Geaux Saints!

The province of Jesusland in which I live does not have it's own professional NFL football team. As a result, most of the population in my province cheers for the New Orleans Saints.

Geaux Saints!

Saints gear, such as jerseys, hats, and  shirts have become quite scarce. Bakeries have even started refusing new orders because they've been inundated with special requests for Super Bowl cookies and cakes which don the Saints name and logo.

Between advertisements, electronic billboards flash the count down to Super Bowl Sunday.

Geaux Saints!

When I arrived at work this morning, I was greeted with a smile and a humongous "Geaux Saints" button.

But . . . I'm for the Colts.

Just kidding. Actually, I'm ambivalent. I'm interested in the big game and I plan to watch it. However, the only outcome I care for is an exciting, overtime nail biter. I'd hate for either team to obliterate the other. That's football at it's absolute worst.

Regardless, I wasn't all that interested in wearing my company-issue Saints button. 

Another fellow stood nearby and said that he didn't like the Saints and refused his button. The person issuing the buttons exclaimed, "I can't believe you're not a Saints fan! We need to convert you; I'm going to convert everyone to be a Saints fan. This is just like us Christians against those non-believers. You need to at least support the Saints if you haven't chosen a side!"

Was this person joking?

Yes. 

And no.

I took a button, but I never put it on. Not after that comment.

And that's precisely the crux of the matter. The citizens of Jesusland think you need to be on their side. They are right. If you don't agree, you are wrong, dysfunctional, and perhaps the weakest link in Jesusland society.  When God decides to punish Jesusland and purge the sin, the fault falls on those pesky non-believers-- be they atheists, homosexuals, or political liberals.

And apparently in Jesusland, worshiping Jesus is not enough! You need to be a Saints fan, too.

Praise Jesus!

Geaux Saints!

Just for that . . . I think I'll start cheering for the Colts.

An Anonymous Atheist in Jesusland

Atheists can catch a hard time in Jesusland. As a result, many of us who live there keep quiet. I know atheists in my area who fear losing their jobs if they are open about their non-belief. Some atheists in Jesusland don't worry about losing their jobs. But when the "cat's out of the bag", they find that their co-workers often distance themselves even though no one threatens to fire them.

I'm tired of staying in the closet. 

A few atheists that I've met have made promises to become open activists for atheism when they retire.

When they retire.

Hell, my spouse could lose her job if her employer knew I was an atheist!

I'll have to avoid becoming an active, open atheist until she and I both retire!

But what exactly does activism for atheism mean? Atheist activism simply means that we help the citizens of Jesusland realize that atheists are among them-- and no, we don't have horns on our heads and long tails coming out of our butts. We don't carry pitch forks and we don't worship satan. We won't eat their babies and we deserve to be treated like citizens just like any other citizen of Jesusland.

No. The citizens of Jesusland do not have a right to make us assimilate.

Why? Because, it's not supposed to be Jesusland in the first place. Last time I looked at a map, I lived in the United States of America.

The good citizens of Jesusland wouldn't want to be pressured into Islam, Judaism, or even an opposing denomination within their own Christian faith. So, why should we atheists feel pressured to believe in god?

Discrimination, I thought, wasn't Christ like.

Bible Verses + Firearms = Holy War

A company called Trijicon has a multimillion dollar contract with the U.S. military to manufacture sights for firearms.

The serial numbers on these sights actually turn out to be encoded New Testament Bible verses.

Well . . . if nobody notices, what's the harm?

That question is moot now because someone has noticed and the media has reported the findings. The company doesn't deny doing this and doesn't see any problem with inscribing military firearms with encoded Bible verses.

After all, the holy, illuminating light of Jesus will help our military forces acquire their targets with Godly accuracy.

What a way to convince the world that we aren't waging a Holy war against the Musli . . . er, I mean, terrorists!

History has already shown us that when we allow religion to control the government, we get brutal inquisitions.

Allow religion to control the military, and we get a Holy war.

The radically Religious fundamentalists who want to wage a Holy war tend to think their god will triumphantly bring victory with him when he returns to earth. (Returns to earth? From where?) I fear that such believers secretly rationalize that a powerful weapon like a nuclear bomb would be the perfect way to commence the coming of their savior and the end of the Age.

Ergo, the triumphant end of the Holy war.

See why even the smallest mix of church and state is harmful? See why we don't need scripture verses inscribed on the gear of our military? See why we don't need a theocracy?

Can you see nuclear missiles raining down upon the earth causing everyone to suffer-- even those who thought they could win victory through such horrific means?

Can you see why we do not need a Holy war?

