Someones pants are on fire! They are Chris Fox's!After a long day of preaching about the virtues of faith based morality and the immorality of the godless how could a christian pastor relax? Well, for one such baptist pastor,
Chris Fox, he decided his time would be best spent going to an atheist blog,
unreasonable faith, and pretending to be an atheist while spouting some of the most vile opinions i have ever heard.
See, when the mentally defective are unable to defend their own position what they like to do is misrepresent the position of their opponent, it's called a strawman argument. and when the intellectually dishonest are unable to defend their own position they like to lie, pretend they are their opponent and misrepresent their views just so later they can point to their own fabricated post and shriek "look, i told you they were immoral!".
On this one occasion this so called "christian" decided that all atheists must be in favour of killing babies and decided he would pretend to be an atheist and make the following post;
What’s wrong with killing babies? I see no problem with it. I have enough mouths to feed. I don’t get the argument and I am an atheist. Since I don’t believe in God, I don’t believe in anything characterized as good, bad / right, wrong. So, what’s the big deal?
Despite being a low-life, deceitful, sinister, lying hypocrite Chris fox has also admitted to the more heinous crime of being a potential baby killer, should his faith ever fade.
what the religious don't understand is that by admitting that right and wrong can only be identified in line with their particular god they are essentially admitting that the only reason they don't "kill babies" is because they believe an invisible man is watching them. Which is probably the most immoral reason for doing good ever conceived.
Since the post was made Chris Fox had made an apology, well, they usually do after they are caught. I wonder if the apology would have been so forthcoming had the lie remained between him and his invisible friend? probably not... You aren't sorry for being a deceitful liar Chris, you are sorry that you got caught.
It makes one wonder if they actually believe in this shit any more than i do, Because hardly any of them abide by the standards they routinely demand for the rest of us.
"Contrary to recent media reports suggesting that the country's economic troubles have led to higher levels of church attendance, a Pew Forum analysis of polls by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed over half its value since October 2007, there has been no increase in weekly worship service attendance during the same time period."
Pew Research, March 13, 2009
I just had to laugh at this graph, because I know all to well the joy some believers have that when finally the economy goes to hell, then perhaps the ungrateful will turn to the Lord. "No Atheists in an economic foxhole" and so on. But it's apparently not happening.
(In fact, if you look closely, the latter half of the church attendance graph is more below the 40 line than the first half.)
"Contrary to recent media reports suggesting that the country's economic troubles have led to higher levels of church attendance, a Pew Forum analysis of polls by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed over half its value since October 2007, there has been no increase in weekly worship service attendance during the same time period."
Pew Research, March 13, 2009
I just had to laugh at this graph, because I know all to well the joy some believers have that when finally the economy goes to hell, then perhaps the ungrateful will turn to the Lord. "No Atheists in an economic foxhole" and so on. But it's apparently not happening.
(In fact, if you look closely, the latter half of the church attendance graph is more below the 40 line than the first half.)
I will be here in spirit:
WHAT
March in March is an upbeat event to give people an opportunity stand up, be heard, and hold the government accountable for their plans of forcing mandatory censorship on a very unwilling public.
With a mix of live entertainment of bands and DJs, speakers from all sides of the political spectrum and other special guests, the day will be topped off with the annual Canberran Skyfire Festival, just for us … okay, maybe not. [. . .]
WHERE
Parliament House side of Federation Mall, Canberra
WHEN
1:00 PM 21st of March, 2009
(Press conference at 11:00 AM)
WHY
The DLC have been organising rallies in capital cities for the past three months raising awareness as to the governments plans to censor the internet and the negative impact involved.
This is only the tip of the wedge of censorship being driven into our society by a vocal minority, as they say, the best time to defend your freedom is while you still have it.
While Senators change their minds daily, and the media report that the filter will go ahead, or won’t go ahead almost as regularly–the fact remains–this issue will not be put to bed unless Australians defend their democracy against the very ideology of censorship culture.
