Home » Archive by category "Freedom of Religion" (Page 4)

The Fabrication of Jesus Christ by Christopher Hitchens

The True Core Of The Jesus Myth – Christopher Hitchens @ FreedomFest (Part 1). Mirror of youtu.be — Please subscribe to Science & Reason: • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com — Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens go at it again at the 2008 Freedom Fest as the “Main Event”. FreedomFest is an annual festival where “free minds meet” to celebrate “great books, great ideas, and great thinkers” in an open-minded society. It is independent, non-partisan, and not affiliated with any organization or think tank. Founded and produced by Mark Skousen, since 2002, FreedomFest invites the “best and the brightest” from around the world to talk, strategize, socialize, and celebrate liberty. FreedomFest is open to all and is purely egalitarian, where speakers, attendees, and exhibitors are treated as equals. www.freedomfest.com Christopher Hitchens (born 1949) is an author, journalist and literary critic. Currently living in Washington, DC, he has been a columnist at Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, World Affairs, The Nation, Slate, Free Inquiry, and a variety of other media outlets. Hitchens is also a political observer, whose books — the latest being “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” — have made him a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits. In 2009 Hitchens was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the “25 most influential liberals in US media.” The same article noted, though, that he would “likely be aghast to find himself on this …

Geert Wilders shares his unconventional view of Islam at the May 8 2011 International Free Press Society Signature Series event in London Ontario. www.ifpscanada.com Presented in 720p HD courtesy of Jeff Parkinson – http
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Posted on February 8, 2012 by , 50 comments

Church of Scientology Melbourne?the First Ideal Scientology Church Beneath the Southern Cross

Church of Scientology Melbourne—the First Ideal Scientology Church Beneath the Southern Cross











Church of Scientology Melbourne—the First Ideal Scientology Church Beneath the Southern Cross


Melbourne, Australia (Vocus/PRWEB) January 31, 2011

Thousands of Scientologists, dignitaries and guests from across the nation celebrated a milestone—the opening of the first Ideal Scientology Church in Australia.

Auntie Joy Murphy Wandin, senior elder of the Wurundjeri people, opened the dedication with the traditional “Welcome to Country” ceremony, welcoming Scientologists to the lands of her ancestors.

Scientologist, Melbourne native and award-winning singer and songwriter Kate Ceberano performed a moving rendition of her original composition “This Song is You,” written in honour of the occasion and the heritage of the city and all that Australia holds dear.

In tribute to the significance of the occasion Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, travelled to Melbourne from the United States to officiate at the dedication. He acknowledged the long parade of accomplishments by Australian Scientologists that culminated in the new Church.

“It is my honour to join you this evening and commemorate a moment that will live on in history for a long time to come. Not that you haven’t loomed large in history before, not that you haven’t triumphed over great adversity in years gone by, not that you didn’t stand firm for the dignity of Man, and not that you didn’t indeed uphold the God-given rights of all religions all over this world.

“But having triumphed today in the name of our religion, you just flipped this planet all the way around so that Melbourne now sits on top of the globe. And that’s what it means to build an Ideal Org beneath the Southern Cross.”

Mr. Miscavige also spoke of Melbourne’s hallowed place in Scientology history, noting that Founder L. Ron Hubbard himself came to Melbourne in November 1959 to deliver a series of lectures to its founding Scientology community. As Mr. Miscavige explained: “Those November 1959 lectures marked a turn in the path and a rise in the road, from which the whole panorama of human potential came into focus.”

“Whence, the highest levels of Scientology and the whole vista of spiritual enlightenment and freedom.”

“So you wonder where you stand in the history and legacy of LRH and our religion as a whole? None of it would exist were it not for what began right here—and that’s both the heritage and legacy, which is indelibly woven through the brickwork of your new Ideal Org of Melbourne.”

Acknowledging the Church for its many contributions to the community were Melbourne Lord Mayor the Honourable Robert Doyle, Moonee Valley City Councillor Paul Giuliano, Shadow Minister for Tourism and Major Events, the Honourable Justin Madden, Sociologist Professor Gary Bouma and former Indigenous Person of the Year Uncle Bob Randall.

