Archive for August, 2008
Prophet Muhammad novel scrapped due to concerns of Muslim violence
Plans to release a novel about Prophet Muhammad’s child bride A’isha have been scrapped by US publishers Random House over fears it could spark violence.
The Jewel of Medina, the debut novel by journalist Sherry Jones, was due to hit shelves on 12 August.
Random House said it had been advised the book “might be offensive” to [...]
Two-Year-Old Dies of Starvation in Cult
Police say the five suspects belonged to a small group of adults and children who operated for a time in East and West Baltimore. Police allege that the victim’s mother, Ria Ramkissoon, 21, the first to be charged with murder, and others neglected Javon and allowed the boy to starve to death because they thought [...]
20Aug2008 | Admin | 0 comments | Continued
New Documentary by Bill Maher ‘Religulous’
When I attended a press screening for Bill Maher’s “Religulous” in New York on Tuesday, it struck me like a lightning bolt on the road to the Kodak Theatre via Damascus: yeah, “Religulous” will probably be nominated for best docu at the Oscars — and God help us all after that.
We know that “Religulous” is [...]
Atheist Leaders Better?
When Labour cabinet members were asked about their religious allegiances last December, following Tony Blair’s official conversion to Roman Catholicism, it turned out that more than half of them are not believers. The least equivocal about their atheism were the health secretary, Alan Johnson, and foreign secretary David Miliband.
The fact that Miliband is an atheist [...]
C.S. Lewis and Naturalism
Can Naturalism Explain Reason, Nature, and Morality?:
By Austin Cline, About.com
C.S. Lewis wanted to explain nature on the basis of his supernatural god; as a consequence, naturalistic explanations for nature represented a major threat — just as it does for contemporary apologists. Lewis argued against naturalism in a variety of contexts. It plays an important role [...]
Does Authenticity Lead to Happiness?
Humanistic psychologists (I identify myself as one) are fond of talking about authenticity. Mention the words “genuine,” “real,” or “deep” and you’ll see our faces light up. I ran a therapy group not so long ago and during the last session a few of the participants teased me about my oft-repeated catch-phrase: “Keep it real [...]
20Aug2008 | Admin | 0 comments | Continued
Balloon Crucifix
Inside the Fellowship of Christian Magicians, where Scripture-quoting puppets and flaming Bibles win souls for the Lord. Plus, watch videos of gospel illusionist Duane Laflin, motorcycle missionary Jill Bryan, and chalk artist Kerry Kistler in action HERE.
By Catherine Price
As the annual convention of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians kicks off [...]
EU Mars robots begin test campaign
Engineers have unveiled the latest prototypes for a European rover that is due to land on Mars in 2015.
BBC News has had exclusive access to the test vehicles which are being put through their paces by space company UK Astrium at its HQ in Stevenage.
The British team on this European Space Agency (Esa) project has [...]
Which Works Better Behind Bars, Scuba or Buddha?
Underwater welding (Chino state prison, California)
Every year, 100 inmates enroll in this yearlong career-training program taught in a special diving tank.
Why it works: The program’s grads have a very low (6 to 12 percent) recidivism rate. And no wonder: After release, they can earn $100,000 a year in the construction and oil industries.
Victim outreach (North [...]
15Aug2008 | Admin | 0 comments | Continued
Machines ‘to match man by 2029′
Machines will achieve human-level artificial intelligence by 2029, a leading US inventor has predicted.
Humanity is on the brink of advances that will see tiny robots implanted in people’s brains to make them more intelligent, said Ray Kurzweil.
The engineer believes machines and humans will eventually merge through devices implanted in the body to boost [...]
Atheists bond during ‘de-baptism’
Belief in God symbolically evaporated when more than a hundred atheists were “de-baptized” with a blow dryer yesterday.
Organizers of the event in Westerville, described as a “coming out party” for atheists, agnostics and humanists, served root beer and crackers with peanut butter and honey to top off the late afternoon ceremony.
“Do you agree that the [...]
UK: City Council ban on atheist websites
Lawyers at the National Secular Society said the move by Birmingham City Council was “discriminatory” and they would consider legal action.
The rules also ban sites that promote witchcraft, the paranormal, sexual deviancy and criminal activity.
The city council declined to comment on the possible legal action, but said the new system helped make it easier for [...]
Majority of Canadians Believe in Evolution
A majority of Canadians believe in the theory of evolution while about one in five accept creationism, a new study said yesterday.
An Angus Reid online poll shows 58% of Canucks think humans evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years, and 22% believe God created people in their present form within the last [...]
Smart future for swarming robots
The robots swarm and mass together like living creatures
Swarms of robots could one day be exploring space or doing dangerous jobs on Earth, say researchers.
Promising prototypes of co-operating robots were on show at the Artificial Life XI conference this week.
Advances in technology mean it is now possible to create self-assembling robot chains as well [...]
Richard Dawkins replies to Libby Purves
Professor Richard Dawkins on his television programme about Charles Darwin, evolution and atheism
esterday, Libby Purves wrote about Professor Richard Dawkins’ television series about Charles Darwin. Richard Dawkins writes in reply:
Sir, In her article about episode 1 of my television documentary, The Genius of Charles Darwin, Libby Purves says that I offered the children a choice [...]
Theology, Apologetics, and Religious Philosophy
Same Questions & Topics, Different Motives
By Austin Cline, About.com
Both theology and the philosophy of religion have played important roles in Western culture, but not everyone understands the important differences between them. The motives behind theology and the philosophy of religion are very different, but the questions they ask and the topics they address are often [...]
Love as religion—”I’m truly blessed for everything you give me”
By Aaron Ben-Zeév, Ph.D. on August 08, 2008 in In the Name of Love
eaven on earth that’s what you’ve made for me since the day we met. (The Platters)
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me,I was blessed because I was loved [...]
The flying spaghetti monster
Why are we here on earth? To Richard Dawkins, that’s a remarkably stupid question. In a heated interview, the famous biologist insists that religion is evil and God might as well be a children’s fantasy.
Oct. 13, 2006 | In the roiling debate between science and religion, it would be hard to exaggerate the enormous influence [...]
What’s wrong with science as religion
July 31, 2008 | PZ Myers is a true believer, a science crusader with the singled-minded enthusiasm of a televangelist. A biologist at the University of Minnesota at Morris and a columnist for Seed magazine, Myers has earned notoriety with his blog, Pharyngula, in which he reports on new developments in biology and indiscriminately excoriates [...]
1Aug2008 | Admin | 1 comment | ContinuedTranslate
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The Center for Naturalism
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Earl and Fiona
This image from the GOES-13 satellite, taken at 10:32 a.m. EDT on Sept. 3, shows a huge Hurricane Earl northeast of North Carolina with cloud cover stretching over the northeastern U.S. A disorganized Tropical Storm Fiona is located in the bottom right of this image. Image Credit: NASA/NOAA Goes Project
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