By Noelle Chun [via reddit]
Friday, 23 October 2009
Sunday, 16 August 2009
100 Very Cool Facts About The Human Body
This is a very interesting article (click on the link in the title) that someone pointed out to me today. Thought I'd share it with you.
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
since the last video was a big hit...
Here are two more.
And I'll keep doing this until someone posts something!
And I'll keep doing this until someone posts something!
Friday, 10 July 2009
a new take on an old tale
Interestingly, this is very similar to a game that i play at home with the younglings. We read bits of the babble and insert commentary and funny voices. Not only does it reinforce how ridiculous the stories are, it gives them a chance to be creative.
More here
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
In case you didn't know (and most of you probably don't), Scribe and I write a super cool movie review blog. So far we've reviewed sixty-five movies over there. Our 65th and most recent review is topically relevant to this blog, so I've posted it here for your reading enjoyment. The only thing I've changed is the text color Scribe uses there (blue) to the customary yellow he uses here on GvD.
GREEN'S HOW TO BE AN INTELLECTUAL TERRORIST REVIEW:
Ben Stein: "So you have no idea how it started?"
Dr. Richard Dawkins: "No, n-n-o, no, no, nor has anybody."
Stein: "Nor has anyone else."
Dawkins: "No."
Of course, Stein's "it" refers to the origins of life.
Dawkins goes on to say that he thinks God is about as unlikely as fairies, angels, hobgoblins, etc. and that anyone who has a belief in God or religion is irrational.
So Richard, if you nor anyone else supposedly in the know (that would be scientists, in case you were wondering) has any idea how "it" started, then why not Intelligent Design or, dare I say, God?
This is a fundamental question I've been asking for quite a long time but have yet to receive a satisfactory answer. This is the same essential question Ben Stein is trying to have answered in this documentary movie.
Stein talks with scientists in academia who have lost their jobs not for teaching intelligent design but for the mere mention of it as an alternative to Darwinism in papers that they've submitted. Of course, these great academic institutions of higher learning deny this as the reason for the firings, otherwise they'd be facing lawsuits up the wazoo for discrimination. Wow. If Darwinism and evolution are undoubtedly true, what does the scientific institution have to worry about? If evolution is on such rock solid ground, why use strong armed guerrilla tactics to suppress alternate ideas?
This documentary is not, I repeat, NOT about the right to teach Intelligent Design over Darwinism in schools and Universities. Rather, it's about the suppression of ideas and freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment. Restrictions on rights that shouldn't be infringed upon in a supposedly "free" country. This infringement is akin to censorship and reminds us of those wonderful regimes who brought such good things to world history. Regimes such as communist China, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Regimes that officially banned religion as state policy.
Stein interviews scientists who are skeptical of Darwinism and the theory of evolution and some of those who are its most ardent supporters, including Dawkins himself.
Stein also delves into the question of how Darwinism leads to atheism, with Richard Dawkins as the star witness. This is not to say that all those who believe in evolution as fact are atheist or will become atheist, but that's the road that Darwinism inevitably leads down.
Stein, being of Jewish heritage, tours some of the WWII concentration camps in Europe. He takes some time for personal reflection about the horrors committed there thanks to Darwinistic thinking and "preservation of the superior race" as popularized by Chucky D from his little book and carried to the extreme by the Nazis. Truly the most somber section of the whole documentary.
One of the things I wondered about while watching is if you were entrenched in your position on the side of evolution and watched this documentary, would you be swayed to consider the alternatives or would you remain steadfast in your beliefs? Do you let your science take you where the evidence leads, no matter what or do you let your world view shape your science? I think I can guess the answers for most of you who will read this.
"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" asks excellent questions and raises good points for discussion. It is well thought out and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this documentary and I believe you will too.
***** out of *****
SCRIBE'S HOW SERIOUSLY CAN ONE TAKE A FORMER NIXON SPEECHWRITER & COMEDIAN WHEN IT COMES TO SCIENCE REVIEW:
As it turns out, Ben Stein, the conservative Nixon speechwriter turned comedian/actor has an ax to grin with academia. As shocking as this, it also turns out he is pissed at those who claim Evolutionary theory is more logically sound than Intelligent Design. And here's the real head turner...he decided to make a movie about it.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is Stein's attempt at getting to the bottom of the firings of certain teaching professionals around the nation who dared mention the mere possibility of Intelligent Design in regards to the origins of humanity. It is actually a noble aim on the surface because the true aim of academic research is supposed to be the ability to ask questions no matter where they may lead.
Stein takes his cameraman all over the globe in search of a reason behind why people are being silenced and losing their jobs. Is there a Darwinian Industrial Complex? I made that term up.
The evidence Stein uncovers would seem to indicate there is one, sadly. Science has become a realm of narrow thinking bureaucrats hell-bent on preserving whatever they hold to be true rather than allowing for alternatives in thought.
Ironically, Stein the so-called "comedian" is rarely funny or amusing in this documentary or anywhere else for that matter. He's about as dry as day-old toast and in no way compelling enough to carry us through his film, a stark contrast to the robust screen presence of Bill Maher in his superior film, Religulous. In fact, Expelled works best when other people are doing the talking... Of course, some would argue that all documentaries should work that way but Michael Moore might kick their asses.
When Stein is interviewing stuffy university department heads blustering on about why these people lost their jobs or talking to scientists who implied an Intelligent Design possibility that doesn't even necessitate the existence of God, that's when the film is at its most compelling. When it tries to tie in fascistic regimes and politics, it fails on all fronts.
Stein's visit to the Concentration Camps is a heavy-handed attempt to make a point he doesn't seem to realize he's making without this side trip. Maybe I should do a documentary some day on the evils of unfettered capitalism by visiting slavery plantations and the Bastille since I am mixed with both heritages. Stein loses momentum during this portion of the film to the point where his big "Roger & Me" moment with Richard Dawkins lacks much of the significant punch it could have packed had we not sat through the high school civics lesson.
By the way, Richard Dawkins is a piss poor spokesperson for not believing in God. Holy shit in a shoebox! Perhaps he is an intelligent man in his own regard, an idiot savant at the least, but he comes across as a yammering halfwit when confronted with the simple questions mentioned in Green's review. In fact, he basically admits the possibly of Intelligent Design by the end, implying an alien life form or intelligence could have been the originator... Bastard stole my belief system.
At the end, Expelled does what any successful documentary should do. It leaves the answers up the audience~
*** out of *****
GREEN'S HOW TO BE AN INTELLECTUAL TERRORIST REVIEW:Ben Stein: "So you have no idea how it started?"
