Or at least trying to, go here for the story American Taliban , it has links to these 'peoples' website. These people are one step away from the Taliban or the Nazis and they're on US soil. It's repugnant. I can't even go into depth because I'd never stop typing. Basically 'Repent Amarillo' is a religious group that goes around an forces their opinion on others, stalking and harassing them. This was supposed to be a free country but I guess it's only a 'free to believe what I tell you to country'. AGH!
Brett
Hey Brett did you read the mission statement on their site.
ReplyDeleteThe Soldier group. The soldier group will consist of warriors dedicated to witnessing to groups of unbelievers or one-on-one witnessing. This group will be more visible to the public and will be comprised of bold believers willing to confront the world. This group will be schooled in the “Way of the Master” method of witnessing to the lost.
And I'm sure you know the fucktards responsible for that way of the master bullshit!
Oh I definitely agree,that's one of the more reprehensible acts so far.The reason for my post was kind of a Can't believe the crap these people are getting away with and oh guess who's most likely indirectly responsible for their fucked up way of thinking...Kirk Cameron and Ray comfort.I may be totally off base but that's the way I see it at this point.
ReplyDeleteI'm less worried about Comfort and Cameron than I am about Ken Ham and his Answers in Genesis. And those religious nuts that Palin belonged to, or those cazies from Jesus Camp, the ones that want a civil war so they can make this a 'Christian Nation'.
ReplyDeleteWhat's really sad is that these people have been brainwashed since they were born with this crap and it becomes so important to them, that they ignore anything that might contradict their ideas. Stupidity is dangerous, Just look at Homer Simpson!
Best,
Brett
Stupidity and ignorance ARE dangerous and what leads to most conflicts but I have to ask,Who's more dangerous...the brainwashed or the ones doing the brainwashing?
ReplyDeleteFatboy,
ReplyDeleteIt;s sort of like the chicken and the egg to me. You can't have one without the other. But I agree the brainwashers are worse, since they can hold sway over others. We need to educate the brainwashed so they can recognize the washing and see it for what it really is... lies.
Best,
Brett
Okay, woah! Hold on. Just because a person is religious doesn't make them brainwashed. I'm a devout Catholic and while I respect your own personal beliefs and atheism/agnosticism I think the outright general attack on the religious is a little harsh. I agree that the protesting breast cancer runs is outlandish and I believe they're in the wrong for that, and I also think that a civil war is the last thing that this country needs at the moment, especially for religion. Any time a war has been fought for religion (genuinely or as pretense) it always causes more trouble than it's worth. Also, as for the Answers in Genesis thing, I gotta say that I think they're probably wrong there too. The vast majority of Genesis is to be taken figuratively, not literally. Creation for instance. There are two different stories of how it happened! The simple fact of the matter is that no one was there, so how do we know if it was just a big blob of space junk that somehow got there and somehow exploded, or if it was a deity of some sort that did it. As for the 'Christian Warriors', I think that poses another problem. The issue here is that they're the loudest, not the most accurate, and the problem with being the loudest is that everyone builds a stereotype off of that group/individual.
ReplyDeleteBeowolf,
ReplyDeleteWere you indoctrinated into you're religion as a child? Were you given a chance to make a choice about which religion to choose without anyone's 'help'? Or are you the same religion as you're parents? If so you've been 'brainwashed'. I'm not taking about the traditional trigger thing in the movies that causes someone to pull a gun and kill, it's the more subtle lose of reason that I'm talking about. There is no evidence to support any religion yet you still believe, that is 'brainwashing'. Do new finds make you change you're mind or ideas? Or will you believe no matter what? 'Brainwashing.'
Answers in Genesis is a website run by Ken Ham, he's a biblical literalist, meaning, he and his followers think the bible is absolutely 100% fact, the Earth is 6,000 years old and theropod dinosaurs ate coconuts and gave Adam and Eve rides. I agree it's literature as do most Christians but there is a faction that thinks it's fact and unfortunately until YOU other types of Christians start beating them down you are accesories to their crusade. We've sat quietly by and waited for some sort of reason to take hold, but no, it keeps getting worse. So now you get lumped in until YOU start shouting them down. If you don't speak up about something you condone it.
