tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25632130099350379142012-02-16T03:44:22.478-08:00News and Comments on Science and ReligionRycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-39555342090903702972010-01-17T18:42:00.000-08:002010-01-17T18:43:28.667-08:00

The state is a complex of coercive mentalities that seeks to control your life through fear, brainwashing and ultimately violence. But what can individuals do to free themselves? If you push against the state it will flatten you like an ant. Choose your battles vary carefully.The author of "How to End the State", Alex Ryan, seems to think that humans are evolving into more insightful and hence

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-9964890628894119942010-01-14T04:04:00.000-08:002010-01-14T04:07:00.605-08:00

Mehmet Ali Agca is the Turkish gunman who shot but failed to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981. On January 18 2010 he is due to be released from his prison in Ankara."For around 30 years I have been staying in cells on my own. I experienced hell on earth. But in spite of everything I am well. I feel good in myself both physically and psychologically," he said. Many have questioned this

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-89169521722226598182010-01-13T23:17:00.000-08:002010-01-14T04:01:02.876-08:00

Pat Robertson (actually Marion Gordon Robertson), desperate televangelist, failed Republican presidential wannabe and a charismatic in his bathroom mirror, told his slender audience of 700 Club broadcast that the earthquake in Haiti was the work of the devil.He tells a rambling story of how the Haitians made a pact with the devil in order to get rid of the French colonists. "They were under the

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-22167703503723859062009-12-24T18:39:00.000-08:002009-12-24T18:46:11.967-08:00

Have just read "What is faith?" on Digital Bits Skeptic and have to admit some disappointment. Great title but sadly a rather short article whose focus is on the pronouncements of faith rather than the experience of faith. My feeling is that looking at the ejaculations of the religious faithful under a rational microscope merely defines the linguistic boundaries between faith and reason but tells

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-46649754788300297202009-08-06T22:57:00.000-07:002009-08-06T22:59:20.061-07:00

An interesting short article from the Proud Atheists blog. Not merely a rant about the lunacy of the Pentecostal church with its unwavering message of "you're going to hell!", but picks up on the idea that there are people just born unbelievers. Religious indoctrination starts at such an early age that it is very difficult to investigate how, or even whether, the average human goes through phases

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-59429317728445438322009-08-06T02:23:00.000-07:002009-08-06T02:28:51.539-07:00

Blogs come and go, and atheist blogs are no different. However, there is one aspect of blogging on atheism, agnosticism and the whole family of faithlessness that has been bothering me for some time: how to make some money doing it? Now, anybody who has tried inserting some Google Adsense advertising on their blog or website immediately comes up against a problem – there are few if any relevant

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-63186942114890094782009-07-30T21:25:00.000-07:002009-07-30T21:27:30.783-07:00

My practice as a scientist is atheistic. That is to say, when I set up an experiment I assume that no god, angel or devil is going to interfere with its course; and this assumption has been justified by such success as I have achieved in my professional career. I should therefore be intellectually dishonest if I were not also atheistic in the affairs of the world.— J.B.S. Haldane, “Fact and Faith

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-84407657748898600262009-07-23T10:12:00.000-07:002009-07-23T10:23:15.214-07:00

"Mormons have not only posthumously baptized President Barack Obama's mother into their faith, but they may have performed the ritual for the president's African ancestors as well, including his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, according to researcher Helen Radkey.She has uncovered records in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's new FamilySearch database that include

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-51052676113261573322009-06-26T01:16:00.000-07:002009-06-26T01:22:32.486-07:00

On the 3rd June 2009, a statue of Ronald Reagan was unveiled in the Capitol, giving Senator John McCain the opportunity of a floor statement that serves as an accurate summary of the aims of the Nuclear Security Project.The Nuclear Security Project claims to be in favour of a world free of nuclear weapons, and yet McCain's speech inadvertently shows how hollow this truly is. Quoting Kissinger and

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-69565274435984504512009-06-24T12:23:00.000-07:002009-06-24T12:33:44.473-07:00

