Secularist billboard in North Carolina

A group called Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics has put up a billboard for the month of July with a subtle, but unmistakable secular message.  Located on the Billy Graham Parkway (which the group says is a coincidence), the billboard simple repeats a phrase from the original Pledge of Allegiance, before religion was added in 1954.    Some are displeased with the implications:

"They want to exclude religion from the public arena altogether," said Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. "The whole message of the billboard undermines who we are in America."

These billboard campaigns are becoming common, we had our own here in San Diego several months ago.  While they won't change anybody's opinions, they do remind the public that the religious hold large segments of the public is weak.

Jesus probably/definitely will return by 2050

According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 41% of Americans stated that Jesus probably or definitely will return by 2050.  Needless to say, this has been about to happen any day now for the past two thousand years.  A partial list of these predictions is here. 

By itself this belief is harmless.  The danger comes when people believe it so strongly that it affects their planning for the future.  In the case of the Millerites and other doomsday groups, this planning included selling all of ones worldly possessions, cutting worldly ties, and going into the wilderness to wait for the end.  For others it may take the form of living in the present and not planning for the future, since there won't be one.  Myths can provide comfort, but if taken too seriously they can also cause trouble to society. 

Russia gets creationism, too

The Russian Orthodox Church has also adopted the tactics of the new creationists.  It's the scientists that are closed-minded and dogmatic, while the religious are open-mined and flexible:

"The time has come for the monopoly of Darwinism and the deceptive idea that science in general contradicts religion. These ideas should be left in the past," senior Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion said at a lecture in Moscow.   [. . .]

Hilarion heads the Church's external relations department. His lecture to Russian Foreign Ministry officials in Moscow was dedicated to fighting "fanatical secularism" of liberals hostile to religion, and called for dialogue with moderate secularists and cooperation with Catholics against common foes.

And they make use of the confusion over the word "theory" (a system of rules that explains and predicts observable facts vs a guess):

"Darwin's theory remains a theory. This means it should be taught to children as one of several theories, but children should know of other theories too."

The creationists, however, have a longer way to go in Russia than they do in the USA.  There are Russian religious leaders that would match the fundamentalists we have, but the mass of fundamentalist followers is, so far, absent:

Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a veteran dissident, told Reuters Russian liberals would fight any attempt to introduce religious teaching into Russian classrooms, particularly in science.
"It's a dangerous idea and we will do all we can to stop it," she said. "We overcame Communism as the state ideology and certain forces want to replace it with Orthodox Christianity."
She said it was unlikely religious teaching would replace Darwin in the national curriculum, but it could find its way into some schools with enough pressure from the Church.

Why do atheists care about religion?

A nice five-minute video about how religion affects you even if you are not a believer.

Creationists on the march in Northern Ireland

The "teach the controversy" movement is not confined to the USA, as shown by recent events in distant Northern Ireland.  In that case, a group called the Caleb Foundation is agitating for creationism.  One of their targets is the Ulster Museum:

We fully accept that the theory of evolution is the view of the majority of scientists, but it is important to note that evolution is a theory and not a fact. A visit to the Ulster Museum would not give that impression. Indeed, the very clear assertion is made across the entire "Nature Zone", that evolution is a fact. This, presumably quite deliberate, error is further compounded by the complete absence of even the merest mention of any other theory of origins such as the Biblical account of creation, for which there is strong scientific evidence. 

Accordingly, they met with the Northern Ireland Cultural Minister who then took the demands for creationist inclusion to the museum, using the language of equality, human rights, and inclusion.

If Northern Ireland is to move towards a shared future on a genuine basis of equality and inclusivity, then it is only right that a publicly funded institution such as the Ulster Museum is fully and sensitively reflective of the various views of society as a whole - including those of evangelical Christians.

Not to be kept down, the group has also been objecting to tourist information about the Giant's Causeway.  This is an area of interlocking stone columns created 50 to 60 million years ago by volcanic activity.  And there is the source of objection, since some proclaim that the Earth is only 6,000 years old.

