From our friends at AU:
The Rev. Jerry Falwell and his Religious Right cohorts have been complaining for weeks now about government agencies and store clerks saying ?Happy Holidays? instead of ?Merry Christmas? but it looks like Falwell forgot to tell President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and the Republican National Committee about the preferred religiously correct greeting.The White House?s 2005 holiday card is just out, and it doesn?t mention the word ?Christmas? once.The card, mailed under the auspices of the Republican National Committee and signed by the president and his wife, reads, ?With best wishes for a holiday season of hope and happiness 2005.? It also includes a passage from the Old Testament Book of Psalms.The front cover is an artist?s rendition of the White House and grounds covered with snow while the presidential pets, two dogs and a cat, frolic on the lawn. It contains no religious symbolism.
There will be a lot of talk about Xmas this year, but now we have GW on our side, doing the ungodly — saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Xmas”. Fallwell must hate that.So must Hannity and O’Reilly. We at American Atheists get a lot of calls from conservative talk shows during this season, mostly complaining about Xmas vs Holiday, completely ignoring the bigger issues. Sometimes, the issues are so silly we turn down the interview.I remember last year I did Hannity and Colmes about some mall in Florida calling their Easter Bunny the “Garden Bunny”. Not my idea, not our issue, but it certainly seemed like it on the show!I understand the need to remain topical, but come on folks, we need to worry about important things. Xmas v. Holiday is a small symptom of a major problem — the forced Christianization of America. Let’s work the cause, not the symptom.
Hey, I know exactly what you mean.
I’ve been an athiest all my life, or at least I stopped believing in God as soon as I stopped believing in fairy tales. I have real fear for our country. I find very little difference between the radical Islamists who blow people up for a free ticket to heaven and Pat Robertson, and his buddies, who think it’s okay for God to order “his” henchmen to kill a foreign leader or condem a whole city to “hell” because they disagree with him. The next stop is a theocracy and another inquisition. I bet they could find even newer ways to torture someone that even the Spanish would have envied.
Another thing I find disturbing concerns the media, specifically The Historey Channel and it’s many minions. I happen to like that channel, as well as Discovery and all the others, but they have become so one sided when it come to the bible and it’s history as well the the “history” the book portrays. I really don’t care that some people agree ot disagree but there is NEVER a disenting voice when it comes to this topic. A couple of people may disagree about the meaning of something but there is NEVER anyonme on who actually disagrees with the the whole premis of God, who can give an alternate explanation to all this. I have lost “faith” in our ability to plug the dike. EVERYONE in our country should have the right to voice their opinion in ANY subject but it seems athieism is either excluded from that right or we are too afraid to defend our position.
Hope the typos don’t bother too many people. am old and senile. So decress the Federal Government.
wow just checking up after a few days only at the project ptersaurs part i love to hate there web site did any one else click on the for kids part its funny and sickening at the same time
reluctantatheist:
New Orleans
Calgary.
As I told karen, many, were friendly and welcoming, but there were also many who, upon learning I was an American, were openly rude. I had several teachers who were, at times, quite hostile towards me. Virtually all the friends I made there admitted, when confronted, to having some degree of anti-American sentiments. One incident I?ll never forget was when I was walking along, minding my own business in a shopping center, and could hear two people I?d never seen before speaking to one another as they approached. I heard the one speaking say, ?they?re all such pigs, geeze I hate ?em.? He then made eye-contact with me and blurted out, ?hey, are you a Yank?? Being caught off guard, I naturally responded with ?yes,? to which he yelled, ?HA! YOU STINK!? Call me paranoid, but in the other 43 years of living back here in the states, I?ve never encountered or heard of such an encounter of an American accosting a total stranger in order to vent his blind rage towards a Canadian.
I was responding to your labeling of me:
Obviously, if you regard me as ultra-conservative, then I regard you as ultra-liberal.
jcc:
Whatever happened to ’sticks & stones’?
Sorry, it’s just that whenever someone voices an opinion that remotely sounds xenophobic, 99% of the time it’s from an ultra-conservative.
