If there is a god, I don't want to spend eternity with him

I found this interesting little agnostic snippet on Thought Leader by Stuart Stobbs. Clearly, he is being provocative, but the story he relates is true, and his feelings are genuine. However, unlike believers, he is not drawn into an existential spiral of anguish and unanswerable questions. The non-existence of god/ gods is perfectly consistent with the existence of all the suffering and agony in the world...Really, he should take the next step and openly declare, shout it from the rooftops, "There is no god, thank goodness I don't have to spend an eternity with such a monster!

My mom’s best friend had a really tough year in 2009, and it had nothing to do with the financial crisis. Her husband was dying of cancer. It was a long, slow and painful death; not something anyone should go through, but unfortunately one that many do.

Anyway, on Thursday, after a year of caring for him and watching him waste away, she was told by the doctors that he should be moved into hospice for his last days. That evening this sad, but very healthy and vital lady descended the stairs in their house — and slipped. Gravity carried her down and she landed hard on her head; and the mind that was probably on her husband at the time, was smashed and shut down.

She was rushed to hospital and operated on but the doctors didn’t know how her brain would cope with the surgery or if she would indeed even regain consciousness. She didn’t and, in the meantime, her husband passed. Her two children, after seeing their dad die, went over to the hospital praying for a miracle, but instead were faced with the decision to turn off life support for their mom.

Now does this seem fair to anyone? The religious may say that god has some kind of master plan which we lowly humans can’t understand and that ultimately some good will come from this. Really? Well I just watched the news and today criminals forced some poor 10-year-old girl to watch as they murdered her grandmother. Also today, in Hammanskraal, two girls, aged 14 and 15, were raped while they were, ironically, walking back home from church. What possible good could come from that? And what “all-good” god could possibly justify these tactics to achieve his aims? Even Machiavelli would be shamed.

So I have to conclude that if there is indeed a god then he’s not the kind of good and nice being his adoring fans make him out to be. Probably he’s more like someone who should be on trial for war crimes against humanity. Either way, I guess we’ll all find out one day. Unfortunately that day seems to have arrived rather abruptly and unfairly for my mom’s best friend and her husband. Oh yeah, and for thousands of Haitians.

Happy Birthday Jesus

OK, it's not one of AAA's best creations (pun intended) in fact I nicked all these images from the net. But let me at least give credit where it's due...Google "Raptor Jesus" Go on, just do it...OLOL!!! Crunk Juice baby!

Its Official: Maybe Jesus existed. Kind of...Somehow. Dunno

The results of the pol AAA are conducted are in and seem to be what you would expect, given the total lack of historical evidence for the existance of this fabled god guy.

If the question had been "Did Napoleon/ Socrates/ Plato exist?" do you think there would have been such a smattering of responses as below? No, it would have been a question of history. It would have been a resounding YES! in all three instances.

Did Jesus Christ of Nazareth, as depicted in the Gospels, actually exist?

Absolutely Yes. And He is The Word, the Alpha, the Omega.
8 (22%)

Of course Jesus Christ existed, he was a good man, a holy man
1 (2%)

Jesus Christ probably existed, but so did other "Holy Men" of the 1st Century
12 (34%)

Maybe, Shmabe, I don't know. It's a meaningless question
5 (14%)

What R you smokin' dude? JC is all in your head like Caspar man!
9 (25%)

True Meaning of Christmas

Ah, it's that time of year again... Christmas time, mistletoe and wine, children singing christian rhyme...etc. However, how many people realise the true meaning of Christmas? It's quite simple really, as this vid by yours truly reveals...

Does God hate Fundamentalists?

We already know that God hates amputees. He refuses to heal them. Every single one of 'em. I have never heard of any credible report claiming that an amputee has been healed by God (except for that poor soldier who had his ear lopped off and then stuck back on again by old JC himself, whilst his arrest took place. But I think that account was just a teeeeny bit biased)

Now in the following article, it appears that praying fundamentalists have been ignored by God ALL ALONG, despite their most heart rending, tearful and absolutely devout supplications.

AAA still questions, does prayer work in any shape or form? If liberal Theology answers a resounding "YES! The parents should have trusted the doctors and directed their prayers to God to assist the doctors to help their daughter", then what difference would that have made?...AAA wants to see a difference...A recognizable signature of this God everyone keeps yammering on about...

Until then, AAA will just smile smugly and self indulgently and dismiss the whole kaboodle as a bunch of crap....

Dale and Leilani Neumann could have received up to 25 years in prison for second-degree homicide in the March 2008 death of Madeline Neumann, who died of an undiagnosed but treatable form of diabetes.

Prosecutors had asked for a three-year suspended prison sentence and 10 years probation. Defence attorneys had sought four years probation. Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Howard told the Neumanns they were "very good people, raising their family who made a bad decision, a reckless decision."

"God probably works through other people," he told the parents, "some of them doctors." (Probably, shmobably, liberal theology again, What's the difference FFS!!!)

The case was believed to be the first of its kind in Wisconsin involving faith healing in which someone died and another person was charged with a homicide.
Prosecutors contended the Neumanns recklessly killed their youngest of four children by ignoring obvious symptoms of severe illness as she became too weak to speak, eat, drink or walk. They said the couple had a legal duty to take the girl to a doctor but relied totally on prayer for healing.

"We are here today because to some, you made Kara a martyr to your faith," Howard told the parents (well said!)

