Clipmarks | Religion Clips

God or Darwin? some statistics...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:58:25 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: though i used the same headline as the article, i do not agree to it. Evolution is not equal to religion and they are merely two different perspectives of the same reality. Each one portrays a different worldview, a different world, a different view. the direction in religion is one of preservation, maintaining the existing order as it , whilst in evolution the dynamics are in constant motion of exploring new orders which by nature are transitory.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

God or Darwin? The world in evolution beliefs

Find out where on earth only 8% of people believe in evolution

The British Council has asked, with the help of Ipsos MORI, over ten thousand adults across ten countries from China to the USA, just what they think of evolution.

The results show that the majority of adults surveyed have heard of
Charles Darwin and know at least a little about his theory of
evolution. But they also show that there are significant minorities of people who either want nothing to do with evolution - and think it should either not be taught in schools or alongside creationism.

Beliefs in evolution

Countries

Heard of Darwin

Agree the scientific evidence for evolution exists

Think it is possible to believe in a God and evolution simultaneously

Argentina 86 44 62 China 90 55 39 Egypt 38 8 45 Great Britain 91 51 54 India 62 38 85 Mexico 91 52 65 Russia 93 39 54 South Africa 27 8 54 Spain 72 39 46 USA 84 33 53

Tags: evolution, darwin, religion

O_O

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:27:45 GMT

clipped by: so_kindly

Clip Source: vkontakte.ru

Пол:	мужской
День рождения:	26 октября 1990
Родной город:	Новосибирск
Полит. взгляды:	умеренные
Религ. взгляды:	I think I'm gonna start my own religion..

The Lord of the Rings, 25-TH Hour, Star Wars, 10-th Kingdom, 5-th Element, 12 Monkeys, Braveheart, Gladiator, The neverending story, Naked gun 1, 2, Scary Movie 3, Лабаринт Фавна, Слоёный пирог, BLADERUNNER, Хоббит(заочно), Matrix

Vatican tells Nuns not to practise REIKI healing

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:36:09 GMT

clipped by: leevardi
clipper's remarks: Good Luck trying Monsigneurs......I think you're getting desperate......they practise Reiki because it works...

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Besides these two investigations, another decree that affected some nuns was issued in March by the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops said that Catholics should stop practicing Reiki, a healing therapy that is used in some Catholic hospitals and retreat centers, and which was enthusiastically adopted by many nuns. The bishops said Reiki is both unscientific and non-Christian.

Nuns practicing reiki and running church reform groups may have finally proved too much for the church’s male hierarchy, said Kenneth Briggs, the author of “Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns,” (Doubleday Religion, 2006).

Constitutional Separation of Church and State, pt. 2

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:54:52 GMT

clipped by: Efrain Alvarado
clipper's remarks: ...Places of public worship are the property of the Nation, as represented by the Federal Government, which shall determine which of them may continue to be devoted to their present purposes. Bishoprics, rectories, seminaries, asylums, and schools belonging to religious orders, convents, or any other buildings built or intended for the administration, propagation, or teaching of a religious creed shall at once become the property of the Nation by inherent right, to be used exclusively for the public services of the Federal or State Governments, within their respective jurisdictions. All places of public worship hereafter erected shall be the property of the Nation.

Clip Source: www.ilstu.edu

1917 Constitution of Mexico

Article 24.

Everyone is free to embrace the religion of his choice and to practice all ceremonies, devotions, or observances of his respective faith, either in places of public worship or at home, provided they do not constitute an offense punishable by law.

Every religious act of public worship must be performed strictly inside places of public worship, which shall at all times be under governmental supervision.

Article 27.

Religious institutions known as churches, regardless of creed, may in no case acquire, hold, or administer real property or hold mortgages thereon; such property held at present either directly or through an intermediary shall revert to the Nation, any person whosoever being authorized to denounce any property so held. Presumptive evidence shall be sufficient to declare the denunciation well founded.

