Issue #1, January 2006

The War is Over! 1/6/2006

At least this round of the War is over. Christmas is over, the Holidays are gone and we have 10 and half months of Peace to look forward to. Yet, isn't that what the season just past is supposed to be all about? Peace!

It starts with Thanksgiving, a giving of thanks for what we have, i.e. family, friends, freedom. It includes Hanukah, Ramadan, Christmas, Yule, Winters Solstice, and many other holidays and celebrations and ends with the ringing in of the New Year. Each and every one represent a time of peace, giving, family, children and new beginnings. What is there to fight over?

A Christian feels slighted if I say "Happy Holidays", yet I grew up hearing "season's greetings" and "happy holidays" as well as "merry Christmas" all my life from Christians and others. Why is it a big deal now?

Christian Fundamentalists cry "They're stealing Christmas"!
Yet no one is going into their homes or churches and stealing Christmas. And there probably would be no objections if in public places, all the holidays were acknowledged. At lease no objections except from Christians who don't seen to want to share a holiday that was stolen from pagans in the first place. That's right. Christians stole the pagan holiday. Long before Christ was ever heard of, Germanic, Slavic, Celt and may other peoples celebrated the winter solstice around the end of December. Then the Romans adopted it to celebrate the birthday of Mithras.

Then to combat "pagan" worships and celebrations, the Roman Catholic Church adopted (stole) the holiday to celebrate the birthday of Jesus (who was probably borne in summer anyway). So how can Christians (Fundamentalists) claim we're stealing Christmas? They ought to be giving it back to those who had it first anyway. (The precedent was set when the Christian world gave Israel back to the Jews in 1947). So in the next battle over Christmas, let’s take all the end of year holidays and give them back to the Pagans. After all, isn't it the proper Christian thing to do, return stolen things to the rightful owners?

Happy New Year.

Previous articles and commentaries from 2005

It's War! 12/6/2005 Part III

If you'd like to join the War, here are some sites to get you started.

Defend the Constitution

Religious Tolerance

How to Fight the Religious Right!

Secular Coalition of America

Freedom From Religion Foundation

American Atheists

Universist Movement

Deism

Beyond Belief Media

IT's WAR ! 12/6/2005 Part II

Yes folks, it's a holy war. Not with Muslims against Christians as so many crusades have been in the past. But a war of "values" and "morals" and "beliefs" waged by fundamentalists Christians against everybody else in this country. From denouncing Santa Clause and whipping the Easter Bunny to Intelligent Design and raising Christian Icons in public places, Fundamentalist Christians are trying to cram their beliefs down our throats. It's even seized the soul of our President who claims to be doing God's work in Iraq. Haleluah, Amen!

The terrible part is that they no longer creep around behind closed doors or hold secret meetings, it's all out in the open now. In the past, they ingratiated "Under God" into the Pledge of Alegence. They slipped "In God We Trust" onto our money. Both while this country was in turmoil and non Christians were afraid of being labeled communist if they raised objections.

Now, with the aftermath of 9/11 still in our memories and the "insurgents" killing our troops in Iraq, Fundametalists hope these distractions will keep us focused away from their attempts to destroy the separation between Chruch and State.

Quoting Gary Bower, President of the Campaign for Working Families, "We are engaged in a social, political, and cultural war. There's a lot of talk in America about pluralism. But the bottom line is, somebody's values will prevail. And the winner gets the right to teach our children what to believe." When he says "our children" me means not only Christian children, but Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and Atheist children alike. I can just imagine what he wants to teach them.

Guy T. Sturino, co-founder of Mutualist Alliance thinks "we have returned to the time of the Crusades, with self-proclaimed Champions of God vengefully determined to destroy any and all who disagree". He says the Fundamentalists are overlooking a very important reality though. That the Crusaders made enemies where none existed before.

Never before in history have groups of non Christians organized as fast as they are now. Atheists, Agnostics, Hindus, Muslims, Deists, Wiccans, and even other Christians are banding together to fight. They might not have the quantity of followers and resources Fundamentalists currently have, but their numbers are growing fast.

Their resistance can be as subtle as marking out "In God We Trust" on paper currency, or as open as Beyond Belief Media declaring a war on Christmas and their DVD "The God Who Wasn't There".

(more to come)

IT's WAR ! 12/2/2005.....

This country is now ingaged in a religious war. Not with the Taliban, not with Muslims, not with religious fanatics in the middle east, but with religious fanatics right here in the United States. They call themselves Christians,The Moral Majority, Fundamentalists, The Christian Coalition of America and Focus On The Family to name a few. They have started a war to cram their own version of religion down the throat of every individual in America. They use partial quotations from the Bible, misquotations from the Bible, deceitful tatics and outright lies to confund and confuse their thousands of followers (who should really be folling Jesus). Their aim is to make the United States a Theocracy.

The term theocracy is used to describe a government in which religion or religious faith is the dominate factor. The Greek components of the word are Theos, "god", and Kratein "to rule". The term means "rule by god".

What they are trying to accomplish is to force their beliefs on everyone else. They want to make every child in public school begin the day with a prayer to Jesus and to say a prayer to Jesus at times throughout the day. They want to make every store clerk say "Merry Christmas" to every customer. The want to put only Christian statues and crosses in public places. They want Christian prayers at every public event. They want Christian prayers at every governmental event. They want public schools to put on Christmas pageants about the birth of Jesus at Christmas time.

But here's the kicker, they do not want any other Religious group or non-religious group to participate.

And to acheive theri goals, they violate the ninth commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Tha's right, they lie.

One receint example is Pat robertson claiming on national TV during a segment with Fox News' John Gibson.. that "Reverend Barry Lynn said if a church is burning down, the local community could not send the fire engine to put the fire out because that would violate, quote, separation of church and state." A blatant lie. Lynn said no such thing.

The Fundamentalists change the term "creation" to Intelligent Design" hoping to get biblical creationism taught in public schools and claim it has nothing to do with religion.

They claim Wiccans are "Witches worshiping the devil". Wiccans don't even believe in the devil.

They create stories of child mutililation and murder by satanists and charge all Satanists and Wiccans are involved. Not one single claim has been verified or proven to have acutally happened. Yet when a Christian mother murders her children "because God said to", you hear nothing from the Fundamentalists.

Now, for the first time in history, the rest of America is begining to fight back against this "Holy War".

