Creationist nut-job Kirk Cameron is promoting a 150Th Anniversary Edition of Darwin’s Origin of Species. Say what? You heard me. Actually, fellow whacked-out, scientifically challenged creation-mate Ray (Banana Boy) Comfort has published the new book. However, this is one version you do not what to read. The new book has a 50 page introduction by Comfort that basically says evolution is a lie. It goes on to talk about how evolution is responsible for Hitler’s actions and everything else that is bad in the world. I have not read the book yet, but I have been told that the actual text has been edited by the creationists, as well. Here is a link to the introduction.

On November 24, they will be giving away 1000 copies for free at the University of California Berkley. They are hoping that Christian groups will buy them (.99 in bulk) and distribute them. Here is a link to their webpage. There have already been calls to go out and purchase as many copies as possible and remove the first 50 pages. However, with the rest of the book in question, and the fact that we don’t want to give them any money, I would advise against this. Besides, they legally have the right to publish anything they want – the copyright has long expired.

What we need to do is inform everyone we know that this book represents a dishonest and duplicitous attempt to corrupt science and promote creationism. Evolution has destroyed outdated and ludicrous unfounded ideas like creationism, so the only thing for the creationists to do is to try and distort evolution. Do NOT let them get away with this. This is a deliberate attempt to sneak creationism into schools. Tell everyone you know!

Watch the video and cringe:

Award winning English author Philip Pullman is once again under attack by the Catholic Church. Pullman, a supporter of the British Humanist Association and the author of the engaging children’s trilogy, His Dark Materials, was viciously attacked by the Catholic Church when the first book of the trilogy, The Northern Lights, was made into a movie and released in the United States under the title The Golden Compass. The movie did not fair well in the United States because of the relentless bashing and boycotting from Catholics.  Now, Pullman’s newest book, which is scheduled for release early next year and titled The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, is already taking heat from the Catholic Church.

Pullman’s newest book posits the idea that Paul (Saul of Tarsus) created much of the myth of Christ. Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, David McGough, has been very vocal and released the following statement:

“There is no evidence that Paul influenced the Gospels. No respectable scriptural scholar would have anything to do with [Pullman’s] theory.”
— Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, David McGough

Pullman States:

“By the time the Gospels were written down, Paul had already begun to transform the story of Jesus into something altogether different and extraordinary and some of his version influenced what the Gospel writers put in theirs. Paul was a literary and imaginative genius who has had more influence on the world than anybody else, including Jesus. He had this great ability to persuade others and his rhetorical skills have been convincing people for 2,000 years.”
— Philip Pullman

Even though the Catholic Church pretends not to know much of their own history, most honest biblical scholars would agree that Paul basically invented Christianity. I don’t know what an “Auxiliary Bishop” is – perhaps a spare that isn’t very bright? But it is apparent that McGough is very much out of touch with the history of his own cult. There most definitely needs to be more books written on the true origins of Christianity.

Pullman’s publisher defends the book properly as a work that needs to be read:

“Philip Pullman has written a book of genuine importance, a radical and ingenious retelling of the life of Jesus that demystifies and illuminates this most famous and influential of stories. It strips Christianity bare, exposes the Gospels to a new light and succeeds brilliantly as a work of literature because it is convincing, thought-provoking, profoundly moving and beautifully nuanced throughout. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws down a challenge and does what all great books do: make the reader ask questions.”
–Jamie Byng, Publisher, Canongate Books

Philip Pullman is a literary genius. He has provided tales of hope and joy for millions of readers the world over. It is horrible that here the United States free expression – especially good literature, is allowed to be subverted by an ignorant majority. Try explaining to a young child that one their favorite movies is not going to have a sequel and they will be kept hanging because foolish people protested the movie so much that it did not make enough money to justify making a sequel. I’ve explained to my seven-year-old daughter that she will never get to  see a sequel to The Golden Compass because  in the real world there is an evil entity just like Pullman’s Magisterium that has the power to prevent people from expressing themselves and living their lives to the fullest. It is called the Catholic Church.

Another year has passed since the tragic events which launched the United States in its current “war on Islam.” Once again people will gather together and pray. They will pray for peace to a god that was responsible for the pain, suffering and death they are remembering. Unfortunately most will not head the call of reason and take the correct action – abolish their god to the realm of bad memories.

Below is the post I published last year at this time. I don’t see anything to indicate that the national sentiment has changed so I feel it is still just as relevant today as it was a year ago.

Remembering 9/11 – Without the Prayer Please

As we remember those who lost their lives in the terrorists’ attacks of 2001, let us do so without prayer. For it was belief in a god that caused the tragedy in the first place. Here is a quick history lesson for those who have forgotten.

Seven years ago a bunch of educated, highly trained (they would have to be in order to fly the airplanes) brave men hijacked four airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. These men were not fanatics; they were devoted religious followers fulfilling their god’s plan. Their god may not be the mainstream god in the United States, but a god nevertheless. They were doing what they believed their god wanted them to do. Many other atheists have argued , and I fully concur, that only religion and faith in a deity could have motivated these people to commit such terrible acts. Their belief was so strong that they killed innocents and took their own lives in the name of their god. Killing in the name of a god has been, and continues to be a common practice (The Crusades, The Inquisition, Northern Ireland, Iraq, etc). And it is an acceptable practice (depending on whose side you are on).

The events of 9/11 were horribly tragic and my thoughts go out to the survivors of the innocent victims. But I also want to remind everyone that there is an important lesson to be learned from this. It was faith that killed these people. It was faith that motivated the religious faithful to kill. No matter how you look at it, praying is a ridiculous and counter-productive effort. If you believe in the existence of many gods, then the Islamic one is obviously more powerful and your prayers to the Judeo-Christian god accomplish nothing. If you believe there is only one god then you are praying to the very god that caused this catastrophe in the first place – WTF? Finally, if you doubt that any god could or would change the laws of physics and take action based on your futile supplication, you are obviously wasting your time. So why bother?

Rather than embracing the agent that is responsible for this tragic event, we should move on to question whether we, as a society, want to continue to support an enterprise (religion) that fosters this type of bloodshed. I say NO! Do not pray for the victims of 9/11, remember them the next time religion asks you to do something that causes harm to others. Let the unfortunate victims of 9/11 serve as a painful reminder of what true unquestioning faith is capable of achieving.