February 15, 2012 on BBC Two
Richard Dawkins, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali and Ruth Gledhill discuss secularism in the UK
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Richard Dawkins, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali and Ruth Gledhill discuss secularism in the UK
BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson on the BBC News channel, discussing Baroness Warsi's claims of 'militant secularism' with Anne Atkins.(via RDnet)
Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari has been deported from Malaysia back to Saudi Arabia. The 23-year-old columnist had sparked outrage following controversial Twitter comments on the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed which were seen to be insulting.
The columnist had fled the oil-rich kingdom and was arrested in transit through Kuala Lumpur airport on Thursday. Malaysia and Saudi have close ties.
Some Islam clerics had called for him to face the death penalty. Blasphemy is a crime punishable by execution under Saudi Arabia’s strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. It is not a capital crime in Malaysia.
Human rights groups have protested. Adding to the controversy is a claim his lawyer had obtained a court order preventing deportation, but had not been allowed to see his client.
Join critically-acclaimed author and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and world-renowned theoretical physicist and author Lawrence Krauss as they discuss biology, cosmology, religion, and a host of other topics.via RichardDawkins.net
The authors will also discuss their new books. Dawkins recently published The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True, an exploration of the magic of discovery embodied in the practice of science. Written for all age groups, the book moves forward from historical examples of supernatural explanations of natural phenomena to focus on the actual science behind how the world works.
Krauss's latest book, A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing, explains the scientific advances that provide insight into how the universe formed. Krauss tackles the age-old assumption that something cannot arise from nothing by arguing that not only can something arise from nothing, but something will always arise from nothing.
Founded in 2008, the ASU Origins Project is a university-wide transdisciplinary initiative aimed at facilitating cutting edge research and inquiry about origins questions, enhancing public science literacy, and improving science education. Since its inception, the Origins Project has brought the world's leading scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, to Tempe to explore origins questions. The Origins Project has hosted workshops and public events that have focused on questions as fundamental as the origin of the universe, how life began, the origins of human uniqueness, and the origins of morality.
The Real Time host brings Mitt Romney's father-in-law back to the realm of the dead atheist.
What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt? Alain de Botton suggests a "religion for atheists" -- call it Atheism 2.0 -- that incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence.
The Colorado Coalition of Reason or COCORE is behind a billboard that will sit on I-25 and Garden Of The Gods.
The billboard will read "God is an imaginary friend. Choose reality, it will be better for all of us," and will face north on the west side of the highway.
COCORE is made up of people who consider themselves agnostic or atheist.
They tell KKTV 11 News the point of the billboard is to encourage discussion between believers and non-believers.
They also say the billboard will let other non-believers know that they are not alone.
Groff Schroeder, the spokesman for COCORE says, often times non-believers have no idea how big their community really is and this billboard will bring them together.
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