All Blog Posts Tagged 'Culture' (28)

'Atheism is for white people'

"My friends joke that I am a coconut: brown on the outside, but white on the inside." - Alom Shaha, The Young Atheist's Handbook.

I wrote a post fairly recently for the Rationalist Association's blog (soon set to be in New Humanist…

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Added by Carnun Marcus-Page on May 8, 2013 at 3:00pm — 15 Comments

In my last post, I spoke about Outreach Media's attempt to try and justify the idea that the Bible is the best evidence for Jesus' love for humanity, and that this love is the best proof for the existence of God. This poster has a simple image of Jesus on a piece of toast, and the URL WantBetterEvidence.org.

Well, me being a curious fellow I decided to go to that website and see what I could make of… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on October 3, 2011 at 7:52pm — 1 Comment

Think Inc Conference Special

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Think Inc conference in Melbourne Australia, the inaugural event, and one that showed much promise with a line-up of speakers which included Professor Tim Flannery, YouTube sensation Christina Rad, activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali (appearing via Skype), poet Shane Koyczan, Professor Neil Degrasse Tyseon, Professor Michael Shermer and political commentator Christopher Hitchens (also intended to appear via Skype).

Unfortunately Christopher Hitchens…

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Added by Martin Pribble on September 19, 2011 at 12:34am — 1 Comment

No Fulfillment Without God?

What are some of the things in your life that make you happy? What are the greatest joys in your life? What gives you the greatest sense of achievement, and what are the moments in your life that you remember as the most important ones? Does religion play a part in any of these moments, feelings or personal possessions? Because according to many religious folk, the greatest thing in their life is their faith in God. This troubles me.

To many, their belief in God, afterlife and… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on September 13, 2011 at 11:47pm — No Comments

Denial of an Evolutionary Past

You're an animal. In fact, you're an ape! Yes you're an ape, your spouse is an ape, your mother and father are apes, your grandmother is an ape, and every person you know or don't know on the planet are all apes. Megan Fox, Salman Rushdie and Sacha Baron Cohen, all apes. And some of you don't like it. Why is this?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Weisshandgibbon_tierpark_berlin.jpg

It's for a few reasons. One being that you look at the other animals in the world and think of them as stupid, or dirty, or food, and you couldn't… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on September 13, 2011 at 11:46pm — No Comments

So Much Religious Fear

The power of religion lies in the power of fear; fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of people who are different, fear of God, and the fear that a lifetime of belief may in fact be wrong. Many religious folks might deny the last point, but I'll get to what I mean by that in a minute.

All people fear dying, but not all fear being dead. As Mark Twain is famous… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on September 13, 2011 at 11:45pm — No Comments

Why Single Out Christianity and Islam?

I've had a few people ask me lately "Why don't you pick on other religions apart from Christianity and Islam? After all, there are thousands you could choose from." Well the answer is pretty simple, but threefold.

Firstly, I live in Australia, which is a predominantly Christian nation. Upwards of 60% of Australians identify themselves as Christians (according to the 2006 census). Most of the first westerners to arrive here were Christian, and that tradition has been carried on…

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Added by Martin Pribble on September 13, 2011 at 11:45pm — No Comments

An Atheist and Spirituality

I've been thinking lately about spirituality. No, I'm not suggesting I am about to join a cult, take up tantric meditation or go on a vision quest. What I have been wondering is, is there any basis or evidence for a spiritual or metaphysical part of human existence?

Firstly, I think we need to define what it is we mean by "spirituality". If it means we are all inhabited by everlasting souls, that our existence on earth is a stepping-stone to the afterlife, or that our personalities… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on August 9, 2011 at 5:31am — No Comments

Religion Running Scared

I originally posted this at my blog Martin S Pribble, and it was subsequently picked up as an "Article" at RDFRS, which made me quite happy. It has caused quite a discussion at both sites, so I thought it would be good to share with you lot also.

Religion is running scared from advances in science, particularly brain science such as neurology. Why? Because the brain is the final frontier in uncovering the reasons for belief in superstitions, religion and a higher…

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Added by Martin Pribble on July 25, 2011 at 6:49pm — 1 Comment

"Resisting the Green Dragon"

I found this video while sorting through my G+ stream yesterday, and found it too alarming to not blog on the subject. This is surely enough to get your hackles up, and it should concern not only atheists, agnostics and skeptics, but every thinking human on the planet. This is surely going to be of concern in the future.

