Are Your Cats Old Enough to Learn About Jesus? is a post from: Freethinker

All Creative Work Builds On What Came Before is a post from: Freethinker

Morality is doing what is right, regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, regardless of what is right.

(via irReligion.org)

What is Morality? is a post from: Freethinker

The New Commandments

1. Do not condemn people on the basis of their ethnicity or color.
2. Do not ever use people as private property.
3. Despise those who use violence or the threat of it in sexual relations.
4. Hide your face and weep if you dare to harm a child.
5. Do not condemn people for their inborn nature—why would God create so many homosexuals only in order to torture and destroy them?
6. Be aware that you too are an animal and dependent on the web of nature, and think and act accordingly.
7. Do not imagine that you can escape judgment if you rob people with a false prospectus rather than with a knife.
8. Turn off that fucking cell phone—you have no idea how unimportant your call is to us.
9. Denounce all jihadists and crusaders for what they are: psychopathic criminals with ugly delusions.
10. Be willing to renounce any god or any religion if any holy commandments should contradict any of the above.

The “New 10 Commandments” According to Christopher Hitchens is a post from: Freethinker

One of the best things Fox News is good at is spinning a poll. Not only can they throw around poll numbers that are completely different from other news organizations–numbers that are always in favor of their message–they can also craft a damn good biased poll. They recently did a poll called Does the ‘Reconciliation’ Gambit Make You Angry?.

The three options they included (there were actually four, but the “Other” option is just there to filter out trolls) would have been fine if they were expressed without their tacked on opinions. In its simple form–without opinions–it was Yes, Not Sure, and No. Simple enough. However, the opinions that came after each option were cynical, biased, and designed to fuel the moronic angst of the type of people who actually go to Fox News to get their news.

1. Yes. This is outrageous! They’re using rules to bypass the clear voice of the people – payback in November, guys.
2. Not sure, but if they have to resort to rules loopholes to pass a law, doesn’t that indicate that a lot of people oppose it?
3. No. Look, we need health care reform and we need it now. Let’s get started, even if it means using a rules loophole.

The “Not Sure” and “No” options were sabotaged with dickishness.

“…doesn’t that indicate that a lot of people oppose it?”

“Let’s get started, even if it means using a rules loophole.”

I mean, really? Not surprisingly, most people chose yes If you preach to a choir, can a tree in a forest hear the preaching?

Fox News Teaches Us How to Make Super Biased Opinion Polls is a post from: Freethinker

17 year-old being forced to attend church and told that he belongs to a particular religion by his parents. He’s wondering whether this is legal (I suspect that it is) and has raised questions about what any of us can do to prevent other children from having to endure similar experiences in the future.

The writer then talked about their own experience as a child—being forced to go to church—and how the relationship with their parents was never the same after that experience.

The question, or statement as it might be, is not a new one. Most recently, Richard Dawkins got attention for making similar statements. He suggests that labeling children as Christian children or Muslim children is absurd, as is filling their minds with the idea that unless they believe, they will burn in hell.

Personally, I think the word abuse is a bit much. Oppressive maybe, but abusive?

Is Imposing Religion on Children Abusive? is a post from: Freethinker

via The Thinking Atheist

Morality Without God is a post from: Freethinker