Godlessness

We can all agree that Greek, Roman, and other ancient extinct gods are nothing more than a humorous story that we point and laugh at. How so many people could believe that stars and planets were actually gods, and could dictate what happened on Earth. Since then, the term "Greek Theology" has been changed to "Greek Mythology", for it has been proven and is widely believed that no such gods exist. Both the Greeks and Romans had different names for their gods, and later the Romans took some of the Greek gods since they were better; they were all grouped and denied. A series of gods who were believed in by most religions at the time, were abandoned.

Afterward, another series of religions were created. They each had their own belief's on how the world worked, but all agreed that they came of one central god (again, with different names). These, however had their own books to spread the religion. Since my focus is on Christianity, I'll confine my story toward it.

The Christian god was first noted in the Book of Genesis, which is "the direct word of god" though written by man. Basically, some guy ran out and said, "Everyone listen! God has come to me in a vision, and told me to write this book. You too can have a copy for only $19.95 plus shipping and handling!" Okay, so the infomercial part probably didn't happen. Anyway, god's words were now on paper for all to learn. Fast forward a few years to "the virgin Mary", a woman who told a great story about how "an angel came from heaven, and told me I was to bear god's child" rather than confessing she had pre-marital sex. Thus, Jesus was born "of a virgin". After spending 20 some odd years of his mother telling him he was the son of god, Jesus believes so. One of my favorite stories is of Jesus restoring sight to a blind man.

Jesus walks up to an old beggar sitting by the street. He kneels down next to the man, and spits into some dirt, creating mud. He then smears the mud in the beggars eyes and the old man screams, "I'M BLIND! PLEASE HELP ME!" Jesus then tells the man to wash the mud from his eyes with water from a nearby stream. The man returns and exclaims, "You have cured me of blindness. You must be the son of god."

Another good one is when Jesus walks across water. I walk across water all the time. It's called a bridge. If that isn't good enough for you, I still walk on water all the time. Ever heard of ice? That's water buddy. For real, I'm not lying. I'll bet as Jesus walks across the ice, some fat guy broke the ice and fell in. Then it's a miracle. There are plenty of other "miracles of god" that are just as amusing, but I'm not going to get in to all of them.

Here's another thing I don't understand. God creates the world, universe, everything in it, including humans and all that in 7 days. If Adam and Eve are around then, when did the dinosaurs exist for centuries, and were after wiped out. All that came before Adam and Eve were around. Aside from that, if Adam and Eve were here on earth, knew god existed, why did they not tell all 600 or so kids they supposedly had to believe in him? There were the two of them who knew and conversed with god himself, and yet failed to convince their children to pass down that knowledge from generation to generation. After so many years there were hundreds of gods, from many different religions, when all their ancestors going back far enough were the direct creation of the one, Christian god.

Throughout history people have been brainwashed to the point that they have nothing but blind faith. At no point in their life do they even question anything about religion. I was born and raised by a catholic family. I was forced to attend church every sunday until I entered college. I am even friends with the priest. I've tried to figure out how all these people have been caught by what I believe is a tragic lie. Then it hit me. Like almost all catholics, they were born and raised into it. Forced to go to church, to got to church school, where they worked their way from baptism to confirmation. The catholic church has a perfect design to capture believers for many years to come. They mold children's minds, and teach them not to question, and not to actually think about what is said and what is happening. Better yet, the parents reinforce those ideals put forward by the church because they were brainwashed as children too. My mother and sister are perfect examples of this. My mother was raised much the same as I have been. Church was a commitment from birth, including church school as a child. In all her life, she has never questioned her faith. No matter what argument is put forth, no matter what is said, there is no thought. She ignores the question, and keeps on believing. Now, my sister went through the same thing. She has been going to church and church school from baptism to confirmation. She has since passed confirmation, and has no doubt in the existence of god. She is a strong believer in the catholic religion, and yet she knows almost nothing about the catholic religion. She is completely oblivious to any real text from the bible, and has no idea what I'm talking about when I argue against the existence of god.

