April Fools!
Friday, April 01, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Dispraxis was edited
Recent changes on Dispraxis
Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format
edited by John F. Felix (diagroup)
Added links to my last two questions to Dr. Robert M. Price, the Bible Geek, in .mp3 format.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Dispraxis was edited
Recent changes on Dispraxis
Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format
edited by John F. Felix
Question # 7: Jesus curses the fig tree. (2010/08/24) I have yet to rediscover the web page that mentions other tree-cursing stories from antiquity. Any help?
Note: I have had some email correspondence with the author of: 'Mythology, Menstruation and the "Woman with the Issue of Blood,"' Andre Zsigmond, on the site http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk, concerning alternate interpretations of the tree-cursing motif. He sent along some interesting links:
http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/asherah.html
http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM05/spotlight.htm
# 8: Does the Torah prohibit blood transfusions? (2010/11/17)
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.
Note: I have had some email correspondence with the author of: 'Mythology, Menstruation and the "Woman with the Issue of Blood,"' Andre Zsigmond, on the site http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk, concerning alternate interpretations of the tree-cursing motif. He sent along some interesting links:
http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/asherah.html
http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM05/spotlight.htm
# 8: Does the Torah prohibit blood transfusions? (2010/11/17)
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
One Week to Carl Sagan Day! How are you celebrating?
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Monday, October 25, 2010
Dispraxis was edited
Recent changes on Dispraxis
Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format
edited by John F. Felix (diagroup)
Question # 5 & # 6: How reliable are Dr. Price's Pre-Nicene New Testament translations? and Evidence in the Septuagint Greek for reverse engineering by the MT.
Question # 7: Jesus curses the fig tree. I have yet to rediscover the web page that mentions other tree-cursing stories from antiquity. Any help?
Note: I have had some email correspondence with the author of: 'Mythology, Menstruation and the "Woman with the Issue of Blood,"' Andre Zsigmond, on the site http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk, concerning alternate interpretations of the tree-cursing motif. He sent along some interesting links:
http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/asherah.html
http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM05/spotlight.htm
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.
Question # 7: Jesus curses the fig tree. I have yet to rediscover the web page that mentions other tree-cursing stories from antiquity. Any help?
Note: I have had some email correspondence with the author of: 'Mythology, Menstruation and the "Woman with the Issue of Blood,"' Andre Zsigmond, on the site http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk, concerning alternate interpretations of the tree-cursing motif. He sent along some interesting links:
http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/asherah.html
http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM05/spotlight.htm
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Help support Double Feature Press.
From the Double Feature Press kickstart page:
Welcome to the Kickstarter page for Double Feature Press. We are a small press formed by Sarah L. Covert in October of 2010. Sarah grew up on drive-in movies. That is where her love for Science Fiction, Strange Tales, and Horror was born. Double Feature Press has an interesting concept, based around the old double feature drive-in flicks. Each book has two authors. Each author contributes either short stories, poems, or novellas to make up their half of the book. The books will all be in the genres Sarah loved as a child and loves even more now. They will be limited edition runs.Our first book is due out in 2011.
Project By
Sarah L. Covert
Charlotte, NC
Sarah L. Covert is a fiction writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina with her adorable cat Misha and her wonderful husband, Henry. She grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, where her love for reading and writing science-fiction, strange tales and horror began. She was only 10 years old when she wrote her first scary story. She lived in Portland, Oregon for a decade, where her love for the strange and unusual was fostered.
“Someone once asked what it was that first drew me to horror, science-fiction and strange tales. That's easy - Drive-In Theater Double Features. As a child my family and I would regularly go to the drive-in (back when they were far more prevalent). Usually they would play a "kid friendly" movie as the opener and a more adult movie later in the evening when the kids should have been sleeping. I never slept.” – Sarah L. Covert
sheneverslept.com
doublefeaturepress.com
Friday, October 01, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Forge a New Symbol for Tolerance
The one of most essential aspects of me as a person is that I don’t live religiously, in that considering Ground Zero as a “sacred site” is not within my ken. I do see it as a powerful symbol -- a statement about secular-based American democracy against sectarian fanaticism. Because I am a non-theist, I oppose in principle any religious shrine, icon or building there because, in my opinion, it was religion that was at the heart of the problem and ultimately the cause of the attacks in the first place.
However, my concern for preserving the site from intrusion by religious centers, whether Muslim or not, became modified by the fact that there was a “sacred space” within the south tower for Muslim workers to perform their daily obligations. Thus the symbol changed in its significance for me, becoming representative of America -- just one country among many-- rather than as an idealized sysmbol of a principled system of freedom of, and from, religion, now under attack for its capacity for tolerance by enemies who themselves suffer no tolerance.
To me, it is an obvious no-brainer that burning Qurans would lead to anti-American violence. However the Iman Rauf has maintained that if the center is forced to move, Muslims world-wide would still commit violent acts, because it would be perceived as persecution of Islam in the U.S. This dubious reasoning is an attempt to corner us into giving in and allowing the center to remain close to Ground Zero, and is at best a probable exaggeration. The American extremists on the other hand maintain that giving in would make America look weak and encourage anti-American violence. This position is also based on the assumption that inevitable effects will follow from the cause, and is also logically fallacious. It could be just as likely that it will make America appear strong, not fearing that such a clear gesture of tolerance would be exploited, but rather praised and revered, perhaps leading to a lowering of the threat level.