Much of the green agenda regarding climate change seeks to reverse the effects of global warming by reversing the trend in carbon dioxide emissions. But what if there was a way to both remove the carbon dioxide and bring average temperatures back down again, without having to stall our polluting economies? Welcome to the world of geoengineering.Tim Harper, nanotech guru and investor, tells of a

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-87255480102304644342009-06-02T23:31:00.000-07:002009-06-02T23:58:50.415-07:00

Born in 1985 and quickly elevated to the position of reincarnated lama, or tulku, Osel Hita Torres has turned his back on Buddhism and now claims to be agnostic.Both Torres's parents were members of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Founded in 1975 by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, the FPMT teachings are founded on the Tibetan Gelupta

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-74276298036282593072009-05-29T00:15:00.001-07:002009-05-29T00:16:36.606-07:00

One of the many rhetorical devices used by the faithful is the argument that science is also just a belief system. It is unfortunate that the word 'belief' has two distinct meanings that are easily confused if one is not careful. Here I propose a thought experiment to prise out how psychologically and emotionally different they are. It would, indeed, be better if one were to use different words,

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-76889490932244405722009-05-26T01:33:00.000-07:002009-05-26T01:47:38.060-07:00

Today, 26 May 2009, sees the opening of the "Galileo 2009" conference, organised by the Jesuit Stensen Institute and held in Florence. The first day takes place in the Basilica of Santa Croce, where Galileo is now buried, with the last day being held in the Villa "Il Gioello di Arcetri", where Galileo spent his last years. Today's Osservatore Romano has two articles related to this conference.The

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-73176925290553798502009-05-24T07:07:00.000-07:002009-05-24T07:10:57.146-07:00

It seems a long time since I last reported on the Vatican's daily news. I have probably missed a lot of details but from looking at today's epistle, the message remains the same. The Vatican has a difficult task ahead in reconciling science with Catholic doctrines but that is the aim it has set itself. But scientists must be made aware that the same spiritual predator hides behind its new lab

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-30815123939529501992009-03-11T08:39:00.000-07:002009-03-11T08:53:33.514-07:00

For those who enjoy atheism vs. theism debates, here’s the most complete list you’ll find on the web (421 of them and counting). Please comment with additions or corrections; this page is updated often. The entire table is now sortable by any column, thanks to sorttable. (And it works and looks best in Firefox.) See the recent updates. Also see my reviews of all William Lane Craig debates. My

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-57915766446878146572009-03-05T10:59:00.000-08:002009-03-05T11:08:24.243-08:00

The Pope has called on ICANN to keep religion out of the domain name system. The Vatican warned the internet address-making body of the “perils” of allowing new internet domains such as “.catholic, .anglican, .orthodox, .hindu, .islam, .muslim, [and] .buddhist”. ICANN, frequently accused of mission creep, could find itself having to decide who gets to represent an entire religion on the

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-23528365691145047002009-02-27T04:15:00.001-08:002009-02-27T04:33:02.793-08:00

This isn't particularly up-to-the-minute news but the tit for tat between atheist and Christian poster campaigns is gaining momentum. Those poor Christian souls obviously don't have enough propaganda draped outside their churches that they need to inflict their mind-numbing beliefs so everybody."We're supposed to lie down and take it and say, 'Jesus loves you,'" argued June Griffin, spearhead of

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-69709515937761819602009-02-17T21:15:00.000-08:002009-02-17T21:21:37.677-08:00

Creationists take their propaganda war against reality another step further by trashing any YouTube video they find offensive. This is perfectly logical from their fascistic fideist doctrines and proof, if proof was further needed, that this is not just a battle of ideas but a quest for control.Strange that YouTube are so lax about the vote bots. Either they don't care that their system doesn't

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-18442047291369396362009-02-17T11:54:00.000-08:002009-05-26T01:43:59.339-07:00

In the recent edition of the Osservatore Romano (16-17 Feb 2009) there is a very short piece entitled "In the footsteps of Galileo science must value faith and reason." The message is spelled out in the first sentence, stating that scientists are called upon by the Vatican to not renounce "neither reason nor faith". To suggest that scientists do not value reason is an insult of the highest order.