Dr. Richard Dawkins: "No, n-n-o, no, no, nor has anybody."
Stein: "Nor has anyone else."
Dawkins: "No."
Of course, Stein's "it" refers to the origins of life.
Dawkins goes on to say that he thinks God is about as unlikely as fairies, angels, hobgoblins, etc. and that anyone who has a belief in God or religion is irrational.
So Richard, if you nor anyone else supposedly in the know (that would be scientists, in case you were wondering) has any idea how "it" started, then why not Intelligent Design or, dare I say, God?
This is a fundamental question I've been asking for quite a long time but have yet to receive a satisfactory answer. This is the same essential question Ben Stein is trying to have answered in this documentary movie.
Stein talks with scientists in academia who have lost their jobs not for teaching intelligent design but for the mere mention of it as an alternative to Darwinism in papers that they've submitted. Of course, these great academic institutions of higher learning deny this as the reason for the firings, otherwise they'd be facing lawsuits up the wazoo for discrimination. Wow. If Darwinism and evolution are undoubtedly true, what does the scientific institution have to worry about? If evolution is on such rock solid ground, why use strong armed guerrilla tactics to suppress alternate ideas?
This documentary is not, I repeat, NOT about the right to teach Intelligent Design over Darwinism in schools and Universities. Rather, it's about the suppression of ideas and freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment. Restrictions on rights that shouldn't be infringed upon in a supposedly "free" country. This infringement is akin to censorship and reminds us of those wonderful regimes who brought such good things to world history. Regimes such as communist China, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Regimes that officially banned religion as state policy.
Stein interviews scientists who are skeptical of Darwinism and the theory of evolution and some of those who are its most ardent supporters, including Dawkins himself.
Stein also delves into the question of how Darwinism leads to atheism, with Richard Dawkins as the star witness. This is not to say that all those who believe in evolution as fact are atheist or will become atheist, but that's the road that Darwinism inevitably leads down.
Stein, being of Jewish heritage, tours some of the WWII concentration camps in Europe. He takes some time for personal reflection about the horrors committed there thanks to Darwinistic thinking and "preservation of the superior race" as popularized by Chucky D from his little book and carried to the extreme by the Nazis. Truly the most somber section of the whole documentary.
One of the things I wondered about while watching is if you were entrenched in your position on the side of evolution and watched this documentary, would you be swayed to consider the alternatives or would you remain steadfast in your beliefs? Do you let your science take you where the evidence leads, no matter what or do you let your world view shape your science? I think I can guess the answers for most of you who will read this.
"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" asks excellent questions and raises good points for discussion. It is well thought out and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this documentary and I believe you will too.
***** out of *****
SCRIBE'S HOW SERIOUSLY CAN ONE TAKE A FORMER NIXON SPEECHWRITER & COMEDIAN WHEN IT COMES TO SCIENCE REVIEW:
As it turns out, Ben Stein, the conservative Nixon speechwriter turned comedian/actor has an ax to grin with academia. As shocking as this, it also turns out he is pissed at those who claim Evolutionary theory is more logically sound than Intelligent Design. And here's the real head turner...he decided to make a movie about it.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is Stein's attempt at getting to the bottom of the firings of certain teaching professionals around the nation who dared mention the mere possibility of Intelligent Design in regards to the origins of humanity. It is actually a noble aim on the surface because the true aim of academic research is supposed to be the ability to ask questions no matter where they may lead.
Stein takes his cameraman all over the globe in search of a reason behind why people are being silenced and losing their jobs. Is there a Darwinian Industrial Complex? I made that term up.
The evidence Stein uncovers would seem to indicate there is one, sadly. Science has become a realm of narrow thinking bureaucrats hell-bent on preserving whatever they hold to be true rather than allowing for alternatives in thought.
Ironically, Stein the so-called "comedian" is rarely funny or amusing in this documentary or anywhere else for that matter. He's about as dry as day-old toast and in no way compelling enough to carry us through his film, a stark contrast to the robust screen presence of Bill Maher in his superior film, Religulous. In fact, Expelled works best when other people are doing the talking... Of course, some would argue that all documentaries should work that way but Michael Moore might kick their asses.
When Stein is interviewing stuffy university department heads blustering on about why these people lost their jobs or talking to scientists who implied an Intelligent Design possibility that doesn't even necessitate the existence of God, that's when the film is at its most compelling. When it tries to tie in fascistic regimes and politics, it fails on all fronts.
Stein's visit to the Concentration Camps is a heavy-handed attempt to make a point he doesn't seem to realize he's making without this side trip. Maybe I should do a documentary some day on the evils of unfettered capitalism by visiting slavery plantations and the Bastille since I am mixed with both heritages. Stein loses momentum during this portion of the film to the point where his big "Roger & Me" moment with Richard Dawkins lacks much of the significant punch it could have packed had we not sat through the high school civics lesson.
By the way, Richard Dawkins is a piss poor spokesperson for not believing in God. Holy shit in a shoebox! Perhaps he is an intelligent man in his own regard, an idiot savant at the least, but he comes across as a yammering halfwit when confronted with the simple questions mentioned in Green's review. In fact, he basically admits the possibly of Intelligent Design by the end, implying an alien life form or intelligence could have been the originator... Bastard stole my belief system.
At the end, Expelled does what any successful documentary should do. It leaves the answers up the audience~
*** out of *****
Friday, 12 June 2009
PROOF OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN FOUND!
For those of us who aren't true believers, this is a shocking discovery. Scientists in Missouri uncovered an usual tree and, after much extensive testing, discovered it is the fabled Tree of Life from the first book of the Old Testament and it's still there! Right where the Mormons said it was!
Take a look:
It all makes sense now! Adam never had a chance! What a cruel practical joker God is to have tempted the first man with a tree that could keep him company at night!
Well, at least we have the proof now. Blog's over, shut 'er down, AG.
Take a look:
It all makes sense now! Adam never had a chance! What a cruel practical joker God is to have tempted the first man with a tree that could keep him company at night!
Well, at least we have the proof now. Blog's over, shut 'er down, AG.
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Friday, 29 May 2009
Monday, 18 May 2009
Challenge to discover
I stole the video and post below from a chap on YouTube who calls himself Thunderf00t.