We could dismiss the Caleb Foundation as a small, fringe group, but the fact that they were able to get the Cultural Minister to advocate for them is a significant step in importance and power. 

We can pity the targets of their campaigns.  Scientists, educators, museum directors and others who are pressured to teach misleading and discredited information under threat of being called closed-minded and bigoted.   We can also work to improve the knowledge and critical thinking skill of those around us.

Science is a threat to revealed truth

In a fascinating column from Joseph Farah of Worldnetdaily we find bone-deep irony.  At issue is a hypothesis put forward by a research group studying the chemical composition of comets that those comets may have brought the necessary ingredients for life to Earth.  The group examined, for example, the component of Argon, Xenon and Krypton in the atmosphere.  These elements do not decay or interact with other elements, so the amounts we see today are the same they have always been.  Yet the amounts on Earth do not match those of the Sun or meteorites.  They do, however, match the ratios believed to be found in comets, leading to the conclusion that comets have had a significant influence on the Earth.  Some of the elements brought allowed the emergence of life. 

Farah's reaction is one of indignation that anyone would even pursue such a line of questioning:

Knowledge apart from God is foolishness.
And that's exactly what pseudo-scientists trying to answer the mysteries of the universe apart from an understanding of God represent – foolishness. You cannot understand this Earth and His universe without knowing the Creator.
And denying the Creator, and being wise in your own eyes, leads only to destruction and death.

And Farah is clear that such research is evil:

And to proclaim, with such certitude, that life on Earth is simply the result of cosmic accidents, random-chance mutations and billions of years of death and destruction removes any hope for humanity beyond the grave. It denies the revelation of God. It removes any truth to the Judeo-Christian morality that makes human life on this planet tolerable. It kills purpose and meaning to that life. It actually justifies the unspeakable manmade tyranny and genocide of the 20th century.

The irony is that he is using the internet to deliver this message.  The result of centuries of scientific inquiry is being used to rail against scientific inquiry.  Farah is undoubtedly grateful that past researchers followed their own paths even if they lead away from orthodoxy.  But times, apparently, have changed.

Targeting San Diego's judge positions: an update

The May 31, 2010 entry described the effort to replace four incumbent judges in San Diego county with four candidates that promised to follow fundamentalist Christian principles.  In last week's elections, all four incumbents kept their positions with wide margins:

Each of the victorious judges got more than 60 percent of the vote in his or her race, and several saw that wide margin as a rejection of the Better Courts Now effort to influence the makeup of the bench.
“I think it’s confirmation that the electorate recognizes the importance of judicial independence,” said [Judge Lantz] Lewis, who has been on the bench for two decades.

But the organization behind the challenges is still talking tough:

But Trask [one of the four candidates] said the totals show the difficulty of unseating an incumbent judge, and not a rejection of Better Courts Now.
“I think it has a lot to do with unseating an incumbent,” he said of the vote totals. “It’s always an uphill task.” Despite the across the board defeat he said Better Courts Now will likely not go away.
“I think if anything this is probably only the beginning,” he said.

Knowledgeable observers are in agreement that this could indeed be the beginning of a trend:

But Adam Skaggs of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school said Better Courts Now supporters leave the impression their goal is part of a long-term strategy.
"These groups are committed and are not going to go away quietly," Skaggs said. "If they continue to be unsuccessful and struggle to make progress in actually getting their favorite candidates elected, it may be that the movement runs out of gas."

The humanist position is to oppose founding any government actions, including court case rulings, on revealed truth rather than observed and reasoned truth.

