34 posts tagged “atheism”
I guess some good Christian folk decided that a sign about atheism is better off out of the public square and in the mud.
An atheist sign criticizing Christianity that was erected alongside a Nativity scene was taken from the Legislative Building in Olympia, Washington, on Friday and later found in a ditch.
An employee from country radio station KMPS-FM in Seattle told CNN the sign was dropped off at the station by someone who found it in a ditch.
After reading some conservative blogs, there are some that find this behavior acceptable, even amusing and justified.
I ask if the nativity scene was the one stolen and found in the ditch if there would be outrage? Of course there would...
What has happened to free speech? The big tent of conservatism?
If you haven't heard there is a brand spanking new visitor center that just opened at the Capitol Building. The new center is underground and is adjacent to Congress.
And in typical government fashion, not only is the center three years over schedule, it also saw the total cost of the center soar to $621 million (from $265 million).
But what would be an entrance to a government building without some sort of religious controversy?
Delete Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) from the list of admirers of the new Capitol Visitor Center.
DeMint issued a statement Tuesday criticizing the new facility for "omitting the history of faith." DeMint noted that the new tourist spot ignored his request to include the phrase "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Here is an excerpt from Demint's press release:
“The fundamental principles of the freedom we enjoy in this country stem from our Founding Fathers’ beliefs in a higher power, beliefs put forth in the Declaration of Independence and manifest throughout our Constitution,” said Senator DeMint. “If we cease to acknowledge this fact, we may cease to enjoy some of the freedoms we take for granted. We must not censor historical references to God for the sake of political correctness. And we must truthfully represent the limited form of government the Constitution lays out so that our ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.’ So help us God.”
So "we may cease to enjoy some of the freedoms we take for granted" if we don't acknowledge god? What the heck does that mean? That somehow ignoring a higher power will ensue like climate change and melt away our Constitutional rights?
Well, I take freedom of religion for granted.
But maybe we should honor DeMint with principles from our founding fathers. I choose Thomas Jefferson:
Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual. Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights.
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Homeland Security.
Wait, wait. I have a better joke...
And that is God will save us from the clutches of terrorism. Well, at least those in Kentucky...
Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God's benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word statement that begins, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God."
And it gets even better...
The time and energy spent crediting God are appropriate, said Riner, D-Louisville, in an interview this week.
"This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky," Riner said. "Government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for government."
Well, thank goodness that our government representatives have the wherewithal to utilize appreciative words to obtain blessing from the spirit above to close the "security gap."
Homeland Security who?
I have to admit that when I drive into work in the morning I listen to talk radio. I mainly do so because sometimes there are interesting topics, but usually 1/2 of the time I switch to a music station because religion or absurdity creep into the on air discussion. However, I did get catch this little tidbit this morning:
Check this out: a listener to my radio show emailed me and claimed that the day after the election, the Illinois Lottery featured a creepy winning number and that I should check it out.
Sure enough, I confirmed the bizarre claim. On the day after the election, in the Evening Pick Three lottery drawing in Obama's home state of Illinois, the winning number was 666.
Don't believe me? See for yourself. www.IllinoisLottery.com Click on the “numbers/ jackpots” tab and look up Nov. 5, 2008.
I'm sure that's just a coincidence. I certainly don't believe those who fear that Obama is the actual anti-Christ.
Then again, what are the odds of the mark of the beast being Illinois' winning lottery number the day after the election?
Needless to say -- I switched over to music after hearing this as the insanity troll in my head was ringing a large bell.
This kind of crap makes me want to never vote Republican ever again. Seriously.
Because I hope for the best in conservative politicians who are supposed to fight for smaller government and less spending, I get to be on the same side of the political aisle with those who try to find a correlation with a number and our next president.
Where said number implies that Obama is a reincarnated supernatural creature because a book written over a 1000 years ago by humans with a substandard understanding of the world said that this number was the mark of the beast.
How splendid...
There was a recent study conducted to find out if those exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu still possessed antibodies, even at extreme old age.
