Interested

I went to "church" on Sunday

2012-01-17T19:38:00.002-06:00

I had the most marvelous experience. We all met at a local restaurant and talked about the lives we lead. There was no preaching, no threat of hell fire and brimstone, just love and peace. What a great joy it was to talk to people who feel the peace of life and love without the threat of hell. I am so happy to have the opportunity to meet with the interesting, intelligent segment of the society where I live. Thank you AOK. I am so glad to be a part of your group.

Teach the controversy

2012-01-15T20:13:00.000-06:00

Worthless people who offer nothing

2012-01-15T19:40:00.003-06:00

Well said Richard!

2012-01-06T21:03:00.000-06:00

Evidence for Evolution

2012-01-05T17:31:00.004-06:00

This is the most simple layout I can find. It is from NATURE|January 2009. Although it is several years old and much new evidence has come to light, this is a consise presentation.

Most biologists take for granted the idea that all life evolved by natural selection over billions of years. They get on with researching and teaching in disciplines that rest squarely on that foundation, secure in the knowledge that natural selection is a fact, in the same way that the Earth orbits the Sun is a fact.

http://www.nature.com/nature/newspdf/evolutiongems.pdf

I don't see how anyone can watch the flu virus and not see that evolution is a fact. Every year a new vaccine must be created because the virus evolves and mutates to resist the vaccines.

Before you comment, please read the article and refute, if you can, the points.

Why Evolution isTrue

2011-12-30T11:58:00.003-06:00

I'm posting for you. You know who you are and you know I know that you come here often and never comment. I hope you will watch all of this video and give it some thought.
And for everyone else...well 'nuff said.

Christmas is not Christian

2011-12-20T09:14:00.002-06:00

I got a call from a friend last night and she was laughing hysterically. She had received my Christmas card. You, sent a Christmas card? I can't believe it, she said. What, I said, I am not allowed to wish you a Merry Christmas because I am an atheist? Of course, she said, it is a Christian Holiday. No, it isn't.

The truth is that Christmas is no more owned by the Christians than the American government. Sure, there's some genuine Christian content to the holiday. Originally celebrated as early as 354 AD by the Christian church, it most definitely is a Christian holiday -- to Christians. Even so, modern Christians may not want to spend too much time pushing their own holiday's historical context. Through most of the Middle Ages, Christmas might have been a celebration of Jesus' birth in name, but it was a celebration of booze and debauchery in practice. It wasn't until the 19Th century that it became a child-focused family holiday

In a broader perspective, there has always been the needling realization by Christians in various times and places that very, very few of the traditional celebratory practices or images are about Jesus. They are much older, much more Pagan, and ultimately, at odds with the prevailing message of the Christian Christmas story.

To the Christians who claim there's a War on Christmas, here's the bitter reality: The only war is the one being waged by Christians trying to rewrite history -- again -- to make it seem like Christmas has always been some kind of love-fest for Jesus. American Christmas in particular has been almost the polar opposite. It was largely ignored until it became remade into a good story line for a children's movie -- not a movie about Christ's sacrifice, but a movie about a magical gingerbread house in the North Pole, and Jolly Old Santa, and Rudolph, and Frosty, and the Grinch.

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Read more here.

Pervasive in our Society

2011-12-16T13:22:00.002-06:00

Religion is so pervasive in our society that I am unable to go to the doctor without encountering some nut that starts “testifying” in the waiting room. I was quietly waiting for my turn when this woman began to tell us all about how her “god” had provided so well for her. She said we must refuse to be sick and then we would be well. She said that she had not had the flu in 7 years because she had “faith”. A gentleman to my right said that all the faith in the world wouldn’t stop the flu; if you got it, you got it.

She then proceeded to tell us how her mother had been very ill and she had “prayed” her well. I asked her why she was at the doctor’s office. Oh, just for a checkup after surgery, she said. Really? So the doctor must have had something to do with her recovery, I said. Oh you know, she said, my god works through the doctor. The gentleman to my right said, well; seems strange that an all powerful being would need the help of a mortal man. The lady on my left, laughed out loud.

I ran across an article today that I think deserves attention. I find it refreshing that more and more people are coming to reason against all odds. The pressure is great in the US; not so much in Europe or Asia but here: We are drowning in religion.

I’ll speak to this quote from the article:

“Until the beginning of 2003, I was a believer. The belief was not taught, but came naturally to me as a consequence of the environment I grew up in.”
What are we doing to our children when we “protect” them from reality in favor of tradition and superstition? It is time we grow up in this country. We do not need the myths of old; we need reason and rationality.

Our educational system is laughable when we are 25th in Math and 17th in Science. Look here if you doubt my word. I understand why we are behind Finland but South Korea? Come on, we haven’t had near the problems that country has had. In my mind it is only one reason: religion and its grip on our population.

From the above article:

“The nature of religious belief is so insidious, that it needs to pervade, to spread like a cancer away from its source. An astonishing majority of the population of believers is deeply busy in trying to disseminate their odious doctrine to others, and none-too-gently, too! It is more often ‘My religion is better than yours, so convert or die’ kind of treatment, or it is done on the sly – ‘Want medical care? Come to Jesus’ kind of way. Religious indoctrination has progressed to such ludicrous levels that the ‘faithful’ often pull out the ‘religious belief’ card at every possible instance to explain their intransigence and imperviousness to common sense. They are trying – very actively – to spread their brand of stupidity to education, healthcare, politics, and other walks of life. If this is not actively countered, it will end up destroying our basic humanity.”

Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-16T10:58:00.003-06:00

Salman Rushdie wrote, "Goodbye, my beloved friend. A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops."

A great man died. I feel personally touched by his life and he will be sorely missed by many, the least of which am I. His words led me out of darkness and made me think; gave me reason to live by. For many of us he was the first we read on our journey out of religion. I will always think of him as having been the star of the new atheist movement. He was one of the four horsemen; and the best in my mind. I will miss him.

From PZ

Hitch is dead. We are a diminished people for the loss. There can be and should be no consolation, no soft words that encourage an illusion of heavenly rescue, no balm of lies. We should feel as we do with every death, that a part of us has been ripped from our hearts, and suffer pain and grief — and we are reminded that this is the fate we all face, that someday we too will die, and that we are all “living dyingly”, as Hitch put it so well.

As atheists, I think none of us can find solace in the cliches or numbness in the delusion of an afterlife. Instead, embrace the fierce strong emotions of anger and sorrow, feel the pain, rage against the darkness, fight back against our mortal enemy Death, and live exuberantly while we can. Confront mortality clear-eyed and pugnacious, uncompromising and aggressive.

It’s what Hitch would have wanted of us.

It’s how Hitch lived.

9-9-9

2011-10-17T15:47:00.004-05:00

So Herman Cain is the man of the hour right now. Seems that he has all the answers or at least comes across as having a plan. I like the idea that we should and must simplify the tax code. But, will his plan work?

Here is part of an ongoing email conversation I am having with a friend:

But lets take a look at this scenario: Lets say a small family company earns 100,000, at 9% pays 9000.00. The company actually has cost of goods expenses of 50000 (this does not include fringe benefits) so the real tax is 18% on the net income. But what about improvements? If they have a cost of improvement at 25000 then cost of goods 50000 the tax would equals 36% on the 25000 net income. And then the owner has take home income of 25000 which is taxed 9%= 2250 so now we are at 45%. Then this small family spends the 25000 @ 9%=2250. So now the the tax is 54%

I understand also that he wants to do away with the property tax exemption for churches and charities.

So...input anyone?

Steve Jobs is gone

2011-10-06T14:05:00.004-05:00

I use a PC with Windows. I don't own a Mac, and IPad or an IPhone but I like the philosophy of the man who made them famous.

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

----Steve Jobs

He wisdom will live forever.

Disbelief is not a choice.

2011-09-13T12:29:00.003-05:00

Here is an article that expresses very well what I have tried many times to convey to those who think that I have chosen to be an atheist.

If more individuals today are religious skeptics than in centuries past, that is mainly because accumulated knowledge has inclined more people toward such doubt.

This is definitely true for me. As long as I was a little country gal living in the shadow of my ignorant parents I was a believer. I didn't know the difference. I mean no disrespect to my parents as they didn't know any different either; they followed their parents.

Interestingly, we can see that in many ways believers don't really choose either, but when we consider theistic beliefs we see different causal environmental factors at work. Early childhood indoctrination by family, for example, is a key environmental factor that promotes such beliefs in many, as is the pro-religion conditioning that one receives from the community and broader society. Even if the overt promotion of religiosity by society is mild (which usually isn't the case in much of America), prevailing social views that disapprove of open disbelief will often discourage serious exploration of secularity.

Since I have become active in the atheist community I am surprised at my fellow citizens who will deny in public their disbelief. I have a friend, a member of a social group I belong to who still goes to church on Sunday because she doesn't want her children to know that she doesn't believe. There so much pressure to conform in scociety.

I was thrilled when Mayor Blumberg refused to allow the 9/11 observence to become a religious service. There are so many of us who are patriotic citizens of this country but who do not believe in prayer to an unseeable god. To exclude us from society is unfair and unAmerican.

Does Freewill Exist?

2011-09-11T16:02:00.001-05:00

Perception

2011-08-29T15:49:00.002-05:00

I read recently, or maybe a while ago, that perception is everything. So if what I say is perceived in some way other than what I intended, my meaning is changed for that person. This bugs me a little, maybe a lot.

Am I responsible for how you take what I say? Even if I am just being honest about my feelings or experiences? I'm not talking about saying you are fat, or you're too skinny or you drink too much but if I just say something about what I had for breakfast is it my fault you think I am telling you to go on a diet? Come on, life is too short to get all uptight because your perception doesn't match my meaning.

And your reaction to what I say is in your control not mine. You cannot control what I say any more than I can control what you say but what I can do is control how I react to what you say. I am angry when I voice my opinion about something and then the entire world is turnd upside down because I am "insensitive". Well grow up! If you can't play with the big boys find a new playground.

So now, lest ye all think I am directing this at you, fear not. The person who really needs to see and take heed will not do so. Probably a good thing since I am so insensitive.

Thanks for reading my rant!

What would the world be without religion?

2011-08-11T09:45:00.002-05:00

The following is borrowed for the author and not my work. He has done an excellent job of putting it all together. I will only add a few comments.

Chris 'Nugget'
Casualties
- 1.5 million people during Crusades
- 7,000,000 during the Saracen slaughters in Spain.
- 2,000,000 Saxons and Scandinavians lost their lives opposing the introduction of Christianity.
- 1,000,000 in the Holy Wars
- 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 Deaths during the French religious wars
- 8,000,000 during the thirty years war
These figures are from between around 1090 to 1650 and I have only included the major religious conflicts, there are millions more in smaller but still significant occurrences. So within around 600 years 23 million people died between 6 conflicts and mass murders.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Have you ever stopped to think about what our world would be like without religion? Well, I have. And it would be incredibly different. Religion has disadvantaged the human race in more ways than one and it is time to change and rid the human race of its many unrealistic superstitions. True that there are many disadvantages because of religion however, I do not deny that there are many advantages because of religion. My problem with this is that there is much good without religion and I will not give credit to religion for all the good in the world any more that I blame religion for all the ills of the world. The optimum word here is ALL, but definitley some on both sides.

What would the world be like without religion? "Religion without science is blind." This quote is from one of the most intelligent men that has ever lived, Albert Einstein. People like Einstein were prevented by the churches from spreading their knowledge throughout the world. For example Galileo, through his studies, discovered that the earth revolved around the sun. But the churches of the time opposed his solid evidence, saying that - because of what they had read in books written around 1100 years before-hand by a few old men; who had not even come in contact with ‘Jesus’ – the earth was the centre of the whole universe. It is estimated that if religion never existed, the human race would be three times more advanced than we are now, this is equivalent to man having a colony on Mars. Religious principles have been proved wrong by science over and over again. I have a bit of a problem with saying religious principles are proven wrong...which principles? and wrong how?

What would the world be like without religion? “Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity“. This is a quote from another historical figure, Thomas Jefferson. If it were not for religion, and in this case, Christianity, millions upon millions of people of different religions would not have been murdered throughout the crusades, witch-hunts and other cases where religion was the cause or excuse for the murder and execution of people, mainly in the dark ages. It is also possible that the dark ages themselves would have not existed if religion didn’t. During these times many people were brainwashed and believed that witches and other supernatural beings were everywhere, causing them to hunt down so called witches and werewolves. Enough said here. No amount of denial by the religious community can refute this.

There have always been tensions between different religions and in many instances, conflict. There have been many injuries and deaths as a result of these conflicts and many of these casualties are not even from the fighting in the conflicts, they are the elderly, or women and children brutally murdered, raped or bludgeoned because they believed in a different ‘outlandish’ religion and ‘bogus’ god. More often than not, the conflicts were a result of a play for power by a dominant leader, wanting more, using religion to justify their acts of inhumanity.

