Athée Canadien
General
Response from Elizabeth May
May 4th
On March 31, I posted an article on Elizabeth May, highlighting her comment, “Canada Is Not a Secular State.” Doug Thomas, president of Secular Connexion Séculaire, commented on the post telling us he emailed May for clarification.
Doug Thomas received a reply from Elizabeth May and forwarded the reply to me with permission to post May’s reply on Canadian Atheist:
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:27:07 -0400
Subject: response from Elizabeth May : econo-theism
Dear Mr. Thomas,
Thanks for writing. I speak at many conferences. In the past, I enjoyed speaking at a National Humanist conference in Ottawa. In late March, I spoke to a faith-based conference in Toronto. I shared with that group a brilliant analysis from Prof Peter Timmermann of York University (a practicing Buddhist). Prof Timmermann has observed that Canada is not, as most imagine, a secular society, but that we have a “state religion – econo-theism”. This of course means that we as a society and certainly the political class, worship the economy. The point is not a religious one – it is a deep concern for the blind pursuit of oil wealth at the expense of the environment.
I believe that atheist organizations should have the same tax benefits as religious organizations.
I hope that this has answered your questions and addressed your concerns. If there are any further concerns please do not hesitate to contact me in the future.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth May, M.P., O.C
Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada
May’s reply will also be posted in the cycling slides at the top of the SCS webpage.
Dawkins’ Beautiful Mind
Apr 29th
In the video “Beautiful Minds: Richard Dawkins,” the young Richard Dawkins reminds me of John Lennon
At approximately 5:40 Dawkins decribes the way he used to read: “in a clandestine way.”
My favourite quote comes at 6:54:
And we are African apes. And we are a rather recent off shoot from other African apes.
Saturday Cartoon
Apr 28th
This cartoon was published on page 6 of Peterborough This Week on April 27, 2012:
Of Sports and Superstition
Apr 24th
As an Atheist, as a human being I suppose, I pride myself on being rational and level headed. I have dismissed religion, political conspiracy theories, and aliens because there is simply no (or not enough) proof that they are real. I believe in science; I believe in what I can see, feel, and prove and nothing else.
That is until sports are involved. Especially when it comes to my beloved Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.
When the Stanley Cup playoffs begin it’s like a go from being an Atheist to an Evangelical. I lose my ability to think logically and I become a slave to superstition. I suddenly find myself repeating or adjusting routines to ensure that my team has the best chance of winning. How can I possibly justify this with myself?
I don’t know and I don’t care.
What’s that you say? What I do in my home does not affect how my Bruins play on the ice in an arena hundreds of kilometres away? Blasphemy!
The Pope’s Pet Atheist
Apr 15th
By Sigmund
This is the first in a series of posts on the decline of the Catholic Church in Europe.
The term faitheist was invented several years ago to denote in individual who, despite having no belief in the supernatural, instead views a general belief in religion as a positive factor in society, in other words an atheist who has “belief in belief”. Well, you can take your Chris Mooney, your Michael Ruse and your Chris Stedman, for I think we’ve found the ultimate faitheist.
Meet Marcello Pera, an atheist so friendly to religion that the forward to his new book was written by none other than the Pope!
Pera, the president of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006, and a member of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, published Senza radici: Europa, relativismo, cristianesimo, Islam – Without Roots: Europe, Relativism, Christianity, Islam with the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2004. In that book the double act of Pera and the prefect of the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith proceeded to argue against relativism and for a positive role for the European church. Pera, in particular, saw Christianity as a bulwark against an expansionist Islam and sought to promote an explicitly Christian version of the European Union.
Dominico Pacitti, reviewing that book in 2005, commented:
Pera’s reasoning requires little comment beyond the observation that believers and non-believers alike could well find themselves thanking God that the EU is there to restrain him.
Pera has also written of his lament that his proposal to insert references to Europe’s Christian roots into the preamble to the European Constitutional Treaty was rejected
Pera’s new book, for which the now Pope Benedict XVI has written an introduction, is entitled Why We Should Call Ourselves Christians: The Religious Roots of Free Societies.
He expands on his thesis that Christianity is both a vital part of European history and a necessary element in its future, arguing for a civil religion based on Christianity.
Unsurprisingly, this stance is being enthusiastically hailed by conservative Catholic groups – for example the Iona Institute, a right wing Catholic think tank based in Dublin, who described Pera as
An atheist our own atheists might care to learn from.
The enthusiasm shown for Pera’s views, however, hides a deep malaise within European Catholicism – something a recent series of polls have highlighted and which I shall cover in future posts.
