INFIDELIS MAXIMUS

I’m back

2007-12-17T02:43:00.000-06:00

’m back, but not really. In that sense, I guess Christians might assume that I’m “resurrected.” I’ve just stopped by to say that I probably won’t be back any time soon. The book isn’t done (it’s not about religion or philosophy, BTW, for those of you who’ve written asking. It doesn’t relate to this blog at all except that I happen to have written both of them. It’s my ninth book, and is about a

Stepping outside for a smoke

2007-09-15T23:14:00.000-05:00

or those of you who frequent this blog, this is just a little note to let you know that I’m stepping out for a smoke. Many of you know that I write professionally and that I have another book in the works. For some time, I’ve felt that I’ll likely never finish the book so long as my creative Jones is being satisfied by this blog. So, I’m putting the blog on hiatus for the next three months. I won

Is infidelity wrong?

2007-09-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

I once caught an Oprah show where a guy was hawking a book entitled, How to Cheat on Your Wife and Not Get Caught. Naturally, the book caused some controversy, especially given the audience. He had no sooner finished the interview with Winfrey than there was a line of women a mile long at the guest microphone, each with her hands planted firmly on her hips and mad as hell. He patiently endured

Atheism defined

2007-09-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

Religionists like to equate atheism to the same type of faith-based position that belief in God is. They often try to claim that it’s merely the flip side of the theism coin. But atheism is the complete absence of belief, not a negative belief based on similarly incomplete evidence. The distinction is subtle, but important. If believing in God is the equivalent of a positive account balance,

Suck it, Jesus

2007-09-14T08:09:00.000-05:00

My friend Temple Whore speculates that it was Kathy Griffin's “Suck it, Jesus” remark rather than what she said right before that: “...no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” I’m sure she’s right. I’m sure that’s regarded as even more offensive. One question: if she’d said instead, “Suck it L. Ron Hubbard,” would that have been met with such outrage? What about, “Suck it, Krisha

Flimflamboyant Benny Hinn Exposed

2007-09-14T08:02:00.000-05:00

CBN' The Fifth Estate did a bang-up job recently of exposing con artist-cum-televangelist Benny Hinn. Check out the episode link here, which links the entire documentary.

Lady M.

2007-09-13T03:58:00.000-05:00

I was disappointed to learn today that my friend Lady M. has shut down her Bitchasaurus blog. She’s a past Site of the Week winner here on my blog and one of my favorites. One of the things I really liked was how she so adeptly mixed science with unbelief and a good pinch of humor. She has her reasons for doing this and will definitely be missed. In her honor, here’s a post that you might

So many Tuesdays ago

2007-09-11T18:29:00.000-05:00

It was a Tuesday morning, as regular a Tuesday as there’d ever been. I was getting ready for work, about to walk out the door and head for the office. I walked through the living room and saw the story breaking on TV: one of the World Trade Center towers had been hit by a plane. They didn’t know what kind of plane. They didn’t know if anyone was hurt. They didn’t

Religious censorship is alive and well

2007-09-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

In case you were wondering, religious censorship is alive and well in America. Witness Kathy Griffin, who won an Emmy for her show “My Life on the D-List” and had the temerity to say this in her taped acceptance speech: “…a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” O the shame! The Academy of

Wife Spanking, Part Tres

2007-09-10T18:54:00.000-05:00

As Pagan has helpfully pointed out, there's more to this wife spanking business than may at first appear. Turns out Leah, one of the ladies whose blog I excerpted, actually markets CDD porn. She calls her novels, short stories, etc., CDD "romances." I call bullshit. Abuse and romance are fundamentally incompatible. As Pagan says, it's hard to pity her when she's making money from CDD, but

In defense of Larry Craig

2007-09-09T04:08:00.000-05:00

irst, let me begin by saying I don’t condone hypocrisy, and I’m well aware that Craig has voted right down the line with his fellow Republican hate mongers. Yes, I know it’s hypocritical to bash gays and be gay yourself, so he is, at the very least, a hypocrite. But let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? What did he do? He solicited sex in a public restroom. Evidently, the practice is to

Offbeat Sexuality

2007-09-09T03:51:00.000-05:00

I've been recently researching what I like to call "Offbeat Sexuality"--sexuality in (cultural) places you would not normally expect to find it, particularly those related to religion in some way (and, no, I don't mean in a men's restroom stall, Senator Craig). Two of my more interesting finds have been sex & witchcraft (thanks Temple Whore!) and sex & Mormonism. Who knew witches and Mormons

Four-Star General Blasts Bush Enemy Combatant Policy

2007-09-08T02:50:00.000-05:00

“It is amusing to recall that we fought the revolution in defense of the rights of man and the civil war to abolish slavery and have now gone back on both principles.” –George S. Patton, General (four-star), Army of the United States Patton was actually speaking of Eisenhower’s very similar “disarmed enemy forces” policy regarding German prisoners of war. Didn’t know about that one?