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-11339501268057618992009-02-17T05:16:00.000-08:002009-02-17T05:17:57.302-08:00

This paper may be sent to all email lists and posted on all web sites, without restriction. DDT(Decoy, Distract and Trash)bySteven M. Greer M.D.Director, The Disclosure Project Copyright 2002 A former high official at the NSA (National Security Agency) told me about a protocol informally dubbed DDT - that old poisonous chemical long-banned in much of the world. In

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-21902143062259798212009-02-15T22:31:00.000-08:002009-02-15T22:43:16.795-08:00

New BookmarksThere are times when I come across interesting content and quickly bookmark it at Infopirate. It has become quicker to do so than copying and pasting links directly into Asylum Joy. The down-side is that not 100% of the links and news items will be of interest to Asylum Joy readers, but on the up-side it means you may find interesting things you may not have considered. Some of the

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-21757631358849012082009-02-15T21:20:00.000-08:002009-02-15T21:32:30.325-08:00

I rarely post news on UFOs and ETs as so much of it seems unreliable and, somehow, I don't think humans need extra-terrestrials to be cruel to each other. But sometimes I come across websites that seem to be more informative; the Disclosure Project is one of them. I copy here excerpts from their project background page."Beginning in 1993, I started an effort that was designed to identify

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-28260666380791845172009-02-12T21:58:00.000-08:002009-02-12T23:11:25.463-08:00

The Vatican has admitted that Charles Darwin was on the right track when he claimed that Man descended from apes.A leading official declared yesterday that Darwin’s theory of evolution was compatible with Christian faith, and could even be traced to St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. “In fact, what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God,” said Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-78621692107758780152009-02-12T04:10:00.000-08:002009-02-12T07:07:52.404-08:00

Space is big, but it can still get crowded up there.The recent collision between two orbiting satellites, including one Iridium satellite, was just an accident waiting to happen, according to debris scientists at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The fact that there even exists such a job as a space debris scientist shows that the problems are very real. The dangers are not so much to us on Earth

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-50044807884142633232009-02-10T19:57:00.000-08:002009-02-10T20:40:24.415-08:00

Whilst digging around about exorcisms I came across the Roman Ritual of 1962. This is the standard text of all sorts of Catholic rituals updated for, supposedly, a modern audience. However, looking at the index I found this little nugget right at the very end.OATH AGAINST MODERNISM "I, N.N., firmly accept and embrace each and every doctrine defined by the Church's unerring

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-81915864900571485952009-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:002009-02-10T17:58:17.081-08:00

I know, the headline reads like a spoof. Sadly it isn't. Here's a snippet from the Daily Mail.=The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of Satanism.Vatican chiefs are concerned at what they see as an increased interest in the occult.They have introduced courses for priests to combat what they call the most extreme form of “Godlessness.”Each bishop is to be

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-72035742023186443492009-02-06T07:06:00.001-08:002009-02-08T23:15:46.858-08:00

A New Scientist article, Born believers: how your brain creates God, takes us through some recent research with children that suggests belief in supernatural beings is somehow hard-wired into the human brain. The starting point is the rather unsurprising statistics that many people turn to religion in times of hardship. The afterlife may seem positively luxurious compared to being down and

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-49948144212361672902009-02-06T00:21:00.000-08:002009-02-06T00:40:08.027-08:00

This week's list of interesting news, articles and websites on Science and Religion.Born believers: how your brain creates God at New ScientistThe credit crunch could be a boon for irrational belief, New Scientist editorialBart Simpson recruited into Scientology. mmm...