(more to come)

December 2, 2005
"E PLURIBUS UNUM"

Out of many, One.

That's right, "Out of Many, One". "E Pluribus Unum" was the motto proposed for the first Great Seal of the United States. Proposed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson in 1776. "E Pluribus Unum" is a latin phrase meaning "Out of Many, One."

"E Pluribus Unum" is a strong statement of the determination ob our founding fathers to form a single nation from a collection of states. "E Pluribus Unum" has also served as a reminder of America's bold attempt to make one unified nation of people from many different backgrounds and beliefs. The challenge of seeking unity while respecting diversity has played a critical role in shaping the history of the United States, our literature, and our national character.

Take a close look at your money. Look at The Great Seal on the back of each bill. The banner held in the Eagles beak reads "E Pluribus Unum". For one hundred and eighty years, the only motto of the United States on paper currency was "E Pluribus Unum.

Looking at the great seal now, wherever you happen to see it, you'll notice it still says "Epluribus Unum".

Not "In God We Trust".

That's right. "In God We Trust" is not the motto of the United States of America. In fact, God has been on our coins only since the Civil War and our paper money since the 1954. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. In 1864 and 1865, "In God We Trust" was added to U.S. Coins. But, "E pluribus Unum" remained on the coins. Look for yourself. "In God We Trust" was added to the gold double-eagle coin, the gold eagle coin, and the gold half-eagle coin. It was also placed on the silver dollar coin, the half-dollar coin and the quarter-dollar coin, and on the nickel three-cent coin begining in 1886. In 1883, the phrase dissapeared from teh five cent coin not to reappear there until 1938.

The Phrase "In God We Trust" did not appear on paper currency until 1957. It was approved in 1956 due to the anti-communist craze of the of the cold war in the 50's. You were either a "godless communist" or a "god fearing american" during the mid 50's. People of non-Christian faiths dared not speak out against "Christian" activities for fear of being blacklisted as a communist and loosing jobs, homes and families. Kinda like the witch hunts in the 1600's except no one was burned at the stake.

So, the next time you hear someone say this is a Christian nation and "In God We rust" is our national motto, tell them to take a close look at the other side of the coin and see the banner which has 180 years on the God moto. "E Pluribus Unum". From Many, One. From the efforts of all the Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Zoroasters, Athiests, Agnostics and thousands of other beliefs, this nation has been built on the fredoms no other nation has or will ever have.

"E Pluribus Unum"

November 2, 2005 I've been asked why I am so down on Christians.

From "ricky healy" thegaryson@msn.com

I stumbled upon your site while doing a google search on Walter E Williams (Did he ever reply to the letter you wrote to him?).

Anyway, it is late and can I only comment briefly.

Why do you seem to have such hostile view of Christians?

And why do you accuse of trying to force our beliefs on others in the public school? If anything is true it is that secularists are trying to force all vestiges of Christianity out of the public. It is the secularists who are imposing their view on others. And before you attack creationism, I suggest you read the works of PhD level scientists like Gentry and Walt Brown who abandoned the idea of evolution for creationism. I suggest that you read up on some of the criticisms of Darwinism and Modern Geological assumptions.

Hi Ricky, Thanks for writing,

Most Christians are decent law abiding citizens, who go to Church at least once a week, pray occasionally, and are tolerant toward everybody else. It's not all Christians I have a disappointed view of. If you read again, I refer to what is generally considered "Fundamentalist" Christians or the new term you hear a lot today is "People of Faith".

These Christians are a very small minority of the overall Christian religion. Much as the Taliban is a very small sect of Islam.

These "Fundamentalists" are behind the "Intelligent Design" programs throughout the nation, they are the ones who inspire bombings of abortion clinics, they are the ones who fly cross country to hold signs of condemnation at a young gay persons funeral in Newark Ca.

The secularists are not trying to force Christianity out, they are simply trying to maintain an equal rights for Christian, Moslems Jews, Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics and everybody else. The secularists are attempting to keep ANYBODY, including Christians from imposing their view on all others. A lot of "secularists" are Christians themselves.

Believe me, I have read a lot about Darwin and the theory of evolution. I have studied and reviewed documentation of evolution itself in the form of bacteria, plants, animals and even humans. Yes humans have changed (or evolved) somewhat in the last hundred years alone. I have also reviewed writings of numerous individuals critizing "Darwinism" and geology and I have studied the Bible and other sacred works of many different religions.

What I find hard to accept is that a GOD as depicted in the Bible did it all. I would encourage you to actually sit down and read the entire bible and study it page to page. See the inconsistencies, the horror the abuse and the madness portrayed in the Bible. I just can't believe that a God that created all the wonders of the universe, the beauty of nature and evolution could stoop so low at to behave as he is written about in the bible.

I have some very dear and close Christian friends who accept that God created the universe, not in 6 days, but in billions of years. They see his wonder and glory everywhere. They live as Jesus taught, to love, respect and enjoy life with others despite differences of views and religion. They see the same things I do and cringe sometimes at the same news I do. We're afraid that if the "Fundamentalist" Christians gain a strong foothold in government, we could be looking at the dark ages again. Witch hunts, possibly even murder in the name of God. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but possibly by the time our grandchildren have children.

So just read, study, and actually think about what you are being taught in Church. Study the history of the Bible. Yes, the history of the book you believe in. Don't just accept the word of your preacher or your Sunday School teacher. Use your God given gift of being able to learn and study what you believe in.

Oh yea, and the God in the Old Testament (held as the inerrent word of God by Christians) is also the same God (Jaweh and Allah) of Jews and Moslems. Go figure.

Joe

September 3, 2005 What is Intelligent Design?

Ok, I finally have to throw my two cents worth into the ID fray. ID or "Intelligent Design" is the latest effort by fundamentalist Christians to defeat the Darwinian theory of Evolution currently being taught in school science classes.

It seems that hard core Christians, fundamentalists, just cannot seem to believe that anything but the 6 day creation story is the truth. They believe that the universe, the earth, even man has only existed for approximately 6,000 years at most. Unable to teach their religious beliefs in public schools, they have enlisted the aid of scientists who believe in their religion to claim that life is just too complex not to have been created by some intelligence. Thus "Intelligent Design" vs. Evolution.

I really would like the proponents of ID to define Intelligent Design. Explain what they mean by Intelligent Design. When they say we were created by Intelligent Design, just what intelligence are they referring to?

