The Invention of Heaven and Hell

Ecclesiastes 9:2. All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.

7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

There is no difference

The Indefinite Article

Imagine the daunting task of translating an ancient text into your own language.

If the work means anything to you, it can be helped along by extrapolating the story line to fit your beliefs. The New Testament is filled with interpolations by the translators, but one in particular has my interest.

You see, in Greek there is no indefinite article—no a’s prefacing a proper noun. Whether the kingdom of heaven is a monarchy or a republic hinges on how translators add their own little words that don’t appear in the Greek. Lets take St. John for an example. In chapter 10:30-36 —I and my Father are one.

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? (82 Psalm)

35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? See, there is no the in the original Greek. Non-biased translation of the missing article would be a son of god, meaning; of the nature of god.

I know that doesn’t seem like a real big deal, but a son of god makes heaven a republic, not a monarchy. Son of god—of the nature of god. That Jesus did not think his status peculiar to himself (he thought everyone could realize this) the Hebrew roots in monotheism demanded he walk a fine line or be executed. Jesus, however, was more Hindu or Buddhic in nature than Jewish, which is what Christianity is—without the intellect.

“You may notice that these non-translations are based on dogma—for religious reasons” Article HERE you may find interesting. It’s all been translated with dogmatic bias.

God Manifest in Jesus?

There may be God, but is it what believers think it is? There is an odd problem in being led to believe faith is the pinnacle of religious experience. Because the mysteries of Jesus (whoever wrote them) that are encoded in the Biblical text, have nothing to do with faith—but that which is behind the thin veil of this performance is something real, yet mostly indecipherable for the duration of the game. God isn’t manifest in Jesus, but god is manifest in the Bible—just not the god they think it is.

Many other systems of religion attempt to awaken being, and within the biblical text there are clues that resonate with this process, yet are not Christian in nature. The problem lay twofold; the interpretations of the experience being heavily biased toward the culture and anchoring beliefs of the initiate—in this case Hebrew, then, Christianity restricts the process by clinging to faith, counterfeiting a temporary waypoint as a final destination—it actually arrives at nothing and always will. It’s a law for layman to remain laymen. “But to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given“—Mt 13:11

Through unbelief the experience is generic, is not the god of your fathers, nor a display of patriarchal hierarchy in any way or form. It’s not even religious, although it is moving.

Faith is what holds Christianity in darkness and division. One cannot seek to find, nor can one employ hard beliefs to be awakened. Real faith is actually letting go—letting go of all the gods, beliefs, efforts, and compliance to commandments (or the reliance on grace) as an achievement. It has to be real faith—the faith of an atheist. For faith is not clinging, but letting go. Letting go is the first step and a clean slate, while those who hold on to the image of god will never see that faith is the problem.

The awakening doesn’t require belief, but to the contrary. Belief is merely another attachment to an idea (as well as atheism?) and through strong faith the experience becomes less likely than ever.

The concept of faith is even surpassed by the wisdom and philosophies of the Indian medicine wheel. But to be strong in faith is to play on words that make the initiate too weak to see its restrictions, let alone divine comprehension.

“Crazy Horse went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that one”—Black Elk

And it is not a god, but a play, a happening of participants and watchers. We are the whole thing. And like each pixel of the hologram contains the entire picture, so it is with us. “I and the father are one“, but it is not the biblical god, the whole thing is me. It is the me that is not the me of bones and skin, heart and lungs, which cannot die or be removed without the entire game collapsing. Pretty neat trick.

Birthday canvas from my daughter—2020

The New Theists

Working their way back to Jesus by reading old theists, the New Theists© are determined to true the tried and failed—like running the hamster wheel backwards will make a difference. But no worries, it hasn’t gone far. Just superficial arguing.

While theism is belief in god, atheism is simply pointing out how that’s not The Way by its perpetual stall. We’re on our own here which is proven daily. The trick is to break the spell of faith as a destination and drop the dead weight that has kept humanity—waiting.

Each new generation inherits a deeper pool of contradictions to proudly buoy their faith. Then with the mental fortitude of a champion juggler, prove they can believe against all odds.

Not so long ago Christianity began its final, divisive act. Not against the unbeliever (far too watered down now for that) but against each other. Every man creating his own doctrine and defining his own god and idol. “A multiplication of beliefs acts as a division of belief; and in proportion as anything is divided it is weakened”—Thomas Paine

Every Christian seems to know the others are believing it wrong. Maybe it’s time to realize themselves are included. But that is the way of the church—it’s what happens when starting with an errant premise.

“Religion, by such means, becomes a thing of form, instead of fact—of notion, instead of principles“—Thomas Paine

Faces in the fires

On Doctrine

“In order to be effective, a doctrine must not be understood, but has rather to be believed in. A doctrine that is understood is shorn of its strength“—Eric Hoffer

A doctrine to be effective must be viewed from the heart, not from the brain, to maintain staying power.

“The devout are always urged to seek truth with their hearts and not their minds”

Rudolph Hess, when swearing in the entire Nazi party in 1934, exhorted the hearers: “Do not seek Adolf Hitler with your brains—all of you will find him with the strength of your hearts”.

It is obvious today more than ever that the true believer is just that—a believer that doesn’t understand the doctrine. Everyone else is doing it wrong sounds familiar, and many Christians are now despising Christianity—the outcome of the doctrine.

When we fully understand the doctrine (like we do the nazi party) we can no longer believe in it based on its historical and current condition—we capitulate to self doubt, ride it out, or leave.

“Atheism is proof that the doctrine can eventually be understood”. That is evidenced in the current exodus.

Spending a lifetime ironing the contradiction of abrahamic religion is imperative from the beginning that conundrums existed to sustain the longevity of the movement.

“If a doctrine is not unintelligible, it has to be vague. If neither unintelligible nor vague, it has to be unverifiable”—Eric Hoffer

To secure a lasting movement, Christianity incorporated all three—and the proof is in its longevity.

It’s hard to imagine that this trifecta was accidental, since every single point of doctrine is Alpha and Omega of contradiction.

License plate Jesus home near me

From Practices to Beliefs—The Fatal Shift

The hebetude of religious belief, even the fervor becomes pure boredom as the wait sets in. With nothing to do but believe (or watch your favorite mega-preacher rake in cash) what is the mind to do—practice your tongues?

Years ago religion was a practice. Indigenous ritual and practical application accompanied the shaman as a person of utility, knowledge, and healing arts that surpassed the European physicians of the time. The ritual produced something—a far cry from today’s phony sacraments and preachers who merely pile on more robes, pomp, and pop music to cover the inadequacy of the Christian theme. It has to grow more and more unattainable as the subject matures in faith (lest his integrity outwit his belief) restricting the believer to endless need, never passing initiation phase.

“The distance shit falls is equal-to, or less-than the potential splash-back”

Applying yourself into The-Way© meets with more of the same mind—deeper, spoon-bending, concentrated belief, unashamed of the gospel through conditioning, isolation, and surrounding yourself with other “we” believers, ready to wipe up the mess of contradiction with explaining (tissue, standing by)

A useful religion would prepare adherents for the rigors of life—to cut you loose with knowledge to take on the world with the greatest understanding, not a perpetual codependency—the believer out of need (the churches fall horribly short producing enlightenment) and the religion in need of the believers cash.

The monotheistic stall has humanity hamster-wheeling, each generation farther from the last in practical utility. Arriving at belief is less than accomplishing anything, yet the churches pretend it’s the ultimate destination.

Faith by Atheism

“Atheism in the informal sense is a profoundly religious attitude—an attitude in life of total trust in letting go. When we form images of god they are all really exhibitions of our lack of faith—something to hold on to, something to grasp.

And so there is the profound central mystery of the attitude of faith—to stop chasing it, to stop grabbing it. Because if that happens the most amazing things follow. All these ideas of the spiritual, the godly as this attitude of “must“—”And we have laid down the laws which we are all bound to follow“. This is not the only way of being religious and relating to the inefable mystery that underlies ourselves in the world—you!

If we cling to belief in God, we cannot likewise have faith, since faith is not clinging but letting go—Alan Watts.

Atheism is total trust that the universe is happening with or without your pathetic belief, and long before YHWY hit the scenes.

Modern faith is merely clinging to the hope in imag-ination—an idol of your minds eye, attempting to comprehend beyond comprehension, while simply picturing your flavor of god simultaneously makes you a sinner.

So, here we are—you are to blindly believe by your choice (a worthless epithet in disingenuity) but form no images of god, for in your grandest musings only offer pathetic, inadequate renderings offensive to the supreme offender.

“The Bible itself is now the ultimate graven image of our time, and all time” but as we see the believer cannot help but add to it. The idea of a god takes special, mental wrangling and wording to complete a sentence that stands without excuses to believer and non alike. Nothing written could even remotely approach it—and the image you’ve created holds no utility to humanism.

The Rules of the Universe

The idea that the universe has a specific agenda and demands Christian behavior is laughable, really. The tyrannical father figure of the cultural near-east governs the universe expecting certain liturgy from its inhabitants (he has opinions) that we must believe in him in his secrecy or be cast off forever, right where we came from just a few short years ago. Back to the void? Hardly

Imagine having never existed, that it all began here…and after you die—nothing. If that is the case it defies the laws of energy, as well as being an uncomfortable and strange feeling.

You, can never not be. This physical experience only identifies as unique because it is contrasted by our normal existence. When you identify with yourself, who and what you are, it is never the physical activity of muscles and blood flow, breathing and chewing that composes you. Those things are automatically done in the background, without thought.

What you are is this; an infinite participant in the only possible game in the universe to relieve eternal boredom. All the knowledge and skill in the entire cosmos is at our disposal. There are no surprises or guesses, no waiting or wondering for an everlasting creature with trillions of eons, owning all of everything, knowing all of everything. What would an infinite being (such as me) possibly do to relieve the boredom, to pass the time? Enter into a realm of not knowing.

This blip of mortal existence, only interesting at all for the mere fact we don’t know the outcome nor the beginning. Bookended by two unknown voids, we jump in knowing full well the misery and the fame, the chance and the luck, despair and delight, for every ending we break through to our normal existence, bam! we laugh our ass off because the game gets us every time.

