Wisconsin atheists bring suit against University of Tennessee.

Quote: Chancellor Jimmy Cheek responded by saying the pre-game prayers are protected by the U.S. Constitution and will not be silenced on his campus.

University of Tennessee Refuses to Ban Pre-Game Prayers
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes...e-prayers.html

Study - Religion in global decline
http://digitaljournal.com/article/331306

Why would religion be in decline in this information age if your god was real?

14 Year Old Girl Shot In The Head By Taliban For Championing Education Of Women

Actual evidence that evolution may not be true. I might have to rethink about creationism.

LOL! I actually expected some shred of evidence here. Thankfully, I was disapointed

Here's a short moving article on:

Why was the Second Temple destroyed?

http://dailyminyan.com/2011/02/25/wh...ple-destroyed/

Afterlife exists says top brain surgeon
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...n-surgeon.html

Is the afterlife full of fluffy clouds and angels?

Here is Dr. Eben Alexander's NDE interview on skeptiko.com ( I listened to it just before looking at this thread. Coincidence? ) Even though the majority of people will have decided what the possible "explanations" are for this NDE before listening to the interview, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZoX4N5_YQ

A relevant link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-de...ience#Research

Bible Reviews: http://www.buzzfeed.com/annanorth/13...s-of-the-bible

^^ not bad, but don't hold a candle to these reviews:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BIC-For-Her-.../dp/B004FTGJUW

Women Prophets
http://godswordtowomen.org/prophets.htm

GOP Sen. Mourdock: 'God Intended' Pregnancies From Rape

Mourdock's thinking is rather incomplete and inconclusive.

God could be allowing certain failures while people progress and become more domesticated. It'd probably take a really long time to domesticate an animal with a big brain like a human has. Of course, people like to use evolutionary theory to excuse their personal lack of progress.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...ny-maladaptive

But what came first misogyny or religion?

My bet is sin came before either of them and misogyny is just one manifestation of sin.

How to "Die to Self" Daily
http://liveprayer.com/ddarchive3.cfm?id=2811



Quote: What is death to self? What does it mean to die-to-self? If I die to myself where does my "self" go and whom do I become?

In order to be able to be in God's will we have to be out of our own.

Here are some things written by people that might help to understand the process of dying-to-self.
http://www.clarion-call.org/extras/die/die.htm

Doesn't directly have anything to do with religion, but felt it deserved mention:

Mob in Pakistan kills man accused of burning Quran

Ah, not sure if this should be posted in new topic or here...

I really found this person answers really inspiring and showing good and bad side of religion.

1)How long you was Cristian? What is your Christianity background? How long now you are not believing god anymore?

I was a Christian since July 9, 1989. I became an atheist in November of 2012.

My Christian background was Protestant. I started off by attending a non denominational Christian chapel service mainly. Later on I joined the Independent Baptists. I remained with them for over 10 years off and on. After than, I went to a variety of Protestant churches. In the end, I was attending Charismatic churches.

2)Do you think religion gave you something good and helpful? If yes, what it was? It disappear when you get out of religion?

Yes, I do believe that religion has given me good and helpful things. But honestly, I think it gave me much more bad than it did good. Religion helped me to better understand the importance of service to others as self fulfillment. Sadly, it gave me more reasons to be critical of others. Honestly, I think I would have learned these lessons without Christianity and would not have had to live through the rejections that come from not going with all of the status quo in Christian circles.

3)Do you can say you ignored something when was with religion? What you think about theses things now?

Yes, I ignored how to let myself go and experience life on my own terms. I feel more free to accept people and myself without constantly judging them without a good reason. I am learning to be less introspective and to enjoy the present for what it is.

4)You lost spiritual fulfillment when get out of religion? Something changed into yourself when made this choose into your life to get out of religion?

I have lost spiritual fulfillment as I have left religion, but then again, religion also gave me much spiritual torture too. So its not a bad loss. As a new atheist, I am learning how to feel fulfillment without the comfort of an "invisible sky parent" that watches over me.

I chose to get out of religion only after researching more about religion over these past few months. I came to understand that there was less evidence for the belief in God than I ever would have imagined. And also, there is nothing like watching prayers that rely on supernatural intervention go unfulfilled to make you question the validity of your faith.

5)What was that what made you think about religion and that it maybe is wrong? What made you think evolution can be right?

I thought religion might be wrong because of the fact that the only people that seem to get treated well by God in religion are those that are part of his "friends". Those that do not believe seem to receive little mercy.

I never believed that evolution could be right until I started watching documentaries on evolution. I had no idea that men had discovered transitional fossils and fossils of primitive ape-men. I thought all the discoveries were a hoax. Once I saw the fossils and skeletal evidence of early man, I began to shake off the beliefs of "God" ever making mankind.

6)What you think about afterlife and human existence reason now and then when was into religion?

I would love to believe that once I died, that I would move into some form of eternal existence and live forever. Sadly, I have no reason to believe this due to an incredible lack of evidence.

7)There is any changes into you/your life what you want share after you started not believing Christians god?

The biggest change for me is that I see how and why I was never able to make it into the ministry. With my unorthodox Christian beliefs, it would have took God supernaturally working to give me a ministry. My beliefs, however, are just like what early Christianity believed. It is Christianity that strayed from its early roots. Never the less, I realize now that my dream of being a preacher is truly dead, and now I am truly free to plan for an alternate future. I am excited about that too.

8)Maybe there is something what you want share by yourself.

Just a personal quote:

"Through knowledge, fear is overcome"

P.S. only answered native language is English

Religious People Less Driven By Compassion Than Are Atheists And Agnostics, Study Says

Not exactly a repost, but pretty close. Here's the link provided in post #175. We also had a thread loosely based on the topic.

Hmm, any words on what denominations those "highly religious" belonged to? If my cursory knowledge is correct, then in the US "highly religious" ~ "reborn/evangelical". If so, then there might be a link to the prosperity theology stuff that's far more prevalent over there than elsewhere. If there is, then the results don't surprise me.

Variation within Kind Evolution inspires more efficient solar cell design: Geometric pattern maximizes time light is trapped in solar cell

Beneath the article, the first few comments read like an RGT thread...

Poll shows a double standard on religious liberty

Foreigners arrested for trying to spread Christianity in Libya

Egypt's Islamists warn giving women some rights could destroy society