The Christian News Feed Goes Atheist

morality, religion, christianity, atheist,
I subscribe to a Christian news feed, ChristianPost.com, and I think that every now and then it gets hijacked by rogue atheists, like today, when I learned that:

Psychologists in a new study suggest that moral judgments operate
independently of religious background.

. . .

In their study, which was published by Cell Press in the journal Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, the psychologists cite several studies in moral psychology,
including one that involved thousands of students from the elementary school
level to those with graduate degrees and another that involved the rural, Mayan
population. Subjects read and judged the moral permissibility of an
action.

Drs. Pyysiainen and Hauser note that the moral judgments provided by
religious subjects did not differ from that of atheists.

The authors highlight that religion appears to have "no influence at
all on the intuitive system that operates more generally, and for unfamiliar
cases."

"In fact, a considerable amount of work in this area shows that moral
judgments are relatively immune to the explicit moral dictates of both religious
and legal institutions," they state.

Presumably, they interviewed the traditionalist Mayans as opposed to the Catholic Mayans, but really, it's all quite fascinating. This entire article was offered free of any commentary, which is what makes me suspect rogue atheists.

Heaven?

The Bible makes precious little mention of Hell, so I decided to see what, exactly, the Bible says about Heaven.

In the Old Testament, Heaven is referenced often: as a place above Earth where rain comes from and Yhwh lives. There is not, however, any real description of Heaven, nor any intimation of people other than Yhwh living there. Well, stars and clouds clearly live there, but not people.

By the New Testament, we have a "kingdom of Heaven" and dead people going there, but nothing to tell me what it might be like there, which is a rather important thing to leave out, considering what I am expected to do to get to Heaven.

There's a bit of this:

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed
good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and
sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed
heads, then the weeds also appeared.

So, Heaven's got bad stuff in it?

31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,
which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all
your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

It started small, but got bigger?

33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that
a woman took and mixed into a large amount[b]
of flour until it worked all through the dough."

What?

45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

Oh, c'mon!

47"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the
lake and caught all kinds of fish.

So, back to there's stuff in Heaven you may not like?

18"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be[a]bound
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[b]
loosed in heaven.

So, fantastic, there's war and suffering in Heaven? I hope you're not expecting a great deal of effort on my part to get there. I can experience all that has been loosed on Earth with no effort at all.

1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.

I'm starting to get the impression that whoever wrote this had no idea how to describe Heaven and went for the Emperor's New Clothes style of description: You must be stupid if you don't know what landowners and yeast have to do with Heaven.

I will leave you with this:

35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

So, not so much on the "eternal" part of eternal life? Fuck it, I ain't hating gays for this.

It's So Hard to Be a Christian in America

establisment, first amendment, christian, lancaster,
You can't even, as an elected official, make certain nonChristians know how unwelcome they are without getting into trouble.

In his State of the City address last week, Mayor R. Rex Parris said
Lancaster [California] was “growing a Christian community.”

"And don't let anybody shy away from that,” he said to an audience of
ministers. “I need [Lancaster residents] standing up and saying we're a
Christian community, and we're proud of that."

What blows my mind is that obviously Mayor Parris, an elected representative of every citizen of Lancaster, thought it was appropriate to (a) support one religion over another, and (b) make certain every nonChristian in Lancaster knows exactly how he feels about them. Clearly, to Mayor Parris, nonChristians are people that don't belong in his city and the Constition can go suck it.

What's really interesting, though, is how Christians are trying to make this about the mean mean Muslims.

From the LA Times:

The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
sent a letter Friday to the department requesting an investigation into whether
Parris’ comments violated the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, which bans
the government from supporting or endorsing a religion.

Yeah, that is a good question. Clearly, the Mayor, in his capacity as a government official, is indeed supporting one religion over any other. So, yeah, unconstitutional.

Here's how it was reported by One News Now:

Two city officials in a California town are being targeted for possible hate
crimes over comments they made recently about the Christian and Muslim faiths.

That's odd. On the one hand, we have a question of constitutionality, on the other HAYT CRIMZZZZZZ!!!1!! Okay then.

