Video, Monkey Cooperation and Fairness

Cooperation and Fairness are expressions of logical relationships based on self-interest that even monkeys can understand. Click on "Read more >>" for access.

Where Does the Soul Fit?

Abstract: The concepts of the "Soul" and "Free Will" are tightly coupled and are misunderstandings of emergent properties of complex biological systems due to fallacious causal oversimplifications and are, in effect, a phenomena analogous to a rainbow. In the case of a soul that is separate from the self it would be judged by God for actions it did not condone. In the case of the soul as the self, the soul is locked into the body every night during REM sleep and is catastrophically impaired by malfunctions of the body it resides in. While religions are divided on whether animals have souls and/or spirits, with or without them, animals have some of the same types of cognitive abilities as humans and they get along well within their biological limitations. The philosophical soulless zombie as the null hypothesis for souls fits with established knowledge better than the "soul" described in unauthenticated bronze age "divinely revealed" texts.

Video, Temporal Lobes and Religious Experience

These are some youtube videos that have evidently been extracted from the longer BBC mini-series "Phantoms in the Brain" (Episode 1, Episode 2) featuring Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist. They demonstrate the correlation between the brains temporal lobes and religious experience. Click "Read more >>" to access them.

Religious Experience Found in Multiple Categories of Neurologic Disorder

Professionals.epilepsy.com

Other changes highlighted in the literature include increased religious beliefs and a heightened concern for morality. Religious and moral themes tend to predominate when patients display hypergraphia, an increase in the volume of written material the person produces and a preoccupation with details within the content. The association of these behaviors to epilepsy, including TLE, is controversial.

Since the publication of such reports, a number of authors have questioned the linking of these personality changes with TLE. Indeed, various authors have indicated that such changes are not specific to patients with epilepsy but are also identified in other neurologic disorders. Furthermore, a recent review pointed out that patients with frontal lobe epilepsy are more likely to present these personality changes than those with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Video, Neurologist Discusses Seizures And Experiencing God

A Grand mal seizure is the most familiar type of seizure. It causes a complete loss of motor control, uncontrollable shaking, loss of consciousness, etc during the seizure. Some seizures do not cause loss of motor control but only occur mentally. These types of seizures sometimes result in a "God Experience". This video features Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist. Click "Read more >>" to access it.

Video, Split Brain Patient, One Side is Theist, Other Side is Atheist

Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist discusses split brain patient that has the hemispheres of their brain separated, creating two personalities, one a theist, the other an atheist. Click "Read more >>" to access it.

Video, Neurologist Talks About Inconsistency in Belief

Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist describes how a brain damaged person thinks that their left arm belongs to someone else, but then will grab it to do a task with it when asked to. Click "Read more >>" to access it.

Legal Action Against a Faith Healer

thesundayleader.lk

Now the question is whether this pastor is responsible for the deaths of the two women who came for the meeting. I was made to understand that these two women had died in hospital. However, divine healing is real and our Lord has told us to heal the sick in His name. However, I wish to point out that only those who come in faith are healed. The Holy Word of God says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him (God)…”

Video, "Phantoms in the Brain" Episode 1

This series is presented by Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist. It shows the strange results of brain injury and interviews the patients.
Click on "Read more >>" to access them.

Video, "Phantoms in the Brain" Episode 2

This series is presented by Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist. It shows the strange results of brain injury and interviews the patients.
Click on "Read more >>" to access them.

World Cup Stadium 'Cow Sacrifice' Plan Sparks Row

BBC News

A proposal to bless South Africa's World Cup stadiums by slaughtering a cow in each one has caused concern among animal rights activists.

The Makhonya Royal Trust, which put forward the idea, described the cattle killing ritual as a "true African" way of blessing the 2010 tournament.

Government minister Sicelo Shiceka has promised to lobby football's governing body, Fifa, in support of the plan.

Religious Exemption for Israeli Army Draft Problematic

ynetnews.com

Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar said there was a whole "industry of false claims in female enlistment. We do not condemn religious girls, but the girls who seek exemptions and leading an un-religious life style.

