Aug
16
I came across this chain email spam last night, and I was thouroughly struck by it. It is worth a brief reading, but in case you don't have time, I'll overview it here:
It is basically just a list of well known or semi-famous people who have, at one point in their life, said something negative about the Bible or God, and then it talks about how that person died, implying that they were killed because of their remarks. For example:
John Lennon (Singer):
Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said: 'Christianity will end, it will disappear.
I do not have to argue about that. I am certain.
Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him' (1966)..
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.
or, perhaps a little more disturbing:
Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer)
said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.
In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.
Is this really what I think it is? Is it a spam email threatening me with death for not believing in God or Jesus? What depths have the believers sunk to now? Do they know how many people die every day? Do they know how many non-believers there are in the world? Honestly, how do they expect a list of 10 or so people, who at some point in their life said something negative about (important to note) Christianity, and then subsequently died (we all die) to convince me of the existence of god? The utter arrogance of these people astounds me!
Now, to take a step back from my utter incredulation at this ridiculous email, I think it highlights yet another way in which religion operates: false attribution. The email tells you the stories of 10 people who said something negative about Christianity, and then details their death, leading you to believe there is a direct causation. However, an important mantra to remember (drilled into my head in AP Pyschology in high school) "correlation does not prove causation". I ate a doughnut this morning for breakfast, and I didn't get in a car accident while driving. I'm sure lots of people have eaten doughnuts and then not gotten in a car accident, moreso I'm sure than who have gotten in an accident. Should we take this to mean that eating doughnuts will have any influence over whether or not we get in a car accident? Does it help protect us and keep us safe?
Continuing that thought, think about all the non-believers in the world who have said (or at least thought) anything negative about Jesus or the Bible or God, then who have't died immediately afterwards, the very notion that the people in the email died because of their anti-theistic remarks becomes trivial at best. The theme of false attribution is seen all across religion. If you get this email, and you believe in God, then you think "oh, yeah, well this makes sense. This is the work of God/Jesus". Any objective skepticism is lost. Religion trains people to lose their ability to be skeptical. They are taught not to examine or to question, just to see "God's hand" in everything. This is just one more reason why religion is harming society.
Aug
12
To even begin to consider oneself comparable to Galileo, one must fulfil two criteria:
a) actually be being persecuted; and
b) right.
No related posts.
Aug
8
I was extremely disturbed to hear the news about Carl Worthington, defendant in an Oregon faith healing case, receiving 60 days in jail for relying on faith and prayer instead of medical attention when his daughter fell ill. In fact, I was utterly appalled.
What has this country come to? We now live in a society where atheists and homosexuals are free to infect our children with their backwards ideas, and a loving father like Mr. Worthington is put in jail for having faith in God!
Please don't misunderstand me—I was as saddened as anyone to hear that his 15-month-old daughter was no longer with us after perishing from pneumonia and a related blood infection. But one needs to understand that this precious little girl would have died even if she had received medical care for her easily treatable inflictions. How do I know? Because it was her time to die—if it wasn't, she wouldn't have.
I commend Mr. Worthington and his wife (who was not convicted of the same misdemeanor, but still suffered through a grueling trial) for exercising a faith in the Lord reminiscent of Abraham's as he raised the blade to sacrifice Isaac. We should all have as much courage and faith.
But why stop there?
From this day forward I will refrain from polluting my body with worldly foods and begin relying on the Lord to fill my stomach with the Holy Spirit.
I'm not suggesting a mere 40 day fast. I'm talking about a complete reliance on Christ to provide the spiritual feeding needed to sustain me through the rest of my days.
I challenge every one of you to join me along with my wife and kids in our quest to become closer to Jesus.
God bless you!
Disclaimer: This is satire. If you are a Christian who also happens to be very stupid, please do not stop eating.
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Aug
3
10 things I expect (and want) to see before I die:
As my 30th birthday looms ominously in the near future like Vincent Price in the dark basement of your house, I decided to comprise a list. This is not meant to be a bucket-list of things I want to do, rather a list of things that will represent our progress as a species. No particular order.
• A woman U.S. president• The creation of life
As opposed to reproduction. I've read that scientists have already created RNA, which is thought to be responsible for copying information in primitive life. It's only a matter of time before we get a cell, I just don't know how much time.• Extraterrestrial lifeIt's very improbable that life exists only on this planet. The universe is just too big. Life (as we know it) seems to need, first and foremost, liquid water. Our own solar system has H2O all over the place. Intelligent life of course would be much rarer if not exclusive, but primitive life should be out there. We just need to find it.• Commercial space travelThis one is a shoo-in. Virgin Galactic is already selling tickets.• A Mars landing• Fully functional robotic limbsI'm talking almost real. We're getting there.• The Eradication of AIDSThis may be optimistic, but there is hope—thanks to all the dedicated scientists, researchers, doctors, philanthropists, and everyone else trying solve this crisis who don't think AIDS is god's curse on gays. It turns out some people are virtually immune to HIV and there may be a way to give that resistance to others.• My 100th birthdayHumans in developed nations keep living longer and longer. With advances in nanotechnology I think we're on the brink of some major developments that will surely translate into the world of medicine. The current life expectancy in the U.S. is 78. The closer I get to the life expectancy, the higher the number gets. Unless the rate of increase surpasses aging, I will one day meet that mark. But hopefully after 100. Or I might be crushed by a falling jet engine tomorrow.• An openly non-religious OR gay U.S. presidentBoth would be too much to hope for, but maybe we can get one or the other. A woman prez will come soon, we already have a black one and other racial minorities will follow, but these two groups are hard for people to accept.• A mass conversion to scientific thought
This is my list. Edits may follow. What do you think will happen before you die? Tell me in the comment section.
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