Why else would the truly enlightened refuse to involve themselves in the rescue of human misery? All the worlds a stage. We are a never ending happening of a living universe. Little neurons getting a glimpse of ourselves and experiencing emotions we could never know in our regular boredom.

Random Thoughts

Mak has a survey he’d like some help with if you have a moment.

Thank you. Find it HERE

(Takes about two minutes)

What it Means to Believe

“The true meaning of belief is to powerfully imagine“.

Humans have great imaginations and will consider criticism of such supernatural/religious fantasy as an affront to character. If you cannot imagine what they imagine at a ridiculously high level, you are not fit for the kingdom of god.

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”—Mark 9:24 / ie; Lord, I can imagine that; help my imagination!

Finding the right things to imagine is the key to strong faith. “In my fathers house there are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you“. Notice he never explains what it is like in heaven, but lays it at the feet of your imagination—the most powerful tool in the playbook.

Imagine that! Belief/imagination/religion is to pretend that the question trumps the answer and the search is the true meaning. A philosophical approach that sets “I don’t know” to wordplay. There are answers, but few want to know much beyond feeling good by believing in a system with no substance.

Now we are at an impasse. I am supposed to imagine the unimaginable, and believe that select humans have a personal relationship with it. The masterful play on human psychology—to pretend substance comes through belief and arrival rests on the pinnacle of imagination.

Meanwhile, we imagine a Saviour, someone to come down out of the sky to fix our wastefulness while we remain a greedy people and rationalize human destructiveness by waiting it out—but belief in god will not save us. That is up to us to address reality.

Knowing the un-Knowable

Of all the gods that ever lived in the minds of men that have come and gone, the one with the most staying power never even showed up. The others—ousted by the unknown god that doesn’t do anything, can’t be approached, proven, described nor touched. Even our own imaginations that created him cannot imagine his omnipotence, for anything we can imagine or explain, he must be bigger, staying above the fray of explanations way—for the sake of the profession it must remain this way.

Curious sky—NE Washington

In Acts 17, Paul hits a masterful homerun on the first swing: “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you”

So thus it is—Paul begins the religion of contradiction with a contradiction. He claims to know the god that can’t be known, condemns superstition by introducing the most blatant superstition in known history. They took the bait! Hook, line, and sinker and have poisoned lowered the minds of humanity to prideful pretending. They know something they readily admit they don’t know—“God is naught but in the minds and yearnings of insecurity”. But to pretend to know what can’t be known, certainly has a tidy little smugness about it, doesn’t it (wink)

Mere unBelief—The Most Heinous Sin

Simply believe the abstruse and become a trusted member of society. The fact that one does not believe “the story” turns them an immoral criminal with shifting values, no? Worse—simple unbelief is the grossest of moral crimes and self decay.

Meanwhile, belief in something not seen—ever, in prayers answered—never, and confessing allegiance to a cause that has failed its objectives—forever, is the highly honored tradition. Am I missing something here?

Yesterday I realized how wrong I must be when Ryan (Dolphinwrites) stated “to prove a point is not as important as really seeking” This is like warming yourself by thinking about a fire, sunning your mental self from the dungeon of faith by an imagined beach, where thoughts are only valued by belief in ideas that have never grown the body of Christ to fruition—ever!

Each dream of fulfillment dying at the last breath of life never to be realized—consummation zero, with bliss the dying wish of every faithful—but to seek is the important part—and it must be a search within the defined parameters of religion to be of value. How has this become the gold standard of honor? Oh how the easy and absurd has become the respectable, the permissible, where foolish is the pinnacle of promise.

Pick any religious system of any kind—and it is belief that is respected and protected, while evidence be dammed and agendized—with belief nigh unto death erasing the checkered past and offers love and acceptance by the believers themselves, while mere unbelief of the decent is a ripening for hell.

What I Believe—

I believe that mere belief without evidence has been unjustly elevated to the gold-standard of ones knowledge and character.

I see intense belief in anything is a seedbed of tribalism—

That belief undermines real academics and embraces mediocrity.

I know when belief is required to be part of group, the group will betray you over unbelief.

I’ve observed and experienced the key to understanding the mysteries™️ is unbelief.

I understand the universe is a diverse array of energies and dimensions where some people are attuned more so than others to it.

I believe the foibles of human neurology, perception, and bias need to be understood at a grade school level to promote tolerance of difference and friendship—all of us!

I notice that religious beliefs need to be protected by law because they cannot stand on their own merits.

I observe herd instinct, peer pressure, indoctrination, and impatience supplants reason.

I believe the ability to hand-wave contradiction and fallacy hardwires neurons through repetition and submission. The problem is now in the physiology.

I believe faith should never be the end-goal of intellectual achievement.

I found that submitting your will to belief in god/allah, or any other godform disempowers the best part of human nature, delays intellectual advancement and personal achievement.

I would wager belief should never be intended as a solution and should be the least respected of all professions.

I believe that mans impatience has allowed him to be conned by men of self importance. Now the prisoners drive the ship.

I think that humanity is much older than we realize, that man has appeared on the scene several times in multiple generations of geologic time—things are much stranger in the past than we realize. We are much more capable than we realize too.

I believe that any belief should be able to provide some empirical data, and transition from belief to pure knowledge in a reasonable amount of time.

I’ve observed that big box religion and one-size-fits-all dogmas are inadequate to provide the needs of nearly 8billion differing physiologies—evidenced by each member choosing for himself the parts of morality and teaching (s)he already knows.

I believe people’s beliefs are merely hunches, feelings, intuitions—guesses, if you will, they’ll divide their families and friends over. I also believe that is immoral.

I believe coffee was the second greatest product of plant evolution.

The Hand of God Withheld—Necessary Restraint

The argument for an inconceivable and unimaginable, all powerful god. One that is without parts of physical matter as we could even comprehend. Consider a character so foreign to our nature, that his eternal compositions could not be seen, felt, or tasted, for our matter is not compatible nor can mix with his attributes (No wonder the psalms are so many) in any way.

All god can do at this point is watch, for historically when he has interfered or tinkered with the deeds of men (parting seas, global floods, Israelite armies laying waste to entire regions) are a horrible affect of mixing his perfect nature with this synthetic world. His attributes and ours—immiscible. Simply looking at the LORD, his foreign composition is too different, too toxic to be presenced by human neurons, optic nerves, or flesh—or are we too toxic to his, in this artificial scape, to mingle outside our petri-dish? A mite of dust cast to the outer reaches of creation as isolated, contained contaminants whose only purpose of matter holds the little interest of an out-of-state trash-dump, where when only goes to visit creates more carnage?

By merely dipping his finger into the stratosphere of our world—cutting stone tablets and etching stone walls. Presenting his hand—regional, if not global catastrophe, churning the elements, like adding ammonium perchlorate to a mixing bowl of “earthly” matter of which we are so crudely formed. That god, by pressing his arm into the ionosphere, simply splits atoms starting chain reactions of global upheaval. Are we but a plant that withers upon touching it? How long will he withhold his finger…his hand? His holy arm? What if he were to present his whole self? The world would melt as a sea of molten glass, where any man-thing that peeks at his composition withers and consumes itself. To this god, the total power in the world is but a firework sparkler, hardly a threat to ourselves, let alone an immortal. Splitting atoms is as natural for him as spearing your flattened, pointed hand into a bucket of air, or water. We are nothing but .02% solid waste, not even worthy of his attention—but to open the lid carefully contaminates our meager world with carefully placed attributes of cataclysm, tectonic shifts, and drought, while we maintain our only sense of order in the heavens by his leaving us alone for a blink of an eye.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.” Exodus‬ ‭19:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” Daniel‬ ‭4:35‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.” Daniel‬ ‭5:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“That birds may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” Revelation‬ ‭19:18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Setting aside your contradictions for the moment to complete this thesis, for what will it matter in a moment or two what we achieve, or what we do when the world will soon be rolled together like a scroll? This man-create has been an interesting exercise, and man has proven quite genius with his teaspoon of dirt and a dash of consciousness. While we have been watched long enough and the experiment nearly over, GOD is ready to roll up his experiment and head off to yonder galaxies to admire his handiwork. It doesn’t matter—our world of refuse unfit will be dispersed when the meeting of the gods conclude, and victoriously he’s showed he can create something living out of a thimble full of hardly anything, as long as it is left alone long enough to generate order. It doesn’t matter that however dismal our minds and actions may seem to him, that our collective consciousness will sit on a shelf for forthcoming eons. It may not matter to him that our struggles and achievements have been fought and won with nothing but handicaps and soulful soil, but it matters to us, the lowliest of life-forms. So, a god of mercy? A god of compassion? A god of love? We shall see.

Jonathan-2 Loy-0 —And the Number of the gods

Some comments are just too good to stay buried in the warehouse. It was a coin flip between Swarn and Jonathan this week. The latter has won the internet this morning.

Loy—”Was the number zero invented, discovered, or revealed? How does the invention / discovery / revelation of zero differ from that of God? Both derive from abstract reasoning, not directly or primarily from empirical observation”.

Jonathan—”For one, there is no place in the history of the number zero where the claim of divine revelation is found

A lot of things in the sciences, first exist as a hypothesis (which is usually a product of reasoning), then if the empirical observation matches the proposed hypothesis then the hypothesis is given credibility.

Einstein theories of relativity as is many things in theoretical physics were largely gotten through abstract reasoning

Direct and indirect empirical observation and experiment are what are used to validate an idea.

Even in mathematics, because you came up with an idea through reasoning, does not automatically make it correct. In mathematics, the idea has to be proven.

If you want to prove that god is mathematical axiom, then go ahead,

But if god is a supernatural being that created the universe then you need to have empirical evidence

Thinking about it, zero and god are very similar. Zero was created by man, so was god. Zero is nothing, so too is god”

Here’s the comment link if interested https://jimoeba.wordpress.com/2018/10/09/horrible-ideas-inspire-the-most-philosophy-faith/#comment-9722

And if you’re not following, here’s Jonathon’s blog. He doesn’t post too often, but worth the follow when he does.

