Voices of Me!

Being an atheist named Faith is mostly ridiculous and occasionally hilarious*. Today it's the latter. (thank you to [redacted] for the link.)

Voices of Faith: How do I know what is the true religion?

Voice of Faith: there is no god, therefore, no religion is true. Go, and wonder no more.

The Rev. Duke Tufty, Unity Temple on the Plaza, Kansas City, Mo.: There are two basic ways to know what the true religion is. The first is to let another or others tell you. In most cases their response will be "my" religion is the only true religion.

Voice of Faith: "Most cases"? If you didn't think your religion was the one true religion, why would you believe in it? Well, I guess those friendly universalists who are pretty open about their need to believe in something even if they have no idea whether or not it is real. Unsurprisingly, universalists are pleasant to be an atheist around.

The second way for you to know what is the true religion is to personalize it and do research to discover what the true religion is for you. Read the statement of beliefs, acquaint yourself with the history and determine whether the theology inspires you, empowers you and resonates with your deepest beliefs.

Your spiritual path should be one that impassions you, not imprisons you. It should be one that continually moves you to higher levels of joy, love, peace of mind and harmony. Seek and you will find the spiritual source that is best for you. The one that truly supports your greatest happiness and highest good.

Look, I'm down with the universalism, but "it makes me happy" does not make something true. Unfortunately, "it's the highest good" doesn't make something true, either.

The Rev. Justin Hoye, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Nevada, Mo., and St. Bridget's in Rich Hill, Mo: You don't - that's why faith is called for! I can give personal testimonies and historical accounts that could tip the scale toward belief in the person of Jesus Christ. But you can dismiss these professions as biased, unsubstantiated or unreliable. That is, at a certain point you are asked to assent to these claims with an act of faith.

Yeah, look, you could look at the evidence and conclude this is all a bunch of bullshit, but . . . faith!

Faith: "yes?"

Priest "Oh, I didn't mean you."

Faith "Hey, you called for me, I answered. What up?"

Priest "Well, look, I . . ."

Faith "Seriously, are you selling that 'faith is truth if only you believe' bullshit again? That shit's not true."

Priest "Historica-"

Faith "If I believe that I am a invisible pink unicorn does that make it true?"

Priest "That is not a fair comparis-"

Faith "Fine. I have faith, complete faith, that the events as related in Girl Genius are the absolute truth. I even have evidence- look at all these books, and this website and all these people dressed up like the characters! It must be true."

Priest "I really hate you."

Faith "Right back at you, buddy."

A Catholic professes that Jesus Christ is the savior of all and that knowledge of this truth is universally accessible; i.e., this truth is accessible to you and to everyone else.

We say this is possible because faith is in communion with reason, and the church works tirelessly to present her beliefs so that they not only provide direction and, ultimately, salvation, but express a faith that is in concord with reason.

For what definition of reason? I can't . . . I just . . . there is no part of that that is "in concord with reason". I mean, what part of God sacrificed God to God to change a rule God made is "in concord with reason"?

Christian faith is mysterious, yet it resonates with our experience of the human condition. A Catholic would invite you to investigate the claims of the church to see if they speak to your heart and mind.

Evidence is there, along with the reality that men and women throughout the centuries have been so captivated by an encounter with Jesus that they profess him to be true. They - we - have found the truth that sets us free. Our access to this reality comes when we cease looking for undeniable proof and make an act of faith.

People have also, for centuries, professed to be true: faeries, unicorns, Zeus, Thor, Odin, ghosts, demons, elementals, magic, telekinesis, telepathy, astrology, homeopathy, I could go on all day. Are all of those things also real? How many people have to believe a thing for how long to become real under your system? Is there some sort of cutoff? More people than accept the Book of Mormon as true, for longer than Islam has been around? C'mon now.

*Sometimes, I get to type bad faith complaints and I giggle the entire time.

It's a Kinder, Gentler Hell

Not really, but it may seem that way for this post.

This is Bethany Patchin. If you're not familiar with her, in short, she was the poster child for chastity, courtship rather than dating and the quiverfull style of reproduction- for a while. At the age of 19 or 20, she wrote an article that become quite famous in certain circles stating that her first kiss would be at her wedding, with her husband. Then she wrote a book not long after her wedding condemning any kind of birth control, even natural family planning.

Then she had 4 children in 5 years.

Bethany experienced horrific post partum depression and in the end, she changed her mind. Publicly. She got help for her depression, got divorced, went back to college, started dating, and repudiated her former very public opinions on religion, dating, chastity, what have you.

I like Bethany. I admire people who are brave and strong enough to publicly say, "Hey, you know what? I was totally wrong. My bad!" So, I am not being rude to her in the following critique of her post on atheism. I am being kind because I like her, and because I can see her point of view.

Anyway, here's what I take very polite issue with:

Here's what I think about atheism. I don't really believe in it. I think that faith is never actually lost. I think it's there in everyone, like that "springtime is the work of winter, all the time" quote. We all have spring in our hearts. Every human throughout time has had it there. Some people were and are forced into a life of winter, some people choose it, but I think the undying spring is ALWAYS there. (I guess I'm a universalist now.)

Yes, I could spit fire about someone telling me where my faith is. (Nonexistent.) I could deride anyone telling me that not having faith is like eternal winter. (We both hate winter with the same passion.) I could condemn her for condescension and the arrogance of presuming to know exactly how I feel.

Or, I could think back to yesterday, to one part of a very long post about GAD and the worries it causes me to have:

What if I go blind? What if I go deaf? What if I can't work anymore? Am I being offensive to blind and deaf people by fearing this? Am I prejudiced against the disabled? I am an awful person.

It is condescending to say to a deaf person, "Oh, poor you, you don't get to hear things. That is clearly lesser than being able to hear things." That is offensive and awful.

