Faith "healing"

I recall hearing someone say, "Prayer is a way of doing nothing while still thinking you're helping." That seems accurate enough. Personal anecdotes about answered prayers which are claimed to be "proof" of the power of prayer always seem to leave out the scores of prayers that went unfulfilled. I'm really not surprised by this, but I am disturbed. If people who think prayer is efficacious actually looked at the results objectively, I'm sure the cognitive dissonance would melt their brain. But, they don't look at prayer objectively. Therein lies the insidious danger, especially when it comes to prayer vs. medical treatment.

Unfortunately, another kid died this week in Oregon from an easily treatable condition. Go to the link below to read the story. To be perfectly honest, stories such as these not only anger and disgust me, they actually frighten me a little bit. They frighten me not only because they occur, but because they seem to occur so much more frequently these days. Maybe it only seems so because information is so much more easily accessed now than 30 years ago. Even if that's the case, I would gain no solace from the fact. It would simply mean that these deaths were more frequent in the past than I'd previously realised. Also, regardless of the seeming increase, the fact that these deaths occur at all is proof positive that some adults in 21st century America believe that wishes can come true by simply communicating telepathically with their favorite imaginary friend. And they are willing to let people die for it. That's what really scares me about these people. They will let children die prolonged, painful deaths rather than admit the possibility they might be wrong.

I can't recall how many times some theist has insisted that I respect their beliefs. More often than not, they don't even have a good reason for the demand. Well, I have plenty of good reasons for their beliefs not being worthy of respect, and the needless death of children is a biggie. Too often I've heard preachers and evangelists praise the power of prayer when they should be saying, "That kid looks sick. You should take him to the doctor." Additionally, I also can't recall the number of times a Christian has claimed, "You've been told the word of god, so you have no excuse for not accepting him." To those folks I say, "You've been told of the wonders of modern medicine, so you've no excuse for not taking your sick child to the hospital." If these people don't mend their ways, we can, sadly, expect to see more needless and preventable death in the future, and I don't see any reason why the cause of such death should be worthy of respect. In fact, it is worthy of nothing better than contempt.


"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect had intended for us to forgo their use."
-Galileo Galilei-

It should be obvious to anyone reading my posts that I'm an atheist. Obviously, Galileo wasn't, but that didn't stop him from recognising the importance of truth. The very same sense, reason, and intellect spoken of by him led to biology, the Theory of Evolution, Germ Theory, and modern medicine, and yet too many people refuse to avail themselves of the benefits of medical science. If you prefer to die as a result of willful ignorance rather than accept medical treatment, that's fine. Good riddance. I'll be sure to nominate you for a Darwin Award. If, however, you allow an innocent child to die because of your delusions, then you should expect to be prosecuted. You deserve nothing less.

People who believe in "faith healing" have chosen nonsense over sense, irrationality over reason, and ignorance over intellect. I will never give them one iota of respect. They don't deserve it. Rather, I'll give my respect to all the men and women throughout history who have done everything in their power to advance quality of life for us all. They actually put some effort into it. What effort have you faith healers made?


http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/19/faith.healer.deaths.ap/index.html

Oh, ye of excessive faith

I'm sure most of us have heard theists state how their favorite book of fables proves or disproves this or that scientific theory, and every time I hear it, I can't help but wonder what makes them think people who lived thousands of years ago knew more about science than we do today. I mean, let's be reasonable, science as we know it didn't even exist. And, yet, they persist. When I point out that the bible claims pi to have a value of 3⁽¹⁾, that hares chew their cud⁽²⁾, and that bats are birds⁽³⁾, they try to tell me that I am simply taking those quotes out of context or, more astonishingly, that those statements are in fact correct.

To those who would argue that I am taking these quotes out of context, I ask the following questions:
In what geometric context could the circumference of a circle be viewed as being exactly 3x the diameter?
In what physiological context could a hare be viewed as chewing it's cud?
In what taxonomic context could a bat be viewed as a bird?

These are simple questions and, while I'll ackowledge that simple questions do not necessarily have simple answers, I'll give you a short-cut and say that responses which include baseless accusations of persecution and/or disrespect towards your beliefs are unacceptable. They are not valid responses; they are cop-outs.

To those who would argue that these biblical quotes are true and accurate descriptions of reality, I have no questions. The depth of your ignorance is truly stunning, and you deserve neither respect nor consideration. Read some textbooks and then we'll talk.

Occasionally, someone will respond to these points by claiming past translation errors. Well, if that's the case, why aren't you reading the rest of the book with an equally critical eye? Wouldn't that be the reasonable and prudent course of action? But, no. Contradictions are brushed aside by apologetics, or simply ignored, and the rest is taken at face value.

In fact, many people are so wrapped up in their chosen path of belief, that the suspension of belief is inconceivable. They simply do not currently possess the ability to recognize the error of their ways. They would rather ignore the evidence of observation and, in a desperate attempt to cling to some few valid concepts of morality and hope for paradise, live in a fantasy world of imaginary friends and comrades, all the while refusing to accept even the most basic examples of truth. You have my pity, but you will never have my respect.

Too many of you cite Moses, John, Matthew, Peter, Paul, Jesus, Yahweh, and others as the ultimate sources of truth and knowledge while ignoring the fact that their very existence cannot be confirmed, that their lessons were, at best, dubious, and believing that an appeal to an unqualified authority is valid. Too many of you are willing to believe that their alledged teachings must not be ignored for fear of a presumed punishment. Well, I have a few names of my own to mention: Archimedes, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Al- Khawarizmi, Newton, Faraday, B. Franklin, Tesla, Pavlov, Einstein, R. Franklin, Watson, Crick, Clarke, Asimov, Hawking, etc. Do any of these names sound familiar? They should. Look them up. Research what they accomplished. You'll be amazed. I don't believe the lessons taught by any of them because I don't have to believe. No one does. The facts of reality discovered by these people can be reproduced and verified. Which is to say, we know they were correct. We can confirm this fact. That is the difference between you and I. You rely on unqualified authority, while I rely on reproducible results.