Making Neural Con ections

Missing part of the story is what we do as humans. No worries, we can fill in the __________ fairly easily with our imaginations. Even with ideas a bit more complex, a normal person will assume conclusions. In writing, drawing conclusions for your audience is un-engaging. For maximum _________, its best to leave some gaps in the story, even implied gaps.

Leaving blank spaces that have multiple possibilities is even more effective, stimulating the most possible conjecture. Intensional gapping works best with religious faith. Its ability to generate the highest levels of presupposition is unmatched by any other topic. Whenever an author can get the audience to fill in the blanks for him, the missing information can stir a life of circuitous inquiry—prime spawning ground for deeper religious conviction and faith. The more holes the better. Even more effective is multiple versions with varying gaps (the gospels) where differing audiences can fill the holes masterfully as inspiration the imagination allows.

While there are many holes, some have been philosophically filled with more ambiguity. The ecumenical councils are heralded as founding precepts of faith, while all along the first meeting took place to ultimately define the nature of god. Why? They didn’t know. Adding a word at will is also a neat trick. Take the word Filioque,(1) for example. Initially rejected after the first ecumenical council, then 700 years later the Catholic Church adopted it as truth. The council at nicea was also set nearly 400 years after the supposed Christ. Think about that! Can you tell me something accurate about a little known family member from the 1600’s, what he specifically said, his deeds, headcounts at sermons, and his travels? No! So you make it up and call it god. And to really make it convincing, the record must be gathered from sources that never personally knew the individual. Masterful!

(1) Filioque is a term that creatively determined that the Holy Spirit not only came from the father, but also the son. It was a neat add-on that immediately divided the western churches and eastern churches. It was a masterful stroke injecting immediate conjecture that keeps the churches debating the nature of a fictional character—God. Will humanity ever learn we’ve constructed that too?

Thanks for the meme JZ

The Bible in the Barrel

Fall, 1988—While surveying nearly 800 miles north of the 49th parallel in Canada’s wilderness, time swallowed an abandoned homestead. Vacant sounds that once teemed the soil and timbers—like a still-shot from a ghost town, a lonely and staggered cabin held on from memories of a past love and dead dreams. No sounds of children nor echoes of ranch-work, only a flutter of birds escaping the hollowed rafters broke the silent still as we approached. The crew, focused and shuffling lodes across the the clearing slowly woke the silent void of near twenty years.

Behind the try, a rusted steel barrel leaned un-statuesque, gently yearning for the earth to bring her home. I loosened the ring and pounded off the rusting lid to look inside.

My survey crew was a pretty rough bunch at the time. José, our resident Latino catholic thought it was left by god—for us”. He said, (in his Mexican accent) “no matter where you go jefe, no matter how far, Dios lo ve todo, mal jefe!” “It’s probably still there because they ran out of matches”, I fired back! Either way (or maybe another) we were in the possession of the holy bible for the night. We made camp and the crew passed a bottle. Chuck had mothering duties for the day, so he got a fire and some food on the grate as darkness fettered us in a cloudy, moonless night. It was cavern black looking beyond the fire—we faded to sleep.

Hoards of black crows broke the morning silence at dawn. We all stumbled around to get our bearings, stoked the fire and coffee’d up for what was supposed to be a long day, but, curiosity piqued us into a more human task, and by chance, or maybe drawn-in by an unsettled past, we started our day with a quick look around the homestead. Chuck, still half unzipped in his sleeping bag, shouted, “hey boss-man, look at this”. He was thumbing through the Bible looking for a good passage to quote me—he liked disingenuous humor at my expense, but this didn’t seem too funny by the look on his face. Flattening the creases he unfolded a paper in his hand and started to slowly read, like a translator.

“This cabin and 40 acres is claimed by me, William Granger. I came here in the summer of 1964 and built this cabin with the tools I could carry. In ’65 I returned with my wife Carol, our son Eli and daughter Caroline. Abandoning my loves and home is cowardly hard to do, but all that is left for me is to save my own life from one last unknown tragedy. My boy disappeared in ’66. We never found him. He would be 14 today, if this is September 14, the day of my departure”.

“We all came here with a trust in god. I and my colleagues convinced my wife of the lords providence—by faith we would thrive. This book you are holding is the last thing on earth I would impart to a decent man. Its only task now is holding this note in hopes it can at least do that until somebody finds it, should I fail to return. While many of the words are poetic and wishful, the promise of healing and signs that follow them that believe with the lords bounties are false premises only an untested fool would believe. You all survive down below because of people. Nothing more. My horse was killed by wolves while he was on the line. Then my hogs. My wife and daughter I love are in deep graves just east of the clearing. I moved them out after the spring thaw to their permanent rest. Look east between the two tallest cedars if they’re still standing. Two small rock piles mark the spots. I leave them here and plan to return as soon as I can. W. Granger, 1970″.

Humanity took over our crew. We looked around for the day, found some odds and ends, toys and tools and tack, but nothing of importance—That, lies between the cedars that stand guard. We cleaned up the grave sites and packed our gear for a short move. Another 20 years it will all be forgotten. I took it Mr. Granger got sidetracked, lost, or died in his failure to return—I guess the road home has forks in it too—I’ll see if I can locate this Mr Granger.

The Horns of Moses

Imagine yourself gathered around the water cooler after Sunday school class where for several hundred years we would debate and conjecture about Moses and his horns. How long were they? Why would god go such a thing? What color might they have been? Were they transmitters to god? Thanks to Jerome, a heralded father and translator of scripture into the Latin Vulgate bible which was the template to translate the Bible into dozens of other languages, said Moses had horns. This is good evidence to have someone check your work. But Christian will believe anything if it’s in the Bible. That is obvious. But, while they continued to learn about the horns of Moses, no one seemed to mind they may very well be debating about another fictitious character altogether, which is par for the course. If the Bible commenter said Moses was a charcuterie, instead of character, a simple typo would have Moses working in a meat store, and they would believe it for centuries. It’s inherent.

Unicorns, Noah and the ark, creation story and the 6000 year old earth, all unfortunately didn’t exist , except in a time where few could read, and even fewer had even a slight opportunity to question. “All along the mistranslation of the verb karan by Jerome had tragic consequences. For centuries, millions of people around the world have wrongly believed that Moses – and in some cases, all Jews – have horns on their head”.

Even the great Michelangelo was fooled by this, as well as multiple popes, leaders of countries, and other artists depicting the Moses charcuterie with horns. I can however, imagine how this contributed to his temporal lobes…If any of it were true at all. I wonder what else is in the Bible that is purely false?

I stumbled across a fairly new blog from Neil. He provides some very nice, concise context to the contradiction of Christian faith and I think it’s worth a look.

The Answer

So much of life is searching for answers, prying back the layers to find meaning or substance, years of true devotion and commitment and in the end, the answer was an easy or obvious solution hidden in plain sight. John, over at Nowhere Tribune posted a concise and worthwhile book review about a missionary who came to the realization that people around the world were happy without the gospel and Jesus. He also notes that the higher your level of devotion and study of the Bible and Christianity, the more likely one is to leave it. We are going about this atheism all wrong! All we need to do is promote in-depth bible study. Spread the word! And give John a quick read if you have a moment.

The Next Einstein

Oops. The lottery on child birthing foreordained spirits has just placed the next Einstein in a Christian home. His room, all ready for next months due date, is blue. Above the crib sits a mobile with jesus and twinkles with children’s hymns. The walls are adorned with bible verses and pictures of Moses parting the Red Sea, Jesus praying in the garden of gethsememe, and Abraham praying up to a cloud. The boys name will be Daniel, after the prophet.

—fast forward 12 years. After showing excellent aptitude for math and science, his parents question his devotion to god and distract his convictions with innuendos and smugness. They correct him with comments about pseudoscience and how faith is the answer to all of life’s questions. They openly criticize climate science, and other ungodly, intrusive left wing conspiracies. Those who believe in science have more faith than Christians. They continue to read select bible verses and tell the creation story, and that we all know that truth comes from the Bible and from god—the answers to life’s questions are in scripture. Bible camps and Sunday worship, youth choir and is now president of his Sunday school class. He can quote 50 scriptures. He is a good boy. His neurons are off the chart smart. He memorizes the King James Bible. He is a prodigy.

At graduation he leads the school in an unsanctioned prayer, even catching his parents by surprise. They are so proud. He is a leader. Perfect GPA and smart as they come—he will do just fine in life and be a good husband and a godly man. On the side he is applying the sciences—quantum mechanics—his true love. He’s been accepted to Liberty University and plans to major in divinity. His parents are so proud.

At 21 his love for science remains, but the pace of college life and an early graduation, student debt and a baby on the way, he takes a job at a church in Tulsa. Moving expenses paid and a little house on the property, he begins the rest of his life. His ideas of quantum mechanics are never published or reviewed. His math is getting rusty, and the equations he had memorized he can no longer decipher. They sit in a “get to it later” moving box as his life begins. He now does a local Christian radio show Saturday nights. Q and A and a memorized bible. He’s fantastic!

Religious side-tracking is delaying progress in the world. Statistically, 80% of the greatest scientific minds we’ll never hear of. Distracted with faith, belief, and fable, the windows of opportunity close and what could be, would be great, becomes mere baggage to the few that are pulling us along toward greatness. Fill the mind with something great, but anything will do if you’re starving it.

And if you think christians are indoctrinated, what do you think of their cousins?

“Is it true that Muslim children can RECITE the whole Quran? How?

Yes! It is true. Our children can recite the Quran by age 5–12 years. Around 90% children in Muslim households memorize more than 6000 verses and can recite Quran from memory”. Literally millions from each Muslim country have done this. And the cultural pressure for these “Hafiz” is great. They must maintain the memorization through there life leaving little time for advanced learning.

Although an impressive feat, it is also a discouraging look into the future of practical knowledge from the former breadbasket of higher learning.

When that’s all you know, it must be true. There is no time for anything else when culture dictates a life filled with one topic that designs your every thought.

I Will Give You Rest – A Continental Divide

I found it interesting while traveling through Idaho this week that the rest areas had these very comprehensive lists of rules.

