Nice Comment

Comment by Jean Marie on November 22, 2011 at 1:30am

dawg. that video does look good.  i much prefer reading to watching vids, but, i see it says "transcript pending", can't wait!  i'll save that one.

have you heard this yet, CG?

Comment by Doone on November 21, 2011 at 5:50pm

THE INDUSTRIOUS GOD

by Gautam Pemmaraju

The beleaguered liquor baron/industrialist/MP Vijay Mallya, considered to be the ‘Richard Branson of India’ by many, is currently seeking ways to rescue his debt-ridden airline. Having drastically cancelled flights over the last few weeks, the colourful airline promoter, who also has an Indian Premier League cricket team, an F1 racing car, one of the biggest private yacht’s in the world, a slew of vintage cars, amongst other baubles, has been defending himself against widespread criticism. Speculations of a possible government bailout have angered many around the country.

He is also a patron of the historic temple in the hills of Tirupati, in southern Andhra Pradesh, bordering Tamil Nadu. With a prominent guesthouse there, he is known to be an avid devotee of the resident god Venkateshwara (also Balaji, Srinivasa), and has never been shy with either devotion or largesse. Newspaper reports abound that every new aircraft of his first takes a flight of obeisance around the Tirumala hills where the temple is located, before ferrying passengers.

A former BJP minister of Karnataka and mining baron, G Janardhan Reddy, who is now in jail on charges of illegal mining, had donated to the temple a ‘2.5 foot long, 30 kg’ diamond encrusted gold crown worth over $10 million then in 2009. Recently the temple administration (the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam trust or TTD) stated officially that there was no question of returning the gift in response to demands calling for its return. Political parties and other groups led protests against the ‘tainted’ offering, claiming that it “polluted the sacred ambience of the sanctum sanctorum”.  Earlier this year, the now incarcerated politician and his brother (known as the Reddy brothers - partners in the controversial Obulapuram Mining Company) donated yet another diamond studded crown, gold laden garments and other ornaments worth around $3.5 million, to the deity at Srikalahasti temple, which is at the foothills of the main temple.

A rather entertaining news report by a regional TV station in April last year, informed viewing public that the reason for the Mumbai Indians cricket team loss to the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final was due to a transgression by the owners, Mukesh and Nita Ambani. The temple remains closed between 12 AM and 2 AM, giving a chance for the industrious god to rest a bit. It was apparently during these hours, the wealthiest man in India and his entourage paid a private visit to the temple to pray for his team’s victory. Angered at the intrusion, the resident god, according to locals, in an act of divine annoyance, caused Ambani’s team to lose. Quite emphatically at that.

Continue reading "The Industrious God"

Posted by Gautam Pemmaraju at 12:50 AM | Permalink 

 

Comment by Michel on November 21, 2011 at 5:15pm

If belief in God were a choice, they would choose to believe in him.

Really? Why?

Comment by Doone on November 21, 2011 at 4:18pm

Is Atheism A Choice?

A reader writes:

In your post "Why Don't People Trust Atheists?", you quote Tom Rees: "I think there is a special feature of atheism that separates it from many other kinds of prejudice - and that's the fact that atheism is a choice." Most atheists, myself included, would argue that our atheism is not a choice. Many of us lost our belief in God not because we just decided, "Hey, I think I'll choose not to believe in God any longer."  Rather, the weight of the evidence against the existence of a deity as well as our life experiences led us, inevitably, to a point where we could no longer believe in God.  We did not choose to relinquish our faith any more than Christians choose not to believe in Zeus or Kali or any number of other non-Christian deities.  To borrow a phrase from William James, belief in God ceased to be a live option for us.

I have many atheist friends who deeply regret that they can no longer believe in God.  If belief in God were a choice, they would choose to believe in him.

Earlier thoughts on whether faith is choice here and here.

 

Comment by Bill on November 21, 2011 at 2:23pm

Good article, doone. It is good to see a little progress on this front. There should be atheist chaplains for sure!

Comment by Doone on November 20, 2011 at 6:00pm

A Chaplain For Atheist Soldiers?

Capt. Ryan Jean is one of a dozen seeking Army recognition as a humanist lay leader, similar to (but more unofficial than) a military chaplain. Jean explains why recognition is important:

It shows that we are a community with real needs. It shows that the chaplaincy by its very nature is not meeting those needs — and, I would argue, is inherently incapable of properly meeting those needs without some sort of liaison.

Craig James is up in arms about a Fox News segment featuring Father Jonathan Morris, an Army Chaplain who ridiculed the idea:

The Chaplains in our military are the first and best resource that these young soldiers turn to for help when faced with the awful reality of war. Yet Father Jonathan Morris seems to think that atheist and agnostic soldiers don’t deserve the critical services of a chaplain.

On a related note, Jennifer Rizzo  tells the story of a recent soldier almost pulled from graduation for refusing to bow his head in prayer.

(Photo: Protestant U.S. Army chaplain Brian Chepey leads prayers on September 11, 2011 at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. By John Moore/Getty Images.)    

 

Comment by Hope on November 20, 2011 at 11:53am

I found these 2 pics... They say, it's Elohim.

Wow! antique statues =)

Comment by Bill on November 20, 2011 at 11:36am

It's almost a silly question. Of course religious people distrust atheists. If they trusted them, they would become atheists themselves. And the reverse is also true. Atheists do not trust the religious. To trust someone means you believe they are truthful, or at least consistent. 

One can only hope that the majority of people learn to trust atheists.

Comment by Doone on November 20, 2011 at 11:20am

Why Don't People Trust Atheists?

Tom Jacobs finds an answer in recent research from Will Gervais:

Gervais and his colleagues approach this phenomenon from an evolutionary perspective. “A number of researchers have argued that religious beliefs may have been one of several mechanisms allowing people to cooperate in large groups, by in effect outsourcing social monitoring and punishment to supernatural agents,” they write. Religion, in other words, has served a specific function throughout much of human history (beyond assuaging existential fears): It keeps people in line, discouraging them from engaging in selfish acts that hurt the larger community.

Jacobs acknowledges that there's no evidence backing up the assumption that atheists are less moral and elaborates on evidence to the contrary. Talking about Gervais' research a while back, Tom Rees offered his own explanation:

I think there is a special feature of atheism that separates it from many other kinds of predjudice - and that's the fact that atheism is a choice. When there are only very few atheists, then the only people who are going to 'come out' as atheists are likely to be those who are a little maverick. If lots of people choose to be atheists, then it's clearly something that 'normal' people do. In other words, distrust of atheists when they are a tiny minority might well be a perfectly rational rule of thumb!

Hemant Mehta rounds up other theories.

Comment by Michel on November 19, 2011 at 11:54am

45,000 local churches.
That's an awful amount.
How tribal...

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