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Why are Atheists so Angry?
I saw a discussion (if you want to call it that) between Evolutionists and Creationists and the Atheists were so vile and angry in the discussion that I thought I would pose the question as to why Atheists are so angry.... Why is that? Almost every Atheist I've met has been very angry and arrogant when it comes to the topic of God. Well, at least they're not blowing themselves up over it like some other angry believers.... yet. :)
I saw a discussion (if you want to call it that) between Evolutionists and Creationists and the Atheists were so vile and angry in the... more -
A Short History Lesson on U.S.A. and God.
Did you that God was not always on United States Currency?
In fact, on paper money he wasn't added until 1964...
DENOMINATION PRODUCTION DELIVERY
$1 Federal Reserve Note February 12, 1964
$5 United States Note January 23, 1964
$5 Federal Reserve Note July 31, 1964
$10 Federal Reserve Note February 24, 1964
$20 Federal Reserve Note October 7, 1964
$50 Federal Reserve Note August 24, 1966
$100 Federal Reserve Note August 18, 1966
Did you know that God was not mentioned in the Pledge of Allegiance until:
1954, during the McCarthy era and communism scare?
Did you know that John Lennon's Song 'Imagine' has verses reworked for America:
That leave out "...And No religion too.." or add "... And one religion too..."?
Did you know that George W. Bush Jr. once stated that his biggest hero was:
Jesus (Funny I thought he was gonna say Oil)?
Do you think we need to add 'god' onto everything for America to function properly?
Did you that God was not always on United States Currency? In fact, on paper money he wasn't added until 1964... ... more -
Serenity prayer stirs up doubt - who wrote it?
Generations of recovering alcoholics, soldiers, weary parents, exploited workers and just about anybody feeling beaten down by life have found solace in a short prayer:
"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next."
Now the Serenity Prayer is about to endure a controversy over its authorship that is likely to be anything but serene.
For more than 70 years, the composer of the prayer was thought to be the Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, one of modern Christianity’s towering figures. Niebuhr, who died in 1971, said he was quite sure he had written it, and his wife, Ursula, also a prominent theologian, dated its composition to the early 1940s.
His daughter Elisabeth Sifton, a book editor and publisher, wrote a book about the prayer in 2003 in which she described her father first using it in 1943 in an “ordinary Sunday service” at a church in the bucolic Massachusetts town of Heath, where the Niebuhr family spent summers.
Now, a law librarian at Yale, using new databases of archival documents, has found newspaper clippings and a book from as far back as 1936 that quote close versions of the prayer. The quotations are from civic leaders all over the United States — a Y.W.C.A. leader in Syracuse, a public school counselor in Oklahoma City — and are always, interestingly, by women.
Some refer to the prayer as if it were a proverb, while others appear to claim it as their own poetry. None attribute the prayer to a particular source. And they never mention Reinhold Niebuhr.
An article about the mystery of the prayer, by Fred R. Shapiro, associate library director and lecturer at Yale Law School, will be published next week in the Yale Alumni Magazine, an independent bimonthly publication. It will be followed by a rebuttal from Ms. Sifton.
Mr. Shapiro, who edited “The Yale Book of Quotations,” said in an interview, “Reinhold Niebuhr was a very honest person who was very forthright and modest about his role in the Serenity Prayer. My interpretation would be that he probably unconsciously adapted it from something that he had heard or read.”
In his quotation avocation, Mr. Shapiro says he has debunked claims about the provenance of other famous sayings, including Murphy’s Law (“Anything that can go wrong will”) and P. T. Barnum’s (“There’s a sucker born every minute”). Generations of recovering alcoholics, soldiers, weary parents, exploited workers and just about anybody feeling beaten down by life ha... more -
Are Believers Less Likely to Vote?
"People who believe that God is involved in worldly affairs are less likely to participate in national elections than others, according to a new survey.
The study, which included nearly 1,700 U.S. men and women with an average age of 53, suggests that a person's view of God is a variable that determines whether he or she will donate money to a campaign, read political news, or even vote..."
The article does go back and forth a bit- what do you think?
How does your religious/spiritual/philosophical view change the way you participate in society?
... more -
The Psychology of Trolls
Hello Everyone, this is a topic of great concern to me and to many others. The number of trolls making into the Current stream. They comes in all shapes and sizes, but the vast majority of them, in my experience, are bigoted and hateful posters.
