So . . . How Do You Feel About God?

So . . . if you happened to have read my recent post A Storm is Brewing, then you might consider this post to be part two.

My mother-in-law and wife have a mother-daughter talk over the phone. I can only hear my wife's side of the conversation. And I hear something like:

I just don't like going to church . . . I dunno . . . I just don't feel comfortable there. I mean, I give you Mother's day, Christmas, Easter . . . I just can't come every Sunday. I just don't feel comfortable there . . . . No, no . . . it's nothing that anybody has done . . . No, I don't want to go to that church either . . . I know this is important to you and this is an important part of your life but I'm just not like you in that way . . .

Uh-oh.

Later, my wife told me what prompted her end of the conversation. Her mother asked her, "So, how do you feel about God?"

My wife totally went into politician mode on her and evaded the question by discussing a slightly different, but related topic. She just talked about not liking church.

So . . . the MIL is making her rounds. She asked her grandson . . . then next she's asked her own daughter. Now, I think my daughter and I are next on her list.

I guess I had better plan what I'm going to say. And I better hope my daughter doesn't out us from the closet.

Sad News . . .

I' recently watched a news report about an infant who died due to being left in a car during the summer-like heat.

Annually, kids (and pets) seem to die needlessly because they were left in a parked car that became way too hot inside. People sometimes have a lapse of judgment and leave dependents in the car for an extended period of time. Perhaps they forget the baby was sleeping in the back seat. Maybe they don't think they will be gone too long and didn't think the heat would become deadly. Maybe they plan to come right back after running just for a second, but something distracts them. Perhaps they are did something outside of their routine. Maybe they were keeping someone else's child and they haven't quite adjusted to retrieving the child from the car after getting out. These may sound like lame excuses. Some of them probably are. But, some of them just happen because people are . . . well . . . human.

In this specific report, a married couple goes to church one Sunday morning. I don't know the details because I was not there. I can only imagine, though, that as they got out of the car their hands were full. Maybe they were running late and their absence was holding up service. I say this because the husband was the church musician. Whatever the case, the husband sees another church member who is heading towards the church building. The husband asks this fellow church member to bring his baby in for him. Maybe he yelled it across the parking lot. Maybe he just asked as he hurried past to get inside for service, not waiting for an answer.

Regardless, this church member claims that he did not hear the request to retrieve the baby from the car.

So, the couple goes inside and unwittingly leaves their baby out in the church parking lot closed up in the car. The temperature reached an unusual high that day, too.

I honestly don't believe this couple wanted their baby to die; I'm certain they are distraught about this. If they could turn back time, I'm sure they would have done things differently. I'm sure the couple would have ensured the safety of their child if they knew what was about to happen on that fateful day.

I'm so sorry to hear about their loss. Despite the fact that as parents they were totally responsible for their child, I cannot look down on them or pass judgment on them. This seems to happen every year to someone in the United States. New parents can go through a lot of stress which can cause a lapse in judgment sometimes. I have two kids. And while I've never left one of my kids in a car, I can see how some parents (and even grandparents) can make some poor parenting mistakes.

What adds more frustration to this sad news (in my opinion) is what some of the interviewees said. After calling this an awful tragedy (and I agree with that part), they say, "Well, God will work it out . . ."

I can't help it . . .

The poor baby died in a church parking lot; What is left for God to work out?!

The Goodness (and Evilness) of God

I ended up having to work late hours one weeknight. As a result, I overslept and my children missed the school bus (again). So, I had to take them to school (again) myself and then head on to work.

As I was returning to my car from signing the "tardy" sheet for my kids, I see another parent ambling along with his child into the school building.

Well, at least I'm not the only parent oversleeping.

I found myself staring at this guy as he was making his way down the sidewalk. But, I didn't know why. I felt like I was being rude, but couldn't help myself. And even stranger, this guy was staring right back at me. But the more I stared, the more familiar he looked. Then, in the tone of a question, he called out my name.

Suddenly, I remember who he was and we both became so excited to see each other. I decided to hang around my car until he came back out. We talked for over an hour! We hadn't seen each other in probably twenty years! We tried to catch up up on each other's life-- which explains why we talked for so long.

This poor fellow seems to have had a lot of hardship in his travels. I am not envious of him at all.

We met in a Christian youth group when we were kids, so I had to sort of keep my guard up. He still used Christian "language"-- now and then he hinted that he was still trying to grow his relationship with God and such. But he openly admitted that the evangelical persona that he projected years ago wasn't really him.

He was also quick to admit that he was quite baffled at how a person can endure hardships and suffering still make sense of the Bible after actually reading through it.

He seems to be where I was a years ago just before I abandoned my faith. He's reading his Bible-- I mean, really reading it and paying attention to the words. And as a result, he's noticed that God doesn't shy away from taking credit for creating evil, and perhaps even causing it.

Not many Christians that I know of will even let their mouths form such words!

He cited how King Saul was vexed by a spirit that God sent. He talked about how God admits to even creating evil. He talked about how he doesn't see things any longer as "good" verses "evil" and God verses Satan. Rather, he simply sees God causing everything to happen for what ever reason that he sees fit. Sort of like the way God treated Job by openly allowing Satan give him one helluva time.

Then oddly, my old friend concede that God must know what he's doing.

But curiously, he would often hedge his praise towards God with the phrase, ". . . I guess" throughout our conversation. Such as-- "God must know what he's doing . . . I guess".

He seemed hesitant and doubtful about mainstream Christianity now with his newfound insight flooding in interesting implications.

But despite the vibe I was feeling from him, I wasn't sure if he was ready for me to be totally honest and open about my current atheistic perspective.

So, I played along for the moment.

We exchanged numbers. I think we'll talk again soon (if I can find the slip of paper. I'm an idiot! I should have put it in my phone on the spot).

The evolution of his religious beliefs will be interesting to observe should we keep in touch. And should I ever revel to him my current beliefs, his reaction would be quite interesting to witness as well.

Recent Reflections Concerning Religion

I have finally found a quite, rare moment to write . . .

Lately, I noticed that I was developing hostility towards religion. I didn't notice this within myself until I felt extremely annoyed at the notion that religion and myth are such powerful forces in so many lives. Ironically, I had come to admire the works of Joseph Campbell as my life's journey brought me to a posture of atheism. Campbell eloquently shows how the influence of myth is powerfully ingrained in the human psyche. Religious metaphor moves and inspires people-- without question. And at first, this was an intriguing and beautiful discovery to me despite my growing sense of non-belief. But in these recent weeks, his ideas were starting to bother me more and more.

I especially noticed this when a dear friend of mine recommend that I read a book entitled The End of Education. This book seemed to really rub my nose in "it" by constantly expressing that religion is a fixture in most of humanity. At this stage of the evolutionary cycle, human kind cannot, as a whole, expect to suddenly detach from religion any time soon. As a result, education's engine may run best when wrapped up in a mythological or religious-like narrative. The author of this book was not advocating religion itself, or any specific religion. Just the idea that narrative in a mythological style may be the best seeds for planting the important lessons of life.