What form of intelligence? Spiritual, Supernatural, Alien, Human?

Are they referring to a God? How about Jehova God of the Bible or Shiva, Odin, Zeus or any other of the myriad gods that man has believed in throughout all of recorded history? (Which by the way has been recoded far longer than 6000 years)? According to each and every religion ever founded on earth, their god supposedly created man.

Naw, they can't be referring to a god having been that Intelligent Designer. Teaching religion in public school is against the law.

Are they referring to Aliens? Did little gray men visit Earth and genetically alter some primal life form that became Man?

Was it the original inhabitants of Atlantis? Did they engineer DNA to produce Man as he is today?

Was it a race of super intelligent Dinosaurs that knowing they were becoming extinct, designed man?

Come on give me an answer. What is the definition of Intelligent Design. Who is the Designer?

If you have incontrovertible, scientific proof, produce it. If ID is really about a god "creating" man then back off and keep your religion in church. So which is it?

Are Christian fundamentalists so afraid of being found out in their deceitful tactics that they refuse to give an answer?

Come on, tell the truth, what do you mean by Intelligent Design?

May 23, 2005 Money lenders in the Temple

"Jesus entered the Temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written,' he said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer but you are making it a den of robbers.'" (Matthew 21:12-13)

There are "People of Faith" today that are much like the money lenders and sellers in the Temple mentioned in the passage above. They're known as the Christian Debt Trust. You can find them at christiandebttrust.com on the internet today where they can "help you get back on the chosen path".

They use biblical quotes in promoting their slogan "Helping you live a happier life" claiming they can help you "Eliminate Debt up to 50% - 75%". One bible passage quoted is "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender" Proverbs 22:7

The Christian Debt Trust explains debt has been part of society since biblical times, quoting the bible to point out that even whole families becoming property of lenders.
"Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt" Matthew 18:25 and "The Master had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt."
Matthew 18:30

Using the preceding two passages from Matthew they throw in scare tactics and state examples of people being thrown into jail today for not paying debts. They play on the "improper morality" of financial decisions not based the principles of "God's Word". The Trust claims a major reason for the decay of our society is that a majority of churches are struggling financially because church members are struggling financially. The Trust speaks of learning to trust God by letting "God help those who help themselves" and seeking out the Christian Debt Trust to help get back on the chosen path. Again a quote from the bible is used to emphasis this: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8

The Christian Debt Trust claims to have been established to help good people break the destructive cycle of credit card debt, but doesn't clearly define who those "good people" are. They state up front that there is no quick fix or easy solution and say "It has been written that 'Beautiful Are The Most Difficult Things' - Trust in God and he will bring you strength during this rewarding process."

One line on the web site is "Remember, it is not a sin to seek help and guidance, especially when it is you vs. the Credit Card empires"

The they ask you to complete their on line form, after which a counselor will contact you with a no-obligation debt consultation based on "Christian financial values", yet they don't explain what those "Christian financial values" are.

In looking for a definition of those "Christian financial values" on the internet, I looked up the term in relation to the Trust and came across several concepts including the following:

A claim that Romans 13:8 prohibits borrowing. The actual passage says “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law”. This is not quite a prohibition against being in debt, as a matter of fact there is no verse in the bible that actually prohibits debt.

On many sites quotes from the bible are used but the one most common theme found is "give to God" (through the church) and Christians should be motivated to accumulate wealth to support the church and it's missions, provide for the family and help the less fortunate" (again through the church).

Aside from that, most of the advice given can apply to anybody, Christians and non Christian alike.

Be Content With What You Have, Budget Your Income, Stop Going Into Debt, Stop Going Into Debt, Create an Emergency Fund, Decrease Expenses, Learn to Judge Real Value and Costs, Set Your Financial Priorities, Make the Tough Decisions on Purpose, In Good Times Plan for Lean Times, Simplify Your Life, Learn New Skills, Consider a Job or Career Change, Don't Be Blind to the Alternatives,

I found each and every one of the items of advice can be and in most cases were emphasized using a biblical quotation.

The Christian Debt Trust is doing the same thing the money lenders in the New testament did. While they are no different from any other debt consolidation company, they claim to be helping you find the chosen path by using the Bible to draw in "good people" and "people of faith" thgat need help. Cheap tactics to make a buck

March 25, 2005, Good Friday, Where is God?

For 15 years, Terry Schiavo has been in a "persistent vegetative state," her brain having suffered severe damage after her heart stopped beating. She is not cognitive, cannot move on her own, bathe herself or feed herself. Her bodily functions are only controlled by an automatic nervous system. She cannot swallow by herself and needs a feeding tube to keep her body alive. Terry will not recover.

Doctors say nothing can bring Terry back, let her body go. Terry' husband has said enough, let Terry go. Terry's parents, through selfish religious motivation, cannot let go. They have tried everything to keep Terry's body alive, from the courts system, Congress, the Governor of Florida, lawyers and ministers, and failed. They prayed at each and every turn for help.

Where is God?

Doctors say it will take a miracle to bring Terry back. All the Ministers, Priests and prayers to date have not brought any help for Terry.

Where is God?

Terry's feeding tube was removed 5 days ago, her body is slowly dying.

Where is God?

It's Good Friday today.

Where is God?

In two Days, it will be Easter. The celebration of a resurrection believed in by millions of Christians all over the world.

Where is God?

With all the miracles that have been witnessed throughout the ages, with all the "answered prayers" of the last 2000 years, where is the miracle millions are praying for today? Will God save Terry Schiavo?

Where is God?

January 25, 2005 A New Religion

Have you heard the theory that Aliens seeded the earth and visit every so often to do some gene splicing and DNA reconstruction to bring about "evolution". (It fits the "creation" theory too).

They wiped out the Dinosaurs by using tractor beams to guide an asteroid to the earth. (Makes a heck of a big bang).

If these theories were promoted properly, I bet a new religion would start.

The biggest promoter of the Bible and the "Word of God" was the ignorance of the masses. Unable to explain, comprehend, even imagine on their own beyond the supernatural, the general populace of the world (until the last 200 years) believed what priests, theologians, prophets, and Kings told them to believe (upon pain of death, torture, excommunication and the lions den). Unfortunately, it was difficult to make everyone more than 2000 years ago believe the same thing. Communications sucked! I mean when it took 10 years for something said in France to be heard in Japan (and heaven forbid it be what was actually
said). Remember in school, The teacher told you something, had you tell the next kid something...and so on until every kid had told it to another kid and it never ended the way it started. And that's in one room in less than half an hour. It's a wonder the Normans and Japanese both came up with the same idea of a weapon that could cut a mans head off if he believed differently than they did. Or was that idea planted in someone's head by aliens?

