SecularCafe - Religion

Friday, 8 June 2012

Secular Café: Religious bullies

Secular Café

Discuss atheism, religious apologetics, separation of church & state, theology, comparative religion and scripture.

Religious bullies

Jun 8th 2012, 17:05

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richar...b_1564043.html

Quote:

There is nothing wrong with people proclaiming their faith publicly; the problem is when they seek to impose it on everyone else. When Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1), He was talking to bullies and hypocrites. Martin Luther King, Jr. used his faith to liberate people, not to bash or demonize them; that is the difference between him and the radical religious right, who have gone from attacking him to co-opting him.

People are not sheep. God gave us human brains, and we have the responsibility to honor that gift by thinking for ourselves. In any case, we have intellectual freedom in this country, and our civil government is based on the Constitution, not on the Bible. The bullies' repeated groundless assertions to the contrary do not change this.

Jesus articulated the separation of church and state when He said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21). He also said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). If the bullies used their scripture as a source of reflection instead of as a weapon against others, they would realize that Jesus would be horrified at what they do in His name.

The use of religion to justify prejudice or as a means of controlling others is not acceptable in a diverse and free society. Sloganeering about "religious freedom" to force your dogma on everyone else is an insult to intelligence. Your religious freedom does not entitle you to deny others access to health care or to interfere with their health care decisions. It does not entitle you to disfavor faiths or families or ethnic groups of which you disapprove.

We refuse to let preachers of hate off the hook when others act on their inflammatory words and attack or kill LGBT people. Violence, harassment, and sexual assault are not funny, nor are they inevitable rites of passage. They are not acceptable either in school or prison or within a relationship. Your advancement does not require putting your boot on someone else's neck.

The dispute between pro-gay and anti-gay forces is not symmetric. LGBT-rights activists do not seek to deny anyone equal protection of the law, as our opponents do. We object to the false symmetry portrayed by many in the media. Bullies who are prevented from bullying do not thereby become victims. The radical religious right's claim of victimhood is not a mere disagreement; it is a lie...

...The tide is turning against those who call themselves "pro-family" while attacking families they don't like. We are committed to being part of that tide and urge others to do likewise. Much is at stake for us, for those we love, and for our country.

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Secular Café: Ron Jeremy goes to church

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Discuss atheism, religious apologetics, separation of church & state, theology, comparative religion and scripture.

Ron Jeremy goes to church

Jun 8th 2012, 12:10

http://www.10news.com/news/31166024/...ml?hpt=us_bn10

Quote:

Miles McPherson, the pastor of The Rock Church, said Jeremy will be a guest at five services on Sunday.

Every week, about 12,000 people fill the pews of the church to hear McPherson's message. Now, McPherson hopes his followers will open their hearts and minds for this unlikely church guest, who he believes is perfect.

"We started a series called 'Exposed' about five weeks ago talking about what is exposed in our heart when we judge people," he said.

The professional football player turned pastor says most of society would turn their backs on people like Jeremy.

"He's not a Christian, he's living a sinful life in people's eyes and his lifestyle is contrary to the Bible but still, we're obligated to love him," said McPherson.

The words "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" is splashed on a colorful promotional poster for Sunday's unusual guest. McPherson hopes the sermon will encourage people to look at themselves in the mirror.

"One out of every two guys watch pornography and one out of every six women… so there's pornography in church every week, we just don't talk about it," he said.

Now, that's a church service I just might attend, if I lived in San Diego!

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Secular Café: Being Born Again is actually a Brain Disorder

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Discuss atheism, religious apologetics, separation of church & state, theology, comparative religion and scripture.

Being Born Again is actually a Brain Disorder

Jun 7th 2012, 16:51

As I tend to think most religion/theological beliefs are. :evil:

Quote:

Being 'Born-Again' Linked to More Brain Atrophy: Study

WEDNESDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults who say they've had a life-changing religious experience are more likely to have a greater decrease in size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain critical to learning and memory, new research finds.

According to the study, people who said they were a "born-again" Protestant or Catholic, or conversely, those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants, but not born-again.

The study is published online in PLoS ONE.

As people age, a certain amount of brain atrophy is expected. Shrinkage of the hippocampus is also associated with depression, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

In the study, researchers asked 268 people aged 58 to 84 about their religious affiliation, spiritual practices and life-changing religious experiences. Over the course of two to eight years, changes to the hippocampus were monitored using MRI scans.

The researchers suggested that stress over holding religious beliefs that fall outside of the mainstream may help explain the findings.

