Religious Instruction in Qld; Adelaide prayers; Sky climate denialism; Jordan Peterson is an atheist

Published: Thu, 04/27/23

RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Friday, April 28, 2023

Rationale, the magazine of the Rationalist Society of Australia

Good morning ,

A plague on all their houses. The Greens are tearing themselves apart over freedom of speech issues; Labor in Qld is siding with the religious right; the Libs are, well, you know.

But amidst all this doom and gloom, Clare O'Neill is a voice, not only of reason but of fairness and courage. Bigger things to come.

Lead Articles

'Holding the line' on Religious Instruction for the Christian Right - Rationale Magazine

The indefatiguable Alison Courtice, spokesperson for Qld Parents for Secular State Schools (QPSSS) fumes about the spinelessness of the Qld minister for education: "The choice for Minister Grace is clear. Instead of siding with the Religious Right .. she should listen to her Labor colleagues and the Queensland public on RI [religious instruction] .. she should be moving RI outside school hours and giving that time back to teachers for the benefit of all students." Yes, as we did in Victoria years ago and it works.

Adelaide Lord Mayor changes practice of reciting prayers aloud | Rationalist Society of Australia

In a stunning move, Lord Mayor of the city of Adelaide invited councillors to “read the prayer as printed" or "reflect in a manner appropriate to their beliefs on these issues”. Seems she was not impressed with the avalanche of emails from acolytes of the ACL.

'Systemically spreading lies': Turnbull and Burrow laud watchdog's Sky News climate crackdown

So the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have found that Sky News "inaccurately" reported on climate change. As Malcolm Turnbull says, "The Murdoch media, from Fox in the US to Sky in Australia, have been systematically spreading lies and disinformation .. at long last they are being held to account." Yes, well, we'll see. Bit of a wet lettuce.

Deconstructing Jordan Peterson on Religion

Alex O'Connor is a graduate of philosophy and theology from Oxford, and it shows. In this video, he systematically deconstructs Jordan Peterson's idea of "God" and demonstrates - in my view, convincingly - that Peterson is an atheist.

Other stories of interest

VAD: Dutch government to expand euthanasia law to include children aged one to 12

But read why and in what circumstances.

Fairness: Albanese government to radically streamline migration with three-tiered system for skilled workers

I include this because it is a hopeful sign that we might be able to rebuild pride in being Australian. [Prediction: Clare O'Neill a future PM]

Got a comment on any of these stories?

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au