Site of the Week: Atheist Hussy

2007-09-08T01:37:00.000-05:00

his weeks' Site of the Week is Atheist Hussy, a creation of Intergalactic Hussy. I like AH because of the large variety of the media and the excellent quality of the articles. IH is evidently a graphic artist by day and does some great original artwork for the site. She also tracks down great articles and artwork elsewhere on the web and links them on her site for those of us who are too lazy

Evening shadows grow long for Shrub

2007-09-08T01:27:00.000-05:00

Yippee! We're finally down to less than 500 days left for Shrub. 499 days from now someone else will be in the White House, and it will almost certainly be an improvement. See the Bush countdown in the right pane, along with the daily Bushism, if you want to start counting the days yourself.

Bob Price's New Essay

2007-09-07T16:59:00.000-05:00

Bob Price sent out a nicely-done essay entitled, "Invisible Empire" for the September edition of his Zarathustra Speaks column. Bob, as you may recall, was featured in Brian Flemming's movie, The God Who Wasn't There. In the essay, he mentions his initial discomfort while watching the 'confrontation with the schoolmaster' scene (as I like to call it), then goes on to say that he has changed his

Secret Verses: Am I Not Thine Ass?

2007-09-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

You probably thought Jim Carrey invented the notion of an ass talking, but not so. It actually comes from the Bible. Here’s the passage: 20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do. 21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the

Tagged, this is it

2007-09-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

I got tagged again, and, rather than pay specific attention to the tag, here are ten random facts about me. As I’ve said before, I don’t like these tag things, and this is definitely it. I won’t be doing it again. I doubt anyone really cares to hear random stuff about me anyway, so this is definitely the last time I’ll clog my blog with it :-)I have fought a severe addiction to caffeine for most

Late August

2007-09-02T01:06:00.000-05:00

A little recap of my adventures Friday night: It’s late August, and my son and I are zipping around Dallas with the T-tops out and the windows down. Every time we drive the sports car, he pesters me to take the tops out and turn the radio up, and tonight I oblige him. We’ve just left the Landmark Theatre where we caught the Dallas opening of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, one of

Reagan Remembered

2007-08-31T15:37:00.000-05:00

Republicans look back wistfully at Ronald Reagan—a two-term president with coattails long enough to carry nondescript George “I wanna be president” Bush into the White House. They miss the days of an administration with simple problems and even simpler answers and the seeming adherence to Republican ideals like moral superiority and tax relief, meanwhile running up the national debt and running

Today's question: What does Europe think?

2007-08-31T12:52:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a new feature today entitled, "Today's question." It will be a simple question designed to foster discussion. Today's is: If the average New England Yankee views Texas as an oafish bastion of right-wing, redneck ignorance--a danger to its neighbors and to civil liberties in general--and if America is currently dominated and governed by such people, what does Europe think about

A Toast to Curvy Women

2007-08-25T17:03:00.000-05:00

I watched a documentary last night on the extras DVD that came with the latest Bond movie (Casino Royale—the one starring Daniel Craig). BTW, before I forget, this might be a decent movie, but Craig is no Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or even Pierce Brosnan—the guys who I think portrayed Bond best. What they did was try to reinvent the Bond genre by copying the Bourne movies. Yes, Craig is good

Still paying for Watergate

2007-08-25T02:36:00.000-05:00

Here's some food for thought for you. Is the Watergate scandal of the 70s part of the reason the country's in the awful shape it's in today?Work with me here. Jimmy Carter readily admits that he'd never have gotten into the White House were it not for Watergate. Conventional wisdom says that the problem with Jimmy was that he was a good man, but not such a good president. Another way to look

More on Michael Vick

2007-08-24T19:21:00.000-05:00

Turns out my post questioning whether Michael Vick's dalliance with dog fighting was prison-worthy has ruffled some feathers. I got a particularly vitriolic note today about it from a fellow who calls himself Hound Doggy. He's up in arms about the "laws of decency" Vick violated. Yes, I know one man's law is another's crime, and I know Brian Flemming will have a good laugh at my expense after

Telling someone off

2007-08-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

How do atheists tell people off? Do you tell them to go to hell, a place you don’t even believe exists? Do you say “goddamn you?” Swear words, cursing, and religion have always been closely intertwined, so this is a valid line of inquiry for a nonbeliever. Sometimes you just want to tell someone off—do you use the same old tried-and-true religion-based curses and swear words? Do you ape

Site of the Week: Dooce

2007-08-23T03:24:00.000-05:00

This site doesn't have anything to do with unbelief, but I really enjoy it, so Dooce.com is this week's Site of the Week. Dooce is run by a girl named Heather who lives in Utah with her husband of a few years. Her blog has become so popular that she actually supports her family with it (yes, I'm serious). From what I understand, she and her hubby are former Mormons, and she's got some mental

Spare the rod and...spare the child?

