Hello angry Christians!



Hi, I'm Pat Condell.
I don't respect your beliefs
and I don't care if you're offended.
Cheers.


PatCondell.Com

What We Need More Of Is Science


The official video for the song "What We Need More of Is Science" by MC Hawking from the album "A Brief History of Rhyme."
Once again, the world is made safe for the pursuits of reason and logic thanks to the unique powers and skills possessed by M.C. Hawking.

An atheist talks to God

A short video by Cristofer7 in which he explains why he still sometimes talks to God.



More videos by Cristofer7

Why Can't I Own a Canadian?

Posted by J.C. Samuelson

An oldie but a goody reposted from http://www.humanistsofutah.org/2002/WhyCantIOwnACanadian_10-02.html:

October 2002

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

Why religion and public schools should be separate

By SailerFraud

The Christian fundamentalists try to impose their religion in public schools. When they are informed there is a diverse student population filled with other religions, the neo-Christians claim there is discrimination because public schools won't impose their religion as the sole standard.

Sometimes it takes an outside reference point to get out of one's shortsightedness. Suppose a religious nut claims to have communal powers with the Greek mythological god Zeus. He fervently fights for his Greek Gods (Zeus, Hercules, Aphrodite, Hermes, etc...) to be recognized as the standard religion in public schools and courtrooms. He does not want his Greek gods to be taught as fiction or mythology; he wants them to be recognized as alive and the truth.

Naturally, you the taxpaying citizen get defensive. You ask him to prove that the Greek gods are real and not fiction. He claims to have meet the Greek gods in his dreams and has communal powers with them. He points out that there are ancient artifacts showing they existed.

You the logical citizen say those artifacts are a thing of the past and does not prove those Greek gods are alive. Yet, he gets more defensive and says he felt their presence.

Now, let's examine the Christian wingnut who wants his religion to be imposed in our public school system and courtrooms. He says he has communal powers with God and Jesus. He says there are ancient artifacts 2000 years ago.

However, those outside of this Christian bubble keep affirming that he is a lunatic zealot and needs to be in a mental asylum. Now do you Christians see why we look at you very peculiar when you impose your religion with your irrational arguments?

NO ARGUMENTS FOR GOD'S EXISTENCE

Sent in by Joe M

I've been monitoring the postings on this site for about a week now and I've noticed that atheist's have fell in the same trap I fell in years ago after letting my atheism be known.

All atheist need to keep in mind that there is no evidence nor arguments for god's existence. All arguments that I've ever seen fall under the "god of the gaps" category. That is, if someone doesn't understand something or some cause they fill in that "gap" in man's knowledge with "god did it"!!!

Keep in mind that just because there's no apparent explanation for something, in no way proves anything about the existence of a deity.

When someone claims evidence for the existence of a deity, don't accept the "god must have done it" explanation. It explains nothing except a gap in man's knowledge at the time. For example, our primitive ancestors couldn't understand thunder and lightning, so they come up with "god did it." Now, no one believes that a god is the cause of lightning and thunder because that "gap" in man's knowledge has been filled with current, testable data from science.

In the future, demand evidence specific to the claim. Don't let them get started on the "how could this be possible" band wagon.

You'll be amazed at how soon they (believers) will find someone else to argue with that will accept their questions that are not relevant.

Try it and you'll see. Thanks for your time in reading my comment/suggestion.

Cherished Beliefs

By Bill J

The hardest thing about letting go of cherished beliefs is the reality that you are now responsible for your life. There isn't a god trying to guide you toward his/her will. It's very difficult for most people to give up what gave them definition. I would like Christians to understand that every former Christian on this site made a tremendous and courageous decision to leave something very near and dear to them. Most if not all of them studies, prayed and gave their lives to serve god. Then they realized, for whatever reason, and there are many, that Christianity is not real. They began to leave their cocoon and look beyond the subtle and not so subtle brainwashing that had happened to them.

Once you get into arguments about the bible and god you will be tempted to forget that this isn’t just about what you believe. It will become personal and a quest to prove that you could not have been duped or fooled. It is very hard for the Christian to stop and put themselves in the shoes of an ex-Christian. It’s nearly impossible for current Christians to believe that anyone on this site was ever a Christian in the true sense of the word. Yet, we were and we left the faith. We no longer respect or value the former beliefs. Most Christians think we are deluded by the enemy or fooled by our own sin. Or they will simply believe that we were never really Christians to begin with. Whatever the case, I doubt you have the ability to step back and rationally accept us. As long as you hold true to supernatural beliefs and theologies you will never be able to understand us.

However, do me the favor of calling the elders of the church to come forward and pray for the sick. Tell me if the sick are healed. Show me the arm, leg or eye regenerated by god through pray of the faithful. Give me absolute proof like Thomas was given. Most if not all of the proof Christians have of the reality of god is emotionally driven. I hear over and over Christians say, I believe because god speaks to me and impresses me by his/her spirit. I have actually read about a Christian apologist, whom I know personally, claim god spoke to him verbally. It’s hard to refute supernatural beliefs because they can assume any shape to refute the rational person. I saw it happen when I did my student ministry at the Institute for Creation Research The other side of the coin is the fact that belief simply trumps truth. People believe what they want to believe. It takes a lot of cognitive dissonance to undue belief. Some people are just not capable of letting go of what they believe because the fear of the unknown or possible punishment from god is too great.

