Being religious does not confer special rights

From last Thursday's Today Programme on BBC Radio Four:

A Christian couple who were refused permission to be foster parents on the grounds that they are homophobic, have been advised that appealing against the decision would be "futile". Barrister Paul Diamond and former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer debate if anti-discrimination laws should take precedence over the rights of the couple to express their religious views.

Ten-minute streaming audio clip available here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9420000/9420781.stm

Once again we have someone (Paul Diamond in this case) bleating that religious people should be allowed to discriminate unfairly against certain sections of society, and that being religious gives them special rights that the non-religious don't have. Lord Falconer is having none of it, pointing out that the judgement in the Eunice and Owen Johns case was very fair and applied not to the fact that the Johns' were religious, but that their views regarding homosexuality might prevent them from treating their foster children in a non-discriminatory manner.

Sure, the Johns' are decent people, but if their views prevent them from caring for foster children in a manner required by law, then they should not be allowed, by law, to be foster parents. The remedy, as in all these cases, is in their hands. In a previous Today Programme interview Eunice Johns claimed that all they are asking for is "a level playing-field in society". Thanks to recent laws against discrimination, that's exactly what they've got.

Japan earthquake — and responsible journalism

I've been at work all day and busy in the evening, so I've only caught glimpses of the news reports coming from Japan, but the TV pictures I've seen so far look horrendous. A natural disaster is obviously a hot topic, and a lot is written about it — not just dealing with the disaster itself, but also concerning related speculation, perhaps about the frequency of such events, their causes, and what can be done — if anything — to anticipate them, and to mitigate their effects afterwards.

I appreciate that it may be hard for a newspaper editor to come up with a unique perspective on an event like today's earthquake in Japan and its resulting tsunami. I appreciate that a paper needs to have something special to offer its readers — a reason why they should read this paper rather than another. But I am at a loss to understand the mentality of an editor who approved the publication of this:

(Via @bengoldacre's posterous)

It's clear from the article that the Mail knows that this "astrological prediction" is entirely bogus. And yet it publishes this despicable, tasteless and inconsiderate nonsense in the face of massive destruction and potentially enormous human suffering.

I ... words fail me.

Burnee links for Thursday

Forty people have got a new group which encourages rational thinking off to a good start in Bath
They're popping up all over the place. And Portsmouth gets a mention — I wonder if this is because Hayley Stevens (who presented at Bath Skeptics' inaugural event) is booked to appear here.

Great reply from Defra's Somerset Animal Health team on the use of Homeopathy. - Simon's posterous
Simon Perry gets a good result.

YouTube - Experience the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery from the KSC press site
Karen James (of the Beagle Project) was present at the final launch of Discovery. This is her personal record.


Dermestid Skeletal Preparation Kit | WARD'S Natural Science
Kids would learn a lot from this — if it didn't give them nightmares.

Director of the Society of Homeopaths Threatens Libel Action Against Paul Offit | The Quackometer
Wakefield may be discredited, but it's not over yet.

Birmingham Skeptics: The Framing Effect and Bad Decision Making
Kash Farooq elucidates a talk by Dr Benedetto De Martino.

A tribute to Douglas Adams — the Pod Delusion

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy remains for me the cleverest and funniest thing I've ever heard on radio, and I heard the original series when it was originally broadcast. I've read most of the books, I've enjoyed the sequels, and I've appreciated Douglas Adams' other work. I thought Harry Enfield was an inspired choice for the radio version of Dirk Gently (so I'm a little less enthusiastic about Stephen Mangan in the TV pilot, but that might be because I encountered Harry Enfield in the part first).

I found Douglas Adams' unexpected early death a sobering jolt from reality, as I was (along with countless fans) expecting great things to come. He and I were approximately the same age, and his untimely death prompted me to write something on my website (what these days would be called a "blog").

Hearing the Pod Delusion's special Douglas Adams tribute podcast was a joy, especially as it seemed to be all new stuff. The show is available as a podcast, an mp3 download, direct from iTunes, or you can listen to it right here:



Enjoy.

---

Apparently there are some hidden references in the tribute's theme music....