Exorcism Generates Revenue for Author, Production Company, and Souvenier Store

Examiner.com

If these walls could talk - they might help explain why the Catholic Church ordered an exorcism in Hinsdale, New York, on February 14, 1974.
Father Alphonsus Trabold from nearby St. Bonaventure University and New York-based Psychic Alex Tanous ventured into what we now call the Hinsdale House. Fr. Trabold carried out the exorcism and Tanous conducted a "de-psyching" of the house.

Uganda Considers Death Sentence for Gay Sex in Bill Before Parliament

Guardian.co.uk

• Minimum penalty is life in jail, under anti-homosexuality bill
• US evangelical activists pressed for restrictive measures

Video, PBS Nova: Emergence - Complexity from Simplicity, Order from Chaos

To see the videos, click on "Read More >>"

Religious Exemption to Immunization Place All at Risk of Disease

Lower Hudson Journal news

The Supreme Court ruled in 1905 that states have the authority to require vaccination. New York state's ”religious exemption“ to mandatory immunizations puts all of us at risk for life-threatening diseases.

Animal Sacrifices May Disrupt a Child’s Mental Health

hurriyetdailynews.com

An expert has warned about children’s mental health during the Feast of the Sacrifice.

Professor Hilal Özcebe, a specialist in public health at Hacettepe University’s department of medicine, said witnessing an animal sacrifice may be detrimental to a child’s mental health. Pointing out that the animals are brought home a few days before the festival, Özcebe said:

“The child at home feeds, loves and names the animal and as a result grows close to it. The child who establishes a bond with an animal may not understand why it is sacrificed and therefore suffer from psychological trauma.”

20091130, News, Civil Rights, Sexual Discrimination

Click on "Read More >>" for access to news for 20091130

Church Presses for Exemption To Exclude Homosexuals From Employee Benefits

Wall Street Journal

The city's Roman Catholic leaders, in particular, have pressed for a broader exemption to allow the church -- or any group or individual opposed to same-sex marriage -- not to provide benefits to same-sex partners of its employees.
...

Pastor Confesses: "There were no miracle babies, it was all a hoax"

Deya insider: There were no miracle babies, it was all a hoax

Bishop Gilbert Deya’s miracle babies were not miraculous after all but the fruits of “an intricate web of deceit”, according to a former cleric with the Deya Ministries.

The Rev Rose Atieno Kiserem, who was a senior pastor with the church headed by Bishop Deya, on Thursday confessed that the so-called miracle babies were a “hoax” intended to “hoodwink and dupe” the church’s followers.

In May 2007, Ms Kiserem was jailed alongside Bishop Deya’s wife, Mary, and Ms Miriam Nyeko for two years for stealing a baby. She was released from prison in September last year.

In New Jersey, Trio accused of subjecting 7-year-old girl to animal sacrifice ritual

NewJersey.com,The Record

Three people were indicted on child cruelty charges for allegedly cutting a 7-year-old girl—the daughter of one woman involved—and performing animal sacrifices in the child’s presence during a religious ritual, authorities said today.

Christian Faith-Healer Joe Daugherty Dies of Cancer

Examiner.com

Christian faith-healer Joe Daugherty died of cancer on November 22, 2009... Mr. Daugherty was 57 years old.
...
In October Mr. Daugherty was admitted to the hospital for a viral infection of his throat. However, tests showed he was suffering from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Why he sought medical help and did not rely on the Christian teachings which he promoted regarding faith-healing is not clear.

Riyadh: Man to be Decapitated for Witchcraft

Asianews.it

Ali Sibat, a Lebanese psychic who made predictions on a satellite TV channel from his home in Beirut, was arrested by religious police in the holy city of Madinah during a pilgrimage in May 2008 and then sentenced to death by decapitation on 9 November this year.

Muslims Prepare for Animal Sacrifice During the Festival of Eid-ul-Azha

Why does God need a blood sacrifice? Can't God see how much they love him without it? I thought "knowing peoples hearts" was one of Gods distinguishing characteristics.

Eid al-Adha (aka Eid-ul-Azha) from Wikipedia

Eid-UL-Azha from Flixya

Sheep, goats get pricey as Kashmiris shop for Eid

Muslims throughout the world offer animal sacrifice on Eid-ul-Azha to commemorate a centuries-old tradition.

