Atheists are an interesting group of people. They have little in common, in general. A finer bunch of reasonable people couldn’t be wished for. But maybe I’m just saying that because they are my “tribe.” 

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities.  

Paul is on his way home from his “vacation” and will be back at the helm tomorrow. Today, we bring you one last Heresy from Guest Heretics Lauren Becker and Ed Beck. 

It’s mid-week and the perfect time for some good news!

It’s a start: Scores of Catholic colleges and universities now offer some sort of programming, counseling opportunities, or student groups geared specifically for LGBT students.

Paul Offit’s new book, Do You Believe in Magic? The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine, is getting some great coverage. Gonna have to go buy this one.

Rumble down under: Atheists are ramping up their messages in Adelaide.

We’re not interested in sitting around debating whether God exists or not… It’s a dead argument anyway. Our aim is to take an active role in a vast range of social issues being dominated by the Christian lobby groups – issues like euthanasia, marriage equality and the teaching of evangelism in schools.

There’s a great freethought convention happening in Oklahoma this weekend! I hope atheist and tornado survivor hero Rebecca Vitsmun and her family can make it!

Speaking of family, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is giving us all the opportunity to take the ultimate family reunion photo next month. Save the date for July 19 and get ready to wave at Saturn! 

Advice columnist for the Seattle Times is asked how bad it would be to exclude atheist grandma from a wedding and gives a wonderful, humanist response. Thank you, Carolyn Hax.

Speaking of good humanists, the British Humanist Association has been doing great things for a long time and they’re continuing the good work by getting the word out about humanist funerals where participants celebrate the things people have done, rather than the things they’re “going off to do.” (video link)

So much for a balanced breakfast: Sexcereal, for your daily dose of pseudoscience + milk.

Because “the language of the ancient Romans is perfectly suited to 21st-century social media,” the Pope’s Twitter account – the version in Latin – has more than 100,000 followers.

In more serious news, “unprecedented freedom of expression” has led to a flood of blasphemy complaints (and convictions) since the 2011 revolution in Egypt.

Turkey is also struggling to reconcile secularism, Islam, and democracy. Here’s why the west should care. 

The U.S. Immigration office is denying citizenship to a nonbeliever because her pacifism isn’t founded in religious belief.  Looking forward to seeing a few policies overturned because of this one.

This is going to hurt, but it’s good for you so please do it anyway: In an interview with Thom Hartmann a couple days ago, Eric Hovind was kind enough to give us all a preview of the next round of double-speak, magic words, talking points to come out of the Creationism camp. Study this and prepare your responses accordingly. (video link)

Finally, Robby Bensinger might have found the answer to world peace. Thank you, Robby.

Quote of the Day 

“Where no man has gone before.” Kevin Swanson at Generations Radio is trying to figure out why more Christians aren’t concerned about Captain Kirk sleeping with two females of the “wrong” species in the latest Star Trek movie. I’ll just leave this here:

“...And how many Christians asked that question? I actually did a survey, I mean I went on to Google and kind of goggled, you know, Christian sites, I mean I try not to put the wrong kind of wording into the Google search, cause if you do that, you can be in a heap of trouble. So I did a little search, turns out there was a Catholic site, had a little forum discussion on the issue. And nobody brought up Leviticus 18 Dave, and of course the whole premise of this is that within an evolutionary construct there is no real problem with speciation and cross-species mating, there’s no problem with that at all, in fact that’s how you evolve, that’s how you get evolution, and so the end result of course is that evolution has no basic problem with bestiality or cross-species mating. Okay? Now some of you are saying that I can’t believe these guys are saying this on this radio program. I can’t believe I’m saying this either. They are going places where no man has gone before. Or should.”   

Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul, Lauren, Ed, anyone who can fire them, or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is. 

Follow CFI on Twitter: @center4inquiry 

Got a tip for the Heresy? Send it to press(at)centerforinquiry.net! 

The Morning Heresy: “I actually read it.” - Hemant Mehta 

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities.  

Paul is still off exploring the Windy City, he’s set to return on the 20th. Maybe we’ll even let him have is blog back! Until then, your Guest Heretics remain CFI’s Director of Marketing Lauren Becker and Senior Policy Analyst Ed Beck. Now, by the grace of Yeezus, the news:

In honor of Yeezus’ arrival, a handy timeline of blasphemy in popular music.

