by Paula Hay all I know, all I believe are crumbling images no longer comforting me this ground is not the rock I thought it to be thought I was high, thought I was free thought I was there: divine destiny I was wrong. This changes everything. -- Maynard James Keenan The late fall afternoon is peaceful as I cozy up on the sofa for a few hours of cable television movies. Flipping through the channels, I happen upon a prerecorded televangelist rally. I pause to observe. The small man on the stage shouts into his cordless microphone about the power of God and the salvation of Jesus, stomping up and down the length of the stage, visibly energized by the clamorous feedback of his audience. Although the program is nearing its end I know he has been performing in this manner for about an hour. He concludes his sermon with an emotional prayer backed by a solemn minor-key melody on electric piano. I watch then as hundreds of people stream from the arena seats to the stage, seeking salvation in

I found myself in church last Sunday, being supportive of a young family member who was performing some music. While there, I heard this story. I suppose many of you have heard or read the same story, or some variation of it during the month of December. Well here is what was said: The Christian Origin of the Candy Cane A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols from the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world t

The following article was graciously submitted to ExChristian.Net by the author Bruce Monson. His website can be viewed by clicking HERE Dear Editor, I am a professional firefighter-paramedic for the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado; a beautiful but ultra-conservative city that boasts of its plethora of military institutions: Fort Carson Army base, Peterson Air Force base, NORAD (remember the movie Wargames?) and The Air Force Academy. It is also (I’m convinced) the fundamentalist Christian epicenter for the entire planet and serves as home base for Dr. James Dobson’s massive Focus on the Family corporate headquarters, the World Prayer Center, massive displays of tax-free wealth on practically every corner, and a local paper that caters to evangelicals. In short, there is no shortage of opportunities for encountering and debating proselytizing Christians, and that includes on my own fire department where I am currently fighting the presence of Christian propaganda bulletin boards tha

I was "saved" when I was 11 years old. At that time (the late 60's) Billy Graham was emphatic that the rapture was sure to happen by 1980 or thereabouts. I remember being saddened by the fact that I would never have wife, never have children, never grow old and so on.The whole subject was very real to me. I neglected my studies and devoted myself to religious meetings, believing that they were of eternal value, while scholastic endeavors were only temporary. I also was convinced bodily exercise was of no real value as well, since it had no everlasting reward. The rapture and heaven mentality really damaged my potential for success as a youth and later as an adult. I have been lately told that I should not be so aggressive in my campaign against Christianity. I have been told that whatever someone else believes is not material to actual reality. and I should live and let live - so to speak. I disagree totally. I believe that ideas have far reaching consequences. Being indo

A team of archaeologists was excavating in Israel when they came upon a cave. Written across the wall of the cave were the following symbols: It was considered a unique find and the writings were said to be at least three thousand years old! The piece of stone was removed, brought to the museum, and archaeologists from around the world came to study the ancient symbols. They held a huge meeting after months of conferences to discuss the meaning of the markings. The President of the society pointed at the first drawing and said: This looks like a woman. We can judge that it was family oriented and held women in high esteem. You can also tell they were intelligent, as the next symbol resembles a donkey, so, they were smart enough to have animals help them till the soil. The next drawing looks like a shovel of some sort, which means they even had tools to help them. Even further proof of their high intelligence is the fish, which means that if a famine had hit the earth, whereby the food

for the Star Trek fans Jesus was not really from our planet. He came from heaven, dwelt among us as a human, and returned to heaven where he is even now sitting at the right hand of the father, wherever that is. Though he presented himself in the form of a human male, he is really an altogether different life form from us. What exactly he really is, is beyond our comprehension, but with the eyes of faith we can learn to accept that HE IS, and that is enough for our small intellect. Can we can all agree on that? In the Star Trek televsion and movie series, there is a Prime Directive that mandates non-interference with the evolution and development of primitive species, planets, cultures or civilizations by members of Star Fleet. Jesus did not violate the prime directive. Unlike his contemporaries in the first century, Jesus was omniscient and therefore had extensive knowledge of the following subjects Ø Germs Ø Disease Ø Vaccines Ø Sanitation Ø Waste Disposal Ø Sewage Disposal and Clean

I picked up the paper today and read an article by Kathleen Parker that got me to thinking. Ms. Parker is a conservative columnist, and I agree with much she has to say. Today was no exception has I read her insights on the recent Michael Jackson fiasco over in Germany this week. For those of you who may be out of touch, or read this article in the future, Mr. Jackson dangled his young infant over the guard rail of his fourth floor hotel balcony. He held the squirming kid by one arm showing the child off to the crowd in the street. Now what is so interesting about this event is that there is no moral outcry about child endangerment for this display. When I was stationed in Japan about 10 years ago, my wife and I went shopping at the base exchange taking our 2 year old daughter with us. She was the proverbial terrible two child at the time and wanted to touch this and grab that. When she was told no, she would go into a royal screaming fit of anger. Typical really for a chi

One of the pet doctrines I was always at odds with as a Christian was the tithe. Just out of curiosity I looked up what "Christianity Today" has to say about the subject. Since they are fairly mainstream, at least Evangelical mainstream, I find it interesting what I find there. For instance, this question and answer: " Q: The tithe is clearly taught in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament it seems to be downplayed. Are those of us who give 10 percent of our income doing something not required?" " A: A simple yes or no to this question would be horribly misleading. (D.A. Carson)" Well is it yes or no Mr. Carson? Christians are continually saying that true Christianity is not about money, but is that really true? Here is a little more of what good old DA had to say: "...the New Testament provides no passage with the same explicit conclusion. (that 10% should be given)" So, then that means Christians are not required to give 10% off the to

