Free speech is a gift that the framers of the constitution valued above most every other right in this country.  The backdrop of the Revolution was the stifling of expression of ideas by the Anglican (English) Church, and deists, freethinkers, Baptists, Calvinists, Methodists, and the like desired the universal ability to be free to espouse their ideas without a fear of retribution.

However, this freedom is increasingly in duress, and has been in the news recently in several different manifestations.  Furthermore, this phenomenon crosses interfaith lines; without standing as a unit, all Americans, as well as those throughout the world who enjoy free speech, could find themselves in a 1984-esque society where doublespeak is the only allowable language.

Thunderf00t’s Videos Removed

If you spend any time at all investigating atheism on YouTube, you will certainly come across the user “Thunderf00t,” an incredibly intelligent atheist who has a 37-part series called “why do people laugh at creationists,” which systematically debunks the entirety of the ID theory.

The problem with speech came about when YouTube changed its policy on hate-speech, promoting an Islamic-fundamentalist-esque standard of offense as hate speech.  Several incredibly mild videos were taken down, but thanks to the collective effort of thousands of people, the videos are back up.  Thunderf00t added this to the video, at 2:55:

Thanks to Youtube too for having the strength of character to do what was right, albeit after dropping the ball in a pretty shameful fashion.

YouTube, though dominated (as the internet often is) is a haven of free speech, in which many diverse views can be espoused without the fear of being flagged for hate speech.  Though some videos qualify, the strength of discourse provided by youtube (especially where commentary and rating are not disabled) allows for a beautiful snapshot of what discussion looks like.

It is a shame to think that YouTube even considered such a change, as though people had a right to not be offended by anyone else.  Such is the position of Sharia law, but this idea has no place in a free society.

Christians are Victims Too

I love and hate street preachers; they certainly make the job of atheists much easier.  Tom Short’s street preaching solidified my status as an anti-theist, and helped my girlfriend realize the utter moral depravity and worthlessness of the Christian position. But I will never, ever say that they need to shut up or keep peddling their filth; it’s their prerogative to spew forth their ignorant mythologies, just as much as any other human. Continue reading →

One of the core fallacies that allow Christians to shrug off the atrocities of Yahweh in the brutally backwards Old Testament is the fallacy of Special Pleading.  This idea is used to absolve them from following some of the more dated laws contained in books such as Leviticus and Deuteronomy, by appealing to the idea that some portions of the Old Testament continue to apply, while other portions do not.  The typical Christian proof-text for this separation comes from Paul in Romans 6,

¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Christians latch on to the idea that the law ceases to apply, conveniently ignoring the next line,

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!

What Would Jesus Do?

The fact that the law should still be followed is ratified in the Gospels, when Jesus says in Matthew 5,

17″Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them

In fact, in Matthew 15, Jesus admonishes the Pharisees for not following the commandment to kill children when they dishonor their parents (telling the Pharisees they ought to kill themselves)

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b]

Jesus goes on to point out that the Pharisees do wrong by ignoring the imposition of God’s command, (and ought to be put to death), for setting aside their possessions “for God” and not giving it to their parents.

Civil, Ceremonial, Moral Law, and “Context!!1!”

Whenever punishments of the old testament are described, the classic Christian apologist go-to is discipline vs. doctrine, or “Civil, Ceremonial, Moral” law.  This distinction divides the entirety of the old testament law into multiple categories, that may be applied at the discretion of the “Holy Spirit” (one’s own inbuilt/environmentally-created conscience).  This distinction is often the implied idea behind claiming the context (historical, biblical) of a passage as a validation for its dismissal.

This sort of claim to an outside agent for accepting some laws as valid, and dismissing other laws, is a classic case of Special Pleading.  Special pleading is defined as:

a form of spurious argumentation where a position in a dispute introduces favorable details or excludes unfavorable details by alleging a need to apply additional considerations without proper criticism of these considerations themselves

It is also called having a “Double Standard,” and a critical investigation of the standard by which some laws are ignored (even the principles behind these laws) and others are followed reveals this fallacious nature of this mindset.  When this argument is used, it can be dismissed outright. Continue reading →

In Italy, the Catholic Church enjoys a tax exemption on two-thirds of its 100,000 properties; that is, until today.  The new prime minister, who has been in office for only 4 months, has decided to go through with a plan to remove the churches’ tax-exempt status on many of the properties in question, specifically those which merge commercial interests with ministry.  An investigatory committe found in January that there would be an estimated gain of $130 million dollars (100 million euro), that would could be gained from assessing taxes on all church property.  And I for one think that we here in the states could take a hint from the folks who created Catholicism.

Freedom of Religion (From Oversight)

Churches here in the US enjoy oversight-free status in numerous areas that most non-profit organizations do not enjoy, and often engage in business and commercial enterprise using methods that would be illegal under other circumstances.  Many churches enjoy tax-free retail establishments such as coffee shops or bookstores (which are somewhat under fire), which compete directly with other businesses. Continue reading →