SCIENCE OF ETHICS - By Arthur M. Jackson
The material on this web site comes out of a life-time quest for wisdom which I take as being a spiritual journey. Spiritual -- not in the sense of the mystical or the supernatural -- but looking beneath that to understand the yearning that our life have meaning.America's Real Religion and Essays by Gene Garman
The issue of religion and government is a major debate in the United States of America. Fortunately, the Supreme Court of the United States researched the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution long before it made decisions about such matters as required prayer (Engel, 1962) and required Bible reading (Abington, 1963). In 1878 (Reynolds), 1947 (Everson), and 1948 (McCollum), the Court set solid precedent with Jefferson's and Madison's definitions. Request a copy of the book and read all about it.I've never been a fan of orthodoxy in any way. I rather liked the attitude Mohandas K. Gandhi had, which is to say that if you take the complete set of religious beliefs each person has, you'll never find complete agreement between any two people. He liked to think, then, that every person had a distinct, separate religion all his own. That concept gives us around 5 billion religions in the world (give or take a few million, then cut out the non-religious, and I'll get to this in a minute). This makes accepting those who believe differently a lot easier, since you won't find anyone who doesn't. Unless you're identicle twins who were born and raised by a cult in the outback of Wyoming that stresses complete conformity and control of thought, but how many of those are there? Anyway, it makes religious life much less contentious and stressful.
People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation work to protect the heart of democracy and the soul of the nation. In Congress and state capitals, in classrooms and in libraries, in courthouses and houses of worship, on the airwaves and on the printed page, on sidewalks and in cyberspace, we work to promote full citizen participation in our democracy and safeguard the principles of our Constitution from those who threaten the American dream.
The Alaska Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United of Alaska for Separation of Church and State is an Alaskan advocacy organization devoted to the preservation of the First Amendment's religious liberty provisions.Discussing the history, ethics and philosophy of atheism promotes liberty, responsibility and peace of mind.
"The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion." -- Treaty with Tripoli,
1797
The purpose of the World Wide Skeptical Web is to provide a unified index of web resources that promote naturalistic approaches to philosophy and science, and are skeptical of supernaturalist claims, whether those claims are made by traditional religionists or modern day paranormalists. Essentially, the WWSW is a links index, and it is by far the most complete, extensive and up-to-date links site of its kind on the Web. Once all of my pages are up, I will have Over 800 Links to various web pages and documents.
This is a serious site, intended for the benefit of those who are truly seeking to learn. If that is you, you should come here often. It is my intention to make this site one of the best on the net for content.
Uzzah.com -- Dedicated to Uzzah, who thought he was doing the right thing
Recently, however, I've noticed a growing trend in many people (in general, mostly religious individuals; in particular, Christians) who have no inkling of the many world's religions out there, or, if they do, the misconceptions they often have about them. When defending their beliefs, the most disturbing fact is their highly intolerant stance towards religions which do not practice their belief or in the very least slightly deviate from their own church's teachings. They will be the first to denounce them, to judge them, to mock them, all with very little, or worse, without any knowledge of the religion they are squashing.In this site you will find the truths behind religion. The title says it all.
C h r i $ t i a n i t y Bogus Beyond Belief
*Current events factoid*: Did you know that the Serbs are orthodox Christians? The current crisis has its roots in religious differences. I remember back in the early 90's, in Bosnia, the Serb's victims were described as Muslims refugees, Muslim civilians, Muslim women and children, etc. But the Serbs themselves were never, ever called Christians. Yet that is what they were. And that is what they are. Anyway, just a little point to ponder. By the way, what is the Vatican doing to help in this crisis? The Vatican is trying to deny 'morning after' pills to Albanian women who have been raped by Serbian 'soldiers.'What I really hate is the way they influence the media. I'm not talking about the ones with their own shows. I can spot those a mile away, and avoid them. I'm talking about the ones who sneak their insane agenda into supposedly factual news stories. How often have you seen something like this on the news?
Reporter: "You've just lost your house and everything you own. How do you feel."
Victim: "I just thank the LORD everyone made it out okay, especially my little foofoo."
Meanwhile, in the background you see the firefighter who actually saved little foofoo being treated for his injuries, with LORD nowhere to be seen.
I believe the single most important trait a person can cultivate can be summed up in one word-PASSION. Passion to live life to its fullest, to reach, to aspire, to grow, nurture, care. Dare to feel strongly about things, and to voice those feelings. Dare to be wrong and change your mind. Dare to be right and do something about it. Try and "make a difference" in the things that are important to you, whether those things be the reformation of a social condition, the raising of a happy and responsible child, or even stopping to ask somebody if they're OK. Dare to accept life, to love it, and to live it passionately.
This is, after all, the only lifetime we have.
Here you'll find great linx to Sacred Sites like The Church of Doubt, Church of the Invisible Pink Unicorn, The Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua, Church of Cthulhu, the ever-popular Church of the Sub-Genius, over 40 links here, including some of the more strange and obscure. Also in Humour, there's Psycho Dave's brilliant Jack T. Chick parody, the Great God Contest, the Winking Jesus, and more. Go to Fundamentalists if only to read Demonbuster tell you about a "squid like demon of diabetes," or to visit Benny Hinn, Jimmy Swaggart, or Kenneth Copeland. In Agnostic World discover all about agnostica from great writers such as Kathy Pulver, Clarence Darrow and Bertrand Russell, plus Greg Taylor's infamous Gnostic site "The Grail."