I’m not comfortable with the use of the sneer term “vocal minority.” For one thing, it misses the point: the clean feed is a bad thing regardless of whether it is advocated by a minority or a majority. But it also reeks of the kind of demagoguery that Conroy wields against those who oppose mandatory filtering: “If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd-Labor Government is going to disagree.” (In other words, if you oppose the Government’s plan, you must love watching kiddie porn.) We are all minorities, insofar as we are all individuals, whose rights and interests (including freedom of speech) are supposed to be defended against majoritarian tyranny—that is what has hitherto defined us as a robust liberal democracy.
And it comes down to this. In one of the world’s so-called robust liberal democracies, the Government equates free speech advocacy with pederasty. That is—and should be—nothing short of alarming.
A girl drowned after falling through the ice in a lake at the beginning of the March Break. She was my son's age, in the same grade and went to the same school (but in a different class). When I told my son what happened, his response was something like, "that's the first time someone I've known has died."
We talked about it a bit but, for the most part, I left him alone to think about it. He didn't seem too upset, but he did keep thinking about it during the day. Yesterday, we drove past a different lake, still covered in ice and my son put down his Nintendo DS and sat there, looking out the window, thinking. He didn't feel like playing it anymore. We couldn't talk about it because there were 3 other kids in the car and I didn't want to embarrass or upset him, so I let him think.
Today, he was in good spirits but I needed to talk to him about it. I wasn't really sure what to say so we went for a short drive and passed by a river and I told him about a boy that I knew that drowned when I was about his age. The boy was playing on some ice, fell in, and died. So, we talked.
I wanted him to understand that when he gets back to school, he's going to hear many kids talking about how she's in heaven and she's actually OK. I told him that I didn't believe that and I felt that saying things like this actually belittles her short life. Instead of saying, "don't feel bad, she's fine!" I wanted him to know he needs to think that dying is a real tragedy. This girl will never again go to school, grow up, experience more life. The real lesson here is that life really is very, very precious and we need to learn that this life, our life now, is the only one we know we will get so we need to spend it wisely.
I didn't want him to be depressed and think that there was no purpose to life. Instead, I wanted him to treat life as being even more special and important. Don't feel bad that it will end. Don't feel comforted that maybe another life is coming. Instead, feel awe that you are here and you get the chance to live more days. So fill those days doing the things that inspire you. Learn! Enjoy! Don't feel bad about the days this girl won't have, feel wonderful about the experiences she did have! Her life was short, but at least she had one.
I'm not sure if he understood all that we talked about but he did feel better. I think he appreciates now that he needs to start thinking about the things he wants to do and work for them. Hopefully, he'll learn that now is the time to start to make some meaning and purpose to his life.
After all, isn't this the humanist perspective? Live your life to the fullest, don't interfere with another's life if you can help it. If you can, try to help others fulfill their dreams too. We're all on the same ride together. Some get off before they want to, but the rest of us can help make our turn as purposeful as we want it to be.
When it's my turn to leave the ride, don't look back. I'll have enjoyed my ride, now you go enjoy the rest of yours.
A girl drowned after falling through the ice in a lake at the beginning of the March Break. She was my son's age, in the same grade and went to the same school (but in a different class). When I told my son what happened, his response was something like, "that's the first time someone I've known has died."
We talked about it a bit but, for the most part, I left him alone to think about it. He didn't seem too upset, but he did keep thinking about it during the day. Yesterday, we drove past a different lake, still covered in ice and my son put down his Nintendo DS and sat there, looking out the window, thinking. He didn't feel like playing it anymore. We couldn't talk about it because there were 3 other kids in the car and I didn't want to embarrass or upset him, so I let him think.
Today, he was in good spirits but I needed to talk to him about it. I wasn't really sure what to say so we went for a short drive and passed by a river and I told him about a boy that I knew that drowned when I was about his age. The boy was playing on some ice, fell in, and died. So, we talked.
I wanted him to understand that when he gets back to school, he's going to hear many kids talking about how she's in heaven and she's actually OK. I told him that I didn't believe that and I felt that saying things like this actually belittles her short life. Instead of saying, "don't feel bad, she's fine!" I wanted him to know he needs to think that dying is a real tragedy. This girl will never again go to school, grow up, experience more life. The real lesson here is that life really is very, very precious and we need to learn that this life, our life now, is the only one we know we will get so we need to spend it wisely.