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-60475354071604367902009-02-02T22:45:00.000-08:002009-02-02T22:51:08.893-08:00

The last few posts have been rather sombre affairs; not that reporting on the Vatican is supposed to be a bundle of laughs. So, to lighten the mood a little here are a few of my favourites from the Hundreds of Proofs of God's Existence. The list now runs to nearly 600 proofs, so needs to be read in bite-size pieces. So here's a taster:ARGUMENT FROM FEAR(1) If there is no God then we're all going

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-75375418350826101992009-02-02T00:05:00.000-08:002009-02-02T00:14:21.860-08:00

VATICAN officials have scrapped plans for a statue of Galileo Galilei, the astronomer who was convicted of heresy 400 years ago.[...]The statue, which was due to have been placed in the Vatican gardens, was intended as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations this year of Galileo's development of the telescope and astronomical findings.Vatican observers had said the plans showed another step

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-29746557111146130022009-02-01T05:30:00.000-08:002009-02-09T07:06:50.712-08:00

With the International Year of Astronomy and the Year of Darwin, the Vatican is going to have a lot to say about science in 2009. In my previous article I looked at a conference on Galileo coming in May as well as the catholic Church's insistence that the Galileo case should not be seen as a clash between science and religion. Perhaps one should not use the broad brush of religion in general as

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-44165949053218004642009-02-01T00:03:00.001-08:002009-02-01T00:21:17.510-08:00

The Vatican has decided to join the events of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. It is also nearly the 400th anniversary of the publication of Galileo's Starry Messenger (Sidereus nuncius). The Osservatore Romano has recently published two articles concerning these events. On the 30th January is the piece "Galileo's revolution 400 years later" and on 31st "The "Galileo Case" as an

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-53215668120005731762009-01-26T21:42:00.000-08:002009-02-09T07:08:08.024-08:00

The launch of the Vatican's YouTube channel on 23 January made news around the world. But this is just one visible step towards a Catholic evangelization of the whole internet. On May 24th the Catholic Church also holds its 43rd World Day of Social Communications with this year's theme being "New technologies, new relationships. Promoting a culture of respect, dialogue and friendship." A number

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-75139786690470418662009-01-25T08:29:00.000-08:002009-01-25T08:46:55.560-08:00

Scientists want DNA tests on Galileo for "eye test". A strange feeling that this is motivated by the Catholic desire to clear themselves when some refused to look through Galileo's telescope arguing that it was the device producing the heretical observations.Neurobiology of a hallucination From Neurophilosophy blog as well as The delusional brain.Coyne on the compatibility of science and religion

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-9368370481563773762009-01-25T06:50:00.000-08:002009-01-25T06:56:27.827-08:00

This is a link to an article written back in August 2008 on Gene Expression blog. You can look at the numbers there but the thing that is strangest is that only 22% of people who classed themselves an Unaffiliated also said they did not believe in God. I still think this has a lot to do with the fact that many non-believers just don't like calling themselves atheists. There really has to be a

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-27348739249609781092009-01-24T03:24:00.000-08:002009-01-24T04:58:05.201-08:00

Yes, the Vatican's propaganda machine has opened up a YouTube channel. I couldn't even access that page earlier as, no doubt, the world's Catholics have flocked there to be told what to believe. I will actually write more on this as the Osservatore Romano has a few articles on communicating on the internet. For now, enjoy the shows.Vatican YouTube Channel

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-22959891196519498662009-01-24T03:12:00.000-08:002009-01-24T03:15:47.070-08:00

Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard's former church disclosed Friday that the gay sex scandal that caused his downfall extends to a young male church volunteer who reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard — a revelation that comes as Haggard tries to repair his public image.Brady Boyd, who succeeded Haggard as senior pastor of the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs,

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-23753107491476231992009-01-23T08:52:00.000-08:002009-01-23T11:51:33.887-08:00

The news that President Obama's second swearing in didn't go quite as perfectly as planned has sent ripples of mirth around non-believers on the internet, as well as probably many non-Christians too. The blunder this time was that nobody could find a Bible, so Obama went ahead with swearing the Oath of Office without one. Nothing technically or legally wrong with that. Presidents Franklin Pierce

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-78467077335093217052009-01-23T06:23:00.000-08:002009-01-23T06:25:18.299-08:00

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for the world's first study of human embryonic stem cell therapy, Geron Corp said on Friday. The California biotechnology company plans to start a clinical trial to try to use the stem cells to regrow nerve tissue in patients with acute spinal cord injury. "This marks the beginning of what is potentially a new chapter in medical

