For all of the Penn and Teller fans out there who have thoroughly enjoyed their shows and oftentimes brutal critiques of religious claims, comes now "The Best of Penn Says: Religion" series on DVD complete with three new rants.
I often wince at just how precise the evisceration of a particular sect or ritualistic religious practice can be from Penn, but there is no doubt that the views expressed are derived from an honest exploration of the material and very well reasoned.
Many of the topics he addresses in his videos we have also discussed here at MSAtheists and at Atheist Revolution so I thought his insight would be of interest to atheists here in Mississippi.
For those not familiar with the Penn Says videos, they can be found over at Crackle.
Enjoy!
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I am on several different listservs maintained by atheist groups around Mississippi. I like to see what other atheists are doing around our state so that I can help spread the word about it here. This was a big part of why I created Mississippi Atheists. But what I like best about these listservs is that I get to experience the diversity of thought among atheists in our state. While we may agree more often than not, there is also intelligent, lively debate happening on these listservs. When I have time to read and participate, I always come away thinking on a deeper level. This post was inspired by some recent discussions about the need to remain secretive about one's atheism here in Mississippi.
There is no question that Mississippi is a difficult place for an atheist to live. Judging by what I have seen on the listservs of atheist groups throughout our state, the majority of atheists here remain securely closeted. Some may reveal their atheism to close friends or family members, but few are "out" at work or in their daily social lives.
This is perfectly understandable. I have the good fortune to work in one of the more enlightened settings, and I'm still not 100% out. From what I have heard about the less enlightened settings, I cannot imagine how hard it would be to be even a little bit out there. It almost certainly seems as if someone working in such a setting has no choice but to remain highly guarded.
And yet, we do have a choice. We always have a choice. I could be 100% out tomorrow, and so could you. We would almost certainly face some unpleasant consequences, and some might indeed be as bad as those we imagine. But we are still making a decision.
I often hear atheists complaining that they have "no choice," but I have always found it more empowering to accept my choice and realize that I am doing what I need to do in order to protect myself, my family, or my career. I can think of many good reasons for not being more open than I am, and I can think of many equally good reasons for not being more secretive and guarded than I am.
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By now everyone has heard about Laura Silsby, the grifter facing several civil lawsuits through her internet business riddled with deceptive practices facing several civil suits, and her group of doe-eyed Christian Fundamentalist Protestants that believe they are on a mission from God to do whatever they want regardless of secular laws.
Well, today they were denied release and any special treatment despite their pleas regarding their perfect and divine plan to take children from a sovereign country without so much as a "praise Jesus, we're taking these babies" to the legal authority, both Haitian and international.
Their attorney and even the Southern Baptist Convention are now pulling out all of the stops to convince the world that these 10 folks were just simpletons, naive in the ways of the world by just doing what the Big Guy demanded them to do.
Of course, the truth is that grown men and women decided to travel into a disaster zone and work with a local Haitian pastor who had convinced (sold) families of children (not orphans) on the idea that they were taking them to a temporary club for kids in the Dominican Republic and that the families could later come and visit. We've since learned that they were told by Dominican and UN authorities ahead of time that they would be committing an illegal act if they were to persist...and they did so anyway.
This Baptist group asserts plainly that they went there to "adopt orphans", convert them to the Protestant religious sect of Christianity (as is their stated foundational mission) and farm them out to others of their own faith.Silsby's Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho, had begun planning last year to build an orphanage, school and church in Magante, on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Their plan was to work with U.S. adoption agencies to find "loving Christian parents" for Haitian and Dominican children. When the quake struck, the church members decided to act immediately, renting a hotel in a nearby Dominican beach resort and hiring a bus to collect children from the disaster area.
They not only didn't "complete the paperwork", they had none, and felt that they could just walk in and skip over everyone else who has been participating in the correct adoption processes in place to ensure the safety and well-being of children.
They were duplicitous because their intent was to eventually take these children and present them to other Christians for adoption, not keep them in the region or to keep families and traditions intact.
The bottom line is that this group didn't go to Haiti to simply provide humanitarian aid or to protect the sanctity of families and ancestral culture.
They went there to take children from their lands in the midst of chaos, proselytize and attempt to convert them to their own brand of religion at a time when ordinary "checks and balances" were down for the count.
Certainly they present a "physical mission", but it is merely a cover for the "real mission", which is to convert children to their own particular religious affiliation when these poor families are suffering and most open to the subtlety of emotional pressure.
The sect violated international law, Haitian law and the laws of common sense and promoting themselves now as victims of persecution by the forces of Satan in need of special legal consideration is the most cynical and slick use of religion there is and always has been.
The leader of this fiasco, Laura Silsby, will be put under the microscope soon and will no doubt further and continuously raise the specter of Christian persecution to dodge culpability for these actions (among others).
Expect more petitions to keep these Christian victims in prayers for special deliverance and much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth demanding instant and default dismissal on the grounds that to not do so would be a Satanic conspiracy of historical proportions.
Never has there been a more stark and glaring example of both the hubris and irresponsible use of religion than right now.
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I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the atheists, secular humanists, agnostics and other skeptics out there in our country who continue to help others for the greater good.
We may have all sorts of other affiliations, personal perspectives and lifestyles but it was really good to see us all come together again in a time of need.
Of course, we all fully recognize that many theists of all sects and denominations participate in caring for the human family as well, but it is far too often asserted that religious ideologies hold the monopoly on empathy, reciprocity, ethics and moral standards.
Well, nothing could be further from the truth and just this one particular secular outreach is approaching the $100,000 in donations mark:
January 15, 2010, Amherst, New York—In response to Haitian residents’ emergency needs following the Jan. 12 earthquake, the Center for Inquiry’s Skeptics and Humanist Aid and Relief Effort (S.H.A.R.E.) has raised $47,000 in less than 24 hours. Those who live without God or religion, along with faith groups, recognize the need to assist the stricken nation’s survivors and have answered the call.
All donations to S.H.A.R.E.—100 percent with no operating costs retained—will be sent directly to the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders, which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities and is working against difficulties to provide the basics of first-aid care and stabilization.
“Good, nonreligious people want to help, but are often reluctant to give when they know their donations may be diverted from real aid to sectarian causes,” said Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. “S.H.A.R.E. provides an assured opportunity for people to directly help those in need—and to show they care—without a needless entanglement in religion.”
One of the appealing aspects of SHARE is that all donations—100 percent with no operating costs retained—are sent directly to secular aid groups who are actively helping in the affected area. In this case, donations benefit the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders, which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities.
Just to put it in local perspective, this very same effort generated about $80,000 for our gulf coast community in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, so it is a very practical and worthwhile effort that is much appreciated by real people in the midst of despair.
Thanks again and keep up the great work.
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The Mississippi Gulf Coast Atheist and Freethinking Association has scheduled their February meetup for Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 3:00 PM in Gulfport. For more information, visit their website.
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