The October 2, 2012 edition of Newsday, Long Island's major newspaper, featured a letter-to-the-editor from a Marc de Venoge, who decried what he refers to as "[d]ecades of values-free... government and school policies" that "fail to treat the root cause" of teenage pregnancy.
The solution, according to de Venoge, is "to teach the basic notion that...any pregnancy is a God-created gift from the moment of conception." (Emphasis mine). Of course, what de Venoge means by "any pregnancy" is every pregnancy, even if it results from rape or incest.
This echoes what former senator and failed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said in an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan earlier this year:
"I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you."
Let's set this straight right away. Pregnancy is not a "gift from God," it's the consequence of a biological process. Here are a few excerpts from WebMD's slideshow on conception:
"A man may ejaculate 40 million to 150 million sperm, which start swimming upstream toward the fallopian tubes on their mission to fertilize an egg. Fast-swimming sperm can reach the egg in a half an hour, while others may take days. The sperm can live up to 48-72 hours. Only a few hundred will even come close to the egg, because of the many natural barriers that exist in a woman's body."
"The fertilized egg starts growing fast, dividing into many cells. It leaves the fallopian tube and enters the uterus three to four days after fertilization. In rare cases, the fertilized egg does not leave the fallopian tube. This is called a tubal pregnancy or ectopic pregnancy and is a danger to the mother." (Emphasis mine).
Does de Venoge believe that God is monitoring the progress of each sperm cell and intervening where necessary so that the favored sperm reaches and fertilizes the egg? And if it is such a divine gift, what divine purpose is served by an ectopic pregnancy?
There's also a flip side to this "Gift from God" argument. According to the CDC, as cited in this pregnancy fact sheet, "About 10 percent of women (6.1 million) in the United States ages 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant." de Venoge and his ilk are basically saying that women who are unable to conceive apparently are unworthy of such a gift from the Supreme Being.
Well, thankfully, at least for some women who have trouble getting pregnant the old-fashioned way, there's help that does not require divine intervention.
From the same fact sheet:
"Infertility can be treated with medicine, surgery, artificial insemination, or assisted reproductive technology. Many times these treatments are combined. In most cases infertility is treated with drugs or surgery."
That's right. Where God fails, human ingenuity can sometimes fill the gap.
But even if I were willing to entertain the claim that human pregnancy is a gift from God, what about pregnancy that results from sexual reproduction in other species? Or does it only apply to humans?
Todd Akin, Republican nutbag member of the House of Representatives from Missouri, who is currently running to be a Senator from that state, not long ago notoriously said that during a "legitimate" rape, a woman's body has the means of mounting a biological defense against the rapist's sperm to prevent a pregnancy.
Seriously though, if our anatomy was truly the result of the handiwork of an Intelligent Designer, then the human female could have been designed to either accept or reject a man's sperm regardless of whether the sexual encounter was consensual or coerced. Just imagine, there would be no problem of teen pregnancy or abortion! Now that would be a really useful gift.
Showing posts with label Christian lunacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian lunacy. Show all posts
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Monday, October 17, 2011
The End of the World Is Near
We atheist bloggers had a lot of fun last spring with the publicity surrounding Harold Camping's prediction that May 21, 2011 would be Judgment Day. As I wrote in several posts on my blog, I personally witnessed a number of people in New York City handing out pamphlets or holding up signs proclaiming the imminent doom of those of us who refused to repent.
Of course, Camping's dire prognostications did not come true that day. Mostly forgotten is that Camping also warned us that the actual end of the world would not occur until October 21, 2011, which is this Friday. The God of the Bible, cruel bastard that he is, couldn't hold out until Monday the 24th so that we could all have one last weekend of fun and decadence. I still have the pamphlet I found many months ago, which confidently declares that:
"On October 21, 2011, God will completely destroy this creation and all of the people who never experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ along with it. The awful payment for their sinful rebellion against God will be completed by the loss of everlasting life. On October 21, 2011, all of these poor people will cease to exist from that point forward."
Tellingly, I don't see any of the street corner doomsters in New York City warning us about the approaching end of the world. I wonder how many of them still hold out hope that the world will indeed end this Friday, even if they dare not express it because they have retained a small sliver of awareness that tells them "I don't want to look like a fool in public."
As for Camping's Family Radio website, all references to Judgment Day and the End of the World appear to have been scrubbed. On this page, there's even mention of a Special Promotion from October 17 through October 24.
That being said, Camping himself is apparently still sticking to his guns. According to this article,
"Camping recently said in a statement, 'We can be sure that the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on October 21, 2011.'"
Yeah, whatever. See you all on the 22nd.
Of course, Camping's dire prognostications did not come true that day. Mostly forgotten is that Camping also warned us that the actual end of the world would not occur until October 21, 2011, which is this Friday. The God of the Bible, cruel bastard that he is, couldn't hold out until Monday the 24th so that we could all have one last weekend of fun and decadence. I still have the pamphlet I found many months ago, which confidently declares that:
"On October 21, 2011, God will completely destroy this creation and all of the people who never experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ along with it. The awful payment for their sinful rebellion against God will be completed by the loss of everlasting life. On October 21, 2011, all of these poor people will cease to exist from that point forward."
Tellingly, I don't see any of the street corner doomsters in New York City warning us about the approaching end of the world. I wonder how many of them still hold out hope that the world will indeed end this Friday, even if they dare not express it because they have retained a small sliver of awareness that tells them "I don't want to look like a fool in public."
As for Camping's Family Radio website, all references to Judgment Day and the End of the World appear to have been scrubbed. On this page, there's even mention of a Special Promotion from October 17 through October 24.
That being said, Camping himself is apparently still sticking to his guns. According to this article,
"Camping recently said in a statement, 'We can be sure that the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on October 21, 2011.'"
Yeah, whatever. See you all on the 22nd.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
May 21, 2011 - It's A Beautiful Day
In honor of the Rapture that did not happen, here's "It's A Beautiful Day" by Sarah Brightman.
Apparently, there was supposed to be a rolling earthquake commencing in New Zealand at 6 pm local time. Well, it's been five hours and no such earthquakes were reported. There was that earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22, 2011 (I guess having the name Christchurch didn't magically protect them!), so maybe Harold Camping was off by about 3 months. Nor have "all the dead that have ever died" risen up from their graves.
Apparently, there was supposed to be a rolling earthquake commencing in New Zealand at 6 pm local time. Well, it's been five hours and no such earthquakes were reported. There was that earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22, 2011 (I guess having the name Christchurch didn't magically protect them!), so maybe Harold Camping was off by about 3 months. Nor have "all the dead that have ever died" risen up from their graves.
I checked the Family Radio web site but thus far it gives no acknowledgment that Camping's long touted prediction has not come to pass.
Sadly, this whole affair has proven rather costly for some people.