Here is an interesting article on the psychology of trolls, and it warns us not to feed them or they will keep coming back and continue to agitate and ignite controversy.
Here is a recent exchange I have had with a troll, and I have decided to block the troll from emailing me further. I have not purposefully engaged with this troll, the troll emailed me in response to another post I did on a thread involving homosexuality.
I am providing an excerpt from that exchange, but you can see two things from this exchange.
1. that the person in question is a troll
2. that I was foolish in taking the bait to make the exchange
3. that nothing was accomplished other than to motivate me to post this thread
Hopefully you will all learn something from this post, or you will share your wisdom and insight in the psychology of trolls and what strategies to use with them
CURRENT EMAIL EXCHANGE BELOW:
Hello Everyone, this is a topic of great concern to me and to many others. The number of trolls making into the Current stream. They c... more -
Druid Utopia
We spend a day with a group of modern Druids as they welcome in the Spring with a ceremony at the Spring Equinox. The Druids were originally Celtic priests who venerated the natural world and celebrated the changing of the seasons throughout the year. We spend a day with a group of modern Druids as they welcome in the Spring with a ceremony at the Spring Equinox. The Druids were orig... more
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Man moved by spirit of God sues church over injury
A man says he was so consumed by the spirit of God that he fell and hit his head while worshipping.
Now he wants Lakewind Church to pay $2.5 million for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
A man says he was so consumed by the spirit of God that he fell and hit his head while worshipping. ... more -
Your G-spot will bring you closer to God
Sex In Crisis, a new book by Dagmar Herzog, explores how religious conservatives are hijacking liberal rhetoric - the idea that orgasms are actually rather good, for example - to preach ideas on sexuality that are anything BUT liberal.
According to Herzog, the conservative right are using the (literally) touchy feely language of sex-positivism to demonstrate how much they 'value' and 'respect' women, and acknowledge that sex is a vital (and maybe even fun!) part of relationships... as long as its not DIRTY AND SINFUL.
In conservative right-speak, "prostitution demeans the value of women" equals "so lets withdraw AIDS outreach efforts to prostitutes in developing countries, cos they shouldn't be doing it anyway."
Exploring your G-spot (with no-one but your husband, of course) will bring you closer to God according to evangelical sexologists (now there's a combination of words you weren't expecting to hear this morning).
And as long as you ONLY have sex within marriage, a lifetime of 'soulgasms' (ick) is yours for the taking.
Homosexuality can be cured by Christ (phew! I was tiring of my deviant attraction to women anyway) and best of all is the news that good wives who put out wherever, whenever (and whatever time of the month) will protect their husband's spiritual purity by preventing any 'need' for porn or masturbation.
She'll wear sexy lingerie and keep herself shaved and showered at all times, ready to *ahem* drop everything the moment her man wants some.
"Ellen", an ideal wife, explains, "[My husband's] purity is extremely important to me, so I try to meet his needs so that he goes out each day with his cup full. During the earlier years, with much energy going into childcare and with my monthly cycle, it was a lot more difficult for me to do that. There weren't too many 'ideal times' when everything was just right. But that's life, and I did it anyway."
So that's that. Man's satisfied, woman's satisfied, God's satisfied - and Jesus is coming again.
A happy outcome for us all, eh?
Sex In Crisis, a new book by Dagmar Herzog, explores how religious conservatives are hijacking liberal rhetoric - the idea that orgasm... more -
Was Jesus' Resurrection a Sequel?
A 3-ft.-high tablet romantically dubbed "Gabriel's Revelation" could challenge the uniqueness of the idea of the Christian Resurrection. The tablet appears to date authentically to the years just before the birth of Jesus and yet — at least according to one Israeli scholar — it announces the raising of a messiah after three days in the grave. If true, this could mean that Jesus' followers had access to a well-established paradigm when they decreed that Christ himself rose on the third day — and it might even hint that they they could have applied it in their grief after their master was crucified. However, such a contentious reading of the 87-line tablet depends on creative interpretation of a smudged passage, making it the latest entry in the woulda/coulda/shoulda category of possible New Testament artifacts; they are useful to prove less-spectacular points and to stir discussion on the big ones, but probably not to settle them nor shake anyone's faith.
