Movie producers use lying subterfuge in the "creation" of a new upcoming movie denigrating science and promoting "Intelligent Design." Article from the New York Times: A few months ago, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins received an e-mail message from a producer at Rampant Films inviting him to be interviewed for a documentary called “Crossroads.” The film, with Ben Stein, the actor, economist and freelance columnist, as its host, is described on Rampant’s Web site as an examination of the intersection of science and religion. Dr. Dawkins was an obvious choice. An eminent scientist who teaches at Oxford University in England, he is also an outspoken atheist who has repeatedly likened religious faith to a mental defect. But now, Dr. Dawkins and other scientists who agreed to be interviewed say they are surprised — and in some cases, angered — to find themselves not in “Crossroads” but in a film with a new name and one that makes the case for intelligent des...

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson According to the Incident Information System tracking the California wildfires, 12 of 25 tracked fires are 100% contained. The fires, ranging from the Simi Valley to the Mexican border, are responsible for about 5 deaths at the time of this writing. They have also displaced nearly 1 million people, with well over 1,000 homes consumed and nearly 70,000 still threatened. More than 400 square miles in seven counties have been ravaged by fire which, being fed by desert winds, has proven itself highly resistant to air attacks, hoses, and (of course) prayer. The American Red Cross has mobilized , sending shelter workers, feeding vans, and other supplies to provide relief to those affected. Direct Relief International has also responded by sending emergency medical supplies and offering assistance to hospitals in the region. Another aid organization, AmeriCares, is also shipping emergency aid items such as water, hygiene products and other...

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson Last Saturday, J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series of books, revealed that the Headmaster of Hogwarts is gay . The revelation provoked gasps and applause from those present to hear the revelation, which was prompted by a fan's question concerning whether Dumbledore would find true love in the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Explaining, Rowling said that Dumbledore's great love was rival wizard Gellert Grindelwald, whom he had defeated well before Harry Potter came to Hogwarts. Dumbledore's ill-fated and tragic infatuation developed in his youth, when he befriended the winsome wizard Grindelwald, who would ultimately become Dumbledore's enemy. Many fans have long speculated about the sexuality of the famous wizard, and explicit scenes featuring Dumbledore have already appeared in fan fiction. However, not surprisingly, some are less than pleased by the announcement. L...

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson Just how did life begin? Were the compounds necessary for life present in the massive protoplanetary dust cloud that surrounded our young Sun? Did they then become a part of the planets of our solar system, including one that would eventually yield complex life? Did they arrive from some other source, such as a comet or meteor? For as long as mankind has wondered, the question of life's origins (abiogenesis - literally "lifeless beginning") has remained among those most frequently asked - and answered. Every ancient society produced its own explanation for the phenomenon of life, nearly every one of them involving a god or cabal of gods and/or goddesses. Most of these have been discarded as myths. But whether one believes in gods or rejects them entirely, the question of life's origins remains an important one. Today, science is the preferred tool for finding answers to questions like this one. Abiogenesis is a rich ...

From The Epoch Times Former US vice president Al Gore delivers a speech before a screening of the film he helped make of his best-selling global warming book An Inconvenient Truth in Cannes, southern France. While Al Gore supporters everywhere were thrilled with his win of the Nobel Peace Prize last week, a British judge stole some of Gore's thunder with his finding that Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, is laced with inaccuracies. Justice Michael Burton had been asked by school governor and father of two, Stuart Dimmock, to rule on whether showing Gore's Oscar-winning movie about global warming in British schools constituted education or indoctrination. Burton said that while the points raised in the documentary are broadly accurate, they are made in "the context of alarmism and exaggeration," and the science in the film is used "in the hands of a talented politician and communicator, to make a political statement and to support a political program....

Reposted from: Freethought Café by J.C. Samuelson On March 10th, 2006, seven members of the Westboro Baptist Church attended - and picketed - the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who had tragically been killed in Iraq. A few months later, Albert Snyder, the fallen Marine's father, brought suit against them alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit is believed to be the first against the church by a fallen service member's family. Having been denied two consecutive motions to dismiss the case, the church headed to trial today in Baltimore. The outcome may have implications for the group's future activities, which continue to raise hackles and provoked a group of people calling themselves the Patriot Riders to visit targeted funerals in order to help prevent the WBC from interfering. For those who are unfamiliar with the Westboro Baptist Church, it is a small congregation in Topeka, Kansas that revolves arou...

