Which is the TRUE "Religion of Peace"?

Islam likes to refer to itself as the Religion of Peace. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the “peace” they offer isn’t for apostates, infidels, “People of the Book” (aka: Christians and Jews), or Hindus, or Buddhists. The thousands of terrorist acts of murder and destruction perpetrated in the name of the prophet Mohammed over the past 35 years makes that clear. At best the “peace” Islam professes to offer is only for their own adherents…and not necessarily female adherents, but that’s a matter of interpretation and cultural perspective.

Naturally, it takes some mental gymnastics to figure out how Middle East Muslim countries and Islamic radical political parties indoctrinate elementary school children with hate, teach them arms, and instill a willingness to kill and die, and still call that “peaceful”. Nor is it easy for the Western mind to reconcile peace with strapping a bomb onto two Downs Syndrome Muslim women and remotely detonating them in a crowded market place. I guess the simple answer is they find peace in death. Yippie! Never mind the riots and deaths due to Muslim furor over Danish cartoons of their prophet (pig turds be upon him). As for their scripture, the Koran is rife with references to killing in the name of Allah, too many to be dismissed simply as problems of context.

So, if Islam isn’t the religion of peace, which religion truly deserves the vaunted title?
Well, the Jews never were in the running. A cursory perusal of the Old Testament with its numerous horrendous acts of murder, rape, infanticide, genocide and enslavement committed by the chosen people at the behest of their God, sort of disqualifies them as peace merchants.

Of the Abrahamic religions that leaves Christianity. What can we look to in Christianity that qualifies it for the Peace title? Well, let’s see.

Christian dogma is as exclusionary and intolerant as they come. The New Testament says all who don’t believe like them are condemned to suffer eternal torment burning in a lake of fire in hell … the ONLY religion on the planet that espouses such an intolerant, exclusive, and hideously obscene point of view. Hardly a peaceful message there.

And what does that intolerance and exclusivity generate? With the Jews' rejection of Jesus as the true Messiah (the deliverer of Israel from foreign oppression as promised in the Old Testament) Paul plays the “Gentile card”, and gives the prospective new Roman converts a pass. Instead, he condemns the Jews as the scapegoat for their mythical man-god’s demise. Presto !!! 2,000 years of anti-Semitism is born, and with it every pogrom in Europe, every extermination attempt, every religion tax, every exile of Jews, every Jewish joke, every “restricted” country club, is laid at the feet of Christian doctrine right up through, and including, the Holocaust. Thanks to Paul for that peace inducing doctrine thats never fully gone out of style.

Then there are the Crusades, the blood bath bestowed on Jews, Coptic Christians and Muslims; the extermination of the Cathars; the murder of the Templars; the torture and death of the Inquisition; the forced conversions of native peoples; the torture and burning of “witches” right up into the 18th century.

And on it goes into the 20th century with the exclusion, discrimination and violence toward homosexuals; demonization of atheists as non patriots, un-American, lacking of morals and ethics unfit to hold public office; the call to bomb abortion clincs, to kill the doctors; the endorsement of assassination of foreign leaders by the most renown televangelist; the very dogma that warns that the one who petitions for and brings peace to the Middle East will be revealed as The Anti-Christ! You see, bringing peace in the Middle East will stand in the way of The End Times, Armageddon, THE END OF THE FUCKIN WORLD, something many Christians actually want to see happen… indeed, encourage. Christianity a peaceful religion??? I think not.

Now, moderate Christians, just like moderate Muslims, will say the evils that are done in the name of God / Christ / Allah are perversions of their religion. That Christ was the “Prince of Peace”, even while he clearly stated he hadn’t come to bring peace. They will tell us that the zealots who committed those horrendous acts down through history, or who profess violence, intolerance and hatred today pervert scripture and use it for their own purposes. They will say we are reading the Bible out of “context”. Well, how convenient. Seems to me their god might have seen that coming, would have made its wishes more clear and concise eliminating any points of confusion as to his dictates and intent. After all, they claim their god is perfect and omniscient. Evidently, he sucks as an author and editor.

No, I’m afraid the title “Religion of Peace” has no legitimate claimant. Religion has left death, pain and misery in its wake since man invented god/gods. Indeed, the very phrase “religion of peace” is a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron – like
“silent scream”.

“Christian Nation” Revisionist’s Rear Their Ugly & Empty Heads, Again!

Once a week, stuffed in my mail box, I get the “Monadnock Shopper News”, our free local goods and services advertising newspaper. I typically never read them. But during lunch I was leafing through the week’s edition when I came across a 1,000 word (!!) “Letter to the Editor”.

