Dawkins on Evolution

Religion vs Death

Anyone who still thinks religion has been a benign force in this world need to read the compilation that James Haught made in a 1990 edition of the Skeptical Review.  Below is a segment to whet your appetite:

“– The Thirty Years’ War produced the largest religious death toll of all time. It began in 1618 when Protestant leaders threw two Catholic emissaries out of a Prague window into a dung heap. War flared between Catholic and Protestant princedoms, drawing in supportive religious armies from Germany, Spain, England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, France and Italy. Sweden’s Protestant soldiers sang Martin Luther’s “Ein ‘Feste Burg” in battle. Three decades of combat turned central Europe into a wasteland of misery. One estimate states that Germany’s population dropped from 18 million to 4 million. In the end nothing was settled, and too few people remained to rebuild cities, plant fields, or conduct education.”

I’ve had people tell me that it is men doing these dastardly deeds and not God or the religion.  I have to disagree with this interpretation.  There are passages in the Bible and Koran that are constantly interpreted / misinterpreted and used as an excuse to maim and kill those who believe differently.  The Catholics and Protestants still barely talk to each other, and the Muslims still kill anybody that disagrees with them.  The Muslims kill the Hindus and the Hindus kill the Muslims

“It’s fashionable among thinking people to say that religion isn’t the real cause of today’s strife in Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland, India and Iran — that sects merely provide labels for combatants. Not so. Religion keeps the groups in hostile camps. Without it, divisions would blur with passing generations; children would adapt to new times, mingle, intermarry, forget ancient wounds. But religion keeps them alien to one another.

Anything that divides people breeds inhumanity. Religion serves that ugly purpose.”

Remember this was written before  9-11

A passing thought as I go to close this post.  The Republican Religious Right wing wants to return a measure of religious control to America

The Republican Religious Party is Winning Control…

…Of Women’s Bodies.  The Republican War on Women is alive and well

The Republican Religious Party is winning the war to gain control of women’s bodies, and therefore their reproductive lives.  I am thankful that my daughters are grown now and do not plan any more children.  I am terribly sorry that my 4 years old granddaughter will now have the state control her choices as a reproducing female in America.  Evil religion is behind all this.

• ARIZONA now has the earliest surgical abortion ban  in the nation at 20 weeks, and the earliest medical abortion ban at 7 weeks.   Arizona sucks; it is controlled by a Republican religious junta.
• ALABAMA wants to make it nearly impossible to receive RU-486.  All women move awayquickly…the state of Alabama does not have your best interest at heart
• GEORGIA’S horrendous “women as livestock” bill forces women to carry non-viable fetuses to term.  Women as Livestock…aka women are not allowed to control their own bodies.  Horrendous doesn’t even begin to describe the evilness of this law.  The South Sucks
• TENNESSEE is criminalizing harm to embryos.  Just try drinking a glass of wine, or walking into a smoke filled room there.
• TEXAS women are forced to look at the image of their most likely “trans-vaginal” ultrasound and listen to the fetal heartbeat.  This is actually State Rape…you will not be allowed to opt out of this travesty.  Thank your local Republican politicians for this.  Another failed state.
• MISSISSIPPI will become the first abortion-clinic-free state in July. (Just picture the license plate slogan!)  Everyone with any sense will leave this failed state soon.  Mississippi stands at the bottom of all indicators of a happy place to live
• SOUTH CAROLINA seeks to eliminate abortions in the case of rape from their health plans.  Also planned is to eliminate abortion in case of Incest…this is the grossest form of state control ever.
• WISCONSIN Planned Parenthood clinics have halted all medical abortions.  Quick leave the state.  Republican Religious Party governor Scott Walker is being recalled for being a asshats.

America is rapidly approaching being a State controlled fascist country…and it is the Republican Religious Party and their doublespeak tactics that is leading us there.  They and their church buddies are Evil.

Atheism In The 1700′s

 ABSTRACT OF THE TESTAMENT OF JOHN MESLIER

By Voltaire

Excerpted from a longer volume

In regard to the Lord’s Supper, the first three Evangelists note that Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of His body and His blood, in the form of bread and wine, the same as our Roman Christ-worshipers say; and John does not mention this mysterious sacrament. John says that after this supper, Jesus washed His apostles’ feet, and commanded them to do the same thing to each other, and relates a long discourse which He delivered then. But the other Evangelists do not speak of the washing of the feet, nor of the long discourse He gave them then.