Scripture is clear that one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to illumine the minds of Christians so they can understand Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). This being the case, why do spirit-filled Christians sometimes have different understandings as to what certain Bible verses mean? In answering this question, one might liken the Holy Spirit to a radio station that is transmitting a perfect signal. Even though that radio signal is transmitted perfectly, there are all kinds of different quality radio receivers out there. Some have good reception; some have poor reception. Some have a good antennae; others have a broken antennae. Some have good batteries; others are low on energy. The point is, different radio receivers have varying degrees of success in receiving that perfect signal. Christians are much the same way. The Holy Spirit's "signal" (that is, His illumination) is always perfect. But because of varying circumstances (perhaps sin, or not fully walking in

I have a wonderful lucky rabbit's foot. I don't know what I would do without it. I try always to keep it with me. My rabbit's foot is magical: I can ask it for anything I want, I can ask it to do anything I want, or to make anything happen, and it will make it happen. I can't explain how it does this, but I know, because it works. I have seen it work many, many times. Of course, it only grants the requests that are best for me. Sometimes I foolishly ask for things that I shouldn't have, and so it wisely does not grant those requests. I have no idea how it "knows" what is best for me, but it does! It is a lot smarter than me, because a lot of things I ask for that I think would be good for me, it won't let me have them. So somehow they must be not good for me. My rabbit's foot is also very protective of me. It keeps so many bad things from happening to me. I shudder to think of all the terrible things that would have happened to me if I hadn't h

Justifying Non-Christian Objections Douglas Wilson & Farrell Till Whenever we object to something, we always assume some standard or rule that the thing violates. Similarly, when non-Christians object to the Christian faith, they assume some standard that Christianity violates. But can non-Christians justify these standards that they so readily use? In the following interchange, the editor of Credenda/Agenda, Douglas Wilson and Farrell Till, editor of The Skeptical Review, discuss the topic of justifying non-Christian standards of ethics and reason. For the past thirty years, Farrell Till has been an English instructor at Spoon River College in Canton, Illinois. Prior to this, he was a preacher and foreign missionary for the Church of Christ. He attended two Bible colleges and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Harding University. His preaching career spanned twelve years, five of which were spent in missionary work in France. After becoming an agnostic, he

by John Burton, April 2002 My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life.Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity, or for at least a few years, months, days, or hours, depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die? God says in the Bible that in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again (John 3:7). You can be saved today. How? Pay close and careful attention, because if you make one little mistake along the way and end up deviating even slightly from the requisite straight and narrow path to salvation, you will burn in Hell forever. Fair enough? Before I continue citing Bible verses, it would be wise for me to consider whether you the reader, recognize that the Bible, which contains the verse above, is the Word of God......or that God even exists. Let us therefore begin at the beginning. You will need to consider each question, concept, or issue listed below and identify or devise an explanation which is re

Okay, let's talk. As a Christian I believed in GOD, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, in angels and demons, in prophesy, in coming judgement, in heaven and hell. I believed in creation, in a 6000-year-old earth, in Adam and Eve, in Noah and his ark, in Elijah and in Elisha. I believed I was chosen by God for eternal life, in supernatural healings, in words of knowledge, in speaking in tongues, in predestination, in freewill, in the Bible, and in so many other things that this list could go on, and on, and on. I believed in all these things and thought anyone who did not believe in them was a fool. I pitied them. When I met others who believed in other religions, or in no religion, I was mystified as to how they could not see the truth of my CHRISTIANITY. In my mind, Christianity was so unique and so superior to all other religions that demon possession, or GOD having blinded their eyes, were the only explanations as to why others could not see clearly on the issue. When I read mythol

October 16, 2002 A Voice for Reason, Rationality, and Common Sense in an Ocean of Religious Bullshit Brainwashing and FEAR: The Tools of the Church Welcome to the first edition of the Religion is Bullshit Glorious Newsletter! I used to spend a lot of time debating Fundies on a few online debate forums. Most of them are nice enough people but apparently impervious to reason, logic, rationality, common sense, Reality, etc., when it comes to their religious beliefs. You can show a Fundie the truth and facts over and over and over again and they still won't get it. I have had the experience of having a Fundie state something dogmatic, like the absurd idea that the Bible is inerrant, that was easily disprovable. I disproved their claim and any reasonable person would have learned and adjusted their views. Not Fundies! They just keep posting the same tired, easily disproved arguments over and over again in spite of the fact that they

Where does man stand today relative to love and sex? Where is he going? The answers to these questions come into clearer focus if one knows where man has been and the direction he is now moving. By objectively analyzing and studying the fascinating and sometimes startling history of love and sex, one can learn where man has been personally and sexually. Examining this history reveals the gradual but definite progress man has made toward identifying and developing rational and objective views of himself and of interhuman love and sexual relationships. The progress over the past 3200 years is outlined below. This table indicates that concepts such as love within marriage, the equality of women with men, and the mutual enjoyment of sex were unknown throughout most of recorded history. In fact, the concept of romantic love as the basis of sex and marriage has fully evolved only within the past century. Although the course of progress zigzags dramatically over the centuries, progress of ma