By TruthSurge Link to God's Massacre Checklist I .

By Gretchen "Put God first." The first time I ever heard this phrase, it came from my Grandmother's lips. In her way, she was trying to instill in me the same wisdom passed down from generation to generation. The idea that having god as your number one priority would cure all of your ills and grant you everlasting life in Heaven. Mind you, she meant well. I am sure someone in her young life said those words to her, meaning no harm but trying to save her soul. But, now that I am older and away from the trap, I no longer think this phrase to be true -- or even correct. It is the idea that a supposed all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, all-[insert your description here] would need so much (or anything) that makes it hard to believe. Basically, I fail to see what something that is supposed to be perfect and complete could gain from people praying to or worshiping it. By definition, being perfect implies there is no fault or defect or lack. Yet, Christians state that God wa...

From TruthSurge Sometimes, a checklist helps you keep from overlooking anything.

By Neal Stone All good things, must come to an end. This was the title of an e-mail I sent to my former pastor back in 1998. It would be one of many exchanges. In this e-mail I would try and explain how I was waking up to things and seeing life differently outside of God and church. He just couldn't understand and treated me as I was lost to the world and being deceived. I have fought many battles in life and sadly most were started by believers in God. All my life I was taught to put my wished and desires aside and focus on others. Forget what I wanted and seek to be a servant of others. Help others but screw yourself. I was a dirty rotten sinner who deserved to burn in hell. When I think back it was really a bad thing coming to an end, but then my e-mail title “All good things...” had a hidden meaning. I knew in my heart that there had to be more to this life than wasting away as a Christian and seeking to fulfill someone else will and I ain't talking about Gods. I sp...

By Bill Jeffreys Believing in something beyond the self can have a beneficial psychological impact, even if the belief is false. Just having a window to view life from is helpful even if the window we look out from is crooked. Religion is like that. It gives people a crooked point of view to judge the world. Sometimes it helps, but ultimately is suspends certain areas of growth, reason and compassion. Take for instance the view of homosexuality in the Bible. There is nothing rational about the Bible's view on Homosexuality, but people accept such an ancient prejudicial view simply because it is written in their holy book. Why do we tolerate such discrimination in the name of religion? I think it is because religion just mirrors the fear people have toward the unique, unknown, or different. Why is homosexuality condemned in the Bible? My guess is because it was different and not the norm, so people used their religious mythology to justify their fear and discrimination. After all, i...

This video by TruthSurge explores the concept that practically every event/detail in the life of Jesus (as depicted in the gospels) was copied from the Old Testament stories and writings in order to create a life for Jesus.

Philosopher and scientist Daniel Dennett argues that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes and are not what we traditionally think they are. His 2003 book Freedom Evolves explores the way our brains have evolved to give us -- and only us -- the kind of freedom that matters, while 2006's Breaking the Spell examines religious belief through the lens of biology. One of our most important living philosophers, Dennett is best known for his provocative and controversial arguments that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes in the brain . He argues that the brain’s computational circuitry fools us into thinking we know more than we do, and that what we call consciousness — isn’t. This mind-shifting perspective on the mind itself has distinguished Dennett’s career as a philosopher and cognitive scientist. And while the philosophy community has never quite known what to make of Dennett (he defies easy categorization, and re...

If you are having trouble viewing the embedded movie above, click here to view. BORN AGAIN is the story of Director Markie Hancock’s evangelical upbringing and her 20-year struggle to get out. Excerpts from Hancock’s journals, home movies and student films reveal the strong grip of fundamentalist religion. As a child, she revels in the security that promises of eternal salvation bring to both her and her family. Hancock only slowly begins to question the narrow path she has fervently followed when she falls in love with a woman. It is in Berlin when she finally begins to free herself from religion and from the family she loves. Ultimately, BORN AGAIN asks, at what price do we believe what we believe and how do we live with others who believe differently? This video is approximately 88 minutes in length.

By William Pankey (wpankey57) INTRODUCTION For some time now I have wrestled with the idea of writing down many of my thoughts concerning Christianity. This desire arises from various reasons: 1) I have hoped, that in writing, I could bring together, in some kind of coherent fashion my musing on this subject. For a long time now, they have been disjointed and unsystematic. Though it must be confessed, from the start, that what follows is not intended to be a formal work but rather a kind of "soul bearing" and a conversational wrestling with various questions regarding the nature of Christianity. Writing usually forces me to attempt to bring a measure of order out of chaos. 2) I have increasing felt that a few of my friends, who care a great deal about me, might be interested in what I have to say. To begin such an undertaking is difficult for a number of reasons: 1) given the breath and depth of the subject, I hardly knows wh...