The legend goes that Prophet Abrahim had offered to sacrifice his son Ismail to please Allah. As Abrahim started running the knife on his son’s throat, a ram from heaven replaced Ismail as Allah was pleased with the absolute obeisance of Prophet Abrahim.

Wisconsins Faith Based Criminal Defense Proposal

Emily's Post: On a wing and a prayer, Emily Mills, Monday 11/23/2009

Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) is their current champion in the Legislature, having introduced a bill that would create a “new religious exemption in state law by inserting nine faith-based ‘affirmative defenses’ into the state's criminal code. These defenses would have to be considered if a parent or guardian of a child withheld medical treatment for the child in favor of spiritual healing or prayer.”

It’s a tricky bit of business, especially considering that Taylor’s proposal would actually strip out the existing religious exemption -- the same one that the Neumann family invoked in defense of their decision not to seek medical treatment for their daughter who eventually died from diabetic complications. The Neumann’s were still convicted of second-degree reckless homicide.

Catholic Order Pays Out For Abuse

What is a good way to determine if someone is trustworthy? What is a good way to monitor the trustworthiness of someone or a group? Do actions speak louder than words? Should groups that have a high frequency of this type of thing be qualified for governmental religions exemptions?

Catholic order pays out for abuse
The abuse happened at institutions run by religious orders A Catholic religious order is to supply a 161m euros (£145m) package of measures as reparation for child abuse in Ireland.

... More than 2,000 people told the commission they had suffered physical and sexual abuse as children in the institutions, which included schools and orphanages.
It found that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys' institutions, and church leaders knew what was going on.

On Thursday a separate report will be published exposing child sex abuse by Catholic priests in the Dublin Archdiocese.

Hindus Flock to Nepal Animal Sacrifice Festival

What does a Goddess do with animal blood? 

Gadhimai Festival from Wikipedia.

Devotees flock to Nepal animal sacrifice festival

Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees have converged on a town in Nepal for a festival which is considered the world's largest animal sacrifice. The Gadhimai festival, which happens once every five years, is taking place in Bariyapur in southern Nepal.

Over the next two days more than a quarter of a million animals are expected to be slaughtered for Gadhimai - a goddess of power.
Sacrifice is seen as a way of thanking the deity for good luck, or asking her for fortune and prosperity.

"The goddess needs blood," says Chandan Dev Chaudhury, a priest at the Gadhimai temple in the centre of the festival site.
"If anyone has a problem, then I will cut the throat of an animal in the temple and that person's problem will be solved."
Meanwhile, three children of pilgrims who had come to observe Gadhimai festival died due to extreme cold. The deceased include a one-year-old, four-month-old and two-month-old infants. Their parents had come from India. nepalnews.com

Help "Witch Children" in Africa

'Witch children' in Africa, Nov 23, 2009 04:55 PM

Children being branded as "witch children" and being abandoned or killed at birth is a problem in much of West Africa. Today we focus on Togo, one of a number of African countries where we tackle all root causes of abandonment. We explain background to the current problem and give a case study of a child we have helped.

We want to do more for so called witch children. Already the problem of "witch children" comes within our remit as the world's largest orphan and abandoned child charity, since it is a major cause of abandonment. But of course often it is far worse than this.

Request for Comments on Christian Inter-denominational Criticisms

[Rev. 20091121] If you would like to contribute, please add links to Christians criticizing other Christian denominations in the comments section. I'd like to populate the sidebar on the right with them. I'm going to take a break from posting anything for a couple of days to hopefully collect more comments and to work on some more content. To see whats in the works, you always can click on the "Quirp articles in draft" in the sidebar.
Thanks in Advance.

Faulty Analogy of Gods as Shepherds and "The Problem of Victimization"

Theists use a shepherd analogy to describe the relationship between Gods (i.e. Jesus and Krishna) and us. However, a simple seconds reflection or a trip to your local animal shelter should reveal the flaw in that analogy.  Theists who follow a loving, caring characteristically good god have spent thousands of years trying to resolve the Problem of Evil.  I say, why worry about the WHOLE problem of evil? Good problem solving techniques break complicated problems down into little pieces, so they should just pick a small piece and start there. Lets start with "The Problem Of Victimization".