Best,
Brett
Actually, new ideas DO shape my personal beliefs. I was introduced to my faith as a child, but I was allowed to make my own choice whether or not I wished to continue when I turned 17. I don't lose reason just because I choose to believe in something I can't see, touch, or hear. I like to think of it this way: I have nothing to lose for believing. I can live my life believing and then BLAM!! I'm dead. There are two possible outcomes: 1 is that God does exist and I'm sitting pretty well, or 2, He doesn't exist and I was going to die anyway, but at least I may have touched someone else's life by a selfless act. Also, when you say, "We've sat quietly by and waited for some reason to take hold, but no, it keeps getting worse," do you mean that we stop 'believing in our stupid fairy tails and grow up'? There was no evidence for evolution (something I happen to believe in if it's all the same to you) until scientists began to delve into genetics and study morphology, descent with modification, and finally Darwin put it all down in his Origin of Species. Just because it hasn't been proven as of yet doesn't mean that it isn't a possibility. I won't be the first person to say this I'm sure, but it does ring true. Religion isn't for everyone. Just because it isn't for you doesn't mean that you have the right to ridicule the people that do, simply because they don't agree with your opinion. If God's existence were to suddenly be proven scientifically would you forget all of your current feelings and beliefs at the drop of a hat? Or would you still have some reservations? It's only natural.
ReplyDeleteBeowolf,
ReplyDeleteSo you think it's reasonable to believe in something with no evidence? That's the opposite of reason, sorry. For some reason this belief that faith with no proof is a virtue is completely misplaced.
How is preaching your religion a selfless act? It makes YOU feel better that's a selfish reason, sorry.
What I'm saying is if you want to believe thats your right, no matter how much I disagree. What I'm saying is that YOU as a 'regular' Christian need to stand up and tell the other more radical christian groups that they do not speak for you. By not doing this they assume you agree with him as does everyone else.
Evolution has been proven a fact. Just an FYI, Theory in science doesn't mean the same a Theory on a TV show. In science it's a group of facts that support an idea. Even the crazy literalists believe in evolution to a degree, they just can't seem to wrap their heads around time slinger than 6,000 years.
If there was actual proof of the Biblical God I would believe that he/it existed... I would still not follow/worship it/him. I'm sorry but a higher being should not demand his/it's children worship it. Punishing Adams descendants for being curious and disobeying is repulsive to me. I don't condemn my dogs because they disobey me. I think only a less being would demand something like that. But it;s a moot point since the bible has been proven to be false, and actual god would be far different from his/it's biblical counterpart.
Best,
Brett
Preaching my religion is NOT what I meant as a selfless act. What I'm referring to is that Catholicism teaches that its members do acts of selfless love (e.g. giving my time to help someone in need, doing a service at no charge for someone who can't pay, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI do agree that something needs to be done about the radical religious groups, but that's one of the facts about religion of any sort: there will ALWAYS be radicals no matter what anybody does to the contrary. I can stand and shake my finger and talk them down until I lose my voice but that's not going to stop them. Besides, the vast majority of their calls for civil war and whatnot are simply talk.
As for the scientific theory vs. tv show theory, I DO know that there's a difference, I'm a marine biology major, I should hope that I did. I also know that evolution is a proven fact, I've known it for quite some time.
I'm afraid I didn't use the correct terminology when I said "Just because it hasn't been proven yet doesn't mean that it isn't a possibility" I wasn't referring to evolution. The 'it' I was referring to anything that hasn't been proven scientifically as of yet. For instance, gravity is a fact, that's all there is to it and we've known it for centuries. But gravity itself existed before it was theorized. The same goes for evolution. Evolution was and is all around us, but just because it hadn't been theorized and written down until 1859 didn't mean that it didn't exist prior to that. The evidence was there, it just took someone to recognize it. What's to separate God from that? Just because He hasn't been scientifically proven doesn't mean that He doesn't exist.
I do have to agree with you about worship though. I too have asked myself why God needs to be worshiped, and I've wondered about punishing Adam and Eve's descendants for their mistake (but that's really invalid because as I've said before, the majority of the Old Testament is figurative so the story of original sin was simply a way of explanation to early members of early Judaism and by extension Catholicism). However, a lesser being demanding to be worshiped is a little outrageous. Didn't kings and queens demand tribute? Were they any less human that you or me? You love your dogs, there's no question. I've seen the photos and read some of your comments. I too love dogs very much and when I go home from college there's nothing I look forward to more than to see my dog's loving welcome. You don't demand that your dogs love you in return for yours, but they do. You don't demand that other people love you in return, but some of them do. God doesn't demand love, He offers His and those who choose to will reciprocate it.
But Beowolf, those are still selfish acts. It depends on how you look at them. Doing these things make you feel better correct? It benefits society to help others including yourself, and while these are selfish they are good selfish. I totally encourage this type of behavior.
