Lessons from Noah's Ark

What Do Christians Learn from Noah's Ark?

Here's the graphic going around. I admit, it's cute and clever:

They may not miss the boat but they sure missed the meat of the story. The only way to sell a  story as horrible as Noah's story (especially to kids) is to dress it up in cuteness and ignore the basic truths it presents. Therefore, I'd like to give you the lessons I've learned from the story of Noah's Ark.

What I've Learned from Noah's Ark.

1. Salvation is a limited-time offer. If you don't act now without thinking it through and doing some research, we may not give you another day to opt in.

2.  We're not all welcome in the boat. If you don't conform to our beliefs and ways, we've got no room for you. Go drown.

3. Let fear and doomsday prophecies rule your life. Make your most important decisions when you're least able to reason. Allow the most bigoted and fearful folks to pressure you into surrendering your present and your future.

4. Your god doesn't care about your physical or mental condition. When he says "Jump!" you say "How high?" You don't get a break. You don't get a rest. You're here to serve him cradle-to-grave and beyond.

5. Don't pay any attention to dissent. Continue with your crazy because you are special and your god has chosen you. Those folks will one day wish they'd listened to your crazy because they will be punished and you'll be safe.

6. Build your future on the word of those who offer no evidence. Compromise your reason and your morality "just in case." This works well with #3.

7. Your main purpose in life is to breed more followers. Unless, of course, you are "clean" or "sacred" in which case your purpose may also be to be sacrificed on the altar of your god. I'm looking at you, Quiverfull, for the first part. 

8. Your god can magically make things work out ok. You don't need a sense of urgency. You don't need to plan ahead for the future. Rely on faith and the words of religious leaders and your god will handle the rest.

9.  When things get tough, turn it over to your god. Don't be responsible for your own outcomes when you can choose to do nothing instead. That way, you can either praise your god for a good outcome or else blame someone else for a bad outcome. You never have to make a hard decision or take responsibility. This works well with #8.

10. Religion trumps science every time. It doesn't matter if there's no evidence of an ark. It doesn't matter that the recipe for the ark in the Bible will, if followed exactly, will produce a monstrosity that will sink like a stone. Scoff at every professional and put your faith in fools. Ignore every benefit you receive from science and give your god the credit.

11. Your god is a bully and he doesn't mind showing off. He can kill every living thing on the planet if he wants to - things that he made, people that he made. He can erase his mistakes without fear of reprisal because who is going to question him? Then he can put his warrior bow in the sky to remind you that you'd better never question or disobey. Not just today but any time he feels like it, he may put that bow up there as if he's going to shoot an arrow through your disobedient ass.

What lessons did you learn from the Noah's Ark story? Share them with us.

Religion Is Not a Mental Illness

Is Religion a Mental Illness?

 A few posts back, I wrote:

Mental illness isn't always determined by what is real. It's often determined by what is a cultural norm. So if you believe you can talk to your ancestor's spirits and they talk back to you, that's ok in a culture that promotes such belief. But if you stray too far outside your culture's beliefs, you may be labeled "mentally ill." If you think Jesus hears you and gives you the strength to get through the day, you're fine! But if you think some other cryptic deity or power guides you and gives you power, you may be insane. Of course, I'm not saying that irrationality equals mental illness - otherwise, we'd all be labeled as insane! But it does seem rather ridiculous that two people can have the same exact symptoms or delusions but only one person gets the label.

I've been doing a lot of thinking since I wrote that and I'm ready to revisit this topic. 

First, we need to understand that mental illness is a rather abstract concept. Different diseases and disorders present in many ways so it's almost impossible to pin the term down precisely. What we can say about mental illness, however, is that it's always involuntary and causes distress, disempowerment, disability, or sometimes even death. Nobody gets up in the morning and decides to become mentally ill. Likewise, no one can end a mental illness by simply deciding to be well.

Mentally ill people may often say and do things that seem irrational to others but are perfectly logical to them. For example, if someone sees or hears something that is not there, they may respond logically as if that hallucination were real. We know now that when people hallucinate, their brain is working as if the stimuli were real. So if I were to hear a voice behind me say, "Hey, Tweenky!" then I would respond logically by looking back and saying, "What?" because, to my brain, someone really said that. An onlooker would find it puzzling to say the least.

We often make the mistake of thinking that irrationality is the key to mental illness but, as you can see above, this simply isn't so. Irrationality is something we all share - it's part of the human condition. So we cannot say that an irrational person is mentally ill by virtue of being irrational. That would label us all! So what we need to understand is that most irrationality isn't due to illness - it's due to our brains being very prone to mistakes.