Even in today’s world there is great tension between different religions, for example the terrorist attacks where; once again, innocent people were needlessly killed. Muslim extremists who believed that Christians are evil and must be destroyed, decided to ram two planes into a couple of buildings killing thousands of mothers, fathers, daughters and brothers, affecting a whole nation, and even the whole world, and They justify the slaughter by saying its an act of God. For example, the mass murders and the ‘holocausts’ that have happened in recent centuries, over 200,000,000 people of different faiths have been murdered because they do not fit in, or they clash with the beliefs of a more powerful religion. This is a comparatively small amount however when compared to the amount of people who have died as martyrs which come to a total of over 290,000,000.

There have been many people who have died because of this blind stupidity. When people believe that there is somehow a better, more peaceful life beyond this life, it undervalues this life. Consider the following for example, Heavens Gate cult or more commonly known, religious establishment at ‘Jonestown’ in 1978 was led by Jim Jones who was a great leader. However, he believed that the world was coming to an end and believed that the Bible said that the only way to get to the ‘kingdom of heaven’ was to have a ceremony and commit suicide. He did this, along with 909 other weak minded people that he tricked using his religion. Without the power of religion this would have been unlikely to happen.
Even more recent, is the ‘Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God’ in 2000. The leaders of this group claimed that they had seen visions of the Virgin Mary and also believed that the world was going to come to an end. They told their many followers these outlandish claims, and conned 778 people into killing themselves and others in a series of fires, poisonings and murders. This is yet another example of the power of religion and its destructive properties.

What would the world be like without religion? Many people die every year from diseases and sickness, some of which could be treated and saved from a certain death but who reject transplants and transfusions due to their religious beliefs one such religion is Jehovah’s Witness. These people do not accept or give blood because they believe that blood is sacred to God. They also do not allow organ transplants. There are a number of other religions that do not accept organ transplants and blood transfusions; these people die long and painful deaths which can be prevented.

It’s not just the physical impacts that religion has on humans, but the mental. People who are deeply involved and taken up by religion believe in religion itself and nothing else. Christians for example, believe that the earth and everything in it was created 6000 years ago. They also believe other similarly unrealistic fables written down by senile men, who were probably experimenting with mind expanding substances, around 2000 years ago. These indulged people do not allow anything scientific to interrupt their religious beliefs and therefore leads to them being ignorant and intolerant about what’s really happening around them.

If you, the person reading this are totally indulged in your religion, this whole essay would have gone over your head, and you have just wasted 5 minutes of your life. But these 5 minutes can’t compare to a whole life time that you have already wasted, following some thing that isn’t real, chasing something that doesn’t exist.

So in conclusion I would like to say what I see in a world without religion is peace, love and good will for the sake of being good not for some reward in a non existent afterlife. And further, even if there was an afterlife why waste this one looking for the next one.

Stephen Hawking

2011-08-10T12:11:00.003-05:00

I watched a new program on the science channel last night and I heard Stephen Hawking say that he was convinced that there is no god. Surprised? So was I. I think it has been politically correct to just say there is no evidence of a god but to suddenly say unequivocally there is no god...well I was surprised. Then just after there was a panel of scientist and theologians who discussed the previous show. I was glad to see the staunch way in which they each held their views. Then I found this video on PZ's site. Love it!

Ancient Aliens

2011-08-10T12:10:00.001-05:00

I recently started watching Ancient Aliens on the History Channel. So how do I feel about what I have seen? I’m not sure. I think a lot of it makes sense just because I do understand the human tendency to “supernaturalize” anything we don’t understand however….to imagine that beings from another planet? sun? moon? Came to earth and helped us get started then just left…Why?

I must admit that some of the most intriguing parts of the series talk about the underwater cities that have been found. Wow! Just imagine that fully functioning cities could be sunken under water for all these years and we just now know about it. Maybe it was the flood; that would make sense but there are so many flood stories at different times and in different places that we would have to question the validity of any of them. Now, I am certain that a flood happened but not certain of the circumstances or the time in which it happened.

Some of the ruins found date more than 10,000 years BCE so that would seem to dispute the Noah story. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a lot older than the bible story but still not old enough. Lots of questions, not too many answers.

Why Atheism?

2011-06-28T15:29:00.000-05:00

I like this summary of the problems with Pascal's Wager from Godless Geeks.

From "Why Atheism?" by Mark Thomas

http://www.godlessgeeks.com/WhyAtheism.htm

"Pascal’s Wager

There is an argument for belief in God that is called Pascal’s Wager, named for Blaise Pascal who conceived it. The argument goes like this: Either there is a god or there isn’t. If you believe in God, and God exists, then you win big time and go to Heaven. If you don’t believe in God, and God exists, you lose big time and go to Hell. If there is no god, then you haven’t lost much by believing. So the obvious choice is to believe in God, because it’s simply the best bet.

Pascal’s Wager has several faults. The biggest problem is that it’s not a proof of any god’s existence; it’s just an argument for believing, a method of extorting the gullible thru fear. Like many other such arguments we have discussed, it also fails to denote exactly which god it refers to. Pascal’s Wager could be applied to any god that offers rewards and punishments. Taken to the extreme, following the wager would necessitate betting on the god with the worst hell, so it could be avoided. It's impossible to know which god to worship, and which (perhaps jealous) gods to spurn. I doubt if many Christians would convert to Islam if the wager were presented by a Muslim who told them that Muslim Hell is worse than Christian Hell and Muslim Heaven is better than Christian Heaven.

Pascal’s Wager assumes that the chosen god's mind is knowable, and that he doesn't mind people believing in him for explicitly selfish reasons. Perhaps he actually prefers independent thinkers such as atheists, not obsequious followers. Since the Christian god Yahweh is on record as having lied, there's no way to know his intentions. It would be quite possible for a true believer to discover on Judgment Day that the destination was not Heaven. Yahweh, in his infinitely mysterious ways, had other plans; and there would be no appeal or debate with an omnipotent being.

Another problem with Pascal’s Wager is that it implicitly assumes that the odds of the two possibilities are similar. Since the odds of the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim god existing are zero, the wager creates a false dilemma. The wager even goes against the doctrine that many religions have where gambling is sinful. Note also that the existence of the wager and the fact that so many people think that it's relevant illuminate the lack of actual evidence for God.

Pascal’s Wager also depends on the idea that you don’t lose much by believing. This has been false for many who have trusted in their god for help or guidance, instead of seeking reality-based solutions. People have fought, killed and died for their belief in their god. Far too many have died because they (or their parents) chose prayer instead of medicine. Swords, bullets, poison, and poisonous snakes have killed many who thought that they were protected by their god. Even without these more dramatic effects, believers often devote significant time, energy and money to worshipping their god.

Beliefs in a god (and the often concomitant ideas of divine punishment and reward) too often make people more willing to accept inequalities in this life. Low-paid factory workers and slaves were taught that their rewards were in the afterlife, so they should be meek and obedient in this life to ensure their (imaginary) rewards. Even the factory and slave owners could think that they were part of their god's divine plan, and thus deserved their earthly rewards.

God-belief has real expenses that can be large or destructive.

The last problem with Pascal’s Wager is that it completely ignores and even denigrates intellectual integrity and honesty; the wager assumes that people can believe something just because they want to. As an example, let’s talk about belief in Santa Claus. Don’t we have more respect for a child who figures out that Santa doesn’t exist, and says so, rather than continuing to lie so he can get more presents? It’s a sign of growing integrity and maturity for children to stop believing in Santa. Similarly, adults can give up belief in a god when they realize that there’s no real evidence for their god. Christians can quit being “sheep” or “children of god” and become intellectually honest.

The loss of intellectual integrity and honesty engendered by Pascal’s Wager gives some insight into how apparently rational people can behave so irrationally. By accepting the wager, they have (perhaps implicitly) given up these important traits."

Christian Faith Requires Accepting Evolution

2011-06-21T08:35:00.003-05:00

It is interesting how many churches have finally come to terms with the scientific discoveries of the age. I know it must hurt many Christians to think that what they have believed so whole-heartedly is now being debunked at every corner but there is really no choice.

This from Jonathan Dudley:

But beyond a certain point, this reasoning breaks down. Because no amount of talk about "worldviews" and "presuppositions" can change a simple fact: creationism has failed to provide an alternative explanation for the vast majority of evidence explained by evolution.

It has failed to explain why birds still carry genes to make teeth, whales to make legs, and humans to make tails.

Full article here:Article

Ayn Rand

2011-05-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

A friend called me a few nights ago and asked me if I had read Ayn Rand. It is really funny because I had just gotten the documentary about her. The following is email exchanges between my friend and me.

ME: I watched the documentary and tonight I watched The Fountainhead. I haven't read the Anthem yet but it will move up on my list. I think she is simply marvelous dalin'

Friend: Maybe I need to see the documentary you saw.....because I was turned off from the one I saw... maybe my thinking has changed since the 1980's....will look into Fountainhead.Signed on with Netflix.....took a look at a few Ayn Rand documentaries and then cancelled netflix. She had an open 15 year affair with total disregard for the other women...if someone can be that cruel to another, then respect went down hill, for me anyways.

ME: That's too bad. She really has a lot to say. Have you read the Anthem? What did you take away from that?

Friend: Anthem was very short read. Enjoyed it. The ending was predicable (darn it). The guy found freedom and his next goal was to convert the others. And that is what I found predictable...we all are always trying to convert, convince, others to our way of thinking and living. But in truth fact of life...everyone is different and needs to follow their path and that path is right for them, save causing anyone harm, as then they are fringing on another's right to lead their life.

ME: I am reading Anthem right now but I don't think I see it the same way you do. She wrote it as a slam against collectivism. He philosophy is objectivism and Individualism.

Friend: I understand that...but still predictable ending, can't be denied This is in no ways disputing Ayn Rand, as I am looking forward to reading more of her works...but.....the ending is a form of collectivism.

ME: Haven't gotten to the end yet but knowing her philosophy, one would expect the outcome. As to converting people to her way of thinking, I don't think that is what she intends. In fact her entire focus is on the individual and not the collective. In the Fountainhead she demonstrates that through architecture, in that the one guy that tries to be different is ostracized. In the closing argument he puts forth his premise that all the great things that have been accomplished in this world were accomplished by those who chose to be different. Ayn Rand is the champion of "being different". She was born into Communism, thus the reason for the Anthem. She writes the way she saw the collectivism of communism and the inability of her character (herself i.e. mankind) to be different.
I find her reasoning interesting in that she sees altruism as slavery. She believed that the work is it's own reward and that doing for others and self-sacrifice are an abomination to humanity.
She saw the United States as the greatest invention in the world. Capitalism is the cornerstone of her philosophy and the US is the king of Capitalism.
I am interested in studying her more fully and have moved it to the top of my list. Her books are rather expensive so I will need to get to the library but I plan to read them all; then decide where my philosophy lies in reference to her's.

Friend Yes, I would like to read more also. And discuss with you. I was interested in her works in the 80's. But lost interest after viewing the documentary. I do greatly lean towards individualism, as I am sure you can agree I do. But Ayn Rand fell into this catch phrase " it is hard to walk the talk". So I am not disputing the philosophy just the life performance of the writer. I agree with you she did not intend...but the ending is the ending and this just illustrates that humans subconsciously are trying to get others onto their own page "King" is another example of collectivism.
ME: I think to a large extent she did walk the talk. She lived as she saw fit without regard to others which is the crux of individualism. I may not agree with the actions she took but I will always agree that she had the right to take action as she saw fit. In the documentary I saw it seemed that she was living the epitome of individualism. She absolutely refused to have her work altered. It was hers and no one had the right to make changes even if the majority judged her wrong. I love the idea just think it is hard for me to "walk the talk" even though I would like to do so.

Serious Question

2011-05-09T15:10:00.003-05:00

Mark 16:17-18 (King James Version)

17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Okay so I am rereading the new testament and here's a puzzle. What exactly does this tell us?

I know that some who call themselves Christians do play with snakes and some have died. So if they misunderstood this verse then, what does it mean?

Osama is dead

2011-05-05T12:19:00.003-05:00

I know this is old news now but I have needed a few days to process this whole mess. I've listened to the news and read the newsfeeds, scanned the blogs and thought hard about it. I didn't know how I felt.

People in my own family were celebrating and asking for proof at the same time. I remained quiet. I didn't know how I felt.

I'm still not sure. Should I be glad that a person is dead, even as bad a person as the leader of America's number one enemy in the War on Terror? I don't know, it doesn't feel right. I don't believe the death penalty is real punishment for the offender. I think the family and those left behind suffer much more than the offender.

So now, we are rid of Osama but are we any safer? Is it logical that his followers will fold up their tents and go home? Does anyone think we have won the war? Are our troops coming home now? My son-in-law just left for Iraq...doesn't sound like they are coming home to me.

What bothers me most about this whole affair is the celebration of someone's death. I know he was responsible for some terrible things but are we any better that those who celebrated the destruction of the Twin Towers when we stoop to their level? I don't think so.