In testimony at trial and videotaped interviews with police, the parents said they believe healing comes from God and that they never expected their daughter to die as they prayed for her and summoned others to do the same. A friend who was at the family's rural Weston home called the emergency dispatcher after the girl stopped breathing.

During the sentencing hearing, Dale Neumann, 47, read from the Bible and told the judge that he loved his daughter. "I am guilty of trusting my Lord's wisdom completely. ... Guilty of asking for heavenly intervention. Guilty of following Jesus Christ when the whole world does not understand. Guilty of obeying my God," he said. (if God exists, why does he ignore this deep, heartfelt cry)

The judge ordered the couple to serve one month in jail each year for six years so the parents can think about Kara and what God wants you to learn from this. One parent would serve the term in March and the other in September. Howard stayed the jail sentence while the couple's convictions are appealed (good judgment, I think Jehovah would have passed a harsher sentence, maybe stoning or eternal damnfire)

From Ida to Ardi

You will of course recall the incredible revelation of the remains of one of our earliest possible ancestors, Ida, earlier this year. Hot on the heels of that one comes a truly breathtaking revelation of one of the missing links in human evolution. Older than Lucy, and almost as complete, this fossil is a brilliant find for modern science. Ardi is her name.

isn't she beautiful?

Celebrate World Blasphemy Day 30 September

I'm not quite sure what that means though. It's a bit like having a funeral for the Loch Ness Monster innit?

But no. it's much more than that. It is about the right of free speech. Its about celebrating the fact that we can stand up and shout out as loud as we want that god does not exist, in as profane language as we choose, without being burnt at the stake, or drawn and quartered for it, as would have been done to us a mere 400 years ago.

It's also about raising consciousness and awareness of atheism. While many perceive blasphemy as insulting and offensive, it is nothing of the sort. If anything, us non believers have had two thousand years of religion rammed down our throats, and it is us that have been persecuted, insulted and offended.

Well, we are tired of hearing the religious saying "tolerance and respect" when actually what they want to say is "SHADDUP!"

Much ado about Nothing

Christianity has moved on. We know that. No longer do they burn witches, draw & quarter heretics, crusade against Islam or even observe the Sabbath much any more. Christianity, or what we can now safely call Christianity post enlightenment, or Neo-Christianity, has changed.

How did it do so? Simply by a process that got it started in the first place. Assimilation of existing beliefs. Like a giant amoeba, Christianity has survived by absorbing elements of nearly all the religions of the world, and today includes aspects of Pantheism, Deism and Buddhism.

Christians have dubbed this "Liberal Theology"

So called enlightened believers no longer believe in a honest-to-goodness God of the Old Testament who interferes in the daily lives of believers, and they dismiss with contempt the "strawman god" with white beard that they think atheists credit them with believing.

Instead, they nowadays talk about a "Ground of Being" An ineffable "SIGNPOST" or a TRANSCENDENT REALITY"

They still don't realise that we haven't got a clue what the hell they mean, as you can see from the latest insert above from Jesus&Mo

I have added my own comments below

The Word God is just a symbol that points beyond itself to an indescribable transcendence (meaning Nothing)

God is not limited by logic (although human brains are) and cannot be encompassed by human language (so what's the point of talking about it?)

God is ineffable (unknowable, yes we know) Imponderable (so why bother pondering?) The Mythos (magic) behind the Logos (magic is bigger than logic, although you can't see it)

Reason is not competent to pronounce upon God's nature (yadda yadda it's a symbol, you said so)

Even to say "God Exists" is to diminish the concept (like a square triangle)

God (nothing, as you've so eloquently described) is the ultimate reality (nothing) beyond the reach of words...

So why bother???

R.I.P Raving Atheist

Early in January this year I did a post on the Raving Atheist. I expressed my dismay at having discovered that the iconic atheist blogger had apparently converted. He re-named his site "Raving Theist"

I have been returning to the site on and off looking for reasons for his conversion. None have been forthcoming. No Theology, no Revelation, not even FAITH. Instead the blog quickly deteriorated into a vituperative anti-abortion site and a dedication to a young lady, Ashli, who had cancer. The blog chronicled Ashli's treatment, her every in and out of hospital excursion, and exhorted viewers to pray for her.

And that is where it got stuck. Now, I have no personal problem or objection to Ashli; I wish her well. But that is missing the point. What was RT trying to say? The last post we have seen from RT is dated 03/07/2009 - There is no explanation from RT and nothing of any substance can be gleaned. Nobody knows where RT is - We have to assume deceased -

So I am dedicating this post to him. The Raving Atheist is dead, Long live the Raving Atheist!

My thoughts are free...How about yours?

Die Gedanken sind frei
My thoughts freely flower,
Die Gedanken sind frei
My thoughts give me power.
No scholar can map them,
No hunter can trap them,
No man can deny:
Die Gedanken sind frei!

I think as I please
And this gives me pleasure,
My conscience decrees,
This right I must treasure;
My thoughts will not cater
To duke or dictator,
No man can deny--
Die Gedanken sind frei!

And if tyrants take me
And throw me in prison
My thoughts will burst free,
Like blossoms in season.
Foundations will crumble,
The structure will tumble,
And free men will cry:
Die Gedanken sind frei!

Neither trouble or pain
Will ever touch me again.
No good comes of fretting,
My hope's in forgetting.
Within myself still
I can think as I will,
But I laugh, do not cry:
Die Gedanken sind frei!