From TownHall.Com How to shut up an atheist The atheist’s days of running circles around the Christian with their darling questions are drawing to a close. Yes, the fat lady just wrenched herself off her humongous backside, has cleared her throat and now is fixin’ to sing the finale on the atheist’s ability to have fun with their specious little fairy tales at the Christians’ expense. That is if the Christian will buy, devour, commit to memory and stand up and challenge the pouty anti-God cabal with the atheist-slaying facts found in two new books from Regnery namely, What's So Great About Christianity and The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible Authors Dinesh D’Souza and Robert Hutchinson skillfully answer, once again, the atheist’s pet questions about the existence (or non-existence) of God and how Christianity has allegedly made the world suck. Suck, for you thick atheists, is a slang word which means to make or to be really, really crappy (kind of like how our culture ...

WELLINGTON, Ohio -- Police in Brighton Township in Lorain County said that a teenager shot his parents. The boy's mother was killed and his father, who is also a pastor, is in critical condition after being shot in their home on Peck-Wadsworth Road on Saturday. Marc Petric, 45, was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center after the shooting at 7 p.m. Sue Petric died at the scene. Marc is the pastor at New Life Assembly of God . The couple's 16-year-old son, Daniel, is being questioned by the Lorain County Sheriff. Officials said he was the sole person responsible for the crime. Daniel was arrested after police spotted him driving his father's 1999 green Windstar. He has not been charged yet. Daniel is expected in court Monday morning. Story Link

Sent in by Beaster Once again, we have Christians telling us what a holiday is or isn't about. Now they are threatened by Halloween, yet have no problem rubbing Christmas in the face of others and get offended if you use Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Wow, the hypocrisy. The following is a letter that was sent in to the Dallas Morning News regarding the celebration of Halloween. Pathetic.... Halloween is a controversial holiday, as reflected in your columns. However, it's very easy to discover its origins, roots and current impact on our "Christian" society. While we continue to say we're a Christian nation, how has the very demonic Halloween holiday become so popular that it is second only to Christmas in its profit and celebration? Satanists practice sacrifices, mutilations, and many horrific religious rites on this, their high holy day. Why would any of us want to participate in celebrating a holiday that reflects demons (not sweet little imps and...

From LiveScience.Com : You are reading these words right now because 600 million years ago, an aquatic animal called a Hydra developed light-receptive genes—the origin of animal vision. It wasn't exactly 20-20 vision back then though. Hydras , a genus of freshwater animals that are kin to corals and jellyfish, measure only a few millimeters in diameter and have been around for hundreds of millions of years. Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara studied the genes associated with vision (called opsins) in these tiny creatures and found opsin proteins all over their bodies. Though they don't have eyes or any specific light-receptive organs, researchers think that the light-sensing proteins concentrated in the mouth area of the Hydras help them to use light sensitivity to search out prey. Because studies of animals that evolved earlier, such as sponges , don't show the same light sensitivity, scientists were able to pinpoint the Precambrian ...

By Alan of The Whited Sepulchre Oral Roberts University may lose Dick "Richard" Roberts, the current university president. A THREE-RING CIRCUS Three instructors have been fired, there are allegations that current ORU first lady Lindsey Roberts likes 'em young, that money has been misplaced, and that documents have been shredded. The University comptroller has been fired. In a faith-healing gone bad, three blind men were made lame. Oral Roberts, the university's founder, started his career with small tent revivals and faith healings. This grew to a multi-media empire, including radio, TV programs, and Oral Roberts University. Because of a unique fund-raising vision of a massive Christ, Roberts also inspired one of the great rapper names: MC 900ft Jesus My first exposure to these clowns was through my grandmother. She had been crippled by a severe stroke, and lived with us most of the time. I can remember her watching this charlatan's TV programs, and watching Rober...

