An Army of 1 in 10

Yep, it’s true:  atheists in Texas are constitutionally barred from holding public office.

Discuss.

I’ve just finished reading a fascinating article on a possible reason that humans believe in higher powers. The theory is that we believe because we’re hardwired to do so. The article is quite in-depth and mentions the two reasons that we may be hardwired for religion:

1. it’s an accidental byproduct of our evolution
2. God gave us the ability to believe

People on both sides of the debate of whether or not God(s) exist(s) will certainly latch onto this as proof for their belief, but it will by no means settle it. As for me, I believe that option #2 is true — one of the reasons was pointed out in the article: it’s harder to be an atheist than it is to be a believer (and I’ve been both, so I know first-hand).

What about you?

Self-proclaimed Jedis Umada and Yunyun, better known as John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law … are calling for the UN to acknowlegde what has become Britain’s fourth largest ‘religion’ with 390,000 followers. Read more… (Daily Mail

… A bishop representing the national church has now sparked controversy by arguing that there are occasions when it is compassionate to leave a severely disabled child to die. Charlotte Wyatt … weighed just 1lb at birth, and had severe brain and lung damage. Doctors wanted to be allowed to leave her to die, but her parents successfully campaigned through the courts against them. Now that the child is three, however, and could be cared for at home, her parents have separated and are considered unsuitable to look after [her]. Read more… (Daily Mail)

“I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. From my point of view, I would ban religion completely.” Read more… (Fox News)

With the recent report that the military is stepping up its monitoring of service members’ blogs in order to protect itself against OPSEC violations, SLDN would like to direct LGBT service members to its online safety guidelines on Gay.com.

The Vatican newspaper said on Tuesday that homosexuality risked “destabilizing people and society”, had no social or moral value and could never match the importance of the relationship between a man and a woman. Read more… (Reuters)

The Vatican says sexually active homosexuals and those who support gay culture are unwelcome in the priesthood… Read more… (Breitbart.com)