Most Christians were converted in their childhood and youth. The brain is extremely susceptible to fantastic beliefs in childhood. The ability to think long term and make good judgments doesn’t develop until a person is in their early 20’s. This is a common problem with youth. Can you imagine the power religion has over people when they are converted in their youth? When they become adults they have to fight their natural development to put away childish thinking and keep believing in things they can never prove or demonstrate.

It’s unbelievable the kind of thinking and that goes on in Christian circles today. I know because I was apart of them for decades. I’ve seen everything from casting out supposed demons to praying for paralyzed people 24 hours straight with, of course, no results. I’ve seen families judged by the church because there teenage daughter got pregnant. I’ve seen people abused sexually, emotionally, physically, financially and so on. I’ve witnessed the failure of good people who, even though they were indwelt with the Holy Spirit, do hurtful things to other Christians. I’ve seen the mentally ill treated with contempt for not overcoming their illness or for taking psychotropic drugs. I’ve seen prejudice and hate all in the name of god. The list goes on and on. The average Christian will tell you to look to Jesus but they conveniently put aside the concept that Christians are supposed to be known for their love. Christians don’t turn the other cheek; they support war if they believe it is a just cause. Our president claims to be a disciple of Christ and he started this war in Iraq. Christians often fail to see how there own cultural upbringing influence their beliefs. They become ethno-centric and equate their way of life with god’s way of life. They don’t give their all to serve their god; they give what works for them and forget the rest. They do what makes them feel superior and just.

The truth of the matter is, that for religion to be real and a conduit to the truth it needs to demonstrate universal consistency and rationally based evidence. It doesn’t and there isn’t anyway to do so. There is too much of “us” in religion and no real supernatural, rational, believable god behind it. There is no second coming, no mountains being moved, no arms or legs regenerated by god, no walking on water, no consistency in theology, eschatology, or doctrine and no ability to demonstrate that they, the Christians, have anything even close to proof that their lives are better, happier, purer, healthier, more moral or ethical or anything else that could be used to measure them by. Those cherished beliefs are no more than that. They do not equate to any measurable or quantifiable proof that god exists for indwells the believer.

THE BIBLE AIN'T GOD!

Sent in by Michael Z

There is a lot of anguish expressed on this, and other sites like it, by sobbing Christians on the edge. The common thread is that they can't leave the Bibles or god will not exist. Maybe admitting that "what is at the core of existence is beyond our grasp" would be a good start for your recovery from this addiction.

THE BIBLE

The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is at the core of most issues. The Old Testament was written in the early hours of civilization by primitive humans. Do not the needs of the “God of the Hebrews” parallel the needs of any earthly despot of that time? Kneel humbly at my feet or I will kill you! Disobey me and I will kill you. Speak badly of me and I will kill you!

Would a perfect, almighty and munificent supernatural being need the praise of select tribe of primitive peasants to exist?

Would a perfect, almighty and munificent supernatural being pick one group over another? We call that racial-ethnic prejudice today. Would this perfect entity give them unfair advantage in their wars on innocent people? Today, Joshua would be hunted down and hanged as the worst war criminal in history. The Bible is history’s first account of genocide – committed by the same people later to be falsely known as the world’s worst victims of it. More people were slain in Stalinist Russia and Cambodia. There were no claims of godly sanctity in the latter two.

Would a perfect, almighty and munificent supernatural being kill the innocent children of Egypt to force the hand of the Pharaoh to free the Hebrews? If he were indeed all powerful, why did he not just will it so?

If you are not a Jew does the “God of the Jews” pertain to you?

Does mere nomenclature make Christians monotheistic? Certainly not! Just by naming Jehovah “God” does not dismiss Christianity’s other lesser, Greco-Roman style deities. What are angels? What is Satan? What are saints? “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” What other gods?

“God” says “Thou shalt not kill” and later says if you worship only me you have my permission to invade Canaan and brutally slaughter every living thing – among them, frightened innocent women and crying little children. But you can keep the money and valuables! It literally makes me sick to think about it.

I could go on and on but - would you worship such a god anyway?

THEN WHAT REALLY IS THE ISSUE?

One would think that the real issue here is to wake up the sleeping ones. They need to know – it’s OK to question what is totally unbelievable and/or repugnant, no matter who is shoving it down your throat. It’s not imperative to convert the world to atheism, the important issue here is loosening organized religion’s death grip on humanity. When you throw off the shackles of a dangerous and arrogant power base like Christianity you will find that a lot of history needs to be revisited with wiser eyes.

Religious brainwashing has made conformity so necessary to us that we are coerced to select a religion from a menu. What is it buddy? Ya gotta pick one! The first step to freedom and rationality is to read your Bible! Read all of it – not just what you elders point you to. Read it all, and listen to what it is saying. Did you ever ponder the fact that Christianity is solely based on a human sacrifice to appease an angry god? God must be really angry now – who do we kill this time to atone?

If you are spiritual, continue being spiritual. You don’t have to be an atheist, you just need more respect. Who are you, and who is your local "wise man" to know the intimate details of the origin of all things? Have the common sense to move the Bible to the fiction section of the library and stop worshiping it.

The Lardship of Kryasst - What does it mean?

By Brother Jeff

Adapted from The Lordship of Christ.

In the Book of Myths, Jesus of Nazareth has received many titles. He is called the Kryasst, Son of the Holy Farter, Son of Man, Slaver, and Messiah. He has also been called "Lard." Unlike many of the other terms given to Jesus, the term Lard is relatively common and as such its meaning is often taken for granted. But what does the Lardship of Kryasst actually mean?