And he quoted Joseph Campbell on top of everything else as he made his case!

And that's when I came to realize something . . .

It's OK if religion hangs around for a while.

I've come to realize that nothing is wrong with being inspired by a myth or a religious faith. Nothing is wrong with drawing inspiration from a narrative. Our minds almost seem wired for this. Yes, our minds seem to have an ingrown place that is wired for mythological narrative, faith talk, and religion. If that be true, who am I to be angry about this?

I have also come to realize for myself that while I can personally do without religion, others cannot or will not. It is not my place to judge people whose lives are driven by faith.

Also, I cannot prove that god does not exist. And while the burden of proof rest upon the claimant, I cannot be totally certain that the claimant will never find evidence for their deity's existence.

That doesn't mean that I've become a theist again. Not at all. That only means that I realize that I have no right to push someone into thinking that there is no god.

Just as a theist has no right trying to push god upon me.

I thought about what I wanted to see happen in society as an atheist or agnostic. What did I really want to see change in society around me?

Here's all the change that I ask for concerning the clash between the religious and the non-religious. I wish that more people would take time to:

1. Understand that I want religious people to have the freedom to worship their deity. This is their right as human beings.

2. Understand that I want to exercise the right to interpret religion just as freely as other religious people already get to do. So, whatever deity I have or do not have in my life is my business and my personal right. I should not be treated differently because of this.

3. Understand that I do not deserve to be threatened with eternal torture of the hereafter or with imminent death in the here and now simply because I have a difference of opinion. Remember: Someone else has a deity that breaths threats of eternal punishment for you in their prediction of the afterlife, too. So, are you going to drop your faith and follow theirs now? No? Please, then, do not expect this of me.

4. Understand that I do not want to turn the world into an atheistic society that has flushed away all religion. I want religious people to maintain their freedom to worship. I would simply ask that more religious people become tolerant of non-religious people.

5. Understand that if you have to always speak for your deity, punish for your deity, and badger others for your deity, then perhaps your deity is mute and impotent: that's (after all) the mark of a lifeless, idol god. I'm not saying . . . but, I'm just saying. Give your deity a chance to take care of him or herself before you terrorize and threaten others on your deity's behalf.

6. Understand that I realize that I could be completely wrong about the existence of God. I revisit that idea frequently, but I'm very comfortable where I am right now in my non-belief.

7. Understand that you could be completely wrong about (at the very least) your faith. Be open and tolerant therefore, of those with whom you disagree.

8. Understand that freedom is enjoyed best when everyone can enjoy it. Everyone cannot enjoy our nation if any specific religion is oppressed by Government or controlled by Government. The same potential for tyranny holds true if any specific religion oppresses our society or rises up to control and assimilate our Government.

After mulling over these reflections for a few days, I felt much better. My hostility towards religion dissipated. Just as Thomas Jefferson said, "But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg". While this is true, the problem comes when your neighbor cannot stand the fact that you disagree and (as a result) wants to actively break your legs because you are different.

So, in that vein: I do not hate god or religion-- rather, I hate the notion that people feel they ever have a right to force an ideal upon me with which I disagree. And when speaking in those terms, it doesn't matter if the ideal is a religious one or not.

Demon Busters

Spiritual Warfare is a theme that I haven't talked much about.

You know, Demon Busters.

People who believe that every malignant thing that happens is caused by a demon.

Did you talk back to your parents? A demon influenced you to do it.

Did you get too lazy to pray today? A demon did it.

Are you depressed? A demon is oppressing you.

Do you feel surrounded by constant bad luck? A demon has invaded your life.

Are you sick? Never mind microbes-- you've got a sick demon riding your back.

And demons should be cast out of you. Some person close enough to God has the power to lay hands on you and call that demon out of your life.

In recent years, I wondered why calling upon an omnipotent God to remove a demon more powerful that you was always a struggle.

There is always this big display. Lots of crying, bucking, and jerking. Eyes start rolling in the back of the head as one starts foaming at the mouth . . .

Heck, Jesus just said, "Come out!" and they did. Rarely did demons talk back. And when demons did talk back, he told them to shut up and sent them off into swine who subsequently ran themselves off a cliff and to their deaths.

And Jesus said that his followers would do greater works than those that he accomplished.

So why is demon busting so hard?

Because the demon buster and the demon possessed both have to get their minds worked up to play their respective roles.

See, those of the demon busting type believe that Christians are not exempted from being demon possessed. Even those filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues could become demon possessed. No one is safe. Not even when God's Holy Spirit dwells within you.

Ain't that a bitch!?

So then, just as self-hypnosis can cause someone to behave like they're possessed by the spirit of God, they need that same state of mind to play the role of a possessed person.

Or the "demonic" is simply playing along for grins and chuckles.

So, I believe the preacher and the possessed get worked up together. Because a preacher usually has a language of sorts that he speaks when he (or she) is casting out a demon. First, they tell you that you have one.

Then they start to speak against it and pray for you with the laying on of hands.

Then, they get all wound up. They probably won't quit if you don't exhibit some sort of show yourself.

Or, if you're wrapped up in that sort of thing already, you'll subconsciously play along. You would believe that you are really were possessed because the anointed of God just told you so. Such believe is no different from when I once believed that I actually spoke in tongues.

I think it's a damaging thing to tell someone who is clinically depressed that they have a demon. If the demon could only be cast out, they'd be happy again. Until they commit suicide. Why suffer that when an anti-depressant can possibly save someone's life and make life worth living again?

Telling someone that their cancer is a result of a demon can't be much for emotional morale. What if the demon is "cast out" but the cancer never leaves?

And I feel really bad for homosexuals who are caught up in Pentecostal movements. Homosexuals get picked on really badly. They are talked about openly and abrasively in many Pentecostal circles. Their lifestyle is always described as a "condition" at best. And often, homosexuality is a demon to be cast out. I don't see how a Pentecostal who is homosexual could ever be happy. Having a demon buster talk a homosexual into being unhappy for the rest of his or her life can't possibly be healthy.

I find it highly suspect that an omnipotent God must use us frail humans to struggle with the eradication of a demon.

Something just isn't right about that.

On a side note, I visited Demon Buster.com in preparation of this post. They say that a midi file plays when you visit their site-- Oh, The Blood of Jesus. I'm quite familiar with this song and I'm quite familiar with the emphasis demon busters place on the name and blood of Jesus.

The web site puts so much emphasis on the blood of Jesus that they claim that anyone who is annoyed by the midi file on their site probably has a demon in their home-- if not, then the demon is in you.

But I didn't hear any midi file when I first visited the page.

So what does that mean? I guess I'm so demoniacally oppressed that the demons keep my ears from hearing the midi file play through my demonic laptop!

I guess I'm going to bust hell wide open, huh?

Or maybe you don't hear the midi file when you visit their site either.

Ah, but I went to my Windows desktop, the song finally played.