Kenan Malik examines pluralism, offense, and freedom: You can’t have one without the others:

To defend the right to give offence, in other words, is not merely to defend free speech. It is also to defend diversity in its true sense. If we want the pleasures of pluralism, we have to accept the pain of being offended.

Never get lost on a road trip again with this fascinating 3D map of the entire known universe.

A New Hampshire court struck down yet another Rube Goldberg school “neo-voucher” machine that aimed to divert public tax dollars to sectarian religious schools.

If it quacks: Paul Offit calls out various “alternative healing” methods for the waddling absurdities they are.

One he missed: Dolphin therapy.

William Deresiewicz goes looking for sacred language among the secular.

William Lane Craig thinks the atheist “hotline” is crazy, will call us never.

God’s losing record against “anti-god” vaccinations continues.

At that delicious confluence of CFI’s uniquely varying missions, more Britons believe in aliens than a god (and the EU is controlled by Satan, of course).

Metal, the Devil, and religious goon squads in Saudi Arabia.

Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation call Rep. Tim Huelskamp’s (R-KS) bluff.

There’s a baby makin’ war on. Are you doing your part? Service guarantees citizenship!

At the IHEU, Adam Lee de-terrifies the New Atheists for Rabbi Sacks.

I’m not sure about Megaman and superchurches, but Superman is coming to megachurches.

Yes, you too can smell like a sweaty Catholic football player.

Barbra Streisand heads to Israel, doesn’t like the fundamentalist-driven gender segregation she sees.

Quote of the Day 

In India, where Bollywood actress Kavitta Verma has been forced to apologize for a “blasphemous” pose with a rosary, the general secretary of the Christian Secular Forum has struck an charming balance between his faith and society:

Explaining the strong stance on the issue, Dias said that Christians are commanded by their faith to forgive, but “that does not mean blasphemy of any kind will be tolerated.”

Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul, Lauren, Ed, anyone who can fire them, or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is. 

Follow CFI on Twitter: @center4inquiry 

Got a tip for the Heresy? Send it to press(at)centerforinquiry.net! 

The Morning Heresy: “I actually read it.” - Hemant Mehta 

Daniel C. Dennett is many things.

Author of sixteen books, including his latest in May, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking. Eramus Prize-winning philosopher. One of the so-called Horsemen of the New Atheist movement alongside such widely-read writers as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens. And now, perhaps even more prestigiously, a two-time returning guest on Point of Inquiry.

Indre Viskontas sat down with the titan of thought himself to delve into everything from human (and not-so-human) cognition to the very idea of free will. Here are some highlights.

—

Dennett on whether it’s actually possible to build an artificial intelligence:

“Absolutely. Sure. Possible. Unlikely, very unlikely. Just because the perplexities are staggering. It’s very hard to keep track of just how complicated this would be to do but in principle, you could do it. ”

On his definition of free will:

“Free will is moral competence of the following sort: a person, an agent, has free will who is well informed and has well-ordered desires and preferences, who is good at detecting when he or she is being manipulated by other agents, and is good at protecting itself from manipulation by others. And also, in order to have free will in the requisite sense, you got to have - as the card players say - you’ve got to have skin in the game. You’ve gotta be punishable.”

And lastly, a rule of thumb that any skeptic should take into consideration:

“Sturgeon’s Law is that 90% of everything is crap. And that’s true whether you’re talking about physics or chemistry or evolutionary psychology or sociology…90% of everything is crap, so don’t waste our time and yours hooting at the crap. Go for the good stuff. If you want to criticize something, and there are many things that deserve criticism, do not abuse your privilege of the floor wasting our time and yours by pointing out the dismal features of the worst stuff at the bottom of the barrel. It just shows that you’re not serious. If you’re serious, go after the very best stuff.”

—

As lyrical as Dennett can be, it’s easy to see why our POI listeners loved this week’s episode. Of course, seeing as they’re POI listeners, it’s also easy (and great) to see why they’re more than willing to debate some of his finer points. That’s why this comment of the week goes to JT, who decided to offer a response to Dennett’s earlier mentioned definition of free will. As the full comment is a bit lengthy, here’s an excerpt:

“Finally, framing free will in terms of moral competency seems a bit narrowing. Certainly there are many important choices we make in life that have no moral implications.”

The entire post, located on this episode’s comments section, is certainly worth checking out.

—

That’s all for this week.