In it, a clearly deranged and uneducated Christian Fundie went on and on about this being a “Christian Nation”. How the founding Fathers were all men of Christ. How scripture can easily be seen in the Constitution. Yadda, yadda, yadda. All bald faced stupidity and invention of the Christian revisionists. So, being me, naturally I couldn’t let this just slide by unchallenged.

The following is MY letter to the editor (and publisher) in response. Feel free to use it should you observe similar idiocy in your local papers.


Dear Sir or Madam:

Up until today my wife and I were happy to have your publication delivered to our home. We patronize many of your advertisers. But after reading today's edition, with its rather lengthy letter to the editor from a religious fanatic, we are having second thoughts. I object to having a publication delivered to my home, without my consent, that gives a platform for this kind of misinformation, blatant distortions, and religious zealotry.

I won't go into great detail about the absurdities, and lack of knowledge of US history that pervades the revisionists’s letter.
- Nor will I expound on the extensive private writings of the Founding Fathers whose distain for Christianity is easily confirmed (Jefferson and Madison being among the most vehement in their expressions).

- Nor shall I point out that the Constitution is devoid of ANY reference to God/gods, Jesus, or any supernaturalism or Biblical scripture.

-Nor will I bother to detail Jefferson's letter of Jan. 1, 1802 describing the intent and purpose of the 1st Amendment's Establishment Clause as specifically creating "a wall of separation between church and state".

-Nor do I have to copy and paste here the entire Treaty of Tripoli (1796), ratified by the Senate and signed by John Adams in 1797, which plainly stated that "... the United States is not a Christian nation."

-Nor shall I bother to quote Jefferson who, in a letter dated February 10, 1814 stated that the Common Law, the foundation for the Constitution, as drawn from English law, has no basis in Christianity.

No ... I won't do any of that. Any well educated, student of history willing to suspend their personal agenda, willing to disassociate their personal "beliefs" from the public "facts" of our governmental foundation, could research and discover this for themselves.

That Christians played an important role (along with Jews, Deists, and atheists) in the development of our country is not at issue here. Neither is the fact that some /many of the Founders prayed or read the Bible. It's all good. What's at issue is your suborning ignorance, misinformation, and the need for some people to promulgate the erroneous belief that this country favors their religion over another religion or over no religion at all. Please stop it, or stop putting your publication in my mailbox.

Thank you,

[Name and PO Box included]


While I doubt the Shopper News will publish my letter maybe it will get them to think twice about thoughtlessly turning their letters section over to religious fanatic revisionists. If not, then the next time I’ll deliver my reply in person.

The Bleating of The Sheep: A Primer on Christian Platitudes

Platitude: A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. See Synonyms at cliché.

One trademark of the most vapid believers is the hackneyed phrases they use to express their credulity and devotion. We’ve all seen them, the one-liners that unintentionally expose the user as possessing all the intellect and originality of the ewe or ram with which they identify.

My favorites are the ones sprinkled with “biblical” language like “thou”, “thee”, and “ye”. They imagine it makes them sound more apostle like, or like some biblical figure. They equate antiquated verbiage with a higher degree of holiness, not realizing they are mimicking the syntax and speech common to the Elizabethan and post Elizabethan Age … aka King James era speech. It’s always a hoot.

Anyway, having witnessed, or been on the receiving end, of countless Christian platitudes, I have become something of a connoisseur. As such, I have classified them into four main categories and provided some of my favorite Christian inanities.

I. Pious Platitudes:
Used with fellow believers it’s the sheep’s version of sanctimonious one-upmanship, offered as proof that their devotion and relationship with Gawd is more than just skin deep. Examples:
“God is bigger than my natural eyes can see.” [versus “unnatural” eyes ??]
“You have encouraged my faith in God.”
“Jesus just loves and receives me- as is … Right now … Period.”
“When we try to write God off as an emotional response, He still pursues us.”
[Yep ... its called the “religious meme”, look it up.]

II. Playbook Platitudes:
When faced with social situations that call for pat one-liners, like when attempting to comfort a deceased believer’s family, or stupidly mumbled to non-believers out of ignorance. Examples:
“Don’t be sad, Little Timmy is with Jesus now.”
“Just trust God.”
“God called Little Bobby home.”
“Little Susie is in our prayers.”
“She’s in a better place now.”
“Jesus holds you in His loving arms during your hour of grief.”
“I’ll offer blessings of comfort and strength.”
“I’ll pray for you.”