Praising the Church’s active role in community life, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle told those assembled: “Today marks an historic occasion for Scientology. The building you see before you is the first of its type in Australasia, and the re-birth of an historic Melbourne building. This is a unique space. I hope benefits flow in partnerships, community connection and goodwill. I invite you to celebrate this opening in the heart of our exciting, welcoming and diverse Melbourne.”

Moonee Valley City Councillor Paul Giuliano welcomed the congregation to his metropolitan Melbourne community where the Church is located: “I know that I speak for many when I say thank you so very much for restoring this beloved landmark to its former glory. I cannot think of a better custodian than the Church of Scientology.”

The occasion was a reunion for teacher, football icon and Victoria Shadow Minister Justin Madden, who attended the Catholic University within the walls of what is now the new Scientology Church. He commended the Church for its historic preservation as well as its literacy and drug education initiatives: “Unselfishly, you work to provide ways and means to uplift our society. You have set the standard for the community with your restoration of this building and with your social programs—an example I will point to for others to follow. Your new Church is as Melbourne as Melbourne gets.”

Human rights activist Bob Randall, whose award-winning documentary, Kanyini, exposed the plight of the Aboriginal “stolen generations,” thanked the Church and its Scientology Volunteer Ministers program for its commitment to the indigenous people of Australia: “Scientology Volunteer Ministers have come to my country and given us hope that we can deal with these problems and we will make a difference in the near future. The Volunteer Ministers I’ve met have become my friends. The fellowship between us has been fun and I look forward to continuing that relationship to continue on to the present into the future. On behalf of me and my people, I thank you.”

Melbourne has long held importance for the Scientology religion. Within months of L. Ron Hubbard authoring Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950, the first Dianetics group in Australia was formed here and in 1955 the first Scientology Church in Australia opened in this city.

Australia similarly long held a place near to L. Ron Hubbard’s heart, beginning with his service “Down Under” as a United States Naval Officer through the first days of World War II. Principally stationed in Brisbane, but also operating from Melbourne, then Lieutenant Hubbard was charged with organising relief efforts for Allied troops trapped in the Philippines. He also proudly served with Australian gunnery units for the defence of Brisbane.

As Scientology Founder, L. Ron Hubbard returned to Australia in 1959 to deliver two historic lecture series: The Melbourne Congress and the 1st Melbourne Advanced Clinical Course. Remembered today for his delineation of the highest spans of the Scientology Bridge, Mr. Hubbard’s Australian lectures will forever hold a cherished place in the religion.

Today, the Melbourne Scientology Church is the first Ideal Church of Scientology Organisation in Australia, realising Mr. Hubbard’s vision for what Scientology can provide for its congregation and community.

The Church now stands on the site of the 19th century estate of Robert McCracken, leading businessman and founder of the legendary Essendon Bombers football team. After the turn of the 20th century, this building became the home of Mercy Teachers’ College, later part of the Catholic University. The original name of the estate is “Ailsa” for Ailsa Craig, an island off the west coast of Scotland from where the McCracken family sailed more than 150 years ago.

Melbourne’s Public Information Centre offers more than 450 informational films illustrating Scientology beliefs, the life and legacy of Founder L. Ron Hubbard, and the full array of Church-sponsored social betterment and community outreach programs.

The Chapel seats hundreds, the library contains all Church Scripture. Course rooms and counselling rooms accommodate Scientologists from throughout Victoria. Seminar rooms, film rooms and Life Improvement Course Rooms make effective solutions to the most pressing challenges people face today easily available to Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike. Workspaces for volunteers stand open and ready for use by parishioners and the community.

Under the guidance of Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, 23 Ideal Churches have been dedicated and opened since 2003, including those in world cultural capitals—The National Church of South Africa in Johannesburg; the National Church of Scientology of Spain in Madrid; the Church of Scientology of New York, just off Times Square; the Church of Scientology of London, located in the epicentre of the city; the Church of Scientology of Italy in Rome; the Church of Scientology of Washington, D.C., just blocks from the White House on “Church Row”; the National Church of Scientology Mexico, in Mexico City; and the Church of Scientology of Berlin, near the Brandenburg Gate. Another 60 Ideal Churches are in design, planning or construction phases.