On the contrary, they testify that immediately after this supper, He went with His apostles upon the Mount of Olives, where He gave up His Spirit to sadness, and was in anguish while His apostles slept, at a short distance. They contradict each other upon the day on which they say the Lord’s Supper took place; because on one side, they note that it took place Easter-eve, that is, the evening of the first day of Azymes, or of the feast of unleavened bread; as it is noted (1) in Exodus, (2) in Leviticus, and (3) in Numbers; and, on the other hand, they say that He was crucified the day following the Lord’s Supper, about midday after the Jews had His trial during the whole night and morning.

Now, according to what they say, the day after this supper took place, ought not to be Easter-eve. Therefore, if He died on the eve of Easter, toward midday, it was not on the eve of this feast that this supper took place. There is consequently a manifest error.

They contradict each other, also, in regard to the women who followed Jesus from Galilee, for the first three Evangelists say that these women, and those who knew Him, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary, mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s children, were looking on at a distance when He was hanged and nailed upon the cross. John says, on the contrary, that the mother of Jesus and His mother’s sister, and Mary Magdalene were standing near His cross with John, His apostle. The contradiction is manifest, for, if these women and this disciple were near Him, they were not at a distance, as the others say they were.

They contradict each other upon the pretended apparitions which they relate that Jesus made after His pretended resurrection; for Matthew speaks of but two apparitions: the one when He appeared to Mary Magdalene and to another woman, also named Mary, and when He appeared to His eleven disciples who had returned to Galilee upon the mountain where He had appointed to meet them.

Mark speaks of three apparitions: The first, when He appeared to Mary Magdalene; the second, when He appeared to His two disciples, who went to Emmaus; and the third, when He appeared to His eleven disciples, whom He reproaches for their incredulity.

Luke speaks of but two apparitions the same as Matthew; and John the Evangelist speaks of four apparitions, and adds to Mark’s three, the one which He made to seven or eight of His disciples who were fishing upon the shores of the Tiberian Sea.

They contradict each other, also, in regard to the place of these apparitions; for Matthew says that it was in Galilee, upon a mountain; Mark says that it was when they were at table; Luke says that He brought them out of Jerusalem as far as Bethany, where He left them by rising to Heaven; and John says that it was in the city of Jerusalem, in a house of which they had closed the doors, and another time upon the borders of the Tiberian Sea.

Thus is much contradiction in the report of these pretended apparitions. They contradict each other in regard to His pretended ascension to heaven; for Luke and Mark say positively that He went to heaven in presence of the eleven apostles, but neither Matthew nor John mentions at all this pretended ascension. More than this, Matthew testifies sufficiently that He did not ascend to heaven; for he said positively that Jesus Christ assured His apostles that He would be and remain always with them until the end of the world.

“Go ye,” He said to them, in this pretended apparition, “and teach all nations, and be assured that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Luke contradicts himself upon the subject; for in his Gospel he says that it was in Bethany where He ascended to heaven in the presence of His apostles, and in his Acts of the Apostles (supposing him to have been the author) he says that it was upon the Mount of Olives.

He contradicts himself again about this ascension; for he notes in his Gospel that it was the very day of His resurrection, or the first night following, that He ascended to heaven; and in the Acts of the Apostles he says that it was forty days after His resurrection; this certainly does not correspond.

If all the apostles had really seen their Master gloriously rise to heaven, how could it be possible that Matthew and John, who would have seen it as well as the others, passed in silence such a glorious mystery, and which was so advantageous to their Master, considering that they relate many other circumstances of His life and of His actions which are much less important than this one?

How is it that Matthew does not mention this ascension? And why does Christ not explain   clearly how He would live with them always, although He left them visibly to ascend to heaven? It is not easy to comprehend by what secret He could live with those whom He left.

I pass in silence many other contradictions; what I have said is sufficient to show that these books are not of Divine Inspiration, nor even of human wisdom, and, consequently, do not deserve that we should put any faith in them.   JEAN MESLIER

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

This piece was reformatted. Words are in the same order, none are added or subtracted, but paragraphs were changed for easier reading on-screen.

