According to this survey, church goers are more likely to support torture. Evangelicals were the group that support it the most, and considering that because of them, we had to endure 8 years of W. Bush, then yeah, that makes sense to me (also, The Passion of the Christ is probably the longest snuff movie in history).

Are you not as tired as I am with all the moral righteousness of Christians? There isn’t a day that goes by where they don’t attack atheists and accuse us of having no morality. The fact that they can turn around and support torturing other human beings is beyond me.

I have an idea; next time some religious jerkoff gets in your face and starts telling you there is no morality in atheism, ask them why 6 in 10 of them find it’s not a big deal to inflict pain on other human beings.

An article here tries to make the case that both the Left and the Right are wrong about the Founding Fathers establishing (or not) a Christian nation. The author makes a good case for why religious conservatives are wrong, but he doesn’t seem to say anything constructive about why the Left is mistaken. I must assume he feels perhaps secularists like myself may not fully appreciate the contribution Christians have made in forming this country. I thought, therefore, I might talk a little bit about my thoughts on the subject.

We cherish our memories. Without them, our experiences would simply fade, and we would lose the ability to learn. This is why history is such an important subject; the progress of our society has only been possible because of the shared and recorded experience of millions of human beings who are now deceased. We stand on the shoulders of giants, and we directly benefit from their knowledge so long as we take the time to examine the past.

History is a neglected subject, and easily corruptible; after all, how many are willing to lie to further their agendas and politics? Take for instance the ‘religious right’ and their revisionist perception of the Founding Fathers, who they believe were devout Christians. They uphold the factually incorrect idea that the United States of America was founded to be a Christian nation, or even that the founders had intended to make Christianity the official religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Declaration of Independence was a statement against the tyranny of kings, princes, and clergymen. This is precisely why the separation of Church and State is such a fundamental principle; it is designed to prevent the usurpation of freedom by men of the cloth.

I won’t deny Christianity has had a supreme influence on the West; it does not mean, however, our morality is inherited from the Bible. If anything, our modern society was shaped and influenced by moral philosophers coming out of the Enlightenment. It just so happened that many tried to apply their models to that of Christianity, despite the fact much of it is contradictory. They were pious men, but although they may have been inspired by God, it does not mean their morality reflected the message and tone of the Bible. If anything, they did what most Christians do these days; they ignore anything that conflicts with their morality, or declare the stories are meant to be taken allegorically. It’s one or the others, guys; not both.

If the US was really a Christian nation, then all other religions would be outlawed, or at the very least, severely limited. Yes, the majority of Americans are Christians, but so what? It does not mean the entire country should be defined by what a large portion of the population believes. To do so misses the whole point and strength of the American model of government; that people should be free to seek out their own happiness as they themselves see fit. If that involves rejecting God, then anyone should be able to do so without fear or retribution, discrimination, or lost opportunity. Sadly, the reality is that Muslims, gays, and atheists are pariahs in the eyes of many Christians. Their livelihood is largely dependant on the fairness and objectivity of a secular society. This is why history is so important. We must learn the lessons of the past; that no one mode of thought or religion can be enforced on others, and no religion (or even lack of religion) should be forcefully imposed onto others. America is not a Christian nation, and you can thank some pretty smart guys for that one.

There’s a disturbing new trend in the US. Pharmacists are attempting to prevent the sale of the morning after pill because of their belief life begins at conception. In Washington state, the government has taken the position it is illegal to deny any care based on religious convictions, due to the simple fact that their profession is not subject to theocratic moralization. This hasn’t pleased everyone, and now two pharmacists are suing the state saying their civil rights have been violated.

I’m sick and tired of every religious nut job coming out of the woodwork complaining modern society is imposing its values on them. Apparently not living in the Bronze Age has forced many Christians to compromise their antiquated belief system. These pharmacists are part of the overall health care system of the country, and as such, their priority is first to the well being of its citizens, and not their naïve belief that life begins at conception. If they aren’t happy, then they can open up a fucking hardware store.

Rhonda Mesler and Margo Thelen, owners of Ralph’s Thriftway, think scripture is clear that life begins at conception. They are sadly mistaken. The Bible is not a scientific document, and none of the writers had any idea what happens during pregnancies. Besides, the biggest abortionist out there is their god; a quarter of all pregnancies are terminated by the body within the first six weeks. If Christians are correct about life beginning at conception, it would appear the human body has no need for such sentimentality. It’s priority is the development of healthy embryo, not just ones that are ‘alive’.

We cannot allow religious beliefs to endanger the health services of any individual. These same pharmacists would love to stop providing birth control pills and other forms of contraceptives. I’m sure there are many who would gladly eliminate condoms as well. Does that sound like a good idea to you?

I’ve always found it amusing how religious folks try to peg atheists. Most of them think we don’t believe in God simply because we were spurned in some way, and in our pettiness, we rejected God. I won’t deny there are definitely more than a few atheists who essentially hold their views more out of spite than reason, but it’s certainly not true for most of us. Pastor Rick Warren would disagree with me. He’s got a rather strange idea of why certain prominent individuals reject the idea of God:

Paul Vitz, who is an author with New York University, wrote a very fascinating book called Faith Of The Fathers, in which he went and studied the 72 most well-known atheists in history, the Bertrand Russells, the Voltaires, the Freuds, and the only thing he could find in common with every one of them is they all hated their dads. Every one of them. They had distant dad, demeaning dad, a dead dad, they had no relationships with their fathers.