It is not, however, awful and offensive to fear the unknown. I have never been deaf or blind. I fear it because I don't understand it, because I have never experienced it, because my knowledge is limited. I don't look down on deaf or blind people, nor do I think their experience of the world is less than mine. It is different. So is being Canadian or gay. It's a different life from mine, but so is yours. And, quite frankly, were I suddenly plunked down in your life, I'd be afraid. At first. Then I'd get used to it, figure out the rules and move on.

So here it is. Yes, there are people that have no faith at all. I am one of them. If I had faith, I assure you, I would know about it. I do not exist in a winter of the soul. I am not afraid. In fact, I am free. I have less fear than I did when I believed. My life is richer, more satisfying, more complete than I ever thought it could be.

Hi, I'm Faith, and I am entirely without faith, and I'm okay.

(Yes, yes, I know. I'd like to change it to Fleur. Still starts with an "f" and so much more appropriate to who I am.)

If Knowledge is the Problem . . .

I rarely see this said outright.

"You can educate yourself right out of a relationship with God."
It would make one wonder if you had a relationship with God to begin with.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste..a soul is worse.

How? How can you educate yourself out of a true relationship with the Creator? Really? How can truth and knowledge be a bad thing?

Look, suppose you're in love with someone and the more you learn about them, the less you like them. Does that mean the knowledge was the bad thing, or the relationship was the bad thing? Would you encourage someone to remain as ignorant as possible in that situation simply to preserve their relationship?

Of course you wouldn't. If knowledge of evolution, of physics, of radiometric dating, of history, of anything, destroys your faith, the problem isn't knowledge.

pic link

Faith Healing: It's a Scam, Get Over It.

I hate people who take advantage of the desperate. They rank right up there with pedophiles. So I think you can understand why I have a special disdain for faith healers, those scam artists that combine the desperation of the incurably ill with the credulity of the faithful. It's a vile business. I have only pity for the desperate who turn to scam artists for help because I understand them. There have been times in my life I would have drunk motor oil if somebody somewhere said it would help. I won't list all the different herbs and supplements and such I have tried. It's embarrassing. Therefore, I have only contempt for those who take advantage of such despair and frustration for those who support it.

This morning I read Luke18:31-43. Jesus told his disciples that
he would be murdered by the Gentiles and then rise from the dead on the third
day. Also, as he walked by a blind man called out to Jesus so he could heal him
of his blindness. Jesus gave him his sight back.

I have witnessed one miraculous healing in Mexico back in August 2006. Our
group was praying for a while for a man paralyzed in his wheelchair. I don't
know how long we prayed but it was for maybe an hour. At the end of it he got up
out of his wheelchair and began to walk. At the end of the mission trip he was
pushing his wheelchair around while his non-paralyzed brother sat it in. Months
later he got a job at a factory. I don't know how he is doing now, since it was
almost four years ago, but I am sure he is doing fine.

It would be difficult to describe everything that is wrong with the above paragraph. First of all, we have no proof the man in the wheelchair was indeed paralyzed. He may have been a perfectly healthy plant. He could have suffered from any of a number of disorders or illnesses that require wheelchair use for medium or long distances, but allow one to stand or walk for short distances, such as pain, fatigue, heart or lung diseases, etc. We don't know and I doubt the writer did either.

Months later he got a job at a factory.

How does the writer know this? Did he see the man at the factory? I doubt it. He was told this and accepted it without question. However, even if the man were legitimately in need of a wheelchair, he could very well have had a self limiting disorder that required him to use a wheelchair and then improved to the point where he was healthy enough to work in a factory. That's assuming the man was ever in need of a wheelchair at all.

I don't know how he is doing now, since it was almost four years ago, but I am
sure he is doing fine.

He could be dead for all the writer knows. That's a ridiculous assumption. If the man has a relapsing/remitting disorder like Multiple Sclerosis, he could well be using a wheelchair as we speak. We have no way of knowing. I don't know if this is more of a study of the scam that is faith healing or the extremes of credulity.

I actually did comment on this post, pointing out all the things we don't know about this story, and this was the response:

Personalfailure... I understand your argument but it is not possible to
scientifically explain miracles because they can't be explained scientifically.
Miracles go above and beyond science. You have to have faith.

LALALALA- I can't heeeeaaaaar you! And really don't waaaaaaaant to!

This wouldn't bother me, but the people harmed in these scams aren't just the faithful, they are the desperately ill. People like me. We've got enough problems, we don't need scam artists preying on us.

Conservapedia, How Could I Have Forgotten Your Charm?

faith, conservapedia, andy,schlafly, religion, christian,

I can't believe I have stayed away from Conservapedia for so long. It's divine, inspired, so filled with lulz it could teach the world to sing while teaching this town how to dance at the same time.

Take for example, Conservapedia's article on faith. It's so fatuous, so asinine, so filled with bizarre and erroneous assumptions, I'm singing right now. O Canada . . .

Faith is a confidence or trust in the achievement of God's will, even though unseen and unexpected by non-believers. This being conservapedia, I can't tell if it's faith or god's will that is unexpected by nonbelievers, nor why "unexpected by nonbelievers" was even added.
Faith embodies more than belief. definition of faith: confidence or trust in a person or thing. and we're done. Faith elevates one's being, while belief is limited to a mental state or emotion. Faith implies a causal role by the believer in an outcome or in overcoming a personal fear. "an outcome"? so, if the souffle rises, that's faith? what does that even mean, Andy? Faith also implies advancement or accomplishment rather than wrongdoing, while belief implies neither. actually, faith has nothing to do with advancement, accomplishment or wrongdoing.