Scope, Definition, Equivocation and Semantic Drift

When talking with the Theists, they often misuse the word heart. They say things like "Know in your heart". I recommend not tolerating that type of thing and point out to them that hearts pump blood and can't know anything. By tolerating a loose use of terms, it promotes "entropy" in the meaning of the word, allowing the meaning to shift, thereby permitting equivocation to take place, thereby permitting an illicit type of confirmation and commitment or acceptance of its appropriateness, thereby propagating inaccurate information.

Ancient Penguin DNA Raises Doubts About Accuracy of Genetic Dating Techniques

This ScienceDaily article demonstrates the strengths of the Scientific Method compared to other ways of acquiring knowledge. Reasonable people agree that reassessing knowledge with new information is necessary and is a good thing.

Beyond Mesopotamia: A New View Of The Dawn Of Civilization

[Rev. 20091117] ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2007)

"For decades, school children have learned that human civilization emerged about 5000 years ago along the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia, along the Nile, and along the Indus River. But archaeologists working in a broad arc from the Russian steppes through Iran and onto the Arabian Peninsula are finding evidence that a complex network of cities may have thrived across the region in roughly the same era, suggesting a dramatic new view of the emergence of human civilization."

This is significant because up to this point, Euro-centric, Biblical archeology and (to a small degree) Nazi propaganda have skewed the view of civilizations origins and minimized the contribution of non-near eastern and non-semitic speaking cultures.

Learn To Be Psychic In Ten Easy Lessons

From Skeptic Magazines website you can download the document for fun, games, sabotaging "psychic readings" and future reference.
Excerpt from the documents introduction follows below.

How Do Theists Know That God Communicates With Them?

Recently I had a discussion with a religious friend and asked him what I consider to be a key defining question. I've tried to record the dialog here as accurately as I can, but obviously the following is not a transcript. During the course of the conversation the "relationship" topic came up.  Knowing that communication is an important part of a relationship I asked him "Does God talk to you?".

Special Pleading

Special Pleading from Wikipedia

...Essentially, this involves someone attempting to cite something as an exemption to a generally accepted rule, principle, etc. without justifying the exemption.

Theist Equivocation Of "Grace" Used in Combination With The Strategy of Minimization In Dialog.

Equivocate, from Dictionary.com

–verb (used without object), -cat⋅ed, -cat⋅ing.
to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge: When asked directly for his position on disarmament, the candidate only equivocated.

Thomas Jefferson Performed Data Cleansing On The Gospels

In 1804 Thomas Jefferson, one of The United States "Founding Fathers" published "The Life And Morals of Jesus of Nazareth" (online text). Today it is commonly known as the "Jefferson Bible". It was his attempt to preserve the teachings and philosophy of Jesus without the supernatural aspects and the parts that he perceived as misunderstandings and mistakes of the Gospel authors. This is one example of Data Cleansing of scripture, and remarkably, it was carried out by one of the most esteemed men in History.  It seems that Thomas Jefferson would agree that "once you get the God out of Wisdom Literature, it can be enjoyed by everyone".

Once You "Get The God Out", Wisdom Literature Can Be Enjoyed By Everyone.

Generally speaking, Wisdom Literature (<- that Wikipedia entry needs revision) are texts written intended to accumulate knowledge used to teach. Unfortunately Wisdom Literature is usually associated with local deities. The fact that it has been associated with a local deity, isolates it to a culture and makes it generally inaccessible to anyone not open to information associated with another culture or deity. Some examples of Wisdom Literature are easily found in the Scripture of most religions. To my disappointment, I've heard and seen people whom I respect very much, whom I consider to be intelligent, and who consider themselves "free thinkers", categorically discredit and disregard ideas contained in religious scripture as "Woo Woo" and irrelevant. An example of a religious concept that is relevant and adds value to civilization even without the God is Yoga and Meditation.   Once you get the God out of  Wisdom Literature, Wisdom can be enjoyed by everyone.