Biblical Scholar Interview

2011-04-29T15:25:00.002-05:00

Okay I do have more to say.

Nothing more to talk about

2011-04-21T11:48:00.003-05:00

I post this as perhaps the final post about god on this blog because like this video...there isn't anything else to say. Then, who know what mood will strike.

No Atheist in Foxholes????

2011-03-17T16:13:00.001-05:00

I pledge...

2011-03-17T15:31:00.002-05:00

I grew up watching Porky Pig and this is one I'm sure I saw. Notice that it does not put under god in the pledge. That was added in 1954 as an affront to the Soviet Union and their Communism. I think it is sad when the greatest country in the world excludes so many of their own.

Something from Nothing

2011-02-23T15:59:00.003-06:00

I think the argument against evolution has been something like "Something doesn't come from nothing". Well, I am here to tell you it does.

I took down my shower curtain and washed, bleached and dried it. No mold, anywhere. I put it back in the bathroom and 1 week later; mold all along the bottom of the curtian.

Now I know, without a doubt that I cleaned that thing. When I got through there was NOTHING on it. Now there is MOLD on it!

So a bit tongue in cheek but I am really mad.

Proof of Evolution?

2011-02-06T21:15:00.000-06:00

Atheist vs Creationist

2011-02-06T14:51:00.002-06:00

Rick here is a debate for you.

Intelligent Design/Creation

2011-02-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

Of This I Am Tired

2011-02-04T14:41:00.002-06:00

This is too good to miss.

Of This I Am Tired Posted by: SLDrone ( )
Date: January 28, 2011 10:04AM
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,97679

Of This I Am Tired

We live in a world rife with superstition and mysticism. True thought and reason is so often replaced with the magic and folklore which makes up our world religions. Irrational dogma and doctrine is unexamined, unrefuted, and uncorrected. The thinking has been done by those with undisputed direct conduits to a higher power. God's thoughts are not our thoughts, how could we hope to understand or challenge? Compartmentalization becomes the byword as intelligence, research and honest thinking is set on it's head. Then public policy and the very social laws which govern our lives are forged by those who would rather decide the truth first and refute all evidence to the contrary as heresy. Who needs a president, a prime minister or a monarch when all we really need is for Granny Clampet to go back in the possum patch and whip us up a potion to solve our social ailments. As Sagan has so eloquently taught us, we live in a world haunted by demons, the Gods that fill the gaps of our understanding. Of that I am tired.

So we find otherwise intelligent thinking people defending and supporting superstitions. Often holding up as evidence the profound works of FARMS. If ever there was the antithesis of intellectual discovery it is this organization follows carefully the edicts of Boyd Packer in knowing the truth first, and then promoting only the evidence to support that inerrant truth. All the while these FARMS "intellects", most of whom are on the payroll of a great self serving purveyor of superstition and metaphysical doctrine, ignore the obvious evidence to the contrary, or spin it into un unrecognizable conflagration of nonsense. Of that I am tired.

But when all the sophistry and dogmatic reasoning is stripped away, the truth will emerge in the minds of those willing to think critically and challenge the pompous authority of those that claim to know all truth. Let the honest evidence rise and the chips fall where truth places them, unhindered by irrational thought the gems of truth prevail. The most likely hypothesis when supported by the evidence is the most likely answer to the questions that trouble our thoughts. Did God place a perfect man and woman in a garden he'd prepared for them some mere 6,000 years ago with a convoluted plan that they should error and in that error condemn all mankind if not for the savior He would provide or did mankind evolve to it's current and vaunted state? Honest inquiry will lead to honest and unhindered evidence, a rational mind can devise a most likely theory or the evidence can be compartmentalized and rationalized to fit an irrational presumption. Of that I am tired.

Did a small band of Hebrew travelers some 2,600 years ago grow into a population of millions on the American Continent. Did they evolve quickly into to separate and distinct races, contending with one another in wars and armed with steel swords, chariots and horses whilst refreshing themselves with wheat and grapes? Did these factions fight a massive battle in a place called Cumorah where millions died leaving their battle instruments behind as a testament that they gave their lives defending their God, their families and their religion? Or perhaps this too is a fable spun in the mind of a charismatic opportunist. Certainly the archaeological evidence will lead and honest researcher to the truth. Irrational belief passed of as unyielding faith seems the antithesis of truth.

Did a prophet called Abraham pen the truth as revealed to him by God, and though a Hebrew prophet writing in Egyptian hieroglyphics, then somehow conspire to hide his truths in the sarcophagus of a minor functionary of the Egyptian kingdom who lived some millennium later, to be discovered by a prophet some millennia later? Or did a religious charlatan just make that up? Again, honest review of the evidence will lead to the most likely truth of the matter.

Did a prophet called Joseph Smith really see the one true God and his Son and then restore the one true Church, or did he see angels, or a multitude of angels, or just hear a voice or see just God or just His son? Or did he just make that up and evolve his story over years into it's final and unquestionable version which we must accept as absolute truth in order to obtain spiritual salvation? Unbiased and thinking examination is again called for. Did this same prophet reveal the meaning of plates found in Kinderhook, or did his faithful and well meaning personal secretary just make that up and lie? What is the most likely answer? We can never know the truth of these things, but we can devise the most likely hypothesis and then act according to the most likely.

We live in a world of scientific illiteracy. Superstition and pseudo science reign supreme, the anecdotal mythology the engine of our demise. Religion is the antithesis of progress and is as preposterous today as it was millennia ago. The pope of today opposes the scientific research of the fetal stem cells, just as his predecessor opposed any fact refuting man and earth as the center of the universe. Scientific and honest progress is thwarted in that it dares to challenge to doctrine of the dishonest and uninterested. The clouds of an unseen and oft unfathomable god fill the minds of men, darkness gathers, ignorance roars with a deafening thunder, the demons awake. Of this I am tired.

Although this article refers, for the most part, to the mormon beliefs it applies to all religion. I so understand the author's stance as I too am frustrated with the way in which reason is cast aside for supernatural explanations of our existence.

Is there any hope for our society? for the voice of reason? I hope so.

To Marry or Not to Marry

2011-01-18T14:25:00.002-06:00

I decided to create a new post because there is so much to say about this that it would require several comment sections.

My friend and fellow blogger, Rick, brought up the fact that Catholic priest are forbidden to marry. I am reading the apocryphal gospels right now and in one of the epistles attributed to Paul he talks about marriage and the "curse" it brings upon the holy man. I do know that most Christians, including Rick, do not accept these particular writings, however the canonized gospels have a little to say about it also.

I found this article about marriage. I am not Catholic, nor do I defend the doctrine but I do see where they may find it bibilical.

1. PAUL DEFENDS A SINGLE LIFE!

Orthodox Jewish belief made marriage an obligation. If a man did not marry and have children, he was said to have "slain his posterity," and "to have lessened the image of God in the world." (William Barclay, "The Letters to the Corinthians") Orthodox Jewish belief also taught that there were seven who were excommunicated from heaven and the list began, "A Jew who has no wife, or who has a wife but no children." ("Ibid.") In the Jewish way of thinking, God had instituted marriage and had told man to be fruitful and replenish the earth. Therefore, not to marry and have children was to be guilty of breaking a command of God. Yet, we see Paul's idea of being single was quite different.

He states that:

A) Being Single Was Allowable

Paul says in verse 7, "For I would that all men were even as myself." Paul was speaking as a single man and declares that he wished that everyone were single like himself. It is obvious that Paul does not look upon being single as something wrong or sinful, but allowable.

Paul's desire that others be single like himself was a new concept. He was elevating being single. He was indicating that it was not an act of disobedience to God's command as was held in those days, but was perfectly allowable.

Secondly, he states that:

B) Being Single Was Acceptable

He adds in verse 8, "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I." The word "good" speaks of that which is acceptable and honorable. He was saying that being single was neither sinful or shameful, but allowable and acceptable.

Paul's words help the single to realize that they are not some second-class believer in the family of God. Being single is perfectly honorable and acceptable.

First, Paul defends the single life and then secondly:

2. PAUL DEFINES THE SINGLE LIFE!

Even though Paul wished that all men were as himself, he realized that his desire were not the desires of everyone. For the most part, people wanted to marry, would marry, and should marry. Paul was well aware that remaining single was the exception, not the standard or norm. But at the same time, Paul was aware that marriage was not for everyone. For some, living a single life was preferred and proper. Paul not only defended the single life but also defined a single life from the perspective of those who remain single throughout life.

First, notice:

A) The Determination for Remaining Single

We hear much about spiritual gifts. Paul had much to say about spiritual gifts in chapters 12-14. But there is one gift that you rarely hear about and that is the gift of celibacy. Paul declares in verse 7 that remaining single is sometimes the will of God for a person's life. We read, "For I would that all men were even as myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that."

Paul is declaring that in either marriage or remaining single, the will of God is the ultimate determining factor. He speaks of one's gift. The word "gift" is the same word that he uses to speak of the spiritual gifts in chapters 12-14. In the case of being single, there are times that is a gift from God. We will later look at chapter 12-14 and will learn that spiritual gifts are the basis of God's will for the life of the believer. If a person wants to know God's will for their life, understanding their spiritual gift or gifts can help a person understand how God wants to use them.

In some cases, remaining single is the will of God. I think for the majority, marriage is God's plan. Yet, remaining single is the will of God for some. If that be the case, the gift of celibacy enables a person to remain single. It is gift that removes the desire for marriage and gives the dynamic for remaining single.

Secondly, we see:

B) The Decision to Remain Single

Again notice verse 8, "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I." The word "abide" speaks of a decision that is made. The tense of the words speaks of a voluntary decision to remain single, a decision made once and for all.

Again, for most people it would be God's plan and purpose that they marry. But there are those, such as Paul, that it is God's will they remain single and thus the decision is made not to marry. When it comes to marriage, one must find what is God's will for their life.

Thirdly, we see that:

3. PAUL DISCOURAGES THE SINGLE LIFE!

Even though it is Paul's desire that most remain single as him, he was aware that being single for most people would not be best. Therefore, he discourages the single life for most people. We read in verse 9, "But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it better to marry than to burn."

In these words we see:

1 Corinthians 7:6-9

A) The Desire to Marriage

The word "contain" refers to having power or control over certain desires. The desires that Paul specifically speaks of is sexual desires. What Paul is saying is directly connected to what he said about one's proper gift of God. Those who have the gift to remain single are given a special control by God over their sexual desires. It is not that sexual desires do not exist, but they are gifted to discipline and control those desires and not let those desires govern them.

If a single person makes the choice to remain single because they feel it is best for them, God enables them to exercise the necessary control over their physical desires. In those who do not possess such a gift, there is a desire for marriage and for a mate in life.

http://www.thelivingwordtbc.com/1cor23.htm

Is Jesus against families?

2011-01-14T12:10:00.002-06:00

“I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. … He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”

When I was a believing Christian this verse always bothered me. It seems like an instigation to create problems in the family. How am I to understand this? How can a god who created us expect us to deny our family in order to follow him?

What kind of god would pit families againist each other?

What if an atheist meets god.

2010-12-31T10:52:00.001-06:00

Noah's Ark

2010-12-03T10:09:00.003-06:00

Noah's Ark Found

More than a year and a half since Christian explorers trumpeted their alleged discovery of Noah's Ark atop Mount Ararat in Turkey, a war of words is escalating among fellow believers who call the claim an intentional deception that will disparage an actual find of the biblical vessel.

In this photo from Noah's Ark Ministries International, an explorer is purported to be investigating a wooden structure on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey that it says may be the remnant of Noah's Ark mentioned in the Bible.

"Every false report undermines the potential of a true discovery by bolstering the critical view that Noah's Ark is a myth and therefore cannot be found," says a new report issued by the Virginia-based World of the Bible Ministries.

"Every false report further diminishes the potential of a true discovery by constantly exciting the public consciousness with a sensational claim that fails to deliver. The 'cry-wolf syndrome' then takes effect in society so that no one really cares even when the real thing is finally found."

When I was just a young girl there were stories circulating about the finding of Noah's Ark. I chased every story from my teen years until well in my adulthood. Haven't thought about it much in many years but I found this story interesting.

With the many scientific analysis of the feasibility of the bible story it surprised me that any one is still looking. However, I do hope someone does eventually find something to corroborate the story; then I guess there would still be argument about it.

Original Sin

2010-11-11T10:36:00.002-06:00

Considering the root of christianity is derived from an amoral god, can one be good with god?
-Alan Bombria (a friend)

"Damnation is the start of your morality, destruction is its purpose, means and end. Your code begins by damning man as evil, then demands that he ...practice a good which it defines as impossible for him to practice. It demands, as his first proof of virtue, that he accepts his own depravity without proof. It demands that he start, not with a standard of value, but with a standard of evil, which is himself, by means of which he is then to define the good: the good is that which he is not...

We are told from birth that we are sinners and evil doers. We are also told that we are made in the image of god. We are told we have free will and that we must choose to accept Jesus in order to get rid of the sin we got when we were created in god’s image.

