Actually, I don’t have one to lose. Since I’ve been old enough to think and reason for myself, I have questioned the fairy tales that my parents and their church shoved down my throat for my entire childhood. Just about every supposed act of god in the bible can be explained rationally and scientifically. For example, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The bible talks of “fire and brimstone” raining from the sky. Brimstone is just an archaic name for what we now call sulfur. So it rained burning sulfur. This happens all the time: we call it a “pyroclastic flow” and it’s caused by volcanic eruptions. Of course, back in 2000 BCE we didn’t know what a volcano was.
Stories like Adam and Eve make no sense either. Two people can’t possibly form a sufficient gene pool for an entire species. Even eight people (the number of humans who were supposedly on the ark) is a stretch. (Question: how did Adam and Eve’s children procreate if they were the only humans on earth? Incest?)
But I digress. The point here is that religion really has no point, and really has no place in our modern society. But some (many) just can’t give up the fairy tales they live by. And this so-called “path to salvation” is the cause of most of the world’s problem. If there were no religion, many historical tragedies would never have happened. The Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Holocaust, 9/11 … all of these are a result of our “sad devotion to … ancient religion” (to quote Star Wars). But I am wasting my breath here. But that doesn’t stop idiots like Terry Jones and Fred Phelps from tweaking the noses of anyone whose belief differs from their own. But almost every religion in the world is like that. Anyone remember Mel Gibson on some talk show, lamenting the fact that his wife wouldn’t go to heaven because she wasn’t catholic? It gets worse.
There’s a theologian in Michigan who has a YouTube channel that’s almost funny. It’s called “Real Catholic TV” and I’m not going to link to it here. Michael Voris S.T.B. (Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus – Bachelor of Sacred Theology) regularly posts a video series called “The Vortex” which is billed as “where lies and falsehoods are trapped and exposed.” That’s about the only thing he gets right, as most of what he says are lies and falsehoods. In an episode last year, he claimed that taxes are immoral and evil. He must have slept late the day they covered that “Render unto Caesar” quote from the bible. One he posted recently asserted that only devout catholics should be allowed to vote. This one raised such an uproar that he took it down, but Richard Dawkins has a mirror to it on his web site. The man has no concept of history, claiming that it was the “benevolent dictatorship” of the Vatican that brought us out of the dark ages. It wasn’t: it was the Renaissance that ended the dark ages. All Catholicism really gave to European history was the Inquisitions and the Crusades. Oh, and let’s not forget that Pope Gregory IV proclaimed that cats are evil, thus they were slaughtered all over Europe, causing the rodent population to thrive in a predator-free environment and spread the plague throughout the land, killing a third of the population.
The man is just as ignorant about his own theology. In a video he posted last year, he claimed that taxes are evil and immoral. Funny, in three out of four of the gospels, Jesus Christ was asked about this, and his response was “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” (Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25) Unfortunately, it doesn’t work to use the bible to point out the fallacies in their logic, because they use that tired old comeback, “The devil can quote scripture.” So I tell them, “The devil can quote scripture. You’re quoting scripture right now. Therefore…” Alas, rational arguments don’t work on religious people.
Which brings us to the current media feeding frenzy over Terry Jones and his tiny band of followers who are hell-bent on burning copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. This deluded idiot looking for his fifteen minutes of fame has become this year’s “balloon boy.” He backed down at the eleventh hour, but Fred Phelps, who was on his bandwagon, has picked up the ball and run with it.
Now Phelps and his deluded Westboro Baptist Church flock are saying they are going to burn the Quran if Jones doesn’t. I am not surprised by this at all. Then again, the entire world already knows that Phelps is a nut-job. And I think we’ve all figured out the same thing about Terry Jones.
I say BURN THEM ALL! The Bible, The Talmud, The Quran, The Book of Mormon, and all these fictions which delude the masses and impede us as a civilization. It’s time to grow up and stop believing in fairy tales.
Religion is like a penis. It’s fine to have one. It’s fine to be proud of it. But please don’t whip it out in public and start waving it around, and PLEASE don’t try to shove it down my children’s throats.
Geaux Saints
I’m not really into football, or any other professional spectator sport, because I’ve always thought they were a waste of time and energy. But I took a mild interest in last night’s NFL opener between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, as it pitted against each other both of the places I call home. So I tried to remain neutral, though I must admit, I was kinda hoping to be able to change my Facebook status this morning to “Dat’s Who!” Besides, I hate it when the local radio DJ’s refer to “that black day in January” when the Saints took the Super Bowl away from us. Hey, that was my birthday they’re talking about, dammit! While most Minnesotans will be moping today about last night’s defeat, it doesn’t bother me one bit. I’m going to be a good sport here and congratulate the Saints on their victory. I think it was just a side effect of the same strong, stubborn pride that is bringing them back after the trauma of Hurricane Katrina. Besides, c’mon people … it’s only a game!
