Tough Week for Christians

Wowee, I go on a cruise for a week, and a few atomic bombs are dropped on Christianity. Coincidence?

First, the largest intercessory prayer study ever conducted, to the tune of 2.4 million dollars, is completed and shows that God’s mind isn’t changed by prayer. What a surprise.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2112892,00.html

Of course, this won’t faze your average Christian fundie. The biblical god’s not about to respond to prayers made during a scientific experiment! Why, that would prove he exists, and then the average person couldn’t make a decision to believe by faith alone. Just think how empty Hell would be. Can’t have that! How can a Christian enjoy Heaven if there aren't billions suffering in Hell at the same time?

Next up, many creationists claim that evolution is disproved because no fossil has been discovered that is a major transition, such as from a sea to a land animal. Evolutionists know that they do exist, and have found many, but that sea-to-land one has been a bit elusive. Not any more:

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060405_tiktaalikfrm.htm

Of course, the creationist will simply respond that this creature is not transitional, is unique, and where there was once one gap, there is now two! The evolution model from primordial soup to man can’t be true – it is filled with thousands of gaps!

I think it’s ironic that creationsist won’t buy into evolution unless every single fossil is found and photographed such that if they were played one after another in animation, a movie going smoothly from an amoeba to a man would be stepless. Yet they blindly accept Jesus as their savior when not a shred of his physical existence exists. And not a shred of evidence of any paranormal activity whatsoever has ever been proven, let alone intercessory prayer. Ever.

If you are a Christian, whatever you do, do NOT study science. The case for evolution could hardly be any more sound. Unless, of course, you remain totally ignorant about science. Keep your face in that bible and throw science away. Yeah, that’s it.

By the way, just for the record, I have no problem with the concept that God has created us using evolution as a tool.

Third, and finally for now, there’s this:

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060406_codexfrm.htm
From the site:

“An ancient manuscript dating from the third or fourth century, containing the only known surviving copy of the Gospel of Judas, has been conserved, authenticated and translated after being lost for nearly 1,700 years, scientists say… The document gives an unusual view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, offering new insights into the disciple who according to the Bible betrayed Jesus. Unlike the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which portray Judas as a traitor, the document portrays Judas as acting at Jesus’ request when he hands Jesus over to the authorities… Jesus selects Judas from among the other disciples for a special task: “... you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” Jesus would thus have been asking Judas to help him get rid of his physical flesh, to free the spiritual being within.”

As if the bible isn’t a contradicting mess anyway, now comes this. Maybe Mel Gibson will make a new version of his snuff film where Judas is heralded as a hero.

I can’t wait for my next cruise!

Thought for the Day

25,000 children will die from starvation today. Why then would God answer YOUR prayers?

Jesus Pets

I hereby volunteer to take care of your family pet post-rapture!

Dave's Top Ten List #1: Christianity

The following are my top ten reasons why I will never again call myself a Christian.

They are presented in no particular order, and are entered as individual entries. A book could be written about each one (and may be!), but I have kept them as short as I could. Comments welcome.

#10: Pascal's Wager

Pascal’s Wager is thus: “If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having, neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us. We are then incapable of knowing either what He is or if He is ... you must wager. It is not optional. You are embarked. Which will you choose then? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager then without hesitation that he is.”

Many Christians will state an equivalent argument. If you are a Christian and you are wrong, you have lost nothing. If Christians are right, and you choose otherwise, you could be condemned to hell. Therefore, take the path of least risk. Have you ever thought this way or used this as an argument for Christianity? I know I have heard it many times.

I had a strong set of thoughts about this wager the other day. A vision if you will. Suppose, for a moment, that there is indeed a judgmental god that will indeed separate the lambs from the goats, sending people to either Heaven or Hell after they die based not on their deeds, but on their beliefs. An imaginary conversation follows between you and God upon your death, at the Pearly Gates if that’s where you think you’ll be:

You say “Dear God, I accepted Jesus as my savior, saving me from Hell and giving me eternal life with Him. I accepted Jesus as my only path to you. I accepted the Bible as your inerrant holy word, and spread it’s message to others.”

God says, “For God’s sake, how could you possibly believe that I would create such an evil place as Hell? How could you accept that I would send even one of the people I created in love and perfection there? How could you think this for even one second?”.