ReplyDeleteYes you can talk... but you can also vote them out of office as a lot of people who are fundimentalists seem to be in office now. Yelling at these people won't affect anything, but voting against these people and the people they support will work. I'm not saying go liberal, but there are others with similar views that aren't crazy.
'What's to separate God from that? Just because He hasn't been scientifically proven doesn't mean that He doesn't exist.'
Well... in a way it does. If you can't prove your theory you falsify it so it would mean it/he doesn't exist. But I will say that this really only applies to the biblical god/s and other stuff with actual scripture/myths. Since the God most people believe in is more nebulis, it would be impossible to define a test for it. But at the same time, if it's so nebulis then anything goes when it comes to your version... if it can't be defined then is it real or just imaginary? The biblical Gods/humans set parameters with their writings, these have been falsified through science, so that would tell me that those Gods are false, but for some reason humans keep moving the bar and as science disproves those new parameters the bar gets pushed yet again... to me that means there is no God, as his/her influence seems to be less and less to the point of it being non existant.
I don't think I've been reading the same book you have, the biblical god demands you love AND worship him or spend an eternity in hell... How is that really love? That sounds like and abusive parent or husband to me. Sometimes when the dogs are bad, I dislike them a bit however briefly, but I would never, ever want to condemn them to an eternity of torcher for a finite incident, that's reprehensible to me. But that's what your God offers, sure you have 'free will' but you'll only get to heaven if you do exactly what he/it says. That doesn't sound like someone I'd like to be around. And punishing everyone forever for the actions of two, the rest of us weren't even born yet... ugh.. sorry count me out. How is it I, a meer human, can see how bad these things are yet this higher being can't? Makes no sense to me.
Best,
Brett
I agree with you about the eternal punishment for a finite incident. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me either. But doesn't life in prison for a murder that takes less than a second at least seem like a comparable possibility? I don't know. Again its something I'm not entirely sure of. I also have to agree with you about free will, I'm not sure about that as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for voting, I also agree with you there, but I can only vote for the people that represent my state so my influence would be limited. I can't vote for president for another two years or so, so that's going to have to wait. One of the possible reasons that fundamentalists are so prolific right now in office may be because when things are bad (economy, environment, foreign affairs, etc.) people tend to be more conservative and afraid of change.
As for reading the same book I am, I think we are, but I think I may just be interpreting it differently than you are. The Bible was completed almost 2000 years ago when things were a little more brutal (though I'm not saying that things are perfect I do think that they're better in some respects). At that time, and maybe to some degree now, the law was "Might is Right", so to get any respect you had to show your strength. Showing compassion and mercy at that time was a sure-fire way for you to be usurped. However, that's all just speculation on my part. As for the actual words themselves, the interpretation has changed, but not the actual text.
Ah but the death penalty should only be used and usually is, for the most grizzly of deaths. If you've murdered, much worse than an accidental killing or crime of passion, you've taken the life of another person and their future. So in some cases I agree with it. In others... not so much.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm trying to when I say you, I mean you and others like you need to vote these guys out, just like I will try to vote out all these little stupid idiot laws the liberals like so much. It won't get done overnight but hopefully, eventually things will get better. That's why people need to start using reason and move away from superstition, sitting around and praying for something to happen as opposed to taking action yourself is just plain irrational.
Here's my problem with this bible thing, if it's poetry and not facts then why bother with it at all? I mean it's just Aesopes fables then. A few good nuggets but the rest just filler. You pick and choose what you want to hear or the way things are interpreted. it seems pointless to me. Why bother then? Why buy into something that's basically made up? As you have said things have changed, why cling to old religions and traditions that have no real baring in the modern world? Is it the fear of death? You don't want to control your own life? You want someone to blame? Maybe I've been an Atheist so long I can't remember what the belief feelings are like but it seems pointless to me.
Best,
Brett
I have to agree with you about being an atheist for so long it's possible to forget what it's like to believe. I guess you could say I've got the opposite scenario where I've been a believer for so long that I can't imagine my life without believing. If this whole debate has taught me anything, it's that we've essentially agreed to disagree.
ReplyDeleteBeowolf,
ReplyDeleteI'm just trying to get you to ask questions, I don't think it's fair that everything except religion is questioned, I mean seriously questioned. But I understand it's a safety net for most people and they don't want to ask the tough questions. I'll just leave it there for now, It's not like I'm trying to convert you or anything. You can make up your own mind:)
Best,
Brett