The sign is posted inside the rest area after you already drive in, and is posted on the curb near parking. Chances are you have already broken a rule by merely entering the facility. The print was small (as you can see) and quite comprehensive. Even still, I never managed to read through them all. Rest areas are for drowsy drivers that need a break or have to pee.

You wouldn’t be surprised that this reminded me of the Bible. “Come unto me and I will give you rest” sounds pretty good, but make sure you take the time to read the horrors and the hate before rushing in. There’s a lot of reading should be advised for those that may be in a hurry to get some religious feel good. Abrahamic ideals of rest comes with a threat and a promise. Then, if you do actually read the whole thing and reject its barbarism, you will be accountable to suffer eternally.

After reading the rules of the road, or the religion, I guessed I’d be better off peeing on the side of the road, or finding my own place in life to rest. The sign above is a great example of what happens when you join a system.

The continental divide separates the nations water runoff. (Near Divide Montana)

Rainwater and rivers to the left of this sign flow to the pacific, while to the right is the Atlantic side. Similar to religion and sensibility, the two will never meet but steadily grow farther apart as they make their way.

My grandma used to deliver the mail on this route. We’d go with her when we were visiting.

Uninhabitable – The Idaho Wilds and Religion

Going for a long drive today thru Sunday to surprise my pops for his 85th birthday. To get to southern Utah from NE Washington I had a couple of choices—I-84 through Boise to I-15, or take the Idaho panhandle on I-90 crossing a good chunk of Montana, and finally back into SE Idaho on I-15. I’m staying in Blackfoot and have another 7 hours to drive after 10 hours today. So much of Idaho is uninhabitable for humans. 115 mountain ranges and 5 million acres, including the number 1 most remote place in the lower 48 states, means you have to avoid most of it and go around it. Central Idaho’s multiple rugged mountain ranges makes it a long, long drive. Without avoiding the tough places, it would be near impossible to get through it.

Religion has a similar story. If you stick with the easy roads and the good parts, it doesn’t sound like a bad trip. The catch phrases along with the kind stories and gentle scriptures hold little solace when comparing the “rest of the story” which is most of it. If you had to get to Utah through the wilderness of Idaho, chances are you’d never even attempt the trip. With religion, make sure you check out the bad parts first. If you do, you may just go another way altogether. The road around the truth is just a fraction of its roots.

“verify most carefully, his book of words and then you’ll see, but by and by the search from me, had eyes that crossed with dotted tees and woeful were the histories. I read and pondered every verse, the lord it seemed he was a curse, that opened eyes on every verse” Jim

Gods Absolute Morality

I was told in a comment section that gods absolute morality is only found in Christian faith. I asked him to name an absolute, unchanging moral truth of the Bible, and this was the closest he could go. “I’ll cite to you what seems to me to be about as near to an absolute moral statement as I can think of. In Matthew 12:31, Mark 3:29 and Luke 12:10 it is written that Jesus told people that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven in this world or the world to come”—But what if I have not received this Holy Spirit through revelation? I’m told my ego has kept me from accepting jesus.

It this the closest example of an absolute found in scripture. I would like to learn more. Something concrete and unchanging in the Bible’s exemplary moral standard.

Self Awareness

You may not be what you think you are. You may not be as clever or adept as you think you are either. According to this study done at Cornell, people with the worst skills in the different areas of the study thought they performed the best, while those with the highest skill levels were also more accurate at estimating their ability. The mere fact that you are seeking and evaluating yourself as an individual, is a good sign that you may be a little more savvy than the average joe.

As an atheist, as well as most atheists I am aware of, we have gone through critical phases of self evaluation. We all wondered if we were crazy for doubting, crazy for believing, and sought answers to difficult dilemmas in contradictions of the gospel, then sought information outside of our indoctrinated upbringing.

Breaking away from the numbing effects of acquiescence when so many are rolling along in a near stupor of acceptance of a thousand things that add up to zero. Zero evidence that god is good, god is love, god is merciful, or god is in control. When compared to what is seen in the real world the opposite is true, “if” there was a god. Microanalysis of prayer to seek a smidgen of answers adds up to pure rationalization for its ineffectiveness, then we accept a non answer as gods will. What is gods will? Well, nobody really knows, but a lifetime of indoctrination leads us down the path of excuses.

The study concludes that all hope is not lost if you are one of the trouble spots. With education the numbers changed to a noticeable improvement, but how do you get someone stuck in the trap to look outside of what they already know, which apparently isn’t much when it comes to knowledge outside what they want to believe.

“It didn’t even help the poor performers to be given a benchmark. In a later study, the most incompetent participants still failed to realise they were bottom of the pack even when given feedback on the performance of others”.

Most of us have lived the religion side and learned enough to walk away. Maybe it’s time they walked in our shoes to determine if our views have merits, instead of hand waving and discrediting the reality that there is no god.

Confusion Conversion and Christology

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah‬ ‭5:20‬ ‭KJV‬‬ —

Who tells you one thing while you see another? Whoever wrote this was keen to the preachers word games. Don’t be afraid to look for yourself and see things as they are. Nothing adds up to what the preachers say. The church is the corruption. And it always has been. Look at Matthew 23. Somebody wrote that, and it’s about the clergy. Nothing has changed—

The more I read the pastor, the more I’m convinced he is using Chris Langan’s “CMTU, Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe or, “theory of everything”. The theory is difficult to understand at best, and focuses much on incoherent contradiction and terms that the pastor-blogger has adapted to—”confuse readers to believers” platform. It’s heavy on causation and trying to explain itself with itself, or “reality is a language that is talking to itself about itself” type speak.

Langan has an IQ of 200, the highest intelligence quotient score currently in the USA and 7th highest IQ ever recorded. It might take a little time just to understand the summary, but you’ll see terms like ontological and incoherence are big in the theory. I think Mel is using a physics theory hiding behind the computer screen, trying to apply this to his God, and much of the theory can’t even adequately be applied to science. But he does talk an impressive tone.

This is a decent breakdown of the theory. I do believe you been caught peeking pastor.

Twisted terms and confusion reigns, ontologically worded games, to separate the wheat and tares, will take more words that few can stare.

Even irony has lost its track, for some there is no turning back, as good is evil and evils grand, there’s no theology we can understand.

The Sting

The success of a good con is greatly dependent on the “mark” or marks being unaware that they have been duped. If you remember the movie, they faked their own death in the end to seal the deal on the con, and shift the blame to another – The police. In this case they used guns, but it is an ageless tale, and if done right it can work every time. The surviving victims of the scam then tell the story in their own way to create an urban legend, and its corroborated by the fake police that were in on the deal. I saw this movie. (3min) at a drive-in when I was a kid. I wonder where they got the idea?

Newman and Redford are making me feel my age. Recently I turned 55. This movie came out in 1973 when I was ten. Jeez

Blood Oaths

When I was twenty I went to the LDS temple for what is called an endowment. In Mormon lingo, the endowment is where you receive your “spiritual gifts”, that enable you to pass the sentinels and enter the presence of god. Washed and anointed with oil, pronounced clean and blessed to be a “king and a priest unto the most high god, to rule and reign in the house of Israel forever” The endowment ceremony is about an hour and a half where you rehash the creation!story and make various covenants that are sworn to secrecy with signs, special handshakes, and followed by an oath to never reveal the signs and tokens or suffer your life to be taken. As you made the oath, you symbolically slit your own throat in one phase, and disembowel yourself in the other. All the while wearing the robes of the priesthood and a fig leaf apron to cover your nakedness.

Besides having to agree to all the covenants by acting out a blood oath it happens BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. It was shockingly strange, but you move along to the veil and use those key words, signs, and tokens to pass through and enter the presence of god in the “celestial ” room. Hushed tones and reverence rule, and discussing these things is vague and symbolic in nature. Everyone around you congratulating you and telling you how wonderful it is. It wasn’t. But, trusting those that have gone on before, convinced that you just lack understanding, and being reassured that the more times you go (the next times in behalf of the deceased that missed this opportunity) the more you understand the wonderful significance of it all.

To anyone who thinks this is even remotely normal, you have a problem. The ceremony now, some 35 years later, has been dumbed down to be less offensive, but the one I went through had already been lightened several times before. The initial ceremony was vastly more ghastly, but as times changed, so did people’s ability to tolerate it. While some fought the changes, apparently god is changing how important this is to have it exactly right.

Mormon culture is a persuasive closed system, where open criticism is the road to apostasy, and questions about anything inside the approved doctrines are unwelcome.

In most cases (mine being extremely rare where my wife left with me) the mere mention of unbelief deems you an outcast, failing your priesthood and your family. Tell your wife and extended family you don’t believe, and you are told to pray, study, do not doubt, trust me, trust us, and the fear of hell from denying your testimony, losing every friend, spouse, kids, and practically every sense of your life is on the chopping block. I have one friend left after 50 years of church. But it was worth it.

Letter to Mark Twain

dear mr clemans, after reading part of your book, ‘Letters From the Earth’, I think you are a disgusting man. I know your real name, and I am warning all of my good christian neighbers not to read this gross expose’ of our god. We cannot, and will not allow you to espouse such truths and spread your cancerous words into the puritan ears of this community. We demand you retract your words.

The fact that heaven is composed of all the things we hate is true, but only for now. Who are we to judge gods wisdom. The fact that all of the things we love are absent is true, but only for now. I imagine that endless harp music and choirs singing praises to God might seem like a torture to you, but god knows what is best for us. If he says it will make me happy, I believe him, regardless of the apparent absurdity of eternal noise and worship. You see where you are lacking mr clemens? You have no faith. Faith is where I get to decide what is true. Faith will let me live in eternity with god and be happy with no intellect. It is intellect that has caused you to own these blasphemous truths. Your words are temporary mr clemens, but gods word are eternal. You are a dirty man exposing the christian heaven as a sexless heaven. You are a heathen now, and probably have sex for fun, but god knows what is best for us. If he needs to manipulate our natural tendencies to control the heathens, then I trust god to do so. We won’t need these things in heaven because we will be wrapped in jesus’ arms in eternal embrace, singing and praising god, and bathing his feet in our tears of joy, while you mr clemens, will be in hell.

75 cents for this 1962 edition. Best $6 I’ve ever spent. Should be mandatory reading for all.

