Christians Defending The Bible Tend To Fail

I like Penn Jillette, but I do often find myself disagreeing with him.  Particularly when he's espousing especially libertarian views or defending Glenn Beck^[1] When I saw the title of this article, "Atheist Penn Jillette Defends the Pope and Catholic Orthodoxy"^[2], I was expecting to disagree with him once again.

Disagreement with Jillette is far from what I found, because defense for the Pope isn't really what he was doing.  He took one of my favorite stances in regards to the bad behavior of Christians.  By pointing out that such reprehensible behavior is actually in line with the Bible, it puts Christians in the awkward position of choosing between defending the despicable and admitting that the Bible is flawed.

Either way, the opposition to Christianity wins.  That's the funny thing about defending an incorrect position.  It's quite difficult to do without looking like a fool and hurting the very thing you were attempting to protect.

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1.

2.  http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2013/03/07/atheist-penn-jillette-defends-the-pope-and-catholic-orthodoxy/

Saturday Morning Shares - 03-09-2013

Slow news week?  Here's a few things I found worth sharing.  Please feel free to add to it in the comments.

Random:

(via @ThinkGeek)

Science!:

Is This Star Older Than the Universe? (via @mashable)

Rare Photos Capture Two Comets Together in Night Sky (via @mashable)

Forest Whitaker's Non-Profit Thinks Tech Will Bring Peace to Africa (via @mashable)

About Religion:

Secular Coalition of America's Weekly Conference Call (03-07-2013)

Asshole Of The Week:

Anti-faith secularists are holding up scientific progress: USCCB pro-life official

No Shit - Mother Teresa Edition

One of the things that made Christopher Hitchens awesome^[1] was his bluntly honest stance on Mother Teresa.  I think he would have approved of today's news about her^[2].

A new study by Canadian academics says Mother Teresa was a product of hype who housed the poor and sick in shoddy conditions, despite her access to a fortune.

The Times of India, reporting on the controversial essay, wrote that the authors asserted Mother Teresa saw beauty in the downtrodden's suffering and was far more willing to pray for them than provide practical medical care. Meanwhile, researchers say, the Vatican engaged in a PR ploy as it threw aside concerns about her suspicious financial dealings and contacts to forgo the five-year waiting period to beatify her.

And not just because the article mentions he was a source for the study.  It's a shame he's not still around to see it or to respond.

I wonder what bullshit Catholics & The Vatican will have to say in response to it.

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1.  Twelve Apostates - Christopher Hitchens
2.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/mother-teresa-myth_n_2805697.html

What's Your Skepticon Story?

The people behind Skepticon are looking for your stories about it.  This seems like an excellent idea, as Skepticon is the kind of conference that tends to result in great stories.  In other words, it's awesome.

Got a great story about Skepticon? We would love to hear them! You can send us a message here on Facebook OR hit... fb.me/G3Ra7bZp
— Skepticon (@RealSkepticon) March 5, 2013

I know I have one that I'll be submitting soon. Do you have one worth sharing?

Our Wealth Inequality

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's a video on our drastic gap that's been going around.  It shows the severity of the wealth inequality in America better than anything I've seen before.

^[1]

Yay for Trickdown Economics.

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1.  @GoAngelo (Angelo Carusone)

Registration For Apostacon Is Open!

Ahoy me hearties!

We're pleased to announce that early-bird registration for Apostacon is now open! Just point your browsers to apostacon.arrrgh, er, I mean apostacon.org and click on the registration menu item. We have three regular admission types (Student, General and VIP) and you'll find pricing and information on what's included with each admission type on the site.

We also have Exhibitor and Vendor tables for purchase and both include a complimentary General Admission Ticket in the purchase price. 

Check it out and register for Apostacon now to take advantage of the special early-bird pricing. We're looking forward to seeing you in September!^[1]

Translated from Pirate to to English, it means registration^[2] for Apostacon^[3] is now open.  It's going to be an awesome time.  Take a look at the insanely spectacular speaker list^[4].  How could you pass this up?

I think this will be my favorite conference of the year and not just because I won't have to leave town to attend or because of the bias that comes with being involved in its planning.

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1.  http://www.facebook.com/Apostacon/posts/517400354965139
2.  http://www.apostacon.org/registration-options/
3.  http://www.apostacon.org/
4.  http://www.apostacon.org/speakers/

Let's Get American Atheists & Wolf PAC To Netroots Nation

Netroots Nation^[1] is a popular political convention for progressives.   This year, they're giving away 6 free booths.

We are offering six free booths in this year’s Netroots Nation Community and Exhibit  Hall. The top three vote-getters in this online contest will automatically get a booth in the Hall. The rest of the entrants will go through a second round where a panel of judges will decide, based on merit, which three entrants will receive the last three spots.

Please go here^[2], to vote for the atheists^[3] & Wolf PAC^[4].  You probably know who American Atheists^[5] are, but you may not have heard of Wolf PAC^[6] They are a political action committee dedicated to fixing our broken political system by addressing the very core of the problem^[7].  Money in politics.

Both organizations do great work.  Both deserve a spot at Netroots Nation.

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1.  http://www.netrootsnation.org/
2.  http://www.netrootsnation.org/hallcontestvoting2013/
3.  http://www.netrootsnation.org/HallcontestAtheists/
4.  http://www.netrootsnation.org/hallcontestWolfPAC/
5.  http://www.atheists.org/
6.  http://www.wolf-pac.com/
7.