Religion in decline as census figures reveal there are 4million fewer Christians and one in four is now an atheist

Data from last year's census today revealed the stunning decline of religion in the UK - with the number of Christians dropping by more than 4million. Just 59.3 per cent of people in England and Wales now describe themselves as followers of Christianity, raising the prospect that Christians could soon be in the minority. Following a decade of aggressive anti-religious campaigning by high-profile atheists, a quarter of Britons now say they have no faith. In addition to the huge spike in atheists, the proportion of Muslims has risen from 3.0 per cent to 4.8 per cent since 2001.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2246436/Census-data-reveal-4million-fewer-Christians-atheist.html

God 'not welcome' at school advent services

The discussion about advent and church services arises every year in Sweden and in response the agency has developed legal guidelines to assist school principals. "The law stipulates that Swedish schools are non-confessional," Skolverket's Anna Ekström and Claes-Göran Aggebo underlined in an article in the Dagens Nyheter daily on Sunday. "That school is non-confessional means that there can't be any religious elements such as prayer, blessings or declarations of faith in education. Students should not have to be subjected to religious influence in school," they write.

http://www.thelocal.se/44640/20121125/

Atheist schoolboy, 11, is banned from the Scouts as he refuses to pledge allegiance to God and Queen

-George Pratt, 11, cannot join the Scouts because he objected to a reference to God in the traditional Scout Promise
-The organisation says it welcomes all faiths but the 'Duty to God' part of the promise is a fundamental part of its ethos
-George's father brands the century-old movement 'intolerant'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2219513/Atheist-schoolboy-11-banned-joining-Scouts-refuses-swear-duty-God.html

This Must Be Heaven

By Sam Harris

Once upon a time, a neurosurgeon named Eben Alexander contracted a bad case of bacterial meningitis and fell into a coma. While immobile in his hospital bed, he experienced visions of such intense beauty that they changed everything—not just for him, but for all of us, and for science as a whole. According to Newsweek, Alexander’s experience proves that consciousness is independent of the brain, that death is an illusion, and that an eternity of perfect splendor awaits us beyond the grave—complete with the usual angels, clouds, and departed relatives, but also butterflies and beautiful girls in peasant dress. Our current understanding of the mind “now lies broken at our feet”—for, as the doctor writes, “What happened to me destroyed it, and I intend to spend the rest of my life investigating the true nature of consciousness and making the fact that we are more, much more, than our physical brains as clear as I can, both to my fellow scientists and to people at large.”

Well, I intend to spend the rest of the morning sparing him the effort. Whether you read it online or hold the physical object in your hands, this issue of Newsweek is best viewed as an archaeological artifact that is certain to embarrass us in the eyes of future generations. Its existence surely says more about our time than the editors at the magazine meant to say—for the cover alone reveals the abasement and desperation of our journalism, the intellectual bankruptcy and resultant tenacity of faith-based religion, and our ubiquitous confusion about the nature of scientific authority. The article is the modern equivalent of a 14th-century woodcut depicting the work of alchemists, inquisitors, Crusaders, and fortune-tellers. I hope our descendants understand that at least some of us were blushing.

Read on: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/this-must-be-heaven

An American Wrestles With God

BY BENJAMIN DE CASSERES

(Via http://www.kevinislaughter.com/)


LIKE all children, I was born without a belief in or a knowledge of God. A four-year-old may astound the world by suddenly improvising a melody on the piano, reciting Pindar in the orig­inal, doing lightning calculations, or writ­ing a passable poem, but that same child will look at you in a perfectly idiotic manner when you ask it, “Do you believe in God?”—unless it has been coached. Child evangelists—the most revolting of human abortions—are all made, not born. They are the machine products of evangelistic parents. There is no such thing as a spontaneous religious prodigy. It is always a hideous mutilation of child­hood. No such being ever made its appear­ance in a family that was non-religious. Of any real knowledge of God, of course, it has none.

Read on: http://www.kevinislaughter.com/2012/an-american-wrestles-with-god-by-benjamin-de-casseres/

On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God

By Sam Harris

The latest wave of Muslim hysteria and violence has now spread to over twenty countries. The walls of our embassies and consulates have been breached, their precincts abandoned to triumphant mobs, and many people have been murdered—all in response to an unwatchable Internet video titled “Innocence of Muslims.” Whether over a film, a cartoon, a novel, a beauty pageant, or an inauspiciously named teddy bear, the coming eruption of pious rage is now as predictable as the dawn. This is already an old and boring story about old, boring, and deadly ideas. And I fear it will be with us for the rest of our lives.

Read on: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/on-the-freedom-to-offend-an-imaginary-god

Christopher Hitchens - Human Suffering & The Missing God

Man jailed in Indonesia for atheist Facebook posts

An Indonesian man was sentenced Thursday to two and a half years in prison for denying the existence of God on his Facebook page, a ruling human rights groups say demonstrates a rising tide of religious intolerance in the majority-Muslim country.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/man-jailed-indonesia-atheist-facebook-posts-article-1.1096779

Atheists wash road anointed by Christian group

Here's further proof that atheists and religious groups get along like oil and water.

On Saturday, atheists in Florida poked fun at Polk Under Prayer (PUP), a Christian group in Polk County, by scrubbing part of a highway that PUP had anointed with oil last year.

The reason for the "anointment?"

“Mainly we want this to be a safe haven for folks who want to raise their families,” PUP spokesman Dr. Richard Geringswald told ABC News affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa. “Asking God’s protection from ne’er do wells and evil doers.”