2007-08-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

n researching wife spanking and Christian Domestic Discipline for my posts on these of late, I’ve come across numerous articles about spanking children. Naturally, the two subjects are intrinsically related. Some of the sites I’ve come across make me recoil in horror. Some make me think. Is it wrong or is it right? Is it the best way? Unlike wife spanking, corporal punishment of children

More on wife spanking

2007-08-19T18:38:00.000-05:00

In his posts here and here, filmmaker Brian Flemming opines that Christian Domestic Discipline, aka wife spanking, is nothing more than kink and has little to do with Christianity. I read the posts with some bemusement. Brian, you cited my post on CDD—did you actually read it or the CDD sites it linked? Did you note what the “C” in CDD stands for? Because it’s pretty apparent to me that,

A stairway to heaven?

2007-08-18T18:38:00.000-05:00

ccording to John, Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”(John 14:6, KJV) It’s an essential tenet of Christian dogma that the only way to inherit eternal life is through belief in Jesus. However, if the Bible can be believed, there are numerous paths to eternal life—the road to salvation doesn’t necessarily run through Jesus. Consider

Something akin to the truth about Martian canines and Venusian felines

2007-08-18T17:01:00.000-05:00

Chris Rock has a funny bit in his comedy routine where he says men simply can’t have platonic relationships with women. He says the women in a man’s life are in one of two categories: women he’s slept with and women “he ain’t f***** yet.” I laughed a lot when I first heard him say that, but I’m beginning to think there’s some truth to it. I'm beginning to wonder whether men and women can have

Michael Vick Should Fight

2007-08-17T14:30:00.001-05:00

As an animal lover, I don't condone Michael Vick's dog fighting in any way. On the contrary, it's an outrage, and the latest example of stupidity and moral turpitude from a player I already despise (for, among other things, costing a stand-up guy like Dan Reeves his job). But whether you and I like Vick or whether we find the whole business with dog fighting to be reprehensible is really

A Good Movie for Atheist Kids

2007-08-11T01:53:00.000-05:00

Richard Dawkins is right: there’s no such thing as a Catholic child or a Christian child. But I think there are atheist children. Lots of them. I think we all begin that way. Remember that atheism isn’t a negative belief in God; it is the absence of believe in God. Just as we have no concept of the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny until we’re sufficiently indoctrinated, people aren’t born

Site of the Week: Brian Flemming's Blog

2007-08-11T00:47:00.000-05:00

This week's Site of the Week is Brian Flemming's blog.I don't agree with Brian on everything, but I like him and his work. His blog is always a good read regardless. He's got a real talent for keeping things short and concise. I don't have a lot of time to read other blogs, and I always come away from his feeling my time was well spent. His stuff is timely, honest, and often funny as hell.

Signs of the Apocalypse: 50 Cent to Stop Writing Music

2007-08-10T01:24:00.000-05:00

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=271926>1=7702 Curtis James Jackson III, known to the mouth-breathers of the world as “Fitty” and to everyone else as 50 Cent, has pledged to quit making music if he’s outsold by Kanye West. Well, not quite. What he actually said was, “If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I'll no longer write music. I'll write music and

Space

2007-08-09T18:22:00.000-05:00

This is the story of my trip through space I awoke one day and found myself on a ship blazing through the universe. I was a child then and didn’t know what questions to ask. Over time, I grew in prescience and curiosity and began to wonder where I’d come from. I asked the elders, and they said they didn’t know. All they knew was that it had always been that way. For as long as they could

Eulogy post

2007-08-09T18:20:00.000-05:00

I took the eulogy post down. Sorry, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. There has to be a better way. It's something I struggle with and something I need to think more about.

