Hellbound Christmas 2006 Part 2

Mondo Diablo Episode 27--Not Your Pagan Ancestors'' Christmas






Enjoy! -- Hellbound Alleee

Verdict: Judge Wilson is a Racist

Who doesn't love a little xenophobia once in a while?

Well, I don't. And I don't particularly like it when public officials write children's books that equate different races of people as being completely different species.

An asshole judge wrote a racist children's book, and I in turn wrote an Amazon review which, I think, skewers him and his book appropriately. Check out all the details at The Radical Libertarian.

Kickass New Blog: Philaletheia

My old atheist buddy Drunkentune has joined forces with Soulster, a friendly and intelligent Christian, to make a new blog, Philaletheia.

So far it’s off to a good start. Both Drunkentune and Soulster have been busy writing high quality and thought provoking posts, and the comments sections have been lighting up in response. I've already become an active commenter over there.

I think that a blog with an atheist and a Christian teaming up is a great idea. Despite my sometimes (or frequent) harsh writings aimed at religion, I have always been a proponent of increased dialogue and bridge-building between the atheist and theist camps. In my opinion, Drunkentune and Soulster are prime candidates for facilitating this bridge-building. I am glad that they took the initiative to do so.

So stop by their blog frequently. I already am.

Mussels evolve in only 15 years / Thinking about Satan

Watch out for them mussels: "Mussels Evolve Quickly To Defend Against Invasive Crabs".

Scientists at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) have found that invasive crab species may precipitate evolutionary change in blue mussels in as little as 15 years. The study, by UNH graduate student Aaren Freeman with associate professor of zoology James Byers and published in the Aug. 11 issue of the journal Science, indicates that such a response can evolve in an evolutionary nanosecond compared to the thousands of years previously assumed.

While this sort of rapid evolutionary response to predators has been exhibited in some other species, all have been vertebrates. The blue mussel, which Freeman describes as the lab rat of marine biologists, is an invertebrate "that people assume is not very bright," he says. Yet his findings indicate that within the brief span of 15 years, it has evolved an inducible response to a new predator.

"Sephetus" has a few things to tell us about Satan in "Respecting Other People's Beliefs". He makes some excellent points about the temptation of Christ:

4:5 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Here Satan exposes the same truth again by asking Jesus to prove that he is a god-man by throwing himself off a cliff. If he were a god-man angels would come to his rescue or something magical would happen that defies the laws of gravity. Jesus again counters this same kind of rationalism typically used in exposing people who claim to be psychic - he does this by extoling the false virtue of power. God is an authority figure and he is evil, he will punish you for testing him by causing gravity to do what it would already do anyways. How convenient. So you shouldn't test your beliefs and expose truth is the lesson here, but rather believe in a fantasy while ignoring the possibility of observing the evidence.

The Ultimate Ribbon

I just found the best war ribbon, bar none. It is the endless war ribbon. It is a part of the public domain according to Freewayblogger, so feel free to use it as much as possible, for any reason whatsoever.

PDF version available here.

Link to the 54th Carnival of the Godless

The 54th Carnival of the Godless

...is on Hellbound Alleee's blog.

Thanksgiving

Read about my Thanksgiving.

The Irrationality of Theism

The Rational Response Squad recently published an article called "The Irrationality of Theism," by Samuel Thomas Poling. Some extracts:

But then again, why should they doubt the existence of God? It’s easier to believe? Isn’t it more comforting to believe? Isn’t a loving God that will take care of you, even after death, what you want to be true? Maybe it is. And when a human wants something to be true they tend to not question it that much.

People of the religious creeds of the world separate their worlds of reason and faith -faith for their doctrine, reason for everything else. Why is it that all of God’s great reality relies on thinking and evidence, where as he, himself, is somehow above that? Being the intelligent, loving God that he is, why doesn’t he hold reason highest of all? He expects the ultimate, final form of stupidity from his greatest of subjects. And they do it. They surrender their minds to what could not exist. In every other aspect of their lives they can be helpful, loving, intelligent people but where religions black, cold hand reaches, and it does indeed reach far into the deeply faithful’s lives, it continues to sever the ties of reason and put on a highest pedestal sheer idiocy. Where this hand reaches, reason vanishes.

