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December 2008 Blog Posts (258)

Happy Holidays!

I posted this on my site recently, and I thought I would share this here and maybe see what the community might be able to add.

With the approach of the holiday season, I’m already hearing the “Keep Christ in Christmas” mantra and the indignant outcries that the big name retail chains are sullying the season by wishing patrons a “Happy Holiday” rather than “Merry Christmas”.

It’s my thought that people should really just get over this, both in the battle for keeping… Continue

Added by deletedsoul on December 3, 2008 at 5:15pm — 6 Comments

Offline for a week or so

End of semester travel coming up, and I'll be offline for a week or so... no new posts, no ability to approve comments... but I shall return. Ranting, most likely.

Added by Planetologist on December 3, 2008 at 3:16pm — No Comments

On The Love Bug

From taotegene.blogspot.com:

Ten thousands years ago, our ancestors looked to the skies and saw magic lights dance across the blackness. They revered or feared these lights, and to explain them, they created stories and myths, which made them do things like carving hearts out in appeasement to a sun gods. The more they payed attention to these lights, the less they feared them, and began to use their movement to coordinate travel and to schedule the planting of crops. Now, as we have… Continue

Added by seth on December 3, 2008 at 10:30am — No Comments

Nothing from nothing leaves nothing

In response to a prior post, I received a pretty thoughtful, non-hysterical comment that nonetheless invoked the infamous “something from nothing” argument that theists sometimes use to dismiss physics and introduce a Deus ex Hallucina to explain the Big Bang. I commented back, but because my comment involved a few hundred words I decided to bump it up to the main-post level. Here it… Continue

Added by Planetologist on December 3, 2008 at 9:57am — 1 Comment

the stupidest shit i've seen in a while

so apparently, some puttz claims that the face of jesus, yes that's right, the messiah, can be seen in the wood grain of this guitar. here is the link to the video.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2008/12/03/vo.mi.jesus.in.guitar.wzzm

my response to the video:

are your fucking eyes crippled? or did you crack your back and have an acid flashback right when you looked at this guitar?

it doesn't resemble the face of jesus… Continue

Added by The Atheist Archetype on December 3, 2008 at 8:39am — 3 Comments

Is the Bible, really, the words of God or the words of men claiming to be God?

Christians always make the claim that the Bible is the word of their God, and according to the Bible itself Revelation 22:18-9, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things… Continue

Added by THE GRENADIAN FREETHINKER on December 3, 2008 at 8:12am — 1 Comment

Community

Good to find this community in the Season of Un-Reason (though I was born on Christmas and became a minister, I now climb the trees and honor the life of Nature on that, and other, days!).

I invite conversation and readers here, and on my website. I especially welcome comments on my book Life After Faith and I'm happy to hear from any other writers or teachers (or former… Continue

Added by Chris Highland on December 2, 2008 at 11:30pm — 2 Comments

Nativity scene erected in Illinois Capitol

SPRINGFIELD [Illinois] -- Organizers who put a Christian nativity scene inside the Illinois Capitol Tuesday say they want to see similar religious displays erected in government buildings across the nation.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/12/02/news/doc4935c0cec7821555015975.txt

Added by Atheist Insurgency on December 2, 2008 at 8:40pm — 3 Comments

Send the bankers to Gitmo

I don't normally write about business matters because I know so little about them, but I often read the NYTimes Business section because it tends to feature some very good skeptical arguments. Businesses try sometimes to be efficient, and analysis of how to really do that tends to focus a lot on objective criteria and evidence... at least when it's done right. Energy, the environment, medicine and matters of economic justice pose hard questions that in the business world attract both the most… Continue

Added by Planetologist on December 2, 2008 at 1:55pm — 2 Comments

Reflections on Society

The news of the man who was trampled at Wal Mart surprisingly DIDN'T surprise me. I currently work retail and everyday I see the same mentality prevalent. People cutting each other off, pushing, shoving, just to get somewhere a second faster or maybe get a 'deal'. I thought we were better than monkeys now, but there are monkeys who still wouldn't trample an elder to death over a banana. lol

Or in the parking lot, I may be pushing in a line of say 7-8 carts, and a lady who looks all… Continue

Added by Brad on December 2, 2008 at 12:30pm — 2 Comments

Bush Administration Playing Nice?

Many are viewing George W. Bush's treatment of the incoming administration as a sign of his presidential qualities and as something of a surprise. I have heard long time Bush haters offering praise for him and his administration based on this.

Me? I am not surprised, nor do I think it is a move worthy of praise. I think before we get all wrapped up in the outward appearence of such actions, we need to think of motives and agenda.

Have any of you seen a more corrupt… Continue

Added by Larry Huffman on December 2, 2008 at 12:23pm — 3 Comments

All Christ-ey like...

Wow, my friends are dwindling! I just joined, had like 3 friends, and now only one! (thanx Nate). I thought maybe I was doing something to piss them off. Oh, well. I'm not giving up. This is a great social network! I am glad I found it. It's nice to have a place where everyone isn't god this and god that, and all christ-ey! Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it does not have to be rubbed in everyone's noses all the time. Jesus Christ! Anyway, I hope to have a lot more blogs (I am… Continue

Added by Leslee Love on December 2, 2008 at 10:07am — 3 Comments

kent hovind's young earth "theory"

a little background on me first.

i was raised in a liberal catholic family in the american midwest. about junior high i decided all that stuff was a crock of shit and my parents were kinda like, we believe but.... yeah, not literally. so they let me and my younger brother decide for ourselves. creationism was something that as a family was completely ridiculed.

so i had no interest in hearing anything about creationism or "intelligent design." until the other day when i was just… Continue

Added by markystar on December 2, 2008 at 1:00am — 4 Comments

Addendum to Religiosis

I received some comments on my earlier post on religion and the Mumbai attacks, and rather than pour time into comment replies, I’ll publish my response here. It’s a good reason to talk about this stuff, and I plan to write much more about this topic as time permits.

As Tristan notes, any discussion of religion and its role in… Continue

Added by Planetologist on December 1, 2008 at 7:03pm — 1 Comment

Update

Yay! Finally had time to update the blog today! :)
http://stfillan.blogspot.com/

Added by Saint Fillan on December 1, 2008 at 6:11pm — No Comments

John is my glue...

That's the only way to describe him. He put me back together, just like fixing a broken doll. I honestly don't know what I would do without him. I had nearly lost my faith in all of humanity til I met him. We have been together seven years now. He came to me at a time when I thought all men were garbage, and showed me that there are good ones out there, and you CAN have a good relationship with somebody. He has treated my boys like they were his own. We have had our arguments, but they never… Continue

Added by Jerbear1974 on December 1, 2008 at 4:25pm — 1 Comment

I'm so overwhelmed.

They moved my dad to a Hospice Friday. I called my sis, Angela. She said that I need to call our brother, because he was willing to buy me and John plane tickets out there so I can see him. The only thing is, John has never met him and they think it would just be an indignity to meet him this way, which I understand.I called a friend of mine who runs a daycare. She kept the boys when they were little. She said she wouldn't even charge me! Although I will give her some money, because they will… Continue

Added by Jerbear1974 on December 1, 2008 at 4:09pm — No Comments

On Ideas

From taotegene.blogspot.com:

Easily one of the most elegant and powerful memes I have encountered is that of the meme itself.

The term meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene, though the concept was around before that. Memetics is the theory that, like genes, our ideas and cultural concepts replicate and evolve. So, basically, a quantifiable unit of ideas. The metaphor is not entirely accurate, as there are minute chemical processes involved in both… Continue

Added by seth on December 1, 2008 at 6:00am — No Comments