You respond “But, but it says in the Bible that Jesus is the only path to you! And the Bible is The Truth!”.

“The bible is absurd!” booms God. “It was created by Satan as a test! As we did with Job, Satan wagered that man could actually come to believe that I could actually and physically create a place where humans would suffer! And Satan was so confident that he claimed these people would even believe it was for eternity! To know that you can believe this breaks my heart.” Tears flow down God's face.

“But why then did you send Jesus, if not to save us?” you ask.

“Jesus was my son, just as you are my daughter. Jesus was an example of what man could be. His message was distorted and twisted by those in the church under the influence of evil. The Bible has nothing to do with Who I Am.”

“But my dear Father,” you plead, “just because I believed in Hell, are you going to send me there?”.

At this point, the story could go in any direction you think God is willing to go. If you are a Christian, you believe God is perfectly capable of sending you to Hell. I am not. So, in my version, God continues thus:

“My sweet daughter, I could never do that to any of my creations. I have created every human being with love. You will have eternal life in Heaven, as will all of my beloved. Please enter with my blessing. Your brother Dave is there, eagerly waiting for you with open arms.”

Pascal’s Wager only makes sense if your choices are limited to precisely two. In the case of Christianity, there are far more choices. Pascal's Wager is a case against Christianity, not for it.

#9: Heaven

Do I want to live forever? I'm not sure, but I do NOT want to live forever in a biblical Heaven. An eternity bathed in bright light with a large part of my soul removed and a smile plastered on a face does not sound appealing.

The Bible explains that we will not have any evil in us in heaven. I don’t know about you, but I am in large part "evil". I am filled with “evil” human emotions, lust, greed, anger, you name it. But you know what? I love my self just the way I am. These faults make me who I am. Without them, I'm not me.

In thinking about those I love, I do not love them despite their faults, I love them because of their faults. With those faults removed, who will they be? Certainly not who they were before. As Friedrich Nietzsche said "In heaven all the interesting people are missing."

In Heaven, what kind of life would it be without choices between good and evil? Will it be between good and gooder? Does that mean everything but the goodest will become evil? But there is no evil! No choices then? What will we do?

Will children be born there? If so, think of the population expolsion! We're talking infinity here. If no new children, parenting, the best part of my life on earth, will not be possible. And those children that do end up in Heaven... will the grow? Will we be frozen at our entrance age?

Assuming I don't have to go to Heaven, and instead chosing mortality, coming to grips with the finality of my life has been energizing. I now realize my life on earth must be the best I can make it. If there is no second chance, I better make the best of it! No goofing off waiting for salvation, I better get busy!

But I will live forever, in a very real sense, through my daughters. And them through their children. What a natural thing. That makes me want to be the best father possible!

And for some reason, even if I were to be saved and go to Heaven, billions will be in Hell. How could we celebrate in Heaven knowing even one of our brethren is in Hell? Will we be ignorant of this? I don’t want to be ignorant! How could that be good?

#8: The Passion

“Jesus Had a Bad Weekend for Your Sins!”. This is a parody bumper sticker that is very close to the Christian truth. Assuming biblical accuracy, I have never understood the huge sacrifice that Jesus apparently paid for our sins. On one hand Christians proclaim “Jesus died for your sins!” and then on the other proclaim “Jesus lives!”. Okay then, where is the huge sacrifice? Did he sacrifice, then, his life on earth as a man? But Christians are just waiting for the day when they can rise to heaven and be with God! So it seems Jesus death wasn’t a sacrifice, but rather a favor! Not only that, according to Christianity, Jesus IS God, so how can God kill himself to appease himself?

#7: Atonement

Jesus “paid” for our sins? Even assuming we are unworthy of God’s love, can anyone other than ourselves accept moral responsible for what we are have done? It is a foundation of Christianity, yet morally corrupt. Even our legal system does not allow the substitution of guilt. We can pay the monetary debt for someone else, but never the criminal guilt. Why not? Because it doesn’t make moral sense.

#6: Guilt

We should not be guilty for Adam and Eve’s sin. The Bible itself says that children should not pay the price for their parents sins, yet condemns us for something that Eve did 5000 years ago. Not only that, but at the time Eve committed this ultimate sin, she didn’t even know the difference between right and wrong! Yet if you are a bible believing woman, the very reason that you have child-bearing pain is because of what an innocent Eve did in the Garden of Eden. And because Adam and Eve were tricked by a talking snake, we are all pieces of crap unworthy of God’s love. Absurd.