I hope for a new symbol of everything that I personally love about America to be forged., though in practice it is far from becoming a reality.
However, my concern for preserving the site from intrusion by religious centers, whether Muslim or not, became modified by the fact that there was a “sacred space” within the south tower for Muslim workers to perform their daily obligations. Thus the symbol changed in its significance for me, becoming representative of America -- just one country among many-- rather than as an idealized sysmbol of a principled system of freedom of, and from, religion, now under attack for its capacity for tolerance by enemies who themselves suffer no tolerance.
To me, it is an obvious no-brainer that burning Qurans would lead to anti-American violence. However the Iman Rauf has maintained that if the center is forced to move, Muslims world-wide would still commit violent acts, because it would be perceived as persecution of Islam in the U.S. This dubious reasoning is an attempt to corner us into giving in and allowing the center to remain close to Ground Zero, and is at best a probable exaggeration. The American extremists on the other hand maintain that giving in would make America look weak and encourage anti-American violence. This position is also based on the assumption that inevitable effects will follow from the cause, and is also logically fallacious. It could be just as likely that it will make America appear strong, not fearing that such a clear gesture of tolerance would be exploited, but rather praised and revered, perhaps leading to a lowering of the threat level.
I hope for a new symbol of everything that I personally love about America to be forged., though in practice it is far from becoming a reality.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Reflections on the origins of Judaism
The Assyrians were the probably the first major power in the Levant that practiced pacification through hegonomy, i.e., the imposition of standards of government, taxation, political affiliation and, most importantly, religion. The indigenous peoples were required to reform their worship along the lines of the Assyrian chief deities, although the locals were allowed to call them by whatever name they wished.
The Assyrian vassal treaty that forms the core of Deuteronomy was indeed a reform imposed from without. The cherubim iconography of the writings and of Northern Israel temples stems from this period, but Hezekiah and others were not cleansing the religious system of idolatry, but instituting the “correct” form, under the directives from their Assyrian overlords. The Assyrian highest god, Asshur, became the first model of what was later to morph into YHWH.
Other native city states, such as Judah, were also introduced to the new concept of Henotheism, the belief that although there were many gods, there was only one chief God. The northern kingdom of Israel was eventually overrun by the Assyrians, who imported in non-native peoples who quickly mixed with the Canaanites, the records of the statelet being transfered to the notoriously literature-hungry Assyrians. Later the city-state of Judah, centered in a newly prosperous Jerusalem, was also absorbed into the Babylonian empire, heir to the Assyrian records, among other things.
The Henotheistic exiles were purposefully isolating themselves into a distinct group while in captivity, who found that it was theologically impossible to worship their chief god, a form of Baal-Asshur, called YHWH, in a land that was under control of another god, Marduk. Zoroastrian religion was filtering into the Babylonian empire and the exiles converted to a form of it, a system near enough to be considered Zoroastrian, but having the monotheistic-trending god, YHWH, as the name of the God of Heaven, thus necessitating to account for “Mazda,” as explained below. As Zarathustranism turned to polytheism under the influence of Babylon, the exiles became ultra-monotheistic, rejecting all other gods, which represented everything bad that hitherto had happened to them.
The book of Daniel is actually a tale of the subversion of Babylon by a disloyal internal force, the ancestors of the people resettled into Judah. Daniel interprets the writing on the wall, declaring that the "Most High God" has decreed an end to the empire of the Chaldeans, and "In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom...." [KJV, Dn 5:30, 31]. By this time, the now ancient Daniel is decked out as "third ruler in the kingdom," a convenient position from which to influence subsequent events.
Cyrus, king of Persia, favored the Juddin of Babylon, as they were called, at first, but eventually found it expedient to encourage them to govern hostile territory in Judah, establishing a temple and tax-collection statelet for "all Jewry." Here I interpret Jewry, another variant of Juddin, as a non-ethnic, religious distinction. When they arrived, their religion and holy writings fasioned in the libraries of a Mesopotamian land, encountered native Canaanites heavily influenced by Egyptian culture, as the Levant had been mostly under their control before the Assyrians. The tensions between Persia and Egypt were mythologized into Egypt vs. the Israelites, or vs. God himself.
These Canaanites that lived in the land of re-settlement were still worshippers of YHWH and El, but were now seen as unclean and outcast pagans, as devotees of demons, and as forgetters and perverters of the “true worship,” a mythical system synthesized during the Babylonian captivity and fasioned after worship of YHWH (Ahuramazda) as the God of Heaven. The reluctance of the Juddin to voluntarily settle in a “land of promise” and the resistance of local worshipers of El, various Baals, including YHWH, led a forced settlement under Darius II, later mythologized as the forced migration of slaves in Egypt to the land of Canaan. Persian loyalties made it literarily inevitable that the main antagonist of the Hebrew writings be burdened upon the Egyptians. Nevertheless, the indigenous population of Judah contributed much to the ever-evolving collection of writings that provided the statelet with its national mythology. The pre-exilic kingdoms of Israel and Judah were myths, likewise based on the surviving records of the various conquerors, a Jewish southern kingdom having been woven out of parallel events recorded of the actual historical northern kingdom.
