Church is Lies

This is in Springfield, at the corner of Cherry & Jefferson.

It is seven am...

But already the world has reassured me that religion, and those who stand behind the curtain, will do anything to protect themselves and care nothing of their "flock".

In short... they are trying to repeal the statute of limitations on sex crimes in NY. Guess who is opposed???


To be fair, there are some great arguments about playing shuffleboard with statutes of limitations on crimes.

But the church, an organization that has millions to lose if this passes, isn't worried about those arguments. They are just protecting their own asses.

So much for the moral highroad.

Interesting article about McCain's cute anecdotes about his religious roots.

You know... the one where he talks about the strength that seeing the cross gave him?

It was Christmas Day, we were allowed to stand outside of our cell for a few minutes, and those days we were not allowed to see or communicate with each other although we certainly did. And I was standing outside for a few minutes, outside my cell. He came walking up. He stood there for a minute and with his handle [sic] on the dirt in the courtyard he drew a cross and he stood there and a minute later, he rubbed it out and walked away. For a minute there, there was just two Christians worshiping together. I'll never forget that moment.

Turns out that it was plagiarized. As in... it is almost exactly as described in a book he is on the record as having read.

Wow. Good job McCain.

Funny... I though plagiarism was unethical.

Shooting at a Church

As many of you have likely heard, there was an attack on Monday at a church in Tennessee. The church, home of a Unitarian Universalist congregation that supported womens rights and gay rights, was watching a children's play when the gunman opened fire. Two members of the congregation were killed.

My thoughts are with the families effected by this attack.

The media is covering the story and has reported that the man didn't have any serious record, besides two DWIs. His reason for attacking the church seems to be that they were too liberal.

When reading the articles on the attack the media touches on conservative viewpoints of the church, but they never mention what religious denomination he considers himself, or what the religious undercurrents of the attack were. Instead they focus on his frustration that he was unemployed.

We obviously don't have enough infomation yet, and probably never will, since the media isn't feeding it to us. However, it seems likely that this was an attack by a conservative Christian male on a liberal Unitarian church. And I can almost promise you if he was Muslim, his religious beliefs would be plastered in every article. But Christianity is a message of peace, so there is no reason to bring up the shooters religious indoctrination.

We are beginning to truely pressure the religious conservatives in this country. They are being forced to share air time with the gays and minorities they have oppressed for so long. And I believe it is very possible that they will not go down without a fight.

Reserve A Spot In Heaven!

Sick and tired of going to church every Sunday?
Feel like you just aren't praying enough?
Worried about eternal damnation?

Well, worry no more! Reserve your spot in Heaven, today!


If not...there's always somewhere else to reserve space...

Cure for cancer? It turns out science isn't evil.

"The priests used to say that faith can move mountains, and nobody believed them. Today the scientists say that they can level mountains, and nobody doubts them." ~ Joseph Campbell

I swung by Lauren's blog the other day and saw an article announcing that we've cured the first cancer cell. Here's the thing though, we did it using technology that most religious people want banned - cloning. The thing is, while exit polls show that most religious people kicked and screamed over cloning before voting it down, I'll wager that virtually every one of them that contracts cancer will use this and every new life-saving technology weened from it - and that we'll never hear any mention about how mankind is playing god. Kinda funny how that works out.

You may recall recently that Ben Stein (star of EXPELLED, read my review of it here) made a comment about science that science geeks like myself found a little disheartening:

"…Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people."

Is this discovery that so many believe to be diametric to god's will really leading us to killing people? Not at all. In fact, science like this has given us quite literally every single means of extending human life that we have. Medicine, clean water, abundant food - the list of how science makes our lives longer and more enjoyable is so long as to defy concise description.

The sad thing is that many of the people who will leap at the chance to use this newfound cure, as well as every other blessing of science, will still somehow agree with Stein that science is somehow evil. Can it be argued that anything but the unreason encouraged by religion is responsible for this insanity? Ever since its inception, religious certainty has slowed the progress of our race by encouraging us that make believe gets precedence over what makes sense. Every time, reality eventually wins and we move forward, yet the battles still must be fought.

Imagine what we could accomplish without regard for imaginary things like souls being a part of the equation?

"We would be 1,500 years ahead if it hadn't been for the church dragging science back by its coattails and burning our best minds at the stake." - Catherine Fahringer

-- JT

Perhaps this explains his son....