Tags: church, state, communism, religion, freedom, constitution, atheism

Romantic Love does not exist...says God

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:48:45 GMT

clipped by: foxyarse

Clip Source: www.brainfartsonline.com

HEAVEN – February 14, 2009 – God announced today that romantic love, as it has come to be known by modern human societies, does not exist.

What humans perceive to be this type of love, He stated, is actually just the result of genetic programming inserted into our DNA that compels us to propagate the species. All forms of life have it, He revealed.

“It’s just that humans have taken it so far because they like to feel superior,” God noted in a press release. “But you don’t see rabbits playing silly emotional games, buying each other jewelry, and making goo-goo eyes. Rabbits are just taking care of business. I swear, people are ri-goddamn-diculous sometimes.”

romantic love is one of the most powerful of all emotions – from man’s earliest recorded history we have seen various forms of behavior patterns and related emotions that support this notion. Organized religion has embraced the concept and turned it into marriage

Tags: romantic, love, god

Head Scarf Emerges as Indonesia Political Symbol

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:25:21 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Golkar Party officials rejected accusations by the president’s party that they were trying to exploit Islam for politics; they also denied having anything to do with the recent distribution of leaflets that stated, falsely, that Boediono’s wife was not Muslim, but Roman Catholic.
The fundamentalists are trying to force women to wear the jilbab as an act of submission, and had already done so in various municipalities across the Indonesian archipelago in recent years, Ms. Neng said. For the progressives, she said, wearing the jilbab was an expression of a woman’s right.

“For women in Indonesia, whether they want to wear the jilbab or not is their choice,” said Ms. Neng, who started wearing one five years ago. “It shouldn’t be political.”

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Head Scarf Emerges as Indonesia Political Symbol

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The three parties competing in Indonesia’s presidential election next week have plastered this city with campaign billboards and posters depicting, predictably, their presidential and vice presidential choices looking self-confident.

But one party, Golkar, has also put up posters of the candidates’ wives next to their husbands, posing demurely and wearing Muslim head scarves known here as jilbabs. The wives recently went on a jilbab shopping spree in one of Jakarta’s largest markets, and published a book together titled “Devout Wives of Future Leaders.”

Most polls suggest that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Democratic Party will be re-elected

after running a smooth campaign based on his economic policies and a popular anticorruption drive. Despite television debates, the personality-driven campaigns have focused little on differences over policies or ideas, except regarding the wearing of the jilbab

Tags: politics, religion, women

Constitutional Separation of Church and State

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:00:58 GMT

clipped by: Efrain Alvarado

Clip Source: www.ilstu.edu

1917 Constitution of Mexico

Article 3

Freedom of religious beliefs being guaranteed by Article 24, the standard which shall guide such education shall be maintained entirely apart from any religious doctrine and, based on the results of scientific progress, shall strive against ignorance and its effects, servitudes, fanaticism, and prejudices.

Religious corporations, ministers of religion, stock companies which exclusively or predominantly engage in educational activities, and associations or companies devoted to propagation of any religious creed shall not in any way participate in institutions giving elementary, secondary and normal education and education for laborers or field workers.

Article 5.

The law, therefore, does not permit the establishment of monastic orders, whatever be their denomination or purpose.

Tags: church, state, communism, religion, freedom, constitution, atheism

Courts Face New Challenge In Faith Healing Cases

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:42:03 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Most U.S. states have child abuse laws allowing some religious exemptions for parents who shun medicine for their sick children, but a few recent cases highlight thorny legal issues for parents following less-recognized faiths.

Existing laws have gradually accounted for more well-known and established faiths, such as Pentecostalism, Christian Science and Jehovah's Witnesses.

But recent cases in the news have judges and child care advocates dealing with parents who claim adherence to lesser-known faiths, such as the Minnesota family following an Internet-based group's American Indian beliefs, and an independent church in the western state of Oregon that has been investigated in the past for the deaths of members' sick children.