( PORTLAND, Ore . ) - Portland Police Sexual Assault Detectives have arrested a 38-year-old pastor who allegedly sexually abused eight women associated with his church. Portland police spokesman Brian Schmautz says pastor Sergio Alvarizares was arrested Monday at his home in Ridgefield, Washington, and is being held on on one count of Rape in the First Degree, two counts of Attempted Rape in the First Degree and ten counts of Sex Abuse in the First Degree, after a two week investigation involving the victims associated with the church known as -- “ Father’s House ” -- located at 1725 Northeast Alberta Street. The investigation began on September 30th, when Northeast Precinct officers were called to the Father’s House on a disturbance call. Officers arrived and learned that several members of the church were arguing with the suspect about allegations of improper sexual contact Schmautz said. Later that night six women, who did not live in Portland, called the Multnomah County Sheriff’s...

The Montgomery Advertiser reported the death of 51-year-old Rev. Gary Aldridge, a Montgomery, Alabama, Baptist Minister, back in June. The article has since been removed from the paper's website (articles are only archived there for a week), however, here is the original text: Minister died of asphyxiation By Andre Coe Montgomery Advertiser Their pastor was dead. The church members were still in shock. Youth Minister Charlie Swain and one of the members of Thorington Road Baptist Church embraced. Another woman stood silently and wept. The congregation's senior pastor, the Rev. Gary M. Aldridge, had been found dead at his home Sunday morning under unusual circumstances. Aldridge died of asphyxiation, according to a preliminary report from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. The police went on to state that Aldridge evidently did not die from random criminal activity. Forensic Sciences also said there were no signs of injuries to Aldridge's body. The autopsy was ...

These Young Preachers Say They Save Souls Seven-year-old Samuel Boutwell is an outgoing and well-spoken second grader. He loves to play with his dogs and play soccer, but he loves something else even more. Samuel is a Baptist preacher at a church in his home town of Brookhaven, a small town in southwestern Mississippi. He also preaches outside in front of the local Wal-Mart, and has preached on the road in Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Washington D.C., and the streets of New York City. Like many, Samuel said he became a preacher after he was "saved" by Jesus -- he just happened to be 3 years old at the time. "After I got saved, I knew I could try to reach more people to try to get saved," Samuel said. His sin against God? Disobeying his mom. And so the boy turned to Jesus. When asked to describe God, Samuel said, "Can you show me a building that didn't have a builder, could you show me a painting that didn't have a painter? Because nobody made G...

A Malaysian doctor who will spend the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in space has vowed to follow the rituals of his faith even as he hurtles around Earth at 17,000 mph. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor lifted off Wednesday in a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan, en route to the international space station where he will spend about 10 days. The spacecraft — which also carried an American and a Russian — will take two days to reach the station, a period coinciding with the last days of Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Sheikh Muszaphar has said he will fast and pray in space, even though clerics said he could delay the fast. "I am not sure how it would be done but I will share my experiences (with) all the Muslims all over the world when I get back," the 35-year-old Sheikh Muszaphar wrote in his Web journal. "After all, Islam is a way of life and I am quite sure I would not face much difficulties." Sheikh Muszaphar is taking vacuum-packed M...

Remember that Christian video game called Eternal Forces that came out last year? Well, apparently, criticism of the game caused sales to lag a bit. And in response, Left Behind Games is fighting back. The following is from GamePolitics.Com: And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger… (Ezekiel 25:17 …and, of course, Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction ) Numerous reports have surfaced on the web over the last few days regarding legal threats made against blog sites by Left Behind Games , publishers of a controversial real-time strategy title based upon the mega-selling Christian book series. Gameology writes: You’ve probably seen that we’ve posted some rather critical remarks on the game Left Behind: Eternal Forces … we’re apparently on [CEO] Troy Lyndon’s radar… On Monday, they escalated their response by sending me a nastygram threatening me with legal action unless I remove “false and misleading” comments from this website. …The goal of this letter is a...

A Christian former camp leader robbed boys of their innocence and grossly abused his position of trust when he sexually abused them over a 14-year period, a court has heard. Neville Cyril Collins, 44, was yesterday sentenced to 11 years in prison for abuse of six boys between 1984 and 1998. The victims were aged 11 to 16 when Collins abused them at Boys' Brigade and Exercise Novice Warrior camps in Auckland and other places in the North Island . Trusted by the boys' parents and considered a "father figure" to some of the victims, he also abused them in their homes and his home. Three of the victims were at the High Court at Rotorua for the sentencing and excerpts of their victim impact statements were read out. "He took from me my innocence, my trust and confidence in all areas of my life," one victim wrote. "I have lived with this for 21 years - the pain, the guilt, feeling dirty, the anger and embarrassment - all this time." Another victim said...