Faith plays a central role in overcoming addiction. no, it doesn't. Virtually everyone is plagued by one or more addictions unless you're defining "addiction" so broadly that one could say, "I am addicted to wearing pants", no, no we're not, and faith enables overcoming those weaknesses. addiction is a mental illness, not a weakness. fuck you, Andy. Similar to this is faith's key role in overcoming recidivism. i nearly choked on that one. This role is unique to Christian faith and has not been shown with regard to other religions' belief systems or to secular humanist ideologies. atheists are repeat offenders? oh, that's right, we're hardly even in jail at all.

Faith is also helpful in overcoming fear, such as fear of public speaking, appearing on television, or standing up to a bully or unpleasant situations. spiders, the no. 13, heights and cameron diaz! Jesus reprimanded the Apostles for their faithless fear: "The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We're going to drown!' He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." worst shorter ever.
Lack of faith can lead to fear, anxiety, depression and lack of confidence. for the love of . . . stop that, andy. it's not true, and you know it. A lack of faith can be very harmful, leading to self-destructive behavior. like reading conservapedia, no doubt. Faith can be described as the power to ignore the devil and all his antics. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I now give you the apex of the article, which occurs at the end of the opening description to the main article:

Life itself may be the manifestation of God's faith. Decay and death may be the manifestation of a lack or denial of faith.

I enjoy the combination of the weasely "may be" with the ATHEISTS ARE THE REASON YOU GET SICK AND DIE!!!1!!!ELEVENTY!!!!

You never disappointment me, Andy. Thank you.

Ideology Gone Awry

abortion, prochoice, prolife, tiller, baby, faith,
Prolifers like to say that every late term abortion Dr. Tiller provided was "frivolous". No, they weren't. The story of Baby Faith is the story of prolife ideology gone horribly awry.

The Story of Baby Faith Hope is a blog written by a 23 year old woman who discovered she was pregnant with an anencephalic baby. Anencephaly is a neural tube defect which results in a baby that is missing most of its brain. In fact, such babies are missing most of their heads and are born without the top of the skull. You can see some pretty horrifying pictures of you search "anencephaly pictures". These babies have no hope for survival, the only possibility for them is suffering and death. It's a tragedy, plain and simple.

My name is Myah Walker. In about 8 weeks from now I will be giving birth to my little girl, Faith Hope. Faith was diagnosed with anencephaly at my 19-week ultrasound on September 12.

Anything after 20 weeks is a late term abortion. Thank whatever you want they are legal in such circumstances, because I can't imagine being faced with this sort of news and then being forced to rush about trying to get an appointment for an abortion within 5-7 days.

Myah is staunchly prolife.

When given the option to either carry her to term or terminate the pregnancy, I immediately told the doctor that I wanted to carry her to term. It was not a decision that I had to think about. For some reason I had to give the doctors my decision over and over again, which was frustrating. One doctor asked, "Can I ask why you want to continue this pregnancy?" I guess some people are baffled by unconditional love.

No, sweetie, like me they were baffled that you would want to put yourself and a baby through such pain unnecessarily. I can't possibly judge you, the position you were in is unthinkably cruel, but I can't imagine making the same choice, nor should I or any other woman be forced to.

What happens next, however, is even worse. After giving birth, Myah believes that baby Faith has some chance at a normal life. At one point, she describes baby Faith as "advanced". She does everything possible to keep her alive, feeding baby Faith through a tube because she can't coordinate sucking and swallowing, giving her medication after medication for her breathing difficulties, trying to find a pediatrician for her.

What's truly cruel is that Myah blames herself for her baby's death.

On May 23rd, 2009, Faith passed into Heaven. She died of a gastro-intestinal bleed. She did not die of anencephaly, as predicted. She died of a stomach ulcer... something that may have been prevented if we had found our Pediatrician a little sooner. It breaks my heart to think that if we had done things differently, that Faith might not have suffered the way she did. But I have peace knowing that she is safe in Heaven now, living a beautiful pain-free life.

No, Myah, you did not kill your baby. No pediatrician could have saved her. Yes, the medication she was on caused the ulcer, but without the medication, she would have died sooner. She had no chance at all. You did nothing wrong.

To make matters even worse, prolife groups published fairy tales about Baby Faith's short, painful existence.

When the baby was born, she was apparently able to both see and hear and suffered no health problems other than anencephaly. No medication was required in Faith’s daily care and she was able to breastfeed, although she also received nutrition through a tube.

That's an outright lie.

When the baby was born, she had half a skull. Almost every post after Baby Faith was born chronicled her health problems, from constant breathing difficulties to eye infections and bleeding ulcers and she took medication every day of her life.

If Myah had had an abortion, she could have moved on. Instead, she gave birth to a doomed child, came to believe she was not only normal, but advanced, and now blames herself for her baby's death. This is the malignancy of prolife ideology, and ideology that forces innocent women and children to suffer horribly. I can hope that baby Faith couldn't feel pain, but I doubt it. She could open her eyes, she could make noises and move her limbs, she could probably feel pain.

This is what "no abortion ever" forces upon its victims. It is evil.

The Dogma Debate

faith, fail, christianity, christian, makarios, religion, dogma, atheism, atheist, stupid,

I'm not sure why, but a lot of fundys like to accuse atheists of adhering to atheist dogma. (Considering how dogmatic fundys themselves are, it's like the pot calling the rainbow black.) Why, I'm not sure. Even if atheists were dogmatic in our beliefs, what would that prove?

Keep in mind, I was involved in a discussion of atheist symbols, like the Out Campaign's scarlet "A" above. Out of 10 atheists participating in the discussion, I think 6 of us agreed a symbol was a good idea, and 3 agreed that the scarlet "A" was the best one. At one point, we ended up debating symbols v. nonsymbol symbols. (No, I cannot explain a nonsymbol symbol to you.) My point is, after the whole "no supernatural beings" thing, you can't get atheists to agree on anything as a group. You just can't push dogma on a group of people who can't agree if symbols or nonsymbol symbols are better.

