As stated at The Reason Project: “Made by Mammals” is an unyet published editorial project by Andy Marlow, an English graphic designer based in Madrid. Images were created to accompany and emphasize quotes taken mainly from leading intellectuals such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennett who criticize religion and its role in modern society. The main aim of the book is to provoke thought, reflection and rational debate on religion. The most thought-provoking image for me… Read more
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has been visiting churches across the state on the taxpayers’ dime. Actually, it’s worse than a dime. His trips have cost around $45,000: Between March 2 and July 20, Jindal traveled to churches, mostly in north Louisiana, on a state helicopter at a cost to the taxpayers of about $45,000, according to State Police records. In May, June and July, there was rarely a Sunday when Jindal did not fly a taxpayer-funded helicopter to church services… Read more
Here’s a nice collection of “Godless Atheist” moments from The Daily Show. There are a few in here I’ve never seen before. In fact, in the clip below, I’m surprised to hear Jon Stewart take the stance that he does since he’s been much more vocal about church/state separation issues in recent years: The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10cHeadlines – In God We Fusswww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealthcare Protests (via Comedy Central Insider Blog) Read more
Focus on the Family is laying off another 8% of its staff. The workforce has gone from 1400 seven years ago to 860 today. Their explanation is the recession: “These are tough economic times,” Focus spokesman Gary Schneeberger said. “The challenges have made us take a hard look at what we do structurally and strategically so we can accomplish our mission more efficiently.” Sure, the recession is hurting everyone — especially non-profits — but I wonder if there’s more to… Read more
It’s just a comic book, but I’m sure this will be seen by some as controversial: The story is SuperGod by Warren Ellis and Garrie Gastonny and you can see a preview of it here. … In the world of SUPERGOD, superhumans are the ultimate expression of the Messiah complex, and scientists can build Messiahs who will fly down from the skies to save the world. No-one thought about how they’d do it — or even if they’d want to…. Read more
The wife of Yukio Hatoyama, Japan’s new prime minister, is a nut. “While my body was sleeping, I think my spirit flew on a triangular-shaped UFO to Venus,” wrote Miyuki Hatoyama. “It was an extremely beautiful place and was very green.” The space-bound spouse has also been a musical actress, cookbook writer, designer and TV personality — and says that she was friends long ago with Tom Cruise, whom she knew in a previous life when he was Japanese. …… Read more
I’ve been reading a book called Write These Laws on Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling (Beacon Press, August, 2009) by Robert Kunzman. The book is a look at six Christian families and how they homeschool their children. Not every family fits the stereotype I know I have in my mind. Some are impressive; others leave much to be desired. A number of the passages in the book make for interesting discussion starters, so I’ll post some… Read more
It doesn’t look good for students in Iran trying to get a legitimate education: Ayatollah Khamenei said this week that the study of social sciences “promotes doubts and uncertainty.” He urged “ardent defenders of Islam” to review the human sciences that are taught in Iran’s universities and that he said “promote secularism,” according to Iranian news services. “Many of the humanities and liberal arts are based on philosophies whose foundations are materialism and disbelief in godly and Islamic teachings,” Ayatollah… Read more
There’s no good reason anti-discrimination laws should not be extended to people based on their sexuality and gender identity. But that doesn’t mean some religious people won’t try to justify their bigotry. The Goshen City Council in Indiana had a chance to offer protection to GLBT people. More than 500 people showed up to the meeting and most wanted to share their opinion on the ordinance that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of protected classes…. Read more
Michael Baigent is the co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the book that provided the underlying idea behind The Da Vinci Code (that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child and the bloodline lives on). In fact, his last name is an anagram for a main character in Dan Brown’s book. His work has been both revered and vilified and, in 2007, he was on the losing end of a lawsuit against Brown. Baigent has just released his new book,… Read more
