Another one bites the dust

I do not condone taking pictures with your cell phone while driving but I could not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity:

There is a verse from Ecclesiastes on the back and announcements on the sides telling us "it" is all going to end on the 21st.  I want to know how these specific people will explain this away on the 22nd.  I hope they didn't get rid of all their earthly possessions like these people.

It's a Strange World in There

I am in the process of reading John Loftus' book Why I Became An Atheist and I came upon a wonderfully descriptive paragraph that sums up Christianity from the view of someone, I claim, who is completely unbiased and knows nothing about religion.  It is in the beginning of Chapter 7: The Strange and Superstitious World of the Bible.

"We find a world where a snake and a donkey talked, where giants lived in the land, where people could live to be nine-hundred-plus years old, where a woman was turned into a pillar of salt, where a pillar of fire could lead people by night, where the sun stopped moving across the sky or could even back up, where an ax head could float on water, where a star could point down to a specific home, where people could instantly speak in unlearned foreign languages, and where someone's shadow or handkerchief could heal people.  It is a world where a flood could cover the whole earth, and where a man could walk on water, calm a stormy sea, change water into wine, or be swallowed by a "great fish" and live to tell about it.  It is a world populated by demons that could wreak havoc on earth and aslo make people very sick.  It is a world full of idol worship, where human and animal sacrifices pleased God.  In this world we find visions, inspired dreams, prophetic utterances, miracle workers, magicians, diviners, and sorcerers.  It is a world where God lived in the sky (heaven) and people who died went to live in the dark recesses of the earth (Sheol)."


I can't believe these things happened.  Perhaps if I witnessed several of these situations, and there was a large group of people who claimed to have experienced them as well, would I begin to think "Something strange is going on here.  Maybe it's time to rethink my view of reality."  Either that or "I drank way too much Absinthe."

Psalm 14:1

I cannot quite remember where I heard the reference to this scripture.

1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.  2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. 5 There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. 6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge. 7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.


I thought God loved everyone?  Including me, a non-believer!  How am I corrupt?  I find it fulfilling to be truthful and honest.  What are my abominable works?  I always listen to my students when they have problems.  I do not do good things?  My wife, my family, my co-workers, my friends and strangers would attest to the fact of my altruism.  If I am working towards an understanding of how our wonderful world works, am I not seeking the truth?  How am I filthy?  I may be a 'worker of iniquity', but I have much knowledge.  Am I a cannibal?  OK, I know that is not a literal translation, but hey, who am I to know what God would have me understand in a literal or figurative sense? 


Darn it, this saddens me...OK no it doesn't.  I will always be on an ethical quest for knowledge and if this is frowned upon by the Christain God who apparently made me the way I am, then well now I'm just confused.

Tyler, my nephew

One of my sisters has triplets - Vinny, Tyler, Teigan. They will be 2 years old on October 1st. Tyler has caught the short end of the stick when it comes to his health. He struggled the most at birth, has auditory implants, and has strabismus (lazy eye). He recently had surgery for this and it went well. However, in the recovery stage, a physician's assistant at the hospital failed to catheterize his antibiotics correctly - three times. Needless to say this caused Tyler some inconvenience and led to a rather scary situation with an eye infection. He is still in the hopsital recovering. The reason I bring this up is because my mother has consistently asked me to "pray for the poor little guy." I don't know if anyone can relate with a situation like this, but I cannot tell her "No, that won't help him." She has asked me if I believe prayer works and I flat out said no. I have not actually told her I am an atheist. I cannot tell her that it is the probabilistic genetic makeup, mixed with environmental factors that are responsible for his health problems. This speaks to the main reason I believe people, including my mother, believe in a prayer-answering god. They don't have to think about whether or not rational explanations feel "cold and empty". They have a false oasis that welcomes them whenever they "need it". But my questions to her and others are how do you know it worked?, and what about all the other prayers you made? Were they answered? Make no mistake, my mother is brilliant. She absolutely does not fall into the deluded, fundamentalist category. Her belief in a personal-intervening god is the only irrational idea she harbors. At some point in time, I need to have a long conversation with her about her beliefs. At least one, as anyone who comes upon this blog will know.

Maynard James Keenan Speaking the Truth

Found this on a neighbor blog. Thought I would share it because Tool is one of my favorite bands and I never realized what Judith was really about.

Chat with a "believer"

I saw an ad on the tele for Need Him Ministries (click on the Watch our TV Spot at the bottom left) and I thought to myself, wow, this is a very in-your-face christian message. My curiosity was peaked. I found a chat link and began speaking with Casey R. The following is a transcript:

Christopher: Isn't it irresponsible of us as humans to interpret the physical workings of the universe as the product of supernatural causes as opposed to thinking logically and rationally about our place in the order of existence?

You are now speaking with Casey R of needhim-large.
Casey R: Hello

Christopher: Hi

Casey R: how are you?

Christopher: Good, yourself?

Casey R: i'm doing good

Casey R: so do you know Jesus as your King and Friend?