Faith is the key to your beliefs. If you truly have faith in your own beliefs then good for you. Don't ever let anyone take that away from you. Right or wrong, you are entitled to your beliefs and no one has the right to condemn you to hell. That's God's job (which ever one you believe in) .

Anyone can come up with an explanation, theory, or religion that cannot be "proven" or "disproven"; I just did it.

And by the way, I take contributions too.

January 1. 2005 Satanic murders just the tip of an iceberg, claims Roman church

Italian News media reported a story about the "The Beasts of Satan", a gang of youths from Milan, and how they danced on the grave of two friends they just brutally murdered. Another story in the news is about three teenage girls in the nearby town of Chiavenna, who decided to stab and beat a nun to death as part of a macabre Satanic rite. One of the girls told police "We were bored and wanted to do something different."

But the Roman Catholic Church claims these incidents "are merely the most visible tip of a profane pyramid which sees at its base millions of superstitious", Citing "Gullible and ultimately desperate people who seek to put themselves out of their miseries by resorting to Satanism, witchcraft and the world of the occult." But why would all these people turn to such beliefs. What is it about Satanism and Witch craft appeals to people.

For centuries, "the church", Catholic and Protestant alike, have used propaganda and horror stories to convince "good Christians" that Satanism and Which craft are evil. The gory inquisition and atrocious Salem Witch Hunts were enthused by blood thirsty, devout believers of Christ. Steeped in the faith that destroying anyone not believing as they did was inspired by the Word of God and would ensure their place in heaven. Did this make them any better than the teenagers in Italy? Yet what do we really now about Satanists and Wiccans (their true name, not Witches).

Lets tart with Wiccans. Wiccans are believers in a Mother Goddess. The worship this Goddess in nature
related ceremonies espousing the goodness and love of the Mother. Yet Christian and Catholics would have you believe Wiccans worship the Devil, cast evil spells on people and perform live sacrifices. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This hateful propaganda began with the Holy Roman. Church officials needed to draw more into the fold of Christianity so they began a campaign to ostracize and degrade anybody not believing in the Christ. Pagan healers were called Witches, the Church claimed they consorted with the devil. Witches and Satanists became synonymous with one another.

Satanists on the other hand actually exemplify the opposite of Christianity. They worship the Fallen angle
Spoken of in the Bible. The Angel that tempted Even in the Garden of Eden. The bible contains other reports of Satan challenging God even going so far as to tempt Jesus in the Desert. Satanists worship their God as Christians worship theirs. Satanists ask for the same things, riches, long life, even immortality. The simply pray to Satan rather than God. Few if any Satanic worshipers believe in sacrifice, those that do
Use fowl, pigs, goats and other animals normally slaughtered anyway. History (written by the Church) claims Satanists have performed human sacrifice, basing these claims on sacrifices performed by the Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecs and even more ancient civilizations. Yet we see in the Bible that God called on
Isaac to sacrifice his son and God sacrificed his "only begotten son". Where is the difference. Had a Christian read only a portion of the story of Isaac and not concluded the story, we might find believers in God sacrificing their sons today.

The gang and teenage girls in the Italian stories are not following true forms of Satanic or Wiccan worship,
They are following what they learned from the propaganda spread by the church. Not knowing the truth, youths turn to the only knowledge available sometimes, what they see on TV and in the movies, horror stories based on the half truths and the outright lies of historical propaganda.

If the Christian churches would teach the truth, about a lot of things, and not try to convince true believers
using lies and false propaganda, stories like these might not happen. But then, they might loose parishioners and the monies those parishioners donate to the Church coffers.

January 6, 2005 A letter to Walter E. Williams, Department of Economics George Mason University

I wrote this in response to his commentary
about "Attacking Western (Christian) Values.

See it here.

I just finished reading your commentary titled "Attacking Western values" and I'm disappointed that such a learned gentleman such as you could write this.

You ask "why the attack on religion", meaning why attack the Christian religion, generalizing all sects of Christian religion together. This is so far from reality; I would tend to lump you in with the religious Christian right or "Fundamentalists". The attacks are not on Christian religion, they're not attacks at all. People are simply trying to get equal treatment for all religions. Why should "creationism" be taught in schools if it refers only to the Jewish and Christian Creator? Why not teach Hindu creation? It's not taught because the only ones demanding it be taught are Fundamentalist Christians.

And your quoted phrases from the Declaration of Independence; "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," "Laws of Nature and Nature's God," and "appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world." do not necessarily intend to mean the Christian or Jewish Creator. Those phrases and the vision held by the Framers that our rights come not from government but from a "Creator" or "the laws of nature and of nature's God" is quite possibly and simply a Creator believed in by many religions. Where does it say it is referring to the Christian Creator?

God given rights. Again, you take the same Christian Fundamentalists stand and state those rights were given by your God. Apparently history has not been in your program of study. Those rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights and our national laws are based on the same principles laid down by Hamurabi, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and many others, laws created long before the Hebrews and Christians documented them in the Bible.

You also mention many "Christian" symbols in the government buildings and the Supreme Court, forgetting that Moses and the 10 commandments are not Christian but Hebrew. Also, there are many other carvings and symbols of LAW from many other cultures besides Christian and Hebrew on display. But Fundamentalists tend to use only that which suits them, so no mention made of the other symbols.

That is what the Constitution's "establishment of religion" clause was written to prevent, just what the Fundamentalist Christians want, the formation of an official Christian Church of the United States.

And lastly you say your not quite sure just how you should respond to the ongoing attack on Christianity and American values, well, you should begin to look at the rhetoric and deceit used by Fundamentalist Christians. You should try to follow the teachings of Jesus and be more tolerant, loving and forgiving. Quit trying to force your beliefs on others.

January 6, 2005 Creationist vs Evolution

Collumnist Phyllis Schlafly said: "It is long past time for parents to realize they have the right and duty to protect their children from the intolerant evolutionists. Hooray for courageous school boards that are finally rejecting censorship and allowing debate."