TEOTWAWKI…Again

I found another loonie Christian “Prophet” who is predicting TEOTWAWKI.  This time it’s going to be pretty soon…May 27^th, 2012

You have a little more than a month to put your affairs in order.  You’ve been warned

PR text for the book he has written to advance his “prediction”

“The year 2008 marked the last of God’s warnings to mankind and the beginning in a countdown of the final three and one-half years of man’s self-rule that will end by May 27, 2012.

On December 14, 2008, the First Trumpet of the Seventh Seal of the Book of Revelation sounded, which announced the beginning collapse of the economy of the United States and great destruction that will follow. The next three trumpets will result in the total collapse of the United States, and once the Fifth Trumpet sounds the world will be thrust into WW III.”

I’ve marked that date on my calender.

Website at: http://www.the-end.com/

Religion And Politics…Very Scary

I keep hearing that ol’ G.W. was trying to kick start the Apocalypse with invading Iraq

Having a pretty good idea of how the man **thinks…I think the rumor is probably true.

**From watching and listening to him for 8 loooooong years.

Catholic Church Investigators: Children Were Castrated

Dutch government inspectors were aware in the 1950’s that the Catholic Church was castrating young boys and doing it without informing parents…and surely against the boys wishes.

Young boys were being sexually abused by Catholic priests and if they complained to authorities they were involuntarily placed in Catholic run psychiatric institutions and castrated to ‘help’ their homosexual feelings or behavior.

A committee was set up by the Catholic Church itself in 2010 when the abuse scandal broke. It is said to have identified some 800 priests and monks in the Netherlands who were actively abusing children in a 40 year period from 1945 to 1985.

Among other things it found was that church officials, bishops, and lay people were aware of the evil going on in the church and church institutions, but failed to take action

This committee is now under fire for glossing over many incidents and not giving proper weight to the allegations and incidences.  One politician  involved in the original inspection, Vic Marijnen,  was even elected as prime minister of the Netherlands in the 1963.

This politician had tried to get charges dropped against several Catholic priests accused of child sexual abuse.

So again we have the ‘universal church’ showing just how holy and spiritual the Christian religion really is.  Apologists for the Church say it’s not the church, but the humans involved.  However it has been proven that this crap is known by all members of the organization all the way up to the Pope and they all try to wiggle out from under any responsibility, and hide it as much as possible.  This Church is evil from top to bottom (talking church executives, priests, bishops, etc…not congregations) and why any moral and righteous citizen would want to listen to or join with these evil people is beyond me.

The Catholic Church has a very long history of murder and assassinations, priestly misconduct, slave holding, Popes having mistresses and little boy companions, priestly homosexual pimping for the hierarchy, in short they are the least compliant to the supposed  will of God of all the Christian denominations.

They are currently behind the American Republican parties assault on women’s right to control their own sexuality, reproduction, and bodies.  In attempts to control African reproduction, the Pope lies about the effectiveness of condoms in controlling the spread of AIDS.

Polls have consistently found that 90% or more American Catholics use birth control in defiance of Catholic dogma…I suppose the Pope is worried that there won’t be enough little Catholic babies to take up the slack.  Catholics are responsible, at least in part, for the overpopulation of the earth.

They are evil..from beginning times to now.

Parts adapted from DutchNews.nl

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/03/catholic_church_abuse_inspecto.php

The Oppression of Religion…?

“If you think that it would be impossible to improve upon the Ten Commandments as a statement of morality, you really owe it to yourself to read some other scriptures. Once again, we need look no further than the Jains: Mahavira, the Jain patriarch, surpassed the morality of the Bible with a single sentence: “Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being.” Imagine how different our world might be if the Bible contained this as its central precept. Christians have abused, oppressed, enslaved, insulted, tormented, tortured, and killed people in the name of God for centuries, on the basis of a theologically defensible reading of the Bible.”  Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation  My bold emphasis

Homo-sapiens and God

Christopher Hitchens– ”Hitch”– Thankfully his words live on…

.

Of course the ‘Creationists’ get around this by swearing that our ability to age-date artifact, rocks, and other items is faulty and the earth has only been around for 6,000 years, but we know they are mislead and very very wrong.

This Is Not A Difficult Concept