Godless III - Completing The Trinity

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 12:38 pm

You should follow him on FB, so that you can comment on his post and tell him how disappointed you are in him. Oh, the possibilities...

(no... I'm not going to be the one to do it...)

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 2:50 am

Going on 2 months of no internet except the throttled, neutered version at work. So I have yet to watch this vid by Jaclyn Glenn, but I saw that it was tweeted by Richard Dawkins. She's apparently refuting a Ray Comfort video of some sort. I'm going to watch it now, but I wanted to share it here regardless.

Shrew · Post by **Shrew** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:06 am

degenerasian wrote:Even though I'm not Christian I do see the importance of Christmas and it is worth protecting.

Can Christmas be a non-religious thing?

Yeah, at this point its more of a cultural thing. Big sis raised her kids Buddhist but still celebrated it so the kids wouldn't feel left out of all the social bs.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:11 am

A co-worker had some friends who not only wouldn't celebrate Christmas because they were avowed atheists, but when they had kids they made a point to tell the kids how stupid it was and those kids in turn caused havoc at the daycare talkign about how Santa isn't real.

I am all for differing opinions (After all, as Neal Stephenson wrote in one of the few sentences that I can quote from memory - "By populating the world with so many differing viewpoints, God gives us a sense of what it is to be omniscient.") but you also have to be aware of the blowback when you do that type of thing.

They had to change daycares.

Alright, looks like I paraphrased. Here is the actual text: "By populating the world with so many different minds, each with its own point of view, God gives us a suggestion of what it means to be omniscient"

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:49 am

I'll always celebrate Christmas. There's an enormous secular aspect to Christmas that seems to have dwarfed the religious aspect anyway. It's a bit of a depressing time of year so it's nice to have some cheery holidays in there. It can easily be done while ignoring the creepy virgin-ghost birth thing.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:36 am

Isn't Santa, like, the perfect spokes-fictional-character for a secular Xmas?

ZMan · Post by **ZMan** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:58 am

I don't think anyone disbelieves as much as I do, but dayum people, fucking kids get to be kids once in their shitty lives, why the fuck would you take Santa Claus away?

FWIW, I'm with J-Lo, you boycott Santa if you're trying to boycott the materialism and consumerism associated with the holiday. But the Jolly ole Elf (or Rudolf, or Frosty) ain't got nothing to do with religion.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:00 am

P.D.X. wrote:Isn't Santa, like, the perfect spokes-fictional-character for a secular Xmas?

Is that directed at me? I got no issue with Santa unless you're going to threaten the kids with eternal damnation or tell them that they have no moral compass when they start to doubt his existence.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:34 am

Jerloma wrote:
P.D.X. wrote:Isn't Santa, like, the perfect spokes-fictional-character for a secular Xmas?
Is that directed at me? I got no issue with Santa unless you're going to threaten the kids with eternal damnation or tell them that they have no moral compass when they start to doubt his existence.

It was directed at the atheists in AB's yarn.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:13 pm

So I'm at my niece's birthday party this weekend and I have four kids confirm to me that the science teacher at the local high school prefaces all her evolution lessons with, "I just have to tell you...they make me teach you this. I don't believe any of it because I'm a Christian and I believe in the bible."

Besides just being a fuck-awful science teacher...is that even legal?

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:25 pm

It would be the same as a religious studies teacher prefacing everything with "I don't believe any of this bullshit but here y'go."

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:29 pm

Right. Forget about evolution...if you're teaching kids that well-established scientific theories are just a matter of belief or disbelief, you're skull-fucking the whole idea of science and failing those kids miserably.

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:40 pm

Scottie wrote:It would be the same as a religious studies teacher prefacing everything with "I don't believe any of this bullshit but here y'go."

I had one like that. He was awesome. OK, it wasn't religious studies per se, an English department course that deconstructed (some) of the Bible as a work of literature.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:41 pm

Why someone who is so adamantly religious that they feel the need to inject their opinion into the curriculum would become a science teacher in the first place is beyond me. You raise a good question, however. Is that even legal? Or if legal is not the right word then permissible?

"Well, I'm here to teach English to you kids but I have to tell you that my first language is Unicorn and all other languages are utter nonsense compared to it."

So what? Shut up and do your job like everyone else. If you don't want to teach evolution, a divisive topic that should not be the least bit divisive, then don't be a science teacher.

Post by **brian** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:47 pm

Would love to see a math teacher try to get away with this.

"OBAMA WOULD LOVE YOU TO THINK THAT IN 3X+1=4 THAT X IS 1, BUT THAT'S ALL PART OF THE COMMUNIST, LIBERAL AGENDA!"

Post by **brian** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:50 pm

Was going to put this in the Link Dump thread, but it's semi-relevant here.

These guys are kinda genius.

