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  Is anyone surprised? There is a related article in the Huffington Post by Ana Kasparian: There is an epidemic in Africa that has not been covered much by the mainstream media. Thousands of Nigerian children are accused of being witches by religious pastors. As a result, they are the victims of horrendous torture through exorcisms. In most cases, the children are murdered by their own family members. The kids who become victims of the bloody exorcisms are usually poor, orphaned, or disabled. Often times, the families that these children come from are so financially disadvantaged that they feel relieved to have one less mouth to feed. The witch accusations come as a result of a recent religious boom in the country. There has been a rapid growth of Evangelical Christianity in Nigeria, and because of this, churches outnumber schools, clinics, and banks put together.  According to the Huffington Post, it’s hard for churches to carve out a congregation with so much competition.
Yep, the end of the month is fast approaching so get ready for another evening of awesome freethought! Freethought Kampala is going to have its usual monthly meeting – dubbed Freethinkers’ Night – at a bar/restaurant called “4 Points” in Centenary Park on THURSDAY the 25th of March, starting 6.00PM. ENTRANCE IS FREE If you are an open minded person whose opinions are formed not by faith but on the basis of science, logic, and reason and are interested in meeting like-minded individuals – you are WELCOME to join us at this meeting.
Famous Non-Believers # 003 – Bill Gates posted on March 21, 2010 - 10:12pm
Bill Gates (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, philanthropist, and chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world’s wealthiest people and the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2010, excluding 2007. Gates was interviewed November 1995 on PBS by David Frost.  Frost: Do you believe in the Sermon on the Mount? Gates: I don’t. I’m not somebody who goes to church on a regular basis. The specific elements of Christianity are not something I’m a huge believer in. There’s a lot of merit in the moral aspects of religion. I think it can have a very very positive impact. Frost: I sometimes say to people, do you believe there is a god, or do you know there is a god? And, you’d say you don’t know? Gates: In terms of doing things I take a fairly scientific approach to why things happen and how they happen. I don’t know if there’s a god or not, but I think religious principles are quite valid.
Freethought Kampala on Facebook posted on March 21, 2010 - 9:47pm
If you haven’t checked out Freethought Kampala on Facebook, here are a few reasons why you should: It’s fun, with very exciting exchanges taking place between members It’s informative, with interesting science stories posted on a daily basis You can get in touch directly with any of the members of Freethought Kampala So if you consider yourself a freethinker – by all means, check us out or join the group!
A Classic Response to the Tirade of a Homophobe posted on March 18, 2010 - 6:02pm
Ever since the horrendous Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 became a global sensation, I began following discussions regarding the bill that appeared in the worldwide blogsphere by creating a Google Alert for it. By far my most favourite blogs with regards to coverage of this bill have been Boxturtle Bulletin and Dr. Warren Throckmorton’s blog.
Does ‘God’ Heal? (Part 3 – The Lazarus Syndrome) posted on March 18, 2010 - 3:24pm
In my previous post (Believers’ Prayers Fail to Bring 2 Dead Pastors Back To Life) we saw how some evangelical Christian groups were urging believers to visit mortuaries and pray for the dead to come back to life. (Hmm..why mortuaries, I wonder, and not CEMETERIES?) To date, this group has not claimed a single successful resurrection. In the same post, we saw how thousands of believers in Kenya tried in vain to pray for the resurrection of two of their pastors who had died in a car accident. By now it should be clear to any sensible person that resurrections do not occur.
Can Science Be Trusted? posted on March 17, 2010 - 3:59pm
I have noticed that in many online debates I’ve participated in, particularly with believers, there is a general lack of understanding of, and hostility towards, the scientific method. Whenever I advance a scientific argument for a point I’m trying to make, I am told things like: Scientists always contradict each other Scientists always disagree with one other There is a conspiracy within the scientific establishment to ‘hide the truth’ Science is just another religion …and from this they conclude that Science can’t be relied upon to support my case, and my argument gets rejected. (This is usually the case when I am debating the subject of evolution by natural selection with believers.) In this post, I’d like to explain WHAT science is, HOW the scientific method works, how scientific research is done, and how a consensus is reached.
Claims of miracles are often presented by believers as evidence that ‘God’ is real. During the second Freethinkers’ Night, one of the Christian attendees assured us that nothing else but there being a ‘God’ could explain the miraculous recovery of his younger brother from asthma. Although there are a few of Christian schools of thought in which it is believed that  miracles, signs and wonders ended in the apostolic age, by and large most Christians believe ‘God’ is actively performing miracles today – particularly with regards to healing people from illness – even when there is no good evidence to warrant such beliefs. Perhaps the most outrageous modern Christian miracle claims are the claims that prayer can cause dead people to miraculously come back to life.
(Continued from Part 1) Everytime I watch a Christian channel in Uganda I regularly see programmes where people are getting thrown off their feet while all manner of ‘evil spirits’ are supposedly cast out of them. All of these people then claim they have been ‘healed’ miraculously. They give testimonies as to how they were sick before attending that miracle crusade (or prayer service), but that now they are miraculously healed. The crowd predictably gives glory to ‘God’, as the pastor triumphantly parades the ‘healed’ individuals around the stage. On the face of it, it all does seem very convincing – and everytime a crusade is announced, tens of thousands of believers flock to attend them, and stories will always be told afterwards of how many were healed. I just don’t buy it. My skepticism towards miracle healing is informed by my understanding of modern medical science, and my knowledge about the psychology of human beings.
Famous Non-Believers # 002 – Richard Branson posted on March 7, 2010 - 2:06pm
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British industrialist, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. Richard Branson is the 261st richest person in the world according to Forbes’ 2009 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately £1.5 billion (US$2.5 billion). He writes in his autobiography, Losing My Virginity (p.239) "I do not believe in God".