Huge Roadside Crosses Will Not Be Going Back Up in Utah

The Supreme Court refused to hear a case involving 12-foot metal crosses on Utah public land, essentially affirming a lower court decision that declared them an unconstitutional state endorsement of Christianity. I wrote about this case previously here and here. Justice Clarence Thomas wanted to hear the case and wrote a strong dissent,

chastising it for missing an opportunity to provide better guidance to lower courts on the complicated issue of public religious displays."Today the Court rejects an opportunity to provide clarity to an Establishment Clause jurisprudence in shambles," Thomas wrote.

I often agree with Thomas but not this time. I think the lower court ruling was reasonable, and that further time on this case would be a waste of the Supreme Court's time. Far from offering "clarity," Supreme Court involvement could just as easily create more confusion.

Simple Chart of Belief & Non-Belief

It's simple but it makes sense.

Gnosticism, for our purposes, is the belief that there is an absolute knowledge, so that one can say definitely that something is or is not true. So, in this case, somebody on the far “gnostic” side of our graph would argue that the statement “There is a God” can be proven to be 100 per cent valid or invalid; somebody on the far “agnostic” side, would argue that the same statement can never be proven to any degree of accuracy because it’s impossible to know. ... Is this the definitive way of charting people’s religious positions? Of course not. But it provides a helpful mental image when trying to discuss people’s views. A “strong theist” – let’s say the Pope – will be found at the maximum poles of gnosticism and theism: there is absolutely a God. Whether it exists and can be known is completely beyond doubt. A “strong atheist” hangs around the maximums of gnosticism and atheism

The rest of the accompanying article is good also.

Church or Jail

Bay Minette, Alabama is letting non-violent misdemeanor offenders decide between jail & fines or going to church for a year. That's right, you can avoid jail time and fines by agreeing to attend church for a year.

If offenders select church, they'll be allowed to pick the place of worship but must check in weekly with the pastor and police. ... If the one-year church attendance program is completed, the offender's case will be dismissed.

I had two main thoughts when I read this story. First, I found it pretty funny that this city judge is giving the impression that going to church every week is roughly equivalent to jail time. But after my initial amusement, came the reality that this is a ridiculous punishment that lets criminals off easy. I'm all for alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders. But how is attending church once a week for a few hours in any way equivalent to serving jail time and paying fines? I'm an atheist and I'd take that deal in a second. You can just sit in the back and take nap during the service, daydream, or whatever. It's not a punishment. Amazing as it may seem, many people actually like going to church. Depending on the church you pick, it might have good music, food and other benefits. You can steal things, get DUIs, and commit various other misdemeanors and get off with just going to church weekly?

Atheists in Pakistan

Pakistan is not a place you'd expect to find an atheist organization. But thanks to the internet there is a group called Pakistani Atheists and Agnostics (PAA).

How did the idea to bring together Pakistani atheists on a single platform come up? “When I became an atheist, I honestly thought there were no others like me in Pakistan. Through discussions on various social networking groups and forums, I found a few others like me. So we decided to make this group to find out how many more were out there,” says Hazrat NaKhuda, one of the founding members of the group. For obvious reasons, the PAA members go by pseudonyms to protect their identity.

It is a hopeful sign that even in hotbeds of religious extremism like Pakistan, some, especially young people are turning away from religion.

“Extremism is not the primary reason why people leave Islam. But looking at recent converts, I can say that it has become one of the reasons why people start questioning the religion of their forefathers,” explains Hazrat NaKhuda, who personally believes that religion does not make sense in this age. “Most people are following the beliefs of their parents and have no reason to proclaim that what they have is the truth. Once one realises that, it is fairly simple,” he adds.

Another member says,

we are taught that if only we turn to god, to religion, we will find answers and peace. When people, especially young ones, do that, and find that there is merely rhetoric, they feel rather disillusioned with religion, and that consequently pushes them away,” she says. “Another reason is that we are living in a progressing society. The whole world is undergoing a slow change in which it is leaving behind old religions and turning towards fixing a world, the problems of which are solely ours, not to be solved by a divine hand. ... The rapid progress of science has helped this process.

The whole article is interesting.

Outstanding Article on Evolution and Why it Threatens Christianity

I saw that Richard Dawkins wrote a response to Rick Perry on evolution in the Washington Post. Unfortunately the good points are preceded by typical leftist nonsense, which will cause the entire column to be dismissed out of hand by anyone who needs to read it. But today there is a far better article in the same "On Faith" section by Paula Kirby. Here are a couple of excerpts.

