Noted in passing

Religion is like Tinkerbell. If you don't applaud, it will fade away. So don't applaud.

It's about time

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court has instructed police to stop detaining women for performing religious rituals that ultra-Orthodox Jews say are reserved for men. 

Why are religious men -- no matter the religion -- consistently appalling? Why must they attack women all the goddamn time? Why is that? Unfortunately, the article ends with this:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently gave preliminary support to a compromise plan to create a new section for mixed-gender prayers. 

I'm sorry but that won't do. There are no special places in this world where only men can talk to imaginary beings. That can be done anywhere. These guys must think that god adores penises. And why would that be, I wonder? Didn't their imaginary overlord create everyone, including women?

Twits. And remember, this attitude spans most religions. Muslims hate women. Fundamentalists hate women. The Vatican hates women. And Orthodox Jews hate women.

I guess the "truth" is that god hates women. There's no other moral that can be gleaned from these attitudes. What a weird imaginary creature god must be. Personally, I like Santa Claus much, much better. At least he's not a bigot.

Same anti-women story in Jewish religion

As Muslims strive to keep women uneducated and hidden away, and Catholics await word from their new pope about the status of women in the church, another religion also keeps women underfoot.

Israeli police on Thursday detained five women at a Jerusalem holy site for performing religious rituals that ultra-Orthodox Jews say are reserved for men.

It's the same old story: women are unworthy of interaction with gods. They are intrinsically "unclean". Thus, they do not deserve male respect and mustn't be allowed to touch the super-special magic items that every man can touch. That would be a sin and it would make the baby Jesus/Allah/Yaweh cry!

About 120 women arrived Thursday morning for their monthly prayer service and police detained five for wearing prayer shawls, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Mustn't wear the magic garments! Nuh uh-uh. Can't do.

Religion doesn't like women. It never has and it never will. It amazes me that women don't secede from religion en masse. Wouldn't that be great? No religious man would have a religious wife, and the wives and girlfriends and daughters would laugh at the religious males. And of course, they would never have sex with a religious guy. This could be an effective movement if men weren't the vicious, hateful creatures that they are. Because let's face it: they'd kill the women if they wouldn't have sex with them and wouldn't "respect" their idiotic relationship with an imaginary being.

Religion is a cesspool. That's the short version of this and every story about religion. It needs to be wiped off the face of the Earth.

Religion is constant enemy of progress

Fleeing Islamist extremists torched a library containing historic manuscripts in Timbuktu, the mayor said Monday, as French and Malian forces closed in on Mali's fabled desert city.

"It's truly alarming that this has happened," he told The Associated Press by telephone from Mali's capital, Bamako, on Monday. "They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people." 

This is similar to events that occurred in the Dark Ages. Then, Christians took science books, bleached the writing from their pages, and painted prayers on them. Out with productive science, in with useless religion. We lost nearly 1,000 years of human progress then. Will we lose all of science today, as religion rears its ugly head all over the world?

I worry that, given a cataclysm such as a world-wide epidemic that reduced the human world population by half or more, religious lunatics would take over the world and disavow all scientific knowledge. It's very possible. This is one reason (among many) why we must rid the world of religion. It is and always has been humanity's enemy.

They speak in tongues

These are the words of Ken Ham, probably the biggest creationist wingnut in the United States:

Atheistic evolutionists do not want any talk of “critiquing” or “thinking critically” about evolutionary ideas, because evolution is their way of explaining life without God, which is why we call evolution a religion.

Uh...evolution is how atheists explain life without god...and that makes it a religion? Lotsa sense there. Tons. It's easy to see why Ham is so admired by the brainless set.

These people don't make sense but their followers never notice. This is because the common factor shared by all wingnuts is that they don't understand logic, don't even know what it is. We truly live in different worlds.

The benefits of atheism

Susan Jacoby has an interesting op-ed at the NYT. Here's an excerpt:

When I try to help a loved one losing his mind to Alzheimer’s, when I see homeless people shivering in the wake of a deadly storm, when the news media bring me almost obscenely close to the raw grief of bereft parents, I do not have to ask, as all people of faith must, why an all-powerful, all-good God allows such things to happen. 

Go read it. It's really good.

It finally hit me: PZ is right

PZ Myers on his blog, Pharyngula:

Religions are systematic collections of threats and cajoling lies intended to bully a population into living in fear and supporting a parasitic priestly caste.

He says this all the time but the sense of it never came through to me until this reading. It's true. It's all about "supporting a parasitic priestly caste". Elsewise, why religion?

That quotable fellow

Ricky Gervais:

Let’s be honest, if one person believed in God he would be considered pretty strange. But because it’s a very popular view it’s accepted.