True enough, but I recall when the 9/11 attacks occurred, some bloody-minded zealot shot a Mexican worker because he worked for a middle-eastern gas station owner. When arrested, as I understand it, the shooter kept chanting ‘USA all the way!’
& there ARE cases (not involving Canadians, of course) that are documented, of xenophobic attacks by Americans.
I realize you’re not being inclusive (or exclusive): just pointing it out.
People is people, is all.
That’s fairly amusing, it is. Never been, but NL IS almost a country unto itself.
So’s Berkeley, come to think of it.
How far along is your wife, BTW?
reluctantatheist:
Stating:
can be considered xenophobic??you?ve baffled me on that one. Seems to me like you?ve pretty much stereotyped me since you keep using those ?-phobia? words to describe me.
It?s no exaggeration; it is (or was, unfortunately) utterly unlike any other American city.
Are you confusing me with someone else here?
hey jcc,
just seeing if anything I wrote made any sense to you.
JC:
That?s up there with being one of the biggest non-sequiturs I read here. On what basis do you make that distinction?
spanders:
Yes, you were next in my queue. Give me a bit more time to gather my thoughts…
That’s why I prefer discussing on a blog rather than in real time. I find it’s a better way to express one’s opinions in a thoughtful way having the time to organize one’s thoughts. I wish I could have turned many a family gathering into a blog back and forth. I would have gotten less kicks under the table.
jcc:
I know you’re under fire here (it seems that Phreddy & Tim have dropped off somewhere), but I did qualify the statement w/ ’sounds’ & ‘remotely’. Not to mention that I used the word ’sorry’.
As a rule, statements like that usually precede invective against a particular country/foreigners. Again, apologies for any misunderstandings, stereotyping, etc, etc.
Also, thought you mentioned a sonogram done on your wife, in 1 of the earlier (much earlier) posts, during an abortion discussion. Again, sorry. Memory is shot to hell.
Oh, and I do have to say I LOVE the screen name of Gently. There’s a lot of great screen names here, but this one strikes a chord for me. Something to aspire to maybe. Welcome Gently. Great name.
Spanders:
In my opinion, choosing one to stop the other makes plenty of sense. And as a note, Canada has come close to civil war a few times. French Quebec has wanted to secede for decades?and it hasn?t always been a peaceful disagreement.
The Legitimization of homosexual marriage will send our society down a steep, slippery slope of which climbing back up would be next to impossible to do. If the sanctity of one man, one woman marriage is no longer honored, then what kind of arrangements will we say no to?
I?m running short of time right now, so I?ll have to continue addressing the rest of your points sometime tomorrow.
That’s easy. Anything that doesn’t involve consenting adults. Any arrangement that does not only involve consenting adults would an abuse of power and a violation personal liberty.
Sorry to interject. I’m sure Spanders will have a somewhat different answer.
Thanks JCC. While you’re getting back to me…
Why? Why do you deem this as being the one thing that will send out society spriraling down? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the sanctity of marriage seems to be slipping away even without allowing gay marriage. Do you think Britney Spear’s few day marriage fell apart because of homosexuals? That sanctity of marriage seems to be more affected by monetary issues than gay marriage. More and more people live together before getting married, from what I’ve seen, instead of getting married not because of homosexuality, but because of either monetary issues (people don’t want to commit to the financial partnership) or because of the high rate of divorce they’ve experienced or seen with their parents. Why is the divorce rate so high? I’d suggest another reason is that women are becoming more financially independant. They never used to get divorced because they relied on their husbands for money. Not so anymore.
