tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873Sat, 10 May 2008 15:29:16 +0000http://www.ariarmstrong.com/index.htmnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)Blogger236125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-5099212558613660482Fri, 09 May 2008 16:49:00 +00002008-05-09T11:12:54.067-06:00election 2008church and stateAfter reviewing Mitt Romney's speech on faith and related comments, I concluded that "Romney has demonstrated that he wishes to sacrifice freedom to religion." Now Romney, who may still play some role in November's election, has returned to the topic. Romney sensibly asserts that religious "non-believers have just as great a stake as believers in defending religious liberty. If a society takes http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/05/romney-returns-to-religion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-3771950353836515223Wed, 07 May 2008 16:10:00 +00002008-05-07T10:21:04.933-06:00election 2008abortionI pass along the following media release as an item of interest. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Campaign to Defeat So-Called "Personhood" Amendment Launched DENVER (May 6) -- On Tuesday, May 6, a broad-based coalition of nurses, doctors, religious leaders, community groups and health care advocacy organizations launched the campaign to defeat the proposed so-called "Human Life http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/05/campaign-against-personhood-amendment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-3299026234475343516Tue, 06 May 2008 18:52:00 +00002008-05-06T13:19:51.470-06:00election 2008abortionBob Schaaffer, formerly of the U.S. Congress, currently is running for Senate against Mark Udall. As I've reviewed, Udall has clearly and unambiguously endorsed the separation of church and state. What about Schaffer? While he has not replied to my inquiry, and while I don't know his views on a variety of issues, he has made very clear his views on abortion. Recently the Rocky Mountain News http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/05/schaffer-on-abortion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-7453646342816131110Mon, 05 May 2008 17:38:00 +00002008-05-05T12:38:32.722-06:00homosexualityRecently I discussed Matt Barber's bigotry toward homosexuals, based on two of Barber's articles published by Townhall.com. Today I turn my attention to a more thoughtful article by Robert Knight, again from Townhall.com. Knight never explicitly states his opinion on homosexuality, though in his article he defends "people who believe homosexuality is wrong." Knight "is director of the Culture & http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/05/knight-is-homosexuality-genetic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-2675269205053680755Sun, 04 May 2008 16:23:00 +00002008-05-04T10:48:07.600-06:00Islamfree speechI don't enjoy Sooreh Hera's photographs. I don't consider them to be art or even very artistic. But the photographer, originally from Iran, has an absolute moral right to take such photos and display them in consenting establishments -- and her right should be protected by law. Unfortunately, because Islamists have threatened violence, a Dutch museums have pulled Hera's photographs. Fox reports:http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/05/dutch-museums-pulls-muhammad-photos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-6028610372316834973Sat, 03 May 2008 20:36:00 +00002008-05-03T14:58:04.144-06:00faithRecently Dave Kopel, my long-time friend and associate, reviewed Edwin Rockefeller's The Antitrust Religion. I haven't read the book, and antitrust per se lies outside the scope of this blog. Yet in his review Kopel makes an interesting claim about religion: The weakest part of the book is Rockefeller's insistence that antitrust is like a religion because (he claims) people believe in it based http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/05/kopel-overreaches-with-bigotry-claim.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-463846350570678284Thu, 01 May 2008 12:16:00 +00002008-05-03T11:24:56.021-06:00mediaChristianitySince when does evangelical preaching constitute news? Since The Denver Post decided to pander to the evangelical movement, I suppose: New Life Church embraces prophecy Church legions learn "seeing" is believing By Electa Draper The Denver Post Article Last Updated: 04/30/2008 06:08:17 AM MDT COLORADO SPRINGS -- The pastor of New Life Church -- Colorado's highest-profile megachurch -- is http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/05/prophetic-news.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-9017742541173733100Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:58:00 +00002008-04-30T11:10:26.952-06:00IslamI don't think Barbie poses much of a threat to Iran's theocratic, oppressive government. But Harry Potter may be another story. The stories' anti-totalitarianism and strong themes of intellectual independence rightly make Iranian officials nervous. The New York Times reports (via Titanic Deck Chairs): Iran's prosecutor general railed on Sunday against the invasion of Barbie, Batman, Spider-Man http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/iran-threatened-by-harry-potter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-8804314248916838019Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:06:00 +00002008-04-29T12:40:06.176-06:00homosexualityA few days ago, I discussed Matt Barber's bigotry toward homosexuals. Today I want to reply to another article by Barber, "'Gay' Sex Kills." He writes: Can you imagine officials at a middle school, junior high or high school setting aside a day to promote "tolerance" for heavy smoking and drinking among children? How about a day where teachers encourage kids to "embrace who they are," pick up http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/back-to-barber.