As Mazda mutated into Moses at the hands of Alexandrian Juddin, spurred by antagonism between the Egyptians and Persian-loyal Juddin, or Jews, living there, a Hebrew work was created to weld together the exilic and post-exilic story of the Jews, presenting the Egyptians as the main enemy. Just as Persia had detested all things Egyptian, their Juddin descendants, once Persia was neutralized by the Greeks, continued to see the Egyptians as their chief antagonists. As knowledge of Hebrew died out (Aramaic had already displaced it by this time) Greek translations became necessary. Since Hebrew was probably a dead language by this time, to write extended literary works in this language should be interpreted as an effort at deliberate archaizing.These Alexandrian romances were, over an extended period, translated into Greek and redacted, becoming the Septuagint, an ongoing work probably until the time of Herod the Great.
The myth of the Septuagint, as recorded by some ancient writers, can be seen in many ways as a deliberate inversion of the actual circumstances. The Hebrew texts were not imported into Egypt, but were in actuality created there, and allowed to become moth-eaten and corrupted by copyists. Later the Palestinian Jews imported what remained of the older texts, supplementing the many corruptions by “reverse-engineering” the Septuagint into Hebrew where necessary, making editorial changes, etc., a process that possibly continued at Qumram.
The Assyrian vassal treaty that forms the core of Deuteronomy was indeed a reform imposed from without. The cherubim iconography of the writings and of Northern Israel temples stems from this period, but Hezekiah and others were not cleansing the religious system of idolatry, but instituting the “correct” form, under the directives from their Assyrian overlords. The Assyrian highest god, Asshur, became the first model of what was later to morph into YHWH.
Other native city states, such as Judah, were also introduced to the new concept of Henotheism, the belief that although there were many gods, there was only one chief God. The northern kingdom of Israel was eventually overrun by the Assyrians, who imported in non-native peoples who quickly mixed with the Canaanites, the records of the statelet being transfered to the notoriously literature-hungry Assyrians. Later the city-state of Judah, centered in a newly prosperous Jerusalem, was also absorbed into the Babylonian empire, heir to the Assyrian records, among other things.
The Henotheistic exiles were purposefully isolating themselves into a distinct group while in captivity, who found that it was theologically impossible to worship their chief god, a form of Baal-Asshur, called YHWH, in a land that was under control of another god, Marduk. Zoroastrian religion was filtering into the Babylonian empire and the exiles converted to a form of it, a system near enough to be considered Zoroastrian, but having the monotheistic-trending god, YHWH, as the name of the God of Heaven, thus necessitating to account for “Mazda,” as explained below. As Zarathustranism turned to polytheism under the influence of Babylon, the exiles became ultra-monotheistic, rejecting all other gods, which represented everything bad that hitherto had happened to them.
The book of Daniel is actually a tale of the subversion of Babylon by a disloyal internal force, the ancestors of the people resettled into Judah. Daniel interprets the writing on the wall, declaring that the "Most High God" has decreed an end to the empire of the Chaldeans, and "In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom...." [KJV, Dn 5:30, 31]. By this time, the now ancient Daniel is decked out as "third ruler in the kingdom," a convenient position from which to influence subsequent events.
Cyrus, king of Persia, favored the Juddin of Babylon, as they were called, at first, but eventually found it expedient to encourage them to govern hostile territory in Judah, establishing a temple and tax-collection statelet for "all Jewry." Here I interpret Jewry, another variant of Juddin, as a non-ethnic, religious distinction. When they arrived, their religion and holy writings fasioned in the libraries of a Mesopotamian land, encountered native Canaanites heavily influenced by Egyptian culture, as the Levant had been mostly under their control before the Assyrians. The tensions between Persia and Egypt were mythologized into Egypt vs. the Israelites, or vs. God himself.
These Canaanites that lived in the land of re-settlement were still worshippers of YHWH and El, but were now seen as unclean and outcast pagans, as devotees of demons, and as forgetters and perverters of the “true worship,” a mythical system synthesized during the Babylonian captivity and fasioned after worship of YHWH (Ahuramazda) as the God of Heaven. The reluctance of the Juddin to voluntarily settle in a “land of promise” and the resistance of local worshipers of El, various Baals, including YHWH, led a forced settlement under Darius II, later mythologized as the forced migration of slaves in Egypt to the land of Canaan. Persian loyalties made it literarily inevitable that the main antagonist of the Hebrew writings be burdened upon the Egyptians. Nevertheless, the indigenous population of Judah contributed much to the ever-evolving collection of writings that provided the statelet with its national mythology. The pre-exilic kingdoms of Israel and Judah were myths, likewise based on the surviving records of the various conquerors, a Jewish southern kingdom having been woven out of parallel events recorded of the actual historical northern kingdom.
As Mazda mutated into Moses at the hands of Alexandrian Juddin, spurred by antagonism between the Egyptians and Persian-loyal Juddin, or Jews, living there, a Hebrew work was created to weld together the exilic and post-exilic story of the Jews, presenting the Egyptians as the main enemy. Just as Persia had detested all things Egyptian, their Juddin descendants, once Persia was neutralized by the Greeks, continued to see the Egyptians as their chief antagonists. As knowledge of Hebrew died out (Aramaic had already displaced it by this time) Greek translations became necessary. Since Hebrew was probably a dead language by this time, to write extended literary works in this language should be interpreted as an effort at deliberate archaizing.These Alexandrian romances were, over an extended period, translated into Greek and redacted, becoming the Septuagint, an ongoing work probably until the time of Herod the Great.