What good is Pascal’s Wager then? You are purchasing, if anything, a greater chance at hell for the definite cost of your mind. Are you willing to pay?

And when you die, if you are an atheist, you will be damned to hell. Would it pay to be an atheist then? As a further and final refute to Pascal’s bullshit, I say yes it does pay to be an atheist then. If there is a God who will damn a human being who has the courage and intelligence to think and doubt then he, most definitely, is no God of mine.

Check out this podcast episode!

The Hellbound Alleee Network


Listen and Burn!


Mondo Diablo 25: Thanksgiving: The Atheistic Holiday






Enjoy! -- Hellbound Alleee

COTG on Hellbound Alleee, Thanksgiving Weekend

Yes, the Carnival of the Godless will be at Hellbound Alleee's Blog on November 26, Thanksgiving weekend!

Submit your posts to Alleee here. (Click)

In case you want to submit something, but are stumped as to a good topic, let me suggest a topic:

If you were asked to say the Family Grace at the Thanksgiving Day Table, what would you say? Or rather, invent a lovely and secular Toast of Thanks, appropriate for this coming atheistic holiday.

Bon Appetit!

Another Out-Of-Turn Question of the Day

Hi ho! It's just me, stealing Brucker's duties again. I actually found this question by accident on one of Dawson's old posts. He said I should post it.


How do you explain to someone who claims to be "thinking God's thoughts after Him" that he's wrong?

Toys, not Jesus, for Tots

The Marine Reserves Toys for Tots program recently rejected a donation of talking Jesus dolls. From CNN.com:

A Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the 1 foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season. The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., based on biblical figures.

But the charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature.

Toys are donated to kids based on financial need and "we don't know anything about their background, their religious affiliations," said Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Virginia.

As a government entity, Marines "don't profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."

Smart thinking, for once, by a government agency.

However, Michael La Roe, a big cheese for the Jesus doll donating company, said that he was "surprised and disappointed" by the charity's decision.

Surprised and disappointed that the Jesus doll wasn't accepted? La Roe's lack of understanding of the matter leaves me similarly "surprised and disappointed."

La Roe continued:

"The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."

Oh, now it makes sense. La Roe is a Christoid! And he sees nothing wrong with indiscriminately distributing to children a God-doll that condemns people to Hell:

According to the company's Web site, the button-activated, bearded Jesus, dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals, recites Scripture such as "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and "Love your neighbor as yourself."

In related news, the National Socialist Movement's attempt to donate soft-cover editions of Mein Kampf to the same Toys for Tots program was turned down. In response, an NSM spokesperson expressed surprise and disappointment, and said, "The idea was for these books to be two-dimensional teaching tools for kids. I believe as a member of America's Nazi Party that anyone can benefit from reading the words of Adolf Hitler."

In yet more related news, the Church of Satan's attempt to donate 4,000 talking dolls of Anton Szandor LaVey to the very same Toys for Tots program was turned down. The doll recites LaVey quotes such as "How could you set yourself up as the most powerful institution on earth? You first find out what every man feels at least once a day, establish that as a sin, and set yourself up as the only institution capable of pardoning that sin," and "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful."

Unlike with the talking Jesus dolls and copies of Mein Kampf, the Toys for Tots rationale for rejecting the LaVey dolls was not immediately clear.

Let's Paint and Exercise TV!

Elton John Would Ban Religion

Elton John has a bone to pick with organized religion. From CNN.com:

Organized religion fuels anti-gay discrimination and other forms of bias, pop star Elton John said in an interview published Saturday.

"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people," John said in the Observer newspaper's Music Monthly Magazine. "Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays."

"But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion," he said. "From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate."

A very astute observation on Elton's part.

The timing of his criticism could not be better, as Richard Dawkins' new book is selling like hotcakes worldwide (I am half-way through my copy) and the atheism movement in general is picking up speed. More and more prominent social figures are throwing their religious criticisms in to the ring. Even South Park had a go at the atheism movement in general, and portrayed the future as groups of warring atheist states (notice that states still existed in their vision of the future). If South Park does a two-part lampooning of atheism, then obviously the topic is a rather large blip on the radar screen of contemporary social consciousness.

