Clipmarks | JohnWaterman's 'superstition' clips

Childish superstition: Einstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear

Tue, 13 May 2008 08:52:35 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." So said Albert Einstein, and his famous aphorism has been the source of endless debate

A little known letter written by him

may help to settle the argument

no supporter of religious beliefs, which he regarded as "childish superstitions

he states: "The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this

"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions

Despite his categorical rejection of conventional religion, Brooke said that Einstein became angry when his views were appropriated by evangelists for atheism. He was offended by their lack of humility and once wrote. "The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."

Parents kill their daughter with prayer.

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:45:21 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: If allowing your daughter to die because of a primitive superstition isn't abuse - what is?

Very, very sad.

Clip Source: www.madison.com

An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday.

the girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left her with too little insulin in her body, and she had probably been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms like nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness

The girl's parents

attributed the death to "apparently they didn't have enough faith," the police chief said.

They believed the key to healing "was it was better to keep praying. Call more people to help pray," he said.

The mother believes the girl could still be resurrected

The parents told investigators their daughter last saw a doctor when she was 3 to get some shots, Vergin said. The girl had attended public school during the first semester but didn't return for the second semester.

three siblings

are still in the home

no abuse or signs of abuse that we can see

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is real!

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:52:16 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Well at least as real as God

Clip Source: friendlyatheist.com

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is real!

(Not that you ever doubted.)

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is listed under Non-Fiction in this Toronto library

Tags: religion, atheism, fact, fiction, superstition, pastafarianism, flying spaghetti monster

Homeopathy is bunk.

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:44:56 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: observer.guardian.co.uk

On 1 December, faith healers will meet at Roots & Shoots in south London to discuss how to treat Aids with magic pills. They won't call themselves faith healers, of course, or shamans or juju men. They will present themselves as 'homeopaths': serious men and women whose remedies are as good as conventional medicine

say that 'in just a few days or weeks' African Aids patients he treated became 'symptom-free and able to return to their jobs and schools or to look after their children again'. All in all, the Society of Homeopaths promises to provide 'fascinating insights' for World Aids Day

It can do no such thing. Of all the pseudo-sciences on offer, homeopathy is the most obviously spurious

Yet dismissing homeopathy as quackery given by and for the feeble-minded is surprisingly hard. Anti-elitism dominates our society

might have thought that the medical establishment would make a stand

they happily go along with fake treatments

GPs use homeopaths as a dumping ground for hypochondriacs

Tags: woo, superstition, alternative, crank, aids, homeopathy

Australians!?!!?

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:56:25 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

“Dolphins used to look like humans and lived in Atlantis”

Category: Weirdness
Posted on: October 25, 2007 12:54 PM, by PZ Myers

While the Weekly World News may be on the verge of extinction (although it still seems to be surviving online), at least Pravda labors on to deliver the truth…

Recent studies of Australian scientists indicate that Atlanteans, the people who lived on a legendary island first mentioned by Plato, may have been the ancestors of dolphins.

Huh. Like we're supposed to believe a bunch of Australians.

Tags: pz, myers, atlantis, gobbledigook, superstition, myths, nonsense

Dawkins: Militant-atheistman - my hero!!

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 08:22:40 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: "no cause for alarm God-boys"

Clip Source: slimeculture.tv

Tags: humour, humor, atheism, religion, evolution, superstition

Tell me again why this isn't child abuse

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:53:55 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

Pint-Size Preachers

Young Preachers Say They Save Souls, but Should Someone Save Their Childhoods?

Seven-year-old Samuel Boutwell is an outgoing and well-spoken second grader.

Samuel is a Baptist preacher at a church in his home town

Like many, Samuel said he became a preacher after he was "saved" by Jesus -- he just happened to be 3 years old at the time.

Randall Balmer, an Episcopal priest and preacher and a professor of religion at Barnard College, wondered if Samuel's words truly come from divine inspiration. "Is he merely parroting some line…that he gets from a parent, or from a minister, or is it something that comes from the wellspring of the soul?" Balmer asked.

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

Another child minister, 9-year-old Terry Durham bills himself as the "little man of God.

grandmother, Pastor Sharone Monroe, said that "ever since he was a baby he was layin' hands and praying for people.

Terry calls himself a prophet, not a healer

When asked if he knows how babies are made, Samuel said that he doesn't

Tags: religion, children, abuse, indoctrination, superstition, preaching, gullible

Godchecker

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 02:52:45 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.godchecker.com

Welcome to Godchecker - your Guide to the Gods

We have more Gods than you can shake a stick at. Godchecker's Mythology Encyclopedia currently features over 2,850 deities.

Browse the pantheons of the world, explore ancient myths, and discover Gods of everything from Fertility to Fluff with the fully searchable Holy Database Of All Known Gods.

THE PANTHEONS

AFRICAN GODS
AUSTRALIAN GODS
AZTEC GODS
CARIBBEAN GODS
CELTIC GODS
CHINESE GODS
EGYPTIAN GODS
FINNISH GODS
GREEK GODS
INCAN GODS
JAPANESE GODS
MAYAN GODS
MESOPOTAMIAN GODS
MIDDLE-EASTERN GODS
NATIVE AMERICAN GODS
NORSE GODS
OCEANIC GODS
ROMAN GODS
SLAVIC and BALTIC GODS
SOUTH AMERICAN GODS
SOUTH-EAST ASIAN

CHRISTIAN SAINTS

Now featuring over 3,400 Gods, Goddesses, Spirits, Demons and Saints!

SAINTS ALIVE! - Hermits and Martyrs now online

By popular demand, we present a bundle of Christian Saints.