The argument I’ve heard before is: “if we let gays get married, how do we know they really love each other and they’re not simply doing it for the benefits” (universal health care will do away with this issue – and how do we know that men and women don’t do this?) or “if we redefine marriage, why not allow a man to marry multiple women?” (this of course, is allowed in the Bible). The Bible is not really clear on what the sanctity of marriage is. Multiple partners seems to be fine, but in modern day America, we say it’s not. Soooooo…. this is based on what? We, as a culture, make rules about what is acceptable and what is not. Let’s stop pretending it’s based on the Bible and is absolutely right. We only enforce 2 of 10 commandments (don’t kill, don’t steal and don’t bear false witness only if you’re in court, but not if you’re an oil exec)
We make decisions about what’s right and wrong all the time without unravelling society. My opinion is that two consenting adults should be allowed to get married. The government should provide a civil union and churches can decide on whether or not they can get married. It’s a free market approach. While I wasn’t around in the 50’s and 60’s, wasn’t there a similar idea if we allowed blacks and whites to get married our culture would collapse into chaos?
Thanks spanders. Sorry about the typos, typing is obviously not my forte. Will do bedtter next time. Keep the “faith!”
While we’re on the topic of gay marriage,
I would really like to know jcc’s (and everyone else’s) opinions of the plight of intersexuals (people born with both male and female characteristics.) Should these folks be allowed to marry? Must they first have their bodies mutilated in order to conform to society’s fallacious two-gender standard? (scientists tell us there are really at least five different sexes.) I imagine that in ‘biblical times’ this wasn’t such a problem, as intersexual babies were promptly sent back to heaven as soon as their nonconformity became apparent. Should we just do the same today? After all, there doesn’t seem to be a place for them in either ‘God’s kingdom’ or society as a whole.
Is it not possible, given that physical intersexuality does occur, that homosexuality is really another form of intersexuality, albeit a more subtle form without chromosomal mutations? (This is just an idea I have – not from anything I’ve read in the science journals.) Could it be that human sexuality is infinitely more complex than we ever could’ve collectively imagined (because we’ve all been oppressed by religious and societal organizations since the dawn of civilization?)
I do have my suspicions.
Here’s some info on intersexuality:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersexual
r4d:
The actual term, I believe, is hermaphroditism.
Once having had an acquaintance who was born this way, I learned a thing or 2.
1st off, when a child is born w/both sets, the doctors usually wait a specific amount of time, until 1 set develops more fully than another, the lesser developed is subsequently…you get the picture.
2ndly, HP’s (& genetic sports, to use an indelicate, un-PC term, sorry, sorry) are far more common than we realize. It’s not something most parents would bring up to anyone besides their pediatrician, is it? Interbreeding, hereditary inclination towards certain tendencies – but I’m no doctor, or geneticist, so I can only give the fringes of the condition.
3rdly (this is hearsay only), if said HP’s reach adulthood, it IS possible to impregnate 1self (I’ll not go into details – I’ll be surprised if this post goes thru, given the content).
Just came to me on this post: what if this is a clue to the Immaculate conception? Speculation only.
I believe I recall at least 1 (greek/macedonian) HP – a Delphan oracle? Don’t recall offhand – may’ve been Roman.
Ancient Taoists actually believed that such people were divine – symbolic of the Tao made flesh – part yin, part yang.
But you bring up an excellent point: these people, DISTINCTLY minorities (that we know of), who’re they going to marry?
This thread going to grow immensely, I think.
That is no longer an excepted scientific term. Plus, there are many more varieties of intersexuality than what was once commonly referred to as ‘hermaphroditism.’
Here are a few other resources:
http://intersexinitiative.org/
http://www.sexuality.org/l/transgen/intvoca.html
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-75995
http://www.mindfully.org/Health/Intersexuality-Data.htm
We shall see. I consider this issue to be the metaphorical elephant sitting in the church pew. This is something that most fundamentalist theists will not touch or even want to think about, for it opens up a Pandora’s Box that threatens to rip apart virtually every modern argument against secularism. It totally destroys the whole ‘One Man One Woman’ mantra while at the same time makes their mythical ‘intelligent designer’ look more like a heartless madman with a cruel sense of irony than any sort of ‘Man with a Plan.’ Add to this the fact that homosexuality is found in almost every species of mammal (as well as many birds and insects ) and that sexual monogamy is virtually non-existent anywhere in the animal kingdom, even in those species that supposedly ‘mate for life’ (news bulletin, folks – they fool around on each other,) the fundamentalist is left with no choice but to completely abandon the entire “IT GOES AGAINST NATURE” argument.