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/03/18/atheists-wash-road-anointed-by-christian-group

Life Without God: An Interview with Tim Prowse

Tim Prowse was a United Methodist pastor for almost 20 years, serving churches in Missouri and Indiana. Tim earned a B.A. from East Texas Baptist University, a Master of Divinity (M.Div) from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) from Chicago Theological Seminary. Acknowledging his unbelief, Tim left his faith and career in 2011. He currently lives in Indiana. He was kind enough to discuss his experience of leaving the ministry with me by email.

(...)

If you could go back in time and reason with your former self, what could you say that might have broken the spell sooner?

I would tell myself to ask questions, to read the text, to wonder, to explore the nuances, to take seriously my intuition and abilities to debate. I’d tell myself to listen to what is actually being said with critical and reasoning ears. I’d tell myself to substitute “Invisible Friend” for “God” every time I encountered the word and notice how ridiculous the rhetoric sounds from grown-ups. I would challenge myself to be more skeptical, to study science. I’d tell myself to find joy in life – it’s the only one you are going to get – don’t waste a second.

Interview: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/life-without-god

Swiss philosopher plans London atheist temple

Swiss philosopher and writer, Alain de Botton, is proposing to build a temple to atheism in the heart of London’s financial district.

De Botton’s idea is to build a 46-meter high black tower, decorated on the outside with binary code representing the human genome, with exhibits inside tracking the evolution of life through time.

http://www.thelocal.ch/2508/20120208/

Belgian politician risks Muslim backlash after using teenage daughter dressed in burka and bikini for campaign against Islam

A Belgian politician has risked causing uproar among Muslims after starting a 'Women Against Islamization' campaign featuring his 19-year-old daughter wearing a burka and a bikini.

Filip Dewinter, leader of the far-right Vlaams Belang party, uses a shot of his daughter An-Sofie Dewinter in the dark blue bikini for the political campaign.

The glamorous teenager dons a burka that covers her head and face, while the rest of the Muslim garment is draped over her back.

The poster shows the words 'Freedom or Islam?' written on a red bar across Ms Dewinter's breasts.

Further down the poster a black panel with the words 'You choose!' is seen covering the teenager's crotch.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2095862/Belgian-Vlaams-Belang-risks-Muslim-backlash-picture-daughter-burka-bikini.html

Atheist teen still getting threats over campaign to remove prayer banner while vowing she will not leave school

An atheist student who successfully pushed to remove a religious banner from her Rhode Island high school as a separation of church and state says she does plan to graduate and not transfer despite increasing threats.

(...)

On January 11, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux ruled that the presence of the 49-year-old banner violates the separation of church and state according to the Constitution's First Amendment while displaying a passage written by a former student titled: school prayer.

Others argued back that it's a historical piece.
One woman posted her reaction to Miss Ahlquist's efforts over Twitter writing: 'I hope there's lots of banners in Hell when you're rotting in there you atheist f***.' (How very christian...)

Another sent her a message saying: 'How does it feel to be the most hated person in RI? You're a puke and a disgrace to the human race.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093136/Atheist-teen-getting-threats-campaign-remove-prayer-banner-vowing-leave-school.html

University atheist society president forced to resign after cartoon of Muhammad having a drink with Jesus is posted on Facebook

A row has erupted over an atheist society at a top London University posting a cartoon sketch featuring the prophet Muhammad having a drink with Jesus on its Facebook page.

A student Muslim group is demanding the 'offensive' image of Jesus and Mo having a drink at the bar, taken from an online satirical sketch, be removed from the social networking site.

The president of the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society at the prestigious University College London (UCL), Robbie Yellon, has stepped down over the controversy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088811/University-atheist-society-president-forced-resign-cartoon-Muhammad-having-drink-Jesus-posted-Facebook.html

Church's 'offensive' anti-atheist billboard is banned by advertising watchdog

A church advertising campaign that depicted atheists as stupid has been banned by a watchdog in South Africa.

Officials ruled a billboard that suggested non-believers considered their existence to be accidental was likely to be found offensive.

The advertisement, which had been erected beside a church in Johannesburg, was pulled down following the ruling by South Africa's Advertising Standards Authority.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087778/Churchs-anti-atheist-billboard-banned-advertising-watchdog.html

Strident atheist intellectual, author and journalist Christopher Hitchens dies, aged 62, after battle with cancer

-Even after diagnosis he maintained his atheism: 'No evidence or argument has yet been presented which would change my mind. But I like surprises'

-In a debate with Tony Blair last year over religion he likened God to a 'celestial dictatorship, a kind of divine North Korea

-His editor at Vanity Fair: 'Christopher Hitchens was a wit, a charmer and a troublemaker, and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from, dare I say, God'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2074866/Christopher-Hitchens-dead-Writer-dies-aged-62.html

Atheists Derail Traditional Nativity Display in Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KTLA) -- It has been a Christmas tradition for decades, but this year, the nativity display at Santa Monica's Palisades Park has been scaled way back, thanks to a group of atheists.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-santa-monica-nativity-controversy,0,1611432.story

Muslim medical students boycotting lectures on evolution... because it 'clashes with the Koran'

Muslim students, including trainee doctors on one of Britain's leading medical courses, are walking out of lectures on evolution claiming it conflicts with creationist ideas established in the Koran.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2066795/Muslim-students-walking-lectures-Darwinism-clashes-Koran.html

Girl guides set to drop oath to God in bow to secularists

Girls who join the Guides or Brownies may stop pledging their devotion to God after complaints that the practice discriminates against non-believers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8901378/Girl-guides-set-to-drop-oath-to-God-in-bow-to-secularists.html

About the Holy Bible

by Robert G. Ingersoll

1894

Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare not, because they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not, because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because they might lose customers. Men of fashion dare not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks dare not, because they might be discharged. And so I thought I would do it myself.

Read on!