCK YEAH. Love apples and knowledge. Says we get satifaction about being superior and get off on it. BOO HISSSS.

So something about captaining. How life hardship drive us to religion. Or how atheists just turn our back down to people in trouble. Ive got a long list of people willing to help that are atheists. Hi? Me? Gates? Thousands of others who contribute to causes without an appeal to gods.

Ive zoned out. Ive gone off to googles the shit that is pouring out of his mouth. Something about how were selfish. And we're our own gods. And not ....ummm...helpful.

So he's wrapping up. Its more of an appeal to our 'emotional sensibilities' etc and

Another prayer. Looking up and down. And its like a sea of heads down. Questions.... I don't know where to start. Ill check with questions.

First one. ATHEISTS ...I think... WHOOO HOOO. A wave of high fives through the crowd. Kidding. Its fucking silence. It's a question about agnosticism. And what about that third row out of that original false duality.

Second A?A. HIGH FIVE. Why believe that the Christian viewpoint is superior? Says that the Christian belief doesn't claim do be superior, but actually true. Christianity is a Truth Claim. So if you accept the basic premise (Jesus is Lord), you'll have to take the rest of the (bullshit) Knowledge.

HIGH FIVE FOR JOEY. HES GOT THE NEXT Ah hem...question. Asks about the pursuit of knowledge rather than the acceptance of the this truth. Elzinga talks about coming to an end and not just pursuit. Says that Christianity provides that and ours does not. So ...question....how is acceptance is a pursuit. Its like saying that now that ive subscribed to a theory wholey, im going to 'discover' the same damn pages.

Another atheist. WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL YOU GUYS AT MEETINGS? Anyways. Talks about how there was a set truth claim that Christians make but what about the truth claims that atheist make/are founded on. [Says that Elzinga only seems to set us as a set of character traits and not anything about the philosophy of atheism, except seemingly Harris's] Correction by him that its not just a life psych profile. Just saying that people say that about Christians and you can do the same to atheists. [which really dances right around the question]

Questions about how to bring Christ into your life and how to overcome laxity.

A interesting questions about the relationship between science (biological) and faith. Says hes sees no problem with doing both. Likes medicine and science. Problem with some of the uses, but its like all things. [Sees no incompatability with it. Mentions that he thinks that there are more atheists in the humanities than in the sciences...which I would flately reject as a scientist]

Whoops....zoned out. Something about North Korea and Catholicism or Christianity. **shruggles**

AND SO IT ENDS. THOUGH WE'RE HERE IN FORCE, NOTHING IS CHANGED.