MightyAC

It's not an accident,they actively court the socon/christian vote. Then they try to keep em quiet.

It has to be tough being a good soldier performing a questionable task. In every single topic the opinions of her heroes are falling and she is forced to dodge more and more questions. I feel some sympathy...it can't be easy to harbour this kind of doubt in her community.

Extreme devotion breeds this kind of delusion. Besides membership count there is no difference between a religion and a cult. If someone has swallowed a message hook, line and sinker...be it saviour space aliens following the Hale Bop commet or intelligent deisgn how do you get through to them? They mostly associate with like minded individuals so like tyrants their beliefs are almost always confirmed by their peers. Fortunately they are a dieing breed.

Unfortunately, I'm not. Marrying the victim to her rapist is pure Bible. What a 'good' book! There's a reason those that read the Bible lose faith in faith.

Agreed, we need a kinder gentler capitalism or communism with incentive. Bring on cooperatalism!

Great song! Corey Chisel reminds me of Jacob Dylan with more personality.

We know there was not a world flood, especially one that covered the mountain tops as stated in Genesis 6. We also know that all the world's plant and animal life could not fit on a 450 foot long boat with one window for ventilation. So a giant wooden boat carrying all the worlds lifeforms came to rest in one spot. Many of the lifeforms that exist today would not be suited to the climate in that location and simply die. Many of the animals would kill and eat other plants and animals before they could reproduce. There are a million logical flaws with this story and I know that most Christians know it is just a fairytale. The point is you can't cherry pick true claims and ignore the vast quantities of bullshit.

We know the earth is spherical, even the ancient Greeks knew it. Pythagoras knew it in the 6th century B.C.E, Anaxagoras (5th cent), Aristotle, Aristarchus (4th cent B.C.E), In the 3rd cent B.C.E Eratoshenes measured estimated the diameter of the earth within 12% of the actual value. Yet the bible got it wrong. Daniel 4:10-11 - Nebuchadnezzar dreams about a tree that was so tall that it could been seen "from the end of the earth." Only on a flat earth would this be possible. 4:10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. 4:11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:

I find it funny that when the religious attempt to discredit atheism they call it a religion.

What about the endless list of bible stories, statements and assertions that are wrong? Like with the evil and immoral passages do you just pretend they don't exist? For example, it can be proved conclusively that there is no physical evidence for a worldwide Flood, so that the event described in Genesis -- if related to a real event at all -- describes at best a large local flood that became a legend. The bible refers to the earth as a flat circle despite the fact that ancient Greeks suspected it was spherical prior to the bible. The idea that the earth is suspended in nothing was also proposed by Greek philosopher Anaximander prior to the bible as well. However the bible contradicts itself here as in some verses it supported by pillars. The bible also borrows incorrect Greek ideas, like when it claims embryos are created like milk curdling into cheese. The bible claims the earth does not move and...well it does.

When the religious are attacking science, education, homosexuals, other religions, women, etc...live and let live may not be the best stance. Kind of like when the RCC celebrated Hitler's birthday.

I didn't call it tyranny. Many people continued to believe the world was flat and the sun circled the earth long after it was proven otherwise...and they did so freely. Examination, facts, critical thinking eventually led the populace to believe differently. That's what I'm hoping for here because religious ideas are not only just incredibly unlikely but many are very dangerous and evil as well. The problem is society has built a protective cocoon around religion. We cannot criticize it, we have to grant it some sort of special respect, by default those that do not believe are somehow incomplete or immoral. That's what I want to change. Let's make it acceptable to criticize bad ideas regardless of their origin. The place to start is with the millions of unthinking, first world, educated enablers. It would be very hard to convince the guy at the top of the pyramid scheme to change his ways...he has too much invested. However some rational discussion with those at the base of the pyramid, who are propping up the scheme, could really topple the entire structure. I disagree. I think we need the uber antagonistic Hitch, the cold scientific Dawkins just as much as the softer, philosophical Dan Dennet and the smooth, logical Sam Harris. They all have their place and reach a different audience. You may not want to offend somebody's traditional, accident of birth beliefs. That's great, nobody is asking you too. Calm, cool, reason has its place as well and I really hope yours rubs off on some. However, the breaking down of well constructed and well funded barriers to reason does not happen without stepping on a few toes so we do need the brash and cold as well. Plus I'm willing to bet that the death threats, quote mining attacks and personal character assaults leads one to become a little more abrasive.

The every sperm is sacred stance has many negative side effects, including worsening the AIDS epidemic.

As an example let's focus on your criticism of the RCC and their anti-contraceptive stance. Where does the political power the Vatican commands come from? The tiny fraction of hard core, letter of cannon law following, devotees? No...it comes from the shear size of the flock and the donations and support they provide. So even though the average half-assed Catholic disagrees with much of what their leader commands, they are helping to greatly worsen the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Is it rude or obnoxious to question or criticize someone's belief in ghosts, fate, unicorns or any number of conspiracy theories? Of course not, nor should it be taboo to do the same with religion. I happen to think that more open discussion of religion and what it represents, will lead people to examine their own beliefs and hasten the decline in religious participation. Especially in the first world.

I suppose it does sound radical to suggest that the run of the mill religious folk enable evil, but it shouldn't. These are the people that pay their dues and add to the political power of large organizations that kill people, demonize homosexuals, attack scientific knowledge, hold back and degrade women, spread disease, etc. These are the people that give power to the crazy social and cultural ideas that religion is beyond criticism. Without the masses religions lose their power. There is a reason that religious participation decreases as education increases; the educated tend to think critically. We need to break this critical thinking barrier that religion has surrounded itself with and discredit the fairy tales. I think the time has come to stop protecting hate and stupidity simply because the idea originated in a holy book. We need to promote good ideas and denounce bad ones regardless of their origin. I think the time has also come to treat politicians that profess belief in notions like a 6,000 year old earth like someone that just claimed to spot Elvis, alive and well, at the local super market.