Twenty years ago, televangelist Oral Roberts said he was reading a spy novel when God appeared to him and told him to raise $8 million for Roberts' university, or else he would be "called home." Now, his son, Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts, says God is speaking again, telling him to deny lurid allegations in a lawsuit that threatens to engulf this 44-year-old Bible Belt college in scandal. Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay. She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males....

From the Washington Post: By Matt Cherry Celebrating the major transitions in life is as old as humanity. Even before there was organized religion, people marked key moments in their lives with ceremony and music, with solemn commitments and joyful celebrations. The birth of a child is one of the most significant of these rites of passage. It is a time for family, friends and community to come together to offer love, support and encouragement. It’s a time for a party. Rites of passage are also a time for reflection. They are moments when we step back from our daily concerns and look at our lives in a broader context. And when we think about the span of our whole life -- the arc of its development through key moments of birth, adulthood, love, parenthood, and death – we try to make sense it of it all. We explore the beliefs and values that give shape and meaning to our lives. For many people these values – and their underlying existential beliefs – are spiritual. Every religion has cere...

From the Washington Times Beginning today, the 14 percent of Americans who label themselves as nonreligious will be able to turn on the radio once a week and hear a show that caters to their specific beliefs — or lack thereof. The first national broadcast of a Freethought Radio program will be aired over Air America Radio out of Madison, Wis., with such guests as Christopher Hitchens , author of the best-selling book " God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything ." Mr. Hitchens will be aired today on XM Satellite channel 167 and over WWRL-AM (1600) in New York City from 7 to 8 p.m., the show's regularly scheduled time. "Our radio show is one with heritage," co-host Dan Barker said. "We vote, serve in the military and sit on juries." Mr. Barker, who is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation along with Annie Laurie Gaylor, said atheists, agnostics and nonreligious are "rejecting the illness" of religion. "We don...

The former pastor of the Revival Center in Vincent is charged with murder in the October 2005 shooting death of his wife. Timothy Dane Tillman, 43, was in the Shelby County Jail this evening with bond set at $500,000 after being returned from central Florida earlier in the day. He is charged with intentional murder, said Shelby County Chief Assistant District Attorney Bill Bostick. Tillman is accused of deliberately shooting his wife, Janet Lorita Tillman, 40, at the couple's Vincent home on Oct. 26, 2005. The death was investigated by Vincent police and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. Tillman had contended the shooting was accidental and occurred when his shotgun accidentally fired while he was cleaning it, striking his wife in the back. Story Link

Rev. Rick Mason notes that atheism is on the rise. He blames Christian fundamentalism. Certainly the ineptness, dishonesty and lack of ethics of the overtly God-fearing Bush administration may be turning people off on God. A case study shows what this could mean for America. Norway has embraced secularism at the expense of its Christian roots. A 2005 survey conducted by Gallup International rated Norway the least religious country in Western Europe. In Norway, 82.9 percent of the population are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (they are automatically registered at birth and few bother to be unregistered). However, only approximately 10 percent regularly attend church services and identify themselves as being personally Christian. A 2006 survey found: 29 percent believe in a god or deity; 23 percent believe in a higher power without being certain of what; 26 percent don't believe in God or higher powers; 22 percent have doubts. Depending on the definition of atheism, Nor...

The state concluded its case today against a Stanley minister accused of aggravated rape of an 11-year-old girl last year. The defense will present its witnesses Wednesday. Many of those are expected to either be character witnesses or witnesses who will testify that the alleged victim was not telling the truth. The day ended on an emotional note as several members of the jury, made up of nine women and three men, appeared moved as a father tried to explain the blow to his life as he tried to sort out details of sexual abuse allegations his daughter aimed at his father. One female juror on the front row pulled a Kleenex from her purse and another made a quick swipe to her eye as Dusty Warren admitted he initially dismissed his daughter’s allegations because there wasn’t a question in his mind that his father, Burcham Paul Warren, could have done such a thing. Paul Warren was more than Dusty Warren’s father but also his pastor. The former pastor of South Oak Grove Assembly of God Churc...