"One interpretation of our finding -- that members of majority religious groups seem to have less atrophy compared with minority religious groups -- is that when you feel your beliefs and values are somewhat at odds with those of society as a whole, it may contribute to long-term stress that could have implications for the brain," Amy Owen, lead author of the study and a research associate at Duke University Medical Center, said in a Duke news release.

The study authors also suggested that life-changing religious experiences could challenge a person's established religious beliefs, triggering stress.

....

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/132456883.html

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Secular Café: Legendary Fail: People are on Welfare Because They Don't Read the Bible

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Discuss atheism, religious apologetics, separation of church & state, theology, comparative religion and scripture.

Legendary Fail: People are on Welfare Because They Don't Read the Bible

Jun 7th 2012, 03:09

link

Quote:

People are on welfare for many different reasons. Most people are on welfare because they lost their jobs and need benefits to care for their families until they can find new work. Others are sick or disabled and are therefore unable to work. These are reasonable explanations for why people need welfare. But religious conservatives are inventing a new reason to explain why people are on welfare.

According to right-wing preacher and activist David Barton, people are on welfare because they don’t read the Bible.

David Barton is a conservative minister from Texas. He is the founder of Wallbuilders, an organization that seeks to destroy the separation of church and state to achieve its ultimate goal of turning America into a Christian state ruled by Biblical law. During his radio program called ‘Wallbuilders Live,’ Barton claimed that people are on welfare because they don’t read the Bible.

“Wouldn’t it be interesting to do a study between those that are on welfare and see how much and how often they read the Bible,” Barton wondered. “You know, if Booker T. Washington is right that Christianity and reading the Bible increases your desires and therefore your ability for hard work; if we take that as an axiom, does that mean that the people who are getting government assistance spend nearly no time in the Bible, therefore have no desire, and therefore no ability for hard work? I could go a lot of places with this. I would love to see this proven out in some kind of sociological study, but it makes perfect sense.”

There are two problems with Barton’s claim. First, Bible belt and the more religious/conservative states have been revealed as the real welfare states. On average, for every $1.00 that blue states receive, red states take $1.16. That may not sound like a lot but that adds up to millions more in federal aid going to conservative states.

If we take a look at the list of the top states that take federal dollars, 16 of the top twenty states are conservative leaning.

1. New Mexico: $2.03
2. Mississippi: $2.02
3. Alaska: $1.84
4. Louisiana: $1.78
5. West Virginia: $1.76
6. North Dakota: $1.68
7. Alabama: $1.66
8. South Dakota: $1.53
9. Kentucky: $1.51
10. Virginia: $1.51
11. Montana: $1.47
12. Hawaii: $1.44
13. Maine: $1.41
14. Arkansas: $1.41
15. Oklahoma: $1.36
16. South Carolina: $1.35
17. Missouri: $1.32
18. Maryland: $1.30
19. Tennessee: $1.27
20. Idaho: $1.21

As it turns out, the big liberal states that conservatives have come to despise actually take little federal aid.

40. Massachusetts: $0.82
42. New York: $0.79
43. California: $0.78

So the real welfare queens are in fact, conservatives.

The second problem with Barton’s claim is that a recent Gallup Poll found that Republicans are more religious than Democrats.

So either conservatives don’t read the Bible or they do read it and collect welfare at the same time. The evidence presented suggests that Bible-toting conservatives need welfare more than less religious people living in liberal states.

Regardless of who gets more welfare, those who get it most certainly need it. People just don’t go on welfare to get a free ride. In order to receive welfare benefits, a person has to qualify for them. Whether it be food stamps or Medicaid or housing assistance or energy assistance or unemployment benefits, welfare programs clearly help those in need. According to statistics, most welfare recipients are white adults and are on welfare less than two years at a time. That means the majority of Americans see welfare as temporary assistance.

Obviously, Barton’s claim is seriously flawed. Of course, I wouldn’t expect him or any other conservative for that matter to believe the facts.

:bang:

Note: full article quoted but the addictinginfo site is fine with that.