It's not the evolutionists who are intolerant, but the close minded christians who take a document written by men, edited time and again by men for thousands of
years, and claim that book is the literal "word of God". Is there no way God could have taken millions of years to create the earth? Is there no way God could have
instituted the process of evolution, a proven theory (contrary to evangelical tirades that it is not)?

Is there no possibility that Religious Leaders throughout history were so intolerant in their close mindedness that they refused to see the actual truth? Truths such as
the world is round, which lead to such acts as condemming men to death for believing it round. Religious leaders that burned men women and chidren at the stake
simply because they did not look the same or believed exactly the same way. Religious leaders that tortured men and women as witches to satisfy their own lust for
sadistic pleasure "in the name of God". Religious leaders that teach about a God so petty and vindictive that that God send a bear to devour children simply for
teasing an old man, or that God tortured a man with illness and boils and loss of eveything in his life rather than find another man willing to do his will. A God that
behaves more like a cruel and sadistic abuser of his children than a loving and caring God.

I believe in evolution. I believe that God created the unierse and everything in it. I had no probelm teaching my children that man evolved (by Gods plan) and I will
have no problem teaching my grandchildren that man evolved. But then I'm no so close minded as others. I'll teach my grandchildren to be tolerant and loving and
forgiving and more like Christ.

January 5, 2005 Welcome to the club

How White Liberals Became a New Racial Minority

By ROBERT OSCAR LOPEZ (with permission)

So you log on to the NPR web site, and you glance over the U.S. map from November 2, 2004. The red footprint seems to smother the whole country. Fringes of blue cling to the coasts and the Great Lakes for dear life. The colors drive home a sense that some antagonisms can't be drowned in wine and song, blown off with a few hours of reality television, or diffused with politeness.

It's a civil war. The Civil War, in fact, all over again. Ohio and Indiana seem to have crawled over the border ­ but don't be tricked by their geographic location. Cuyahoga County, on the southern shores of Lake Erie, is the home of Cleveland and its Rust Belt suburbs. That county voted two thirds for Kerry. So did Lucas County, ringing Toledo. Ohio's split down the middle between the new North and the old South. Indiana is about as northern as Kentucky. The Mason-Dixon line is no longer definitive ­ the divide is cultural, psychic, social. But it's still geographic too. The blue states are all contiguous, adjacent, clinging to each other for their dear life against the encroaching march of the Republican empire.

And it's racial too. But race is not the easy black/white divide that it once was. Over forty percent of Latinos voted for Bush. And Latinos range from blonde and blue-eyed to African and dark-eyed. Within our comfortable old racial categories there are now offshoots, spinoffs, mutating branches. The whitened, conservative Latino is just such a creature, a newly grafted model of human being that challenges everything we once assumed about race relations. I don't particularly like the model. I prefer to keep those kinds of Latinos out of my hair, quarantine them in Miami, South Texas, and the gauche suburbs of Phoenix.

Isn't that the point? My Latinos are like me. They live around me. I see them every day. We understand each other and see eye to eye. We're on the same side of the dividing line. It's only in national elections that I have to worry about the non-me Latinos, the obnoxious, recently evangelized, anti-immigrant Chicano who drives a pick-up with a gun rack through the sands of West Texas and sounds like George Bush when he talks, or the babbling Cuban business owner in Broward County who still goes on and on about Castro's abuses and turns his nose up at Puerto Ricans.

Race is getting very complicated. Within the races we used to understand, misunderstandings cause huge cracks. Maybe they're not the same races anymore. Maybe there are several kinds of Latino, with nothing in common. It's not just that we can't agree on what being Latino means ­ it's that we don't talk to each other and don't have to, because I know and they know that we aren't the same species.

As race changes, race doesn't disappear as a dividing concept. In fact, race has everything to do with the November 2 election. It was a race conflict slowly boiling into a race war. It's not a huge surprise to people of color (however you choose to construe that old term), because if you've been a racial minority all your life, you treat racial strife as a given, like rainy days or rust. You deal with it and move on.

What I find fascinating, however, is how much the new racial conflict surprises white people. Specifically, white liberals. I remember six or seven years ago, I never used to see eye to eye with white liberals. Even though they were sympathetic, they still had an underlying faith in the American system that would drive me crazy. They wanted racial problems to be solved, but they believed that if you just patiently dealt with the structures that existed ­ circulate a petition, apply for a grant, get out and vote ­ the planets would realign and the system would change for you. I always felt, deep down inside, that those efforts were ultimately futile. When you're branded as a racial other, you know that every court is a kangaroo court, every election an exercise in fraud, every grievance process a sham performance. It used to be, before the Clinton impeachment, that white liberals would find my cynicism off-putting. They would find me cold. Ultimately they would feel that I wasn't giving them or their ideals a chance. Partly, these impasses came about because white liberals wanted to believe that white people were good at heart, and if they were presented with sound logic and a real chance, they would be tolerant.

Nowadays, when I talk to white liberals, I don't notice any impasse at all. We see eye to eye all the time. In fact, we seem to be feeling the exact same things. It almost feels ­ dare I say it? ­ that white liberals have become people of color.

It makes sense that white liberals have become people of color, through no efforts of their own. They cluster in the "blue states" and they're literally redlined by the red states out of the structure of power. They're demographically gridlocked. No matter how much they fight to assert their demands, the system knocks them down. And because they're white, they're subtly punished for not being like white people who take whiteness to its rightful apex ­ the evangelical church raising, the GOP fundraiser, the "God Bless America" bumper sticker on an armored SUV, and the abiding belief that one was born to rule the world in God's will. White liberals are the target of the worst political rhetoric, debased in the most degrading terms, and ultimately, stripped of their rights and branded traitors. They have been stripped, in fact, of their whiteness.

The turning point may have come when Clinton was impeached, and the press mistakenly called him "the first black president." That's not the case. He was simply the first white political figure to be publicly stripped of his whiteness. Unfortunately, whites in that situation don't become black. They're simply shoved into a no-man's land and suffocated.

White liberals ­ welcome to the club. If the election has left you disgruntled, if you suddenly feel like nothing you do through legitimate means can change anything, if you feel outnumbered, if your whole country seems to be against you, if you feel branded and marred by some stain of otherness that you don't understand, if you're forced to be someone you are not, if you have to be careful so you don't get deported or lose your job or end up in a Star Chamber, if you feel hemmed in by politics and stuffed into the blue ghettoes on the fringes of the mapyou have officially been de-whitened. Join hands with those of us who have been dealing with those very sentiments for our whole lives. You and we are all people of color now, adrift in the cruel ocean of whiteness.

