Month: December 2018

we make an agreement with sorrow

I just buried my oldest kitty. Even though I’m an atheist, I wrapped her in white linen and tucked a few toys in with her. One can always indulge in thinking that there is a less than omnipotent goddess Sekhmet looking after my furry companions. What could be better, cats and drinking beer with a feisty cat goddess. 🙂   It’s also a damn shame that I can’t trade in one useless human, or ten, for more years with her.

Love is inextricably linked with sorrow, because we are going to die and lose someone or be lost to them. This is why one should take every moment and make that love worth that coin in sorrow that you are going to pay.

We all make that bargain with our love of our critters and oh, how it hurts when it comes due.

Goodbye, Muffin, my little friend. I found you as a kitten in my backyard a little over 15 years ago, the size of my hand. You are back there again, where I can sit and remember you. Including the scars you gave me repeatedly because you had no interest in going to the vet.  She was the most ferocious of all of our kitties, the only one we gave a “cute” name. I used Peaceful Pet Passage, an in-home euthanasia service here in central PA. They were kind as they took care of her.

Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – when you just can’t good help these days

A rather extraordinarily deceitful anti-atheist organization, the rather derivatively named Freedom from Atheism Foundation, has been my current antagonist today. I got my holiday present as a lovely example of how incompetent and deceitful some theist can choose to be.  As often occurs, the topics are familiar.  If you are usually here to look at my cats, cooking and drinking entries, you might want to give this a pass.

This whole thing started with the usual conservative Christian claim that the US is a “Christian Nation”. Let’s see how this goes. I’ll start (and this is with computer fits and mis-spelling complete). FFAF’s responses are in italics. And yes, this perfectly fine to share per Facebook.  It’s always curious to see a conservative Christian organization doing their damndest to spread a false claim that the US is christain nation and then trying to insist how great they are for defending others’ religions, with no evidence that has ever happened.

and we begin!

A shame that some Christians choose to lie. the US is not a Christian nation, since it happily doesn’t say “see bible” for the constitution, and since you Christians can’t agree on what your god wants it seems that you have no laws at all. 

It would be a lie to claim the Founders were in any way against Christianity, even the non-religious all agreed religion was important to our democracy. Anti-religious forces are ideological bullies and thugs and against American values, which include religious pluralism and tolerance and the right to establish communities that reflects our values. You have zero right to demand we be silent about our beliefs or have our beliefs disregarded in government.

WE are full voting citizens. Christians created this country. Your disrespect of religion gives us, the Non-Atheist majority, no reason to listen to you. Your hatred, your contempt, show that what we say about Atheism as an ideological hate movement is true.

YOu lie when you claim that the US is a Christian country. You are indeed full voting citizens. NO one has said you are not. And funmajoirty at al

You lie when you claim the US was founded on anti-religious principles, or when you suggest there is ever anything wrong with advocating for our values based on whatever standards we want. Religious freedom was given to you by Christians. You are welcome.

wow, that was quite a mangling. Sorry, my computer took a fit. Christians are not a majority in the US. Why? Because each sect claims that they and only they are the one TrueChristians. Indeed, thanks to your intersectarian hatred, you are a minority religion. And no, religious freedom was not given to anyone by Christians. Christians have murdered each other over their internal religious differences. I grew up knowing a lot of anti-Catholic hatred, thanks to being raised a Presybterian. You see, Christian, you can’t lie to people who know the facts. The US constitution is not Christian, it was based on English common law, which again was not from Christianity. Happily, the horrors of the commandments were not forced on us, the stupidity of making a woman marry her rapist, murdering homosexuals, murdering people who dare to wear mixed fibers, murdering anyone who works on the sabbath (something else Christians can’t agree on). How many people have you murdered, dear? And please, don’t come back with the lie that you don’t have to follow the commandments, other than the first ten. If you read them, they don’t just stop and JEsus Christ himself said that all of his father’s laws are to be followed until the earth and heaven pass away. They haven’t yet. And you are stuck wiht ignorant laws from people who invented a god.

Yep, you are full voting citizens and you do your best to deny that right to others. You want a theocracy based on your version of your religion. Shall we go with Roman Catholicism? Presbysterianism? Jehovah’s Witnesses? Unitarianism? those morons who follow the Westboro Baptist church? The Mormons? Which is the one true Christianity? And please do demonstrate how you can prove it.

WHen you claim our laws are ignorant and involve an invented God, there is no further reason to talk to you. You obviously do not understand the history of this nation or what religious pluralism is. Your paranoid delusions of a theocracy are just offensive. Please go away and leave us alone. Merry Christmas!

Ah, there you go. You can’t rebut me and show that your god exists or explain why Christians don’t agreeon whaat their god wants. Show that your god exists, dear. And I do know the history of this nation quite well, and know you are a liar when you try to claim the US is a Christian nation. Funny how we dont’ follow the laws in the bible at all. Now why would that be, dear?

