This poem was written by an ancient Roman poet named Titus Lucretius praising the Greek philosopher Epicurus as the savior of the human race. But if it is read more generally it could be interpreted as praise for any one of the champions of disbelief and doubt from the past all the way to the present day. The last two lines are particularly strong. The poem is as followed :
“When before our eyes man’s life lay groveling, prostrate, Crushed to the dust under the burden of religion ( Which thrust its head from heaven, its horrible face Glowering over mankind born to die ), One man a Greek was the first mortal who dared Oppose his eyes, the first to stand firm in defiance.
Not the fables of gods, nor lightening, nor the menacing Rumble of heaven could daunt him, but all the more They whetted his keen mind with longing to be First to smash open the tight barred gates of Nature. His vigor of mind prevailed, and he strode Beyond the fiery battlements of the unmeasured world. Raiding the fields of the unmeasured All.
Our victor returns with knowledge of what can arise, What cannot, what laws grant each thing its own Deep-driven boundary stone and finite scope. Religion now lies trampled beneath our feet, And we are made gods by the victory.”
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
YouTube Must Change Their Rules On Flagging, ETC. Abuses
The free flow of information is paramount on a free society. This abuse is tatamount to bullying people into silence. It is wrong and it is unAmerican. Reform is needed and can be achieved in time. In the end it will effect their bottom line with people leaving YouTube for a place where their rights are respected and recognized. I hope they will wake up in time before it is to late and their is noone left to complain about it.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Uganda's Godly Government
I recently heard of some awful legislation coming out of the Parliament in the African country of Uganda. This legislation would be an awful blow to the humans rights of homosexuals in this country. And you guessed it the people behind it all are motivated by their religious faith. That faith isn’t radical Islamic Fundamentalism, it is American Christian Fundamentalism. And it was religious conservatives in the American Congress and prominent Fundamentalist preachers who were supporters of this African government.
Uganda was not always like this. Once upon a time this country was like any other country in Africa. In one way it was different, its policy on AIDS prevention was the most effective in Africa. It was based on a reasoned and science based system which says Abstain from sex, if you have sex Be monogamous, or if you insist on not being monogamous where a Condom. This simple adage was used through out Uganda and the result was that the AIDS rate was on the decline.
Then the Bush administration’s effort to help Africa’s AIDS problem began. But certain conservative Christian Republicans wanted the majority of the money that was going to Africa to be used for abstinence programs. Abstinence programs in the U.S. looked good, for the religious conservatives, but were entirely ineffectual at stopping STD’s and pregnancies. The results for Uganda was exactly the same, the AIDS rate went from a decline to a doubling in number.
All the while Christian fundamentalists were gaining more and more influence in that country. The results were that the new leader of Uganda, his wife and the government officials were born again Christians. And then the failed abstinence programs they instated did not stop the AIDS infections from spreading. So they tried something that went with their born again Christian theology and are trying pass legislation that would punish people for being or associating with Ugandan homosexuals. The leadership’s theology believed that gay people chose to be gay and could recant from being gay through the force of national law.
These new laws, if passed, would 1. Would make any gay person who has AIDS to be put to death by hanging. 2. Gay people who did not have AIDS would simply be put in prison for the rest of there life. 3. Anyone who associates with gay people and not turn them into the authorities would be punished by three years in prison.
Human rights groups brought this to the attention of the world and now all those American conservative Christians politicians and preachers who so supported the Ugandan regime are either decrying these laws or remained silent on the issue. This godly government of Uganda that these people created has become a monster. They will be held responsible for all the abuses and deaths that their biblically inspired policies toward this country have wrought. This is what happens when you try to institute governmental policies based on theology rather than on reason and basic human dignity. These same American religious conservatives preachers and politicians would want to impose this theology on American soil. I would wager we would get similar results that were to be found in Uganda. So we as atheists and human rights advocates must be on the lookout for signs of theocracy in own country. As a great patriot once said “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
Uganda was not always like this. Once upon a time this country was like any other country in Africa. In one way it was different, its policy on AIDS prevention was the most effective in Africa. It was based on a reasoned and science based system which says Abstain from sex, if you have sex Be monogamous, or if you insist on not being monogamous where a Condom. This simple adage was used through out Uganda and the result was that the AIDS rate was on the decline.
Then the Bush administration’s effort to help Africa’s AIDS problem began. But certain conservative Christian Republicans wanted the majority of the money that was going to Africa to be used for abstinence programs. Abstinence programs in the U.S. looked good, for the religious conservatives, but were entirely ineffectual at stopping STD’s and pregnancies. The results for Uganda was exactly the same, the AIDS rate went from a decline to a doubling in number.
All the while Christian fundamentalists were gaining more and more influence in that country. The results were that the new leader of Uganda, his wife and the government officials were born again Christians. And then the failed abstinence programs they instated did not stop the AIDS infections from spreading. So they tried something that went with their born again Christian theology and are trying pass legislation that would punish people for being or associating with Ugandan homosexuals. The leadership’s theology believed that gay people chose to be gay and could recant from being gay through the force of national law.
These new laws, if passed, would 1. Would make any gay person who has AIDS to be put to death by hanging. 2. Gay people who did not have AIDS would simply be put in prison for the rest of there life. 3. Anyone who associates with gay people and not turn them into the authorities would be punished by three years in prison.
Human rights groups brought this to the attention of the world and now all those American conservative Christians politicians and preachers who so supported the Ugandan regime are either decrying these laws or remained silent on the issue. This godly government of Uganda that these people created has become a monster. They will be held responsible for all the abuses and deaths that their biblically inspired policies toward this country have wrought. This is what happens when you try to institute governmental policies based on theology rather than on reason and basic human dignity. These same American religious conservatives preachers and politicians would want to impose this theology on American soil. I would wager we would get similar results that were to be found in Uganda. So we as atheists and human rights advocates must be on the lookout for signs of theocracy in own country. As a great patriot once said “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Harm in Believing?
I am writing this in response to the editorial “No harm believing” by Henrietta Harris in the Thursday, December 3, 2009 edition of the Belleville News-Democrat.
In her letter she rightly claims that there is no scientific support for the creationism of the Bible. It is a myth and nothing more. But then she goes on and says that other parts of the Bible are supportable in science. In this she is dead wrong. Which parts are scientifically supportable? The Sun stopping in the sky, the flat Earth, the virgin birth, the sky made of metal, the talking snake and donkey, or maybe the parting of the Red Sea. These and other fanciful stories are that, stories. Stories told by an ancient, superstitious people with almost no knowledge of science.
In another paragraph she wrote the incorrect definition of scientific theory. Theory, as defined by scientists, is basically the best way to explain the evidence at hand. Evolution has been able to explain the tons of evidence better than any other theory out there. The scientists look at the evidence and draw their conclusions from that. This is how real science works.
I would write that there is harm in believing because as Richard Dawkins once said, “Belief makes you accept answers to questions that are not really answers.” What you lose by believing is your ability to think critically and that makes a person gullible.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Gay Marriage : Time Is On Your Side!
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.
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, 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.
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