An interview with Papa Bush, when he was running for election in 1987.

Ugh.

Sherman: What will you do to win the votes of the Americans who are atheists?

Bush: I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in god is important to me.

Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?

Bush: No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

Sherman (somewhat taken aback): Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?

Bush: Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists.

Where does this leave us?

JT, Ryan, and I recently attended a City Council meeting in our hometown of Springfield, MO. At the beginning of the meeting a prayer was read.

We don't want to destroy any dialog with city council, but we all agreed that a prayer before a city meeting was an obvious violation of the First Amendment.

There is a set of questions that you have to ask to determine if a law/practice/proposal is respectful of the First Amendment. Referred to as the Lemon Test, it goes like this:

1. The government's action must have a secular legislative purpose;
2. The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion;
3. The government's action must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion.

If nothing else, a prayer before a meeting seems to directly kick the second statement in the teeth. Of course a prayer would advance the religion it was born from.

Or so I thought.

I was checking on the ACLU's website this morning... hoping to find a court ruling that already had shot down prayer before a city council meeting. What I found was an article by the ACLU saying that the prayer had to be non-sectarian.

It referenced several rulings, including Allegheny v. ACLU, and Rubin v. City of Burbank. Basically, they are allowed to say prayers, as long as they don't specifically reference any certain Gods.

While this is a great stride for the various religious sects, the ruling leaves us atheistic types out in the cold. In the rare case where an atheist has been allowed to lead the prayer or invocation before a meeting, the council has not stood by the Supreme Courts ruling.

In Tampa three council members walked out when an atheist signed up to lead the prayer. In Charleston seven council members couldn't deal with an atheist leading the invocation.

Where does this leave us? The Supreme Court has ruled that sectarian prayers or invocations are allowed. And yet, it is obvious that we could never expect to hear a invocation that is not intended to be a prayer to a higher power which we do not believe in. Is the right to NOT believe protected by our First Amendment, or has that slipped away from us??

What people will do for $$...

****
EDIT: This is a spam note that they are using to try to get you to give out your personal information, a practice known as phishing. I received it last night in my personal email. It is interesting because it combines the innate greed of humans with an understanding that people do crazy things with their money when God tells them what to do.
****

Mrs. Maria Qwin Rafer
Email: qwinrafer@mykingwood.com

Hello Dear,

My name is Mrs.Qwin Rafer, I am a dying woman who have decided to donate
what I have to you/ church. I am 59 years old and I was diagnosed for cancer for about 2 years ago, immediately after the death of my husband, who has left me everything he worked for.

I have been touched by God to donate from what I have inherited from my late husband to you for the good work of God, rather than allow my relatives to use my husband hard earned funds ungodly. Please pray that the good Lord forgive me my sins. I have asked God to forgive me and I believe he has because He is a merciful God. I will be going in for an operation in less than one hour. I decided to WILL/donate the sum of $2,500,000 (two million five hundred thousand dollars) to you for the good work of the lord, and also to help the motherless and less privilege and also for the assistance of the widows.

At the moment I cannot take any telephone calls right now due to the fact
that my relatives are around me and my health status. I have adjusted my WILL and my lawyer is aware I have changed my will you and he will arrange the transfer of the funds from my account to you.

I wish you all the best and may the good Lord bless you abundantly, and please use the funds well and always extend the good work to others. Contact my lawyer (Barrister Parker Brown) with this specified email: Parkerbesq@netscape.net and tell him that I have WILLED ( $2,500,000.00) to you and I have also notified him that I am WILLING that amount to you for a specific and good work. I know I don?t know you but I have been directed to do this. Thanks and God bless.

NB: I will appreciate your utmost confidentiality in this matter until the task is accomplished as I don't want anything that will jeopardize my last wish. And Also I will be contacting with you by email as I don't want my relation or anybody to know because they are always around me.

Regards,

Mrs. Maria Qwin Rafer

Happy moments,praise God.
Difficult moments,seek God.
Quiet moments,worship God.
Painful moments,trust God.
Every moment,thank God."

Florida just keeps getting dumber.

As Florida faces extreme drought and wildfires Florida Baptist Convention leaders are calling state churches to pray for rain June 1.

