Ex-Muslims in U.S. want civil rights assurances

Please see my latest Examiner article -

Ex-Muslims in U.S. want civil rights assurances

One of my friends, Amil Imani, is a co-founder of an important new organization, Former Muslims United. Please support our fellow human beings in their struggles to ensure that apostasy from Islam is no longer a death sentence.

Please read, comment there and pass around!

Why debunk atheism?

I've just posted a new Examiner article -

Why debunk atheism?
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-17009-Freethought-Examiner~y2009m9d22-Why-debunk-atheism

"These days, we often see the battle raging in news items, on websites and in forums between theists and atheists, as one tries to outwit the other, etc., ad infinitum. Each side takes great glee in providing a more clever or morally superior position than the other. The question is why? Why does one side or the other care?"

Please read, comment there and pass around.

Enjoy!

Acharya

P.S. Here's a terrific message I received on MySpace in response to my Examiner article that truly gets at the heart of the matter.

i loved your article. it seems to me that in the crossfire between theist vs atheist there has to, ironically, be a voice of pure *practical* reason to keep things in perspective, so neither side loses sight of the goal, which ultimately is the expansion of intellectual boundaries. on the other hand, for me, living in the south and being subject to irreligious persecution, i equate the validation of arguments from the atheist side roughly to the Civil Rights Movement. each time we make headway in establishing atheism as something that must be accepted as a valid meta-ethical or religious position, atheists come closer to being true citizens and human beings in more than a merely "technical", de facto sense. i hope Dr. Dawkins will read and absorb what you've written to avoid future outbursts like the ones you describe in your article. ....you rock.

Is atheism the answer? Part 3

Is atheism the answer? Part 3

Is atheism often the result of a reaction against human abuse by religion? So it seems to be, at least in significant part, as opined by both theists and atheists. Therefore, it is to this debasement of humanity in general by religion that we may look for the cause of much turmoil, including that of the past century, which is held up as a black mark against atheism because of such figures as Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot. A common argument against atheism is that these individuals were all atheists who wrought horrendous atrocities against vast numbers of people. While this latter contention of these individuals committing infamy is certainly true and should never be forgotten or whitewashed, is it true that they were all atheists or were motivated by atheism, such that it is to be blamed? Was their lack of belief in a God behind their actions, which led to the deaths many millions?

Please read, comment there and pass it around!

Freethought Nation

Here is my revamped website, where I will be posting news briefs and commentary on a daily basis. Please note that we are looking for volunteer guest writers!

Freethought Nation

'The Christ Conspiracy' in the Huffington Post

'The Christ Conspiracy' in the Huffington Post

My friend Dr. Robert Eisenman, a well-known Bible scholar, has just scored a major coup—albeit one that may not be immediately recognized—in his article for the Huffington Post entitled, "Redemonizing Judas: Gospel Fiction or Gospel Truth?"

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Islam and the Media: Terrorism Pays

I have posted a new article at Faith Freedom.

Islam and the Media: Terrorism Pays

"The media and the entire world simply must call a spade a spade and stop verifying by their cowardice and coddling that terrorism pays. Otherwise, we humans as a whole can no longer call ourselves ethical and moral. And our future will be dire indeed."

Please read, comment and pass around!

'"Who Was Jesus?" is an important and enlightening book!'

The following is a review of my book Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ. While excerpts of it have been posted at Amazon, the entire review is republished here.

An important and enlightening book
5.0 out of 5 stars (September 10, 2009)
By Donovan Haagensen (Johannesburg, South Africa)

At first, it would seem almost needless that the Bible should be examined and dissected to such an extent as to reveal its seemingly obvious man-made fabrication. After all, there appears to be no need to apply the same painstaking investigation into debunking the works of Hans Christian Andersen, or the Brothers Grimm, or C.S. Lewis, or any children's fairytales, considering that they have long been unquestionably accepted as fictional creations originating from the minds of the authors who wrote them. And it doesn't take a learned academic to spot the apparent similarity of the writing styles of these fictional tales and the texts contained in the Bible, the most predominant resemblance being the abundance of verbal exchanges between characters whose names, incidentally, change according to the language they’re translated into – something you don’t generally find in historical accounts.

But the difference is, innocent children's fables are not the basis for world-dominating cults or religions; and if they were, most people would surely think it to be absurd, fanatical, and outrageously extreme, or, in simple terms, just plain crazy. Yet, is it not just as crazy and ludicrous that millions upon millions of people on this planet are doing exactly that when it comes to these religious texts?

Sacred allegories historical events?

However, since the vast majority of the world actually believes these sacred allegories to be authentic records of actual events, it is therefore necessary to expose the folly of such gullibility in logical and easily understandable terms, which is what D.M. Murdock has quite clearly done (in this case, focusing specifically on the four Gospels of the New Testament) in her book Who Was Jesus?: Fingerprints Of The Christ.