No, dear, I don’t leave liars alone. You get to have your lies shown and no, dear you don’t have some right to lie to others. You don’t get the right to try to take people’s ability to make informed decisions. Again, where is your evidence for your claims? Why doesn’t the US follow biblical law? Why isn’t biblical law in the Constitution? And why don’t Christians agree on what this god wants? Surely it isn’t that hard to show is it? A true baptized believing Christian who has accepted Jesus Christ should be able to heal people and doo miracles just like Jesus per the bible says in Mark. Why aren’t you clearing out cancer wards? Or aren’t you a Christian as defined by the bible at all?

You are not an honest collaborator. Please go spew your hate propaganda to someone else.

Nice bearing of false witness dear. Your god says not to lie ever, not even when you think you are lying for it. Romans 3. Please do read your bible for once.

again, dear, surely you can show your claims are true, right? Show that I am wrong. Show me that you and you alone have the one true Christianity. At this time of year, when you celebrate your religion, this is the best time to show you are right. That you can’t even show you are a Christian per your own bible is problematic. I will be happy to meet you anywhere in the US and you can show me you are a Christian at a VA hospital where you can heal amputees, or a pediatric cancer ward where you can give families the best Christmas present ever. You won’t though, will you? You’ll create some excuse why you can’t do what the bible promises. And that is a shame. Merry Christmas.

Once again, we defend all religions against Militant Atheist hate propaganda. We are under no obligation to prove anything to anyone. The US was founded as a fundamentally religious people and the Founders acnkowledged that without religion the Constitution could not stand. We were founded on religious pluralism, not on anti-religion.

That is such a lie, dear. Amazing how christians like you ignore your bible when you want to lie. How about some evidence to support your claims? And sorry, you are a conservative Christian organization, and about as incompetent at lying as the orange messiah you worship. The founding fathers say no such thing that the US is a christian nation and they repeatedly stated the opposite. The US is religiously pluralistic. You are not. But keep lying, dear. NOthing is better to show that you have no more respect for your religion than I do.

and to show that you are nothing more than a conservative Christian association, let me quote you “re you tired of buying Christmas presents in secular stores that censor Christmas and show disdain toward your Christian beliefs? He is a link to the Naughty and Nice list, which can telly you which businesses support or censor Christmas. Enjoy!” Why is it that conservatives always forget that there are recording media paying attention to what they have said? Tsk.

We support Buddhists, Fulan Gong, Jews, even Muslims against oppression.

Sure, dear. Not one bit of evidence and reams to show that you are just the usual conservative Christian idiots who lie about a “war on Christmas”.

We have presented evidence many times. Good day.

And you hven’t presented any here at all. Hmmm, let’s see what is on your website “If God does not exist, everything is permissible.” Ah, yes, only Christian nonsense. “How do you react to the claim that God became a human being in Jesus?” It’s a shame that you choose to lie and try ride on the backs of others when you believe that they are damned. Tsk.

We present evidence regularly and as we have noted we have evidence in many areas. If you want to specify what you want as evidence, and for what, that would help.

so, where is this evidence? You see, dear, making a baseless claim with no evidence isn’t evidence at all. I’ve already asked you my questions. Please show that your religion is the only right one. Show that you are a Christian per the bible’s description of what a baptized, worshipper of Christ can do. Show that atheism is responsible for atrocities when the only thing that was is megalomania. Show that the US constitution is based on biblical law. Show that you have helped anyone but yourselves. The cases?

I do find it hilarious that you are honest enough to call your lies and propaganda exactly that on your website.

It is not honest to continually demand “evidence” while refusing to specify what you want evidence for, precisely, or what form of evidence you would like to see, or even what you will consider “evidence.”

LOL. Oh my. I have specified exactly what evidence you need to provide. All you are doing is delaying the inevitable, Christian, because you know you have nothing. But here we go: “an outward sign” this is the definition for evidence. Show me the outward signs that your version of your god exists. Now, I suspect you’ll try to say “the universe”. The problem with that is that all religions make that claim. None of you have evidence that your god is the only one. Show me that you are a Christian by doing what the bible says a true chritian should be able to do (the gospel of Mark). Show me that you have materially supported anyone but yourselves. A case that has been argued? Names of those whom you hve supposedly defended. Show that the US constitution was based biblical law. Explain why the founding fathers did not put one piece of biblical law in the constitution. Show how the lack of belief in god/s is responsible the atrocities you claim. And explain how this works if I and other atheists do nothing of the sort. Now, what is the next excuse you will offer?

Please review the many regular postings we have made publicly. Good day.

yep, there you go, nothing at all. Just a desperate hope that a vague claim will again delay the inevitable. So much for your lies about defending others against the strawman atheism you lied about on your website. Thank you for being such a great example of Christianity but then again, since you can’t show you are a Christian at all, I guess all we have is that you are a great example of someone who can’t support a word they say. “5 But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), “Let us do evil so that good may come”? Their condemnation is deserved!

