Message Board

Is there any free link to download Blasphemy game?

atheistrule — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:56:12 GMT

Huh? Is there any free link to download Blasphemy game ? you know .... the game which is kind of race to get nailed first in order to win.. I liked to play that game since I heard about it...but... no buck ...so tell me please...is there any link ,you guys???

Forum: General Discussion

Freedom from religion?

theTroll — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:47:59 GMT

I have been wondering about this for some time.

Why is there such an insistence of "freedom from religion"? Why should it be illegal for a courthouse that has had the Ten Commandments in front of it for decades should now have to remove it? Or a judge with a small cross on his bench be forced to remove it? Don't the people that practice religion have the same rights to have religion in the public space as others do to not have religion forced upon them?

I am not saying that a judge should have everyone pray before court or have laws based on scripture. But the judge is a citizen just like the atheist is and has the right to freedom of religion.

The same things apply to the whole Christmas thing. Why are people flipping out over Christmas programs at school? Why can't people say Merry Christmas at stores?

theTroll

Forum: Church & State

investor in "noah's ark discovery" claims he was duped...

hicksfan — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:25:54 GMT

http://michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/2010/04/noahs-ark-paleobabble-update/

This is a sad post for me. Read on and youll know why.

Fox News reported today about a joint Turkish-Chinese expedition that claims to have found Naohs ark on Mount Ararat. Part of their proof is the picture below, which purports to have been taken inside the ark. Allegedly, the wooden beams carbon-date to 4,800 years old. Would that be cool or what?

Now the sad part. I also got an email today from one of Randall Prices students. The email contains a message from Dr. Price about this expedition. (Dr. Price, as some of you may recall, has been doing a lot of searching for the ark lately.) Here is an excerpt from his message:

I was the archaeologist with the Chinese expedition in the summer of 2008 and was given photos of what they now are reporting to be the inside of the Ark. I and my partners invested $100,000 in this expedition (described below) which they have retained, despite their promise and our requests to return it, since it was not used for the expedition. The information given below is my opinion based on what I have seen and heard (from others who claim to have been eyewitnesses or know the exact details).

To make a long story short: this is all reported to be a fake. The photos were reputed to have been taken off site near the Black Sea, but the film footage the Chinese now have was shot on location on Mt. Ararat. In the late summer of 2008 ten Kurdish workers hired by Parasut, the guide used by the Chinese, are said to have planted large wood beams taken from an old structure in the Black Sea area (where the photos were originally taken) at the Mt. Ararat site. In the winter of 2008 a Chinese climber taken by Parasuts men to the site saw the wood, but couldnt get inside because of the severe weather conditions. During the summer of 2009 more wood was planted inside a cave at the site. The Chinese team went in the late summer of 2009 (I was there at the time and knew about the hoax) and was shown the cave with the wood and made their film. As I said, I have the photos of the inside of the so-called Ark (that show cobwebs in the corners of rafters something just not possible in these conditions) and our Kurdish partner in Dogubabyazit (the village at the foot of Mt. Ararat) has all of the facts about the location, the men who planted the wood, and even the truck that transported it.

In short, Randall was duped. I feel bad about it because I know him. Hes a good guy with real degrees (so please dont equate him with charlatans like Ron Wyatt). Yeah, he should have known better. But at least hes being honest here.

Forum: Evolution vs Creationism

Palintology

Deano — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:50:45 GMT

In case anyone missed Keith Olbermann's CountDown Last night, I uploaded it on You-Tube.

This is why we shouldn't have religious graffiti on our money, pledges and mottoes. If it confuses politicians who should know better, of course its going to confuse average citizens.

Forum: Church & State

FFRF celebrates National Day of Prayer victory

Deano — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:38:52 GMT

FFRF celebrates National Day of Prayer victory

It's not every day that the president of the United States gets enjoined prohibited by judicial order from a certain action but it happened on April 15, 2010.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb decided in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation in a ruling that the federal law designating a National Day of Prayer and requiring a National Day of Prayer proclamation by the president violates the establishment clause of the Constitution's First Amendment.

In her ruling, Judge Crabb wrote: "The same law that prohibits the government from declaring a National Day of Prayer also prohibits it from declaring a National Day of Blasphemy."

The Foundation filed its groundbreaking suit in October 2008. Plaintiffs besides the Foundation are Anne Nicol Gaylor, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, Paul Gaylor, Phyllis Rose and Jill Dean, who are all Foundation officers or board members. Defendants are President Barack Obama and Robert Gibbs, his press secretary. Original defendants were President George Bush and Dana Perino, his press secretary at the time.

