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A French Revelation, or The Burning Bush

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Free Inquiry - By James A. Haught - Aug. 05 (Opinion) - Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse. Honest. This isn’t a joke. The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God.

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Politics and Pulpits

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Free Inquiry - By Wendy Kaminer - Dec. 15 (Opinion) - Alliance Defense Fund (ADF—a conservative advocacy group “defending the right to hear and speak the Truth”) announced a challenge to Internal Revenue Service rules that prohibit tax-exempt churches from endorsing political candidates or otherwise intervening in campaigns. ADF has framed this rule rather misleadingly, as a form of religious discrimination that deprives pastors of the “right to speak about biblical values without fear of punishment.” In fact, this ban on electioneering, enacted in 1954, applies not just to churches but to all not-for-profits exempt from federal tax under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code; obviously, it does not generally apply to discussion of “biblical values” or to nonpartisan political activities (like voter education) or even political sermons from the pulpit. Preachers may and do engage in pointed, if not overtly partisan, discussions of political issues that effectively advance the agendas of particular candidates without risking the tax-exempt status of their churches.

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Science, Education, and the Common Good

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 08:38:30 -0700

Free Inquiry - By Michael Ben-Chaim, Barry A. Kosmin - Apr. 21 (Editorial) - Calls to redress alarming inadequacies in science education ap¬pear regularly, most recently following the latest National Assess¬ment of Educational Progress report on urban school districts (November 15, 2006). The report showed that students in urban schools lagged badly in scientific literacy. What is missing from the conventional response is a broader perspective on science education and its re¬lationship to the status of science in con¬temporary culture. The inadequacies of science education in our schools and the low level of scientific literacy among the American population are often blamed on deficiencies in the public-school system. However, the behavior of both students and teachers seems to reflect widely held, ambivalent, and even confused attitudes toward the progress of science and its benefits for society as a whole. The prevalence of such attitudes at the very pinnacle of the U.S. government indicates their wide circulation. President Bush often highlights his endeavor to reinvigorate the American dream of education for all under the banner "No Child Left Behind." Yet, the president has failed to send the public a clear message of trust in the universal value of a secular science and its concomitant of free inquiry. Rather, he has suggested that Americans must trust first and foremost in their religious beliefs and then evaluate the progress of science in areas such as stem cell research in light of their personal religious commitments.

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To Bash Or Not To Bash: The Debate Secular Humanists Do Not Need

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:35:55 -0800

Free Inquiry - By Edward Tabash - Feb. 28 (Opinion) - Some of us are bogging down in a debate over whether the promotion of secular humanism should involve "bashing" religion, or whether we should only focus on presenting humanism in a positive light. The answer is that both are necessary components of the secular humanist message, depending on the individual circumstances of each encounter, each audience, and each forum. When speaking to college women, for instance, it may be necessary to show them examples of the indefensible way that the bible denigrates women. A more watered-down presentation may not sufficiently motivate such students seriously to re-examine conventional assumptions about conventional religion. Helping today's university students become indignant over the absurdities of religious dogma is an essential part of persuading them to consider a secular alternative. If we don't start, very soon, to replenish our ranks with young people, out future will be dim.

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Religion in Conflict: Are 'Evangelical Atheists' Too Outspoken?

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:46:08 -0800

Free Inquiry - By Paul Kurtz - Feb. 27 (Editorial) - The recent publication of four books--The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins; The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, both by Sam Harris; and Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett--has provoked great controversy and consternation.* The fact that books by Dawkins and Harris have made it to The New York Times best-seller list has apparently sent chills down the spines of many commentators; not only conservative religionists but also some otherwise liberal secularists are worried about this unexpected development. We note that the people now being attacked are affiliated with FREE INQUIRY and the Center for Inquiry. The editors of FREE INQUIRY, of course, are gratified that the views espoused in these pages have received a wider forum. What disturbs us is the preposterous outcry that atheists are "evangelical" and that they have gone too far in their criticism of religion. Really? The public has been bombarded by pro-religious propaganda from time immemorial--today it comes from pulpits across the land, TV ministries, political hucksters, and best-selling books. Indeed, at the present moment, the apocalyptic Left Behind series, coauthored by evangelist Tim LaHaye, is an all-time blockbuster. Other best-sellers include The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren and a slew of books attacking liberal secularists and humanists by religious conservatives such as Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly.

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