Prayer is not without its place. It can be comforting and bring people together for a good cause. But is someone actively answering our prayers? Or is more likely that ‘answered prayers’ are the products of hope and coincidence?
The following video does a good job of explaining this point of view. It is over a year or two old and used to reside on GodIsImaginary.com.
The Book’s Introduction Indicates Some Students Would Rather Be Spoon-Fed The Answers Than Think For Themselves
I began reading Michael Shermer’sHow We Believe. I didn’t even get to the end of chapter 1 before being taken aback.
Before Shermer converted to a religious skeptic, he spent several years as a born again Christian. Among other works, he was influenced by Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth. While attending Glendale College, Shermer challenged Richard Hardison, his philosophy teacher to read the book, hoping it would leave his teacher in awe. After reading the book, Hardison responded to Shermer with a two page report detailing the problems with the book. [ 1 ]
As Shermer reports this incident in chapter 1 of How We Believe, he mentions how Hardison concluded his report with the following thought:
Of all Lindsey’s statements, the one I most want to quarrel with is found in the introduction: “There are many students who are dissatisfied with being told that the sole purpose of education is the develop inquiring minds. They want to find some of the answers to their questions—solid answers, a certain direction.” I think I can offer some possible explanations for this “egregious” development. But even more, I feel impelled to propose that such a student is dead.
According to an AOL poll, Christianity Is THE ONLY Religion That Deserves Its Own License Plate
Venganza.org reports that Florida is considering a religious speciality license plate for its automobiles. The proposed plates, which include a cross and the words “I Believe,” promotes Christianity.
Some lawmakers say the state should be careful. Rep. Kelly Skidmore said she is a Roman Catholic and goes to Mass on Sundays, but she believes the “I Believe” plate is inappropriate for the government to produce.
What’s The Harm In That?
Maybe it will pass, maybe it won’t. But what’s the harm? We already have church billboards, bumper stickers, and other advertising. Why not let the religions have this one?
Well…I followed FSM’s article through to the AOL’s story and participated in their poll. The poll asked two simple yes-or-no questions:
What do you think of Florida’s proposal to offer a Christian license plate?
How would you feel about license plates that promoted other religions?
I was able to find a page called Best and Worst of the Year Awards, a compilation of outrageous claims and blunders, many of which have been publicly debunked by skeptics. After taking a gallop through the 2007 list, I thought it might be amusing to throw up a personal highlight reel from NMSR’s list.
British psychics are in for a rude awakening. A new set of laws may force them to prove their talents in court, or “give disclaimers describing their services as entertainment or as scientific experiments with unpredictable results.”
The law currently in force in this area is the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951, which does in fact make it illegal to fraudulently claim to possess psychic or clairvoyant powers. But the key word is “fraudulently” - meaning that any enterprising prosecutor would have to prove that not only that the defendant has no psychic powers, but that they were aware of this and deliberately set out to deceive. This is a high bar to surmount, which is why the Act has hardly ever been used to prosecute psychic claimants…
But now, as part of an effort to harmonize consumer-protection laws across the European Union, the Act may be repealed. The new regulations proposed to replace it ban “treating consumers unfairly”, and psychics worry that this language could be used against them, to force them to prove their claims are genuine. Gee, you think?
I recently stumbled upon the website for 
