At Least He Gets To Keep His Reason And Sanity

Posted by BGH

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A musician who was a member of a Christian band is not taken with open arms by his fellow band members when he expresses doubt in religious doctrine, and belief in god. Instead he has been booted from the band and now his ex band members are clasping hands 'wishing' him better.

From my perspective, he has gotten better. At least now he is thinking about his indoctrination and trying to determine whether what he believes is true. Too many people uncritically accept the mythology taught as religion their whole lives, never giving the existence of such supernatural events much thought. They become comfortable with the mob mentality and therefore decide to just follow along.

This musician may have lost his job with the band but has gained his intellectual freedom and hopefully he will retain it.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

Religion Harbors Insanity

Posted by BGH

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People are insane. Many, many people are bug-nutter crazy and they just don’t realize it.

Why? Well, religion, a doctrinal set of beliefs and prescribed thought syllabus, gives them a societal asylum. They are able to hide behind the ‘faith’, claim the most insanely delusional things, and society says, “well, that is their religion, that is their right”.

Just check these stories to see how the insanity hides under the cover of religion.

Bible, watermelon stop stray bullet

A bible stopped the bullet? This is divine intervention? What about the first girl who was hit, did god just wake up from a nap in time to stop it from hitting the second girl? The family isn’t told, “you’re crazy, it’s pure luck and coincidence that the WATERMELON and the bible were able to stop the bullet”. No, they are told “praise Jesus”.

Dubai Detains Foreigners Accused Of Being Gay

It is illegal (???) to be gay? Because Muslim doctrine says so, it is permissible to arrest an individual with different preferences; almost no-one in society says anything because, well, the Qu’ran dictates that homosexuality is wrong. So, who are we to argue with their ‘faith’? The western nations can't go after Islam because, if the largest religion in our country (Christianity) says it's okay to hate fags, we can't tell Muslims they are wrong for their beliefs.

Lorna Byrne: 'To me, seeing angels is natural'

This woman is delusional at best and instead of being told she is batshiat crazy, she gets a six-figure book deal because other batshiat crazy people want to read about angels. If someone said they were having visions of mailboxes with “its golden wings in such detail. I could see the feathers individually", a psychological evaluation would be in order, but because ‘angels’ are part of a religious doctrine they are completely believable. If the woman were to be diagnosed with a disorder causing her to have these visions, credit would still be given to the faith and ‘god’, for giving her the gift.

And then there is a faith that makes this an acceptable treatment of women.



Sure, the westernized nations criticize this treatment, but not too much. After all, it is their religion and it wasn't long ago we used our religion (Christianity) to justify similar treatment of the female members of society.

I don't know if religion were to disappear tomorrow if the insanity would go away, or if humans would find another harbor for bigotry, delusion and hatred. I would love to find out. Maybe tripping off the deep end of the sanity pool wouldn't be so easy. Maybe people would be less inclined to boldly display such synapse misfirings. I am not saying disappearance of 'faith' would end all such activity, but it would certainly have one less place to duck for cover.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

Bishop Shows True Compassion, Says "Get Over It"

Posted by BGH

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As 'World Youth Day' has descended on Australia, there has been much focus on abuses committed by Catholic priests on the young and vulnerable members of the congregation. Even the Pope was planning an apologetic message regarding abuse cases. Though not enough to make up for stealing the innocence of children, it is a 'step' and shows at least a modicum of acknowledgment.

The church seems ready to capitulate to a point, except for apparently one Bishop:
Catholic Bishop says abuse victims are 'dwelling on old wounds'

World Youth Day (WYD) has again been overshadowed by the Catholic Church's handling of sexual abuse cases, with Cardinal George Pell accused of holding up compensation claims, after a WYD coordinator said victims were “dwelling crankily… on old wounds".

In regards to a woman who committed suicide after years of trying to deal with the abuse she experienced:

He says he apologized to the family in 1998 and organized counseling, which the Church partly paid for.

"We offered them some financial help. We also offered them counseling for Emma."

"Partially paid for"??? WTF? There is, and has been for some time, a disgusting culture in the church, wherein they sometimes put forth the idea (somewhat obliquely), that the victims inadvertently asked to be used as a sex toy and are now making a big deal about the pain.

