Recently, on a trip to Denver, CO, we ran into a young man and woman, probably in their early twenties, who were handing out literature on the sidewalk. Both wore black t-shirts which read, plainly, “Religion is a lie.”
Naturally, we stopped to hear what they had to say. The young man handed us a card, which said the following:
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.
Video Runtime: 8min 45sec, sound required
I began reading Michael Shermer’s How 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.
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.
From the original article on AOL:
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.
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:
I was appalled at the results.
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We are skeptics, first and foremost. When people ask why we do not believe in God, Bigfoot, UFO's, Sylvia Browne, etc, the answer is simple: we simply have not seen substantial evidence to back up those claims. We don't hate anyone, but we do strongly dislike unsubstantiated beliefs. When we are expected to believe, pay for and base important decisions on extraordinary claims, we expect some evidence.
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