The video opens with this statement:

"In what has become one of the greatest deceptions of our day, radical environmentalism…

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Added by Martin Pribble on July 18, 2011 at 8:40pm — No Comments

"Scared? Fear the Maker" - Outreach Media

There's one thing I can never understand, and it's the perceived dichotomy between the "all-loving God" and the "vengeful God". Apparently God is to be feared, because he is all-powerful and could exact all sorts of damages upon us and our souls if he so chose to. But on the other hand he loves us with a more pure and generous love than anything else can offer. It doesn't sound like a very nice relationship to enter into willingly.

This month, Outreach Media have gone with this… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on July 4, 2011 at 11:07pm — No Comments

Your Truths, Our Facts

To paraphrase Michael Specter in a TED talk, "You are entitled to your own truths, but you aren't entitled to your own facts." This is a poignant message and one that deserves further exploration.

(Edit: the actual quote, as pointed out in comments on my blog was “...And listen, everyone’s entitled to their… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on June 21, 2011 at 2:30am — 1 Comment

Conservatism on the rise in Victoria

There is an alarming trend in Australia at the moment. While the world struggles with climate change and population, we here are experiencing a knee-jerk reaction to supposed ills that are befalling us, and the governments seem far too quick to react with their band-aid solutions. I am seeing more cases in the media every day of what can only be pandering to minorities and special interest groups, where minor problems are becoming issues big enough to change policy over. Case in point, here in… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on June 6, 2011 at 3:21am — No Comments

From the mailbox - Jesus loves me!

This "From the Mailbox" is a little different than what I usually receive, as you'll soon see. I won't use any names, except my own, and the spelling and grammar comes directly from the messages received. There were three in total, staring with this rather innocent and short one:

"Hi Martin Did anyone ever tell you that Jesus loves YOU!"

At first I thought this was a joke from one of my atheist readers, as sometimes we all get a little… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on May 30, 2011 at 8:43pm — No Comments

What does it take to be a Chaplain?

One of the biggest issues with the NSCP is that we don't know the level of qualifications held by those who will be teaching SRE in schools. This is an example of religion being held in distinction from the rest of society, as a thing of morality and trustworthiness. All we need to do is look at the Catholic church and its ministers to know this is not the case.

According to the government discussion paper supplied on the government's website about the… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on May 29, 2011 at 7:45pm — No Comments

Stop the NSCP - time to weigh in

As you know, I believe education is the key to beginning to solve all of the woes we have in society today. Yes all of them. From world hunger to population, from wars to disease, from terrorism to the production of clean and renewable energy. Each of these can be solved if we educate the people who are directly effected by them, and those who go into areas to help. In fact I can't think of one situation that cannot be made better without education, at least in the long term. Education should… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on May 29, 2011 at 7:44pm — No Comments

I believed weird things

Humans can believe some pretty strange things. I have met people who claim to be able to see my "aura", and that depending on the "colour and shape" of this aura, they can make a determination of my physical or mental health. I've met others (actually sometimes the same people) who claim that by laying their hands on me, they can cure me of whatever ails me, from sore muscles to an upset stomach. Even stranger, I have met people who claim to be able to see into my future by "interpreting the… Continue

Added by Martin Pribble on May 29, 2011 at 7:43pm — 3 Comments

“Census 2011, why mark No Religion?”

From Martin S Pribble

Australia is in a very privileged position this year. We have an opportunity to tell our government who we really are, what we treasure about our lives in Australia and what we would like to see in our future in this country. In a country that seems to be increasingly pandering to the Australian…

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Added by Martin Pribble on April 11, 2011 at 8:47pm — No Comments

Let's begin this conversation

from Martin Pribble

While I may have a strange optimism for the future of humanity, and I think that the answer lies not in the division of the religious and the secular but in the joint efforts of all involved, I still see it as a troublesome proposition. As you may have seen in the…

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Added by Martin Pribble on March 30, 2011 at 8:11pm — 1 Comment

A strange optimism

from Martin Pribble (March 19 2011)

A strange optimism has overcome me today. With all the disasters and unrest around the world right now, you might call me crazy, but hear me out and you may agree with me.

We tend to be a very self-centred and self-interested lot, us humans, and we will always try to look after our own immediate family and community, forsaking the rest of the world in favour of our own…

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Added by Martin Pribble on March 30, 2011 at 8:07pm — No Comments

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