Maybe it is because these bishops and priests do not have children of their own, maybe they can't understand the outrage felt by families affected by their misdeeds. They have no idea how a father, such as myself, would become their greatest enemy if my child was ever treated to their 'favors'. How, if they actually survived long enough to be put in jail or shipped to an undisclosed location, they would be fortunate and as such may go a long way to proving the existence of 'god'. Because, if one of these demons laid a hand on my child, they would soon know the pain of their supposed "Christ" and a resurrection would be the best they could wish for after many long hours of time together with me.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

There can be only none!

Posted by JCE

***

It used to be that children were raised in whatever the predominate Christian faith was for the family. If the father's family was able to present the case of being more holy (read, bitchier about it) then the children were raised in that faith or vice versa with the mother's family. In today's world of religious diversity (don't you just love that phrase?) things have become a bit more complicated:

Satanist father and Christian mother fight for Sunday morning custody rights

Well, now, this does present the courts with a pickle of a problem, doesn't it? How exactly does a judge choose which religion wins? I think the answer should be obvious:

Mr Meyer may now be asked to prove that Satanism, which he says is about celebrating man's desires rather than worshipping the devil, is a real faith.

I guess I have to wonder just exactly how the poor man plans to go about completing this task and why the mother isn't being forced to do the same. In all fairness, the mother may be asked to prove that Satanism is harmful to their daughter, which I imagine would be a pretty entertaining presentation.

Personally, I think they are all adult make-believe so I would probably place the child with an atheist family every Sunday morning so she could sleep in and get some damn peace in her life, but that is just me.

Anyway....once again, one nonsensical worldview will be pitted against another and the only outcome is that yet another child will be brainwashed at a young age only to grow up later and realize her parents are both full of it.
***

We need more Mother F***ing Snakes in our Mother F***ing Church!!

Posted by JCE

***
A pastor in Kentucky has been arrested as part of an undercover sting operation on the venomous snake trade:

Coots, 36, is pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, where a Tennessee woman died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in 1995. Her husband died three years later when he was bitten by a snake in northeastern Alabama.

While I applaud the Darwinian efforts to weed out the undesirables among us, I cannot help but wonder what possesses people to think this is a good idea in the first place? States have had to pass laws prohibiting children from participating in these rituals. Again, I am at a loss to explain why these people would want to put their children at such risk, much like the 'prayer healers' who choose to pray instead of seek medical attention for their children. WTF is wrong with these people?!

As usual, I point to these stories when asked "What harm does faith do?" and am consequently told that those people don't count because we all know they are nuts. Oh yeah? More nuts than believing in miracles or images of Jesus showing up in ice cream?? No - you are all nuts. The flavor of your particular crazy doesn't make it any more appetizing to me.

Many of these snakes were purchased through the internet and here is what I feel is the best quote to sum up this entire mess (from Kentucky Zoo director, Jim Harrison):

"You can purchase anything off the Internet except common sense,"

How very true.

(Trivia note: One of the founders of this practice, George Went Hensley, died from a fatal snake bite. The irony is delicious.)
***

Asked: What Harm Can Faith Incur? Answer Below!

Posted by BGH

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It is often asked of us who speak out against religion, "so what if someone wants to believe in god?" or "what harm can religious faith have?"

Well...
Man Claims God Uses Him To Cure Cancer, Raise Dead; Thousands Flock

People forgo proven methods of treatment for serious medical conditions sometimes to a fatal end. Or when a terminal prognosis is given from a medical professional they turn to faith healing as a last ditch effort, dumping thousands upon tens of thousands of dollars into coffers that end up in the pocket of someone who is nothing more than a two-bit circus act.

When people are not healed of their ailments they are told they do not pray hard enough or that their faith is weak. "Only if you give a little more" or "you haven't fully given yourself to the lord" are the canned responses from the staff manning the phones of the faith shammer. They prey on people in their weakest moments and they use their 'faith' to do it.

You may say, "that is not the fault of the faith, that is the deceit of certain persons", well if people did not have unsubstantiated beliefs in magical unseen forces and gods who heal 'true' believers because they kneel, with hands clasped and utter a chant they learned when they first began to speak, the deceitful would not be able to prey on the 'praying'.

I think this is what disgusts me most about religion, people such as faith healers, defraud believers of money, time and sometimes even their life, getting away with it because 'god works in mysterious ways'. Or, pastors molest young children and are 'forgiven' by the flock, only to be moved to another parish and strike again. But we are told "dare not question, for then you will be surely damned to hell".