I guess Linux is the OS of the devil.

Why Lying to Children About Evolution is Dangerous

In Russia, a super strain of Tuberculosis is slowly creeping across the world. Russian prisoners are crammed into prison cells under unsanitary conditions. When a prisoner contracts TB, he rarely completes his medication due to funding, thus the formation of a super TB strain results. And this super strain requires even more aggressive (and more expensive) treatment. This makes proper treatment of the prisoner even less likely. And sometimes, the TB strain is so highly evolved that no medication known to humankind will fight the uniquely formed strain of TB.

For some prisoners, contracting TB is a death sentence. Either the funding will not be provided to treat these prisoners, or they've contracted a terminal variant of TB. These prisoners die in their jail cells.

But sometimes a prisoner with a super TB strain completes his prison sentence and is released directly into the general population-- hacking and coughing as he walks out of the facility and into the public.

Then someone in the general population contracts the super strain of TB after unwittingly spending time in the presence of the infectious, coughing ex-convict. This poor person departs from his presence to make his or her way to the airport. This person plans to make an extended visit to New York City, for example, where he or she will eventually start hacking and coughing.

Why does this happen? Where will this stop?

Some studies have shown that a small percentage of people are immune to the HIV virus. In each person found so far, a mutation was noted. They don't have any receptors on their white blood cells like most other people. As a result, the HIV virus has no way to invade their immune system. Interestingly, this same trait is traced back genetically to survivors of the Bubonic Plague hundreds of years ago.

How can this be? Could this be a clue to a cure for AIDS? How can we better understand this?

As predators change over time, those who are most successful live to pass their traits on to their offspring. The prey who allude capture are awarded that same opportunity to pass on their genes to their offspring. Thus, you have a constant honing of predatory skills and evasive tactics between predator and prey. One sharpens the other over time. This is one of the components that drives the engine of evolution.

Real problems are happening and will need to be solved by understanding evolution.

If members of our society succeed in cranking out armies of young people who think evolution is science fiction, then we will dilute the upcoming scientific community. We will stop producing the necessary minds for solving these real, growing problems. We will produce doctors, scientists, and chemists who will fail the public when the next big biological problem come to visit humankind.

So many people hate the idea of evolution because the implications threaten their Fundamentalist beliefs in God. With clouded minds they lie to as many children as they can within our school systems for the express purpose of preserving their so called "American Values".

What good will come of preserving "American Values" if we are all wiped out by a super virus because nobody took into account the phenomena of evolution and how it drives the changes we see in biological life-- not just from millions of years ago, but for today as well?

OK, so you insist all day long that life was designed.

Fine. Sure. OK.

I don't care. Whatever.

You win.

But just know that even if you insist that life was designed by a creator, you cannot escape the fact that our world was then designed with evolution as part of the plan.

To overlook the fact of evolution is irresponsible. To ignore the fact of evolution is delusional.

And to insist that evolution is science fiction to millions of school kids across the nation is down right dangerous for our survival in the future.

And that's regardless of whether you believe in any particular god, or not.

Is Heaven in the Sky?

In the past, I have shared several dialogues between me and my son.

But today, I will share a dialogue between me and my five year old daughter.

My five year old attends the same day care that my son once did. The facility is quite good with the exception (in my view) that they will try to indoctrinate your child. After all, the daycare facility is run by a mega-church. What can one expect?

Now my daughter is finally starting to ask the tough questions about God. This day surly came faster than I thought.

While riding down the highway my daughter asks out of the blue:

“Daddy, is Heaven in the sky?”

“No sweetie. Heaven isn't up there in the sky. We've sent astronauts into space, we fly planes in the air all the time, and we have satellites floating around way up there in space. No one has bumped into Heaven up there. Pass the sky and you end up among the moon and stars. So between the ground and space where the sky is, we haven't found Heaven.”

I could have told her that Heaven was the sky. But I think the heart of her question was really, “Is God's home up there in the sky?”

Whether you're a theist or not, can you honestly say that God is sitting up there somewhere in the sky?

Anyhow . . .

My daughter thought about my answer for a moment. Then she asked,

“Well, what are all those clouds in the sky for?”

I guess she was wondering why clouds needed to float majestically in the Heavens above if Heaven isn't really “up there”.

“They aren't really for anything, exactly." I said. "The clouds are in the sky because water turns into a gas when it gets hot.”

“A gas?” She seemed to know what “gas” was, but was caught off guard with the idea that water could exist as a “gas”.

Time to introduce the fact that matter can exist in several phases.

“Yeah . . . you know what an ice cube is, right?”

“Yeah, but I don't like ice cubes. They hurt my hands and lips and I can't crunch them with my teeth. They hurt because they are so cold.”

“Right. Well, when water is really, really cold it turns into something like a rock. It becomes solid. When water is not so cold, we see it the usual way-- as a liquid.

“Daddy . . . what's a liquid?”

“Anything that is “wet” like water is a liquid. The juice you love to drink all the time is liquid like water.”

I paused for a moment, then continued.

“And if water gets hot, it turns to gas and floats into the air. As the gas keeps going up and up, it starts to cool again and forms the clouds you see. When a cloud gets too big and can't hold any more water, it releases that water to the ground. You know that that's called?”

“Rain!”

“Exactly!”

Then my daughter says, “I know that when I drink too much water, I have to pee. Just like the clouds when they hold too much water and start to rain!”

Hey . . . she came up with that one all on her own. That "pee" thing wasn't my idea.

Then she asked why she couldn't hold her pee forever. You know, it's such an inconvenience to stop playing just to go pee, after all.

So my son and I started to explain the purpose of a bladder.

And then that question turned into another conversation all together.

Notice that I did not tell my daughter that Heaven did not exist. I only told her the truth about the sky. We have not found Heaven up there and the clouds come from a cycle of evaporation and condensation. Have you heard any reports of Heaven being found in the sky?

This is no different than what I did with my son. I simply gave him facts and tried to encourage him to think for himself.  I'm now doing this for my daughter.

No crime or criticism can be found in that.

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By the way, below is an interesting graphic of "the Heavens" as depicted by the website Live Science.

[Source: Telescopes for Beginners for OurAmazingPlanet.com]

Dominance

Upon closer examination of the human psyche, I now understand why gods have anthropomorphic traits. To say that gods are simply reflections of mankind might still be true. But even so, such a description may be a bit too simplistic.

According to Christianity and Judaism at least, humans are made in the image of God. This has been debated to mean that humans are like God in that we share the capacity for emotion and personality just like God does. Many other origin stories of humanity involve some anthropomorphizing of nature-- thus nature creating humankind becomes a supernatural event.

In light of this interpretation, it only makes sense that God would be anthropomorphic in his (or her) behavior. Humans have a nature for sure. We are social yet territorial. We are cooperative, yet always find ourselves in conflicts and struggles with each other. We are generally altruistic, and have the potential to be murders. We humbly give in one minute and can then seethe with angry jealousy the next.