[A cadet from West Point] When asked, I normally say that I am a Freethinker. I believe that all ideas and all philosophies should be given equal weight and equal scrutiny. An eclectic view of morality and a broad-based pool from which to draw inspiration is the only way that individuals and society in general will ever reach full potential. One who restricts study to only one book or only one kind of philosophy is bound to suffer a short-sighted and ignorant existence. See my roadmap for more of my philosophizing.
EASTER CHALLENGE $1,000 RESURRECTION REWARD!! Do you read the Bible? Then tell us exactly what happened on the first Easter and win $1,000! In each of the four Gospels, begin at Easter morning and read to the end of the book. Read: Matthew 28 Mark 16 Luke 24 John 20 and 21 Also read: Acts 1:3-12 1 Corinthians 15:3 - 8 It will not take long to read these 165 verses. Then, without omitting a single detail from the accounts, write one consistent chronological narrative - with scriptural citations - of the events from the Resurrection to the Ascension. (Linking narrative may be enclosed in parentheses). Mail your narrative with your claim for $1,000 to: Easter Challenge P. O. Box 3127 Moscow ID 83843-0127H
An Easter Challenge For Christians: I HAVE AN EASTER challenge for Christians. My challenge is simply this: tell me what happened on Easter. I am not asking for proof. My straightforward request is merely that Christians tell me exactly what happened on the day that their most important doctrine was born. Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist by Dan Barker
Judith Hayes, "The Happy Heretic." My grandfather was a Lutheran minister, his son was a Lutheran pipe organist, and his granddaughter is an atheist. Now that's my kind of evolution. I have a lot to share with you.
Judith Hayes, also written an excellent book: "In God We Trust: But Which One?" For a Signed Copy, soft cover, 224 pages, Published by FFRF, Inc., check her web site.
The Religious Right Is Challenged-And Loses! Allah. Krishna. Is there a God? If so, who is it? With wit and wisdom, Judith Hayes, former Freethought Today columnist, and currently an Internet columnist, "The Happy Heretic," plunges into this age-old mystery and finds an answer. In her easy to read style, and with devastating logic, she takes on Christian fundamentalism, with all its cruelties and contradictions, and wins!
My political views are very liberal . . . Some of my pet political issues are the separation of church and state, civil rights, religious freedom, animal rights, and environmentalism.
An annotated bibliography of some thought-provoking titles. The title link will take you to my review, a summary, the actual source, and/or some other information on the book.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -- The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Christians would love it if they could turn the clock back, to the "good old days" when people like me became fuel for their fires of persecution. Christians- just a few centuries ago- were burning people like me alive for the "crime" of free speech. Thousands of innocent men and women in Europe and the America's died while followers of the "prince of peace" looked on, laughing.
Freethinkers of Ventura County
free-think-er n. A person who forms opinions about religion on the basis of reason, independently of tradition, authority, or established belief. Freethinkers include atheists, agnostics and rationalists. Freethinker, revelation and faith are invalid, and orthodoxy is no guarantee of truth.Clarke's weaving of the past with a possible (perhaps over-optimistic) future is very entertaining. I think people in 2061 will know who The Beatles were, but other than this hint that Clarke makes, much of the book is realistic. The chapters are short and usually end in some sort of cliff hanger so it makes the book difficult to put down. Everyone, from early teenagers to adults as old as Dr. Floyd, should find much of interest in this book.
Biblical Inconsistencies by Donald Morgan
BIBLICAL INCONSISTENCIES Compiled by Donald Morgan. EXAMPLE: GE 1:3-5 On the first day, God created light, then separated light and darkness. GE 1:14-19 The sun (which separates night and day) wasn't created until the fourth day.Richard Dawkins was educated at Oxford University and has taught zoology at the universities of California and Oxford. He is the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. His books about evolution and science include The Selfish Gene , The Extended Phenotype , The Blind Watchmaker, River Out of Eden, Climbing Mount Improbable, and most recently, Unweaving the Rainbow
Here you will find information on what The Skeptic Tank is, what information files are available on The Skeptic Tank, and how to acquire copies of the information that's available. You can also find out how the files you request are automatically sent to your return E-Mail address. All of the files available through The Skeptic Tank's archives are free. We are a profit-free, tax-exempt educational organization.
The Liberal Constitutionalist Home Page
"[T]he scriptural principles which our founding fathers incorporated must again be brought to bear on every aspect of life, including education, government and law."- Dr. James Dobson, letter to supporters, July, 1996.
When James Dobson, Pat Robertson, D. James Kennedy, Randall Terry, and others on the extreme theocratic fringe of the Religious Right speak, concepts such as "religious freedom" and "separation of church and state" lose all meaning. When judges such as the bitterly anti-Constitutional Robert Bork speak of the "First Amendment and freedom of the speech and the press," the First Amendment is suddenly stripped of its obvious meaning. Little if any subject matter would be considered Constitutionally protected, and even these protections could be freely disregarded by state or local governments reacting to majority passions and fears.
Securing Religious Liberty--The Baptist Joint Committee
Congress continues to bandy about the idea that government monies to religious entities is a good idea--traditionally Baptists have opposed any government monies for religious groups. Stop by this new section to see why Baptists oppose vouchers and what you can do to stop them in your area.
To do right is not always popular and at times can be very unpopular. The time is long overdue for restoring the "Pledge of Allegiance" and our present currency motto to its pre 1950's status. Religion controls through fear and intimidation. Religious fear and intimidation during the McCarthy era, created the change in the "Pledge of Allegiance" and currency motto. Let's do what is right -- restore the "Pledge."
__PLEDGE RESTORATION PROJECTRestore our Pledge of Allegiance