faith

Court Rules Faith in God and Prayer as Child Abuse!

Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side

Teen's death blamed on faith healing

Unreasonable Faith
Excellent blog by an ex-Christian - like this one, but much better.

Police: Girl Dies After Parents Pray for Healing Instead of Seeking Medical Help

Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side

One of my favorite podcasts on secular issues is the Atheist Community of Austin's broadcast The Atheist Experience (also a cable access TV show). Good topics, live listener call-ins, and hosts who really know their stuff; I highly recommend that you listen in. (I wish more of those callers would regularly listen; they might learn to 1. Turn down the TV when calling!; and 2. Quit asking "So, you're atheist; that means you don't believe in anything, right?", again and again and again.)

I have a question about how one particularly loony Christian conceit fares in debates. I don't get much chance to talk to rabid believers, so thought I'd ask the debating pros at The Atheist Experience about their experience. The reply is an eye-opener. Here's my email first: Readeth thou more

In Reframing the argument: Is it "religion vs science"? , I mused on how I'm not too keen on battling "religion" per se. Oh, sure, I'm all for bashing religion in the sense that it's usually meant: a collection of beliefs – often harmful ones at that – not based on evidence. But "religion" can also be applied to something as benign as "a sense of awe" or "curiosity over whether there might be 'something more'".

In addition, attacks on "religion" invariably become confused with attacks on stained glass and soup kitchens and kind Salvation Army volunteers. Sure, it's dumb to read an anti-religious stance that way, but people will do it. In short, it's tricky and sometimes ineffective to target an enemy whose definition isn't even agreed upon by all. Readeth thou more

"Without God, we end up like atheists Stalin and Hitler." Asinine beyond reason (though not beyond belief), yet the line just won't die. (Never mind the additional ridiculousness that Hitler, like most Nazis, was a Christian.) From big-name cardinals to school-board creationist nut cases, the "faithful" love to toss out Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, and their ilk as the end result of losing religion.

Pretending for a moment that Hitler wasn't a Christian, let's say that these dictators indeed weren't religious. Fine. But while they're not religious, they were all men of faith. Overpowering, self-righteous, unwavering faith.

Stalin had no proof that Communism was superior and would crush capitalism; he took that belief on faith. Hitler's fantasies about Jewish conspiracy and the superiority of the Reich? Again, no evidence, just faith of a strength on par with that of Biblical prophets. Mao Zedong justified his catastrophic Great Leap Forward not with empirical backing, but monstrous faith that it would work miracles. Readeth thou more