I'm back

2007-08-05T04:20:00.000-05:00

I'm officially back in the saddle. Sorry for the delay in replying to some of you; I've been out of town. I've gone through the comments you posted while I was out and have responded to every one of them, AFAIK. It's always been my intention to respond to every sincere comment posted on my blog, and I don't want to let down on that now.Some of you may have read that I was stuck in sunny

What’s in a name? What the names of God in the Old Testament reveal about him

2007-08-05T02:59:00.000-05:00

rimarily, there are three distinct names for God in the Old Testament. They are YHWH (Hebrew yod/hay/waw/hay—the “tetragramatton,” usually rendered YaHWeH or YeHoWaH), Adonai, and Elohim. In English translations, they are typically translated Lord (note the SmallCaps), Lord, and God, respectively, but probably referred to separate deities originally. Especially with respect to the first two,

Yes, Super Columbine Massacre is still tasteless

2007-07-31T03:58:00.000-05:00

Brian Flemming has a new post over on his blog about the reprehensible and amateurish game Super Columbine Massacre. Yes, the game still sucks, no, I didn't find it educational, and, yes, I'm still disappointed that Brian likes and promotes it. I still like Brian, and there's probably nothing he could do to change that, but I am disappointed. I just think we freethinkers need a reality check

Restless in Seattle

2007-07-24T16:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, I’m stuck in Seattle again for day job reasons. I’ve been here for a couple of weeks and won’t be heading back for another week and a half or so. Late July-early August is supposed to be the best weather they have all year, but it has rained almost every day. Rain makes me want to sleep in, but I’ve got too much to do for that. I’m ready to go home, but I’m getting a lot of work done, so

I’ve seen it all; now I can die

2007-07-19T22:09:00.000-05:00

was “turned on” to Christian Domestic Discipline by my friend Temple Whore. It sounds so absurd that I at first thought TW might be trying to pull a fast one on her ol’ Unca Infidel and the rest of the blogosphere, but this stuff is quite real. It is so utterly ridiculous…no wait—that’s not strong enough…so utterly farcical…oh no—that won’t work, either…so utterly outrageous…no, that’s lame,

With a capital “H”

2007-07-17T01:48:00.000-05:00

I’m really busy this week and am, once again, out of town on business. I’m holed up in a hotel room and have actually gotten “home” before midnight for once. I’m pissed off about working so much, so you get a little rant tonight.This one’s for any of you other knuckleheads who want to castigate me for saying I found Paris Hilton attractive. There’s nothing creepy or stupid or in poor taste about

What does the assassination of John F. Kennedy have to do with intelligent design and unbelief?

2007-07-10T04:52:00.000-05:00

Brian Flemming makes a case here for accepting the fundamental claim of the Warren Commission Report—that President Kennedy was killed by a lone, ex-Marine nut—and implies that those who doubt the report should have something better to offer. In other words, he believes the Warren Commission Report is the best explanation for the data we have, and, until a better explanation is offered, we

The most sickening thing I've seen in awhile

2007-07-09T19:53:00.000-05:00

This is the most sickening thing I've seen in a while. Made me literally want to bawl like a baby. Simply emotionally devastating.Caused me to emit this:Chandler, My Son O ChandlerNo chance for youHow I would to hold you and embrace youTo tell you that you are lovedTo keep that radiant smile ever on your faceTo let you know that it will be alrightand the

Apparent evil

2007-07-05T17:46:00.000-05:00

ebster’s defines apparent thusly: Main Entry: ap·par·entPronunciation: &-'per-&nt, -'pa-r&ntFunction: adjectiveEtymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French apparant, from Latin apparent-, apparens, present participle of apparEre to appear1 : open to view : VISIBLE2 : clear or manifest to the understanding 3 : appearing as actual to the eye or mind4 : having an indefeasible right to succeed to a

Afterglow

2007-07-04T16:29:00.001-05:00

I originally wrote this last year, but never posted it. Here it is for your enjoyment.I took my hoard up to Oklahoma today to shoot off fireworks and see the northern clan. We cooked out, ate copious amounts of watermelon, and, as usual, spent too much money on fireworks. We had a ball, and, all told, it was a typical Fourth of July for my bunch. Now we are headed back home. It’s late at

Interview with John W. Loftus

2007-07-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

recently conducted an interview with John W. Loftus, proprietor of the DebunkingChristianity blog, one of the better anti-Christian sites on the net. John is a former Christian apologist and present day atheist, so he's got an interesting story to tell.IM: You were once a Christian, but now frequently debunk evangelical Christian positions. How would you describe your religious beliefs at

Give it up for Cheney and Rove

2007-07-01T22:55:00.001-05:00

eople like to demonize Dick Cheney and Karl Rove for controlling George W. Bush like some kind of demented puppet masters, but, honestly, if you helped elect a guy who was stupid enough to say this: This is Preservation month. I appreciate preservation. This is what you do when you run for president. You've got to preserve.--George W. BushNashua, NH01/28/2000at Fairgrounds Elementary school in

Site of the Week: Too Many Tribbles

2007-07-01T22:21:00.000-05:00

his week’s site is TooManyTribbles. Any site run by a chick who likes Star Trek automatically gets my attention. Add to that that she’s an unbeliever and writes frequently about unbelief, and you’ve really got my interest. I’m a bit of a trekkie myself, but I stopped watching after The Next Generation cast took over. I read TooManyTribbles because she really has her act together insofar as

Movie reviews

2007-07-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

or those interested, I post my movie reviews on Moviεβrainia.com. I don't have time to write many of these, but a few of them might save you some money. Ultimately, I may end up moving them to this blog; I haven't decided yet.

