by Dan Barker Dear Believer, — You asked me to consider Christianity as the answer for my life. I have done that. I consider it untrue, repugnant, and harmful. You expect me to believe Jesus was born of a virgin impregnated by a ghost? Do you believe all the crazy tales of ancient religions? Julius Caesar was reportedly born of a virgin; Roman historian Seutonius said Augustus bodily rose to heaven when he died; and Buddha was supposedly born speaking. You don’t believe all that, do you? Why do you expect me to swallow the fables of Christianity? I find it incredible that you ask me to believe that the earth was created in six literal days; women come from a man’s rib; a snake, a donkey, and a burning bush spoke human language; the entire world was flooded, covering the mountains to drown evil; all animal species, millions of them, rode on one boat; language variations stem from the tower of Babel; Moses had a magic wand; the Nile turned to blood; a stick turned into a snake; witches, ...

Q: What's the difference between a Christian and a paranoid schizophrenic? A: One person hears voices, is convinced his thoughts and actions are known to some outside power, thinks the world was designed and created for him and that he is central to everything that goes on, is sure he's part of a special divine mission, believes that ordinary everyday events have some special transcendent meaning visible only to him, sometimes speaks in incoherent babbling voices, and believes supernatural forces are at work to influence his actions. And the other one, of course, is a paranoid schizophrenic...

One must double check on what the translators of the Bible did in their translating. I read a list of errors in numbers and disregarded a few that had, what I thought, was a logical explanation. The two verses in question are: "And it (the brass lavior) was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths." ((1 Kings 7:26) "And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths." (11 Chron. 4:5) The explanation given by bibleists was that when the brass lavior was filled the way it was normally used, it contained 2,000 baths, but if it was filled completely full, to the brim, it received and held 3,000 baths. This sounded reasonable to me, however I wondered if the translators really did their job right. I checked, and guess what? Th...

I would just like to commend all the patriotic Christian citizens of this great nation for making their outrage over the pledge known . Our country is under attack by other U.S. citizens who believe they are our equals ! They have come under the notion that this nation was founded on the desire to be free from tyranny . Freedom that would allow them to believe what they conclude from objective reasoning based upon evidence at hand and to hell with majority ! Well we know better because this country was settled by God fearing Christians . We were the ones who tamed the savage Indians . Thanks to the efforts of good Christian men slaughtering , enslaving and later confining the heathen Indians to the meager reservations of their once vast homelands . If not for loving Christians we'd have loincloth wearing heathens corrupting our great nation with their crazy beliefs . I ask you where were all those atheists then ? Did the atheists feel they had a right to believe what they did back ...

The purpose of Hell is two fold; to scare the mortals whose destiny in Heaven or Hell has not yet been determined, and to punish the souls of those who made the wrong choice. It is defined loosely as a place where people are consciously tormented for all eternity as retribution for their sins in this world. Christians have no recourse if they want to deny the existence of Hell. Jesus mentions Hell several times in the New Testament and is very clear not only that one exists, but also that sinners are destined to go there (Matthew 5:30, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 23:15, Matthew 23:33, Luke 10:15, Luke 16:22-24 etc). To deny Hell is to deny that Christ was infallible and therefore cease to be a Christian. Since faith is what pleases God, and it is impossible to please (or believe in, for that matter) God without faith, it follows that we must also have faith in the existence of Hell before we can fear going there. If God were to prove to us that Hell existed, we would all immediately fall in...

http://christiananswers.net/q-dml/dml-y011.html The article for the above URL is posted below. Personally, I can't believe how totally asinine these people are! My comments are in italics. What do you think about this? "I'm a Christian and I have a sort of embarrassing problem. I need to know if masturbation is wrong in the eyes of God." --Troy I know it took a lot of courage for you to write this letter, Troy. So I want to give you some counsel to help you with this issue. Masturbation is the most practiced and least discussed sex act. A lot of people are doing it, but hardly any one will talk about it. You know Troy, that I will always go to the Bible to find answers to difficult questions. Yet nowhere in the Bible is masturbation mentioned. So what do we do? I still go to the Scriptures. Even though masturbation isn't mentioned, the Bible has a lot to say about sexuality. There are principles in God's word about sexuality which should be applied to masturb...

I heard from my dad today that a high school classmate of mine has been diagnosed with MS. He, like me, is 43 and until this problem cropped up was in the prime of health. He has a family and a good job. Well, he had a good job, as this health problem has resulted with him being unemployed for the time being. The doctors have him on drugs that will not cure him, of course, but help him to function in these stages of the disease and will supposedly extend his ability to function normally for another 10 to 15 years. Their words of hope to him are that perhaps 15 years will find a cure. Therefore, mortality rears its ugly head again in my face. I lost my younger brother a little over 10 years ago in a car accident. He was a few days short of being 30. At the time I was a die-hard evangelical Christian and I found great strength in that tragic situation from my faith in a GOD who ruled the world and controlled the destiny of all humanity in perfect love and righteousness. My brother howeve...

