Weekly Rant: Billy Graham says atheism is a fad for fools

Billy Graham, is often sited as the standard by which all preachers should be judged. Anytime you speak with Christians about the foibles of the televangelists, they continually point to the untarnished Graham. Of course, this is not true.

For some reason, Billy Graham gets a pass for his controversies. As this YouTube video shows, he had an antisemitic conversation with President Nixon.
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Lunch Break Theater: Jesus’ Resurrection

Today’s  Lunch Break Theater is a long one. If you are watching at work, you may need to finish it when you get home. It is a discussion between a theist and an atheist about the Resurrection of Jesus. It took place at California Polytechnic State University.
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Cartoon: One ring to keep them pure

Let’s see the “Secular Principles Pinky Swear” do this:

(props: Thanks, as always, to SMBC)

And seriously, do the Pinky Swear.

Brother Richard

Funny animated video: Stork Season

Another great animated short from ChannelATE Comics:

Freaking hilarious!

Brother Richard

Quote of The Day

I hope not. You know, I talked to God about that and he was like, ‘No.’… I will keep that door open if God ever calls me to be that leader. … I just know whenever I fall off his path, things get really hard. So I just stick with what God tells me to do.”

–Samuel Wurzelbacher (AKA: Joe the Plumber)
When asked if he was going to run for public office.

The U.S. Supreme Court sides with Westboro Baptist Church

The U.S. Supreme Court declares that the Westboro Baptist Church has the right to protest at soldier’s funerals.

Here’s a News Clip:

Don’t you love the “fair and balanced” reporting on Fox? Hehe, “eternal shame.”

I’m afraid I agree the Supreme Court and the ACLU on this one. As crazy as they may be, the Westboro nuts have the constitutional right to free speech.

Also, a few days ago Shirley Phelps-Roper (a commentor on this site), was interviewed by a news reporter outside West Hollywood’s Fairfax Senior High School. She was there protesting the student’s decision to elect an openly gay guy as their prom queen.

Here’s that clip:

Shirley, I’m still waiting on my “God Hates Brother Richard” sign.

Brother Richard

Herb Silverman’s and Mark Sanford’s SINS

My friend and President of the Secular Coalition For America, Herb Silverman, has written a great article for the Washington Post’s On Faith website.

Herb lives in South Carolina, and you may have noticed his governor, Mark Sanford, and his Argentinian “soul mate” have been in the news lately. What you may not know, is that Herb ran for governor in 1990. Although he didn’t win, he was successful in getting South Carolina’s law prohibiting atheists to serve in office overturned.

Here’s some excerpts for Herb’s article, “My Sin When I Ran for Governor of South Carolina.”

During my 1990 campaign for governor, I was probably asked about “God” more than all other candidates for all other offices combined. I had to explain to countless citizens how this candidate without a prayer could still have an ethical and moral base. They understood how people of faith could sin, and then feel remorse and ask God’s forgiveness, but they assumed that someone godless would have no reason to act morally. Also along the way, I heard from many fellow South Carolinians who thought they were the only ones with such beliefs. As a result, we decided to form a secular humanist community, which continues to thrive and grow.

One of Governor Sanford’s press conference apologies was “to people of faith across South Carolina, or for that matter, across the nation,…” Implicit in his apology, and insulting to nontheists, is that people of faith are expected to be more moral than people without faith. What seems clear to me is that politicians who continually proclaim their faith are likely to be more hypocritical than those who don’t.

My favorite bit is Herb’s response to a mega-church pastor he was debating. Here’s that part:

Since the issue at hand is adultery, I can’t help but remember one public debate I had a few years ago with a fundamentalist minister from a South Carolina mega-church on the topic, “Can We Be Moral Without God?” In a portion where we asked each other questions, I asked him how his behavior toward people would change if he stopped believing in God. He said, “I’ve been attracted to other women, but I didn’t act on it because I knew how much it would hurt Jesus.” I responded, “I’ve also been attracted to other women, but I didn’t act on it because I knew how much it would hurt my wife Sharon.”

Isn’t that great? I’m going to use that one myself.

The pastor’s statement, reminds me of a Thanksgiving I hosted at my house. Instead of praying I asked each family member to share something for which they were thankful. It started with some jokes, but became quite touching. That is, until we came to the most religious person at the table.  This person, thanked God repeatedly for all the great things He had done. Never once did he thank his wife for putting up with him during all all the years of marriage. He didn’t thank his children for loving him. Nothing. He and Jesus were all that mattered. The rest of us were just lucky to be along for the ride.

Brother Richard

Oh, and another thing. I will give a dollar to someone who can take a picture of Herb in anything other than a t-shirt.

Video: Neil deGrasse Tyson on Jimmy Fallon

I am a big fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson. I think he is the closest thing to Carl Sagan that science currently has to offer. However, while I religiously watch (pun intended) Nova ScienceNow, I fear it will never be as popular as Cosmos. Hell, with the public’s current distrust of science, nothing ever will. Let’s pray that changes.

Dr. Tyson was a recent guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon a couple days ago. The show’s website said this:

There’s no nice way to say this: Neil deGrasse Tyson makes Mr. Wizard look like a complete wussy. He is a renowned astrophysicist and in addition to serving as the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, he makes frequent appearances on television including a gig hosting PBS’s educational television show NOVA scienceNOW. What I love about Mr. Tyson is that he answers all the tough scientific questions that us regular folks would like to know. For instance, what’s it like to die in a black hole?

Here’s a clip of Dr. Tyson’s appearance:

Good stuff.

Brother Richard

Lunch Break Theater: Dawkins interviews Craig Venter

Today’s  Lunch Break Theater features the uncut Richard Dawkins inverview with Craig Venter from “The Genius of Charles Darwin” documentary series.
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Atheist News Podcast Episode 009

“Who wants to sell me a double-decker bus on the cheap?”

The ninth episode of the Atheist News Podcast has posted.

Brother Richard gets a gold star for being on the show yet again.

This week we begin with a correction from last week’s show and then jump into the news: The UK considers punting the clergy out of Parliament, meanwhile France considers punting some Muslims. When did France get so hard-core? We talk about “prayer booths.” Well, rather, we clown on them mercilessly. Then, to wrap it up, we talk about the second best father’s day gift money can buy, the dangers of drinking tea, and we make fun of the Sabbath.

Another week, another blasphemy.

Want to participate? Join the Atheist News Group.

Remember, as always, it is NSFW.

Download Episode 009

Brother Richard

Quote of The Day

The only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in United States.”
– Michael Scheuer
The Glenn Beck Program

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