“The name of this monstrous absurdity is Original Sin. A sin without volition is a slap at morality and an insolent contradiction in terms: that which is outside the possibility of choice is outside the province of morality. If man is evil by birth, he has no will, no power to change it; if he has no will, he can be neither good nor evil; a robot is amoral. To hold, as man's sin, a fact not open to his choice is a mockery of morality. To hold man's nature as his sin is a mockery of nature. To punish him for a crime he committed before he was born is a mockery of justice. To hold him guilty in a matter where no innocence exists is a mockery of reason. To destroy morality, nature, justice and reason by means of a single concept is a feat of evil hardly to be matched. Yet that is the root of your code."

This is an excerpt from John Galt's speech in the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and it deals with the Christian notion of original sin.

The longer version can be found here

What's wrong with teaching ID?

2010-10-05T10:02:00.000-05:00

So, who wants to go to heaven?

2010-10-05T09:11:00.002-05:00

I was reading face book posts today and found this on a friends blog. It makes me think about many things I have pushed aside for a while. He is talking about heaven and the Christian concept of such. His comments are so poignant I find myself agonizing for my believing children.

I have been told that if I perform the correct Jesus Worship Ritual, that when I go to heaven, I will not be troubled by those who are not there. Some people have told me I would forget that they existed. Others have said that I will remember but will not care because heaven will be so wonderful. If either of these is true, then I fully believe that I would no longer be myself. I am a person who cares about the suffering of others, and who is hurt when my friends are hurt. Some of the people who are already in hell were very dear friends. They were good people who tried very hard to make the lives of their friends better. I would not be who I am without their memory. So if the god Jesus intends to erase my memory, I think that is the same as a death sentence.

Even more troubling is the idea that the god Jesus will make me so uncaring because of my own pleasure that I will not bother to grieve for my lost friends and family. By all measures of goodness that I know, that would make me an evil person. I do not wish to become evil, so I do not wish to go to heaven.

My poor kids; either they will not remember me or they will remember me and not give a damn that I am burning in hell.

I'm glad I don't believe it and nothing anyone can say to me can make me feel bad about not putting that burden on my children.

If you want to read more of his reasons check out his blog.

Poll on religion finds ignorance

2010-09-30T10:31:00.000-05:00

A new survey of Americans' knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.

Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn't know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.

More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. And about four in 10 Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis and intellectuals in history, was Jewish.

The survey released today by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life aimed to test a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths and major figures in religious history. The U.S. is one of the most religious countries in the developed world, especially compared with largely secular Western Europe, but faith leaders and educators have long lamented that Americans still know relatively little about religion.

Respondents to the survey were asked 32 questions with a range of difficulty, including whether they could name the Islamic holy book and the first book of the Bible, or say what century the Mormon religion was founded. On average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions.

Atheists and agnostics scored highest, with an average of 21 correct answers, while Jews and Mormons followed with about 20 accurate responses. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers and Catholics followed with about 15.

Level of education was the best predictor of religious knowledge.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/09/28/20100928religion-poll0928.html#ixzz111kkn1sN

Origins of the Bible

2010-09-24T11:22:00.002-05:00

Although I have been doing the same thing, in searching out the origins of the Bible, this is not my work. It did not get a lot of discussion at the original post site, so I am reposting to see how others think about this subject.

After discovering the actual fraudulent beginnings for the Book of Mormon I have become very curious about other religions beginnings. The Bible, because of its relationship to Mormonism, particularly intrigues me. The actual orgins are fascinating.

As I have been reading over the last year or so something occurred to me. The Bible is actually a result of the geographic location of the Canaanites at the crossroads of three continents. The Bible originated with the Canaanites who gradually morphed into the Israelites sometime between 400-700 BCE. The stories in the Bible are collections of older myths from the surrounding cultures. Those who originate from that region possess DNA that indicates they intermixed with the many groups of people who traversed the lands they wandered for centuries.

"While the Jews of today are connected historically and religiously to the Jews of ancient Israel, the DNA evidence also indicates that a significant amount of Jewish ancestry can be traced directly back to their Israelite/Middle Eastern ancestors. However, these ancestors represented a heterogeneous mix of Semitic and Mediterranean groups, even at their very beginnings. The Israelite Kingdom arose in the 11th century BCE in an area between modern-day Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Current archaeological evidence indicates that the Israelite kingdom arose out of the earlier, Bronze Age Canaanite culture of that region, and displayed significant continuity with the Canaanites in culture, technology, language and ethnicity (Dever 2003, pp. 153-154).

While the Canaanites were a Western Semitic people indigenous to the area, they appear to have consisted of a diverse ethno-cultural mix from the earliest times. It is from this diverse group that the evolution of the Israelites occurred. Although little is known about these groups, they probably included some of the following populations:

1. Amorites: Western Semites like the Canaanites. They were probably the pastoral nomadic component of the Canaanite people.
2. Hittites: A non-Semitic people from Anatolia and Northern Syria.
3. Hurrians (Horites): A non-Semitic people who inhabited parts of Syria and Mesopotamia. Many kings of the early Canaanite city-states had Hurrian names.
4. Amalekites: Nomads from southern Transjordan. Even inimical references to this group in the Hebrew Bible "tacitly" acknowledge that the Israelites and Amalekites shared a common ancestry.
5. Philistines: Referred to in ancient texts as "Sea Peoples." They invaded and settled along the coasts of ancient Canaan. Their culture appears to stem from that of Mycenae.

(Dever 2003, pp. 219-220)."

"As far as we can see on the basis of the archaeological surveys, Judah remained relatively empty of permanent population, quite isolated, and very marginal right up to and past the presumed time of David and Solomon, with no major urban centers and with no pronounced hierarchy of hamlets, villages, and towns." -- p. 132

"There is no trace of written documents or inscriptions, nor of the Temple or palace of Solomon, and buildings once identified with Solomon have been shown to date from other periods. Current evidence refutes the existence of a unified kingdom: "The glorious epic of united monarchy was -- like the stories of the patriarchs and the sagas of the Exodus and conquest -- a brilliant composition that wove together ancient heroic tales and legends into a coherent and persuasive prophecy for the people of Israel in the seventh century BCE" (p. 144).

"...most of the Israelites did not come from outside Canaan - they emerged from within it. There was no mass Exodus from Egypt. There was no violent conquest of Canaan. Most of the people who formed early Israel were local people - the same people whom we see in the highlands throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages. The early Israelites were - irony of ironies - themselves originally Canaanites!"-Finkelstein and Silberman

Numerous encounters over several centuries led to the adoption of other cultures myths and intertwining these myths into a loose collection. The occasional traveler probably stayed and the occasional Canaanite probably left with the travelers.

I personally find the actually origins more interesting than the mythical tales. It is actually a reflection of the evolution of most cultures around the world. Isolation is actually VERY rare in the course of human history.

One comment

This is important info that hundreds of millions of people need to read and become familiar with. I think it is very cool that archaeologists are bravely finding and telling the truth about these Bible-based myths, golden calves and shibboleths. Maybe in the future the planet can actually become free of the concept of "chosen people", "god's favored children", etc..

I'm really glad that this work is being done and published to the world in my lifetime. Coming to understand how scriptures are written and edited within cultures and societies has been liberating for me. The "Bible veil" is beginning to wear exceedingly thin, and may soon tear away from the mass mind altogether. I look forward to a freer world for our descendants

Dawkins vs Pope

2010-09-22T13:10:00.003-05:00

Religion and the Supreme Court

2010-08-12T14:10:00.001-05:00

I received the following from a friend and thought it interesting enough to try and get some feed back.

Now that Elena Kagan has been confirmed on our nation's high court, for the first time in its history, the US Supreme court is: devoid of Protestants.

Kagan is Jewish, as are Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Everyone of the other justices — Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Sonia Sotomayor — are Catholic. How did this situation come about in a country that was historically pretty much born of, and bred by, Protestants?

Amid the abundant number of articles and commentary on the new percentage of both women and liberals that are now on the Court now that Kagan has ascended to it, the utter lack of comment on the changed religious make-up of the court is far more interesting in and of itself. Why the lack of discussion on this topic? It is going unmarked.

What does the over-representation of Jews on the court tell us? Is it as significant as the over-representatrion of men has been, for instance?

What does the lack of any protestant on the Court tell us, and is it significant? Are we as a country abandoning all our founding Calvinist thoughts? Are we subconsciously (or maybe even consciously) fleeing all things redneck? After all, WASP means "white anglo-saxon protestant."

The religious change-over that has taken place in the Supreme Court is an extremely interesting topic on many levels. I would love to see some discussion of it out there, but it may be like the proverbial "elephant in the room," and just way too big to mention.

What is an Atheist?

2010-07-17T09:06:00.001-05:00

I have been and still am quite busy with my daughter and the grandchildren but I ran across this quote and wanted to post it for posterity.

"I look at everything around me like you do, with amazement, but the amazing circumstances of life on this planet are not justifiably answered with blind faith, science answers questions with evidence, religion raises questions with lack there of."

"YOUR PETITIONERS ARE ATHEISTS and they define their life-style as follows. An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist knows that heaven is something for which we should work now -- here on earth -- for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist thinks that he can get no help through prayer but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue, and enjoy it. An Atheist thinks that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the under...standing that will help to a life of fulfillment.

Therefore, he seeks to know himself and his fellow man rather than to know a god. An Atheist knows that a hospital should be build instead of a church An Atheist knows that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said.

An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated. He wants man to understand and love man. He wants an ethical way of life. He knows that we cannot rely on a god nor channel action into prayer nor hope for an end to troubles in the hereafter. He knows that we are our brother's keeper and keepers of our lives; that we are responsible persons, that the job is here and the time is now."

Madalyn Murray (later O'Hair), preambleto Murray v. Curlett, April 27, 1961

The Believer and the Apostate

2010-06-25T15:31:00.001-05:00

It is no secret that the believer and the non believer have dificulty getting along..a bit tongue in cheek...but I had not reall looked at the reasons in depth. This article paints a picture that is right on.

There is quite possibly no greater threat to the believer than the existence of the apostate. In order to reduce dissonance, the true believer must assume that their own particular system of faith is so obviously true that no open-minded seeker who is fully appraised of the facts can fail to accept it. The apostate represents the real-world disconfirmation of this assumption. It is possible to ascribe the existence of non-believers to several sources – the work of the Enemy, or a deliberate (and thus rebellious) close-mindedness or even, in some cases, non-election. The apostate, however, is in a different class altogether. The apostate is defined as a person who, at one time, fully accepted the dogma and tenets of the particular system, who participated in its rituals, and who defended it from the attacks of unbelievers. However, the apostate at some point reached the conclusion that the system was intellectually bankrupt, and defected from the faith, either for another tradition, or for a system of freethought.Thus, the apostate cannot exist in the worldview of the believer.

Rational thought is the true enemy of the believer.

This line of defense usually produces a curious paradox. Most human beings need rational thought in order to function effectively in the secular world. They are thus quite able to effectively apply logic and reason in everyday situations. But, it is important that this light of reason never be brought to bear on one’s own system of belief. The reason for this is not difficult to determine – very few, if any, religious systems can survive a dispassionate, rational dissection. This fact is acknowledged by the believer, usually unconsciously.

Complete article here

Imagine

Fairness

2010-06-09T08:38:00.002-05:00

Life is not fair; get used to it. – Bill Gates

Perhaps it is truth that life is not fair. I have been thinking about that a lot lately because my family has faced a lot of “unfairness”.

But is it?

What is fair?

Definitions of fair on the Web:

•free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules; "a fair referee"; "fair deal"; "on a fair footing"; "a fair fight"; "by fair means or foul"

•not excessive or extreme; "a fairish income"; "reasonable prices"

•bonny: very pleasing to the eye; "my bonny lass"; "there's a bonny bay beyond"; "a comely face"; "young fair maidens"

•(of a baseball) hit between the foul lines; "he hit a fair ball over the third base bag"

•average: lacking exceptional quality or ability; "a novel of average merit"; "only a fair performance of the sonata"; "in fair health"; "the caliber of the students has gone from mediocre to above average"; "the performance was middling at best"

•fair(a): attractively feminine; "the fair sex"

•carnival: a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc.

•clean: (of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections; "fair copy"; "a clean manuscript"

•gathering of producers to promote business; "world fair"; "trade fair"; "book fair"

•honest: gained or earned without cheating or stealing; "an honest wage"; "an fair penny"

•fairly: in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating; "they played fairly"

•a competitive exhibition of farm products; "she won a blue ribbon for her baking at the county fair"

•free of clouds or rain; "today will be fair and warm"

•join so that the external surfaces blend smoothly

•fairly: without favoring one party, in a fair evenhanded manner; "deal fairly with one another"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

So let’s look at some of these from my perspective:

• free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules; "a fair referee"; "fair deal"; "on a fair footing"; "a fair fight"; "by fair means or foul"

No favoritism here. Cancer has stricken several in my family including my youngest daughter. Self-interest; of whom? No rule book for life and no referees.