About blogging more

2007-07-01T18:36:00.001-05:00

s I alluded to a few posts back, I’ve been considering not blogging much anymore. As I mentioned, there are lots of reasons for this, one of them being I’m just not sure the world is ready for what I have to say, and I don’t know how many are listening, anyway. I got a disturbing email yesterday that had me thinking that it really was time to hang up the blogging gloves. It was one of those

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OPINIONS VARY ON PARIS HILTON

2007-07-01T15:57:00.000-05:00

’m a little bemused that I have to do this, but I guess I do. Because I know the fate of the world hangs in the balance based on how I feel about Paris Hilton, allow me to elucidate: Paris is not newsworthy, and the constant free publicity she receives courtesy of our whorish media is sickening. People are dying in Iraq, being murdered in Ohio, and having their homes

Fallacies: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

2007-07-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

oday’s fallacy is: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” –Albert Einstein This flies in the face of how we live our lives, and it runs counter to the old aphorism, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.” Think about it. Your life abounds with things where you do exactly this, and yet you aren’t insane. You reboot your computer,

Thank God the Soviets weren't Christians

2007-06-29T01:45:00.000-05:00

hristians like to cite Stalin and his atheism as an example of how morally bankrupt atheism is. They try to tie the murders and injustice under Stalin to atheism in general. But, as has been pointed out by everyone from Richard Dawkins to me, Stalin may have been an atheist, but he didn't murder millions of people because of his atheism. His atheism was incidental to his murderous nature. He

A chain letter, just for you

2007-06-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

I’ve been “tagged” by AngelsDepart and JulieAnn Henneman, so I guess I’d better respond. Tagging, the equivalent of a chain letter in the blogosphere, basically amounts to divulging something about yourself, then burdening someone else with doing so. Here are the rules:We have to post these rules before we give you the facts. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves. People

Gone

2007-06-26T17:27:00.000-05:00

or me, the September 11th attacks hit especially close to home because I worked on Wall St. in the years immediately prior to 2001 and because I still have many friends up there. I had been to the World Trade Center many times, and I’d even stayed at the WTC 3 (the Marriott Financial District) on a few occasions. Like many around the world, I watched the second plane hit its target on

Fallacies: Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

2007-06-26T02:53:00.000-05:00

his is the start of a new series I’m going to do on common fallacies. These will be old sayings or aphorisms that people commonly cite and believe to be true, but that are actually false. Today’s fallacy is: “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” So, if I cut my arm off, that makes me stronger? No, it just means I have one less arm. Makes spanking the monkey and smoking a cigar

For Alan Turing

2007-06-23T16:41:00.000-05:00

sometimes wonder why I invest time in this blog. It’s not as though I make any money from it (so that the pages load more quickly, I don’t even have AdSense wired up right now), and I know I don’t have a huge audience. I write professionally and could certainly advance my career further by doing more of that and less of this. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I conceal my identity here

Site of the Week: Pharyngula

2007-06-23T14:03:00.000-05:00

his week’s site is Pharyngula, the excellent science blog and religion debunking site ran by PZ Meyers, a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. “Pharyngula,” for those who are interested, is the embryonic stage of development wherein all vertebrates show remarkable similarities: a notochord (a primitive backbone), a dorsal hollow never cord, a tail, and

Who was the “Son of God” in AD 10?

2007-06-22T14:44:00.000-05:00

ver since Gilgamesh claimed to have been of both human and divine descent (c. 2650 BCE) and probably long before, people have been claiming to be descended from the gods. This notion, a central tenet of Christianity, predates it by millennia. Religions before, concurrent with, and since Christianity have touted divine ancestry for their key figures. Thinking about the historical milieu into

Shocking news from the Middle East: People are killing each other for no good reason

2007-06-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

here’s more unrest in the Middle East. Surprise, surprise. This article claims that Hamas, having been driven underground by a Fatah campaign of kidnappings and arrests, is lying in wait in the West Bank. That’ll be great for tourism. Anyone up for a trip to Bethlehem, birthplace of Christ? Let’s go!I hear newscasters, religious people, and the President of the United States spout off

Secret Verses: Thou…madest all their loins to be at a stand

2007-06-19T02:35:00.000-05:00

he King James Version (also known as the Authorized Version) has a number of questionable renderings, especially in the New Testament, which is based on the infamous Textus Receptus. The Old Testament is based on the Masoretic Text and is generally more reliable, but not always. There are plenty of passages where modern translations differ markedly with the Old Testament of the KJV and often

Impress your friends! Play like the pros!

