World
Church leaders unite against ‘idolatry’ of atheism | The Australian
The Atheist Foundation of Australia said yesterday that Dr Jensen’s claims were “preposterous” and condemned Christianity for a spate of child sex abuse scandals. “He seeks out a scapegoat and attacks atheism without any understanding of what he is saying,” foundation president David Nicholls said.
“To state we hate his god or are attacking his god [...]
Afghan President Backtracks on Law Legalizing Rape in Marriage
KABUL — Responding to criticism from around the world, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that a new law that critics say makes it legal for men to rape their wives will be studied and possibly sent back to parliament for review.
Karzai said he ordered the Justice Ministry to review the law, and if [...]
Naturalist Scandinavia Doing Quite Well, Thank you.
Phil Zuckerman spent 14 months in Scandinavia, talking to hundreds of Danes and Swedes about religion. It wasn’t easy.
Anyone who has paid attention knows that Denmark and Sweden are among the least religious nations in the world. Polls asking about belief in God, the importance of religion in people’s lives, belief in life after death [...]
Four out of five Britons repudiate creationism
The east of England may be the most godless region of the UK, according to a “belief map” published by a theology thinktank today. Almost half of adults there believe the theory of evolution makes God obsolete, and more than 80% disagree with creationism and intelligent design, which propose that humans were created by God [...]
8Mar2009 | Admin | 0 comments | Continued
Darwin, Britain’s Hero, Is Still Controversial In U.S. : NPR
This year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, and to say Darwin mania is gripping England does not overstate the case.
The Royal Mint has created a Darwin coin, the Royal Mail has made a Darwin stamp set, and there are countless lectures and exhibitions throughout the country.
Bob Bloomfield is in charge of Darwin200, [...]
Far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders barred from UK over anti-Islam film - Times Online
A far-right Dutch politician was denied entry to the UK yesterday, sparking a diplomatic row.
Geert Wilders, an outspoken anti-Islamist, was scheduled to visit London on Thursday for a screening of his controversial film Fitna, at the invitation of Lord Pearson, the Ukip peer.
The Home Office’s decision to refuse him entry because of his extreme views [...]
Hindu radicals vow to attack Valentine’s Day couples - The Irish Times - Fri, Feb 06, 2009
Hindu radicals vow to attack Valentine’s Day couples - The Irish Times - Fri, Feb 06, 2009
HINDU EXTREMISTS who recently dragged young women out of a fashionable bar in southern India and thrashed them as part of a morality campaign have vowed to assault couples who celebrate Valentine’s Day.
“Valentine’s Day is definitely not Indian culture. [...]
Woman Burned to Death for Practicing Witchcraft
A young Papua New Guinea woman was burned to death in what authorities fear is the latest witchcraft killing in the remote and lawless interior of the country.
The woman, believed to be between 16 and 20 years old, was stripped naked, gagged and tied to a truck loaded with firewood — which was driven to [...]
U.N. assembly again votes against defaming religion
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly condemned defamation of religion for the fourth year running on Thursday, ignoring critics who said the resolution threatens freedom of speech.
The non-binding resolution, championed by Islamic states and opposed by Western countries, passed by 86 votes to 53 with 42 abstentions. Opponents noted that support [...]
The Saudis’ dubious interfaith agenda at the UN
Washington – World leaders gathering at the United Nations this week for a special session of the General Assembly to advance interfaith dialogue should have no illusions that their efforts will miraculously promote mutual respect between religious communities or end abuses of religious freedom.
Saudi King Abdullah, who initiated this week’s special session, is quietly [...]
Buzzing Buddha
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) _ The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester is abuzz over what they believe is a miracle: a wasp nest in the shape of a seated Buddha built in the eaves of their temple.
The nest was spotted last week. Elder members of the community say they have never seen an apparition of the [...]
18Nov2008 | Admin | 0 comments | Continued
‘Child-witches’ of Nigeria seek refuge
Mary is a pretty five-year-old girl with big brown eyes and a father who kicked her out onto the streets in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. Her crime: the local priest had denounced her as a witch and blamed her “evil powers” [...]
17Nov2008 | Admin | 2 comments | Continued
Catholic Priest Who Ordained Woman Faces Ex-Communication
VATICAN CITY — A Roman Catholic priest faces excommunication for attending a ceremony to ordain a woman in the United States, a Vatican official said Friday.
The Rev. Roy Bourgeois joined a June ceremony in Lexington, Kentucky, to ordain Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a member of a group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests.
