The Reason Stick: The Venn Diagram of Irrational Nonsense

The Reason Stick: The Venn Diagram of Irrational Nonsense

Zingers By Martin Luther

I love this so much it should be illegal.

Why Religion?

Far too busy to post, as you have doubtless noticed. I've been sharing to facebook, as it is much faster, but this one I thought I'd keep off of FB.

Interesting point:

If you claim that the founder of your church had been conceived by normal sexual intercourse between his mother and father, anyone else would believe that too, and you’ve done nothing to demonstrate your commitment to your church. But if you insist, despite all evidence to the contrary, that he was born of a virgin birth, and nobody has been able to shake you of that irrational belief after many decades of your life, then your fellow believers will feel much more confident that you’ll persist in your belief and can be trusted not to abandon your group.

One Reason I Don't Publish Original Content Anymore

Because the great bloggers I read always beat me to it.

Help A Poor, Wayward Soul Out

I'm certainly no Christian. I will freely admit to being something less than a Biblical "scholar."  In fact, I've read a very tiny percentage of the Good Book. So having fessed up to my ignorance, I was wondering, as I don't have time right now to be reading the Bible, which of the following Republican goals would Jesus support? Because I know a very decent, loving, kind Christian woman who is going to vote Rmoney*/Ryan in a few weeks:

Monks Were Weird Dudes

At least the ones who drew these.

"Rethinking Zionism"

[via facebook]
Presented without comment.

QOTD

[via Futility Closet]

George P. Spencer of Lyndon Center, Vt., died in 1908 at age 83. His epitaph is inscribed on the sides of a granite monument:

Beyond the universe there is nothing and within the universe the supernatural does not and cannot exist. Of all deceivers who have plagued mankind, none are so deeply ruinous to human happiness as those impostors who pretend to lead by a light above nature. Science has never killed or persecuted a single person for doubting or denying its teachings, and most of these teachings have been true; but religion has murdered millions for doubting or denying her dogmas, and most of these dogmas have been false.

(From Charles L. Wallis, Stories on Stone, 1954)

Why Faith Is Dangerous

The kind of thinking that allows a person to hold on to a belief or opinion when the premise of the belief or opinion is demonstrably false is dangerous. It undermines rationality, and I submit it undermines a central part of what makes us human. I make no comment here on the notion of spirituality, or on the wise and useful teachings of religious traditions. I'm attacking the "faith" that things that demonstrably aren't true, are in fact true. Nonsense, and magical thinking and belief in the patently false are not only absurd intellectually, I think they represent a major impediment to the progress and improvement of human life.

For example, the story of Adam and Eve is simply false. This isn't opinion, it is scientific fact.

The linked post discusses how people who do, or ought to, know better, accommodate the false beliefs of religious people. I think they are doing those people a great disservice.

Cultural Sensitivity

A company, who shall remain nameless, sent the following in a Holiday Newsletter:

HANUKKAH BEGINS 12/21/11
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for
eight days and nights. It begins on the 25th of
the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with
late November-late December on the secular*
calendar. This holiday commemorates the rededication
of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following
the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.
“Hanukkah” is a Hebrew words[sic] that actually means
“dedication” or “consecration.”

Immediately under that was this quote:

The only real blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not
Christmas in his heart. - Helen Keller

OK then. As this followed an e-mail from a manager noting that he's bringing "ham for sanatwiches[sic]" to the Holiday Pot Luck, I think we can draw some conclusions. Oy vey!

* - The "secular" calendar was named after a pope, and uses "Before Christ" and "Anno Domini (The Year Of Our Lord)" to mark dates. Can you feel the secularity?

Photo Of The Day

An anonymous facebook friend sent me this. Love it.

(A)Historical Tidbit Of The Day

The First Amendment doesn't apply to Muslims cuz there weren't none in America when Jesus wrote it.

An Open Letter to Glen Beck from a non-Orthodox Jew

Interesting survey of the types of Judaism.