Though the homeowner's first clue should have been that black Mormons are about as rare as Skittles-crapping unicorns.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:54 pm

howard wrote:
Scottie wrote:It would be the same as a religious studies teacher prefacing everything with "I don't believe any of this bullshit but here y'go."
I had one like that. He was awesome. OK, it wasn't religious studies per se, an English department course that deconstructed (some) of the Bible as a work of literature.

It is a work of literature, of course. And it is best examined (examined, not followed) in much the same way that the works of Shakespeare or Mozart or Botticelli, for example(s) are examined. Shakespeare didn't come up with all those storylines. He just wrote them better than anyone else. Mozart didn't dream up the librettos for his operas; they were standards mostly. Botticelli didn't come up with the image for The Annunciation or a chick on a scallop shell; countless people painted the same thing before and after he did, his work is just more famous. Bible authors didn't invent flood or creation mythology or some little guy slaying a giant; they simply rebooted worn allegories. Interpreting the Bible as anything other than literature is a failure; as absurd as worshipping The Epic Of Gilgamesh or Beowulf. Or Hamlet. Or Harry Potter.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:56 pm

Scottie wrote:So what? Shut up and do your job like everyone else. If you don't want to teach evolution, a divisive topic that should not be the least bit divisive, then don't be a science teacher.

She even has her fucking degree in Wildlife Biology. How the hell do you even get through that being a young earth creationist? Then if you look at her shitty website, the Physical Science tab has a whole agenda and course outline and the Biology tab is just completely blank.

Shrew · Post by **Shrew** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:40 pm

Are atheists mentally ill?

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:43 pm

brian wrote:Was going to put this in the Link Dump thread, but it's semi-relevant here.

These guys are kinda genius.

Though the homeowner's first clue should have been that black Mormons are about as rare as Skittles-crapping unicorns.

Man, I thought of that like 35 years ago. Again, ahead of my time.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:49 pm

So which is the smart party, here? Is it the atheists, who live short, selfish, stunted little lives – often childless – before they approach hopeless death in despair, and their worthless corpses are chucked in a trench (or, if they are wrong, they go to Hell)? Or is it the believers, who live longer, happier, healthier, more generous lives, and who have more kids, and who go to their quietus with ritual dignity, expecting to be greeted by a smiling and benevolent God?

Obviously, it’s the believers who are smarter. Anyone who thinks otherwise is mentally ill.

Wow. Give this man a Pulitzer already.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 3:17 am

In retrospect, I'm pretty sure I had a unique/awesome religion aspect to my Catholic high school.

I found out about 2 years ago that one of my religion teachers was gay. Another religion teacher showed us The Last Temptation of Christ in class as a way to show how people can use an perspective to influence ideals. (Or rather just show us a way people go "Oh, the Catholic Church can get all preachy and dignified. Well this is what happens when someone does the same thing but opposite of what the Catholic Church thinks.) He was eventually fired for something. And my other religion teacher told us day 1 that "there are different ways up the mountain and each of us is taking our own route. No one route is more correct than another."

So needless to say, I was taught to keep an open mind about everything and everyone. That differences between individuals are what makes learning interesting. And that there was more philosophy and introspection to be learned from morality of just being good than "there's a dude in the sky who loves you unconditionally...except he'll send you to eternal damnation if you don't accept him/his kid as your personal lord and savior."

I guess this is what happens when you teach a bunch of kids destined for high priced/heathn Lib'rul colleges in MA.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 12:02 pm

I love this lawsuit. As it should be obvious, there are laws against churches endorsing political candidates. It's part of that whole, "You stay out of our business and we'll stay out of yours and not even make you pay taxes" thing. The law of course, applies to all 501C3's, not just religious organizations. As you also know, churches essentially don't give a fuck. They've even organized something called Pulpit Freedom Sunday, where they blatantly get all political from the pulpit, record themselves doing it, and send the videos to the IRS. The IRS still does nothing about it (they should lose their 501C3) and the churches use this as proof that we're a Christian nation or some shit.

So now the FFRF comes up with a brilliant idea...they're suing the IRS. The IRS tried to block the lawsuit saying that the FFRF didn't have standing, and a judge has just passed it on allowing it to be heard...

If it is true that the IRS has a policy of not enforcing the prohibition on campaigning against religious organizations, then the IRS is conferring a benefit on religious organizations (the ability to participate in political campaigns) that it denies to all other § 501(c)(3) organizations, including the Foundation. As a victim of the IRS’s alleged discrimination, the Foundation has suffered an injury in fact.

What the IRS seems to be saying is that because the Foundation has not already proved that the IRS has a policy of favoring religious organizations, it lacks standing to attempt to prove that such a policy exists. But of course this is wrong. If the Foundation is unable to prove that the IRS has a policy of favoring religious organizations, then its claim will fail on the merits, not for lack of standing.