That's it in a nutshell.

What religion needs is dogs

I am greatly disturbed by people who lose their family in calamities like Hurricane Sandy, and then go up to a microphone and say "God is good!" Indeed. That's exactly why god killed your children -- because he's "good".

Why does god bring hurricanes and tidal waves and fires and earthquakes to places where innocent children live? Because he's "good". Priests, pastors and rabbis say "We cannot understand god's motives, but since he is god and is all good, we know that there is a positive reason for these seemingly tragic events." That's not a real quote. They all say the same thing, so I just mashed one up. Let's face it: that's what they say, and it stinks.

Religion wants you to sit there and take it, and still praise the god who allegedly caused your torment. This is called "faith".

Today, it finally hit me. Who thinks like that? Dogs, that's who. You can abuse a dog, even fail to feed it -- and it will still love you, given the opportunity. You are god to your dog. You can do no wrong. This is the attitude religion seeks in its followers. You must be like a dog, always sure of who your master is, and always loving and loyal, no matter what the monster does to you.

How can anyone believe in god?

When the pastor yelled at me

I don't attend AA meetings anymore. But there was a time when I was very active in "the program", as it's universally referred to by members. And since AA is wedded to church basements, I met a bunch of priests and pastors. In fact, I was usually the liaison between the church and the AA group.

For the most part, this was fine. In fact, there were a few ministers and pastors that I liked. (I can't say I cottoned to any of the Catholic priests.) There was one pastor in particular that I enjoyed talking to. He was the head of his Baptist church and whenever we met to talk about church/group relations, we'd sit in his office -- and end up laughing a lot. I lent him books to read, and we talked about god and atheism. It was quite enjoyable. He was a fine man.

Then one rainy evening, as our group was meeting in the church, the ceiling opened up and water poured onto the altar. To be more precise, the majority of the water fell directly onto a large, open bible in the center of the altar. Of course, we rushed to the altar and moved everything away, right down to the tablecloth.

That evening, I called my friend the pastor to tell him what had happened. In the process, I said "So we grabbed the bible and all the other things..."

He burst in. "You didn't touch the bible?!" he said, horror in his voice. Apparently it was a magic bible, or something. Heathen hands weren't allowed near it. I responded that he should be very thankful that we did touch the bible, as it would have been ruined if we left it where it was. He calmed down but it was a tad unnerving.

You never know with these religious people. Dog forbid you step on one of their nonsensical traditions. It's kinda creepy. You want to like them but they believe in fairytales. Anyway, I still like the guy. What can you do? They all believe in nonsense. You try to ignore it but despite your best efforts, that jack-in-the-box head rears up now and then. It comes with the territory.

Why do religious people lack morals?

You see it all the time.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A 17,000-member megachurch deep in Oklahoma's Bible Belt has been rattled by allegations that five employees waited two weeks to report the rape of a 13-year-old girl in a campus stairwell, allegedly by a church worker. 

They can't tell right from wrong. They have no clue about this. None. Why does this happen? Why do religious people have no moral center?

It's simple. When you make a fairytale the centerpiece of your life, you lose contact with reality. Up becomes down; wrong becomes right. You're lost in the wilderness.

You don't have to consult a dusty book or talk to someone who isn't there, to know right from wrong. You just have to be able to see reality. Religion prevents that.

Religion is the scourge of mankind. This is not an exaggeration. 

On the dreamy peacefulness of religion

I was amused to see this today:

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Representatives of some of the world's major religions have concluded a three-day interfaith meeting in Sarajevo by calling for peace around the world.

These people are living in a dream world. Almost all the atrocities in the world are committed by religious zealots for religious reasons. But religion is peaceful, doncha know. Uh-huh.

From today's news:

A movie attacking Islam's prophet Muhammad sparked assaults on U.S. diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt on Tuesday. A Libyan security official reported an American was shot to death as protesters burned the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, and in Cairo, protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy walls and replaced an American flag with an Islamic banner.

And as you know, it never ends. Yet they blindly insist that religion is a good thing. Like hell it is.

Mexico's religious crazies

Mexican religious loons don't want public education for their kids because that would cause them to encounter, you know, ideas. Can't have that.

According to traditionalists, the government-mandated uniforms, school books and lesson plans, not to mention the computers and televisions now used in many Mexican classrooms, would violate the Virgin Mary's orders, on her own sacred ground. 

The faith of the people here is built on messages purportedly passed from the Virgin Mary to a defrocked Catholic priest, an illiterate old woman and a clairvoyant. 

Same song, different key and country. Religion poisons minds.

TV chuckle alert

Tonight, ABC's 20/20 (9 PM) is broadcasting a show called "Heaven: Where Is It? How Do We Get There?" Should be fun. It's going to include people of various religions from around the world, discussing their ideas about heaven.