This fellow Long Islander has been refusing to pay his bills, so convinced is he that he will be raptured. Unfortunately for him, not only will he not be raptured, neither will the collection agents for the phone and electric companies!
A former MTA employee spent $140,000 of his own money plastering MTA subways and buses with his ads proclaiming May 21 as Judgment Day. That's $140,000 less that he will have to see him through his retirement.
According to this article, Camping's Family Radio spent "millions of dollars on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the doomsday message. In 2009, the nonprofit reported in IRS filings that it received $18.3 million in donations, and had assets of more than $104 million, including $34 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities."
Our old friend Marie Exley, "said the money helped the nonprofit save as many souls as possible. She said she and her husband, mother and brother planned to stay glued to the television Friday night in Bozeman, Montana for news of an earthquake in New Zealand."
I don't know how many "souls" were saved by these clowns, but a lot of fools were certainly parted from their money. It remains to be seen now what the fall out will be in the coming days when so may of the true believers realized they have been duped. Will they double down and insist that the prophecy is true but that Camping must have been off a little in his dates, or will some of them start to question their beliefs and develop some critical thinking skills?
Thursday, January 06, 2011
The Judgment Day Virus
I swear, this crap is really starting to annoy me.
As I was about to head into Penn Station this evening to catch my train home, I pass by this lady, an African-American woman in her late forties or early fifties, handing out pamphlets. Out of curiosity, I stopped, took one, and glanced at it briefly to confirm my suspicions.
Yes, it was one of those pamphlets proclaiming that Judgment Day will take place on May 21, 2011, barely more than four months from now.
I thrust it back towards her and as she took it back from me, she asked me, "What's the matter?"
"That's not true!" I shot back, pointing at the pamphlet.
She insists that it is and declares "It says so in the Bible!"
"Yeah, so?" I reply.
"Because the Bible is the word of God," she says.
"How do you know?" I ask.
I don't recall her exact words, but it was along the lines of "Because the Bible says so."
I respond that it's just circular reasoning. Then she drops the bomb on me.
"Who made you?"
"Uh, my parents."
"Who made your parents?"
"My grandparents."
"Well, who made them?"
"I don't see what that has to do with your pamphlet."
And so it went like that for a few more seconds, but I had to go because I had a train to catch. In retrospect, I should have asked her "If Judgment Day doesn't happen on May 21, do you promise to come back here holding a big sign that reads 'I was wrong!'"
As I was about to head into Penn Station this evening to catch my train home, I pass by this lady, an African-American woman in her late forties or early fifties, handing out pamphlets. Out of curiosity, I stopped, took one, and glanced at it briefly to confirm my suspicions.
Yes, it was one of those pamphlets proclaiming that Judgment Day will take place on May 21, 2011, barely more than four months from now.
I thrust it back towards her and as she took it back from me, she asked me, "What's the matter?"
"That's not true!" I shot back, pointing at the pamphlet.
She insists that it is and declares "It says so in the Bible!"
"Yeah, so?" I reply.
"Because the Bible is the word of God," she says.
"How do you know?" I ask.
I don't recall her exact words, but it was along the lines of "Because the Bible says so."
I respond that it's just circular reasoning. Then she drops the bomb on me.
"Who made you?"
"Uh, my parents."
"Who made your parents?"
"My grandparents."
"Well, who made them?"
"I don't see what that has to do with your pamphlet."
And so it went like that for a few more seconds, but I had to go because I had a train to catch. In retrospect, I should have asked her "If Judgment Day doesn't happen on May 21, do you promise to come back here holding a big sign that reads 'I was wrong!'"
Monday, January 03, 2011
It Better Not Ruin My Summer Vacation Plans
Four months ago, I wrote a post about a tract I found at the Hicksville Train Station proclaiming that Judgment Day will arrive on May 21, 2011, with the end of the world to follow six months later on October 21, 2011.
Sadly, it seems quite a few people are taking this nonsense seriously. A few of them are profiled in this Associated Press article. One of them is Marie Exley, 32, a veteran of the war in Iraq.
Exley "is organizing traveling columns of RVs carrying the message from city to city, a logistics challenge that her military experience has helped solve."
If Exley wants to believe that the world will end this year, then fine. But it's quite another thing when she and her band of traveling fools waste gasoline spreading their deluded message across the country. We need to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and these religious nuts are only making the problem worse. Then again, I suppose I can't expect them to care since they think the world will end in October anyway.
But for people like Exley, such misguided beliefs sadly have real life consequences.
"...Exley...said her beliefs have alienated her from most of her friends and family." And for what, so that she can engage in Rapture Porn?
To any such people who read this, let me make this as clear as I can. I will even use all capital letters.
"THE BIBLE TELLS US ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT OUR FUTURE! NADA! ZILCH! GO LIVE YOUR LIVES LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE AND STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE RAPTURE BECAUSE IT IS NEVER, EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!"
Happy 2011!
Sadly, it seems quite a few people are taking this nonsense seriously. A few of them are profiled in this Associated Press article. One of them is Marie Exley, 32, a veteran of the war in Iraq.
Exley "is organizing traveling columns of RVs carrying the message from city to city, a logistics challenge that her military experience has helped solve."
If Exley wants to believe that the world will end this year, then fine. But it's quite another thing when she and her band of traveling fools waste gasoline spreading their deluded message across the country. We need to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and these religious nuts are only making the problem worse. Then again, I suppose I can't expect them to care since they think the world will end in October anyway.
But for people like Exley, such misguided beliefs sadly have real life consequences.
"...Exley...said her beliefs have alienated her from most of her friends and family." And for what, so that she can engage in Rapture Porn?
To any such people who read this, let me make this as clear as I can. I will even use all capital letters.
"THE BIBLE TELLS US ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT OUR FUTURE! NADA! ZILCH! GO LIVE YOUR LIVES LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE AND STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE RAPTURE BECAUSE IT IS NEVER, EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!"
Happy 2011!
Saturday, September 04, 2010
World To End on October 21, 2011
Well, that's what it says in this tract put out by the eBible Fellowship that I found taped to one of the support pillars underneath the elevated tracks at the Hicksville train station this past Wednesday. How can we be sure that the world will come to an end on October 21, 2011? Because it says so in the Bible! And the author of the tract declares that "The Bible is the Word of God! Everything the Bible declares has the full authority of God Himself."
For openers, I guess this puts a damper on Barack Obama's chances of being re-elected in 2012.
But before the world ends on October 21, 2011, the pamphlet declares that we will first experience Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. This might be what that taxi driver was referring to on that February morning in 2009 when my family and I were being driven to JFK Airport for our vacation in Puerto Rico.
And what will happen on Judgment Day? It will set in motion a five-month period in which a "period of horrible torment will begin for all of the inhabitants of the earth." Gee, I thought the period of torment would start this coming November if the Republicans capture majorities in both houses of Congress.
