The Onion has published a letter from a Christian who wants to set the record straight: "It's not like I'm one of those wacko 'love your neighbor as yourself' types." It's classic Onion satire aimed squarely at the kind of Christian who has dominated the news for the past eight…
In this lecture on TED, Jonathan Haidt discusses his approach, which involves "five foundations of morality." Haidt also explains that, in our attempts to better understand morality, too many of us are trapped in a non-ending cycle in which "everybody thinks they are right." We are in need of humility, and the best way to get moral humility is to escape moral righteousness by striving to step out of the struggle. We need to see that liberals and conservatives both have something to offer to the conversation of change versus stability. I've written repeatedly and glowingly about Haidt's approach to morality. You can find earlier DI posts regarding Haidt's approach to morality here and here.
In the aftermath of California’s passing of the shameful Proposition 8, I bring good tidings (and hope) from Australia. I’ll post most of the article From the Canberra Times because it’s short and to the point:
…Gay and lesbian couples are a step closer to equality before the law after two Bills passed through the Senate.
The laws would extend the definition of a de facto relationship to include same-sex couples and allow homosexuals to leave superannuation entitlements to partners.
The Bills also guarantee equality in tax, social security, health, aged care and employment.
Labor senator Penny Wong, who is openly gay, said the laws would deliver the sort of equality before the law that same-sex couples have never experienced.
”They [the Bills] deliver on a very important election commitment on an important day for us,” she told the Senate.
Uniting Care Australia’s national director Lin Hatfield Dodds applauded the Bills, saying it was ”about time” they were passed.
”These Bills are about citizens having equality before the law,” she said. ”They should cut across party lines, because it’s about respecting the inherent dignity of each person, and ensuring under the law there is opportunity for each person to express their sex and not be penalised for that.”
Liberal senator George Brandis said it was a historic day that signified an end to law reforms more than 40 years in the making.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown, also openly gay and a long-time campaigner for same-sex rights, congratulated the Government
I read this post by FriendlyAtheist, and thought that I’d expand on it. It cites an op-ed by Jim Griffith in Georgia:
Thanksgiving must be a terrible time for atheists. They have no God to thank.
They do not have the privilege of gathering with family and friends to express gratitude by saying: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”
Think about it. The Pilgrims were indebted to and grateful to the (arguably atheist) Indians for life itself. They couldn’t admit that. So they thanked their sky-daddy instead. This mindset is still here. If something good happens, thanks be to deity. If something bad happened, either it was because of sin, or just Mysterious Ways (woo-oo).
So who do Atheists have to thank for a warm home, loving family, and bountiful harvest?
How about the builders, the farmers, and all the other human agents who work together to make it all happen? We’re thankful for the bounty we have because of human discovery. We honor the massively useful inventions that came about not because of, but in spite of Biblical wisdom. Like plaster walls that finally banished fleas from homes. Like glass that lets in light but keeps out wind. Like cast iron radiators or rolled sheet metal air ducts to keep us warmer than any fireplace, or even for the design of smokeless fireplaces from the 1780’s. Blessed be those warmongers who needed nitrates and financed the research into producing fertilizer from fossil fuels, now feeding millions from …
I have previously posted on the work of psychologist and anthropologist Pascal Boyer. Throughout his writings, Boyer has repeatedly warned us that we shouldn't settle for simplistic explanations for religious belief. We shouldn't be looking, for sample, for a "gene for religious thinking." In the October 23, 2008 addition of…