There's a guy I used to work with, his name is Todd. Todd is another believer in god, however he only had one argument for the existence of god. His only line was "the bible says there will never be peace in the middle east. The proof is in the pudding!" Well, Todd, you're fucking retarded. because the real question is, will there ever truly be peace in the world at any point? The closest thing to true peace is Canada. They never get into any kind of international trouble, and the only thing keeping it from being labeled a truly peaceful place is the everyday crime. Todd says "there is peace right here in the U.S." No, actually the U.S. is in two wars right now. Just because the war isn't on American soil doesn't mean we are at peace. Even without the wars, there are thousands of murders, rapes, and robberies taking place daily. I wouldn't call that a peaceful nation. The day that nobody in the world is harmed in any way by another person is the day we have true peace. sadly, that day will never come.

Yet another thing; if god is up there, and has been forever, why doesn't he do something? If he is the omnipotent god he is believed to be, then why doesn't he show it? People pray for everything, but most of the time their prayers aren't answered. If this omnipotent god is up there, why does he kill so many innocent people? Natural disasters kill thousands, and he is the one who makes it happen. A big story breaks out, buried under the rubble people found a child alive after 4 days. A hundred thousand died, but that one is god's miracle. People die horrible deaths from diseases. God created those too. God created cancer, an incurable disease that kills almost everyone it touches, from the wicked to the kindest gentlest person you have ever met. God created cancer, and he gave it to millions of people. My grandmother died of cancer, and a good friends mother is currently battling cancer. She is one of the nicest people you have ever met, and she deserves to die of cancer? The answer is no. But hey, god's got a plan right? Just like the terrific planning he has for stillborn children. After a couple has a stillborn child they say "god planned on us getting through this" or "god didn't want to give her up yet, so he called her back." Wow. God had a plan for you to get over the stillborn child, but he had a terrible plan for that child. What is wrong with this picture? Yea sorry kid, you won't make it out of the womb alive. Too bad! There is a family that had a stillborn child, and it strengthened their faith in god. How does that make sense? Yea, sorry about giving you false hope in having a child, she won't live to see you. I personally was born 6 1/2 weeks early, and was taken straight to an incubator. I was given a 50/50 shot at life. My parents faith was strengthened when I came through alive. I wonder, had I died would they feel the same way?

I was forced to go to church weekly by my mom, in hopes that one day I would "come back" to god and believe whole hearted. listen, the only way I will ever believe god exists would be if god himself came down from heaven, walked across a lake that wasn't frozen, and gave me a swift kick in the balls. Then yell, "I EXIST ASSHOLE!" turn around, walk back across that lake, and then fly back up to heaven. Then, once I have made sure it wasn't some Hollywood scam, I might believe in god. Aside from that, it won't happen until I die and see him for myself. Just to let you all know, I'm faithful that neither will happen.

Now, I know this hasn't convinced all of you to become atheist, but I do hope that you now question your faith. I would rather have you think and believe than thoughtlessly submit to either belief or atheism.

Leaving Jesusland

My last quick post.

NOFX hit home with their 2006 song "Leaving Jesusland", which luckily you can listen to below!
The lyrics are located immediately below that.  The current Mosque outrages across America really highlight the homogenized close minded country that Jesusland is creating.  The John Stewart post and this post go hand-in-hand.  



Lyrics:

We call the heartland not very smartland, IQ's are very low but threat levels are high
They got a mandate, they don't want man-dates, they got so many hates and people to despise

In the dust bowl, cerebral black hole, the average weight is well over 200 pounds
I hate to generalize, but have you seen the thighs, most haven't seen their genitalia in a while

Maybe that's why they're so pissed at us
They're all jealous we're having better sex

Queers, transgends, and lesbians, vegans and vegetarians
All you brownish red and yellow ones come out and join us on the coast

No longer svelte, they gotta punch new holes in the Bible belt
They've blown out the fire under the melting pot, the red blood of America is starting to clot
No compromise, no sight thru others' eyes, they're just flies spreading pieces of shit
You gotta emigrate, stop living in hate, what makes this country great is dwelling on either side