Shrew · Post by **Shrew** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:41 pm

‘The Bible Belt is collapsing,” says Russell Moore. Oddly, the incoming president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission doesn’t seem upset. In a recent visit to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Moore explains that he thinks the Bible Belt’s decline may be “bad for America, but it’s good for the church.”

Why? Because “we are no longer the moral majority. We are a prophetic minority.”

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 10:48 pm

Doesn't matter. The fundies that claim to be the "moral majority" already are the minority in terms of socially progressive issues. Unfortunately, the "moderate" Christians will always make them the majority just by associating themselves with the same bronze age beliefs. The only difference is that the moderate does more cherry-picking. At the end of the day...as long as they lend any part of that terrible book divine authority...the fundies have them in their corner. It doesn't matter what you really think, it matters how much money you're willing to give us for an empty promise of immortality so that we can oppress the fuck out of those we reject.

Social engineering at it's best. You think we're your enemy, yet you're keeping us breathing.

phxgators · Post by **phxgators** » Thu Aug 22, 2013 10:41 am

Saw a car with this on the back on my way to work, maybe we should get one for Jerloma for Christmas?

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Thu Aug 22, 2013 10:52 am

So what they're saying is that the bigger fish eats the smaller fish thus increasing it's chance of survival and in turn it's chance of passing on it's genes and making more big fish?

phxgators · Post by **phxgators** » Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:30 am

You speak the truth.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Aug 22, 2013 2:25 pm

Actually, the truth is eating the Darwin Blimp. Not as famous as the goodyear or the snoopy 2.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Wed Aug 28, 2013 10:18 am

Yeah...that's not going to end well for the NJ DMV.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 6:47 am

You can always count on Fox News for a laughably bad title:

Air Force cracking down on Christians

And you can also count on the most ridiculous hyperbolic quotes/writing possible:

Christians are under attack, the pastor warned – and Lackland Air Force Base seems to be ground zero.

“I’m raising the warning,” the pastor said. “It’s not a good situation out here. The military’s job is not to fight these kinds of battles. Christians are having to walk so carefully. I hear it every Sunday at church.”

“I can’t imagine someone having their Miranda Rights read to them like they did to Sgt. Monk simply because he is complaining about being mistreated and being discriminated against,” he said. “This kind of retaliation needs to come to a stop.”

“Christians have to go into the closet,” he said. “We are being robbed of our dignity and respect. We can’t be who we are.”

And the closing line from Todd Starnes:

Sadly, [the Monk family] values are no longer seen as virtuous in a military that’s been turned into a social-engineering petri dish.

I love me some Christian Persecution Complex.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:02 am

I love me some Christian Persecution Complex.

An oppressive majority delusionally feels persecuted by a small minority. What could possibly go wrong?

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:27 pm

Arian Foster is kind of awesome.

6. The flying spaghetti monster. There are billions of people on Earth with hundreds of religions and sects that trickle off each other. I will never tell her what to believe in. I know parents are very influential on kids' spiritual beliefs and that can be a positive or negative thing. I can give her a basic understanding of religions when she starts showing interest and asking questions. But I will remain silent otherwise. How can I make a young mind believe this is the truth for them when they don't yet have the capacity nor the cognitive desire to delve into something like this? If she shows interest I would advise her to fully investigate a religion and see if it fits her. And if she chooses none of the above, I'll be fine with that as well. The values I instill in her should guide her to her decision. What's most important, I believe, is to support her decision no matter what.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:42 pm

Unquestionably a smart, if not philosophical, guy. Among pro athletes, relatively, he's brilliant. Foster is one of the very very few pro athletes that I followed on Twitter. He's a rarity and occasionally posted musings that are about as profound as one can get in 140-character Twitter. Too bad he permanently quit it back in March.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:59 am

He's fun to root for, that's for sure.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 12:36 pm

How do you cure teenage boys of those nasty, impure, homosexual thoughts?

You fuck them.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 1:09 pm

Jerloma wrote:How do you cure teenage boys of those nasty, impure, homosexual thoughts?

You fuck them.

In his confession to police, the reverend says he prayed for the kids while they had sex with him. "When they would ejaculate, they would be getting rid of the evil thoughts in their mind," he told police.

Unbelievable. I don't know Iowa law, but I'm guessing this isn't a valid defense to raping a minor.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:51 pm

Awesome new anti-atheist movie trailer featuring Kevin Sorbo as the worst professor ever...

Post by **Shirley** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:35 am

Kevin Sorbo can't even act smart.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 10:32 am

Shirley wrote:Kevin Sorbo can't even act smart.

And that is precisely why he got the role. To make college professors look bad. This is just trying to perpetuate the myth that non-Christian colleges brainwash students into atheism and other evil Liberal ideas. It also looks like they are throwing in a healthy chunk of Christian Oppression, as he is threatened with failing just for believing in G-d, his way too hot for him girlfriend is going to dump him because he is doing G-d's work, and he will probably be ostracized and teased for believing in
G-d.