On May 21, 2011, "God will raise up all of the dead that have ever died from their graves." No mention about people who were cremated or eaten by alligators or sharks. "Earthquakes will ravage the whole world as the earth will no longer conceal its dead." Wow, talk about bringing out your dead!
"People who died as saved individuals will experience the resurrection of their bodies and immediately leave this world to be forever with the Lord." If God abides in a non-physical environment, then why would a resurrection of physical bodies be necessary?
"Those who die unsaved will be raised up as well, but only to have their lifeless bodies scattered about the face of all the earth. Death will be everywhere." Again, what if I am cremated and my ashes scattered before May 21, 2011?
I have to say, I just love that whoever is putting out this tract is so absolutely confident as to cite specific dates in the near future when these apocalyptic events will supposedly occur. I would love to see what these people will have to say when they wake up on October 22, 2011 and the world will still be here.
The pamphlet contains other amusing and interesting information. Most Young Earth Creationists cite a roughly 6,000 year old Earth. However, the folks at the eBible Fellowship set the Creation in 11,013 B.C., with the demise of the Earth predicted "13,023 years from creation."
And how can we know this to be true? Because "[t]he genealogies of the book of Genesis... can be shown to be a precise calendar of the history of mankind in this world. The Bible 's calendar of history is completely accurate and trustworthy." After all, "[s]ince this Bible calendar is given by God in His Word, it can be trusted wholeheartedly." Gotta love that circular reasoning.
What always cracks me up about these End Times people is their belief that our little speck of a planet in one galaxy in a universe filled with billions of galaxies is some kind of central battlefield in a cosmic struggle between the forces of Good and Evil. The human origins of their belief systems is betrayed by the geocentric bias inherent in their theology. A being that creates a universe filled, as previously mentioned, with billions of galaxies that themselves contain untold billions of planets orbiting their own stars operates according to an Earth based calendar system measured in Earth days, Earth months, and Earth years. And of course, nothing preoccupies this immensely powerful and intelligent being more than the mundane affairs of the human inhabitants of this one planet during a tiny sliver of time on a timescale of billions of years.
Anyway, mark your calendar for my blog post on May 22, 2011 when I write about the Judgment Day that never happened.
For openers, I guess this puts a damper on Barack Obama's chances of being re-elected in 2012.
But before the world ends on October 21, 2011, the pamphlet declares that we will first experience Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. This might be what that taxi driver was referring to on that February morning in 2009 when my family and I were being driven to JFK Airport for our vacation in Puerto Rico.
And what will happen on Judgment Day? It will set in motion a five-month period in which a "period of horrible torment will begin for all of the inhabitants of the earth." Gee, I thought the period of torment would start this coming November if the Republicans capture majorities in both houses of Congress.
On May 21, 2011, "God will raise up all of the dead that have ever died from their graves." No mention about people who were cremated or eaten by alligators or sharks. "Earthquakes will ravage the whole world as the earth will no longer conceal its dead." Wow, talk about bringing out your dead!
"People who died as saved individuals will experience the resurrection of their bodies and immediately leave this world to be forever with the Lord." If God abides in a non-physical environment, then why would a resurrection of physical bodies be necessary?
"Those who die unsaved will be raised up as well, but only to have their lifeless bodies scattered about the face of all the earth. Death will be everywhere." Again, what if I am cremated and my ashes scattered before May 21, 2011?
I have to say, I just love that whoever is putting out this tract is so absolutely confident as to cite specific dates in the near future when these apocalyptic events will supposedly occur. I would love to see what these people will have to say when they wake up on October 22, 2011 and the world will still be here.
The pamphlet contains other amusing and interesting information. Most Young Earth Creationists cite a roughly 6,000 year old Earth. However, the folks at the eBible Fellowship set the Creation in 11,013 B.C., with the demise of the Earth predicted "13,023 years from creation."
And how can we know this to be true? Because "[t]he genealogies of the book of Genesis... can be shown to be a precise calendar of the history of mankind in this world. The Bible 's calendar of history is completely accurate and trustworthy." After all, "[s]ince this Bible calendar is given by God in His Word, it can be trusted wholeheartedly." Gotta love that circular reasoning.
What always cracks me up about these End Times people is their belief that our little speck of a planet in one galaxy in a universe filled with billions of galaxies is some kind of central battlefield in a cosmic struggle between the forces of Good and Evil. The human origins of their belief systems is betrayed by the geocentric bias inherent in their theology. A being that creates a universe filled, as previously mentioned, with billions of galaxies that themselves contain untold billions of planets orbiting their own stars operates according to an Earth based calendar system measured in Earth days, Earth months, and Earth years. And of course, nothing preoccupies this immensely powerful and intelligent being more than the mundane affairs of the human inhabitants of this one planet during a tiny sliver of time on a timescale of billions of years.
Anyway, mark your calendar for my blog post on May 22, 2011 when I write about the Judgment Day that never happened.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
How Do You Know God Didn't Punish Haiti?
Readers of this blog may remember my mention of Christian extremist Ron Boehme in this post I did last month on Tiger Woods. Boehme is representative of the kind of religious person we atheists like to rail against, the fervent Biblical literalist who views everything through the prism of a cosmic war between the forces of good (of which he believes he is a member) and the forces of evil (which includes those of us who are atheists).
Boehme ended up on my radar screen a few years ago when he was running for the Washington state legislature as a (well, you probably guessed it) Republican. I checked out his campaign web site, where he stated that atheists and secularists were the enemy of America or something along those lines. So, I e-mailed him and expressed my displeasure at him for categorically declaring such a thing. He replied to me, calling on me to be "civil." I laughed at that, because according to his campaign web site, I am an enemy of America, and yet he had the gall to allege incivility on my part. He never replied to my follow up reply, and to my knowledge, he did not win the election. But he apparently saw fit to put me on his e-mail list and I have since found myself receiving his e-mail sermons that are part of his "Revive America Project."
For the most part I find myself glancing briefly at them and then deleting them. But today's post caught my attention. Titled "Pondering The Haiti Earthquake--and Other 'Natural Disasters'." Note the "scare quotes" around Natural Disasters.
In a nutshell, with the emphasis on "nut", Boehme regurgitates what the infamous Pat Robertson said on his 700 Club program last month and defends Robertson's remarks. Below are excerpts of what he wrote.
"The politically correct (secular) view of the Haiti quake was that God was not involved in the calamity--only (maybe) in the relief efforts. How do they know? Why was there such a strong aversion to even considering that God could be a part of this natural disaster?
Here's the obvious reason: Secularists want to convince the world that there is no God--that they are the ultimate authorities and their forms of human government, including humanitarian relief, are the main things that should be trusted and appreciated. The atheistic interpretation of reality instructs people that there is no God, no such thing as sin and thus no sins to be repented of."
Wow! So, if I read Boehme right, he wants us to think that God murdered or permitted the death of over 200,000 Haitians. Therefore, we must cringe in fear lest the same thing happen to us.
