by Sam Harris Somewhere in the world a man has abducted a little girl. Soon he will rape, torture, and kill her. If an atrocity of this kind not occurring at precisely this moment, it will happen in a few hours, or days at most. Such is the confidence we can draw from the statistical laws that govern the lives of six billion human beings. The same statistics also suggest that this girl’s parents believe -- at this very moment -- that an all-powerful and all-loving God is watching over them and their family. Are they right to believe this? Is it good that they believe this? No. The entirety of atheism is contained in this response. Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply a refusal to deny the obvious. Unfortunately, we live in a world in which the obvious is overlooked as a matter of principle. The obvious must be observed and re-observed and argued for. This is a thankless job. It carries with it an aura of petulance and insensitivity. It is, more...

Who are Penn and Teller? Click here to download Bullshit Bible. Note: These are very large .wmv files. If you don't have a broadband connection — forget it. Click here to download Bullshit Creationism.

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Trees My neighbor and I have had a bit of a falling out, and I think it's really his fault. Click on the icon to hear my side of the story. Any feedback would be appreciated.

The Daily Show's four day special report: "Evolution Schmevolution" You will need Apple's Quicktime Player to view these videos. Downloading the player is free. For best results, right click on the files and download them to your hard drive. Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

Richard Dawkins has an excellent summary of the idea of evolution in this week's New Scientist, in an article titled "The world's ten biggest ideas". Here it is—it's a very clear, short, six paragraph explanation of a big idea, fewer than 600 words. Now if only everyone could just understand this: The world is divided into things that look designed (like birds and airliners) and things that don't (rocks and mountains). Things that look designed are divided into those that really are designed (submarines and tin openers) and those that aren't (sharks and hedgehogs). The diagnostic of things that look (or are) designed is that their parts are assembled in ways that are statistically improbable in a functional direction. They do something well: for instance, fly. Darwinian natural selection can produce an uncanny illusion of design. An engineer would be hard put to decide whether a bird or a plane was the more aerodynamically elegant. So powerful is the illus...

by George Claassen "...the religious memes that include the notion of hell... These visions of horror work wonders. Terrified humans by the score allow unprovable concepts to take up residence in their skulls." Over the past week I was constantly reminded of these words by Howard Bloom in his fascinating book The Lucifer Principle - A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History . Bloom's argument is applicable to some readers whose reaction to my column ( The Earth is not 6 000 yrs old! ), explaining the techniques scientists apply to determine the age of the Universe or Earth and everything on it, was one of what I can only call terrified and total negation about the findings of science. But how do scientists explain the psychological hold religion has on gullible people's lives? Why do so many intelligent human beings continue to deny scientific facts despite overwhelming evidence contradicting the claims of absolute truths by prophets proclaiming a benevolent ...

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Intelligent Design Theory, George W. Bush & the Question of God by Michael Shermer Intelligent Design (ID) creationism has resurfaced in the news again after President George W. Bush’s remarks were (mis)taken by IDers to be a solid endorsement by the president and his administration for the teaching of ID in public school science classrooms. There was considerable media hype over the story, and I did a number of interviews, including a live debate on CNN with lead Intelligent Design theorist William Dembski. As this story unfolded, however, I discovered (to no great surprise) that IDers, along with many in the media, and pundits on both the right and the left, greatly exaggerated Bush’s remarks. On Monday, August 1, Bush gave an interview at the White House to a group of Texas newspaper reporters in which he said that when he was governor of Texas “I felt like both sides ought to be properly taught.” When a reporter asked for his position today on whether ID should be taught alongs...

Larry Gasch, an acquaintance of mine, recently wrote a couple of "letters to the editor" on "Intelligent Design" (ID) that appeared in "OPINE," the opinion section of the Star Beacon -- the largest (and only) daily newspaper in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Both letters, in my opinion, were exceptionally well written and pierced straight to the heart of the controversy surrounding this issue. I called Larry and he agreed to let me post his letters here. This first letter was published in the August 13 issue of the Star Beacon in response to a "pro-ID" article that appeared earlier in the week. Since this newspaper does not archive its stories or opinion pieces on its website, I cannot provide a corroborating link. -- WM Sir: Kathleen Parker’s “Conservative View” column of Monday, August 8, addressed President George W. Bush’s comments about allowing “intelligent design” (ID) to be discussed in schools. She correctly observes that Pres. Bush did not ...

The Associated Press Sunday, August 14, 2005; 9:33 PM CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard University is joining the long-running debate over the theory of evolution by launching a research project to study how life began. The team of researchers will receive $1 million in funding annually from Harvard over the next few years. The project begins with an admission that some mysteries about life's origins cannot be explained. "My expectation is that we will be able to reduce this to a very simple series of logical events that could have taken place with no divine intervention," said David R. Liu, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard. The "Origins of Life in the Universe Initiative" is still in its early stages, scientists told the Boston Sunday Globe. Harvard has told the research team to make plans for adding faculty members and a collection of multimillion-dollar facilities. Evolution is a fundamental scientific theory that species evolved over mill...

By Brad A. Greenberg Staff Writer Thursday, August 11, 2005 - A defrocked Catholic priest who served in Loma Linda and Ontario claims church leaders protected his pedophilic behavior by passing him among parishes. Edward Anthony Rodrigue, an admitted serial molester, claims in court papers that he was allowed to continue working at churches despite numerous complaints of sexual abuse. His statements were filed by plaintiffs’ lawyers Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Diego. Another declaration by a former police officer claimed the Rev. John Daly was moved to San Bernardino County in exchange for prosecutor’s keeping secret his sexual indiscretion. Both statements, and those made by countless people who claim they were sexually abused, support lawyers’ claims that, for decades, Catholic bishops have protected deviant priests, further endangering children. J. Michael Hennigan, lawyer for the San Diego diocese, said Rodrigue’s statements were disturbing and cast a pall over former Bi...