If people like the Discovery Institute want to put forward
hypotheses such as intelligent design as an origin for the information in DNA,
then that's fine, but if they want it to be taken seriously, they must provide
some evidence to support it. The user C0nc0rdance has provided exactly such a
method for them to do this. Its simple, find a gene without an evolutionary
heritage. The genomes of about 180 life forms have been sequenced containing
maybe a million genes, and thus far the Discovery Institute has shown saintly
resistance to look for a single gene that shows signs of non-evolutionary
origin.
If you are an Intelligent Design Proponenist and think this would be
an excellent method for presenting evidence to support ID, then arguably your
best course of action would be to contact the Discovery Institute
(http://www.discovery.org/ ) at info@discovery.org and suggest that the largest
pro-intelligent design organisation actually looks for evidence to support their
hypothesis.
The core of this video was made by user C0nc0rdance
http://www.youtube.com/user/C0nc0rdance
He makes excellent videos on
science and defending science against dis-information.
Personally I
think the Discovery Institute will do their best to ignore this, after all they
must have thought of this before, they just do not want to invalidate their
hypothesis by trying.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Prophecy Schmophecy
Funny that the fundies say the Biblical prophecies are correct and have come to pass (or someday will)... BOO!
Funny how some say that the Bible is also a true recollection of history.
For fun, let's play Back to the Future (TM) - Milton friggin Bradley.
Ezekiel on Babylon and Egypt:
Ezekiel 29:
Ezekiel 30:
-Ezekiel on Tyrus and Nebuchadrezzar:
Sorry, Zeke. So sayeth the Lord of recollection, "You're full of BS."
Funny how some say that the Bible is also a true recollection of history.
For fun, let's play Back to the Future (TM) - Milton friggin Bradley.
Ezekiel on Babylon and Egypt:
Ezekiel 29:
10Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol[a]to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.
11No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.
12And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
Ezekiel 30:
10Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
11He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
-Ezekiel on Tyrus and Nebuchadrezzar:
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’
3“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up.
4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock
5It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations.
6Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’
7“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar[a] king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people.
8He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a defense against you.
9He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.
10Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached.
11With the hooves of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.
12They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water.
13I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.
14I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD.
Sorry, Zeke. So sayeth the Lord of recollection, "You're full of BS."
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Religion: Now with Added Homophobia
Unclean Green (my new pet name for him) once again shows us that it's ok to hate other people just because they're different.
Skip the post itself with obligatory misogyny and treating women as a commodity (to paraphrase: hee hee - let's look at women's breasts, won't that be fun!). It's the comments where things get interesting.
Skip the post itself with obligatory misogyny and treating women as a commodity (to paraphrase: hee hee - let's look at women's breasts, won't that be fun!). It's the comments where things get interesting.
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Happy Dead Guy on a Tree Day
(feel free to get offended at the title, goodness knows a lot of my family did when i used it on facebook!)
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Creationist, What are the odds?
The nearest sun to our own is Alpha Centauri B. This sun is known to have at least 3 planets. One of the planets is terrestrial, or Earth-like.
Now, what are the odds that most of the stars in the sky that are suns (exceeding the trillions) have earth-like planets of their own. Of the trillions of planets that could exist in the Universe, what are the chances that just one of these planets just might have the perfect conditions to develop life from energy and matter.
I would say the chances are astronomical.
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Sweet Soup Spoons!
This is an inspiring video from my favorite new Xian!
I was directed to this video by my new Youtube bud, The Peach
.
I was directed to this video by my new Youtube bud, The Peach
.
Friday, 13 March 2009
This blog is not dead
And neither is beat poetry.
Slightly NSFW and a touch long, but oh so worth it.
Slightly NSFW and a touch long, but oh so worth it.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Still waiting for the guest poster
In the meantime let's debunk a wide belief of Christians everywhere. "Hitler was an Atheist". What a verifiable lie that is.
Enjoy some quotes from Hitler's book, Mein Kampf.
We can put that "Hitler was an Atheist" lie to rest. Unless, of course, fact disturbs you.
I don't know if our guest poster is going to post or not. I'm just dwiddling my god given opposable thumbs, unt drinkink mein bier!
Enjoy some quotes from Hitler's book, Mein Kampf.
But even more: all at once the Jew also becomes liberal and begins to rave about the necessary progress of mankind.
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)
If we consider how greatly he has sinned against the masses in the course of the centuries, how he has squeezed and sucked the blood again and again; if furthermore, we consider how the people gradually learned to hate him for this, and ended up by regarding his existence as nothing but punishment of Heaven for the other peoples, we can understand how hard this shift must be for the Jew.
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)
The black-haired Jewish youth lies in wait for hours on end, satanically glaring at and spying on the unsuspicious girl whom he plans to seduce, adulterating her blood and removing her from the bosom of her own people. The Jew uses every possible means to undermine the racial foundations of a subjugated people. (Book 1 Chap 11)
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)
...the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew.
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)
Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: 'by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.'
-Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf)
We can put that "Hitler was an Atheist" lie to rest. Unless, of course, fact disturbs you.
I don't know if our guest poster is going to post or not. I'm just dwiddling my god given opposable thumbs, unt drinkink mein bier!
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Really?
According to the Bible: An old, rich dude has lost his sight. One of his sons is a real outdoorsman- Grizzly stinky pits Adams like. The blind father loves that son's macho. The other son is a disappointment. He reads books, dances with wolves, and earns his money as a marketeer.
The old father is lying on his death bed, ready to give his last will and testiment declaring his testosteronious son the all of his wealth - Heman's birth right.
So, the disappointment and less manly of a son shows up on his wealthy, yet incredibly ignorant father's death bed wearing a false beard made of --get this-- goat hair! And *chuckles* the old blind man believes the goat hair sporting son is more testosteronly and declares him the beneficiary of his wealth.
As a man going blind, I take this as an insult to my still working senses- ;). There's the sense of sound and touch that become more aware to a blinding man. A father seeing his legitimate son grow up would know the sound of his son's voice. He'd know the difference of tone in the body, he'd know a fake friggin beard made of goat hair and primitive glue. Jesus!
Can you blame the fighting in the Middle East on one man's ignorance? Can you not claim that you too are as ignorant as he supposedly was? Is mankind still that gullible?
Yes we are.
The old father is lying on his death bed, ready to give his last will and testiment declaring his testosteronious son the all of his wealth - Heman's birth right.
So, the disappointment and less manly of a son shows up on his wealthy, yet incredibly ignorant father's death bed wearing a false beard made of --get this-- goat hair! And *chuckles* the old blind man believes the goat hair sporting son is more testosteronly and declares him the beneficiary of his wealth.