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-2026097935350013853Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:35:00 +00002008-04-28T09:19:14.887-06:00church and stateIslamD'SouzaDinesh D'Souza is a cheerleader for religion, and most any religion will do. His favored religion is Christianity, but short of that, he prefers a religious orientation to a secular one. In a recent article, he continues to find common cause with the Blame America First crowd of the radical left, discussing Islamist terrorism not in the context of problems within modern Islam that cause such http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/dsouza-versus-rights.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-1686284523967519405Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:59:00 +00002008-04-26T02:17:17.881-06:00religious crimesabortionLake of Fire is a documentary that explores the issue of abortion in America. It gives plenty of time to both sides, but it also allows religious extremists in the debate to indict themselves. The documentary is worth viewing not only for those interested in the issue on both sides, but for those interested in the nasty turns that religion can take. Various Christians shown throughout the movie http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/lake-of-fire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-1489242222159701287Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:05:00 +00002008-04-25T00:57:59.219-06:00homosexualityMatt Barber is the policy director for cultural issues with Concerned Women for America, a group "helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy." Barber thinks that gay people deserve the "due penalty for their perversion," including death. Writing for the conservative Townhall, Barber writes: [T]here are those who... with haughty hearts and http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/barber-bigot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-6435894524211947502Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:57:00 +00002008-04-24T11:18:36.791-06:00evolutionScientific American reveals more problems with the Creationist documentary Expelled, which I've criticized previously. I'll review only one of the six main points from the article. The article points out that Expelled offers a rather selective review of the case of Richard Sternberg. "According to the film, after Sternberg approved the publication of a pro-ID paper by Stephen C. Meyer of the http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/more-problems-with-expelled.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-3451927182124578173Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:41:00 +00002008-04-23T13:49:53.113-06:00miraclesChristianityHow did Mary get pregnant? Fox reports new speculation: In his upcoming biography of Jesus, "Basic Instinct" director Paul Verhoeven will make the shocking claim that Christ probably was the son of Mary and a Roman soldier who raped her during the Jewish uprising in Galilee, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Catholic League President Bill Donohue called Verhoeven's claim "laughable." "Here http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/speculations-about-jesus-birth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-2693621196914550519Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:17:00 +00002008-04-22T00:41:33.947-06:00atheismThe good news for atheists is that they're more popular than Scientologists (a fact for which they can thank God for Tom Cruise). A new Gallup poll (via Paul Hsieh) reveals U.S. attitudes toward "religious and spiritual groups." While 52 percent of the population views Scientology negatively, a mere 45 percent so view atheism. I guess the good news is that 54 percent of the population has a http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/americans-wary-of-atheists.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-6385934982775803048Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:58:00 +00002008-04-20T12:24:32.025-06:00American religionIn a recent article for Reason, Ronald Bailey asks, "Is the Fourth Great Awakening finally coming to a close?" He writes: Perhaps the best evidence that the evangelical phase of the Fourth Great Awakening is winding down is that large numbers of young Americans are falling away from organized religion, just as the country did in the period between the first two awakenings. In the 1970s, the http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/fourth-awakening-getting-sleepy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-8137216340793901670Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:09:00 +00002008-04-19T14:45:59.053-06:00evolutionRecently I made a few comments about the pro-creationist film Expelled, based on the preview. But I didn't realize that the film is horrid, rather than merely stupid. Gus Van Horn points to an article by Michael Shermer, who begins: n 1974 I matriculated at Pepperdine University... It was with some irony for me, then, that I saw Ben Stein’s anti-evolution documentary film, Expelled: No http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/shermer-lockitch-flunk-expelled.