The irony

Posted on December 10, 2008 by Michael

The atheist sign in Washington state is still causing discussion. Unfortunately, some of that discussion is ironic.

But upon further review, we also feel that some of those protesting the sign make a good point about the message. Rather than just being a statement for atheism or observing the Winter Solstice, it steps over the line and attacks religion. The sign sponsored by the atheistic Freedom from Religion Foundation calls religion “myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

A key aspect of the message being sent out by humanists and atheists is that religion has a privileged position in our society and it is precisely unworthy of that position. To say this group was over the line is to undermine the notion of free and open discussion.

So, while we’ll defend the right of the atheist group to hold its views, we do think the message itself should have been monitored and disapproved. In this holiday season when people of certain religions are celebrating peace, as is their right, a mean-spirited message is out of place on public property.

So if a religious group puts out a message which says something to the effect of “May we defeat the evil that is Satan” then that is a “mean-spirited message [that] is out of place” during this season of celebrating peace, right?

The more pertinent point here, actually, is that certain religions aren’t actually celebrating peace. They’re celebrating their belief in myths and the sense of community these myths tend to harbor. That’s part of the reason the likes of Richard Dawkins and PZ Myers have Christmas trees in their homes during the season. They obviously aren’t celebrating any myths, but they are celebrating their love of family and community.

As I’ve said in the past, religion clearly brings a sense of community with it and that can be a good thing (and may be a contributing reason to its existence in our evolutionary history). What this atheist group is doing is celebrating what brings them together – reason and rationality. That is, a lack of belief in devils and angels are other fabrications of the mind are one common thread which strings these people together. For that, we all, too, should embrace the unharmful, open discourse that threads us together as a nation based upon liberties and freedoms.

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Good job, Cincinnati Zoo

Posted on December 1, 2008 by Michael

Good job, Cincinnati Zoo.

A promotional deal between the Cincinnati Zoo and the Creation Museum was scuttled Monday after the zoo received dozens of angry calls and emails about the partnership.

The promotion was billed as “Two Great Attractions, One Great Deal” and offered a package deal on tickets for the zoo’s annual Festival of Lights and a museum event called Bethlehem’s Blessings.

The deal appeared on web sites for both institutions Friday, but it was pulled by the zoo Monday morning after complaints about the partnership started pouring in.

Most of the protests echoed the same theme: the Creation Museum promotes a religious point of view that conflicts with the zoo’s scientific mission. The museum promotes a strict interpretation of the biblical version of how life began, and it suggests that dinosaurs and man once lived side by side.

“They seem like diametrically opposed institutions,” said Dr. James Leach, a Cincinnati radiologist who emailed zoo officials about his concerns. “The Cincinnati Zoo is one of this city’s treasures. The Creation Museum is an international laughing stock.”

It’s nice that this has been corrected so quickly. If you emailed the zoo to complain, it’d be nice to email them some praise on their swift action.

This surely brings to light (again) the anti-science joke that is the Creation Museum. It’s just unfortunate that it’s for the very reason that it is anti-science that so many people seem to like it. We have the best way of knowing available to us, revealing so much beauty in the world, yet so many reject it as mechanical and bland and heartless. I hope people living in the area will visit the Cincinnati Zoo and maybe experience a little of the figurative magic of science. It’s certainly better than the literal magic peddled by the Creation Museum.

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Cincinnati Zoo aligns with ignorance

Posted on December 1, 2008 by Michael

Apparently, the Cincinnati Zoo is offering some awful deal where people can get into both its attractions and the Creation Museum for the price of one admission.

PZ Myers has a post on his blog on the topic. He has provided contact links for the zoo, along with some encouragement to raise some noise about this anti-science malarkey. The Creation Museum is a joke, but the fact that it has somehow managed to latch its claws into a reputable organization is far from funny.

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