They don't want visitors in Jesusland
They want life bland and canned in the fatherland

We want people with college degrees, drug use experience and STD's
People with open-minded philosophies, come hug California trees
Cultural revolution now, neo-conservatives run outta town
We're gonna burn Orange County down,
And then we're off to Riverside, Bakersfield and Fresno too, then we're comin' after you

The fear stricken, born again Christian, they got a vision a homogenized state
Texas textbooks, Bibles, and prayer books,
They want them memorized, but don't want you to think

They don't want visitors in Jesusland
They want life bland and canned in the fatherland

Punk Rockers and emo kids, people doin' things the church forbids
Buddhists, agnostics, and atheists we're moving out of jesusland
Art students and thespians, (excluding country) all the musicians
We want all hookers and comedians, nihilists are welcome too

No longer svelte, they gotta punch new holes in the Bible belt

John Stewart - I Worship You

I will be short on time/energy for these next two posts, so both are going to be incredibly simple.
Hooray for me.

I have been a fan of John Stewart for quite some time.  He may be on comedy central but he criticizes important parts of American society and shares his views (in a comical manor).  John Stewart is usually brilliant and I wish more people would take watch/listen to him instead of the awful real news they feed off of.

Watch this brilliant clip where John addresses the 'Mosque at ground zero' and elsewhere in America for that matter.
Let me know what you think.

www.thedailyshow.com

A Short Story Called Bullshit

Let me tell you a story:

      You get a phone call.  A man informs you that the government has deposited $5000 in your bank account.  He then informs you that you must put in 40 hours of work at a government facility because they paid you. 

How do you react? 

You ask why the government paid you and than man responds, "they are kind." You tell the man that you don't want to work at the government facility.  He then tells you that you will serve life in prison if you do not work.  You then ask the man to remove the money from your bank account.  He says that taking the money back is not an option.  You have only two choices, do a weeks worth of work or go to prison.  

 How do you feel?

This story is analogous to a tale called the bible. 

In the the bible a power-hungry god creates man.  This god, if he exists, created you.  Once you were created, god demanded that you praise him.  

How do you react?  

You ask god why he created you and he responds, "I am kind."  You inform god that you do not want to spend eternity praising him.  He then tells you that you will spend eternity in hell if you do not praise him.  You then ask god to un-create you.  He says being un-created is not an option; you have only two choices, praise god for eternity or go to hell.

How do you feel?

I feel pissed.  As humans we realize that it is wrong to force a 'gift' upon someone and then demand something in return.  Linkin Park summed it up, "The sun doesn't give light to the moon assuming that the moon is gonna owe it one - so find another place to feed your greed while I find a place to rest".  That is exactly my attitude towards god - piss off and feed your greed else where.  If god did exist, is he really the type of entity you wish to praise?  Do you really want to go to heaven only to spend eternity praising a pompous spirit with an inflated ego?  When measured by human standards, god is a jerk.  

Of course I am well aware - we can't impose human morality upon god because he is god.  Or maybe it is because Christians don't enjoy their god being a tool. 

Denny Burk, a Christian, wrote: 

God is love. Therefore He must exalt Himself so as to draw people into worship. This is not narcissistic because it is no vice for Him to exalt the beauty of His own perfections for His creatures’ enjoyment and blessing.

I totally forgot that god is love!  Sorry, I must have lost the loving somewhere along the story of the great flood, no wait - it must have been when I was reading about god killing the first born of each Egyptian - No! I know, I forgot that god was love while I was reading my old favorite, the bible, and these two girls got their father drunk so he would have sex with them and they could bear offspring!  Silly me.  It cannot be narcissistic for some being who was here before us to conveniently label himself as the definition of perfect and demand that we praise him for being the epitome of love.

Try finding god's love in a hospital room where his plan for a newborn was to strangle to death on its umbilical cord during delivery.  Think about all the Christian mothers who had stillborn babies.  God is love.