The Xtian god sees everyone in either one of two catagories: saved or unsaved. Without even going into the reasoning behind the need for salvation itself, look at the relationship god has with these groups. For the saved, HE demands unquestioning obedience and submission, to the point of expecting you to kill your own child if he tells you to (AKA: Issac and Abraham). These are the people HE likes. For the rest - about 90% of the population by fundie standards, maybe more - it's unimagineable pain and anguish for all of eternity, without hope of an end. Watching just one little girl die at the hands of a psycho is small time for GOD. HE likes dealing with entire nations, and ultimately, species. Insofar as how Xtians themselves see it, well, here is the drill as I see it: "We're the ones that are saved, we're on God's Christmas list, so we get goodies (provided we don't think we really deserve them, or at least say we don't). Then, we go home to be w...

Oh my, I have the word of the Lord. I have heard from a messenger of the most high god. Yes, listen to me. I now know what I only suspected before. I AM AN ARSHOLE!!!!! A self appointed representative of all that is right and good in the world felt the inspiration of the holy ghost and showered me with the following message posted to my testimony. This prophet of the MOST HIGH GOD did not post this message just once or twice. NO, this loving word of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY was posted exactly eight times. I deleted seven of the posts, as it is a terrible waste of server space, but I want to share the post here with you now. Any word of GOD should be honored and displayed for all to see, and as a true believer in Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory, Jasine should be heard. I quote, without changing one thing: "you are a self righteous, pompus arshole who blames the world and especially christians for all ur trouble in life. U should take responibilty for ur actions and stop blaming Christ....

AGNOSTIC: (1.) One who queries the existence of a God(s); (2.) a gutless atheist. ATHEIST: (1.) One who denies the existence of a God(s); (2.) one who disbelieves the existence of a God(s); (3.) one who doesn't give a flying fuck either way and spends their time trying to understand reality rather than illusory hereafters. ARCHBISHOP: A Christian ecclesiastic of a rank superior to that attained by Christ - H.L. Mencken AUDITORIUM: An indoor gathering place where evangelicals of the electronic media pack their paid audiences to, on cue, nod in agreement, look evangelical, or exclaim Hallelujah! Much is spoken at great length and with firm conviction, but little is said. Being a typically family enterprise, the evangelist is generally accompanied by his googly-eyed wife, mother-in-law, son, and miscellaneous other progeny who attest to his devotion to family, motherhood and the Moral Majority. Etymologically, the word auditorium has mixed roots, AUDIO- derives from the Greek "to...

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands- one nation indivisible-with liberty and justice for all." On September 8,1892, the Boston based "The Youth's Companion" magazine published a few words for students to repeat on Columbus Day that year. Written by Francis Bellamy,the circulation manager and native of Rome, New York, and reprinted on thousands of leaflets, was sent out to public schools across the country. On October 12, 1892, the quadricentennial of Columbus' arrival, more than 12 million children recited the Pledge of Allegiance, thus beginning a required school-day ritual. At the first National Flag Conference in Washington D.C., on June14, 1923, a change was made. For clarity, the words "the Flag of the United States" replaced "my flag". In the following years various other changes were suggested but were never formally adopted. It was not until 1942 that Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Al...

There is no doubt in my mind that there is not one true Christian on the planet, and I can prove it. There are several signs of a true believer that are very plain in the Bible. Unlike many of the passages of the Bible, these particular verses are very plain and nearly impossible to misinterpret or take out of context. Let's consider these statements supposedly written by the Apostle John, otherwise known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, as he quoted his master and his God: 1) John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 2) John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 3) John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. This seems pretty plain to me. If you love the Lord, you keep his commandments. Simple! John the Apostle emph...

Descriptions and signs of the true believer that Jesus himself set down. Super Powers- Matt 10:1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. and Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Can Handle Snakes And Drink Poison- Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Can Walk Over Scorpions- Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Must not Fornicate- 1st Corinthians 7:1-40 (Editors note: This is very long so I leave it to the reader to check it out!) Must Hate Their Family- Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children a...

I have a problem with several issues when it comes to Soteriology. For those reading this who are not familiar with Christian theological terms, Soteriology is the study of salvation and is generally used in reference to Christian salvation. First on the list is the idea that salvation is unconditional. Grace is freely bestowed on the believer. The believer is not saved by works, or by earning it in any way; it is a gift, offered freely and without cost to the believer. Or so we are led to believe. I contend that this concept does not make sense. If salvation is a free gift and we as human beings can contribute nothing to our own salvation, but is all a work of the grace of GOD, then why isn't everyone on the planet destined for eternal life in heaven? While Christians throughout history have debated from either the Arminian freewill approach versus the Calvinist predestination ideal, neither camp believes everyone is bound for the heavenly city paved with streets of gold. Most Chr...