Christopher: I used to believe in it

Casey R: what caused you to stop?

Christopher: I began reading math books (I'm a math teacher) and physics books and then that led me to interesting online articles and videos and debates that really just made me stop and think, wow, how in the world did I actually believe this?

Casey R: so you let your intellect at the expense of your spirit

Casey R: then you came to the point where your head took over?

Christopher: When I say 'this' I mean christianity

Christopher: No my 'head' has always been a part of my way of life, but I was just acting escapist when I was a 'believer'

Christopher: You are however assuming something when you speak of spirit

Casey R: Chris your here to repent

Casey R: i cant force you to do what your here for

Casey R: but thats what your here for

Christopher: No I just wanted to chat about this.

Casey R: No you relize you've mess up a bunch

Casey R: and so you came to the chat to try and strenthen your belif in how mental you are

Casey R: when really your wrong and you know it

Christopher: Wow, that's pretty bold to say of someone that you have never met

Christopher: By the way, how old are you?

Casey R: haha i worked with you for an extended period of time

Casey R: not exactly you but the same basic person

Christopher: I have never met you

Casey R: yes but there are many people like you in the world

Christopher: But not one exactly like me

Casey R: yes there is a percentage different

Casey R: i thought you were big on math?

Casey R: didnt you know that phyically there is only a small variance

Christopher: What does that have anything to do with this?

Casey R: between the genes of one person and another

Casey R: the same is with personalities

Casey R: your self righitous

Casey R: and you need to become Christ righteious

Christopher: Yes but like I said there is not one person exactly like me and there never has been and never will be

Casey R: well technicalle we can create a clone of you

Casey R: and acording to your view of life that person would be exactly you

Christopher: And?

Christopher: What makes me self-righteous?

Casey R: because you belive that your mind is everything

Christopher: It is what we can always rely on to understand our surroundings in an empirical way.

Casey R: empirical knowlege is flawed

Christopher: Really? Like this reality isn;t the real reality?

Casey R: because many things cannot be observed

Casey R: Jesus came to this earth and explained to us the relatiy of many things that cannot be observed

Casey R: he taught that there was a system of non emperical rules

Christopher: And now we get into the area that creationists always fall back on. You can't observe god because he is outside our perceptive ability

Casey R: that when follwed allowed God to rule

Casey R: in our lives

Christopher: yeah called faith.

Casey R: no you can observe God by his works

Christopher: Really

Casey R: but it does require faith first

Christopher: Example

Casey R: and by the way i'm not the creationist that your typically use to

Casey R: i've even published on evoltuion

Christopher: So I have to have faith before I can look at the beauty of the earth and conclude that god made it

Casey R: no not that kind of works

Casey R: like when he touches a body and heals it

Christopher: Can you provide me one truly unbiased instance in history of this happening where there were multiple accounts?

Casey R: yes

Christopher: Shoot

Casey R: when i was 5 i slit my wrist

Casey R: maybe i was 4

Casey R: it was an accident i sorda thought i was superman

Casey R: and I lossed a large amount of blood and should have died

Casey R: but the Lord had mercy on me and healed me

Christopher: Ok so how do you know jesus saved you?

Christopher: You can find many instances in the medical field where people who should have died didn't

Casey R: the doctor amoung others said it was miraculous?

Christopher: It is a word in our vocabulary that you are interpreting in a meta-physical sense

Casey R: meh

Casey R: it was meta physicle

Casey R: ok

Casey R: i prayed and the Lord increased my iq

Casey R: he made me much smarter

Christopher: ?

Casey R: more than a standard deviation

Christopher: Now your being plain condescending. Just because you looked up a mathematical definition doesn't mean I'm impressed

Christopher: I will be impressed and will convert if you can prove that jesus healed you

Casey R: i'm gviing you another example

Christopher: of?

Casey R: i was dumb and he made me smart

Casey R: he healed my brain

Casey R: he is still working on it today but each day get a little better

Christopher: No you weren't dumb, you were either delusional or hallucinating. Do not be so hard on your rational self. It is all you have.

Casey R: no i had tests run and they came out poor

Christopher: Like mentally retarded?

Casey R: as far as your concerned yes

Casey R: by someone who was professionally trained to do so

Christopher: What do you mean "as far as your concerned yes"?

Christopher: You don't have to answer that if you don't want to

Your party has left this session.

Casey R: ok so are you ready to repent yet?

Christopher: no sorry man. i have to go though. I have to get ready for a meeting I have early tomorrow. It has been a pleasure speaking with you though. I hope you can one day come to a full rational realization of your place in this world.

Casey R: uh umm sure

Casey R: when you get ready to repent

Casey R: you can get on and someone will reintroduce you to the Lord

Casey R: :) Jesus Loves you and so do we :)

Christopher: Thanks take it easy

WOW! There are a couple of things that will jump out at you right away. Grammar? Sentence structure? This is why I asked how old he was. The strangest thing was the sense I had that he was a robot, or soldier. It's hard for me to describe. Very odd. Anyway I thought it might be interesting to post this and get some feedback.