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-65670864298943173442009-01-23T05:37:00.000-08:002009-01-23T05:39:29.582-08:00

As expected, Barack Obama did have to swear the Oath of Office a second time, this time in a more intimate setting with just a few of the press corp. However, some Americans may feel the new President has made yet another blunder by not swearing on the Bible. Amazingly, given the God-squad in America, not a bible was found anywhere near the swearing in. As the TimesOnline reported, one blogger

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-71390830340221406632009-01-21T08:34:00.000-08:002009-01-23T05:04:13.805-08:00

Below are links to news and resources on science and religion that I've found this week. Not all will be new but this is a way of storing them for future reference and before processing into articles. Will be posted once a week with additions made as the week passes.Large minority of atheists are religious. if you look at this then the third column of figures is meaningless as it stands and

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-28931900874427525032009-01-18T09:06:00.000-08:002009-01-18T09:28:33.956-08:00

The prominent Chilean fashion designer, Ricardo Oyarzun, has sparked outrage in his country by dressing up models to look like the Virgin Mary. On its own this wouldn't be so grave if it wasn't for the fact that they look quite sexy, in some cases with ample, near-naked breasts. The Roman Catholic Church has obviously condemned the designer and attempts to block the show by conservatives

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-6314336374856477662009-01-17T02:20:00.001-08:002009-01-17T02:26:51.280-08:00

This was posted a year ago on the Left of Zen blog. I know there are other atheism quotation sites but this one has an amusing list and a ton of comments, which are also largely amusing.Any other good lists of quotes appreciated.I'm fully aware that a list of quotes does not amount to a philosophy but it is good to see the range of people quoted as well as their literary skills.

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-41294362588606264012009-01-17T00:49:00.000-08:002009-02-09T07:11:42.276-08:00

The Vatican newspaper, the Osservatore Romano, yesterday published an article claiming that in Europe atheism has solid Christian roots, thereby trying to make the even wilder claim that atheism is a branch of Catholicism. However, the title of the article, "In Europe even atheism has solid Christian roots" [pdf], is also misleading in that the strongest message is that Europe too is defined in

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-16777395842605243942009-01-14T23:32:00.000-08:002009-01-14T23:50:46.045-08:00

Another religion-inspired fad gets punctured as a new book sheds light on what humans really ate back in Biblical times. Dr Nathan MacDonald, an Old Testament lecturer at St Andrews University and author of "What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? Diet in Biblical Times" has combined biblical scholarship with recent archeological evidence to show that far from being a virtue the diet at the time was

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-91534816010453574922009-01-14T01:02:00.000-08:002009-02-09T04:04:44.723-08:00

I am conscious of not having posted for a while and on my trawls around the net just came across these two articles about attitudes to death and religious beliefs.Understanding Death Through ReligionStudies of Death and ReligionBoth are introductory, and the writer seems to be a graduate student so published these on the net as essays she probably wrote for her course. The first of the two is

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-15263096125860470222009-01-14T00:53:00.000-08:002009-01-14T00:54:55.987-08:00

This is a really serious issue and finally some scientists have the courage to speak out, perhaps hoping for some support from the new US President. The claim is that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) forces scientists to falsify results so that drugs can be approved, hence making large fat profits for pharmaceuticals and biotechs. Remember, these people are supposed to [i]protect[/i] the

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-11183733590698716652009-01-13T10:44:00.000-08:002009-01-13T10:52:27.500-08:00

A small victory for secularism came from an unlikely source as the Indianapolis Star decided to stop publishing its daily Christian prayer.Dennis Ryerson, the IndyStar editor was suitably contrite and hailing from a Norwegian Lutheran family felt his Christian credentials untarnished. Although in his editorial announcement he does let slip a slight lack of brotherly feelings towards Methodists!"