As a man going blind, I take this as an insult to my still working senses- ;). There's the sense of sound and touch that become more aware to a blinding man. A father seeing his legitimate son grow up would know the sound of his son's voice. He'd know the difference of tone in the body, he'd know a fake friggin beard made of goat hair and primitive glue. Jesus!
Can you blame the fighting in the Middle East on one man's ignorance? Can you not claim that you too are as ignorant as he supposedly was? Is mankind still that gullible?
Yes we are.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
President Barack Hussein Obama!
I thought Ricky Warren did a good job in his cute speech during the inauguration today. I feel that he held back.
I wonder what was going through the mind of a man who subscribed to the xian propaganda stating that Obama would be sworn in on the Koran.
I, for one of millions, think it's sad that so many people who consider themselves "real Christians" were the dump truck drivers to the landfill of xian propaganda.
This is the most beautiful day in American history. And to think some "real" xians could have crapped all over it. Again.
Shame on you "real" Christians.
I wonder what was going through the mind of a man who subscribed to the xian propaganda stating that Obama would be sworn in on the Koran.
I, for one of millions, think it's sad that so many people who consider themselves "real Christians" were the dump truck drivers to the landfill of xian propaganda.
This is the most beautiful day in American history. And to think some "real" xians could have crapped all over it. Again.
Shame on you "real" Christians.
Sunday, 18 January 2009
This is Why
Green doesn't understand why some of us have a problem with religion being a part of of the inauguration of the president of the (supposedly secular) united states of america.
This is why.
This man - who for reasons not clear to many of us Obama has invited to be a high profile part of the ceremony - openly and unapologetically calls on his followers to undertake their 'mission' with all the passion and devotion of the followers of a certain central European leader circa 1939. And he is considered one of the mainstream types out there, nevermind the truly fringe elements!
When people like this get power, we know what can happen. Ask the 6 million jews who were slaughtered to support an ideology and a commitment level that this zealot wants to rekindle.
Why are we opposed to religious fervor, especially from those who are supposed to be our leaders?
This is why.
This is why.
This man - who for reasons not clear to many of us Obama has invited to be a high profile part of the ceremony - openly and unapologetically calls on his followers to undertake their 'mission' with all the passion and devotion of the followers of a certain central European leader circa 1939. And he is considered one of the mainstream types out there, nevermind the truly fringe elements!
When people like this get power, we know what can happen. Ask the 6 million jews who were slaughtered to support an ideology and a commitment level that this zealot wants to rekindle.
Why are we opposed to religious fervor, especially from those who are supposed to be our leaders?
This is why.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
"...so help me God."
Apparently atheists need something new to whine about.
Give me a break.
Stay tuned, this story aint dead yet. Though it should be.
Give me a break.
Stay tuned, this story aint dead yet. Though it should be.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
A vid to waste time...
Till someone posts something.
AG and Green pretending to be Vinny and Doogie of TV fame. Some guys will do anything to get a free room.
AG and Green pretending to be Vinny and Doogie of TV fame. Some guys will do anything to get a free room.
Friday, 26 December 2008
Why me? Why not you?
As a man who started losing his eyesight, followed by his job, his driver's license, girl friend, self respect, his ability to give back to the community; I often refer myself back to these passages:
John 9:1-11 (New International Version)
I wasn't born in the wrong place. I grew up Christian, and bought it all. I believed it, and prayed by one of His oldest churches still around today --by oldest, I am conveniently bypassing everything Judaismical.
What turned me against Him?
More importantly, what turned Him against me?
Why not you, or someone else?
John 9:1-11 (New International Version)
John 9
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9Some claimed that he was.
Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
But he himself insisted, "I am the man."
10"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.
11He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
I wasn't born in the wrong place. I grew up Christian, and bought it all. I believed it, and prayed by one of His oldest churches still around today --by oldest, I am conveniently bypassing everything Judaismical.
What turned me against Him?
More importantly, what turned Him against me?
Why not you, or someone else?
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Psalm 50 (NKJV)
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
4 He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 “Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!
8 I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
1 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
4 He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 “Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!
8 I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
Monday, 17 November 2008
Proposition 8, and tax-exempt status
Earlier this year the California State Supreme Court found gay marriage --please click here-- to be in accordance to state law. Of course this decision got the the religious right's panties in a wad - imagine Jesus in a creeping thong - I do.
According to the IRS's 501(c)(3) church tax exemption law, any church endorsment, or financial contribution to a political campaign will lose tax-exempt status.
Congratulations James Dobson's ministry, and the Mormon church, you've just violated your tax-exempt status. Think of this as a path to righteousness; you'll now be paying the debt that your great leader George W. Bush has charged to your children and grand children.
And BTW, my religious friends, although your propsition H8 was passed by California voters, your "referendum" is null and void. If popular opinion were the letter of state constitution, we'd still have segregation, and laws against inter-racial marriage.
With spiffy video added too, no?
Friday, 24 October 2008
Monday, 20 October 2008
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Since Green is a firm believer in 'teaching both sides of the controversy'
I figured that i should include the link that Green - inadvertantly I'm sure - 'forgot' to include in his last post.
In the comments of the last post, he made some claim about 'not needing to' point people in this direction - a stance which is strangely at odds with his views about the science classroom.
So since i'm sure he'd like to remain consistant, i feel it's my duty to 'teach the controversy' and encourage you to read Why Won't god Heal Amputees?
In other news...
Here's the latest from our good friend Edward Current
In the comments of the last post, he made some claim about 'not needing to' point people in this direction - a stance which is strangely at odds with his views about the science classroom.
So since i'm sure he'd like to remain consistant, i feel it's my duty to 'teach the controversy' and encourage you to read Why Won't god Heal Amputees?
In other news...
Here's the latest from our good friend Edward Current
Thursday, 18 September 2008
A response to the limb question
Wow, a new topic to chew on. It's been a long time since we had one of these.
I really hadn't intended to spend the time to write a post about this but when my comment got too long, then I thought it'd be better served in exactly the format I'd hoped to avoid.
I will say this in as brief a manner as I can muster:
The limb question to me is along the same line of questioning about why would a God who is good allow evil in the world? That is an issue on which man has struggled with since Genesis chapter three, and on which hundreds of books have been written and much discussion has taken place over the centuries. It's one which I'm certainly not going to solve in a few sound bites or even a post or three here. With a question like this, there are more issues raised than questions answered and I have not the answers to give that will satisfy. Sorry to disappoint y'all.
