Philosophy
Have you ever noticed that one thing most religions and cults have in common, apart from all the supernatural and unfalsifiable claims they make, is that they tend to be so coincidentally convenient for the sake and benefit of their leaders?
What are the odds?!? Some dude claims to have knowledge of things the rest of us have no direct access to (and can't therefore refute through evidence), and this knowledge just happens to tell us that we must redistribute our wealth to him, or that he gets to have multiple wives while those schmucks not in power usually don't, or that we must go plunder someone else's land... and pass a substantial percentage of the booty and the virgins to the religious leaders, or that we must not covet our 'neighbor's' property (including his women) and all because that's what God wants us to do.
Must be magic... Yep, sounds totally believable. Sign me up!
The real miracle is that people fall for these cheap tricks...
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Philosophy
Islam was created by Muhammad, for Muhammad?
What are the odds?!? Some dude claims to have knowledge of things the rest of us have no direct access to (and can't therefore refute through evidence), and this knowledge just happens to tell us that we must redistribute our wealth to him, or that he gets to have multiple wives while those schmucks not in power usually don't, or that we must go plunder someone else's land... and pass a substantial percentage of the booty and the virgins to the religious leaders, or that we must not covet our 'neighbor's' property (including his women) and all because that's what God wants us to do.
Must be magic... Yep, sounds totally believable. Sign me up!
The real miracle is that people fall for these cheap tricks...
- Muhammed Ali And Tim Tebow
Today is Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday. Ali was not only one of, possibly, the greatest to ever walk into a boxing ring, but was a major social figure who was outspoken on the issues of the day. He spoke out against the war in Vietnam and...
- Ownership And Access
The notion of intellectual property has never been made fully consistent. It is an attempt to marry an Enlightenment era notion about possession of things and land to a changed notion of "the fruits of one's labor." I remember as an undergraduate...
- Religious Belief And Scientific Worldviews
A couple from Hanno today. First he asks, "Do you think that religious belief is incompatible with a scientific world view, as the fundamentalists believe? Or do you think that these are different realms of truth, like Francis Bacon believed? Or do you...
- Comedist Commandments
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgenedered Comedists Everywhere: One of the functions of a religion is to provide spiritual guidance on living life. So on this the holiest day of the year, I give unto you these fifteen?oy?these Ten Commandments: 1. I am the...
- Atheism Is A Religion Like Abstinence Is A Sex Position
When it comes to debates between religious folks and non-believers, it's not uncommon to hear the former claim that atheism is itself a religion ultimately based on faith. And it's not just your ordinary bible-thumping redneck either. If you've...