Makarios is the latest to offer up this odd view of the atheist community, and he even provides the dogma for us.

1)“Better by far to embrace the hard truth . . .” Here Carl Sagan is instructing younger atheists what their attitude should be in the face of atheism’s hopelessness. (a) we don't view Sagan or Dawkins or Hitchens the way you view your prophets. Sure, we respect them, but in the same way you respect anyone of accomplishment, education and intelligence. (b) atheists don't find atheism hopeless. In fact, we find it to be the only true hope. (c) I'm not sure what Makarios' point is. People should embrace lies if they're more palatable than the truth?

2)“We must develop expressions of awe and wonder regarding the workings of the Universe.” Carolyn Porco, Richard Dawkins.This is now standard and expected fair when atheists are describing, to who ever will listen, what awesome individuals they are and how they will turn the next generation in to wonderful individuals as well. again, way to miss the point, buddy. of course we should regard the workings of the universe with awe and wonder. it is awesome and wonderful.

3) All atheists must get out there and begin doing good works.We’ve heard the now familiar call to all atheists to become good citizens. An example of this tenet can be found in the instruction for all atheists to donate blood during the World Day of Prayer. This demand that you become a good person is in contrast to the standard atheist attitude that was clearly sounded in a recent atheist blog when a young man, lamented, “Can’t I just fuck around and watch tv in the evening if I want to?” first of all, link? i can't find that quote anywhere, so (a) i have no idea if anyone actually said that, (b) i have no idea what the context is, he could have been snarking, and (c) so what if one guy did say that in all seriousness? should we assume all christians are like the man who shot Dr. Tiller in church? and why the assumption that atheists are uninterested in charity and good works? we don't give money to churches, but there are lots of other charities that receive our help.

4) No religion tells us what to do.Only slaves feel enslaved and no one reacts negatively to rules, guidelines and authority more strongly than the immature, self-centred atheist. Simply hearing the word “God” used in a non negative manner makes atheists like Michael Newdow react like cockroaches scurrying from a freshly lit light bulb. Atheists feel stifled and imprisoned by the mere existence of religion. Well, duh. How could a religion control a nonbeliever? Well, unless that religion becomes politicized and then, well you end up with Prop 8, and . . . yeah. "Only slaves feel enslaved". Only Makarios can tell you if you are a slave, apparently. And the cockroach comparison? Way to stay classy, Makarios.

5) Nothing positive regarding God can be mentioned in the presence of children. why yes, Makarios, I frequently proselytize to other people's children . . . oh, no, that would be the christians who do that. btw, wrong on every level to mess with other peoples' children like that.

6) Teaching Christianity is harmful, even abusive to children. meh. this isn't dogma, though i've certainly heard it said. i think it's silly in general. some people do use religion as an excuse to abuse their children, but i think they'd be abusing their kids anyway. and i don't see how you could possibly not communicate what you believe to your children.

7) Christian Children are not the property of their parents. that's just stupid, Makarios.

8) Atheists know best what children need to learn. I can't decide what he's referencing here. i've never heard an atheist say that. is he referencing 5-7, or is he talking about actual science being taught in schools. either way, no, that's not something atheists would agree on.

9) Christian parents have no right to teach their children about Jesus. isn't this really just a repeat of 6? see number 7 for my response.

10) Children must be taught a reverence for science.Well, respect - yes, but reverence? where'd you get that one from, Makarios? oh, right, your ass. children must be taught science.

11) The universe is the single exception to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. and this is why children need to learn science. the second law of thermodynamics states entropy of an isolated system which is not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium Makarios fails by assuming that the universe is an isolated system not in equilibrium. but he does flog this decaying equine on a regular basis.

12) No Miracles! this isn't dogma, this is logic. if you don't believe in the supernatural, you don't believe in the supernatural. miracles are, by definition, supernatural.

13) It is a given that humans would eventually evolve in conditions present on primordial earth. it's a theory. it could change. again, why we need to teach people science.

14) Evolution is such a powerful force that life is now, even as we speak, coming into being on other planets and/or in other universes. wtf?! i mean, in the vastness of the universe, i would find it odd that ours was the only planet with life on it, but i'm not sure what Makarios is getting at here.

15) Material and natural reality is all that exists. see 12

16) Science has proven that God cannot exist. i'm not aware of anyone who has said this. now, i've certainly heard, and said myself, that god has never been proven using the scientific method, but that's different, now isn't it?

17) Because God cannot be discovered through scientific inquiry, God does not exist. again, you're twisting it, makarios. because god cannot be discovered through scientific inquiry, we cannot say that god exists.

18) Any knowledge that does not conform to materialism and naturalism will not be allowed into the discussion. no, makarios, i'm not taking your "feelings" as proof of anything.

19) Reason and scientific inquiry can tell us all that we need to know and all that we can know. and?

20) Atheists are smarter than anyone who believes in God. christians keep saying this. atheists don't.

21) There is no “I” to the human animal. We are a mass of cells and neurons that operate according to the Laws of Nature. i think he means "spirit" or "soul". i think we're pretty much meat, but that's hardly dogma.

22) Death is the end. well, yeah.

23) There is no cosmic purpose. yup.

24) There is no Divine justice or reward. mm-hmmm

25) Free will is an illusion. uh, wait, what? that's calvinism, dude.

26) Evil and suffering prove that God does not exist. or that god doesn't give a shit, or is a nasty little sadist we shouldn't worship.