"How do [we] know?" he asks, that the earthquake was not caused by God. Well, how are we supposed to be able to tell the difference between an earthquake resulting from God's wrath and an earthquake that just, well, happens? Are only earthquakes that kill people a sign of God's anger? If that is the case, then God must really hate poor, dark-skinned people, because rich countries can afford to build structures that are more resistant to earthquakes.
As for Pat Robertson, Boehme belches, "Pat Robertson was not saying as fact that the earthquake was God's judgment. He was just trying to understand the disproportionate aspects of suffering that have visited the Haiti portion of the island of Hispaniola. Could there be some spiritual reasons? Fair question if you believe in God, Satan, blessings and curses."
Well, you could try reading a little about the history of Haiti to understand the "disproportionate aspects of suffering" that have affected the people of Haiti. One cannot dismiss, for example, that Haiti had to agree to pay France 90 million gold francs in recognition of its independence in order to lift an embargo imposed on it by France, Britain and the United States. That the United States should treat Haiti in such a way shows a large measure of ingratitude because Haiti's successful revolt against Napoleon resulted in Napoleon offering to sell the entire Louisiana Purchase to the United States at a bargain price. In order to pay the onerous fee imposed on it, Haitian governments had to take out high interest loans and the debt was not paid until 1947.
That Haiti has been plagued by corrupt governments throughout much of it's recent history is no secret, though one need not invoke God or Satan in this. Many countries have had to endure kleptocratic regimes. What adds to Haiti's misery is that it is geographically situated in an area that is subject to frequent devastating hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as being located near an earthquake fault zone. Throw poverty into the mix, and you have a country that lacks the wealth to build sturdy structures that can withstand natural disasters.
Boehme continues:
"What are some of the possible realities behind natural disasters and environmental catastrophes that we experience on earth, including Haiti? I can think of four possibilities or combinations or them:
GOD: The Bible is clear that the God of the Universe uses weather and physical events on earth to reveal truth and draw people to change their lives."
Uh, yeah, right. Because the Bible says so.
"SATAN: The Bible also records that the devil, Lucifer or Satan, has some delegated powers to bring physical calamities upon people."
Okay, so maybe God outsourced the Haiti earthquake to Satan.
"NATURE: many of the physical disasters and calamities we face might not be the direct hand of God or Satan, but simply the fruits of a fallen and imperfect world that are allowed by the Creator."
Well, as I mentioned in my post "The Canyons of Mars", Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in our Solar System. The last time I checked, there were no Satan worshippers or flaming homosexuals living there.
"HUMAN SIN: This possiblity involves God but stresses man's part in the curse of creation. None of this scenario is God's fault. It's the direct result of man's sin."
But how can you tell. Is there some kind of "Sin-O-Meter" where one can measure the magnitude of human sin until it reaches a point where acts of rape, gay anal sex, and murder attain a critical mass to cause an earthquake or a tornado?
"So why was there a devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 13, 2010? We don't know for sure, but it clearly could have been an act of God, or influenced by Satan, or simply involved fallen creation, and/or was a direct result of a curse because of people's sins."
Or, it is simply a matter of geologic forces acting as they have done for hundreds of millions of years. You conveniently left that one out, Ronny.
"It would be helpful for us, and the people of Haiti who were devastated by the earthquake, to seek the face of God for the reasons for their misfortune. In response to their repentance and faith, God just might use this terrible tragedy to break an awful and unusual curse on a nation and for the first time, establish it in righteousness, increased safety (better buildings), godliness and prosperity."
Notice the arrogance there. The earthquake must somehow be the fault of the people of Haiti. No recognition anywhere by Boehme of the role of France's brutal system of slavery, the crippling debts imposed on Haiti, the isolation imposed on her by the United States, which feared that the successful slave revolt in Haiti would spark similar revolts in the slaveholding regions of the southern American states, among other things. In the binary worldview of Boehme and his ilk, Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake solely for ths sins of its people.
For people like Boehme, their human egocentric worldview requires that natural disasters be viewed as some kind of validation of their Christian faith. "Oh, those poor, wretched souls of Haiti got what was coming to them because they practice Voudou. If only they would accept the salvation of Christ, which we conveniently have done, they won't have such problems anymore."
Reading Boehme's bile made me recall something from an introductory book on Geology I read last year. In 1902, a volcano erupted on the Caribbean island of Martinique. The pyroclastic flow unleashed by the eruption caused the death of some 29,000 people in the island's capital of St. Pierre. One of the only survivors was a prisoner who was locked in a windowless cell. Do the likes of Boehme and Pat Robertson have any thoughts as to what the people of Martinique might have been doing to bring down divine wrath on them. Or how about the Mt. Saint Helens eruption in Boehme's home state of Washington in 1980 that killed 57 people. Maybe it was God's way of telling Ron Boehme to not be such a douchebag and Boehme just didn't get the message.
Boehme ended up on my radar screen a few years ago when he was running for the Washington state legislature as a (well, you probably guessed it) Republican. I checked out his campaign web site, where he stated that atheists and secularists were the enemy of America or something along those lines. So, I e-mailed him and expressed my displeasure at him for categorically declaring such a thing. He replied to me, calling on me to be "civil." I laughed at that, because according to his campaign web site, I am an enemy of America, and yet he had the gall to allege incivility on my part. He never replied to my follow up reply, and to my knowledge, he did not win the election. But he apparently saw fit to put me on his e-mail list and I have since found myself receiving his e-mail sermons that are part of his "Revive America Project."
For the most part I find myself glancing briefly at them and then deleting them. But today's post caught my attention. Titled "Pondering The Haiti Earthquake--and Other 'Natural Disasters'." Note the "scare quotes" around Natural Disasters.
In a nutshell, with the emphasis on "nut", Boehme regurgitates what the infamous Pat Robertson said on his 700 Club program last month and defends Robertson's remarks. Below are excerpts of what he wrote.
"The politically correct (secular) view of the Haiti quake was that God was not involved in the calamity--only (maybe) in the relief efforts. How do they know? Why was there such a strong aversion to even considering that God could be a part of this natural disaster?
Here's the obvious reason: Secularists want to convince the world that there is no God--that they are the ultimate authorities and their forms of human government, including humanitarian relief, are the main things that should be trusted and appreciated. The atheistic interpretation of reality instructs people that there is no God, no such thing as sin and thus no sins to be repented of."
Wow! So, if I read Boehme right, he wants us to think that God murdered or permitted the death of over 200,000 Haitians. Therefore, we must cringe in fear lest the same thing happen to us.
"How do [we] know?" he asks, that the earthquake was not caused by God. Well, how are we supposed to be able to tell the difference between an earthquake resulting from God's wrath and an earthquake that just, well, happens? Are only earthquakes that kill people a sign of God's anger? If that is the case, then God must really hate poor, dark-skinned people, because rich countries can afford to build structures that are more resistant to earthquakes.