That's where religion comes in. The superstitious and irrational elements of religion are almost always due to errors of thinking rather than organic dysfunction. Certainly, the two may be combined in interesting or dangerous ways but they are largely independent. Most people get their religion from their parents and so they are taught in their earliest years that some magic is real and some magic is not. For example, a typical American Evangelical will teach his child that Jesus is real, he works miracles, he listens to your prayers, and he's coming back. That same parent will also teach his child that fairies, wizards, leprechauns, and such are myths that shouldn't be taken seriously. The fact that most such children grow up believing in Jesus but disregarding the old myths is very telling. The ability to discern the difference shows that the child can reason but is working with faulty information and does not have the tools available to self-correct.

Think of your brain as a computer. If the software you are running is written properly (rationally), then you'll get a desired and useful result. If the software is not written properly (irrationally), then your program will crash. When a program crashes, you can either keep running the program and insist that it works (cognitive dissonance) or you can fix the error and try again (skepticism). But what if the operating system itself is messed up? Then it doesn't matter what state the software is in because the brain isn't communicating correctly with its parts (mental illness).

I don't know if that analogy makes as much sense in writing as it does in my head but I'm trying to say that we must differentiate between a faulty brain and a mistaken brain. This is why religious rituals and behavior, no matter how bizarre to an outsider, cannot rightly be assumed to be functions of mental illness. 

Now I know there are many atheists who claim that religion is a mental illness either in earnest or in jest. I'd like for them to consider that this statement is not helpful to either mentally ill atheists or to mentally able theists. It labels both groups as "other" and "crazy" which tends to drive people away. Certainly, the religious engage in behaviors that are irrational and, let's be honest, downright hilarious. But we can mock that without bringing illness into it. 

Remember, those theists aren't a bunch of nutjobs no matter how silly they may seem to you. They are people who are operating with bad information and they often can't or won't fix the problem. Remember also, that you too (just like me) operate under bad information in other areas. If you want people to help you think more rationally, then you need to be willing to help others do the same.

Also, remember that we mentally ill atheists aren't a bunch of nutjobs either. We are people with an illness that science currently can't fix 100%. And yes, some of us come into the world with both mental illness and indoctrination. We have to work extra hard to fix our software problems. We need your help and support - not your scorn (unintended though it may be).

So no, religion isn't a mental illness. It's a software malfunction and we all can work together to help everybody get their code written better. Some need less help. Others need more. The only real question is are you going to help?

How to Differentiate Between Schizophrenia and Demonic Possession

Recently, I watched a series of psychology lectures online. I enjoyed the presentation very much and admired the professor's knowledge of the material and his willingness to answer as many student questions as he could. Part one of the lecture covered schizophrenia and he spoke in depth about auditory hallucinations and persistent delusions. When that class ended, I eagerly started part two. The introduction stated this time that the lectures were presented at a Christian university yet I couldn't help but be surprised when he opened the next lecture with prayer! One session he is describing the mentally ill hearing voices, talking to people who aren't there, and believing things that aren't real. The next session, he talks to someone who isn't there and honestly believes that the supreme creator of the universe is listening to him.

This has always been a pet peeve of mine. Mental illness isn't always determined by what is real. It's often determined by what is a cultural norm. So if you believe you can talk to your ancestor's spirits and they talk back to you, that's ok in a culture that promotes such belief. But if you stray too far outside your culture's beliefs, you may be labeled "mentally ill." If you think Jesus hears you and gives you the strength to get through the day, you're fine! But if you think some other cryptic deity or power guides you and gives you power, you may be insane. Of course, I'm not saying that irrationality equals mental illness - otherwise, we'd all be labeled as insane! But it does seem rather ridiculous that two people can have the same exact symptoms or delusions but only one person gets the label.

Back to the lectures, I was further shocked to see this otherwise intelligent and professional instructor talk about the difference between schizophrenia and demonic possession. He listed three ways he believes you can tell the difference:

1. Schizophrenics will display a strong, positive reaction to the mention of God or prayer while the possessed will show a strong, negative reaction.

2. Schizophrenics do not typically display logical speech and are often confused. Demons are sharp-witted, logical, and clever. They often know things about the people who are attempting deliverance.

3. Schizophrenics typically respond to meds and therapy. Demons do not.

By these criteria, I may be demon possessed. After all, I have responded negatively to mention of God. I have had doctors and laypeople galore tell me I need to get back in church, pray harder, turn it over to Jesus, etc. in order to get well. These responses are unhelpful and aggravating. Of course I'm going to respond negatively!

I also display logical speech most of the time. I do not have disorganized schizophrenia. I can also cold read the hell out of most people.

