Free Republic

A recent issue of the New York Times Magazine carried a long piece by cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker called “The Moral Instinct.” Pinker's article is part of the Darwinian Cleanup Project. This project is an attempt to plug the holes in Darwinism which has a very hard time accounting for-- a) the origin of life, b) consciousness and c) morality. Pinker begins with an interesting comparison between Mother Teresa, Bill Gates and Norman Borlaug (the father of the Green Revolution in agriculture). Pinker argues that while Mother Teresa may have had the noblest intentions, Gates and Borlaug probably did more...

Los Angeles, December 5, 2005 -- Beyond Belief Media has formally  declared war on Christmas, the December 25 holiday in which  Christians celebrate the birth of the mythical figure Jesus Christ,  the company announced today. “Christian conservatives complain nonstop about the ‘War on  Christmas,’ but there really isn’t any such war,” said Beyond  Belief Media president Brian Flemming, a former fundamentalist  Christian who is now an atheist activist. “So we have decided to  wage one, to demonstrate what it would look like if Jesus’ birthday  were truly attacked.” As its opening salvo, Beyond Belief Media has purchased  advertisements this week...

A federal court in New York last month dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the Bible contains passages that are defamatory toward members of certain nationalities or ethnic groups. The court summed up the plaintiffs' claims as follows:"[P]laintiffs claim to be persons who are "injured and/or libeled and/or defamed and/or slandered and/or embarrassed, and/or humiliated and/or degraded and/or abused, and/or discriminated against" by the Holy Bible. The complaint lists eight passages from Scripture, specifically from the Book of Genesis, which are purportedly "false and libelous against plaintiffs herein since according to the 'Holy Bible' plaintiffs herein should not have existed, and/or...