Atheist News Feed

Big Bang or Big Bounce?: New Theory on the Universe's Birth: Scientific American

2008-10-07T18:16:24Z

Our universe may have started not with a big bang but with a big bounce—an implosion that triggered an explosion, all driven by exotic quantum-gravitational effects

How not to blog – by a Church of England vicar

2008-10-06T15:16:00Z

Wow, this is shocking to say the least. The Guardian reports that Reverend Peter Mullen, chaplain to the London Stock Exchange, is facing disciplinary action over the content of his blog, which contained comments about homosexuals and Muslims that were, well, distasteful to say the least.

The blog's no longer online, but it's too late anyway as the key quotes have survived and made it into the news. Here's a rundown:

On homosexuality – "Let us make it obligatory for homosexuals to have their backsides tattooed with the slogan sodomy can seriously damage your health and their chins with fellatio kills."

On the Hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) – "They usually manage to stampede and slaughter quite a few hundred of their co-religionists. Just imagine for a moment what a field day the BBC and the leftwing press in England would have if anything even remotely as bad as that happened in Vatican Square at Christmas or Easter." (He also referred to any possible deaths as "agreeable carnage")

On Muslims in general – "[They] certainly lend themselves to ridicule: sticking their arses in the air five times a day. How about a few little choruses, 'Randy Muslims when they die/Find 70 virgins in the sky'?"

Apparently the Bishop of London was alerted to all this back in June, merely promising to "have a word", but now he's probably wishing he's taken further action at the time. As for Rev Mullen, he seems unrepentant. You see, he was just indulging in some "light-hearted jokes" in the grand "tradition of English satire":

"I wrote some satirical things on my blog and anybody with an ounce of sense of humour or any understanding of the tradition of English satire would immediately assume that they're light-hearted jokes. I certainly have nothing against homosexuals. Many of my dear friends have been and are of that persuasion. What I have got against them is the militant preaching of homosexuality."

How Did Religulous Do at the Box Office?

2008-10-06T12:00:52Z

Here’s the update:

Over the weekend, Bill Maher’s Religulous made $3,519,000 in around 500 theaters for a $6,972 per theater average.

That puts it in 10^th place for the weekend box office. (Sadly, it’s behind Kirk Cameron’s pro-Christianity movie Fireproof (8^th place) which was in ~850 theaters.)

However, it did do better than Expelled did on its opening weekend — Expelled made $2,970,848 in just over 1,000 theaters in its first days. In all, it made $7,690,545.

Religulous looks like it will surpass that mark next week.

As far as documentaries go, it is likely to crack the all-time Top Ten List.

PZ Myers points out a few more important distinctions:

Religulous hasn’t had much of an advertising campaign. Remember all the Expelled commercials everywhere, including The Daily Show? Maher’s movie has only relatively recently been getting plugged. It’s ads are more intelligently targeted, though.

…

Religulous is coming off its opening weekend with great word of mouth and good critical reviews. Expelled attendance plummeted steadily from the first day onward.

…

One to think about, and maybe this isn’t a difference: Expelled had a built-in base of evangelical Christians to draw on (although many were disgusted by it, too). Does Religulous also draw upon a base of freethinkers? Is there a neglected audience for more godless entertainment? Will advertisers and investors figure this out?

It just goes to show: If you want your movie to succeed, don’t interview PZ for it

One more note: In 1^st place this weekend? Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

If that doesn’t give you an accurate snapshot of our country’s collective intelligence, nothing does.

Asking the right God question

2008-10-06T22:19:00Z

By Gregory Rodriguez
October 6, 2008

The debate between faith and atheism leaves too little room for figuring out why humans believe.

Maybe We Should Blame God for the Subprime Mess - TIME

2008-10-06T13:11:38Z

As the real-estate led financial crisis deepens, experts accuse rags-to-riches theology of creating subprime-interest victims

'I found Allah in my mango'

2008-10-05T16:25:16Z

News: Muslim woman in Sweden stunned to find words 'Allah,' 'Muhammad' in her mango

The Telescope: 400 Years and Counting

2008-10-04T19:51:26Z

Quick -- name the invention that has done most to redefine our place in the universe.

Hint: This invention was also the most seditious, blasphemous instrument of all time, shaking the very foundations of society.

Earliest reference describes Christ as 'magician'

2008-10-01T20:12:21Z

A team of scientists led by renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio recently announced that they have found a bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that is engraved with what they believe could be the world's first known reference to Christ.