An Open Letter to Glen Beck from a non-Orthodox Jew

Adam and Eve(rybody Else Accepts Evolution More Than We Do)

OK, not everybody. In Turkey, a smaller percentage accept evolution. And probably in some of the more backwards places on Earth, I suppose. But we pride ourselves on being "better" than that, don't we? Otherwise, we have a higher percentage of people in this country who reject evolution than in any of the so-called developed nations.

There are many factors that might explain why American students rank far behind their peers around the world in math, reading, and science. Unlike some other metrics, like GDP, I actually care about being #1. Or darn close.

One of the first areas people address is spending. In terms of spending, we rank tied for 37th in education spending as a percentage of GDP. A comprehensive overview of the statistic can be found here. Not bad, not great. This leads to the question of, "How effective is simply spending more?" This is a complex topic, which I will not address in this post.

This Land Is Our Land

And so I wade into the troubled seas of the Israel-Palestine issue. Some prefatory remarks are in order.

I support the existence of the State of Israel. I mean like I'd support full-scale American military intervention in an invasion or full-scale American retaliation against attackers.

My feelings about the policy choices of Israel towards the Palestinians is another matter. It is obviously a complex, multi-faceted issue. Suffice to say I stop short of "anything Israel does is right."

Jesus Christ

This is bad. Really, really bad. No disrespect to their faith, except insofar as all faith is irrational, etc. But my goodness, this is so many kinds of bad all in one, I have to wonder if I were The Big Carpenter, would I be happy about this? Bad singing, bad dancing, bad acting, bad grammar, just a big ol' smorgasbord of bad. The end credits, however, are hysterical, in a good way.

F*ck It We'll Do It... Taped!

About a month ago, everyone's favorite professional irritant, Bill O'Reilly, decided to take it upon himself to defend the victimized Christians from the hateful attacks (read as: billboards) of the American Atheists. In this "discussion" Billy resorts to his typical shouting, cutting off, and insulting his guest. The real meat of this particular interview came at the end, when Bill proves the existence of a deity with a rather confusing source of evidence: the tide. (I suspect Mr. O'Reilly may be a Juggalo once the cameras stop rolling)

Well I'll Be A Monkey's Uncle

Or, it will be my great great great grandfather. Or something.

The shameful ignorance of our elected officials never ends. Sometimes I see stuff like this:

Rep Jack Kingston (R., Ga): I Didn’t Come From A Monkey

and I think, "If they only understood what the theory of evolution actually says, then maybe.."

The reality sets in. They do not want to understand. They can't. People like this were raised with a particular view of the world, in this case, I am sure, one informed by the teachings of Christianity. Not the moral or spiritual teachings. The teachings about historical and scientific facts. Some people believe that they must interpret the Bible literally. This is awesomely stupid. It leads to backwards thinking. It is an abdication of reason. It flies in the face of reality. And it explains much of the otherwise inexplicable stupidity of some of the American electorate. Faith-based "thinking" isn't thinking at all. It is adherence to a counter-factual set of beliefs that are flatly contradicted by science. And it is, insofar as it influences public policy, very dangerous. I'll discuss that a little more elsewhere.

If one chooses to turn to religion, then I respect that choice. If one incorporates the guidance that religion can provide on how to live a good life, whatever that means, fine. I do my best to judge people based on their actions, not their religious affiliation, if any. I still think they believe in a magical sky man for whom there is no evidence whatsoever, and I still think much of religion (as opposed to spirituality) is just plain silly. But those are my opinions, and I would not seek to impose those on anyone. The problem with certain religious people is that they impose their views, consciously or not. People like Rep. Kingston impose darkness on the human race by their ignorance. There are many examples. The Congressman who cited God's covenant to not destroy the Earth again (gee, thanks Lord) as a reason to ignore climate change is, through his ignorance fueled by faith-based thinking, pursuing choices that will cause direct harm to millions of people.