On November 4th , 2009, in the state of Maine, legal gay marriage was voted down by a narrow margin. And the opponents of gay marriage spoke about their victory and they said basically that gay marriage would not come to pass forever. That no state would ever vote for marriage equality for homosexuals and had no chance of passing if the people voted on it. And figured that it would always be the case. I’m here to tell you that they were dead wrong.
It was said that “Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” The opponents of marriage equality should heed this wise maxim. For a similar boast was made about 40 years ago. During the civil rights struggle for African-American equality Governor George Wallace once famously said “Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” He felt it was natural and traditional that inequality among the races existed. It had been that way for almost a century and he thought it would last forever. But he was also wrong. Even before the sixties ended the whole edifice segregation came crashing down. It wasn’t without great struggle but in the end, it came to pass and the country survived. And a generation or two later we all look back at that time before as a shameful moment in our American history.
The same can be said now with marriage equality movement. Now we are in the great struggle moment of this movement. There have been setbacks and our enemies of equality feel confident in their victories. But the people who voted for the anti - gay marriage amendment, demographically are older people. The anti - gay marriage foundation is based upon an aging and diminishing resource. Polls have shown that people under the age of forty are 56% more likely to support equal rights for gay people including marriage. And those thirty and under polled even higher, much higher than the forty and under crowd. As the foes of gay marriage continue to die off they will be replaced by the younger people. They will come into power without the prejudices of the older generations. And because of this, gays will get their equality and after a time, future Americans will look back upon this present time with the same shame we now feel about the stuff that happened forty years ago. Homosexual equality is only a matter of time and of attrition. You must never give up, never surrender, for time is always on your side.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Bible Vs Koran : The Ultimate Smackdown
When it comes to the dominant religions of the world they are, for the most part, based on a holy book. Religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam claim to be peaceful as well as there version god. But the question must be asked which of these holy books has the highest number of cruel and violent passages in its pages? Can the claim of a peaceful and loving god be squared with the words from their own holy books. The statistics might surprise you.
First lets start with the holy books of the Jews and the Christians called the Bible. With quotes like Numbers 31:14-18 which says that it is okay with god to kill all the males and then rape every female virgin that survived the attack by the Israelites. Or in the Book of Hebrews 10: 28-29 which said a far crueler fate befalls people who displeases Jesus. While New Testament has no tales of mass murder there is the language of violence against the enemies of Christianity itself. And later on when the Christians get control of the levers of power they would use this violent language to justify the horrendous atrocities that Christianity was famous for. But the total number of cruel and violent acts in the total Bible is 907.
Now lets see what the Koran has to offer. Surah 5:33 says “The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;” Or Surah 7:78 in which the loving Allah killed a bunch of people who disbelieve him with an earthquake. There are many more; but the total number of violent and cruel actions in this book is 520.
So the winner is the Bible by a large number. But the Bible has a lot more pages than the Koran and therefore a higher number of cruelties and violence would be expected. Probably a more accurate measurement would be percentages. Then the Bible’s percentage would be 2.91% and the Koran’s would be 8.34% . Against this measure the Koran wins hands down.
Whatever the outcome of this contest it shows that the gods and the followers of these religions has ordered, committed, or justified acts of unspeakable violence against their fellow human beings. And in the end has lost all moral and ethical authority.
First lets start with the holy books of the Jews and the Christians called the Bible. With quotes like Numbers 31:14-18 which says that it is okay with god to kill all the males and then rape every female virgin that survived the attack by the Israelites. Or in the Book of Hebrews 10: 28-29 which said a far crueler fate befalls people who displeases Jesus. While New Testament has no tales of mass murder there is the language of violence against the enemies of Christianity itself. And later on when the Christians get control of the levers of power they would use this violent language to justify the horrendous atrocities that Christianity was famous for. But the total number of cruel and violent acts in the total Bible is 907.
Now lets see what the Koran has to offer. Surah 5:33 says “The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;” Or Surah 7:78 in which the loving Allah killed a bunch of people who disbelieve him with an earthquake. There are many more; but the total number of violent and cruel actions in this book is 520.