III. Proselytizing Platitudes:
Used in discourse (I use that word generously here) with non-believers, to attempt to divert attention from their failure to deal head on with the tough challenges; or to try and induce instant conversion to their delusion. Examples:
“Just open your heart to Jesus.” [also known as the “Stop Thinking!!” gambit]
“The proof of Him is all around you.”
“Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior, let Him be yours as well.”
“He died for your sins.”
“Why are you angry at God?” or Why do you hate God??”
“If a Christian hurt you at some time, I’m sorry.”
“You deny Him with your words, but you know that He lives.”
“The Lord loves you and He is quite capable to communicate that to you and to cause
you to believe, whether you want to or not.”
“I’ll pray for you.”

IV. Pissed Off Platitudes:
Any expression of distain using secular vernacular is discouraged among the faithful. Thus phrases such as “Fuck your logic and higher IQ, you non-believing hell bound shit bag.” would be considered bad form. Instead, they roll out some tried and true Christian phrases that they wield like a flaming sword to express their anger or frustration. Examples:
“Begone, Satan!!”
“So you know the Bible, so what?! Even Satan can quote scripture!”
“I shake the dust from my feet.”
“You’ll see the error of your ways when you standith before Him and tremble!”
“Every knee shall bend … you just wait!”
“Only a fool says there is no God! Thou art a Fool!!”
“If you don’t believe in God and Heaven, why don’t you just kill yourself!?”
“I’ll pray for you.”

And on they go, the bleating of minds drained of reason replaced with slavish superstition. Yeah, you pray for me, or kill a chicken, or sacrifice a virgin, silly theist … and I’ll think for you.

Christians Brace for Biggest Challenge to their Faith in 1900 Years: That Nasty Jesus Tomb Thing Ressurected, Again!

In January last year Hollywood director James Cameron and Canadian investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici aired the discovery of what was billed as possibly Jesus’ family tomb. It was originally discovered in 1980, and kept low key (we’ll see why in a couple of paragraphs). It was “rediscovered” in 1996 by a BBC film crew snooping through Israeli archives.

The airing of the Discovery Channel show was met with a variety of emotions from Christians, biblical scholars, and archeologists: anger, denial, skepticism, dismissal, acceptance, excitement, resignation …you name it, it roused all kinds of reactions. That was a year ago.

Since then, just this past January, a leading New Testament expert from Princeton Theological Seminary, Prof. James Charlesworth, was intrigued enough to organize a conference in Jerusalem, bringing together over 50 archeologists, statisticians and experts in DNA, ceramics and ancient languages, to give evidence as to whether or not the crypt of Christ had been found. After reviewing the data and examining the materials, the experts are deeply divided between “ no way” to “very possible”. Then this from the article**:

“ There was a revelation of sorts. The widow of Joseph Gat, the chief archeologist of the 1980 excavation electrified the conference by saying: "My husband believed that this was Jesus’ tomb, but because of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor, he was worried about a backlash of anti-Semitism and he didn't think he could say this."

They are now considering reopening the tomb which is sealed with concrete on the grounds of an apartment building complex in Israel. No decision has been reached yet.

BUT, here’s the clincher. The Reverend Prof. Charlesworth who organized the reinvestigation of all these experts is already sending a signal. Read this quote from the article**:

Charlesworth, who is also a Methodist minister, says that the possible discovery of Christ's tomb will elicit mixed reactions among Christians. Most, he believes, will view it positively. The faith of some believers, he says, will be buoyed by historical proof that Christ, the son of Joseph and Mary, did exist. "I don't think it will undermine belief in the resurrection, only that Jesus rose as a spiritual body, not in the flesh." He adds: "Christianity is a strong religion, based on faith and experience, and I don't think that any discovery by archeologists will change that."

Say What???? Christians aren’t already convinced there really was a Jesus?? They’ve always claimed they didn’t need material proof, and have rejected all kinds of material proofs of science for so many other things they believe on faith, but NOW they will be “buoyed” by proof??

And lemme get this straight: the doctrine accepted by every Christian on the planet (except Gnostics and JWs) is that Jesus rose body and spirit into heaven, as documented in their sacred book of fable, might possibly be WRONG??? But never mind, it’s only HALF WRONG?? Wow!!! Talk about setting the stage for the greatest apologetics (read: self delusion , denial) in the history of Christianity!

If the proof of the tomb is confirmed, and if Christians buy that transparent and desperate apologetics, and don’t begin to question the efficacy of every other fabled miracle and spiritual myth they’ve ever had shoved down their throats since infancy, then they really, seriously, need to be declared insipid at best, absolute cretins at worst.