The God of the Old Testament (at least) had to be human-like if we were designed after him; It only makes sense.

But one oddity I find in this analysis is that we humans are deeply social. Thus, the dichotomies I mentioned above. Our social nature makes conflicts inevitable. We are not Utopian creatures. We live in a competitive environment with limited resources. Selfishness is sometimes a virtue when there is only one precious item left-- but many people need or want it.

See, the fact that the social nature of humanity brings out the best and worst in us begs (in my opinion) an important question:

Why is it that God (who is solitary and omnipotent) exhibits the traits of social creatures?

Ah! But God is not alone. He's the alpha-male over his angels. He has a beta-male rival named Lucifer who tries to take away God's most prized possession-- Mankind, the crown jewel of all that was created.

Lucifer was kicked out of heaven, like a beta-chimp who failed in his coup against the alpha-male of his troop.

So the God of the Old Testament is most likely described with accuracy if we are indeed made after his image. God is jealous. He will crush those that oppose him. Now it makes sense that God would threaten to make you burn for eternity if you angered him enough. Just give him a reason to make an example of you and he will do it.

The idea of Hell is simply a deterrent devised to protect the next Utopia God creates-- AKA "The Afterlife".

Beta-deities need not apply.

God is at the top of the grand social hierarchy of the universe. He is dominant over all creation.

Dig back into time and archeology will suggest that Yahweh was contending for the top spot in a pantheon of Canaanite gods thousands of years ago. When Yahweh finally reached the top, he didn't just simply declare himself and his consort the ruler of all other gods, but he eliminated all gods and declared himself the only true deity of all time.

No wonder we humans act so much like God!

Ah, but then there is another alternative.

God is an artifice of the human psyche and thusly, any given god acts like us humans.

Either way, God can be a brute just as we can be. He's prone to be irrational, illogical, and irritable just like we. He enjoys bragging that he's the best-- even to the point of claiming omnipotence-- though at times he's failed to fulfill this description.

Just as we humans sometimes do.

People constantly vie (in overt and subtle ways) for dominance. God (and any other "little" god) is no different.

Yes, God is no different from us; He is human.

And it's human nature for me to refuse kneeling down* to any god upon this revelation. No human kneels to anyone else without first witnessing a proper display of dominance. Only after that will most people humble themselves into a state of abject submission.

So tell me then . . . is that analysis descriptive of creationism?

Or does that sound like hard core evolution?

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* I can't help but think of these lines from the movie 300:

Xerxes: It is not the lash they fear. It is my divine power. But I am a generous god. I can make you rich beyond all measure. I will make you warlord of all Greece. You will carry my battle standard to the heart of Europa. Your Athenian rivals will kneel at your feet if you will but kneel at mine.

Leonidas: You are generous as you are divine, O King of Kings. Such an offer only a madman would refuse. But the, uh, the idea of kneeling, it's... You see, slaughtering all those men of yours has, uh, well, it's left a nasty cramp in my leg, so kneeling will be hard for me.

Xerxes (now, infuriated): There will be no glory in your sacrifice. I will erase even the memory of Sparta from the histories. Every piece of Greek parchment shall be burned and every Greek historian and every scribe shall have their eyes put out and their tongues cut from their mouths. Why, uttering the very name of Sparta or Leonidas will be punishable by death. The world will never know you existed at all!

Leonidas: The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many and, before this battle is over, that even a god-king can bleed.

There's a God For That

I've recently heard a married woman give an account of how another married man made inappropriate sexual advances at her.

Among the ways he tried to woo her, he stated that God obviously allowed them to meet for a reason. So what's holding her back from sneaking off with him?

God?

That notion appalled the woman most of all.

That's when I realized something. God is what you make of him.

• If you need a little infidelity in your life, there's a god (or allah) for that.
• If you need to be vindictive, then there's a god for that.
• If you need to hate others that are different than you, there's a god for that.
• If you need to feel accepted even though the scripture text of your religion calls your lifestyle an abomination, there's a god for that.
• If you need altruism to exist in the universe, there's a god for that.
• If you need to start up an inquisition, there's a god for that.
• Need to burn some crosses in somebody's yard? There's a god for that.
• Do you need god to be "she" rather than "he"? There's a goddess for that!

There is a god (or goddess) that can fit any need, belief, whim, or hate.

I will admit that some people who believe in god are inspired to love and care for others. People like that usually have a benevolent god in their lives. I think this is because such people happen to already be benevolent for prior reasons.

But even a confidence artist will say that God has caused his victims to cross his path.

Why?

Because that's the kind of god a confidence artist will serve.

God is merely a reflection of his worshipers' hearts-- a projection of the deep recesses found within a worshiper's mind.

In the end, God is what you make of him.

The Octogenarian Breathetarian Pt. 2

In my previous post, I ended by asking what would have to be true if Prahlad Jani truly and honestly abstained from food AND water for 70 years.

Well, first we shall examine his claims:

• He hasn't eaten since he was 11 years old.
• He receives nutrition from a secretion in his pallet by the divine power of a deity.
• He never passes stool.
• He never passes urine.

So based on these claims then, what would have to be true? These are some of my thoughts, which could be wrong. But I think they are worth considering:

• If Jani has any teeth left, they would probably be special teeth. And if he has no teeth, then the loss of his teeth raises questions in my opinion.

If he hasn't eaten since he was 11 years old, his teeth will be hardly used. A dental examination might show his teeth to be different from most other adults. I'm assuming he has some of his teeth still. If not, then why did he lose them? Malnutrition? Poor dental hygiene? An unspoken point behind researching the claims of a 70 year fast is that Jani is in good health despite his food abstinence. His teeth might be able to tell us a lot.

• One way or another, he receives nutrition. The source of his auto-generating nutrition should be verifiable.

We can take a swab of the hole in his pallet and analyze the juicy goodness found in those claimed secretions that he has. He isn't truly living by air alone. He says so himself (whether he knows it or not) by claiming that the goddess he worships drips a sort of elixir down his throat to keep him sustained. If there's no juicy goodness in his throat, then he is sustained by other means and misunderstands his own method of survival.

Or maybe his auto-nutrition comes from the sun or simply breathing as others have claimed.

Or, perhaps he's made fraudulent claims.

Either way, some source of nutrition has to be going on in his body. The proper tests should be able to ferret out the source.

• He cannot have symptoms of starvation since he is nourished somehow.

Since he actually does receive nutrition somehow, his body mustn't auto-digest. So, weight loss should be negligible. The guy looks so skinny that he doesn't seem to have any more weight to lose. But other signs of malnourishment might manifest themselves if he were kept under longer periods of observation. He should be kept for a month or more under strict observation before we get too excited about the last two studies published concerning his feats of fasting.

• He produces at least some waste.

Jani's bladder does produce urine. Producing urine highly suggests he produces some sort of waste from his nutrition source. Why doesn't he pass it then? Testing his urine would be very interesting, too. And why does he have bowel gas? The tasty treats dripping in the back of his throat don't produce stool? This stuff must be pure goodness! Even his urine is nutritious and gets reabsorbed by his body!

