DG's Blog

Atheism

I grew up Catholic. Hold your snide remarks about that until I'm finished. Why do I even need to say that? Because religion doesn't even agree with itself. I was the most disruptive person in my confirmation classes. I will admit that about myself, and I know that the people who knew me back then could agree with that statement. I loathed going to church every Sunday. My parents quizzed me about what I learned in church that day. I could never remember the whole thing, and for not remembering I was punished. I didn't understand the point. In those classes, adults filled my head with wonderful fantasies about how the world works. Among them; Mary statues cry blood that smell of roses, Halloween is paganism at its finest, heaven is more important than this life, staring at a picture of Jesus in the dark will improve your relationship with him, sharing horror stories about your past is the best way to scare someone into believing, and every other religion is wrong. Stop me when you think i'm making this stuff up.

For some reason, I managed to get from page 1, to the hard back cover of the Bible before I turned 14. I didn't have the wisdom of a philosopher when I was reading it, and I can tell you that I didn't understand most of the things I read. I was always curious as to what was in the Quran, and why there even existed one. I of course with the curiosity of a child, asked questions about other religions and what they say. I was told the Quran was another holy book that was similar to the Bible, in that it pointed to God, aka Allah. But what I do remember of reading the Bible, I never encountered a reason to kill others in the name of God. I do remember a reason to throw stones at people that are unlike you. I always thought the Bible was a nasty book, filled with stories about as believable as a rabbit who lays eggs. And I found out, that no matter what your argument for or against a God, there is always a counter argument for it. Anyways, I always learned to treat others the way I wanted to be treated. That all men are equal, and that killing or being violent is wrong. I didn't ever know there was exceptions to the rules of general morality until I started reading the Bible.

I hear of people being beaten half to death on sixth street because they acted somewhat homosexual. I see catholic preachers having sex with boys. I live in fear because i'm afraid I might upset a radical if I say something out of line. I find hundreds of different religions, all saying the other is wrong. My heart jumps into my throat when four airliners carrying hundreds of people crash into buildings so that one person can get his virgins. I see my rights being slowly taken away as an American because someone makes the decision for me as to what is moral or immoral. As Christians, they are allowed to post signs and symbols in clear sight, even monuments such as the one in Rio de Janiero, but I as an equal human upset hundreds by simply posting something that disagrees with it.
This piece of writing will upset or offend at least 2 people that read it simply because they do not like what is being said. I have lost friends because I assert myself, but when they assert themselves it's okay. I fear talking to my family members about how I feel because I'm afraid I'll get a lecture or in an argument that will make them hate me. I have been told that I could never be left alone with someone else's child simply because I have different religious views. My former President of two consecutive terms believes that, “"No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God," yet forgets that the nation was founded upon religious freedom. Did I mention I voted for him?

People view Atheists as hedonistic beasts that kill and rape children while they sleep. They also view us as people who view Satan as better than God. That we are ***** holes who want nothing more than to make you change your beliefs. These misconceptions hurt us. They hurt me. Before you repeat something dogmatic, and back it up with the Bible, next time consider the feelings of the person you're talking to. I am not an Atheist by choice. You won't believe me when I say this, but I did not choose to be an Atheist. Atheism chose me from when I was born. This Is how I feel, this is what I think. I question everything and until I find an answer, I continue to question it. This is my nature, this is who I am. I don't expect you to understand it, but I do expect you to respect it. That respect means giving me a chance as a person, and not labeling me as bad the moment you know I'm an Atheist. Much like I respect your beliefs, no matter how much I may try to argue with them. I will sit in your car and listen to your Christian rock. Because that's what friends do. It's your radio, it's your car, i'm not going to tell you to change the station just because I don't believe in the message.

I am an Atheist because I believe shame is incurable. Many of the sins that Christians believe will send you to hell unless you repent, I believe is a good way to live. Not killing someone is a good practice. Not cheating on your spouse is also a good practice. Treating people the way you want to be treated is a good practice. Being honest is beneficial. Loving your parents is wise. I do not believe that you can repent for these things. What is done is done, and you can't go back. And to think that some greater being Is forgiving you for your sins is pretty selfish, especially when it comes to murder. Sins do not have a degree of morality in my eyes. Killing someone is a crime, even if you repent, lying is just as awful. I do not believe that everyone sitting in a jail is going to heaven just because they repent when they get there, and neither do you. Quit acting like you do. Take responsibility for your actions, and quit thinking that god will be there to help you get through your drug-induced rough patch. The problem with humanity in general, is that no one wants to take responsibility for their actions, and instead fulfill their humanistic needs every day of the week. Atheists believe in Cause and Effect, taking responsibility for your actions, understanding what it means to go to war before going there. You should too.

Don't go on missions because you want to spread the good word. The people you visit in those countries need food, water, electricity, clothing, medicine, and many other necessities we take for granted. The word of God is less powerful than the power of two hands striving to make the lives of another better. A prayer may save a life in your eye, but a piece of bread can extend that life another day, and creating things such as electricity and clean water can work more miracles then two hands clasped together. If you want to be a good, God loving person, love the people around you first, no matter who they are or what they believe in.

