4
POPSBible Belt Bluster North Carolina recently has had its share of negative publicity. A relatively minor brouhaha concerning a councilman who claims to be a "post-theist" has ignited a small blaze that has reached the national level. Ridicule is an excellent tool for changing perspective concerning silly laws. One wonders about the competence of the lawmakers in SC.
6
POPSGimme That New-Time Religion Also, from the article: Hispanics are more likely than whites to believe in yoga, spiritual energy in physical objects, astrology and the evil eye, and blacks are more likely than whites to believe in reincarnation and the evil eye. Older people (those over age 65) are less likely to agree with these kinds of beliefs compared with younger people The concept of worship is changing too as people go to services in multiple places across faiths. More than one in three (35%) adults surveyed said they attend religious services at multiple places and 24% said they attend services of different faiths. Protestants (30%) were more likely to attend services outside their domination than Catholics. More Protestants (30%) say they attend services outside their own denomination than Catholics (19%).
5
POPSAn Afrian Tragedy Certain African countries are at the receiving end of international scorn for their homophobic views. And rightly so. It is difficult to fathom how, in the 21st Century, this type of backwards thinking could exist. Shame on them.
4
POPSBigotry Sanctioned by Religion The question is one of privilege over bigotry. Should certain Christian sects be allowed to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation? The theists claim they are simply following their holy book which they contend makes the practice of prejudice and bigotry against gays and lesbians legitimate. They cling to their repeatedly refuted dogma that the "homosexual lifestyle" is something voluntary. Their argument? The Bible says it's so. This anti-reality viewpoint is not confined to sexual orientation. It is seen in a general anti-intellectualism and distrust of science. No wonder that a growing segment of the public are beginning to see through this and respond accordingly.
4
POPSLiving in the Bible Belt What may seem unconscionable to most Americans is the rule of thumb in the Bible Belt. Most people I meet every day most likely would agree that anyone who doesn't believe in God is not fit to hold public office. People simply do not think these non-believers stand on firm moral ground.
4
POPSOuija Board Science I don't buy this for a minute. In the clip I saw on the news the man had his eyes closed. Try typing with one finger with your eyes closed. Facilitated communication? I'd call it one step removed from astronomy. I'd like to see the "facilitator" blindfolded and see the messages that result.
4
POPSTroubling Stats from the FBI Intolerance and bigotry are on the rise according to the FBI. Recent mass protests by the "grass roots" Teabaggers have show this return to coarseness and arguably have contributed to this increase.
1
POPSThis Seems to be Commonplace If the US experienced the same amount of airplane accidents as Indonesia has ferry accidents you can bet the FAA would be all over it. Sometimes there is very good reason for Government regulations. My advise is don't ride on Indonesian ferries.
1
POPSBigotry on Display I read the entire document yesterday and found it to be riddled with false information, barely disguised hatred, and blatant prejudice. If this represents the thinking of religious leaders today than it's a sad commentary indeed.
5
POPSA Sad Situation Members of a Mormon cult in Missouri are charged with various sexual crimes. The short clip doesn't address the question of how much their religious dogma was involved in these crimes. Yet a pattern of child sexual abuse is all too often associated with various cults within the religious community.
2
POPSContrast - Press Release vs Actual News This is a press release. A careful reading shows the lengths the publishers will go to increase sales. It clearly frames the "authors" (quotes are for ridicule) as somehow victims of the angry hordes of evil atheists gathering outside the town's walls waving pitchforks and torches. This approach probably will be successful. It plays right into the Religious Rights perceptions of persecution and prejudice.
3
POPSThis Probably Frightens Theists A basic tenant of proselytizing is to nab them when they are young. In that way, your particular doctrine has more of a chance to "stick". How much more generous and respectful to allow a child to discover the vast variety of ideas and learn the best methods to use to make sense of them and when they are mature enough to come to a conclusion the mindset is truly theirs. Yet caution is needed. Children should also be taught to be able to discern truth from lies, reality from fairy tales, and propaganda from reality. Not an east job.
4
POPSTrue Wisdom That's it! The next time I take a leak I'll remind myself that I'm a truly godly man. And we wonder about the intelligence coming from this segment of the population. This revelation of pissing position is sure to seal the deal that America is truly a Christian Nation©.
