i have thoughts and that can really fuck the faith thing, just ask any catholic priest.(lewis black)
need i say more? shall i pen a position which i would be obligated to defend?
no and no but what the fuck, it's xmas so i'll toss in my two bits worth.
what brought this to my attention was reading the figures on % OF AMERICANS SELF IDENTIFYING AS AETHEISTS. i was astounded by the fact that only 3.1% of respondents self identified as aethiests. upon further reading, the figure of non believers or skeptics is probably over 20% based on figure of 22.8% of respondents classifying themselves as "unaffiliated." i would also guess that the figures are skewed by the wording of the question but only 3.1% identifying themselves as aetheists was still a head scratcher.
as a 60 year old man i had to go through an elementary school system where we had to say the "lords prayer" every morning and at assemblies etc. for a few years they succeeded in instilling the fear of god into me. a six year old is conditioned to believe that adult authority figures speak the truth and i didn't want to be responsible for my parents rotting in hell. basically the pricks scared the shit out of me which i consider to be their basic modus operandi when dealing with children.
here's what set me on the path to enlightenment. it had been drummed into my head that god was some dude up in sky perched upon some beautiful nimbus cumulus cloud keeping track of everything we kids do and and the son of bitch had a memory that would put an elephant to shame. that might be the common thread to all religions, you can't see the diety but he/she will occasionally communicate with our priests etc so you better listen to those pricks on sunday.
then one day us puny humans sent men into space and fuck me, there was no god or heaven on those beautiful clouds. zip, dick, nada! it was a scam. the guys running the planet saw those pictures back in the 1940's but they weren't broadcast on television to us common folks until the 1960's. when i saw those pictures, i was no longer susceptible to the fear mongering.
there are times when i'm envious of people who truly believe. it might be a nice crutch to lean on from time to time but an honest cost/benefit analysis puts religion into a negative proposition for those rubes choosing to kick back 10% to their spiritual godfather. and the asshole demands 10% of your gross, not 10% of your net. the son of a bitch understands accounting and cash flow.
so that's it, merry bloody xmas.
i love you sons of bitches.
21 comments:
I belong to the FFRF, and if you don't, I should think you would enjoy it.
I'll have to post that also.
snow - i consider myself to be a religious "free agent". if the right offer came along, like a beautiful woman possessing a luxury yacht, i might pretend to believe once a week. so far i haven't found a religion that would entice me to sign up.
if i was the supreme ruler of the planet, children would be sheltered from religion until they reached voting age. upon reaching voting age they would be given the facts on religion, composed by a neutral party, and only then they would be free to choose. any religious contract entered into by a minor would be considered null and void.
i'll check out ffrf.
king - spread the gospel of freedom
snow - i checked out FFRF. it seems to me that giving these guys $40 for a membership and getting involved in their quest for freedom would take away some of my freedom. first and foremost, i consider myself to be a rational anarchist.
have you watched any deadwood yet? if so, you'll notice that i love the reverend smith and when the planets are in alignment, i channel his spirit.
A lot of non-believers call themselves 'agnostics', so maybe that's part of the answer. Also you've got 'deists' who believe in an intelligence behind the universe while considering all religions to be man-made. It's ok to believe, but those who believe without doubt are crackpots.
You'd fit right in at my church.
gb - there was time when i called myself an agnostic but i'd rather be a free agent.
like kirk said to scotty - i need that 3rd option!
thims - i hope you're not kicking back 10%. the money would be better used saving it for atticus' education. but if you kick back 10% and the church gives you a receipt for 10 times that amount, i'd do it.
As for religious it an act. Which at most time makes very little since to me. Being of faith and having a current spiritual being on Earth at this current time. Is for my comfort.
Coffee is on
I like my religion..no church, no fees, no head of the church except for a fat Goddess who thinks we are amusing.
“snow - i consider myself to be a religious "free agent”.
The FFRF is somewhat like the ACLU but limits itself to fighting against oppression by religion, something that is a grave problem in much of America, and was a major reason that I left the “Bible Belt.”
“giving these guys $40 for a membership and getting involved in their quest for freedom would take away some of my freedom. first and foremost, i consider myself to be a rational anarchist.”
Does this mean that you wouldn’t call the cops if you were mugged or sue someone who stole your land? Anarchists who are true to their beliefs end up in jail for not being a part of the system by knuckling under to the government's claim to their time, money, and values, which is why I’ve yet to personally know an anarchist who lived in consistence with what he said he believed. To not oppose religious oppression because you’re an anarchist is to surrender the field to those who oppress in the name of religion. If you’re not in an area where the oppression is intense, I suppose you can put the whole thing out of your mind and congratulate yourself for your rationality while looking down on those who are less fortunate than yourself and have to either be run over or engage in the fight. Religion is vicious here in America. Just listen to what Republicans have to say about it.
dora - good point on the coffee, i worship coffee several times a day.
js - we probably all belonged to the church of monday night football when howard, frank and dandy don carried the ball.
snow - i didn't say i was an anarchist. i said i was a "rational" anarchist. my role model for rational anarchism is mannie from the moon is a harsh mistress. valentine smith's church of all worlds started out pretty good but like all religions it descended into debauchery. in a world gone mad, debauchery is to be avoided like the plague.
i choose not to be suppressed by religion. religion suppresses the weak and recruits the feeble minded, i am neither.
i'm not looking down on anyone but more importantly, i'm not looking up to anyone.
i'm just a poor little squirrel in a great big world trying to enjoy the moment a few times a day.
my mission statement is heavy on entertainment and light on belly aching.
but how about deadwood?
The church wants 5-6% of family income for membership... but they help a lot with schooling, so it's a win compared to private school pricing.
thims - seems like a fair deal to me. i think atticus should read the fall and decline of the roman empire at the earliest opportunity.
WHO IS PAYING FOR THAT??
we have privately sponsored refugees and government sponsored refugees. i'm sure the woman is getting a nice fat cheque from our liberal government.
Merry Christmas, BP. Organized religion can eat a barrel full of duck vaginas.
“Organized religion can eat a barrel full of duck vaginas”
Yum, yum. If I weren’t a piscatarian, I would be all over that. Do you eat them baked, broiled, or stuffed with duck weiners, and are they expensive?
No, Billy, I still haven’t seen Deadwood (if you bought me a set for Xmas, I would love you a lot more, though). Right now, the wife and I are making our way through a set of Hitchcock films, and I especially am enjoying the old silent ones.
and a very christmas to you mr shife. thank you for your continued support.
snow - i just started season 3 of deadwood and it hasn't lost any of its magic.
i can't buy you an xmas gift because our canadian dollar isn't worth jackshit these days. a few years ago our dollar was at par with yours but it now costs about $1.40 canadian for an american dollar and of course paypal/credit cards take another chunk.
"i can't buy you an xmas gift because our canadian dollar isn't worth jackshit these days."
I know! Just send me you copy.
piracy is not a victimless crime. bbc's old nemesis leslie, would track me down and do very bad things to me if i poached her cronies' intellectual properties.
You can give someone a set of DVDs if that's what you have! If it weren't true, we could all forget giving them for Xmas
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