Daylight Atheism » Judaism

Book Review: God, No!

Ebonmuse — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:42:24 +0000

(Author's Note: The following review was solicited and is written in accordance with this site's policy for such reviews.)

Summary: Just what you'd expect from its author: outspoken, boisterous, crude, frequently vulgar, often hilarious. Unapologetically atheist, but more about Penn Jillette the person than about atheism per se.

God, No! is written by Penn Jillette, the louder half of Penn & Teller who's well-known for ... [visit site to read more]

Sex and Taboos in Orthodox Judaism

Ebonmuse — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:47:39 +0000

In the past, I've poked fun at the Catholic church for the logical contortions it goes through to get around the problems it creates for itself with its nonsensical decrees about sex. But the Catholics are far from the only sect that has laughably ridiculous rules about sex, nor are they the only sect that goes to absurd ends to get around the problems those rules create. So, today I'm going ... [visit site to read more]

On the Morality of: Circumcision

Ebonmuse — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:46:58 +0000

"And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

And it came to pass by the way ... [visit site to read more]

Photo Sunday: Toledo

Ebonmuse — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:37:50 +0000

More pictures from my Spanish trip. Click the link below to see:

... [visit site to read more]

Weekly Link Roundup

Ebonmuse — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:12:27 +0000

• Witchcraft is now a recognized profession in Romania, subjecting its practitioners to income tax. Witches who are unhappy about this are responding pretty much like you'd expect.

• A female activist in Israel faces prison time for praying at the Wailing Wall. The telling quote:

"The ... [visit site to read more]

Weekly Link Roundup

Ebonmuse — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:51:25 +0000

If blogging was my full-time job, I'd probably have written a post about each of these stories! As it is, I leave you with some food for thought - and there's a virtual banquet this week:

• In the U.K., more and more decaying churches are being converted into homes - a fitting use for these still-beautiful buildings, in my opinion.

• According to a study in the journal Pediatrics, visit site to read more]

Theocrats on the March in Israel

Ebonmuse — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:54:13 +0000

Since I wrote recently about the evil mullahs of the Middle East who ferociously resist the slightest spark of progress, I think it's worth pointing out - in the name of fairness - that destructive, theocratic insanity can be found in every religion. Christopher Hitchens has written an excellent column this week in Slate to remind us of that.

The visit site to read more]

A Brief and Amusing Encounter

Ebonmuse — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 15:30:15 +0000

Yesterday on my lunch hour, I was sitting outside the library, eating lunch and enjoying a rare day of warm weather, when I was approached by two young men in Orthodox Jewish garb.

"Hello, are you Jewish?" one of them greeted me.

"No," I said, as cheerfully as possible. "I'm an atheist."

Give them credit for one thing: they didn't flinch. "You can be Jewish and an atheist," he insisted, still smiling. "Judaism has nothing to do with what you believe."

Now, I acknowledge there's a ... [visit site to read more]

Civil War Denialism: A Further Response to "The Jewish Prophecy of Exile"

Ebonmuse — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:38:53 +0000

I didn't notice until recently that Narabelad, the apologist for Judaism whose claims I addressed in "The Jewish Prophecy of Exile", has written a further reply to me. In this post, I'll address it briefly.

First, let me note that my correspondent has evidently conceded that his visit site to read more]

Attention, Legal Scholars: Is This Constitutional?

Ebonmuse — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:49:00 +0000

In my recent post on creeping fundamentalism in Israel, I included a picture but didn't explain why. I wanted to talk about it some more, because it seems to me that what it depicts is a possible constitutional violation, and I was hoping I could get opinions from people better versed in constitutional law than I am.

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Escaping Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

Ebonmuse — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:01:21 +0000

I wrote in my previous post about the creeping spread of fundamentalism in Israel and how ultra-Orthodox Jews are constantly pressing for special privileges and greater political power, even though they're not willing to contribute to the upkeep of the state. The ultra-Orthodox are exempt from Israel's mandatory military service, and as many as two-thirds of ultra-Orthodox men don't work at all; they do ... [visit site to read more]

Creeping Fundamentalism in Israel

Ebonmuse — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:58:00 +0000

Israel, like America, is a modern secular democracy with a noisy religious minority that desires the creation of a theocracy. And as in America, religious fundamentalists in Israel exert political influence disproportionate to their numbers. But Israel's fundamentalist minority, the ultra-Orthodox or haredi Jews, have had some worrying successes lately in imposing their vision on the country.

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