You could ask many other questions using similarly disjointed rationale given in the short bit of the article/e-book/web site I bothered to read (linked in the comments on the last post for those of you just now joining the discussion. But beware the article/e-book/website is recommended by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. Not a very objective pair, are they? So you can imagine the slant and bias it takes.)
Anyway, I digress. Continuing on then.
For example:
"I prayed that I would win the lottery, and I earnestly believed I would so why didn't I? I had faith that I would win and me and a few of my buddies got together and prayed about it. Yet I still didn't win."
Or, taking a page from US History, in the Civil War, both the Union and Confederate soldiers prayed to the same God that their side would win the war. I'm sure both sides prayed with much faith and fervency with many people gathering together believing it would happen, yet only one side won.
I think it's important to keep in mind a few things:
1. I think it's a safe bet to say that God is not in the business of wish fulfillment/hoop jumping to satisfy our every whim and desire, otherwise we'd have everything we want and then we'd get fat, lazy and complacent real quick. What good would that do? Reminds me of the wish fulfillment/hoop jumping that the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day wanted Him to do. He won't do it for you and He wouldn't do it for them, either.
Remember, just because God doesn't immediately answer prayer or answer it as we want Him to, on our schedule, doesn't mean he doesn't hear them all.
2. Sure they're useful to have, but do we really need all of these limbs anyway? Is a person any less of a person because they might be missing some appendages here or there? Of course not. God knows what we need before we ask Him. While the health of the body is certainly important, it is not nearly as important as the health of the soul.
3. Just because God can do something doesn't mean that He will. Or should.
or to put it another way
4. It's a given that God is infinite and operates outside of the sphere of time. That means He's got a much broader and wider perspective on things than we do. Very often His schedule is not the same as ours and it is up to us to learn patience. Admittedly, it's a really hard lesson to learn and takes a lifetime to do so. Sometimes more than that, even.
5. Since believers know that we'll get new bodies at the Rapture (see 1 Corinthians 15) and no one knows yet what these bodies will look like or of what form and consistency they'll be, whose to say they won't include a fresh set o' limbs for our amputee friends? If that's the case, problem solved.
It's quite impossible for the finite human mind to understand the infinite mind of God. Frankly, I don't know the mind of God (though I do have God on the mind), though I see parts of it - there are clues all around and they're really quite obvious (see Romans 1).
What I can suggest is this: grab a Bible, a really good concordance (which will include topical and word studies), some pens and some paper. Sit down and look up all of the verses relating to miracles, healing, prayer (for a start. You may find other relevant topics as you search), take good notes and (with an open mind) study it out for yourself. MOST IMPORTANT, pray to God about it!!! Maybe He'll answer your prayers and give you some keen insight on the answer to the question at hand. Quite possibly you'll generate more questions than you had at the start and have some questions answered you didn't even know you had. Happens to me all the time...
Perhaps some day when you get to Heaven, you can ask God about it yourself. I'm pretty sure I'll have lots of questions for Him when I get there, though not likely that particular question. At least its not on my list right now anyway.
And if you happen to not be going to heaven, perhaps you can ask Him about it when you're standing in line waiting for your moment at the Great White Throne Judgment (see Revelation 20). Though somehow I get the eerie feeling that at that time you'll be answering the questions, not asking them (see Isaiah 45:23 and Romans 14:11-12).
Bummer.
I really hadn't intended to spend the time to write a post about this but when my comment got too long, then I thought it'd be better served in exactly the format I'd hoped to avoid.
I will say this in as brief a manner as I can muster:
The limb question to me is along the same line of questioning about why would a God who is good allow evil in the world? That is an issue on which man has struggled with since Genesis chapter three, and on which hundreds of books have been written and much discussion has taken place over the centuries. It's one which I'm certainly not going to solve in a few sound bites or even a post or three here. With a question like this, there are more issues raised than questions answered and I have not the answers to give that will satisfy. Sorry to disappoint y'all.
You could ask many other questions using similarly disjointed rationale given in the short bit of the article/e-book/web site I bothered to read (linked in the comments on the last post for those of you just now joining the discussion. But beware the article/e-book/website is recommended by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. Not a very objective pair, are they? So you can imagine the slant and bias it takes.)
Anyway, I digress. Continuing on then.
For example:
"I prayed that I would win the lottery, and I earnestly believed I would so why didn't I? I had faith that I would win and me and a few of my buddies got together and prayed about it. Yet I still didn't win."
Or, taking a page from US History, in the Civil War, both the Union and Confederate soldiers prayed to the same God that their side would win the war. I'm sure both sides prayed with much faith and fervency with many people gathering together believing it would happen, yet only one side won.
I think it's important to keep in mind a few things:
1. I think it's a safe bet to say that God is not in the business of wish fulfillment/hoop jumping to satisfy our every whim and desire, otherwise we'd have everything we want and then we'd get fat, lazy and complacent real quick. What good would that do? Reminds me of the wish fulfillment/hoop jumping that the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day wanted Him to do. He won't do it for you and He wouldn't do it for them, either.
Remember, just because God doesn't immediately answer prayer or answer it as we want Him to, on our schedule, doesn't mean he doesn't hear them all.
2. Sure they're useful to have, but do we really need all of these limbs anyway? Is a person any less of a person because they might be missing some appendages here or there? Of course not. God knows what we need before we ask Him. While the health of the body is certainly important, it is not nearly as important as the health of the soul.
3. Just because God can do something doesn't mean that He will. Or should.
or to put it another way
4. It's a given that God is infinite and operates outside of the sphere of time. That means He's got a much broader and wider perspective on things than we do. Very often His schedule is not the same as ours and it is up to us to learn patience. Admittedly, it's a really hard lesson to learn and takes a lifetime to do so. Sometimes more than that, even.
5. Since believers know that we'll get new bodies at the Rapture (see 1 Corinthians 15) and no one knows yet what these bodies will look like or of what form and consistency they'll be, whose to say they won't include a fresh set o' limbs for our amputee friends? If that's the case, problem solved.
It's quite impossible for the finite human mind to understand the infinite mind of God. Frankly, I don't know the mind of God (though I do have God on the mind), though I see parts of it - there are clues all around and they're really quite obvious (see Romans 1).
What I can suggest is this: grab a Bible, a really good concordance (which will include topical and word studies), some pens and some paper. Sit down and look up all of the verses relating to miracles, healing, prayer (for a start. You may find other relevant topics as you search), take good notes and (with an open mind) study it out for yourself. MOST IMPORTANT, pray to God about it!!! Maybe He'll answer your prayers and give you some keen insight on the answer to the question at hand. Quite possibly you'll generate more questions than you had at the start and have some questions answered you didn't even know you had. Happens to me all the time...