Robert O. Lopez is a frequent contributor to Buffalo Report. He can be reached at: lopezro@camden.rutgers.edu

January 4, 2005 Ban Doctors not Guns

I received this in an e-mail, author unknown.

Doctors

1. The number of Doctors in the U.S. is 700,000.

2. The number of accidental deaths caused by Doctors per year are 120,000.

3. Accidental Deaths per Doctor is 0.171.

(Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services).


Guns

1. The number of Gun Owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000.

2. The number of accidental gun deaths per year is 1,500.

3. The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.000188.


Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 more times dangerous than gun owners.


Fact: Not everybody has a gun, but almost everybody has at least one doctor.


Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban all doctors before this gets completely out of hand!


Out of concern for the public, I have withheld the statistics on lawers for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention

Articles from 2004

December 15, 2004 The Ten Commandments of Christmas

1. Give your heart to the season. Let Peace, Love and Joy be at the top of your Christmas list.

2. Prepare yourself for the season. Spend not so much on gifts but give your heart and love to others and accept theirs in return.

3. Do not let Santa Claus replace the true spirits of the holiday, Peace, Love and Joy.

4. Do not burden the shop girl, the mailman, and the merchant with complaints and demands.

5. Give yourself with your gift. This will increase its value a hundred fold, and he who receives it shall treasure it forever.

6. Do not value gifts received by their cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more priceless than silver and gold.

7. Do not neglect the needy. Share your blessings with many who will go hungry and cold unless thou are generous.

8. Do not neglect the meaning of the season. A new, peaceful beginning, a turning point in life toward a brighter future.

9. Be as a little child. Not until you have become in spirit as a little one will you really enjoy the season.

10. Do not forget to share your joy, peace and love with those around you.

December 12, 2004 More on the Ten Commandments

God should have made these the 10 commandments:

I. Love me above all others and I will love you in return.

II. Do not invoke my name in malice or anger for I am a god
of love and kindness.

III. Take a day off now and again to remember my love for
you.

IV. Honor your parents and elders, for they have the wisdom
of experience.

V. Do not commit murder. To kill in self-defense, defense
of one's family, home, and fellow men is allowable.

VI. Do not have relations with someone else's spouse, get
your own, but get only one, don't be greedy.

VII Do not take that which you haven't earned or bought
yourself. Stealing from others is wrong.

VIII. Do not lie. Always tell the truth.

IX. Do not covet the property of others. Earn your own with
commitment and hard work.

X. Do what is right.


Much simpler, less hateful with a little fairness and love thrown in.

December 10, 2004 Why the Ten Commandments?

God have to have given 10 commandments? Lets look at the Ten Commandments and see if they really are from God or just laws set down by jealous men.

Commandment one:

I, The Lord, am your God who lead you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods besides me.

Ok, God is supposedly responsible for getting the Hebrews released from bondage. But why say "have no other gods besides me"? If he is the only god, why not just say so. "I am the only god, Worship me" After what happened in Egypt wouldn't that have been enough?

Commandment two:

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."

Covering all bases isn't he? "In the heavens". Well, except for birds and insects, that leavs Angels and God, unless you count the winged gods of other cultures. And in the earth beneath; that leaves worms, moles and other creepy stuff. Or, was he talking about the egyptian gods of the underworld? Did the Hebrews use statues and carved images while they were in captivity? Probably not. The Egyptians would not have allowed them to unless the images represented Egyptian Gods. And how about "in the water under the earth"? Again, what lives in water underground?
Blind fish, crawdads, worms? Who wants to worship those.

But on the other hand, maybe the Hebrews wanted an Image of their god to show others, "Hey, my God is better than yours". While every other civilization has some representation of it's God, the Hebrews were left out in the Cold. Ok, I get it. So, we don't need any images to represent God. God is everything, is in everything, in us. Sooo...Why not say so?

Lastly, I'm sure God knows what flys around in the Heavens, is on and under the earth and is in the waters ON the earth.
Only man thought there were gods and demons in the heavens and in the underworld, and only man thought the world floated on waters (you know - waters under the earth!). You'd think God could have given his chosen people a little more education than that. "God told me the world was round", what a revelation that would have been!!!! (And yet centruies later, men were burned at the stake by Christians for believing that).

Commandment three:

You shall not invoke the name of the Lord your God with malice; for the Lord does not hold guiltless one who invokes His name with malice.

Why use the terms "The Lord Your God" and "The Lord". We know he's god. Why didn't he say "Don't use my name in malice"? Could it be because the commandments are the words of men, not God?

Commandment four:

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of the Lord your God: you shall do no work.

Even God wants us to take a day off.

This 7th day thing seems to be particular to the Jewish, Christian and Moslem religions only though. The book of Genesis, which they all claim to believe is the word of God, tells us that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh. Yet, extra-biblical locations sometimes mentioned as the birthplace of the 7-day week include: Babylon, Persia, and several others.

Originally, the seven-day week may have been chosen because its length approximates one moon phase or one quarter of the moons cycle of 28 days. The year was divided in to 13 months of 28 days each.

The Christian calendar (Gregorian calendar)is based on the motion of the earth around the sun, 365 days, while the months have no connection with the motion of the moon. 365 days divided by 52 weeks = 7 days per week.

On the other hand, the Islamic calendar is based on the motion of the moon, while the year has no connection with the motion of the earth around the sun.

Finally, the Jewish calendar combines both, in that its years are linked to the motion of the earth around the sun, and its months are linked to the motion of the moon.

The Bible clearly makes the Sabbath the last day of the week, but does not share how that corresponds to our 7 day week. Yet through extra-biblical sources it is possible to determine that the Sabbath at the time of Christ corresponds to our current 'Saturday.' Therefore it is common Jewish and Christian practice to regard Sunday as the first day of the week. (So why do Christians worship God and rest on Sunday, the first day?)

Commandment five:

"Honor your father and mother".

I don't under stand this one. Why God had to command it. Any parents that are good and loving and teache their children properly will probably be honored and even loved by those children. Well, no problem here, that's a given in almost any civilization. Children should love and honor their parents, unless of course those parents are cruel and abusive. But then, an abusive dad would love this commandment wouldn't he?