2007-06-19T01:17:00.000-05:00

SC’s game innovation lab has just released The Redistricting Game, which allows you to play politics like the big boys and steal elections like the pros in Washington, D.C. and state capitals around the country. I’ve been outraged by this gerrymandering business, especially right here in my home state, for many years. It’s one of those things that are so obviously wrong that if we ever rewrite

The Never-ending Saga

2007-06-18T02:26:00.000-05:00

y interview with Acharya S resulted in a torrent of controversy on numerous sites that I wasn’t expecting. One such place was TheologyWeb, a site that appears to be a bastion of right-wing, conservative Christianity of the evangelical variety. I came across the thread where they were discussing my interview and roundly bashing Acharya. One poster, who goes by the moniker “TruthBeTold” (a

Scriptural Basis for the Inquisition

2007-06-17T04:41:00.000-05:00

ost modern-day Christians would tell you that the Inquisition (there was actually more than one, but I’ll come back to that later) and the practice of torturing heretics was a perversion of scripture. The Bible, they say, does not condone such behavior, and the Catholics were wrong to engage in it. If you bring up the violence of the Old Testament (e.g., “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

Another outrage: Antioch College to close

2007-06-16T17:11:00.000-05:00

hen you hear me complain about all the waste on and by religion, the money spent on monstrosities like this and this and this that should instead be going toward making the world a better place, here’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. Antioch College, alma mater of Stephen Jay Gould, Rod Serling, and various others you’ve heard of, will close next year because of funding problems. Founded

By Faith

2007-06-16T11:09:00.000-05:00

ebster’s defines superstition thusly: Function: noun1 a : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation b : an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition2 : a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary Many unbelievers would say that faith is

Site of the Week: Debunking Christianity

2007-06-16T01:12:00.000-05:00

his week’s site of the week is John W. Loftus’ Debunking Christianity blog. Thanks to the recent controversy surrounding my interview with Acharya S, John’s site traffic surged as people from all quarters raised all kinds of hell over and over. John handled it all like a pro and patiently reminded everyone to keep things civil. For that reason alone, he gets a nod from me. I also like the

The Way of The Borg

2007-06-15T23:32:00.000-05:00

here’s a new storm brewing over Greg Epstein’s continued use of the term “atheist fundamentalist” to describe outspoken atheists like Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins. Epstein intends his idiotic epithet to equate fervent atheism with religious fundamentalism, especially that of the Christian or Islamic variety. Ironically—but predictably—this has struck a chord with the

Secret Verses: Watch those stones!

2007-06-13T23:34:00.000-05:00

s if he didn’t have enough troubles already, poor John Bobbitt might have a little trouble getting through the Pearly Gates. Why? Check out this inspirational passage from Deuteronomy: He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 23:1, KJV) Ah, the King’s English…stones? Privy member? I get a little

Pythagoras in the Gospel of John?

2007-06-13T03:23:00.000-05:00

o you know what the figure to the right is? I’ll give you a little hint: it might very well come from the Bible. How so? Consider this passage: “1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were

Twainian thoughts on Iraq

2007-06-11T20:27:00.000-05:00

“There have been lies; yes, but they were told in a good cause. We have been treacherous; but that was only in order that real good might come out of apparent evil. ...we have invited our clean young men to shoulder a discredited musket and do bandit's work under a flag which bandits have been accustomed to fear, not to follow; we have debauched America's honor and blackened her face before the

The Fate of George W.

2007-06-11T12:58:00.000-05:00

oday’s entry is a poem I wrote some years ago. The title is “The Fate of George W.” Yes, I know it’s not a great poem, and I know the rhyming and what-not is off a bit. I actually started to write it without any rhyme at all, but fell into a half-done rhythm and rhyme as I wrote it. It was just something I came up with in the heat of the moment after seeing a blurb on the news. Please excuse

Malfeasance

2007-06-10T02:49:00.000-05:00

ebster’s defines malfeasance thusly: Function: nounEtymology: mal- + obsolete feasance doing, execution: wrongdoing or misconduct especially by a public official George W. Bush’s original projected cost of the war in Iraq? $50 billion. Current tab? Over $400 billion. What do you call an official responsible for a public budget overstepping the budget by a factor of 8? Malfeasance.