Jesus Himself gives the first inkling into the significance of being called Lard when He addresses a great multitude of people along with His disciples in the plain, "Why do you call me, 'Lard, Lard,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). If anyone recognizes Jesus Kryasst as his or her Lard, then the first requirement from such a person is to inhale by faith the Gas of Obedience. This holy gas is offered to Jesus Kryasst because of the authority that was magically granted to Him. Jesus said, as He blasted off for His magic throne in the Sky Kingdom, ". . .All authority in the Sky Kingdom and on the flat earth has been magically given to me." (Matthew 28:18).

How did Jesus gain this magical authority? On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter addressed the crowd that had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. He recited from the Psalms, the psychotic ramblings of David, linking them to the magical deeds and happenings in the life of Kryasst. After explaining about the suffering on the big giant stick, Croaking in the Spook, and magical undeadening of Jesus, and proving that the psychotic ramblings in the Psalms did not refer to David but to someone future and greater, he goes on to say, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: the Holy Farter has made this Jesus, whom you murdered on the big giant stick, both Lard and Kryasst" (Acts 2:36).

The Holy Farter bestowed the office of Lard to Jesus Kryasst His Magic Sky Son because Jesus had surrendered Himself in full obedience to the Holy Farter and had accomplished the work of slavation through His suffering on the big giant stick and taken victory over all enemies through His magical undeadening.

The Apostle Paul also stresses the connection between the obedience of Kryasst and His Lardship in the book of Philippians, "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to Croaking in the Spook - even Croaking in the Spook on a big giant stick! Therefore the Holy Farter magically exalted him to the highest place in our gloriously small, three-tiered universe and gave him the magic name that is above every name, that at the magical name of Jesus every knee should bow, in the Sky Kingdom and on the flat earth and under the flat earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Kryasst is Lard, to the gassiness of the Holy Farter" (Philippians 2:8-11).

As Lard, Jesus Kryasst deserves His Holy Stench because of the holy gas that was bestowed upon Him by the Holy Farter. We are to take by faith the same Gas of Obedience that Jesus Himself inhaled. We as followers of Kryasst must acknowledge Him in all of our farts. We are only to emit what pleases Him and what He has commanded us to emit. This is how He, Himself lived towards the Holy Farter during His earthly sojourn, "So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man and bumped His head on the solid dome firmament in which the stars are fixed, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I emit nothing on my own but fart just as the Holy Farter has taught me.'" (John 8:28).

What does the Lardship of Jesus Kryasst mean? It means that we recognize Him for who He is and give Him the stench that He is due. He has earned it; He is worthy of it.

Ultimately, this is how our walk with Kryasst should begin, by recognizing and confessing that He is Lard. This is how slavation is obtained, by this very recognition. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lard,' and believe in your farts that the Holy Farter magically undeadened him, you will be slaved. For it is with your farts that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are slaved" (Romans 10:9-10). Glory!

Christianity doesn't make sense!

By Alex

This (for want of a better word) essay is about something that I have believed for a long time, but which recently has taken over a large portion of my private time. I don't mean to say that this is a bad thing, because, in an odd way, it gives me comfort and clarity in life.

Other times the stuff I read makes me unimaginably angry.

The point of this blog is that I am a hardline atheist. A lot of people seem to think that atheism is foolish, because there is no way to know whether there is a god, and therefore, its just as bad to be atheist as to be religious, in the thinking about stuff terms.

Now, I readily admit that there is no way to know whether there is or is not a god. But I'm not agnostic about religion for the same reason that I am not agnostic to gravity.

Let me explain. There is a popular philosophical thought experiment that says that there is a chance that gravity has only worked the way that it has by coincidence. Maybe gravity sometimes pushes objects away. But by pure chance, we have never observed it happening.

Think about it, there is a chance that gravity doesn't always pull things towards it, but the chance is so small, and the concept is so ridiculous, that its not worth thinking about.

In my mind, it;s the same with religion. There is a chance that there may be a god, but to me the chance is so small, and the notion so ridiculous, that its not worth thinking about.

This is why I am an atheist rather than an agnostic.

I spend a lot of time researching religion and atheism, because I know that there are a lot of questions in the world that I cant answer, but dammit, I'd like to be able to answer them. So Im throwing myself into this more than I have ever thrown myself into anything else in my life ever.

The worst part about it is that, I still sometimes feel ashamed that I am atheist. Maybe its the fact that I was brought up in Christian schools, with Christian teachers and friends. Maybe its the society I live in. I don't know. But I often don't want to admit my atheism too much, at least not to people who don't already know.

To people I know, I seem to be seen as some sort of militant atheist. I'm not sure whether I'm proud or ashamed by that. I mean, do I come across as sure of myself, or arrogant? rational, or intolerant?

I'm not in any position to say.

I'm not sure how to vocalise why I believe what I do, but I'll give it a go.

When you boil it all down, and ignore all arguments about evolution, or the Big Bang yadda yadda yadda, in my mind it comes down to this:

Where is god?

God must be conscious, yes? But where is this consciousness? Is it in the sky? Is it in another dimension? Is it everywhere?

People used to believe that heaven was in the sky. But now we know whats in the sky, and I sure as hell don't see any heaven up there. Other dimensions? Please. Getting into that is too much like a science fiction novel. Everywhere? We know what everything is made of, right down to electrons and neutrons.