It is bribery. Fill the coffers, remain loyal and do not question church authority, additionally, do not ever question the fairy tale you have been sold.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

I Can't Understand Belief in God

Posted by Pariahjane

I just don't get it - this belief in god. I never have. I grew up in a household where god was non-existent. Religion simply didn't exist for me as a child. The only thing I knew was that Sundays were terribly boring because all the other kids in my neighborhood had to go to school on Sunday. I understood that people believed in this guy God and he was a good guy as long as you followed all his rules so I went along with it. If you had asked me when I was seven if I believed in god I would have replied 'hell, yes!' despite the fact that I had never stepped inside a church before. That's just what people did; they believed in god. So I did too.

But not really. I never really believed there was an actual god or supernatural being. And boy did I try! I tried my hand at Christianity, Judaism, Paganism and Buddhism when I was a teenager and I felt just as silly praying to god as I did casting a spell. I was looking for something and I thought god might be the answer but... I just could not buy into it. There was nothing there.

I had an epiphany, if you will, at the age of 18. I was hiking in the Adirondacks, hot, tired, soaked to the gills and very, very cranky. When we finally(!) reached the top of that mountain all the tiredness went away. There before me was a beautifully breathtaking scene. Rolling mountains, trees as far as the eye could see, it was just stunning and that's when it hit me. This is what I was looking for. This earth, this life - the here and now. And it had been in front of me this whole time.

I missed it because I was looking for what everyone around me was looking for - god, eternity, a reason for our lives. The reason for our lives is our life. This idea of something or someone who gave us a reason to live and therefore we owed him our lives is ludicrous. My friends were still looking toward the afterlife - this life was merely a temporary pit stop on the way to eternal salvation. Yet I couldn't accept that - it didn't make sense. Why waste this life looking forward to one that you can't even be sure exists?

The more I researched and read about religions the more I disliked them. Religion is just a club that separates people into good and bad based on a set of guidelines that are more exclusive than inclusive. It's dogmatic and unyielding. Religion is a replacement for 'I don't know'. The problem with that is once you accept it, you stop looking. Why bother trying to find out why something exists if you already know 'god did it'? It doesn't encourage learning, it encourages accepting what you are told without questions. My mother once told me 'the moment you stop learning is the moment you stop living' and I think it's the best advice anyone has ever given me. What's wrong with 'I don't know'? I happen to like 'I don't know' because that is the first step on the path to learning and understanding. Religion, on the other hand, takes the easy way out - it's all god(s) doing.

Yet I still found myself trying to understand how a person can believe in god when there is no evidence of his existence. How can seemingly educated people think they were created by some omniscient omnipotent being? Even more baffling to me is the fact that people believe the Bible really, honestly, truly, absolutely is the unerring word of god. These people think that the earth is only 6000 years old, contrary to overwhelming evidence that it is, in fact, far older than that. There are people who deny science because it simply does not fit into their perfect little religious box. They deny it even when faced with mountains of evidence, of proof. What is so powerful about religion that would make a person so deluded? Is it fear of death? The unknown? I just don't understand it. But I'll keep trying.

JCE and I had a conversation recently in which we decided that atheists probably talk more about religion than the religious do. Perhaps it's because we just happen to be curious folk but most likely I suspect that we focus on it because our society is do entrenched in religiosity. For non-believers I think it's a bit jarring. We can see the issues religion creates because we're not involved in it. We can view it from an objective standpoint, pick it apart, and see the good from the bad. I have to wonder - if a religious person was capable of seeing the hypocrisy's of their own faith would they still believe? I'm sure that some would continue to believe while others would turn away.

I guess I do understand the reasons why a person might believe in god. The hope of an afterlife, eternal life. Perhaps a little bit of it is fear. Or hope. Yet it doesn't make sense to me why a person would believe in something they can't know exists just to make themselves feel a little better about their own lives.

I know that people are going to tell me that I don't 'get it' because I'm not looking hard enough, or I don't have faith or I'm just plain stupid. I've heard those arguments countless times before and I've read, very seriously, others' accounts of 'finding god' but the holes in the story, the questions that arise from their accounts, make it impossible for me to find any proof of a god.

Refresher Course: U.S. Not Founded As Christian Nation

Posted by BGH

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On this holiday celebrating the independence of our nation, let us all refresh ourselves in a bit of a civics lesson.