• not excessive or extreme; "a fairish income"; "reasonable prices"

Is it excessive that I have lost 5 siblings to cancer and that it has now attacked my daughter?

• fairly: in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating; "they played fairly"

How does one cheat when there are no rules?

• fairly: without favoring one party, in a fair evenhanded manner; "deal fairly with one another"

So I suppose if this one applies the 2 siblings and 3 children I have may be “dealt with” fairly.

However, lest I sound morbid, which is not my intention, I go in another direction.

My beautiful daughter is a special person. She is facing a difficult time in her young life and she is facing it with humor and grace. So I am not bitter about this. She has a strong faith and she feels that her faith will sustain her. I admire her as she faces each day with courage and strength. She has God on her side (she believes). But….

I don’t understand the strength she gets from prayer but I will not deny that she has it. She credits her god with all the good things in her life but never blames him for the pain and suffering. I don’t get it but I don’t have to.
She is an amazing person and I only see her strength and her courage: maybe there is something supernatural about that!!

God is Busy

2010-05-12T08:21:00.004-05:00

Read this on another site and in light of what is going on in my life right now just had to repost.

"A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist, and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "GOD if you are real then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes." The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am GOD, I'm still waiting." It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold. The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, "What in the world is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied, "GOD was too busy today protecting American soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. So He sent me."

The classroom erupted in cheers!

=======================================
End of email
=======================================

It sure hits all the talking points, doesn't it? Military, academia, atheism, and violence as an answer to difficult questions.

I recently got an email from a student of mine. She was concerned that since I teach a Philosophy class, I would be an atheist, and she was prepared to either drop my class or "turn me in." Apparently, she had a Psychology professor in the past that asked her to examine her beliefs, and it made her very uncomfortable. So now she's on a mission to root out atheists in academia and make sure they all end up losing their jobs.

...and a response... (I particularly like this well stated response)

The story is messed up in many ways.

First, as mentioned by others, the violent act is at odds with the ideals (notice I said "ideals") that are supposedly espoused by Christians and other religionists.

Second, it makes "GOD" look like an incompetent boob, because: (1) he can't multi-task by handling an atheist professor while simultaneously protecting "American" soldiers (forget about non-American soldiers); (2) He doesn't do a very good job of protecting soldiers; and (3) if he really wanted to protect soldiers, he should have prevented the war from breaking out in the first place.

Third, it doesn't pass the smell test. These types of stories all have the same feel to them. I call it the "Reader's Digest feel" because they always sound like something that's a bit too Norman Rockwellish and cartoonish to be true. If anyone had really punched out a professor with enough force to knock him out cold, the professor would be needing serious hospitalization. This story has the professor coming to like something out of the TV shows or cartoons where people are getting hit on the head to knock them unconscious (like it's some kind of on/off switch) and they always come to with nothing more than a headache. It doesn't work that way. When enough force is applied to knock someone unconscious, things like paralysis, broken jaws, broken noses, fractured cheekbones, concussions, etc., are the typical results. The Marine would have been looking at criminal and civil charges.

Finally, if the American soldiers are supposedly "over there" protecting the First Amendment, why the hell is the Marine using violence back home to render it meaningless??"

I recently learned that my youngest daughter has breast cancer. She is Mormon. The whole ward is praying and fasting tomorrow, in her honor. I hope their god is not too busy to listen and act.

I’m Suspicious

2010-04-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

Check out the story here for what is reportedly another miracle. It seems that god led him to the little girl. Maybe, but it seems really strange to me. Check out the comments; I’m not the only one suspicious.

Easter

2010-04-05T08:48:00.001-05:00

My #2 daughter and I went to lunch on Sunday. We get together quite often since we are the “without partners” in the family. She was somewhat upset. When I asked her what was wrong she told me the following story. I need to tell you also that she considers herself a Christian, although she is anti-religion. She does not go to church but she believes in God and prays.

“ I called #3 (her sister) this morning to wish her a Happy Easter. I then asked her what kind of plans they had for Easter. She said that it is General Conference Weekend so they weren’t even going to church. I was shocked! She is so religious and so into her LDS church, why was she sitting out the most important holiday of Christianity?”

I knew this about the Mormons but I think my #2 is just beginning to realize how strange they are.

“I asked her why there was not a special service at church. Then she told me that Mormons celebrate the life of Jesus and not the death. Mom, she said, isn’t Easter all about His life? The fact that he rose from the grave as promised by God?”

I am no expert certainly, but I do remember when I was a Christian, Easter was the most important holiday at church. Even my parents who rarely went to church, made sure we were all dressed and in the pews on Easter Sunday.

My #2 doesn’t understand the Mormons but this was incredibly hurtful to her. She thought her sister was a good Christian. She told me that there is no way she could be Christian and not celebrate the resurrection of the Son of God.

So What am I?

2010-04-01T12:15:00.002-05:00

I think a woman has a right to choose to have a child or not, but I think the father has the same right.

I think women on welfare who have a second child out of wedlock should be cut off.

I think people who live and work in this country should be legal, if they aren’t they should be deported. I think businesses who hire them have a responsibility to check them out and make every effort to be sure they are legal. It they aren’t and the company hires them, the company should pay, dearly.

I do not think an employee who is offered paid insurance, should be able to turn it down in order to get Medicaid.

I do not think that private schools, including charter schools, should get public funds when they have the right to choose who attends. I think that students should have to be legal citizens to attend public school but public schools must take all students so public funds should be used for public schools.

I think the school day should be longer and that summers should be shorter. American students rate so low it is embarrassing. I think teachers should be paid in direct proportion to the success of their students. I was a teacher and I still think so.

I do not think it is beneficial to our country to have Congressmen and women in office over and over, even if they are elected. They should have term limits…and they should NOT get retirement for life after serving.

I think Social Security should be paid to those who pay it in and it should not be reduced because I draw $700 a month on teacher retirement.

I think capital punishment is barbaric. I think our prisons should be bare minimums without televisions, game systems and computers. Prisoners should work not go to school for a BS, BA, Masters or PHD at our expense. Training for acclimation into society and productive work should be required.

I think that religion should be taken out of government, completely. That means when someone runs for office it is off limits to talk about or use his religion or lack thereof in any capacity while campaigning or while in office.

I think that drugs should be legalized and controlled. Prohibition does not work. As it is now the criminals are making a lot of money and kids have ready access to whatever they want. The so called War on Drugs is not working and the money spent could be put to better use.

I think everyone deserves good medical care but I don’t have any idea how it should work. I am, however, glad that someone is working to get it done.

I think the office of president deserves all the respect we can muster, even when we don’t particularly like the one who resides within. I think his/her personal life is personal and not fair game for the media.

So what am I? Democrat, Republican, Libertarian? No, American.

Perfect: What does it mean?

2010-03-29T14:48:00.001-05:00

“If you wish to converse with me,” said Voltaire, “define your terms.” That might be a good rule to follow here as well.

per•fect–adjective

1. conforming absolutely to the description or definition of an ideal type: a perfect sphere; a perfect gentleman.

2. excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement: There is no perfect legal code. The proportions of this temple are almost perfect.

3. exactly fitting the need in a certain situation or for a certain purpose: a perfect actor to play Mr. Micawber; a perfect saw for cutting out keyholes.

4. entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings: a perfect apple; the perfect crime.

5. accurate, exact, or correct in every detail: a perfect copy.

6. thorough; complete; utter: perfect strangers.

7. pure or unmixed: perfect yellow.

8. unqualified; absolute: He has perfect control over his followers.

9. expert; accomplished; proficient.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/+perfect

Should We Ditch Religion?

2010-03-26T14:59:00.002-05:00

Why do people Cuss?

2010-03-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

It is interesting to note that profanity exists in every language. When I began to learn Spanish the first words I learned were the “bad words”. It was funny because I could say them and most people didn’t know what they meant. I did get caught a few times…

Profanity changes over time. When I was growing up my parents would have washed my mouth out for saying ass, or damn or hell, now those are pretty benign words. Shakespeare writings are full of profanity but few recognize it now. Words like sblood (God’s blood) and zounds (God’s wound) cause little ruckus now but in the day they were considered especially outrageous. And, do you know anyone who shops at Gadzooks? That was another reference to the crucifixion of Christ (God’s hooks).

Although I cannot quote book and page, I understand that cursing in public will get you a fine. However, for the most part bad language is more prevalent today than it was in the 50’s and 60’s when I was growing up.

Does that mean it is more accepted? In some circles yes, but for many , myself included, I see the use of bad language as a clear indication that one has limited vocabulary. Maybe it’s the teacher in me but with the vast and rich texture of our language, surely one could find a more appropriate word.

So why do people cuss? There are generally considered two types of profanity: those that refer to deity and those that refer to bodily functions. Both can be quite vile. I think, and this is strictly opinion, that many swear to be accepted by a group; they think it is expected. Others think it makes them feel important (don’t ask me why). For some it is a natural reflex; stub your toe and, “Oh shit!” just pops out. I learned to say “Oh sugar!”…my mother was rather prudish. But I think the reason most people cuss is to make a point, whatever that point is.

So now…is it sacrilegious to use “the lord’s name in vain”? Probably to some, but I tend to believe that most people are not thinking of the lord when they use profanity. I think “taking the lord’s name in vain” is something else altogether…but that’s my opinion.

The Literal Bible Truth

2010-03-11T13:20:00.002-06:00

Agnostics, Atheist, Anti-theist, Brights and now the Jews. Reading a thread at RFM, I clicked on the link and to my absolute surprise…proof that the bible is fiction.

Well, maybe not proof but certainly a step in the right direction. Someone else said it but I will repeat it here: I can’t wait to hear the Christians claim they know more Jewish history than the Jews.

Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation.

The notion that the Bible is not literally true ''is more or less settled and understood among most Conservative rabbis,'' observed David Wolpe, a rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and a contributor to ''Etz Hayim.'' But some congregants, he said, ''may not like the stark airing of it.'' Last Passover, in a sermon to 2,200 congregants at his synagogue, Rabbi Wolpe frankly said that ''virtually every modern archaeologist'' agrees ''that the way the Bible describes the Exodus is not the way that it happened, if it happened at all.'' The rabbi offered what he called a ''litany of disillusion'' about the narrative, including contradictions, improbabilities, chronological lapses and the absence of corroborating evidence. In fact, he said, archaeologists digging in the Sinai have ''found no trace of the tribes of Israel -- not one shard of pottery.''

http://

www.nytimes.com/2002/03/09/books/new-torah-for-modern-minds.html

Hell

2010-03-02T10:30:00.005-06:00

Several blogger have posted on the topic of hell; I have also but I am going to do another---from a different angle.

Where did we get our idea of hell? I don't mean that it exist but what it looks like. I have just read "Go to Hell" by Chuck Crisafulli and Kyra Thompson and I learned a great deal about the origins of our idea of hell.

The bible tells us that hell is a separation from god but, and I know you will correct me if I am wrong, the bible does not really describe hell or tell us exactly where it is. So where is it? What does it look like?

i believe that one of the oldest recorded stories of hell comes from the epic tale of Gilgamesh but our most vivid idea of hell comes from Dante Alighieri the author of Divine Comedy and artists Hiieronymus Bosch and Auguste Rodin.

One of the more interesting parts of the book is "My Hell"...snippets fro people you know on hell. I'll give you two:

William Shatner

Hell, for me , would be to leave here today.
Right Now.
Maybe tomorrow--that would be all right.
But not today.
I'm having too much fun.
And to leave right now...?
That would be hell.

Bob Newhart

I was thinking about hell and the "gnashing of teeth". So, I imganie everyone there would have really bad teeth. There would be a dentist ---but no Novocain.

There are many more but I do not want to infringe on a copyright so 'nuff for now. The book is great...check it out.

But for now what is your hell? So in the spirit of the the book here is mine:

My Hell
Listening to television preachers 24/7
That would be hell.

What is the Lesson of Judges 15?

2010-02-26T09:43:00.002-06:00

Judges 15 >>
King James Bible
________________________________________
1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. 12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

So just what are we to learn from this? If the Bible is the word of god, as Christians profess, then what is this all about? It seems to me that it is nothing more the a story told about a man, his wife and her interfering parents and the chaos that it causes.

Vengful God, I Guess!

2010-02-24T12:35:00.003-06:00

One of my favorites, listed to the right, is the God of the Bible site. It is a skeptic’s guide to the atrocities of god of the bible. I went there this morning looking for a passage in James. Why?
Well, yesterday I took my car in for an oil change and while waiting for it I picked up a book Life-Lessons: Book of James-Practical-Wisdom. Never having seen it before, I began to read. It starts out telling about the author and that he is believed to be the brother of Jesus. I wasn’t there long enough to finish it but I think the idea is to use the bible to glean practical lesson applicable to living in today’s world. Nice idea; I guess.
So….my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to check out the book of James. That took me to the aforementioned website. From there I got to another site which gives a count of how many people god killed, based on the bible. How many has God killed? WOW!