....Read Full Article

Forum: Church & State

Atheists plan to have pope arrested for 'cover-up'

Deano — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:31:26 GMT

Source: Times Live

Atheists plan to have pope arrested for 'cover-up'

Apr 14, 2010 12:40 AM | By unknown

Richard Dawkins, the atheist campaigner, is planning a legal ambush to have the pope arrested during his state visit to Britain "for crimes against humanity".

Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, an atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict for his alleged cover-up of sexual abuses in the Roman Catholic Church.

The pair believe they can exploit the legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.

The Vatican said the pope will not bow to "media pressure" to meet victims of paedophile priests. But such meetings this weekend in Malta were not ruled out.

Previous meetings with abuse victims have "always taken place in an atmosphere of contemplation and discretion" and the pontiff does not want to hold any "under media pressure, with little opportunity to listen," Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office, said.

"The pope has already said that he was prepared to meet as he has done in the past ," Lombardi said.

Eleven Maltese victims of predator priests on Monday asked for a meeting with the pope, who will visit the tiny Mediterranean island on Saturday and Sunday.

The Roman Catholic Church has battled a wave of paedophile priest scandals in the US and Europe since November.

Benedict will be in Britain between September 16 and 19, visiting London, Glasgow and Coventry, where he will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian.

Dawkins and Hitchens believe that the pope would be unable to claim diplomatic immunity from arrest because, though his tour is categorised as a state visit, he is not the head of a state recognised by the United Nations.

Their lawyers believe that they can ask the UK's Crown Prosecution Service to initiate criminal proceedings against the pope, or launch their own civil action against him, or appeal to the International Criminal Court.

Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said: "This is a man whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to silence."

Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great , said: ''This man is not above or outside the law. The institutionalised concealment of child rape is a crime under any law."

Last year, pro-Palestinian activists persuaded a British judge to issue an arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, an Israeli politician, for offences allegedly committed during the 2008-2009 conflict in Gaza. The warrant was withdrawn when Livni cancelled her trip to the UK. - The Sunday Times, London, and AFP

Forum: News/Current Events

Rob Sherman files $2.3 Billion federal lawsuit against State of Illinois

Deano — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:54:13 GMT

Rob Sherman files $2.3 Billion
federal lawsuit against State of Illinois

"Rob Sherman filed a federal lawsuit ( Complaint, Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C ), yesterday evening in the federal court in Springfield, to block $2.3 billion in Illinois grants from the $31 billion Capital Bill that was enacted into law last year. Sherman is challenging 176 grants on various constitutional grounds, but most of the challenges are for violating the separation of state and church. (Alpha list of 155 unconstitutional grants, alpha list of 21 potentially unconstitutional grants, detail list of why each grant was challenged.)

The case is Sherman v. Quinn et al, Case Number 10-cv-03086 in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, located in Springfield. The case was filed in Springfield because that's the location of the offices of the State officials who administer and pay the grants.

Most of the grants challenged by Sherman, Illinois' leading atheist, go to religious organizations -- houses of worship, parochial schools and religious ministries. Clear, unambiguous language in Article X, Section 3, of the Illinois Constitution says that no grant of money shall ever be made by the State to any church for any purpose. Article X, Section 3, also strictly prohibits public funds from ever being used to help support any parochial school. In addition, Article I, Section 3, of the Illinois Constitution provides that no person shall be required to support any ministry against his consent."

....Read full article

Forum: Church & State

Hadron Collider succeeds at half power

Deano — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:01:51 GMT

Large Hadron Collider Smashes Protons, Sets Record

"Earlier this month the "big bang machine" had broken its own energy record when it sent two 3.5-trillion-electron-volt (TeV) proton beams racing in opposite directions around the collider's 17-mile-long (27-kilometer-long) underground tunnel.

Today, at 1:06 p.m. local time in Geneva, Switzerland, LHC operators smashed those beams of protons together to create a record-shattering 7-TeV collision."

....Read Full Article

Forum: Science

Obama administration meets with atheists

Deano — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:57:39 GMT

Source: Examiner.com

Godless politics: Obama administration meets with atheists

Godless politics: Obama administration meets with atheists. For the first time in history a presidential administration is meeting with the American nontheist community. Today the Secular Coalition for America and other groups representing atheists, agnostics, humanists and free thinkers will engage with White House officials on issues of great concern to the secular movement.