Do you remember "Heaven", the marvelous documentary that Diane Keaton directed and produced? How I adored that film. (It was of course trashed by the NY Times, which has never once been right about a book or a movie. When I read one of their reviews, I always assume the opposite is true. They're quite useful when viewed this way.) 

I'm hoping this will be a bit like Keaton's "Heaven" but it probably won't be. I assume Keaton went into the project with the idea of showing what a stupid idea heaven is. Not sure about these folks but it's probably a safe bet that they're either believers or wussy types who would never upset believers. Still, it's great fun to hear the stupid ideas people have about this nonexistent place. I'm looking forward to it.

Religion and logic: mortal enemies

Eating brains won't give you logic.

I've been thinking about intelligent friends who are Christian. It seems to be an oxymoron. How can you be intelligent and believe in gods?

Though I've certainly known some normal, liberal Christians with big hearts, overall I'd have to say that the smartest Christians I've met share the following characteristics. They are Republican. They read the Wall Street Journal and watch Fox News. They deny global warming. And they consider Thomas Friedman to be the greatest intellectual who ever lived. How this can be? How can intelligent people fall for obvious nonsense?

I think it's because they lack logic. They don't know even what it is. Obviously, this prevents them from being logical when they think about, well, anything. Scarily, it seems to be a missing ingredient in their mental make-up.

It takes logic to understand that Thomas Friedman has never said anything sensible. And logic is the pepper spray that wards off the evils of the Wall Street Journal, Fox News and the Roman Catholic bishops. None of these three evils speaks with a logical voice -- ever. And of course, Republicans and logic have never met -- not even once in a dark room while drunk.

So is logic the gift that protects liberals from the toxic stew that is the belief system of most Americans? We're not attracted to any of their "grand ideas" because they are neither grand nor logical. They're not worth a moment of our time. And yet the dimwits flock to these arguments on TV, in church and in the election booth.

It's like they're a different species. What do you think? Is it because they know nothing of logic (or kindness, but that's another post)?

Religion and illusions

We often hear that believers rely on god for "strength" when they find themselves in adverse situations. Jesus, according to these followers, helps them through difficult times. I'd like to suggest a natural reason for this.

First, an example from real life. Most bodybuilders know that if you're bench-pressing a lot of weight, and you imagine that someone is grabbing the bar to help you lift it -- it gets easier! It's literally like someone is helping you out. You gain strength!

This is a result of the placebo effect. Humans who believe they're taking a pill that will help their condition, actually do feel better. It's as if they give the fake drug a power that it doesn't really have. People are complete rubes when it comes to the placebo effect. We fall for it all the time.

It's the same with religion. If you believe Jesus is giving you strength, you'll probably feel stronger. But it's all in your mind. It's a human capability, this odd way of obtaining help from nowhere. But it's not real.

God does not exist. And any "help" we receive from "Him" is fake.

A nice description of religion

Last night as I was watching baseball, a sentence popped into my mind:

Religion is a magic fence around nothing.

Short and sweet. I like it!

More religious dimwittery

There's an AP story today about the guy who died while handling snakes for jeebus. I linked to Jerry Coyne's dry summary of the event in the post below. In the AP story, there's this gem from a witness:

"I don't think anyone necessarily expected it," she told the newspaper, "but they've dealt with it before so it's not such a huge shock, maybe." 

It's just a normal day at the office for these folks. Dimwits, one and all. Here's a quote from the guy who died:

"I know it's real; it is the power of God," Wolford told The Washington Post Magazine last year. If he hadn't started handling snakes after returning to his church, he said, "it'd be the same as denying the power and saying it was not real." 

Indeed. And now you're dead. That's what's real.

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Bizarre religious thinking

Pope Benedict XVI's ability to reform the troubled Legion of Christ has again been thrown into doubt following revelations that a half-dozen priests are under Vatican investigation for allegedly molesting children and that the order's leadership knew its most prominent priest had fathered a child yet did nothing to prevent him from teaching and preaching about morality.

But they let the popey guy talk about morality all the time -- and he's the man most responsible for hiding the priest pedophilia scandal. Isn't this a huge contradiction, kids?

Give up god now and get on the right team!

Gee, I wonder why

Traces of blood and fragments of muscle, tendon, skin and hair found on 2,000-year-old stone knives have given researchers the first conclusive evidence that the obsidian blades were used for human sacrifice long ago in Mexico.

"These finds confirm that the knives were used for sacrifices," Mainou said.

Sky gods, anyone? And of course, today we see Catholics imbibing the "body and blood" of jeebus -- every day, if they want to. Religion is sickening on so many levels.