So the winner is the Bible by a large number. But the Bible has a lot more pages than the Koran and therefore a higher number of cruelties and violence would be expected. Probably a more accurate measurement would be percentages. Then the Bible’s percentage would be 2.91% and the Koran’s would be 8.34% . Against this measure the Koran wins hands down.
Whatever the outcome of this contest it shows that the gods and the followers of these religions has ordered, committed, or justified acts of unspeakable violence against their fellow human beings. And in the end has lost all moral and ethical authority.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A Bisexual Orgy In Eden
A common refrain I hear from the anti-gay movement is that god created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. This colorful little poem is pertaining to the to the first chapters of the Old Testament in which, among other things, tells of the six day creation of the universe by the Judeo - Christian god and the creation of the first members humanity as well. Well the biblical literalists have missed something there are two creation of human stories in the Bible. Which means, if it is taken literally, that their were four humans at the beginning of the world not two. Which means that the possibility of homosexuality and bisexuality has just increased.
In Genesis Chapter 1 verse 27 it is written “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” So both a male and a female were created from the same stuff at the same time. That would make total number of humans, so far, in the world at around two people.
But then there is Genesis Chapter 2 verses 21 - 23 and this is the more traditional version of this story we all heard about. The one where man was created first and then later on, to combat Adam’s loneliness, a women called Eve was created out of Adam’s rib. Then the story goes on about life in the garden, the temptation, subsequent expulsion from the Eden paradise, and the cursing of all mankind forever. Now the total number of humans in the world is now at four. Because we do not find anywhere in this text that the Chapter One humans were destroyed we must assume that they were around when the Chapter 2 humans were created and thus this is why I now count the total human population at four, if you take the Bible as the inerrant word of god this must be the only explanation that makes any kind of sense.
Mind you the Jews of the ancient world saw this discrepancy and wanting their Bible make sense they made up a story and put it in their Midrash in an effort to try to explain away this problem. But the Midrash is not a holy book of the Christians, as far as I know.
So the problem with the Christian opposition homosexuality is that, if they believe that their holy book is without error, how do you explain that problem away without coming up some kind of ludicrous rationalization. Then if you think your holy book is inerrant then must accept the possibility that their could have been gay and lesbian sex among the first humans. Or at the least the first humans were raving bisexuals having their way with each other in every way, at every chance they got like some Edenic orgy. Sounds more like a plot to some porn movie than a holy book.
Or simply that these are mythical stories that were written by two different human beings at different times and shoved into the Old Testament without regard to any kind of rhyme or reason. So when you hear that colorful little anti-gay rhyme, you tell them that yes their was an Adam and a Eve but also their were a Steve and a Jane as well.
In Genesis Chapter 1 verse 27 it is written “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” So both a male and a female were created from the same stuff at the same time. That would make total number of humans, so far, in the world at around two people.
But then there is Genesis Chapter 2 verses 21 - 23 and this is the more traditional version of this story we all heard about. The one where man was created first and then later on, to combat Adam’s loneliness, a women called Eve was created out of Adam’s rib. Then the story goes on about life in the garden, the temptation, subsequent expulsion from the Eden paradise, and the cursing of all mankind forever. Now the total number of humans in the world is now at four. Because we do not find anywhere in this text that the Chapter One humans were destroyed we must assume that they were around when the Chapter 2 humans were created and thus this is why I now count the total human population at four, if you take the Bible as the inerrant word of god this must be the only explanation that makes any kind of sense.
Mind you the Jews of the ancient world saw this discrepancy and wanting their Bible make sense they made up a story and put it in their Midrash in an effort to try to explain away this problem. But the Midrash is not a holy book of the Christians, as far as I know.
So the problem with the Christian opposition homosexuality is that, if they believe that their holy book is without error, how do you explain that problem away without coming up some kind of ludicrous rationalization. Then if you think your holy book is inerrant then must accept the possibility that their could have been gay and lesbian sex among the first humans. Or at the least the first humans were raving bisexuals having their way with each other in every way, at every chance they got like some Edenic orgy. Sounds more like a plot to some porn movie than a holy book.