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-4094539512225368672009-01-07T05:10:00.000-08:002009-01-07T05:38:13.655-08:00

A new year and a little conceptual change to this blog. For some reason the sheer names of this Asylum Joy blog and my Aakom blog seem to demand hat their aims be somewhat swapped. So Asylum Joy will henceforth concentrate on news, commentary and resources on the interface between science and religion. This will largely be from a naturalistic point of view. With all the isms that populate the

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-9525087397249802272008-12-09T17:57:00.000-08:002008-12-09T19:20:07.970-08:00

ResourcesLumosity. Brain Games and Brain Training with free trial.Erowid. Erowid is a member-supported organization providing access to reliable, non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants and chemicals and related issues.

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-24267492074532106382008-12-09T16:23:00.000-08:002008-12-09T16:44:55.294-08:00

Welcome to the one of the largest collection of atheist quotes, atheism quotes, and atheist shirts on the net! Browse the entire collection of atheist quotes from famous atheists and intellectuals throughout the ages, or search for your favorite personality or subject! It's all here for you! We're guessing if the atheist shirts had been available when some of these thinkers were alive, they would

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-69271150670564102582008-12-03T14:25:00.000-08:002008-12-03T14:32:17.879-08:00

Welcome to Scholarpedia, the peer-reviewed open-access encyclopedia written by scholars from all around the world. Scholarpedia feels and looks like Wikipedia -- the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Indeed, both are powered by the same program -- MediaWiki. Both allow visitors to review and modify articles simply by clicking on the edit this article link. However, Scholarpedia differs

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-48857346972905597752008-12-02T16:13:00.001-08:002009-02-09T04:08:43.951-08:00

American Atheist, a monthly journal of atheist news and thought, is seeking a new Editor.Applicants must be Atheists with a history of expression of Atheist thought and activism and must be in agreement with thefollowing statement:American Atheists, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, educational organization dedicated to the complete and absolute separation of state and church, accepting the

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-72331714105652673952008-11-27T09:15:00.001-08:002009-02-09T04:10:00.608-08:00

Are you searching for a path that focuses on this Earth rather than some imaginary beyond, that makes saving the planet its focus not saving your eternal soul, that respects individual choice rather than pushing prejudice down people's throats, that values reason rather than fanaticism?Do you find it impossible to believe in supernatural beings, and difficult to conceive of anything more worthy

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-64240916877472189802008-11-21T17:30:00.001-08:002009-02-09T04:20:09.277-08:00

Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit organization working to improve care and expand choice at the end of life. As a national organization with over 60 local groups, affiliates and chapters, and 30,000 members, we help patients and their loved ones face the end of life with calming facts and choices of action during a difficult time. We also aggressively pursue legal reform to promote pain care,

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-71672477039502229092008-11-21T17:08:00.001-08:002009-02-09T04:10:00.608-08:00

The Hemlock Society is committed to providing information regarding options for dignified death and legalized physician aid in dying. To strengthen our ability to serve the terminally ill, and forward aid-in-dying laws across the country, Hemlock is now partnered with the national US leader in aid in dying, Compassion & Choices.Interesting read isStudents' Guide to Physician Aid in

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-20704469662468244572008-11-21T06:40:00.001-08:002009-02-09T04:10:00.609-08:00

As part of the making of the ground-breaking series “A Brief History of Disbelief,” Jonathan Miller filmed conversations with some very distinguished minds. Jonathan, of course, could not resist the temptation to make these conversations wide ranging and so – naturally enough – their final contributions to “A Brief History of Disbelief” are only a small part of the original interviews. Now this

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-71341875553402931042008-11-21T05:24:00.000-08:002008-11-21T05:46:30.712-08:00

An out-of-body experience (OBE) occurs when a person who is awake sees themselves from a location outside their physical body. OBEs have been reported in conditions where brain function is compromised, such as stroke, epilepsy and drug abuse. They have also been reported in association with traumatic experiences such as car accidents. Around one in ten people claim to have had an OBE at some time

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-73048645904571941272008-11-19T10:08:00.000-08:002008-11-19T10:14:56.729-08:00

This question was posed on the Richard Dawkins forum and so far only one real reply of merit as been posted. However, it was interesting enough to warrant a few comments. People who claim to have faith in their religious doctrine exist in a particular state of mind. There is no way for them to step outside their faith and look back at themselves in the knowledge that they can then step back

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-33703034650191463212008-11-08T10:28:00.000-08:002009-05-29T00:31:08.374-07:00

Researchers at the University of Oxford will spend £1.9 million investigating why people believe in God. Academics have been given a grant to try to find out whether belief in a deity is a matter of nature or nurture.They will not attempt to solve the question of whether God exists but they will examine evidence to try to prove whether belief in God conferred an evolutionary advantage to mankind.