Where the hell could god be hiding? Surely he must be somewhere. How can you have a mind without anything physical? It just doesn't make any sense. At all.

I don't understand why people persist in believing this crap. And I HATE that I don't understand this. Its like an itch in the back of my mind that makes me want to stand up and scream at people "How could you possibly think this is true?"

I'd like to think that people only say they believe it for convenience or something, but I know that isn't true.

People don't kill others over an idea thats just convenient.

I turned atheist when I was about 14. This was around the time that I realised I only said I was Christian, because I didn't know of any alternative.

Well, I did know there were alternatives, but they all seemed scary. I didn't know anything about them. Christianity I knew, I could deal with that, but I was scared to take that first step into the unknown.

Then I was told that Noah's Ark actually happened.

So, yeah, after that I was atheist, without really knowing what it meant. Thats when I discovered that before then, I was really the only Christian member of my family. And that made me feel pretty stupid.

Wow, I started this blog intending to talk about everything I'm thinking at the moment, and its turning into an essay. I'm not sure theres enough time to touch on EVERYTHING in my head right now, but I'll do my best. Congratulations on getting this far.

Until recently I would muddle through life, not really caring what people believed, but now I find it hard not to judge people on their beliefs. Not everyone, theres some Christians who I know who really are good people, and do follow the rules they set themselves, and don't try to change me.

I guess thats what my feelings about other peoples beliefs really depend on; whether they try to convert me, or push their beliefs on me in any way.

When this does happen, it makes me very angry, and I'm never really sure why im angry. When I heard that my dad was in a coma, shortly before he died, I was preparing to go and visit him in hospital. I was having a cigarette outside, just before leaving, and I was obviously in some distress. Then a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses walked up to me and started trying to tell me about Jesus.

I think even Christians could understand why this pissed me off. I was visibly upset, what I needed was a friend to talk to, or to be left alone, and these guys thought that this was a good time to try and convert me? How fucking selfish. Selfish, because they were trying to get a win, and finally convert someone. The worst part is that they probably think that they were trying to help! They probably dont even realise how selfish they were being.

A while ago I was going through a tough time, and I was talking to a Christian friend about it. All she could come up with to say to me was "I'll pray for you"

I can honestly say, I would have preferred she just spat at me and told me to get over myself.

I had no idea why I felt so angry about this, until I read something in a book, which dealt with this situation. Its that it was so fucking patronising. She knows how I feel about religion, and yet she said this, thinking it would comfort me? I know she probably didn't mean it like this, but it felt to me that she was exploiting my time of need, to try and convert me. I felt used and insulted. What good is praying for me going to do? Even if god does exist, I've turned my back on him, and hes not gonna make my life any better, because unless he showed up on my door step, I wouldn't believe it was him that did it.

Thats another thing. Even if there was proof god exists, I wouldn't worship him. He created an entire universe, so that the only sapient beings on it could spend their lives worshiping him? Why bother? Does he really need validation so much, that he would create a plane of existence, just to have things to worship him?

God is kind, and loves everyone, and thats why if you don't believe in him you will BE TORTURED FOR ETERNITY. Makes sense.

He gave us free will, so that he can punish us if we ever even think about using it.

I refuse to worship such an ego-maniacal, masochistic deitard.

And yes, I do copyright the term 'deitard'.


People argue intelligent design.

Has anyone actually looked at the things he supposedly designed?

The earths crust is broken up, and floats around, crashing into other pieces, causing earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves. Human spines are designed for creatures walking on all fours. They have been adapted for an upright stance by simply bending it. The bending at the base of the spine is the reason most people develop back problems in later life. Creationists go on and on about how the human eye is so complex, it must have been designed. The eye is designed upside down and back to front! Light has to pass through blood vessels, fluid, and various other things that get in the way before reaching the light sensitive cones and rods, and the signal can be sent to the back of the brain. Why does the left side of the brain control the right side of the body? Why do we have an appendix? What the FUCK is up with teeth?

Look up 'incompetent design' for more info.

I believe that there is no afterlife. And I am happy believing that. I want to believe that when I die, there is nothing.

People have asked me "How can you go through life believing that? How can you not just curl into a ball and cry, knowing that theres no afterlife?". Well, it comes down to the nature of forever. The afterlife must be an eternal thing. Otherwise its just another life. I sure as hell dont want to be conscious and thinking forever. I can barely deal with being conscious and thinking for one life, thank you very much. Eternity it a fuck of a long time to be thinking.

Think about it. Really think about it. Do you really want to be conscious for eternity? Forever is a scary thing when you think about it. If you go to heaven, how can perfection last forever? It just doesn't make sense.

While I'm on the subject of heaven, I'd like to share with you something that puzzles me.

What is heaven?

By definition, it must be perfect, otherwise whats the point?

But definitions of perfect differ from person to person. Is heaven the same for everyone, or different? If its the same for everyone, well, it cant really be perfect, can it? Cos there will always be someone who isn't happy with it. But it cant work being different either. Say you loved me, but I hated you. Your idea of perfection would include me, but mine wouldn't include you. Would I be in your heaven or not? Either way, someone isnt happy. So you see, the concept of the afterlife is a paradox in itself.

How could you still think without a physical brain?

Why would god make us go through the rigmarole of earth, when, being that he is omniscient, he already knows whether we are going to heaven or hell?

