So I've done a little freeloading, using a directory at churchdirectory.ca. It is not an authoritative directory by any means, but at least it is fairly comprehensive. The site gives us an idea of the number of churches in Canada. Assuming that each Church is worth, on average, $100,000, not a large figure, I think it is overly conservative, the following table shows how much property churches hold in Canada:

Faith has become a controversial topic in recent years. The term "faith-based" is used in the media frequently to describe organizations or initiatives that are associated with religious belief. We hear that governments, educational institutions and even the U.S. military have embraced the concept that faith should guide decisions and policy. The word faith, used in this sense, refers to the type of faith that is associated with the religious belief in a deity. But there is more to the idea of faith than this narrow view of faith as it pertains to religious belief. The terms "good faith" and "bad faith" are commonly used to indicate whether one’s actions or motives have integrity. I’d like to draw the following distinction between good faith and bad faith:

Sorry for the short post today - school projects and kid's birthday party took up most of the day. Anyway, isn't it wonderful that kids can find Jesus through Rock and Roll music at an event like the Creation Festival rather than having to sit through boring sermons in church? Glory be, what will they think of next? These kids have got all the right stuff - long hair, ripped jeans, tatoos, body jewelry and, most importantly, Jesus. You can watch the kids getting high on Jesus in this video: Jesus Freeks. What the hell is wrong with kids these days? Thanks to Atheist Nation.

Here we go. The Toronto Star reports that provincial Conservative leader John Tory says he will make funding available for non-Catholic faith-based schools in Ontario if he is elected as premier this fall. All the more reason not to vote Conservative. I'm sure the aptly named Mr. Tory has just bought the votes of every parent with kids at religious private schools in our province. Personally, I'd be more inclined to vote for a candidate that supported the elimination of funding for all faith-based schools in Ontario. I don't want my taxes going towards teaching the false beliefs of any religion. Let's keep religion in the churches where it belongs. Ontario's publicly funded school system is the great equalizer that provides opportunity for all. To further divide the public school system into smaller exclusive religious groups is a step backwards. Lord knows we already have a Prime Minister that wants to return us to the dark ages. We don't need a provincial leader that would facilitate him doing so.

It might be worth doing further research to find out who is really behind this. My guess is that Evangelical Christians, unhappy that the Equity in Education Tax Credit proposed by the Mike Harris government never came to fruition, might have something to do with it.

Here's a quick read entitled God is a Metaphor.

Rather than saying that God created human beings, it might be more appropriate to say that human beings created the image of God and that God's image appears as a metaphor in different mythologies all over the world.

In this short essay, Canadian author, Dr. Khalid Sohail, fluently and articulately puts God in "His" proper place. I have to say that I couldn’t agree more. Via the Secular Web.

On the eve of the opening, not the Grand Opening*, just the opening, blogger Bay of Fundie provides us with a less than kind analysis of the Big Valley Science Creation Museum's promotional video. The video presents what Creationists consider to be evidence that refutes Evolution and supports Creationism, but I didn't see anything that is close to convincing. Bet you won't either!

* The Grand Opening is on 07-07-07, a date that some see as having certain religious significance.

I got to thinking, if Marijuana is America's largest cash crop, how much money does organized religion take in per year in the good o'l US of A.

I took a quick look around and found a survey of 50,000 or so Americans, you can view the PDF here. Of the 208 million adults in 2001 in America, the survey says that 37% are "religious." Another 38% "somewhat religious."

So doing a quick calculation, we arrive at some interesting numbers:

The more I read about the beliefs of Christian Evangelicals, the more incredulous I become. Snake handling, speaking in tongues and Young Earth Creationism are but a a few of the bizarre Evangelical beliefs and practices I’ve posted about here at Jamonation. But this has to take the cake: the belief that Earth is the center of the universe and that it stands still while the sun and planets orbit us. In other words, geocentrism as opposed to heliocentrism.

If you've got a spare 10 minutes and want a real laugh, watch UK comedian Ricky Gervais explain how god created the earth. I love the part where god punishes the snake. Too funny!

Thanks to Red State Rabble.

It seems that dinosaurs are back in again. Back in the mid 80s to early 90s, dinosaurs were the hot ticket to get kids interested in science. Especially boys. Toy and book companies exploited dinosaurs to market their crappy wares to kids. Oh, they still do!

Some ten to fifteen years later the poor dinosaurs are being exploited again but not to get kids interested in science. What with the opening of creationism museums, this time the beasts are being used by Young Earth Creationists to get kids interested in religion, or more precisely, Evangelical Christianity.

Just something that I've been thinking about!