27) Living by these Beliefs, Tenets and Dogma of the atheist faith is emancipating. THERE. IS. NO. ATHEIST. FAITH.

yeesh. talk about projection.

How 6 turns into 13.1 million

(hint: it's not lack of condoms.)

Anthony Gottlieb, in Faith = Fertility, manages the most offensive interpretation of simple demographic data EVAH!

From INTELLIGENT LIFE magazine, Winter 2008

If a Martian were to look at a map of the Earth’s religions, what he might find most surprising is the fact that such a map can be drawn at all. why? does religion work differently on Mars. Is it in any way surprising that people with similar beliefs and values tend to live close to one another, if possible? Do Martians prefer the opposite? How strange--he might say to himself--that so many of the world’s Hindus are to be found in one place, namely India. uh, where hinduism was born? why would that be surprising? And how odd that Muslims are so very numerous in the Middle East. again, where muhammed was born and spread his new faith? how peculiar. With the disconcerting curiosity that is so typical of Martians yeah, it's not cute, give it up, he might wonder what explains this geographical clustering. see above. Do people move countries in order to be close to others of the same faith? Or do people simply tend to adopt the religion they grew up with? The answer, of course, is the latter--on the whole. again, this is so obvious not even the hypothetical martion should be surprised by it. There are exceptions: Jews moving to Israel, for example, and there are many other cases of religious migration.

Still, the huddling of the masses yearning to be free? faithful is mainly explained by the fact that religion runs in families. If you have a religion, it is probably the same one as your parents. Earlier this year a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that nearly three-quarters of American adults professed the religion in which they were raised. not surprising. But instead of finding this glass to be three-quarters full, newspapers preferred to notice that it was one-quarter empty. It was the minority of Americans who either switched religions, or abandoned religion altogether, who were highlighted in reports of the survey well duh. they're the oddballs, and oddballs are interesting. when was the last time you saw an article about people doing totally normal, boring tasks that everyone does? okay, the onion, but not satire?(“Poll Finds a Fluid Religious Life in US”, ran a headline in the New York Times).

Plainly it does not count as news that religion remains largely a family affair. Yet it should do be? "do" doesn't make sense here, because of its largely unnoticed consequences. dum dum dum! Some religious groups are dramatically outbreeding others, in ways that have an impact on America, Europe and elsewhere. the brown people are coming! the brown people are coming! Consider the Mormons, who grew from six people in a log-cabin in upstate New York in 1830 to 13.1m adherents around the world in 2007.

okay, i hate mormons. their religious book is such an obvious forgery it's ridiculous, they hate gays, and they endlessly proselytize. It's obnoxious. But, the above sentence, in context, makes it sound like 6 family members having endless incestuous sex eventually created 13.1 million people. Physically impossible, and rude to imply.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Mormons were a fringe sect in America, with decidedly unusual beliefs. as compared to what? i find their beliefs no more odd than anyone else's. yeesh. (They officially hold that God once had a body; that people exist as spirits before they are physically conceived; and that Jesus will one day commute between somewhere in Israel and somewhere in the United States. why is that last one strange? has this guy consulted his own beliefs lately?) Today Mormons are about to overtake Jews in America da dum, da dum, da dum; in fact, they may already have done so. And they almost had their own presidential candidate, in the person of Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts. no they didn't have their own presidential candidate. he would have been all republicans' candidate. that's how that works, asshat. The rapid rise of Mormons in America, growing by an average of 40% every decade in the 20th century, is mainly due to their large families. The American state with the highest birth rate is Utah, which is around 70% Mormon. In America, on average, Mormon women have nearly three times more children than Jewish women. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, however, do have plenty of offspring. because they're not allowed to use birth control. what do you think will happen when you combine sex with no birth control? in a healthy woman, a baby every year or so. This fact is changing the face of Israel, where such families have three times more children than other Israelis. As a result, at least a quarter of Israel’s population of under-17s is expected to be ultra-Orthodox by 2025, according to Eric Kaufmann at Harvard.

A similar but more gradual increase in the religious right has been taking place in America for decades, and not just because of Mormons. Conservative Protestant denominations as a whole grew much faster than liberal ones in 20th-century America, and it has been estimated that three-quarters of this growth is due simply to higher birth rates. again, sex+no birth control= lotsofbabies Were it not for the fact that Evangelical Christians reproduce faster than other Protestants, George Bush--who attracted most of the Evangelical votes--probably could not have made it back to the White House in 2004. and now i'm pro forced sterilization.

Like other demographers, Eric Kaufmann expects western Europe to become markedly more religious in the course of the 21st century, as a result of the relatively low fertility of unbelievers and immigration from more pious places pious, huh? not religious or observant? pious? does he really count mulsims as pious?. Not only do denominations with traditionalist values tend to have higher birth rates than their more liberal co-religionists, but countries that are relatively secularised usually reproduce more slowly than countries that are more religious. According to the World Bank, the nations with the largest proportions of unbelievers had an average annual population growth rate of just 0.7% in the period 1975-97, while the populations of the most religious countries grew three times as fast.If they want to spread their gospel, then, one might half-seriously conclude that atheists and agnostics ought to focus on having more children, to help overcome their demographic disadvantage. i dont have a gospel, asshat! i have the lack of a gospel! and i don't want to spread it, i want you to leave me the fuck alone!