Just imagine for a moment that we instead asked everyone to spend the day:
-Installing gray water irrigation to their flower beds.
-Walking instead of driving.
-Helping someone whos home was damaged by a recent storm.
-Recycling the items they normally trash.
-NOT WATERING THE LAWN.
-Picking up a trash bag of litter near a stream, creek, or beach.
-Donating a few dollars to Red Cross.
-Donating blood.

I have a suspicion that more would be achieved.

Swashbuckling We Go!!

We have a bit of an issue over in Virginia. Seems that the Craig County School Board is causing a bit of a fuss, wanting to put a Bible class into the public schools. The curriculum they are planning on using touts itself as "the first step to get God back into your public school."

Seeing as The Pastafarians had such a remarkable effect down in Florida, I figure it is time to pull out our swords and go swashbuckling in. We must make sure the Flying Spaghetti Monster receives equal time!!

I drew up this letter, which was sent to Superintendent Gordon, as well as School Board Vice President McDowell, Principal Critzer, Board Member McPherson, Board Member Bostic, Board Member Stanley, and the teacher Jeanne Guthrie.

Superintendent Gordon,

As an active member of the religious community, I was thrilled to hear that your district is going to begin teaching a course focusing on religion. I became worried, however, when I realized that you were only planning a curriculum focused on the Christian Bible.

As a member of one of the fastest growing religions in America, it is very important to me that religion is taught in the public schools. Children need to know the truth about their origins. I, and many many others, hold the strong belief that we were created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. We are known as The Pastafarians, and are completely devoted to our Creator. We are able to see the evidence of his existence in the world around us, and we feel touched by his Noodley appendage each day.

Since you are going to be creating a course designed to teach the Bible to your students, it is perfectly reasonable to expect you to also design a course to teach the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, written by our prophet, Bobby Henderson. Because of the financial strain that two separate courses would place on the district, I feel that it would be reasonable to simply teach the two religions alongside each other. I feel confident that the children in your district will be able to see the truth, when religions are compared up close.

You may be hesitant, at first, fearing that your faculty members do not have enough training to adequately teach our religious customs. We will happily guide your faculty members through the entire process. It is quite simple, although it does require that they be dressed in full Pirate regalia. To speak of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster without dressing in Pirate regalia would anger Him.

You may also be wonder if there is enough information on our religion to fill an entire semester. The answer, of course, is a resounding yes. We have an entire book, which you would of course require students enrolled in the class to read. We also have a great deal of information about the various proofs of his existence available online, at www.venganza.org.

If you have any further questions when designing this curriculum, feel free to call or email me, or visit www.venganza.org for more information.

r’Amen,

-Amber Culbertson-Faegre

nisemono.12.15.1791@gmail.com
tehjuggernauts.blogspot.com

Feel free to copy and paste anything you like, or mix and mingle it to make it your own. Just get some emails flowing.

This line should send it to everyone I mentioned above:
jguthrie@craig.k12.va.us; dmcdowell@craig.k12.va.us; dstanley@craig.k12.va.us; sbostic@craig.k12.va.us; scritzer@craig.k12.va.us; jmcpherson@craig.k12.va.us; rgordon@craig.k12.va.us

If I get ambitious tonight, I might even send them a care package snail-mail, with some Ramen and a drawing of a Beer Volcano.

***
EDIT
***

The following is the letter that Ryan sent in:

An Open Letter to the Craig County School Board

Dear Craig County School Board,
I am pleased to hear that you are hoping to institute a class focusing on the Bible. As a Captain of the Missouri State University Chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, it is important to me that we convert as many people to my religion as possible. As is evident in your support of this proposed class, you feel the same way. And, as you well know, Craig County School Board, nothing works half as well as gettin' 'em young.

Anyway, Craig County School Board, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I expect my religious beliefs to be taught (funded, of course, by taxpayer dollars) right alongside your own.

I'll explain my religion here in brief, just in case you haven't been informed.
Pastafarians (that's us!) believe that a gigantic, sometimes invisible ball of spaghetti crafted the Heavens and the Earth. And a tree. Also a midget. This Flying Spaghetti Monster, as we call Him, is a generally well-disposed fellow. If you live by flimsy moral standards, you get to go to Heaven. His heaven has a beer volcano and a stripper factory. Sadly, His Hell has stale beer and strippers with venerial diseases. Not a pretty sight.
We have a plethora of holidays, which we expect you to take as seriously as you take your own, Christian holidays. Most important are:
-Friday (Friday is the name of the holiday, and when it takes place! Like the 4th of July!)
-Holiday, lasting most of December and well into January (those Happy Holiday signs you see in stores are in celebration of our holiday, Holiday)
-Halloween (which originated with pirates giving away candy to children).
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster must also be taught in full pirate regalia. Nothing less will suffice, Craig County School Board, as we believe that the Flying Spaghetti Monster will be angry if it is not.
He's finicky.

