Really this time....

Yeah, I know I said I would start again, but man has life been hectic. The family & work, it just never stops. I've neglected a lot, even my activity online with Twitter and the like.

Well hopefully this will all kick start soon. There is so much going on lately that I really want to comment on and so much I need to say so I'm going to start putting some thoughts down and get back to work shortly.

BTW, I would love if I could get a few other people who want to write articles. I know that is likely a long shot but would be cool none the less. I'm thinking of making some minor tweaks to the blog so it would be inclusive of other writers. If anyone is interested let me know.

Anyway, more later.

Been a while

Well it has been a while since I managed to sit down and vent about the biggest pox on our planet, religion.

With my daughters birth and the adventure of becoming a father I haven't had the time, though I have been getting more and more frustrated and pissed off with the religious nuts the world over. And now it is starting to hit closer and closer to home.

Now that I have a child my parents seem to be getting bolder and bolder with their religious nonsense. My wife makes no secret of her Atheism, something I am find difficult to deal with at times but also find refreshing. I do try, most of the time, to keep the peace and not go too far in offending others, particularly family, while she is happy to blurt out just about anything.

I should probably come out of the closet on my Atheism. Most everyone knows already, even my born again over the top Christian brother, whom I'm sorry to say I don't hold in the highest regard intellectually, managed to work it out. But mom and dad seem to still be in the dark. The fact that I regularly bitch about religion etc doesn't seem to sink in. They get upset that I badmouth "my own religion" as they still think I am Christian. They chew my wife out for her statements on Facebook, which are often a lot milder than mine, but they are blocked from seeing my statements on such subjects.

The thing that really gets me though is the absolute hypocrisy. We always talk about the hypocrisy of the religious on the higher level, but I am simply blown away of late at how much this hypocrisy spreads into even the lowest levels of religious life.

Lets take a few points from recent events:

• My family find it perfectly OK to badmouth Democrats (or anyone who doesn't share their religious or political ideology) in the harshest possible ways, but if any one of us posts something about the Republicans that isn't 100% supportive of them we are "being hateful and need to take our bullshit elsewhere because Facebook is meant to be fun."
• My family find it perfectly OK to quote bible verses on almost a daily basis but if we post even the most benign quote from an Atheist or Secularist we are infringing on their religious rights.
• It is perfectly acceptable for my mother to badmouth my wife to one of our friends, a friend that my wife and I went to school with, yet when my wife rebuts my mother's lies to this friend my wife is labelled a backstabber by my mother.

These are just a few examples of some of the hypocrisy going on lately. It disgusts me as does the bullshit backstabbing. I am just waiting for one of them to forcefully try and baptize my daughter. All hell will break loose if they try.

Anyway I am going to close off now, rethinking all of this bullshit that has happened lately is starting to piss me off to no end. But I am going to be back. I am going to start posting again as much as I can because these religious nuts are starting fuck up our planet more and more with each passing day and it is making me sick.

GOP Congressman Steve King on Gay Marriage: IT'S SOCIALIST

Will the stupidity from the right never end? Now Republican Congressman Steve King (Iowa) is claiming that the whole idea of Gay marriage is a socialist one. He says that gays only want to get married so they can steal government benefits that usually go to straight married couples, claiming that the whole idea is one of share and share alike which is totally socialist.

Am I alone in finding this totally stupid? So it is not socialist when straight people marry but it is when homosexuals do? Come on, any second grader could see the flaw in this logic.

What about the people that don't love each other? The straight people that get married to make life easier, or better still, the people who are already married that loathe and detest each other but don't get a divorce so they can keep getting tax breaks and other benefits? There are LOTS of those people out there, and it is perfectly ok for them to do so, because they are straight.

This is just stupid! Lets face it Mr. King, you are using this word, a popular word lately since rightwing assholes like you keep throwing it around without even understanding its real meaning, to cover up your obvious religious, bigoted and homophobic agenda. The worst part: voters who listen to this shit, who are too stupid to really understand what it means, and actually buy it.

Mr. King, with all due respect, shut up! America deserves better.