These are just a few ideas I have after some thought about his claims.

And what would have to be true if he's lying?

• He will pass waste, eventually.

Someone needs to analyze his bath water.

• He will sneak off into the jungle and eat some leaves off the trees or something. He'll stoop down at a nearby brook and slurp up some H2O when he thinks no one is watching.

Someone simply needs to stalk him with a camera for a bit. They might just be rewarded by catching him coming out of the jungle with a big ol' slurppy cup from Seven-Eleven.

Or maybe he'll get caught coming out of the jungle turnin' up a 40 oz. of Mad Dog 20/20.

• He won't have any verifiable signs of auto-generating his own nutrition

I think this point hurts the two studies. They didn't do any invasive procedures such as taking blood samples and such. All they did was monitor Jani. If he greased the right palms, someone could have slipped him something to eat and drink if the observation methods weren't strict enough to prevent an inside job. He sat in ICU for 24 hours before the observations began. He could have made some deals or gulped down some water before the testing began.

Anyhow. Jani claims he's nourished. Signs of that need to exist and I think can be easily verified by some blood tests and some microscope slides.

At the time of writing this, I haven't heard if someone has caught Jani contradicting his claims. Nor have I heard any scientific hypothesis that explains why he seemed to endure a 10 day and 15 day fast without passing any waste.

I don't believe Jani based on his word. And I'm not too confident in the study so far. I've been lied to in my life too often to simply accept their claims without some hard proof.

Until then, I maintain that Jani is a lying about his 70 year fast, but maybe has the uncanny ability to fast longer than the average human because of his meditation techniques.

Otherwise, I need to start worshiping Jani's deity, huh?

"I Don't Hate God" or "Hay is for Horses"

Sometimes when fundamentalists openly criticize atheists, they claim that we hate god.

As though we are enemies or something-- like we're in league with satan to help oppose god's divine plan. As if to say that we want people to join us in hell.

If there is a hell, well . . . hell . . . I don't wanna go there. But I don't believe there is a hell. So, I'm not trying to make anyone else go there, either.

As with god, atheists tend to not believe that satan exists, either. So . . . it's hard to be purposefully aligned with an entity that you don't think exists.

Atheists are usually adaemonic, too. Unless, of course, you're an atheist that is into Unix or Linux. In that case, daemons are quite real!

Is adaemonic even a word?

Humor me for a moment and picture a barn that is closed and has no windows.

Is a horse in that barn?

If I don't believe a horse is actually in the barn, does that mean I hate horses?

Hey-- I'm just sayin' . . .

Dementia, God, and You

Though it may not seem like it, every human being has a brain.

And each person's brain tends to look roughly the same to the naked eye. And for the most part, each human brain is the same overall. But the details underneath the hard-wired similarities of our brains produce a world teeming with billions of unique individuals.

Our brains seem to act as the seat of our consciousness and awareness. And should our brains ever deteriorate, our ability to interact with the outside world deteriorates right along with our brains.

I've seen one case of dementia up close in my life. When I was young, my mother made the decision to be the primary care taker of her aunt who had started developing dementia. I had no clue as to why my mother uprooted us.

I soon found out.

One afternoon, my (great) aunt was staring out of a window while muttering to herself. I innocently asked her what she was looking at as I too began to peer through the window. I also wanted to know who she was talking to. While she was muttering to herself, her tone was somehow conversational. Who in the world was she talking with?

I was only about ten years old at the time.

She responded to my childhood curiosity by accosting me. "Who are you? What are you doing in my house? How did you get in here? I'm calling the police on you if you don't get out of my house!"

I scurried away. She had never talked to me like that before.

And we never had a normal, coherent conversation ever since.

Often she would talk to "herself". At any given moment, she would burst out singing praises to God and acting like she was in church. Then moments later, she would seem to behave as though her personality had split in two. She would role play a little child being fussed at by her aggressive, angry, overbearing mother. (I often wondered if this display was a faint echo of my aunt's actual childhood. How horrible if so!) My aunt would play both roles out loud in "real time". She displayed the personality of both the parent and the child.

Think "Norman Bates". . . but not nearly as sinister.

As the dementia worsened, my aunt was prone to do other odd things. She would sometimes eat raw meat out of the refrigerator. She'd cry like a three year old sometimes when we'd try to convince her to do something for her own good. She would hit at us because, to her, we were unwanted strangers in her house. She'd call the police on us numerous times. She'd wander off for hours until the police would finally find her and bring her home.

The police in the area became really familiar with us.

Over the years, she became sickly and frail. Eventually, she had stopped eating. Then she stopped swallowing water.

Soon thereafter, she stopped living.

Today, my wife's grandmother (our kid's great grandma) is slowly developing dementia.

She's blind and bedridden, but still has a lot of spunk about her regardless.

Unfortunately, her jaw often becomes dislocated and she has to visit a doctor to have it moved back in place.

Excruciating, I imagine.

Since she's is known to be religious, the doctor often tells her to call on Jesus as he tries to reset her jaw. One particular time, she told the doctor as he manipulated her chin, "I'll whoop yo' ass with Jesus!"

Apparently, this round of jaw resetting hurt extra bad!

If my great aunt's brain had never deteriorated, she would never have treated us as she did. Before dementia set in, she was hospitable, recognized us all, and never exhibited a split personality. She was a church goer and loved God for sure. But, she wouldn't have sang spiritual hymns one moment, then performed a split personality freak show the next.

My wife's grandmother would not have made such a vulgar (but hilarious) statement towards the doctor if her brain wasn't deteriorating. Well . . . I dunno. I could be wrong about her . . . I hear she was quite a spitfire in the past.

My mother-in-law has endured brain surgery from years ago. She couldn't talk for weeks afterwards and had to learn family members all over again. She remember us to some extent, but our names were gone as well as some of the details of our lives. That information was lifted out of her mind right along with the brain cells she lost when her tumor was surgically removed.

She has come a very long way and is independent again. Yet, she still grapples with expressing herself clearly. Imagine a pentecostal minister who was once a fluent speaker before audiences-- but now challenged in expressing herself.

All because of physiological changes in her brain.

It's not religion that made any of my loved ones this way at all. I don't mean to imply that.

And I don't mean to make fun of dementia or any other form mental illness or retardation. Sometimes you have to laugh at some of the things your loved ones say and do when they have any sort of mental impediment. Otherwise, you'll simply cry all the time. But I don't make fun of the ailments themselves and I hope I haven't come across as showing any disrespect to my family.

And while that sentiment may seem like a cliché, it's true nonetheless.

So . . . what's my point?

I find it interesting that when the brain deteriorates, the sufferer of such conditions becomes a different person. Personality is controlled by a single organ in our bodies-- the brain. When that organ fails, our very selves change into something else.

Where do you go when your brain deteriorates and dementia sets in?

And where is God when all of this is happening to you?