Commandment six:

"You shall not commit murder"

Not kill, Murder. What is Murder? The unlawful killing of one human being by another. What's unlawful? Illegal. In other words if there is a law against it and you do it, you're unlawful. When is it ok to kill another human being? In the Bible, you killed your son if he was disrespectful. You killed a man who committed adultery with your wife. You killed a man who stole from you. You had to prove all these happened things to be lawful though. You couldn't just kill someone because you didn't like his skin color. You couldn't even kill a slave unless he violated a law that required his stoning. Killing in war was Ok though. Even God told the Hebrews to kill men, women and children in war. You just couldn't murder them.

Commandment seven:

"You shall not commit adultery"

Maybe this had something to do with some men having more than one wife and others had none. The greedy ones didn't want to share. So why don't we allow men to have more than one wife today? Why didn't God say "Take only one wife and don't cheat"

Commandment eight:

"You shall not steal"

Again, I don't think God needed to say this, there's no problem here. Every civilization in recorded history had this law even before the time of Moses. No one wants his property stolen, no one likes a thief.

Commandment nine:

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"

Nobody likes a liar. We should all be honest. Here's another one that has been around a while even in other civilizations. Go figure. You'd think all mankind was made of liars before this.

Commandment ten:

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his servants, nor his cattle, nor anything that is your neighbor's".

Shouldn't this have been number seven. After all, if you didn't covet your neighbor's wife, you wouldn't commit adultery with her would you? This goes back to that thing about one man having more than another. One man has multiple wives, another has none. One man has twelve camels another has only one. One man has 3 tents, another sleeps with his camel. Why wouldn't some covet what others have? It may not be right, but it's a fact of life.

The Ten Commandments show a strong element of the hand of men in the self-servicing orientation, looking out for number one. Those who answered the call of human nature wishing to tightly control others under the guise of religious edicts. Thou shalt not ... thou shalt not ... thou shalt not - where in the Ten Commandments does it say Did God give Moses the Ten Commandments? Why would love another as thy self? Where does it say to practice the Golden Rule, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you? The Ten Commandments are based entirely on fear and an iron rule, leaving little leeway for one to follow one's heart. The Ten Commandments were packaged as the handiwork of Moses and God to keep up appearances of divine revelation. The word love never appears at all.

Oh, and one more thing, why are they always shown with Roman numerals instead of Hebrew numbers?

December 2, 2004 Superstitions, Wifes Tales, and Legends.

All to often superstitions play a part in one's religious beliefs. Throughout history sayings, tales, superstitions and legends have been handed down from generation to generation. The origins are lost in antiquity, especialy when they began as verbal passdowns from father to son, mother to daughter, priest to laymen.

Here are a few that have found their way into today's world.

It's bad luck to walk under a ladder. This came from the early Christian belief that a leaning ladder formed a triangle with the wall and ground. You must never violate the Holy Trinity by walking through a triangle, lest you be considered in league with the devil. (And you all know what good Christians did to people they suspected of being in league with the devil.)

Beware of Friday the Thirteenth. Those who know about these things, inform us that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, Noah's flood started on a Friday, and Christ was crucified on a Friday. Twelve witches plus one devil are present at Satanic ceremonies so Friday and 13 make a deadly combination.

God Bless You. During the sixth century, it was customary to congratulate people who sneezed because they were expelling evil from their bodies. Later, when a great plague took hold of Europe, and people began sneezing violently, the Pope passed a law. Since sneezing meant that the person was going to die of plague, people were required to bless the sneezer.

Black cats are evil. In ancient Egypt, the Goddess Bast, was a black female cat. Christian priests wanted to wipe out all traces of other religions so they convinced their ignorant followers to destroy the evil demons that were black cats. While they were at it, they destroyed the kindly little old ladies who cared for the cats believing them to be witches.

Skin Of Your Teeth. This saying means to barely escape from a harrowing situation. It comes from Job 19:20, where God inflicts all sorts of terrible things on one of those who love him. Poor Job had all his animals stolen, his children die, his house collapse and his body covered with sores. Job has this to say; "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth."

Fleshpot. - Today 'fleshpot' describes decadence. In the time of Moses, it was a large pot in which to boil meat. Somehow, preachers managed to change the meaning to scare their flock about 'sins of the flesh'.

To make a scapegoat. - The poor scapegoat gets the punishment for everyone else's mistakes. God condoned this cruelty to animals in Leviticus 16:7-10 "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat." The scapegoat got to escape, and carry the tribe's sins into the wilderness, to be eaten by some animal instead of being offered alive as a sacrifice for the Lord.

Christmas and the Star of Bethlehem. - There is no historical evidence that Christ was born on December 25th. December 25th was officially adopted by Bishop Liberius of Rome in 354. December 25th occurs during the rainy season in the Holy Land, so it is highly unlikely that shepherds would be outside in their pastures. The Hayden Planetarium in New York recreated the heavens as they were in the time that Christ was allegedly born. Although nothing spectacular happened in the skies on the date of Christ's birth, the Planetarium went back to the year 6 B.C. On that date, there were three planets in close proximity which created a spectacularly bright beacon, which may account for the stories of the Star of Bethlehem. The most plausible reason that December 25 was chosen as a day to celebrate Christ's birth was that the Christian fathers were trying to compete with another growing religion, Mithraism - the worship of a sun god - whose holy day was also December 25.

Easter - The name "Easter' derives from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon dawn goddess. She was traditionally honored at the beginning of spring. Easter wasn't celebrated in North America until after the Civil War when religious leaders decided that the country needed a holiday which stressed rebirth.

October 29, 2004 Halloween and Christmas

It's unfortunate that too many Christians don't thoroughly research the topics they preach about. Take Halloween and Christmas for instance.

Christians point out that Halloween's origins are Satanist and Wiccan holidays. On the contrary, the origins had nothing to do with either.

Halloween dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead (not witches) returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

The Catholic Church decided it needed a way to turn followers away from celebrating a pagan holiday. Much like the celebration of Winter Solstice, the day of the year (near December 22) when the Sun is farthest south became Christmas (see below). Turning pagans to Christian beliefs made simple.