Church Promotion

Sure, it was probably above average, but wow!

Give the guy money- he's an evolutionary miracle!

"Christ" was Greek for "pimpalicious".

How . . .?

Utah's Dirty Little Secret

Utah, land of the Mormons, who value virginity only slightly less than your average fundamentalist muslim, has a dirty little secret:

[Missy Bird of the Utah Planned Parenthood Action Council] said of the 123
Planned Parenthood Action Council affiliates around the country, the Utah
affiliate has the highest number of young women seeking emergency anti-pregnancy
treatments, known as the "morning after" pill.

That's odd. I wonder what else is going on in the most conservative, religious place in America (other than Amish enclaves)? A place that, btw, teaches abstinence exclusively.

Pregnancy rates among girls younger than 15 doubled between 2002 to 2007 in
that [Utah County], while the rate remained stable in the rest of the state,
according to the Utah Department of Health.

Statewide, chlamydia rates rose 150 percent and gonorrhea rates rose
122 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to the Utah Department of Health.

The majority of new cases of chlamydia (57 percent) were found in those
ages 15-24 and 30 percent of those were under the age of 19.

What do leaders in Utah have to say about this?

The head-in-the-sand approach that actually is harming the very children
they are trying to protect can be seen in a statement Utah Eagle Forum President
Gayle Ruzicka gave to The Tribune in its story about the poll.

"When you teach them about sex, that just encourages sexual activity," she said.

That would be hilarious if it weren't for all the unwanted pregnancies and disease.

I Guess There's No Avoiding It

[trigger warning: sexual assault]

A university in Georgia, Valdosta State University, has released "tips" for avoiding rape that are so WTF?! inducing, I think it may be satire. Satire in exceedly poor taste, but surely no one is this stupid. Right?. Let's review:

The three main reasons women make easy targets for random acts of violence are:

Lack of awareness (you MUST know where you are & what's going on around you.) Don't ever get lost, ever, for any reason.

Body language (keep your head up, swing your arms, stand straight up) swing my arms?

Wrong place, wrong time (DON'T be walking alone in an alley, or driving in a bad neighborhood at night) don't leave the house ever, for any reason. you may end up lost or alone. women have no reason to go anywhere anyway, what are you thinking?!

Always take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone.) actually not the alone part that is the problem, but if you decide to walk a flight of stairs instead of wait for the elevator, it's your own damn fault!

Do not get on an elevator if your instincts tell you that something is wrong (Remember, bad men don't always look bad). fear all men!

Do not stand back in the corners of the elevator, be near the front, by the doors, ready to get off. because rapists can't touch you if you're within 18" of the door. trufax.

If you get on the elevator on the 25th floor, and the Boogie Man gets on the 22nd, get off when he gets on. well, hell yeah, if the monster from my childhood nightmares gets on the elevator I am definitely getting off, but i thought bad men don't always look bad. pick one.

If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS run! if the "predator" has a gun, i would say I am, by definition, under his control.

POLICE well known to be the greatest marksmen on the planet only make 4 of 10 shots when they are in range of 3-9 feet. This is due to stress. well, since sociopaths don't experience stress, maybe we need a new hiring policy at the police.

The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN! define "vital", asshole. I'm fairly certain I don't have a torso mostly filled with packing peanuts, so i'm guessing any gunshot anywhere is potentially very dangerous.

Women are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT, it may get you raped, or killed. it's your fault for always being so nice. and having a vagina, but i suppose you can't do anything about that.

REACT IMMEDIATELY: If he abducts you in a parking lot, and is taking you to an abandoned area, DON'T LET HIM GET YOU TO THAT AREA. * If you are driving, react immediately in the situation, and crash your car while still going 5 MPH. * sure. i'll drive into a wall going 5mph. at that speed, it'll totally kill him, but leave me free to run away. If he's driving, find the right time, and stick your fingers in his eyes. when is the right time for that? plus, i'm a little over 5', with accompanying arm length, so how am i supposed to pull that off? any attempt would result in me flailing a hand in his face, nothing more. i am not a master of jijitsu. He must watch the road, so choose an unsuspecting time, and gouge him. It maybe your ONLY defense. While he is in shock, GET OUT. (This sounds gross, but the alternative is your fault if you do not act.)