Brief Introduction To The Vedas

[Revised 20091103] This is the first article in a series of Brief Introductions to Hindu Scriptures. As with other ancient religious texts, these are generally considered to be divinely revealed. Divinely revealed information has all the problems identified by Information and Data Quality Dimensions, the most obvious are the Intrinsic dimensions of Accuracy, Believability, Objectivity and Reputation.  Hinduism is the oldest religion and the Vedas are its foundation.

40% Of Scientists Have A Belief In A God? Okay, Which God?

If a believer says that "it is not unreasonable to believe there is intelligence behind our natural laws"
then they should agree that there must be an intelligence behind the intelligence of our natural laws. But isn't that absurd? Its got to stop somewhere, so why don't we stop before we get to Gods.  There is obviously no way to prove which God it is if they are not going to present themselves, so we might as well say, there is no God. If we ask a God to present itself unambiguously to us and it doesn't, isn't that exactly what we would expect if there really wasn't any God? What difference does a God that does not interact make anyway?

How Can Anyone Know Anything About A Mysterious God?

Recently in a rejoinder over at Debunking Christianity one of the participants made the following comment challenging a non-believer to

"Account for the information design that every atheist scholar admits that exists but lives in denial explaining away."

Fraud and Religion

The tragedy at the "Sweatbox" resort highlights several problems with Religion.
'Sweatbox' victims were attending 'Spiritual Warrior' program, CNN, October 10, 2009 -- Updated 2202 GMT (0602 HKT)

"The use of sweat lodges for spiritual and physical cleansing is a part of several Native American tribes' cultures."

Since terms such as "spirit" are not defined, they are ambiguous. They can mean anything. Since they can mean anything, then there is no definition. When there is no definition, there is nothing to compare it to. Since there is nothing to comapare it to, the definition can change as needed to suit whatever purpose its being used for. There is no way to measure it.
So in the case of "spirit cleansing" some simple common sense questions come to mind.

Afroasiatic and Proto-Indo-European languages

I am confident that ideas are transmitted through language and that ideas follow language. So it follows that as a language spreads across a population, then so will the ideas that are represented by that language. Semitic is of the afroasiatic family of languages, yet Hittite is of the Indo-Eurpopean family, yet it seems that Judaism was developed in Asia Minor/Anatollia/Modern Turkey or "Hittite Land". When did Persia and Greece (which share a common language family) dominate the Levant where Israel and Judah are located? When do we start seeing ideas that are typically contained in the indo-eurpoean language start creeping into Judaism? When did Egypt start to lose its dominance? To be continued...

Lord Krishna, Human Manifestation of God, 3000 years before Jesus

Hindu is the oldest religion known to man so far. It has been argued that Christianity borrowed heavily from Hinduism. Lord Krishna was the physical manifestation of one of the Gods of the Hindu Trinity who is named Vishnu. Vishnu came to earth as a Human 5000 years ago to battle evil and show people the right way to live. This is an introduction to Lord Krishna, the human manifestation of the God Vishnu.

Giving God The Glory By Misinterpreting Intent and Purpose In Inaminate Objects

I was watching Animal Cops (a "reality" TV show) the other night and a Veterinarian was working on a potentially lifeless dog (bear with me, this story does have a happy ending).

Unverifiable "Knowledge" is Demonstrably Trivial

On April 14, 1994, two American Air force pilots in F15 fighter planes misidentified two American Army helicopters operating in Iraq and shot them down killing all 26 people aboard. Because the lead pilot was not able to evaluate his personal belief using external evidence, 26 people are dead.

What Is The Difference Between A Perception And Knowledge?

Or, "What is the difference between private personal experience and knowledge?". I know this may sound like a stupid question to some, but it seems that it is pivotal in the "Disregarding Established Knowledge..." discussion. In my view, considering inaccessible personal experience to be of the same value as established knowledge is untenable.

Disregarding Established Knowledge Is Bad, UnKay?

Its simple,
If your beliefs are not consitent with established human knowledge, then they probably are not justified. In that case, other people are not justified in believing what you say about them, and furthermore you have no reason to expect anyone to believe you.

Direct Evidence Of Moral Behavior From Evolution

My working hypothesis is that Game Theory and simple rules derived from self-interest are sufficient to generate self-organized behavior that is labeled as "Morality". Here's more evidence to back that up.