I hope to hear of the adoption of the Gospel of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster into your school's Bible study curriculum, as our school's ACLU lawyers will likely be relieved that they do not have to sue you.

Have a wonderful day, Craig County School Board!

-Ryan Culbertson-Faegre
culbertson-faegre555@missouristate.edu

God Warrior on Trading Spouses

The Christian mother freaks out when she gets home from trading families... this is equally hilarious and frightening.



In this vid, the other mother gets attacked by the other family's mean Christian friends.


In this vid, the two moms meet.

Purity Balls

I found some photos of a purity ball today...I got super creeped out.

For those of you that don't know (and I would consider you lucky in your ignorance) a purity ball is a somewhat prom-like dance where fathers and daughters go to consummate (oh yeah, I used that word on purpose) how the dads are supposed to keep their little girls' virginities intact until they are married. In a nutshell, they are complete creepfests.

Here is an example of a pledge:

“Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future
mate, and my future children to be sexually abstinent from this day until the day I enter a biblical
marriage relationship."

*Throws up in mouth a little*

I can't believe that this shit actually exists. How are these kids going to function properly as adults, or even young adults, if they are forced to live a certain way? I bet that these kids aren't being taught anything about their changing bodies, much less anything about sex or sexual health.

Placing so much importance upon a girl's virginity can only be damaging. It's as if she is being treated as some sort of commodity rather than a human being.

Here's a news report on purity balls with some interesting interviews with a few participants:




This is a really flippin' creepy video following a particular 'Fundamental Christian' family:



And to get that bad taste out of your mouth, here's a really awesome video on 'what virginity is' from TrixieFilms, who is putting together a film about the stigma that surrounds intact hymens in today's society.




One of these days, no one will care about virginity, especially female virginity. But, until that day, I think I might just have copious amounts of intercourse just to make up for their abstinence. Just sayin'...

Ok, rant over now.


Lauren

P.S.-Would someone else please post on the blog? Please? I feel like a total blog hog right now...and that rhymed!

Hypocrisy

This is the Creed at my new job, the Henderson Unit of Boys and Girls Club of America. It's on the back of the ID cards that the kids have to wear around their necks every day they're at the club.

I believe in God and the right to worship according to my own faith and religion. I believe in America and the American way of life... in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I believe in fair play, honesty and sportsmanship. I believe in my Boys and Girls Club, which stands for all these things.

The right to worship according to my own faith? Really? But... as long as it fits with the I believe in God, right? So I believe in God and I can worship according to my own faith... that's right? That's what you're saying, BGCA? Cause that makes no damn sense!

I'm so much more disappointed than you could ever imagine. I cannot stand for this religious propaganda! I will not stand for it!

A Testimonial* (Atheist and Out!)

Even as little as six months ago, I used to feel like everyone's religion was their prerogative. How did I have the right to say that I'm right and other people can't have this strange fantasy called God and religion when it makes them feel so good about themselves and their lives? (All ridiculous fanatics excluded.) I didn't think there was any god, but I didn't feel the need to push that on others.

But then I changed my mind.

Now, when I become friends with a new person, I get really disappointed if I find out that they love God and God's holiest of holy ways. Oh, you think Jesus is the way and the truth and the life? You have lots of bible quotes scattered about your Facebook profile? I guess you believe in fun old storybooks and fairy tales, yeah? Well... umm... it was... nice to meet you. (runs away)


*This testimonial inspired by The Out Campaign.

Brother Jed's Weekly Mailing

It's all about us!

JED FEST

Missouri State University, April 29, 2008

We had an outstanding day on campus for the "Jed Fest." The sponsors of the charitable event, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, received contributions of almost $300 for the Heifer Project. We had a steady crowd of up to 100 listening all afternoon. I won the hearts of a lot of students for participating in this event, at least for the day. I even agreed to let them water balloon me, if they could raise $100 for one throw; which they raised within 30 minutes. The students gave me an ovation for that. I did not get too wet. Several students commended me for being a good sport, good humored, etc.

