Christianity seems to be continuing on it’s downward spiral of self-implosion recently, although this is hardly likely to affect the committed followers of the various church leaders who are now retreating into a state of denialism in order to maintain their commitment.
The recent collapse of TB Joshua’s buildings around parts of the continent, along with the constant scandals of sexual misbehaviour, rape, vandalism and violence by people such as “Bishop” Obinim (who claimed he didn’t realise vandalism and theft was wrong), and the obscene displays of material wealth by Nigerian pastors, are doing more to raise questions about the churches, the practise of Christianity, and how a belief system that claims to transform its followers consistently fails to do so, than non-believers have needed to contribute. Read more…
Great news for Ghana, and for the international humanist community! Well done to Ros!
The suffocating crescendo of the duet;
Its parts bound together by the warmth of the rope burn.
Sweet harmony tightening like the noose that took the breath with comforting despair.
Hanging lifeless as the conductor’s baton slices and cuts with the delicate downbeat of the surgeon’s scapel. Read more…
What would you do if a gang stole your phone, MP3 player and money, threatening violence if you didn’t hand them over?
Kobina Amoo, a US university graduate living and working Ghana, has decided to do the surprising – help his attacker. Read more…
God has never spoken to you, you’ve never experienced the Holy Spirit, your prayers are never answered, science is giving you better answers than religion. Read more…
May 2013: I was in the UK and suddenly got ill. I had developed tuberculosis. To satisfy my ravenous appetite I ate the potato snack, Pringles, all day long. I’m now cured. Can it be said Pringles cured my TB?
What if I told you the people in my mum’s church were praying for me. Did their prayers cure my TB? Read more…
I find it sad to continually read Facebook statuses that complain about fake friends, fake families and warn us never to trust or rely on anyone. It may be because of the people I follow on Facebook, but these comments come exclusively from Ghanaians. I don’t understand this level of mistrust and disappointment in others.
The comments are always from religious believers and often end with a statement claiming a dead person, who they never knew, and never knew them, is their only true friend. Read more…
Was excited to hear Kenley Kristofferson’s humanist choral music on YouTube and he directed me to this blog post. Now the challenge is on to develop a new choral tradition.
“We are One” may look like a Buddhist idea, but it’s also proudly proclaimed by an atheist classical composer named Kenley Kristofferson. Hear us chat about him and atheist choral music more generally:
The two tracks were ‘Cosmos‘ (Movement 3) and ‘We Are Stars‘. [We also played Steve Martin’s hilarious track ‘Atheists Don’t Have No Songs‘ before we began.]
So all this began in recent years, with atheists gathering on online forums and finding that a large number of them enjoyed listening and singing choral music. But as the Melbourne Atheists have said, “If you want to sing in a choir, but don’t like religious songs, what choice do you have? Not much.” Some choral atheists would even join church choirs, just looking for opportunities to sing, belting out Handel’s Messiah without believing a word of it. For many this involved a…
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The Sunday Assembly, popularly known as the atheist church, has taken off in the UK and is quickly spreading world-wide. But what do people who don’t believe in anything do in a church-like gathering? Like many I felt curious to find out.
Apart from writers such as Alain de Botton who have argued non-believers should steal the best aspects of religion, many non-believers have been skeptical of such projects. They pride themselves on being independent thinkers, rejecting dogma and not following leaders. Was the Assembly going to recreate the worst aspects of religion by getting uncomfortably close to the very thing rejected?
Waking up early on a cold, Sunday morning in Bognor Regis for a 25 minute walk to get a train to Brighton, tiredness risked dampening curiosity. The train journey took 1 hour and I fell asleep during the journey. I arrived at my destination feeling weak and disoriented with a 15 minute walk ahead of me. Read more…
Some Christians claim that my understanding of a bible passage is faulty because I was reading “carnally” instead of “spiritually”. “Reading spiritually” is still a mystery to me, as are the methods of doing it. Are these even terms we can apply to the process of reading? Read more…
Ghana’s chief psychiatrist, Dr Akwesi Osei, has made the startling announcement that his own psychiatric doctors, responsible for the mental health of the nation, are themselves suffering from mental disorders! He has not stated whether he has included himself in this diagnosis.
