Well, if you don't come to the blog for years you are HARDLY a fan. I have taken to just posting anti religious stuff on Sunday, but this person sufferers from what most of the boo-hoo religious people do, if it offends me take it away!!! They seem to lack the ability to turn the channel, NOT watch a movie or in this case skip a blog post. My TV provider has like 5 religious channels, I am annoyed that I actually pay them money and can't choose to not have them, but I'm not going to piss and moan about it, I just don't watch them (unless I want to mess with Jess;))
What REALLY is annoying is the Thanking God thing. Like my hard work and practice had NOTHING to do with it. SO in this vein, Jess has written up a little Thanks You prayer of her own;)
Thank you, God
Thank you, God, for the talent you gave to me. The talent to paint, to draw, to skillfully care for many dogs.
Thank you, God, for beaming that shit right into the my head, so I didn't actually have to go to college and spend time, money and energy to, you know, learn stuff.
Thank you, God, for magically imparting me with the ability to mix colors, absorb the basics of a computer program by simply looking at the package, and put the image in my head right on the screen with no effort or trial and error at all.
Thank you, God, for giving me the innate knowledge to splint a broken leg, stitch a wound, select appropriate medication according to illness, and diagnose a sick dog by simply touching it.
Thank you, God, for giving me mighty Google Fu, so I can research anything I want to know, simply by touching the keyboard. Of course, that was supposed to be beamed into my head…
Thank you, God, for giving Brett kick ass talent that he never had to practice or work for, so he can support me in the way to which I am accustomed.
Never mind the five years I spent in college, doing loads of homework.
Never mind the hideously stressful final review to get my degree.
Never mind paging through manuals and tutorials, trying to figure out how that stupid brush tool works.
Never mind the huge collection of dog breeding, health, and behavior books I own, and the time it takes to read and understand them.
Never mind the hours and hours and hours of time I've spent looking things up, sorting through the garbage to find the gold, because I had to know, or needed to know, or wanted to know.
Never mind the years and years of practical hands on experience that gives me the confidence I need to splint a leg, or suture a laceration, or pull a pup.
Never mind the years Brett spent, drawing, going to school, learning, and trying to get work.
Thank you, God. For nothing. Because even if you existed, you had nothing to do with anything. It was my work, my blood, my sweat, my brain that put me here.
Thank me! Thank my parents, for raising me to have a brain and know how to use it, thank my instructors, thank Google, but don't thank God.
Now here's a Carl Sagan Video that I thought was cool!
Happy Sunday!
Brett
Sadly, we live in a culture of the victim, and that goes beyond religion, beyond faith, and to the very heart of what is wrong with society, and the world, in general.
ReplyDeleteIf something offends you, ya complain.
There was a situation a few months ago where some woman threw a hissy fit because a comedian named Frankie Boyle made fun of people with Down Syndrome, as part of his act. Her child has down syndrome, and she said something like "she sat there in tears" as he proceeded to make jokes about the mentally challenged, and was demanding an apology. First of all, it is only words, not a hand grenade. Secondly, she paid to see his show, and could have walked out or asked for her money back if she was not happy, and thirdly, FB makes regular appearances on TV and radio, his comedy attacks and makes fun of everyone, and if she had paid even an ounce of attention she would have known this. I would not hesitate to say she laughed when he made fun of other disabilities, and people, but when it came to something related to her, she got insulted and cried. That's just one example, but it exists all over the world, sadly.
I really liked the Carl Sagan video,thanks for posting it. Richard Dawkins has stated that when one discovers that they have not been given a purpose by a deity, they realise that it is up to themselves, as an individual, to make a purpose for themselves. Your life, and your life purpose, is yours to decide. Whether you believe in a deity/ deities, or not, you make your life worth something.
Carl Sagan was ahead of his time, it has to be said.
M.O.R.
ReplyDeleteAgreed:)
I watched some of Sagan's old show on the Science Channel a weeks ago, still really good stuff!
They mentioned Richard Dawkins on Doctor Who last night, Jess and I had a laugh!
Best,
Brett
What makes Sagan more interesting than Dawkins, I feel, is that when
ReplyDeleteSagan made his point, he made it well. He was able to put his point across, and he did so in an articulate manner, with a well constructed series of books and essays. There was no sense of ranting in his books, which I get alot from Dawkins. Even when Sagan speaks, he remains calm, and puts his point across very strongly, always considering the other viewpoint, and approaching it with respect.
There is a negative view of every Christian, Atheist, Muslim, and Jewish person, of the militant believer. Sagan, as an atheist, goes against the grain. He is not militant, my way or the high way. He understands everybody, and simply has high, high hopes for humanity, like a father would have for a child who consistently recieves high grades, while trying to teach them the way of the world.
