Ocassional Thoughts of an Independent Progressive Atheistic Humanist
Dr. Kent Brantly, one of two American aid workers stricken with Ebola, walked out of an Atlanta hospital Thursday. He did thank the medical staff for treating him but gave all the credit to God for his survival. How does Brantly know God wanted him cured?
Two recent news stories illustrated what happens when people who have gained some popularity either nationally or in their community make a poor choice. Supporters of that person bring in a lot of emotion and defensiveness with the intent of protecting their ‘hero’. It might not seem fair, but we must not base our judgement just on personal experiences with the person but on the facts and evidence that are revealed. A higher standard of behavior is required if the popular person deals with students.
On July 24th, The Ohio State University fired their Marching band director Jon Waters for not doing enough to change a culture that was “sexualized”. Basically he was fired for dragging his feet when sexual assaults and harassment were reported to him and didn’t do enough to end suspect practices like Midnight Ramp and vulgar activities during band trips.
If Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts runs for President in 2016, I would love to vote for her. She doesn’t make excuses about what we should believe in and I wish all Democrats would have her backbone. Speaking at this weekend’s Netroots Nation conference in Detroit, Warren laid out some values that Progressives need to have today. I agree with all of them.
A link to a post titled ‘Bible Verses That Atheists Love’ showed up in my Facebook feed Monday and just the title made me throw up in my mouth a little. We atheists complain when theists cherry-pick the Bible because they tend to focus on the ‘good’ parts and downplay the ‘bad’ parts. Why in pink unicorns would atheists play into that game by contributing to this silly article. There is nothing in the Bible that I ‘love’ or even like and atheists who play this game aren’t helping the cause.
Several prominent atheists and atheist bloggers contributed to the article:
Tuesday, May 20, is ‘Draw Muhammad Day’ which is used to point out the restrictions on free speech and open dialogue concerning religion that exist in many countries. Blasphemy is a victimless crime. Blasphemy laws, however, harm real people for having different ideas about religion and faith than their governments allow. Criticism should never be a crime.
Here is my contribution: