SOCAS High School Hero Jessica Ahlquist Threatened and Harassed by Christians

I've read the first five books of the bible in their entirety. I assure you that if you do not think that the bible is full of violence, genocide, and cruelty, you have not opened the bible to page 1. Start with the old testament.

If you want to see what the bible looks like when cherry picked for the violence instead of the peaceful stuff you've cherry picked from it, check out an old post of mine entitled, "Thou Shalt Kill." If that doesn't convince you that the bible mandates killing and violence, then you are truly deluding yourself.

http://misanthropicscott.wordpress.com/2007/10/19/thou-shalt-kill/

Of course, some good has been done in the name of religion. However, the net effect of religion when you weigh the positive and negative has been horrifically deleterious to humanity, as evidenced by the large number of deleted humans.

So, if you prefer to remain deluded, that's fine. Just don't come to atheist sites claiming that the bible is peaceful. It isn't.

At best the bible is ambiguous about violence. At worst, it mandates it. Clinic bombings, doctor shootings, and anti-gay violence are all recent and direct results of Christianity. If you add the other sects of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religion (deliberately singular), the picture only gets worse.

Akang, how do you rebuke those of us who have read the entire bible and still feel it is the most despicable thing ever written? I spent several yrs reading, studying and discussing this piece of garbage with a protestant evangelical bible study group trying to spread the good news to me and convert me to their cult. Nevermind that I was a catholic and had been exposed to all of this nonsense since I was a child. My brand of christianity was not proper for them.

I thank them for this however, because that was the first time in my life that I actually read the bible, delved into the stories told as a kid and marveled at the fact that I ever for a minute; believed a single, evil word of this myth. The truth indeed will set you free, and reading, discussing and learning how ridiculous the myths of the bible are once studied at the age of reason had set me free from hatred, bigotry and evil.

Give it a try sometime akang. We are here with open arms!

akang,

First, you said, "Jesus is not dead." Therefore, to say that Jesus died for our sins is a lie.

And, you confirmed exactly what I said about the trinity. So, I did understand the term.

Second, that the lamb of god died for our sins is a direct and obvious continuation of a train of thought that started with the old testament's sacrifices of scapegoats. It is true that Christians do not sacrifice animals anymore because Jesus was the last lamb to be sacrificed. But, the idea that sacrifice of another can absolve one of their sins is an old testament concept. And, it is inherently flawed. There is simply no logic by which the death of one can absolve another. It made no sense in the old testament; it makes no sense in the new. It is a logical fallacy.

Third, it is not true that everyone sins. That is only a true statement by Christian standards because of original sin. For those of us who do not believe it to be a sin to be born, it is very possible that someone has done no deliberate harm to anyone else and is therefore not a sinner. Not all mistakes are sins.

You still include me in your list of sinners. I still find that insulting.

I respect that you come to an atheist site for a relatively respectful discourse. However, the fact that you are here does not mean that is why you came. It is simply true in your case. The number of Christians trolling atheist sites with no respect at all and just vitriol, hellfire, and damnation is a very large number.

Thank you for not being in that group. But, if you want to be truly respectful, you must first stop calling me a sinner.

Further, I'd rather you didn't try to tell me that God loves me. From what I have seen in my life, there are no gods. Further, wherever God's minions are and wherever they turn their attention, there is trouble.

I do, however, find it amusing that you note that God especially loves atheists. It echoes a rather humorous atheist comic.

http://www.mrwiggleslovesyou.com/comics/rehab477.jpg

“Remember, it was the old testament they killed animals. Once Jesus Christ died for us, no more animals killed, so that’s long gone.”

So, your perfect and inerrant God devised a plan to blood sacrifice animals for his appeasement that apparently satisfied him for over 4,000 years and then one day, a light bulb goes off in his head and he says: “I have it, no more killing of animals!”? “All of this blood is making me squeamish; I need to end this for Christ’s sake.”

“A great being, more worthy than you people, loved you people, yes, even non-believers, that he sent his one and only son to dire for you.”

More worthy than you people? Yes master. Thank you, master. We are honored master that you would even consider speaking to us people master.

“My point I’m trying to bring home is that God sacrificed his son out of love for us. And yet, some refuse to acknowledge that, only pointing out the negative things.”

So your all powerful god out of love for us, creates a son to atone for all of our sins? Let me ask this: since the advent of Jesus, how is the world any different from the time before he was created? What has the anointed one brought us that we as humans did not have prior?
Did the son cure disease maybe, eradicate hunger maybe, eliminate poverty maybe, denounce slavery maybe, remove suffering maybe or destroy evil maybe? Let me help you here, the answer you are searching for is NO, NO, NO, NO, NO and NO!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh but you say, he will not do any of this until his second coming. Newsflash chief, the son announced in your inerrant bible that he was coming to do all of this a looooonnnng time ago. Some prophet huh?

“The Holy Spirit resides in every person, regardless of religious affiliation.”

Looking, looking… No not in here. Damn, I got shortchanged again by the almighty one.

“Jesus was crucified on the cross, he was brought to a tomb. There the Roman Soldiers drew a donkey-man being crucified on the cross on the tomb, symbolizing how stupid Jesus was to them.”

Please be so kind as to inform us where this tomb is would ya? The hundreds of archaeologists searching for this tomb sure could use your help.

“And you do not pray to Jesus, you pray to God.”

You sure about that chief? So the all of those televangelists we see praying to jay-sus are doing it wrong? Wow, someone should tell them. Can you take care of that for us?

“Remember, Jesus appeared to all his disciples at the same time. If you want to call it a mirage, that is absurd because 12 people cannot see the same mirage at the same time.”

Really, where did you learn that one chief? Was it from the 12 gospels of the disciples that are in your bible? Ooh, that is right, I do remember now; there are not 12 gospels from the disciples; only 4. And of those 4 only 2 are ascribed to a disciple. Ooh, and those 2 ascribed to the disciples have been determined by bible scholars to be written by others (says so right in the bible). Ouch, I am so sorry akang. That has to sting a little. Please try again.

“It is very nice talking to people other than Chrisitians. It allows me to be more open rather than in a closed shell”

Thanks again akang for coming down to talk to the people. I am happy you are able to get out of your closed shell and be more open with us heathens. That is comforting and reassuring to us people. (Note to self, ease up on the sarcasm.)

“Because I want the people, the world to know, that God loves you, even if you’re a rapist, robber, cheater, and especially an Atheist. <3”

‘God loves you, even if you’re a rapist, robber, cheater, and especially an Atheist.’ And God also loves you if you are a murderer, adulterer, pedophile and an abuser according to christianity.

But you must never, under any circumstance; not believe in jesus. For if you do; God will damn you to hell for ETERNITY.

Everything else is as you say “chill” with god. You are priceless akang. Thanks for sharing.

Gn:6:7

I stopped reading the bible because I no longer found it amusing and decided to spend my time reading more important things that actually have relevance in the world.

I do indeed recognize that there is good in the bible.

I mostly concentrate on the bad precisely because it gets largely ignored. If you want to see where I have concentrated on the good in the bible, check out this other old post of mine.

http://misanthropicscott.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/how-would-jesus-vote/

That should show you that I have some understanding of the new testament and how poorly most of Christ's minions follow his teachings.

And, there is a big difference between the bible and the Theory of Relativity. The bible makes no testable predictions. The bible has not one shred of evidence to support it.

Relativity, on the other hand, is one of our most tried and proven scientific theories. It predicted, among other things, stellar parallax (that light would bend around massive objects), that time would move more slowly in a moving vehicle like the space station, that gravitational frame dragging would occur (a test we have only recently had the precision instruments to confirm), and many other phenomena. That your GPS works is evidence of relativity since it takes the difference in the rate of the clocks in the satellites into account.

In short, General Relativity is falsifiable.

This means that it makes predictions which, if false, mean that the theory is false. The bible makes no such predictions. If you really wish to see the difference, simply tell me exactly what prediction the bible makes that, if false, would convince you that the bible is false.

Evolution makes falsifiable predictions.

Quantum Theory makes falsifiable predictions.

The bible makes none.

This is an important point. It should keep you from making future analogies between science and religion.

Akang; I must say you're a bit of comic relief.

In your statement to Mr. MisanthropicScott questioning his reading the other books, you then resort to name calling? Really?

Nice to see the real conjured face of you again old deceitful one.

Sorry, but the concept of Jesus is borrowed from the ancient Egyptian god, Horus.
" god spared the city, not
because he was nice, but
caring?"
Do you see the excuses
they make?
Thus far akang, you've
been a laughs riot!
And I think Mr. Scott tried
& succeeded in showing
your fruitless efforts in
scheming us.
So... you don't know
anything about the theory
of relativity?
May I suggest you read
something other than the
babble? I, I, mean, Bible?
Blasphemy!

Cerberus

Akang, why have faith in Christ but not Horus, Mithra, Dionysus, Osiris or Attis? All of these "godmen'" came long before Jesus and did the exact same things as Jesus allegedly did. They were all born of a virgin mother, all born on the winter solstice, all perfomed miracles, all said to be be the son of man, all were blood sacrificed, all "died" and arose on the 3rd day to reside in heaven.

In short, Jesus is the reincarnated godman which has been around for thousands of years. Nothing original, supernatural, or special about this regurgitated story.

Just be honest with yourself and admit that you believe this version because it is what you were taught as a child. And if you were indoctrinated as a child with Judaism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Bhuddism, Taoism or Islam, then you would be an ardent supporter of the respective religion you grew up with. Religion is truly arbitrary.

@ReasonOnly

"Akang, why have faith in Christ but not Horus, Mithra, Dionysus, Osiris or Attis? All of these “godmen’” came long before Jesus and did the exact same things as Jesus allegedly did. They were all born of a virgin mother, all born on the winter solstice, all perfomed miracles, all said to be be the son of man, all were blood sacrificed, all “died” and arose on the 3rd day to reside in heaven."

These are commonly proposed parallels that are unfortunately exaggerations. While it's true that if you took the stories of all 5 Gods you mentioned and compared them against Jesus' story they would meet all the criteria you listed, individually the stories of the 5 Gods don't. For example, while Dionysus was the Son of a God, performed miracles, and died, he was not virgin born nor was he sacrificed. He was conceived by Zeus and ripped apart by Titans. Many similar proposed parallels have been exposed as exaggerations by both secular scholars and Christian apologists in the past.

While it's true that many of the myths about Jesus are regurgitated, unoriginal, and revamped stories, Jesus' story takes elements from many different stories and not just 2 or 3 in particular. I used to make the mistake of citing exaggerated parallels as well which can be detrimental to one's argument when exposed as exaggerations. In the future, be sure to mention that different elements of Jesus' tale are taken from several different stories and not all collectively from one or the person your arguing against could expose the exaggerations and hold that point against you.

Things have changed dramatically since 1981. The code of conduct reflects state and federal laws (IDEA is a big one, special education has changed everything). If a parent refuses to sign the code of conduct, the child is not denied access to an education but when Johnny violates it, the sanctions are applied whether the parent likes it or not (weapons, absences, dress code, bullying,searches, academic dishonesty, alcohol & drugs, etc.). Obviously, a minor cannot "legally sign" the document but parents and students must be made VERY aware of the rules and regulations and the code of conduct is a vehicle communicating these expectations. I would quit my job tomorrow if I did not have written and formally adopted statements outlining policies and procedures that safeguard the learning environment for all learners.

In Jessica's case, some of the little thugs were threatening to harass her at school. If this type of bullying were to occur on my watch, I would deal with it swiftly according to the code of conduct AND the discipline management program adopted by my district...This protects me from capricious administrators who sweep things under the rug...I can force their hand if I need to & I do use the code of conduct to make the kiddos think. Here's an interesting one...As I understand it, if you go on their property, you consent to searches:

http://www.rcsdk12.org/1973105208404510/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=282677&C=5642...|&NodeID=199

Boy I'm glad not to be in public school today!! It was no fun in my day. I did not start to enjoy life until well into adulthood. It sounds dramatically worse today.

Um ... I was being sarcastic. Perhaps I should have used tags.

I couldn't agree with you more about overpopulation, the dominionists, the support of Israel at all costs, and the deliberately self-fulfilling prophesy of Armageddon.

I'm not sure which genocide you're talking about. There are many in the old testament. There is not much historical evidence for them, at least according to one show on the Herstory channel.

So, while the book certainly does speak of Yahweh mandated genocides making it seem acceptable, whether there were any actually committed at that time or whether the O.T. is a work of fiction on the subject is not clear to me.

I'm not a history buff, so feel free to correct me or to at least point out the 2K old genocide to which you refer.

Regarding Israel/Palestine, my understanding is that this is still somehow a dispute over the birthright of Abraham. As far as I can tell, the guy was a shepherd. I'll chip in to buy the Muslims a few hundred sheep and give them the birthright. Then, for the next 2K years, they get to be the first ones up against a wall every time the world goes through a difficult time.

That's the birthright of Abraham, no?

IMNSHO, Sarah was a major league bitch. First she wants her husband to sleep with the help so that his bloodline will continue. (To my knowledge, no one ever asked Hagar about this.)

Then, after the baby is born, Sarah has a child of her own and boots the Hagar and Ishmael out on their butts in the desert. Abraham being hugely pussy-whipped, lets her get away with this allowing her to boot his own son (never in dispute) into the desert.

If these two had been decent human beings, the three of them would have led a perfectly happy alternative lifestyle with their two sons living together in a loving household. I can't imagine why anyone still claims descent from this man. But, both sides do. ben Avraham and ibu Ibraham mean the same thing (son of Abraham) and are still common among both Jews and Muslims.

Has anyone ever been so undeserving of their fame and respect?

Has any birth right ever been less worth fighting over?

Misanthropic, no need for tags. I caught your sarcasm. It was my attempt( a poor one at that) at latching on to your jab at the pope taking thousands of yrs to finally recognize the mistakes of the catholic church on those issues you listed.

I guess it is too much to ask of the church to condemn the evil actions of their gravy train.

As for the genocide, I was referring to those listed and glorified in the OT. And 2,000 yrs is referencing the amount of time christianity has been around and consequently the amount of time they have had to recognize their inerrant bible as evil but have failed to do so.