The Scientology religion was founded by author and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in the United States in 1954 and has today expanded to more than 9,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 165 countries.

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Posted on February 6, 2012 by , Reply

Nice Freedom Of Religion photos

Check out these Freedom of Religion images:

American Thoreau
Freedom of Religion
Image by Think-N-Evolve
"I am as desirous of being a good neighbor as I am of being a bad subject."

"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves."

"Nothing is so much to be feared as fear. Atheism may comparatively be popular with God himself."

"Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand."

"It is in vain to dream of a wildness distant from ourselves."

"The savage in man is never quite eradicated."

"Any fool can make a rule
And any fool will mind it."

"I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically."

"If a thousand [citizens] were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible."

"To speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it. After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule, is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience? — in which majorities decide only those questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable? Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience. Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice."

"All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote."

"He who gives himself entirely to his fellow-men appears to them useless and selfish; but he who gives himself partially to them is pronounced a benefactor and philanthropist."

"Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?"

I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad."

"Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one."

"Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison… the only house in a slave State in which a free man can abide with honor."

"Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man? There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. I please myself with imagining a State at least which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the individual with respect as a neighbor; which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it, not meddling with it, nor embraced by it, who fulfilled all the duties of neighbors and fellow-men. A State which bore this kind of fruit, and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened, would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State, which also I have imagined, but not yet anywhere seen."

"My life has been the poem I would have writ,
But I could not both live and utter it."

"I hear many condemn these men because they were so few. When were the good and the brave ever in a majority? Would you have had him wait till that time came? — till you and I came over to him? The very fact that he had no rabble or troop of hirelings about him would alone distinguish him from ordinary heroes. His company was small indeed, because few could be found worthy to pass muster. Each one who there laid down his life for the poor and oppressed was a picked man, culled out of many thousands, if not millions; apparently a man of principle, of rare courage, and devoted humanity; ready to sacrifice his life at any moment for the benefit of his fellow-man."

"I do not wish to kill nor to be killed, but I can foresee circumstances in which both these things would be by me unavoidable. We preserve the so-called peace of our community by deeds of petty violence every day. Look at the policeman’s billy and handcuffs! Look at the jail! Look at the gallows! Look at the chaplain of the regiment! We are hoping only to live safely on the outskirts of this provisional army. So we defend ourselves and our hen-roosts, and maintain slavery. I know that the mass of my countrymen think that the only righteous use that can be made of Sharp’s rifles and revolvers is to fight duels with them, when we are insulted by other nations, or to hunt Indians, or shoot fugitive slaves with them, or the like. I think that for once the Sharp’s rifles and the revolvers were employed in a righteous cause. The tools were in the hands of one who could use them."

Quote Source -> secure.wikimedia.org/wikiquote/en/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

Posted on February 2, 2012 by , Reply

Nice Freedom Of Religion photos

Some cool Freedom of Religion images:

04022008
Freedom of Religion
Image by citizen higgs
…..the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket.

The friend said to the devil, "What did that man pick up?"

"He picked up a piece of the truth," said the devil.

"That is a very bad business for you, then," said his friend.

"Oh, not at all," the devil replied, "I am going to help him organize it."

I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path.

………… said Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986)

Posted on January 31, 2012 by , Reply

US Military Tribute

This is a video to show respect for the men and women who are serving for our country to keep us safe. Freedom isn’t free! I hope you enjoy the video. Please comment and subscribe. Thank you all soldiers for serving for our amazing country. Home of the free because of the brave!!! Song: Far Away by: Nickelback