** The entire article: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704299,00.html

Why Man Exists: Ok, Theists, Mystery Solved.

The whole premise of a "why" to Man’s existence, “what is the purpose of life?”, is strictly a philosophical and theistic proposition. One may as well ask “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” It has no scientific basis, thus does not lend itself to be tested or falsified, etc. It falls in the domain of mental masturbation, practiced most especially among those who refute the scientific theories and evidence for the origin and development of life, aka: theists.

Suppose we were to ask: “Why does the AIDs virus exist?” Scientists will say because it was a genetic mutation of another life form, and give details on its geographic origins and how it’s transmitted, etc. There is no philosophical question of "why…for what purpose?", nor an attempt to answer it. Its cause (if known) is the only why ... a material answer. Anything else falls into the domain of the philosophical or theist world.

Many Christians will say AIDS is a result of Adam and Eve's fall from grace, and thus a punishment for (or "fruits of") original sin. Fundys take it one hideous step further and declare AIDS a very special punishment for those who defy God’s law, aka: homosexuals. For Christians the “material why" isn't even the first consideration, or any consideration at all. How it formed, its root cause, and properties are unimportant to them. The esoteric, religionist’s "Purposeful why" is all they can conceive of.

How about: “Why do stars exist?” Astronomers and physicists will likely give you the theories on origin, composition, energy, mass, life span, etc., etc.

At worst, a Fundy might say something terribly inane like "To give man light by which to see at night” Oy! Or, “God only knows / has His reasons / works in strange and mysterious ways.” It appears to be a limitation in the thinking ability of religiously impaired people whose scientific curiosity is suppressed, and whose "why" is largely limited to "purpose". But common to all their answers is the imagined “relationship” between Mankind and the universe as a whole. Even stars are there for Man’s benefit. It’s all about Man.

So WHY do theists have this peculiar focus on Man’s Collective Purpose, the meaning of life, and the purposefulness of everything in relation to humans? Because they are taught to be egocentric & species-centric, "astro-centric" by their scripture; taught that humans are more important, thus more purposeful, than everything else in the universe. They cannot, after years of religious mind rinsing, comprehend that Man has no exclusive purposeful significance or importance. In the infinite vastness of the universe human existence doesn’t even register as a sub-microscopic particle, no more so than does a quasar, a grain of sand, a rock floating past Alpha Centuri, the rings of Saturn, or the yet to be discovered life forms existing some where among the billions of suns, with billions of planets, 100's of millions of light years away.

So here, theists, are the answers to your quest: Individual purpose of ones life, is what one makes of his life. Species wide, the purpose of life is to perpetuate the species, just as it is for every living carbon based life form. The Why of our existence is attributable to cosmic dust and the forces of nature, just as they likely happened in other worlds, past or concurrent with ours.

Someday, if and when theists ever really come to terms with this and understand it, we'll have more physicists, biologists, astronomers, geneticists, etc., answering the important questions, and fewer mind numbing clergy and their b-a-a-ing, self centered sheep offering or seeking “spiritual” answers where none are warranted, nor any exist.

The Camel Goes on Trial!! Hump Roast Rests in Jury's hands.

Ah, the bad old days, when religion was THE guiding force of Men’s lives, their governance, their sole understanding of the World, the only true source of information.
We call that period The Dark Ages.

Fear not, theists … The Dark Ages isn’t over yet!!! Here’s Proof.

The following is excerpted from comments written by a theist. Sounding very much like the lead prosecutor for The Inquisition this was made in response to a comment I left in another blog in a NON-RELIGIOUS discussion:

“Drome, as we have seen, is always about human reasoning and getting a response. He has a need to analyze and box things up tight and neat so the world makes sense to him … that is why he does not need a relationship with Jesus, because he already has everything figured out”. …” [secular] books are not needed for me because I understand the things of the Kingdom which have nothing to do
with human understanding - Prov 3:5-6.”

Let the Inquisition begin!!!

As to Charge Number One: “ always being about Human Reasoning”, how does the defendant Camel plead?
Guilty, Your Grand Inquisitorship.
-I confess that I have employed reasoning my entire life. I have called upon my reasoning ability to assess the things I am told and discern the difference between logic and illogic; fact from fiction; evidence from unsupported myth; reality from imagination.