One notable incident was when a girl named Sharon approached me while Bro was preaching. She thanked me for giving her a copy of my autobiography a few weeks ago at Southeast Missouri State where she had been visiting friends. When I first started preaching, I had asked how many in the crowd were following Christ. She was one of about six who raised her hand.

She said my book had already influenced her.

I asked, "How?"

She referred to this paragraph where I write, "Jesus was motivated by love, but He only speaks of God's love for humanity in six verses in the four gospels. In 163 verses He speaks of wrath, Hell, condemnation and judgment."

Soon she had all sorts of thoughtful questions for me. She received my answers without gainsaying. She said that she had read the Bible through twice.

She asked a few times if one could be a Christian and be a lesbian. I finally asked if she was a lesbian. She said yes; but she claimed she had not done anything sexual with her girlfriend, just hugged and kissed. I have heard that a lot in recent years. She told me that her father was a transsexual, who had an operation schedule in a few months. There is so much confusion among the young; they do not know what they are.

I conversed with her for at least 30 minutes. I asked if she would give me her email address so that a local pastor friend of mine could contact her. She agreed. I believe she is a very bright girl with a lot of potential. She needs to be reached before she totally gives herself over to the lust of the flesh.

While I was preaching to the main crowd, Bro or Pat would have a group of students surrounding them. This is always a good sign that the spirit is moving. Bro reported that he had a very low key and profitable conversation with six Christians concerning God’s grace which teaches us to live holy (Titus 2). The students did not argue with him but listened and seemed to be receiving. Pat was pleased that in her sessions she was able to simply read many scriptures to her group.

Christian Student witnesses on the sidelines

Bro Cope Talks with a Student

You Tube link to Jed Fest:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX_hJEwIAfs&NR=1

THE DEVIL INTERVENES

MSU, April 30

We preached in another area on campus today which actually has more traffic. The Spaghetti Monster gang with their signs was out once again; but unlike yesterday they were trying to interfere with our preaching. At one point two boys read obscene poetry beside us at the top of their voices. But between Bro and me, we were able to persevere despite this distraction. At 4:30 PM Bro was preaching to an attentive group of fifty when a girl said, “The only reason they are here is because we are giving them an audience. Let’s all leave.� Bro perceived that this was the devil speaking through this woman.

Bro said later, “I had them in the cup of my hand. Satan knew it and he was determined that the students were not going to hear his message.�

This is a tactic that the devil will sometimes use; it usually does not work. However, virtually all the crowd left as the woman walked away to Bro’s rebukes directed towards her. Since it was late in the afternoon, we decided not to preach again. We did converse with a few students for a while. A psychology major, Max, who is a Christian, thanked us for coming and praised our courage and boldness. He admitted that our ministry has opened all sorts of opportunities for him to witness.

Bro Cope preaches (hat and suspenders in center).

Earlier in the afternoon I had had addressed Max and female psychology major, Amber, and the crowd concerning the psychologies’ failure to make a proper distinction between a causation and an influence. With causation one is bound to have a certain result, with an influence one may or may not have a particular result. Psychologists will usually teach that man is a product of his genes and environment. They fail to recognize a third alternative; that man is a product of his choices. In life we all fall under good and bad influences; and we may have some good and bad genes. However, bad social influences and weak genes can be resisted. Therefore, man is accountable and responsible. Most psychologists do not hold man responsible for his actions.

Last week, I attended a lecture on “mental illness� in a church setting. The speakers had two solutions; we must remove the stigma of mental illness and the mentally ill need to stay on their medication.

I asked, “What could we as Christians do to help these people? After all, when Jesus encountered a man behaving in a bizarre manner, He brought him peace of mind.� The answer I got was unsatisfactory in that nothing was offered that any non-Christian could not offer to the “mentally ill.�

I am convinced that most of what we call mental illness is a result of people living selfishly and irresponsible lives. In the past common sense affirmed this in the minds of most men; so there was rightly a stigma associated with this “disease.� There are few mental problems that a good sound conversion experience will not solve. Now I realize that sometimes there are physical causes that may be beyond a person’s capacity to overcome. But even then with the power of Christ amazing transformations can take place.

Regrettably, the Church usually teaches that Adam’s sin caused us to sin; if true, then men should not be accountable or held responsible by a Just God. But the truth is that Adam’s example has influenced us all to sin. Thankfully, we have the good example of the second Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, to influence us to righteous living. It is our choice, to follow Adam into sin or Christ in righteous. We have in the past all made the wrong choice. But by the grace of God, some of us have made a new choice. We have chosen to follow Jesus. He changes everything!