I didn't want him to be depressed and think that there was no purpose to life. Instead, I wanted him to treat life as being even more special and important. Don't feel bad that it will end. Don't feel comforted that maybe another life is coming. Instead, feel awe that you are here and you get the chance to live more days. So fill those days doing the things that inspire you. Learn! Enjoy! Don't feel bad about the days this girl won't have, feel wonderful about the experiences she did have! Her life was short, but at least she had one.
I'm not sure if he understood all that we talked about but he did feel better. I think he appreciates now that he needs to start thinking about the things he wants to do and work for them. Hopefully, he'll learn that now is the time to start to make some meaning and purpose to his life.
After all, isn't this the humanist perspective? Live your life to the fullest, don't interfere with another's life if you can help it. If you can, try to help others fulfill their dreams too. We're all on the same ride together. Some get off before they want to, but the rest of us can help make our turn as purposeful as we want it to be.
When it's my turn to leave the ride, don't look back. I'll have enjoyed my ride, now you go enjoy the rest of yours.
WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS WIKILEAKS
“The first rule of censorship is that you cannot talk about censorship.” (Wikileaks, March 16 2009)
Proudly brought to you by the Australian Federal Labor Government, stifling free speech since 2007.
(HT: Homosecular Gaytheist)
UPDATE from ABC News Online:
Internet filter blacklist leaked on web
The communication regulator’s blacklist of banned internet sites has apparently been leaked, prompting an internet advocacy group to accuse the Government of making it easy to access child pornography.
The Government is planning to introduce a mandatory internet filter that will block access to a list of dangerous websites.
The list of sites – managed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) – is designed to catalogue sites containing child pornography or other criminal content.
Wikileaks, an organisation that aims to reveal secret information, today published what it claims to be the ACMA blacklist.
As well as child pornography, the list of 2,395 pages also includes online gambling sites, YouTube links, regular porn and fetish sites, and websites of a tour operator, Queensland boarding kennel and a Queensland dentist. It also includes the Wikileaks website.
“We now find Australia acting like a democratic backwater,” the Wikileaks site says.
“Apparently without irony, ACMA threatens fines of up to $11,000 a day for linking to sites on its secret, unreviewable, censorship blacklist – a list the Government hopes to expand into a giant national censorship machine.”
ACMA says it is likely to make a comment on the matter later today.
Wikileaks has previously published similar lists from Thailand, Denmark and Norway. The blacklist includes the Wikileaks website itself.
Source: Times Online
A lot of Catholics have been complaining about Benedict 16’s utterly immoral statement, and, on one hand, one can’t fault them for it: it just shows that they still have some sense of morality, that they’re not mindless robots obeying “Dear Leader”.
On the other hand… do those Catholics (and Christians in general) know their own religion at all? Why are they surprised? Why aren’t them just nodding because, well, the Pope is Catholic and he’s just stated a Catholic / Christian position?
People, the basis of your religion is that this life is just a test! That one shouldn’t “love this world”. Earthly suffering is immaterial; the only thing that matters is whether you’re “saved” or not. If unspeakable suffering leads one to God / Jesus and therefore that person is saved, to a Christian that’s perfectly OK; in fact, one couldn’t ask for more.
If God exists as they think, and is absolutely against all forms of contraceptives / sex not for reproduction as they think, then better for someone to suffer horribly and die of Aids, with a chance of going to heaven, than to live a long, healthy, happy life and end up in hell with certainty. This is only logical, if one accepts their premises. Which, of course, I don’t, what with being an atheist and everything.
Christianity is a life-hating death cult.
Copyright © 2012
Way of the Mind 
From The Guardian:
The Pope today reignited the controversy over the Catholic church’s stance on condom use as he made his first trip to Africa.
The pontiff said condoms were not the answer to the continent’s fight against HIV and Aids and could make the problem worse.
Benedict XVI made his comments as he flew to Cameroon for the first leg of a six-day trip that will also see him travelling to Angola.
The timing of his remarks outraged health agencies trying to halt the spread of HIV and Aids in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 22 million people are infected.
The Roman Catholic church encourages sexual abstinence and fidelity to prevent the disease from spreading, but it is a policy that has divided some clergy working with Aids patients.
The pontiff, speaking to journalists on his flight, said the condition was “a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems”.