A detached view of scripture? BBC2's "Bible's Buried Secrets"

Next week's Radio Times has an article about a new BBC Two three-part TV series beginning on Tuesday 15th March at 9 pm entitled Bible's Buried Secrets, presented by Dr Francesca Stavrakopolou. The article is titled "The woman who says God was married", and quotes her as follows:

I'm an atheist with a huge respect for religion, not just ancient religions, but modern religions too. As a biblical scholar, I see what I do as an academic discipline, a branch of history, like any other. And as an academic, I think you leave faith at the door. I'm aware that there are some who find it hard to understand why an atheist could possibly be interested in the Bible, and I think that does a massive disservice to a fantastic collection of ancient texts. The Bible is a work of religious and social literature that has a huge impact on Western culture, and for that reason it's important that programmes like these are made.

My own reaction to the prospect of this series is that it might be a refreshingly detached view of the available facts, in contrast to — for instance — Anne Widdecombe's Channel 4 documentary on Mosaic Law (to which I added my own comment — follow that link and scroll down). The Mail Online takes a different view, judging by their first paragraph:

Looking for a presenter for a TV show about the Bible? The ideal candidate is an atheist who believes traditional interpretations of the book are sexist – according to BBC bosses, at least.

Or as Michael Marshall put it in the tweet that alerted me to the Mail article:

"It seems to me that another foreigner working for the BBC is spouting their anti christian dogma again."

— which is a valid characterisation of the slant used by Hannah Roberts and Paul Revoir in the Mail.

It's a bold move by the BBC, but I note it's not being broadcast on Sunday. (At least it's not suffering merely tentative exposure on BBC4.) 

Sam Harris — three UK appearances

Last night I eagerly followed a link on Twitter to discover that Sam Harris is coming to the UK next month, and will appear in London, Bristol and Cambridge. This is something for which I'd been on the look-out, as I'm a big fan of Sam Harris's writing. I have to admit that The Moral Landscape doesn't have quite the literary sparkle of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, but I nevertheless consider it a highly important work.

Naturally I'd like an opportunity to hear Harris speak in person. My anticipation has been dampened, however, on discovering that his appearance nearest to me — 11th April in London — will be a discussion with the Rev Giles Fraser. Who on earth thought that would be a good idea? To me it seems like a complete mismatch. Giles Fraser is a woolly-thinking theologian whose utterances on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day range from the somnolently bland to the jaw-droppingly vacuous.

Sam Harris's appearance at the Cambridge Wordfest on 16th April will be a discussion with Ian McEwan. That's something I'd be keen to hear, though Cambridge is a bit far from Portsmouth for an evening event. The other date, 13th April at the Bristol Festival of Ideas, appears to be Harris on his own, and is even farther from me. Regrettably, therefore, I may just content myself with the Intelligence Squared live video stream from the 11th April London event.

(I note from the Lecture Schedule on Sam Harris's website that he is this very day debating William Lane Craig — I wonder if a recording will be made available....)

Burnee links for Sunday

Ruling against Christian foster parents is evidence of “inquisition” | HumanistLife
What the pro-religious press isn't saying about the Johns case.

Htargcm Retsila : Pharyngula
PZ grants the circumlocutions of Alister McGrath one tiny point, then smacks down his utter wrongness on the scientific method.

Stephen Law: The case of the Christian would-be foster parents
A calm and collected view of the Johns fostering case.

Evolution Abroad: Creationism Evolves in Science Classrooms around the Globe: Scientific American
An assessment of ID/creationist teaching throughout the world, including some input from our own James Williams about the situation in the UK. No specific mention of the C4ID though, which might suggest that they are keeping a lower profile than was expected.
(Via BCSE.)

Patient and Persistent: A Problem for Creation Science and Geocentrists
Paul Baird wonders if a new discovery will be problematic for creationists. My money's on "No".

GCU Dancer on the Midway - "Bigots never foster, part deux" or "What the Court really said"
Paul Wright's take on the Johns fostering case principle.

Worship is immoral - Butterflies and Wheels
An interesting idea, further explored in the comments.