Merit-bound Alley

I wrote a series of articles a while back on the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. In the second article, I described some of the duplicitous tactics that the producers used to make their film. These included:

• Using a fake production company name
• Deliberately misstating the purpose of the film as a look at the division between science and religion and using a fake movie title to trick pro-evolution (also read, “smart”) scientists into interviews
• Editing these interviews to make the scientists seem sinister or inept

Keep those in mind, because now I’m going to jump to another film that will be out soon. Religulous is a film by noted skeptic and anti-theist Bill Maher is supposed to point out the absurd and ridiculous beliefs of some religious folks.

Now, I think Bill Maher is an asshole, but much like Keith Olbermann, that opinion does not lead me to dismiss Maher’s arguments or his undeniable talent at pointing out the absurd. Because of that, I was looking forward to this brilliant asshole’s movie. Until about 10 minutes ago.

10 minutes ago, I read an LA Times article about this movie, and I was surprised to see at the end of the article the following:

On how he got people to talk to him: “It was simple: We never, ever, used my name. We never told anybody it was me who was going to do the interviews. We even had a fake title for the film. We called it ‘A Spiritual Journey.’

On the element of surprise: …The crew would set up and at the last second, when the cameras were already rolling, I would show up. So either they’d be seen on camera leaving the interview and lose face or they’d have to talk to me.

On his encounter with Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, who tells Maher he believes the biblical account that Earth was created 5,200 years ago: “He’s not going to be happy with this movie. I suspect he’s going to say that the editing is not favorable to him [laughs]. And he’s not completely wrong about that.

Does that sound familiar? Oh yeah, it’s the same dirty shit pulled by the Expelled crew!

Thanks, Bill Maher, for stooping to the level of the people that you were poking fun of. Thanks for a notable lack of ethics in dealing with the religious. Thanks for enforcing the stereotype that non-theists will do anything to denigrate the other side. Thanks for publicly bringing us down a peg. I won’t be giving my money to a man who has used such contemptible deceit in it’s making.

You asshole.

Since I’m pretty much a shut-in, I didn’t see the billboard rented by the Philadelphia Coalition of Reason on I-95. The billboard simply stated “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone.” Sadly, this kind of sentiment actually serves to remind a non-theist that there are those like them out there, and is a cry for what secular people in this nation need: a community. I know first-hand how difficult it is to find a kindred heart, and my efforts I make are hampered by my own sense of individuality as they are by fear of “coming out of the closet”. The PCoR has done good work here!

Once the lease for the PCoRs advertisement was up, a group known as Holy Souls Ministries jumped on it. On the same billboard, they put up an ad that said, “Brought to you by God, the Father”. No website or credit was given on the board. Holy Souls Ministries deserves a large donation of thanks and respect for this. Why? Because, though the man that paid for the religious message, Joe Vetri, is obviously a very religious man, he did not use the rented adspace to attack the previous message of secularism. In fact, he’s not even returning phone calls for an interview about the rental.

Readers of this blog have seen the hate that the religious can fire back with. But, Holy Souls Ministries and Joe Vetri showed restraint and simply put up an opposing viewpoint without attacking the secular people of the area. They did not imply that we atheists “hate America”, they did not imply that they were the one truth. They rented the billboard and said, Brought to you by what we believe in, and left bitter attacks out of it.

This, my friends, is class all the way. In God We Trust could learn a thing or two from the Holy Souls Ministries, who not only holds to their beliefs, but doesn’t use those beliefs to attack the secular from a high horse.

h/t to Shirley Vandever (the hottie) for the article

Also, I was unable to find a website for Holy Souls Ministries. I will glady link it if someone supplies one! I would also very much like to send a thank you note to them.

In response to the letter that I wrote about here, I’ve sent the following to the Obama campaign:

Subject: Do not bow to Bishop Council Nedd

Senator Obama,

I am a strong supporter of your campaign, and I am also an atheist. I have read in a recent article on CNS News that Bishop Council Nedd of the non-profit organization In God We Trust is urging you to denounce a billboard rented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation which states “Imagine No Religion”. While I understand that Mr. Nedd may strenuously disagree with this message as is his right, he crosses a line to inaccurate hyperbole when he describes it as hate speech.

These billboards are out there only to counter the message of the overwhelming number of billboards advocating a religious message with one simple request: Imagine a world where the conflicts of religion do not exist.

To cater to Mr. Nedds demand would show that mere opposition to a religious belief can be condemned as hate, and would strike a cowardly blow to the free exchange of ideas that is protected in our Bill of Rights. It would shake my considerable faith in you as a progressive agent of change, and send the message that you value the will of the conservative Christians more than you do the Constitution of the United States.