That's what matters the most in life. The people you know, and the people you don't. Do things for people without accepting a reward. Do it because you know it's right, not because it's a stairway to heaven. Don't pressure others into believing what you believe, and if you do, do it because you care about them, not because you'll receive a field of virgins in the afterlife. Worry not about what lies beyond what we can't see, work today for a better tomorrow. In the end, if you do what you know in your heart is correct it won't matter what you believe in. Do that, and you'll get to the pearly gates or whatever is there in the end for what you did good, not how devoted you were to something you can't prove. And I said all that without a single quotation from the Bible.

Stocks

Reuters post headline, "Stocks fall as Obama's speech fails to spur ..."

During the election, people were claiming that they didn't want to vote for Obama because he might have too much involvement in our economy. And that he would make it too socialized and capitalism would be lost.
The whole idea of capitalism is based on letting companies fix their own financial success. And their failures. Since when was it Obama's responsibility to fix a capitalist economy? Socialist, I could understand.
Just so *****ed up.

seex snow moose

The song that's in my head

This song has been in my head for days now after hearing it on di.fm

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oR1zL2My43I

I love it.

Ok

I will now vote and conform most of my thoughts to the Libertarian Party.

Make it stop

I hate it. It makes me sick, and yet, I find it hard to stop thinking about.

Christian Missions

Unless your there to donate time and money to third world countries in South America and Africa, your wasting their time with your religion. It's nothing more than a peaceful crusade. And we all know how the Crusades went. I recall Cortez and his men on the same mission in history. To spread religion. However it somehow turned out that those tribal Indians that Cortez and his men met on that fateful day, are now Mexicans. Congrats to them and their successful mission of rape and pillaging.

Stop acting like your making a difference by baptizing people in other countries. Stop pretending that god will help those people if you visit them and throw a bible at them. Pick up a back-hoe and start digging. You'll do more good if your teaching them how to grow a carrot, than if you told them that Jesus Christ is their one true savior.

That's Mama Luigi to you mario.

Gas Prices

You can thank the demonic oil companies for making Al Gore's dream a reality. Little by little, the metric tons of carbon in the atmosphere is dropping. Not because we are doing something different, but because the economy is responding to it. When the cost of travel rises, the amount of people driving around decreases. Ultimately causing less greenhouse gases to be created.

Brilliant. I wish I would have thought of that.

Student papers always good for a laugh

COMMENTARY: JOHN KELSO
Student papers always good for a laugh
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The trouble with writing a column like this one I'm giving you today is that I know that I'll never write anything funnier. And I didn't even write this stuff.

I just stole it out of a book called "Ignorance Is Blitz: Mangled Moments of History From Actual College Students." It's a compilation of literary boners found in papers written by college students. The items are so screwed up that they challenge the accuracy of the expression "higher learning" to describe the college experience.

Anders Henriksson, chairman of the history department at Shepherd University in West Virginia, put the book together. So what's his favorite entry?

"Oh, gee, I think my favorite was the airplane was invented by the Marx Brothers," said Henriksson, who has been collecting snippets from student exams, term papers and writing assignments for 30 years. "I keep thinking, 'Was this Wilbur, or Harpo and Groucho? And did they have a horn?' "

Henriksson says he sees an average of 1,000 pieces of student writing a year. "It's a fountain that will never run dry," he said. "One of the scary things is I give the freshmen a diagnostic quiz the first day of class. The results are pretty appalling. I'll ask them what country Pearl Harbor's in. A substantial number think it's in Japan. Now, bombing your own fleet is an interesting way to start a war."

With apologies to Hillary Clinton, another student thought we'd already had a female president. "We had one who thought there was a Franklin Eleanor Roosevelt."

And now for some gems from the book: "Plato invented reality. He was teacher to Harris Tottle, author of The Republicans. Lust was a must for the Epicureans. Others were the Vegetarians and the Synthetics, who said, 'If you can't play with it, why bother?' " My sentiments exactly.

"History, a record of things left behind by past generations, started in 1815. Thus we should try to view historical times as the behind of the present. This gives incite into the anals of the past."

"Rulers were entitled Faroes. A famed one was King Toot."

"Witch hunts erupted in countries such as Germany, England, Scotland, and Salem. The victim profile was older post-marsupial women unable to bare children. Those arrested were torchured until they told a story. The worst of this could be the rack or burning with hot porkers. Some unfortunate women were made to endure the public duckling stool."

"Civilization woozed out of the Nile about 300,000 years ago. The Nile was a river that had some water in it. Every year it would flood and irritate the land. This tended to make the people nervous."

"There was Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt was actually farther up than Upper Egypt, which was, of course, lower down than the upper part."

"Christianity finally became official after the Emperor Constantine's famous Decree of Consternation. Constantine became a Christian himself after being persued by a neon cross on the battlefield. The entire city of Constantinople rose up with a tremendous ejaculation every time the emperor came."

"Another problem was that France was full of French people. Dickens made this point in The Tail of Two Sisters, which he required us to read."



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One of the problems is that France is full of French people. "The" *****ers.

I love John Kelso's commentaries. Always has cracked me up. And he also responds back to your emails. I emailed him one time about the Hyde Park Baptist fiasco, you know, the one where religious tolerance is not important? I told him it was possibly the best opinion I've read on the subject to date and congratulated him for being so awesome.