As always, feel free to buy some of our brilliant guest’s sixteen wonderful books through POI’s website, and look for Dan Dennett elsewhere just about everywhere.

If you want to stay up-to-date on the latest POI news and episodes, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow the great Indre Viskontas on her Twitter.

Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you next time.

Photo credit: Peter Yang/August

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities.  

Paul is off on something called a “vacation,” but we are starting to suspect he’s really “bonding with Sasquatch.” He’ll return on the 20th. Until then, your Guest Heretics are CFI’s Director of Marketing Lauren Becker and Senior Policy Analyst Ed Beck. Now to the news!

If you’re like me, a good weekend can sometimes leave you struggling on Monday morning to summon the energy to be concerned about rights and wrongs. Fortunately (?) there is much in the news to wake you up today.

First up, we celebrate a happy 50th anniversary for Ellery Schempp and the landmark case that removed school-sponsored prayers from public schools. Thanks, Ellery!

(Be sure to keep track of the Court this week - we’re expecting the Supreme Court to issue more opinions today and Thursday. It’s possible we’ll have decisions on marriage equality by the end of the week!) 

Second, we bemoan the fact that people are still misunderstanding and challenging the Abington v. Schempp decision. I’m talking to you, South Carolina. Again.

Even still, Christian Science Monitor goes mythbusting and discovers the public schools are still chock full o’ Jesus. 

Speaking of challenging decisions that have already been made, the Springboro, Ohio school board is taking a turn at the “creationism in science class” wheel. (Hey, physics people, how fast do we have to spin this wheel for all these challenges to fly off?)

But don’t panic, Christmas is safe in Texas! (Even though nothing else is…) Governor Perry is fighting off the Atheist Invasion!

And lest you think Perry is imagining things, the British are coming! The British are coming! British atheists, that is, to a bikini bar near you.

But hey, at least we’re not sending out drones. Drones! Drones for Christ!! 

Progress in Pakistan as a pastor is acquitted of blasphemy.

Some people will see this as progress, too: there’s been another blasphemy sentencing in Egypt, only this one was for tearing up and burning a Bible. This is a rare instance of the state seeming to protect a religion other than Islam.

Of course real progress would be to get rid of blasphemy laws entirely - and the European Parliament is working on it. A draft of the guidelines on protecting freedom of religion or belief now mentions the need to protect the rights of nonbelievers.

Though the amendment to allow nontheistic chaplains in the U.S. Armed Forces didn’t pass, the Secular Coalition for America applauds the 150 votes in favor of it and thanks Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) for sponsoring it. 

“He does not want to be forced to say something that he does not want to say.” A Christian in Oklahoma wins the right to challenge the state’s “rain god” license plate. (What I want to know is where can I get a plate featuring the Irony God…)

Meanwhile, over at r/atheism, people who spend their lives telling people to give up their most cherished beliefs have a hard time with change. 

Rather unsurprisingly, a new Pew study reveals a strong link between LGBT adults and nonbelief.

Vaccines have a new ally! Sarah Michelle Gellar is spreading the word about the importance of both childhood and adult vaccinations - in a good way. 

“Too ridiculous for words?” A new BBC documentary claims Uri Geller was recruited to help Western intelligence services as they battled to stay ahead of their Communist enemies in the Seventies and Eighties. 

All the more reason to celebrate skepticism and critical thinking when you find it. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry has announced the winners of its Balles Prize in Critical Thinking: Forbes columnist Steven Salzberg and author-investigator Joe Nickell! The awards will be presented at the CFI Summit conference in Seattle, October 24-27, 2013.

Quote of the Day 

Sean Faircloth, in a talk “Atheism & the Joyful Life” presented to the Humanist Society of Western Australia in Perth on April 2, 2013 - watch the video!

“Us versus them? That’s old tribe. Our tribe, today’s tribe, has Darwin’s evolutionary thread, Dawkins genetic thread. Now we know our thread runs all the way back to cousin bonobos, to fish even, more family to me than some mega minister pounding his bully pulpit with anger and hatred. Our new tribe views from space our globe entire.” 

Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul, Ed, Lauren, anyone who can fire them, or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is. 

Follow CFI on Twitter: @center4inquiry 

Got a tip for the Heresy? Send it to press(at)centerforinquiry.net! 

The Morning Heresy: “I actually read it.” - Hemant Mehta

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities.  

