Suffolk Humanists

For a good life, without religion

Links for your Friday

Posted by Margaret on Friday, Apr 14, 2006

Science vs NorseThis Friday in Suffolk, the sun is shining determinedly through the clouds, the end of the week is here, and all is well in the world. Here are some weblinks to assist you in wasting the rest of your Friday away. Friday afternoons weren’t meant for work, after all. So here are a few items to enjoy – Norse mythology, atheism as a cult, Star Trek’s new voyages in spandex, and Noel Edmonds places an order with the Cosmic Ordering Service.

If you thought the ongoing debate between Darwinian evolution theory and creationism was a painful one, this comic strip illustrates the bitter battle for hearts and minds between science and Norse mythology. Be warned – the ending is not pretty.

We are shocked to discover today that atheism is, in fact, a religion – what’s worse, it is a ‘cultish religion’. At least, that’s according to US Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, in this video. Pat is even claiming that atheism is “an establishment of religion contrary to the First Amendment”. If this is true, two things spring to mind – if atheism was made illegal, what would we all do, and if Pat thinks atheism is a cult, what are his thoughts on Scientology?

Pat Robertson is not the only one getting his definitions mixed up – Peter Franklin in the Guardian’s Comment is Free site brands anyone who denounces church schools as Secular supremacists.

James Kirk played by William ShatnerStar Trek was created by one of Humanism’s most famous proponents, Gene Roddenberry. In the face of pressure from TV executives to have a Christian chaplain on board the starship Enterprise, Roddenberry refused. Star Trek is notable for its absence of religious evangelising, and in fact took the position that religion was an anachronism and was completely irrelevant in the day-to-day lives of the crew members of the Enterprise.

New Voyages is a new take on the old Star Trek series, produced entirely by fans of Star Trek – these are the kind of obsessives that go to conventions and speak Klingon as a second language. The series is set in the time of the original Star Trek, and the characters are the same – Kirk, Spock and Bones are played by new actors. You can’t see the episodes on TV, at least not yet, so the New Voyages website allows you to download them for free. The beauty of New Voyages is taking a step back in time to the spandex-clad charm of the original series, where the women had short skirts and big hair, the men wore Brylcreem and had their phasers set to kill, and the monsters were as convincing as a bloke in a rubber suit waving his arms around.

Finally, Noel Edmonds apparently puts his recent successful return to TV, to present Channel 4’s Deal or No Deal, down to the Cosmic Ordering Service. Noel apparently placed a wish with the Cosmic Ordering Service, a concept described in Barbel Mohr’s book of the same name, for a TV comeback. He has subsequently been criticised by the Right Reverend Carl Cooper, who said “Intercessory prayer is part of our Christian tradition, however it is not divine room service, nor is it a heavenly shopping trolley”. I’ve checked the Cosmic Ordering Service as I was interested in placing an order for a car, a job, a girlfriend and a set of Japanese chef’s knives, but apparently they’re not accepting orders over the Easter weekend.

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