AN UNBELIEVING HOME SCHOOL FAMILY

Brother Jed talks with the Mother of the Unbelieving Family

MSU, May 1

We moved to another location in front of Strong Hall to preach today. The weather was very windy. Sister Pat started and drew a crowd of about 30. She turned the meeting over to me. One of the students, Kent, who read Alan Ginsburg poetry loudly yesterday to disrupt, once again resorted to this tactic. I decided not to try to preach over him. So I walked away from the crowd. I know and I think that they know that they really do not have a show without me. So I did not care to put up with their tactics at least that early in the afternoon. Meanwhile, several students gathered around me for a good conversation, while the Spaghetti Monster crew continued their crazy tactics. After a while, Bro decided to get into the action. Bro did quite a preach for an hour or so standing fast in the midst of the zany tactics of the Spaghetti people and their noisy interruptions. Late in the afternoon I had a good conversation with Kent, who is an English major. We talked of literature, history, politics and, of course, religion.

Finally, I decided to get back in the action, which had the effect of subduing the students because they really want to hear what I have to say. The leader of the Spaghetti cult, J.T., engaged me in an informal debate over various issues. Eventually, the crowd became stirred again; and I turned the meeting back to Bro since some geological questions had been raised and Bro is very knowledgeable in this field. Bro presented many facts that refuted the wild fantasy of evolution.

Bro Cope

Sister Pat at Jed Fest

For two day I engaged in a lengthy conversations with a 55 year old man named, Mark. He brought out his wife Donna. They have homeschooled their four children. All of their children are involved with Church of the FSM. The oldest girl, Amber, will be working on an advanced degree in psychology next year at the University of Arkansas. Mark is a former drug addict who has successfully gone through the 12 point program. He has a sense of spirituality, but he does not know the Lord. Nevertheless, we had good fellowship together and I liked the whole family despite the blasphemous ways of the children. On the sidelines I had pleasant and in depth conversations with them all.

I stopped preaching about 4:45 since we had a three hour drive back to Columbia. On the way home Sister Pat remarked, “Students when they gather in a crowd usually have to have beer, loud music, drugs, sex, or have something to entertain them whether it sports or a movie or a band. However, they gather to hear us for hours without any of these things that are generally thought of necessary to have fun or a so-called good time. Yet they will gather for hours to hear us speak against those things which they love so much. This demonstrates the power of God’s Word preached with the power of the Holy Ghost.�

Many students have told me over the years, both believers and non-believers that my preaching meetings have been the highlight of their college years. Oh, if the college ministers would consistently preach an uncompromising message against sin, we could have a revival!

Bro Cope and One of the Homeschool Girls

University of Missouri, May 2

Today only Bro and I went to Speakers’ Circle. It rained all morning and the afternoon was windy and partly cloudy. We did not start until 12:45 to give the weather more time to clear. The crowd never was above 25 and it was difficult to hold their attention. We stopped preaching at 3 PM. In Christ, Bro Jed

Morality and Atheism

As far as the basis for morality, there are several things that prompt atheists to be moral, as well as what results in the more atheistic countries being the most moral in terms of social wellness (low crime rates, low teen pregnancy, etc - see the United Nations Human Development Report released annually). It is often asserted by religious people that without god watching over us, we would spend all of our time killing our neighbors, raping their pets, and trying to steal their pornography. Obviously, this is not the case.

It is also very telling when religious people ask atheists why they are moral. It's almost as if the implication is that the only reason they do not steal, murder, and rape is because they are frightened of god. Kohlberg would certainly have something to say about this.

Anyway, there are several mechanisms in place, both biologically and philosophically that explain why atheists are often moral people. I will balance this with how I believe faith encourages immorality.

A Secular Morality

1. Via Evolution.

There are god-knows how many papers (both in peer-review and elsewhere) explaining the evolution of morality.

To save you the trouble of looking them up yourself (though I encourage you to do so anyway, so that you can be familiar with some of them), here's the Reader's Digest version.