7
POPSBegone Heathens!!! From the comments: "Quick question. Does "any form of mysticism are represented" mean Christianity too? Because one definition of mysticism, from wiki, is "(from the Greek μυστικός, mystikos, an initiate of a mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight." If it doesn't include Christianity, does that mean that symbolically eating the flesh and drinking the blood of your God, lighting candles, praying to dead people, chanting, performing hour or two hour long ceremonies lead by a man or woman dressed in funny robes, forming small groups to discuss sacred texts, believing that the dead will rise, marking your forehead with ash and speaking in tongues is ok, else you are wiccan?"
2
POPSGod Did It! (cont) "In December 2005, federal Judge John E. Jones III ruled that ID must meet the same fate that creationism met in 1987 when the Supreme Court ruled religious doctrines can't be promoted in secular institutions because they violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Judge Jones wrote in his decision regarding a policy of the Dover, Pennsylvania, school district that added ID to the school's biology program: The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy. It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy...."
3
POPS"Calm Down Little Lady" (cont) "Meteor Blades writes at Daily Kos about the passage of the Stupak-Pitts coat-hanger amendment: "Irrational." "Hypersensitive." "Overreacting." "Hysterical." Women recognize these words all too well. They're put-downs many of them have had thrown at them all their lives anytime they raise issues about their treatment in relationships, school, the workplace or society at large. These words and others of similar ilk have found their way into diaries and comments here at Daily Kos yesterday and today around the abomination known as the Stupak-Pitts Amendment. Calm down, little lady, is the tone. Get real. Be adults. Doncha know how politics really works?"
3
POPSTheists to the Resue (Cont.) Ah, I see. I had no idea how different the government of the UK was from the government of the US. Here, honesty and generosity aren't exactly common currency in government, or at least are in conflict. I suppose one could argue that Washington has been very generous to defense contractors, but they aren't very forthright about it. I suppose there are principles of solidarity at work, with our most religious party, the Republicans, being monolithic in their opposition to equality, social support, and science, and Democrats straining to achieve some kind of unity — maybe they'd benefit from religious rigidity, too. I suppose if the UK government did model their political system after the Muslims and Christians, they could end up with a nice, pretty political system like ours, with Republicans and Democrats.
2
POPSYawn - Dinesh's Same Tired Dogma This guy never adds anything new to the conversation. The same tired arguments, over and over again. For those of you unfamiliar with this defender of the faith, he is a frequent columnist on the World Net Daily. The WND is notorious for such rational positions as backing the Birthers, Creationists, and Christian Nationalists. Dinesh's mainstays are straw men, claiming atheists are a dangerous "movement", and bashing liberals. One could compare him to Glenn Beck without a TV show.
2
POPSTheocrat of the Day We are all influenced by our culture, heritage, and family. It is the lens through which we see the world. Also, we are each individuals, capable of reaching decisions on our own. It seems strange that this representative of the people of Pennsylvania needs to ask permission from the Catholic Church before he votes.
2
POPSAnswers in Genesis Reveals the Way Hodge contines: "If we love God, we should obey Him (John 14:15). To love God first means to obey Him first--before looking at our neighbor. So, is the greater good trusting God when He says not to lie or trusting in our fallible, sinful minds about the uncertain future? Consider this carefully. In the situation of a Nazi beating on the door, we have assumed a lie would save a life, but really we don't know. So, one would be opting to lie and disobey God without the certainty of saving a life--keeping in mind that all are ultimately condemned to die physically. Besides, whether one lied or not may not have stopped the Nazi solders from searching the house anyway." I certainly wouldn't have thought of it in that way. You learn something new everyday.
2
POPSI Wonder If He Attended? Bruce goes on in his diatribe to quote mine after accusing atheist of this same activity. Well, what can you expect. He is the president of the Discovery Institute, that bastion of creation...er, Intelligent Design.
2
POPSAnd he ends with Pascal's Wager I run into people like this quite frequently. They're not necessarily bad people, except for their bigotry and prejudice. Yet I'm continually amazed at the breadth of their ignorance.
3
Clips
Latest Pops
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Tags
Print
Save
Turn on live update