Ken Ham – An Embarrassment to Australia or a Genius?

Nick Hodge (aka Uncle Nick from episode ##) sent me this link (edit 2014: link removed due to malware on the linked site) to a story about a couple of rapscallions who infiltrated Ken Ham’s “intellectually depravity: The Creation Museum.”

Ken Ham, for those of you who don’t know, grew up in my home state of Queensland (there’s something I don’t often admit) and who is one of the main forces behind the creationist movement in the USA. In May 2007 he opened his $27 million “museum” which depicts humans living alongside dinosaurs. It’s a theme park for fundamentalists to further warp the minds of their children.

The question I am left with though is whether or not this guy is the real deal or a fabulous charlatan? I have to admit that quite a few times over the years I’ve thought about how easy it would be to fleece the gullible. Whenever I see a Benny Hinn or a Ken Ham I have to wonder… are they deliberately preying on the weak-minded and the gullible? Ever see that Steve Martin film “Leap Of Faith“? Something like that. It would be so easy to do. Much easier than trying to convince the world to prefer rational thinking over mythology.

Converting to Atheism

On a recent show with Reggie Finley I mentioned that I like to ask Christians this question: “What would it take for you to convert from your belief system to atheism?”

Chris Summerfield responded today on his blog. I think it’s an excellent piece of writing.

To cut to the chase, his answer is:

I would become an atheist when I understand an atheist world view that makes more sense than my current world view of all that I experience.

He explains his thinking in detail in his post and I hope to get him on the show to discuss it in more detail.

Christian pastor: “We Wish 33,000 Killed at Virginia Tech”

I had a big debate with Kordahi over dinner the other night about whether or not I was wasting my time with the religion v science discussion.

One of the points I made was that the “live and let live” motto that atheists have pursued over the last couple of hundred years hasn’t worked. The religious right around the world are fighting for control of our political and education systems. In supposedly “civilized” countries such as Australia, the USA and the UK, we have witnessed the rise of the Christian right political parties. They are well-funded, well-organized, vocal and forceful. They are trying to reverse the intellectual and social freedoms that were hard won by rational thinkers over the last 2000 years. And if we don’t check their rise, if we don’t prevent them from taking power, I fear that we will wake up one day to discover that we have lost those freedoms we take for granted. We will wake up in a world where believing in bronze age mythologies is deemed not only acceptable, but mandatory. I don’t want my kids to live in a country where irrational thinking is considered equal or even superior to rational thinking. The thing I think most of you forget is that for the majority of human history, that’s how it was! Anyone, like Galileo, who used evidence and rational thinking that contradicted the beliefs of the religious, could be threatened with execution. Let us not forget the Crusades, the Inquisition and the Cathars. Let us not forget the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

Let us not forget that the Bill of Rights of the Texas Constitution (Article I, Section 4) last amended on September 13, 2003 states that an official may be “excluded from holding office” if he/she does not “acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being”. Let us not forget that North Carolina’s Constitution, Article 6 Sec. 8 states “Disqualifications of office. The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God….”. Let us not forget that Tennessee’s Bill of Rights: Article 9, Section 2: “No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state.” Let us not forget that in the 1988 U.S. presidential campaign, George H. W. Bush said, “I don’t know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under God.” (source)

The good news this week in Australia was the most recent census data, which shows that the number of people classifying themselves as having “no religion” has jumped from 15.5% of the population (2001) to 18.7% (2006). (source)
It is still a frighteningly small percentage of the population (4 out of 5 adults in an educated, intelligent society, still believe that mythological, supernatural beings govern the universe), but at least it is slowly growing.

Now – for my detractors who say “you’ll never change people’s minds”, think about this – the 2.2% of the population who considered themselves religious in 2001 but no longer do – haven’t they changed their minds? Unless, of course, they are all new adults who happen to be less delusional than their parents…

And now for the video that demonstrates why Christians should be feared:

http://embed.break.com/MjkxODg2
http://view.break.com/291886 – Watch more free videos

Remember – even the warm, fuzzy Christians who don’t advocate violence, believe in the same gods this guy does. They believe in the same bible. They believe the same mythology.

God Hates The World

Oh my… Darwin.

I started off watching this video thinking it was a satire… I was actually chuckling, thinking “geeez, even I am not this subversive”… and then… slowly… i realized… these people are REAL! It turns out that they are a bunch of dangerous tards from underneath some damp, fetid rock called the Westboro Baptist Church.

Watch… and be very, very afraid… and then go watch Idiocracy and realize the premise of the film is more accurate than you might imagine.

http://embed.break.com/Mjc4MDU5
God Hates the World – Watch more free videos

Cam’s World 16 June, 2007

ICKY THUMP!!!! I’ve been listening to The White Stripes new album this morning and YAAHHHHHHH!!!! It rocks baby! There wasn’t a single song that didn’t thrill me. Every song has it’s own unique charm – a riff, a joke, a bagpipe solo, a guitar solo, something that makes it deliciously ambitious, outrageous, glorious! Jack White is the Quentin Tarantino of rock. Everything he does just seems to yell “I’VE GOT THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!!!”. You can tell the guy just gets so much delight out of turning rock upside down, pulling ideas out of everywhere, throwing them into a punk rock blender, and then throwing the cocktail into your face, ice cubes and all. In a week when David Chase gave us all the finger, Jack White has provided the medicine. Did you know it’s now official that Jack and Meg were, in fact, once married? The whole “brother/sister” story was belied a while back.

******

I’m also enjoying Tori Amos’ new album AMERICAN DOLL POSSE. Yeah Tori, you’re a MILF alright. Thanks for reminding us. Did you realize she is now 44? 40 is the new 20.

******

Kissing Hank’s Butt. I just read this great story on The Jesus Myth blog about some people who go around kissing the butt of a guy called Hank. Apparently if you kiss Hank’s butt, he’ll give you a million dollars. But wait – there’s a catch. Read the whole yarn. It’s very clever.

G’DAY WORLD #248 – The Infidel Guy

Reggie Finley Sr is “The Infidel Guy“. Since 1998 he has been hosting his own radio show/podcast about atheist thinking. We catch up to talk about podcasting business models, Atlanta, atheism, rational thinking, hip-hop, WMD, etc. If you want to add another great atheist podcast to your list, make sure you check out The Infidel Guy.

By the way, on his site today I found this image which I love.

Christianity

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