#5: Salvation

The concept of salvation is nonsensical. Salvation from what? The hideous Hell that the god of the bible himself created? The life that the Bible tells you will end unless you are saved? The Bible saves us from fates of its own creation!

#4: Science

The bible is totally absurd from a scientific point of view. Genesis is a contradictory mess for a reasonable explanation of how the universe was formed. It reflects precisely what was believed by man at the time and shows not even a hint of divine guidance in this area. The earth is flat and held up by 4 pillars. Earth and heaven are separated by a “firmament” with water stored above, and little points of light that are so small they can fall to earth. This is what man believed, not what God knew. God's Word? Hardly.

#3: History

Throughout history, religions have done horrible things to good people, and Christianity is as guilty as any of them. Christian intolerance and the hideous examples in the bible of what god has done to the Un-chosen, has been the fuel for killing millions throughout history, and it continues to this very day. Even our own country, under the guidance of a “Christian” president has invaded a non-threatening nation and killed thousands of innocent people under the proclaimed guidance of God.

#2: Intolerance

Christianity’s intolerance of other beliefs makes it unworthy of my adherence to it. Often quoted to me: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but through me". To a Christian, this is a loving thing to say, but to an non or ex-Christian it is a nearly unforgivable insult. You might as well say “Unless you believe what I do, God does not want you in his presence”. It is hard for me to imagine a greater damnation. Two thirds of the World’s population will never accept Jesus as their savior (with very good reason I might add), and per Christian beliefs they will be spending eternity roasting in Hell. On this reason alone, I can never again call myself a Christian.

#1: Hell

Hell is the most inhumane, cruel, and immoral place ever imagined by anyone. Ever. Stalin, Hitler, Saddam, you name it, were saints compared to any creator of such a place. A loving god would be totally incapable of thinking of such a place, let alone creating it or sending even one of the creatures he created there. It’s existence, and the Christian belief that god will send the majority of humanity there, is irrefutably a major part of the Bible’s message. On this reason alone, I toss the bible out. Doesn’t mean I toss out Jesus or God, but the bible becomes nothing more than something written by man and does not reflect God’s true nature.

Quote of the Day

"I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence." —Bobby Henderson

Quote of the Day

“. . . In all parts of our globe, fanatics have cut each other's throats, publicly burnt each other, committed without a scruple and even as a duty, the greatest crimes, and shed torrents of blood.

. . .Savage and furious nations, perpetually at war, adore, under divers names, some God, conformable to their ideas, that is to say, cruel, carnivorous, selfish, blood-thirsty. We find, in all the religions, 'a God of armies,' a 'jealous God,' an 'avenging God,' a 'destroying God,' a 'God,' who is pleased with carnage, and whom his worshippers consider it a duty to serve. Lambs, bulls, children, men, and women, are sacrificed to him. Zealous servants of this barbarous God think themselves obliged even to offer up themselves as a sacrifice to him. Madmen may everywhere be seen, who, after meditating upon their terrible God, imagine that to please him they must inflict on themselves, the most exquisite torments. The gloomy ideas formed of the deity, far from consoling them, have every where disquieted their minds, and prejudiced follies destructive to happiness.

How could the human mind progress, while tormented with frightful phantoms, and guided by men, interested in perpetuating its ignorance and fears? Man has been forced to vegetate in his primitive stupidity: he has been taught stories about invisible powers upon whom his happiness was supposed to depend. Occupied solely by his fears, and by unintelligible reveries, he has always been at the mercy of priests, who have reserved to themselves the right of thinking for him, and of directing his actions.”

-- Baron d'Holbach, Common Sense, 1772

USA founded on Christianity?

A coworker was lamenting about how Target or someone was calling "Christmas trees" "Holiday Trees" or somesuch out of pressure from non-Christian groups. He went on to say that we have let too many Muslims into this country and that this country was founded by Christians. I normally have a "no religious or political discussions at work" policy, but I had to challenge him on his last point at least.

Do you think this country was founded by and/or for Christians? If you do, I would love to know on what you base that belief.

In the meantime, I have a challenge for you. Find "God", "Jesus", "Christianity", "religion", or any form of these words, in the Constitution of The United States. Hint: "religious" is in the Constitution once, and in the Amendments once as well. Homework assignment: Find where they are used, and quote the sentence they are used in.