The myth of the Septuagint, as recorded by some ancient writers, can be seen in many ways as a deliberate inversion of the actual circumstances. The Hebrew texts were not imported into Egypt, but were in actuality created there, and allowed to become moth-eaten and corrupted by copyists. Later the Palestinian Jews imported what remained of the older texts, supplementing the many corruptions by “reverse-engineering” the Septuagint into Hebrew where necessary, making editorial changes, etc., a process that possibly continued at Qumram.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sacrifice on the Serengeti - A Guest Post by Eric M Johnson | Dr. Carin Bondar
Sacrifice on the Serengeti - A Guest Post by Eric M Johnson | Dr. Carin Bondar“However, on average, the general trend for Homo sapiens is to follow the same evolutionary forces that exist for any other species. Those traits that allowed more of an individuals genes to be passed on to the next generation were selected for and those that didn’t were ultimately discarded. The evidence has been steadily advancing that menopause is not simply the result of women living longer than their chimpanzee counterparts but that it was an evolutionarily successful strategy that allowed more members of our species to survive and reproduce.”
Refuting Quackery with Science-Based Medicine
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Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Agnostic's Manifesto
Keyword News: [atheism]
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:54 PM PDT
The Agnostic's Manifesto
Arts Journal Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:58 PM PDT
Ron Rosenbaum: "Let's get one thing straight: Agnosticism is not some kind of weak-tea atheism. Agnosticism is not atheism or theism. It is radical skepticism, doubt in the possibility of certainty, opposition to the unwarranted certainties that atheism and theism offer.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:54 PM PDT
The Agnostic's Manifesto
Arts Journal Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:58 PM PDT
Ron Rosenbaum: "Let's get one thing straight: Agnosticism is not some kind of weak-tea atheism. Agnosticism is not atheism or theism. It is radical skepticism, doubt in the possibility of certainty, opposition to the unwarranted certainties that atheism and theism offer.
Friday, June 25, 2010
AANEWS for Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1329 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 06/23/2010
http://www.atheists.org/
http://www.americanatheist.org/
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"All religions are equally sublime to the ignorant, useful to the
politician, and ridiculous to the philosopher."
- Lucretius, On the Nature of Things
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue...
* Breaking, AP: Philly Jury OKs BSA discrimination on municipal property
* Background: Philadelphia trial examines discrimination in Scouting ranks
* Worth Noting: Bachman's "Christian Counseling" took public money
* AA Letter to the Editor competition now open
* Voice of Reason Pod cast -- this week, "Touchdown Jesus"
* Check out Dave's NoGodBlog
* Follow AANEWS on Twitter
* Resources
* About this list...
Breaking
JURY: CITY CANNOT EVICT BOY SCOUTS OVER DISCRIMINATION
PHILADELPHIA - A jury says the city of Philadelphia cannot evict
a local Boy Scouts chapter from a city-owned building for refusing
to admit gays.
The city insisted that nonprofits given free use of its property
must abide by local anti-discrimination laws.
The scouts said they can legally limit their membership because of
a 2000 Supreme Court decision. They had sued in federal court to
stop the eviction.
Cradle of Liberty Council leaders have tried to walk a fine line
to retain city support without losing their national Boy Scouts
charter. The national organization bans gays.
Scouts lawyer Jason Gosselin says he hopes the two sides can work
out their differences in negotiations.
*
June 18, 2010 -- CNN coverage
Trial could settle dispute between Boy Scouts, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A federal trial is underway that
could settle a dispute between Philadelphia Boy Scouts and the city.
The national Scout policy that prohibits the hiring of homosexuals
puts the Philadelphia Scout chapter, the Cradle of Liberty Council,
in violation of the city charter and an ordinance outlawing
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and other grounds.
The Scouts were told by the city to pay $200,000 a year to lease
the building or vacate their headquarters that have been located
on city land, rent-free since 1928.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts could
exclude gay youth and troop leaders because the group is categorized
as a "membership organization." The city contends Cradle of Liberty
Council's refusal to openly reject the national scout policy violates
the City Charter.
The lawsuit filed by the Cradle of Liberty Council contends the
city's ultimatum violates their First Amendment rights and that the
city's position is unconstitutional and violates the organization's
right to free speech and equal protection. The trial began Monday
with jury selection.
The Scouts also argue that city leases property to other
organizations that have membership rules, including a Catholic
church and the Colonial Dames of America, and those tenants do not
face eviction, said attorneys for the Scouts. The city said the
comparison is inaccurate.
In 2007, City Council passed an ordinance to evict the Scouts and
later went to court in June 2008 to do so, but Cradle filed the
federal civil-rights lawsuit in May 2008.
In 2009, U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter issued an injunction
stopping the city from evicting the Scouts until the federal lawsuit
is resolved.
**
WORTH NOTING...
Hitchens As Atheism's Drag Queen In reading the recent comments on
this subject I've noticed that we, as atheists, are often using the
language of the gay rights movement to describe what it's like to be
an atheist in a largely theistic society--particularly the desire
to 'come out' as atheists. While sexual orientation and religious
belief are by no means equivalent, and I think it remains harder
to come out as a homosexual than as an atheist, the metaphor is
interesting and helps us understand the appeal of the 'New Atheists.'
