If we are serious about promoting freedom of thought, and about equipping ourselves with the tools to put that thought into action. And if we think that truth is important for its own sake and if we see enormous benefits in understanding reality, not fantasy, then it’s important that, although it might be too late for a lot of us, we should do everything we can to help future generations. It’s not a matter of what to think, more a case of how to think.

Instead, what happens is that any group with any influence works its hardest for the survival of its own thoughts, doctrines and prejudices. Richard Dawkins, quite rightly, is annoyed by this, particularly the labelling of children with an identity that they can’t have developed for themselves.

The point is not to abolish Religious Education. There is value in Religious Education, including Comparative Religion (for anthropologists tell us that religion is a ubiquitous human universal) and the King James Bible as literature (there are so many allusions to it in Shakespeare and other English literature). What is wrong — indeed, arguably a form of mental child abuse — is the INDOCTRINATION of children into one particular faith, which they are informed is THEIR faith, automatically inherited from their parents. Continue reading

I had at some point in the near future intended to address the arguments that we in the West can account for our morality because we, historically, derive our morals from a residual “Christian culture”, and therefore, although many of us reject the basis of Christianity, are actually borrowing from its standards. Therefore, the story goes, because we by-and-large act morally we are only doing so because of Christian influence and this demonstrates the truth of Christianity somehow.

Of course, there is no such thing as a Christian theory of morality to begin with, so this is not a claim that can be dealt with rationally. All we have to go on is a series of commandments from a supposedly omnibenevolent entity that never shows up in real life. The word “morality” doesn’t even appear in the Bible, at least not the King James version. So, at best, Christian morality is based on a personality, indistinguishable from the imaginations of believers, rather than any principles based on real life. In any case, anyone looking for good examples of how not to behave should look no further than the pages of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading

I’ve been kept away from computers for the last week, and tomorrow I fly to Paris. I am conscious, though, that I should reply to a few posts, and also I just have time to say a few words…

More evidence for the existence of God has been forthcoming recently, and unusually, it doesn’t seem to have been picked up by any of the usual atheist bloggers.

Apparently, a Tesco Metro store at Covent Garden in central London has been infested with mice, and has had to be closed down temporarily while the problem is resolved. Some Christian groups, notably Christian Voice, have picked up on this and assigned the blame squarely where it belongs – a donation from Tesco to London Gay Pride (LGP). Continue reading

I thought I would share this from rightwingwatch.org, and already P Z Myers and Jerry Coyne have picked up on it.

Any British viewers would unsurprisingly be quite amazed at the fire-and-brimstone speechifying of Pastor Dennis Terry – for me I think it’s hilarious. Even Ian Paisley in his heyday wasn’t this terrifying. Terry bemoans his lack of opportunity to state his beliefs and pray in public by…stating his beliefs and praying in public. And odious beliefs they are. He should feel lucky to live in a nation that allows him to tell the rest of his countrymen that if they don’t feel like signing up for his own particular brand of bigotry they should get out.

The momentous occasion for the speech was a public endorsement of the candidate for the Republican presidential nominee Rick Santorum. Santorum is seen quietly clapping away in the background. It beggars belief that someone who is seriously entertained as a future President would want anything to do with Terry and his ilk, but there you are. The Republicans are rid of the hapless Perry and the witless Bachman, for which they should be grateful, but we are left with the clueless Santorum. I suppose it would be a worry to think that such a person actually has a chance of winning this year, but realistically Santorum has no chance, except in the minds of the brain-addled. Personally I hope he wins the nomination for the comedy value.