Scientists tested the blood of 32 people aged 92 to 102 who were exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu and found antibodies that still roam the body looking to strangle the old flu strain. Researchers manipulated those antibodies into a vaccine and found that it kept alive all the mice they had injected with the killer flu, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature.
Although it seems logical that there would still be antibodies produced by these individuals, what intrigued me was the response of one of the authors of the study:
"It's incredible. The Lord has blessed us with antibodies our whole lifetime," said study co-author Dr. Eric Altschuler at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
The Lord. Interesting.
Interesting how those who survived the pandemic that killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide are some how blessed by the Lord. I guess the poor saps who didn't live up to evolutionary standards of the day were some how cursed by the Lord?
I always find this sort of logic vexing. It is like the athletes who win a game and thank God because he some how granted them the power for victory. It is as if God didn't want the other team to have any happiness. Maybe he should have just given them a cold instead to prove their unworthiness...
So if God is everything... Then he gave us the Spanish flu of 1918. Killed millions. And those he spared -- well -- they were blessed. And his presence, in the form of IgG, still blesses today.
What nonsense.
Good plan. Go with something that the left criticized with GW in the hopes of winning over more of the right. Kind of sounds like a true politician, doesn't it?
Taking a page from President Bush, Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he wants to expand White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups, risking protests in his own party with his latest aggressive reach for voters who usually vote Republican.
Gag me with a spoon. I always thought Bush pushing the faith-based program thing was wrong. Now Obama wants to "expand" them.
Funny how atheists can find their vote for Obama because of his speeches that speak of reaching out to non-believers. Yet from my perspective, he isn't changing any policies from his predecessor. He isn't talking about separating church and state by "expanding" these programs. He is talking about using taxpayer money to fund these programs.
Also, all I think about when I read this news piece are all of the liberals who were writing that Obama is a different kind of politician pushing his hope line. This just continues to confirm that he is just a politician like all of them -- looking for votes and walking the line. There is nothing new here.
Balloon. Pop.
The sad thing is that this (also see this) comes from the same people that don't believe in anthropogenic contributions to planetary warming (even in the face of the evidence).
See... no matter what, whether it is evidence of bacterial evolution or human contribution to our climate, there are those who will not accept it, will not agree with it, and just throw up the kitchen sink to some how try and defend a belief system that doesn't jive with the facts. And it is more than just "natural skepticism" -- it is just out right, shake your head denial.
On a side note, as a microbiologist, I can always spot the non-biologist who tries to write about microbiology. In this case, they were seeking to inquire with Lenske about "E. Coli." Umm... they're called species. Where E. coli or Escherichia coli is a species designation whereby the second term is always lowercase and the binominal term is italicized.
To me "E. Coli" is a loud, blinking neon sign that (note sarcasm) extrudes, "I know what I am talking about and I am smarter than you."
Quick... Get the ketchup...
Proof that people see what they want to see.
Out of an infinite population of french fries, there lies a sample set of spuds that are welded together in the form of a cross and that is the proof that there is a god.
My conclusion: There is no hope for Homo sapiens.
Changes in the eye over populations and time...
These soldiers are (hopefully) fighting in the name of everything that makes this country great... including the right to believe whatever or in nothing if you wish.
Here is a guy taking it to the establishment.
It is a shame there is this religious undertone in the military. I understand tradition. I understand the religious motives of people about to go into battle because of the unforeseen outcome. But this country is founded on the premise of "freedom of religion" when it comes to our government. And if some military personnel consider it their duty to berate other members of our military because of their atheist beliefs, this will come to a head in the court system.It eventually came out in Iraq in 2007, when he was in a firefight. Hall was a gunner on a Humvee, which took several bullets in its protective shield. Afterward, his commander asked whether he believed in God, Hall said.
"I said, 'No, but I believe in Plexiglas,"' Hall said. "I've never believed I was going to a happy place. You get one life. When I die, I'm worm food."
The issue came to a head when, according to Hall, a superior officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, threatened to bring charges against him for trying to hold a meeting of atheists in Iraq. Welborn has denied Hall's allegations.
My guess is that this will go all the way to the Supreme Court and hopefully the outcome will be a positive one for those who wish to fight for this country and not be criticized for their right not to believe in a god.