Lastly, I did not respond to medication for the first 14 years of treatment. If at first it doesn't succeed, there must be a demon!

It truly broke my heart to see this otherwise wonderful professor give his students such bad advice. Not just bad, mind you, but truly dangerous. But what else can we expect from an institution (religion) that critiques everyone else's delusions but refuses to examine its own? Tales of demonic possession not only made me feel more guilty and worthless but they also retarded my treatment. In the world of schizophrenia, early treatment is a big deal as it can slow down or stop some of the brain damage associated with the disease. So losing those first 14 years to irrational superstition has likely harmed me physically as well as emotionally.

Please think twice before you turn your mental health over to religion. You can't cure delusion with another delusion.

Hagee Fails on Church/State Separation

The concept of the "separation of church and state" ensures that our government will remain neutral regarding religion. It's the backbone of a secular state; therefore, religious zealots often distort it. John Hagee's son, Matthew, explains...

...and gets it totally wrong.

1. He says it is supposed to protect the church from the state only. This is ridiculously false. A quick read of Jefferson and Madison's writings suffice to debunk this notion.

2. He says it is used nowadays to silence believers at the ballot box. This is obviously false. People will always vote their values whether those values are religious or secular. We don't vote as robots. We vote as thinking, feeling people.

3. He takes the opportunity to equate abortion with murder despite the fact that there are serious legal and moral differences between the two.

4. He ends with a fallacious semi-threat. We have no evidence of any gods, an afterlife, or a final judgment. And even if the latter two are true, how do we know which god(s) we will answer to? Does supporting a secular state bring about eternal punishment? There's no good reason to worry about any of this.

I can't help but laugh any time someone talks about how the American government oppresses the religious - particularly Christians. These guys couldn't be much more in bed with each other if they tried.

Dear Atheist...

I don't mind seeing "Dear Atheist" letters - really, I don't! Even though I may have seen such a letter a thousand times before, I don't mind answering them. Someone has to if we want to change people's minds! But there are times when so much fail is packed into such a small space that I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Nevertheless, let's ask some relevant questions:

1. What evidence do you have that a god (esp. your god) created earth? "Because the Bible says so" does not count. That's hearsay - and very old and unreliable hearsay at that.

2. What is heaven? Where is it located? How do you know this? Again, do not say, "Because the Bible says so." 

3. How do you know Jesus existed? That he is Yahweh's son? That believing on him confers peace? Once again, do not say, "Because the Bible says so." 

4. How do you know that there is an afterlife? How do you know that merely believing in Jesus will get me to that afterlife? For the fourth time, do not say, "Because the Bible says so."

5. Why do we all need to believe in something eternal or supernatural? 

6. How do you know that Jesus is the "Truth" and what is "Truth" with a capital T?


If you can ever accept that the Bible alone is not a sufficient reason for believing these stories, then you'll be a step closer to understanding why we don't believe any of this at all. 

If I were going to write a formal reply, it might look like this:

Dear believer,

What evidence (other than a book of hearsay) can you bring to this court to meet your burden of proof?

The best answer I'd get is probably "personal experience" or a "personal relationship" with Jesus. That's all well and good but it won't stand up in court. Think about it.

Why I'm An Out Feminist Male in Australia

 I haven't always been an advocate for gender equality. During my days as a fundamentalist Christian, I had a definitive notion about what I deemed to be appropriate gender roles. I dismissed many acts as sinful and had some chauvinistic ideals in regards to a number of other items. Even in the incipient stages of my atheism I possessed an apathy about a plethora of social and humanistic concerns.

 Only in the last year and a half have I acquired a a strong humanistic and secular mindset. Exposure to podcasts and news stories elucidated to me controversial issues concerning feminist's and women's issues and remoulded my attitude from one of  nonchalance to a strong concern for equality for all.

While issues such as abortion and access to contraception aren't such an exigency in Australia, gender inequality still manifests itself in most salient ways in this country (such as the disparity of wages between the sexes). According to ABS statistics, women on average still earn only 83 cents to the dollar earned by their male counterparts. Examples such as these illuminate the fact the gender gap needs to be closed here. While many female advocates voice their opinion in this subject, the dissenting voices of males remain conspicuous by their absence. We need to focus on controversies like this to have a truly egalitarian state in Australia where all people enjoy parity. We must strive harder to eliminate the vestiges of an archaic patriarchal mindset.

While abortion and access to contraception may not be of a poignant nature in Australia, we shouldn't insulate ourselves, remain oblivious, not show concern and express our disdain of problems facing females in other countries. These issues have been prevalent in places such as the United States and Ireland (the unnecessary and tragic death of Savita in Ireland a few months ago due to not being given an abortion when it was quite evident carry to birth to term would cause complications to mother and fetus). Despite medical intervention being needed  to prevent the death from occurring, negligence was displayed due to not being legal to perform the necessary operation, which resulted in the death of the mother.