On Being a Canadian Atheist
Apr 13th
I actually wrote this a while ago but some recent Canadian news – led by Elizabeth May – made me go back and find it.
What does it mean to be a Canadian?
What does it mean to be an Atheist?
What does it mean to be a Canadian Atheist?
I can answer the first two questions with ease but the third question…well, it baffles me.
If I were an American, an Iranian, an Israelite, an Iraqi, an Indian, or even if I were Irish then I wouldn’t have trouble defining what it would mean to me to be an Atheist from my home country. But I’m none of those nationalities – I’m Canadian.
CFI launches lawsuit against Shopper’s Drug Mart for selling fake medicine
Apr 11th
From the press release:
TORONTO, ONTARIO (Marketwire – April 11, 2012) – The Centre for Inquiry (CFI) Canada is lending critical scientific support in a $30 million lawsuit against Shoppers Drug Mart and Boiron Canada.
The suit alleges sales of Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic product marketed for flu-like symptoms, violate consumer protection laws.
“Oscillococcinum is overpriced sugar,” said Iain Martel, Chair of CFI’s Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism. “The extreme dilutions used to make it ensure there is not a single molecule left of its supposed medicinal ingredient.”
Sometimes activism involves more than boring events and beers at a pub. Convincing lawyers there’s money to be made and letting them do the rest is a good move and I wish them all the best. (What’s the lawyer’s cut on $30M?)
From the lawyers:
In March 2012 REO launched a proposed class action against Boiron Canada relating to the marketing of Oscillicoccinum and Oscillicoccinum Children. According to Boiron, Oscillicoccinum is effective in relieving flu symptoms. The Statement of Claim alleges that, among other things, Boiron breached several consumer protection statues in its marketing of Oscillicoccinum as the product contains virtually none of its purported active ingredient namely Anas Barbarie Hepatis et Cordis extractum (namely the extract of the liver and heart of the Barbary Duck). As a result of those alleged breaches the proposed class members have vastly overpaid for what is in essence a sugar pill. The allegations in the Statement of Claim have yet to be proven in Court.
Library of Congress says the Bible is BS
Apr 10th
Sort of. The American-based Library of Congress Classification assigns a code to every book ever published. Just open any book to the copyright page to find it. Anyone who regularly researches in an academic library should be familiar with this system (most public libraries, however, use the Dewey Decimal System which is unwieldy and Christian biased, blech).
The code is based on the subject. It’s an always ongoing effort to organize every piece of knowledge humans have discovered as every subject can, theoretically, be assigned its own code (they’ve left space for subjects humans haven’t even thought of yet). A letter is given based on the book’s main class (ex. Q= Science, G=Geography etc) followed by a sub letter to further classify the subject (ex. QA= Math, QB=Astronomy, as both are seen as sub categories of science), followed by numbers (ex. QB460-466= Astrophysics, as a sub category of Astronomy).
Take a look at category B (Philosophy, Psychology, Religion). It’s sub-categories include Logic (BC) and Christianity (BR), for example. The Bible, being a subject large enough to have its own sub-category was assigned BS. This means the Bible and every book ever written about the Bible was/is given a code that begins with BS. Ha!
It’s just a coincidence. The letters were randomly assigned when the system was introduced in 1897 but it’s funny how to committee back then either missed it or thought it was irrelevant (or maybe some shit-disturbing atheist secretly snuck it in). In any case, if our religious opponents ever did any research of their own, they would have flagged this long ago and complained.
h/t The wife, a future Master of Information, who somehow pays attention to these sorts of things.
“Attack of the Atheists”?
Apr 6th
Yesterday, April 5, I received this announcement from CFI Canada
CFI’s Justin Trottier will be on Byline on Sun TV tonight (Thursday) between 9-10pm Eastern Time to discuss the effect atheism has on countries. Host Brian Lilley will argue that countries like Canada are doing well because it is a Judeo Christian country, whereas places like China have a lot of problems because they are atheistic. We will, CFI is told, also talk about ‘militant atheism’ (atheists trying to convert others to their lack of belief).
I was not at home to watch Byline last night because I was enjoying an evening with three wonderful people, who are, like me, members of CFI. Fortunately, I was able to access the video of the segment. As CFI’s message says, “Enjoy”!
If, as Brian Lilley says, atheists are on the attack, let’s “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
Sexy atheists
Mar 29th
Carisa Hendrix, a Calgary resident and sometimes-cohost of The Good Atheist podcast poses.
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