Education is about overcoming ignorance - so the idea of allowing ignorance to set the school curriculum and to perpetuate itself by continuing to teach generation after generation information that for the last 150 years we have known to be false, is a shameful betrayal: a betrayal of young people, who put their trust in us and who deserve better; and a betrayal of the very concept of education itself.

Remember that 'ignorance' is not an insult, but merely a term for 'lack of knowledge'. Many of the people who protest so vociferously against the teaching of evolution do not understand how overwhelmingly strong the evidence for it is; and many of those who proclaim “But it's only a theory” do not understand that the scientific and everyday usages of the word 'theory' are very different.

She zeros in on why evolution is such a problem for many Christians.

a threat that goes to the very heart of Christian teaching. Evolution means that the creation accounts in the first two chapters of Genesis are wrong. That's not how humans came into being, nor the cattle, nor the creeping things, nor the beasts of the earth, nor the fowl of the air. Evolution could not have produced a single mother and father of all future humans, so there was no Adam and no Eve. No Adam and Eve: no fall. No fall: no need for redemption. No need for redemption: no need for a redeemer. No need for a redeemer: no need for the crucifixion or the resurrection, and no need to believe in that redeemer in order to gain eternal life. And not the slightest reason to believe in eternal life in the first place.

I have heard similar explanations from Christians I've asked why it isn't possible to accommodate their beliefs to scientific reality. To them that reality destroys their beliefs, therefore it can't be real. Instead of rejecting their system of myths, they prefer to reject scientific reality. The whole article is well-worth reading.

Myths About Mormons?

The Washington Post has a regular feature called "Five Myths." The problem with this column is that many of the myths they are supposedly debunking are not actually myths. The latest is about Mormonism. Let's see if these myths are really myths.

1. Mormons practice polygamy. 0 for 1. The author herself admits that polygamy is still part of Mormon theology, and still practiced by "ultra-orthodox splinter groups." Obviously most Mormons are not polygamous, so saying Mormons practice polygamy is misleading and a major overstatement. But it is technically correct that some Mormons do, and therefore not a myth.

2. Mormons aren’t Christians. 0 for 2. This is obviously not a myth. Whether or not Mormons are considered Christians depends entirely on opinion. In my opinion, although Mormonism has similarities to Christianity and is an offshoot, it is its own religion. It is different enough from Christianity that it is perfectly reasonable to argue that Mormons are not Christians.

3. Most Mormons are white, English-speaking conservatives. 1 for 3. Finally, an actual myth. The author notes that fewer than half of Mormons live in the U.S., and that the LDS church has grown substantially throughout the world.

4. Mormon women are second-class citizens. 1 for 4. The author goes on to point out that women are in fact second-class citizens in the LDS church.

It is true that mainstream Mormonism does not accord women equal status with men. The worldwide LDS Church chain of command — including all positions of clerical, institutional and fiscal authority — is entirely male. Women cannot hold the lay priesthood shared in by men age 12 and older. The church’s Proclamation on the Family declares that men “preside” over the household. Unequal gender language is also a part of Mormon temple worship and marriage ceremonies.

But she dismisses all that by claiming that well, Mormonism does include some "progressive" elements favorable to women. Sorry, not a myth.

5. A Mormon president would blur the line between church and state. 1 for 5. We haven't had a Mormon president, so whether or not any particular Mormon would blur the lines of church and state is unknown. This is an argument that probably doesn't apply any more to a Mormon than it does to a member of any other religion, and depends on the individual in question. But it isn't a myth.

The final tally is 1 clear myth, 4 non-myths.

Islamic Values Apparently Don't Allow Water Fights

A group of people held a big water pistol fight last week on a particularly hot day.

Hundreds of men, children and women in all-enveloping black chadors turned up. They gleefully soaked each other for two or three hours. Pictures showed families enjoying themselves. Finally the park managers turned the taps off and everyone went home. Nobody was hurt. Nobody complained.

But this didn't go over too well with various Iranian guardians of "Islamic values." Mohamad Taghi Rahbar, the chair of Iran's parliamentary legal and judiciary committee accused organizers and participants of "endeavouring to dilute our Islamic values," and warned that organizers would be dealt with "severely." One local official went so far as to describe the activities as "immoral." And people wonder why so many have negative views of Islam. The example of an entire country ruled by Islamic clergy where Islam is used to justify repression couldn't have anything to do with it. It must just be "Islamophobia."