America was NOT founded as a Christian nation. Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution is "God" mentioned, nor is "Allah", "Jehovah", "El", "Jesus", "Muhammad", "Abraham" or any other revered 'holy' character from the Bible, the Torah, or the Qur'an. We are not a Judeo-Christian nation, we are a secular country where no single faith or belief is to be endorsed by the government, so that all are free to believe as they wish.

Only when none are endorsed are all 'free' to follow whatever faith, belief or lack thereof, they so choose to be appropriate. The founding fathers were wise enough to see this, and we should realize their wisdom and great foresight.

On this Independence Day, we need not thank a God or deity for this 'free' nation, we should thank the likes of Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Hancock, Franklin, Madison and so many others who risked life and limb to bring forth this democracy. Some of these men were deists, some were Christians, some were of no faith at all, but all wanted to create a great, strong and free nation.

Today, let us honor the Founding Fathers, Mothers and Families who risked everything.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

When Theocrats have Power

Posted by JCE

***

An 11 year old rape victim in Romania is being urged by 20 church groups not to get an abortion. In fact, the church groups have threatened to press charges if the courts allow the child to travel to Britain to get an abortion. That's right - the church groups will press charges! As if this young lady has not been through enough!

The real kicker to this is that the Romanian Orthodox Church supports the stance that the family should be the ones to decide what is best for the child. Who knew an Orthodox church could be so liberal?? Actually, I am being sarcastic - it is nice to see the church is in full support of the family's decision.

What bothers me is that the church groups are all supposed 'pro-life Christian' groups but they obviously do not favor the life of this child. Apparently it is not bad enough for them that an 11 year old was raped and impregnated, had her childhood and innocence stolen and destroyed, now they want to take her dignity away as well. They want force her to carry the baby to term and then have offered to take the baby. How nice! How very generous of them!!! Screw the 11 year old - preserve the fetus at all cost even if that cost is the life of the mother. Yes, of course an 11 year old is completely ready to carry a baby to term and give birth!! Naturally this is something she would want to do! And then of course she would want to give that child up for adoption! Why it is the perfect answer! Who cares about the psychological damage to the 11 year old? Who cares about the physical and social toll this is taking on her? All that matters is that one fucking cluster of cells gets a chance to become a paying member of the god club.

Jesus christ those people make me sick.

A government committee is to decide on Friday the fate of the child.

***

Read Your Religious Book Before Trying To Convince Me

Posted by BGH

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This is mostly directed at Christians because that is who I often encounter in the U.S., but it also applies to anyone who wants to evangelize.
This post got me thinking:
Chasing My Proverbial Tail With The Holy Co-Worker

Read your holy book... I have.

I can’t stress this enough, if you are going to profess to be a Christian and the Holy Bible is your religious tome, READ YOUR BOOK!!!

Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it!!

If you are a believer in Christ and you choose to evangelize/proselytize, read your Bible. From Genesis to Revelations, read the book. Front to back, beginning to end, read the scripture.

Do not just read parts, passages, pieces, fragments, sections or solely the New Testament. Read the whole thing.

Until you do, shut up about the ten commandments, creation, Leviticus, Noah, Moses or even Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for that matter. Do not tell me what the book says, how I need to “get right with the lord” or any other such nonsense. If you can’t take the time to read your religious instruction manual, I don’t have time to listen to you spouting off. Just drop it.

We can talk about anything else, but your faith.

Because, if it isn’t important enough for you to read the whole book, something which you purportedly base your life on, it isn’t important enough for me to listen to you preach a few select passages.

Thank you. Have a nice day.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

Chasing My Proverbial Tail With The Holy Co-Worker

Posted by BGH

~
Any of you who have read about the "Holy Co-Worker" on this site before might be interested in this new encounter.

Today, I was calmly sitting at my desk minding my own business. I was entering some data into the computer and listening to a podcast, Dogma Free America (ironically) at the time. When who creeps up behind me with a little piece of paper clutched confidently in his hand? The Holy Co-Worker.

He hands me the piece of paper, which is folded neatly, with what I immediately presume is a sacred request. After working with this character for some time now I have become accustomed to his mannerisms and can usually guess for what reason he is approaching me, before he even speaks. Well, I open the paper and it has the name "C.S. Lewis" written on it and next to the name is what I ascertain is a book title, "Mere Christianity".