How can god be omniscient and omnipotent at the same time? If he knows the future, he knows what he is going to do. Can he decide to do differently? If so, he's not omniscient, and if not, hes not omnipotent.

There are too many questions. Too many paradoxes. And too many ridiculous notions.

IT. DOESN'T. MAKE. SENSE.

Well, Ive been writing this for an hour and a half. Its now 4.30am. I'm finished.

The Stumbling Block

From The Stumbling Block



Today's civilized person has a tiny, cushioned view of how the world's life is suffering because of us. People have marched in masses to make it so, bulldozing all other life out of their path without care or knowledge of what they're doing to the rest of the world around them. Today's culture has created a twisted logic that supports this status quo and prevents them from having to face reason, or be made to think outside of this destructive box, constantly struggling to stay within it themselves, for not being on top is synonymous to falling off the earth. It is a world screaming for a wake up call.

Visit The Stumbling Block

Stop looking at imperfect people; look at 'GOD' instead

Sent in by Laughing Buddha

I am sick and tired of one of the most worn-out arguments that Xtians use when they are dealing with people who don't believe anymore:
Stop looking at imperfect people; look at 'GOD' instead.

Guess what, people? I don't want to stop looking at people. Your Bible says you are supposed to be 'salt' and 'light' in the world. Your Bible says you are supposed to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Your Bible says you are to love your enemies and turn the other cheek.

In short, it's not my fault that there are all these commands in your Bible that your people can't follow. You are supposed to be, in every area of your life, what Jayzus commands. You are supposed to be the ones demonstrating for the rest of the world what 'life in Christ-almighty' is supposed to be like. You are supposed to be showing the world what a little taste of the 'kingdom of god' is all about. Don't, please, for pity sake, cry to me that 'people are imperfect.'

Straight up, no need for grease, you are all liars. You told us that some ghostie was dwelling in us and making it possible for us to live a supernatural life you claim is available to us. When did I ever, EVER attend a church where there wasn't freaking drama and bullshit to wade through, up to my god-damned knees?
Well, sniff, sniff... the Bible says the early church had problems too...

Whoop-dee-f%#*ing-doo... Now you're blaming the apostles, who obviously couldn't keep shit straight either? You know who I blame for acting like a religious asshole all the years that I did? ME. That's who.

I don't blame anyone else... I swallowed the Xtian bullshit line and I rammed it down everyone else's throats, too. I marginalized and rejected people who lived differently than I, all because I had deluded myself into thinking that I was living differently than them. What a crock.

From now on, NO, I won't stop looking at the clowns who populate your little brainwashed zoo in the name of your Jayzus. When you can finally show love without condemnation, trust without conditions or sideways glances, and faith without ridiculous set-in-concrete dogmas, then I will leave you alone. Till then, your sorry asses are on display for the whole world to see, and no pope or pastor is gonna explain away the fact that millions of people are fed up with your hypocrisy.

Where has your god-da-fodder, Jayzus H. Chrysanthemum and the ghostie 'trinity' been? I know one thing for sure... REAL friends don't let friends get their asses kicked without jumping in, and TRUE friends wouldn't let you be such fake liars without calling you on it. Maybe Jaysuz did to you what you did to us... turned around and walked away. Maybe, just maybe... I'm more of a friend to you than your Jayzus is... at least I'm sticking around and telling you the truth.

Why does God hate me?

Sent in by Atheist RN

I am an atheist nurse, and I can honestly say that one of the saddest things that I have witnessed my patients say is, “Why does God hate me so much to give me this illness?” There are numerous Christian apologist answers to this question, of which I am sure many of you can recite chapter and verse, but what I really want people to understand is why belief is so detrimental to the health of a patient. Many people really believe that God is punishing them for some past misdeed. They take this to heart, and often wind up doing more harm to their condition by adding this additional mental stress. Did you know that this is actually considered diagnosable as a “Religious or Spiritual Problem”? See the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM-IV-TR, code V62.89).

Although some people do seem to get comfort from believing that God healed them, what about the people who never go into a remission? That is, a terminally ill patient. The preachers say, “Oh well, it’s God’s will, and we can’t know the mind of God”. Or worse yet, they say things like, “Your suffering is God reminding you of how Christ suffered for you”. Furthermore, how many times have we heard someone on television say things like, “Thank God I survived that terrible accident, I know my family was praying for me.” If someone else in that same accident died, I have to wonder why did that person die if they had people praying for them too? In other words, why did God answer one prayer and not another’s? I thought Christianity taught that ALL prayer is answered.

Interestingly enough in nursing school we had a lecturer say that it was wonderful that a new study says that prayer works! She cited a study by Harvard University which showed a 17% increase in healing by the group that was prayed for. http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/04.06/05-prayer.html (Note: this was the study, but I can not find the statistics that my teacher quoted here. In fact, this article says that the prayed for patients actually fared worse.) Aside from the fact that you can’t control all the variables in the study, I thought that this was a pathetic attempt to rationalize the so-called efficacy of prayer, especially since we were also told that placebos have a 33% efficacy. This means that prayer does not work as well as a sugar pill.

I really wish there were seminars out there to help non-believing nurses, and doctors, learn how to circumvent this mental torture which our patients go through. If anyone out there has any suggestions, I’d sure love to hear them.

Atheist RN

.::.

Jesus is AWESOME!