The ink-on-stone document, which is owned by a Swiss-Israeli antiques collector and reportedly came to light about a decade ago, has been dated by manuscript and chemical experts to a period just before Jesus' birth. Some scholars think it may originally have been part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a trove of religious texts found in caves on the West Bank that were possibly associated with John the Baptist. The tablet is written in the form of an end-of-the-world prediction in the voice of the angel Gabriel; one line, for instance, predicts that "in three days you will know evil will be defeated by justice."
Such "apocalypses," often featuring a triumphant military figure called a messiah (literally, anointed one), were not uncommon in the religious and politically tumultuous Jewish world of 1st century B.C. Palestine. But what may make the Gabriel tablet unique is its 80th line, which begins with the words "In three days" and includes some form of the verb "to live." Israel Knohl, an expert in Talmudic and biblical language at Jerusalem's Hebrew University who was not involved in the first research on the artifact, claims that it refers to a historic 1st-century Jewish rebel named Simon who was killed by the Romans in 4 B.C., and should read "In three days, you shall live. I Gabriel command you." If so, Jesus-era Judaism had begun to explore the idea of a three-day resurrection before Jesus was born.
This, in turn, undermines one of the strongest literary arguments employed by Christians over centuries to support the historicity of the Resurrection (in which they believe on faith): the specificity and novelty of the idea that the Messiah would die on a Friday and rise on a Sunday. Who could make such stuff up? But, as Knohl told TIME, maybe the Christians had a model to work from. The idea of a "dying and rising messiah appears in some Jewish texts, but until now, everyone thought that was the impact of Christianity on Judaism," he says. "But for the first time, we have proof that it was the other way around. The concept was there before Jesus." If so, he goes on, "this should shake our basic view of Christianity. ... What happens in the New Testament [could have been] adopted by Jesus and his followers based on an earlier messiah story." A 3-ft.-high tablet romantically dubbed "Gabriel's Revelation" could challenge the uniqueness of the idea of the Christian Resurrectio... more -
Tech Report: Spore
Ben takes a sneak peak at “the most ambitious game ever.”
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God Almighty
Vengeance is coming, since God just bagged himself an AK-47... First person to find somewhere that sells this wins.
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Tablet ignites debate on Messiah and resurrection
A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.
If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.
The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era — in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.
It is written, not engraved, across two neat columns, similar to columns in a Torah. But the stone is broken, and some of the text is faded, meaning that much of what it says is open to debate.
Still, its authenticity has so far faced no challenge, so its role in helping to understand the roots of Christianity in the devastating political crisis faced by the Jews of the time seems likely to increase.
Daniel Boyarin, a professor of Talmudic culture at the University of California at Berkeley, said that the stone was part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that Jesus could be best understood through a close reading of the Jewish history of his day.
“Some Christians will find it shocking — a challenge to the uniqueness of their theology — while others will be comforted by the idea of it being a traditional part of Judaism,” Mr. Boyarin said.
Given the highly charged atmosphere surrounding all Jesus-era artifacts and writings, both in the general public and in the fractured and fiercely competitive scholarly community, as well as the concern over forgery and charlatanism, it will probably be some time before the tablet’s contribution is fully assessed. It has been around 60 years since the Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered, and they continue to generate enormous controversy regarding their authors and meaning.
Much of the text, a vision of the apocalypse transmitted by the angel Gabriel, draws on the Old Testament, especially the prophets Daniel, Zechariah and Haggai.
In Mr. Knohl’s interpretation, the specific messianic figure embodied on the stone could be a man named Simon who was slain by a commander in the Herodian army, according to the first-century historian Josephus. The writers of the stone’s passages were probably Simon’s followers.
The slaying of Simon, or any case of the suffering messiah, is seen as a necessary step toward national salvation, he says, pointing to lines 19 through 21 of the tablet — “In three days you will know that evil will be defeated by justice” — and other lines that speak of blood and slaughter as pathways to justice.
Two more hard-to-read words come later, and Mr. Knohl said he believed that he had deciphered them as well, so that the line reads, “In three days you shall live, I, Gabriel, command you.”
To whom is the archangel speaking? The next line says “Sar hasarin,” or prince of princes. Since the Book of Daniel, one of the primary sources for the Gabriel text, speaks of Gabriel and of “a prince of princes,” Mr. Knohl contends that the stone’s writings are about the death of a leader of the Jews who will be resurrected in three days.