As to Charge Number Two : “ using Analysis to understand the World” , how does the defendant Camel plead?
Guilty, Your Holi-mess.
- I confess that when presented with a statement, or an opinion, or a ”belief”, or a hypothesis proffered as “fact” I use my analytical ability to weight that input to assess it’s validity or degree of likelihood. I do so based on my prior experience, corroborating or contradicting evidence, testability using the scientific method, compliance with natural law, attendance to Occam’s Razor, and scrutiny given vast amounts of data gleaned from voluminous readings of masters of the hard scientific disciplines, social sciences, history, philosophy, and comparative religion. I take nothing on blind faith.

As to Charge Number Three” “having everything figured out”, how does the defendant Camel plead?
Not Guilty, Oh Servant of Mass Delusion.
- Only religionists retain an unerring hold on their belief system, unchanged since the inception of their particular flavor of mind slavery. It is they who claim to have it all “figured out”.
The Free Thinker knows that real knowledge evolves, is refined, is improved upon through more information and better technology. Things we don’t know we say we don’t know. We do not fear our current understanding of knowledge being shown to be lacking or being revised with better information and proofs .... we eagerly look forward to it.

As to Charge Number Four: “rejecting a relationship with Jesus, & using Secular Books to Expand your Knowledge Beyond the Things of The Kingdom”, how does the defendant Camel plead?
Guilty, your Enema-mince.
- I confess my brain lacks the need to delude itself into acceptance of the currently prevailing, or any, god myths. My brain is free from the need to delude itself that something supernatural requires my belief, and will reward me with life after death for it, or will punish me for not buying in. I reject it entirely as self imposed subservience to age old ignorance. I admit to expanding my knowledge of the natural world, the only world that can be logically shown to exist. YES, I reject as nonsense the “great beyond”, “the Kingdom”, or any other euphemisms for Valhalla, the Underworld, Heaven, Hell, Hades, Paradise, or the supernatural realm.


As of this writing the jury is still out. But given the fact that fanatical Xtians still walk among us carrying the mentality of the Dark Ages with them, I can only hope for the best: A verdict of BLASPHEMY!!!!!

Denying Atheists Exist & Other "Proofs" of Theist Self Delusion

"ATHEISTS HATE THE TRUE GOD"
"ATHEISTS DELIBERATELY REJECT GOD"
"ATHEISTS PROVE THE EXISTENCE OF GOD BY THEIR OWN LABEL"
"ATHEISTS CREATE CRIMINAL SOCIETIES"
"ATHEISTS ARE THE COMPUTER HACKERS"

These incredible subject headers are what pass for intelligent reasoning among the religiously fanatical. Lest you think I made these statements up, here they are in all their muddled glory and detailed prose, a testament to theist illogic, and self-delusion: http://www.tencommandments.org/heathens2.shtml

A cursory review of his wild ranting essays display tragically flawed logic, fraught with logical fallacies; circular thinking; self serving and frankly goofy hypothetical’s; straw man arguments; statements offered as fact without evidence; bizarre tangents into pseudo-science; and lacking even the most basic understanding of how to frame, express, and prove a hypothesis.

Transparently sophomoric and humorous to thinking people, it underscores the remarkable ability for fanatical theist self delusion, to the point where arguments of the absurd take the place of reason. We the thinking readily dismiss it as representative of the imbalanced theistic mind, and their rejection of reason and reality. But, among the most credulous, unsophisticated, least educated of theist sheep, this stuff is eaten up like silage in a trough. Likely, after reading each paragraph (out loud, with lips moving) they bleat “Praise Jeeesus!!” or “Hallelujah!” as is their want.

I won’t bother to refute point by point all the absurdities of this unfortunate’s statements. It’s too easy, too obvious, too unworthy of the exercise. But, just the first two or three premises taken together. They infer atheists can’t possibly not believe in a God. That atheists must believe God exists, we just hate him/it. And what’s more, the very existence of atheists proves God exists.

One has only to substitute the phrase “Werewolf Non-Believer” for atheist, and “Werewolf” for God throughout his premise, and it says it all. Obviously, all people really believe in Werewolves, some people just hate them. And the very existence of people who say they are “Werewolf Non-Believers” proves Werewolves exist. Therefore, there can be no true non-believers in Werewolves, and QED Werewolves are! Yup, that makes perfect sense, or at least it does to deluded rubes who genuinely believe in Werewolves, or God/gods and devote their lives to them. To those of us who reject Werewolves, gnomes, Santa, the Tooth Fairy, God/gods, and all such supernaturalism as the invention of man’s fertile imagination it just sounds stupid.

Unfortunately, to the terminally religious sounding stupid is part of the dogma