Your body is composed of various chemical compositions, all of which result in your demeanor. If we introduce certain chemicals to your body, you will instantly become more affable. At one point a long time ago, a group of great apes (which also exhibit morality and are a social species) who shared a disposition to being socially cohesive and to cooperate banded together. Their ability to work as a group would have easily helped them and their progeny to survive and reproduce compared to their more individualistic brethren. This would have selected for this type of chemical make-up in the brains of our ancestors and, therefore, us. Lo and behold, this is precisely what we see with most human beings, and it is a part of our ordinary genetic code. This explains at least the biological facets of human empathy.

2. Personal gain.

This branches from point #1, but life is much harder as a social outcast, which is precisely what one becomes when they steal or such from their neighbors. Once people realize that they have more to gain from being moral, rather than the personal hell they cast themselves into otherwise, there is plenty of reason to be kind to others.

There is so much more, but for now these two should suffice. Richard Carrier is an authority on the subject, and actually tackles it with a bit more humor than I do.

How Faith Fosters Immorality

1. Poor definition of morality.

Questions of morality are questions of human happiness and suffering. The problem with religion, particularly Christianity and Islam, is that they tend to assert that questions of morality are not questions of happiness and suffering.

Evidence of this is in the news daily, and it paints the history of your faith with red. Morality for the faithful is about following god's supposed will, which often shows little concern for what is best for fostering happiness and a sustainable society.

For this reason, Christians on the whole (in political polls, etc) seem to be more concerned with what is "right" than what is good. Again, Kohlberg would probably shed a tear at this point. This is the basis of immoral behavior at the influence of religion.

An example of this is the amount of effort dedicated to gay marriage, where no harm is perceivable, and comparatively how little time is spent by Christians opposing genocide.

2. Religion encourages a failure of our epistemological accountability.

"The worst problem with religious morality is that it often causes good people to act immorally, even while they attempt to alleviate the suffering of others. In Africa, for instance, certain Christians preach against condom use in villages where AIDS is epidemic, and where the only information about condoms comes from the ministry. They also preach the necessity of believing in the divinity of Jesus Christ in places where religious conflict between Christians and Muslims has led to the deaths of millions. Secular volunteers don’t spread ignorance and death in this way. A person need not be evil to preach against condom use in a village decimated by AIDS; he or she need only believe a specific faith-based moral dogma. In such cases we can see that religion can cause good people to be much less good than they might otherwise be."

~ Sam Harris

Epistemological accountability represents how people are obligated to hold good reasons for what they believe, lest their good intentions become wickedly immoral. Without the influence of dogmas, we would still have good people doing good things and bad people doing bad things - the kicker is what gets good people to do bad things.

Consider the couple from Wisconsin just last week who decided to treat their daughter's diabetes with prayer. Because they did not have good reasons for what they believe, their good intentions became the murder of their child. It almost makes one sick then, to read this:

"Dale Neumann told investigators that "given the same set of circumstances with another child, he would not waiver in his faith and confidence in the healing power of prayer," according to the interview statement."

The man has three other children.

On another extreme, consider the men who flew planes into the Twin Towers. Were they immoral? Very much so. However, I submit to you that their intentions were not bad - they believed, based upon the doctrine of martyrdom found in the Koran and the Hadith, that they were doing one of the best things possible. Of course, as is so often the case, they concerned themselves only with what was "right" in accordance with the scriptures, rather than what was best for humanity.

They have failed in their responsibility to have accurate beliefs, and this has resulted in maladaptive unreason enshrined as god's glory. Irrationality, and the bad ideas born of it, kills people and unmakes good intentions.

This brings me to the final point I'd like to make - where morality does NOT come from, and that is from Christianity and other faiths.

Where Morality Does Not Come From

(Note: Many of these arguments originate with Sam Harris. He also tackles this issue beautifully in his piece The Myth of Secular Moral Chaos.)

Consider even the ten commandments - one would think that upgrading these precepts would be extremely difficult, even impossible. These are the only things that god felt the need to give us himself (carved in stone, no less). However, improving them is not difficult, it is incredibly easy.

Take the 2nd commandment - no graven images. Is this really the second most important thing? You could literally place any edict in place of the second commandment and you would have immediately augmented the wisdom of this supposedly inerrant text. How about "Don't beat your children?" How about "Don't pretend to know things you don't?" How about "Recycle your plastic and glass?"