Unfortunately for secularists, this may not work even as a joke. securalism is not a religion. and why "unfortunately"? are you finally admitting that you intend to kill us all, or at least remove our right to vote? Nobody knows exactly why religion and fertility tend to go together. Conventional wisdom says that female education hey, i can say no!, urbanisation, falling infant mortality it was not uncommon for a woman 80 years ago to have 15 children, only 10 of which made it to adulthood., and the switch from agriculture to industry and services all tend to cause declines in both religiosity and birth rates. In other words, secularisation and smaller families are caused by the same things. makes sense. Also, many religions enjoin believers to marry early make bad decisions while you're too young to know any better! and no divorce!, abjure abortion and sometimes even contraception "sometimes even"? how about "frequently"? how about "as long as men don't have to carry a baby for 9 months and then spend 36 hours giving birth, we don't need no stinkin' birth control"?, all of which leads to larger families. sex+no birth control= lotsofbabies.

But there may be a quite different factor at work as well. Having a large family might itself sometimes make people more religious, or make them less likely to lose their religion. chicken, egg? egg, chicken? Perhaps religion and fertility are linked in several ways at the same time. sociology is like that. Mary Eberstadt, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California, has suggested several ways in which the experience of forming a family might stimulate religious feelings among parents, at least some of the time. She notes that pregnancy and birth, the business of caring for children, and the horror of contemplating their death why, under normal circumstances, are people contemplating their child's death?, can stimulate an intensity of purpose that might make parents more open to religious sentiments yeah, and lack of sleep will make you delusional. Many common family events, she reasons, might encourage a broadly spiritual turn of mind, from selfless care for a sick relation to sacrifices for the sake of a child’s adulthood that one might never see. because atheists are incapable of sacrifice and selflessness. we're teh evul.

Eberstadt argues that part of the reason why western European Christians have become more secular is that they have been forming fewer stable families, and having fewer children when they do. or the other way around, it's hard to say. also, in western europe, and the US, life is simply too expensive for people to afford 10-15 kids, especially with only one spouse working and the other staying home to raise them. this may be affordable in india or the middle east, but it's not here. This, she suggests, may help to explain some puzzles about the timing of secularisation in certain places. In Ireland, for example, she notes that people started having smaller families before they stopped going to church. And, she argues, if something about having families can incline one to religion, this might shed some light on another mystery: why the sexes are not equally religious.

According to Rodney Stark, an American sociologist of religion, the generalisation that men are less religious than women “holds around the world and across the centuries”. In every country--both Christian and non-Christian--analysed by Dr Stark, based on data from the World Values Survey in the 1990s, more women than men said they would describe themselves as religious. There is no agreed explanation for this striking difference. Perhaps the fact that women play a rather larger role than men in the production and rearing of children has something to do with it. If family life does contribute to religiosity, then having larger families might backfire on unbelievers. It might make them more religious. And since faith is still largely a family affair, their children would then be more likely to be religious, too. so, either way we're screwed. have lots of babies to beat the fundagelacists at their own game and end up a fundagelacist. fuck it. i'll stick with none, thank you very much.

Persecuted Christians!

The Atheists are coming! The Atheists are coming! (Apparently, that is the official atheist logo. I had no idea. I like it: it's colorful, textured and vaguely Star Treky. Fishes got nothing on us, baby! And, since I think that is a hydrogen atom- only one electron- we're explosive!)

More from the fundamentalist whackjobs that think US christians are persecuted. Yes, really. No, I did not make this shit up. I don't have to.

Standing with the King by Ron Graham

blahblahblah Noah was supernaturally covered by the Lord (inciting porn imagery) blahblahblah

Certainly we too have this supernatural covering as we face adversities in our walk with Jesus. In “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs” we can read of numerous occasions where Christians were being put through the most horrible of deaths, and eye witnesses exclaimed as they watched the faces of those being put to death “Their faces seemed as angels smiling to the end.” How is that possible? Only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can we Christians stand in the face of such horrendous tortures and persecutions. Actually, if you were being tortured to death, wouldn't you be happy when it was finally over? This happens to people who have been suffering horribly from terminal cancer or other such lingering, painful diseases. At the end, it doesn't hurt anymore. Good enough reason to smile for me.

Moving on to: If you won't let me do anything to you I want, dictate your life and trash the Constitution, you are persecuting me!

I’m not saying I believe we are going to experience anything like those I’ve mentioned then why bring it up? seriously, stop with the persecution porn but I do believe persecution of the Christian Church is coming. Show your work. It would be quite arrogant of us Christians living here in the U.S. to think we are immune. Comparing the US to places like communist Russia or China or the Middle East is illogical and dirty. We have a Constitution that separates church and state. This protects religion as much as it protects the rest of us. In order for the persecution of Christians to occur, someone would have to legislate away both the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. Good luck with that. What kind of persecutions are coming you might ask? Well, yeah! Well certainly we are already witnessing some of it today. Oh, really?

Watch the news and you’ll see the agenda of the homosexuals hard at work persecuting the Church. Of course it's Teh Gay, the mightiest of all evils. The slacktivist did a wonderful series on how Teh Gay became the greatest of all evils in the fundavelagist community. You should read it. I was surprised at how recently Teh Gay has become the focus of Teh Hate. All homosexuals want is to be left alone. Surprisingly, they don't like being the focus of all that hate any more than I would. (Actually surprisingly, as an atheist, I get a lot less hate.) Homosexuals want civil rights, they want to stop being discriminated against, they want to stop being the victims of violence. What is wrong with that?

Do not post one of those ridiculous screeds about how the bible condemns homosexuality. First of all, this only occurs in Leviticus, which is the book of Jewish law. Leviticus also condemns as "an abomination" the eating of shellfish. Lev 11:9-12 Do Christians not eat shrimp? Of course they eat shrimp. They ignore everything else in Leviticus, but keep the gay-hating. Nice.

Do not post some idiotic rant about how Teh Gay ruins marriages. I have yet to see anyone prove that, and I doubt you will either. Then I will have to engage you in conversation that will make me feel dirty, and I can't afford to keep heating water for shower after shower.