RESIST: don't go along with him: run, if you are able: Yell statements Help me," "Rape," or "I don't know this man." * You DO NOT want to get to crime scene # 2. DON'T EVER GIVE UP! so i should attack when my GPS announces "crime scene, 0.2 miles ahead"?

GET A CELL PHONE.
There are packages for $19.95 a month that allow you to program only 911 or 5555 (The VSU Emergency Number) into the dialing out program (this is for parents who say it is too expensive for their kids to have a cell phone.) if you're too poor for a cell phone, you deserve to be raped. "excuse me, Mr. Rapist, I just need to dial 9-1- hey, gimme back my phone!"

BREAKDOWNS: (avoid this by ALWAYS keeping your car in good working order how many times will they say that poor women deserve to be raped?)

If your car breaks down, you better have a cell phone to call for help, and lock your doors.

Keep a blanket, and a pair of warm clothes and boots, and a flashlight in your car always for emergencies. boots scare off rapists?

If you don't have a cell phone, shame on you at least one more time, apparently.

If it's noon on a business day, you MAY want to put your hazards on and walk to safety. If it's 2 a.m. and you're close to a populated and well lighted area, go there ASAP. Otherwise, your best bet is to stay in your vehicle. why do women keep leaving their houses? will they never learn?

If you are walking alone in the dark (which you shouldn't be stop. leaving. the. kitchen. bitches.) and you find him following/chasing you:

Try to get to a lighted area, preferably a populated area.

If he's following you, cross the street. like witches and running water, rapists are stymied by streets. If he follows you, turn around and look at him. He will know that he can now be identified and that he has lost the element of surprise.

If he chases you, yell for help and run! my word, run if i am being chased? that's amazing! Too bad I literally cannot manage more than a quick, limping walk.

Find an obstacle, such as a parked car, and run around it, like ring around the rosy. This may sound silly, but statistical data shows that this has SAVED LIVES. statistical data gleaned from Warner Bros. cartoons?

Never let yourself or anyone that you know be a in any type of business (bar, store, restaurant, gas station). I think they mean "an employee". maybe they mean "go into any establishment without male accompaniment. you know, like Saudi Arabia.

Sign up for VSU R.A.D. course. It's a self-defense course for ladies. do you have a self defense course for me?

6.6 Billion is "Depopulation"?

Please save these innocent swings from their horrifying fate!

10 Good Ridiculous Reasons to Have Another Child by Barbara

Reason One: Have another child to join with God in the creation of an immortal soul. Parents are given the incredible opportunity to assist God in the creation of an immortal soul. As the late Cardinal Mindszenty said, even the angels have not been given such a grace. Um, yeah. There are 6.6 Billion "immortal souls" right now. That's not including every other human that ever lived and died. Can God never be satisfied?

Reason Two: Have another child to bring joy into your life.There is no joy like the joy of welcoming another child into your life. You will marvel anew at how perfectly formed your little one is, and over how quickly you will fall head over heels in love with him. You will be enchanted with every tiny aspect of her appearance. The color of her hair, the shape of her nose, and the winsomeness of her smile will occasion endless happy debates about from which side of the family (yours, of course) she got that adorable trait. Baybeez ar teh kyoot!!!1!!! Babies take no work at all. Babies don't require any care or money or sleepless nights or sacrifice at all. They're just pure cute, all the time.

Reason Three: Have another child to grown in holiness and virtue.For those who marry and have families, children are the primary means God uses to help them grow in holiness and virtue. So, how many children does it take to be holy and virtuous, exactly? Clearly one isn't enough, what about two? What if I can only have three, am I less holy and virtuous than a woman with six? 50% less holy and virtuous, or are there diminishing returns for each baby?

