50 ways to leave your lord

It is easy to prove to yourself that God is imaginary. The evidence is all around you. Here are 50 simple proofs:

Faith and health

The grammatically challenged website On Faith, poses this question, ably answered by one of my favorite thinkers, Dan Dennett:

Do you believe that faith can effect [sic] your health or is that a lot of new age nonsense?:

Dennett:

Of course faith can affect your health, as various studies have shown. So can faith in new age nonsense. So can faith in the Yankees or the Red Sox. People cling to life to learn the outcome of the World Series, after all. This has been measured statistically. More seriously, I do not know of any studies that compare the health and longevity of those who attend church regularly to those who devote regular hours of work to some secular charity (Oxfam, you name it) or to volunteering for a political party, for instance. It might turn out that religious allegiance is a better health promoter than any other form of voluntary contribution, but so far as I know, this has not been determined.

The larger problem with this week’s ON FAITH question is that it is being asked at all. This question should not be seen as a matter of personal conviction or opinion at all. People’s hunches, anecdotal recollections, or personal convictions are of no more weight here than they would be about the causes of global warming. You have asked an empirical question, and there are established methods for answering such questions. Encouraging any other approach is actually undermining proper respect for scientific methods and facts, right alongside the nefarious tactics of the tobacco companies, the global warming skeptics, and the “teach the controversy” Intelligent Design crowd who have so successful persuaded so many people to treat factual material as if it were mere opinion.

But you can put a respectable spin on it: by asking the question you are gathering data on people’s convictions, data that can later be compared to the facts, whatever they turn out to be. It will be interesting to see, for instance, how many respondents declare with confidence that they know the answer to your question quite independently of any careful research. And it will be interesting to learn if they are right.

Almost laughable: What the Republicans have come to stand for

From a forwarded email. Too true to be funny:

To be a Republican you need to believe:

1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary
Clinton.

2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's
Daddy made war on him , a good guy when Cheney did business with him,
and a bad guy when Bush needed a 'we can't find Bin Laden' diversion.

3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade
with China and Viet Nam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our
highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq .

5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but
multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all
mankind without regulation.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in
speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies,
then demand their cooperation and money.

9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing
health care to all Americans is socialism. HMO's and insurance
companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but
creationism should be taught in schools.

11. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable
offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which
tens of thousands die is solid defense policy.

12. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the
Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the
Internet.

13. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a
conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers
for your recovery.

14. You support 'Executive Privilege' for every Republican ever born,
who will be born or who might be born (in perpetuity.)

15. Support hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing
orange vests similar to those worn by the quail.

If you do or don't send this to at least 10 other people, we're likely
to be stuck with more Republicans in '08.

Friends don't let friends vote Republican.

HOAX!! How old is the Grand Canyon? Don't ask the Ranger

THIS STORY IS INCORRECT. SEE EXPLANATION AT JANUARY 19.

With rocks in their head, the creationist-centric Bush administration has ordered officials of the US National Park Service be agnostic about the age of the Grand Canyon. In a news release in late December 2006, an organization of environmental employees said:

Washington, DC — Despite promising a prompt review of its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood rather than by geologic forces, more than three years later no review has ever been done and the book remains on sale at the park, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

“In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”

Full text of release



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