The Difference Between Science And Religion, Explained With Bunnies

Via reddit:

CNN Anchor Calls Bill Nye A Kook For Linking Wildfires To Climate Change, Gets Schooled

Science educator Bill Nye is introduced by a CNN anchor as a 'kook.' Nye says that climate change is to blame for the recent spate of wildfires.

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Gay Marriage Is Inevitable: Pew Data Shows Continued Trend Of Acceptance

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life just released some new data which allows us to view the changing attitudes on gay marriage over the course of the past 11 years.

It's easy for supporters of equality to become frustrated with recent anti-gay marriage legislation (and the promise of more coming down the pike), but it is encouraging to step back and view the changing attitudes over the past decade or so. While a decade seems like eternity when you are being denied the rights that others enjoy, it is a relatively short period of time for such a sea change in acceptance.

While there's a lot of data to pore over, let's take a look at four graphs that provide us with a basic overview of this shift.

2012 is only the second year (2011 being the first) in which Pew recorded a majority in favor of gay marriage.

Take a look:

Due to vocal support for marriage equality in the media, in businesses, on social networks, and even in religious bodies, it is likely that we may have reached a tipping point, in which case we can expect an accelerated rate of acceptance in the coming decade.

We also can expect to see a continued rate of increase of support as millennials age into the working and voting demographic, and as the older generation of politicians, business owners, and clergy members start to, uh, get out of the way.

Check it out:

So, who exactly are these people who are so anti-equality? As they say, sometimes stereotypes exist for a reason.

Let's see:

If you guessed that white evangelicals were the most anti-equality religious demographic, you're right. And lo and behold, it's the 'religious nones' who by and large don't have any problem with the gays marrying. This would be the atheists, agnostics, and those who are religious but simply don't belong to any of the main doctrine-driven denominations.

Also, if you guessed Republicans are the most anti-equality political affiliation, you win a prize.  However, Democrats and Independents aren't exactly the 'live and let live' types as we are often led to believe.

There's more where this came from, but the takeaway should be clear. Gay marriage is inevitable, folks. It's just a matter of how soon, and certainly for many it couldn't be soon enough.

We have seen the future of America. They're young, they're not beholden to antiquated dogma, and they're not scared of the gays.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Tweets More Baseball

During the 2011 World Series, Neil deGrasse Tyson treated his Twitter followers to an entertaining and informative stream of tweets about baseball from the perspective of an astrophysicist.

Tyson is arguably one of the most popular, charismatic, and likable scientists since Carl Sagan. It's only natural that we would want to know what it's like to sit on the couch with him during the All-Star Game.

I was pleased to find Tyson tweeting about baseball last night while the game was on. (It wasn't much of a game, so his commentary was probably the only thing keeping me from shutting the thing off.)

I've collected those tweets below for your enjoyment:

Fischer: Gays Are Driven By A 'Dark, Venomous, Demonic Hatred'

Bryan Fischer, the man with absolutely no self-awareness, says the gays are the "real haters," because they are fueled by a Christophobic, heterophobic demonic hatred.

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Evangelist Claims To Have 200,000 People Who Will Write In Jesus For President

Via Christian Post:

An Internet evangelist who is advocating that Christians vote for Jesus as a write-in candidate says he has more than 200,000 people who have committed to do so. However, a political science expert believes the evangelist's demonizing rhetoric about both candidates is not Christ-like.

You may recall Bill Keller. He's the guy who launched an attack against Joel Osteen and Franklin Graham for promoting Mitt Romney and failing to expose Mormonism as a cult.

It appears that perhaps Keller is not thrilled with his choices this election cycle.

"It is literally Satan flipping a two-headed coin with his head on both sides. How can a Christian in good conscience vote for President Obama, who has proven to be the most pro-baby killing, pro-radical homosexual, pro-enemy of Israel President in our nation's history," Keller stated in a "Vote for Jesus" campaign update.

"On the other hand, how can a Christian in good conscience vote for Mitt Romney, a 5th generation member and priest of the Satanic Mormon cult," he added. "His Presidency would give his cult the mainstream acceptance they have always wanted since being founded 200 years ago by a documented con-artist, racist, pedophile, polygamist, and murderer named Joseph Smith."

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Robertson: The Bible Was 'Terribly Wrong' About Slavery, But Not About Homosexuality

Evangelicals love to cherry-pick their scripture. They love to cite 'The Word of God' when it rails against homosexuality. "The Bible is quote clear," they'll tell you.

The Bible is quite clear about a lot of things that Christians have long dismissed: slavery, wearing blended fabrics, eating shellfish, executing people for petty offenses, etc.

Pat Robertson has a long history of hating gay people. "The Bible is so clear about homosexuality," he's said.

However, Pat, like many evangelical Christians, loves to cherry-pick.

"Despite what the Bible says, “We have moved in our conception of the value of human beings until we realized slavery was terribly wrong.”

Have we, Pat? It seems like just a few months ago, evangelicals were up in arms when Dan Savage suggested the same thing.

SAVAGE: We can learn to ignore the bullshit about gay people in the Bible the same way have learned to ignore the bullshit in the Bible about shellfish about slavery, about dinner about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation. We ignore bullshit in the bible about all sorts of things. The Bible is a radically pro-slavery document. Slave owners waived Bibles over their heads during the civil war and justified it…We ignore what the Bible says about slavery because the Bible got slavery wrong.…If the Bible got the easiest moral question that humanity has ever faced wrong, slavery. What are the odds that the Bible got something as complicated as human sexuality wrong? 100 percent.

So, we have Pat Robertson admitting that the Bible was "terribly wrong" about slavery. To extend Pat's thoughts on the "value of human beings" idea into the treatment of the LGBT population doesn't seem to be much of a stretch, does it? It's not that radical a notion.

It will happen. Eventually. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until bigoted dinosaurs like Pat Robertson die out.