Reason Four: Have another child to help end abortion.When Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked by a young mother about the best way to proceed with pro-life work, she responded emphatically, "Have a big family. That is the best way to end abortion!"
How this works is not difficult to understand. As children become more rare due to contraception, sterilization and abortion, whole segments of society become less and less familiar with the sense of joy and hope that only babies and children can give. In this climate, contraception and abortion feed on themselves, as the increasingly selfish few further reduce their number. I know, children are so rare, I've gone 35 minutes without seeing one. Of course, I'm at work, but rare! Yes! 1 out of every 4 Americans is a child, I'm surprised I see any children at all.

Reason Five A: Have another child so your sons will have brothers and your daughters will have sisters. Children who have siblings learn early to share. They learn to take turns and to put the needs of others before their own. The bond formed between brothers and sisters is lifelong, and stronger than the bond between the closest friends. That's right. You should have children you can't afford and don't want so the children you already do have with have less siblings. And, hey, if you've have 3 boys so far in your quest to give your daughter a sister, just keep trying.





Reason Five B:Have another child so your sons will have sisters and your daughters will have brothers. Boys who have sisters learn the dignity of women. They learn to treat other girls and women with respect, as they consider how they would like their own sisters to be treated. Girls who have brothers learn the complementarity of men and women, both fashioned in the image and likeness of God. Because boys can't possibly learn about the "dignity of women" from the actual woman in their life, their mother.





Reason Six:Have another child so you (and your parents) won't be lonely in old age. People who have children don't have to rely upon strangers to care for them in their old age. That's right. There aren't any people in nursing homes who have children. You're not having children, your creating a free labor pool for later in life!





Reason Seven:Have another child because people are our greatest resource. Humans are blessed with the gifts of an intellect and free will. It is human ingenuity that discovers creative solutions to the problems which confront us. People without children should remember that it will be someone else's child who will become the doctor that performs their life-saving operations. Someone else's child will become the firefighter that saves their house. Someone else's child will become the railroad engineer. We can't have that! It must be my child who performs life saving operations and works on a train . . . ? Railroad engineer? Anyway, it could also be your child who developes a lifelong addiction to heroin or ends up working as a prostitute, so keep that in mind.





Reason Eight:Have another child to contribute to the economy.Families with children are fuel to the economy, purchasing houses and cars and college educations. Without young people to enter the workforce, social security systems fail. Without children to attend school, teachers are jobless. Many industries, from fast food restaurants to toy stores, obviously rely heavily upon business from and for children to stay in business. But ultimately the whole economy does. If you don't keep breeding McDONALDS WILL FAIL! Will the horror never end? How can our consumer society survive if you don't push out an endless stream of future consumers? I'm dooming us all!!!eleventy!!!





Have another child to counter global depopulation.Anyone who has traveled from coast to coast in the United States and seen the vast empty spaces should know that America is not overpopulated. In fact, the entire population of the world could live in the state of Texas, in single-family dwellings with front and back yards.
Fertility rates are falling everywhere. The world's population will never again double. If current trends continue, world population will peak by the middle of this century and then begin demographic freefall. If there is one empty acre of land without people on it, then we have failed!





Umm . . . why should the world's population double again? And demographic freefall? Really? On the one hand, these people are telling me all about how the brown mooslins are breeding OUT OF CONTROL, the next you're telling me the world doesn't have enough people in it? Also, this is an out and out lie. According to the World Population Data Sheet for 2007:

World population growth will continue. World population is 6.6 billion in
2007, up from 6.1 billion in 2000. It is projected to rise to 9.3 billion by
2050, with nearly all of that increase in developing countries. By 2008, half of
all people will live in urban areas.

Fertility rates may be rising again in some European countries. After
years of low but stable rates, the number of children women are having is
increasing in Italy, Spain, and Sweden, among others.

Fertility rates are holding steady at high levels in some developing
nations after years of decline. In Afghanistan, the rate is nearly seven
children per woman; in Nigeria, it is nearly six.

Yeah, I'm not feeling the panic.





Reason Ten: Have another child to help populate heaven.The child that you and your spouse have been generous in accepting from God was created to return to Him, after a life of love, service, and obedience on earth, to spend eternity with God in heaven.
Our Lord Himself said that there was plenty of room for those immortal souls. There is no overpopulation problem in Heaven! They have to live here first, Barbara.