Or simply that these are mythical stories that were written by two different human beings at different times and shoved into the Old Testament without regard to any kind of rhyme or reason. So when you hear that colorful little anti-gay rhyme, you tell them that yes their was an Adam and a Eve but also their were a Steve and a Jane as well.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
What is Really Behind Ray Comfort's Latest Campaign
I recently saw Ray Comfort’s video of his plan to distribute the “Origin of Species” with a forward written by him and an I.D. creationist orgnization. This forward states the so-called “flaws” of atheistic evolution and the rest of it is a conversion message written by Ray. But I wondered what is really behind this campaign. I found out later that he is also publishing a book on the same subject around the same time this campaign is going on. Then it dawned on me the reason why he is doing all this is simply to protect his financial security.
In the first part of the promotional video Kirk Cameron, Ray’s partner in the Way of the Master ministry, cited a poll from Trinity College that stated that the number of non-believers are on the rise in this country. The poll states that the percentage of people who were non-believers in 1990 was around 8% and when the poll was taken again in 2009 that number of non-believers had almost doubled to 15%. And as they extrapolated forward they saw that, if the trend continues, by the year 2029 the percentage of non-believers would reach 25%. Good news for us non-believers, we are becoming the fastest growing segment of the population and we have a good retention rate among the younger populations.
Well, this is bad news for Ray and company. With more people becoming non-believers there would be less people giving money to these religious organizations. With less money coming in from the dwindling numbers of the faithful, it would not be profitable enough to keep these large religious corporations going. Simply put non-believers are cutting into the revenue streams of these religious groups.
Say what you will about Ray but he is one thing above all; he is a salesman. And when a salesman sees that a product he is selling is not selling as well as it used to be. It is time to repackage the old product in new wrappings. Then have a slick advertising campaign to promote it and hope no-one will notice that it is the same old stuff. And this is what is happening right now. He wants us non-believers to make a big to do about all this and start up some controversy and get him a lot free advertising for himself and his group and all the while he makes a lot of money off the pious dupes that follow him.
Well instead of playing Ray’s little game we as non-believers should find creative ways to resist this movement’s latest attempt to take peoples’ money and their minds. I have heard of some already that sound pretty good. We have less than two months before this campaign begins. So enough time to come up with even more ways to show that this ploy is a nothing more than a gimmick to prop up a dying and increasingly irrelevant system of belief. And time is on our side and it is running out for them. The difference between a living religion and a mythology is time and interest.
In the first part of the promotional video Kirk Cameron, Ray’s partner in the Way of the Master ministry, cited a poll from Trinity College that stated that the number of non-believers are on the rise in this country. The poll states that the percentage of people who were non-believers in 1990 was around 8% and when the poll was taken again in 2009 that number of non-believers had almost doubled to 15%. And as they extrapolated forward they saw that, if the trend continues, by the year 2029 the percentage of non-believers would reach 25%. Good news for us non-believers, we are becoming the fastest growing segment of the population and we have a good retention rate among the younger populations.
Well, this is bad news for Ray and company. With more people becoming non-believers there would be less people giving money to these religious organizations. With less money coming in from the dwindling numbers of the faithful, it would not be profitable enough to keep these large religious corporations going. Simply put non-believers are cutting into the revenue streams of these religious groups.
Say what you will about Ray but he is one thing above all; he is a salesman. And when a salesman sees that a product he is selling is not selling as well as it used to be. It is time to repackage the old product in new wrappings. Then have a slick advertising campaign to promote it and hope no-one will notice that it is the same old stuff. And this is what is happening right now. He wants us non-believers to make a big to do about all this and start up some controversy and get him a lot free advertising for himself and his group and all the while he makes a lot of money off the pious dupes that follow him.
Well instead of playing Ray’s little game we as non-believers should find creative ways to resist this movement’s latest attempt to take peoples’ money and their minds. I have heard of some already that sound pretty good. We have less than two months before this campaign begins. So enough time to come up with even more ways to show that this ploy is a nothing more than a gimmick to prop up a dying and increasingly irrelevant system of belief. And time is on our side and it is running out for them. The difference between a living religion and a mythology is time and interest.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Jesus Christ Vampire
I have a somewhat plausible way that Jesus could come back from the dead. I thought about the many ways he could come back from the dead and be seen by his still living disciples and his fellow followers.