Paul is off on something called a “vacation.” He’ll return on the 20th (we’re skeptical). Until then, your Guest Heretics are CFI’s Senior Policy Analyst Ed Beck and Director of Marketing Lauren Becker. Any and all bad puns are property of Paul.

From the land of dropbears, the question: Should pseudoscience be tolerated in a democracy?

Missing socks: found?

Science, our sense of wonder, and the parts of physics that—let’s admit—are basically voodoo.

The devil’s in a New Jersey back yard...

...likely plotting more earthquakes.

Even psychics can’t lie about their neighbor’s nonexistent mass grave.

Bigotry as “religious liberty?” We’ve heard that one before.

Your TV weatherperson is becoming slightly less annoying.

Maine’s leading Republican claims his “man’s brain” makes him more rational, cites obscure journal “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.”

We’re never ever getting…to Alpha Centauri B.

The International Criminal Court can’t touch The Vatican.

Exorcism gone awry: The patient is fine, no word on the biting, house-thrashing demon.

The Awl spent a day outside the Bilderberg Meeting…with conspiracy fountain Alex Jones.

Something is slightly-less the matter with Kansas.

CFI’s Office of Public Policy helped demolish the newest school voucher amendments in Congress.

Michelle Goldberg explains the difference between Christian fundamentalism and “Christian nationalism.” 

Quote of the Day 

The Sun (UK) has apologized to “alien lifeforms” for a vicious act of defamation:

“In an article on Saturday headlined ‘Flying saucers over British Scientology HQ’, we stated ‘two flat silver discs’ were seen ‘above the Church of Scientology HQ’.

Following a letter from lawyers for the Church, we apologise to any alien lifeforms for linking them to Scientologists.” 

Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul, Ed, Lauren, anyone who can fire them, or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is. 

Follow CFI on Twitter: @center4inquiry 

Got a tip for the Heresy? Send it to press(at)centerforinquiry.net! 

The Morning Heresy: “I actually read it.” - Hemant Mehta

Not so, says Sara Jean Tosques-Whitman, who has worked weekends for a year in the present Clarence County Store. Not only does she not believe in ghosts, she told me on Memorial Day, May 27, but, having experienced the strange phenomena herself, she can actually explain them.

Take the falling items, for instance. Once when she was refilling a shelf, she saw two small containers (one resting on the other) topple, just as a huge farm harvester drove by, setting up a vibration that dislodged the items. The rumbling of trucks and other large vehicles also loosens nails over time and thus causes pictures to fall too. These effects are naturally more frequent in the summer, when such heavy equipment is often on the road.

Conversely, the front door opens by itself more often in the winter, it being naturally kept closed on cold days. The explanation for the mysterious opening is that the door simply does not shut properly. This is evidenced by a sign placed on the inside of one pane: “Please Close Door Tightly!”

Okay, but how can we possibly explain the sounds of the spooky footsteps and moving furniture? Anyone have a theory? That’s right: people actually live upstairs! This was all told to me with glee by my informant, who insists, “There are very logical explanations for everything.”

She has always been like this. But once, when she was a young girl, she was inadvertently involved in ghostly goings-on at her father’s home, where she stayed on weekends. He had begun to hear the sounds of doors opening or closing, footsteps on the stairs, and other noises. His mother having died, he attributed the strange occurrences to her spirit roaming the house. As it turned out, however, it was little Sara Jean—sleepwalking! Her father obtained the best possible evidence for this when he actually caught her in the act.

Perhaps this early lesson helped shape her into the sensible, rational adult she’s become. Certainly we need more like her!

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities.  

Paul is off testing his skepticism by driving through a Derecho. He’ll return on the 20th (at least that’s the plan). Until then, the Guest Heretics are Ed Beck and Lauren Becker. Now, on to the news!

Think of the children! A lot of today’s news relates to young people in some encouraging and also disturbing ways.

In Philadelphia, a faith-healing couple accused of murder must stand trial for the death of their infant son. 

Relatedly, what should we do with parents who deny vaccines to their children? What if they’re a Kennedy?

Over at Respectful Insolence, Orac begs for his own phone call from Mr. Kennedy. 

A Florida school district is trying to protect their children - from The Truth. Bible? Yes. Ingersoll? No. Harris, Warraq, Hitchens, Dawkins, O’Hare? No. This is going to be fun.

But what if the children are the threat? In a shocking turn of events* the Southern Baptists have voted to throw their support behind churches that cut ties with the Boy Scouts. Yep, because we can handle whatever the forest can throw at us, but little boys are dangerous.