As for Pat Robertson, Boehme belches, "Pat Robertson was not saying as fact that the earthquake was God's judgment. He was just trying to understand the disproportionate aspects of suffering that have visited the Haiti portion of the island of Hispaniola. Could there be some spiritual reasons? Fair question if you believe in God, Satan, blessings and curses."
Well, you could try reading a little about the history of Haiti to understand the "disproportionate aspects of suffering" that have affected the people of Haiti. One cannot dismiss, for example, that Haiti had to agree to pay France 90 million gold francs in recognition of its independence in order to lift an embargo imposed on it by France, Britain and the United States. That the United States should treat Haiti in such a way shows a large measure of ingratitude because Haiti's successful revolt against Napoleon resulted in Napoleon offering to sell the entire Louisiana Purchase to the United States at a bargain price. In order to pay the onerous fee imposed on it, Haitian governments had to take out high interest loans and the debt was not paid until 1947.
That Haiti has been plagued by corrupt governments throughout much of it's recent history is no secret, though one need not invoke God or Satan in this. Many countries have had to endure kleptocratic regimes. What adds to Haiti's misery is that it is geographically situated in an area that is subject to frequent devastating hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as being located near an earthquake fault zone. Throw poverty into the mix, and you have a country that lacks the wealth to build sturdy structures that can withstand natural disasters.
Boehme continues:
"What are some of the possible realities behind natural disasters and environmental catastrophes that we experience on earth, including Haiti? I can think of four possibilities or combinations or them:
GOD: The Bible is clear that the God of the Universe uses weather and physical events on earth to reveal truth and draw people to change their lives."
Uh, yeah, right. Because the Bible says so.
"SATAN: The Bible also records that the devil, Lucifer or Satan, has some delegated powers to bring physical calamities upon people."
Okay, so maybe God outsourced the Haiti earthquake to Satan.
"NATURE: many of the physical disasters and calamities we face might not be the direct hand of God or Satan, but simply the fruits of a fallen and imperfect world that are allowed by the Creator."
Well, as I mentioned in my post "The Canyons of Mars", Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in our Solar System. The last time I checked, there were no Satan worshippers or flaming homosexuals living there.
"HUMAN SIN: This possiblity involves God but stresses man's part in the curse of creation. None of this scenario is God's fault. It's the direct result of man's sin."
But how can you tell. Is there some kind of "Sin-O-Meter" where one can measure the magnitude of human sin until it reaches a point where acts of rape, gay anal sex, and murder attain a critical mass to cause an earthquake or a tornado?
"So why was there a devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 13, 2010? We don't know for sure, but it clearly could have been an act of God, or influenced by Satan, or simply involved fallen creation, and/or was a direct result of a curse because of people's sins."
Or, it is simply a matter of geologic forces acting as they have done for hundreds of millions of years. You conveniently left that one out, Ronny.
"It would be helpful for us, and the people of Haiti who were devastated by the earthquake, to seek the face of God for the reasons for their misfortune. In response to their repentance and faith, God just might use this terrible tragedy to break an awful and unusual curse on a nation and for the first time, establish it in righteousness, increased safety (better buildings), godliness and prosperity."
Notice the arrogance there. The earthquake must somehow be the fault of the people of Haiti. No recognition anywhere by Boehme of the role of France's brutal system of slavery, the crippling debts imposed on Haiti, the isolation imposed on her by the United States, which feared that the successful slave revolt in Haiti would spark similar revolts in the slaveholding regions of the southern American states, among other things. In the binary worldview of Boehme and his ilk, Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake solely for ths sins of its people.
For people like Boehme, their human egocentric worldview requires that natural disasters be viewed as some kind of validation of their Christian faith. "Oh, those poor, wretched souls of Haiti got what was coming to them because they practice Voudou. If only they would accept the salvation of Christ, which we conveniently have done, they won't have such problems anymore."
Reading Boehme's bile made me recall something from an introductory book on Geology I read last year. In 1902, a volcano erupted on the Caribbean island of Martinique. The pyroclastic flow unleashed by the eruption caused the death of some 29,000 people in the island's capital of St. Pierre. One of the only survivors was a prisoner who was locked in a windowless cell. Do the likes of Boehme and Pat Robertson have any thoughts as to what the people of Martinique might have been doing to bring down divine wrath on them. Or how about the Mt. Saint Helens eruption in Boehme's home state of Washington in 1980 that killed 57 people. Maybe it was God's way of telling Ron Boehme to not be such a douchebag and Boehme just didn't get the message.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Cabbie For Christ
With all my posts about my family vacation to Puerto Rico, I had to find some way to slip in a religion/atheism angle, being this is a primarily atheist themed blog.
Because our flight for Puerto Rico last Sunday was scheduled to fly out of JFK at 7:30 A.M., it made more sense to take a taxi to the airport rather than ride the LIRR in the cold and darkness to Jamaica Station to catch the Air Train.
My wife called the taxi company and our driver was literally there like 5 minutes later. As my wife used to take the taxi home from the train station before we got a second car, the cab driver was a man that she knew.
He was quite a gregarious fellow, and he was talking with my wife who was seated behind him about the latest developments in his life. It didn't take him long before he dropped this bombshell:
"A couple of months ago I became a born again Christian! All this time, I was looking for God, but it was God who found me!" I could barely suppress a groan.
It turns out the guy was raised Jewish and had been having a crisis of faith or something, so his mom pushed him to go to Israel, which would supposedly reconnect him with his Jewish roots.
"Who would have guessed," he declared, "that a Jewish man would become a Christian by going to Israel."
It was my wife however, who astutely guessed the real reason. She asked him if he had met a girl.
"Yes, I did," he replied. "She was the daughter of a missionary."
It turned out that they had since broken up, but are apparently still on good terms. From there, he proceeded to blab about the Jews and the Catholics getting it all wrong, and then rambling something about a section of Romans being banned in Canada. I had guessed that what he was driving at was some verse or other that condemned homosexuality. As my two young children were sitting in the back seat, I said, "I would prefer that you don't talk about this in front of my kids."
"Sure, no problem!" he cheerfully complied. He also made mention of some Christian radio station he listened to that had all kinds of important things to say about the future, and he mentioned some date in March or May of 2010 or 2011, I can't remember which, in which something really profound would happen.
As much as I was tempted to take the Cabbie for Christ to task for some of the things he said or ask him what he would do if nothing happened on the date he mentioned, as he was zipping along the parkway in the darkness of the predawn hour, my primary concern was that my family and I make it to JFK safely. The last thing I wanted was for the guy to get into a traffic accident because he was distracted by the argumentative atheist in the passenger seat. Afterwards, my wife said to me that she was surprised that I had kept quiet, and I explained to her why.
Because our flight for Puerto Rico last Sunday was scheduled to fly out of JFK at 7:30 A.M., it made more sense to take a taxi to the airport rather than ride the LIRR in the cold and darkness to Jamaica Station to catch the Air Train.
