Grooming minds

An exploration of the abusive practice of child religious indoctrination.
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The God of Cancer

The Bible says in John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Mark 11:24 assures the faithful, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Christians (and those of other religions) worldwide pray fervently for the cures to cancer, disease, and all manner of malady and misfortune. Are those prayers activating the healing hand of God as promised in scripture?

This is a difficult and often unpopular conversation, but a necessary one. And amid the global avalanche of human suffering, we must address and understand what prayer is, why we do it, what results it does (or doesn’t) bring, and the nature of the god who receives our desperate pleas. We must also reevaluate our models for compassion, help and healing…and the agents of rescue and goodness who are so often, tragically, ignored.

This presentation by Seth Andrews, given at the “Shift to Reason” conference in Regina, Saskatchewan on April 30, 2016, is far from a complete examination of the subject, but it explores some important, key questions regarding faith, divine protection, suffering, prayer and healing intervention.

If this is Heaven, Then Give me Hell

One woman’s story of bravery and determination to keep her family together. Leaving the FLDS religion the only way of life she had ever known. But, when they wanted to split up her family it was line she would not cross.

No baptism, no school: Irish parents fight for equal access to education

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Instead of starting school last month, Reuben Murphy found himself back in his Dublin nursery for another year as his mother, Nikki, re-embarked on her quest to find a place at a local state primary for her four-year-old son.

She has already applied to 15 schools. But, following rejections from nine last year, Murphy is far from confident that a place will be found for Reuben. In a country where more than 90% of state schools are run by the Catholic church, unbaptised children like him are at the bottom of their admissions lists.

“I’m desperate,” said Murphy. “I’ve met tons of parents who’ve baptised their children just to get a school place. We thought about it, but it goes against our conscience. I feel it would be an abuse of other people’s deeply held religious beliefs.”

A drive to repeal the legislation that allows Irish schools to operate admissions criteria based on faith is gathering momentum. More than 16,000 people have backed a petition to be presented to parliament in the next couple of weeks, and campaigners are determined to raise the issue of unbaptised children in next year’s general election.

According to Paddy Monahan, a Dublin barrister who launched the petition, the law is an unconstitutional anachronism in a country that saw the second biggest drop globally in those claiming to be religious in recent years. A WIN-Gallup global poll (pdf) found that 47% of Irish respondents identified themselves as religious in 2011, compared with 69% in 2005 – a drop of 22%, exceeded only by the fall in Vietnam. Non-Catholic immigration to Ireland has further diluted the church’s hegemony.
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Time Travel DEBUNK

Captain Disillusion

Summarizing the Proof that God is Evil

Underlings youtube channel

Dawkins & Krauss: Life, The Universe, And Everything (An Origins Project Dialogue)

Filmed on April 17, 2015 in Olomouc, Czech Republic at the Academia Film Olomouc science film festival.

From the AFO website: Origins is coming to AFO50! Enjoy one of the best current science dialogues live in Olomouc. For the first time in the Czech Republic (or anywhere in Central Europe) this Origins Project Dialogue will feature Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawkins for a discussion on Life & The Universe. Krauss and Dawkins will talk not only about interdisciplinary issues, but about science in general as a useful guide for humans. Recently celebrating its 5th anniversary, the Origins Project at Arizona State University is a transdisciplinary program housed at one of the largest public metropolitan research universities in the United States.

The Origins Project at ASU was created by Lawrence Krauss, PhD, an internationally renowned author, theoretical physicist, cosmologist and Foundation Professor in the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration. Richard Dawkins is a biologist and the international best-selling author of The God Delusion, The Selfish Gene and many others.

Is Xenophobia Inherent in Organized Religion?

Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss explains his main gripe with organized religion: “It implies things about the real world that are just not true.”

Scientific consensus and arguments from authority

Potholer54

The Big Picture and a Petty Deity