Hmmm, seems that again, conservative christians aren’t doing well and on Christmas Eve! Oh well, considering how so many conservative Christians themselves have stomped on the ideals of Christmas, love and peace, I’ll be happy to adopt this orphan holiday.  Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it.  Happy holiday of your choice to the rest!

Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – some agnostics and their curious arguments

As I’ve indicated on other posts, I occasionally search on the terms “atheist” and “atheism” on Wordpress’s blogs.   Here I find a lot of posts by atheists, and also a lot by theists and agnostics too.

Agnostics always strike me as very defensive.  They seem to think that having no position is the only position.  they also have a tendency to defend religion on the “what’s the harm” basis (that always fails and this website shows why).  This one for instance, that insists that us atheist have “ruined” atheism.  What it pretty much comes down to is someone who doesn’t like atheists having the facts on our side, and that we should sit down and shut up because we might offend theists and him.  This is my response to our agnostic:

Atheists and atheism haven’t changed at all. We’ve always been here and we’ve always been just as confrontational. Why you want to pretend we haven’t been is beyond me and it shows you’ve never read Robert Ingersoll, et al from the 19th century. Is it that you want us to sit down and shut up by trying to make directness a “bad” thing? That Ham admitted that he is an idiot and would rather believe a lie than accept anything else is no bad thing against atheists. It sure does show poorly for theists.

And yes, atheists *are* on the side of science. We know that the lies of creationists are not based on reality. Not one claim of a theist about their myths and magic has ever come true. Atheism is the scientific position since we know that there is no evidence for theist claims and plenty of evidence for completely different events happening. The gods as described by their believers don’t exist. They have attributes claimed to them and thus then can be tested with no problem. Believers know this for they keep trying to change their definition of their god, with Christians like Karen Armstrong, makin their god vaguer and vaguer so their god can keep hiding in the ever shrinking gaps.

You might want to hide and not confront people who lie. That is your choice. That does not make atheism and atheists wrong. Us “rough men” allow you to hem and haw and insist that your way is the only way.

As for your claims of all of the “good” religion has given us, what is this good and why is it religion that is the source of it, rather than just decent and humane human beings? You seem to be intent on ignoring the harm that religion has done, the children that the faithful have sacrificed on the altar of their ignorance sure that their god will heal them, the genocides caused by the religious sure that anyone who disagrees with them is evil and satanic, the destruction of science because the religious can’ take anyone showing that their god is imaginary, etc.

as for your false claims about how charitable believers are, all they are doing is contributing to themselves. Their contributions to the church for that great new sound system are part of this charity that you cite without thinking. That great big megachurch is technically a charity but funny how the actual charities in those towns go begging for money from everyone. In my town, we have ten pages of churches in the phone book but funny how the local homeless mission has to ask for money from an atheist like me. Moral framework is not from religion which constantly changes what it wants to claim “objective morality”. Or do you want to claim that genocide is just peaching since religion claims that their gods want this?

author, you seem to be no more than a religious apologist who doesn’t like atheists having the facts on their side.

as for humans being disposed to killing one another, wouldn’t be nice to have one less reason for that to happen, especially one based on lies about magic beings and whose imaginary friend is better than the others?

Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – the usual idiocy in the US thanks to conservative Christians

Here in the US, we certainly do have a pile of idiots who voted for a moron and now we all get to suffer for it.

This week, during the remembrance services for the first president Bush, we got to see just how ridiculous it is for Christians to follow a man who has no idea about the first things of their religion. It’s also most curious that we haven’t had the excuses that fountain up out of the millionaire pastors usually insisting that it’s okay to worship a liar, an adulterer, a self-confessed sexual abuser, a cheat, a supporter of murderous dictators, etc. There’s not been a peep about Trump’s failure with the apostles creed. I might think that they are just hoping this will all go away soon but why stop excusing an idiot now?

We also have a Christian pastor caught trying to rig the vote, and again funny how this god does nothing to stop its supposed leaders from being idiots? One might try to claim “free will” but if one actually reads the bible, this god had no problem murdering people who didn’t do what it wanted. So are we to think that this god wants lies? Well, the bible says it has no problem with lies, just as long as it is the one deceiving people.

And then we get the orange moron wanting to appoint another moron, one who thinks that D-Day was a great moment between Germany and the US. Hmmm, is this a blonde useless woman who used to be on Faux Noise? Why yes, yes it is.

There is a woman who is an illegal alien, but more courageous than most to call out the hypocrite Trump who has employed her. And Tillerson who was a failure, and now is finally getting a spine it seems.   As for Kelley, well, the babysitter in chief seems to have failed.

Mueller seems to have his ducks in a row. Pence is in the crosshairs as is everyone else associated with these vermin. No one will be sad when Trump dies. No eulogies praising him, just his family skulking about, hopefully in lovely orange jumpsuits to remind them of their failures.

I’ll be dancing in the streets.