Perhaps some day when you get to Heaven, you can ask God about it yourself. I'm pretty sure I'll have lots of questions for Him when I get there, though not likely that particular question. At least its not on my list right now anyway.
And if you happen to not be going to heaven, perhaps you can ask Him about it when you're standing in line waiting for your moment at the Great White Throne Judgment (see Revelation 20). Though somehow I get the eerie feeling that at that time you'll be answering the questions, not asking them (see Isaiah 45:23 and Romans 14:11-12).
Bummer.
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Thinning the Herd
Looks like a new candidate for the Darwin Awards.
Once again, more evidence that religion makes people do stupid things.
Once again, more evidence that religion makes people do stupid things.
Friday, 15 August 2008
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
IN THE INTERESTS OF EQUAL TIME=EQUAL OFFENSIVENESS
Click the title for the entry on Buddhism, the religion of my ancestors, the mighty Inuits. Dabich, please pay special attention to the "He's not a Christiiiiaaaannnn" link as it proves the woman who uttered the phrase was not an actor but a very sad and very fat real person.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Almost Like Amerika
EDIT: My absolute favourite commentator for the Age (and, i point out, fellow Brunswickian) has weighed in on this self same topic.
That's what it's seemed like here, as a certain ex-nazi has been prowling around the place for the last week.
Ok, not exactly here, but in Sydney, which is far too close.
He flies away later today, after having a bit of a shindig with half a million of his cult followers, where some of them will get to eat his special cannibal bread (and let's hope there's not another kidnapping!)
It's quite annoying really, this carnival has dominated the news cycle for the whole time he's been here, with the only positive being that he's apologised for some of the sexual abuse by priests (though the local arch bishop hasn't done so himself).
And i use that term 'annoying' on purpose, as the cultists even got special laws passed that would have made it a criminal offence to 'annoy' their sheep, errr... followers. The new law basically said that if you so much as wore a t-shirt or carried a sign mocking the believers, you could be fined up to $5500.
Fortunately, since this isn't amerika, this law was thrown out by a judge, but not before making me question humanity's worthiness of survival again.
Anyhow, Ratzy goes back to rome today, and many of us will gladly say auf wiedersehen!
That's what it's seemed like here, as a certain ex-nazi has been prowling around the place for the last week.
Ok, not exactly here, but in Sydney, which is far too close.
He flies away later today, after having a bit of a shindig with half a million of his cult followers, where some of them will get to eat his special cannibal bread (and let's hope there's not another kidnapping!)
It's quite annoying really, this carnival has dominated the news cycle for the whole time he's been here, with the only positive being that he's apologised for some of the sexual abuse by priests (though the local arch bishop hasn't done so himself).
And i use that term 'annoying' on purpose, as the cultists even got special laws passed that would have made it a criminal offence to 'annoy' their sheep, errr... followers. The new law basically said that if you so much as wore a t-shirt or carried a sign mocking the believers, you could be fined up to $5500.
Fortunately, since this isn't amerika, this law was thrown out by a judge, but not before making me question humanity's worthiness of survival again.
Anyhow, Ratzy goes back to rome today, and many of us will gladly say auf wiedersehen!
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Green may not be a fan of Doctor Who
But he seems to like messing with the space-time continuum. It's weird, because suddenly there's a post up here which i first noticed on July 11th but is somehow dated July 4th. And blogger itself tells me that GvD was last published on the 6th...
So I'm going to see if I can travel in time too. As i write this, it's really about 9 pm on the 11th of July. Check the date and time stamp to see if I'm successful.
...
Drat, i was hoping to move into the future, but it seems that i can't. Blogger agreed to schedule my post for my 100th birthday 60 years from now, but won't actually publish it till then. So i guess we'll have to be happy with another trip into the (near) past...
Of course, I could take my cue from Quantum Leap and travel to any point within my lifetime.
How about when i was but three months old? (since blogger won't take any posts before 1970 for some reason...)
So I'm going to see if I can travel in time too. As i write this, it's really about 9 pm on the 11th of July. Check the date and time stamp to see if I'm successful.
...
Drat, i was hoping to move into the future, but it seems that i can't. Blogger agreed to schedule my post for my 100th birthday 60 years from now, but won't actually publish it till then. So i guess we'll have to be happy with another trip into the (near) past...
Of course, I could take my cue from Quantum Leap and travel to any point within my lifetime.
How about when i was but three months old? (since blogger won't take any posts before 1970 for some reason...)
Friday, 4 July 2008
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
ATTACK OF THE HOLY I.T. GUYS!!!
It’s happening again. During those quiet, uneventful moments, they come back. I try to ignore them, to tell them to go away, but they grow insistent…sometimes eerily so.
They’re like phantoms of thought, wraiths of imagination, and they refuse to leave me alone. What I would do for just a day of calm and peacefulness. Just one day.
I am, of course, talking about the Mormons who regularly patrol my neighborhood looking for converts to their koo-koo wacky spirit club. Gotta love ‘em, going to and from in their pressed white poly-cotton shirts, the look of giddy righteous on their faces. And they always bring their little bicycles with them for expeditious travel. I came home the other day to a picture of some holy moment in Mormon history taking place on the Great Plains of America left on my door.
I felt slighted. If I’d only been home a few minutes earlier, those gentle missionaries might have stopped and spoken to me. What a treat that would’ve been! For years I’ve endured the constant annoyance of Jehovah’s Witnesses coming to my door to “discuss the Bible” with me, their new euphemism for sermonizing. But the Jay-Dubya’s are so EIGHTIES! I know what they believe. I have a best friend who was raised under their umbrella of self-righteousness. Basically, if there’s fun in life, get rid of it while following odd interpretations of Biblical passages and you are one of them.
But the Mormons! Ah, the Mormons. They are a different kettle of Jesus-fish entirely. Their beliefs, while open to the public, are still somehow couched in secrecy and an almost complete lack of understanding. “Real Christians” don’t consider them to be Christians at all, in fact, because their system is based on the ultimate attainment of godhood for the human race. They also have the good taste and class to claim all other religions and denominations on the face of the planet are false except theirs.
Hmm, sounds kinda like the Holy Roman Apostolic Church, doesn’t it?