The handyman at a Berks County church was sentenced Thursday to five years' probation in connection with the city's "pay to play" corruption case. Following prosecutors' recommendation for a reduced sentence, U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson sentenced Jose Mendoza, 46, to probation and ordered him to pay restitution of $57,000. Mendoza had cooperated with investigators. Mendoza pleaded guilty in August 2004 to falsely telling Commerce Bank that he was general manager of a company that had done repairs to St. James Chapel Church of God in Christ _ a church in Reading where former Philadelphia Treasurer Corey Kemp worshipped. The company existed only on paper, and tens of thousands of dollars loaned for a church renovation project ended up in the pockets of its pastor, the Rev. Francis D. McCracken, and Kemp, investigators said. Mendoza allowed himself to be used by McCracken and Kemp in their dealings with the bank but made no money from the scheme, officials...

BY JOSH FUNK The Wichita Eagle School board member arrested The arrest of Wichita school board member Kevin Graham surprised those who know him. His fellow board members and others say they want to hear Graham's explanation for the two personal checks police say he tried to cash Thursday from a long-closed account before passing judgment. Graham, who is pastor of St. Matthew CME Church , did not offer an explanation Friday. He did not return several calls to his home, church and cell phone, and did not answer the door late Thursday or Friday. Leonard Wesley, the finance chairman at Graham's church, learned about his pastor's arrest from a reporter Friday morning. "I didn't know anything about it," Wesley said, but he expressed confidence that Graham and the church would be OK. "I'm sure we'll work through it," Wesley said. Graham could face two felony check fraud charges, and state law says he could be removed from office if he's convicte...

HOUSTON A longtime pastor of a Pentecostal church in Aldine has been convicted of sexually abusing a teenage girl in his congregation ten years ago. The Reverend Curtis Bass of the International Pentecostal Church was sentenced yesterday to ten years in prison on two charges of indecency with a child. A woman, now 26 years old, testified that he touched her breasts when she was 16 years old in 1994. The 53-year-old Bass said -- quote -- "God is still in control," to dozens of church members seated in the courtroom after his sentencing. Deputy investigator Russell Ackley of the Harris County Sheriff's Department says three women have lodged sexual abuse complaints against Bass. Bass testified Wednesday and adamantly denied molesting the girl, but offered no reason for the repeated allegations. link

He is accused in security-selling fraud. By Iza Montalvo The Ledger FORT MEADE -- The pastor of the First Church of God here has been indicted in Kentucky for selling an unregistered security that cost a small church there about $90,000. Forrest R. Robinson, 69, of 214 S. Orange Ave., was released from the Boyle County Jail on Wednesday on $10,000 bail, Boyle County Jail Sgt. Ricky Gipson said. A court date for his arraignment had not been set as of Thursday, according to the Boyle County Clerk of Courts office. Robinson didn't return telephone calls made to his home in Fort Meade or to the church. Members of the church declined to comment. Court documents show Robinson was indicted on two felony counts in the Boyle Circuit Court of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on July 6. The first count of the indictment alleges that in May 2002 Robinson "offered and/or sold an unregistered security" to the Alum Springs First Church of God. The second count says that as "a continuin...

BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter for the Chicago Sun Times Residents of a Westmont public housing complex for seniors said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that they were coerced and harassed by management into practicing Christianity and pressured to attend Bible study classes. Five former and current residents of the complex, along with housing advocate Hope Fair Housing, are suing the complex and its property manager, saying they used "coercive, harassing and restrictive rules and regulations to impose their 'Christian' beliefs upon current residents." Hope Fair Housing, based in Wheaton, also alleges the complex only invites low-income Chinese tenants and discriminates against any other potential residents. The defendants in the case include the Illinois Chinese American Residence for the Elderly, 501 N. Cass Ave. in Westmont, Angela Yuan, president of the board of directors, and Providence Management and Development Company Inc. Hid in bathrooms, resid...

by Brother Jeff You need to be slaved, and I praze GAWD that the Spook of Kryasst who is also somehow magically Him has magically convinced you of that fact! Glory! Here's how to get slaved! Let's walk the Romans Road together, shall we? You'll notice that all of the following verses are from the glorious Book of Romans, which is why our journey is said to be on the metaphorical Romans Road! The first verse on the Romans Road to slavation is Romans 3:23, "For all have done shit that pisses Jesus off, and come short of the glory of Gawd." We have all done shit that pisses Jesus off. We have all done things that are displeasing to the Holy Farter. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what the shit we do that pisses Him off looks like in our lives. The second Scripture on the Romans Road to slavation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of doing shit that pisses Jesus off - "For the wages of doing shit that pis...

By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY DUBLIN, Ireland — "I don't go to church, and I don't know one person who does," says Brian Kenny, 39, who is studying psychotherapy and counseling at Dublin Business School. "Fifteen years ago, I didn't know one person who didn't." Church attendance in Ireland, though still among the highest in Western Europe, has fallen from about 85% to 60% from 1975 to 2004, according to the Dublin Archdiocese. While it is still illegal for a woman to have an abortion in this mostly Roman Catholic country, Health Minister Mary Harney made front-page news in July when she said birth control pills should be available for girls as young as 11 in some circumstances. And for the first time, according to church records, not one priest will be ordained this year in Dublin. Mary Haugh, who has gone to Mass here seven days a week for almost all of her 79 years, is saddened by these changes. "It's a Godless society," she says. Irelan...