After all, just remember how dangerous this little boy grew up to be. (We’re blaming Erasmus.)

Don’t worry - the kids will be fine - especially if we can start ‘em young - and insert prayers into their preschool graduation ceremony! 

And if that doesn’t work, well, there is much to learn from young atheists. Perhaps not unexpectedly, however, Christians are learning the wrong things from atheists.

Actually, a lot of people are learning the wrongs things from atheists. Perhaps we need to work on our communication skills and do a better job of improving reading comprehension.  

Here’s a little freethinker clearly learning lots of good things.**  

In other news, in a great win for people who actually want to feel better, the NHS has told the Royal London Hospital to stop misleading patients and telling people that alt-med practices work. 

House Republicans passed an amendment aimed squarely at maintaining conservative Christian privilege within the armed forces.

Wahhabists in southern Saudi Arabia thoroughly smashed a number of horse sculptures, because sin. Obviously.

Another week, another Egyptian sentenced for the “crime” of insulting religion. This time, the accused penned a collection of short stories titled Where Is God?

Russia’s lower parliament passed a vicious anti-gay bill 436 to 0. Then, as an encore, they passed another to criminalize “offending religious feelings” 308 to 2.

Likewise, The Atlantic asks the question, “Why is Russia so homophobic?” It’s not just religion.

In a bit of parliamentary solace, Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) cheered the solving of the 140-year old Boltzmann Equation. Yes, this happened on the House floor. Really.   

* And by “shocking” I mean “not shocking.”  

** Want a “FreeThinker” sticker for your little freethinker? Email your address to lbecker [at] centerforinquiry [dot ] net. 

Quote of the Day 

As for that teacher who felt the need to include a prayer in her mock preschool graduation ceremony?

“She said it was legal, freedom of speech. Not religion but her way of life. She said she could not allow herself to apologize.”

Yep, she was just trying to give the kids a realistic graduation experience. We have a lot of work to do, peoples.

Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is. 

Image by Hank Fox. 

Follow CFI on Twitter: @center4inquiry 

Got a tip for the Heresy? Send it to press(at)centerforinquiry.net! 

The Morning Heresy: “I actually read it.” - Hemant Mehta

In case you haven’t heard, my new book—The Science of Miracles: Investigating the Incredible (Prometheus 2013—is out. The BBC’s magazine Focus has already honored it as its science-book-of-the-month for June. Here is what some distinguished people have said about it:

• “The Science of Miracles is the magnum opus of the world’s top paranormal investigator. Joe Nickell provides us with a grand tour of the full range of claimed miracles, examining each case with an honest, unbiased scientific eye and making no prejudgments. He lets the evidence speak for itself.” (Victor J. Stenger [author of God and the Atom], jacket blurb for Nickell’s book, 2013.)


• “In this book, some of the most incredible supposed miracles are carefully examined by the watchful eye of the incomparable Joe Nickell, a magnificent storyteller and a splendid detective.” (Massimo Polidoro, journalist and writer, executive director of the Italian Committee for Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, jacket blurb, 2013.) 


• [Joe Nickell is] “Probably the world’s leading paranormal detective.” (John W. Loftus [author of The Outsider Test for Faith], jacket blurb for Nickell’s The Science of Miracles, 2013.) 


• “There is probably no-one in the world better qualified to write a book assessing the evidence relating to alleged miracles than Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Nickell brings a wide range of skills to the task including expertise in forensics, psychology, handwriting analysis and folklore. The result is an expert evaluation of the world’s most famous miracle claims along with many lesser-known cases.” (Prof. Chris French, Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London; review of Nickell’s The Science of Miracles in the BBC’s Focus magazine, June 2013.) 


• “The Science of Miracles is a worthwhile and challenging book for both the skeptic and the believer. . . . Armed with sophisticated scientific instrumentation, a set of strong observational skills (developed in part by his investigations of fraudulent documents) and the innate intuition of the seasoned and successful investigator, Mr. Nickell rides forth to do battle against all the bad guys of fraud and fakery. . . . Mr. Nickell’s discussion of the controversy over the Shroud of Turin is one of the many examples of the detailed scrutiny he brings to bear on a supposed miracle.” (Donald F. Calbreath, New York Journal of Books, May 7, 2013.)

