Category Archives: Popular Culture, Society

The real reasons for bullying in schools: the empirical facts show it’s not gay teens who need special attention

Posted on 26/05/2012 by

Church blindsided by Ontario government over gay-straight alliances: Catholic sources In 2006 the Toronto District School Board conducted a study to determine causes of bullying.  The most cited reason was “body image” (38% in grades 7 to 8; 27% in … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , ,

British doctors could be banned from practising for refusing to give unmarried women contraceptives

Posted on 26/05/2012 by

Doctors who refuse to give contraceptives to unmarried women or carry out sex change operations face being banned from practicing under new guidelines Bishop Tom Williams of the Archdiocese of Liverpool claimed the advice discriminated against “certain groups of doctors” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, World Events, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , , ,

Only in America: Look out non-believers, here comes Scripture Candy

Posted on 17/05/2012 by

How can you resist?: Look out non-believers, here comes Scripture Candy Scripture Candy aims to use moments of sweet indulgence to preach the gospel.  “Our mission is to reach the world one piece at a time with the word of … Continue reading →

Posted in Fundamentalism, Popular Culture, Society | Tagged , ,

Dr. John Sentamu on death and caring for the dying

Posted on 15/05/2012 by

‘Death should not define who we are – it should be a natural extension of how we are in life.  Every minute someone dies in the UK, but death is all too often shut away – it is often on a hospital ward … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society | Tagged , ,

Britain’s crazy Public Order Act: used and abused to stifle and suppress Christians’ freedom of speech

Posted on 14/05/2012 by

Freedom of speech is back on the agenda Section five of the Public Order Act 1986 removed the requirement for an intention to cause a breach of the peace.  Instead, abusive or insulting behaviour was to be penalised if it was within the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, World Events, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , , , ,

Peter Hitchens on the “father figures” and “agony aunts” now required for Britain’s prisons

Posted on 12/05/2012 by

Pasted up in an Oxfordshire byway, I found extraordinary proof of what most of us have long suspected and what politicians always try to deny (above).  We are now so soft on wrong-doing that the wicked must be laughing at … Continue reading →

Posted in Peter Hitchens, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , ,

Only in militant secularist Canada is wearing a t-shirt promoting Jesus deemed “hate speech”

Posted on 04/05/2012 by

Suspended Nova Scotia student defiantly wears T-shirt with pro-Jesus message For the past six months, a yellow T-shirt with the slogan “Life is Wasted Without Jesus” has been just another shirt in William Swinimer’s wardrobe. Lately, the 19-year-old Nova Scotian … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , ,

Son of Harold Camping: Looney apocalyptic cult predicts end of the world on June 30th., 2012

Posted on 01/05/2012 by

‘The time is finished’: Religious cult erects billboards in Toronto ahead of the ‘transformation’ ST. CATHARINES, ONT. – Doris Rosado watches her teenage daughters, Ninette and Kiara Mongrut, get the numbers “666” tattooed on their wrists, beaming with pride.  The number … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, World Events, Popular Culture, Society | Tagged , , , , , , ,

R. Joseph Hoffman on the Jesus Mythicism of the New Atheists

Posted on 24/04/2012 by

Thank God for sensible atheists such as R. Joseph Hoffman.  Here he eviserates the currently fashionable Jesus Mythicism of the New Atheists: Mythtic Pizza and Cold-cocked Scholars It is almost cruelty to begin picking on the methodological wowsers implied in the reasoning … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Biblical Studies, Popular Culture, Society | Tagged , , , , , ,

Today’s false prophets: Environmental scaremongers

Posted on 23/04/2012 by

A few examples of false prophets falsely prophesying in 1970, the inaugural year of ‘Earth Day’: ‘Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.’ – Biologist George Wald, Harvard University, April 19, … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Sciences | Tagged , , , , , ,

Canada human rights watch: Militant secularist group demands government ban on Christian exorcisms

Posted on 19/04/2012 by

Ban exorcisms, demands Ontario atheist group Of course, the incident that triggered the atheists’ outburst wasn’t even an exorcism: While there was no formal exorcism ritual performed, the priest blessed the man, saying he belonged to the good side, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , ,

Six in ten articles on Wikipedia contain factual errors, according to independent researchers

Posted on 18/04/2012 by

Six in ten articles on Wikipedia contain factual errors Up to six in ten articles on Wikipedia contain inaccuracies, according to new research.  The number of factual errors shows just how unreliable it can be to use the online resource … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society | Tagged , , ,