Bill Maher is America's Biggest Bigot - Catholic League

2008-09-30T21:34:46Z

How do we know? Consider the following: Bill Maher, comedian and famed atheist, has long been the biggest bigot in Hollywood. While Maher professes to loathe all religions, his favorite target is the Catholic Church. Indeed, he rarely aims his venom at Islam or Judaism. And while he does enjoy taking shots at Evangelicals, it is clear that he is monomaniacal in his contempt for Catholicism. Below is a sampling of what he has said about the Church throughout his years in showbiz.

Fatwa against Zardari for flirting with Palin

2008-09-30T01:01:16Z

From ibnlive.com:

New Delhi: A Pakistani cleric has issued a fatwa against Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari for flirting with US Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Maulana Abdul Ghafar of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid said that Zardari’s behaviour was un-Islamic and that the President has shamed the entire nation.

The Maulana said that President Zardari’s indecent gestures, filthy remarks and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt is not only un-Islamic but also unbecoming of a head of state of a Muslim country.

He said that the manner in which Zardari shook hands with Sarah Palin and expressed his deep desire to hug her is intolerable and shameful.

(via Slog)

Blinded by a divine light

2008-09-29T03:47:00Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/28/religion

By Harry Kroto
Creationists such as the Rev Reiss don’t have the intellectual integrity to teach science
Sunday September 28 2008

Extremists threaten to kill Muslim cleric Omar Bakri's pole dancing daughter - mirror.co.uk

2008-09-28T07:12:33Z

Extremists threaten to kill Muslim cleric Omar Bakri's pole dancing daughter

Muslim gang firebombs publisher of Allah novel, Martin Rynja - Times Online

2008-09-28T02:14:23Z

Scotland Yard's counter-terrorist command yesterday foiled an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to kill the publisher of a forthcoming novel featuring sexual encounters between the Prophet Muhammad and his child bride.

World's oldest rocks discovered in Canada

2008-09-27T00:07:14Z

Shared by David
Scientists say they have discovered the oldest rocks on Earth in Canada, giving them a glimpse at the origins of the planet.

Russian woman put on trial in Dubai for drinking juice in public - Pravda.Ru

2008-09-25T20:35:46Z

A 28-year-old Russian female, who visited Dubai on a tourist visa, and a 30-year-old male citizen of Lebanon, a salesman in a local store, were put on trial for drinking juice in a public place in the daytime during Muslim fasting.

Large Hadron Collider Down Until 2009 - Wired

2008-09-24T20:33:15Z

It's time to find something else to blame for all the recent strange occurrences in your life: The Large Hadron Collider, which had become a favorite culprit for everything from

Cathedral seminar to equip clerics to deal with Dawkins by Bishop Richard Chartres

2008-09-24T08:19:00Z

The Anglican bishop of London, Richard Chartres, is to host a study day at St Paul's Cathedral in the British capital to help clergy counter the influence of the scientist and atheist Richard Dawkins

God 0, Atheism 2: Hitchens Eats Another Religious Figure for Lunch | Reality Base | Discover Magazine

2008-09-24T06:34:45Z

Evolution | Are you there God, and if so, will you please provide an emissary that can go head-to-head with Christopher Hitchens without getting spectacularly flayed?That w

'All Terrorists are Darwinists': An Interview with Harun Yahya by Spiegel Online

2008-09-23T22:14:38Z

Adnan Oktar (aka Harun Yahya) is one of Turkey's major proponents of creationism and he believes Darwin's theory of evolution is the Devil's work. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, he explains how he plans to defeat Darwinism.

Report on Islamic attempts to suppress free speech at the UN

2008-09-22T12:00:00Z

Many of you will be aware of the ongoing controversy over efforts by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an influential organisation with 57 member states, to ensure that "religious defamation" is forbidden during discussion at the United Nations' Human Rights Council.

Many Islamic countries deem the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which turns 60 in December, unacceptable and claim to adhere instead to the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, a document whose key free speech clause reads as follows: "Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the shari'ah."

Every year since 1999 the OIC has succeeded in passing a resolution on "Combating the Defamation of Religions" in the Human Rights Council, and in March this year an amendment was passed which means the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression (an individual supposed to report instances where free speech is stifled in UN member states) to "report on instances in which the abuse of the right of freedom of expression constitutes an act of racial or religious discrimination."

In the past year many non-religious organisations and Western governments have begun to wake up to what is happening, and concern has been expressed widely that the OIC are trying to introduce a prohibition against blasphemy that is sanctioned by international law. With this mind, I want to turn your attention to an important new report by Austin Dacey (whose new book we reviewed recently) and Colin Koproske, produced for the Center for Inquiry, in which they analyse the issue in detail, warning of the dangers this poses for free speech, and offer recommendations for the HRC.

For anyone new to this issue the report is well worth reading, as it tells the full story in detail and will give you a real sense of what's at stake here.

[Thanks to Ophelia sending us the report]