By Brother Jeff

JESUS
is just so AWESOME! I have been thinking a lot about God lately, and after the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sinfulness, I turned my life over to Christ! Again! This time it's for real and it's for good! I'll never turn my back on Him again! As for me and my cat wife Tasha, we will serve the LORD! I am so grateful to God for the way He has been helping me at school. When I don't know something, I pray about it, and Jesus gives me a revelation! And sometimes He is right! Glory! And I know that when He is wrong it's my fault for not hearing Him correctly, or it's Satan's fault for interfering with the spiritual transmission. Man, God is so awesome! If you're not God's friend, then you are His enemy and you are going to burn in HELL forever! Jesus loves you!

Shit! F**k that shit. It's hard for me to write like that anymore even joking about it. I can understand a belief in a deistic sort of god who created it all given the beauty of our world and the universe and the design evident in it, but the "revealed" gods of religions seem utterly unreal to me now. So do concepts like resurrected (magically undead) people who live in the sky. And a god with giant books who is going to judge everybody and then toss the vast majority of humanity into a flaming torture chamber for eternity? Yeah, right. And speaking of books, the notion that the Bible is an inerrant, infallible Book from God is absolutely ludicrous. And the concept of the "Holy Spirit" is hilarious! How can anybody even say "Holy Spirit" without laughing out loud? And of course "Holy Ghost" is even funnier! lmao_99.gif And yet I used to ask god to fill me up with the holy spirit all the time. All I ever got was a lot of warm fuzzy feelings while I continued to be a typically arrogant, ignorant, obnoxious religious asshole.

And what about wanting to be like Jesus? Why would I want to be like a man who plans to roast most of humanity forever? That's like wanting to be like Hitler - only many times worse! Wendytwitch.gif

What a crock of shit religion is! Religion is Bullshit! FrogsToadBigGrin.gif Like I seem to remember Dave the WM saying once, "It's (believing in the Christian myths) like being on a really bad acid trip!"

Drink, Drank, Drunk

By Stronger Now

I find myself thinking of all the questions I had when I was a Xtian about the stuff I read in the Bible. One that always stuck out with me was weather or not wine was a bad thing or a good thing. It was explained to me that anything that is done in excess is bad. It was also explained that the alcohol in the wine was toxic and that made it bad. I was told that wine at small doses was okay, but one should never drink to excess. I was told a great many things but never how a Christian can even get drunk.

Stupid question right? Read on.

Now, as any good health professional and scientist knows, ethanol is a toxic substance. It is a CNS depressant that can cause decreased motor function and, in high quantities, coma and death. This seems to be the Xtian viewpoint as well as the added "spiritual toxicity" that is also present.

Most people that consume alcohol do so at levels well under the lethal level. It is a bone of contention between some Xtian denominations weather or not any alcohol consumption should be tolerated. Which again brings me to ask why all the fuss? A True Christian cannot get drunk anyway right?

Think I made that bit up? It's in there.

Look at Mark 16:18.

It only stands to reason that

1) Alcohol is a toxic substance.

2) True Christians are immune to the harmful effects of ANY toxic substance.

3) Inebriation at any level, is a toxic effect of alcohol consumption, therefore a True Christian cannot get drunk no matter how much wine they drink.

Of course this is not true. It would only take a couple of glasses of wine to show a true Christian how untrue it is. But then it would only show the true Christian that he or she isn’t really a true Christian. In other words, why the buzz? Or, she or he could go for option #2 and be a true Christian that knows that the bible isn't true.

So tell me Christians, do you trust your faith, your bible, or science?

Miracles and morals

A short video by Pat Condell, which asks the question, "What do miracles and morality have to do with each other?"



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Separation of Church and State



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Athenova, Freedoma or Freemas?

By Bob P

America loves to invent holidays in recognition of great ideas and achievements. We have at least one official holiday for nearly every occasion and dedicated to nearly every group — except atheists. At 13-14% of the population, atheist Americans number between 30-50 million, making them perhaps the largest of any single identifiable minority. Atheists comprise a larger portion of the U.S. population than Blacks, Jews, or Gays, yet because of the social stigma cast by religion, atheists are largely invisible. Or worse, they are demonized and marginalized by buybull thumping Christians who equate atheism with immorality.

Such fallacy! Many, if not most of the great scientists were/are atheists or at least, deists, rejecting a personal god.

Where is the Atheist day of recognition?

Perhaps change is in the wind. There are at least five new books on atheism, some of which have made the bestseller list. Atheism has been a recent topic on several of the major television networks. There are many famous atheists who could be symbols for our day, including Einstein, Watson and Crick. Thomas Edison said that religion is all bunk. (Would a light bulb with the caption, "I see the light," be the atheist holiday symbol?) The Internet now has many freethought sites and blogs. Perhaps we could share an event, like, say Groundhog Day. When Puxatawny Phil fails to see his shadow, atheists could fail to see the big, white-bearded guy in the sky. Another thought is to pick the longest day of the year, June 21-22, in direct contrast to the shortest day of the year, December 25 when early deities, including Jesus and Mithras, were said to be born, symbolically ushering in Spring and new life. By celebrating the longest, and presumably hottest day of the year, atheists would represent the approaching of winter and the symbolic escape from religion's hell, fire and brimstone.

