Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Wow, was that only this past week? Yep it was and it did indeed not only generate awe, but also some crazy stuff as well. Before we get into it I should also point out that this posting is not just about the eclipse (which was really cool), because I have plenty more other crazy stuff that happened during the past week to flag up. OK, so let’s start by rolling with some of the eclipse lunacy that popped up. An elected idiot, yes it really was her, tried to leverage the eclipse, and got community noted for raw stupid ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Woodland Park School District in Colorado has been infiltrated and then utterly decimated by a group of religious fanatics. They belonged to a church run by Christian Nationalist Andrew Wommack. Actually, the word “decimated”might be the wrong description. That’s a reference to a form of punishment applied to any Roman Legion who dared to mutiny. To restore order, one in every ten would be killed. In the case of the Woodland Park School District, far more than 10% quit in total disgust because of the ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Easter last weekend was transformed for many into a right-wing MAGA festival of very blatant stupidity. This involved the manufacture of completely fictitious outrage to feed the perpetually ready to be offended crowd. Sit back now and bask in a few samples so that you can proceed to laugh at the depths of raw idiocy that they have committed themselves to. Here is Hannity, a rather proment voice, promoting the utterly false White House Egg Roll conspiracy on Fox News. His claim is the the Biden White House banned re ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Remains of the long abandoned Elgin Cathedral For this latest insight I am leaning upon two polls, and not just one … On March 25 Gallup released their Chuch Attendence poll On March 27 PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), released a poll that asked people about their experience with religion Spoiler alert, if you lean towards rationalism, then both are really good news. If however you have a personality that is more inclined to lean into faith, then both will indeed be very depressing. Often pollsters will a ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Trump is now selling bibles and it is not quite April 1st yet … jeez louise he’s grifting off the bible now pic.twitter.com/LbsgnUuJ63 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 26, 2024 There is also a weird plot twist here. The bibles he sells have extra text added. I’m not kidding. Each copy also includes the text of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, and more. It is those extra texts that gives it a Christian Nationalist twist and motivated a Christian Pu ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Pictured above is 3-year-old Arely Naomi Proctor. She was tortured to death by her grandfather, uncle, and mother. Convinced that she had demons, they inflicted a truly horrendous 12 hour religious ritual that would supposedly free her, but they ended up slaughtering her in a gruesome and hideous manner. Arely died on Sept. 24, 2021, inside a small Pentecostal church, Iglesia Apostoles y Profetas, San Jose I did previously write about her case back in May of last year because all the details had then emerged … https ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking This past week has seen the GOP Impeachment effort descend even further into chaos. What we have all now discovered is that the rock bottom of this utter farcical clown show has a basement. Luckily the Democrats on the committee have been doing their jobs and fully leveraging it. Here below is Rep Swalwell from this past week listing the top 10 reasons why it’s over for impeachment, and he then uses a visual aid to pronounce the moment that the impeachment died – Rep Swalwell truly is a master of the art of visual a ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Members of the Jansenist sect having convulsions and spasms as a result of religious fanaticism. Engraving by Bernard Picart. The question sounds simple until you give it a bit of thought? Here is what I mean. If you measured it by the rapidly rising numbers of people who are quitting religion, then you can argue that the influence of religion within the US is indeed in decline. Simply look at the vast number of people who now identify as “None”. Your argument would be solid because there is a measurab ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking Every time a Republican politician has refused to bow down and worship the MAGA god-king messiah they have in effect done the equivalent of taking their entire future political career prospects out into the yard, put a match to it, and burned it all to the ground. Despite knowing that this will most probably be the outcome, Pence has now very publicly refused to endorse Trump. Well gosh; I just can’t imagine why, surely it can’t have been Trump setting a mob upon him on Jan 6 who wanted to murder him. I know, I know ..read more

Skeptical Science Skeptical Science - Promoting Science and Critical Thinking The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer, by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1883) The phrase “Persecution of Christians” brings to mind something akin to the above popular image of innocent loving people being tossed to the lions in the arena for the crime of simply holding a Christian belief. Be wary of embracing the myth. Myth? Well yes. Damnatio ad bestias We all carry within our heads a repository of myths that we believe to be true. Some often do have some basis in fact and so we accept it all as true, but often things a ..read more