Here's a link to The Constitution: http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html

PS I'm sure you'll be excited to find a date referrence of "the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord". Extra credit: If you find this an endorsement of Christianity, do a little research into where the names of the week come from and report back.

A Sucker Re-Born Every Minute

Check out this website:

http://www.gentlewindproject.org/

Soak it in for a bit. Check out the products, the descriptions of how they work. Realize that this is a multi-million dollar tax-free organization. Then check out this website:

http://www.windofchanges.org/

Amazing.

I am coming to the conclusion that the human brain has evolved to such a complex level that it is almost unable to function. Kind of like Windoze. How can people buy into this crap? Oh wait, I used to be a Christian. Never mind.

PS A functional knowledge of "The Placebo Effect" is very helpful, not only when going to sites such as this one, but life in general. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_effect

Questions for Christians, Part Trois

Nothing confirms my feelings about Christianity more than the fact that my basic questions about it go ignored.

In "Questions for Christians, Part Deux", I made an open and honest request for any Christian to explain in secular terms their relationship with Jesus. Not a single taker. I figured maybe someone would at least try it anonymously, where there would be no risk at all, but nooooo.

I love questions that address religion on the most basic level. It’s easy to get a Christian to try to explain such a complex concept as, say, the trinity. But try to get them to explain the very basics, such as a description of what their relationship with Jesus is actually like. I mean, the whole basis of Christianity is that you give yourself to Jesus. Jesus will be your soul mate, your buddy, to be by your side and help you through your difficult journey through life. Yet not one person will explain how this very basis of Christianity actually works. And in the case of Part Deux, I tried to simplify it as much as possible by asking for the simple differences between their relationship with Jesus and a child’s imaginary friend. Seems simple enough. Or is it?

I’ll try it again. This time, rather than a child’s imaginary friend, the scenario will be a demented thug. Bear with me…

Imagine yourself walking along a country road. You are enjoying life, the beautiful scenery, the smell of trees and flowers, and you are minding your own business. Life is good. Then you notice a man has come out from the shadows. He walks up besides you and says hello. You are bit wary, but he looks kind enough, so you say hello back. He puts his arm around your shoulders. You’re very uncomfortable now and you’re not sure quite what to do. You push his arm from your shoulder and tell the man that you would just as soon be by yourself enjoying nature. He looks straight into your eyes, reaches into his coat, and pulls out a handgun. He presses the barrel to your temple and says " As long as you do as I say, I will save you, but if you don’t, I will pull the trigger. It’s your choice."

I’m sure you’ve figured out that this story is my analogy to Christianity. If you are a Christian, I assume you will consider it absurd. Well, that should then make answering a basic question very easy for you then. So tell me, what are the flaws in this analogy?

I’ll be waiting.

Just for Kids...

Okay, people, I’m pissed off about Christianity again today.

For commuting entertainment, if Howard Stern isn’t on the radio, I’ll sometimes jump over to a Christian radio station. From the sublime to the ridiculous. Or is it the ridiculous to the sublime? You decide.

In either case, there’s plenty to choose from here in the Bible Belt.

Anyway, on the drive to work this morning (Saturday, about 8:00 am), no Howard, so I switched the radio to Bank #2. NPR was, sorry, just too dull for someone half-asleep, so I checked out the God Stations. I found this slick, catchy, Christian radio show geared for kids. Kind of like Radio Disney with God. A song was playing which was a weird combination of Brittney/Christina/Hillary type crapola, but with lyrics about what a great friend Jesus is. Lot’s of bass. The song ended, and some sugary DJ came on, all upbeat, perky, and to me terribly condescending, but then I’m 50. (I’m 50! I can kick, stretch, and kick!) He makes a perky enthusiastic reference to needhim.org. I went back to NPR.

Okay, nothing earth shaking here, so what am I pissed about? Go to http://www.needhim.org/ and click on the link "Kids, here’s something just for you…" and browse through the presentation. Come back and see if you can guess…

Okay, I don’t really expect any responses, at least from Christians, since this is really my own private personal blog/diary thing for some kind of weird personally-imposed therapy, but I’ll act like people really do care about what I say and come here. I’ll wait a day or two, and if I’m still pissed, carry on…