Legal and religious scholars say it's becoming more difficult for courts to decide when to honor the religious beliefs of parents and when to order conventional medical treatment for extremely sick children.

Tags: religion, faith, belief, legal, children, health, medical

Taliban Buying Children To Use as Suicide Bombers

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:55:32 GMT

clipped by: ColoradoRight
clipper's remarks: with the money coming directly from 'our friends' the Saudis. what do they care if some Paki kids blow up?

Clip Source: www.washingtontimes.com

Pakistan's top Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, is buying children as young as 7 to serve as suicide bombers in the growing spate of attacks against Pakistani, Afghan and U.S. targets, U.S. Defense Department and Pakistani officials say.

A Pakistani official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitive nature of the topic, said the going price for child bombers was $7,000 to $14,000 - huge sums in Pakistan, where per-capita income is about $2,600 a year.

"[Mehsud] produces these suicide bombers, which are sold or bartered, which can be used by [Afghan Taliban leader Mullah] Omar's Taliban or ... other groups," the U.S. official said.

In some cases, he said, the children are kidnapped and then sold to Mehsud.

Tags: suicide, children, bombers, taliban, religion of peace

Understanding does not diminish Awe

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:52:50 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: "The religious experience is, at best, a stunted variety of this feeling. Awe without understanding, or at least the desire for understanding, degenerates into mysticism: viewing a mystery not as a challenge to be solved, but something to be worshipped for its own sake. Mysticism states that ignorance is a desirable condition, a state we should glory in. This attitude only keeps us frightened and ignorant, and worst of all, robs us of the deeper and more genuine awe that comes with comprehension. I say, let us explore. There may be problems too high or too deep for us, mysteries we cannot penetrate - but so far, we haven't found any, and if there are any, they will not need to be protected from our investigations."

Clip Source: www.daylightatheism.org

Moving Beyond Awe

The nineteenth-century German theologian Rudolf Otto, in his book The Idea of the Holy, popularized the term "numinous", an adjective describing the sense of mystery and wonder that purportedly stems from the presence of a deity. According to Otto, the sense of the numinous had two main characteristics: the mysterium tremendum, the sense of fear and trembling that comes from the presence of that which is wholly other, and the mysterium fascinas, the sense of fascination and curiosity that such an experience evokes.

Otto's theology concisely sums up the categories of religious experience. But the problem with his conception of the numinous is that it lacks one very important quality - understanding.

For Otto, as for many theists, the numinous is not something we should seek to comprehend.

there is no mention of penetrating the mystery

pulling back the curtain of our ignorance

what humanity has been doing throughout its history: piercing the mysteries that surround us

Tags: atheism, religion, understanding, awe

A Moved Mover

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:38:09 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: An interesting account that names and refute all arguments favoring a godly existence of any sort.
...
As David Hume wrote over 200 years ago in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
"What peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call thought,
that we must thus make it the model of the whole universe?"

Clip Source: www.ebonmusings.org

Unmoved Mover

God is not a being that exists by mere definition (as the ontological argument unsuccessfully tries to establish); nor is God a mere mental state, with no existence independent of people's minds (at least, not according to most theists); nor is God's existence a necessary proposition to make sense of the world (as the presuppositional argument tries and fails to claim). Therefore, we can safely conclude that God's existence is not a properly basic belief, but rather an empirical proposition about the external world; it can only be properly supported by evidence, not mere assertion

it may surprise them to learn that all the most commonly heard arguments for God's existence have been around in one form or another literally for centuries

all of them were refuted soon after they were first proposed

The Ontological Argument

The Cosmological Argument

The Design Argument

The Moral Argument

The Presuppositional Argument

Other Arguments

Tags: atheism

Exodus 1947

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:27:21 GMT

clipped by: tweezer
clipper's remarks: How Isreal became to Be!