Quote from Congressman King:

So in the end this is something that has to come with a, if there's a push for a socialist society, a society where the foundations of individual rights and liberties are undermined and everybody is thrown together, living collectively off of one pot of resources earned by everyone. That is, this is one of the goals they have to go to is same-sex marriage because it has to plow through marriage in order to get to their goal. They want public affirmation. They want access to public funds and resources. Eventually all those resources will be pooled because that's the direction we're going. And not only is it a radical social idea, it is a purely socialist concept in the final analysis.

Read more at and listen to the clip: Here and Here

Missed Opportunity - "Left Behind"

The Telegraph has reported on a new service for rapture believing Christians that I can't believe that I didn't think of earlier. Having spent so much time studying business in high school and university I am sorely disappointed in myself!

Eternal Earth-Bound Pets has started a service which, for a mere $110 payment, they will ensure that you pets are well looked after should you be swept up to heaven in the loving arms of Jebus in the coming rapture.

So, what exactly do you get for your $110 dollars?

Well according to their website, they have a self confessed sinners, blasphemers and atheists, all of whom have signed statements that they are moral people with no criminal records. These volunteers, currently spread across 22 states, will take in your pet and care for it in a loving environment. Not a bad investment.

So, whats the catch?

Well if the rapture doesn't happen in the next 10 years, you don't get your money back. You are also excluded from a refund if you loose your faith and end up left behind yourself.

What a wonderful concept, seriously, I wish I had thought of it. It brings together the stupidity and gullibility of these christian nuts, and gets them to part with their hard earned money. At least the money is going for a better cause than funding some hypocritical TV evangelist! I wish these guys the best and hope they make millions!

The story of creation

With logic like this, aren't you glad they are trying to force creationism in schools?

Seriously, I can't believe with all the scientific evidence people still buy into this bullshit theory creation, or at least the biblical account of creation. I think this video does a good job of showing just how stupid the whole idea really is. There may just be a god out there somewhere, though I seriously have my doubts, but I can be pretty certain it is not the god of Moses, Abraham, et al.

Homosexuality is "wrong"... mmmmmkay?

Wow, back from the holiday and house move and I am going straight for a touchy subject, but one I feel quite strongly about. Homosexuality, or rather the total hypocrisy Christianity has when preaching how "wrong" it is to be gay.

I have copped flack any number of times from family, friends and people in general for my support for the gay community, but that hasn't changed my stance and never will. I fully support equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation, race, gender or other descriptive label we may place on another human being.

Growing up I had a number of friends that were obviously gay. They may not have known it, they may have struggled with it, but I knew, and to me, even as a younger kid, had no problem with it. I didn't believe it was a choice, I knew it was the way they were. Honestly I felt really happy when they finally admitted to themselves that they were gay because I knew it would make them happier. Some others, I have to admit, came as a complete shock, but I was happy for them none the less. It is hard enough to define your place in the world and if you are struggling against the perceived "norms" of society it is even harder, I myself am dealing with a smilier issue with my atheism. It isn't exactly an overly accepted way of life, not in my family or in the country I live in.

Anyway, enough about how I feel, lets get straight to the hypocrisy shall we!

What the Bible says (and thus what Christians spew forth)

In the Old Testament the rules and laws were set down in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is pretty much were our Christian friends get their ideas on homosexuality.

In the book of Leviticus it says:

Leviticus 18:20
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

When asking a Christian to justify these verses they often quote the "commandment" of god in Genesis:

Genesis 1:28
Be Fruitful and Multiply

So, this is their argument? In my reading of the above it seems that god has no problem with lesbians, he only refers to men in those passages. This, of course, probably has a lot to do with the fact that women, in the biblical sense, are treated as little more than property, but that really is a discussion for another time.

To me this argument really holds little water, particularly when held up to the other laws we no longer obey. To me it says "I, the Lord your God, created you in my image, yet, in the womb, before you were ever born and through no fault of your own, I made your mind and soul such that it was only compatible with someone from the same sex, but if you act on those urges I will send you straight to hell after having you murdered by your friends and family." What else could it possibly say? I know most Christians believe that homosexuality is a choice, but lets just ignore that because they are simply wrong. People are born homosexual, some people fight it, others accept it, but being born gay is no different than being born with blonde hair or brown eyes, it is just the way we are.