Agnostos Theos: A god for agnostics

2007-06-10T01:30:00.000-05:00

ccording to Acts 17, when the Apostle Paul visited Athens, he found an altar on Areopagus (Mars’ hill) to the Unknown god (agnostos theos in Greek). He went on to deliver one of the most stirring sermons of the New Testament and explain to the Greeks how their Unknown god was in reality the Christian God:22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that

Secret Verses: Having a period is sinful

2007-06-09T07:16:00.000-05:00

hristian women would probably be surprised to learn that God considers their monthly cycle to be sinful. I’m not sure how they are supposed to avoid sinning (hysterectomy, perhaps?), but rules are rules:28 “When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. 29 On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and

Site of the Week: Bitchasaurus

2007-06-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

his week’s Site of the Week is Bitchasaurus, Lady Monchhichi’s blog. Unlike last week’s site, it’s not the layout or aesthetic quality that makes Bitchasaurus so great. It’s the insightful, and usually hilarious, commentary that keeps me reading. Lady M. often lets some of these zingers go where you least expect it—right in the middle of an article about oil well drilling, you’ll stumble over

Churchopoly—Playing Monopoly by House (of God) Rules

2007-06-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

he original board game that is now known as Monopoly was invented by a woman named Elizabeth Magie in 1903. Her patent for The Landlord’s Game was granted on January 5, 1904. Lizzie Magie was a Georgist who believed that property rental enriched property owners and impoverished tenants. Feeling that people would have trouble understanding the concept, she invented a board game to illustrate.

Bread and Circuses

2007-06-07T03:56:00.000-05:00

have a question for everyone now so adamantly sure we should never have invaded Iraq: would you think that way if the war had really been over when George W. Bush said it was on May 1, 2003, the date of his ill-advised and much-derided “End of major combat” proclamation? If the war had actually ended then, barely six weeks after it started, and Iraqi suicide bombers weren’t as much a fixture on

Interview with Acharya S

2007-06-04T22:46:00.000-05:00

charya S recently entered my thoughtscape while I was doing some research on the Christ myth and happened to stumble onto her work. I was immediately fascinated by it. For one thing, I was pleased to see someone giving Kersey Graves his due. Some modern scholars like to pick on him, but I have always liked him and appreciated his work in helping debunk Christianity. For another, she is an

Are you an agnostic, an atheist, or both?

2007-06-04T11:39:00.000-05:00

sometimes describe myself as an agnostic, but usually as an atheist. Why the seeming equivocation? A couple of reasons. Number one, there are many negative connotations attached to atheism that I don’t subscribe to. I don’t hate theists; I just hate what some of them have done to the world. I don’t hate religion in general. There are times when I’d like to bring back the lions, but if the

Biblical arithmetic

2007-06-03T03:30:00.000-05:00

eople who point out the many problems in Jesus’ genealogy as reported by Matthew and Luke usually dwell on the obvious fact that the gospels contradict one another at almost every turn. The inerrantists’ response is usually that Matthew traces Jesus’ genealogy through Joseph, while Luke does so through Mary. That’s baloney, but let’s put that aside for the moment. We don’t really need to

A Good Christian girl

2007-06-02T20:41:00.000-05:00

ome of you may have noticed my set of good atheist girl videos on the right side of this blog. I did that because we atheists have an undeserved rep for being mostly middle-aged white guys with nothing better to do than blast God. As you can see, there are lots of attractive, young women out there who are willing to go on camera and admit they don't do God.I decided that wasn't quite fair to

More on the Hog Beast

2007-06-02T15:02:00.000-05:00

urns out the situation with the Monster Hog was even worse than I thought. The hog wasn’t a wild boar after all, and the story the kid and his family made up about chasing him down for three hours through the forest was a big lie. The hog was a domestic pig—someone’s pet—that had gotten out. His name was “Fred,” and he escaped four days before he was murdered by the little punk with the big

Fun with Google: When you just have to go...

2007-06-02T14:18:00.000-05:00

http://urinal.net/google_map.html'Nuff said.

Busting the ascension myth

2007-06-02T05:40:00.000-05:00

vangelicals would have us believe that the accounts in the New Testament of Jesus’ ascension into heaven all agree with one another and serve as corroborating evidence for the historicity of the resurrection. That is, unfortunately for them, just not so. An objective read through the final chapters of each of the gospels plus the first chapter of Acts would be a real eye-opener for most

Secret Verses: Wet dreams will get you thrown out

2007-06-02T04:34:00.000-05:00

onsidering that most nocturnal emissions are unavoidable and harmless (discounting one’s ego, of course), I suppose we should expect the God of the Universe to, number one, not care about them, and, number two, certainly not punish anyone for them. But, of course, we have to remember we aren’t really dealing with the God of the Universe, because there’s no such thing. Instead, what we’ve got is

The Traveler

2007-06-02T00:35:00.000-05:00

here was once a traveler from the Pinwheel Galaxy who left his home planet of Caelestis in search of other life in the universe. Because he had learned to navigate the black tunnels connecting all galaxies, he was able to move from galaxy to galaxy at will. On arriving in the Milky Way Galaxy, he began searching for solar systems with planets revolving around them at the appropriate distances