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-39173602071002108032008-11-06T06:10:00.000-08:002009-02-09T04:25:32.212-08:00

I know you won't believe this, but it really is worth looking at the evidence.I started researching this by accident as the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to two scientists involved in discovering the HIV virus (the fact that others may well have done so before is another story). The propaganda machine of nearly all governmental agencies and pharmaceuticals has spun the story that HIV

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-61024757174088752522008-11-01T10:51:00.000-07:002008-11-01T10:55:42.552-07:00

A three-year study will explore the nature of death and consciousness.After countless accounts of near-death experiences, dating as far back as ancient Greece, science is now taking serious steps forward to explore the nature of the phenomenon.The Human Consciousness Project sets out to explore the nature of human consciousness and the brain. The first step of the project is the "Awareness During

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-52242724686873193222008-11-01T01:46:00.001-07:002009-02-09T06:11:33.252-08:00

Creating a new blog is a transformational process. The very act of posting, whether news links, resources or editorial, leads to a process of selection but also creates conceptual links between what otherwise would seem random disconnected pieces of information.This is not a news agency with the imperative to be first with breaking news. It is not even, as yet, wholly a news aggregator trawling

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-43504590665671770222008-10-31T06:39:00.000-07:002009-02-09T04:26:55.188-08:00

NewsThe Vatican: Guidelines to Stem Sex Abuse by PriestsIllinois: Ex-Priest Guilty of Sex AbuseJesuit School Sheltered Molesters, Groups SayVatican-Israel Tensions Rise Over Pius. Interesting that even the Vatican should fear repercussions from jewish groups as arguments rage over the potential beautification of Pius XII.Exploring Religion, Shaped by the EnlightenmentResourcesBishop

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-85018060408314285452008-10-28T04:02:00.000-07:002009-02-09T04:25:32.212-08:00

The Center for Inquiry expressed outrage at the public release of a memorandum from U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel that would allow participants in the Bush Administration’s Faith-Based Initiatives programs to engage in discriminatory hiring practices, in contravention of long-established federal civil rights laws. The memorandum exempts World Vision—a religious organization

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-7384556670840839612008-10-15T02:55:00.000-07:002009-02-09T04:25:32.212-08:00

How does one protect oneself from lie after lie? One standard black operations technique is to create false histories for people, then let them loose on a gullible and stupid public.Wouldn't it be great if we could find muslim terrorists who repented for their crimes? Would be even better if they saw the errors of their ways and did the right thing, converting to Christianity! There is no need to

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-14801859723971412542008-10-14T01:44:00.000-07:002009-02-09T04:25:32.212-08:00

How Tall is God? by Andrew BrownThis looks like one of those unanswerable questions, but it turns out that the Mormons – and the leaders of the American "Prosperity Gospel" movement – believe they know the answer: God is about 6' 2" tall. (He doesn't use the metric system).The justification for this is Isaiah 40:12, where God, it is said"hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2563213009935037914.post-65518860301369879402008-09-29T05:53:00.000-07:002008-12-09T17:56:25.240-08:00

The name Asylum Joy comes from a mishearing of the name of a Thai restaurant in Chiang Mai. The homophone somehow stuck in my mind for over a year and this is the outcome.An introduction is supposed to set out some kind of theme, to adumbrate the general look and feel of the landscape before a closer examination of the fauna and flora. But building a frame before the canvas is completed seems to

Rycharde Mannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17700702422324131665noreply@blogger.com0