BUT, and this is where it gets good, this little law is right smack dab in the middle of a lot of other laws, laws that we no longer obey because, well, society and our understanding of human nature, anatomy and science has moved on. To throw away those other "wonderful" (read the preceding word with immense levels of sarcasm) laws and yet cling to this one is totally hypocritical, or rather "Very Christian".

Lets look at some of the discard laws:

Kill your kids if they disobey or cause you trouble.

Deuteronomy 21:18 -21
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.

Well I guess your daughter can get away with murder huh. I really pity the male kids with A.D.D., or who are going through the "terrible twos" or the ever common "teenage angst" period of their life. I am really glad that we have decided to move beyond this little law.

Kill your whole family if they try to lead you from the path of god.

Deuteronomy 13:6-9
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people.

This is really bad for us Atheists or Agnostics who try and help our family see reason. Actually there are many Christians who use this little law still, not to kill people, but to justify banning things such as Yoga, Trantra, meditation and so on because they originated in other religions. While we may still use this rule to justify petty intolerance's, at least society has thrown away the idea of murdering people for something so petty.

Here is one of my favourite absurdities: Menstruating women are unclean, touching them or anything they have touched will make you unclean, and once they are done menstruating they must make both a blood and a burnt sacrifice to God to make themselves clean again.

Leviticus 15:19-23
" 'When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.

" 'Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening.

Leviticus 15:28-30
" 'When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. On the eighth day she must take

two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the LORD for the uncleanness of her discharge.

I mean COME ON. Thankfully this has been done away with as humankind has moved forward. I pose the following challenge to any Christian women reading this that stand against Homosexuality: When was the last time you followed the above passages? When was the last time your husband did?

Lets speed things up a bit, here in rapid succession are a few more lovely laws that no one follows anymore:

A man with injured testicles or who has lost his penis in accident cannot be accepted by god:

Deuteronomy 23:1
No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.

A bastard (someone born out of wedlock, incidentally ME) cannot be accept by god, nor 10 generations of his children (all of whom are innocent BTW. They are to go to hell for something their great, great, great, etc. grandfather/mother did!)

Deuteronomy 23:2
A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

Can you say "Racism"?

Deuteronomy 23:3
No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.

God can't stand the sight of handicapped people. The blind, the lame, dwarfs, people with funny noses or blemishes, with damaged testicles, or broken hands or feet, crooked backs, or who have scurvy or scabs, or who have anything superfluous must not approach the altar of God.

Leviticus 21:16-20
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron: 'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; no man with a crippled foot or hand, or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.

Honestly I could go on for days! There are enough stupid laws listed that one could write any number of books about it. It is obvious that these laws were not written nor even inspired by some supreme being, but by an ignorant primitive people who hardly knew their ass from a hole in the ground.

If you want to do some more reading on the subject and read some of the absolute corkers, like how long to hang a man, how to deal with poop and how to properly handle semen then I am happy to provide you with some good resources. May I suggest "The Brick Testament" section on "The Law" for a funny lego look at these laws (however, be warned, the author doesn't think it is funny, he is a preacher and believes every word!!) or simply read The Skeptic's Annotated Bible.

In finishing, I know plenty of Christians would say "But this is the old testament, it doesn't really apply now that we have the new testament." Well to them I would say this: If that is so, then quit quoting the old testament to push your hateful agenda against gays! I would also add the words of Jesus as quoted by the Disciple Matthew in the Gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 5:17-20
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

So sorry there good Christian buddy, your ass is burning in hell with mine because I don't know one of you who has kept the law.

Creation Science 101

With the impending 150th anniversary of the release of Charles Darwin's book The Origin of Species, I thought I would share this classic video for those who haven't yet seen it, it is really funny. After the unbelievable anger I have at the Living Waters religious group for their butchering of The Origin of Species, this video helped lighten my mood. More on the Living Waters stunt later, if I can stop convulsing and swearing in absolute anger and disgust of over what they are doing, which you can read about for yourself here.



Also on a side note, I am currently moving house, so it could be a few days before I can post again, due to issues getting the internet hooked up at the new place. So, until I post again, have a pleasant dogma free weekend!