The secular world has a Christian foundation, notes Chris Berg

Posted on 16/04/2012 by

Worth a few minutes of your reading time: Secular world has a Christian foundation The modern world is shaped by 3000 years of philosophical evolution.  And for half that time the dominant moral philosophy in the Western world has been a Christian … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , ,

Atheist Ricky Gervais’ “vile, cynical, dishonest” new TV show “seeks to mock and injure the most vulnerable”

Posted on 15/04/2012 by

The most cynical TV show I’ve ever seen: The father of an autistic teenager attacks Ricky Gervais’ new comedy Disablism.  Handicaphobia.  Smuggery.  The English language has no good word for the prejudice that is comedian Ricky Gervais’s stock-in-trade.  It goes … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Popular Culture, Society, Visual Arts | Tagged , ,

Quote of the day: Lord George Carey on the anti-Christian animus in Britain today

Posted on 13/04/2012 by

‘In a country where Christians can be sacked for manifesting their faith, are vilified by State bodies, are in fear of reprisal or even arrest for expressing their views on sexual ethics, something is very wrong.  It affects the moral and ethical … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Quote of the Day, Secularism | Tagged , , , , ,

British people now appallingly ignorant of even the most basic Christian beliefs, Easter poll shows

Posted on 10/04/2012 by

Judas Priest betrayed Jesus in Bethlehem – poll reveals lack of Easter knowledge: Basic details about the Easter story are known by as few as half of the people polled in a survey Only around half of those quizzed – 55 … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , , , ,

Christians ‘more likely to be leftwing’ and have liberal views on immigration and equality, new study shows

Posted on 09/04/2012 by

Christians ‘more likely to be leftwing’ and have liberal views on immigration and equality People who believe in God are more likely to be leftwing, according to a new study.  The research, carried out by thinktank Demos, rubbishes the assumption … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Politics, World Events, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , ,

Resignations, retirements at RTÉ ahead of “damning report” into their falsely accusing priest of rape

Posted on 04/04/2012 by

Resignations and retirements at RTÉ ahead of libel report: Irish state broadcaster falsely accused priest of rape and fathering a child in Africa Several key figures in Irish state broadcaster RTÉ have retired or resigned ahead of what is expected … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Secularism, Visual Arts | Tagged , ,

Quote of the day: Iris Murdoch on why William Shakespeare will always be more important than Richard Dawkins

Posted on 29/03/2012 by

‘We are men and we are moral agents before we are scientists, and the place of science in human life must be discussed in words.  This is why it is and always will be more important to know about Shakespeare … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Authors, Popular Culture, Society, Quote of the Day, Sciences, Secularism | Tagged , , ,

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams: a self-confessed ‘hairy Lefty’ recants

Posted on 28/03/2012 by

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams: a self-confessed ‘hairy Lefty’ recants Williams said yesterday that “identity” has become a “slippery” word.  He added, “Identity politics, whether it is the politics of feminism, whether it is the politics of ethnic minorities or … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , ,

Atheist Brendan O’Neill says: look at Canada to see how gay marriage leads to Orwellian state-meddling

Posted on 24/03/2012 by

How the gay-marriage campaign has unleashed a bureaucratic assault on people’s identities Anyone who thinks the introduction of gay marriage will give rise to a new era of liberty and choice should look at the Canadian experience.  There, the passing … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , ,

Well worth your reading time: my favourite atheist writer, Brendan O’Neill, on Archbishop John Sentamu

Posted on 19/03/2012 by

Three or four years ago, Sentamu would have been a shoo-in as your average Islingtonian’s favourite future Archbishop of Canterbury.  They went wild for him when he cut up his dog collar on live TV in protest against Mugabe.  They … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , ,

George Clooney arrested and released but condemned from his own mouth

Posted on 16/03/2012 by

So he got himself arrested.  But, other than himself and his family (i.e. his parents and siblings, as he has neither wife nor children), who could care? Some George Clooney quotes: ‘I’m certainly the last person to give advice on, well, … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society | Tagged

British government now openly sides with militant secularists: Tells Christians they have no right to wear a cross

Posted on 12/03/2012 by

Christians have no ‘right’ to wear cross at work: British government ministers will argue at the European Court of Human Rights that Christians do not have a right to openly wear a crucifix or a Christian cross. In a highly significant move, ministers … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Politics, World Events, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , ,

This week’s sermon: How to survive a zombie attack

Posted on 11/03/2012 by

More on zombies: “Many men and women who had died came back to life again” — zombies in the Bible? Is the ‘Exmoor Emperor’ stag now a zombie deer? The theology of zombies: the end of the world, resurrection and … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Popular Culture, Society, Visual Arts | Tagged ,