Also there are numerous examples of politicians defunding organizations such as Planned Parenthood and ratifying laws making it virtually impossible in some areas to enjoy access to birth control, contraception and abortion. The lunacy of some politicians is befuddling - they defund Planned Parenthood, restrict access to birth control, then complain there are too many abortions and unwanted pregnancies. The stupidity of some politicians is incredulous. I'm sure if they farted their brains would fall out. These oppressive laws stem mostly form religious ideology,  an ethos that remains the most stultifying and stymieing obscenity to a true state of secularism and equality.

Attitudes to rape remain eerily problematic too. Victim blaming resonates all too much in this day and age as well:. Implications such as its somehow the physically weaker victims fault that when a strong perpetrator violates her. In many circumstances the victim is too afraid to come forward for fear of being stigmatized, is reluctant to go though a grueling legal process or thinks too many people will conspire to conceal the matter. Insinuations that the victim was being "too provocative" or "asking for it." Never addressing the real cause - the neanderthal who couldn't keep his libido in check.

Honor killings and immoral sentencing in many parts of the world are associated with the aforementioned attitude. If a woman is violated, it is her fault and gets either sentenced by the law or executed by her insane family for bringing shame upon them in a shambolic attempt to restore honor to the barbaric murderer's family name. Similar abhorrent attitudes have been echoed by certain Republic politicians and evangelical Christians. Egregious remarks such women possess a biological mechanism to prevent pregnancy caused by rape or if impregnated its somehow a gift from God

Since when are old men with two inch penises and misogynistic attributes qualified to adjudicate or comment on the bodily rights of women. Then again, its no surprise that attitudes like this exist because they are derived from scripture - a book in which no instance occurs where a woman's consent is ever required or requested. Just look at Deuteronomy 22:28 -29 where, if a woman is violated, the rapist just has to pay the victims father 50 shekels and must marry her. No consideration is given to to obvious psychological trauma this would cause the female in question. Attitudes and occurrences like these need addressing. Retaining antiquated attitudes like this need to be eradicated for the betterment of human kind and for progress to a better world. There are many more topics I could address but space prevents that.

For now I will continue to crusade against misogyny and sexism.

Christian Flag Pledge Acknowledges Zombies?

"I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe."

I never got the chance to say the pledge and didn't even know about there being a Christian flag or a pledge to it until a few years ago. Interestingly enough, it caught my eye when I read it the first time. I knew the reasoning behind the words to the American Flag's pledge well enough, but this Christian one at me at a loss.

Being a Jehovah;s Witness throughout my school years gave me the honor of standing in the hall for the first few minutes of class everyday. I could still hear the pledge and even asked my parents about it but they never mentioned anything about a christian flag.

After reading about this in a recent article, I finally sat down and googled the pledge. The first thing that caught my eye was the line about "whose kingdom it stands." It seemed odd to me that Christians would need a flag to show the worth of their devotion on a daily or weekly basis. Wasn't there something about "make no graven images or idols before me" in the Bible? Maybe it was just in New World Translation and not the King James version.

Then the second line caught me and all the "Zombie Jesus: lines I had even heard jumped out at me. I mean, they really waited or are waiting for him to rise again and walk amongst them. Yeah, no zombie referencce there -nope not at all!

The "liberty to all who believe" line also made little sense when the zombie notion came into play. The only liberty I see happening is gonna be the gun-toting, hammer-swinging or sword-slashing people clearing out all the zombies.

Remembering the Satanic Panic - D&D

Dungeons and Dragons was one of the first "satanic" things I learned about and, I must admit, that made me so curious that I was determined I'd check it out at some point. After all, through D&D, we were told that Satan would grant earthly power and magic. It wasn't that I wanted to do evil but that I really wanted to see magic done. Christianity talked about miracles but showed none. I hoped Satan could do better.

Now after 25 years, I consider D&D to be very close to my heart. It's brought me hours of joy and creativity with people I cared for. It gave me a rich, imaginative outlet for my frustration and anger at the real world. It taught me the practical application of probability and helped my math skills. It continues to bring Nathan and me together as we listen to the Forgotten Realms books on audio during our long, nightly drives. Overall, D&D has been a positive influence in my life.

Below are some videos from the 80s and 90s damning D&D as evil and Satanic. You'll likely recognize Bob Larson, Sean Sellers, and others of that day who gain notoriety for their "knowledge" of Satanism and the occult.