My wife called the taxi company and our driver was literally there like 5 minutes later. As my wife used to take the taxi home from the train station before we got a second car, the cab driver was a man that she knew.
He was quite a gregarious fellow, and he was talking with my wife who was seated behind him about the latest developments in his life. It didn't take him long before he dropped this bombshell:
"A couple of months ago I became a born again Christian! All this time, I was looking for God, but it was God who found me!" I could barely suppress a groan.
It turns out the guy was raised Jewish and had been having a crisis of faith or something, so his mom pushed him to go to Israel, which would supposedly reconnect him with his Jewish roots.
"Who would have guessed," he declared, "that a Jewish man would become a Christian by going to Israel."
It was my wife however, who astutely guessed the real reason. She asked him if he had met a girl.
"Yes, I did," he replied. "She was the daughter of a missionary."
It turned out that they had since broken up, but are apparently still on good terms. From there, he proceeded to blab about the Jews and the Catholics getting it all wrong, and then rambling something about a section of Romans being banned in Canada. I had guessed that what he was driving at was some verse or other that condemned homosexuality. As my two young children were sitting in the back seat, I said, "I would prefer that you don't talk about this in front of my kids."
"Sure, no problem!" he cheerfully complied. He also made mention of some Christian radio station he listened to that had all kinds of important things to say about the future, and he mentioned some date in March or May of 2010 or 2011, I can't remember which, in which something really profound would happen.
As much as I was tempted to take the Cabbie for Christ to task for some of the things he said or ask him what he would do if nothing happened on the date he mentioned, as he was zipping along the parkway in the darkness of the predawn hour, my primary concern was that my family and I make it to JFK safely. The last thing I wanted was for the guy to get into a traffic accident because he was distracted by the argumentative atheist in the passenger seat. Afterwards, my wife said to me that she was surprised that I had kept quiet, and I explained to her why.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Blessing of the Animals?
I was scanning the Community Events calendar of the October 1, 2008 edition of the North Shore Today this afternoon, and this event caught my eye:
Sunday, October 5
Blessing of the Animals. A Blessing of the Animals will take place at the Congregational Church of Huntington at 30 Washington Drive in Centerport at noon. Bring your pets on a leash or crated.
What the hell is the point of that? What do participating pet owners expect from this? Will their dogs live longer? Be less likely to piss on the daisies? Be friendlier to the mail man?
Talk about a ridiculous gimmick! The real absurdity is believing that whatever pastor is bestowing these blessings actually has some kind of connection to the creator of the universe and that his beseechments and intercessions will result in god bestowing something extra special on the animals being "blessed" that other animals will lack.
Sunday, October 5
Blessing of the Animals. A Blessing of the Animals will take place at the Congregational Church of Huntington at 30 Washington Drive in Centerport at noon. Bring your pets on a leash or crated.
What the hell is the point of that? What do participating pet owners expect from this? Will their dogs live longer? Be less likely to piss on the daisies? Be friendlier to the mail man?
Talk about a ridiculous gimmick! The real absurdity is believing that whatever pastor is bestowing these blessings actually has some kind of connection to the creator of the universe and that his beseechments and intercessions will result in god bestowing something extra special on the animals being "blessed" that other animals will lack.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Feelin' That Christian Love!
Last night, while surfing the Internet, I came across a Youtube segment from the short-lived Richard Pryor Show from the mid-1970's that I had dimly remembered from my childhood. From there, I clicked on another Richard Pryor video from the show wherein Richard makes a startling discovery about ancient Egypt.
After watching the segment, I read some of the comments that previous viewers posted in response to the video. One commenter, going by the name of nukecat (profile in the link), wrote "sorry to spoil all of your fun, but jews arent black and they are gods choosen (sic) people, not blacks."
I felt the need to spoil his fun, and informed him that "The Jews are not God's "chosen people" and the god of the Bible does not exist." To be honest, it was intended as a drive-by comment, and I wasn't looking to get into a debate.
Then, when I checked my e-mails a short while ago, I found that I got not one, but two responses from nukecat.
In a message received at 10:30 P.M. last night, nukecat responded with these insightful words:
sorry to say that your (sic) wrong
you dont know what the fuck your (sic) talking about
Apparently, that was not enough for him, because I received the next message from him at 10:42 P.M., in which he charitably informed me:
i hope you burn in hell asshole
its sad..you look intelligent ...but looks are deceiving
what miserable life you must lead without god
It never ceases to amuse me how some people assume that being an atheist means living a miserable life. To be honest, I am astonished at times about how good my life has turned out. It seems to me that if anyone has a miserable life, it must be nukecat. He doesn't bother to offer any factual information as to why he is right and I am wrong, and instead resorts to vulgarities and wishing me eternal suffering. If my life is miserable, then what does that make his?
After watching the segment, I read some of the comments that previous viewers posted in response to the video. One commenter, going by the name of nukecat (profile in the link), wrote "sorry to spoil all of your fun, but jews arent black and they are gods choosen (sic) people, not blacks."
I felt the need to spoil his fun, and informed him that "The Jews are not God's "chosen people" and the god of the Bible does not exist." To be honest, it was intended as a drive-by comment, and I wasn't looking to get into a debate.
Then, when I checked my e-mails a short while ago, I found that I got not one, but two responses from nukecat.
In a message received at 10:30 P.M. last night, nukecat responded with these insightful words:
sorry to say that your (sic) wrong
you dont know what the fuck your (sic) talking about
Apparently, that was not enough for him, because I received the next message from him at 10:42 P.M., in which he charitably informed me:
i hope you burn in hell asshole
its sad..you look intelligent ...but looks are deceiving
what miserable life you must lead without god
It never ceases to amuse me how some people assume that being an atheist means living a miserable life. To be honest, I am astonished at times about how good my life has turned out. It seems to me that if anyone has a miserable life, it must be nukecat. He doesn't bother to offer any factual information as to why he is right and I am wrong, and instead resorts to vulgarities and wishing me eternal suffering. If my life is miserable, then what does that make his?
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Jeebus Folk At My Door
It's Saturday morning and barely a half hour ago I was laying in bed with my beautiful wife cuddling and talking, when the door bell rings.
"Oh shit!" I grumbled as I got up and made my way to the front door. I peeped through the door and saw two ladies and knew immediately what I was in for.
I opened the door, and on my stoop was an Indian looking woman and a couple of steps down stood a black woman leaning on the hand rail.
"I hope you are having a good morning" the Indian woman greeted me. By her accent, I surmised she might be Guyanese, as most of these Jehovah Witness types who haunt my neighborhood tend to be of Caribbean origin.
"Well, I was," I replied.
The Indian lady started to go into her spiel. She reached into her shoulder bag to pull out a pamphlet and says something along the lines of, "A lot of people are full of despair with the way things are going in the world these days and they are afraid for the future."