How Pretending is a Bigger Problem

Hush tones and inside jokes, comments like “I’m not racist but”, “hey look at that”, and pass judgement on people you have no idea about their history or what type of person they are. Saw it all the time in the faith. This is their way of life. One must be good with the lord watching you, surveying us 24 hours a day, even in our sleep, and even the hushed tones are not exempt from the ears of the lord. Below is a terrific quote. Some of this is new to me, so forgive me if this is old news.

“Some people I know who are atheists will say they wish they could believe it. Some people I know who are former believers say they wish they could have their old faith back; they miss it. I don’t understand this at all. I think it’s an excellent thing that there’s no reason to believe in the absurd propositions I admittedly, rather briefly, rehearsed to you.

The main reason for this, I think, is that it is a totalitarian belief. It is the wish to be a slave. It is the desire that there be an unalterable, unchallengeable tyrannical authority, who can convict you of thought crime while you are asleep. Who can subject you — who MUST indeed subject you — to a total surveillance, around the clock, every waking and sleeping minute of your life — I say of your life; before you’re born, and even worse (and where the real fun begins), after you’re dead. A celestial North Korea. Who wants this to be true? Who but a slave desires such a ghastly fate?

I’ve been to North Korea. It has a dead man as its president. Kim Jong-il is only the head of the party and head of the army; he’s not head of the government or the state. That office belongs to his deceased father, Kim Il-sung. It’s a necrocracy, a thanatocracy — it’s one short of the Trinity, I might add. The son is the reincarnation of the father. It is the most revolting, and utter, and absolute, and heartless tyranny the human species has ever evolved.

But at LEAST you can fucking DIE and leave North Korea. Does the Qur’an or the Bible offer you that liberty? No! No, the tyranny, the misery, the utter ownership of your entire personality, the smashing of your individuality, only begins at the point of death. This is evil; this is a wicked preachment.” – Christopher Hitchens

So they continue. They present a pious side while secretly living as you or I might, but the constant life of deception carries over into laws, and schools, and the solid footing of Christianity is all built on hiding the true self. PRETENDING. Never show the real you, and it is a habit of deception and farce because they are being watched. Dress the part, play the part, speak softly and hide your pious racism, but keep touting that you and the faith are well.

Who Are You Really? Real de a Ocho

Of what mind am I? How many people are living a conditioned life that is not really them? I have been thinking about this very topic a lot lately, and very few know how to identify who they really are outside of groupthink doctrines and dogmas. Look at our political alignments. Social media is very telling about this, as there are only two ways presented and fought over. Whenever I see this, I remember something I learned many years ago from a professor I admired. Whenever you are given two choices, they are usually both wrong. This deceptive technique has numbed the minds of the masses. What party are you? What religion are you? Coke or Pepsi? Both are cans full of chemicals designed to taste good, but are unhealthy. Do you ever listen to music from other countries? Much of the best stuff never gets heard because we are marketed and influenced at every turn, and individuality is usually styles between two or three choices. Who are we really, without the news, the preachers, and the marketers? Breakthroughs are usual arduous and painful. Self awareness and growth must, at some point be achieved away from the influencers and the noise, and in the quiet of your own mind. Religions remind me of the old Spanish “pieces of eight”, or Real de a Ocho. All pieces come from the same coin, are made of the same material. While very old, some of these are in better shape than others and considered more valuable, but they are still coins. And when a choice is placed before you, it very likely two sides of the same coin. While one may be slightly better than the other, we are typically given two wrong choices, and forced to pick sides, when we’d rather not choose at all. I’m tired of taking sides.

The Other Creative Mel. Not Wild

It seems the name Mel is a trigger for creativity. Mel Blanc, the versatile, multi-voiced actor who breathed life into such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Pie, Sylvester and the Road Runner. In the 1960’s he also contributed to the Flinstones, and in that series he did the voices for both Barney Rubble, the dull-witted neighbor of Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and Dino, the Flintstones’ pet dinosaur. Quite a Wild array of voices.

The other Mel has his own array of cartoon characters in his supporting cast, that also breathes life into the make believe world of faith. How can you go wrong with the likes of InsanityBites, BrainYawn, ColorStorm, Wally, and of course, the main man himself Melvin Wild. While Mel only does his own voice, what comes out is an array of changing character roles and dogma, slipping down the slope to deism as his pet Brainyawn clings to his voiceovers like a parasitic twin mimicking the change as he attempts to keep up, memorizing the bias with the skill of a used car man.

And creativity? Wow!! Threads that confluence, eddy about, upstream, downstream, over the falls and back up again, all the wild is woven into a masterpiece of contradiction and code winks, reaching for the safety line of obscurity, in the belief that blanket vagueness will stop the easily defeated beliefs, that his god is the god, and still fail to explain the why.

Deconversion Science- A New Element

The periodic table has a new element. Chemist at International Labs London (ILL), have discovered a new compound derived from basic, inert, random samples of ambiguous contradictory neurologic impasses. Failed synapse syndrome, (FSS) has been baffling neuroscience for decades, and removal of this newly discovered element is as easy as flipping a switch in the affected religious parties. Element “B” has an atomic mass and weight of zero, carries no electrons, but has a high affinity to synaptic dead space. Early studies show removal of element B causes instant cognitive restoration, and eliminates test subjects ability to rationalize obvious contradiction.

Test subject volunteers from the Four Square Church and the United States Bible Belt have seen instant results using a osmotic reverse cerebral cleanse, applied in a suppository pill form. Atomizers are currently being developed for nasal administration.

Evangelical chemists at Godwins institute dispute the veracity of the claims, and have directed the institutes science department to consult with Hindu Vedas and Puranas experts to counter the findings. “We know god is in there somewhere”, said one researcher. And, “this Biblio element makes no sense at all” said another. The plea for help dealing with these scientific issues has been ignored.

Basic Botany-The Christian Model

Each plant, no matter how simple, requires several elements to maintain health to grow to maturity and become useful. See the chart below, as each part plays a role in getting good health to the table.

Mental health is the same way, but one large segment of our society seems to think the one ingredient approach will lead to happiness, so one element it is. Bible. It has no mental nutrition. It is filled with fabled hear say and less net caloric benefit to the brain then chewing gum. It keeps your mind and thought separate from reality, and poses contradictions that drain the mind of creativity and rationale. It does polish your ability to make excuses though, which is why the Bible Belt leads the nation in obesity. Spiritually fattened cells store noxious, venomous rhetoric that is useless to society when dormant, and a drag on society when it’s not. Here below is the problem.

The Christian literary diet contains 66 books, all with the same ingredients, and videos about the books. It’s the equivalent of trying to live on cotton candy. It looks good, has flavor, but has no nutrition and is never filling. For desired mental health and balance, one ingredient is a disaster, growing pretentious brains unable to see clear or decipher fallacy and deception, and live in fear. But it certainly makes one “think”, they know it all. The cure? That’s easy, but it’s hard, as the medicine requires one to broaden their mind, while having a small mind. Very challenging. Realizing your potential requires one to reach out and yearn to learn about the world around us. It’s ok to try it. There’s a lot of brain food available, you just have to take it in.

The Perfect God (and tom turkey)

Why, if god exists, does he have to be perfect and omnipotent? What would be the problem of a “not all powerful god”, but one that had a skill for creating things? The insistence on a perfect and kind, loving god is contradictory to scripture and the natural world.

Aaannd, the first tom turkey showed up in the yard this morning. Very cool. He reminds me of god a little. He’s all puffed up for a big show, but up close he’s an ugly dude. Struts around bossing everyone when they were doing just fine before he showed up.

Courtesy of Professor Taboo-

Sound Effects

Ancient Desalination Discovery

TCA Newsflash 3-9-2018

Eastern Turkey

Hikers near the cradle of Mount Ararat, Turkey have found what appears to be a massive prehistoric pontoon style desalination plant. The incredible discovery happened while evangelical researchers were trying to locate Noah’s Ark, which was spotted by another group of evangelical Christian explorers in 2010.

With modest estimates, the ark would have contained a range of 8000 to 14,000 animals requiring approximately 20,000 to 35,000 gallons of water per day during the over year-long drift at sea. (378days) Evangelical scientists have been working out the details for centuries; just how did Noah provide enough water to all those animals? The find answers a boatload of questions, that until today just seemed like a fairy tale.

While the eight survivors would have had their hands full, each feeding a thousand or more animals per day, calculations estimate each person would have had to feed 70 to 120 animals per hour round the clock, 7 days a week for a year. Feed them what? Just the two elephants alone would require approximately 150,000 pounds of food for the journey. Two lions would consume 40,000 pounds of meat for the trip, as well as the tigers and bears. Polar bears could be sent out on reconnaissance to hunt seals and other aquatic life, so that is no problem. But food for the other 7,996 pairs might have proved problematic. Even if every animal only averaged eating one pound per day, that would be over 3,000,000 pounds of food for animals. Not including the eight survivors.

Mathematicians have calculated about 14 years for the sloth to arrive at the ark from Central America. Kangaroos, while excellent swimmers, must have built their own boat to make the trip from Oz, or to Oz after the landing on Ararat.

Evangelical scientists are confident the discoveries will come. Real scientists have been criticized for demanding photos and physical evidence, but none to date are forthcoming.

Christian Incoherence

At least 5 times we were accused yesterday of making incoherent statements regarding the origins of morality. Incoherent? They keep using that word. I don’t think it means what they think it means.

You want incoherent? Try delving into the world of a blood cult. Explain religious genocide, rape, plagues, slavery, war, animal sacrifice and burnt offerings, causing that sweet smell that dissipates into the nostrils of the loving but jealous warlord in the sky, and call it scripture. Then ultimately worshipping a cross symbolizing human sacrifice. They essentially are paying homage to an old book while chanting in unison that conjures up images of the Temple of Doom. Christian incoherence begins by deifying atrocity, and then trying to justify it and make it look pretty. Incoherent? Celebrate a man that sent his wife and son into the desert to die, then goes back to his other son to sacrifice him to an invisible god and then mutilating his penis. If you want to here incoherence, listen to religion try to explain how this was all good…Very Good. And perfectly infallible.