The Mormons I’ve met have been very nice people…perhaps a little too nice. They don’t seem real, almost as if they are residents of Stepford, Connecticut (with apologies to Ira Levin). One family in particular is rather wealthy and well mannered. Their teenage daughter was like something out of a neo-con fantasy of the 1950’s. She was poised, used words like, “gosh” and was extremely social. Nobody tried to convert anyone at a child’s birthday party, so that at least places them above other Jesus-fish out there. But something seemed off.
I worked with an excommunicated Mormon once. He was a massive hulk of a dude with a live-in non-Mormon girlfriend. They were in love, but his family despised her and he was summarily kicked out of the faith.
Mormonism first caught my attention in the early 1990’s when my World Religions professor asked his class to choose a religion to write a research paper on. I was the only one to choose Mormonism, which delighted him no end. I have that “talent.” I always choose a topic that is near & dear to the instructor’s heart, thereby insuring I have to work me bloody arse off!
The paper got an “A” and I learned a lot that I hadn’t known. Like mainstream Judeo-Christianity, Mormons were also based around a belief in a direct revelation. In this case, it came in the form of the angel Moroni, a former human being who had ascended to angel status following God’s purging of the America’s due to rampant sinfulness. Apparently, the 13th tribe of Israel found a way to travel all the way to America centuries before anyone else and created two civilizations that eventually went to war. Jesus tried to mediate the conflict but only a few people listened. Eventually, God punished the wicked by giving them dark skin and destroying their civilization. That’s where Native Americans come from.
…ahem…
That also provides an explanation for why non-whites weren’t allowed to join their church for the first 100 years. Of course, the fact that Israelites in general tend to be olive-skinned never seems to come up. Convenient things such as facts rarely make good bedfellows with religion. Mormons are not only no exception, but they seem to excel at ignoring them where even the most ardent Bible-Thumping Protestants tend to try to find Biblical ways of proving them.
For instance, Mormon archaeologists actually travel annually to Missouri in search of the remains of a destroyed city in the hopes of proving their claims of previous inhabitants of America. What we now know as Missouri was the sight of much of the activity recorded in the Book of Mormon, so it is a sacred place to them. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a single shred of evidence un-earthed to verify anything.
The Book of Mormon itself is a fascinating thing; I’ve read some of it. For some reason, devout Christians get very upset when I say that and ask me why I haven’t read the “real” Bible instead. Well, I have, and frankly the Book of Mormon is a better book. It is written better and has more action. Plus, the utter seriousness with which the North American claims are made is too entertaining to deny.
The book itself, according to LDS members, was given unto one Joseph Smith to transcribe from a bunch of golden plates given also unto him by the angel Moroni. Nobody has ever seen the plates, of course, but millions have relied on the story as a basis for their lives. Much like the Constitution, the Book of Mormon is a “living document.” It changes over time. Although God’s word is eternal, it is often updated to the times because the spirit of Man is ever evolving. This is a uniquely American mentality and, unsurprisingly, the book was written at the height of the establishing of the American identify…the 1800’s.
People of color will be pleased to know the Church of Latter-Day Saints has been allowing blacks and other minorities to join their church since the late 1970’s, so feel free to sign up today.
I recently watched a 4 hour documentary on Mormons on DVD and learned quite a bit about them, if not their beliefs, which were discussed rather shallowly. The followers of Joseph Smith went through h_ll. They were treated much the same way the early Christians were treated in Rome. They were the only group of people in U.S. history with a standing extermination order. Mormons were regarded as that century’s equivalent of terrorists, a group of people bent on destroying America from within.
What the idiots who persecuted them failed to understand was that by treating them this way, Mormonism itself was validated. There was even a mass exodus similar to the one recounted in the Old Testament where they trekked across the United States in search of a holy land. They chose Utah because it was scarcely inhabited and not considered desirable.
Don’t get me wrong: Mormons weren’t innocent victims in all this. They could be rather pushy and resorted to violence quite a few times. But I think they more than atoned for it during that painful crossing into Utah. Many of them died of starvation and hypothermia, but they never gave up. Faith and foolishness are often the same thing in disguise.
Still, I have to admire them. They never gave up and they never tried to make everybody conform to their beliefs.
I could make jokes about Mormons. For instance, I could point out how all you need to do is ad a “c” to end of Moroni’s name for a good word to represent their religion. Or I could point out the fact that those white shirts and dark ties make them look like an army of IT guys bent on world domination. But I like them. I have no idea why, but I do.
They’re not annoying. They don’t try to tell people how to live. They don’t have weird televangelists selling pieces of Moroni’s robe on TV. They don’t carry signs that say, “God hates f_s,” despite their anti-gay stance. Even this jaded, cynical Scribe finds something positive in their emphasis on family. Sure they believe it’s because your entire family will be intact when you are reborn in the heavenly realm/God’s home world, but it’s still refreshing compared to the so-called “family values” of the religious right. As long as you can ignore the fringe group of polygamists, you probably won’t run into a Mormon that doesn’t have actual family values.
I long ago reached the conclusion that some people need religion in their lives. I don’t have a problem with that. I am not an atheist; I just don’t buy into the stone-age concepts of organized religion. Society as a whole is not harmed automatically because someone believes in an unseen deity. Nor is it automatically benefited because someone believes in Jesus Christ. It’s all about choices and we all make them whether we are aware of it or not.
Mormons have chosen to live moral lives and tell people about what they believe to be true. They take their quest for truth very seriously. There’s only one thing I can do to honor that…join up!
Yep, there’s an LDS church a mile from my house. What sayest thou? Should the Sciebester become a Mormon for sh_s and giggles?
I bet I could prove all the claims in the Book of Mormon! I’d better get to work~
(Click on the title of this post for further Mormon-related wackiness)
They’re like phantoms of thought, wraiths of imagination, and they refuse to leave me alone. What I would do for just a day of calm and peacefulness. Just one day.
I am, of course, talking about the Mormons who regularly patrol my neighborhood looking for converts to their koo-koo wacky spirit club. Gotta love ‘em, going to and from in their pressed white poly-cotton shirts, the look of giddy righteous on their faces. And they always bring their little bicycles with them for expeditious travel. I came home the other day to a picture of some holy moment in Mormon history taking place on the Great Plains of America left on my door.
I felt slighted. If I’d only been home a few minutes earlier, those gentle missionaries might have stopped and spoken to me. What a treat that would’ve been! For years I’ve endured the constant annoyance of Jehovah’s Witnesses coming to my door to “discuss the Bible” with me, their new euphemism for sermonizing. But the Jay-Dubya’s are so EIGHTIES! I know what they believe. I have a best friend who was raised under their umbrella of self-righteousness. Basically, if there’s fun in life, get rid of it while following odd interpretations of Biblical passages and you are one of them.