Unimpressed by Theology

There's a good post at evolutionblog called "Where Can I Find the Really Good Theology? Part One." The author, Jason Rosenhouse makes some good points about Christian theology. His post was triggered by an argument between Jerry Coyne and a Catholic philospher, but in general it is a response to a common Christian suggestion.

We New Atheist types are often lectured about the need for studying theology. The idea is that if we tuned out the distressingly popular and highly vocal forms of religious extremism and pondered instead “the best religion has to offer,” then we would not be so hostile to religion.

But for Rosenhouse, reading Christian theology had the opposite effect.

I expected at least to find a lot of food for thought. Instead, with each book and essay I read I found myself ever more horrified by the sheer vacuity of what these folks were doing. I came to despise their endlessly vague and convoluted arguments, their relentless smugness towards nonbelievers, and, most seriously, the complete lack of any solid reason for thinking they weren't just making it up as they went along. I thought perhaps I was just reading the wrong writers, and that I would eventually come to the really good theology. But I never did.

Like Rosenhouse, I too have read a fair amount of Christian theology. And my conclusions were similar. The whole post is worth reading.

LeBron James on God & Timing

After losing the NBA championship to the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron James had this to say on Twitter.

"The Greater Man upstairs knows when it's my time," James tweeted. "Right now isn't my time."

This joins the many sports quotes attributing losses or victories in some way to God, rather than to things that are just a bit more concrete. Maybe LeBron hasn't considered that it was his time, but he just blew it. His apparent malaise in the fourth quarter throughout most of the series, his invisibility in game 4, and the Heat's inability to hold a lead late in most of the games might have had a bit more to do with their loss than whether or not God thought it was time for for LeBron James to win a championship.

I know I'm picking on LeBron, but I was just reading post-game coverage and happened to notice his tweet. There were the usual interviews after the game with Mavericks players thanking God, as if an imaginary being chooses sides in sports contests. Then again, maybe he hates the Miami Heat too, like most people who aren't Heat fans.

Britain Decides to Cut Funding for Internal Enemies

It's a sad comedy of just how bad things have gotten in the UK that it took a big cabinet fight for the government to decide to stop funding Islamic extremist groups. Seriously.

David Cameron will emerge as the victor from a bitter cabinet battle over multiculturalism this week as the government unveils a hardline approach to tackling Islamist extremism.

Home Office sources say that Cameron has quashed Nick Clegg's argument for a more tolerant attitude to Muslim groups by insisting on a strategy centred upon the notion that violent extremism is incubated within the ideology of non-violent extremism.

Apparently Clegg and other useful idiots for Islamism within the UK wanted to provide money to Islamic extremist groups as long as they didn't openly advocate violence.

Cameron said it was "nonsense" to fund groups with extremist elements

You might think that would be obvious.

Atheists in India

Although atheists aren't exactly popular in the U.S., we have it pretty good compared to many countries. I came across an interesting article on the growth of atheism in India.

Spurred by online social networks, atheist and "free thinker" support groups are mushrooming in India's major cities.

However,

as a recent survey reveals, the Western perception of India's benign, hippie spirituality is a fantasy. Despite 60 years of democracy, India remains one of the world's most repressive societies, according to a global study published in Science last week. And even as political groups routinely use religion to stoke hatred and provoke deadly riots, the constitution and the law seem bent on intertwining — rather than separating — religion and the state.

The article goes on to note that Indian atheists face intense family pressure to conform to religious norms, and that open unbelief is the province of only a tiny fraction of India's huge population. Check it out.

Clergy Letters on Evolution

Back in 2004, Michael Zimmerman, a biology professor at Butler University started the Clergy Letter Project.

For too long, the misperception that science and religion are inevitably in conflict has created unnecessary division and confusion, especially concerning the teaching of evolution. I wanted to let the public know that numerous clergy from most denominations have tremendous respect for evolutionary theory and have embraced it as a core component of human knowledge, fully harmonious with religious faith.

He has letters supporting the teaching of evolution for different religions, which are then signed by clergy. For example, the Christian letter has 12,722 signatures. He's just started one for Muslim clergy. Here's an excerpt.

We, the undersigned Imams of the mosques, assert that the Qur’an is the primary source of spiritual inspiration and of values for us, though not for everyone, in our country. We believe that the timeless truths of the Qur’an may comfortably coexist with the discoveries of modern science. As Imams we urge public school boards to affirm their commitment to the teaching of the science of evolution. We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.