I would like to conclude by drawing your attention to an advertising campaign started by In God We Trust in reaction to the FFRFs billboards. They simply state, “Why do Atheists Hate America?” and, as they group together all atheists as hateful and unpatriotic, is a clear example of real hate speech. You can find information about this horrendous move here: http://www.ingodwetrustusa.org/atheists.html

Yes, we atheists want our views heard, but that is because of our love for this country, not in spite of it.

Thank you for the opportunity to contact you on this important issue.

Warm regards,
Joseph J. Madjeski
Newark, DE
Yes, We Can!

Likely, it will never be read, but I tried!

CNS news reports that In God We Trust, an non-profit group that states that “Atheists hate America” and lists on its Outrages page such horrors as Charles Barkley having the gall to call conservative Christians “Fake Christians”, has sent a letter to presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama urging him to denounce a billboard in Denver that state “Imagine No Religion”.

(more…)

The Canadian National Post has an interview with Dr. Robert Buckman, an oncologist and former collaborator with John Cleese, where he intimates his concern for his fellow atheists.His concern centers around his view that “the godless can be way too dogmatic and far too humourless”.

Try to be more humble. Or as he puts it, “humble up.”

“Stop feeling because you are sure you are right that gives you the power to shout and dominate and be a pill,” said Dr. Buckman, who will be appearing with his good friend Dr. Henry Morgentaler. “Humble up and accept that people may not agree with you.”

This is semi-valid advice that may change if Canada’s religious conservative movement continues to gain ground in their government. The squeakiest wheels in the atheist community at the moment are the ones who are most against religion as a whole and take the most agressive stance in promoting their views. Yes, I thought parts of Dawkin’s The God Delusion were presented in a very arrogant way that made roll my eyes  bit, and I have yet to buy Chistopher Hitchen’s God is Not Great for that very same reason. However, as with any book, you have to incoporate the opinions of the author into understanding the message of the book and why it was written.

(more…)

Richard Wade, an author on the blog Friendly Atheist, has made an interesting and stirring call to the Christian moderates that read his blog (of which there are many). His call is for help from moderates to aid in the fight against Christian extremism. Here’s an excerpt:

Bigots are co-opting and hijacking your religion. They’re promoting their hatred, abuse and domination of gays, atheists, the followers of other religions and anybody else who doesn’t exactly agree with them including you, all under the guise of God’s word, the one that you say you value so much. They’re doing despicable things in your God’s name. Your response to this is so small, so weak and so quiet that you will have no effect in stopping them.

The whole article is very much worth the read. If you happen to be a moderate Christian, I’m sure Richard would appreciate responses.

UPDATE: I am oblivious. THe article was not written by Hemant, but by Richard Wade, another author with Friendly Atheist. Sorry, Richard and Hemant!

UPDATE II: Edited one last time because I mistook Richard with another author on FA. If anything else is wrong, like the article was a metaphor for ice hockey, or Hemant is really Donkey Kong, then tough shit!

Pandora over at DL brought attention to a story about Catholic groups gathering a petition to the Pope for changing the Church’s views on birth control and sex education. I made the following comment which was described by another commenter as “hostile”:

Of course it’s time for the Catholic Church to update their antiquated and barbaric views on sex education, but you’re talking about the institution that just a couple of years ago, finely tuned their doctrine on exorcism for fuck’s sake!

Such a medieval view on the world will not just leap into the present without causing a huge upheaval on their faithful. Keep in mind that the Catholics in the US are some of the most progressive in the world, but represent a small fraction of the faith. Many in the smaller, more isolated communities are very old-school when it comes to subjects such as gay rights, female priests, or sex ed.

A wild switch in policy on any one of these would completely alienate a majority of the Catholic faithful.

Hostile? Yes, absolutely! Justifiably so, in my humble opinion. See, the Church holds antiquated views on birth control, that’s no secret. However, when they prohibit the easiest, cheapest, most available form of birth control, the condom, they are also prohibiting the easiest, cheapest, most available form of disease prevention.

Yes, I know they want to fill the world with tiny little Catholics who will then grow up and try to control the rest of us, however the Church is not totally blind to the financial woes of today’s family. Thus, the rhythm method. For those that don’t know, the rhythm method is the method of timing unprotected sex during the woman’s fertile days (if a baby is desired) or infertile days (if the married couple just wants to fuck).

The rhythm method has a very high failure rate, and also doesn’t protect the couple from any transmission of STD. Plus, there’s still what should be a Catholic moral dilemma of the man spilling his seed (so to speak) without the direct goal of making little Catholics. We’ll come back to that in a moment.

First, I want to talk about the very real moral dilemma of forcing this doctrine on their faithful. As the article that Pandora link states, this doctrine has an immediate negative effect on the poorer countries that are in the throes of an AIDS epidemic. Efforts to educate on and provide preventatives in these countries have been blocked by the power of the Church. Because of this moral doctrine , scores of people are getting infected and dying of AIDS. Allowing innocent people to die painfully because of a bewildering retention of this anachronistic and ill-considered ideal is simply wrong, immoral, and unjust.