<http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/06/a-louder-athiesm.html>
The Right's Favorite Atheist S.E. Cupp is the right wing's
current media darling who doesn't believe in God but just
penned a book attacking the liberal media and defending
Christianity. Benyamin Cohen unravels the Cupp enigma.
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-13/se-cupp-attacks-newsweek-defends-christianity-and-atheism/?cid=hp:topnav:book>
Bachmann's Christian Counseling Business Gets Public Funds Andy
Birkey at the Minnesota Independent reports that a Christian
counseling center owned by Michele Bachmann and her husband has
received more than $30,000 in public funds since 2007. It even
comes from one of those "socialized medicine" systems the state of
Minnesota runs for poor people.
<http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/06/bachmanns_christian_counseling.php>
Touchdown Jesus On Fire, Ohio Statue Destroyed By Lightning (VIDEO)
A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along
a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night
and burned to the ground, police said. The "King of Kings" statue,
one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since
2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in
Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/15/king-of-kings-ohio-jesus_n_612360.html>
OPINION: Not knocking on heaven's door: Black atheists, urban
America Late Saturday afternoon, like clockwork, the street corner
preachers on Crenshaw and King Boulevard in South Los Angeles
take to the "stage." Decked out in flowing robes and dreadlocks,
they fulminate into their mikes about the universe, God's will
and "unnatural" homosexuals to a motley audience waiting for the
next express bus. Members of the Black Israelites, they are part
of a long tradition of performative religiosity in urban African
American communities.
<http://www.intersectionssouthla.org/index.php/story/not_knocking_on_heavens_door_black_atheists_urban_america/>
Stephen Colbert Author Interview: Stephen Prothero On The 8 Religions That
Rule The World And Why Their Differences Matter (VIDEO) Stephen
Prothero, Boston University professor and author of the new book
"God Is Not One," spoke to Stephen Colbert last night about his
book and why the eight religions that run the world have a lot of
important differences that we shouldn't overlook as much as we do. "I
wrote the book because religions are horribly misunderstood," he
said. "We have these atheists that are saying that all the religions
are the same and bad, and we have these multiculturalists that are
saying that all the religions are the same and good." Prothero sets
out to illuminate the differences in his book, because, he said,
"religions are not different paths going up the same mountain"
--they have different goals and different concerns.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/15/stephen-colbert-author-in_n_612739.html>
Haley's path to Christianity leaves some evangelicals uneasy Whispers
about Nikki Haley's Sikh heritage burst into public view in the final
days of South Carolina's Republican gubernatorial primary when state
Sen. Jake Knotts called the Indian-American legislator a "raghead."
<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/15/haleys-path-to-christianity-leaves-some-evangelicals-uneasy/>
Russian Creationism Sounds Frighteningly Familiar Religious
fundamentalists have begun promoting creationism in Russia --
and they are doing so using many of the same strategies and
buzzwords adopted by fellow extremists in the United States
.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-zimmerman/russian-creationism-sound_b_610266.html>
Godless billionaires ask super-rich to 'give it up' Who
says atheists, agnostics and freethinkers don't give a lot to
charity? Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, two of America's wealthiest
men and greatest philanthropists, issued a call Wednesday for the
nation's billionaires to make a moral commitment to donate at least
50% of their money to charity or other philanthropic causes. They've
even launched a website, The Giving Pledge, where the super-rich can
"take the pledge":
<http://www.examiner.com/x-8947-LA-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m6d17-Godless-billionaires-ask-superrich-to-give-it-up>
God and the Political Romantic Like most English-speaking scribes,
I've spent the last few weeks dipping in and out of Christopher
Hitchens' memoir, "Hitch-22." Of all the reviews to date, David
Runciman's essay in the London Review of Books seems to me to cut
closest to the heart of Hitch
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/
Murfreesboro mosque opponents pack commission meeting MURFREESBORO
- Hundreds of residents packed Thursday's Rutherford County
Commission meeting where dozens voiced opposition to a
planned Islamic center off Bradyville Pike in southeast
Murfreesboro.<http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100618/NEWS01/6180332/Murfreesboro>+mosque+opponents+pack+commission+meeting
Ethics Office Clears C Street House In Rent Probe The Office of
Congressional Ethics has sent letters to several residents of the
C Street Christian fellowship house informing them that there is no
"probable cause" to believe legislators are getting improper gifts
in the form of below-market rent, Roll Call reports. The house has
been the target of more than one allegation that the reported rent
of $950 for a furnished room amounts to an unreported gift or income.
Ohio's Jesus statue is latest religious statue to be struck
by lightning It appears God has sacrificed his only son. Again.
A bolt struck a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ on Monday
outside a church in Monroe, Ohio, and the statue erupted in
flames. All that remains is a charred steel skeleton, its spindly
arms stretched toward heaven, a gesture that once earned it the
nickname "Touchdown Jesus."