It will be interesting to see how many imams sign up.

h/t ContraRarian

Spiritual Atheists

As a follow-up to my post, Programmed for Faith, I would recommend reading Josh Rosenau's post, "Scientists and Spirituality." I found these parts especially interesting.

combining theistic belief and spiritual belief, there's a remarkable consistency, with spirituality seeming to compensate for declining theistic belief in many European nations. In famously nontheistic Denmark, spiritual belief is more common than atheism, agnosticism, or theism. ... This tends to support the idea that spirituality should be understood as an experimental sort of religiosity, rather than a stepping stone away from religion. This is further supported by the fact that even in nations like Denmark with high rates of atheism, many atheists describe themselves as religious.

Even if you disagree that the need to believe in God is hard-wired into most humans, it appears that there is substantial evidence that we have a need to believe in something beyond what is material. The fact that even many self-described atheists express a belief in something as nebulous as "spirituality," seems to indicate that the hardwired thesis is at least partially correct.

Programmed for Faith

I came across an article called, "The Science of Faith," by atheist Dick "Godless" Gross. Rather than describe it, I'm going to excerpt some of the main points.

humanity has a predisposition, perhaps a need, to believe. This craving is not universal but it is global and infects the vast majority of the species. ... While this view has been around for a while, it has been brought to the fore by the publication of the first papers from the multinational ‘‘Explaining Religion’’ project, centred in Oxford. Early papers from the research indicate that religion has evolved to help humanity in the collaboration and selflessness that underpin social cohesion.

He goes on to point out the other key findings of this latest research, particularly that education alone is not going to remove the impulse to believe.

why would anyone believe in the weird and the wonderful faiths around the world? The cognitive scientists tell us the answer – because our minds are designed to believe and they get a good dose of training.

It is a mixture of hard wiring and programming – the hardware (the mind) and the software (the education). ...

If it is true that the need to believe is hardwired, then the impact of external factors such as education and indoctrination one way or another are not going to remove it. I tend to agree with Gross that atheism will probably always be a minority position, especially materialistic atheism. There does seem to be a need to believe in most people.

The Fairy Tale of Heaven

Stephen Hawking was interviewed recently by the Guardian. He said that he views the concept of heaven, or an afterlife in general, as a fairy tale.

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," he added.

He has other interesting comments as well, but this particular one appears to be getting the most attention. I agree with Hawking that heaven and the afterlife are fairy tales, but I disagree with the way he put it in that interview. First off, I don't like definitive statements about things which are unknown. No one, including Hawking, knows for sure what happens after death. Although I agree with his opinion, I'd like to see some sort of qualifier to his assertion. Then there is his remark about "people afraid of the dark."

Fear of the unknown -- and death is a great unknown -- seems to be part of the make-up of most human beings. Hawking has a different perspective because of his physical condition. As he says,

"I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death,

Just because he has overcome his own natural fears, doesn't justify dismissing others who haven't as some sort of children scared of the dark. There are also other reasons why people believe in an afterlife which are, in my opinion, stronger than mere fear of death. In particular there is the desire to be reunited with loved ones who have died before you. I have long thought that this hope, based on love not fear, is the single greatest reason why most people are not atheist materialists.

Why People Dislike Islam - Egyptian Edition

I've posted before regarding the contrived term of Islamophobia, which is used in an attempt to smear critics of Islam. Dislike of Islam is quite rational. There are a never-ending series of examples why. Most of them involve the actions of Muslims, who give the entire religion and its adherents a bad name. The latest comes from Egypt, where radical Muslim mobs have been attacking Christians, and enforcing their version of proper Islamic behavior on fellow Muslims.

Ultraconservative Islamists, known as Salafis, have taken to streets and mosques with fiery rhetoric. Stores selling alcohol have been attacked and a man accused of befriending prostitutes had an ear cut off by radicals. Muslim crowds stopped trains and protested in April against the appointment of a Christian governor in the southern region of Qena. ... Gunfire erupted. Coptic homes and shops were attacked and gasoline bombs hurled. A group of Muslim men reportedly broke off later and headed toward the Virgin Mary Church. They burned it and clashed with parishioners for hours.

This sort of vicious intolerance makes Islam look bad -- and such actions are hardly restricted to Egypt. You can find plenty of examples of other religious groups acting badly, but if you add them all together, the incidents won't come close to the sheer number from Muslims. This, not an imaginary "Islamophobia," is the primary reason why Islam has a bad reputation and some look upon Muslims with suspicion or outright dislike.