“IF”

Why are atheists so mad at god? I have heard this several million times, and apologists even posing that statement at famous atheists. The answer as always, is quite simple. Often leaving out one key point, allows apologists a foothold to say “see, they believe in god, they’re just angry with him”. That key point, when discussing atrocities and misery on the world is the word “if”. If there was a god, he is not the kind and loving father religion claims. He is all the things scripture and preachers teach against and more. God kills, tortures, exterminates, shames, oppresses, mutilates, enslaves, and decimates. Those that preach the loudest are usually the most guilty. “God is love” is a ploy to distract the evidence and cover the truth. Giving him credit for a saving one person from a tsunami that kills 300,000 people is just so spiritual, Isn’t it? If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. If it kills like a genocidal maniac, starves out populations, causes death plagues on a fifth of the worlds populations, it is an evil god, not a good god. “If” there was one.

Interpreting Scripture or Rationalizing

It was pointed out to me that our interpretation of scripture is uneducated and misguided. I made a comment,”his interpretation sounds like all he’s doing is rationalizing for god”. The answer:

“Absolutely not. It would be called rightly interpreting the Bible, Jim. Ignoring the cultural context, genre, analogical language, or explanatory scope would be superficially treating the text, thus, reading it wrongly.” More rationalizing, or no?

I need an excuse for this “scripture” please. Or is it the interpretation of the original I’m struggling with?

“Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light. And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold. And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.”

‭‭Judges‬ ‭19:22-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Correct interpretation? It is only a religious zealot that would not defend his daughters life to his own death.

Bible Facts

The typical bible has an average of 1,189 chapters. These are made up of 31,173 verses and using a rough word count, this amounts to 807,370 words, although the King James Authorized Bible has 780,137 words. Using a standard font, the average bible has around 1200 pages depending on the version. I scoured the Bible for other facts to no avail. And studies outside the Bible regarding evidence is nearly non existent. However, the evidence that it claims itself to be true apparently is good enough.

Thrib Nigriv

Thrib Nigriv is the opposite of virgin birth. This is commonly known as copular denial. “I don’t know how this happened, kind of denial. Ketamine induce sexual activity brain altered denial. Denial is a clever way one maintains innocence through excuses and unlikely tales. But it also causes problems. If you give up your virginity before it’s time, remember, your cover story may change the course of history. We don’t need any more of that.

The Second Oldest Profession Is Lying About It

No Wrong, No Doubt

Honesty and Christian apologetics is the fifty first shade of grey. Advancing the lords work requires the utmost skill and knowledge, and serious fudging of the truth from time to time. “I don’t know” is an ok answer, but confirming any personal doubt or lack of knowledge is not the apologist way. No chink in the armor of god can be displayed.

As I can only speak for myself, here is why I immersed myself in apologetics–Doubt, Doubt, Doubt! Doubt is what puts you into apologetics. After many years of innocent faith you investigate below the surface and come to the crossroads of doubt. Next, spend the rest of your life trying to prove you’re not naive and gullible. I spent 20 years reading Qumran, Nag Hammadi, Dead Sea scrolls, and miles of Bible commentary and scripture trying to find proof and validation. I never did. But in Christianity the conversion process is to “believe” before you know the details, then apologetics takes the rest of your life wading through cleverly worded arguments trying to prove yourself right. Faith, them knowledge, then doubt, is the fuel that keeps Christian apologetics alive. And doubt is inevitable when there is no substance but supernatural hearsay.

How to Separate the Facts from the Myths?

Some excellent points from Ark in yesterdays post, and some unanswered questions from Mel, who is not taking a fundamental approach to believing the Bible, such as the Adam and Eve story or Noah’s ark, but we are to believe in the virgin birth and the resurrection. Other than some place names in the Bible that we know exist, how can we determine which is fact and which is fable?

Science Basics, Religion Basics

I could tell you how many times we’ve heard this week that atheists have faith too, but I’d have to re-sift through a mile of apologetic comments to make a count. Contrary to what continues to be parroted, most of science is based on reproducible fact that is no longer theory. Although some of the more advanced ideas are currently in developing phases, most science is provable on a daily basis. Water boils at 212f or 100c at sea level. Every time. Objects fall at 9.8 m/s squared. Every time with wind resistance calculated for mass. If I jump off the 325 foot bridge by my house I will fall 4.49 seconds and travel 81.4 MPH at impact releasing 77,616 joules, since I weigh 75 kilos. Every time. If I want to have my buddy in Norway cast a bronze statue, I can send the alloy formula to him based on a variety of aluminium bronzes of differing compositions and he will make the exact alloy I could make here in Washington. All lab testable for density and purity. Human life requires a tightly controlled pH level in the blood of about 7.4 and during illnesses we can regulate it pretty well with interventions. We also know how the body maintains this homeostasis in great detail. I could go on, but the point is almost everything in our lives today is explainable by science. Pretty good odds someone is getting it mostly right. Except one point. So now it’s your turn. Let’s show some proof on prayer and some proof it works. Ready…..go! If that’s too hard pick another topic. Revelation, faith healing, authenticate your creation story, find some evidence of the Exodus. Ok …go again. Just one. Why is it so hard for religiosos to admit prayer doesn’t work? They all know it doesn’t work! (Except when casting tornados into adjacent neighborhoods) Also, as a side note, religion is also testable for density

Here is a great article researching the efficacy of prayer in a medical setting. Be sure to read to page 2 as it really sums up some of the psychology which prayer may actually be harmful in clinical settings.

What is it They Want?

“I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the house I consider as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we have. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense?” –Patrick Henry-

How long must we bow to the untestable, ambiguous, immoral, misinterpreted, oft quoted pseudo knowledge of divisive fable of a god that is created to control minds of the superstitious and believed by the gullible masses? How many prayers must be offered into the vacuum of space without a hint of reciprocity before we can open the minds of those masses and reach meaningful human potential?

If sensible people don’t have a sensible discussion, stupid people will have a stupid one.

Believers and Make-Believers – Is there a difference?

Believers in Make-Believe were congratulating themselves after two hours of debating and attempted grandeur. Is it possible to “win” a debate when all if your evidence is complete horse shit and smug showmanship? I read where John Lennox “wiped the floor ” with Dawkins. With what? Make-believe? The pluralistic ignorance of religion is strong. has some sweet history of success in other arenasNorth Korea is the current leader several Muslim countries all tied for 2nd place. Keep moving and agree. It’s safe there. But nowhere on earth can beat the USA in pluralistic ignorance about biblical histories that have been debunked years ago. Accepting fraudulence is a way of life for make-believers. Remember the story that broke about gold plated chariot wheels found in the Red Sea. “What they found strewn across the bottom of the reed sea has shaken the religious and scientific community,” says Rood. “Cameras mounted on remote-controlled submarines revealed coral-encrusted chariot parts, horse and human remains strewn like battlefield wreckage on the bottom of the reed sea.” Years later they are still working the story which was fake news. Snopes. But there are new stories still on the web pushing this. Is it only here you can “be all that you can be” by hanging on to the disproved and claim a cover up is hiding the truth. Only in Christianity can you quote gospel commandments as gods law given to a prophet that didn’t exist. If you’re wondering “am I the only one?” No. You’re not!

The Gospel Behind Apparitions

TCA News Podcast Script 1a

2-2-2018

Apparitions caused quite a stir in out last segment, so let’s follow up with some explanations. Our first caller stated “The only reason I converted to Christianity in my teens was because I saw the face of Jesus in a tortilla”.

I wasn’t sure if the caller was being sarcastic or not, so we’ll address this on a serious note. “Your welcome. Was it a corn tortilla or flour? Tortilla de maíz or “corn tortilla” would signify Christ as a Latin American figure, while flour has a broader range of ethnicities and we could justify a white Jesus using that logic. Was the tortilla already cooked? Post resurrection apparitions are demonstrably more prevalent in cooked tortillas, whereas uncooked could have a range of 33 years to work with and could be a juvenile apparition ranging up to the bearded version we see the most. I’m happy you had such a spiritual encounter.It is remarkably as justifiable as any other I’ve heard”.

Other factors come into play here, but as the caller took the answer off the line, I’ll have to assume a few follow up questions here. Was the tortilla an authentic variety or store bought? Store bought tortillas are uncommon for verifiable apparitions second to a strict assembly line structure. Authentic hand-made are more common as the transfers of belief systems can spiritually influence the potential outcomes. For the atheist homes, use a hot iron type press to maintain apparition free tortillas.

Branyan Apologist

TCA Newsflash

2-1-2018

Christian apologist and ego-fed blogger John Branyan made the pages of the world renown Urban Dictionary today from his Indiana home. Branyan, famous among locals as the “little apologist that could”, had few words for reporters, which is rare for the “eager pleaser of the man from Nazareth”. Fame and notoriety are nothing new for the man known as “Brain Yawn”, in certain blogging circles. Branyan Apologist! It’s official! Congratulations John. Although not accustomed to having anything approved, Urban Dictionary set a new approval speed record of 28 seconds. Seems they knew you were coming, lurking, watching, waiting to pounce and mine out any potential opportunity for conjecture. Congratulations!

Family Farm

I know some of you are animal lovers. For 3507 years now my family has been keeping a pretty big flock of a mixture of special animals. We saved them as kind of a hobby. When the book of Job came out, Behemoths became the rage. My dad bought one at an auction and he’s had it ever since. He said it may be a collectible some day. Man he got that right. I don’t think it will ever die. The thing is cursed or something. Our hay bill is outrageous, but since we feed it instead of tithing it’s probably cheaper in the long run. I did some sketches since they don’t like being photoed. Ever since dads daguerreotype caught on fire they hide from the camera.

He also bought a Leviathan as a baby. We kept it in a small pool so it didn’t get big. They’re like goldfish and stay small if you hold back the food and keep the pool small. It’s a nasty little thing but dad likes it since it talks a lot. I’m pretty sure this would be the beast from revelation, so keeping it small is probably the best thing.

When dad was just a kid he picked up a serpent looking thing in the garden. He says it used to talk to him, but sometimes I just think dad talked to it a lot when he was little. It’s about as smooth as a used car salesman though.