However, I disagree with Elton's conclusion that religion should be banned. I certainly would not want religion banned, and I think that Elton is missing the point by displaying the same intolerant attitude that he finds so distasteful in organized religion.

If an idea or position is banned outright, then it cannot be fairly evaluated on its own merits by individuals, and therefore cannot be legitimately rejected. Therefore, it cannot be legitimately compared against competing ideas, nor can it be legitimately ridiculed or satirized.

Ideas must stand or fall on their own merits, not by fiat. Passing decrees and fiats are what dictators and communists do. Letting things stand or fall on their own merit is what scientists and lovers of reality do. It’s what Dawkins, Hawking, Einstein, Russell, etc, would do.

Elton is expressing statist sentiments to an ideology that is hostile to his kind. While it is good to see prominent social figures like Elton John being openly critical of religion, it is bad to see people wishing to ban any ideology outright, and it is especially bad to see these intolerant, statist sentiments being linked up with atheism. The reason is that religious people will point at Elton's recent comments and say, "See? We are being persecuted! Elton wants to bring back the days of Stalin and Mao and prevent us from practicing our faith! Death Camps are the atheists answer!" Unfortunately, nobody will realize that death camps are the answer of the statist and the collectivist (virtual religions in their own right), not the answer of the atheist.

If one wants to find the atheist's answer, they should not go looking for it at an Elton John concert.

What the atheism movement needs right now is a prominent atheistic Anarchist in the spotlight; someone who realizes, and can articulate, that a nihilistic God and a collectivist state are two sides of the same coin. Until then, the atheist movement will have consistency problems, because so many atheists are statists.

As the atheist movement continues to gain momentum, I fear that the state will become a bigger and bigger hindrance to its message. We must link godlessness and statelessness not only in the minds of atheists, but also in the minds of the common God fearing voter. Accomplishing this link will not only improve the purity and consistency of the atheist message, but will also pre-empt many of the criticisms being hurled at it today.

Crossposted at Kill The Afterlife.

Proving that God's Plan is impossible

Snake Bites, Kills Fake Christian

Obviously, a real Christian wouldn't have died from handling snakes:

LONDON, Ky. (Nov. 8) - A woman has died after being bitten by a snake at a Kentucky church that people say practices serpent handling.

The Lexington Herald-Leader says 48-year-old Linda Long was bitten Sunday at East London Holiness Church and died at a hospital about four hours after being bitten.

The Book of Job / Moral and Sexual rules!

Barna Research has the pulse of the nation again: A New Generation of Adults Bends Moral and Sexual Rules to Their Liking

The new study shows a significant divide between the nation’s young adults and its older residents. The project analyzed 16 different areas of moral and sexual behavior and found that Busters’ lifestyles took a less traditional – some would say less moral – path on 12 of those 16 areas. The study also explored 16 different perspectives regarding morality and sexuality, finding that Busters’ views are less conventional than that of their predecessors in 13 areas. In none of the 32 facets of lifestyle or attitude were Busters more likely to possess a conventional moral position when compared with the older crowd of “pre-Busters.”

No, really? Trust the good Christians at Barna Research to rediscover the obvious, in a periodic fashion...

Carrier, Habermas, et al: some thoughts on dialogue criticism

Richard Carrier appeared recently with Reggie on the Infidel Guy show to interview Dr. Gary Habermas and Mike Licona about the resurrection of Jesus. There has been a flurry of criticism about that appearance, with both James Lazarus and David Wood offering lengthy criticisms of Carrier, prompting Carrier himself to provide some explanation on his own blog. Since I came to these reviews naive of the show, I thought that I would read each review, then listen to the show, and give my thoughts.

It is clear to me that Habermas and Licona came to the table anticipating a very different discussion than Carrier had planned to pursue. I'll also say, right off the bat, that both discussions would be fascinating. As it turned out, there was about half of one, and half of the other- and though it wasn't terribly hard for me to follow along with both, I could tell that the disconnect was apparent enough in the participants to cause some genuine frustration.

