Our Bloodthirsty Bible: by The Thinking Atheist

I decided to check out The Thinking Atheist's YouTube channel this afternoon, and happened upon two new videos: Our Bloodthirsty Bible--The Bald Avenger & Hands Off. Like most of his other videos, these take a humorous satirical shot at the Christian religion and in this case, its holy book. I actually learned a few new things too.

It's All About Me

I just concluded a casual stroll through my Facebook page, checking out the various goings-on with several friends. Given that it is Sunday, naturally, some of my theistic friends have little 'God is Great' cheers posted for status updates today. That is their choice, of course, and I have the option of glancing at them and then scrolling on past.

A few moments ago, however, one caught my eye that aroused in me an involuntary, intellectual & emotional recoil. This was the post:

"So-and-so loves it when God gives me such personal gifts." (emphasis mine)

She then goes on to talk about running into a former roommate in a deli and spending the afternoon together catching up.

So let me get this straight.....running into an old roommate is a "personal gift" from God? And this friend is so wonderful in God's eyes that she deserves such a "personal gift" more than say, a child in a third world country, who needs food, shelter, clothing, medicine, a family, etc, etc, etc....? Or more than a mother of 3 young children needs a cure for breast cancer? Or any number of actual "gifts" which would make life not just a little nicer for someone, but might make the difference between life and death, suffering or relief.

The sheer arrogance of that statement just floors me! It also leaves me wondering if this friend, and the many other believers like her, would be as quick to attribute such personal attention from the Almighty when some inconvenience or greater tragedy strikes. Somehow, I think not.

The Sound of Science

This is a really cute song done to the tune of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence".

Atheists/Agnostics Know More About Bible Than Believers

I think the headline here should come as no surprise to many non-believers. After all, a great number of us come to atheism/agnosticism through our study of religion and the Bible. It's just nice to see actual data on a phenomenon that has always been something of an intuitive certainty.

Click on the link below to see the brief NPR article discussing the results of the Pew survey.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130191248&sc=fb&cc=fp

Quote of the Day:

"It will not do to investigate the subject of religion too closely, as it is apt to lead to infidelity."

--Abraham Lincoln

Richard Dawkins Speaks at the "Protest the Pope" Rally in London

I don't think the 'Protest the Pope' rally in London got much exposure here in the States, so I thought I'd post the brilliant speech of Britain's "most famous atheist" given at the rally. In it, Dawkins addresses the charges made by the Pope that atheists are responsible for 20th century villains such as Hitler, and levels a few in return at Ratzinger and the RCC as well.

To Offend or Not to Offend, That is the Question

I wish I would have had my camera with me this morning on the way to work. There is a fundamentalist church (whose signs I have posted photos of before) boasting this little nugget of wisdom on their marquee:

"The purpose of the Christian life is to fulfill the Master's will."

If I'm not mistaken, that was also the purpose of the slave's life.

As if I didn't already have a pretty good understanding of how slavery was justified by the majority of Southern Christians prior to and during the Civil War, and how obedience was sold to the slaves through the medium of religion, that sentence alone really hammered the point home.

I find this mindset both obnoxious and frightening. The master/slave dichotomy has no place in a free, secular society.

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On the way home from work, I had a different type of experience. While waiting through 2 cycles of a stoplight, I quickly updated my facebook status with a flippant comment about a bumper sticker I saw on the car in front of me. It was a sticker for a local Christian school in town, whose mascot is a lion. My smart-ass remark went something like this:

"Anyone else find it ironic that a Xtian school has a lion for a mascot? Apparently someone did not think that through completely."

Later on, I found that I had apparently offended a couple of my Christian friends. Punctuated with exclamation points and question marks, one friend replied "Lion of Judah!!??!?" and another with "Aslan?"

Now, I have to sheepishly admit, I found the idea of Aslan being the mascot rather appealing. I mean, yes, Narnia was nothing but a big old Christian metaphor, with Aslan filling the role of God, but if I was going to create a deity or mascot, what better one than a big, regal, rideable, child-loving lion? Of course, as I explained in my reply, I didn't think Aslan was the reason for the lion mascot.

As to the Lion of Judah, I also have to confess that that particular metaphor did not cross my mind at all as I was sitting at that light. I was more focused on the idea of lions in the book of Daniel, or the lions of Rome to whom many Christians were more-or-less sacrificed for sport. It was with this in mind that I dashed off what I thought was a witty, if a bit snarky, comment. After all, who would want a Christian-eating lion as the mascot of a Christian school, right?

Unfortunately, I did have to concede (on FB anyway) that my friend was probaly correct with his Lion of Judah interpretation. In my defense though, during my own Christian upbringing, although I was familiar with the Jesus as lion metaphor, it was the metaphor of Jesus as lamb that was emphasized, and with which I was most familiar. Who knew that I'd be able to offend Christians with their own simultaneously contradictory metaphors? After all, it's not like I questioned the wisdom of leaving the Lamb of God alone with the Lion of Judah (which would be a truly blasphemous mixing of the metaphors)!

I suppose that is the point of this whole little story (if there is such a point). Christians find it so easy to get offended when their own religious doctrine offers so much contradiction that almost any silly comment made without intent to offend is bound to ruffle somebody's feathers.

As a sidenote, I also find it absurd that religious believers find it necessary to defend their god from irreverent and flippant commenters such as myself in the first place. I really just want to say, "If I've insulted God, I'm sure he'll let me know. After all, look at what he did to Job...and Job was a righteous man." So far, God's been pretty mum on the whole thing, which leads me to conclude that he obviously has a much better sense of humor than those Christian soldiers who feel compelled to defend his honor.

Finally, Some Hope for America!

Finally, something to celebrate! Sometimes it's difficult to feel optimisitic about the direction the US is heading when our headlines are filled with stories about obscure, fundamentalist cult leaders burning holy books, we find pundits promoting their religio-political agendas on prime time television, or see high profile elected officials spouting ignorant garbage about the "evils" of stem-cell research.

This brief segment at least provides some hope that the flame of the Enlightenment won't be completely extinguished any time real soon; that the values of freethought and skepticism might one day light even the darkest corners of Louisiana. (cue inspirational music)



Quote of the Day:

"Where they burn books, they will, in the end, burn human beings too."

--Heinrich Heine