While we may not exactly know what is going on here, wouldn’t it be cool to have a personal bodyguard that short?

I know, I know, a kid who loses track of time reading? But it sure seems kids are reading more than ever–maybe not the kind of “nerd” books that Bertrand reads, but…

…Oh yes, that stranger is still peeking into windows. We’ll find out more this week as the secret battle continues.

It’s hard enough to get kids to read, so what if they want to explore some “dangerous” thinkers? …I love my Kindle, by the way.

Some of you returning readers to Freethunk may have noticed this video of James Randi posted on the homepage talking about the fact that he’s gay and coming out of the closet in his eighties. Why do I bother posting  such material? Are Randi’s accomplishments enhanced by his “gayness”? No, but I come from a background where I was taught several paranoid theories on the gay agenda and on gay people in general. The connection with Randi is that his book “Faith Healers” was one of the first books I read when I really started to challenge my faith. Randi was a bridge to skeptical reading and ultimately later books on science, freethinking and atheism. The reason I call Randi a “bridge” is because even as a Christian I was skeptical of faith healers and it was an issue I could agree with him on and felt comfortable reading about–but it led to a thought: “If these modern day healers are using deceptive tactics to convince people of miracles now, then what about the past? Wouldn’t it have been even easier to fool people in the past?” And thus, if I were to be honest with myself, I had to question Jesus as a faith healer.

Now that Obama has finally just let it all hang out and approved of gay marriage–which he might as well do since Christians who are against gay marriage hate him anyways–it stirs up memories of reading this one book by Randi; kind of an odd thing to remember when the gay community is celebrating and I’m just a straight guy who doesn’t exactly have a stake in the battle (except for common decency in how we treat each other). I once bought into religious superstition including anti-gay rhetoric and the author and thinker who helped me out of that mindset just happens to be gay. Thanks Randi!

As of yet, the last panel refers to a nonexistent collection, but, as with all prolific writers, I’m sure it will happen.

It’s that guy again? Who is he?

Well, our little hero meant well trying to help those teachers be themselves, but exuberance sometimes gets the best of all of us. They might have a case though. I don’t know if running down school halls yelling, “We’re Atheists!” constitutes a breach of church and state? More like self-expression gone amuck which deserves a suspension. Shouldn’t every one be able to say they’re Christian, Muslim, Jew, Agnostic, Atheist, etc without violating church and state? It’s kind of hard to hide when it’s part of someone’s identity. It seems to be the difference between wearing a cross necklace or the scarlet atheist “A”  as part of your wardrobe versus teaching scripture in science class or telling students there is no god in gym class (kind of irrelevant to begin with, why would you do that?).  Religious and anti-religious symbols are a big statement though…hmm, have to think about that from the viewpoint of a teaching position because it does mean you’re endorsing something without being verbal about it.

I don’t know if I could be a public school teacher. It would be hard for me to keep my mouth shut about my viewpoints.

This might be what you call a “novelty” rap song which turns off purists, but it’s the most informative rap I’ve come across on evolution and creationism. I do like how Baba Brinkman (featured in the video) presents the different viewpoints within the video, switching from character to character. Nice job overall because it isn’t easy making a video when it’s just one person.

Rap seems to be one of the best forms of music for apologetics  and scientific debate and even philosophy. When I was a Christian I used to listen to several rappers like P.I.D (Preachers in Disguise) (saw them live actually), Apocalypse (obscure, but was tougher than most Christian rappers) and S.F.C (Soldiers For Christ). Now as a freethinker I’m seeing more atheist and philosophical rappers emerge, some of whom I’m going to discuss later.

Baba Brinkman has more of his videos at the Rap Guide to Evolution. If you’re not a bookworm (blasphemy!), here’s a way to get an introduction to evolutionary theory.

Do they still keep permanent records? Kind of an idle threat.

There’s always room to find common ground.

Ayaan ’s article was called “The War on Christians” and she covers horror stories about persecution of Christians in the Muslim world. If you don’t know, Ayaan is a well known atheist and advocate for womens’ rights, something Wildmon acknowledges in his editorial. However, he quickly jumps into making sure we know the majority of charitable humanitarian work is done by American Christians. Which is true, but as we know Christianity is diverse in the United States and not necessarily in the Wildmon fundamentalist camp.

Concerning charity done by Christians in the US, Wildmon concludes that, “As far as I know, there is no such comparable work being done around the world by Islamic groups or organizations.”  That’s actually a good question? With secular humanists and freethinkers we always point to science and human efforts to eradicate disease, grow more food and find solutions that don’t require prayer. This kind of work is not always easily measured or visible. Atheists, in particular, are in the minority, often working within Christian charities who have resources and money. Islam, as one of the three major religions, should be a close second as far as charity. You would think?

The problem Islam has outside of the US is charities can either be a mask for terrorist organizations or possibly a charity is legitimate but falls under suspicion and donations are lost as a result. About.com has a list of the most reputable charities.

Wildmon claims “One of the most striking differences is that Christianity teaches, practices and encourages charity. Islam does not.” That statement seems presumptuous. As with most religion, it’s a mixed bag. You can pull charity out of the Bible and the Church as well as bigotry, violence, and pseudoscience–all of which hinder progress and are antithetical to a charitable nature. AFA may be involved in charity–which is commendable–but they also teach intolerance towards homosexuals, do not promote birth control and a woman’s right to an abortion, and outdated views on gender roles. Islam has the same problem, but to say they don’t teach charity? I’m sure there are strings attached, as with Christian missionaries, but charity is taught here and here as a quick search through Google popped up. I would propose, that regardless of religion, charitable people teach charity with a blind eye towards any contradictory scripture in their holy book. I will concede that Christians may still be doing the lion’s share of charity work until I find information that says otherwise.

The rise in persecution towards Christians in the Middle East is alarming. As much as I think Christianity is false and pointless, I would never want to see anyone killed or tortured over it. The breakdown of Islamic fundamentalism is going to be a slow, painful process. Thankfully we have leaders like Ayaan Hirsi Ali at the forefront who don’t promote a religious answer, but a secular one–stop believing in God and you’re faced with the reality that there is no heaven or hell, there’s only now and life is too precious to kill for the sake of superstition.

For more on Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an amazing woman, see her Facebook page.