Dan Arel's Blog, page 125

Ken Ham wants to sell you a book he hasn’t bothered to write yet

Ken Ham knows a cash cow when he sees it, and that is one major reason I was against the Bill Nye debate as much as I was.

If you’re going to call Richard Dawkins sexist you have to actually address sexism

An opinion piece in The Guardian by fellow Patheos blogger Adam Lee focused on the recent controversy surrounding Richard Dawkins, in which Lee accused Dawkins of being ignorant and sexist. Much like Lee, I came to atheism on my own and Dawkins played a major role in my activism, but unlike Lee, I am not [Read More...]

The right is now trying to silence spanking critics

Spanking is not a simple left and right issue. Yet that seems to be what Nancy French wants you to believe it is. Writing for the conservative propaganda machine the National Review, Nancy claims the left is spinning the issue of spanking at the time of the heightened outrage, and, “their story doesn’t even have to be true to be effective.”

Yale Humanist group was wrong in trying to silence free speech rights

There was a lot of controversy this week over Ayaan Hirsi Ali speaking at Yale University. Originally Yale’s Muslim Students Association (MSA) spoke out against Hirsi Ali speaking claiming she lacked the credentials to speak on Islamic matters.This came as no surprise given that Hirsi Ali is critical of Islam and the MSA would want to do everything to silence any speech that criticized their faith. What did seem to shock everyone, as JT Eberhard points out, was to see the Yale Humanist’s take...

Stop trying to replace religion and instead make humanism something more

I was critical of the idea of “atheist churches” when The Sunday Assembly made its big announcement, and I remained critical until I visited one during their US tour that brought them to my hometown.While I did enjoy myself, I wrote in a review for Examiner.com that I felt it was a little to church like and I did not really enjoy the singing and music because I felt as though I was back in church. However, I acknowledged then and now that this was not enough of a reason to write off The Sunda...

Obama putting troops on the ground to combat Ebola outbreak

President Obama today announced his plans to combat Ebola, something that he sees a National Security Issue. I want to cite former labor secretary Robert Reich here, who posted on Facebook: President Obama calls the Ebola epidemic in West Africa a “national security crisis” and is sending 3,000 military troops to Liberia, where the epidemic [Read More...]

Climate science is missing in the US educational system

In what seems like an uphill battle to tackle climate change in the United States we often look towards future generations who should be much more scientifically literate and are much more liberal in their politics, meaning they will not simply tow the party line and deny climate change, but accept the overwhelming amount of evidence that supports it.

Studies show spanking is harmful and it is time for the US to ban it

I know very little about the case of an NFL player hitting their child, I have seen the photos in articles and it disgusts me that a grown person thinks it is ever okay to do that to a child, especially when you are the size of an NFL player. Not that ones size makes abuse any different, but to know you are a massive, strong person, and then unleash that strength upon a child, you are a vile human being.But leaving the NFL behind, and looking only at the action of spanking, what is one to do?...

Is new atheism dead and is it even a term worth saving?

For the lack of a better term I consider myself a “new atheist”. Along the lines of those like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel C. Dennett (The Four Horseman) for whom the term is originally coined. I am an outspoken atheist activist who speaks out against religion and believes it causes a great deal of harm in this world.I have a great deal of respect for all four of these men for their writing, speaking and activism, however it is not such a dogmatic respect that...

My thoughts on atheist oppression in the US and Atheist TV

Here is a short clip of my appearance on Acronym TV discussing oppression of atheists in the US and my thoughts on the recent launch of Atheist TV by American Atheists.