Facts are facts. The evidence is impossible to ignore. Nature isn’t listening to YHWH’s laws.
Wow, I’m going to hold off on my reply to jcc to wait for his answer on hemaphrodites.
I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed to marry. If they can find someone who is going to love and accept their condition, more power to both of them!
Comment from: jcc [Member]
“And as a note, Canada has come close to civil war a few times. French Quebec has wanted to secede for decades?and it hasn?t always been a peaceful disagreement.”
And your info comes from…?
History lesson:
It is true that Qu?bec wants to seceede, and has a good chance at sucess comes next provincial election, but everything is done democratically.
It’s not a matter of civil war, but rather a divorce asked by a province forced to marry a conquering force.
We don’t bomb each other like the The Basque did in Spain.
Bombs were laids in 1970 but those bombs were laid by the Royal Canadian Mounted Piloce, at Ottawa’s orders, to discredit the Quebec liberation front. Then prime minister also sent the army in montreal as a tactic to scare people into liking Canada. Didn’t work.
The last time people in Qu?bec started a rebelion was in 1837.
jcc said”Yep, I guess that?s why they?re the states where the population is shifting to, where the fastest economic growth is occurring and where the standard of living is increasing the fastest. Real tolerant of you to refer to them as such?”
Jcc, my question to you is…Do you think that because people on the South border will work for very low wages is why the Southern economy is growing so well? Do you also think that because corporate executives make the rules in a company that many union jobs up north are being dispursed to lower wage areas with no unions overseas and to the South?
The worker’s rights mentality is very different where I was born, Illinois to where I live now, Texas.
just in looking at the posts, I think it might be wise for me to rephrase some of my questions. I think it’s really hard to be in a minority opinion position. While, as a theist, I am in the minority here, it’s easier for me as I have socially liberal views. Let me see if I can change my tenor a bit.
Okay, JCC, in an effort to understand your point of view, what is important to you and why? I ask in all sincerity. I find that when one understands a point of view, even if you don’t agree, you can at least see where the person is coming from and why. I find this helps conversations from devolving into diatribes. We can back track a little and then move forward.
TXatheist:
No, I don?t. It?s a combination of the overall lower cost of doing business in the ?red? states along with their offering a far more business friendly environment than the ?blue? states.
If I were running a company, I know I?d be looking for the cheapest way to do business.
spanders:
Sorry for taking so long to get back to this; in addition to having been a very busy day today, I?ve also been reconsidering whether or not delving further into the topic of abortion would really accomplish anything. I got very deep into it on another thread a few weeks ago and I?m not sure what it would accomplish by repeating myself. But if you?d like to, say the word.
Simply put, it?s the truth that holds the highest value for me. I know that?s a very terse response, but it?s always the bottom line objective for me on any train of thought. Like I said, if you want to discuss a specific topic, say the word.
jcc,
Your thoughts on hemaphrodites?
Hey JCC,
if you care to repeat yourself, I don’t mind discussing abortion, or much else. It gives me an opportunity to sharpen my thought process. It also gives me the ability to work on my listening skills. I think I’ve been pretty clear about my position on abortion and universal health care. To summarize, I find that there is an assumption about when life begins that cannot be justified to the point where we can enforce policies on others. I think that universal health care would solve a number of problems and find that while the US has potential for great health care, it’s only if you have good benefits do you gain access. Our health care system stymies small businesses and has far reaching implications for US corporations who need to carry the burdon of providing healthcare for retirees, especially with the advent of the baby boomers retiring. Tell me where my logic is faulty.
r4d:
Wow. News to me. Need to get out more. Maybe a few examples?
For instance, I know snails are intersexual, so each 1 is capable of reproducing or being fertilized.
Gay birds? Insects?
Could do a variant on Bennet’s song.
‘Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.’ Etc, etc.
Still awaiting jcc’s commentary here.
Those would’ve been good points to bring up when ole demagogue Timmy was flailing around.
Let’s lay in wait, shall we?
Funny you should say that. Check this out:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0722_040722_gayanimal.html
reluctant, I wouldn’t have believed if I didn’t see it, but I have seen my in-laws ducks (both females) go at it. The irony is that my father-in-law, whose son is gay, thinks that people decide to be gay. Don’t get me wrong, I think my father-in-law is a really nice guy and is really loving, but we definately disagree on the whole gay thing. He never really did say anything when his two ducks were going at it. I knew that I shouldn’t press him on the issue. I wanted to, but I love and respect him and didn’t want to beat up on him in a vulnerable moment.
Jcc,
Here’s my opinion of the South and the vibrant economy.
jcc said:No, I don?t. It?s a combination of the overall lower cost of doing business in the ?red? states along with their offering a far more business friendly environment than the ?blue? states.
TX:The anti-union mentality of the south is another way of saying legalized slavery. The construction workers are day laborers. They will bust their butt on a hot roof or digging ditches because few speak english, have a college education and many are not here legally. They can’t stand up for workers rights when they face deportation.
Jcc said:If I were running a company, I know I?d be looking for the cheapest way to do business.
TX:And that includes outsourcing the executive jobs? I mean some college educated man in China will work for a 1/100 of what we pay the CEO of Halliburton or Exxon. In my opinion the South has simply changed from forced black slavery to legalized Mexican explotation. China has no workers rights just like the “right to work”(non-union) state mentality in Texas.
I actually have started my own business in a red state. Here’s what I find frustrating: large corporations are given tax advantages to come to the state while small companies like mine that actually pay taxes get no incentive. Because the state gives incentives to large companies to come and hire more people, small companies have to pick up the tab. This is blue or red states, which is kind of a crazy labeling system in my mind.
JCC, what I’ve found is that it’s not the cheapest way to start a business, but the most efficient. I spend more money on more qualified people. In addition, I’ve found people who need work and have spent time training them transferable skills. One woman who helps me was unemployed and now she does 3-d renderings for me as well as being a key person helping me get things done. I think it’s the mentality of unbridled capatalism that bothers me. It’s that making as high of a profit no matter the cost mentality that doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not suggesting this is what you think, just what I’ve interpreted from information I’ve read/seen/listened to from my news sources. I probably could have made more money faster, but I’m slowly building the business WITH the people I’m working with rather than ON them.
Another thing that has confused me is this ardent defense of capatalism like it’s some sort of religion, especially when Christians do it. Capatalism runs in conflit to what Jesus teaches. Capatalism doesn’t work well when a man doesn’t need to buy a coat because I gave him one.
Comment from: spanders [Member]
“reluctant, I wouldn’t have believed if I didn’t see it, but I have seen my in-laws ducks (both females) go at it. “
During the famous ice storm about 10 years ago, about 25 family members were crammed into my aunt’s 5 1/2 condo that still had power. 3 dogs were present, 2 males and 1 female. Both males never seemed to notice the female but spent their time humping each other as well as cleaning each other’s nether region. A VERY thorough cleaning.
I Guess gay dogs exist!
I know what you mean. At the same time though, the blog appears to be moving on so we’ll probably just have to wait till next time. You can bet that these issues will pop up again – they always do.
Then again, I’ve never once gotten a response after bringing up the issue of intersexuality. Like I stated before, most people don’t even want to think about it (and I’m not just talking about fundamentalist christians.) It’s kinda sad, really.
you know, I get frustrated when I put some time into serious thought and I don’t get a response. I only seem to get a limited response from phreedm, tim and JCC, but JCC has to be the best so far. Oh well… maybe next time.
Rainbow, I saw a tv program that interviewd intersexuals.
All of them, although born with 2 sexes, felt like one or the other inside.
One had the penis removed by a doctor a few days after birth and was raised as a woman. She always felt wrong, like she was supposed to have been a man. When she told this to her parents they told her the truth.
The doctor’s (both medical dr and psychiatric dr were poled) opinion seemed to be that although having 2 sexes can be a traumatic experience growing up, you should let the kid decide at puberty what he wants to do with their body instead of imposing it at birth. You don’t know if the baby will feel like a man, woman, or both!
sword_strike,
This may sound a bit radical, but my feeling is this:
Barring any life threatening or painful complications, they shouldn’t have to choose one ’sex’ or the other. They are their own ’sex.’ I think we should just learn to accept the various types of intersexuals as their own gender. Certainly not an overnight solution, but why do we feel compelled to ask them to choose? Because we would rather make our own reality than face actual reality
A couple of years ago while visiting my sister I was walking around the Castro district in SF. At one point I was waiting to use the bathroom in a coffee shop – me and this other guy were waiting for the men’s room when this girl comes out of the women’s room. I was next in line but I didn’t move. The guy behind me just shrugged his shoulders and went right into the women’s room. That got me thinking. Why was I so hesitant to use the women’s room? How much of our gender and sexual issues are a result of gender segregation? (I know that’s a bit of a leap, but that’s kinda the way I think – in leaps.) Could it be that a lot of the problems people have with homosexuality can be traced back to the fact that we have segregated bathrooms? (Another crazy leap, I know.) And is this really, when it comes right down to it, why doctors still feel compelled to try and ‘correct’ intersexuality (even though there’s no way you can alter someone’s chromosomes?) Could it all be about public restroom anxiety (in a metaphorical sort of way?)
I’ve notice that jcc shuts down and does not respond to some things. He generally has a counter point for most arguments you can bring against theism. However, some things just don’t seem defensible in line with his belief/faith. Intersexuality seems to be one of these things. I can only imagine that he tries grappling with these things within his own mind.
Spanders, how do people born with defects and/or dual gender fit in with your belief in an intelligent all-powerful supernatural being?
rainbows, I agree with your statements.
People born with 2 sexes shouldn HAVE to choose, but by deciding for them at birth the right to choose os removed from them. The “or both” part in my closing has the same point you made. If they want to remain as they were born, who are we to force anything?
About bathrooms, I agree with you but I don’t think that’s about to change, even if the show “Ally McBeal” featured unisex bathrooms.
Girls want to go to the bathroom all at once to “refresh their makeup”.
Both guys and girls out on a date wouldn’t want their company hearing embarassing biological noises…
I don’t think public restrooms are about to change anytime soon!
sword_strike,
What about a girl who is out on a date with another girl? Or a boy with a boy? I think thoughts like that drive some people a little crazy. (like: “what if some ‘fag’ checks me out at the public rest stop?”)
I guess what I was really getting at is this: How much is our society’s sexual schizophrenia (that’s all we talk about but don’t you dare do it) due to the suppression and segregation of a natural aspect of humanity that we should all be comfortable with because it’s natural? Maybe a little desensitizing is what’s in order. Everyone poops. Everyone pees. Who gives a shit? (that time the pun wasn’t intended)
JC
You know, I don’t really think about it much, so it’s a good question. We have a transgender choir that comes and sings at our church every Christmas, so I think that’s about as close as I come. Like most things, I try to be pretty open minded about whatever works for other people. I try to be more interested in who the person is rather than the body parts.
As far as how does it relate to god, hey, just another part of creation. As you might guess, I’m not really strong in the science area and I don’t have really strong convictions about any ideas of creation. That’s better left to smarter people. If you were to really pin me down I would tell you that I believe in evolution, but I believe that god is behind it. Fairly random belief, but there it is.
“What about a girl who is out on a date with another girl? Or a boy with a boy? I think thoughts like that drive some people a little crazy. (like: “what if some ‘fag’ checks me out at the public rest stop?”) “
You know, I didn’t even think about that one!