Quote:

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Secular Café: Twenty supposed atheist-stumpers

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Twenty supposed atheist-stumpers

Jun 7th 2012, 02:48

20 Questions | Richard Carrier Blogs takes on
God's Advocate • 20 questions atheists struggle to answer
from Christian Medical Comment: Twenty questions atheists struggle to answer

Here they are:
1. What caused the universe to exist?
2. What explains the fine tuning of the universe?
3. Why is the universe rational?
4. How did DNA and amino acids arise?
5. Where did the genetic code come from?
6. How do irreducibly complex enzyme chains evolve?
7. How do we account for the origin of 116 distinct language families?
8. Why did cities suddenly appear all over the world between 3,000 and 1,000 BC?
9. How is independent thought possible in a world ruled by chance and necessity?
10. How do we account for self-awareness?
11. How is free will possible in a material universe?
12. How do we account for conscience?
13. On what basis can we make moral judgements?
14. Why does suffering matter?
15. Why do human beings matter?
16. Why care about justice?
17. How do we account for the almost universal belief in the supernatural?
18. How do we know the supernatural does not exist?
19. How can we know if there is conscious existence after death?
20. What accounts for the empty tomb, resurrection appearances and growth of the church?

Does anyone want to take a swipe at them? Some of them are almost too easy.

Secular Café: Send in the Nuns

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Discuss atheism, religious apologetics, separation of church & state, theology, comparative religion and scripture.

Send in the Nuns

Jun 6th 2012, 12:09

Okay, I admit that I stole that title line from an old Mel Brooks film, but it just seemed to fit. Regardless of whether you would like to see all religion die out or are just hoping it will become more liberal and less harmful, you might like what these nuns are doing. They certainly have my respect.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/us...es.html?ref=us

Quote:

In a spirited retort to the Vatican, a group of Roman Catholic nuns is planning a bus trip across nine states this month, stopping at homeless shelters, food pantries, schools and health care facilities run by nuns to highlight their work with the nation's poor and disenfranchised.

Quote:

The sisters plan to use the tour also to protest cuts in programs for the poor and working families in the federal budget that was passed by the House of Representatives and proposed by Representative Paul D. Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who cited his Catholic faith to justify the cuts.

"We're doing this because these are life issues," said Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a liberal social justice lobby in Washington. "And by lifting up the work of Catholic sisters, we will demonstrate the very programs and services that will be decimated by the House budget."

The bus tour is to begin on June 18 in Iowa and end on July 2 in Virginia. The dates overlap with the "Fortnight for Freedom," events announced by Catholic bishops to rally opposition to what they see as the Obama administration's violations of religious freedom. The bishops object in particular to a mandate in the health care overhaul to require religiously affiliated hospitals and universities to offer their employees coverage for birth control in their insurance plans.

Secular Café: RCC losing support in Ireland

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Discuss atheism, religious apologetics, separation of church & state, theology, comparative religion and scripture.

RCC losing support in Ireland

Jun 6th 2012, 12:39

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Cat...157178905.html

Quote:

The Irish people have given up on the basic principles of Catholicism according to a new survey.

The latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll shows that the majority of Catholics in Ireland no longer attend Mass.

The survey also says that significant numbers 'do not believe' in key elements of the church's teachings.

The poll results have been published by the newspaper to coincide with the 50th Eucharistic Congress of the Catholic Church in Dublin this week.

But never mind; the church is still sitting on billions' worth of property.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...317368627.html

Quote:

The assets owned by the State's 26 dioceses and 160-plus congregations and other distinct Catholic organisations have been accumulated over more than two centuries of providing religious, educational, health and other services to a once devout populace.

The property is held in trust by an array of organisations that now share similar challenges arising from declining and ageing memberships.

Many congregations of nuns, brothers and priests have property portfolios running into tens and hundreds of millions of euro, with average ages for their memberships well past the normal age of retirement.

Most have put in place lay structures through which they hope the assets will continue to be used for faith-linked purposes when the congregations themselves have all but withered away. They have done this while seeking to ensure they retain sufficient resources to look after the welfare of their members, many of whom need nursing care...

...Damages and redress to victims of abuse at the hands of religious, whether diocesan priests or members of the independent congregations, is an issue that could have bankrupted some congregations were it not for the indemnity scheme granted by the State in 2002.

After the landmark 1999 States of Fear documentaries by the late Mary Raftery, the State set up the Residential Institutions Redress Board. The government entered into an indemnity agreement with 18 congregations whereby they would contribute €128 million in cash, property and counselling services, with the State picking up the rest of the redress costs.

However, the costs have proved to be much greater than were earlier envisaged. The latest estimate from the Department of Education is that the redress costs will be about €1.5 billion.

In the wake of the 2009 Ryan report, the government asked the congregations to increase their contribution to half of the estimated final cost, but to date the amount being offered is well short of that. The congregations have offered a further €350 million – about €270 million short of what the Government believes they should pay.