Did he know these doctors were mad when they were employed, or have they become disordered under his administration? It is certainly a serious state of affairs especially for those who need treatment! Read more…
A list of 84 bloggers has been handed to the Bangladeshi government demanding they are given the death penalty. Their ‘crime’ was to be human rights activists, freethinkers, skeptics, rationalists, philosophers, scientists, secularists and atheists. In an attempt to maintain the political power of Islam they are labelling any freethinkers as blasphemers and giving them the option to ‘repent’ or die.
Ahmed Rajib, 35, has already been murdered by having his head hacked apart by machete in his home for being critical of Islamist groups. Other bloggers have been arrested and Asif Mohiuddin, 29, has been viciously attacked.
Sonja Eggerickx, president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) commented: Read more…
There is a certain type of religious person I meet in Ghana, unfortunately usually a Christian, who makes the accusatory statement – “Why should you care? What’s it to do with you?” – when those of us who write, or are activists, make critical statements about what we perceive to be religious, political or societal wrongs. This is often supported by “leave it to God” or their misunderstanding of the bible passage “Thou shalt not judge”.
Whether our observations are right or wrong is rarely debated: their statements are demands to be silent. One might ask the stereotyped question “What would Jesus do?” because it’s clear he defended the oppressed, spoke out against injustice and challenged the religious leaders of his day. Read more…
Dear God,
I know this might come as a bit of a surprise to you but I’ve decided to believe in you.
You see lots of Christians seemed very concerned about me and my friends and often ask us ‘why can’t you just believe in God and then you won’t have to worry when you die’.
Well I thought this was a very strong intellectual argument so I’ve decided to give it a go. In fact I’m going to believe in you right……wait for it…..NOW! There, how does that feel? I haven’t to admit I don’t feel any different but I’m sure it’s made a huge difference to your existence. I guess I should ask, “how do you feel God?”, knowing that I now believe in you.
I know it might seem a little intellectually dishonest to believe in something that I don’t, but hey, people convince themselves to believe all sorts of stuff every day don’t they? And what’s a little loss of integrity amongst friends if it means I’ll be OK when I die? Read more…
It really came as a complete surprise when informed that this blog has been nominated for Best Activist blog in Ghana. I guess I had never thought of it as being activist and always feel guilty that I’m not blogging enough!
Whether the blog wins or not, it is an immense honour to have even been noticed and nominated, particularly as Ghana is my adopted home. All the blogs nominated under the Activist category are helping raise issues that create some controversy within Ghana and encourage us to see other points of view. I believe broadening the discussion is an important aspect of propelling cultures forwards.
So please take time to vote for this blog and also vote for the other great blogs under the different categories.
There is a certain type of Christian who loves to quote Psalm 14:1
“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.””
They quote it not simply to attack atheist people with an unpleasant glee, but to reassure themselves that they cannot possibly be fools because they acknowledge the existence of God.
What is often ignored in quoting this are the words “in his heart”. This implies a subconscious belief, something which is not carefully examined. Many non-believers have come from religious backgrounds. To arrive at the position that there is no God was often a long, difficult, painful process of ‘soul’-searching, research, reading, thinking and redefining one’s self. The non-believer does not say in his heart, in his unconscious, that there is no God, it is something thought through in the brain, in the conscious mind. Read more…
Two recent articles have kicked me out of the dark hole I was beginning to seek refuge in and have given me renewed hope.
The first is In Bed with the President of Ghana? by Andrew Solomon.
The recent wahala in Ghana around the appointment of Nana Oye Lithur to Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection fired up the rather unpleasant spectacle of hatism once again. An unrelenting human rights activist, Ms Lithur’s ‘crime’ was that she also supports the dignity of LGBT people. Read more…
Critical Point 