His excommunication would likely be automatic, requiring [...]
‘Second Life’ Affair Leads to Real-Life Divorce
A British couple have divorced after the husband was caught having a “virtual affair” with a female character in an online role-playing game.
David Pollard and Amy Taylor met in an online chat room in 2003 and married after discovering a shared love of the Internet game “Second Life.”
In the game, players create characters known [...]
Google Earth revives ancient Rome
Google has added a new twist to its popular 3D map tool, Google Earth, offering millions of users the chance to visit a virtual ancient Rome.
Google has reconstructed the sprawling city - inhabited by more than one million people as long ago as AD320.
Users can zoom around the map to visit the Forum of Julius [...]
A Masterclass in Democracy
No-where is the competition for power more open, inspiring or capable of real change than in America. The rest of the world would do well to look and learn
When the moment came, TV panellists who had talked volubly all evening suddenly found it hard to say a word. In Grant Park, Chicago, Jesse Jackson wept. [...]
Atheism is a belief system too — should it be protected?
Rob Breakenridge, For The Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, November 04, 2008
There’s a very simple way to look at the controversy raging over the convocation speech at the University of Alberta: the university is free to decide whether to maintain the “glory of God” reference in the speech — no one’s rights are being violated.
However, here’s an equally [...]
Stoning victim ‘begged for mercy’
A young woman recently stoned to death in Somalia first pleaded for her life, a witness has told the BBC.
“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me,” she said, according to the man who wanted to remain anonymous. A few minutes later, more than 50 men threw stones.
Human rights group Amnesty International says the victim was a [...]
Cybercrime wave sweeping Britain
Online identity firm Garlik’s cybercrime report claims that more than 3.5 million online crimes were committed in the UK last year.
The majority of crimes related to fraud and abusive or threatening e-mails. There was an 8% drop in online identity theft and sexual offences fell 2%.
Tom Ilube, of Garlick, said he expected to see a [...]
Faith is the Problem
By Bruce Gorton 30 October 2008, 16:55 GMT + 2
In The Times today, we had Jonathan Jansen writing about faith, crossing faith with morality, and basically trying to push a concept that has ended up taking the world down to hell in a handbasket as being good for the children.
Needless to say, as an [...]
Lord’s Prayer questioned in Australian Parliament
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - The speaker of Australia’s Parliament has called for a public debate about whether the country’s lawmakers should end the practice of starting each session with the Lord’s Prayer.
Lawmakers have started every day of Parliament with the Christian prayer for more than a century - a tradition inherited from Britain during colonial [...]
Jordanian poet accused of ‘atheism and blasphemy’
AMMAN: A Jordanian writer was charged this week with insulting Islam after incorporating verses of the Koran into a book of love poetry, “Grace like a Shadow,” that he printed in June without government approval, his lawyer said. “The prosecutor general of a magistrate’s court in Amman charged Islam Samhan with insulting Islam and the [...]
26Oct2008 | Admin | 0 comments | Continued
Britain Adopts Islamic Law, Gives Sharia Courts Full Power to Rule on Civil Cases
Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.
The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with [...]
Women Drugged, Sexually Assaulted in ‘Prayer Sessions’
SYDNEY, Australia — Two men were arrested Friday and charged with 230 sex offenses police said they committed during prayer sessions with a woman who believed one of the men could cure her of a religious curse.
The men, aged 61 and 38 years, are highly regarded members of Sydney’s Greek Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox communities, New [...]
Anglicans back Darwin over ‘noisy’ creationists
The Church of England expressed deep concerns last night about the spread of creationist views as it prepared to unveil a website promoting the evolutionary views of Charles Darwin.
Anglican leaders fear that “noisy” advocates of a literal interpretation of the Bible - especially in the United States, where even the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, [...]
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A Chameleon Sky
The sands of time are running out for the central star of this the Hourglass Nebula. With its nuclear fuel exhausted, this brief, spectacular, closing phase of a sun-like star's life occurs as its outer layers are ejected and its core becomes a cooling, fading white dwarf. In 1995, astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to make a series of images of planetary nebulae, including the one above. Here, delicate rings of colorful glowing gas (nitrogen-red, hydrogen-green, and oxygen-blue) outline the tenuous walls of the 'hourglass.' The unprecedented sharpness of Hubble's images revealed surprising details of the nebula ejection process and may resolve the outstanding mystery of the variety of complex shapes and symmetries of planetary nebulae. Image Credit: NASA, WFPC2, HST, R. Sahai and J. Trauger (JPL)
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