What if “some fag” checks you out? I wonder what happened to a simple “Do you mind?” if you’re not interested…
“guess what I was really getting at is this: How much is our society’s sexual schizophrenia (that’s all we talk about but don’t you dare do it) due to the suppression and segregation of a natural aspect of humanity that we should all be comfortable with because it’s natural? Maybe a little desensitizing is what’s in order. “
Couldn’t agree more!
Spanders,
Thanks for the answer. I don’t need to point to hard scientific facts to get an idea of your line of thinking. From what I’ve seen of your posts I regard your level of intelligence as very high. So, as an intelligent individual how do you rationalize a god that has our best interests at heart, so to speak, with birth defects/deformities/dual gender? Surely, this factual occurence can be much more easily understood from an atheistic viewpoint as a process gone wrong which has no external omnipotent hand guiding it, right? In other words, if you believe that god does exist, and has the ability to make things come out any way he chooses, can you hazard a guess as to why he would let births/evolution run amok/unchecked? Surely, every soul is precious?
LOL yeah it’s one of those ideas that tosses us right out of our comfort zones. I never thought about it until I found myself in the middle of the Castro experiencing one nice dramatic push into an alternate universe of sexual ambiguity. Even though I’m probably about as straight as they come (so far,) I found this experience quite liberating.
Experiences like that can force you to think in a rather socratic manner – challenging all our conventions and recognizing the imperfections. I don’t pretend to know all the answers, but I certainly don’t mind asking the questions.
Hey JC,
your question, I think, is along the lines of why do bad things happen? It’s a question that I don’t have a real good answer to. With that said, I don’t rely on the answer to choose a belief of Christianity.
My mother has been a christian her whole life, but when my father died last year she has been eluding to she doesn’t believe in god anymore. I find that fairly traumatic events can cause a person to have pretty significant shifts in their beliefs. I find that the more I open my mind the more I find that I’m satisfied with my beliefs. Sounds odd, doesn’t it? I think it has to do with my interpretation of a sublime message of caring and loving. One of the things I find interesting about this board is many of the people’s ability to reason their way to a belief (atheism), which is harder to do than what I do. I have a lot of respect for that ability. It’s not that I don’t have the ability to reason… I think it’s more about the way I choose to see the world.
Spanders,
Fair enough.
Hi! First time on blog so be kind!
I don’t think that it is Christianity or religion that is “the” problem. The problem is irrationality. Too often, of course, that expresses itself in adherence to traditional teachings. Whatever one is taught as a child tends to have a firm hold on a individual even when reason contradicts this. Witness the holiday of Christmas. So many celebrate it, but how many are actually even remember the purpose of that day. Ah, Tradition! Remember Archie Bunker admonishing The Meathead to put on both his socks before his shoes, and becoming upset because the Michael always put on one sock and then one shoe? Irrational. But to Archie, a symbol of the world run “right”.
I have read http://www.atheists.org/visitors.center/because.html and I agree with every word. Yet what am I? I was a Catholic until 18 when I declared everything I had held true as proven false. An atheist for 17 years thereafter. A theist after an important revelation. What does it matter what I think or feel- my mind and heart is mine alone. I need not label it, especially for another. What I do know is that everyone has the right to inquire, conclude, express anything that makes him or her feel better as long as that doesn’t force another to follow suit.
But today, too many people are trying to require other people tO follow suit. Well, it was that way for centuries, but I though we would have crawled out of the oceans by now.
Drdadamo,
Welcome to the jungle! We offer quicksand, man-eating predators of all kinds, humans who like to shoot humans, flesh-eating viruses and tourists with cameras!
I agree with you on the irrationality point. Is it a condition of brain physiology that once a powerful idea is carved into our neurons it?s almost impossible to dislodge it, no matter how crazy it is? This thought occupies me a bit. How do we pull out of institutionalized madness? The fundamentalist islamists are a terrifying and relevant example. The xtians want to debate what kind of cheese it is that the moon is made of: is it cheddar?, or brie?, no, I?m certain it?s bleu. I?m positive. I have faith.
God’s Girl:
Ummm…no it’s not. It’s a religious spoof site, http://www.landoverbaptist.org/
You should really do some research before pontificating.