In all honesty, I think I would have preferred the show that Carrier planned. Although a strict analysis of the pros and cons of the evidential arguments for the historicity of the resurrection would also have been fruitful, I think the keenly philosophical and theological questions that Carrier had planned were much more interesting, and ultimately, probably would have been more productive in the long run.

Unfortunately, Habermas and Licona used just about every opportunity to sidestep the philosophical and theological questions and submit more of their well-worn evidential arguments. I hesitate to say that this was a failing of their position- I think it's clear from listening to the discussion that neither of them had really comprehended the line of questioning that Carrier was trying to follow. If they had been, I think that the discussion would have been much smoother.

I can get a sense of the discussion that Carrier was hoping to have by reading his explanation, and I agree with him that his questions were not irrelevant at all, and I'm sorry that they weren't able to be explored in more depth. Laz's comments are also understandable- it's clear that he was expecting Carrier to use his more conventional arguments, an assumption that is not unreasonable. The one position that I feel is almost completely unwarranted is that of David Wood- Carrier's approach did not appear to me to be in the least bit disingenuous nor frivolous, nor was he making any concessions about the historical evidence by appealing to philosophical questions. Hopefully Carrier's own explanation of his motives sheds some light for these and other critics.

I, for one, would very much like to see Carrier's questions explored in more depth, and perhaps if given another chance, he'll take the extra precaution to ensure that his fellow discussants are more comprehensively aware of his approach.

A Bad Taste in My Mouth

I'm more than a little upset after learning that after I spent Sunday morning trying to stick up for Ted Haggard with the North Texas Freethinkers, he was saying this:

There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life. For extended periods of time, I would enjoy victory and rejoice in freedom. Then, from time to time, the dirt that I thought was gone would resurface, and I would find myself thinking thoughts and experiencing desires that were contrary to everything I believe and teach.

I feel like such a fool for arguing that it should be acceptable for someone like Ted Haggard to explore his sexuality, when the man himself can't even understand it as anything but "repulsive." And yet, I still can't shake the feeling that Haggard is a victim here too, albeit a perpetrator as well. I find it just so unfortunate and tragic that for Haggard to maintain any semblance of a relationship with his church, he has to condemn an innate aspect of himself, one that if given free exercise, wouldn't hurt anyone. I also feel terrible for his wife, for being an unwilling participant in his efforts to combat his innate homosexuality by adopting the trappings of "normal" life.

This whole thing just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

New Hellbound Alleee Episode: The Atheist Universe

The Hellbound Alleee Network


Listen and Burn!


Hellbound Alleee Show 129: The Atheist Universe






Enjoy! -- Hellbound Alleee

Mondo Diablo Episode 23

The Hellbound Alleee Network


Listen and Burn!


Mondo Diablo Episode 23: Moving Sale






Enjoy! -- Hellbound Alleee

Kent Hovind Guilty of Unintelligent Tax Evasion

Boy do I have conflicting emotions right now. A jury just found Kent Hovind, a.k.a. Dr. Dino, guilty of 44 counts of tax evasion.

He faces up to 288 years in prison, while his wife faces up to 225 years.

I think Kent Hovind is a moonbat. He is disingenuous, spectacularly stupid, and an all around butt head. However, I don't think he should go to jail for not passively accepting the monetary theft perpetrated by the state.

Kent Hovind is deserving of ridicule. Kent Hovind is deserving of ostracization. Kent Hovind may even be deserving of a banana cream pie to the face. But he is not deserving of prison time merely for not paying taxes.

In fact, I think he should be commended for standing up to the government and not paying taxes. Too bad nobody else will see it that way. Kent Hovind got taken down, which is good, but for wrong and immoral reasons, which is bad. Unfortunately, Kent's defense was extremely weak. His attorneys presented no evidence, and called no witnesses. He attempted to use a religious excuse, something to the effect of,"We are doing God's work and therefore shouldn't have to pay taxes." Looks like the jury didn't but that one.

