Sunday School JUN 5, 2011

back again! thanks as always for stopping in to see what i've collected for you guys this week.

first, make sure you check out tonight's episode of the podcast. we're featuring a live chat with historian and philosopher Dr. Richard Carrier. he'll certainly be talking about naturalism, the formation of Christianity, and Jesus historicity. don't miss the live show!

however! if you do miss the live show, as always, i'll remind you that you can easily listen to the show from the archive, just as you can any of our past shows!

remember, in order to get updates on scheduling and upcoming guests, make sure to follow the show on our host page, on iTunes, or follow me on Twitter.

and, hey, help us out- if you've enjoyed the show so far leave a review on iTunes for us!

alright. links!

Michael Shermer posted an excerpt from his new book The Believing Brain. remember, our next contest is one in which 3 TA members will win a signed copy of the book to coincide with Dr. Shermer's appearance on The Think Atheist Radio Show. details will be coming soon!

if the Templeton Foundation doesn't stand against science then why do they fund anti-science organizations? and why are those that are funded by Templeton either ignorant of this fact or unwilling to acknowledge it as a problem?

what happens when atheist veterans march in a Memorial Day parade? if you'd expect them to be honored for their service to their country you'd be dead wrong.

need more proof that Alcoholics Anonymous is a religious organization?

evolutionary psychology and high standards of evidence. many would argue EP doesn't have them.

but are things changing?

"[M]ilitant modern atheism is incomplete (and likely counter-productive) so long as
it fails to attend systematically to the roles religion fulfills in human lives... The challenge is to develop a well-articulated and convincing version of secular humanism. Meeting that challenge is... one of the central problems of philosophy today." (pdf)

last week i linked to John Loftus' post looking at the validity of the Courtier's Reply of PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins. this week saw PZ Myers responded to Loftus. Loftus replied in turn. Chris Hallquist chimed in with his thoughts. and our own host of the Think Atheist Radio Show, Greg gave his perspective.

a gay teen describes her experience at a Utah brainwashing facility.

lots of buzz around the World Health Organization's statement this week that there's perhaps a link between cell phones and cancer. lots of freaking out over this one. so skepticism rides in to the rescue to put it in context. Ed Yong explained just what the WHO's announcement meant. Michael Shermer gave his thoughts, arguing physics shows that cell phones simply can't cause cancer. Maggie Koerth-Baker gave her thoughts too. and even if there was a risk it's only a risk to a small number of people.

(anyway, forget cancer, what do cell phones do to your sperm??)

Michael Shermer also wrote this week about how to resist the understandable appeal of complimentary and alternative medicine.

are miniature black holes everywhere?

how William Lane Craig misleads his followers.

continuing with his series on Substance Dualism (SD), John Danaher of Philosophical Disquisitions asks if SD has any explanatory power.

wanting to address the backlash over his previous post on free-will, Sam Harris posted to explain why you still don't have free-will.

Mormon Mitt Romney has thrown his hat into the 2012 US presidential ring. Christopher at TPA posted to suggest that the news media needs some perspective when asking whether or not the country is ready to elect a Mormon to the White House.

having worn a Muslim headscarf for most of her life this woman took it off and wrote about her experiences in the first few days after doing so.

have religious experiences? part of your brain is likely to have shrunk by the time you're older.

Richard Carrier blogged on two of the what are certainly numerous interpolations in the letters of Paul.

striving for the speed of light. why it's such a speed limit.

religious people really are more dogmatic and conservative.

in a South African gold mine... finding a worm that just shouldn't be alive down there.

part of being a skeptic is recognizing how fallible our powers of reason, perception and memory really are. Steven Novella helps get you to that recognition by explaining how false memories can be easily planted.

acupuncturists show that acupuncture doesn't work, then conclude otherwise.

surely after this we don't need to address the "atheism is a religion" bullshit.

who wants to bet it won't matter?

how to account for natural evil?

an anomaly in the data coming from the Tevatron might actually indicate new physics. maybe.

Comment by Stephen Charles on June 5, 2011 at 7:00am: You've done it again. Absolutely brilliant. I loved all the links, but one that particularly made me angry was the gay teen story. I don't understand how a western country based on human rights is able to allow that sort of torture to stand

Comment by Robert Karp on June 5, 2011 at 8:20am: Great links as always Nelson. I have mixed feeling about the atheist veterans in the parade. Specifically when that one couple didn't want anything to do with them, they made a point to stop and argue. I feel that there are times and places for debate, i'm not sure if a parade is one. To keep us in the view of others as people of reason, I feel that although being in the parade was important, they should've walked away from those who weren't ineterested. One of the hallmarks of the difference between atheism and religion is that we do not push our views on others. Anyway, perhaps a forum discussion!

Love the South African worm story!!!!!

Comment by Jason on June 5, 2011 at 9:19am: I concur (Robert) about the Atheist in Foxholes. They came off to me as dill-holes. Fine if you want to wear an Atheist in Foxhole T Shirt……. Kind of pushing it with banners……. But to march down the street yelling about how you are a glorious atheist and getting in peoples face……….. Please.

Comment by William C. Walker on June 5, 2011 at 10:48am: When i see cemetaries of veterans killed in combat in foreign countries - France, Belgium, England,etc. each with a cross , I can't help but wonder haw many of them were Jews, Agnostics, Atheists who had been killed in service to their country. Just in WW 2, we had hundreds of thousands of them in cockpits, submarines, ships & foxholes all over the world. Enough of this fiction that all were Xians.

Comment by Frank Hamilton on June 5, 2011 at 12:30pm: Love it! But tell me, why do these broadcasts always have to take place on Sunday?

(Is the Church Lady present?)

Comment by Frank Hamilton on June 5, 2011 at 12:31pm: As to Atheists in Foxholes, I agree with Richard Carlin. Want to stop wars? "Tell the a-holes

not to show up".

Comment by oneinfinity on June 5, 2011 at 3:37pm: from Myers response "...it's an amusing way to tell someone that they haven't established their premises (the existence of deities), and that all their phantasmagorical elaborations on their fantasies are irrelevant. Cut to the core issue; if you haven't shown that Jesus even existed, it's silly to be arguing about the color of his socks." nice!

Comment by James on June 5, 2011 at 3:42pm: Wonderful class!

Comment by Nelson on June 5, 2011 at 7:41pm: thanks to all of you for commenting! i really appreciate it. i'm glad you guys found some interesting reading among the links. :)

Comment by Chuck B. on June 5, 2011 at 8:46pm: You mean George Carlin?

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