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061505135.html?hpid=topnews>
Richard Dawkins among academics calling for compulsory evolution
teaching at primary school Evolution should be taught to all primary
school pupils, according to leading scientists and academics.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7838020/Richard-Dawkins-among-academics-calling-for-compulsory-evolution-teaching-at-primary-school.html>
**
American Atheists Letter to the Editor Competition 2011
The Letter to the Editor Competition 2011 is open only to members
of American Atheists. To enter, send the uncut and complete
newspaper page containing your published letter. Letters must
be published between January 1 and December 31, 2010. Entries
need to be received on or before January 30, 2011. Include your
address, telephone number, and your e-mail address (should you
have one). Letters can cover any issue of importance which advances
the Atheist cause. Letters will be judged by educational content,
persuasiveness, and how well they portray Atheism in a positive
light. Members of the board, officers, and State and Regional
Directors are ineligible to enter.
The winner will be announced at the national Convention 2011, and
will receive an American Atheist award plaque and on free year
of membership in American Atheists. All entered letters will be
displayed at Convention 2011.
Send your entries to: Neal Cary (email) P. O. Box 828 Glen Allen, VA
23060-0828
VOICE OF REASON" PODCAST LAUNCHED
"The Voice of Reason" is a new Podcast service sponsored by
American Atheists featuring news and commentary of interest to the
non-believer community. Visit http://www.atheists.org/reason to
download episodes. You can also follow "The Voice of Reason" on
Twitter and receive updates when new broadcasts are available. Sign
up at http://www.twitter.com/aavoiceofreason .
**
CHECK OUT THE NOGODBLOG!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
the Blogosphere at http://nogodblog.com/. It's filled with insight,
wit, hot news, controversial opinion -- and polite, thoughtful
commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org/ and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com/ .
**
FOLLOW AANEWS ON TWITTER!
You can now get regular updates on AANEWS by signing up for Twitter
alerts. Just visit http://twitter.com/AANEWSAA and sign up. You'
will receive an alert every time a new issue of AANEWS is published!
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send
mail to. Kindly include your name and postal
mailing address. Ask for a free membership info packet. You may
also visit http://www.atheists.org/ and click on the "Membership"
navigation button.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
other products, send mail to. Kindly include
your name and postal mailing address, and request a copy of the
AAP catalogue. You may also shop directly at http://www.atheists.org/
--click on the "Shopping" navigation button.
* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
for our free E-mail Discussion Group list, aachat. We have over 150
participants who discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First
Amendment issues, creationism and much, much more. Contact the
Moderator, Ed Gauci through.
**
ABOUT THIS LIST...
AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide
movement founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair that defends the civil
rights of nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church
and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch provided
that appropriate credit is given to both AANEWS and American
Atheists. Please do not post complete editions of this
newsletter indiscriminately to news groups, boards or other
outlets. Edited by Conrad F. Goeringer. The
Internet Representative for American Atheists is Larry Mundinger. The President of American Atheists is
Ed Buckner.
**
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe, send a blank message to aanews-on@atheists.org
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to aanews-off@atheists.org
To change your email address, send a message to aanews-change@atheists.org
with your old address in the Subject: line
American Atheists, PO Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016
A A N E W S
#1329 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 06/23/2010
http://www.atheists.org/
http://www.americanatheist.org/
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"All religions are equally sublime to the ignorant, useful to the
politician, and ridiculous to the philosopher."
- Lucretius, On the Nature of Things
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue...
* Breaking, AP: Philly Jury OKs BSA discrimination on municipal property
* Background: Philadelphia trial examines discrimination in Scouting ranks
* Worth Noting: Bachman's "Christian Counseling" took public money
* AA Letter to the Editor competition now open
* Voice of Reason Pod cast -- this week, "Touchdown Jesus"
* Check out Dave's NoGodBlog
* Follow AANEWS on Twitter
* Resources
* About this list...
Breaking
JURY: CITY CANNOT EVICT BOY SCOUTS OVER DISCRIMINATION
PHILADELPHIA - A jury says the city of Philadelphia cannot evict
a local Boy Scouts chapter from a city-owned building for refusing
to admit gays.
The city insisted that nonprofits given free use of its property
must abide by local anti-discrimination laws.
The scouts said they can legally limit their membership because of
a 2000 Supreme Court decision. They had sued in federal court to
stop the eviction.
Cradle of Liberty Council leaders have tried to walk a fine line
to retain city support without losing their national Boy Scouts
charter. The national organization bans gays.
Scouts lawyer Jason Gosselin says he hopes the two sides can work
out their differences in negotiations.
*
June 18, 2010 -- CNN coverage
Trial could settle dispute between Boy Scouts, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A federal trial is underway that
could settle a dispute between Philadelphia Boy Scouts and the city.
The national Scout policy that prohibits the hiring of homosexuals
puts the Philadelphia Scout chapter, the Cradle of Liberty Council,
in violation of the city charter and an ordinance outlawing
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and other grounds.
The Scouts were told by the city to pay $200,000 a year to lease
the building or vacate their headquarters that have been located
on city land, rent-free since 1928.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts could
exclude gay youth and troop leaders because the group is categorized
as a "membership organization." The city contends Cradle of Liberty
Council's refusal to openly reject the national scout policy violates
the City Charter.
The lawsuit filed by the Cradle of Liberty Council contends the
city's ultimatum violates their First Amendment rights and that the
city's position is unconstitutional and violates the organization's
right to free speech and equal protection. The trial began Monday
with jury selection.