My problems with Dawkins is not on his points made, or his topic of discussion, it's the way he delivers it. His documentaries are very biased, almost Michael Moore-ish. His writing, despite his degrees, MA's and Phd's, is very amateurish.
And worst of all, he acts very militant atheist, but he backs down very easily. I have seen him in interviews, and on chat shows, one of which was here in Ireland, and he just backs down too easily. He's too phoney. If you have a point, a belief, then stick with it, don't back down. Carl Sagan was the real deal.
Brett, you may have seen this before, but either way I thought you might get a kick out of it!
ReplyDeletehttp://verydemotivational.com/upcoming/?pid=3627&from=recMap3
It is kind of sad a mind as sharp as Sagan's was so dull when understanding religion, or why he felt the need to see science and religion as constantly being in conflict.
ReplyDeleteAt least he is honest enough to point out no man can be trusted and we are all flawed and unreliable witnesses. So like all men, Sagan is fallible and not to be taken at face value without "airtight proof," -Mr. Sagan's popular term for required evidence. Using his own standard of "airtight" Carl would have to admit he took a lot on faith without proof. Many of his beliefs were based off of his philosophical agnostic, naturalistic worldview-which is unprovable and must be accepted by faith. His anti-religious views are not scientifically based, but his own personal convictions. Once you discard his philosophy, you are left with a lot of really cool Cosmos episodes and cool,sci-fi ideas.
Steve
M.O.R.,
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a fan of Dawkins writings, they never seem to get to the point, or at least I never seem to get his point. I read 'God Delusion' gave me a head ache, but nothing really compelling in it. NONE of the reasoning I used when I left religion behind. But to each their own. Sagan's a bit more down to earth for me. But I've only seen a few of his episodes. I have been watching Through the Worm Hole, which is pretty good:)
Steve,
If I did know you were serious I'd be laughing, that would be awesome Poe!
Do you not actually see what you wrote? 'Sagan is stupid because he doesn't agree with me!' I have a hard time believe that all these REALLY smart people just have NO idea about TRUE religion. These smart people HAVE seen the evidence and they have found the evidence for religion lacking, so they reject it. Simple as that. Simply rejecting everything they say about religion because they don't agree with you is so closed minded it isn't funny.
Have you even THOUGHT that MAYBE you MIGHT be wrong? Ever? I keep hearing this I know it true because I say so, but that's not evidence.
Best,
Brett
Oh and thanks Le Rochelle! Very Funny!
ReplyDeleteBest,
Brett
http://games.adultswim.com/bible-fight-action-online-game.html
ReplyDeleteCarl sAgan was hardly dull. The guy spent years of his life researching religion.
ReplyDeleteAs an agnostic he was open to the opinion that God existed. Sagan was far more open minded than Steve seems to give him credit for. He was not militant, he was far more open.
I wasn't saying Sagan was stupid for not agreeing with me. I'm not even saying he is stupid. He is basically an NBA player trying to sell me auto insurance. This is what I mean...
ReplyDeleteAny layman or scientist who categorically states there is no God is a fool. The concept of God exists outside the ability of science to understand or study. The existence of God is a matter of philosophy, the study of the nature of God is Theology. Any time you see a naturalistic biology scientist discussing God you are witnessing the same phenomenon as when an NBA player tries to sell you auto insurance; he is hoping his credibility in one area will influence your decision making abilities in an area where he is not an expert or credible voice.
In 1996 Sagan said "An atheist has to know more than I know. An atheist is someone who knows there is no God." He should have left it at that.
Steve
I do have to say that curiosity got the best of me and I had to see if you even read my note about the religious issue. I have no problem watching/being dealt 'blasphemous' jokes or similar content. My problem is the amount of it. Like I said before, I quit reading comics when I realized I was paying $40 bucks a week for them and they started resurrecting long dead heroes. Your blog had nothing to do with ending that. I only wanted to point out you had been my favorite artist throughout my reading years. Compliment like that should be worth something. I can give two shits about keeping up on a blog. I liked your humanoid artwork and came back to check what's happening. It was the amount of anti-religion posts that was getting to me. If you had to check a blog and scan through weeks of posts and we'll say every 7th post was something not to your taste, you might start to think there's an issue. Believe in no God. That's your perogative. But I think you'd get just as annoyed if we held a conversation, and I name dropped Jesus every seventh sentence. I'm not crying at your lack of respect, just concerned.
ReplyDeleteThank the monkeys or primordial ooze.