Flying Spaghetti Monster, The Intelligent Designer

In response to the idea of an "intelligent designer" of life and the universe, one individual has proposed that the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" is in fact that entity. At least it is as good a candidate as any other is his opinion. The idea has slowly spread and has now achieved a cult following of sorts. Take a look and see if the FSM has not touched you with his "noodly appendage".

www.venganza.org/

Online Books & Upton Sinclair

A friend of mine on Facebook called my attention to a site called "Read Print" that contains over 8000 free books that you can enjoy in full. I browsed the various categories in the site's library and came across a book by Upton Sinclair that I found of interest. It is titled "The Profits of Religion" and expresses Mr. Sinclair's views of organized religion and the effect that money has upon it. Take a dive into Read Print and see if there is anything you might like to absorb. - One side note. Since the information was digital text, I had my Apple computer read it to me.

www.readprint.com/chapter-47468/The-Profits-of-Religion-Upton-Sinclair

World Demographics Are Changing

There has been a lot of talk from time to time about how cultures of the future will have a different mix of ethnic groups from those of today. In the USA it is easy to see a steady increase in the number of hispanic citizens. Sometime in the not too distant future, hispanic individuals will account for the majority of people in American. This movie, however, focuses on the rise in numbers of Islamic people across the world. That scares some people, especially those who are currently in the majority today.

I've discussed this video with several friends and they seem to think the numbers sited are questionable, along with the conclusions offered. Also, the mythbusting website "Snopes" rates this video as "Mostly False". The important thing to take away from this motivational video is not so much the information, but more the perspective of the people who made it.

www.metacafe.com/watch/2796221/changing_demographics

www.snopes.com/politics/religion/demographics.asp


Changing Demographics - Amazing videos are here

The Logic Of Being Open-Minded

Here is a YouTube lecture from "QualiaSoup" that focuses on the concept of open-mindedness. The writer behind this and other QualiaSoup productions uses logical, straightforward arguments to approach the way people express (and act upon) their beliefs, and expose the coarse defects in their thinking. I find the narrator's statements clear and relatively undeniable.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI

TED Prize Winner Karen Armstrong On Moyers Journal

Watch an interview between Bill Moyers and Karen Armstrong, founder of the "Charter of Compassion". See them discuss the topic of bringing back religious compassion to everyday life. A transcript also appears online.

www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03132009/watch.html

AP - More Americans Say They Have No Religion

Originally found as a link on the Drudge Report to an Associated Press web page, this article sites a study on American religious life. Evidently, the number of survey respondants who claimed no religious affiliation increased from 8.2 to 14.2 percent between 1990 and 2001. See the current webpage for the American Religious Identification Survey

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506849,00.html

www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/09/more-americans-say-they-h_n_173044.html

richarddawkins.net/articles/3647

CSM - The Coming Evangelical Collapse

I found it interesting that the Drudge Report would link to a report on the Christian Science Monitor website entitled "The Coming Evangelical Collapse". This essay discusses 7 major reasons why evangelical Christianity may go into decline, and what will happen if it does. Something to think about.

www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html