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Sunday, May 05, 2013

Notre Dame professor tackles ‘myth’ of Christian martyrdom

Candida Moss, a professor of early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame and a practicing Catholic, wants to shatter what she calls the "myth" of martyrdom in the Christian faith.

Sunday school tales of early Christians being rounded up at their secret catacomb meetings and thrown to the lions by evil Romans are mere fairy tales, Moss writes in a new book. In fact, in the first 250 years of Christianity, Romans mostly regarded the religion's practitioners as meddlesome members of a superstitious cult.

The government actively persecuted Christians for only about 10 years, Moss suggests, and even then intermittently. And, she says, many of the best known early stories of brave Christian martyrs were entirely fabricated.

MORE: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/notre-dame-professor-tackles-myth-christian-martyrdom-151620492.html

What Do Philosophers Believe?

Note that atheism easily trumps theism, and compatibilism is the leading approach to free will...

MORE: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2013/04/29/what-do-philosophers-believe/

Fundamentalists target churches for 2014 elections

We're just a few months removed from the 2012 elections, and the Religious Right is already hard at work trying to lure churches into partisan politics for the 2014 elections.

This week, Mat Staver's Liberty Counsel, which is affiliated with Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Liberty University, said it is gearing up to help fundamentalists take "dominion" over the United States and make us a "Christian nation."

MORE: http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2013/03/fundamentalists-target-churches-for-2014-elections/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecularNewsDaily+%28Secular+News+Daily%29

Atheists are people, too

Why is healing, helping and honoring fellow citizens so alarming when it’s atheists who want to do it? Why are religious groups opposing inclusion and equality? There’s simply no good reason atheists should be left out in these particular cases.

MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/04/30/atheists-are-people-too/

A Jewish lawmaker in Florida approached the Speaker of the House this week on behalf of other Jewish legislators who state that they are offended and insulted by the practice of praying in the name of Jesus during House sessions.

MORE: http://christiannews.net/2013/04/27/jewish-lawmakers-insulted-by-prayers-in-jesus-name-during-florida-house-sessions/

Union County could face lawsuit over Christian prayers at meetings

Union County board Chair Jerry Simpson said commissioners take turn offering the invocation or designating some to do it for them, such as a local pastor. Spirituality is a part of the lives of a huge majority of county residents, he said, and they appreciate that commissioners make prayer a part of their meeting.

MORE: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/04/4022275/union-county-could-face-lawsuit.html

Pryor resigns from Rockingham County board, cites prayer issue

The member of the Rockingham County Board of Education resigned Wednesday, citing the board’s consideration of opening its meetings with a prayer.

MORE: http://www.news-record.com/home/1166124-63/pryor-resigns-from-rockingham-county

Hines: No Prayers, Hymns at Houston Graduations This Year

He said the district doesn't want to break the law.

MORE: http://warnerrobins.13wmaz.com/news/schools/110332-hines-no-prayers-hymns-houston-graduations-year

See also...

After Turning Last Year's Graduation Into a Church Service, a Superintendent Finally Sees the Light
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/05/02/after-turning-last-years-graduation-into-a-church-service-a-superintendent-finally-sees-the-light/

Pay for Pray: Ex-Navy chaplain to pay graduation speakers for offering a prayer

A former Navy chaplain is offering a reward to any student who says a prayer during a graduation ceremony at a school in Florida following the threat of a lawsuit by an atheist group aimed at banning religious utterances from the event.

MORE: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/2/pay-pray-ex-navy-chaplain-vows-pay-graduation-spea/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Nation-TheWashingtonTimesAmericasNewspaper+%28Nation%2FPolitics+-+The+Washington+Times%29

Crying Wolf: Religious Right Falsely Claims Anti-Christian Discrimination By Pentagon

Religious Right forces have been in a tizzy lately over a rumor that if U.S. military personnel express their Christian faith, it could lead to disciplinary action. But as usual, it seems fundamentalist charges of persecution are greatly exaggerated.