His pet dragon is the coolest of them all. Frickin thing is ancient and still lays eggs. I was raised on them. We never need matches or anything. I tried to get dad to convert its stall to a thermal breathing heater but he never did. All that energy wasted all these years. He says he bought it from a guy on Patmos Island? Where is that any way?

Well, there’s more but I have to go out and feed. I lost a finger last week to that fuckin cockatrice so I feed it last just to piss it off. Little bastard!

Masterpiece!

This here piece from my Ugandan connection to the atheist world. Dr. Seggy just gave a perfect glimpse to religious devotion. Well worth your time! Bravo Doc! Sometimes someone else just nails it for you!

Mixing Science and Faith

Maybe Christianity could adapt some scientific principles. They could claim it as gospel like they did paganism and mythology. But I don’t believe the two will ever mix because science is unprejudiced. Don’t forget their core! They are waiting and praying for god to come back and slaughter all the rest of us. That little tidbit says a lot about how they really feel. It’s a religion that is divisive and racist and prejudice to its core, and piety sets dividing lines to fight every step of social equality or scientific advance.

Ten Commandments

Which of the ten commandments has been most effective at preventing crime? Which one has stopped the most carnage, adultery, lying, and so forth? Do you have a personal experience where in a heat of passion and you were just about to kill someone, and you thought, wait! That’s against the rules?

The Finite Human Mind Cannot Comprehend

I’ve heard this one before, but I just want to know who gets to determine what I can comprehend? I think we’re ready now. Go ahead. Explain it.

Now I know how few people depend on Answers dot com for their religious questions, but this did get 7200 confidence votes from a guy named fowl1. Good job. Thanks for the material Christians.

Hubble Captures Distant Images of Temples on Other Planets

According to an anonymous insider, The Vatican along with NASA’s HST division are withholding critical images proving that Mormonism is indeed more than a world religion. God has created “worlds without number” and recent Hubble images have captured LDS temples in other distant solar systems. LDS temple alignment and curious symbolism is literally a “modern day Mormon stargate “. Below are some codings in alignment from specific LDS temple architecture.

LDS officials routinely open these gates using a stellar map and detailed compass aligned with a curious sword that was deposited in the Hill Cumorah in upstate New York and retrieved by the prophet Joseph Smith.

Officials state ” we’ve had the answers for quite some time”, although common members are not currently participating in intergalactic travel because of “unbelief”, Church officials do commonly visit other planets to coordinate the various second coming scenarios soon to unfold.

“There’s only one Jesus, so these things take a little planning “. LDS doctrine teach “Christ’s atonement was for all of gods children, and in the big picture, that is a lot of worlds and a lot of people that need saving”.

Current leadership is also in pursuit of the Erdapfel globe. “We want it back”, for as rumored the globe is not a 15th century creation, but a much older relic of precolombian mesoamerican mormonism.

Half Is Not Enough! Game of Acquiesce

Staring at me every day is a couple of glaring missteps in the religious model. Hearsay and opinion are the driving force of modern faith, and you only need to know the key points. But the devil is in the details. The text is incomplete and the revelations too vague. The origins are muddied with folklore and fable, and mythology is mixed with faith and canonized doctrine overrun with philosophy. The TV preacher will say, “see how god has done this”. No, sir, you have done this! The world has rejected reasonable good sense to pursue charlatan promises about a half read book with a large comment section, while most of the text is kept hidden away from public knowledge

Imagine any philosopher, or physicist or anything deciding they had learned all they needed to know halfway through freshman year quitting before fully comprehending anything! Religion is a kid that just got his yellow belt and wants to show off his karate. He doesn’t know enough to know he doesn’t know enough. But like most faithfuls he will quit the lessons and go on doing roundhouses in front of his buddies. Theist have a bible. An incomplete book of fragments and copies mixed with myth and folklore and a little paganism just to make it friendly. You read through it with a few friends, hear their testimonies and Boom! That’s all you need to know to start preaching. And usually a lot less. This is the wisdom that creates a klan. That is a dangerous juncture to start wielding the sword of righteousness judgement. That is zeal without knowledge. The other side of the coin is the “rather be safe than sorry approach” of Pascal, which is actually a game of acquiesce. You lose your fight and thirst for knowledge when you accept something reluctantly without protest and just give in to it. Just because. They make it too easy. All you have to do accept the free gift. Have you ever gotten a free gift with no forms, no obligation, no strings? No brainer, right? Click here and give your life away along with thinking for yourself. But that’s the way it is. I guess anything worth doing is usually just too hard. And learning takes time.

The LDS system turns kids out to proselytize before they can say boo. But they’ve memorized the key points. They get you into the temple to make lifelong covenants, without even telling you what you will be promising. Then as a large reverent group full of family and friends all raise your hand and make the oaths. If you won’t do it, you stand to be dismissed in front of the group. Who does that? They have to agree before they know what they are agreeing too. Total bullshit. Should be illegal honestly. But that’s the way christianity works. Get everybody to buy into it before they have the knowledge.

These columns are approx 4 light years tall from the vantage point of the Hubble. Awesome!

The Sunday Meme

Really?

It’s not even a very good hoax. Who is it that leaves all their sensibility at the door for a poorly written hearsay of a long ago past? It is now the grown equivalent of a massive federation bureaucracy driven by incoherent laws with rogue outposts crying “lo here” and “lo there”. Their making this stuff up! The only thing keeping it afloat are the gullibles that won’t look at real knowledge to change it, and the other passengers that are driving the ship with the zeal of a half eaten library book. Just the way it was planned.

Sunday I have a very special post that would appreciate your input. Thanks so much.

Wurtzite Boron Nitride—The Apologist Mind

Wurtzite boron nitride is the hardest known natural substance on planet earth. It is also very rare. Scientist are currently using Christian apologist dummy models in an effort to determine density and commercial drilling applications using Wurtzite boring bits. It may also shed light on tapping into the apologist mind, which comprises the strangest of man made mythical substance. The current drill design features a wide, circular counter motion with redundant coupled ambiguous capabilities. The results to date are under study, but the difficulties of getting through are mentionable and require further reasoning. So far only 1% of the dummy heads have been penetrated. Scientist are baffled that the best science, technique, and machinery have not been reliable in tapping through to the mind of the dummies.

What to buy next?

When I commented the other day on a blog comparing the fallacy of atheism compared to Christianity, the guy fired back that I sound like a disciple of Dawkins and Ehrman, and then he blocked me. But the truth is, I have never read either of them. If the reasons I left faith are the same as they’ve written about, I guess you can figure it out on your own using you good old fashioned brain, minus what’s lacking in religion with sugarcoated faith. Prayers don’t get answered. Ever! But you all know the excuses. “God knows best”, or “he’s just testing your faith” or ” you pray in our time, but god answers in his time”. B frickin S! Then the scripture is an elastically moral fraud that demands ones full attention and years of endless debate and conjecture. The unsolvable religious Rubiks’s cube. I gave it my full attention. The reason I left is simple. Things never added up the way they were supposed to. Nothing made sense unless it was explained over and over. Then someone would explain the explanation so the explanation made sense. But in the end it is a charade that people believe only because they want to. They feel the need to. If you have a quiet few days you can figure this out. Looks like I need to buy some Dawkins and Ehrman? I really got a lot from John Zande’s 2 books and am science and physics fan. What should I read next as a relative newbie?

Selling What We Already Have

I have laid low these past few years since my deconversion. My mind works like a good stew, and then it’s ready to go. I generally take my time with things, especially after being controlled by those I thought I could trust for so long. Essentially duped by the duped. Funny now, but wow! Having just finished a couple of good books by John Zande these past few weeks, my mind has been working out a concise summary of what struck me profoundly. So without giving too much away, here is one point I have milled in my mind to a chiseled point. Every element from hydrogen to uranium, every molecule and atom, every cell and creature is in a naturally constant state of anxiety. Each one is desperately trying to stay together, to hang on for another day. It is this drive and desire that pushes to new boundaries. Defenses continue to mount and stretch the elements ability to cope and survive. To grow. To evolve. Every bit if matter has this inherent drive to hang on. Hope is the card that religion plays. And they play it well. Hope for eternal life after death. Hope to continue on. Hope things get better. But hope is something we already have. It is in us already. So why do we need to buy it? Fear. Abrahamic religions attach fear to something that is natural and unavoidable. Then they offer the solution. Meanwhile everything in this state of panic is dying and death, struggle and change, and anxiety. Pure, perfect evil if you would. And when you are done with this struggle for existence you die. Miserably decomposing and holding on till another day, but the final outcome is without question. When we observe this creation it is fair to assume the mind and disposition of this perfect creator. If there is a god and this is his doing, then he is enjoying the suffering and delights himself in the misery of all of the elements. Including man. I choose not to believe in deities. The evidence is compelling that no good god would have done this. He is either incompetent or he is malicious. There is much, much more to be taken from Mr. Zande in these two books, and I highly recommend these for every avid learner that wants to challenge what he thinks he knows. It is a fresh look that flies in the face of “god is good”, and has compelling evidence and good supportive reasoning and science. But the conclusions will be left to you.

Peer Reviewed Religion?

Any scientist welcomes criticism of his ideas, theories, and experiments. They expect it to be challenged. Even the late philosopher scientist Karl Popper was hesitant to have anyone believe him. He once taught a university class and I quote ” the aim of criticism is to eliminate our errors”. He not only expected it, he welcomed it! His scientific process went like this P1 >TT >EE > P2. Most science originates with a problem, then the scientist addresses it. That’s problem 1, or P1. Attempting a solution is TT, or tentative theory. EE is eliminate errors which brings us to fix any issues that arose in problem 1, and now we have P2, or problem 2. Little by little you find less and less problems with your going around in circles and come up with a sound solution. Sometimes the process is very slow, but the answers become real and tangible. Also his falsification methodology tried to prove everything false first and foremost. When I have an idea I like to bounce it off a few people I know are straight shooters to validate my ideas. Can we get the same from religion?