He cautiously voices his request, "Will you read that book for me?"

My immediate response was, "no, I don't care for C.S. Lewis' writing".

Then he assumes that I do not want to read it because the author is a Christian, but that is not the case. I have read other books by this author, I am just not a huge fan of his work. But, after some thought, I tell him that I will read the book but, he has to read one I bring him.

"Uhhh, no," he said, "It doesn't have to be like that."

I looked at him and decided, 'it's on'. So, I proceeded to push the issue, "Why not?"

Then he gave me the best reason ever, "Because, it doesn't."

Ha! I continue to press him and tell him that his so-called Holy Bible says, "an eye for an eye, you should know that."

Then, it gets even more amusing for me. He proceeds to give me the explanation, "that is the Old Testament."

I reply, "you follow the ten commandments, right? Those are also in the Old Testament."

Gahhhhh!!! I am still remaining calm though it is becoming more difficult, you see this guy is a purported ordained minister, yet he has never completely read the miraculously inspired tome he preaches. He will skip around and read this verse or that verse, mostly restricting himself to the New Testament, but he has never sat down with this text that he loves so dearly and read it cover to cover. If he is going to base his life on this 'book', the least he could do is read the damn thing. I have read it cover to cover three times (boy, was that painful).

So, I change my proposal, "I've got an idea. I will read this book you are asking me to digest, if you will read the bible cover to cover like we talked about before. What's the matter don't you like Christian writers?"

You see, this came up a little over a year ago and he said he would do it (which was a sinful lie, according to the Old Testament), and as I thought he never has, claiming he is "working on it". I think he is afraid to read it alone, on his own, without someone there to help him interpret it. He is afraid of how he will be able to reconcile the various aspects with his life or other portions of the 'divine' word.

Well, he started stammering and stuttering, ultimately ignoring the request and spouting some non-sense that the reason he comes to me like this is because he, "sees something powerful" in me.

By this point, I am done. I tell him, "really? Because I don't see anything in you."

With that he turns and walks away.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

No Worship For Sex Offenders

Posted by JCE

***

Georgia instituted a very strict sex offender policy and the sex offenders are fighting back. According to the restrictions, registered sex offenders are banned from participating in church activities beyond going to a service. Apparently, the dirty old sex offenders want to do more and feel their religious rights are being violated.

When I read this I wasn’t sure who to root for – I’m all for protecting children from sex offenders and I cannot see where being banned from participating in social church activities is a violation of their religious freedom. However, I am wondering why the churches were included in the ban at all. They are tax exempt entities and do not pay for legal protection so I fail to see why they were included in this ruling. Let them figure out what to do with the sex offenders when they show up (like, stop hiring them for instance). Aren’t religious folks supposed to ‘turn the other cheek’? Isn’t forgiveness one of the tenants of their faith? Shouldn’t they have more faith in their god that he will protect the children from harm? Hmmmm?????

Isn’t it fun when reality comes back to bite the fanatics in the ass?

***

Dobson Throws Brick At Obama, Ducks Into Glass House

Posted by BGH

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James Dobson from the neo-conservative group, Focus On The Family, is throwing stones at Barack Obama's interpretation of scripture, while hiding in a glass house himself.

"... He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter."

And...

He says Obama, who supports abortion rights, is trying to govern by the "lowest common denominator of morality," which is "a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution," Dobson says.

Christianity is all about interpretation. Hell, for that matter EVERY religion is about interpretation. And every believer, every follower of scripture, claims to have a lock on the 'correct' understanding.

Dobson, in essence, is telling Obama that though 'we have read the same book, the same tome that has been edited, altered, rephrased and rehashed through centuries of Christianity, my understanding is correct and you have a bastardized distillation of the text'(paraphrased). You cannot gather two believers in the same room who completely agree on meaning and intent regarding a collection of passages and when the bible is read as a whole, the differences become even more broad.

These holy books were written, as many books of the time were, as mythology and allegory to explain a world which was not fully understood, and through fear a story was made-up instead of admitting a lack of knowledge. The tools to comprehend the world and the natural processes were not readily accessible to most men, so to calm their uneasiness, campfire stories were created that which explained the things that went 'bump' in the night (or day for that matter).

So, James Dobson is a fruitcake, because anyone who takes literally, words written in the first century and that were then manipulated and molested in every century since, by editors and interpretors, is surely more intellectually strained than someone who tries to extract a moral without taking the words to their extreme.