To purchase a copy (paperback $18) contact Prometheus Books at 800-421-0351. Or visit your bookstore or online retailer. Also available as an ebook (ISBN 978-1-61614-742-6) for $11.99.

I, your Official Morning Heretic™, will be going on vacation after today, and returning June 20th. During that time, the Heresy will be in the capable hands of Lauren Becker, our director of marketing, and Ed Beck, who, um, I don’t know what his job is.* The similarity of their surnames is entirely coincidental. Please go easy on them. On to the news. 

NYT on the public slaying of teenager Muhammad al-Qatta in Syria after he allegedly said something flip about the prophet:

Muhammad’s killing . . . focused anger on hard-line Islamists, including foreigners, some of whom have seized on the conflict in Syria as an opportunity to impose their mores. For Muhammad’s mother and some her neighbors, the tyrannies were indistinguishable, trapping many Syrians in a vise. 

Texas Christian University gives the green light to a campus atheist group. 

SCA wants you to tell your congressfolks to support an amendment allowing for nontheistic chaplains in the military.  

Mayor Craig Fletcher of Vero Beach, Florida realizes that saying that the city should only recognize groups that “believe in Jesus Christ” was pretty awful, and apologizes:

I want to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone whom I may have offended by my remarks last Tuesday at the City Council meeting. It was a horrific statement and on reflection was way out of place for an elected official to take such a strident stance. I hope everyone will find it in their heart to forgive me. 

Oh heck yes: Indre Viskontas has Daniel Dennett on Point of Inquiry. 

David Gibson reports that a new study by progressive religious group Faith in Public Life charges Catholic “purists” and hardliners with creating a “Catholic McCarthyism” environment which stifles the charitable work the church could otherwise do. 

At Skeptical Inquirer, David Morrison reviews the book The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe.

Mayor Margarita Arellanes Cervantes of Monterrey, Mexico (that’s a lot of Ms) decides that running a city is too hard, and gives her city to Jesus. This is why I will also be leaving the Heresy up to Lauren and Ed, because they are like deities to me. 

Court of Appeals rejects FFRF’s case against Arizona governor Jan Brewer’s “day of prayer” declaration, because, in part, “there is no evidence any of the individual plaintiffs is an Arizona taxpayer.”  

Atheists of Florida oppose a special subsidy for Cape Coral’s churches on utility assessments, in which churches get a whopping 85% discount. 

CFI intern Monica Harmsen relates her experience as an ex-Muslim, and is none too happy with Sam Harris’s Twitter feed. (It’s “an interesting place.”) 

14 mausoleums and a host of other religious artifacts have been (and are being) destroyed in Timbuktu due to the al-Qaeda-linked violence there. 

Columbus Dispatch reports on yoga/alt-med practitioners who work with Alzheimer’s and hospice patients.

On Islam gives this helpful and totally comforting answer to a reader’s question: “Can a Muslim be an atheist?”

If one does not believe in Allah, then he, as an atheist, has to be treated as a non-Muslim. This means that it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to accept him as a husband. Also, he will not be treated in the funeral services as a Muslim.

Most importantly, on the Day of Judgment he will be considered a disbeliever.

If he lives in a Muslim country, scholars or concerned authorities should help him repent to Allah and take away all the doubts that he might have. There are no further punishments except by the state and legal courts. 

“No further punishments except…” Great. 

Egypt Independent tries to clarify what, exactly, counts as “blasphemy” in Egyptian law. 

Brian Dooley of Human Rights First wants the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa to take Egypt’s human rights abuses seriously.

Pew: Iranians are just fine with a government based on Sharia.  

Freaky UFO image from the Netherlands could really just be a bug. 

Maddowblog: GOP Congress has some innovative ideas about how to get the economy moving. KIDDING! They’re just doing lots of abortion stuff. 

Drew Miller at PolicyMic has “six things you didn’t know about atheists,” but you actually probably did, since you’re reading this. 

*I’m kidding. 

Quote of the Day 

This video says there’s, like, a “theory” that says an advanced civilization lives at the center of the Earth. Says author Rodney Cluff:

The “Hollow Earth theory” is that this Earth is not molten inside; it is actually hollow.

WHOA THERE, RODNEY. In English please! Try to turn down the volume on the techno-babble, okay??    

Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is. 

Follow CFI on Twitter: @center4inquiry 

Got a tip for the Heresy? Send it to press(at)centerforinquiry.net! 

The Morning Heresy: “I actually read it.” - Hemant Mehta