Issues to be addressed at the meeting include protecting children from abuse and neglect under the guise of religious instruction and/or faith; the need to protect American military personnel from proselytizing and other forms of religious abuse; and addressing the problem of faith based initiatives conflicting with the separation of church and state.

The coalition's board includes authors Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses) and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great), as well as Michael Newdow, the Sacramento, Calif., doctor who argued against allowing the words ``under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance before the Supreme Court.

President Obama was the first U.S. president to acknowledge nonbelievers in an inaugural address, an event which began a constructive and meaningful relationship between the administration and American nontheists.

Today marks a victory for Godless politics. Atheists, humanists and free thinkers are standing up for what is right. The secular movement is gaining significant momentum. Secular Americans, numbering in the tens of millions, are a constituency that will be heard.

Forum: News/Current Events

Hey What's everyone's favorite philosophical arguements for atheism?

shawnd — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:57:33 GMT

My fav is and always has been the problem of evil and all of the different versions of it. Especially the deductive version. Let me know what you all think. Do you have a favorite or one you like to use that's unrelated to the POE? Thanks for your time.

Forum: General Discussion

What are your favorite 5 star evidences for evolution...

shawnd — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:55:15 GMT

Here are some of mine...

dna

co-option (owns Behe)

fossil record

funneral succession

and ring species

Let me know if you guys have anything that's not on this list that you would like to add. Or if you would like to just state what evidence from this list is your favorite. Either way let's make Kent Hovind cry in his jail chow! Thanks ahead of time for your answers!

Forum: Evolution vs Creationism

Ohio 10 Commandments Judge Sued for Pushing Religion in Court

Deano — Thur, 28 Jan 2010 03:15:06 GMT

Ohio Judge Has No Right To Push Religion In Courtroom, Says Americans United

Ohio judge sued for pushing religion in court

The Judge believes that the Ten Commandments are "emblematic of moral absolutes." The Judge asserts that, "when we're talking about moral absolutes, when we're talking about morality, it seems to me that what they're emblematic of is the fact that God is the ultimate authority in law as opposed to the view that man is the ultimate authority on law." As he explains, "they are the supreme emblems or moral absolutes. In addition, moral absolutes, believes, come from divine law, the idea that God is the ultimate authority in law."

Forum: News/Current Events

Trijicon Drops Bible Lines From Scope

Deano — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:07:08 GMT

Trijicon Drops Bible Lines From Scope

"Rifle scopes bearing references to the New Testament no longer will be issued to American troops, and scopes already in service will have the references removed.

Military optics manufacturer Trijicon Inc., of Wixom, Mich., apparently concerned that a Pentagon review of the situation could lead to a loss or interruption of its multi-million dollar contract for the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, said it is ending the practice begun by the companys founder more than 20 years ago."

"...One inscription, "JN 8:12," refers to the book of John, chapter 8, verse 12 -- a New Testament passage that reads: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Read Full Article

Forum: Church & State

Abiogenesis Confirmation

Deano — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:32:18 GMT

"Nature News Item wrote:RNA world easier to make

An elegant experiment has quashed a major objection to the theory that life on Earth originated with molecules of RNA.

John Sutherland and his colleagues from the University of Manchester, UK, created a ribonucleotide, a building block of RNA, from simple chemicals under conditions that might have existed on the early Earth.

The feat, never performed before, bolsters the 'RNA world' hypothesis, which suggests that life began when RNA, a polymer related to DNA that can duplicate itself and catalyse reactions, emerged from a prebiotic soup of chemicals.

"This is extremely strong evidence for the RNA world. We don't know if these chemical steps reflect what actually happened, but before this work there were large doubts that it could happen at all," says Donna Blackmond, a chemist at Imperial College London.

....." Read More

Forum: Science

Pat Robertson Blames Haitians for Earthquake

Deano — Thur, 14 Jan 2010 16:12:58 GMT

Americans United Condemns TV Preacher's Callous Statement on Haitian Earthquake

January 13, 2010

Robertson Comment Shows 'Grotesque Insensitivity,' Says AU's Lynn

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today condemned TV preacher and Religious Right leader Pat Robertson for blaming the devastating earthquake in Haiti on the Haitian people's alleged pact with Satan.

Read

That was predictable. I told my girlfriend yesterday some idiot was going to say god did it. What an asshole.

Forum: News/Current Events