The other approach is the authoritarian approach. In the Mormon faith which is my area of de-expertise goes like this. “Do not speak evil against the lords anointed”. Church members that speak out about the hidden histories and falsehood that were propagated by the church are excommunicated. Even criticizing church leaders with known facts about doctrines and practices are excommunicated. Protesting for LGTB community and opposing any church doctrine openly will get you excommunicated. The only book that is fair game in the mormon faith is the inconsistencies in the Bible. Old prophets you can question. Current leadership, not so much. It’s a big problem all churches have- claiming infallibility. They all have the one authoritative source that is taught with that mindset. As if any church that is a “bible church” has a leg to withstand any scrutiny at all. And Popper finishes my day with some good wisdom. “We shouldn’t try to educate experts, but we should try to educate people who can distinguish between a charlatan and an expert. But I think that we have singularly failed even in this”.

Amen 🙂

Radical Atheistology

Four things or five you need to start deconverting from any invisible mythical sky god religion.

1. Read. Read more than just the official versions your church allows. You’ll be surprised what they hide from you. If you all ready know? Shame on you and skip to step 2. Stop apologizing for them. Read something contrary. You’ll be surprised at the common sense kindness of the atheist community. Smart, accepting, and reasonable. Not for power, not for money, not for control. For a free mind and acceptance. For peace. Really!

2. Observe. Even the simplest observation on your own time can easily overturn the miles of apologetic writing your church has split hairs to write. Don’t forget to look around you. Take a hike in the canyons. The earth is older than that. Cmon man! And there’s more!

3. Critical thinking. For instance, the jesus story has been told almost verbatim by several ancient civilizations long before Christianity. Virgin birth, half man, half god, dies to save everyone, celebrated at Christmas time and they were gods. But hey! This time it’s for real. Right! Think about it. Look it up. It’s all out there. Just peek outside the box. You’ve been duped! And there’s more!! Way more.

4. Whiskey. Relax. The world is not coming to an end. No one is coming out of the sky to save or rapture you. It’s up to us to fix our situation. So let’s put away the waiting for Jesus and praying for the end to come soon and get to work. We’re wasting time. A lot of time. Enjoy life and be brothers and sisters. Religion divides what otherwise would be whole. Try it. What is there to lose. What you’ve been doing is not working. Give it a chance! Peek!

If you’re still here this might be for you. I have a secret surprise I’ve waited for the end, and this is very typical of the folks I’ve met. They are liberated from guilt and they are happy. They have a high moral standard based on natural laws and consequences and we love the earth. A true deep desire to preserve the world. Our way of life

Follow some atheist books and blogs. The basics will get you by, but there is a world of good reading and real knowledge out there.

I was a follower for 50 years I’m sorry to say. I’m actually a little embarrassed by it. I walked away a few years ago from the mind games, guilt, ambiguous doctrine, cover ups, brainwashing, poorly translated mythology I was supposed to analyze and work out my salvation. If I guess wrong? Oops. Sorry jim. You’re going to hell. It was all a trap to keep me payin and prayin and obeyin. Believing a stifling dogma has consequences that restrict growth of the mind and well being. And I defended it!

respectfully–jim, the common atheist

Did I miss anything?

Acronyms and DSRD

I was training a newly hired EMT to enter his reports in the computer, and shortly after writing a practice report we got a call to go out for an MVC. We transported a minor injury patient to the hospital and since the new guy tech’d the call, he wrote the notes. Medical people use a ton of acronyms, and as I was reviewing his report I noticed some strange ones I’d never seen before. He stated ” PT found in FPS, A/O X4 PWD, airway intact. Pt with MLLUA and ALSOF. I thought “huh”? I called him back to the office for a minute to explain. “Oh, FPS is front passenger seat”. And MLLUA is mild laceration left upper arm”, and ALSOF is “abrasion left side of face”. I said “Aaron you can’t just make shit up on these reports. No one knows what these mean except you”. There is a long list of accepted acronyms and I gave him a copy to work from. Heres a small sample.

Aaron appears to be mixing religion and work here, since “make it up as you go” is a common tool for building credible rapport in the churches.

I’ve heard some faith promoting whoppers during my time in the church. I felt the spirit (emotion) over outright lies and fabrications. I’ve seen the faithful tie silly things together that show god is with them every step of the way. From found car keys to successful surgeries, god gets the credit. When things don’t go your way he gets a free pass. If uncle Eddy survives the heart attack,”praise god”! If he dies, god took him home to heaven. He knows what’s best for you. Right?

WARNING– What you about to read might cause you to think.

Preachers tell lies and twist stories to convince you that god is real and their religions are right. They desperately want you to believe what they believe. They will tell you things to drive your emotions. That feeling is not the spirit. It is a manipulation tactic to get devotion and keep you in faith to give themselves power and money. Do not believe it. You have been tricked by professionals that prey on people during vulnerable times in their lives. Do not buy it. You already possess everything they have to offer. It’s already in you. You can do this without the bs of a religious dogma. Waiting for god to answer your prayers is a waste of time. Time that could be spent working out your own future, free of charge and free of mental bondage.

DSRD = dumb stuff religions do

Faith + Fiction = Miracles. Here have a bible

Sometimes a Stranger is Fiction

I got a flat tire last year on a remote gravel road, and as I was changing my tire an old blue sedan came barreling up the road. I called to my dog but he was so engrossed in a hunt for field mice he wouldn’t hear me. Right as the car approached my dog bolted my way across the road and bam! The car never slowed down or stopped. My dog laid in the ditch. He was dead. I sat there. I think most of you have lost a pet before. No explanation can tell you how devastated I was. I cried. I prayed. God help me. After a little while had passed I collected myself enough to finish my tire, and just as I was about done my dog licked the back of my neck. I was in shock. In complete joy. How? No way! As I held Roger I saw a man hurry across the road and down a steep embankment. I shouted “hey”! I ran to the edge where I last saw him and he was gone. Nothing. I knew what I had seen. I knew my dog was now alive and not a scratch on him. God had sent his holy angel to help me. Thank you Jesus thank you Jesus. God hears our prayers, and in our most desperate times he is here for us. To comfort. To heal. To help.

Should I post this story on Facebook and ask for likes, amens, or shares. I could strengthen testimonies with a story like this. The problem is … it is just a story. Total fabrication. While most church stories contain a wee bit of truth, I’ve seen first hand how they grow bigger and better with time.

The churchers and their preachers embellish nearly everything they say to tug at your emotions then attribute it to god. And I’m not even close to exaggerating here. Just last week god the father and the son and the Holy Spirit visited a friend of mine in the form of three hummingbirds! What the hell do you say to that? If people are looking for miracles, they’ll get them. Or see birds. (Below is the area where none of this occurred)

Believers and Bernoulli’s Principle

Misapplied evidence of god. An old friend from school was in an accident a couple of days ago. I have to share this thread and comments.

“With everything I’ve endured the past 3 yrs. I was beginning to wonder “WHY” oh Lord is ALL this happening to me!!!!!! Questioning where is God in all of this. For those who know me, my faith has never wavered in these trying times, until this accident. I’m at my breaking point!!! Asking “why me Lord” what the hell have I done to deserve ALL of this shit!!!!!! Until this morning…..I was sitting on our front patio looking@our water feature,which has 3 staggered height rocks and there sat 3 hummingbirds, yes 3😲 3 male hummingbirds, for 1 they are extremely territorial and always chase each other off, but there they all sat drinking the water for what seemed like an eternity!!!!! My mouth was wide open@this amazingly beautiful, spectacular reminder that the Lord is ALWAYS with me through EVERYTHING❤️For me, the 3 hummingbirds was such an obvious sign of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, right there in plain sight, just for me!!!!!! It was the most spiritual experience that I will forever hold onto💞 Here’s some comments– I commented in Latin “SanctaeTrinitatus ad Avem“. (The Bird Trinity). She replies “oh Jim, that’s beautiful”. Hehe.

Asimov shares an example of misapplied. This from The Ratliff Notepad is part of the old Asimov speech. We are the stagecoach people. We can show the obvious, but the tales are memorized from childhood, and they should have never left it. Why does this matter? This codependent behavior with god hamstrings the faithful and stunts their progress. She has the power to take control of her life. Her situation has not changed, but her attitude has. How much time wasted, waiting, hoping, that god will come fix this mess, when we have the power to do it ourselves?

On The Problem of Good

Once in a while you stumble across something so contrary to the main views of the world that is so compelling, so convincing, that you really have to evaluate what you think you believe. As a fairly new deconvert, I found this a compelling and contrary view of good and evil, and it presented itself very plausible and convincing. A work that is very hard to counter without interjecting words like “belief” and “faith”. Another reviewer on Amazon put it well–“The research and supporting argumentation is frighteningly persuasive and would pass any Doctorate board of review.” Thank you John for the excellent work. Much appreciated! You can find the book here. On the Problem of Good (The Owner of All Infernal Names) https://www.amazon.com/dp/154247793X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_t4wkAbD9VC5W1

The Antithesis of Answers

In Christian apologetics the most complex answer is the best one, because it is the only one that will wear out the investigator to the point where they just look at the overwhelming picture and say, “well, 2 billion people can’t all be wrong. Can they”? I was embroiled in it for years explaining the defense of the Mormon faith until I got too tired. It went against my simple solution brain. Even the best thought out answer requires additional explaining and hair splitting. You really have to choose to believe or not. It’s that simple. Then if you believe it you’ll know it’s true. Got it!

What do you want to believe

Because the “four corners of the earth” are mentioned in the Bible, pseudo-scholars driven by faith have set out to prove the earth is flat. They will cleverly word every point to show that the Bible is right, and dupe many faithful followers to dig in their heels on this non topic to make Christianity even more silly than it already is. As if the 6 day creation wasn’t silly enough, they continue to believe this nonsense rather than look outside and see with their own eyes what the world is.

As I was walking in the canyons with my seven year old looking at the rock formations and fossils, I mentioned that some people believe all of this was created and formed in 1 day. She looked at me like I was crazy. I know she trusts me, and if I had sat down with her and read the “official” book on this (the Bible) and explained in detail that this was true, and god said so, she would have started a path of contradictory self doubt about the real world and what she is actually seeing, and myth. For now we don’t really talk about the mythical being in the sky. It’s an irrelevant distraction that keeps some of the best minds from real progress in reality.