Laws are being formulated and progressed to systematically eliminate God’s Holy Word from all venues in our public arenas. Those are not new laws. Rexamine the Establishment Clause if you need to. That was the original intent of the framers of the Constitution. Besides, no one is taking your bible away from you, so how does not having the 10 commandments in the courthouse persecute christians. You are still welcome to follow and preach your religion all you want. Just not on publicly (owned by everyone, atheists included!) property. Never in the history of the English printed Bible what? What the hell is the reference here? Oh yeah, Aramaic and Hebrew and Greek versions were wrong, because god loves English best. Which is why Jesus was an Aramaic-speaking orthodox Jew! God really does work in mysterious ways. has there been such a determination to remove it and deliver it to its final resting place, a heap of burning Bibles. Again, persecution porn. Has the governemnt of the ever US fired up a heap of bibles? No. Is anyone suggesting it, trying to pass bills to that effect? No.

Around the world today Christians are being persecuted, abused, discriminated against, and martyred for adhering to their faith in Jesus Christ. In countries not the US, some of them, this is true. It's very sad. It's why the Establishment and Free Expression Clauses are so very important.

See, this idiot never thought this through. Clearly. Suppose we do set up a theocracy. Right now, Christianity in general is the dominant religion in the country (76.5% self identify as Christian). What specific type of Christianity is dominant? Catholicism. (24.5% self identify as Catholic, compared to 16.3% Baptist, which I'm guessing is what Graham is.) So, if we were to set up a theocracy, we'd have to go with Catholicism, because they're the most numerous. I guarantee Mr. Graham would jump for joy on hearing the US was a theocracy, and then spit up his skull upon hearing he had been involutarily converted to Catholicism.

That might be worth seeing. Except for being Catholic again. I didn't really like it the first time. Oh well.

Freedom of religion is of the past, intolerance toward Christians is the order of the day. Are we discussing Iran or something? Most country’s governments today are involved in silencing the Christian’s voice in one way or another. I guess it depends upon what you mean by "most". I really couldn't find any good data on this, because a search for "christian persecution" gives me pages and pages of this sort of persecution porn. Living in the US though, I can definitively say that christians in the US are not persecuted. They're just not allowed to persecute me. Which is no fun at all, apparently.

No they won’t admit it. Because it's not true! Conspiracy theory porn. None the less is one word, they are hard at it and won’t be satisfied until their satanic mission is complete. That's right! I refuse to allow you to turn my fine democracy into a theocracy and force convert me to your insanity because I'm a Satan worshipper. You caught me. Damn you, Ron Graham! Who's unamerican again?

God will not be mocked, revenge porn and if this new administration coming soon on the scene believes it can run the United States of America without God Obama is christian, but he clearly believes that god is not part of the equation for running the US, as is clearly stated in the constitution, they certainly have another thing coming, the correct expression is "they have another think coming" and I’m being very serious seriously? when I say this. God is in control not of the US, thank god and with His Church being under such pressure to assimilate into the new culture being promoted nobody is asking you to . . . assimilate? What, atheists are Borg now?He will take drastic measures to free us from such bondage. WHAT FREAKIN' BONDAGE? Does this guy ever actually read the bible? The Israelites were under bondage to the Pharaoh. You're allowed to worship any way you want, as much as you want, with whomever you want. How is that persecution?

Don’t be fooled into believing the lie of our newly elected president that we need change. Economy is in freefall, unemployment up, foreclosures the highest since the Great Depression, people homeless, starving, uninsured, banks and businesses failing right and left-- Yes, we do need change. Absolutely we do.

When he makes that statement he’s talking about changing our current Christian nation into an atheistic, socialistic, humanistic, Satan following nation of fools.

Wow. Ok, let's tackle these one at a time:

(1) socialistic. The current highest tax rate is 36%. Obama wants to make it 39%. At what point in the 3% difference does this become socialism?

(2) humanistic. I'm not sure why this is a dirty word to fundavangelicals. This is the definition of humanism: a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality. Why is that bad? Ummmm . . . it's not based on god? Dignity and worth are still good whether you got the idea from god or not. Maybe it's the rationality part. After all, if you started thinking, you might think about what Graham says, and then you'd realize how stupid he is, and he would be out of a job. Thinking is not good for Ron Graham.

(3) the juxtaposition of atheist and Satan-following. A Satan worshipping atheist is an oxymoron. You cannot be an atheist and a Satan worshipper. Atheists specifically do not believe in any gods at all. Therefore, we do not believe in Satan. I am no more a Satan worshipper than I am a Santa worshipper, or a Tooth Fairy worshipper.

Christians, hold on to God’s promises. Which you are completely free to do in the US. Be as steadfast as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in their time and don’t let an evil king sway you in your beliefs. Our only King is King Jesus and we adhere to His word for our lives. Obama isn't a king, he's President, well, will be President, and nobody is required to worship the US President. In fact, you are entirely free to make fun of him, hate him, protest against him, or anything else you'd like short of threatening his safety. In fact, Ron Graham takes advantage of this freedom all the time. Pray for our nation and our newly elected Presidential administration, but don’t be lulled to sleep; stay vigilant in your walk with Christ. Ah, prayer as a threat. Lovely.

How do we believers occupy ‘til He comes? By holding fast to our faith in Christ. Never stop studying God’s word. Just as important, and imperative, is our continued witnessing to the lost. Yeesh. You are free to to believe anything you like. Leave me out of it. Even though we are growing closer to the Rapture of His Church, Rapture porn! we are aware that Jesus is still saving lives and He will continue with or without a God fearing U.S. President. Exactly. God doesn't need the US to establish a theocracy, any more than God would need a starship.