The only thing that is true is that D&D can make you turn away from Jehovah. After all, I've been a priestess of Lolth for years. I haven't managed any sacrifices or spells yet but I'm sure that's just a matter of time. (That's supposed to be funny for those who don't know my writing style well.)

This is how Pat Robertson and the 700 Club thought D&D was played:

And a snippet from "Pagan Invasion" here:

And a new clip from a recent Pat Robertson show as featured on Secular Talk's YouTube channel: 

Remembering the Satanic Panic - He Man

Many of us who grew up during the "Satanic Panic" saw everything we loved as children derided, vilified, and condemned as evil. Certain movies were off limits because the local AFA station warned that they contained witchcraft that was cleverly packaged to entice kids. Certain cartoons represented the occult or communism. Certain music encouraged kids to worship the devil and cast spells.

It might be easy to laugh off those days but we still have those people among us: people who burn copies of Harry Potter and demand that schools remove certain books from the library. There was also real damage done to a lot of innocent people who were accused of molesting children and sacrificing them to Satan.

Lest we forget our past, I'd like to present a small series that will remind us just how powerful these fearmongers can be. For today's consumption, I give you: He Man.

From the 1984 hit "Deception of a Generation:"

"Schaap-ing" a Feel

Misogynistic and outright asshole Pastor Jack Schaap is going to jail for a long time since he's admitted to taking young girl across state lines for sex. No one should be surprised at this since he is the pastor who berated women in his congregation for getting fat and losing their looks after marriage.

He blames depression for his actions.

His story can be found all over the web so I'm not going to rehash the details here. Instead, I'm going to leave you with a clip from his sermon. It's got "pervert" written all over it. Be sure to check out the guy on the left. I think he knows exactly what's going on!

Stick to Preaching, Preacher - Take Two

Perhaps you remember my previous post about Dr. Rex Yancey's take on depression. The good "doctor" has doubled down on his position this week with a new column in our paper entitled, "Depression brings us closer to God."

After diagnosing numerous Biblical characters with depression, he offers this sage advice:

We must wait on the Lord. We wait for the Lord to pull us out of the depths. There is a proper time for deliverance. God may not pull you out of the depths after the first prayer.

 You do not hurry the Lord up.

Get into the Word of God while you are waiting.

Once again we are told that God is the cure for depression and that prayer and Bible reading are the cost of that cure. Once again he redefines this medical disorder as a "spiritual" disorder, seemingly unconcerned with the consequences.

Unless his god has a name like Lexapro, that god has never cured anyone of depression. You can sit on your ass and pray until the cows come home but you will not be cured of depression. Your mood may lift temporarily if you are a believer, but that is not the same thing as proper treatment of depression.

Telling people to do nothing about their depression is like putting a loaded gun in their hands as far as I'm concerned. Depression is a condition that worsens over time if not treated and does lead to suicide. It's not something to be played with. I see Dr. Yancey's advice about depression as being the same as these televangelists who tell cancer patients not to take their meds any more because they are cured. It's the same kind of quackery - the same kind of dangerous lie. Our newspaper is content to print those lies again and again without any comment or rebuttal.

Perhaps Dr. Yancey should put this sign up at his church. It captures the idea well. If something is wrong, just lay down and die. Surrender. It's God's will.

The Godspell Message

Our local theatre presented the musical Godspell this week and they did a fantastic job. This is not an obligatory nicety that I put in to avoid being called an ass for what's to come. It's a genuine response to their talent and hard work. I strongly support these ventures that bring the community together for (generally) secular purposes and enrich our lives.

This was the first time I had seen Godspell in my 40 years. It came out in the 70s around my time but was considered "too modern" to be appropriate for us. I expected the musical's central message to be preachy and predictable - another variation on the same old theme of Jesus coming to earth and dying for our sins so we could go to heaven. It didn't turn out quite that way.

Godspell's first act represents Jesus's parables in song - the teachings of Jesus as laid down by the book of Matthew. When lifted from the Bible and presented in a natural way, these parables are damning to the conservative Christian community. Much time is spent chastising the rich and proud, the pious preachers, and those who refuse to help the needy. Jesus stresses the law and the prophets as the way to the Kingdom and scorns those who choose wealth over charity. Within the first few songs, Godspell completely condemns the conservative Christian culture of America (particularly the South). Christians who despise the "liberal" image of Jesus would not enjoy the scolding they get and they would not recognize Jesus's emphasis on the law as opposed to the easy grace they preach now.