"Murdock reveals the obvious erroneousness and fictional nature of the Gospels in a very rational and objective manner."

Not only has she revealed the obvious erroneousness and fictional nature of the Gospels, but she has "dismantled" and carefully laid out all the essential elements and clues on the table, so to speak, focusing on each individual component, and plainly demonstrating, in a very rational and objective manner, the indisputable facts, as well as highlighting the evident flaws. Even if the information she divulges seems obvious to anyone who has long been suspicious or sceptical of the content contained within the "Good Book", it is nevertheless a riveting and enjoyable read – uncomplicated and coherent, and free of condescension and convolution. Furthermore, she does not express personal opinions, make speculative judgments, or attempt to sway anyone to a particular school of thought, but instead applies the same acumen and impartialness that any scholar or scientist would be expected to employ in the investigation of any subject under examination. In short, Ms. Murdock’s conclusions, which are reached by use of logical deduction and rationale, appear to be incontrovertible.

"Murdock’s conclusions, which are reached by use of logical deduction and rationale, appear to be incontrovertible."

Personally, I believe that all it takes to be suspicious of the Bible’s claims is to read it with an objective approach, and it will soon become apparent that it does not follow the natural laws of logic, reason, common sense, or consistency, and very much of it has no correlation with the real world. In addition, it is written in a blatant puerile fashion, is replete with implausible events, and, more importantly, contains no dates whatsoever (which suggests to me that its writings are very unlikely to be historical records). Surely it would be naturally expected that anyone recording such events, or authoring the so-called letters, would include the dates in their accounts, such as any historian or custodian of historical records would do. And if "God/Yahweh" was indeed the actual guide behind these writings, then surely they would have been put down in such a way as to appear a lot more convincing and indubitable, and not riddled with confusion, vagueness, and ambiguity. Surely, these issues alone provide enough food for thought and legitimate questions concerning its validity.

If the same people who are convinced that these bizarre tales are inerrant truths are also capable of accepting the fact that children’s fairytales are clearly made up fantasies, then perhaps it’s about time that they apply the same logic when examining the Bible. And although this would normally be apparent simply by reading the Bible with an open mind, Ms. Murdock has gone the extra mile by not only stating the obvious, but also showing, in meticulous detail, how things just don’t quite add up (or, conversely, how certain things DO add up).

Regrettably, in this modern age, faith is just no longer an acceptable justification, when common sense and methodical enquiry demonstrate otherwise. And this is why it is important, if not essential, that more people read books by authors like D.M. Murdock, in the hope that these outdated and primitive notions will be appropriately seen for what they really are, that the "penny will drop", just as the Flat Earth was eventually rightfully "corrected".

Who Was Jesus? is an important book, essential in the ongoing enterprise of exposing the truth and enlightening the world, so that we may have a future where morals, ethics, integrity, and simple goodness are the order of the day.

D. Haagensen
Johannesburg, South Africa

For more information about this "important and enlightening book," please go to Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ.

The Real ZEITGEIST Challenge

I have written a lengthy article/ebook on the subject of whether or not the first part of the original, official version of the movie "ZEITGEIST" has been debunked:

The Real ZEITGEIST Challenge
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/zeitgeist-challenge.html

Here is a pertinent excerpts:

"...once more I step into the fray to demonstrate — as I have already done many times over the past decades — that a number of salient 'modern' religious notions are in fact very ancient, that Christianity is largely a rehash of earlier religions and mythologies, and that acknowledging this past, without all the brainwashing and conditioning that causes intellectual dishonesty, blindness and hysteria, represents the real 'ZEITGEIST Challenge.'"

This article is also available as a free 20+-page ebook for immediate download. If you are interested in the truth behind "ZEITGEIST," Part 1, you will want to read this article/ebook.

I believe this subject is very important, as I am convinced that proper understanding of humanity's religions are a major key to establishing a functional human family.

Here is how I end this article:

"For the sake of justice and mankind's magnificent legacy - this information actually represents the best of humanity - we must not let the cover up of this crime against humanity stand and the burial of our heritage occur again. We have the tools and freedoms at last to reconstruct the past to a greater extent, to restore the ancient cultures to their proper place, and to delve into religious origins in a way never before enjoyed. Let us not allow this amazing opportunity to slip away based on the same blind belief, calumny and specious contentions that buried this legacy in the first place. This awakening towards our collective past and call to preserve it in the face of continued censorial onslaught represents the real challenge of ZEITGEIST."

The Real ZEITGEIST Challenge article

The Real ZEITGEIST Challenge ebook

The Religion of Environmentalism?

I have posted a new Examiner article:

The Religion of Environmentalism?

It seems that the only thing which will keep humanity from completely obliterating its natural world and causing its own extinction is a return to the "Pagan" Earth-loving attitude that teaches respect and reverence for our global home.

Please read, comment there and pass it around!