Congress loves abstinence-only programs so much it has thrown big bucks at them. The public? It’s got better ideas.

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Questions of good and evil, right and wrong are commonly thought unanswerable by science. But Sam Harris argues that science can—and should—be an authority on moral issues, shaping human values and setting out what constitutes a good life.

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Ingersoll describes in detail why he does not find the Bible to be a moral guide.  He illustrates his point with examples from various books and teachings within the Old and New Testaments.

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“We hear much about His patience and forbearance and long-suffering; we hear nothing about our own, which much exceeds it. We hear much about His mercy and kindness and goodness—in words—the words of His Book and of His pulpit—and the meek multitude is content with this evidence, such as it is, seeking no further; but whoso searcheth after a concreted sample of it will in time acquire fatigue. There being no instances of it.”

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Richard Dawkins calls for atheists to come out of hiding and cease being timid about their convictions.  He highlights and rejects stereotypes associated with atheism, and notes that only when they organize, will they have a voice loud enough to hear.

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Considerable debate has surrounded the question of the origins and evolution of religion. One proposal views religion as an adaptation for cooperation, whereas an alternative proposal views religion as a by-product of evolved, non-religious, cognitive functions. We critically evaluate each approach, explore the link between religion and morality in particular, and argue that recent empirical work in moral psychology provides stronger support for the by-product approach. Specifically, despite differences in religious background, individuals show no difference in the pattern of their moral judgments for unfamiliar moral scenarios. These findings suggest that religion evolved from pre-existing cognitive functions, but that it may then have been subject to selection, creating an adaptively designed system for solving the problem of cooperation.

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Excerpt from a memoir of life in an Israeli Kibbutz with discussion of the author’s growing disillusionment with Labour Zionism. “What I did, however, come quite quickly to understand if not openly acknowledge was just how limited the kibbutz and its members really were. The mere fact of collective self-government, or egalitarian distribution of consumer durables, does not make you either more sophisticated or more tolerant of others. Indeed, to the extent that it contributes to an extraordinary smugness of self-regard, it actually reinforces the worst kind of ethnic solipsism.”

An in-depth and surprisingly personal interview of Richard Dawkins by Riz Khan.

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Russell Blackford stands up for the “new atheism”. Blackford explains why in his view the resurgence in atheist literature and the movement in general, are gaining traction and why open criticism of religion should not remain taboo.

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The Indian gods are everywhere!

New York Times obituary for Oral Roberts, the Pentecostal evangelist whose televised faith-healing ministry attracted millions of followers worldwide. He was the patriarch of the “prosperity gospel,” a theology that promotes the idea that Christians who pray and donate with sufficient fervency will be rewarded with health, wealth and happiness.

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A new Pew survey finds that large numbers of Americans engage in multiple religious practices, for example blending Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs such as reincarnation, astrology and the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects. And sizeable minorities of all major U.S. religious groups say they have experienced supernatural phenomena, such as being in touch with the dead or with ghosts.

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In a succinct essay, Pinker argues that science is making religion obsolete because it answers questions once thought to be the sole domain of God, such as the origins of life and the universe, the nature of consciousness, and the nature of morality.

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This month marks the 150th anniversary of the most influential piece of popular science writing ever published. Geneticist and author Steve Jones has summarized and updated the book for the 21st century

Following are excerpts from addresses by several Egyptian clerics on the subject of martyrdom and love of death. The programs aired on Al-Rahma TV and Al-Nas TV on January 2, 8, and 11, 2009.

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Penn Jillete discusses the lack of evidence for God and the richness of life based on reality rather than the supernatural.

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In science we may start with experimental results, data, observations, measurements, “facts.” We invent, if we can, a rich array of possible explanations and systematically confront each explanation with the facts. In the course of their training, scientists are equipped with a baloney detection kit. The kit is brought out as a matter of course whenever new ideas are offered for consideration. If the new idea survives examination by the tools in our kit, we grant it warm, although tentative, acceptance. If you’re so inclined, if you don’t want to buy baloney even when it’s reassuring to do so, there are precautions that can be taken; there’s a tried-and-true, consumer-tested method.

What’s in the kit? Tools for skeptical thinking.

What skeptical thinking boils down to is the means to construct, and to understand, a reasoned argument and—especially important—to recognize a fallacious or fraudulent argument. The question is not whether we like the conclusion that emerges out of a train of reasoning, but whether the conclusion follows from the premise or starting point and whether that premise is true.

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Many people in the secular community are troubled by Bill Maher’s opinions about medicine. Michael Shermer has written him an open letter.

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There are lessons that the secular Left can learn from religion, for all its atrocities and absurdities; and the Left is not so flush with ideas that it can afford to look such a gift horse in the mouth. But will either side listen to the other at present? Will Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins read this and experience an epiphany that puts the road to Damascus in the shade?

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I posted this video recently on Facebook, and am posting it here at the behest of a good friend who insists it deserves a place in the archives. I am including my original comments and links, and would only add that if you have children, I promise you wouldn’t mind watching episodes of Histeria! with them. They are very cleverly written with plenty of subtle jokes and musical parodies for more mature folks. And revered historical figures like Confucius and Abe Lincoln are treated quite fairly, to be sure…HA! Enjoy!

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