Clip Source: www.exodus1947.com

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Exodus 1947 was a ship that carried Jewish emigrants, that left France on July 11, 1947, with the intent of taking its passengers to Palestine, now known as Israel, then controlled by the British. Most of the emigrants were Holocaust survivor refugees, who had no legal immigration certificates to Palestine. Following wide media coverage, the British Royal Navy seized the ship, and deported all its passengers back to Europe.

The ship was formerly the packet steamer SS President Warfield for the Baltimore Steam Packet Company, carrying passengers and freight between Norfolk, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, from the ship's launch in 1928 until 1942. During World War II, it served both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy; for the latter as USS President Warfield (IX-169).

Tags: history religion faith humanity exodus

Is God Trying To Talk To Someone In America?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:46:09 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: What's worse, many pastors avoid talking to their congregations about repentance and self sacrifice. So, like the vampire Lasat, they drain them of true spiritual life, while seducing them with voter-pamphlet sermons and feel-good theology.

The organized church is in big trouble today--the message of repentance is a flat subject among churchgoers. People want to pull a voting lever, offer vocal support for whatever politician pays lip service to a few hot-button social issues, and shout hallelujah as they drive off in their Lincoln.

Satan smiles and waves as they go by.

What America needs is a repentant, spiritual church, not the political arm of a dominionist cult. Want to argue that point? Do it with the God who says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Clip Source: www.newswithviews.com

Their unjust war in Iraq angered God

False witness has been born, the Lord's name taken in vain, the Commandments broken, all to acquire the wealth of oil!

After thirty years of pastoring and thousands of hours of volunteer labor, I feel I've earned the right to say it: something dreadful has happened to the organized church. It has lost its way, its authority

We do not stand with kingdom authority because we attend the local mega church, sing in the choir, teach a Sunday school class, belong to a Christian coalition or a political action group, voted for George Bush, or even participate in a prayer meeting where loud, teeth-gritting, mad commands are shouted at Satan. True spiritual authority is given by God to whom He qualifies. His criteria are clear. It is the humble, not the Sunday-morning-the-pastor-is-watching-me humble, but truly Christ-like, self-sacrificing, cares-about-others-more-than-self humble, that God anoints with power and authority.

Tags: evil, torture, war, religion, usa

James Madison

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:13:00 GMT

clipped by: djmiller417

Clip Source: millercenter.org

Term: 4th President of the United States (1809-1817)

Born: March 16, 1751, Port Conway, Virginia

Nickname: "Father of the Constitution"

Education: College of New Jersey (now Princeton University, graduated 1771)

Religion: Episcopalian

Marriage: September 15, 1794, to Dolley Payne Todd (1768-1849)

Children: None

Career: Lawyer

Political Party: Democratic-Republican

Died: June 28, 1836, Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia

Buried: Montpelier, Virginia (family plot)

A Life in Brief: Like his close friend Thomas Jefferson, James Madison came from a prosperous family of Virginia planters, received an excellent education, and quickly found himself drawn into the debates over independence. In 1776, he became a delegate to the revolutionary Virginia Convention, where he worked closely with Thomas Jefferson to push through religious freedom statutes, among other liberal measures. More....

City lifts ban on film

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:20:21 GMT

clipped by: gppixelworks

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

City lifts ban on Life of Brian

Councillors in Glasgow have lifted an unofficial 30-year-old ban on the Monty Python film The Life of Brian.

The film was originally refused a licence to be shown in Glasgow

The council's licensing and regulatory committee approved a request on Tuesday from Glasgow Film Theatre to show the biblical satire under a 15 certificate.

Glasgow was one of 39 local authorities in the UK that refused to grant the film a general release in 1979.

Councillor Willie O'Rourke, vice convener of the licensing and regulatory committee, said: "This is the first application we've received to show Monty Python's Life of Brian since the first request.

"Life of Brian has been broadcast on television over the years and is now widely available on DVD.

"The world, and people's attitudes, have moved on in the last 30 years, so I believe the committee made the right decision today."

Tags: life of brian, films, monty python, glasgow, ban, censorship, religion