Atheism, Cosmos and the Deniers

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Neil deGrasse Tyson: Science is Trending in the World

As Big Think reported, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Cosmos” was trending on Twitter during its Sunday night broadcast. During a photo shoot with, yes,GQ magazine, Tyson claimed that science is trending worldwide. Do we have the charming astrophysicist to thank? [Read more]

Big Bang Celebration: Physicist Learns His Life’s Work Vindicated

The biggest news in science since the Big Bang Theory confirmed that the universe indeed underwent an epoch of rapid expansion. One of the main authors of the inflationary universe theory received the news on his doorstep that his life’s work had been vindicated. [Read more]

Big Bang, Inflation, Gravitational Waves: What It Means

On Monday, astronomers announced a profound discovery. Etched into the most ancient radiation that pervades the entire universe and created — literally — at the dawn of time, gravitational waves have been directly observed, giving us a glimpse as to the nature of the inflationary period that is theorized to have caused the rapid growth of our universe just after the Big Bang. Finding further observational evidence for cosmic inflation should be discovery enough, but the fact that astronomers now have observational evidence for the existence of gravitational waves makes this St. Patrick’s Day a very special Red Letter Day for Cosmology. [Read more]

Why Do We Still Believe in Astrology?

Every few months you have an explanation for everything amiss in your life, especially pertaining to technology. Mercury in retrograde has became the default explanation of what’s wrong with our world. One astrology-based consultant lists what not to do when this cosmic trickster is dancing in reverse: Don’t start a new job. Don’t close a deal. Avoid traveling. Don’t buy anything. [Read more]

How Astronomers Saw Gravitational Waves from the Big Bang

On 17 March, John Kovac announced to the world that he and his team of radio astronomers had found the imprint of gravitational waves from the Big Bang. They did so by looking at the cosmic microwave background (CMB), sometimes called the ‘afterglow’ of the Big Bang, using BICEP2, a telescope experiment based at the South Pole. This signal of gravitational waves was seen in the polarization of the CMB — similar to the kind of polarization that certain sunglasses block — over a small patch of sky. [Read more]

Stephen Hawking Urges Explorers to Visit Other Planets

Ambitious plans to carry humans far beyond Earth were at the forefront of the Explorers Club Annual Dinner here Saturday night (March 15), as astronauts, entrepreneurs and physicist Stephen Hawking celebrated the wonder — and necessity — of space exploration. [Read more]

Creationist Teacher Who Called Student’s Buddhism ‘Stupid’ LOSES IN COURT!

The American Civil Liberties Union revealed on Friday that a student and his parents won their lawsuit against creationist teacher, Rita Roark, who told him he was “stupid” if he doesn’t believe in God. [Read more]

Science Deniers Are Freaking Out About “Cosmos”

If you think the first episode of the new Fox Cosmos series was controversial (with its relatively minor mentions of climate change, evolution and the Big Bang), Sunday night’s show threw down the gauntlet. Pretty much the entire episode was devoted to the topic of evolution, and the vast profusion of evidence (especially genetic evidence) showing that it is indeed the explanation behind all life on Earth. [Read more]

Can’t You Fight For Equality More Politely?

Every revolution spawns a counter-revolution. That’s as close to an iron-clad law of history as you can get. So after the successes of the marriage equality movement, it’s no surprise that there’s a backlash. The “religious freedom” laws that many states have attempted are a good example. But probably more indicative are the moderates who now seem to think that maybe things have gone to far, and maybe the proponents of gay marriage should be, y’know, more civil. [Read more]

Westboro Baptist Church Founder Sued Reagan For Violating Separation Of Church And State

Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps is well known for his anti-LGBT activism and military funeral picketing, but the controversial preacher’s political resume spans a wide range of seemingly paradoxical positions. Prior to his disbarment, the same man who would later call the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks the wrath of God “smiting fag America,” served as a skilled civil rights attorney who battled racial discrimination against African Americans. [Read more]

British Humanist Association launches YouTube campaign featuring Stephen Fry

Reader HaggisForBrains informs me that the British Humanist Association has just launched a YouTube campaign, “that’s humanism,” featuring animated videos narrated by Stephen Fry. HaggisfB adds that there will also be a Facebook and Twitter campaign. [Read more]

When Have Atheists taken the Rights of Theists Away

To expand, yes there have been some specific instances where atheists have taken the rights of theists away. The USSR’s anti-religion campaign had a destruction of the Church, this was due to the Church’s support for the status quo. We demonise the communists but forget that the people they were overthrowing were as brutal and more callous. [Read more]

Is God Really An Old White Dude Sitting On A Cloud In Heaven?

A bit of a caveat before we dive into this loaded topic. As a ‘nice Jewish girl’ who became an ordained interfaith minister, I say often that I have no right to tell anyone what to believe spiritually, since it is an inside job. I note the difference between religion and spirituality; with the former being the box, structure, format and framework around the contents into which we pour the latter. [Read more]

Focus On The Family Spokesman: ‘Organized Homosexuals’ Ushering In ‘New Era Of Intolerance’ 

The National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown and Focus on the Family vice president Tim Goeglein were the guests on a webinar last week hosted by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, in which they discussed the need for young “heroes” to bring the anti-marriage equality cause to younger generations.

[Read more]

10 Things I Wish Everyone Knew About Atheism

I’m a “big-tent” atheist, which includes whatever non-theistic labels people prefer: agnostic, humanist, secular humanist, freethinker, secularist, and more. This list applies to the whole tent. [Read more]