"Well, I'm actually quite optimistic about the future," I interjected. She started to say something, but I didn't pay much attention and continued, "Because I am an atheist."
If memory serves, she started to say something about, "Well, the Bible says there is hope..."
I shot back, "Listen lady, the Bible talks about the destruction of the world. That doesn't sound too optimistic to me."
"Well, the Bible says there will be some survivors," she replied somewhat meekly. I got a chuckle out of that. Some survivors?
I decided to wrap things up with the we're gonna have to agree to disagree spiel. I was satisfied with the kick in the ass I had just given to her telling her that her religious belief requires war and destruction. But as she and her companion were turning away and heading down my walkway to the sidewalk, I fired off one last parting shot: "It's all a bunch of mythology and nonsense!"
And then it was back to the bed to tell my wife what had just happened.
"Oh shit!" I grumbled as I got up and made my way to the front door. I peeped through the door and saw two ladies and knew immediately what I was in for.
I opened the door, and on my stoop was an Indian looking woman and a couple of steps down stood a black woman leaning on the hand rail.
"I hope you are having a good morning" the Indian woman greeted me. By her accent, I surmised she might be Guyanese, as most of these Jehovah Witness types who haunt my neighborhood tend to be of Caribbean origin.
"Well, I was," I replied.
The Indian lady started to go into her spiel. She reached into her shoulder bag to pull out a pamphlet and says something along the lines of, "A lot of people are full of despair with the way things are going in the world these days and they are afraid for the future."
"Well, I'm actually quite optimistic about the future," I interjected. She started to say something, but I didn't pay much attention and continued, "Because I am an atheist."
If memory serves, she started to say something about, "Well, the Bible says there is hope..."
I shot back, "Listen lady, the Bible talks about the destruction of the world. That doesn't sound too optimistic to me."
"Well, the Bible says there will be some survivors," she replied somewhat meekly. I got a chuckle out of that. Some survivors?
I decided to wrap things up with the we're gonna have to agree to disagree spiel. I was satisfied with the kick in the ass I had just given to her telling her that her religious belief requires war and destruction. But as she and her companion were turning away and heading down my walkway to the sidewalk, I fired off one last parting shot: "It's all a bunch of mythology and nonsense!"
And then it was back to the bed to tell my wife what had just happened.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Isn't It Wonderful How the Christians Love Each Other - Part 2
There really isn't much I can add to this.
Monday, March 24, 2008
UPDATED: Isn't It Wonderful How All The Christians Love Each Other?
The title comes from one of my favorite lines from Christopher Hitchens whenever someone brings up to him how different Christian sects and churches quarrel with each other over whose is the true church.
Well, as this debate forum demonstrates, the argument between Catholics and Protestants goes on and on. If you scroll down a bit, you can see my post, where I try to stir things up by telling them all, Catholics and Protestants, that their god does not exist. Unfortunately, it appears that I have been ignored. But if you would like to throw in some irreverent contributions, feel free to do so. Or, just sit back and watch the silly back and forth exchange!
UPDATE: Oh, and as commenter Bullet pointed out, the forum has been ongoing since last July!
Well, as this debate forum demonstrates, the argument between Catholics and Protestants goes on and on. If you scroll down a bit, you can see my post, where I try to stir things up by telling them all, Catholics and Protestants, that their god does not exist. Unfortunately, it appears that I have been ignored. But if you would like to throw in some irreverent contributions, feel free to do so. Or, just sit back and watch the silly back and forth exchange!
UPDATE: Oh, and as commenter Bullet pointed out, the forum has been ongoing since last July!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Dangerously Gullible
The February 2008 edition of Mother Jones magazine has an interesting article about the belief "among evangelical Christians (and some Orthodox Jews) that Scripture foretells a massive oil find in the Holy Land" and how gullible people forked over their money to liars and frauds who claimed that they could tap that oil and help bring about Armageddon.
The opening paragraph of the article, titled "Let There Be Light Crude" describes a James Cojanis, "a 70-year old retiree" who was "sitting in his San Jose home with the radio tuned to a popular Christian show called The Prophecy Club." The featured guest was Harold "Hayseed" Stephens, who told listeners that "the greatest oil field on Earth is under the southwest corner of the Dead Sea" and his company, "Ness Energy International, was about to tap into it. In doing so, he said, it would drain the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, prompt Arab countries to attack Israel, and at last touch off the great battle that would usher in the end of days."
We learn from the article that Cojanis purchased $120,000 in Ness stock, which has since plummeted to $3,000. Ness had never even acquired exploration rights in Israel. But according to the article, Cojanis remains undeterred. "When they hit oil and the stock goes skyhigh, that means Armageddon is around the corner."
Stories about people who are suckered by con artists are a dime a dozen, especially among the elderly who are trying to make ends meet or are not in full possession of their faculties. Almost everybody would like to strike it big and become rich. But what is frightening about James Cojanis is that he enthusiastically invested in a shady scheme that he hoped would bring about World War Three. He is not someone looking to get rich. He actively wants to participate in a plot that would results in countless numbers of people getting killed if it actualy had a chance to succeed. Cojanis and others like him are not just gullible, they are dangerously gullible.
The online version of the article is available here.
The opening paragraph of the article, titled "Let There Be Light Crude" describes a James Cojanis, "a 70-year old retiree" who was "sitting in his San Jose home with the radio tuned to a popular Christian show called The Prophecy Club." The featured guest was Harold "Hayseed" Stephens, who told listeners that "the greatest oil field on Earth is under the southwest corner of the Dead Sea" and his company, "Ness Energy International, was about to tap into it. In doing so, he said, it would drain the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, prompt Arab countries to attack Israel, and at last touch off the great battle that would usher in the end of days."
We learn from the article that Cojanis purchased $120,000 in Ness stock, which has since plummeted to $3,000. Ness had never even acquired exploration rights in Israel. But according to the article, Cojanis remains undeterred. "When they hit oil and the stock goes skyhigh, that means Armageddon is around the corner."
Stories about people who are suckered by con artists are a dime a dozen, especially among the elderly who are trying to make ends meet or are not in full possession of their faculties. Almost everybody would like to strike it big and become rich. But what is frightening about James Cojanis is that he enthusiastically invested in a shady scheme that he hoped would bring about World War Three. He is not someone looking to get rich. He actively wants to participate in a plot that would results in countless numbers of people getting killed if it actualy had a chance to succeed. Cojanis and others like him are not just gullible, they are dangerously gullible.
The online version of the article is available here.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Atheism as a Rebellion Against God
One of the silliest theistic claims about us atheists is that we know God exists, but we are willfully rebelling against Him. Below is a typical such comment from an anonymous (how typical!) commenter on Shalini's blog Scientianatura:
"Lets face facts, you don't mock and deny creation science because of rational reasons. You launch your childish attacks, your silly temper tantrums, because you hate God and want to live a sinful life without God's perfect morality."