The role of myths

Joseph Campbell was a 20th century professor and writer who took a hard look at mythology across many cultures and popularized, through his writings, the study of myths.  To Campbell, a myth is a story from which the listener or reader can draw life lessons.  We can look to the hero of a myth for an example of how to face a challenge and how to live at least some aspect of our life.  So many stories are about young people approaching adulthood because that's when myths have the greatest effect and are most needed.  After reaching adulthood, life and its challenges only become more difficult, but since we're more developed and experienced, myths have less power and are therefore not as needed.  Campbell was quick to point out that many people do not need myth at all.  If you can live your life with sufficient self-direction, you don't need to look to myths.  While others, at some times, can look to myths for inspiration.

One of the prominent uses of religion is to provide myths that help us face life challenges.  This is no secret.  Most sermons about Bible stories instruct the listener to not only consider the story to be an amusing tale, but also to draw life lessons and to apply those lessons.    But, as Campbell pointed out, the Bible is only one source of myths.  Cultural and literary sources are another. 

It is common to ridicule people who are really into fantasy, particularly the Star Trek phenomenon.  But the myths of Star Trek speak more directly to many modern people than the two thousand year-old myths of the Bible or the ancient myths of other religious texts.  Nearly all episodes of Star Trek, both old and new, dealt with morality.  And they did so with a modern perspective on issues such as slavery and war.  And, more importantly, everyone acknowledges that Star Trek is fiction, so it doesn't carry the baggage of supposed absolute truth and arbitrary commandments.  As humanists, when we see a Fundamentalist insisting with absolute certainty that dinosaurs coexisted with people, or that inherent homosexuality does not exist, or that following his way is mandatory, we might think that the Star Trek perspective on myth is more agreeable.

Walking the prayer labyrinth: calm meditation without the supernatural

The labyrinth, a life-size pattern leading to the center area, has ancient roots but was adopted by Christianity as a prayer-tool.  The patterns exist on several European cathedrals, and the prayer labyrinth has been experiencing a resurgence lately.  The basic idea is to walk slowly through the path while praying, reach the center, pray some more, and then pray as you walk out.  By itself, this can be a calming way to spend some time, and if we substitute meditation for prayer, can be secular. 

But the religious are perpetually on the march and the prayer labyrinth is also a means for recruitment, and it carries with it the usual religious baggage.  The head of Faith, Hope and Love Ministries describes using prayer labyrinths to spread the word:

Prayer is bringing hope, healing wounds, and transforming lives in some of the most troubled places in the world. From Bulgaria to Rwanda, Congo to Myanmar, my wife Jill and I have the opportunity to talk with many different people who suffer from poverty, war, oppression, hunger, disease, and sexual violence.

Around the world, they build labyrinths and take people through them, with powerful, if perhaps exaggerated results:

For example, one construction worker at HEAL Africa compound (Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo) said, "When I prayed the labyrinth, I realized that even though there are many challenges, and different things happen, the important thing in the spiritual life is to keep going. Perseverance is necessary." A young man in scrubs told Jill, "As I walked, I saw the way was long and very difficult. Then I realized that what needed to change was my attitude. The way was long, but I had the possibility of choosing what I thought about it." After another walk, a woman waiting for a fistula repair surgery after being raped, wanted us to know, "This is the path of my life. I am walking to God."

The results, as described, are certainly inspiring.  But the Reverend makes clear he is not interested in only a mental lift through calm meditation:

They walk, they pray -- without liturgy, with few instructions -- and they find God. Some rediscover Jesus and find great encouragement from his experience of suffering and message of hope. Most simply sense God's presence or hear a pertinent word from the Holy Spirit that comforts, encourages, or strengthens them to carry on.

An apt analogy may be to the motivational speakers who use the trick of fire-walking to hook and to inspire their followers.  It's not really related to the rest of their presentation, but they can amaze the crowd and spin it as part of their own system.  And so the meditation labyrinth became the prayer labyrinth, and those that enjoy the experience associate it with religion.  But the activity and its results are not, however, linked to religion (outside of the Reverend's claims).

A little humor

A 4-minute clip:  I'm a Teabagger for Jesus