http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/secularhumanism/ en-us Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:38:04 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2405748/posts Introduction The famous evolutionist Julian Huxley once said, "Any view of God as a personal being is becoming frankly untenable. The difficulty of understanding the functions of a personal ruler in a universe which the march of knowledge is showing us ever more clearly as self-ordered and self-ordering in every minutest detail is becoming more and more apparent" (Essays of a Biologist [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923], p. 217). His sentiments were echoed by the British philosopher Bertrand Russell: "That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin,... Bible Bulletin Board http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2405748/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:38:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402912/posts For Ashley Valentín, giving up meat was easy. The hard part: finding something to eat in the school cafeteria. ``At first, there weren't that many options,'' said Ashley, 17, a senior at Miami Sunset High. ``There was always pizza. But eating pizza all the time is unhealthy.'' School cafeterias are taking note. While the Miami-Dade school district has long offered vegetarian items, it debuted three new vegan options this year: faux chicken nuggets, veggie burgers and hummus platters. The Broward school district also added veggie burgers to menus districtwide. And cafeterias are now offering vegetarian and vegan salads daily --... Miami Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402912/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 16:44:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2376716/posts This weekend’s feedback is in response to a number of queries about the Church of England (Anglicans) officially apologizing to Darwin. However, they don’t speak for all attenders of this church, since many of them are still faithful to Scripture and are appalled by their ‘leaders’. There are numerous mistakes in the article by the official CoE representative, a Rev. Dr Malcolm Brown, on the official CoE website, and Jonathan Sarfati replies point-by-point... CMI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2376716/posts#comment Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:47:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373493/posts FRANKFORT, Kentucky -- Gov. Steve Beshear has angered some Christians with his yuletide terminology. A giant evergreen that will brighten the Capitol lawn this winter won't be called a Christmas tree. Instead, the Beshear administration has dubbed it a "holiday tree." The Rev. Jeff Fugate, pastor of Clays Mill Baptist Church in Lexington, said Christians find the change troubling. "If you call it a holiday tree," Fugate asked, "which holiday are you talking about? We don't put up a holiday tree for Easter or New Year's or Thanksgiving. We put a tree up for Christmas." Beshear administration spokeswoman Cindy Lanham... Cleveland.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373493/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:10:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317593/posts In my seventieth year I find myself in a very peculiar position. Raised a Quaker, I lost my faith in my early twenties and it has never returned. I think of myself as an agnostic on deities and ultimate meanings and that sort of thing. With respect to the main claims of Christianity - loving god, fallen nature, Jesus and atonement and salvation - I am pretty atheistic, although some doctrines like original sin seem to me to be accurate psychologically. I often refer to myself as a very conservative non-believer, meaning that I take seriously my non-belief and I... Beliefnet http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317593/posts#comment Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:01:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2314107/posts Tuning in to President Obama's health care town hall today, you couldn't help but notice how much tamer the line of questioning was compared to what Obama's fellow Democrats have been up against. By and large, instead of the persistent tough queries that greeted the likes of Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), the president fielded much easier questions. The toughest questioner tried to tag him on his earlier comments approving of a government-run "single-payer" system but unfortunately couldn't get the point of distinction between it and the much more amorphous "universal" health care system, thus allowing Obama to... SF Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2314107/posts#comment Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:19:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260712/posts Texas Evolution Lobby Making Power Grabs to Promote Their Censorship Agenda A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article from last month, “Education Board in Texas Faces Curbs,” revealed how the Texas evolution-lobby has been seeking to use both censorship and power grabs to promote their agenda. First, they sought to censor from Texas students any instruction on scientific weaknesses in evolution. Having lost that fight before the Texas State Board of Education (TSBOE), they have tried to use other tactics to punish the board for adopting science standards that teach evolution objectively, or to grab power away from the democratically elected... Discovery Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260712/posts#comment Fri, 29 May 2009 18:20:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243775/posts <p>Organizers of this week's National Day of Prayer still don't know whether the White House will participate.</p> <p>The event's evangelical character earned it a White House welcome during President George W. Bush's eight years in office. But Brian Toon, vice chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, says to date, there's been no mention of a White House observance being held this year.</p> AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243775/posts#comment Mon, 4 May 2009 14:27:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237084/posts President Obama’s first 100 days in office will come to a close. Obama's juggernaut candidacy swept many Christians into its wake. Some now appear to have "buyer's remorse." As David Gushee, an evangelical Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and a supporter of Obama recently wrote in the USA TODAY: "Mr. President, we need more than lip service. Centrist evangelicals like me embraced Barack Obama's campaign pledge to help bride the gaps of the culture wars. Instead, the president's short record on abortion-related issues is is familiar— and disappointing—rather than revolutionary.” Gushee is not alone. So, while politicos and... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237084/posts#comment Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:55:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2229585/posts South Bend, Ind., Apr 14, 2009 / 06:36 pm (CNA).- Fr. John Jenkins, the President of the University of Notre Dame, has written a letter to the school's board of trustees, defending the university’s invitation of President Obama to the school’s May commencement ceremony. Fr. Jenkins argues in his letter that while many have criticized the school’s move, canon lawyers and the USCCB document, “Catholics in Political Life,” both support his action. In the letter, posted in full on LifeSiteNews, Fr. Jenkins recalls the June 2004 USCCB statement on Catholics in political life and cites “two key sentences” that “have... Catholic News Agency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2229585/posts#comment Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:19:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228928/posts Ron Reagan is the direct namesake of the man whom many on the right consider to be “The Greatest American Hero.” Much to their dismay he has spent his broadcasting career taking aim at the very politicians who have sought to attach themselves to his father’s (the late President Ronald Reagan) conservative legacy in order to justify everything from extreme corporate deregulation to the war in Iraq. For decades Ron Reagan has forged a path that embraces left wing ideals and touts science and progression over alleged antiquated religious rhetoric, a position that infuriates the Republican Party and warms liberals... PR.Com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228928/posts#comment Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:45:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226473/posts Pope Benedict XVI will tonight attack the rise of aggressive secularism in western societies, warning them that they risked drifting into a 'desert of godlessness'. The Bavarian-born Pontiff will use his Good Friday meditations to compare deliberate attempts to purge religion from public life to the mockery of Jesus Christ by the mob as he was led out to be crucified. He will say said that 'religious sentiments' were increasingly ranked among the 'unwelcome leftovers of antiquity' and held up to scorn and ridicule. 'We are shocked to see to what levels of brutality human beings can sink,' he will... Mail Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226473/posts#comment Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:48:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2205062/posts To millions of Americans fascinated by comic-book superheroes, Bill Jemas of Princeton is an industry legend who helped breathe life into Marvel Enterprises by pushing the wildly successful “Ultimate Spider-Man” series that rejuvenated the company. These days, however, Jemas, a high-energy 51-year-old whose controversial four years as Marvel’s president remain fodder for comic-book blogs, finds himself engrossed in a task far removed from dialogue balloons. Each morning before sunrise, for the last three years, the Rutgers and Harvard Law School graduate has labored over the Bible, specifically the Book of Genesis in Hebrew, the language in which it was first... Freeware Bible Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2205062/posts#comment Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:59:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2204501/posts A former chaplain with the Virginia State Police says he had no choice but to step down after a new policy took effect requiring generic prayers at department events. Last summer, Rex Carter and five others resigned from the volunteer chaplain program. The move came after a new rule was instituted that restricted prayers by the volunteer chaplains. Carter, who is still a State Police officer, said he had no other choice once he was told he could not pray in the name of Jesus. ~~snip~~ Recently, a State Senate panel killed a bill that would have prohibited State Police... OneNewsNow http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2204501/posts#comment Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:44:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2204439/posts Published online 4 March 2009 We cannot live by scepticism alone Harry Collins1 Harry Collins is director of the Centre for the Study of Knowledge Expertise Science at Cardiff University, UK. He is currently working on a book about tacit and explicit knowledge. Email: collinshm@cf.ac.uk Top of pageAbstract Scientists have been too dogmatic about scientific truth and sociologists have fostered too much scepticism — social scientists must now elect to put science back at the core of society, says Harry Collins. J. TAYLOR The term 'science studies' was invented in the 1970s by 'outsiders', such as those from the social sciences... Nature http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2204439/posts#comment Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:18:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2178982/posts President Obama addressed the National Prayer Breakfast this morning and used the opportunity to discuss the launch of the White House office of faith-based and neighboring partnerships. Obama stressed the inclusion of secular groups into his faith-based office by giving examples of his own life story. Could this office be a conduit for further government funded community organizing? The transcript of video highlights is below. This is not only our call as people of faith but our duty as citizens of America and our duty as citizens of the world. And it will be the purpose of the White House... Picketlines.