What makes you think you know more than the bronze-age mystics? What difference does it make? You've been shown the path to knowledge by every free thinker since then. So, start thinking for yourselves. Conduct experiments. Confirm past realizations. Stop believing. Start knowing.

Unqualified authorities will deceive you.



⁽¹⁾ 1 Kings 7:23 "He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it."

⁽²⁾ Leviticus 11:5 "The coney (hare), though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you."

⁽³⁾ Leviticus 11:13-19 "These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat."

Coincidence?

The Joker

Dubya's Squeeze

Proof of a criminal conspiracy in the Bush administration, or a bloggers poor attempt at getting a cheap laugh?

You be the judge.

You are not being persecuted

Time and time again I've seen people express the belief that Christians are being persecuted in the United States. I really don't know where this notion comes from, but it seems to be rather pervasive. And rather foolish. So, being the nice guy that I am, I thought I'd help those with a deep-seated persecution complex understand what persecution really means, and how the concept does not apply to American Christians.

Let's start by seeing what Noah Webster has to say:


persecution (pur' si kyoo'shen) 3. a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate a people because of their religion, race, or beliefs.

Where it up to me, I would extend that defintion to include sexual orientation or identity.


Now, let's see what the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has to say:


"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I deliberately highlighted the most salient point regarding this topic.

When the definition of persecution is viewed in the context of the First Amendment, do you honestly believe you are being persecuted? If so, then I must ask you how you can believe this to be true. 4 out of 5 Americans claim to be Christian. Exactly how are the rest of us trying to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate you? The simple answer: we aren't.

Personally, I don't care what you believe. I don't really care what anyone believes, but when people start to make outrageous claims based on little or no evidence, I take notice and speak up. Especially when those same people paint themselves as victims while victimizing others.

In 1987, George Bush, Sr. stated, "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." While I'll admit that this statement is not an example of persecution, as such, it comes a lot closer than anything American Christians have experienced. But wait, there are more current examples. Namely, the way a lot of you Christians treat members of the LGBT community. Too often have you tried to make them submissive or subservient to your will. You have tried to tell them they will go to hell for their non-existent sins. You have told them that they are a threat to society. You have told them they are an abomination to god. You have tried to convince them they are ill and need to be cured. Look up the word 'subjugation' in your dictionary. Then, compare it to the definition of persecution. I'll save you some time and let you know that you are guilty of the very same persecution of which you claim to be victims.

I could go further back in history and examine some other examples, but I'll assume we all know about the abhorrent acts of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, et al, the struggles of African Americans to gain justly deserved civil rights, ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, etc., and I really don't think it's necessary to go over it all again. Suffice it to say that these are examples of real persecution.

Nobody is trying to drive Christians out of the U.S. Nobody is trying to exterminate American Christians. Nobody is trying to subjugate you. In fact, you have used persecution as a means to turn the U.S. into a Christian theocracy. This will not do. You do not have the right to inject your beliefs into the lives of others. You do not have the right to legislate morality. You do not have the right to bend others to your will simply because they have a different lifestyle, disagree with your beliefs, live by a different moral code, or choose to think for themselves. You do not have the right to claim that your constitutional rights are being violated when other people stop you from infringing on the rights of others. The U.S Constitution is not your personal chew toy to be used as you see fit. It applies to all Americans, regardless of race, religion, creed, sexual orientation, personal identity, country of origin, or any other label you choose to apply. The First Amendment gives you the right to practice whatever religion you choose. It does not give you the right to tell others that they must choose your religion. That is a fact, so stop trying to play the persecution card when you can't have your way. Stop externalizing your anger and realize that it is you who are guilty of persecution.

In short, you are not being persecuted.

A few words to creationists

I'm going to have to insist that you stop trying to get your nonsense taught as science. "Intelligent Design" is not a scientific theory; it's an assertion. That you believe it to be true does not make it a fact, and I am very disturbed by your efforts to force it into classrooms. Therefore, I will do whatever is necessary to stop you. Seriously. I'm not kidding.

While recent efforts to shoe-horn your drivel into the lecture hall have, thankfully, been defeated, you just don't seem to be taking the hint. Creationism is not science; it is religion, and has no place in the science classroom. While I can understand your desire, I will not forgive your efforts.

Your incessant propaganda is causing serious damage to the ability of young people, and old for that matter, to think in a rational, realistic way. Your continued insistence that creationism is based in science shows that you have no understanding of scientific method. It really isn't that difficult to understand. I understand it, and I'm not even a scientist.

Also, here's a little tip for you; there is no controversy. Even if you could demonstrate that ID is a valid theory, it would do nothing to discredit the Theory of Evolution. Evolution is a fact. It exists. It has been observed and demonstrated. ID has not. Ever. Do a little research, take an introductory biology course. That's what I did. I assure you that life is far more interesting than you can currently imagine, and the true explanations are a lot more fulfilling than "goddidit."

In short, educate yourself. Stop listening to a preacher whose financial situation depends on your acceptance of dogma. Stop believing the writings of bronze-age primitives who thought the sun orbited the Earth. Stop pulling the wool over your own eyes.

Stop trying to get your nonsense taught as science. Stop it, or I'll stop you.