But an atheist holiday could have several obvious advantages in addition to recognizing famous scientists:
  1. No obligatory presents to buy. (There are some good atheist T-shirts and Darwin fish, however, in case you do)
  2. No resulting traffic jams, and likely no snow and ice.
  3. No productive work lost.
  4. No need to buy a $4.00 greeting card emblazoned with some inane statement that no one really reads anyway.
  5. No need to deceive children that a fat bearded guy in a red suit is going to give them something, only if they've been good.
  6. No exhaustive planning required.
  7. Billy Joel's music is optional. (No, not Kate Smith singing 'Gawd bless America'.)
  8. No guilt from believing ridiculous fairy tales that the faithful are expected to honor and believe, even for those many so called 'believers' who actually know better but cannot say.
  9. The knowledge that some of us, at least, have overcome the mental bondage and self imposed guilt of religion.
  10. All this can be achieved without a credit card.
All we need now is a name for this holiday... Anyone have any good ideas? Athenova? Freedoma? Freemas? Lets have some suggestions, OK?

Happy belated Atheist Day! May the force be yours, entirely.

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Christian significance

By Dave, the WM

My son was enjoying some time in a small city park near our home recently, when a scruffy middle-aged man, accompanied by a singularly obese 40ish woman, walked up and began to preach – at full volume.

My son, IPOD ear buds embedded deeply in each ear canal, watched as others lounging on benches or in the grass, stirred to their feet to seek out a quieter perch.

“The sins of the youth in this nation are stoking the fires of hell,” shouted the evangelist. “Repent and believe the Gospel before the time of reckoning!”

My son, immune to such things from living over half his life under a strict, fundamentalist father, and the other half under a website building apostate, was entertained by the scene. He turned up his IPOD to filter out the noise, smiled pleasantly, and waited to see if there was more than one act in this show.

The righteous monologue continued for another 30 minutes, the guy barely pausing for air. My son eventually decided to leave the lunatic to his rapt congregation of trees, rocks, and empty benches.

The next morning in the local paper, a nearly full page article exclaimed, “Evangelistic Crusade for Christ in North Park. Crusade continues for a week.”

The article went on to interview the “local evangelist and his lovely wife.” Not surprisingly, no one else was quoted in the article.

Now, I happen to know these self-proclaimed "evangelists." Both are on welfare and live in subsidized housing. He is legally blind and she is unemployed. He doesn't drive, but does manage to navigate around town on a three-wheel bicycle, usually down the center of the street, with the text of Psalm 14:1 boldly emblazoned on his silver mesh basket filled with groceries or random objects.

Perhaps this man is an illustration of one of the things that draw people to Christianity. People with limited resources of mind, body, and/or material, are made to feel significant.

I know that my feeling of significance was elevated by Christianity. I felt I was personally loved by the Lord of Creation, for one thing. Then I sought out and took on all kinds of lay leadership roles: teacher, musician, group leader, mentor, street preacher, event organizer, missionary, prison minister, geriatric center minister,... Oh yeah, I felt significant all right. And I didn't have to go to college, learn how to write, understand science, know much about history, have money or good lucks or develop six-pack abs, or do anything else very difficult. The only thing I had to know was the basic Gospel message. After all, the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God, right? And the end of all things is near, with the Rapture right around the corner, right? It would be foolish of me to invest much time or resources into learning anything remotely “secular" or "of this world." And what could be more important than investing in eternity? Anything less than everlasting has got to be insignificant, right?

The need to feel significant and part of something lasting — a basic human longing — finds quick satisfaction chasing the metaphorical carrot offered by Christianity. And in case the Christian's "inner beast" ever tires of plodding along after the elusive promise, there's always that hell-stick to keep the dumb animal on track. Not that there's anything wrong with wanting to feel significant. As I said, it's a basic human longing. It's just that the significance found in Christianity is illusory. People spend hours sitting, reading the Bible, praying for others, talking, and for the most part, doing nothing. Christians fret and fume about “how much good is done by Christians in the world,” but I never hear average Christians telling stories that detail anything they've personally done outside of supporting their immediate social group and occasionally proselytizing.

“Wait a minute! I'm a Christian and I went to Ghana on a missions trip once! We built a couple of houses!”

OK, but why did you do that? Did you do it because you had a deep driving desire to deliver relief to the poor, or was it because going on a trip organized by your church sounded like fun? Someone who really wants to help people might devote long solitary years to studying medicine, and then freely give his or her talent away to diseased etches in Africa, and then maybe even die from the sacrifice. “Dr. Livingston, I presume.” Just in case someone reading didn't know, Livingston wasn't a real Christian.

“I still say that Christians have done more for the world than anyone!”

Really? Do all Christians do great humanitarian things? Do most Christians do great humanitarian things? Is finding a Christian involved in extraordinary self-sacrifice the norm, or is it the exception? Answer honestly. If you ask me, I'd say that the bulk of Christians hide behind their heroes when it comes to actually doing anything significant. What I mean is, Christians satisfy themselves that some other Christians have done great things. Then these same Christians mystically adopt those “accomplishments” as their own. “So-and-so built an orphanage for the children of lepers with his own hands and money -- money he'd earned while cleaning toilets at the ballpark for 10 years. He is a Christian, and I am a Christian, soooo...”

Do Christians get vicarious credit for good works the same way they get vicarious atonement?

Christians obtain a feeling of significance without actually having to do anything except maybe think a pious thought, pronounce a pithy prayer, or peruse one or two pedantic publications while snuggled in a recliner.

