If you have a weak stomach, then I urge you not to watch this video. This is uncensored human stupidity at work. If you’ve ever said superstition isn’t harmful, then you’ve obviously never traveled to some of the less fortunate parts of the world, where the combined brutal ignorance and extreme poverty are a recipe for disaster.
If you think this video is outrageous, consider the fact the person who recorded this video had also notified the police 45 minutes before the attack, but they did nothing. Now 5 people are dead, and all we can hope is that the video itself can lead to some convictions and help curb these kinds of attacks.
A cult that incorporated more elements of the Old Testament? Toys and enjoyment are considered sin? Physical and verbal abuse is commonplace (with a cattle prod apparently)…Sounds like a damn hoot. The woman in this video shares her experience living in a small, creepy cult. Some pretty insane stuff.
This is so terrible it has to somehow be a parody. I mean, they just showed me the entire fucking movie in 3 minutes. And the Ten Commandments are on a CD ROM? Seriously???!!
Here’s a discussion where a group of theologians (with Hitchens there to provide the atheist perspective) are trying to answer the question: why do bad things happen to good people? Hitchens has a very simple explanation: “religion compels people to do wicked and unforgivable things”.
The best part of the video is the argument between him and Rabbi Harold Kushner about circumcision. Hitchens tries to use it as an example of people doing terrible things out of dogmatic faith, and it’s interesting to watch the quiet outrage of his Jewish adversary who wants to convince him the practice of cutting off the foreskin of an infant without the use of anesthesia is somehow a wonderful and beneficial practice. There are lots of misguided people who think the aesthetic of the penis is somehow augmented by it, but in truth it is a highly irresponsible and dangerous mutilation that puts the lives of babies at risk, and causes a tremendous amount of suffering on their part.
There’s this ridiculous notion the babies in question don’t feel any pain, but that’s usually because they are actually in shock, and are unable to cry. Now, before some of you get your panties in a twist and try to tell me it’s also a health issue (and the evidence is pretty weak on that front), consider the fact the cutting off of the tip of the penis is not a decision left up to the person being mutilated.
Here’s something that will make you smile. A professor is claiming he can prove the existence of God using what he calls ‘hard core science’. Yea, I know you’re all impressed with his nomenclature, but there’s more. He also claims quantum physics can prove the birth of Jesus, and the resurrection story. It seems like everyone under the sun loves to use quantum mechanics to justify their crackpot ideas.
The only person in the entire story who made any sense was Bishop Eddie Long, who stated, quite correctly, that science cannot prove the existence of God since the whole thing is supposed to be about faith. But don’t tell Franky boy that; he’s already working on a book about it. I’m sure it’ll be a page turner…
Remember this clown? I put up a post a few months ago about Harun Yahya (also known as Adnan Oktar), who’s back to making outrageous claims that have no factual basis. The first minute of this video is just his face plastered all over the place. It’s obvious he wants to be adored and admired. Too bad he’s an idiot.
If you can manage to watch the whole thing, then I commend you on your ability to hold food down.
This one is from Atheist Media Blog. Considering how terrible rap is these days, I’m sure if there was hell, this is what would be playing. Is it just me or did the good old days of rap end when it started involving lots of money?
This video, from Crooks and Liars, sums up nicely what kind of man Rick Warren is. At first you might be outraged that he is inspired by Nazi Germany to get his followers to be as dedicated as they were. He defends this statement only by saying Hitler is the personification of evil, and to him, it’s enough. No further discussion needed.
What Rick doesn’t realize, and what most people seem to forget, is the people they call monsters were as fanatically devoted to their ideals as most Evangelicals are. This devotion felt no doubt as important, special, and as good as Warren’s feelings about Christianity. You cannot measure the moral superiority of something by the level of devotion with which it is followed. It is in fact this very devotion that allows murderous ideologies to take such a powerful hold of people. We tend to have the foolish idea that our love for something is always pure and good. It has never occurred to most of us this feeling is just as corruptible as anything else. Men like Hitler and Stalin were deeply in love with the vision of the world they had pictured. Totalitarianism is what results from men and women wanting the whole world to live their own private visions.
Warren wants an expanded Kingdom of God, and for his congregation to do “Whatever it takes”. How frightening is this statement? This Orwellian slogan exemplifies everything that is wrong about religious belief. No, please do not do everything in your power to expand your Christianity in the world. Do not subjugate others, do not try forced conversions, do not deny men and women in Africa access to condoms, and keep your own insane ideas to yourself.
It may seem impossible for you to believe Rick, but it is your love for God that scares me. Love is not a ubiquitous good. Simply because you have love in your heart does not mean you do not have hate there too. In fact, it is this unquestioning love and devotion that often makes your actions so despicable and evil, Mr. Warren. I do not doubt your conviction sir; I am scared to death of it.
The controversial thing here is you may not fully realize it, but it is love that makes men do atrocious things. Love for God will convince a man to strap a bomb to himself and jump in front of a bus full of kids, just as love for an ideology will make people force innocent men, women, and children into gas chambers. Love itself can be a good thing, but it is no guarantee that what we love is itself good. We must abandon the idea of using love as a universal good, and begin to realize it can be manipulated for all kinds of nefarious purposes.
If you’ve ever wondered why some people get hard core into their church weirdness, witness if you will how eerily similar these services are to raves, complete with the few guys who just take that shit too far.
There’s a long stranding belief that astrologers, psychics, and Tarot readers generally do no harm. Most people who read their horoscope do so out of sheer curiosity, and because they enjoy being surprised by the occasional reading that seems genuine. Of course, this belief often disregards the giant disfavor done to individuals who often rely on such quacks to tell them what do with their lives.
The technique every psychic relies on is called ‘cold reading’. There’s nothing too difficult about it. First, you start off with a rather general statement about a person based only on their appearance and demeanor. You can then proceed by making educated guesses on what might be bothering someone. Human beings are generally very similar, and we all share the same fears that others would in our situation. In fact, a psychic could simply be reading the same generic profile and have every single client believe it was an extremely accurate representation of their personality.
Enter Derren Brown. Derren is a performance artist who doubles as a debunker of psychics. He puts on shows to demonstrate to others how easily they can be fooled. In this particular video, he exposes just how easy it is for someone to fill in the gaps in their personality, by simply applying the most basic cold reading. Derren does not even need to be one on one with the person. A prewritten ‘assessment’ and the victim’s imagination are all he needs to have them completely under his spell.
It’s interesting to note after the initial embarrassment and subsequent enjoyment of the performance, many of the participants left feeling more confident in their ability to apply rigorous skepticism to claims of paranormal talents. Some no doubt left with a distaste for the relatively cheap parlor trick being played on their friends and loved ones. Many probably left the studio wanting to warn them of just how easy it is to be fooled.
It takes professional entertainers to be able to fully awaken the rest of us to the dangers psychics can represent. An illusionist is aware that the same ability to fool people can be used to entertain as it can be to control, confuse, and abuse. They can appreciate the vulnerabilities of the human mind because it is their job to exploit them for our entertainment. No doubt they must look upon their counterparts, who claim supernatural powers while simultaneously bilking their fellow human beings of their hard earned money, with a great deal of contempt and anger. Mr. Brown has found an avid new fan with his obvious display of compassion. Keep up the good work!