So check it out. Bet you didn’t know what a ruthless guy your god is.

Contradictions?

2010-02-17T10:03:00.004-06:00

I am posting this as a new thread to avoid the long length of the previous topic.

February 14, 2010 12:56 AM
Rick b said...
Hello Interested, well as I said before I am kinda busy with School and work, plus a family of five. Anyway I will cut and paste a section from the blog you sent me to and talk about it in the next section below, other wise I would run out of my word limit.

Let’s take a look at a passage all Christian’s should be familiar with. It is just 4 small verses Mark 10:17-21. In the NIV these verses are titled the rich young man

17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

Ok, seems clear enough. The question asked Jesus was how do I get eternal life. The answer Jesus gave was follow the commandments including the one you think is hard, giving charity isn’t exactly a commandment but close enough. Please keep in mind that this was a young man. Now let’s fast forward a few years when this rich young man squandered all his money and went out into the world and got himself a job. Wasn’t a great job but the benefits were that he could beat prisoners whenever he felt like. He was a jailer, as luck would have it [not luck, my version of events] he was the jailer where Paul and Silas were jailed. Let’s take a look at Acts 16:30-31.

30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

February 17, 2010 8:40 AM
Rick b said...
First off the Blog author implies that the Rich young man speaking to Jesus and the Jailer were the same person. Can you or anyone show me from the Bible where it states this? Asking where this is stated is called evidence, It's not in the Bible, you guys are assuming this is the case, your assuming it is the same person.

Since your simply assuming you then believe this poses a contradiction since Jesus told him to sell all, and Paul says Believe.

This is another case of Atheists not having a clue of what the Bible says and then saying it is filled with problems.

Maybe if you guys were a little more honest I would not give you a hard time.

Yes Jesus did tell that man to sell all, But he was only speaking to THAT MAN, Jesus Did not say, everyone who hears my voice or reads this letter sell all, He simply said it to that one man.

I really find it funny how you guys trash the Bible, but then when I point out your flaws you guys ignore what I say or have no honest feed back. Why is that?

I will post more as I get time. Rick b

It's a Miracle!

2010-02-09T15:42:00.002-06:00

Just had to post this. Too funny to miss.

Creationism as Science?

2010-01-29T15:12:00.001-06:00

I just ran across this video:

Food for Thought

2010-01-26T13:37:00.000-06:00

The following is a quote from slate in 2006

"Others, myself included, would not, under most imaginable circumstances, vote for a fanatic or fundamentalist-a Hassidic Jew who regards Rabbi Menachem Schneerson as the Messiah, a Christian literalist who thinks that the Earth is less than 7,000 years old, or a Scientologist who thinks it is haunted by the souls of space aliens sent by the evil lord Xenu. Such views are disqualifying because they're dogmatic, irrational, and absurd. By holding them, someone indicates a basic failure to think for himself or see the world as it is.

By the same token, I wouldn't vote for someone who truly believed in the founding whoppers of Mormonism. The LDS church holds that Joseph Smith, directed by the angel Moroni, unearthed a book of golden plates buried in a hillside in Western New York in 1827. The plates were inscribed in "reformed" Egyptian hieroglyphics-a nonexistent version of the ancient language that had yet to be decoded. If you don't know the story, it's worth spending some time with Fawn Brodie's wonderful biography No Man Knows My History. Smith was able to dictate his "translation" of the Book of Mormon first by looking through diamond-encrusted decoder glasses and then by burying his face in a hat with a brown rock at the bottom of it. He was an obvious con man. Romney has every right to believe in con men, but I want to know if he does, and if so, I don't want him running the country.

One may object that all religious beliefs are irrational-what's the difference between Smith's "seer stone" and the virgin birth or the parting of the Red Sea? But Mormonism is different because it is based on such a transparent and recent fraud. It's Scientology plus 125 years. Perhaps Christianity and Judaism are merely more venerable and poetic versions of the same. But a few eons makes a big difference. The world's greater religions have had time to splinter, moderate, and turn their myths into metaphor. The Church of Latter-day Saints is expanding rapidly and liberalizing in various ways, but it remains fundamentally an orthodox creed with no visible reform wing."
Jacob Weisberg http://www.slate.com/id/2155902/

There is much in this quote with which I agree. In fact, I’ll bet my supper that anyone reading this can find something with which to agree. However, I’d like to take in a bit further. I like others who have discussed this subject, do not agree that Christianity or Judaism get a free pass just because they have been around for a while. Just like Mormonism, they too teach intolerance and bigotry. And, like Mormonism, they do have some very strange beliefs. Let’s look at a few:

1. The earth was created in 7 days…Less than 6000 years ago
2. Snakes can talk
3. The Red sea parted long enough for the jews to escape but closed just in time to kill the enemies
4. A virgin can give birth to a half man, half god
5. A 12 - year old boy can convince a bunch of wise men in a temple to stop and listen to him
6. A man/god can walk on water
7. A man can turn water into wine and feed thousands with a few fishes and a loaf of bread
8. A man can cast out evil spirits and send them into a bunch of pigs
9. A dead person can rise after three days in a tomb
10. Three persons can be one person but still three persons in one,,,whew!
And, that is just a few.
I’m reading “The God Virus” by Darrel W. Ray and he compares religion to disease. When we had not knowledge of disease it was natural and normal to blame the supernatural. Humanity has progressed beyond that. We know that disease is caused by bacteria or virus and that many can be cured by medicines and treatments. But even those that do not have cures are not blamed on god; we continue to look for a cure.
I hope to live long enough to see the god virus cured.

Me & Abraham

2009-12-17T18:40:00.001-06:00

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
- Abraham Lincoln

Darwin's Theory

2009-12-14T08:42:00.005-06:00

So much has been made of Darwin's Theory so I found this summary:

Summary of Darwin's Theory of Evolution
• A species is a population of organisms that interbreeds and has fertile offspring.
• Living organisms have descended with modifications from species that lived before them.
• Natural selection explains how this evolution has happened:
— More organisms are produced than can survive because of limited resources.
— Organisms struggle for the necessities of life; there is competition for resources.
— Individuals within a population vary in their traits; some of these traits are heritable -- passed on to offspring.
— Some variants are better adapted to survive and reproduce under local conditions than others.
— Better-adapted individuals (the "fit enough") are more likely to survive and reproduce, thereby passing on copies of their genes to the next generation.
— Species whose individuals are best adapted survive; others become extinct.
Source

One of you quoted from answers to Jonathan Wells "The peppered moth photos are...not scientific evidence for natural selection."

However the complete quote is: The peppered moth photos are the same sort of illustration, not scientific evidence for natural selection. This is the problem I have with many of your arguments and others on the blogs for creationism, misquotes and quotes out of context as well as partial quotes. If you go back and read the response the author is explaining that illustrations are used to demonstrate a point not to prove a theory.

Last night I watched a segment of 60 minutes that recounts the progress made in regeneration of body parts. Livers, hearts, kidneys and even ears! Wow! One of the stories was about a man who had received "pixie dust" a substance from pig bladders called Extra Cellular Matrix, and actually grew a new esophagus and another who grew new muscles. Story Here

These studies are amazing and may someday save your life or the life of someone you love.

I think all this is due to Darwin's Theory and the continued study of how life exists.

I don't "believe" in Darwinism I accept the facts found through scientific study every day,that proves that all living matter is genetically similar.

Learning is a continual process. It isn't about accepting the answer because someone says it is so. It is a process of discovery and correction. Science isn't always right...they don't get it right every time but science never stops searching for the answers. Someone stated that creationism is a "done deal" 6 days and it is done. Science will never be done; there much to learn.

Creationism Is Deceitful By Design

2009-12-08T13:44:00.000-06:00

Borrowed this from a friend.

I couldn't have said it better!

2009-12-04T12:14:00.003-06:00

From someone whom I admire greatly for his courage and forthrightness.

Subject: So, Jesus Came to Earth to Stop God from Barbarically Killing Any More People and in mercifully doing away with the Stop-Me-Before-I-Kill-Again Lord's Law of Moses, this is therefore supposed to make "Jesus the King/God Responsible For All the Killing in the First Place" deserving of our eternal worship and unending gratitude--not to mention making us dependent on him for our salvation and happiness?

Praise the abuser, while blaming yourself for the abuse he heaps upon you?

I mean, how sick is that?

In another thread, poster "CosmoMcK" explains the wonderful gory glory of this proctology cosmology:

"Jesus was exposing their [the stoners] hypocrisy and teaching them about forgiveness. The concept of stoning was a Jewish one, not a Christian one. Christ did away with the Law of Moses, and Christians believe they live by the law of mercy. Come to think of it, I don't hear of Jews stoning people anymore either. I do hear of Muslims stoning people."

(Subject: "Re: And christians can't seem to explain HOW you could interpret it to mean what they claim it does," Date: 4 December 2009, 02:07, Author: CosmoMcK, Mail Address: blindspot64@yahoo.com, at:

http://www.exmormon.org/boards/w-agora/view.php?bn=exmobb_recovery&key=1259910423&modified=1259910423)

This is what Jesus should be honored for--exposing the sinfulness of those who, in earlier times, had simply been doing what God himself had ordered them to do: bashing people's brains in with rocks?

Jesus finally puts a stop to this heaven-sanctioned sick-in-the-head slaughter of humankind and for this he deserves our adoration and love forever and ever?

Gimme a break. Jesus/Jehovah/My-Way-or-the-Highway Yahweh was in on it, for gawd's sake!

Besides, what in the hell was God doing ordering such murderous, revolting, pathological punishment in the first place?

Why would anyone want to honor such a savagely sadistic, out-of-control, damnable deity who was guilty of ordering the stoning to death of every man, woman, child or animal in sight whom this gruesome God monster had deemed deserving of cranium-crushing by rock-chucking?

Geezus. It's enough to make you upchuck.

Let me get this straight: Jesus came to earth to do away with a form of killer criminality that was originally approved and commanded by God?

Well, let's sure as hell hope so.

I mean, someone has to stop this gawd-awful God from his maniacal, murderous ways before he wipes out the entire planet in a frothing fit of mindless madness. ("Um, Dad, sorry to interrupt your stone-to-death fest, but can I have a word with you?")

For the revolting record, death by stoning was a God-ordained punishment for the following "crimes" against Heaven:

--for those who touched Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:12-13);

--for an ox that gores a person, with not only the offending ox stoned to death but its owner also put to death if found negligent for not preventing his ox from doing the goring (Exodus 21:28-29);

--for an ox that gores a slave, with the owner of the ox forced to pay the owner of the slave 30 shekels of silver (Exodus 21:32)

--for those with "familiar spirits"--i.e, folks like witches and fortune tellers (Leviticus 20:27)

--for a woman whose husband decides he hates her and who he can claim was not a virgin when they married--that is, if the woman's father fails to produce the "tokens of her virginity" (in this case, bloody sheets). Failing to do that, she is to be stoned to death at her father's doorstep (Leviticus 22:13-21)

--for a man who blaphemes or curses while arguing with another man, being stoned to death by the community as a whole (Leviticus 24:10-23)

--for those who generally blaspheme or curse, being stoned to death, again, by the entire community (Leviticus 24:16)

--for a stubborn or rebellious son, being stoned to death by his father and the other men in the neighborhood (Deuteronomy 12:18-21)

--for a raped virgin who fails to scream out loud enough, being stoned to death by the men in town (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)

--for Achan, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his sheep and all his other animals, who were taken by Joshua and stoned to death by all the people of Israel, after which their bodies were burned (Joshua 7:24-26)

--for the Ammonites, whom the Lord killed by casting stones down on them from heaven (Joshua 10:11)

--for blaspheming "god and the king" (1 Kings 21:10-13)

--for small children, whose death by rocks to the head will make one happy as one "taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones" (Psalms 137:9)

--for one of two sisters who was found guilty of "committing whoredoms" by, with her sibling, pressing their breasts and bruising "the teats of their virginity," and therefore whose nose and ears were cut off, who was then made to "pluck off" her own breasts, and after having been forced to do so was raped and mutilated before being stoned to death (Ezekiel 23:1-49)

--for offending sons and daughters who the Israelites were commanded to "stone . . . with stones, and [to] dispatch . . . with their swords; [and] . . . [to] slay . . . and [to] burn up their houses with fire" (Ezekiel 23:47)

--for all the people of Samaria, whom God will destroy with, of course, stones (Micah 1:6)

--for animals that "so much as . . . touch the mountain" (2 Thessalonians 12:20)

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/cruelty/long.html
_____

Praise God! Jesus came down from Heaven above to stop God from any more stoning to death down below.

Well, whoopty-doo-doo.

Give the guy a hand--even though he was part and parcel of the whole bloody business from the beginning.