He says further that such a suffering messiah is very different from the traditional Jewish image of the messiah as a triumphal, powerful descendant of King David.
“This should shake our basic view of Christianity,” he said. “Resurrection after three days becomes a motif developed before Jesus, which runs contrary to nearly all scholarship. What happens in the New Testament was adopted by Jesus and his followers based on an earlier messiah story.” A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causin... more -
Church of England Synod set for dispute on female bishops
The Church of England faces an accusation of being woefully out of touch with the modern world today as delegates at the organisation's Synod, currently meeting in York, argue over the question of whether women should be allowed to become Bishops.
Many Anglicans are claiming that the masculinity of Jesus's 12 apostles suggests that female bishops would not be acceptable. They also fear that a man ordained by a woman wouldn't be properly ordained in the eyes of God.
The Church of England faces an accusation of being woefully out of touch with the modern world today as delegates at the organisation'... more -
Christians, We Have A Problem With Our "Good" News
I have always believed that God is love and a loving God does not tortue people eternally. Serious bible study shows how certain words chosen in the New Testament to translate the texts into Greek, added Greek mythology concepts that the Old Testament doesn't support-namely the hellfire doctrine.
Finally the "good news" of Jesus Christ is really "good news". I have always believed that God is love and a loving God does not tortue people eternally. Serious bible study shows how certain word... more -
http://www.salon.com/books/atoms_eden/2008/07/01/saving_darwin/
With biologist Richard Dawkins leading the way, many scientists today are locked in an unending match of whack-a-mole with Christian creationists, who insist that God created heaven, earth and humanity in its present form, and with disciples of intelligent design who want to expel evolution from its scientific prominence in public schools. If you've been following the battle, you might be inclined to believe that Americans are faced with a choice between believing in God and scientific fact. With biologist Richard Dawkins leading the way, many scientists today are locked in an unending match of whack-a-mole with Christian c... more
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Mormons enters gay marriage fight in California
The LDS Church will work with a coalition of churches and other conservative groups that put the Californai Marriage protection act on November 4 ballot to assure its passage
There are more than 750.000 mormons in California according to a church almanac.
In a letter sent to Mormon Bishops and signed by church president Thomas S. Monson and his two top counselors calls on Mormons to donate "means and time" to the ballot measure
"We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment........."
"Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage."
Now, we need all Muslims, Boudhists, Indus, all people of faith to join the coalition.
The LDS Church will work with a coalition of churches and other conservative groups that put the Californai Marriage protection act on... more -
Should We Rid The Mind of God? A Debate - Part 1/8
"Professor Alister McGrath and Professor Peter Atkins debate on whether or not we should rid the mind of God "
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92% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit
"Ninety-two percent of those interviewed for the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey said they believe in the existence of God or a universal spirit, and 58% said they pray privately every day. But California, like other states along the country's two coasts, resisted the prevailing national tendencies...
Californians are less likely than other Americans to consider religion "very important" in their lives or to be "absolutely certain" in their belief in God...
Californians pray less than others in many parts of the country. They are less inclined to take the word of God literally. And they are ready to embrace "more than one true way" of interpreting their religious teachings."
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ironically, i've also heard California, and particularly the Bay Area, described as the world nexus of spirituality today. and compared to the other places i've been, the Bay Area glimmers most vividly with an alive, loving, respectful, joyful quality--these are the qualities of people who are spiritually developed.
it bugs me to no end that "belief in higher entity" is conflated with Religion in studies like this. or even using the word belief... it's not about belief, it's about awareness.
this article has an interesting take on this subject too:
http://www.realitysandwich.com/sound_against_flame_the_...
"Ninety-two percent of those interviewed for the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey said they believe in the existence of God or a univer... more -
Religious Extremist Roomies - God Loves ME Best! - Volume 1
Extended trailer for the new TV series God Loves ME Best! The producers introduce the cast to their new home while ridiculing them from behind the scenes. Starring Allegra Cohen, Khrystyne Haje, Eric Kirchberger, Nasry Malak, Michelle Maryk, Ron McClary, Ann Scobie, and Sam Rodd.
http://www.godlovesmebest.com
http://www.youtube.com/godlovesmebest Extended trailer for the new TV series God Loves ME Best! The producers introduce the cast to their new home while ridiculing them fro... more
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