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2178982/posts#comment Thu, 5 Feb 2009 16:51:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2142824/posts Following a secular humanist ad campaign in Washington D.C. which questioned religious belief, an initiative called “I Believe Too” has been launched to “counteract” the secular campaign with “a positive, upbeat ad that identifies God as mankind’s “true and loving creator...” CatholicNewsAgency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2142824/posts#comment Thu, 4 Dec 2008 16:56:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2141424/posts American teenagers lie, steal and cheat more at "alarming rates," a study of nearly 30,000 high school students concluded Monday. The attitudes and conduct of some 29,760 high school students across the United States "doesn't bode well for the future when these youngsters become the next generation's politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals," the non-profit Josephson Institute said. In its 2008 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, the Los Angeles-based organization said the teenagers' responses to questions about lying, stealing and cheating "reveals entrenched habits of dishonesty for the workforce of the future..." Breitbart.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2141424/posts#comment Tue, 2 Dec 2008 14:51:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2120315/posts Despite Barack Obama's approval of abortion and homosexual activism, new polling by a prestigious Christian research group indicates that the Democratic presidential nominee is making significant inroads among voters who are classified as "born-again" Christians. The Barna Group for research says Obama is statistically tied (43 percent to 45 percent) with Republican John McCain among born-again Christian voters. "Born-again Christians" are defined by Barna as people who say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus and believe they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Based on that definition,... One News Now http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2120315/posts#comment Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:20:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2055492/posts Crime in America has been climbing steadely over the past century. in the 1940s, there was one murder a week in New York City. That's 52 murders a year. In 1980s, there were 5000 murders a year in New York City. Why is our crime going up? Did we go wrong in raising the next generation? Could it be the images on TV? Secular Humanism? Our schools? The culprit is Liberals. For the past fifty years left wing policies have hampered law enforcement efforts to go after and prosecute criminals to the fullest extent, prevented law abiding citizens from defending... mainestategop http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2055492/posts#comment Sat, 2 Aug 2008 20:46:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984863/posts GENEVA (Reuters) - Islamic states are bidding to use the United Nations to limit freedom of expression and belief around the world, the global humanist body IHEU told the U.N.'s Human Rights Council on Wednesday. In a statement submitted to the 48-nation Council, the IHEU said the 57 members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) were also aiming to undermine the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "The Islamic states see human rights exclusively in Islamic terms, and by sheer weight of numbers this view is becoming dominant within the U.N. system. The implications for the universality of... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984863/posts#comment Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:09:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941664/posts Last week, New York Times columnist Roger Cohen wrote a column titled "Secular Europe's Merits," in which he explained why he prefers the secularism of Europe to the religiosity of America. To his credit (other New York Times columnists do not generally agree to debate anything they write -- Paul Krugman, for example, has refused to discuss his new book on liberalism with me), Cohen agreed to come on my show, and proved to be a charming guest. A distinguished foreign correspondent for Reuters and the International Herald Tribune, Cohen nevertheless betrayed what I believe is endemic to those who... FrontPageMagazine.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941664/posts#comment Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:48:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1931297/posts Christian kids are typically sent to Sunday school for lessons on the Bible and morals. For nonbelievers, there's atheist Sunday school. With an estimated 14 percent of Americans professing to have no religion, according to the Institute for Humanist Studies, some are choosing to send their children to classes that teach ethics without religious belief. Bri Kneisley sent her 10-year-old son, Damian, to Camp Quest Ohio this past summer after a neighbor had shown him the Bible. "Damian was quite certain this guy was right and was telling him this amazing truth that I had never shared," said Kneisley, who... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1931297/posts#comment Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:53:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1885771/posts Harry Potter and "the Death of God" - by Michael D. O'Brien Special to LifeSiteNews.com Editor's Note: LifeSiteNews.com, the news service which first put online the letter signed by Cardinal Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - against the Harry Potter books, is proud to present Michael O'Brien's latest essay on the Potter series.  The author, North America's foremost Potter critic, has written many articles that analyze in detail the Harry Potter novels. Here he reflects on the significance of the series as a whole. Well, July 21st has come and gone and the world is muggling onward. The date,... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1885771/posts#comment Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:02:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879933/posts Vision TV's Syncretism "Fundamentally Opposed" to Religious Faith Peter Kreeft says Vision TV adheres to secular humanist liberalism that is most dogmatically bigoted of all religions Part 4 in series By Hilary White TORONTO, August 1, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Canada's Vision TV multi-faith religious network says its programming "celebrates diversity" and "promotes understanding" between religions and cultures. Programs include the nationally broadcast Daily Catholic Mass, filmed in St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto, and programs by Protestant, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu groups for which each organization buys airtime. But a recent National Post editorial pointed to "the channel's own original programming [that]... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879933/posts#comment Sun, 12 Aug 2007 02:38:50 GMT