The Thunder God

The darkness belies the fact that it's 6:25 AM. For an eight year old, this is spooky enough. But worse, lightning flashes across the night-like sky stopping my son in his tracks as we make our short walk to the bus stop.

We've seen lots of rain lately in my region. The ground is soggy and everything drips with moisture today. But as we were leaving out for the bus stop, nature had provided an intermission from the rain fall. Perfect timing. Now we won't get wet waiting for the school bus.

Except that now, my son is afraid to leave the front yard because of he sees yet another flash of light within the clouds.

He wrapped his arms around me and begged to go back into the house.

I try to explain to him that his bus should be here any minute. We'll be fine.

"But what if the lightning strikes us? We can get struck by lightning."

I try to continue our progression towards the bus stop when yet another flash of lightning strikes fear into my son's mind.

Now he starts sobbing.

Oh no. Not this.

Not Phobia.

"Why are you so scared?"

"Grandma told me that lightning can hit you."

Then came yet another flash of light. (I'm not talking about pronounced lightning strikes to the ground or to a tree. Just flashes of light among the clouds.)

My son started to lament, "why does God make lightning? He controls the weather! So why does he keep doing this?"

And with the worst timing possible, a peal of thunder rumbles across the sky warning him not to question nature again. How dare he question the thunder god!

He cried even harder now and buried his face into my side.

Poor kid.

Through his sobbing, he told me that his Grandmother (my mom) told him that God controls the weather and the lightning. She also told him that she was afraid of lightning. I guess my son coupled these two concepts together and now he thinks that lightning is a sign of God's anger and destructive power.

He didn't want to go to the bus stop because he thought God would strike us down.

All at once, he is very scared of this thunder god. And I do not appreciate this very much at all. Only a few days ago, lightning was no big deal to him. I told him of the potential dangers, but he wasn't paralyzed by the fear of lightning until this very morning. Grandma must have had one of her talks with him yesterday evening.

Yes, I know that lightning strikes people.

But if god sits in the sky and throws lightning bolts at people on purpose, then I honestly question either his aim or his choice of targets.

I am troubled by this. I don't want my son's life paralyzed because he fears an unseen, punitive god who randomly throws lightning bolts and makes thunder rumble in the sky.

Looks like the time has come for a good lesson in meteorology.

Anecdotal Evidence

For those of you who don't know, my mother-in-law is an evangelist. She is an Apostolic Faith evangelist who is chairperson of the missionary department at my former church.

If I told her now that I am an atheist, her head would spin around three times. Then she'd rebuke the devil and lay hands on me until she pushed me down through the floor.

That's how I'd imagine my "coming out" experience, anyhow.

See why I stay in the closet?

She came to our home for a short visit (on the night that I'm writing this). And she told us a cute little anecdote:

A little boy gave a report about how God created the heavens and the earth according to Genesis. After his report, the teacher began to ask him a few questions.

Can you see my hair?
Can you see my blouse?
Can you see my shoes?
Can you see my face?

The little boy didn't understand the teacher's line of questioning. But he answered "yes" to all of her questions.

Then the teacher asked, Can you see God?

The little boy sheepishly answered, "no".

Then the teacher explained to him how he need not believe in God because we cannot see God. Since we cannot see God, he does not exist.

The teacher was an atheist.

Then the next little boy gave his report. He directed his questions towards the class:

Can you see the teacher?
Can you see her shoes?
Can you see her blouse?
Can you see her hair?

All the students answered "yes".

Then the little boy asked, Can you see her brain?

The students answered, "no".

Then the little boy concluded his report:

Well then, she must don't have no brain.

I admit that I found the story cute. And my mother-in-law has a knack for delivering a good punch line.

I laughed to myself.

But, sorry, that story doesn't count as sound anecdotal evidence.

An autopsy would revel that the teacher in the story indeed has a brain. Although, she might not have been all that smart.

A CAT scan would also revel her brain too, I guess. So, I suppose we have no need of cutting people open to prove they have brains.

The mistake? Many theists seem to misunderstand. Atheists do not doubt God's existence simply because we cannot see God.

Atheists doubt God's existence because no one can produce sound, physical evidence that proves God exists.

The Bible doesn't count. We can't prove God actually wrote it. The same goes for any other sacred scripture text.

Philosophical arguments and "common sense" arguments (such as the complexity of the universe or the human eye) are only opinions. More physical evidence seems to support the idea that the universe can exist without a God of any sort rather than the idea that any particular God created the world.

I didn't say that science disproves God's existence. Perhaps an impersonal God exists. Maybe a Personal God exists.

Maybe personal gods exist because the people keep making up different, personalized gods with their imaginations?

Regardless, the theists aren't proving God's existence either.

Again, belief in God is by faith-- not by sight.

Nor by CAT scans or ultrasound.


See? Atheism isn't quite so unreasonable after all.

Religiously Bad

Gregory S. Paul has recently published a study that strongly suggest that a society's belief in God correlates with social ills found within that society.

And not in a good way.

We've heard this kind of thing before concerning the territories within the United States. The "religious states" tend to fair worse in all things good. And I should know, I live in one of them.

OK, maybe that last statement wasn't fair. But it was fun to say!

Well, this study shows a little more ambition and takes a cold, hard look at several other rich, Westernized democracies across the globe.

The findings suggest that religious societies exhibit higher pathological and dysfunctional markers. Examples of these markers include a higher incidence of rape, murder, STDs, teen pregnancies and abortions. All of these activities raise significantly higher-- not only within the United States, but also in other religious societies where belief in God is more prevalent.

If this is true, then why does religion make people become bad?

I can only speculate-- but perhaps religion causes people to practice their pathologies in their closets. The pressure from within a religious society may cause people to pretend to be pious. But around the bend and behind the barn, they're being religiously bad.

That possibility may account for the flurry of Republican congressmen who have gotten tied up into sexual scandals in recent months. To date, polls indicate that the best predictor of religious affiliation is political affiliation. So, I'm not simply picking on the Republican party.

And as a side note, I'm not saying Democrats do not get into sexual scandal (er, Bill Clinton, Jessie Jackson, John Edwards all come to mind). But somehow it doesn't seem so bad when Democrats do it. Oh, it is just as bad and damaging to the loved ones involved. But typically (not always I suppose), Democrats haven't prefaced their scandal with hypocritical religious piety. So, this tendency makes it easier for them to recover after getting caught up in a few social "nasties".

Now strictly speaking, perhaps belief in God isn't so much the problem. Perhaps religion in and of itself isn't really what's wrong.

Perhaps the real issue is fear to fully express oneself because of religious rules. Perhaps such fear prevents people from coming out and being open about who they are and what they truly love. What happens when you become too afraid to explore life and truly find yourself? Something pathological seems to breed when people are afraid to participate in harmless social taboos. Such suppression seems to push people across the line that lies between social taboos and maladaptive behaviors.

And most interestingly, the United States rates the worst in negative social markers when compared to other democracies. And the United States has the strongest overall religious overtones of all the other democracies according to Gregory Paul's publication.

