Blog Archives for December, 2008
Should Nonbelievers Challenge Inaugural Oath and Invocation?
Reasonable Doubt with Derek C. Araujo
December 31, 2008
Should atheists and nonbelievers sue to prevent the inaugural benediction and the use of the words "so help me God" when Barack Obama takes the oath of office on January 20th? According to Michael Newdow’s website , more than two-dozen individuals and organizations – including …
68 Comments
Skeptic Benjamin Radford’s Psychic Predictions for 2008
A Skeptic Reads the Newspaper with Ben Radford
December 30, 2008
In December 2007, Skeptical Inquirer managing editor Ben Radford made 22 predictions for 2008...
1 Comment
Exorcism: The Devil’s in the Details
Investigative Briefs with Joe Nickell
December 30, 2008
A new television series, The Real Exorcist , has debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel, whose executives and producers continue to promote pseudoscience and worse. The show features fundamentalist minister Bob Larson, whose Web site pleads for help in fighting demonic evil with “prayer …
7 Comments
NM Senator’s Miracle Cure Merely Mistake, Misdiagnosis
A Skeptic Reads the Newspaper with Ben Radford
December 29, 2008
Recently I came across a front-page headline in my local newspaper, about a state senator here in New Mexico whose brain disease may have been cured by God through the power of prayer. "Brain Disease Either Gone or Stalled," was the front page article’s subhead.
I wrote a …
13 Comments
Lourdes Medical Bureau Rebels
Investigative Briefs with Joe Nickell
December 25, 2008
The international medical bureau at Lourdes, the Catholic healing shrine, will no longer designate cases "miraculous."
5 Comments
Science, Reason, and the Obama Administration
Guest Blog from Kendrick Frazier
December 24, 2008
Kendrick Frazier's Commentary to appear in the March/April 2009 Skeptical Inquirer
8 Comments
Who Are Our Bedfellows?
Guest Blog from Tom W. Flynn
December 24, 2008
You can get a pretty good pie fight going even among secular humanists by comparing attitudes on the holidays. Me, I've been Yule-free for 24 years now, and I've been emphatic in praising initiatives to tone down holiday symbolism in public places as America grows more diverse. I was the one you heard cheering when all the holiday finery was briefly removed from Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport two years ago. And I've been raising the same cheers for UNC-Chapel Hill, where the main libraries opted not to display their Christmas trees in deference to the campus's growing non-Christian population. I'm all for this sort of reform, and I hope (and expect) to see lots more in future years. I recognize that's a controversial position among humanists, quite a few of whom view stuff like this as political correctness run amok. "Why waste effort being concerned with non-Christians taking offense at Christmas?" they say. "The holiday's so secular it hardly even serves as an emblem of Christianity anymore."
8 Comments
Another Plane Crash, Another Ordinary Miracle: Science Saves but God Gets Credit
A Skeptic Reads the Newspaper with Ben Radford
December 23, 2008
A recent plane crash in Denver was called a miracle because all survived. But did God or science save lives?
15 Comments
Seasonal Wishes from…a CFI Supporter?
Guest Blog from Debbie Goddard
December 23, 2008
Or, not. A special note to CFI just in time for Christmas.
6 Comments
Almost Quiet on the Yule War Front
Guest Blog from Tom W. Flynn
December 22, 2008
Continuing with my roundup of War on Christmas 2008, such as it is, what are some of the flashpoints other than the atheist placard in Washington's state capitol?
7 Comments
Dear Abby: Skeptical Ghost Buster!
A Skeptic Reads the Newspaper with Ben Radford
December 21, 2008
Dear Abby shows a bit of refreshing skepticism in her response to a reader's comment about being visited by a ghost
2 Comments
Get Your Secs Here
No Faith Value with Ronald A. Lindsay
December 21, 2008
Who are we? How should we describe ourselves? Perhaps no movement has spent more time agonizing over what to call itself than the humanist/atheist/freethought/ skeptical/ Brights, etc. movement. That last sentence illustrated the problem nicely.
I am an atheist. (Note the small “a” — capitalization is another issue, …
13 Comments
The War on Xmas Will Not Be Televised ... at Least Not Much
Guest Blog from Tom W. Flynn
December 19, 2008
So far 2009's “helladay” season bids fair to teach us the same lesson as the 2008 season did. The “War on Christmas” is a rhetorical construct that right-wing bloviators can flog and pundits can wring their hands about, but only so long as there isn't too much real news. Both the '08 and '09 seasons have featured commanding news story arcs. Last year all eyes were on the presidential campaign, and now the reigning story is of course the not-so-graudal dissolution of the world economy. And news stories about seasonal strife have been few and hard to come by.
20 Comments
Bush Illogic 101: Bush Claims Success in Keeping America Safe
A Skeptic Reads the Newspaper with Ben Radford
December 19, 2008
President Bush claimed on Dec. 17 that "there can be no debate" about his record of keeping America safe. "No debate"? Really?
5 Comments
Evangelical Lobbyist Resigns Amid Civil Unions Flap
Reasonable Doubt with Derek C. Araujo
December 19, 2008
Proponents of the popular religion-as-guardian-of-civil rights narrative have some rethinking to do. According to the New York Times , Richard Cizik, the longtime Washington lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals, has resigned after revealing his support for …
1 Comment
Paul Kurtz on the Current Economic Recession
Guest Blog from Paul Kurtz
December 18, 2008
CFI Founder Paul Kurtz discusses the current economic recession with CFI VP of Communications Nathan Bupp
5 Comments
Obama to Gays and Lesbians: Go to Hell
No Faith Value with Ronald A. Lindsay
December 18, 2008
Rev. Rick Warren, the popular evangelical pastor and best-selling author, has been selected to deliver the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration.
That’s Rick Warren, the guy who campaigned on behalf of Prop. 8 in California.
That’s Rick Warren, the person who has compared same-sex marriage to …
28 Comments
One God or Many Universes?
It’s Only Natural with John Shook
December 17, 2008
Should atheists use the "multiverse" hypothesis to offer an alternative to supernaturalism?
9 Comments
This Just In: Blogging Skeptic Skeptical of Blogs
A Skeptic Reads the Newspaper with Ben Radford
December 17, 2008
As I write my first entry for the sparkly new Free Thinking blog, I’m skeptical of its utility. While I have spent much of my career promoting critical thinking and skepticism, I’m concerned about joining the noise, the glut of words inundating the Web and indeed the …
14 Comments
Paul Kurtz Interviewed on Sirius Satellite Radio
Guest Blog from Nathan Bupp
December 16, 2008
CFI chairman and founder Paul Kurtz was recently interviewed on the Michelangelo Signorile Show, heard on Sirius Satellite Radio
2 Comments
Demjanjuk: ‘Ivan the Bloody’
Investigative Briefs with Joe Nickell
December 16, 2008
Germany justified in seeking U.S.'s extradition of Nazi death-camp guard Ivan "John" Demjanjuk for Holocaust war crimes.
5 Comments
Tom Flynn and Ron Lindsay discuss holiday celebrations for humanists
No Faith Value with Ronald A. Lindsay
December 16, 2008
CFI President and CEO Ron Lindsay discusses humanist approaches to Christmas with the new CSH Exec. Director, Tom Flynn
102 Comments