Beyond that, portions of the ten commandments are flagrantly immoral. If you catch your best friend worshiping a graven image, working on the Sabbath, or committing adultery - you're supposed to kill them (and if you're unwilling to kill them, your neighbors are supposed to kill you). You may say that these things no longer apply (this itself is arguable from a biblical standpoint). It's true that we're no longer burning witches and heretics at the stake, and that's a good thing - but you're still not disavowing the fact that for 4,000 years, this pious cruelty would have been moral under the Christian system. This could all have been prevented if you, myself, or almost any other mere human living in the world today had authored the book.

However, the obvious reason we do not need the bible to establish our moral lives is because it is we who decide what is good in the good book. When we read something like the golden rule in Matthew 7, it is we who decide that this morsel of moral wisdom is a keeper. Conversely, when we read something like Exodus 35:2, which tells us to kill people for working on (what would have then been) Saturday, it is we who decide that this is the most vile lunacy imaginable. The important thing to note here is that we are the keepers of moral judgment even when reading our holy books, and if it is we who are making those calls, why do we need the bible?

If you take birth control you will get a disease or die!!!1!

Abstinence-only education? This bitch is going down.



And she's going to be in town... oh snap!

Oct. 19 - Oct. 20

Pam Stenzel

Catholic event Springfield, MO Sister Jeanne Goessling SSND 417-883-3440

Brother Jed Photos Continued

See a slideshow of the rest of Day 2's photos along with Day 3 photos (which might be the best of the bunch) by clicking here.

JT's Letter to the Editor 5/4/08

There were several letters in the Standard recently talking about how nefarious evangelist Jed Smock does not represent true Christianity. This is my take on the idea:

There is no "true" Christianity.

Again, "Brother" Jed Smock and his posse have come and gone. As usual, many believers in Christ are exclaiming that this group of lunatics does not represent true Christianity. I would ask "Who does?" Surely you must know, if you know that Jed doesn't fit the bill.

Consider for a moment that most of the Christians making this admonishment likely disagree on certain portions of the scripture. Which one of them has the monopoly on true Christianity regarding sex, abortion, or homosexuality? Moreover, how much ground can we possibly cover discussing it from a theological perspective?

Reflect further that almost every Christian who has ever lived has not represented true Christianity by modern standards. Christians from a century ago were busy citing passages like 1 Timothy 2:12 in order to oppose womens' suffrage. Before that, it was slave-holders of the American South using scripture to subjugate their slaves. For centuries before that, we killed red-haired women for witchcraft and burned our best scholars at the stake for even speculating about the Earth's motion (now that we realize that there are no witches and that there never were, one does not know whether to laugh or cry). The history of the Christian faith is a kaleidoscope of unconscionable cruelty and a certain, murderous disregard for truth.

Just think of all the great lights of Christian history who would likely be dismissed from true Christianity by the same crowd for their bouts of holy malice - this list would likely include almost every saint and most certainly every pope. If you believe that people like St. Augustine (who believed that non-believers should be tortured) and St. Thomas Aquinas (who believed that non-believers should be killed) had never read the sermon on the mount, you are sadly mistaken.

The closer you get to Jesus historically from where we stand now, the more monstrous true Christianity has been, and it gets worse as you move into the times before Jesus. The old testament is bursting at the seams with unthinkable savagery that is not only endorsed by god, but mandated by him . The scriptures that lead to these horrors are still in Christianity's holy book. The credit for our liberation from them does not belong to "true" Christianity, but rather to generations of free thinkers who have made Christians ashamed to live by the tenets that have defined Christianity for the last 6,000 years.

There are over 34,000 different sects of Christianity according to the World Christian Encyclopedia, all of which are making claims to being the true Christianity. If we even needed additional evidence that faith is an immeasurably poor means of discerning truth, this is it. It seems clear that there is no such thing as "true" Christianity, there is only millions of people in this country treating their feelings as though they were facts, and people are bound to feel differently.

In summation, Jed is just as much a Christian as any of you, or any follower of the god of Abraham ever. Jed has plenty of faith, and he knows the good book backwards and forwards. He demonstrates the courage of his convictions on a daily basis. Why hasn't Jesus made him a better person? Rather, the fact that Jed "trusts in god with all his heart and leans not to his own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5) has made him into a monster.

The truth of the matter is that Christianity makes claims that can only be true or even justifiable through the lens of faith, and faith can be made to conform to anything. Even if one iteration of Christianity throughout all these long, painful years were true, faith would offer us no way to separate it from the ocean of false Christianity in terms of credibility.