Richard Mourdock Is Sorry That You Keep Misinterpreting Him

Another entry in the non-apology apology Hall of Fame:

"If there was any interpretation other than what I intended, I really regret that," Mourdock said in an midday press conference in the Hoosier State. He added: "Anyone who goes to the video tape and views that understands fully what I meant."

The video tape is below. It is certainly true that Mourdock's political foes are looking to use this against him. It is also true that this isn't a matter of "messaging" or "spin." 

From Senator John Cornyn, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee:

"Richard and I, along with millions of Americans -- including even Joe Donnelly -- believe that life is a gift from God," Cornyn said. "To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous."

Cornyn does not speak on behalf of those from Texas, only himself. 

Yes, if you believe human life is always "a gift from God," then it must follow that pregnancy via rape must be "a gift from God." Moreover, Mourdock wants the force of law behind that belief.

I disagree.

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Original Page: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAtlantic/~3/LjjFW4rcvl0/story01.htm

The Danger of Ideas

Alexander Aan is currently serving 2.5 years in Muaro Sijunjung Penitentiary for asking for proof of God's existence on Facebook. At the moment, he's in the process of appealing his case to the Indonesian Supreme Court.

Of all the information in this news article, this may be the most heartbreaking:

"The prison officers took away some of the books given by Alexander's supporters and handed them over to the police," [Aan] said. "The seized books include a book about the revolution in China and a book on Buddha's spiritual journey. They were afraid that Alexander would remain an atheist [if he reads the books], whereas the books are widely available at bookstores."

…

"There's nothing I can do [in prison] aside from read books with light content. I can no longer enjoy quality books," he told The Jakarta Post prior to his trial at the district court in June.

Books?! They won't let him read certain books because they're afraid they'll open his mind up too much?

I'm sure they have a library full of Bibles. But Alexander tries to read books that will actually make him think and they pull the plug on him.

That's not the only heartbreak:

Aan's case has received attention from international human rights organizations, which argue that even though Aan has no belief in religion, he should still be protected under religious freedom laws.

…

Although the Office of Public Policy at the Center for Inquiry attempted to have a petition signed in order to warrant an official response from the U.S. government, the petition fell short of its required signatures.

*Sigh*

We're thinking of you, Alexander. We wish for your safety. And when you are freed, we're sending a metric shitload of awesome books your way.

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Original Page: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/10/23/the-danger-of-books/

Religion Through Time

Some faiths are geared toward internal enlightenment, some toward external dissemination of the belief system. Christianity is one of those external faiths, often taking aggressive and sometimes even violent paths toward the goal of spreading their beliefs around the world. I think that the effort to convert the slaves to Christianity had the effect of focusing on that aggressive nature, something that as slaves was already an oppressive part of the situation they found themselves in. As a result, I believe that the slaves related to the plight of the Jews and focused on reaching a state of liberty without coercion, without violence or oppression. The resulting voluntary and peaceful belief system is more similar to some eastern religions such as Buddhism, where the focus is on internal enlightenment, something that can not be forced upon anyone outside of one's self. One can seek enlightenment voluntarily, even with the help of others. In this regard, I believe that religion can and has been used effectively as a tool of oppression for thousands of years, but the inevitable end game is one without any central system of control or organization. It is not exclusionary.

As a somewhat agnostic individual, I can't completely believe in any religion that I have been introduced to, but I also can not discount the reasons that a person of faith believes what they do. I believe in hard science more than anything, but even science can not explain what is beyond the realm of man's scrutiny, and what faith relies on is well beyond that at this point in time. Maybe the future will prove one way or another what is real and what is simply mythology, but living in a time when the idea of gods is still a likelihood, I am at least intrigued by the possibility that they may actually exist. There is a quote from Stephen F. Roberts which describes the concept quite simply; "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

I often find myself thinking about how we perceive religions from eras past, which have become little more than legend, with few if any modern believers. Will history remember modern faiths in the same light? What makes the gods of today more tangible or realistic than Zeus or Poseidon?

Meet a science committee that doesn't get science

In general, we only become aware of a politician's position on scientific issues during the campaign season. And, with a few exceptions like energy and climate policy, they rarely become campaign issues for anyone other than presidential candidates. So for the most part, it's rare to have a good picture of what our elected representatives think about science and technology.

If only that were true this year.

And from the Show-Me (how to think) state, we have another reason that government is always the last option for anything. 

Missouri's Todd Akin, a Representative running for Senator, made headlines through his bizarre misunderstanding of biology, specifically that of the female reproductive system. Overcome by his desire to believe that pregnancy (and thus abortion) shouldn't be an issue for rape victims, he infamously claimed that the female body could somehow block pregnancy in the case of "legitimate rape."

I'm not sure if this falls more under science, religion, or politics, or whether three have collided at an intersection, leaving little recognizable of any higher thinking...

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Original Page: http://arstechnica.com/staff/2012/10/editorial-meet-a-science-committee-that-doesnt-get-science/

The Brick Bible Sequel Is Now on Bookshelves

Last year, Brendan Smith released his book The Brick Bible, based on his popular and wonderful website The Brick Testament. It was a look at the Old Testament… as told through Lego pieces

That book was deemed so offensive, Sam's Club stores banned it from their shelves.

Fuck 'em if the can't take a joke. 

Well, Smith has just released the sequel: The Brick Bible: The New Testament: A New Spin on the Story of Jesus:

No word yet on whether anyone's planning to ban it, but I'm sure once Christian groups catch wind of how accurately/literally the book shows biblical events, they'll be putting up a fight to censor it:

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Original Page: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PlanetAtheism/~3/IOoPVlzmrWs/

How to Protect Against the Evil Eye

In large parts of the oldest civilized region of the world, you will find in nearly every room a pretty blue charm that looks like an eye. It's in the front entrance of homes, somewhere in every room, on boats, in airports, in restaurants, and built into the designs of everything from wallpaper to grocery bags. It's on jewelry, wind chimes, and serving plates.

It is common in the Aegean Sea region but encompasses all countries and religious traditions. Though it's never received endorsement from any clerical body — they consider it a silly superstition — it is found in the histories of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. In Turkey, from where I just returned, it's called the nazar boncugu. That's Turkish, but in Arabic it isayn al-hasud. In Hebrew it is ayn ha-r a. In Greek, it is το µΆτι, and in Spanish, it is mal de ojo.

Its purpose is to ward off the evil eye. What is that? Americans imagine that it is some ancient myth that has no relevance to modernity. Actually, the evil eye is right now destroying prosperity in the United States. The more it is doing this, the less we hear about it. Far from being some primitive idea, the evil eye is summed up in a wicked vice we don't hear about anymore: envy.

The evil eye looks for success and wishes for its destruction. It is different from jealousy in that sense. It doesn't desire the wealth or happiness of another. It wants the other to suffer because of the other's wealth, fame, success, or happiness. People since the ancient world have feared this impulse more than any other. It is more dangerous to persons and society than any natural disaster. It is a greater threat day to day than floods, hurricanes, or wild beasts.

In other words, the concept of the evil eye grows out of a very real conviction that the greatest threat to human flourishing is the malice of human beings who resent success. And that is actually a very keen insight! No wonder it's had such traction in all religions for so long.

Further, the charm here looks like an eye too, though its purpose is to fight the evil eye. The best way to fight the evil eye, in this tradition, is to look straight back at it. That's what the nazar does. It's an eye for an eye.

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