Sikhs Behaving Badly

One religious group you don't usually hear too much about is the Sikhs. I was surprised to read about a violent incident at a Sikh temple in New York City.

Seven people were arraigned on riot and assault charges Monday for their roles in a vicious turf battle at a Sikh temple in Queens.

Assailants wielding cricket bats and small swords disrupted prayer services Sunday morning

Apparently the fight had something to do with opening the membership rolls. The article doesn't say how much damage was done, but notes that "at least one cop was injured" attempting to break it up and make arrests. I'm sure there will be calls from NYC politicians for sword and cricket bat control.

Obama's Christian Pandering

President Obama has never been known for his religiosity. But recently he turned into an effusive Christian, quoting the Bible, and speaking the sort of religious language that was familiar to me growing up in a conservative Christian household.

Using the kind of personal religious language that he had once shied away from in public, Obama spoke of "the pain and the scorn and the shame of the cross" in an Easter prayer breakfast for about 150 guests and staff.

"And we're reminded that in that moment, (Jesus) took on the sins of the world -- past, present and future -- and he extended to us that unfathomable gift of grace and salvation through his death and resurrection,"... Obama quoted from the Book of Isaiah -- "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities," ... "This magnificent grace, this expansive grace, this `Amazing Grace' calls me to reflect," Obama said. "And it calls me to pray. It calls me to ask God for forgiveness for the times that I've not shown grace to others, those times that I've fallen short."

Am I being unfair to Obama when I call this pandering? I don't think so. People don't suddenly start talking this way unless they undergo some sort of conversion. The president was meeting with various Christian leaders for Easter, and in my opinion went way overboard in trying to sound as Christian as possible. As the article indicates, he's trying still to convince those who don't believe he's a Christian. It's too bad he has to try, but in my opinion he's trying way too hard.

Why People Dislike Islam -- The Latest Example

Since there are plenty of people who actually believe that the term Islamophobia has real meaning, as opposed to being a contrived term used in an attempt to smear critics of Islam, it is always worth pointing out reasons why many dislike Islam and have a negative opinion of Muslims. Those reasons revolve around the actions of Muslims. The latest in a never ending series of examples comes from Indonesia.

Irdayanti Mukhtar, 34, received nine lashes by Sharia Police for having a relationship with another man, even though she is said to be in the process of divorcing her husband. ... Mukhtar had been sentenced to the punishment the previous day by a Sharia court where prosecutors said that she was guilty of being in 'close proximity' to another man.

Yeah, that sounds like a reasonable punishment that fits the "crime." Not only did she receive this beating which caused her to collapse, but it was done in public, apparently to further humiliate her.

The jeering crowd recorded the brutal beating on their mobile phones and camcorders and shouted for more beatings in the strict Muslim city.

Incidents like this one, not bigotry or "Islamophobia" are why so many have negative views of Islam and Muslims. It's not just about terrorism. It is true that only a tiny fraction of Muslims engage in terrorist activity. But the bad aspects of Islam are hardly limited to terrorism. From Saudia Arabia to Indonesia to Pakistan to Afghanistan to Somalia to Iran and in many other Muslim majority countries, you can find similar barbaric acts carried out in the name of Islam, sometimes as in this case by actual agents of the Islamic religion. And Muslim bystanders cheer them on.

Kids and Religion

I just came across an article that asked the following question:

Should Parents Introduce Kids to Religion No Matter What? (Should parents introduce their kids to religion if the parents themselves are not believers?)

My first response to that is a question. What do you mean by "introduce"? If introduce means take the kids to church, or give them a bunch of religious material, my answer is obviously no. If you don't believe yourself, why would you attempt to inculcate religious beliefs into your children? On the other hand, if introduce means to make your children aware of what religion is, and of major types of belief and disbelief, then in my opinion the answer is yes.

Religion is too important to ignore. Even if you are an atheist, it is impossible to shield your children from exposure to religion. Although I'm an atheist, I'm as against indoctrinating children as atheists as I'm am against trying to make them religious. My personal approach was to talk to my son about various religious beliefs, while explaining that ideas differ greatly, and that there are people such as myself who don't even believe in God at all. On the occasions that we've talked about it, I've stressed that he needs to evaluate religious claims for himself, consider the evidence for them, and reject simple assertions of truth. My hope is that he will think for himself -- and it seems that he does -- and make up his own mind about religion and all related issues in a way that will leave him satisfied.