Disappointed!

jesuspratt

I liked Chris Pratt in Parks & Rec. He was good in Guardians of the Galaxy. I’m probably not going to enjoy Jurassic World when I see it this week, but I wouldn’t blame that on Pratt.

Unfortunately, I just learned that in real life he’s a Jebus loving conservative who quotes the Bible on his facebook page. It’s kind of the reverse of Adam Baldwin; I was appalled when I discovered that his character on Firefly wasn’t acting, but that he really was smug dim-brained dope in reality. Now Pratt, who seems like a normal and secular person in his films, is a Jebusite in reality.

Hey, at least that means Pratt is a better actor!

Support Secular Students!

This week is Secular Student Week! This guest post was written by Matthew Facciani who is a graduate student, activist, and member of the Secular Student Alliance. The SSA has set a goal of 500 donations during Secular Student Week. Please consider making a donation to help reach that goal!

I was pretty religious as a teenager, but once I learned more about science, philosophy, and religion I eventually became an atheist. I was very comfortable with my decision to no longer be religious, but I always felt somewhat out of place while attending my Christian affiliated college that banned the formation a secular student group. My only knowledge of other atheists was from the internet as I never met another atheist while I was an undergraduate.

After I finished my undergraduate degree, I went straight into a neuroscience PhD program at The University South Carolina. South Carolina is right in the buckle of the Bible Belt so I really wanted to meet other atheists to feel less isolated. I looked up secular groups in my area and found a thriving secular student group at my campus! I still remember feeling overwhelmed at the first meeting I attended because I went from never meeting another atheist to being in a room full of them!

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Christianity’s deep fear of exposure

cyrus

Miley Cyrus has done a nude photo shoot. To which I shrug, and note that we’re all naked under our clothes, and that I’m not particularly interested in Miley Cyrus, or her music, or her opinions, so fine. I am unperturbed and unenthused.

But then, I’m not Ken Ham. Ham is distraught that she made fun of the cash cow he’s hoping to start milking, and I’ve noticed that the issues that most distress Answers in Genesis is any challenge that might impede the revenue stream.

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Skepticism is easy

A creationist dared me to explain this.

cityofgiants

It’s part of a story that claims there were giants in those days, and they were living in a citadel at the end of a mile-long tunnel in the Grand Canyon.

According to an article published in The Arizona Gazette on April 5, 1909, the Grand Canyon was once home to civilization that most likely consisted of individuals of cyclopean proportions. If such a civilization ever lived, surely it would have left behind some structure as a testament of its existence.

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Rifts just can’t get deep enough

hls

The myth-making machine is chugging away, full steam ahead. One thing I’ve learned these last few years is that atheists are damned gullible, and all you need is a small number of people repeating the same crap endlessly (and oh, twitter is such a perfect medium for repetition), and there’s a solid chunk of the atheist community that will promptly just believe, because they want to have faith in their leaders.

Case in point: there is a rump of delusional atheists who have faith that a legal document is proof that Ben Radford is not a serial harasser. It’s sad to see. It’s too bad Radford didn’t save a lot of money and spend just $100 on some gold leaf and a sheepskin and get a certificate declaring that he was the second coming of Jesus Christ, because that would have at least gotten those atheists tithing to him.

Do read this clear-headed perspective at Dubito Ergo Sum on the matter if you still believe a civil case cleared out of court is indisputable proof of innocence. You clearly aren’t cynical enough to be a good atheist.

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I’m so sorry, Louisiana, but I’m writing you off

jindal-stupid

It’s nothing personal. It’s just that you’re doing a lousy job of teaching your children, and unfortunately for them, they aren’t getting the basic knowledge they need to succeed in the 21st century. I know that some of your kids are smart enough to see beyond the drivel your teachers promote, and I really feel for them — they’re going to have to work twice as hard to get past Louisiana’s reputation.

Zack Kopplin has been doing a danged thorough job digging through records to find out what Louisiana kids are actually being taught. In way too many classrooms, the book of Genesis is being taught as a substitute for biology.

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Poor Dr Oz

Oprah Winfrey is dumping Dr Oz’s radio show. It’s about time.

One odd thing: I missed this earlier, but Oz made a bizarre argument from type size.

Oz then also claimed that his show is not a medical one. We very purposely, on the logo, have ‘Oz’ as the middle, and the ‘Doctor’ is actually up in the little bar for a reason, he said in a TV interview. I want folks to realize that I’m a doctor, and I’m coming into their lives to be supportive of them. But it’s not a medical show.

I had to look this one up. It turns out, though, that he has a couple of versions of his logo floating around.

Oz-Logo1dr-oz-logo2

So when he uses the one with the BIG “DR”, he’s speaking as a doctor, and when he uses the little “dr”, we’re supposed to just ignore it?

Free Taslima

TaslimaNasrin

We’ve been waiting for this. After the murders of multiple secular bloggers in Bangladesh, there has been a mad behind-the-scenes (because no one wanted to alert the murderers) scramble to get our very own Taslima Nasrin, who was on the execution list for these Islamist fanatics, to a place of safety. She’s out! She’s currently in the US!

Now comes the hard part, though. She needs a long-term commitment to her safety, and CFI is setting up an emergency fund to support her and other threatened secularists. That last bit is important; Taslima is not the only one trying to survive under a death sentence.

If you want to help out, donate to the Freethought Emergency Fund.