A little more on the amorality of religion

August Berkshire, the other atheist in Minnesota (well, there are a few others), has a fine piece in the Strib on that frothy mix of morality and religion—Rabbi Shafran ought to read it.

The Bible is like a Rorschach inkblot test: you can see just about anything you want in it. That is why Christians themselves cannot agree on such things as masturbation, premarital sex, contraception, abortion, divorce, homosexuality, stem cell research, euthanasia and the death penalty. The Bible or religion as a moral guide? With all this disagreement, how is that possible?

Rabbi Avi Shafran

There is no more reverent way to wake to a fine Sunday morning than to discover another religious zealot punching himself in the face. Repeatedly. The Rabbi Avi Shafran is waxing indignant in a syndicated article that is popping up all over the place, in which he tries to denounce Zizek’s most excellent article on the virtues of atheism. The best he can do, though, is whimper at length that atheists are just plain bad people—it’s an argument to appeal to bigots who already have a prejudiced view of those who don’t share their religion, but it’s not very persuasive to people who can think.

It is fun to shred, though.

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Morris in the news

Seeing ourselves as others do can be a strange experience. Here’s an article in the Humboldt County Times Standard that discusses Morris, Minnesota, and pretty much exclusively praises us.

Recently I was listening to Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” I had to pull my car over to the side of the road after he said that Morris — a city located in Stevens County in his home state of Minnesota — had a high school dropout rate of less than 1 percent. In addition, 95 percent of the high school graduates in that city and county go on to some kind of postsecondary education.

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Pensacola Christians are making a poor impression

Huh. I’d been wondering why I’ve been getting so much complaining email lately, defending Pensacola Christian College.

Pz Myers,

I’m A Christian. I came across your blog when searching for PCC in Pensacola FL. This web site was the first on the list. I of course disagree with you, but I do know why you as a “professor” at a University can not understand why someone would go to that college. I mean think about it? no fun, not accredited, religious? What sparks the endurance for a average 18 year old to go were the rules are so strick? Is it their parents? the answer is no. Is it the society? the answer in no. Is it the higher level of education? no. What is it then? If your a Professor at the Univeristy of Minnesota, then it likely to believe that you a never been inside the college, Your information sounds accuracted, but I bet you never been there. I’ll will go on and further say you will never go there to see this “jail” yourself. You in my book are thoughtless on this topic. You can not judge what you not seen. I think you need to be educated on why Christians do the things they do. Search it out, If you have any questions write them to me at redacted, Any logical person would examine both sides. Remember a three letter word make you and me different. GOD!

Nah, it’s an eight-letter word. LITERACY!

I’ve got to admit, though, that this fellow’s letter was one of the better written ones coming from these PCC wanna-be pseudo-collegiates.