This is a cartoon from a fundie book written by Tim LaHaye in 1982. It is clearly a work of prophecy.
But do people still have such a bizarre and hateful opinion of humanism today? They sure do.
Anita Sarkeesian has been designated Harvard Humanist of the Year 2014. Congratulations to her, and good on the Harvard Humanists!
Uh-oh. For a moment there, I thought I was going to have to agree with David Brooks, and then I’d have to retire from the internet and live in a cave and flagellate myself until the stupidity was purged. He has written a column in which he says secularism has to be more than simple rationalism, and the opening had me worried that it was going to sound like my schtick:
As secularism becomes more prominent and self-confident, its spokesmen have more insistently argued that secularism should not be seen as an absence — as a lack of faith — but rather as a positive moral creed. Phil Zuckerman, a Pitzer College sociologist, makes this case as fluidly and pleasurably as anybody in his book, “Living the Secular Life.”
The previous discussion on the varieties of New Atheism had me thinking. We’ve already tried contriving a new label for those of us who think atheism should be broad and dedicated to more than just rejecting deities and intersectional — that was Atheism+. And it just created a focus for the haters. So I have a different idea.
Jeet Heer has been saying really smart things: read his evaluation of The New Republic‘s legacy, for example (which follows on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ evaluation). He’s an interesting and thoughtful writer.
Here’s a dialog between a gamergater and Leigh Alexander. She speaks truth.
Stephen Fry gives a fairly standard atheist answer to the question, “What would you do if you died and found yourself in front of God?” — exceptionally well-stated, of course, but unsurprising. The best part is to watch the expression on the face of the interviewer in the various reaction shots.
This is not helping my opinion of organized atheism: the rapey guy and the torture guy are agreeing with each other on the matter of morality. Next up: the Pope and the president of the Southern Baptist Convention will pat each other on the back over their ideas about science.
There is just an annoying aroma of smugness about it all.
That German octopus has much to answer for…or rather, the aquarium that got lots of free advertising by promoting it as a soccer game predictor does. Now an Arizona aquarium has an octopus that ‘predicts’ the outcome of the Superbowl, and it’s getting annoying. I have a quarter in my pocket that predicts the outcome, too — heads, Seahawks; tails, Patriots.
James Randi has announced his retirement from the JREF. The JREF has banked largely on Randi’s charisma, so this could be a difficult transition — and who replaces him could be a significant signal for the direction the organization takes in the future, and for its future viability.
But best of luck to Randi!