Of special note was the parable about cutting off your right hand or plucking out your right eye rather than sinning and going to hell. When put in our every day language, it sounded quite serious and you'd expect that the audience would be full of amputees and the blind. It was a glaring indictment of the fact that Christians either do not believe Jesus's words or they do not care to follow them. Neither, I noted, had anyone in the audience given all their money to the poor. Nor had they forsaken the traditional practice of dressing up on Sunday in all their finery and parading around their churches. Yet these traditions and practices were condemned by Jesus in Godspell with painful acuity.

In Act II, we got into the whole "Jesus on the cross" bit. After a few more parables about not judging and hating others, we cut to the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. It seemed a bit rushed as if they were trying to wrap up the show rather than convey an actual message. In fact, I realized fully about this time that Godspell was not a tool to convert the lost (despite the main actor's assertion that it was the "good news of Christ" being shared. The point of the show seemed to be more about highlighting Jesus's words. I don't know how that was received in the 70s but here in 2013, I felt as if Jesus had taken one look at America and said, "Goddammit, haven't you been listening to a word I've said?"

Of special note here was a line uttered by the Jesus character that goes against most Christian doctrine that I know of. We've been told over and over that God made hell for the devil and his angels - not for man. But this Jesus stated flatly that Hell was made for man since the very beginning. I don't know if anyone else picked up on this. Judging from the occasional "Amen" and "Praise the Lord" uttered behind me, I doubt it.

I expected that there would be some sort of invitation at the end - especially since Jesus was played by a real preacher. Fortunately, no such thing occurred. The show ended and everyone applauded but no one seemed visibly moved by the message. I wondered if what I had heard was the same as what they had heard. Again, I doubt it. Jesus's message filtered through a contemporary Christian lens seems to be rather lackluster and weak.

So was the musical good? Yes! Was it worth my time? Absolutely! Did I feel a pressing need to mend my sinner's ways and accept Christ afterwards? Absolutely not. What I felt instead was something like disappointment that the message had gone the way of the seed in the parable...the seed that fell on hard ground and was lost. So too did Jesus's message seem to flow into one ear and right out of the other. 

"Let them who have ears to hear, hear." Let them indeed.

Is Yahweh Pro-life?

During a recent conversation on abortion on Alan Nunnelee's page, I saw the following comment:

I'd like to debunk Mr. Cox's claim that his god (Yahweh) will not tolerate murder of the unborn and I intend to do it using the Bible, Yahweh's holy book that is supposed to be the inerrant, literal word of this deity.

Genesis 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

There were undoubtedly pregnant women on the earth at this time so Yahweh drowned an incredible number of innocent unborn with the Flood.

Genesis 19:24-25  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

There were pregnant women in those cities too. Their innocent unborns were murdered.

Genesis 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

Judah, and ancestor of Jesus, orders the death of the woman he knocked up including her innocent unborn. He obviously doesn't think Yahweh will have a problem with it since burning whores is the law.

Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

Granted, we aren't dealing with unborns here but we do have Yahweh indiscriminately slaughtering the oldest children of every family. How would you feel if God killed your oldest child because of something Obama did? Also, were the firstborn young children not innocent too?

Exodus 21:22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

Yahweh decrees that the innocent unborn are worth whatever price (in coin or barter) that the father decides and the judges determine. It is not equivalent to a living being.

Leviticus 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

Again, this isn't dealing with unborns per se but it does show that Yahweh puts only a monetary value on gentile children. They have no legal personhood.

Leviticus 27:6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

Any unborn or child under one month of age has no value.

Numbers 3:14 -15 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.

One again, if you're under one month of age, you have no value. You aren't even counted. And this isn't some Old Testament crap that Moses dreamed up. The LORD told him to do it this way.

Numbers 31:17-18 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

If you kill every woman who has had sex, you are bound to kill some fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses too. Yahweh doesn't seem to care. Oh and while you're at it, capture and rape the little girls.

Hosea 13:16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

Women with child shall be ripped up. Infants dashed into pieces. God is intolerant of the murder of unborns? He glories in it.

These are just a few verses picked out to let Yahweh have his say about pro-life matters. I encourage you to read these verses in context and let the full horror of Yahweh wash over you.

And for those who want to excuse it with, "Oh, that's the Old Testament. It's been done away with since Jesus," and all that tripe, you need to understand: you cannot take this view and then quote obscure verses from the rest of the Old Testament about knowing you in the womb and such. If you dismiss the verses above, you must stop quoting the other ones too.

I leave to Mr. Cox and his friends to now try to contort and dodge their way out of this. I'll leave them with a final thought:

Don't be mad at me. I'm just telling you what God says!