Now, the article also states that the Church does much for AIDS relief. No doubt, he is thinking of the Catholic Relief Service’s AIDSRelief program. This program “cares for and treats more than 325,000 people, and more than 125,000 people are on antiretroviral therapy (ART).” (link) Don’t worry, I’m not going to dump on this program. I think it provides a necessary service, and probably gives a lot of comfort to those who are in their last days.

However, that’s kind of the problem, too. These people are being treated because they already have the virus. Barring some sort of unforeseen accident resulting in death, these people are going to die of AIDS. Imagine if the Church could simply join us in the present and temper their care with some real, working preventative aid to those that desperately need it. I know I’d rather feel confident that I have the knowledge and tools to not get AIDS than to be well-cared-for once I’ve gotten it.

Wouldn’t you?

Yes, my attitude to the Church on topics such as this is hostile. It’s hard not to be when I see so much suffering in the name of antediluvian doctrine when the world so desperately needs to move on and do what it takes to care for all of its people.

I’ve taken my shots my shots at religion, and even a holy book or two. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to do it for many years to come. Of course, I use the phrase “taking shots” figuratively unlike a U.S. Army sniper who quite literally used the Koran for target practice.

The Koran in question was used as a target at a police station firing range in Radhwaniya, where it was found bullet-ridden two days later. The offending soldier was relieved of duty and shipped back to the U.S., where he issued an official apology. There are a few things about this incident that bother me:

1. That it happened in the first place. Soldiers are under a supreme amount of pressure and stress that no civilian will ever truly understand. Because of this, they can do some pretty assholish things. However, there’s a big difference between taking a photo of an Iraqi holding a derogatory sign that you’ve written and desecrating the symbol of everything the vast majority of Iraqis hold dear. Not only that, the U.S. military has lost face in the eyes of the very people we’re supposed to be out there helping.
2. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond’s quote, “The actions of one soldier were nothing more than criminal behavior.” While the tribal leaders see this as a crime, Hammond does need to keep in mind that this is not criminal behavior in the U.S. Back home, that sniper could have propped that Koran up against the King James bible, shot them both full of hole, set them on fire, and pissed on them to put the fire out, and more power to him! Shooting people is criminal behavior, shooting books is certainly not!
3. Hammond presented a gift of a Koran to the offended Iraqis, but also kissed it. Unless Hammond is muslim, he has no business showing such deference to that book. Respect for the book would be to refrain from shooting it, and Hammond crossed a line in his show of humility.

Another small point, but we have to take a broader look at the state of the world when things like this happen. If you have an unused hunk of paper that holds little value, you still have to treat it correctly.

Recycle, people. Trees are a dwindling resource.

UPDATE: Check out Delaware Liberal for a different perspective on the kissing.

South Carolina state government is getting into the religion business, and hardcore, too according to this story from the Charlotte Observer.

One creates license tags with “I Believe” in front of a cross; a second makes clear prayers can be offered before public meetings and a third allows set public displays of key historical legal foundation documents that would include the Ten Commandments.

Well, that runs the gamut, doesn’t it? Promoting Christianity specifically by offering only a cross on the license plate, promotion of religion in the government with a prayer, and allowing display of religious “legal” documents on public grounds.

Offering only the cross is pretty blatant, but the other two seem pretty general and maybe all-inclusive, don’t they? Yes, until we understand where the government is coming from on religious views:

What about Wicca, commonly referred to as witchcraft? “Well, that’s not what I consider to be a religion,” McGill said. And Buddhism? “I’d have to look at the individual situation. But I’m telling you, I firmly believe in this tag.”

Interesting. So, some small-minded bureaucrat will be making the decisions as to what counts as a religion. It’s good to see that they are putting so much thought into this. It’s plainly evident that the people creating and supporting these bills will be using them to put their particular brand of Christianity into the government. Should these unconstitutional bills pass, and somewhere down the line a Buddhist or a Wiccan wants a pentagram or fat guy on their license plate, the same people purtporting this as all-inclusive will be fighting the petitioners with the standard cry, “This is a Christian Nation founded on Christian principles!”

This is why complete separation of church and state is necessary. As soon as it even cracks a little bit, the religion with the most clout will take a sledgehammer to it, and in the process destroy the rights of everyone not part of the In Crowd.

In this continuation of the Vatican’s failing bid to be socially relevant, the Catholic church now okays belief in aliens. See Steve Newton’s post on Delaware Libertarian on the Holy See’s previous reactions to one of their own for hypothesizing other worlds. Here’s a summary: torture and murder!

Well, I feel so much better about their policy of hiding and avoidance of culpability for legions of child molesters now that I know I can safely believe in the possibility of life on other planets!

Whew!