I may just have to start wearing a "Free Kent!" t-shirt.

Only an entity as evil as the government can make me stand in solidarity with a particularly revolting creationist.

On a side note, not too long ago I was kicked out of jury duty for my political and social views. If I was somehow seated in the jury for this case, I most definitely would have voted not guilty for Hovind. How odd.

Ted Haggard Sex Scandal

Maybe you remember the Reverend Ted Haggard from the Richard Dawkins documentary, "The Root of All Evil?" He was the pastor of the Colorado megachurch who claimed to talk to President Bush on the phone every week, told Dawkins that he was wrong to trust in science, and eventually kicked Dawkins and his crew off of his church property for "calling his children monkeys" (i.e., talking about evolution). In addition to that performance, Haggard may have been pulling off an Oscar-worthy turn as the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, while in reality pursuing a homosexual relationship over a three-year period with a male prostitute, Mike Jones. From the Times Online:

Mr Jones, 49, said that he had been prompted to make public his claims because of Mr Haggard’s stance on same-sex marriage.

He told local media: "It made me angry that here’s someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex," he said.

"I just want people to step back and take a look and say, ’Look, we’re all sinners, we all have faults, but if two people want to get married, just let them, and let them have a happy life.’

Although I personally don't have a problem with Pastor Haggard wanting to explore his sexuality, I think it may have been unwise for him to do so while married with kids, and working as a prominent advocate of Christian morality. But the same thing has happened to other prominent Christian leaders in the country, so I'm not really that surprised.

Prayers Get Lost at Sea

From CNN.com:

Some of the letters are comical (a man asking God to let him win the lottery, twice), others are heartbreaking (a distraught teen asking forgiveness for an abortion, an unwed mother pleading with God to make the baby's father marry her).

The letters -- about 300 in all, sent to a New Jersey minister -- ended up dumped in the ocean, most of them unopened.

Many of the letters were addressed to the Rev. Grady Cooper, though many more simply said "Altar." According to the text of several of them, they were intended to be placed on a church's altar and prayed over by the minister, the congregation or both.

I wonder how many of them were answered by God?

This line reminds me of the music group God Lives Underwater:

"I guess rather than just throw them in the garbage, maybe they thought they'd set them out to sea to bless these people," he said. "So they made a trip to Atlantic City, maybe went to a casino, and put the letters in the water."

But why not get Biblical, and do a burnt offering instead?

God's Pumpkin Patch

I love getting these emails:

God's Pumpkin Pa†ch
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes off all the dirt you may have gotten from other pumpkins. Then He cuts the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Last, He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

Only a Christian would analog his chosen lifestyle to that of a mutilated pumpkin. The violent implications are so plainly obvious that I have to question the sanity of the person who thinks that something like this is cute.

Here's how I see the analogy: First of all, the pumpkin gets cut from all the other dirty pumpkins, because apparently it's their fault that they're dirty. The Halloween Jack-O-Lantern is traditionally carved into a head, so from this we see that it's actually the the head that's cut open and has "all the yucky stuff" scooped out. The seeds of thought and reason are thrown away. Then an artificial smile is forcably etched to its face. A shell of its former self, it's then placed out for the world to see, with a light inside of it to shine the glory of the very person who cut it up in the first place!

Couldn't have come up with a better analogy myself!

Two Open Challenges for Theists

Attention theists! There are currently two recent challenges available in the atheist blog-o-sphere for you to prove your faith.

The first one is from Olly at 10,000 Reasons to Doubt the Fish. And it's a seemingly simple challenge, but actually proves to be quite difficult (and a whole lot of fun to boot). It is: Define God.

The second one is from me at my other blog, Kill The Afterlife. And it was inspired by Olly's challenge, but mine is a bit more, shall we say, controversial! It is: Prove Your Faith Like Abraham Did!

This is an excellent opportunity to deepen your faith, spread the good word, and show us atheists what for. You know your God is real, and you know that you put him first in your life. So help us see the light!

Rehash:

Challenge #1: Define God.

Challenge #2: Prove Your Faith Like Abraham Did!