At the Nexus Conference in July 2010, physicist Nassim Haramein presented new concepts explaining how we are all interconnected and can access infinite knowledge. www.theresonanceproject.org Full Bio As early as 9 years old, Nassim was already developing the basis for a unified hyperdimensional theory of matter and energy, which he eventually called the “Holofractographic Universe.” Haramein has spent most of his life researching the fundamental geometry of hyperspace, studying a variety of fields from theoretical physics, cosmology, quantum mechanics, biology and chemistry to anthropology and ancient civilizations. Combining this knowledge with a keen observation of the behavior of nature, he discovered a specific geometric array that he found to be fundamental to creation and from which the foundation for his Unified Field Theory emerged. This unification theory, known as the Haramein-Rauscher metric (a new solution to Einstein’s Field Equations that incorporates torque and Coriolis effects) and his last published paper The Schwarzschild Proton, lays down the foundation of what could be a fundamental change in our current understandings of physics and consciousness. This groundbreaking theory has now been delivered to the scientific community through peer-reviewed papers and presentations at international physics conferences. Further, The Schwarzschild Proton paper recently received the prestigious “Best Paper Award” in the field of physics, quantum mechanics …
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Posted on January 28, 2012 by , 42 comments

REM – Losing My Religion

Oh, life is bigger It’s bigger than you And you are not me The lengths that I will go to The distance in your eyes Oh no, I’ve said too much I set it up (chorus) That’s me in the corner That’s me in the spotlight, I’m Losing my religion Trying to keep up with you And I don’t know if I can do it Oh no, I’ve said too much I haven’t said enough I thought that I heard you laughing I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try Every whisper Of every waking hour I’m Choosing my confessions Trying to keep an eye on you Like a hurt lost and blinded fool, fool Oh no, I’ve said too much I set it up Consider this Consider this The hint of the century Consider this The slip that brought me To my knees failed What if all these fantasies Come flailing around Now I’ve said too much I thought that I heard you laughing I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try But that was just a dream That was just a dream (repeat chorus) But that was just a dream Try, cry, why try? That was just a dream Just a dream, just a dream Dream

Posted on January 27, 2012 by , 26 comments

Christopher Hitchens: The Fifth Annual Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture

Christopher Hitchens speaks on Crucibles: Past and Present followed by a conversation with PEN World Voices Festival Chair, Salman Rushdie. Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School. He is the author of numerous books, including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Orwell, Mother Teresa, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger, and his No. 1 New York Times and National Book Award nominee , God Is Not Great. His next book,Hitch-22: A Memoir, will be released this June.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Frank Zappa (December 21, 1940 December 4, 1993) was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. In his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for …

Posted on January 25, 2012 by , 52 comments

Frank Zappa – We Are Not Alone

Frank Zappa (December 21, 1940 December 4, 1993) was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. In his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for …
Video Rating: 5 / 5

From his DVD, “Deadbeat Hero”. Find out more about Doug and why he’s your candidate for President of the United States in 2008, go to www.DougStanhope.com or visit him on MySpace. MySpace.com/DougStanhope
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Posted on January 24, 2012 by , 40 comments

Did Leon Trotsky support Freedom of Religion are there any quotes where he supports this ?

Question by : Did Leon Trotsky support Freedom of Religion are there any quotes where he supports this ?
Did Leon Trotsky support Freedom of Religion are there any quotes where he supports this ?

Best answer:

Answer by Will
No, he didn’t support freedom of religion. He believed religion had no place in the Soviet Union.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Posted on January 22, 2012 by , Reply

Would Multiple Universes Undermine God? (Richard Swinburne)

Richard is the Emeritus Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion, University of Oxford. He is one of the leading analytic philosophers of religion and his contributions to Christian philosophy has been enormous. His first three books focused on the existence of God: The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason. Other books dealt with issues in philosophical theology, including The Christian God, The Problem of Evil, and The Evolution of the Soul. Here is how Richard describes the traditional view of what God is like in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It is also the kind of God to which his arguments lead. He states: “God is clearly supposed to be a personal being in the sense of someone with whom we interact. And the person is someone with powers. I’m a person because I can do certain things. God can do certain things but His powers are infinite. So He’s omnipotent, He can do anything. Being a person means that I have certain beliefs about the world. God has beliefs about the world but He has all true beliefs. So He knows everything. He’s omniscient. I can make choices between alternatives. That’s part of what makes me a person. So in that sense, I have a certain amount of freedom but of course, I’m influenced by irrational desires of various kinds and my freedom is limited. He has perfect freedom. He is not influenced by irrational desires or anything outside himself. So He is a personal being who is omnipotent, omniscient …
Video Rating: 0 / 5

Posted on January 21, 2012 by , Reply
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