At first I thought he could be a zombie. An animated corpse could be seen by everyone and only in the Gospel of Matthew was their a reference to a zombie horde coming out of their graves and marching on Jerusalem at Jesus’s crucifying. So it would be at least plausible that the same force that animated these corpses could do the same for Jesus three days later. But remember Jews do not use any kind of preservation of the body and after three days of death the stench of putrefaction would be very evident even to the dullest sense of smell. And yet there is no reference to a smelly or dull witted zombie Jesus in the New Testament. So no help their.
My second guess would be some kind of ghost. A ghost would be able to pass right through his tomb door and move about quite freely and could be seen if he wanted to. There is even a gospel where Jesus walked through a shut door at a house where his disciple were having a meeting. Other times he would just appear out of nowhere to talk to one of his followers. But also in that section where walks through a shut door he seen eating a fish and another disciple pokes his finger into one of his wounds to prove his solidity. So no help their, either.
So I am left with only one conclusion. That conclusion is that Jesus Christ was a vampire. Look, of all of the previous scenarios and their refutations, this could be the one that works. A vampire could have come to Jesus at anytime during his near death and in the process of feeding could have turned Jesus into a vampire. A vampiric Jesus could be seen and would have the strength to roll away his gravestone and could, with his vampire abilities, walk through a shut door in mist form and could eat food but derive no nutrition from it and use his innate mesmeric powers to make his disciples see what he wanted them to see. Then I could understand the symbolic blood drinking and flesh eating as coming from an immortal vampire Jesus working from behind the scenes of early Christian history reflect his new undead status secretly.
Or even a more plausible scenario is that the biblical narrative was made up by people who lived decades after the events occurred and outside of the country that the events occurred in order to make their guy more than human, and make him into a legend.
At first I thought he could be a zombie. An animated corpse could be seen by everyone and only in the Gospel of Matthew was their a reference to a zombie horde coming out of their graves and marching on Jerusalem at Jesus’s crucifying. So it would be at least plausible that the same force that animated these corpses could do the same for Jesus three days later. But remember Jews do not use any kind of preservation of the body and after three days of death the stench of putrefaction would be very evident even to the dullest sense of smell. And yet there is no reference to a smelly or dull witted zombie Jesus in the New Testament. So no help their.
My second guess would be some kind of ghost. A ghost would be able to pass right through his tomb door and move about quite freely and could be seen if he wanted to. There is even a gospel where Jesus walked through a shut door at a house where his disciple were having a meeting. Other times he would just appear out of nowhere to talk to one of his followers. But also in that section where walks through a shut door he seen eating a fish and another disciple pokes his finger into one of his wounds to prove his solidity. So no help their, either.
So I am left with only one conclusion. That conclusion is that Jesus Christ was a vampire. Look, of all of the previous scenarios and their refutations, this could be the one that works. A vampire could have come to Jesus at anytime during his near death and in the process of feeding could have turned Jesus into a vampire. A vampiric Jesus could be seen and would have the strength to roll away his gravestone and could, with his vampire abilities, walk through a shut door in mist form and could eat food but derive no nutrition from it and use his innate mesmeric powers to make his disciples see what he wanted them to see. Then I could understand the symbolic blood drinking and flesh eating as coming from an immortal vampire Jesus working from behind the scenes of early Christian history reflect his new undead status secretly.
Or even a more plausible scenario is that the biblical narrative was made up by people who lived decades after the events occurred and outside of the country that the events occurred in order to make their guy more than human, and make him into a legend.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Cowardly Theist Bullies
I saw a video that said another YouTube atheist channel was taken down because of a false-flagging campaign. We don’t know exactly who caused this channel to be shut down, but I can take a wild guess, it was the theists.
