July 14, 2007

20 gram Links for July 13th ‘07

Posted at 10:35 am by del.icio.us and tagged atheism, biology, creationism, design, evolution, feuerback, god, hegal, history, humour, islam, kant, koran, Links, marx, osama, pascal, philosophy, proof, religion, science, sex, stupidity, terrorism, usa, violence, virgins, women. Popularity: 36% [?]

Here are some of the sites I’ve been looking at recently, that I wanted to share:

• Letter to the Editor: Kick the Atheists out of America - “I don’t care if they have never committed a crime, atheists are the reason crime is rampant.”
• Philosophy and the proof of God’s existence by Roger Jones - A nice summary of many of the traditional “proofs” of God’s existance, including the argument from design, pascals wager, and the philosophies of Kant, Hegal and others.
• What Evolution Left Behind On Humans - “I?ve always been fascinated with human evolution. To me, the most fascinating part of human evolution is learning about what was ?left behind? on our bodies from our ancestors and from our prenatal development.”
• Wife Beating - It?s therapeutic - I’m glad someone’s cleared this up. Wife beating is not a rule, it’s just therapeutic. Oh, but there are limits!
• Pharyngula: They’re running out of virgins! - Nice tasteless video about terrorists debating how many virgins they get in paradise

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June 14, 2007

Response to “The Veil is Dehumanizing”

Posted at 7:06 pm by Richard and tagged burqa, choice, hijab, islam, modesty, speedos. Popularity: 9% [?]

I’ve just finished reading a post by the Daylight Atheist which I’m not quite sure how to respond to. I totally agree that all religions have a lot to answer for in the ways they oppress certain groups or ideas - I find the negative attitude of certain denominations of Christianity towards homosexuality disgraceful, for instance. But I find this issue slightly more complicated. The Daylight Atheist suggests that:

Burqas, Hijabs and other such “garments oppress women and are an affront to human dignity. By design, they are dehumanizing and degrading, and remain so even if the woman freely chooses them for herself.”

This is a really difficult one for me, because while I agree with most of what is said, I think taking it to the point where any veil is dehumanising “even if the woman freely chooses them for herself” might be taking things a little far.

I think it’s certainly possible to argue that in these cultures it is not possible for a woman to make free choices about such issues. Perhaps societal pressures are so great that even a woman who thinks that she’s choosing it for herself, in fact, isn’t. But if you assume that it’s possible for a woman to make a free choice about these matters, then I don’t think you can judge her, her religion, or her culture for allowing her to make the choice. If I don’t feel like parading around in a pair of speedos, I’m sure you’ll allow me some modesty by wearing some board shorts and a t-shirt when I’m down at the beach. How is this any different?

Even today in the most liberal societies, we have certain modesty boundaries which are not to be crossed - try walking around the streets in a borat-style swimsuit (possibly not safe for work), and see what kind of dirty looks you get. The point is, while the exact location of the “line not to be crossed” might differ in every cultures, every individual should be allowed to choose what they wear (within certain boundaries), even if it might seem a little strange.

When a group of powerful individuals (e.g. religious leaders) make the decision for you against your will, however, we have a problem.

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June 13, 2007

Ways to Compare World Religions

Posted at 2:19 pm by Richard and tagged agnosticism, atheism, buddhism, catholosim, confucianism, existentialism, harekrishna, hinduism, humour, islam, jehovahswitness, judaism, newage, nihilism, pagan, protestantism, religion, satanism, scientology, soplipsism, taoism, zen. Popularity: 20% [?]

Here are some simple ways that you can compare all the major world religions:

1. Read The Big Religion Chart,
   or
2. Read this:

TAOISM - Shit happens
CONFUCIANISM - Confucius says: “Shit happens.”
BUDDHISM - If shit happens, it isn’t really shit.
ZEN - What is the sound of shit happening?
HINDUISM - This shit happened before.
ISLAM - If shit happens, it is the will of Allah.
PROTESTANT - Let shit happen to someone else.
CATHOLIC - If shit happens, you deserve it.
JUDAISM - Why does this shit always happen to us?
JEHOVAH’S WITNESS - Let us in and we’ll tell you why shit happens
HARE KRISHNA - Shit happens. Shit happens. Shit happens.
PAGAN - Shit is part of the goddess, too.
SCIENTOLOGY - This book gets rid of your shit.
EXISTENTIALISM - Everything is shit, so let’s be depressed.
NIHILISM - Everything is shit, so let’s blow it all up.
SATANISM - I made this shit happen and I’m glad about it.
SOLIPSISM - This shit happens to me alone, but I am the cause of it
ATHEISM - I don’t believe this shit.
AGNOSTICISM - What is this shit?
NEW AGE - For $300 I can help you achieve Shit Happens Awareness

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