The Scouts also argue that city leases property to other
organizations that have membership rules, including a Catholic
church and the Colonial Dames of America, and those tenants do not
face eviction, said attorneys for the Scouts. The city said the
comparison is inaccurate.
In 2007, City Council passed an ordinance to evict the Scouts and
later went to court in June 2008 to do so, but Cradle filed the
federal civil-rights lawsuit in May 2008.
In 2009, U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter issued an injunction
stopping the city from evicting the Scouts until the federal lawsuit
is resolved.
**
WORTH NOTING...
Hitchens As Atheism's Drag Queen In reading the recent comments on
this subject I've noticed that we, as atheists, are often using the
language of the gay rights movement to describe what it's like to be
an atheist in a largely theistic society--particularly the desire
to 'come out' as atheists. While sexual orientation and religious
belief are by no means equivalent, and I think it remains harder
to come out as a homosexual than as an atheist, the metaphor is
interesting and helps us understand the appeal of the 'New Atheists.'
<http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/06/a-louder-athiesm.html>
The Right's Favorite Atheist S.E. Cupp is the right wing's
current media darling who doesn't believe in God but just
penned a book attacking the liberal media and defending
Christianity. Benyamin Cohen unravels the Cupp enigma.
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-13/se-cupp-attacks-newsweek-defends-christianity-and-atheism/?cid=hp:topnav:book>
Bachmann's Christian Counseling Business Gets Public Funds Andy
Birkey at the Minnesota Independent reports that a Christian
counseling center owned by Michele Bachmann and her husband has
received more than $30,000 in public funds since 2007. It even
comes from one of those "socialized medicine" systems the state of
Minnesota runs for poor people.
<http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/06/bachmanns_christian_counseling.php>
Touchdown Jesus On Fire, Ohio Statue Destroyed By Lightning (VIDEO)
A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along
a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night
and burned to the ground, police said. The "King of Kings" statue,
one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since
2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in
Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/15/king-of-kings-ohio-jesus_n_612360.html>
OPINION: Not knocking on heaven's door: Black atheists, urban
America Late Saturday afternoon, like clockwork, the street corner
preachers on Crenshaw and King Boulevard in South Los Angeles
take to the "stage." Decked out in flowing robes and dreadlocks,
they fulminate into their mikes about the universe, God's will
and "unnatural" homosexuals to a motley audience waiting for the
next express bus. Members of the Black Israelites, they are part
of a long tradition of performative religiosity in urban African
American communities.
<http://www.intersectionssouthla.org/index.php/story/not_knocking_on_heavens_door_black_atheists_urban_america/>
Stephen Colbert Author Interview: Stephen Prothero On The 8 Religions That
Rule The World And Why Their Differences Matter (VIDEO) Stephen
Prothero, Boston University professor and author of the new book
"God Is Not One," spoke to Stephen Colbert last night about his
book and why the eight religions that run the world have a lot of
important differences that we shouldn't overlook as much as we do. "I
wrote the book because religions are horribly misunderstood," he
said. "We have these atheists that are saying that all the religions
are the same and bad, and we have these multiculturalists that are
saying that all the religions are the same and good." Prothero sets
out to illuminate the differences in his book, because, he said,
"religions are not different paths going up the same mountain"
--they have different goals and different concerns.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/15/stephen-colbert-author-in_n_612739.html>
Haley's path to Christianity leaves some evangelicals uneasy Whispers
about Nikki Haley's Sikh heritage burst into public view in the final
days of South Carolina's Republican gubernatorial primary when state
Sen. Jake Knotts called the Indian-American legislator a "raghead."
<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/15/haleys-path-to-christianity-leaves-some-evangelicals-uneasy/>
Russian Creationism Sounds Frighteningly Familiar Religious
fundamentalists have begun promoting creationism in Russia --
and they are doing so using many of the same strategies and
buzzwords adopted by fellow extremists in the United States
.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-zimmerman/russian-creationism-sound_b_610266.html>
Godless billionaires ask super-rich to 'give it up' Who
says atheists, agnostics and freethinkers don't give a lot to
charity? Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, two of America's wealthiest
men and greatest philanthropists, issued a call Wednesday for the
nation's billionaires to make a moral commitment to donate at least
50% of their money to charity or other philanthropic causes. They've
even launched a website, The Giving Pledge, where the super-rich can
"take the pledge":
<http://www.examiner.com/x-8947-LA-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m6d17-Godless-billionaires-ask-superrich-to-give-it-up>
God and the Political Romantic Like most English-speaking scribes,
I've spent the last few weeks dipping in and out of Christopher
Hitchens' memoir, "Hitch-22." Of all the reviews to date, David
Runciman's essay in the London Review of Books seems to me to cut
closest to the heart of Hitch
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/
Murfreesboro mosque opponents pack commission meeting MURFREESBORO
- Hundreds of residents packed Thursday's Rutherford County
Commission meeting where dozens voiced opposition to a
planned Islamic center off Bradyville Pike in southeast
Murfreesboro.<http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100618/NEWS01/6180332/Murfreesboro>+mosque+opponents+pack+commission+meeting
Ethics Office Clears C Street House In Rent Probe The Office of
Congressional Ethics has sent letters to several residents of the
C Street Christian fellowship house informing them that there is no
"probable cause" to believe legislators are getting improper gifts
in the form of below-market rent, Roll Call reports. The house has
been the target of more than one allegation that the reported rent
of $950 for a furnished room amounts to an unreported gift or income.
