Approaching Prayer From A Logical Point of View

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

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The Book’s Introduction Indicates Some Students Would Rather Be Spoon-Fed The Answers Than Think For Themselves

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.

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Unicorns Are Mentioned In the Bible and, Therefore, Exist.

In reaction to Kentucky’s Creation Museum, the folks at This Week In Science have launched a website for the Unicorn Museum. The idea behind the Unicorn Museum is to parody a principle that many theists adhere to: If it’s in the Bible, It’s true. Unicorns are mentioned 9 times in the King James Version of the Bible.

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Why pick on religion? We skeptics/atheists are often asked. Sure, you may not like it, but come on - what harm does it do?

It is true that religion in the right hands can do some good (or at the very least, mind its own business). However, encouraging faith over reason can lead to disastrous, if not tragic, results.

Take, for example, the case of Madeline Neumann, the 11-year old girl who passed away from a very treatable but undiagnosed form of diabetes on March 23, 2008. Why undiagnosed, you ask? It seems that Madeline’s parents put off taking her to a doctor, choosing instead to pray for their daughter.

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