Dr. Andy Thomson: The Neuro-physiology of Religious Belief & Spiritual Practice

July 14th, 2013 at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies

11-Year-Old Girl From Yemen Flees Arranged Marriage, Posts YouTube Video Telling Her Story

From Global News Canada:

A video posted on LiveLeak and YouTube on Sunday tells the story of an 11-year-old girl from Yemen called Nada Al-Ahdal.

Looking right into the camera, Nada says her parents tried to force her into an arranged marriage but she fled to her uncle’s house, who works as a graphic artist for a local TV station.

She talks about how in Yemen it is common for kids to commit suicide if they are forced into marriage, and how some children’s lives are stolen from them.

Nada is now waiting in hopes that journalists, human-rights activists and different local organizations will help her make a strong case against her parents who are trying to get her back so they can go on with the marriage process.

Yemeni law states that girls of any age are allowed to wed, and according to the United Nations, Yemen has the second youngest population in the world as there are so many young brides.

Nada’s video has now been viewed more than two million times on YouTube.

(via RDnet)

The March of Reason: A New Age

Part 3 of 5 in the March of Reason Series

It isn't necessary to have seen the first two, since each film stands on it's own. This third episode touches on New Age beliefs, psychics, alternative medicine, religion's treatment of women, and a few other topics.

The March of Reason: Ridicule the Ridiculous

Part 2 of 5 from the March of Reason Series

The March of Reason: Introduction to Reason and Atheism

Part 1 of 5 from the March of Reason Series

Sunday Morning Live: Is There Room For Religion in the Classroom? - BBC

July 21, 2013 on BBC One

Neil deGrasse Tyson's COSMOS (Official Trailer)

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, originally aired as a thirteen-part television series in 1980 that saw Carl Sagan elucidating the mysteries of the universe and life's origins for a mass audience. Though the original was and is still fantastic, the show does look dated at this point, and modern public is used to a little more, say, flare in their space CGI. But from the looks of the trailer, Neil deGrasse Tyson is more than answering that call. The new, also 13-part series will be airing on Fox sometime in Spring of 2014.

(via Gizmodo)

Intelligent Design

by The Thinking Atheist

Do the New Atheists Have Any New Ideas? 5-Minute Debate with Daniel Dennett

Andrew Brown challenges philosopher and atheist Daniel Dennett to convince him that the New Atheists have new ideas -- and that they have really changed the face of belief in America. Dennett, one of the original 'four horsemen' of new atheism (along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens), has argued that belief in God is not merely mistaken, but dangerous.

Lawrence Krauss: Atheism and the Spirit of Science

July 4, 2013 on TVO:

The unmovable mover, the first cause, the Big Bang. For centuries, we have grappled with the moment of creation: How did something come from nothing? Physicist Lawrence Krauss says it just does. In fact, he says 70% of the energy in our universe is contained in the empty space between quarks, atoms, and galaxies. He sits down with Steve Paikin to discuss the notion of a creator-less universe, and how science can be spiritual.

Thank You God - Tim Minchin

Creating Museum Adding Dragons and Zip Lines to Counter Low Attendance