But the Mormons! Ah, the Mormons. They are a different kettle of Jesus-fish entirely. Their beliefs, while open to the public, are still somehow couched in secrecy and an almost complete lack of understanding. “Real Christians” don’t consider them to be Christians at all, in fact, because their system is based on the ultimate attainment of godhood for the human race. They also have the good taste and class to claim all other religions and denominations on the face of the planet are false except theirs.
Hmm, sounds kinda like the Holy Roman Apostolic Church, doesn’t it?
The Mormons I’ve met have been very nice people…perhaps a little too nice. They don’t seem real, almost as if they are residents of Stepford, Connecticut (with apologies to Ira Levin). One family in particular is rather wealthy and well mannered. Their teenage daughter was like something out of a neo-con fantasy of the 1950’s. She was poised, used words like, “gosh” and was extremely social. Nobody tried to convert anyone at a child’s birthday party, so that at least places them above other Jesus-fish out there. But something seemed off.
I worked with an excommunicated Mormon once. He was a massive hulk of a dude with a live-in non-Mormon girlfriend. They were in love, but his family despised her and he was summarily kicked out of the faith.
Mormonism first caught my attention in the early 1990’s when my World Religions professor asked his class to choose a religion to write a research paper on. I was the only one to choose Mormonism, which delighted him no end. I have that “talent.” I always choose a topic that is near & dear to the instructor’s heart, thereby insuring I have to work me bloody arse off!
The paper got an “A” and I learned a lot that I hadn’t known. Like mainstream Judeo-Christianity, Mormons were also based around a belief in a direct revelation. In this case, it came in the form of the angel Moroni, a former human being who had ascended to angel status following God’s purging of the America’s due to rampant sinfulness. Apparently, the 13th tribe of Israel found a way to travel all the way to America centuries before anyone else and created two civilizations that eventually went to war. Jesus tried to mediate the conflict but only a few people listened. Eventually, God punished the wicked by giving them dark skin and destroying their civilization. That’s where Native Americans come from.
…ahem…
That also provides an explanation for why non-whites weren’t allowed to join their church for the first 100 years. Of course, the fact that Israelites in general tend to be olive-skinned never seems to come up. Convenient things such as facts rarely make good bedfellows with religion. Mormons are not only no exception, but they seem to excel at ignoring them where even the most ardent Bible-Thumping Protestants tend to try to find Biblical ways of proving them.
For instance, Mormon archaeologists actually travel annually to Missouri in search of the remains of a destroyed city in the hopes of proving their claims of previous inhabitants of America. What we now know as Missouri was the sight of much of the activity recorded in the Book of Mormon, so it is a sacred place to them. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a single shred of evidence un-earthed to verify anything.
The Book of Mormon itself is a fascinating thing; I’ve read some of it. For some reason, devout Christians get very upset when I say that and ask me why I haven’t read the “real” Bible instead. Well, I have, and frankly the Book of Mormon is a better book. It is written better and has more action. Plus, the utter seriousness with which the North American claims are made is too entertaining to deny.
The book itself, according to LDS members, was given unto one Joseph Smith to transcribe from a bunch of golden plates given also unto him by the angel Moroni. Nobody has ever seen the plates, of course, but millions have relied on the story as a basis for their lives. Much like the Constitution, the Book of Mormon is a “living document.” It changes over time. Although God’s word is eternal, it is often updated to the times because the spirit of Man is ever evolving. This is a uniquely American mentality and, unsurprisingly, the book was written at the height of the establishing of the American identify…the 1800’s.
People of color will be pleased to know the Church of Latter-Day Saints has been allowing blacks and other minorities to join their church since the late 1970’s, so feel free to sign up today.
I recently watched a 4 hour documentary on Mormons on DVD and learned quite a bit about them, if not their beliefs, which were discussed rather shallowly. The followers of Joseph Smith went through h_ll. They were treated much the same way the early Christians were treated in Rome. They were the only group of people in U.S. history with a standing extermination order. Mormons were regarded as that century’s equivalent of terrorists, a group of people bent on destroying America from within.
What the idiots who persecuted them failed to understand was that by treating them this way, Mormonism itself was validated. There was even a mass exodus similar to the one recounted in the Old Testament where they trekked across the United States in search of a holy land. They chose Utah because it was scarcely inhabited and not considered desirable.
Don’t get me wrong: Mormons weren’t innocent victims in all this. They could be rather pushy and resorted to violence quite a few times. But I think they more than atoned for it during that painful crossing into Utah. Many of them died of starvation and hypothermia, but they never gave up. Faith and foolishness are often the same thing in disguise.
Still, I have to admire them. They never gave up and they never tried to make everybody conform to their beliefs.
I could make jokes about Mormons. For instance, I could point out how all you need to do is ad a “c” to end of Moroni’s name for a good word to represent their religion. Or I could point out the fact that those white shirts and dark ties make them look like an army of IT guys bent on world domination. But I like them. I have no idea why, but I do.
They’re not annoying. They don’t try to tell people how to live. They don’t have weird televangelists selling pieces of Moroni’s robe on TV. They don’t carry signs that say, “God hates f_s,” despite their anti-gay stance. Even this jaded, cynical Scribe finds something positive in their emphasis on family. Sure they believe it’s because your entire family will be intact when you are reborn in the heavenly realm/God’s home world, but it’s still refreshing compared to the so-called “family values” of the religious right. As long as you can ignore the fringe group of polygamists, you probably won’t run into a Mormon that doesn’t have actual family values.
I long ago reached the conclusion that some people need religion in their lives. I don’t have a problem with that. I am not an atheist; I just don’t buy into the stone-age concepts of organized religion. Society as a whole is not harmed automatically because someone believes in an unseen deity. Nor is it automatically benefited because someone believes in Jesus Christ. It’s all about choices and we all make them whether we are aware of it or not.
Mormons have chosen to live moral lives and tell people about what they believe to be true. They take their quest for truth very seriously. There’s only one thing I can do to honor that…join up!
Yep, there’s an LDS church a mile from my house. What sayest thou? Should the Sciebester become a Mormon for sh_s and giggles?
I bet I could prove all the claims in the Book of Mormon! I’d better get to work~
(Click on the title of this post for further Mormon-related wackiness)
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