Oh great. I live in the worst state within the worst democracy.

Well . . . when I compare my situation to something like living in a tiny village where people still perform witch hunts . . . I'm happy with living right here in the good ol' U.S. of A!

The United States is a wonderful place to live, in spite of these findings. But, our nation could be better. We could really grow into the nation that our Constitution originally tried to form. Perhaps we can forge an even better nation than what was ever intended by the Founding Fathers. We should never think that we have completely formed that more perfect union.

And from the appearance of things, we probably don't need God to accomplish that either.


My thanks to the Universal Heretic for inspiring this post. I was struggling to find something to write about. Not any more! Thanks!

Daddy, Does God Care About Me?

Children can ask questions that require answers way beyond a parent's comfort level. You worry that your child isn't ready for the answer you really want to give. You worry that what you really mean will get lost in his or her lack of experience with life. Maybe your child will get the wrong idea and develop some sort of anxiety, neurotic complex, or compulsion over a completely benign issue.

So, I tread lightly when my son asks me a deep question. And I worry over when my daughter will start asking deep question, too; I am safe for now since she is still in pre-school. But of course, that will change all too soon.

While out on vacation, my mom asked me to take her to a Christian book store. As she browsed the merchandise in search of a gift, my son and I wandered just out of her earshot.

Just then, my son accosts me:

"Dad, what's a Christian anyway? I mean, is all this stuff in here Christian? It all looks so boring. Why are we in this store anyway?"

I gave him that look. You know, that glare that parents give their children when they are talking too much.

But he persisted.

"What?"

He tried to claim innocence as he shrugged his shoulders.

"What did I do? Did I say something wrong? I just wanna know what a Christian is."

My son, who should already be a Christian in my mom's view, is asking what a Christian is.

Very loudly.

In a Christian bookstore.

With my mother nearby.

That's bad news if my mom hears that kind of talk from my son. She'll know that I haven't been "training him up in the way that he should go".

I told him that we'd talk about it later. But for now, he needed to keep his mouth shut.

Then I gave him the parent glare again. This glare was a bit meaner than the previous one.

That time, he got the point.

Luckily, I remembered to keep my word and started talking more about religion with him a few days later. Because unbeknown to me, my son had another tough question coming down the pike. Our initial little talk would form some important groundwork for the next tough questions that was formulating in his mind.

I prefaced our first discussion by warning him that I would break his thumbs if he went back to his grandparents and talked about the things we would discuss concerning religion.

Okay, okay, I didn't tell my son I would break his thumbs. That's cruel.

But, I did explain to him that people can be very, very passionate about religious faith. He needed to realize that while his mother and I are very open, his grandparents are not and will become deeply hurt if he asked them certain taboo questions or misrepresented (or tattled about) something I said.

I'm taking a risk here. But, I think he got the picture this time.

I think he understands because he then admitted to thumbing through a copy of Babylon Religion that I have. My son claimed he found a story within that book where someone's arm was sawed off for believing in the "wrong" religion.

He said that after seeing that, he fully understood that people can get really mad about religion.

How the hell did he find that book anyway? I thought I put it away out of his reach.

Oh well . . . better for him to find that book than to find -- oh never mind.
(What? I was referring to my copy of The God Delusion.)

Unbelievably, he kept his mouth shut to listen to what I had to say. That doesn't happen often. He must have been really eager to have this talk.

So, I started discussing religion with him from a "history class" point of view. I explained to him that there are many faiths in our world. I told him that you'll find as many different ideas about God as you'll find cars in a Super Wal-Mart parking lot. Some of the followers from different religions get along with each other, whereas others do not. The same holds true for followers within the same religion. I told him that he needed to respect other people's beliefs and that he was responsible for finding his own sense of religious belief. And I told him that I would love him just the same if he ever decided to have no religious affiliation at all.

I also mentioned (as casually as I could) that many people do not believe in God at all. I told him that such people shouldn't be looked down upon, just like you shouldn't look down on anyone else of a different faith.

I told him that the three most noticeable religions today are Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. I told him about their most basic differences in a simplistic fashion. I told him that Christians are followers of Christianity.

Then I explained that Christianity is simply a religion where followers worship Yahweh. But, to please Yahweh, you must believe in the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. I also tried to explain Judaism and Islam in similar, simplistic terms.

I also pointed out that other religions and belief systems are widely practiced. I mentioned Hinduism, Buddhism, and Wicca as other examples.

Eventually, he asked me why so many religions seemed to end with "isim".

After talking with my son, I sense that he is a theist at the moment. But I don't think he realizes Christian influences are being pushed onto him. He doesn't seem to see himself as Christian exactly. Just someone who believes in God. He only speaks of Jesus because he hears others throw that name around at church, at his grandparent's house, or on religious programs.

He didn't even realize that when he says "grace" over his food, that he is praying a Christian prayer. I even had to point that out to him.

But I also sense that my son has doubts about theism.

How do I know?

Well, the whole religion talk we had was about a week prior to this post.

And even more recently, my son asked his toughest question yet:

Daddy, does God care about me?

How does a closet atheist answer such a question?

Why, you answer such a question with a question!

"Son", I ask with parental tenderness (ha, ha), "why do you ask such a question?"

"Because," he replied, "I ask God to do things for me and I pray to him, but he never seems to answer or say anything."

Ah, I see.

I know exactly what you mean.

Well, at least, that's what I thought inside my head.

But I didn't divulge my thoughts completely. Instead, I drew in a deep breath as basically said:

I can't answer that one for you, son. You have to decide what God means to you for yourself. I won't share my (non) belief about God with you right now. When you're older, I'll be more open with you. But for now, you need to decide how to believe in God.

You ask an important question, however. Don't feel ashamed for asking it. I have asked that question myself.

He sat quietly for a moment. Then went on talking about his favorite comic books and video games.

He can see that if he asked his Dad a question, he gets a response. Daddy cares.

But when he asks God for something, all he hears is silence.

I can certainly see why he wonders whether or not God cares about him.

I just hope my son doesn't develop feelings of worthlessness simply because he can't get an imaginary person to answer him.

I might need to bring up atheism to my son sooner than I though.

Money, Money, Money

I went to church again this past Sunday. (Yeah, what's up with that?!) This time, we went to a Missionary Baptist Church as opposed to a Pentecostal Church. My roots are in the Missionary Baptist church, so I was quite familiar with the scene. The visit brought back a lot of memories.

You can be sure that since I went to church, my mom was involved. But the choice of venue was my wife's influence.

While my wife maintains she doesn't agree with the Bible, she still finds comfort in the atmosphere of church. She enjoys the sense of community and belonging. A pleasant church visit can conjure nostalgia.

At least, until the misogynistic rhetoric starts up. Then, she's ready to go home

And on the way home, she puzzles over why she even bothered to darken the doorway of church once again.

We were first time visitors with this congregation; I enjoyed the anonymity very much. No sense of obligation.

