Better PR Doesn't Equal a Revolution

I really didn't expect the mainstream media's love affair with Pope Francis to end just because the facts refute their favored view of him. However, I also didn't expect such a ridiculous piece to come from the BBC. Of all the mainstream outlets the BBC is usually one of the better ones. "Pope Francis gives Catholic Church gentle revolution" is chock full of bullshit. Most of the changes referenced are either completely imagined or exaggerated far beyond the superficial nature of them. The main piece of evidence that there has been any sort of revolution, gentle or otherwise, is that Francis is making the Church more palatable. People's perception of the Catholic Church has improved. Improvements in public relations does not qualify as a "revolution." The church has not actually changed. Not even a little.

Quotation

"If atheism is a religion, then bald is a hair color."
Mark Schnitzius

You can't "try on" atheism

Overall, I agree with Heman Mehta's summary ("To the Pastor Giving Atheism a Shot for a Year: You’re Doing It Wrong") of Ryan J. Bell's interest in better understanding atheists/atheism. I think he should be encourage to go ahead with his year long experiment. Hopefully, along the way he will realize that despite his sincere motives his approach is infused with a slew of myths and stereotypes. He seems to think that atheism is not only a actual "ism", which it is not, but also that it is basically just another religion.

The basic premise of his experiment is absurd. You can't "try on" atheism. Either you are an atheist or you are not an atheist. Even though Bell's views on organized religion seem to be evolving he does still follow religious beliefs thereby making him a theist. This seems to me to be a sort of metaphoric mirror image Bob Seidensticker's participation in the prayer expirement ("Not all Experiments Are Equal" 9/29/12). These are experiments that are by their own terms contradictions.

However, I still think it is worthwhile. It would be nice to have theists take a serious positive interest in atheists.

A HuffPo Piece Worth Reading

James Ishmael Ford's "The War on Atheists" is actually pretty good. It's one of the few HuffPo pieces I've read that isn't riddled with logical fallacies, factual errors, or outright bullshit.

Definitely Anti-gay

I would love it if the mainstream media finally started paying attention to what the Pope actually does, or doesn't do as opposed to the frequently disingenuous superficial rhetoric he offers on a regular basis. It is doubtful but one can hope. Francis has once again provided ample evidence that when it comes to substance he is no different than his predecessors. He has made his opposition to extending adoption rights to gay couples known. How is opposing equal rights to homosexuals "gay friendly"? Seems to be rather anti-gay to me. Even though some mainstream outlets have reported on this they are comparably short and unenthusiastic. Time's "Pope Francis ‘Shocked’ by Same-Sex Adoption Proposal" is an excellent example. It's wishy-washy tone is predictable. They did afterall just name Francis their Person of the Year. For a better piece on the incident read Hemant Mehta's December 30th blog post "Pope Francis Encourages Bishop to Condemn Same-Sex Parenting."