That Is the Question

Apparently, fearmongering is the way to go with conservatives/fundamentalists/Republicans. I found McCain/Palin's fearmongering obnoxious and offensive, but, in reviewing conservafundican articles over the last few weeks, I have found one underlying theme: fear. (And racism. And crazy. But today's blog is about fear.)

This brings us to "To Fear or Not to Fear" by Faith Noles.

The week following this 2008 presidential election has left many feeling as if they have just walked through a cold mortuary filled with the post mortem remains of a once beautiful and blessed America. I’ve seen the solemn expressions of prophecy teachers and anointed preachers who have spoken since the election. I’ve seen the down cast faces of faithful believers who have passionately prayed for the healing and redemption of this nation. Many are disheartened and may even feel as if God has not heard their prayers.

This is not the first "America is dead now that you idiots have elected Obama" article since November 5. This handwringing over the US's corpse before Obama has even taken office is silly at first glance. My first thought was, "What kind of power do they imagine the President has?" Then I thought about all the shit Bush has done in the last 8 years- free falling stock market, severely depressed housing market, wire tapping, two wars, etc.- and I realized this wasn't silly. Then I thought, but Obama is going to at least to attempt to undo those things. Then it hit me.

These people think Bush did a good job. Think about that. Economy in the toilet, thousands wounded and dying in Afganistan and Iraq, foreclosures in the millions, people in the US starving, unable to afford medication or heat, and they're afraid this will end.

The worst part is, if the faithful really did pray for redemption and healing, then God did answer their prayers. McCain/Palin would have given us neither of those things. (I doubt they were really praying for redemption and healing, though. More like, "Please god, don't let that MUSLIM!TERRORIST!HE'sBLACK! in office.")

David Wilkerson wrote in his book, God’s Plan To Protect His People In The Coming Depression that “Every serious follower of Christ has to realize America deserves the full fury of God’s wrath”. Not an authority on anything. History is filled with examples of God’s judgment upon wicked nations. With the election of Obama, Christians in America see the ‘writing on the wall’ and know that God’s judgment on America is right at hand. Yeah, God was following the election on CNN. Now he will punish even those who voted for McCain for the election of Obama. Because god doesn't understand how the electoral college works.

This is appalling for two reasons. First, history is not full of examples of God's judgment, it is filled with natural disasters and miscalculations and human error, and above all, tragedy, misfortune and suffering. To attribute this as the just action of god is to ignore the tragedy and suffering. It is also to place oneself above the sufferer. "You deserved what you got, sucker, and it's never going to happen to me. Nyah, nyah, nyah."

This is monstrous.

I do believe that America is about to be judged. However, God wants to remind His children that He is still on the throne. Billy Graham once made the statement “God is unchanging in His love. He loves you. He has a plan for your life. Don’t let the newspaper headlines frighten you. God is still sovereign; He’s still on the throne.” God has not changed. Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I change not.” None of the events of this old sinful world has taken God by surprise.

Yeah, I dunno. Random bible quotes. But think about what Ms. Noles says. Basically, god is going to spank us all while saying, "this hurts me more than it hurts you . . . but yeah, you're all going to die in the plague. it'll be a horrible way to die. but more painful for me."

Yes, he's back: God as abusive parent with serious self esteem issues! Why would anyone want to worship this guy, anyway? He makes Satan sound like the better option, if you have to choose one.

I will spare you the list of random, tangentially related bible quotes. (Just open a bible to a random page and point at random to a verse. Do this 8 times and you'll get the picture.) Then we get this delightful story:

There’s a story about a mother hen who overshadowed her baby chick with her wing during a tall grass fire. Afterwards, the farmer walked over the burnt field to assess the damage of his property. He stood still when he saw something move underneath a hen that had died in the fire. He picked up the charred wing of the mother hen and there laid her baby chick untouched by the scorching flames. . .

. . . but dead of smoke inhalation. No really, think about that. What does that mean in this context? That god- GOD!- is powerless to prevent the coming judgment? That god will die protecting us? My mom will die protecting me? If you're going to use analogies to make your point, make sure they actually do make your point. Otherwise you get this confusing mess.

What a comfort to know that you abide under the shadow of God Almighty! Years ago, during an especially trying time in my life, I prayed “Oh God are You here?” Someone had threatened my life and ridiculed my relationship with God. What? What the hell is she talking about? Did some guy hold a knife to her throat while screaming, "You're stupid to believe in god!" More likely, she got an angry email response to some equally horrible article. While the rest of us have the sense to ignore that sort of thing, this is Ms. Nole's melodramatic overreaction: I thought as James and John did in Luke chapter nine, that God would rain fire on this man, but He didn’t. Seriously? You actually thought god almighty was going to rain fire and brimstone on some random internet troll? *wild, uncontrollable laughter* I couldn’t understand why God just didn’t strike this person dead or at least put him in a coma or something. Ya know, the god of love and mercy and compassion and forgiveness. That guy. Yet, God taught me many things while I walked through that valley. What valley? Why have we moved on to travel plans? God reminded me that He loved us while we were yet unlovable. God was showing mercy to this ungodly man. God didn’t take me out of the trial immediately, but He protected my life and gave me the strength to endure. One terrible, lonely night, I sat at my piano, weeping and asking God for deliverance. With tenderness and compassion, God reached down and wrapped me in His arms Replace the word "god" with any man's name and this gets very interesting and gave me this song:

Really bad song lyrics that make me happy I can't hear the music.

There is no need to fear if you are washed in the blood of the Lamb and abiding with Jesus. Isaiah 41:13 “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee”. However, for those who refuse to turn from their wicked ways, I think the tagline for the 1986 movie The Fly can apply to you... “Be afraid, be very afraid”. Hebrews 10:31 “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.

Nyah, nyah, nyah! God's gonna get you, god's gonna get you!