Ohio's Jesus statue is latest religious statue to be struck
by lightning It appears God has sacrificed his only son. Again.
A bolt struck a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ on Monday
outside a church in Monroe, Ohio, and the statue erupted in
flames. All that remains is a charred steel skeleton, its spindly
arms stretched toward heaven, a gesture that once earned it the
nickname "Touchdown Jesus."
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061505135.html?hpid=topnews>
Richard Dawkins among academics calling for compulsory evolution
teaching at primary school Evolution should be taught to all primary
school pupils, according to leading scientists and academics.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7838020/Richard-Dawkins-among-academics-calling-for-compulsory-evolution-teaching-at-primary-school.html>
**
American Atheists Letter to the Editor Competition 2011
The Letter to the Editor Competition 2011 is open only to members
of American Atheists. To enter, send the uncut and complete
newspaper page containing your published letter. Letters must
be published between January 1 and December 31, 2010. Entries
need to be received on or before January 30, 2011. Include your
address, telephone number, and your e-mail address (should you
have one). Letters can cover any issue of importance which advances
the Atheist cause. Letters will be judged by educational content,
persuasiveness, and how well they portray Atheism in a positive
light. Members of the board, officers, and State and Regional
Directors are ineligible to enter.
The winner will be announced at the national Convention 2011, and
will receive an American Atheist award plaque and on free year
of membership in American Atheists. All entered letters will be
displayed at Convention 2011.
Send your entries to: Neal Cary (email) P. O. Box 828 Glen Allen, VA
23060-0828
VOICE OF REASON" PODCAST LAUNCHED
"The Voice of Reason" is a new Podcast service sponsored by
American Atheists featuring news and commentary of interest to the
non-believer community. Visit http://www.atheists.org/reason to
download episodes. You can also follow "The Voice of Reason" on
Twitter and receive updates when new broadcasts are available. Sign
up at http://www.twitter.com/aavoiceofreason .
**
CHECK OUT THE NOGODBLOG!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
the Blogosphere at http://nogodblog.com/. It's filled with insight,
wit, hot news, controversial opinion -- and polite, thoughtful
commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org/ and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com/ .
**
FOLLOW AANEWS ON TWITTER!
You can now get regular updates on AANEWS by signing up for Twitter
alerts. Just visit http://twitter.com/AANEWSAA and sign up. You'
will receive an alert every time a new issue of AANEWS is published!
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send
mail to. Kindly include your name and postal
mailing address. Ask for a free membership info packet. You may
also visit http://www.atheists.org/ and click on the "Membership"
navigation button.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
other products, send mail to. Kindly include
your name and postal mailing address, and request a copy of the
AAP catalogue. You may also shop directly at http://www.atheists.org/
--click on the "Shopping" navigation button.
* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
for our free E-mail Discussion Group list, aachat. We have over 150
participants who discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First
Amendment issues, creationism and much, much more. Contact the
Moderator, Ed Gauci through.
**
ABOUT THIS LIST...
AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide
movement founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair that defends the civil
rights of nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church
and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch provided
that appropriate credit is given to both AANEWS and American
Atheists. Please do not post complete editions of this
newsletter indiscriminately to news groups, boards or other
outlets. Edited by Conrad F. Goeringer. The
Internet Representative for American Atheists is Larry Mundinger. The President of American Atheists is
Ed Buckner.
**
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe, send a blank message to aanews-on@atheists.org
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to aanews-off@atheists.org
To change your email address, send a message to aanews-change@atheists.org
with your old address in the Subject: line
American Atheists, PO Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016
Monday, June 21, 2010
Dispraxis was edited
Recent changes on Dispraxis
Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format
edited by John F. Felix
My questions to Dr. Robert M. Price (mp3 format)
Here are links tosome .mp3 files, each containing one or more questions submitted by me to Dr. Robert M. Price, the "Biblegeek," who currently accepts Bible-related questions at: criticus@aol.com.
The official Website of Dr. Price has a page dedicated to the Biblegeek show:http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/biblegeek.htm. Also, check out his latest endeavor on the Center For Inquiry's podcastPoint of Inquiry,and his CFI blog: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/robertmprice.
The Biblegeek audio show ishosted by uStream.tv at:http://ustream.tv/channel/thebiblegeek.
Question # 1: A "Q" community?
Question # 5 & # 6: How reliable are Dr. Price's Pre-Nicene New Testament translations? and Evidence in the Septuagint Greek for reverse engineering by the MT.
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.
Here are links tosome .mp3 files, each containing one or more questions submitted by me to Dr. Robert M. Price, the "Biblegeek," who currently accepts Bible-related questions at: criticus@aol.com.
The official Website of Dr. Price has a page dedicated to the Biblegeek show:http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/biblegeek.htm. Also, check out his latest endeavor on the Center For Inquiry's podcastPoint of Inquiry,and his CFI blog: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/robertmprice.
The Biblegeek audio show ishosted by uStream.tv at:http://ustream.tv/channel/thebiblegeek.
Question # 1: A "Q" community?
Question # 5 & # 6: How reliable are Dr. Price's Pre-Nicene New Testament translations? and Evidence in the Septuagint Greek for reverse engineering by the MT.
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.
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