Date: Dec 04 03:14
Author: steve benson
ExMormon.org

My Absence

2009-12-03T14:31:00.002-06:00

It has been a difficult few weeks but I want to let you know something that I discovered. I was in a great deal of pain and truly wished to die. I found little relief without very strong drugs and I was completely unable to care for myself. Fortunately, there was no need for concern since my children were there to take care of all the details.

I could have died and I was fully aware of that possibility. Since this is the first time I have been in such a position, I wondered just how I would react. Many have told me that when faced with death they question their beliefs, in either direction. I didn’t. I was and am proud to say I did not pray to any unseen god nor did I beg for divine intervention. I suffered the pain without any compromise.

As you may know, I have 2 very religious daughters, one quasi-religious daughter and a tolerant son. I am also proud that they did not try to convert me in my distress. I’m sure they prayed and asked for divine intervention but they did it in private, away from my bedside.

I thank them for that and I’m glad for me; glad that I did not reach for a crutch in my misery, glad that I faced real diversity and maintained my absolute doubt in a supernatural being.

Just thought you’d like to know.

Atheist Campaign

2009-11-05T11:50:00.003-06:00

Similar to the bus campaign in London; 100 of these signs will be on Seatle buses beginning November. I'm sure it will get the christians in an uproar. However, the point is that the manger and the wisemen have had their time on the buses. It's about time we non-believers had the same opportunity.

What will happen when Jesus comes back?

2009-11-04T14:24:00.002-06:00

Picked this up from another site where they are having a discussion on the second coming of Christ.

First comes the Rapture where anyone, regardless of denomination or religion, who believes that Jesus died for their sins and allowed him to become their Lord and Savior, is taken up to heaven.

Next comes 7 years of horror called the Tribulation. The first 3 and 1/2 years will be bad, but then the second 3 and 1/2 years will be worse. During that time, the Beast whoever or whatever that is, will make everyone who is still alive take a mark on his/her right hand or forehead to be able to buy or sell. Some form of 666 is to be used.

Back in the 1970's there was a very famous book called the "Late Great Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsey. It spelled out how everything would go down.

Back then, we didn't have the technology we have today that would be able to track people and mark people with the infamous 666. Now we do. Those little microchips they already use to put in the necks of family pets could just as easily be used in people. Bar codes could also be used for easy scanning.

Ok, to continue, during those 7 years of horror there will be 144,000 Jewish (Not Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons or anything else) Jewish evangelists that will go throughout the world telling people there is still time to repent and beome born again before the end of the world. Now, before you think, "Ok, I'll just wait till the Rapture happens and then get right with God," I should warn you, it will be a perilous time. There will be Earthquakes, fires, famines, wholesale murder etc. during those 7 years. You may or may not get that second chance to get right with God.

So,that's that?

Hell, what is it?

2009-11-02T09:35:00.003-06:00

Now that I know I'm going to hell I wanted to do a little reading about it. While having my house painted this weekend I did a little reading...not enough yet, but just a start.

My son had this book at work and handed it to me one day. I scanned it and put it aside. Go to Hell: A Heated History of the Underworld by Chuck Crisafulli and Kyra Thompson. However with my new travel plans I decided to do some research. I started with this book and went to the bible. I used the KJV and the internet, online bible sites. I was surprised to find how little mention there is in the christian handbook about this horrible place.

http://ecclesia.org/truth/hell.html

So now let's talk about hell. How do you know it exists? What verses do you quote to be sure of your knowledge about hell? Does the bible describe it?

Well, I'm just asking?

This could be me!

2009-10-30T14:10:00.003-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAIpRRZvnJg&feature=player_embedded

Devolution?

2009-10-29T09:50:00.003-05:00

The family who walked on all fours is an absolutely fascinating discovery. Although this is old news for some, I only recently learned of these children. The family was visited by scientist and journalist beginning in about 2002 and PBS broadcast a program in 2006 and reran it recently.

“The three sisters and two brothers may offer insight into the way our apelike ancestors moved, according to scientists. Human ancestors are believed to have begun walking on two legs more than three million years ago. Discovered in a remote area of southern Turkey last summer, the family of ethnic Kurds has sparked a scientific debate…”

On one side of the debate Uner Tan, a neurophysiologist at Cukurova University in Adana, Turkey believes the siblings are “evolutionary throwbacks—a "missing link" to our forebears.”

Then, German geneticists believe the siblings' genetic abnormality may be because the children do not have the gene responsible for bipedalism, or two-legged walking, in humans.

And yet another says the cause is twofold: the way the siblings were raised and brain damage resulting from the genetic defect.

An incredible discovery to say the least but what fascinates me about all this is the debate! At this point none of the scientist involved agree…that’s perfect! Now they go to work, they ask questions, they test theories and make conclusions. We may never have a definitive answer but we will always have the questions. As long as there are questions and someone seeking answers, we will progress.

Wow! What a wonderful world to which we are born.

http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1986/JASA3-86Murphy.html

The Big Bang

2009-10-22T15:42:00.003-05:00

Okay we need a new thread. I have said before that I cannot argue the big bang theory. I don't claim to believe it, but I also don't disbelieve it. I am waiting to see what else is discovered and what new "proofs" become available. I really do not spend a lot of time thinking about how humanity or the universe came into existence. I am certain that I do not believe in a creator beyond that I cannot say any more about it.

How did I come to this place? I asked questions; hard questions. Why can't I see god, why does he let kids get sick and die, why does he allow bad things to happen? Where is he and why is he hiding? Why is the bible so vulgar and cruel if it is the word of god?

I asked my parents, my ministers anyone who would listen. But I soon realized that no one had the answers to my questions. I realized that I would have to find out for myself. So I began to read...everything. I started with the bible and book about how to read the bible, which I received from my minister. The more I read the bible the more disturbed I became. I was only 12 years old. I needed guidance so I went to one of my teachers for help. She could not answer my questions either.

So I went to the library. It was a small library, only one room and the librarian showed me to the 200's where the books on religion are shelved. I finally knew where to find the answers but they were not there.

I came to my disbelief in gods and all things supernatural by reading and studying many materials, including the bible, the book of Mormon, Will and Ariel Durant's History of Civilization, the work of Joseph Campbell and many others.

It was not a pivotal moment it was a slow process and it took years. I continued to go to church until 1991 when I woke one morning knowing that I would never again doubt myself or depend on others for my answers. I made up my own mind.

Richard Dawkins-The God Delusion

2009-10-20T12:30:00.002-05:00

I had no idea how powerful this book really is. I read it a few years ago along with several other atheist books but never realized what an impact it had on so many people.

Check out the Converts Corner. Awesome stories of rationality. It gives me hope that so many are finding their way out of superstition and ignorance.

"The most valuable thing you have taught me is that there are people in the world who think rationally, reason justly and don't live in subjugation to superstition. That knowledge alone makes me feel, at times, quite a bit better."

-Stephen "the onus of proof is not on me" H

http://richarddawkins.net/convertsCorner

New Blogger

2009-10-19T18:41:00.000-05:00

Check it out.

Unacceptable Activity

This I Believe

2009-10-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

I believe that the earth is one of 8 (or 9 if you count Pluto) planets in a Solar System which revolves around the sun. I believe that our Solar System is just one small part of a huge galaxy which is only one small part of a vast Universe.

I believe that I was born of the love of two wonderful people I call my parents as they were born of their parents and my children of me and their father.

I believe that the only constant is change and that all life is evolving as it has in the past and will continue in the future. I believe humans like all life, adapt to the situation at hand

I believe that while I am on this earth that it is my responsibility to leave it better than I found it. I believe that my children and their children are my legacy and that it is my task to pass on my beliefs to them.

I believe most people are morally sound and emotionally logical. I believe that religion is dangerous because it provides an excuse for bad behavior (“I am weak and I sin.”) and a crutch when things don’t turn out well (“God please forgive me”). I believe that religion provides a bucket for one’s responsibility. (“It’s God’s will”)

I believe that I am responsible for my life; my decisions and the consequences. I believe that I make mistakes and that I learn from my mistakes. I believe that I have something to offer the world, even when I have no idea what it may be. I believe that I will die and that my body will become dust and rejoin the earth. I believe that I will live on after I die in the memories of those who love me. I believe that death is the end of the body and that the only thing that remains is the footprint I made while I was here.

Faith...what is it?

2009-10-07T09:04:00.002-05:00

Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith,
then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits.

- Dan Barker

Last night I watched several episodes of The Athesim Tapes. If you aren't familiar with them they we done by Jonathan Miller for the BBC. He interviews several scientist and avowed atheist and theologians. He is a terrific interviewer but I kept wanting him to ask about faith. He asked for a definition of atheism but not faith....so I am still wanting.

What is it? How can you explain it? How is it defined?

God Wouldn't Do That!

2009-09-23T12:17:00.003-05:00

A frequent commenter in this space, Rick B. made, in part, the following statements (some spelling and punctuation corrections made):

“… I find it funny people … claim, we don’t believe God exists, we don’t believe
God would do this or that.… how can you say, you don’t believe God would do this
or that; you deny He even exists, so why do you care what He would do or not
do.”

I have decided to create a new thread to answer his question. Rick finds it “funny” that atheist would say we don’t believe in God and then that we don’t believe “He” would do that.

He may be right on this point, at least in the literal sense of the statement. However, my statement is somewhat different:

I do not believe in the existence of any god.

Rick provides me with a description of his god and I reject the notion just as I do many others. But the second part of his statement needs some clarification I think because I agree that if you DO NOT believe in something you CAN NOT disbelieve that the thing you don’t believe in would or would not do something.

What should be expressed here is the disbelief that ANY god who COULD create a perfect universe with perfect creatures WOULD do so. And if he/she WOULD do so, there must be a logical explanation.

It makes no logical sense for a god to create a people that he/she requires to worship and obey him/her, and then allow them to do otherwise. I’ve heard that free will stuff but it makes no logical sense.

If I were god I would do it right the first time and have my worshipers at my feet for eternity…why take chances…why wait…why play games with the lives of my perfect creations?

So Rick, I don't "care what he/she does or doesn't do" and I don't believe he/she exist and I don't believe if he/she did exist he/she would do the things you claim.

It makes no sense.

Religions' Interference in Government

2009-08-14T13:15:00.004-05:00

Richard Packham has a post on his site about the California Prop 8. Okay I know it's old news but I was struck by one of the responses from the church.

The church does not object to rights (already established in California) regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference. (italics are mine)

My first and last thought is: I don't object to your rights to practice your religion, so long as your practice does not infringe on my rights or the constitutional rights of the government to operate free from religious interference.

A Lesson Well Taught

2009-08-08T20:38:00.002-05:00

My mom is gone now but I remember well the things she taught me. She always said:

always be proud to sign your name to what you do
if a job is worth doing it is worth doing well
do it right the first time and you won't have to do it over

Okay...I did a great job this morning; I'm proud to sign my name to it, but I know that next Saturday I'll have to mow that damn lawn again!

Lord willing and the creek don't rise

2009-08-07T21:37:00.004-05:00

An old gentleman who works in my office said yesterday as he was leaving, "See you tomorrow, lord willing and the creek don't rise." Then, he didn't come in today.

I wondered, did the creek rise or was the lord not willing? It bothered me all day.

The more I thought about it the more ridiculous it sounded. My dad used to say the same thing and I always wondered about it. If the lord was willing wouldn't he keep the creek from rising?

Just a late night thought.

The Nature of God or Gods

2009-07-08T13:30:00.003-05:00

I've been reading Mormon Coffee again and it occured to me that the argument going on is over the top.

You have the Mormons and the Christians debating the nature of god and whether or not men can become gods. On one side the belief is that mankind is created in his image...maybe both sides...but then they part company. The Christians rant that no one can be a god except god. The Mormons say they can be "like god" but seem to stop short, at least in public, of saying they will be gods.

Did they ever stop to think about how incredible, and I mean unbelievable, the entire idea of god is? Do they not understand how non-believers look and listen to their stories and marvel that intelligent, educated people can believe such malarky?

I truly hope, as I have been told, that we are closer to being a secular nation. It's about time!

Ya gotta' love it

2009-06-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

Idols

2009-06-17T15:52:00.002-05:00

I have been reading an exchange on Mormon Coffee about the lightening strike on the temple adornment called Moroni. What I find interesting is that the non mormons are accusing the mormons of idol worship and then the mormons are saying what about the cross?

What strikes me is that they are both completely blind to how they sound to reasonable people.

Check it out. Tell me what you think.

Role Reversal

2009-05-28T13:55:00.001-05:00

I have just returned from a two week trip to Europe. I would have stayed even longer had I not been expected back to work.

I went to visit a friend with whom I had lost touch more than 30 years ago. What a surprise when she just called me out of the blue! And what a treat to be invited to her home in Germany.

When we became friends we were both living in California, both with new marriages and small children. Our friendship blossomed in spite of the fact that I was religious and she was not. I went to church, taught my children about god and said my prayers.

