Bedtime Fears

"Religion appeases a child's bedtime fears, but, ironically, it is the cause of most of those fears in the first place."

The above quote is from one among an endless stream of response/comments to a robust anti-religion rant by Cenk Uygur called "If You're a Christian, Muslim or Jew - You are Wrong"...

I think that the rant - and many of the pro and con responses - are worth reading...
Read it all here!

Soulless1

bible study time, folks

All about the Ten Commandments and why they should be posted in every Government building.


They didn't teach me about her well-endowed lovers in Sunday School.

innocence

An Inuit hunter asked the local missionary priest:
"If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?"
"No," said the priest, "not if you did not know."
"Then why," asked the Inuit earnestly, "did you tell me?"

-- Annie Dillard, from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

a bit more Woody Allen always helps...

Woody Allen on god, death and all that jazz…

The chief problem about death, incidentally, is the fear that there may be no afterlife -- a depressing thought, particularly for those who have bothered to shave. Also, there is the fear that there is an afterlife but no one will know where it's being held.

If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.

If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever.

In real life, Keaton believes in God. But she also believes that the radio works because there are tiny people inside it.

I don't want to achieve immortality through my work ... I want to achieve it through not dying.

nihilism, cynicism, sarcasm, & orgasm

Harry Block's faith-filled sister:
You have no values. Your whole life: it's nihilism, it's cynicism, it's sarcasm, and orgasm.

Harry:
You know, in France, I could run on that slogan and win.

from "Deconstructing Harry" (Woody Allen)

"Founding Fathers"

This information is all around on the internet in various locations and formats - but never enough - especially if one needs some references when talking to one of those gosh-bless-amerika church-state-blending dunderheads.

____________

Here are the "Founding Father's" view of Christianity.

Thomas Jefferson:

"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men women and children since the introduction of Christianity have been burnt - tortured - fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites: To support roguery and error all over the earth."

"Christianity ... The most perverted system that ever shone on man. Rogueries - absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and importers led by Paul. The first great corrupter of the teaching of Jesus."

"The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial constructions into a contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves ... these clergy - in fact - constitute the real Anti Christ."



John Adams:

"Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds - Confessions - Doctrines and Oaths and whole carloads of other trumpery that we find religion encumbered with in these days?"

"The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity."

Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11:

"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."

Note: The Treaty of Tripoli passed by the Senate in 1797. Read In Part: "The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion." The treaty was written during the Washington administration and sent to the Senate during the Adams administration. It was read aloud to the Senate and each Senator received a printed copy. This was the 339th time that a recorded vote was required by the Senate But only the third time a vote was unanimous. There is no record of any debate or dissension on the treaty. It was reprinted in Full in Three newspapers - Two in Philadelphia and one in New York City. There is no record of Public Outcry or complaint in Editions of the papers.



Thomas Paine:

"I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book." [ The Bible. ]

"Among the most detestable villains in history. You could not find one worse than Moses. Here is an order attributed to 'God' to butcher the boys. To massacre the mothers and to debauch and rape the daughters. I would not dare so dishonor my Creator's name by [ attaching ] it to this filthy book. [ The Bible. ]"

"It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible."

"The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in pretended imitation of a person [ Jesus. ] who lived a life of poverty."


James Madison:

"What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty does not need the clergy."

"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."

The Founding Fathers were a reflection of the American population. They Escaped from the State Established Religions of Europe. Only 7% of the people in the 13 colonies belonged to a church when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The rise of Conservative Baptists is one of the more interesting developments of American History. I'll explain. The Baptists believed God's authority came from the People. Not the priesthood and they had been persecuted for this belief. It was the Baptists who were instrumental in Securing the Separation of Church and State. They knew you can not have a "one way wall" that lets religion into government but that does not let it out. They knew no religion is capable of handling political power without becoming corrupted by it. They knew it was Christ himself who first proposed the separation of church and state. I think most people have heard this line. "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto the Lord that which is the Lord's."

oh yeah - the book cover

..

patriotism - like religion but excited over soil instead of thin air

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." - George Orwell

"Conceit, arrogance and egotism are the essentials of patriotism... Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who had the fortune of being born on some particular spot, consider themselves better, nobler, grander, more intelligent than the living beings inhabiting any other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all others."
- Emma Goldman

"Samuel Johnson's saying that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels has some truth in it but not nearly enough. Patriotism, in truth, is the great nursery of scoundrels, and its annual output is probably greater than that of even religion. Its chief glories are the demagogue, the military bully, and the spreaders of libels and false history. Its philosophy rests firmly on the doctrine that the end justifies the means - that any blow, whether above or below the belt, is fair against dissenters from its wholesale denial of plain facts."
- H. L. Mencken

"Patriot, n. A herd member who compensates for lack of self-esteem by identifying with an abstraction. An enemy of individual freedom. See also 'Bootlicker.'" - Robert Tefton

"Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion, and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish." -- Author Unknown

"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things." - Rene Descartes

"If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged." - Noam Chomsky

written 2 April 2005, over morning coffee...


die already (and take the illusions with you)

the headlines
pope sick
pope sicker
pope sickest
pope really really sick
pope getting worse
pope getting much worse
pope not doing well at all
pope weakens further
pope almost dying
pope dying
pope almost dead
pope with a tube up his nose
pope with a tube out his ass
pope begins losing consciousness
pope continues losing consciousness
world keeps watch as life force leaks out of pope
pope hooked up to machine that waves his hand out window to the anxious believers outside
thousands gather to watch hand wave at window
hundreds of thousands pray for the soul of the sick pope
which is supposed to do what?
what does it mean to belong to this club for so many who thankfully bypass more and more of its archaic rules
millions around the world stick their faces into their television sets to watch the countdown to pope death
10... 9...
they can ignore how many others who really matter are dying
and ignore the many they could possibly be affecting the deaths of
interrupted only by continuing ads for gas guzzling cars
and news on schiavo and jackson and celebrity murderers
the pope is another blockbuster to be sold the masses of television sheep
with reports soon after how well it did financially in the marketplace
millions watch with attention, the television tells them this is important
and it helps them to forget their walmart lives
their credit card reality that they don't own anything
but that their children will have to die for it...
8... 7...
die already
and take with you the thousands of old overfed men
members of your exclusive cult, dressed in their expensive red robes and mitres
fly to hell, cardinals of woe, and take with you your faith in a god who killed his son
and set you all up as the direct contacts
6... 5...
this is mass madness pure and simple
in a sane world if any one person ever professed what these people say they would be locked away
pope, the bishop of rome, the vicar of christ, head of the roman catholic church, the pontiff
and yes of course his holiness
and he believes it all as if he believed he was teddy roosevelt
this is fairy tales for adults, like the queen in england...
4... 3...
but as a group their power is enormous
their ownership of tax-free property enough to feed all the hungry everywhere
their followers willing to die and kill for their fantasy of the afterlife
at this point just a bit more subdued than the followers of another version who flew airplanes into buildings
but with a history overflowing with crusades and witch burnings
and a present just as full of hatred and judgment of those who are different from them
2...
and take with you the thousands who sexually abused
because these old men's rules deny a loving playful sexuality outside procreation
whose fear of women's sexuality continues to try to enslave them
take with you the newspaper inserts, magazines, network specials that are awaiting your last breath
especially take with you the arrogance with which mass murdering politicians will use your life
1...

days later... the networks are poised... the cameras have to be there to capture the image when a puff of smoke indicates a new pope has been chosen... the species holding hard to its illusions...