They displayed “feminine mannerisms” and we can’t have that.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Blair v Hitchens
Apr 20th, 2011 3:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe New Statesman has a lot of articles on religion. This is old news; I just thought I’d mention it.
It has a lot of Name people saying why they believe in god. Why? Because
In our increasingly secular society, many religious people feel their voices are not heard.
So the Staggers hands them a microphone. The bishops in the House of Lords and all those “faith” schools aren’t enough; their voices have to be even louder.
Cherie Blair, barrister
It’s been a journey from my upbringing to an understanding of something that my head cannot explain but my heart knows to be true.
See…that’s why we get irritated. Her heart doesn’t know it to be true. Hearts don’t know … Read the rest
Another interview
Apr 20th, 2011 3:02 pm | By Ophelia BensonI mentioned that interview I did for Humanistpodden the other day; here it is. Johan is remarkably knowledgeable about inter-atheist quarrels, among other things.
Update: And another thing, as long as I’m in me me me vein. I’m now a columnist for Free Inquiry. The first column will be in the August-September issue.… Read the rest
Jesus said some good things
Apr 20th, 2011 12:26 pm | By Ophelia BensonChris Stedman is bizarrely indignant that some people disagree with him. Apparently if he writes an article for the Huffington Post, it’s somehow wrong and out of line to write a blog post that disputes it. Why would that be the case? What rule says that Chris Stedman’s articles on the Huffington Post are off-limits to disagreement? I thought it was pretty well known by now that if you write something that gets posted on the internet, there’s always a chance that someone will disagree with it.
Chris did three updates at Facebook to express this “you disagree with me! you really disagree with me!” outrage, along with a good few comments on same. The first, on my post, … Read the rest
Salman Rushdie on the samizdat truth-tellers 
Apr 20th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Creative figures like Ai Weiwei and his colleagues are often the only ones with the courage to speak truth against the lies of tyrants.… Read the rest
Jerry Coyne on religious scientists
Apr 20th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Science recognizes the strong human motivation to believe what we want to be true, and that that drive is a serious impediment in finding out what really is true.… Read the rest
New Statesman sucks up to religion again
Apr 20th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“In our increasingly secular society, many religious people feel their voices are not heard.” Cherie Blair for example.… Read the rest
Newsflash: Muslim Brotherhood wants Sharia
Apr 20th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
You don’t say!… Read the rest
Frontline on Catholic clerical child rape in Alaska
Apr 20th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Gut-wrenching.… Read the rest
Muslims Should Learn to Tolerate Offence and Dissent
Apr 19th, 2011 | By Leo IgweMy article on the Afghan Koran protest – an unfortunate incident which left over 20 people dead and many more injured – generated many comments and criticisms on the internet. In fact somebody said the piece was informed by ‘racism and islamophobia’. Well I guess this fellow thought I was a white or a Christian or someone living in the West.
I do not in this article intend to respond to issues raised by those who read the article. For me let the debate continue. I have made my point. What I said in that piece – and in this very one – applies to many Muslims, not all.
So, once again in reaction to the protest over the Koran … Read the rest
Synthese editors cave to pressure from ID lobby
Apr 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Read the whole shocking thing.… Read the rest
Can we set aside intellectualizing and debating?
Apr 19th, 2011 11:17 am | By Ophelia BensonI’m going to disagree with Chris Stedman again. Let me preface my disagreement by saying he’s obviously a good guy, a better one than I am. There that’s out of the way; now let me shred him.
No but seriously. He’s a good guy but being a good guy isn’t enough. One has to learn that people have their own plans and projects and ways of doing things. Chris seems to have a missionary streak that prevents him from understanding that.
the last ten years have seen me change my philosophy in several dramatic ways — from born-again Christian to rejectionist atheist to my current work as a Secular Humanist and interfaith activist —
What’s a rejectionist atheist? It sounds … Read the rest
60 Minutes on Greg Mortenson
Apr 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There are serious questions about how millions of dollars have been spent, whether Mortenson is personally benefiting, and whether the stories are even true.… Read the rest
Terry Glavin’s tribute to Krakauer’s investigation
Apr 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s not clear what good work Mortenson has done, with schools that don’t exist, schools built by other people, empty schools, and schools that are cabbage sheds.… Read the rest
Three Cups of Deceit [pdf]
Apr 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“It turns out that Mortenson’s books and public statements are permeated with
falsehoods.”… Read the rest
Shut up so that you won’t have to shut up
Apr 18th, 2011 11:42 am | By Ophelia BensonAnother thing about Ruse’s claim.
Most of all I detest the New Atheism because I think it is playing into the hands of the Religious Right.
But if you decide it’s Forbidden to say certain things lest you “play into the hands of the Religious Right” then you are already playing into the hands of the Religious Right. If you give up the right to free speech as a precaution against theocracy then you are already in a theocracy. It doesn’t make sense to give up secular rights in order to hang on to secular rights.
I don’t want the religious Right deciding what I can say. I don’t want to defer to their sensitivities or their unreasonable beliefs. … Read the rest
70 days in prison for burning a Koran
Apr 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It was a library book.… Read the rest
My conversation with Johan Signert
Apr 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
About theocratic misogyny, “compassion” and religion, gnu atheism and the backlash.… Read the rest
Catholics join “smash the offensive” brigade
Apr 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Thugs shredded Serrano’s “Piss Christ.” Gallery is leaving the destroyed work on show “so people can see what barbarians can do.”… Read the rest
Wendy Grossman on the flowering of atheism
Apr 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
As an ideology, strong atheism tends to emerge under the threat of theocracy.… Read the rest