For what it's worth, Barack Obama also would do well to ditch the so called 'scripture' and focus on governing for the people, no matter the faith or creed.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

375 Years Ago Religion Battled Science - No Change?

Posted by BGH

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375 years ago today the catholic church exerted influence over science findings they disagreed with, good thing in today's progressive, forward thinking society that kind of thing has ceased [sarcasm].
June 22, 1633 • Galileo Renounced His Views before the Inquisition

There is no doubt the church was in the wrong. A commission formed by Pope John Paul II in the 1980s admitted as much. But was it fully responsible? There were, in fact, two other parties at fault.

One was Galileo himself. His vanity, sarcastic words, contempt for lesser minds and half-truths had earned him fierce enemies among the intellectuals of Europe--especially among the Jesuits. Galileo even fudged at least one experiment.

The second set of culprits were naturalists (the scientists of the day). Advocates of the pagan philsopher Aristotle resisted Galileo's findings. The pope and cardinals would not have acted if dozens of these "scientists" had not said Galileo was wrong. Some hated Galileo, who had hurt their feelings. Others felt that Aristotle and the Bible should not be overturned without solid evidence. It did not matter that both Kepler and Galileo had shown that the Bible could be interpreted to agree with the new science. Their own eyes showed them that the sun, not the earth moves. Galileo could not provide hard evidence to the contrary. Solid proof for the earth's movement around the sun was two hundred years away, when tiny shifts in star positions and subtle pendulum motions were finally measured.

Does this sound familiar? Does the fight over stem cell research bear any of the same characteristics? How about the battle of evolution vs. intelligent design?

So many times in human history the church has gotten 'offended' by science disagreeing with mythology books written centuries ago, calling the scientists "arrogant" or "vain". When in reality the church officials are the ones acting in a close-minded and stoically arrogant manner. Refusing to acknowledge that parchment containing writings from men who hardly understood the world could possibly be wrong, and that men who study the natural world coming to a different conclusions are arrogant, is very regressive and arrogant in and of itself. Science doesn't speak to the existence of deities, science doesn't address the supernatural, it only speaks to that which can be inferred through or observed in natural processes.

If these findings disagree with doctrine or dogma, the rudeness and vanity is within those who, in spite of good evidence, want religious texts to be held as the only 'truth'. The believers do not need to quit believing but their beliefs need to be adjusted to take into account what has been empirically shown to be more likely or even 'fact'.

Religious beliefs taken without evidence should not ever trump that which can be tested, verified, inferred and observed in the natural world.
----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

Christian Lord And Saviour Wants You To Have Trans-Fats

Posted by BGH

~
Starvation, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, hurricanes, wild fires, murder, rape, child abuse, disease... the list of tragedy goes on and on. Yet, a god worshiped by many who these hardships befall, "chose" to appear(??) on a french fry for this woman.

It is truly sad the thing how such delusions will distort the beliefs of so many.



----
"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

Outgrowing the Bible as Truth

Posted by JCE

Betsy Ross
George Washington
Johnny Appleseed
Paul Bunyan
Annie Oakley
Daniel Boone
Pocahontas
Paul Revere

These names are only part of a cast of character from stories we were told as children as part of our American History education. Once we got a little older we came to understand that while some of them have a kernel of truth to them, none of the childhood stories we had been told were factual. They were either entirely fabricated or embellished. Either way, the point of the stories was to impart lessons in morality while inspiring patriotism. Nothing wrong with that at face value, but none of us walk around worshiping any of these people and no one would take the childhood stories and claim they are the absolute truth even though the stories are fairly recent in history – less than 250 years!

Why then do religious folks consider their bible to be any different from these stories? They will call the stories of Job, Jonah, the Prodigal Son, etc. parables but will still claim the bible as being The Truth. Well, it isn’t. It is myth. Some of it is interesting myth and some of it is pretty boring, but it is all myth.

I never did understand the correlation between the bible and faith. It wasn’t as though I was ever a bible-thumpin’ believer, but even as a child I could recognize the bible for what it is – ancient stories intended to instill morality during a time when people were searching for a way to establish morality in their own societies. We no longer have a need for this since we have evolved as a society and continue to evolve through education and experience.