Funny that the pastor decided to preach about stewardship that Sunday morning.

Overall, the sermon wasn't bad. He was very entertaining and witty. He didn't yell at us like some preachers do. But he was adamant that the congregation gave feedback-- preferably in the form of amen and that's right preacher, now ya talking!

So, I was actually enjoying everything. I wasn't even arguing against the preacher in my head. I was being a good little church mouse.

Until he said . . .

The Bible contains more versus pertaining to money than versus which pertain to salvation.

WTF?!

He made this statement in an attempt to support his teachings about tithes and offerings-- and of giving in general.

He was attempting to say that God really, really cares about money. God takes his money seriously. And you're in serious trouble if you don't pay God what you owe him.

The pastor argued that the Bible speaks so much about money because so few people worship God over their wallets. He claimed that the Bible needs to spend a lot of words warning people against transforming money into an idol god. This is why the verses about money outnumber the verses about salvation.

I haven't verified his statement about money being mentioned more than salvation. But if this is true, I personally find that fact disturbing.

No wonder people argue about how to be saved! The Biblical authors spent more words ensuring they were properly paid!

But this giving that the pastor preached about goes way beyond money. You have to give not only your money but your time. Your children. Your best.


Your soul.


"No man can server to masters", he preached. "You will either love one and hate the other. You can not serve God and mammon (money)".


When I was a believer, I would earnestly call Jesus my master. But now that I've lost my faith, I sometimes wonder if the church is simply about the business of making us all slaves.

If . . . Then . . .

So, I started thinking to myself . . .

If God does exists, then God endorses a particular scripture text.

After making that statement, I wondered about the validity of it. Particularly, I wondered about whether God's existence necessitates his endorsement of a particular scripture text.

If God does exist and God does endorse a particular scripture text-- then, which text do I need to obey? By what criteria can we tell?

If we use miracles as our criteria, how do we validate these miracles if we were not living when they happened? We cannot exactly disprove them either. But, if we consider that miracles are hard to come by today, we cannot be blamed for thinking that miracles were hard to come by a long time ago.

If our criteria is prophesy, can we test to see if historical accounts of a secular nature also give testimony of the prophecy's outcome? Also, how do we know that the alleged prophesy was not written in hindsight?

What if the alleged prophesy was never written to even be prophetic?

If God does not exist then obviously no scripture text could ever be endorsed by him (or her) at all.

And that is precisely why scripture tends to be non-effective towards most atheists. If God does not exist, then he cannot endorse any religious text at all. Thus, all religion happens to be an anthropic phenomena.

God could exist and not endorse any religious text at all. Perhaps no religious text suits her (or his gender neutral) fancy and therefore inadequately informs us what God really wants out of us. That would then suggest that she (or he) doesn't mind much if we come to the wrong conclusions about religious faith. Or maybe we're all in for one helluva ride!

Hey, can "he" be gender neutral? "She" can't be gender neutral either, right? Not in English anyhow . . . I suppose . . . oh, never mind.


Reminiscent of the Sound-off segments from the Disevangelists blog, any thoughts about the above premises and it's possibilities:

A) God exists and endorses a specific scripture text.

Can we prove or disprove that. If so, how?

B) God exists, but God does not favor the scripture text that you read.

If that is true, can scripture still be inspired of God even if it only partially delivers the correct message to humanity? Do we just get the important lessons and try our best to have a good relationship with God and our fellow man? Or are we all in trouble because no one has been obedient enough to declare God's 'true' words yet?

C) God does not exist and all scripture is just made up.

Can one prove or disprove that scripture is made up? If you can prove that scripture is made up, does that still mean God does not exist? Which scriptures are made up and why isn't the one you favor legitimate?

On what grounds do atheists really say God is non-existent.

By the way, I miss you guys over there at Disevangelists. I know you've all been quite busy in your personal lives. I understand. I'm just sayin' . . .

Incredible God

Irony can be cruel.

That's why I struggled with writing this post. I don't want to come across as cynical, insensitive, or mean. Maybe I won't be able to help doing that no matter how I say this.

Here goes . . .

I went to church again this past Mother's Day; my mom asked me to go with her as a Mother's Day gift. How could I say, no?

During service, the choir sang a song that was totally new to me entitled Incredible God. A beautiful song, I admit. The atmosphere in the sanctuary became electric as the choir graciously and passionately sang praises to God.

As for me, I was a spectator. And while sitting there in my pew, I wondered if they noticed the irony within their words of worship.

The word incredible primarily has two connotations:

Astonishing, amazing, awesome, miraculous, and wonderful

or

Implausible to the point of disbelief, far fetched, and unsubstantial

I know they meant to express that God is amazing and his character is awesome. His miracles are incredible in the sense that they are wonderful. His Divine Nature is unsurpassed. In this sense, all that he does is incredible.

You know . . . believable by faith, while still being amazing and wondrous.

That's the kind of incredible they meant.

Without saying, the choir certainly didn't mean that God was incredible in the sense that the case for God seemed flimsy, unsubstantiated, or far fetched in their opinion.

Soon the song was finished. Then the sermon came and went. And finally, the service came to a close.

People began to pour out of the sanctuary as the congregation disbursed. As I began to shuffle my way out of the sanctuary like everyone else, I noticed a man slumped over in a corner, breathing laboriously. Ushers had surrounded him and were trying to keep him responsive by rubbing his chest and talking in his ear. This scene went largely unnoticed by the congregants as they left the sanctuary.

An ambulance had already been hailed and eventually came to take him away to the hospital.

I don't know his condition, but I certainly wish(ed) him well. I really, really hope he is okay.

But during all of this, I couldn't help but wonder . . . where's that incredible God everybody was singing about earlier? Was this whole scene unnoticed by God, too?

At that point, I couldn't help but think to myself that God is incredible after all.

Happy Atheist Day!

Since I'm in the closet, most people still think I'm a Christian. Well, as a result, I got this cute little e-mail forward in my in box:

FLORIDA COURT SETS 'ATHEIST' HOLY DAY

In Florida , an atheist created a case against the Easter & Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized day(s).

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, 'Case dismissed.'

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, 'Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter, etc. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Hanukkah. Yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.'

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, 'But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant.' The lawyer said, 'Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists.'

The judge said, 'The calendar shows April 1st is 'April Fools Day.' Psalm 14:1 states: 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned.

AMEN

Ouch!

Of course, that e-mail is just an anecdote designed to drive home a punch line with a little umph; the punch line being:

You're an idiot if you don't believe in God.

Yeah, the word fool is used. And I know, fool doesn't really mean idiot in the Bible. Fool generally means amoral, to my understanding. But clearly the sentiment of this particular e-mail is idiot.

Yeah, I felt a little insulted. I admit.

I won't resort to name calling . . . but theists who pass around this e-mail should be careful before implying insults against someone with an atheistic viewpoint.

Now, I had a nice little rant all prepared. But, after recently "preaching" about respect a day or so ago-- I guess I had better not.


Me and my big mouth . . .