Cursed with a Curse

I've heard reports of people saying that the tragic earthquake that rocked Haiti was due to a curse.

Unfortunately, I'm not only speaking of Pat Robertson. Relative to my environment, I've locally heard reports of people saying such things.

I don't want to accuse the whole religious world for such comments, nor do I want to accuse all Christians for such comments.

While I've only heard the comment from Christians so far, I'm certain that not all Christians feel this way. My mom, who is Christian, disagrees with the idea that the earthquake of Haiti was a punishment from God. I'm sure she isn't the only Christian who is appalled by comments by the likes of Pat Robertson.

Geologists know that Haiti sits on top of two separate tectonic plates. While this earthquake couldn't be predicted days in advanced and was a shocking surprise, the potential of a massive earthquake happening to Haiti is of no surprise. Not only is this true for Haiti, but also with California (which had earthquake quite recently. Are these earthquakes connected? Not metaphysically. I mean in geological terms). And other places around the world also have the same vulnerability.

I've also noted a low mummer of spiritual people who claim to have had dreams that would have, could have, or did predict the earthquake of Haiti. And in turn, the earthquake of Haiti is the heralding of greater catastrophes, like the invasion of space aliens, human kind being caught in the struggle of waring forces, or simply the beginning of even more horrific earthquakes like the world has never seen.

A prediction does little good if no one hears of it prior to the foretasted event.
I'd like to see space aliens war against each other over the earth while we humans get caught in the middle. And then, on top of that, people logically conclude that somehow the earthquake of Haiti somehow predicted such!

(As the Lion would say) Oh, Really?

People have a right to voice their views and hold their opinions. But people need to know when their opinions are just that-- opinions.

The phenomenon of Religion is real. But the flavor of any given Religion is an opinion. People must not enforce their religion upon others, threatening the wrath of their god onto someone else. What can be said when I turn the tables and threaten with the wrath of my god instead?

Life on earth is far too diverse to assume your religion opinion is absolutely right.

Those who project the wrath of their god upon the people of Haiti should be very careful. When tragedy befalls the cursesayers, what then? Will they say that God is only working in mysterious ways? Or, God is simply doing what is best for his child? Is he testing your faith? Teaching you? Or are you, too, cursed with a curse?


If you are one who prays, certainly do that for the people of Haiti. But, don't only pray; Consider supporting Haiti with a donation towards a charity that you trust.

And for those who don't pray, perhaps you already believe action is the preferred course. Well then, the only way to express that philosophy is to consider sending support to Haiti in the form of a donation to a charity that you trust.

Theocracy + Nukes = Colorful Expletives

On Tuesday, January 12th, nuclear scientist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was assassinated in Iran. Mainstream media reports from Iran claim that the U.S. and Israel instigated this tragic incident.

One could speculate that somebody within the Iranian leadership called for Ali-Mohammadi's assassination. After all, he openly supported the protests against the 2009 elections results where Mir Hossein Mousavi won lost against the current Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Now officials of Iran claim that the (alleged) terrorist act by the U.S. and Israel will only hasten the goal of turning Iran into a nuclear power.

We can all rest assured that their nuclear goals are totally peaceful, right?

I don't like the idea of a theocratic society having nuclear weapons.* At any given moment, someone in leadership can become convinced that the end of the age has finally come. I fear that someone will one day decide that nuclear weapons are a wonderful way to usher in the ultimate punishment, retribution, wrath, and final victory blow of their god.

Can this happen to a secular society? Well, the urge to press the button might be there, but hopefully the leadership of a secular society will at least pause and consider that fact that we cannot obliterate our adversaries with nuclear weapons without ourselves facing grave consequences. If one leader says that god wants the missiles to fly, other leaders (even religious ones) will undoubtedly require more evidence than that-- even if the extra evidence they demand happens to be falsified!

Perhaps this is not simply about religion, but about all radical ideologies. The extreme views of any ideology can become very dangerous very quickly. To me, religion often fuels extremist views because religious leaders tend to discourage openness of ideas (heresy) and open inquiry (the challenging religious authority).

Should two nations decide to retaliate by exchanging nuclear weapons, the whole sky will eventually turn black and the earth will turn cold. We will all suffer.


Everywhere.


And our suffering will not come by the wrath of god, but by the wrath of our own stupidity as a human race.

When I consider the awesome, destructive power of nuclear weapons, I utter colorful expletives. When the wrong group of extremist leaders gain nuclear capabilities, all of our lives will be in their hands, not gods.


Holy expletive!


* Pakistan is not a theocracy to my understanding. But, that nation does seem quite unstable. One never knows what will happen there in the next few years. That alone is cause for colorful expletives!