So to the Christians, I say “Repent!” Stop congratulating yourselves for how significant you “feel” after blubbering, blabbering and bitching about unbelievers. Make something of your life and actually be significant.

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It's just pure nonsense

By Bill J:

Despite all the claims of healing people make in church, I never saw anyone's arm regrow because god healed them.

I was at a Vineyard Christian Fellowship church in California where this guy named Paul Cain was prophesying and calling people out of the audience. He supposedly revealed things about them that god told him. Years later I found out that he is a chronic alcoholic and closet homosexual.

I just don't get it. Every week there is a new charge against a religious leader in the news somewhere in this country. I'm tired of Christians telling me that you have to look at Jesus and not at man. Well, isn't man supposed to change when they find Jesus?

Where's the proof. People are always claiming they spoke to god and he/she answered them, but no two people can agree on what god said. I'm shocked that religious people can't see this. What's up with that?

I don't go to church because I fail to see proof of the existence of god in church. People of other religions, faiths and philosophies claim they know the truth. They all point to their own interpretation of truth.

It's just pure nonsense. People need to put church and religion aside and think for themselves. They need to take care of this planet and care for one another because it is the only rational thing to do. People need to stop killing each other in the name of god. They need to stop looking down at others who don't worship like they do or believe just the rights thoughts in their head like they do.

People are willing to live and die for many things. That willingness hardly qualifies as evidence that god exists.

What is faith? Is it believing in just the right things so you can go to heaven? What about those who don’t believe in just the right doctrines or theologies? In the Christian realm there are hundreds of different points of view regarding salvation, spirituality, eschatology and so on. How do you know that what you believe will unlock the truth for you?

If you stop and challenge yourself, you might find out that believing in your believe is just that. It is a series of thoughts based on something somebody else told you was true. It is a feeling you interpret as truth for yourself. It is the same feeling millions of others interpret as truth for themselves.

Leonard Pitts wrote, "Forget what you want to believe. Seek the truth and have the courage to believe that."

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God has some explaining to do

Sent in by Caleb

"OK, listen and listen good. I AM NOT ANGRY WITH GOD YOU SIMPLE-MINDED MOTHER-F@#%ER!" This is what I want to respond with every time one of my Christian friends explains what is really going on in my head. The following is copied straight from an e-mail I recently received:
"Caleb, I am most concerned about the fragility of your heart and soul. I believe you are angry with God because of your current circumstances, and I am praying for the Lord to provide a way out, but only if you want it. Just like He says- if you are a believer- He won’t give you anything beyond what you can bear. He is waiting for you, all you have to do is call on Him, test Him and see if the floodgates do not come wide open. I will personally be held accountable for your soul so please understand these are things I must do. I will not hound you, but know that I love you and pray for you daily..."

Now I know it all sounds well-meaning enough, but this person is always looking for a circumstance in my life that would show I'm better off with God. I don't get it. I mean worse shit happened to me when I was a believer. I used to get so upset wondering why God had forsaken me. I wondered why "He" wouldn't just move on my behalf. I secretly used to think I wasn't good enough, but now what should I think? Is the God of Love, the God that is Love, you know "love" like 1 Corinthians says is not jealous, and keeps no record of wrong. Is the God of Love gonna screw up my life to get me back to him? How messed up is that reasoning? You know the bible even says that God sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike. How clever, "He's" got all his bases covered then.

My wife recently miscarried what would have been our third child. About three months before this happened, I became an atheist. It was very upsetting at first, but for the first time in my life, I didn't get all distraught and depressed wondering why God allowed this to happen. I remember realizing..."dude, stuff like this just happens! It sucks, but I am still very lucky especially when compared to what life has brought many others. I have two healthy boys, and a beautiful wife." On top of that, I am healthy too.

My wife works in pediatric oncology at MD Anderson, one of the nations leading cancer hospitals. I've visited there. I've seen the hands dealt other people. I've seen the parents praying over their dying child to no avail. I know I am very lucky.

As a Christian I was taught that God rewards those that seek Him, and that God works all things out for the good of those that serve Him. That really made hard times even more difficult to endure. I mean where is the good in so many things that happen to God's supposed children. And this brings me to my point. I am not angry with God, because I know that "He" doesn't exist. However, if God was real, and I still believed in Him, wouldn't it be very selfish, arrogant, and indifferent to my fellow man if I wasn't raging with anger towards God? I mean seriously, even if my own life was great, look at all the stuff that the "all-powerful God" allows to happen. Billions have died in wars, genocides, and terrorist attacks. Millions of innocent children and adults have died of severe agonizing and debilitating diseases. Millions of people are physically and mentally handicapped from birth or accidents in life. Crime against the innocent runs rampant in our society. We are plagued with parent-less children, homeless people, and drug addicts. Not to mention that we can't trust our own government half the time. Then, the mother of all of it... HELL! One thing I like to emphasize to my Christian friends is the issue of love. I mean, if we see some psycho on TV talking about how he killed his wife because he loved her. You know the stories where the killer says that his wife / girlfriend was gonna leave him, and he couldn't let her do that, because he loved her? Therefore, he killed her. Everyone knows that's not real love, but isn't that what God does? If someone doesn't love Him or accept Him, He sends them to hell. I thought love kept no record of wrong, and was not jealous. Yet the bible - described "jealous God" that is also love, sure seems to hate those that reject Him.

If God was real, then it would be our duty as humans to be angry with him. I mean, "He" definitely has some f@#%king explaining to do right?

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