Taking Back Mississippi

Credit: Thomas Thornycroft

It's no secret that Mississippi has long been under the boot heel of preachers and politicians who put their own interests above those of the people. I think it's even safe to say that corruption is so ingrained in our way of life down here that we've come to expect it and take a rather lackadaisical attitude towards it. Many are the times I've heard people say, "That's just the way things are down here," or "It's never gonna change. It'll always be that way."

Mississippians proved that wrong in 2011 when we said NO to amendment 26's "personhood" initiative. Against the dollars funneled in by Colorado's forced-birth group, against the organization and bullying of the local churches...against all hope...we defeated them by 58%. And now we've done it again.

Last night - Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - in Corinth, MS, the voters passed a liquor referendum by 70%. The churches posted their signs. The pastors thundered their sermons of doom. But 70% of the voters paid them no mind. Now the pastors are weeping and caterwauling at this stinging defeat and well they should - it's a sign of the times and conservative religion is losing!

The most damning belief we can hold is that we can't change anything. It's a message you'll hear all the time from those who don't want things to change or those who have already given up. The future is not for those people - it's for us. Mississippi doesn't have to always be the third-world state of the union. It doesn't always have to be the brunt of every joke. We can make it a better, freer place to live but it's going to take work.

Be sure, that work is going to continue to be arduous, maybe even risky, at times. It's always hard to take a stand against something that is so deeply ingrained. Nevertheless, we owe it to ourselves, our country, and our future generations to turn this ship around. Someone has to fight these battles and last night's victory is proof that votes - and voices - matter.

Every soldier in this fight is valuable. It doesn't matter whether your job is to stand on the front lines, fire the cannons, lead the calvary, run the ammunition, or cook for the troops. Everybody has a place in this fight. So do what you can. Plant the seeds of freedom by challenging myths and assumptions. Spread those seeds on Facebook and Twitter. Use humor. Be creative. Find your place in the ranks and help us pull this state out of its corrupted and prohibitive rut.

We pay a lot of lip service to the concept of freedom. Now it's time to claim that freedom - to claim our natural rights as free people. We don't need Mississippi's version of the nanny state, always telling us what religion says we can't drink or view or buy. We need to make those decisions for ourselves.

Use your voice. Use your vote.

Take Mississippi back!

Shut Up and Listen

The noise of the world...car horns, big rigs, the TV or radio. God has trouble getting a word in edgewise, eh? If we'd just shut up and listen, we would be able to hear him speaking directly to us. Right?

All this time we thought we were basing our disbelief on lack of evidence but it turns out that we are just being too loud to hear God. Guess the "still, small voice" was literal and not metaphorical.

Well, I'm convinced. Are you?

Jesus, Take the Deal

Norovirus

I've suffered a lot in my young life - disease, depression, and a near-death experience - and the way in which I've handled these issues has changed dramatically. When I was a young Christian and in pain, I would pray and beg Jesus for relief. He healed the sick while on earth, right? Why wouldn't he help one of his children out? But when no relief came, I'd always end up a blubbering pile of weakness, making deals with God and going so far a few times as to even agreeing to be a missionary in Africa if he'd just take the pain away. He never did and I never went to Africa.

As an atheist, I've handled these issues very differently. I know now that no amount of prayer, posturing, and deal-making is going to make a difference. There is no personal god out there who cares that I'm in pain. The universe is quite indifferent to all our suffering and, while that terrifies some people, I find it to be soothing that there is indeed a great equalizer. The universe has no demands or expectations and so I get to be the final judge of my own experiences.

Today shook my faithlessness. About 6 this morning, I woke up with a particularly nasty Norovirus swelling my intestines and sending everything into overdrive. The norovirus is commonly called "stomach flu" around these parts and most everybody gets it. The problem is that I have diverticulitis and a section of my colon is prone to swell so when you add a norovirus, you get a super helping of pain.

I've had this stuff off and on my whole life and it's never pleasant. Projectile vomiting and projectile diarrhea usually means that, when you're done, you're going to have a mess to clean up. And since all the fluids in your body have just been rather nastily ejected, you're going to be as weak and helpless as a kitten. This is a great test when looking for a spouse or long-term partner by the way - if s/he takes care of you during this time, you've found a keeper!

So back to the story: I was in so much pain that my body was turning cold and clammy. I felt like I was dying which isn't so scary except that it was proving to be a slow, painful death. At some point, my mind wheeled back to the old Christian days and I started lashing out: 

"Jesus, you're supposed to be the Great Physician! Help me!" 

Then I'd hear the counterargument in my head, "You have to have faith."

Faith is in short supply, you see, but I plowed on, "I don't have any faith but, if you miraculously heal me, I will know you're real and then I'll have a faith I can share with everybody! What a testimony!!"

There was no healing. Nothing but another round of vomiting and pain.