Clearly, these theists are cowards. Clearly they do not have the courage of their convictions to face any atheist head on. They resort to smarmy and underhanded tactics to silence their critics. What happened to the good old days when you theists would face down the lions and die for the faith happily. Now they are relegated to vote-botting and false-flagging to muzzle the free speech of atheists and people who make them uncomfortable about what they believe in.
Clearly the theists have underestimated us. Every time they try shut one of us down the YouTube atheist community rallies to the defense of one of their own. Because an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We are not going away and we will keep on trying to free people from that gilded cage that is religion. With one video at a time. The more theists try to stop us the more people will see what the theists really are, pompous cowardly bullies, and come and join the growing numbers of the truly free people on YouTube. Our numbers are growing so join the revolution by adding more atheist voices to the conversation. Till the time comes when it will become impossible to silence us all.
Clearly, these theists are cowards. Clearly they do not have the courage of their convictions to face any atheist head on. They resort to smarmy and underhanded tactics to silence their critics. What happened to the good old days when you theists would face down the lions and die for the faith happily. Now they are relegated to vote-botting and false-flagging to muzzle the free speech of atheists and people who make them uncomfortable about what they believe in.
Clearly the theists have underestimated us. Every time they try shut one of us down the YouTube atheist community rallies to the defense of one of their own. Because an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We are not going away and we will keep on trying to free people from that gilded cage that is religion. With one video at a time. The more theists try to stop us the more people will see what the theists really are, pompous cowardly bullies, and come and join the growing numbers of the truly free people on YouTube. Our numbers are growing so join the revolution by adding more atheist voices to the conversation. Till the time comes when it will become impossible to silence us all.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Question for Theists
I wish to ask a few questions to all the theists out there, especially the biblical literalists. Do you really the believe that the bible is the “good book”? Try to answers these questions first and then decide for yourself.
1. Can I kill young children by dashing their little heads against the rocks as it is said in Psalms Chapter 137, verse 9?
2. Can kill a young relative and then eat their flesh as it is said in Jeremiah Chapter 19, verse 9?
3. Could I marry more than one woman as long as there are virgins as Jesus said Matthew Chapter 25, verses 1-13?
4. How much can I beat my slave for doing something wrong as Jesus said Luke Chapter 12, verses 45-46?
5. Can I tell a lie when I am predicting the future as it was written Jeremiah Chapter 14, verse 14?
6. How can I prepare and serve barley cakes that are made from human dung as it was written Ezekiel Chapter 4, verse 12?
7. Is fifty shekels really enough money, in this economy, to have my daughter marry the man who raped her as it was said in Deuteronomy Chapter 22, verses 28-29?
And don’t say because Jesus came onto the scene that the Old Testament questions no longer apply. As Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 5, verse 17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill.” So what are your answers going to be, some kind of denial or some list of pathetic theistic rationalizations. Or will you admit that this book that you hold in such esteem is nothing more than a litany of justifications for what we would call, nowadays, very immoral acts. I doubt you would, but that is your problem, not mine.
1. Can I kill young children by dashing their little heads against the rocks as it is said in Psalms Chapter 137, verse 9?
2. Can kill a young relative and then eat their flesh as it is said in Jeremiah Chapter 19, verse 9?
3. Could I marry more than one woman as long as there are virgins as Jesus said Matthew Chapter 25, verses 1-13?
4. How much can I beat my slave for doing something wrong as Jesus said Luke Chapter 12, verses 45-46?
5. Can I tell a lie when I am predicting the future as it was written Jeremiah Chapter 14, verse 14?
6. How can I prepare and serve barley cakes that are made from human dung as it was written Ezekiel Chapter 4, verse 12?
7. Is fifty shekels really enough money, in this economy, to have my daughter marry the man who raped her as it was said in Deuteronomy Chapter 22, verses 28-29?
And don’t say because Jesus came onto the scene that the Old Testament questions no longer apply. As Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 5, verse 17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill.” So what are your answers going to be, some kind of denial or some list of pathetic theistic rationalizations. Or will you admit that this book that you hold in such esteem is nothing more than a litany of justifications for what we would call, nowadays, very immoral acts. I doubt you would, but that is your problem, not mine.
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