Rebecca Hodes, of the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, said that if the Pope was serious about preventing new HIV infections he would focus on promoting wider access to condoms and spreading information about how best to use them.
Hodes, the director of policy, communication and research for the campaign group, added: “Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans.”
Millions of lives are at stake owing to the sad fact that this man’s ill-informed and anti-scientific utterances are taken seriously. (That, compounded with the—hopefully diminishing—human desire to flush one’s brain down the toilet, ignore reality and prostrate oneself before dogma and self-appointed authority.)
So- it's Monday morning and over here where I am it is time for the dreaded assessment clinic- other wise known as 'hell'.
So, I'm sitting in 'hell'- listening to this mother drivel on about this child- who will not talk to me and just sits there peeking out from behind her hair or for variety every now and then squirming in the seat and bringing the collar of her jacket up to her nose - and peeking out from behind that.
'Daddy' has also come (believe me this is a rare enough occurence for it to be mentioned with horns blowing and choirs singing) anyhoo- 'Daddy' is sat there on the other side of the girl alternately looking at the huge desk diary he has brought in with him and trying to speak whenever mum takes a breath- which is not often as far as I can tell.
(This seems to be a gender thing- why is it women can talk without breathing - or using circular breathing- and men can't? - answers on a postcard please)
Anyhoo again- 'Mummy' starts explaing to me that 'we' are not sleeping well, and 'we' are a very unhappy little girl who is refusing to go to school, and 'we' scream and kick 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' whenever they try to get 'her' to school. 'We' are not eating properly and 'we' have been quite ill this past year with horrible tonsillitis but now 'we' have had 'our' tonsils out 'we' are ok.
I have this vision at this point of a whole family being operated on at once in one theatre and it is at this point that I wake up and realise she is not talking about herself *sigh* but actually about the little girl who so obviously doesn't want to be in this room right now.
I haven't heard anyone speak in this manner for years so forgive me for being tardy on the Monday morning realisation.
Anyhoo- I do the assessment and 'Mummy', in response to my usual question of 'what have you tried before' and 'what have you found that works?' comes back with
"Well, we went to a homeopath and we felt a lot better afterwards didn't we?" This said while looking pointedly at little girl now hiding behind a cushion and then looking at 'Daddy' pointedly in a way that said- 'say you agree!'
My answer to this?
"Um"
"We also think maybe being a Scorpio could have an influence on her personality - what do you think?" "WE can be very stubborn you know - can't we?" - again looking at little girl who is now turned around in the chair looking at the wall.
My answer to that?
"Well"
and all the time all I could think was- what the fuck? What. The. Fuck. ??????
They come to me looking for help with mental health problems and give me this crap and woowoo about homecrapathy and astrobollocks?!!!!
Of course- being the ultimate professional that I am I said.
" I don't think I'm the right person to see your daughter- I'm thinking more along the lines of creative work as she finds it so difficult to communicate in words- what do you think? - I can make an appointment with our occupational therapist"
'Mummy' is still talking and 'Daddy' is still trying to talk as I usher them out the door. I still haven't seen what colour the little girl's eyes are- but boy am I thankful for hippy-dippy occupational therapists that don't want to hit people when they hear the words 'homeopathy' or 'star sign'.
Next week- the tale of the JW and Mormon families :)
So- it's Monday morning and over here where I am it is time for the dreaded assessment clinic- other wise known as 'hell'.
So, I'm sitting in 'hell'- listening to this mother drivel on about this child- who will not talk to me and just sits there peeking out from behind her hair or for variety every now and then squirming in the seat and bringing the collar of her jacket up to her nose - and peeking out from behind that.
'Daddy' has also come (believe me this is a rare enough occurence for it to be mentioned with horns blowing and choirs singing) anyhoo- 'Daddy' is sat there on the other side of the girl alternately looking at the huge desk diary he has brought in with him and trying to speak whenever mum takes a breath- which is not often as far as I can tell.
(This seems to be a gender thing- why is it women can talk without breathing - or using circular breathing- and men can't? - answers on a postcard please)
Anyhoo again- 'Mummy' starts explaing to me that 'we' are not sleeping well, and 'we' are a very unhappy little girl who is refusing to go to school, and 'we' scream and kick 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' whenever they try to get 'her' to school. 'We' are not eating properly and 'we' have been quite ill this past year with horrible tonsillitis but now 'we' have had 'our' tonsils out 'we' are ok.