I can't tell you how ashamed I am now that I gave in to this weakness, the human drive to do anything - to make any deal with anybody - in order to survive. I thought I was past of the point of making deals with a non-existence deity but today's illness tested my resolve and I lost.

What do I take from this? One, I'm still human. I'm still susceptible to the same fears and desires as everyone else. And that brings me to an even better discovery: my compassion for those who turn to faith during pain and death is renewed. Although I do not agree with these people and I realize that their reliance on faith may cause them more harm than good, at least I can see them as hurting people again rather than some stupid, lost cause. I found some of my empathy again and I'm glad for that.

Did you make deals with God as a believer? What do you think of those who cling to religion when they feel they have nothing else? How can we reach these people better in their time of need?

P.S. - there is a "Great Physician" - she's my sister. 

Get Thee Behind Me, Jesus!

In today's local paper, Baptist preacher Ronnie Barefield encourages his readers to show more leadership at home, in the church, and in the community. This is mostly par for the course except for this one particular sentence which was a big ole slap in the face:

We need to elect good, moral, Christian, conservative, pro life, pro family state and national leaders to office.

Wait, what? Let's set aside the fact that no religious test is required for office. What does it mean to be "Christian" in America these days? We have two Christians running for the Presidency right now and lots of Baptists don't like either one or even consider them to be "real Christians." Christianity today can be anything from traditional Baptist to Mormon, Catholic, Seventh-Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witness, or even African Methodist Episcopal. You can't guarantee what baggage comes with the label "Christian" so this is far from a sure bet.

What about conservative? Does he mean fiscally or socially conservative? Does he mean "conservative" in a traditional sense or is he talking about this brand of far-right, religious neo-conservativism that is dragging us all down? Does he mean that liberals or libertarians can't be good and moral people?

What about pro-life? Are they the only good and moral people? Can they allow for abortions in case of rape or incest? Can they allow for IVF? Or must they follow the rigid, dogmatic narrative of the most rabidly forced birth among them?

What about pro-family? What kind of family? Can they allow for families that don't look like their own? Can they accept families with two dads, two moms, or any number of both? Or must they only define "family" in the narrow way that the Religious Right does?

Bro. Barefield would have done better to simply say "We need to elect good, moral state and national leaders to office." The problem is that he feels that he has the duty and the ability to define "good" and "moral" for us. I suspect if you took him to task for this, he'd claim that he was only saying what God said but this is untrue. The Bible doesn't talk about abortion or gay rights. It doesn't talk about conservative politics. And Jesus says to stay out of earthly politics and work for his kingdom instead. The most a Christian is admonished to do is pray for their earthly leaders and obey them as much as possible.

But hell, who needs to listen to Jesus when you can just listen to modern-day preachers instead?

The Price of Faith

 

A Baptist church recently returned from a mission trip to Africa and, unfortunately, they brought something deadly back with them: hemorrhagic fever.

This is a very serious, often fatal disease. Think Ebola and you're on the right track. Risk factors for the illness include prior infection, being white, female, or young. There is no cure.

Science-based treatment was able to alleviate the symptoms and give these people a greater chance of survival. Fortunately, every victim survived but they can never go back to Africa lest they run the risk of dying next time. It's a tragic story.

But what's also interesting is the idea that these people went to Africa to do something they thought was good and their god gave them no protection. Faith was no shield. Belief made no difference. They were just as subject to the harsh whims of nature as anyone else - nay, moreso!

Perhaps some would say that "God had a plan" for them. I think it's painfully obvious that nature had a plan: survive. Yahweh didn't send mosquitoes to infect his missionaries so he could test their faith. Mosquitoes did what mosquitoes do and the rest is all science. There's no great purpose to their suffering. There's no great plan to be fulfilled. There is just human misery and death.

At this point, the only thing I can hope is that these people will continue to recover and suffer no long-term effects from this illness. And I also hope that they will choose not to go back to Africa and put themselves at risk for their silent god. Let these people have a long and happy life with their families and if Yahweh wants to tell the rest of the world about his plan of salvation, well, let him do it himself.

Don't Think, Believe!

From the Department of Irresponsible Religious Quotes we have this:

Yes, folks. Don't spend any time trying to figure this stuff out. Don't try to understand the shit you're being asked to believe or the code you're being told you must live your life by. Don't waste a moment evaluating Biblical claims or assessing Biblical morals - just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and leap out on faith.

Why live this way? Because if you don't evaluate the evidence and just trust the religion, you can deny responsibility for your beliefs and the consequences of those beliefs. It's the lazy way out. It's the immoral way out.

Don't think about - just believe and obey!

His Eye Was on This One Too