I want to live a sinful life, huh? Well, let's take a quick tour of my daily routine and see how filled with sin it is. Mind you of course that I am just one individual and cannot claim that my daily routine is typical of every atheist.
I generally wake up on weekdays around 7 a.m. While I eat breakfast, shower, and get ready for work, my wife gets my children ready for school. Around 8 a.m. or so I drive my daughter to her day care and then park by the train station and ride the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station. During my ride on the train, I usually read a book or a magazine, though sometimes I avail myself of a nap if needed. After arriving in Penn Station, I take take the subway or walk to my office, depending on the weather and how much time I have.
I usually get to my office around 9:30 a.m. and go about my relatively unexciting job as a trademark paralegal. Around 4:30 I leave my office to catch the express train to Hicksville. I arrive back at Hicksville an hour later and pick up in turn my daughter from her day care and my son from his after school program at his elementary school. We usually get home by 6 p.m. After getting settled in, I feed my kids dinner, go over their homework with them, give them snack to eat, bathe them, and put them to bed. Afterwards, I surf the net for a while, do some dishes, take out the garbage, write out some checks to pay household bills and such, and then go to bed.
Well, then how about the weekends? Surely I find time to some sinning then. Okay, let's look at my typical weekend. I wake up around 8:30 or 9: a.m., not so much because I want to, but because my kids are awake by then and I have to make sure they don't fight or cause any trouble. I often have to help my mom by taking her to the supermarket, picking up her medication from Walgreen's, or assisting her in some other way. I do errands and chores, including grocery shopping, bank runs, post office runs, folding the laundry.
See all of that sinning I pack into a typical day! Does that read like some anger filled rebellion against God to you? And yet in the eyes of many Christians, not only will I join the ranks of murderous dictators like Joseph Stalin and burn in hell after I die, they gleefully salivate at the prospect of it.
"Lets face facts, you don't mock and deny creation science because of rational reasons. You launch your childish attacks, your silly temper tantrums, because you hate God and want to live a sinful life without God's perfect morality."
I want to live a sinful life, huh? Well, let's take a quick tour of my daily routine and see how filled with sin it is. Mind you of course that I am just one individual and cannot claim that my daily routine is typical of every atheist.
I generally wake up on weekdays around 7 a.m. While I eat breakfast, shower, and get ready for work, my wife gets my children ready for school. Around 8 a.m. or so I drive my daughter to her day care and then park by the train station and ride the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station. During my ride on the train, I usually read a book or a magazine, though sometimes I avail myself of a nap if needed. After arriving in Penn Station, I take take the subway or walk to my office, depending on the weather and how much time I have.
I usually get to my office around 9:30 a.m. and go about my relatively unexciting job as a trademark paralegal. Around 4:30 I leave my office to catch the express train to Hicksville. I arrive back at Hicksville an hour later and pick up in turn my daughter from her day care and my son from his after school program at his elementary school. We usually get home by 6 p.m. After getting settled in, I feed my kids dinner, go over their homework with them, give them snack to eat, bathe them, and put them to bed. Afterwards, I surf the net for a while, do some dishes, take out the garbage, write out some checks to pay household bills and such, and then go to bed.
Well, then how about the weekends? Surely I find time to some sinning then. Okay, let's look at my typical weekend. I wake up around 8:30 or 9: a.m., not so much because I want to, but because my kids are awake by then and I have to make sure they don't fight or cause any trouble. I often have to help my mom by taking her to the supermarket, picking up her medication from Walgreen's, or assisting her in some other way. I do errands and chores, including grocery shopping, bank runs, post office runs, folding the laundry.
See all of that sinning I pack into a typical day! Does that read like some anger filled rebellion against God to you? And yet in the eyes of many Christians, not only will I join the ranks of murderous dictators like Joseph Stalin and burn in hell after I die, they gleefully salivate at the prospect of it.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
This Week in Religious Lunacy
Courtesy of the BBC, here are two interesting stories.
The End of the World, Again
First up, members of a bizarre Orthodox Christian cult in Russia have holed themselves up in a cave. They believe that the end of the world will take place next May and they have stocked enough food and fuel to last them through the winter. What they are going to live on if the world ends next spring isn't mentioned.
The cult members have threatened to ignite their petrol supplies if authorities try to force them out. Hopefully for their sake they don't have any cigarette smokers among them.
But She Had it Coming
Out of Saudi Arabia comes another sad story of appalling treatment towards women. A young Saudi woman was gang-raped about a year and a half ago and was sentenced by the Saudi court to six months in prison and 200 lashes for violating the laws that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other!
Her sentence was actually increased after she appealed the decision! In its mercy, the Saudi court did sentence the seven convicted rapists of up to five years in prison.
Of course, conservative Muslims will draw the wrong lesson from this episode. From their point of view, if the woman had behaved like a good Muslim woman and not interacted with other men, she would never have been raped. This is proof, for them, of the wisdom of the laws she violated.
What they fail to see, being the retrograde troglodytes that they are, is that it is precisely these kinds of laws that convey the message that women who are in the company of men who are not their relatives or family deserve to be raped! (Italics mine) In other words, when a Saudi man finds himself in the presence of a woman who is a stranger, because of the conditioning he has received from his culture, he believes he has a right to rape her. And the best way to combat this mindset is to grant women full and equal rights to associate with whom they please in public and to put the blame for rape squarely on the rapist and not the victim.
The End of the World, Again
First up, members of a bizarre Orthodox Christian cult in Russia have holed themselves up in a cave. They believe that the end of the world will take place next May and they have stocked enough food and fuel to last them through the winter. What they are going to live on if the world ends next spring isn't mentioned.
The cult members have threatened to ignite their petrol supplies if authorities try to force them out. Hopefully for their sake they don't have any cigarette smokers among them.
But She Had it Coming
Out of Saudi Arabia comes another sad story of appalling treatment towards women. A young Saudi woman was gang-raped about a year and a half ago and was sentenced by the Saudi court to six months in prison and 200 lashes for violating the laws that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other!
Her sentence was actually increased after she appealed the decision! In its mercy, the Saudi court did sentence the seven convicted rapists of up to five years in prison.
Of course, conservative Muslims will draw the wrong lesson from this episode. From their point of view, if the woman had behaved like a good Muslim woman and not interacted with other men, she would never have been raped. This is proof, for them, of the wisdom of the laws she violated.
What they fail to see, being the retrograde troglodytes that they are, is that it is precisely these kinds of laws that convey the message that women who are in the company of men who are not their relatives or family deserve to be raped! (Italics mine) In other words, when a Saudi man finds himself in the presence of a woman who is a stranger, because of the conditioning he has received from his culture, he believes he has a right to rape her. And the best way to combat this mindset is to grant women full and equal rights to associate with whom they please in public and to put the blame for rape squarely on the rapist and not the victim.
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