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-1984398879673193441Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:20:00 +00002008-04-18T10:39:24.481-06:00evolutionPaul Hsieh has pointed me to an outstanding resource: "The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online." Wow. It's just stunning that such a rich collection of material is available to the public, at no charge. And to think that, when I was a child, the internet did not even exist. This seems like a good time point out that, on its registered users' page, the Ayn Rand Institute hosts Keith http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/darwin-online.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-1314451585271442840Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:42:00 +00002008-04-16T01:40:30.287-06:00creationismI sort of like actor Ben Stein, but I think he's taken on more than he can handle with a new documentary that he co-wrote called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Judging from the preview available at the film's web page, the documentary is a rather silly defense of "intelligent design," the fancy name for dressed-up creationism. In a "gotcha" moment, Stein gets "new atheist" Richard Dawkins tohttp://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/ben-steins-expelled.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-7176640141114738142Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:09:00 +00002008-04-14T11:04:56.095-06:00church and stateatheismIf somebody claimed that a Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Mormon, or member of any other mainstream religion, was not qualified to hold political office merely by virtue of that religious affiliation, regardless of the broader moral and political beliefs and statements of the candidate, the critic's claims would be laughed off as silly prejudice. While it's true that Mitt Romney's Mormon religion http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/michael-medveds-anti-atheist-bias.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-8406594188500164090Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:45:00 +00002008-04-12T14:12:24.324-06:00internetfree speechabortionAs I've pointed out, Google's ad policies are completely arbitrary and in fact violated by Google itself. I wrote, If Google flagrantly violates its own stated policy for ads, then clearly that particular policy is meaningless. However, if, as one of the comments on an earlier post alleges, Google has pulled its ads from another web page because of that page's arguments, is Google opening itselfhttp://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/anti-abortion-group-sues-google.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-2861184112336896619Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:53:00 +00002008-04-11T12:24:11.854-06:00IslamWe can now rest peacefully, knowing that only around 90 million Islamists "identified with the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C." See? No problem. The "Religion of Peace" has everything under control. The figure comes from Jerd Smith's Rocky Mountain News write-up of the 60th Annual Conference on World Affairs in Boulder: Now head of the non-partisan Middle East Institute, http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/only-90-million-islamic-supporters-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-4757147093430199761Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:15:00 +00002008-04-09T00:18:14.497-06:00HinduismIn the industrial world, we know that birth defects are caused by some combination of genetic and environmental factors. The Associated Press reported that a baby born in Saini Sunpura, India, "Lali, apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces." If the infant had been born in the U.S., she and the family would have received http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/birth-tragedy-seen-as-divine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-7882533353226244373Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:46:00 +00002008-04-08T09:16:38.029-06:00church and stateA state legislator told an atheist at a public hearing, "You have no right to be here!" Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune reports (via Pharyngula via Mike at Obloggers): Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) interrupted atheist activist Rob Sherman during his testimony Wednesday afternoon before the House State Government Administration Committee in Springfield and told him, "What you have to spew and http://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/you-have-no-right-to-be-here.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-637860671553455873.post-8911628449611324682Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:24:00 +00002008-04-07T13:40:26.378-06:00Islamreligious crimesVarious practitioners of Islam continue to perpetrate and advocate murder in the name of their religion. Following are two recent stories reported by Fox. The first story involves the murder of a young couple for the "crime" of getting married without the consent of their parents: A couple found guilty of adultery by an Islamic "qazi" court was stoned to death by Taliban militants in Pakistan'shttp://www.ariarmstrong.com/2008/04/taliban-murders-young-couple.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ari)