There are those who will separate their faith from the bible (I was one of those) but after examining it, what are you left with to base your faith on? Nothing, really, except that at some point in your life you have been told to believe so you do. Not a very logical standpoint, certainly not a very well thought through one, but I suspect this is where most moderate believers end up.

Sadly, they have also been told, beginning at a very tender age that the word atheist is connected to the worst sort of individual. They are told atheists claim to know god does not exist. They are told atheists think they are smarter than god and everyone else and that atheists are full of pride with their knowledge! (Uh, yeah, cause knowledge is real bad. Says so right there in the first chapter of the good book. Note to self: any book that says knowledge is bad, probably isn’t one you should invest a lot of effort into examining.) They are told atheists will worship anything and aren’t you the lucky little ducks for getting such good instructions to worship the ‘right’ thing.

Not only is none of that true, they leave out a very important part in all of their preaching. Nearly all believers believe their chosen god because of an accident of birth. Had I been born in a different part of the world, I would no doubt have been raised Hindu, Muslim or Jewish. Once this realization seeps into the gray matter of the average believer, they are usually much more receptive to applying critical thinking to other aspects of their faith.

Italian Bishop Says: "If The Plumbing Don't Work, You Can't Marry"

Posted by BGH

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An Italian bishop has refused to marry a couple in a church service, though they are already legally married by civil ceremony, because the man is a paraplegic and impotent as a result of the injuries.

"Salvatore de Ciuco, spokesman for Bishop Lorenzo Chiarinelli of Viterbo in central Italy, told SkyTG24 television late Sunday: “No bishop, no priest can celebrate a wedding when he knows of admitted impotence as it is a motive for annulment” of the marriage."

I guess love is not a factor according to the bishop and the only viable marriages are ones that produce more catholics.

Another reason in a long list, indicating just how fucked up the catholic church really is.
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"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"

Islam - the Absurdity of it All

Posted by Pariahjane

Not too long ago BGH wrote an article regarding an Islamic push for an international blasphemy law. It appears that some in the Muslim community feel that no one has the right to criticize their religion.

However, they don't seem to have a problem with inciting violence against non-Muslims on their own websites and forums.

Muslimyouth.net carries dozens of rants by fanatics on its “support group”
site.
One member wrote of suicide missions: “If you can blow dozens of
people up at the same time, great, absolutely great.”

First off, let's note the actual name of the website - Muslim youth. Nice, really nice. Let's teach them from a young age that violence is acceptable against non-Muslims (well, anyone who disagrees with them, Muslim or not) so they grow up into killing machines.

I just find it baffling that a religious group can feel so strongly about people's negative opinions of them that they either attempt to squelch the other's free speech (see BGH's article) or they react with extreme violence, which I've written about here.

And in another vile message a member PRAISED a beheading video of British
hostage Ken Bigley.
It said: “I like the beheading videos of the prisoners
of war – especially the Daniel Pearl and Ken Bigley one.”

You can't have it both ways. Freedom of speech should not be given to one group of people and denied by everyone else. As disgusting at the two quotes above are these people still have the right to say it. It's a different story if someone acts upon it.

I have said time and again that I believe everyone has a right to believe and worship how they see fit. HOWEVER, if those beliefs begin to affect the rights and lives of others then they must be stopped. No one has the right to infringe on another human being just because their beliefs differ.

NOTE - The intent of the original article was to focus on the fact that this site received a grant from the British government to film a documentary about Muslims in the UK and the problems they face. I realize that's not what I've gleaned from the article for my post here but I felt that the hypocrisy of many of the Islamic faith was too great to ignore.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint, Pray At Home

Posted by BGH

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I had to attend a Catholic mass today as a family obligation (certainly not my first choice of activities on Sunday morning).

As I sat there and listened to the almost drone like chantings of the congregates, I began thinking to myself what a colossal waste of fuel, time and resources. It is a fruitless endeavor to get up, waste gas driving a few miles, sit in a ridiculously large (in most cases) auditorium being climate controlled by three to ten air handlers, and then get back in your car and waste gas again going home without having really accomplished anything. Churches consume massive amounts of natural resources with very little justification of purpose.

Couldn't the activities at church be performed in the privacy of your own home? Praying, singing, standing, sitting, kneeling, reflecting and all things that show the almighty you worship praise can be done, with your family, in your home. Isn't that what _______ (insert your god's name here) would want anyway, for you to do something to help the planet?

Just a thought.
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"These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long"