The Onion (via Friendly Atheist)

There are those who honestly believe this.

iamheathen:

(via prologic)

Too true.

(via godtoldmeto)

AC Grayling is one of the most well spoken individuals I think I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.

From today, 1 January 2010, the new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational, and we begin our campaign to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine. The new law defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted.

This new law is both silly and dangerous. It is silly because medieval religious laws have no place in a modern secular republic, where the criminal law should protect people and not ideas. And it is dangerous because it incentives religious outrage, and because Islamic States led by Pakistan are already using the wording of this Irish law to promote new blasphemy laws at UN level.

[…]

In this context we now publish a list of 25 blasphemous quotes, which have previously been published by or uttered by or attributed to Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Mark Twain, Tom Lehrer, Randy Newman, James Kirkup, Monty Python, Rev Ian Paisley, Conor Cruise O’Brien, Frank Zappa, Salman Rushdie, Bjork, Amanda Donohoe, George Carlin, Paul Woodfull, Jerry Springer the Opera, Tim Minchin, Richard Dawkins, Pope Benedict XVI, Christopher Hitchens, PZ Myers, Ian O’Doherty, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Dermot Ahern.

[…]

22. PZ Myers, on the Roman Catholic communion host, 2008: “You would not believe how many people are writing to me, insisting that these horrible little crackers (they look like flattened bits of styrofoam) are literally pieces of their god, and that this omnipotent being who created the universe can actually be seriously harmed by some third-rate liberal intellectual at a third-rate university… However, inspired by an old woodcut of Jews stabbing the host, I thought of a simple, quick thing to do: I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel.”

(via Pharyngula)

It’s a nice little collection of quotes, too! I’m so excited to see where this leads! Here’s to hoping we never see laws against blasphemy in the US.  Happy New Year, everyone!

friendlyatheist:

Top Ten Creationist Arguments (via TheThinkingAtheist)

Dead on.

A British priest who said the poor should consider shoplifting things like tinned ravioli had a bucket of pasta dumped over him by an irate parishioner. The man lay in wait for Father Tim Jones outside his church in York, northern England, and then sloshed half the messy spaghetti and ravioli over the priest’s robes. Jones stopped to allow the parishioner to pour the remainder. “I was offended by what he said,” the parishioner told the York Press. “I got this thing in my head where I thought I would make my own little protest.” Jones—who stands by his comments—says he was “frightened and humbled” by the experience, but he doesn’t plan to press charges.

See, when I first heard of this guy, I thought, “Thou shalt not steal… sometimes… unless it’s convenient or something…”

Now when I think of this guy, the only image that comes to mind is a bit from Dane Cook:

You know what I’d like to be able to do more than anything else? I’d love to be able to shoot spaghetti out of my fingertips. *Pppthhh.* ‘Cause no one wants to be covered in spaghetti. No. If I’m on a date with a girl and she’s very rude I’ll be like, you know what? *PPpptthhh* Enjoy your spaghetti, you’re very rude. Enjoy your spaghetti, ‘cause you’re rude. *Pppttthh*

(via orbitalteapot)

The Spiritual Explanation of Snow | Unreasonable Faith

Har har har.