In the ensuing years I returned to school, became a teacher and dumped religion. Remembering the many heated conversations we shared all those years ago, I was looking forward to telling her that she had won all the arguments; that I too, am an atheist. Now, you can see where this is going…

Her former husband died in a traffic accident and she remarried; a believer. Now she is one too!

Well, so much for the win/loss record.

New Immigration Laws

2009-04-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

I need to talk about this.

Recently there have been changes to the immigration laws for employers. I wanted to get a handle on the changes and the implication for my company, so I dug in. I thought I was doing a good thing, however, my boss sees it differently. His MO: don’t ask, don’t tell. He says he is willing to take the risk for the people who work for us; even if we know we are out of compliance. I am trying to be understanding but it makes me so mad to know that so many people who are legal citizens, have lost their jobs yet we are perpetuating their loss by giving undocumented workers a free ride.

Am I wrong? Or just too anal-retentive.

Afterlife or NO?

2009-03-09T11:28:00.002-05:00

Polygamy and Mormonism are historically connected and I as I am learning, in the future of every believing Mormon. I asked my Mormon daughter what she thought about the fact that her husband would have several wives in celestial heaven. Her response suprised me! She said I don't care about that 'cause I'll be dead!

So my thought is this...she doesn't believe in the afterlife. How could she and not care? According to her belief she must baptize me and all the family so we will all be together in heaven but she doesn't care if her husband suddenly acquires his own little harem.

Well, maybe there is hope for her after all.

Once more for science!

2009-02-26T12:26:00.004-06:00

Being unbusy at work gives me an opportunity to catch up on my blog reading. I just ran across this article. I have often said that the more educated a society the less religious:

...survey, published by the Cambridge University Press.....concluded that "high levels of organic atheism are strongly correlated with high levels of societal health, such as low homicide rates, low poverty rates, low infant mortality rates, and low illiteracy rates, as well as high levels of educational attainment, per capita income, and gender equality."

For all my non believing friends out there; maybe there is still hope...after all we are barely out of the post colonial period!

New Lincoln Cents and 'In God We Trust'

2009-02-11T13:10:00.001-06:00

snopes.com: New Lincoln Cents and 'In God We Trust'

Another evil plot by atheists that wasn't.

But it should be. Why is that a motto that represents only a portion of the people should be forced on those of us who are not represented. It is a false motto and should be discontinued...

and I believe it will be in time.

The War Prayer

2009-02-06T10:20:00.005-06:00

The War Prayer by Mark Twain is one that invokes deeper thought than at first glance. When I was a college student preparing to become a teacher I was required to make an analysis of the essay, albeit subjective .

I'm not now a praying person but at the time I was struggling with my desire to understand the falsehoods I had discovered in religion and the teachings of my parents. I wanted to believe there was a god watching over me and that he would hear and answer my prayers.

The absurdity of prayer became crystal clear when, as in Twain's work, I took the time to consider the prayer and its implications. The youngest student in science learns early, Newton's third law of motion. Simply stated, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Now consider the act of praying...if, and I don't believe it is possible, there were a god who listened and answered prayers, what kind of god could he be? How would he decide who's prayer is answered?

Perhaps, Christians will say that righteousness wins out, that he who is good and obedient will ultimately, gain their reward. But may I propose:

Country A and Country B are at war.

Two very devout and pious mothers, each righteous and obedient, pray for the success of her son in that war. One, the mother of a soldier fighting for Country A; the other praying for her son from Country B. By all reason they are each deserving but how can they both receive that for which they ask? And, why should they? They are praying two prayers; one articulated to save her son and the unsaid prayer to destroy the other mother's son.

Life Before Death II

2009-01-11T09:19:00.004-06:00

I went to see my brother yesterday. He lives about an hour and a half away. I had not actually visited him since my sister died 3 years ago.

My middle daughter was with me and we had a nice visit with my brother, his wife and various other family members.

My bro is so kind hearted that even when he has not worked in a year and has only minimal income, his house is open to the family bums. He has two 30 something nephews living with him...not working...not contributing to the troubled household but selfishly mooching off a dying man. I asked him why; he really had no answer. I didn't pursue it as it seemed rather pointless but it makes me wonder.

I can't say my brother looked well; he didn't. He is 6'3'' and he now weighs 148 lbs. He says he will lose more weight if he decides to continue with radiation and chemo. I don't think he wants to go through it again. He seems to be ready to end all this pain and suffering. But even with all the pain, he was upbeat. He said his affairs are in order and he has taken care of things so his wife can go on living in their home. My sister-in-law said she isn't worried because she knows god will take care of her.

How am I? I don't know. I question my feelings everyday. I love my brother but the fact that he is dying has not shattered my life. It makes me wonder about my own health, since I am older than all but one of my siblings who have died. It makes me think about our growing up years..not all happy times, but we have not been close for a long time.

Am I cold-hearted? I hope not.

A Call to Arms

2009-01-09T10:58:00.002-06:00

I am usually a happy person. Fairly satisfied with my financial station in life, I contribute to causes with which I concur. But today something has upset my satisfaction. I wish to have the resources of Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. Not to indulge myself in bobbles and bling but to finance a real defense of science. Here, is what got me going. And this.

It has already been said, better than I can but this is a cause I completely support.

Life Before Death

2009-01-07T07:45:00.003-06:00

I just learned that the last of my three brothers is dying. He, like the other two, has cancer. It has metastasized and spread throughout his body. He is only 54. It is sad that his life is shortened but I, like him, have accepted the fact. There is nothing more to do.

Death is not new to me as I have experienced it many times in my life. I was the second born to a family of 8 children. Now our parents are gone and we are down to 4, soon to be three. But this post is not to elicit pity but to discuss the way we handle death.

My oldest daughter, a born again christian, learned of her uncle's illness and went hysterical. Really. She became so distraught she could not function. Why?

I really don't understand. She nor any of my children are close to my siblings; neither am I. We call once in a while, usually when someone is dying, but we rarely see each other. It has been that way for most of my life. I left home at 15 and never really went back.

Okay, so what does this have to do with anything?

Here goes...I am an atheist...I don't believe in an afterlife. When your dead your dead. My daughter is a self proclaimed born again christian. See where I'm going with this? I know there is nothing after death and I'm calm and accepting of the inevitable. My daughter, on the other hand, who believes that her uncle is going "to a better place" to be with Jesus, is unable to accept his death. She is praying non-stop. Why? It makes no sense to me.

Family & Christmas

2008-12-28T12:49:00.002-06:00

Regardless of your belief, like me, I'll bet you have family traditions which transcend most of the dogma attached to the holiday. My family has run the gamut.

As a child my parents played Santa and we had a big meal. On occasion we went to church but it was not the main attraction...the food was!

As a young adult raising my family we ALWAYS went to church. Midnight mass on Christmas Eve and Christmas Service the next morning. It was required!

As an older adult in an empty nest, I just stayed home and waited for the kids to visit during the holidays...no more church but still lots of food.

I watched as my children struggled to raise their children and do the 'right' thing; whatever that meant. Some embraced the church and some not but they all struggled with the desire to do right by their children.

We were all together for Christmas this year and I realized something...we have arrived!

I am proud of my family and its diversity. Racial, religious, cultural; it's all there..life is often a struggle, sometimes a slide, but only in segments.

The bad times pass as do the good but on the other side we find a new day and a new challenge to endure or enjoy. It is a choice ...

None of the Above

2008-11-03T08:43:00.003-06:00

For the first time I will sit this one out because I simply do not see a choice for the good ole' USA. My friend Beast makes some good points here but I don't see great things on the other side either.

I know some of you will say I have no right to complain if I don't vote but please rember; voting is a right not a requirement. I take my vote seriously and I have no choice but to sit it out; I don't see us any better of with either ticket.

Why is Atheism Necessary?

2008-10-20T10:42:00.004-05:00

Human knowledge has expanded immensely in the last fifty years, and this by the purely scientific method, the materialistic method, and the questioning attitude.

The value of these findings when they can be converted into practical applications in industry are well known to all. We have added nothing to our store of knowledge except by the exercise of our mentality and reason.
The application of the scientific method to the workings of the mind has made more progress in explaining the mindin the brief period of fifty years than philosophical deductions hadmade in the past two thousand years. Every new fact that has been discovered has fitted into the mechanistic scheme of the universe, and not one new fact has been disclosed that suggested anything beyond nature. The theistic interpretation of the universe has been completely discredited by the scientific investigations. Science has brought to theconfines of invariable laws multitudes of problems that had hitherto been supposed to point to "spiritual" interference. Theology has been driven out of the open spaces of reason and still persists in clinging to the twilight zone of the present unknown, only to be driven from its precarious position constantly by our increasing knowledge and with increasing rapidity from shadow to shadow.
The Necessity of Atheism by David Marshall Brooks p 151
That's why.

Consequences.....

2008-10-01T12:19:00.003-05:00

Let's start a new discussion, what say you all?

It seems to me that the more we discover in our world, the more we can explain, the less necessary the gods become. If one looks at the reason for religiosity and supernatural belief, it is easy to see why it has been and still is, so popular.

So, here is my topic. How would our country differ if religion was truly placed in the background, becoming the minority of the citizenry, rather than the majority?

An Invitation to Rick, et. al.

2008-09-29T10:18:00.004-05:00

I'll not argue the merits of an ark of wood built of wood because I think there is a lot more that one should consider when validating that story.
First the story is older than that of the bible retelling:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2004/0329gilgamesh.asp
And then we must look at the logic of the story. Is it possible that a 300 foot ship i.e. ark, could even house the number of animals reported much less the food needed to sustain them all for more than a month?

And finally, if we continue this discussion, and I am willing, we must agree on what is evidence. It must be empirical evidence or it is not evidence.

The dictionary definition of empirical evidence is evidence relating to or based on experience or observation.

Before you come at me with the fact that I did not observe evolution I will conceed. I did not so I will give you that point.

What I will discuss is the existence of a supernatural being. I am not interested in "feelings" or "revelations" I want hard evidence.

Since you DO believe YOU must prove it. I DO NOT believe so there is nothing I can prove.

So are you up for this?

UFOs & GOD

2008-09-24T05:30:00.002-05:00

I have recently begun a Phillip Stahl book "Atheism: A Beginner's Guide". I am about half way through the book and I am struck by a comparison he uses. He begins by asking the reader to imagine seeing something in the night sky. The object does not conform to any known airship. Now how does one respond? He gives 4 choices:

It's an unknown pure and simple. (This is the atheist mindset.)
It's a UFO, a flying saucer and I believe this is evidence for visiting aliens. (This is the believer mindset.)
It was most definitely and alien craft....I didn't see the aliens up close but I believe. (This is the fundamentalists mindset)
Without knowledge of the sky...it is impossible to make a determination. (This is the agnostic mindset)

Although I have paraphrased, I think one can understand the idea. I do not completely agree with all that he writes but Stahl has given me much food for thought as I continue on my journey. It seems that each of us, if not predisposed, develop a mindset that guides us through life.

He writes of his youth in the Catholic church and how he found his way out. His story is like many others I've read over the years and not entirely unlike mine. He states that children are blank slates and natural questioners....yes, but what happens to that natural nature when religion becomes the daily diet? The are taught to close up and not question.

What a tragedy.

Religion or Drugs--Same thing!

2008-09-22T12:09:00.006-05:00

I found this article this morning while browsing the new sites on the blogroll. Love the comparison between drug use and religion. Addicts are always addicted to something.

I think a great example of addictive behavior is the drug addict who is "saved" in rehab. Or the murderer who finds Jesus in prison..

http://singaporeatheists.blogspot.com/2008/07/religion-drugs.html

Everywhere I go!

2008-09-15T12:01:00.004-05:00

This morning I made a visit to a doctor's office. (This is a new doctor since I have only recently moved here.)

The first thing I noticed was the absence of any magazines. One must always wait in a doctor's office....however, nothing but a television going on some religious station. I asked the receptionist if there was reading material available somewhere.

"Oh sure," she said and handed me a copy of the Bible. "We give them to all our patients," she proudly spouted. "It's free," she said, "take it home with you."

Okay what did I do? Nothing. But I certainly thought about it.

Closure

2008-08-31T08:22:00.003-05:00

I had an early morning conversation with a close friend this morning and the subject of closure came up. We discussed several events in our lives where closure occurred in strange or unexpected ways.

My friend related her experience in a recent broken relationship. She said she had needed closure and that it came in the form of a terse email with a subtle reference to a new partner. She stated that at that moment she accepted the fact that the relationship was over.

I think the term is overused and overrated. Is there one defining moment when something becomes less painful? Perhaps, but I don't think so. Time is the healer of all wounds, as the saying goes. In the case of my friend as is true in my own experience, time passed, That moment was the culmination of many other moments, hours, days and weeks of suffering the pain and realizing that it was a permanent end to the relationship.

I do think we need closure, but in the sense of time rather than an event. An event may be the point at which one realizes that closure has happened but I doubt that one event makes it possible to store away the pain and move on in one's life.