I have this vision at this point of a whole family being operated on at once in one theatre and it is at this point that I wake up and realise she is not talking about herself *sigh* but actually about the little girl who so obviously doesn't want to be in this room right now.
I haven't heard anyone speak in this manner for years so forgive me for being tardy on the Monday morning realisation.
Anyhoo- I do the assessment and 'Mummy', in response to my usual question of 'what have you tried before' and 'what have you found that works?' comes back with
"Well, we went to a homeopath and we felt a lot better afterwards didn't we?" This said while looking pointedly at little girl now hiding behind a cushion and then looking at 'Daddy' pointedly in a way that said- 'say you agree!'
My answer to this?
"Um"
"We also think maybe being a Scorpio could have an influence on her personality - what do you think?" "WE can be very stubborn you know - can't we?" - again looking at little girl who is now turned around in the chair looking at the wall.
My answer to that?
"Well"
and all the time all I could think was- what the fuck? What. The. Fuck. ??????
They come to me looking for help with mental health problems and give me this crap and woowoo about homecrapathy and astrobollocks?!!!!
Of course- being the ultimate professional that I am I said.
" I don't think I'm the right person to see your daughter- I'm thinking more along the lines of creative work as she finds it so difficult to communicate in words- what do you think? - I can make an appointment with our occupational therapist"
'Mummy' is still talking and 'Daddy' is still trying to talk as I usher them out the door. I still haven't seen what colour the little girl's eyes are- but boy am I thankful for hippy-dippy occupational therapists that don't want to hit people when they hear the words 'homeopathy' or 'star sign'.
Next week- the tale of the JW and Mormon families :)
News Story at “The Inquisitr”
New Scientist agazine has withdrawn an article by Amanda Gefter about religiously slanted articles. It was a quick and funny read. Why?
I sent the editor an email…
I’m most concerned that the article by Amanda Gefter on “How to Spot a Hidden Religious Agenda” has been pulled from the website, especially as the reasons for this editorial decision have not been given and the edit is uncommented on. Please enlighten all of us!
I got the following reply…
Thanks for your email.
New Scientist received a legal complaint about the contents of the story ”How to spot a hidden religious agenda”. At the advice of our lawyer it has temporarily been removed while we investigate. We apologise for any inconvenience.
The only individuals and institutions named were
- James Le Fanu (Author of “Why Us”)
- creationist blogger Denyse O’Leary
- Expelled: No intelligence allowed. (The Film)
Who’s threatening to sue?
The full text of the article can be found here.
I think gambling is a complete and utter waste of time and money. I have never enjoyed visiting the casino with my friends, and when I did, I never placed a bet, considering the practice the equivalent of emptying the contents of my wallet into the toilet.
But hey, that’s me. Many others, for reasons I personally cannot fathom, enjoy gambling. As long as their activities don’t harm others, who am I to stand in their way?
Who am I? I’m not a Catholic bishop, that’s who.
When you’re a Catholic bishop, you believe not only that you are, by virtue of the notion that you are the representative of a deity, able to deliberate authoritatively to the wretched paeons and sinners on how they ought to conduct their lives. You also believe that the law of the state should coerce people to conduct themselves in accordance with your dogmas, regardless of whether they belong to your religion.
You are, in effect, an enemy of liberal democracy. You are an enemy of religious freedom, and the separation of church and state, because for all your bluster about being God’s representatives on earth, about serving a higher power than any that humankind can devise, either the God you claim to represent is utterly weak, or your powers of reason and persuasion are so pathetically handicapped, that you need the earthly powers of the state to force people to do what you want them to do. You have always needed this.
It’s simple, really. Don’t like gambling, drinking or shopping on one of your “sacred” holidays? Then don’t do it. Don’t like others gambling, drinking or shopping on one of your “sacred” holidays? Then make an argument, convince them that they shouldn’t.
Or else prepare to be mocked for your obscene presumptuousness in dictating to the rest of us how we should live our lives. That mockery is a sign that human society is liberating itself from the superstitious and unnecessary fear and awe of old male virgins wearing funny robes. History is pwning you. And that’s a good thing.
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