Check out the strange stories and comforting peculiarities of notables like St John, St Germanus and St Simeon Stylites

Tags: god, gods, religion, mythology, superstition, saints

Skeptic's Circle 69 - links

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:46:25 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.brentrasmussen.com

Skeptic's Circle (SC #69) - Plain Jane Links List

Here you go!

Steve Snyder from The Socratic Gadfly - World-renowned scientist wants new 9/11 investigation, but unfortunately appears to be adding to conspiracy thinking

Trent M. Toulouse from RationalWiki - Non-Materialist Neuroscience

Whorechurch from My Other Blog Is A Porsche - Conspiracy of Conspiracy Theorists

Greta Christina - Does The Emperor Have Clothes?

Blake Stacey - Stuart Pivar Sues PZ Myers!

Peter A. Lipson, M.D. - Will Vitamin C Save Your Life?

Mark from Denialism Blog - Mythbusting Is Harder Than You Think!

Dr. Martin Rundkvist of Aardvarchaeology - The Intelligence of Game-Playing Software

Richard of Skeptico - The Parsimony of the Multiverse

Orac of Respectful Insolence - How "evidence-based" is evidence-based medicine?

Until next time at the Conspiracy Factory on September 27, 2007. Thanks for letting me host! Get your submissions in!

Tags: skepticism, skeptic, superstition, de-bunking

The British: We want to believe in something.....

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 07:08:54 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: ... but we don't know what, and we can't really be bothered.

Clip Source: friendlyatheist.com

A new poll by YouGov in Britain has some surprising results (emphases mine):

Only 16% of those polled called themselves atheists; 28% believed in God; 26% believed in “something” but were not sure what; and 9% regarded themselves as agnostics - like [poll commissioner John] Humphrys himself, who had a religious upbringing in Wales but calls himself a “doubter”.

He writes: “Even though the dominant faith - by a massive margin – is Christianity, only 17% thought the influence of religion was beneficial. That is even fewer than those who claim that they believe in a personal God.

There was one more interesting result, too:

In the survey 43% said they never prayed, 31% hardly prayed, and 10% prayed every night. “More than half of those who say they believe in a personal God cannot be bothered to pray to him every night,” writes Humphrys.

Humphrys is the author of the forthcoming book In God We Doubt: Confessions of an Angry Agnostic.

Tags: religion, atheism, agnosticism, belief, prayer, superstition, pojj, uk, britain

The age of endarkenment

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:30:24 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Why is no one questioning the rise of new-age nonsense in the name of science,

The enlightenment was a beautiful thing. People cast aside dogma and authority. They started to think for themselves. Natural science flourished. Understanding of the real world increased. The hegemony of religion slowly declined. Real universities were created and eventually democracy took hold. The modern world was born. Until recently we were making good progress. So what went wrong?

The past 30 years or so have been an age of endarkenment. It has been a period in which truth ceased to matter very much, and dogma and irrationality became once more respectable.

A minor aspect of the endarkenment has been a resurgence in magical and superstitious ideas about medicine

If this attitude were restricted to half-educated herbalists and crackpot crystal gazers, perhaps one could shrug it off.

now the endarkenment extends to parliament, universities and schools, it is far too dangerous to ignore

Tags: science, reason, superstition, pseudo-science, alternative medecine, homeopathy, ignorance

Enemies of Reason

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:58:04 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Some great TV tonight

Clip Source: www.channel4.com

Slaves to Superstition is on C4 Mon 13 Aug 2007 8pm; part 2 Mon 20 Aug 8pm

the fault line runs deeper even than religion. There are two ways of looking at the world – through faith and superstition or through the rigours of logic, observation and evidence – in other words, through reason. Reason and a respect for evidence are precious commodities, the source of human progress and our safeguard against fundamentalists and those who profit from obscuring the truth.

Yet, today, society appears to be retreating from reason.

Apparently harmless but utterly irrational belief systems from astrology to New Age mysticism, clairvoyance to alternative health remedies are booming.

Richard Dawkins confronts what he sees as an epidemic of irrational, superstitious thinking...

He explains the dangers the pick and mix of knowledge and nonsense poses in the internet age, and passionately re-states the case for reason and science.

Strong feelings on the subject?
Post them on the forum >

Tags: science, reason, dawkins, superstition

Gambian leader claims he can cure Aids

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 12:14:03 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.iol.co.za

By Alex Duval Smith

Yahya Jammeh, the president of The Gambia, the smallest country in Africa, is making big claims. He alleges he has mystical powers that enable him to cure asthma on Fridays and Saturdays, and HIV and Aids on Mondays and Thursdays.

Scientists have reacted with horror to his claims. All patients need is a referral from a doctor and the willingness to queue up at State House in the capital, Banjul.

"I'm astonished. The danger of a president saying this is shocking," said Jerry Coovadia, a South African HIV specialist who heads the HIV research team at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.

According to rumours in Banjul, Jammeh's treatment is based on seven herbs mentioned in the Koran.

"The one on HIV/Aids cannot be mass-produced because I am restricted to 10 patients only on every Thursday and Monday," he said.

Superstition and mysticism have gone hand in hand with governance since Jammeh came to power. Four years ago, in an official press statement, he alleged that members of the opposition had placed the carcass of a lion and gourds of palm wine at a major road junction to "spoil the country's economy".

A former National Intelligence Agency boss lost his job after being accused of hiring a Senegalese witchdoctor.

Jammeh's rule has been called a stablising factor in The Gambia, but this has come at a price, largely through the suppression of newspapers deemed critical. - Foreign Service

Tags: aids, gambia, africa, jammeh