So I apparently hate my dad or something. Paul Vitz is a hack who thinks not believing in God is tantamount to a form of dementia, and Warren is the idiot who trusts his conclusions. Yeah, not believing a bearded anthropomorphic entity created human beings in ‘his’ image apparently means my family relationship was damaged in some way. I’m sure if Vitz bothered to actually spend some time with atheists, he’d realize most of us just come to reject the notion of God simply because it just DOESN’T FUCKING MAKE ANY SENSE! It’s a pretty easy conclusion, honestly.

I’m tired of every Christian I speak to thinking their religion makes them more moral than others. What bugs me the most is this stupid idea that the Bible is an adequate moral compass. It really isn’t. If one passage isn’t telling you to stone your children, it’s telling you not to eat shellfish. If pigging out on shrimp is wrong, then I don’t want to be right, dammit.

Here’s an article about Juan Alberto Ovalle, a Spanish narrator for Focus on the Family who just got busted for solicitation of a minor. Undercover agents posing as young girls caught him trying to seduce what he thought was 15 year old girl into sleeping with him. He’s obviously a pillar of society.

I went to the site to see if they would make a statement, but obviously they are too mortified to comment on the arrest. I did, however, find this quote in their ‘About’ page that I thought I’d share with you on the eve of Juan’s arrest:

Since Focus on the Family’s primary reason for existence is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through a practical outreach to homes, we have firm beliefs about both the Christian faith and the importance of the family. This ministry is therefore based upon six guiding philosophies that are apparent at every level throughout the organization. These ‘pillars’ are drawn from the wisdom of the Bible and the Judeo-Christian ethic, rather than from the humanistic notions of today’s theorists (my quote marks). In short, Focus on the Family is a reflection of what we believe to be the recommendations of the Creator Himself, who ordained the family and gave it His blessing.

Would you like to have a ‘good Christian’ like Juan Ovalle reaching out to your family? I think I’ll stick to people with more humanistic notions…

Think about how paralyzing it must be to go to another country as an exchange student only to learn your host’s parents are crazy fundamentalists trying to convert you. That’s what this kid had to live through, and despite the annoyance, he seemed more upset at the fact he had to escape their clutches and leave them feeling hurt. One part in particular was telling about the true motivations of some people:

They wanted me to help them set up a Fundamentalist Baptist church in my home country of Poland. It was God’s will, they said. They tried to slip the topic casually into conversation, but it really shocked me — I realized that was the only reason they had welcomed me into their family. They had already started construction work in Krakow — I was to help them with translations and with spreading their faith via the media.

Not too surprising really. Evangelicals are always looking for new flock members. They must have figured they could just expand their religion and spread evangelism to Poland. Didn’t some German guy take over Poland once before? How did that turn out again?

On a side note, I admire the kid’s patience. I would have flipped the fuck out, personally. Being woken up at 6am every Sunday morning to go to church is a special form of torture.

I understand the reasoning behind the Archbishop of Canterbury warning that humans are the ones who need to clean up the environment. It’s logical, and I certainly won’t argue with the logic. What I will argue with, however, is that Christians fundamentally believe the world going to shit is actually a good thing, since it means their Lord will come back, send all the good people to heaven, and fix everything on Earth eventually.

Revelations is one of the main attractions of Christianity. It’s the promised land; it’s the false hope they’ve been selling to ignorant and desperate people for two thousand years. It wasn’t supposed to last this long. Jesus told his apostles he would be back in their lifetime, but after being 20 centuries late, there are still rubes who think he will return before they die.

Half of the voting population of the US believes the Rapture will occur within their lifetime. I’m sure the hard core Christians in England feel the same. How can any of these people be motivated to do anything towards conservation? These are the same guys who think God put all the animals on the earth for us to eat and dominate. It’s not exactly a very environmentally enlightened position.

I appreciate what this guy is trying to do, but it’s going to fall on a lot of deaf ears. You’ve been telling these sheep that God is all good, all powerful and loves mankind, and in the same breath say he won’t lift a finger to help you. No one’s going to believe you. Funny, huh?

**NOTE** Thanks Courtney for pointing out they are Christians, not Catholics (I’m too used to shitting on the Catholics to notice them creeping into my writing).

The last thing you want to hear on a plane that has a fuel gauge malfunction is the pilot praying out loud. It’s a clear sign the guy has lost his marbles. Turns out the pilot and copilot of a ATR turbo-prob aircraft which crashed at sea just off Sicily will have plenty of time to pray in jail, as both have been sentenced to 10 years for failing to follow emergency procedures.

Let this be a lesson to all you pilots out there: you have been trained not to freak out and start loudly praying to God while piloting a delicate aircraft. Otherwise, the only prayer you’ll be saying is the “please God, don’t let this guy rape me in the shower”.

I used to be a huge online dater. Let’s just say it was insane enough that in the span of 2 years, I went on over 150 dates. So when I say I’m an online dating expert, I’m not joking.

I tried out every major dating site, but the one I purposely avoided was eHarmony. I generally found their philosophy of being able to ‘pair’ people up was deeply flawed, and at the heart of it, they have extremely conservative attitudes about relationships in general. They were sued a few months ago for actively discriminating against homosexuals, and were hilariously forced to provide that service. Why any self respecting gay man would try and use eHarmony is beyond me, but I digress.

The latest bullshit coming out of that website is an article about why people cheat. Apparently, if you aren’t religious you lack the morality not to cheat on your partner. That’s according to ‘Dr. Gian Gonzaga’, who like all eHarmony employees toes the religious line. I personally find it unsurprising that the good doctor provides absolutely no references, and includes the ubiquitous phrase ‘studies have shown’. Yeah, I’m sure they did, Doc. Forget the fact divorce rates are actually lower for atheists and agnostics; these guys think religion is some kind of marriage panacea. It isn’t. Get over it.