Site of the Week: A Whore in the Temple of Reason

2007-06-01T17:40:00.000-05:00

come across a lot of good sites in my travels around the net. The amount of good quality stuff available for free on the net is, quite frankly, staggering. I’m going to start highlighting a few of these on something approaching a weekly basis. My first Site of the Week is Sacred Slut’s “A Whore in the Temple of Reason.” This site blew me away with its great design, insightful and humorous

Secret Verses: Touch those balls and lose your hand

2007-06-01T13:20:00.000-05:00

adies, if your husband is being an idiot and wrestling around on the ground with another man, they’re trading blows, beating each other up, and generally doing what men do—especially when drunk—just let them finish. Let them get their scuffling and fisticuffs out of their systems—don’t try to break them up. And whatever you, don’t grab your husband’s opponent by the balls—not, that is, if you

Three billion Muslims, Hindus, and Chinese can't be wrong

2007-06-01T04:00:00.000-05:00

ccording to this article in the Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News, “1.5 billion Christians can’t be wrong.” Yeah, they can. In fact, one of them can be wrong about how many of them there even are. The number is actually closer to 2 billion, or about one-third of the world’s population.He can also be wrong, deceptive even, about atheists supposedly renouncing their beliefs and conceding

Secret Verses: Godly Cannibalism

2007-06-01T01:39:00.000-05:00

iven Yahweh’s temperamental nature, I suppose it’s no surprise that he’ll kill people for not worshiping him just right. According to his own Book, he’s done that down through the centuries, over and over, and he’s got hellfire set aside for any he misses. But cannibalism? That’s a little much, even for Yahweh. Nevertheless, here’s the passage: And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and

Church tries a new tactic: honesty

2007-05-31T02:39:00.000-05:00

The Devil's shooting darts at Mickey Mouse

2007-05-30T19:10:00.000-05:00

his was just too delicious to pass up. The goofballs at RaptureAlert.com have created a response to the Rational Response Squad’s Blasphemy Challenge: The Praise the Lord Challenge on YouTube. I’ll save you the trouble of having to bump their view counter just to see what it’s about. It’s exactly what it sounds like: people praising Jesus on video and uploading it to YouTube. Shockingly, it

Ol' Virginny

2007-05-30T17:44:00.000-05:00

nd George Bush said, “What’s your point? I always liked Virginia, anyway. It’s one of the biggest states in New England. I grew up in West Texas. You know, it’s a lot like West Virginia.” I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little more direct. You have to remember whom you’re dealing with.

Swimming with Google

2007-05-30T17:08:00.000-05:00

ore fun with Google. Go to Google Maps (www.google.com/maps) and click Get Directions. Enter New York, NY as the Starting point and London, UK as the endpoint, then click the Get Directions button. Note step 21 :-) Those folks at Google must enjoy their jobs. They certainly seem to have fun with them. (Thanks to my buddy Zebra Man for sending this one.)

The Devil is in the Classroom

2007-05-29T18:33:00.000-05:00

eople who have no issue with the Bible class the Ector County (Texas) school district is offering in its public high schools like to claim that secular organizations such as the ACLU are anti-religion and are attempting to obliterate religion from American public life. Actually, we’re just trying to follow the Constitution and the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an

Does God hate gays?

2007-05-29T06:43:00.000-05:00

f the mortal sins which might be termed sexual, homosexuality is considered by the Church to be one of the very worst. It’s right down there with bestiality and pedophilia. The typical rapist is in much better standing with the Church than a homosexual will ever be (unless, of course, he’s a homosexual rapist—then he’s in real trouble). Homosexuality is a “deviation” that makes Christians,

Jesus Sighted!

2007-05-29T04:40:00.000-05:00

ur friends at GetGehindJesus.Net have seen Jesus! Most of you know that I’m an avowed infidel. But this shook even me up. It caused me to question everything I thought I knew about Jesus and ancient Christian history. Even now, I find it difficult to write about. Science is a never-ending quest for knowledge, and sometimes even we skeptics have to admit that we were wrong. To do anything

Signs of the Apocalypse: Rosie O’Donnell’s thinking about not talking...

2007-05-28T17:53:00.000-05:00

osie O’Donnell says she may never speak to Elisabeth Hasselbeck again. Could we get that in writing? And, while you’re at, Rosie, perhaps you could tack on to the end of your promise: “or the rest of the world.” Could we get that? Please?In other news, The National Enquirer reports that Hasselbeck is entering a PTSD treatment program in order to come to terms with her time with Rosie. When