- From the Mailbag: Atheists in the Closet
The Foyer • January 31, 2010
As much effort as we freethinkers put into making atheism a viable and socially accepted option, it's important to remember that it's still a difficult feat to extricate oneself from religion when one's family and social life are bound up with church attendance. Consider this e-mail I received a few days ago, whose author's personal [...]
- Weekly Link Roundup
The Foyer • January 30, 2010
I'm happy to report that there's quite a lot of good news this week:
• The U.K. government recommends that primary school religious education classes should teach about "secular beliefs such as humanism and atheism", in addition to learning about major world religions like Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. This is just one more symptom of how [...]
- The Case for a Creator: Complexity Is Scary!
The Observatory • January 29, 2010
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 8
In the previous installment, I discussed how creationists steer well clear of doing any real science. We can see another example of this in, ironically, the way Strobel falls all over himself lauding Michael Behe as a Real Scientist:
He has authored forty articles for such scientific journals as DNA [...]
- Bloody-Handed Evangelicals
The Rotunda • January 27, 2010
In the U.S., the cause of gay and lesbian rights has made major advances in the last few decades. Anti-discrimination laws are in wide effect, including a recently passed federal hate-crime law; marriage equality is already an established reality in several states; and despite setbacks, the now overwhelming tolerance and acceptance of gays and lesbians [...]
- The Poisoned Cup of Theodicy
The Library • January 25, 2010
The world has seen and heard enough about the misery and destruction in Haiti this past week that I don't think I need to dwell on it. But I do want to take some time to address the perennial question of theodicy, which comes up in the aftermath of every disaster like this.
To an atheist, [...]
- Photo Sunday: Parabola
The Foyer • January 24, 2010
This photo is from my trip to St. Louis last weekend, taken from the base of the famous Gateway Arch. Besides the sheer scale of the structure, I was attracted to its stark, geometrical shape - almost like a mathematical equation in the form of a building. In the enlarged version, you can see the [...]
- Geert Wilders on Trial
The Rotunda • January 22, 2010
This week, the Dutch politician Geert Wilders appeared in court in his home country to face charges of "inciting discrimination and hatred", which could carry a two-year prison sentence on each count. Wilders is, of course, the bomb-throwing right-wing populist whom I wrote about in 2008, made infamous by his short film Fitna (caution: some [...]
- The Case for a Creator: The Smell of Science
The Observatory • January 21, 2010
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 8
Chapter 8 is devoted to an interview with Michael Behe, the biologist and creationist who coined the concept of "irreducible complexity". As I've already reviewed Behe's book, I won't spend a great deal of time rehashing the arguments given in my review. Suffice to say that there is abundant [...]
- Ni Putes Ni Soumises Organizes a Protest for Rayhana
The Rotunda • January 19, 2010
By Sarah Braasch
Rayhana, a French-Algerian playwright and actress, was attacked last week in front of the theater in Paris where she is performing her provocative play, "At My Age, I Still Hide My Smoking". Rayhana speaks out against Islamism and obscurantism and the Muslim culture of female oppression in Algeria. Her play takes place in [...]
- Book Review: The Means of Reproduction
The Library • January 18, 2010
Summary: An outstanding book, broad in its sweep and compelling in its use of fascinating detail, that paints a clear picture of the international forces opposing women's rights - and what's at stake in the fight against them.
I've said in the past that I believe all feminists should be atheists, the better to deny power [...]
- Photo Sunday: Texture
The Foyer • January 17, 2010
Next week there will be photos from my trip to St. Louis, once I've had time to do the normal cropping and processing. Until then, there's this: I'm fascinated by the way the camera reveals unfamiliar-seeming details of familiar surfaces.
Fallen timber, Hudson Highlands Nature Center, November 2009. Photo by the author. Camera details: Canon PowerShot [...]
- Blood Transfusion Foe Defies Party on Health Care Bill
The Rotunda • January 16, 2010
By Sarah Braasch
The following is a parody of a recent New York Times interview with Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, which may be read here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/us/politics/07stupak.html
This parody constitutes a 'fair use' of this copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law, 17 U.S.C. ยง 107
Representative Sarah Braasch often endures things [...]
- When Fanatics Attack, Blame the Victim
The Rotunda • January 14, 2010
So, there's an outside chance you've heard about a certain column by Nancy Graham Holm, who gifted the world with her thoughts on the ax attack on Kurt Westergaard earlier this month. Although we got a bit sidetracked, I still want to write a direct response to what she said, because I think there are [...]
