11.28.2010

Belief in Demonic Possession Has Led to Great Suffering

exorcist

Theories of demonic possession and the belief that exorcism is an effective cure have done unimaginable damage to countless people suffering from mental illness over the centuries. I think it would be fair to say that these approaches have led to many of the unhealthy attitudes many people still have toward those struggling with mental illness. This is an important and very sad lesson about the evils to which religion has led (and continues to lead).

Just when we think that modern science has finally displaced these dangerous myths, we learn that there are religious believers in positions of power who are determined to return us all to the Dark Ages in the name of their preferred religion. Thus, we should not be surprised that even now there are Roman Catholic bishops insisting that we need more exorcists and even more of this superstitious bullshit! And sadly, the belief in demons is not limited to Catholics.

11.25.2010

I Can Do Without Tradition

turkey

There are a great many things I have never understood about my fellow humans (e.g., taking pride in ignorance, praising belief without evidence in one domain while condemning it in most others, etc.). The one I want to address here is that of tradition: continuing to do things simply because one's family used to do them or because one's culture exerts pressure on us all to do them. I don't get it. And for the most part, I refuse to participate in it.

Yes, I am one of the small number of American atheists who does not celebrate Christmas. It holds no meaning for me and has come to represent Christianity and commercialism, making it just another pointless cultural tradition. I certainly don't condemn anyone else for celebrating it. If it means something to you, then have fun. All I've ever asked is that I receive the same courtesy. Of course, I recognize that will never happen.

11.22.2010

Yes, Bush is Technically a War Criminal

bush-war-criminal

I already posted most of my thoughts on Rachel Maddow's interview with Jon Stewart, and I won't repeat them here. However, I watched the entire interview a second time and do have one thing I'd like to add to what I said previously.

During the interview, Stewart suggested that Maddow and everyone else on the left were making a mistake to refer to George W. Bush as a war criminal even though the charge "may be technically true." Since I have made exactly such a reference several times, I want to address his argument.

Stewart's comment came in the context of his claim that both the left and right have ways of shutting down debate in the U.S. I don't disagree with this, but I do take issue with what he said about Bush.

"But what is the lefty way of shutting down [debate]," Maddow asked. "You've said, 'Bush is war criminal.' Now that may be technically true. In my world 'war criminal' is Pol Pot or the Nuremberg trials," Stewart replied. "I think that's such an incendiary charge that when you put it into a conversation: 'Well technically he is.' Well that may be right but it feels like a conversation stopper, not a conversation starter."

11.16.2010

Scolded for Not Attending Church

scoldI was mildly scolded at work recently for not attending church. It does not seem to matter that I work at a state university. The Christian privilege of the "bible belt" is pervasive enough as to outweigh anything as trivial as the law. But believe it or not, this particular scolding did not bother me and is not really even the subject of this post. That may seem strange, but I can clear it up easily.

The person who scolded me was not a boss and has no authority over me. The scolding was done in a joking manner by someone I like. If I had been scolded by a boss for not attending church, this would be a very different post because I would be reporting on my trip to the office that handles complaints along these lines. In this case, the scolding was not something that upset me at all. It was fairly easy to recognize it for what it was, dismiss it, and move on.

11.14.2010

Maddow vs. Stewart: They're Both Right

In the polarized climate of U.S. politics and media, it was nice to see such a calm and mostly reasonable interaction between Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart when she interviewed him this week. I watch both of their shows on a semi-regular basis and think that both have made some important contributions to the discourse. In this particular interview, I did not agree entirely with everything either of them said, but I thought that both made enough valid points to provoke thought.

Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart

11.12.2010

Christian Calls Islam a Superstition

evolution of superstitionI was watching a recent episode of The Rachel Maddow Show in which she was reading some of the more interesting messages proponents of the Oklahoma legislation banning Sharia law were sending to those opposing the legislation. Talk about true American idiocy! My favorite message was one in which the author, clearly a Christian, concluded with, "Your religion is a superstition." It doesn't get much better than that.

Unfortunately, I suspect that this Christian was not alone in believing that Christianity is somehow truer or less superstitious than any other religion, past or present. This is part of what makes religion dangerous: it fosters us vs. them mentality, imbues the "us" with divine authorization, and often dehumanizes the "them" by associating them with evil. "My god is better than yours" has been used to justify countless wars and continues to allow people to treat one another poorly while managing to feel good about doing so.

11.05.2010

When Superstition is Involved, Be a Dick

sneezeI have been strangely silent on the subject of the now infamous "Don't be a dick" speech. It never struck me as anything new or particularly interesting. Friendly Atheist had been criticizing some of us long before Plait's speech for the same thing, and I feel like my many previous posts on the subject hold up reasonably well.

For some reason, I found myself thinking about the subject today, and it occurs to me that the whole thing may be far simpler than we have been making it. How about we put the entire debate in the context of a sneeze and see what happens?

11.01.2010

Maybe We Should Hand Out Atheist Tracts on Halloween

halloween
Photo by pgrandicelli BEE FREE [CC BY 2.0]

Crazy idea, I know, but maybe atheists should try handing out atheist tracts of some sort along with candy to the trick-or-treaters who visit us on Halloween (or on whatever day they are allowed to celebrate Halloween in our area). I remember some people doing this with Christian tracts when I was a kid, and the Jesusween folks will be handing out Christian bibles instead of candy because...Jesus. Perhaps we should consider combatting these efforts by spreading some facts and reason.

Of course, there would be an obvious downside to such a plan. Some of the kids would undoubtedly remember where they got the atheist tracts. Word would spread throughout the neighborhood that an atheist was living among them. The local hardware stores would sell out of pitchforks, trees would be stripped of branches to make torches, and well...you know the rest.