MORE: https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/crying-wolf-religious-right-falsely-claims-anti-christian-discrimination-by

See also...

Mikey Weinstein Appears on FOX News Channel to Discuss Religion in the Military
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/05/03/mikey-weinstein-appears-on-fox-news-channel-to-discuss-religion-in-the-military/

Religion in the US military
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/index.html#http://video.foxnews.com/v/2347339745001/religion-in-the-us-military/?playlist_id=86923

Atheist group disputes claim N.W. Rankin High School gathering wasn't religious

A lawsuit filed by the American Humanist Association asks a federal judge to bar the Rankin County School District from having religious assemblies. The suit also seeks to hold Northwest Rankin High School Principal Charles Frazier personally liable. Humanist Association attorney Bill Burgess said Frazier should have known better than to allow the gathering.

MORE: http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20130501/NEWS/130501029/Atheist-group-disputes-claim-N-W-Rankin-High-School-gathering-wasn-t-religious

Louisiana senators vote to keep creationism in science class -- again

Dr. Bouchard says that the LSEA has economic consequences. “If you are an employer in a high tech industry, in the biotechnology sector or in a business that depends heavily on science, would you prefer to hire a graduate from a state where the legislature has in a sense declared that the laws of chemistry, physics or biology can be suspended?”

MORE: http://io9.com/louisiana-senators-vote-to-keep-creationism-in-science-488898583

See also...

Stifling Science: La. Legislators Vote To Retain Creationist Legislation
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/stifling-science-la-legislators-vote-to-retain-creationist-legislation

Legislators to vote on bill that would allow refusal of health services on a moral basis

Supporters say the legislation protects religious freedom and is needed particularly in the wake of the federal health care law mandating employer-provided birth control in their health plans. Opponents counter that the bill is an overreach that wrongly lets health workers and organizations impose their beliefs on patients, putting their treatment at risk.

MORE: http://www.annarbor.com/news/government/legislators-to-vote-on-bill-that-would-allow-refusal-of-health-care-on-a-moral-basis/

Atheist group wants to join with community

According to Gillham, the mission of Albany Georgia Atheists is two-pronged: to provide a social outlet for members of the group, including activities such as game nights, movie nights, weekend canoe trips and the like; and also to work toward dispelling negative ideas many people hold regarding any form of atheism.

MORE: http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2013/may/04/atheist-group-wants-to-join-with-community/

Atheist brochures distributed in Orange schools Thursday

District counsel Woody Rodriguez confirmed that the distribution occurred without any major problems. The district agreed to the atheist groups' request to avoid a lawsuit, the same reason the Bible distribution in January was allowed. Williamson said his group believes religion has no place in school. "Our goal is to ensure that if there's a public forum, we're part of it."

MORE: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-atheist-brochures-distributed-orange-schools-20130502,0,5115936.story

See also...

Atheist group hands out fliers in Orange Co. schools, still might sue
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/atheist-group-hands-out-fliers-orange-co-schools-s/nXfL4/

N.J. Catholics outraged over accused priest's access to children

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Amid calls for a Vatican investigation, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers is facing fierce criticism for his handling of a priest who attended youth retreats and heard confessions from minors in defiance of a court-ordered lifetime ban on ministry to children.

MORE: http://www.religionnews.com/2013/04/30/n-j-catholics-outraged-over-accused-priests-access-to-children/

The Missionary Movement to 'Save' Black Babies

Evangelicals have long approached their anti-abortion work with missionary zeal. But over the past four years, national anti-abortion strategists have designated "urban" and "underserved" women and babies as a priority for saving. In practice, these terms tend to be euphemisms for "black" and, to a lesser extent, "Latina."

MORE: http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/05/crisis_pregnancy_centers_and_race_baiting.html

See also...

Catholics Try Their Hand At Old-Fashioned Evangelism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/catholics-try-their-hand-at-old-fashioned-evangelism_n_3163787.html?utm_hp_ref=religion