- An Appeal for Haiti
The Foyer • January 13, 2010
We now interrupt your regularly scheduled flame war for this important announcement.
As everyone has no doubt heard, Haiti was hit by a colossal earthquake last night; the city of Port-au-Prince is in ruins, and tens of thousands of people may be dead. If you're able to help, please consider making a donation to the Red [...]
- Representative Theocracy
The Rotunda • January 12, 2010
By Sarah Braasch
Representative Bart Stupak from Michigan was paraphrased in a recent New York Times interview as saying that his resolve to defeat the healthcare reform bill, unless the bill includes his anti-abortion amendment language, is a straightforward matter of Roman Catholic faith. The article states that Representative Stupak said that he actually urged the [...]
- On Sexism and Consciousness-Raising
The Garden • January 11, 2010
I've written in the past about religion's harm to women, and the way modern sexism is aided and abetted by ancient religious prejudices that still survive today. Every major holy book has sexist verses, but some of the most misogynistic and the most virulent can be found in the books referred to by Christians as [...]
- Reminder: Daylight Atheism St. Louis Meetup
The Foyer • January 10, 2010
In case anyone missed the earlier announcement, a reminder: I'll be in St. Louis, Missouri this coming weekend, January 16th and 17th. We've already made plans for a meetup of area atheists/skeptics on Saturday night. If you're in the area and are interested, it's not too late to attend - leave a comment or send [...]
- Photo Sunday: Bird Rock
The Foyer • January 10, 2010
Monterey Bay, California, June 17, 2006. Photo credit: Peter Nothnagle. Click for larger version.
- Weekly Link Roundup
The Foyer • January 9, 2010
A couple of noteworthy articles from this week that I didn't have time to write more about:
• To begin with, there's this excellent and in-depth profile of the FFRF's Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, from a local alternative paper in Madison.
• Archaeologists have discovered a genuine burial shroud from the first century CE. Unlike [...]
- The Case for a Creator: A Universe Not Made For Us
The Observatory • January 8, 2010
The Case for a Creator, Chapter 7
The final section of this chapter concerns Gonzalez's argument that the Earth is uniquely designed to make scientific discovery possible. His argument is that our planet is fine-tuned not just to allow the existence of life, but to allow us to find out important facts about the nature of [...]
- William Dembski on Faith Healers
The Observatory • January 7, 2010
Most of you have probably heard the name of William Dembski, one of the prominent advocates of intelligent-design creationism. Like all ID advocates, Dembski claims vehemently that his work is scientific and not in any way motivated by his religious beliefs, which is why he's currently a professor of philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary [...]
- Losing Their Religion
The Garden • January 6, 2010
I recently finished Daniel Radosh's Rapture Ready!, a book exploring Christian pop culture and some of its stranger manifestations, from theme parks like Florida's Holy Land Experience to the Ultimate Christian Wrestling pro circuit (no joke). But one event that he paid special attention to was Cornerstone, a Woodstock-like Christian music festival held each year [...]
- Stigmata Scars
The Loft • January 4, 2010
By Sarah Braasch
I'm scared to expose myself like this. But, I'm tired of the shame and the guilt and the fear. I have something important to say. And, I want to comfort other victims of religious abuse who feel alone and afraid.
I grew up in an abusive Jehovah's Witness home. When people ask me [...]
- Photo Sunday: Newfallen
The Foyer • January 3, 2010
In honor of the season, and of all the frigid weather we've been having here in the Northeast, here's the first Photo Sunday of the new year. Stay warm!
Snow on pine needles, New York City, New York, December 2009. Photo by the author. Camera details: Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS. Click for larger version.
- Free Speech Still Threatened in Europe
The Rotunda • January 2, 2010
Scarcely two days into 2010, we've gotten a stark reminder of how free speech is still threatened by religious fanatics: Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist who drew the image of Mohammed depicted to the right, was attacked at home Friday night by a murderous, ax-wielding religious fanatic. Fortunately, neither Westergaard nor his 5-year-old granddaughter, who [...]
- Site Matters
The Foyer • January 1, 2010
I believe I've successfully upgraded the site to the newest version of WordPress. Hopefully, this will keep out hacker attacks like the one from a few weeks ago. I think all the glitches resulting from the upgrade have been ironed out, but if you see anything that doesn't work right, or that seems different from [...]
