Atheism, Reason, Happiness
Today the 129-year-old ghost of Cardinal John Henry Newman will be upgraded to a saint, by way of a magic trick conducted by the Christian God and presided over by Pope Francis in the Vatican.
Continue reading “Cardinal Newman’s ghost ‘healed’ man after surgery”
On the Day of the Girl, 11th October, the Orchid Project highlighted the injustice of Female Genital Cutting, and how some communities are abandoning it around the world. This abuse affects over 200 million women and girls, with nearly 4 million girls at risk every year.
Atheist Ireland supports the five Irish citizens who are taking a European Court challenge to the religious oaths that must be sworn by the Irish President, judges and members of the Council of State, which includes the Taoiseach, Tanaiste, Chairs of the Oireachtas, and others.
Continue reading “European Court challenge to religious oaths”
This is the sixth post in my debate with David Quinn of the Iona Institute about the nature and source of morality. In this I am responding to David’s thoughts on why he believes that the Christian God exists, why God’s nature is good, and why does God cause or permit suffering.
The Taoiseach attending the blessing of a new runway at Knock Airport reminded me of my favourite Irish blessing. In the 1950s Irish Mods queued up before a Catholic priest for the Annual Blessing of the Scooters.
It’s my favourite example of quirky Catholic Church influence on the early decades of the Irish State. Here are four more:
At Knock Airport the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar watched a Catholic priest splash holy water on a runway, in order to make it safer than other airport runways that did not have holy water splashed on them. Everybody present stood solemnly, blessing themselves.
Father Richard Gibbon then gave the Taoiseach some holy water to bring to New York next week as added protection when meets Boris Johnson. Everybody present laughed loudly and applauded. The Taoiseach jokingly asked should he throw it over Boris, and Father Gibbon said that he could.
30 days ago Angela Merkel gave Boris Johnson 30 days to come up with a workable alternative to the Irish backstop in the Brexit deal. Johnson said that he was more than happy with that timetable. Here’s what has happened since.
Ten years ago,
Like most people who make such plans, Anne died naturally at the end. But the peace of mind she got from that decision boosted her quality of life during the year and a half before she died.
Since then, I have campaigned for the right to assisted dying. Here is a talk that I gave in Paris two years ago on the issue. You can watch it above, and read it below.
Watch my debate with Niall Boylan, on Virgin Media TV’s Ireland AM, about opting out of religion in Irish schools.
Listen above to my debate yesterday on Today FM, with David Quinn of the Iona Institute, about religious schools and human rights in Ireland. Matt Cooper is the host.