Happy Tu B’Av.
You have no idea what that means, do you? So you should listen.
In light of the recent conviction of Warren Jeffs, Mike and I talked about polygamy and its place in modernity. And completely forgot to talk about how gross Warren Jeffs really is.
I also read an op-ed piece entitled “Legacy of a Society That Believes in Nothing” from the U.K. Daily Mail that was posted on a friend’s Facebook wall. The author argue that the core issue of the U.K. riots lies in an overly secular society and further postulates, “without religion, we are all a little less human.”
Want to know what we think about that?
Of course you do.
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Okay, I FINALLY got to this episode (I feel like such a bad listener). I was a little concerned at first and then, amazed. Not that I should have been surprised, because I’ve known Faiqa for a while now and I respect her highly.
As a “secularist,” “atheist,” and “humanist,” it is extremely comforting to know – to hear- people of other beliefs expressing that we don’t have to agree on spiritual matters to have a consensus on morality and basic rules of humanity. Secularism is often misunderstood (as is atheism). It is not an attack AGAINST religion as many would believe. Secularism is simply a leveling of the playing field. I don’t want tax dollars going to a 50 foot cross on public land, but you know what? I’d fight just as hard to keep out a pentagram, or a swastika, or Ganesha. In that light, we don’t wish to attack any religion, we simply refuse to elevate any one above the others.
I stumbled across an article the other day about the NYPD and its spying of the Muslim community. I won’t give the link, because I don’t want anyone to lose hours of their life like I did reading the comments and SCREAMING in disgust. I angrily argued with the commentators (though I knew it was a fruitless effort) in defense of the NYC Muslims. It is not because I am any more partial to Islam than I am to Christianity, but because NOBODY deserves the blind and ignorant hatred that was displayed on those pages. Every human is an individual and should be judged based on their personal merits, not their heritage or spiritual beliefs, and no Anglo-American has any right to tell other races or creeds to “go home.” As a white American male of European descent, I’m pretty much guilty by association if not direct relation of the majority of the atrocities committed against mankind for at least the last 1000 years.
I love facts, science, and critical thinking. There are roughly 1.5 Billion Muslims in the world, so I feel confident in claiming that its members are generally peaceful and not out to wipe out “infidels” as so many fearmongers claim. Otherwise we would either already be plunged into a third world war, or they would be the most fan-frickin-tastic keepers of secrets the human race has ever known, just waiting to pounce. I doubt we’re surrounded by ninja Muslims, although that one is harder to prove….
Thanks for letting me vent. I’m always here if you want to do an “ask an atheist” segment. I’d be happy to dish about why I’m not chronically depressed about death, morality, and what babies taste like.