In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) originally fell roughly at the end of the Gregorian month of July and the beginning of August but was moved by Spanish priests so that it coincided with the Christian holiday of All Hallows Eve The result is that Mexicans now celebrate the day of the dead during the first two days of November, rather than at the beginning of summer.

I can list 18 different definitions of the term Witch, with only one associating Witch with Satan. Common folklore about witches changed into systematic persecutions that lasted for centuries and on occasion, reached alarming levels. In such a time of social, political, economic, and religious turmoil, people were increasingly likely to blame their troubles on evil. That belief in turn made the wholesale persecution of witches possible. The overwhelming majority of the accused were women. An analysis of the evidence about the witch craze of Europe, 15th through 18th century, indicates that most victims of the burning times seem to have been a diverse group, who did not share a common factor. Many were:
Midwives,
Native healers,
Single women who lived alone, and/or who owned property,
People against whom neighbors had a grudge,
Practitioners of ancient Pagan rituals,
Innocent individuals who were accused by other victims, often under torture,
People who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

However, trial records often represent the distorted beliefs of the judges rather than reality. The widespread use of torture, particularly in Roman Catholic countries, made testimony totally unreliable
Many contemporary Fundamentalist Christians describe Wiccans and other contemporary Neopagans,
Satanists, people who practice occult pastimes such as astrology, palm reading, Tarot cards, Runes,
etc. as Witches or Satanists. They consider these two terms to be essentially synonymous. In many ways, these Fundamentalists continue many of the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church from the 15th century.

And Christmas? Any record of the date of birth of Yeshua Ben Nazareth (later known as Jesus Christ) has been lost. There is sufficient evidence in the Gospels to indicate that Jesus was born in the fall, but this seems to have been unknown to early Christians. By the beginning of the 4th century CE, there was intense interest in choosing a day to celebrate Jesus' birthday. The western church leaders selected DEC-25 because this was already the date recognized throughout the Roman Empire as the birthday of various Pagan gods. Since there was no central Christian authority at the time, it took centuries before the tradition was universally accepted:

Eastern churches began to celebrate Christmas after 375 CE.
The church in Jerusalem started in the 7th century.
Ireland started in the 5th century
Austria, England and Switzerland in the 8th
Slavic lands in the 9th and 10th centuries. 3

Many symbols and practices associated with Christmas are of Pagan origin: holly, ivy, mistletoe, yule log, the giving of gifts, decorated evergreen tree, magical reindeer, etc. Polydor Virgil, an early British Christian, said "Dancing, masques, mummeries, stageplays, and other such Christmas disorders now in use with Christians, were derived from these Roman Saturnalian and Bacchanalian festivals; which should cause all pious Christians eternally to abominate them." In Massachusetts, Puritans unsuccessfully tried to ban Christmas entirely during the 17th century, because of its heathenism. The English Parliament abolished Christmas in 1647. Some contemporary Christian faith groups do not celebrate Christmas. Included among these was the Worldwide Church of God (before its recent conversion to Evangelical Christianity) and the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Wiccans, and Druids also celebrated this occasion. So, Will you give up celebrating the birth of Christ simply because it is celebrated on what WAS a pagan holiday?

Please, If you are Christian, don't spout contemporary (historical) "doctrine" but write about the loving, caring, forgiving teachings of Jesus who loved all no matter what their beliefs and enjoy and celebrate all of life including Halloween and Christmas.

August 26, 2004 Is the Bible really the word of God?

Ever since my teen years, I've often asked myself that question. Is the Bible really the word of God?

All the historical information I acquired fueled my doubts as the years progressed and I learned more and more about humanity and it's wars, scheming, and inhumanity against itself. Having a mother that was at times fanatically religious while being a hypocrite didn't help, it only made me more doubtful and more inquisitive.

If the Bible is truly the Word of God as believed by followers of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, then why do they hate each other. At some point in history, they all believed the same writings and teachings. They all believed in the same God. What happened?

Men happened. Men that didn't approve of the current teachings and felt that other different moralities should prevail. Some wanted change, some not. Some wanted stricter teachings, some laxer rules. And there were some that didn't believe but wanted to take advantage of those that did and wanted to shape those beliefs to their own ends.

One important thing history teaches us is that if it couldn't be explained, God did it or the Devil did it of some other god, deity or demon had a hand in it. Natural disasters were the will of the gods. The priesthood grew around those ignorant superstitions, promoting and sustaining the ignorance. If somebody came up with a reasonable explanation, he was labeled as a heretic and put to death. This concept of heresy and witchcraft isn't just reserved for the times of the Salem witch-hunts or the dark ages. This concept is as old as man himself.

The concept of gods, beings or God creating and controlling everything didn't start with the most primitive man. Originally, man accepted the wonders of nature as they were. Disaster happened. Not by the hand of a god, the just happened. It was all part of existence. Accepted, understood, contemplated, but not deitized.

Then something happened. A global catastrophe. An illness that decimated entire populaces. Who knows? But as a result, superstition was born. The lucky ones were pure and blessed. The unlucky ones cursed. The concept of worship sprang up. Worship the wind for blowing the fire away. Worship the sun because it defeats the dark in battle everyday.

Early tribal shaman's fostered these superstitions. The shamans were eventually replaced by priests and man grew wiser more civilized. Some of these priests actually believed. But some realized they could take advantage of others beliefs. Either way, they controlled the masses. The kept the knowledge of the gods from the masses giving the ordinary people brief glimpses during worship ceremonies.

Now here, the followers of Christianity, Judaism and Islam will all cry foul. 2000 years ago, the people of the Bible didn't do this. Their God is the one true god. How can they be sure? Purely on an act of Faith! They have no proof. Only a faith in what other men wrote down. There's the key, MEN wrote it down. Those men were Priests. They claimed to have received the knowledge from God. Drudidic

There are stories from religions far older than the Jewish Bible that speak of a god creating the heavens and earth. A god creating Man then Woman. They speak of a great flood. They even speak of human women giving birth to sons of gods.

Could it be remotely possible the some of the stories in the bible are retellings of those ancient stories?

No! Say the Christians, Jews and Muslims. Not our Bible!
It's the Word of God. But....all the other religions say the same.

June 24, 2004 Noah and the flood

My white God fearing Mother was a devout Christian. A little nutty, but devout.

She believed what a preacher said from the pulpit one time, that Blacks are the decendants of Cane. Their skin color was the mark God gave Cain and his decendants. This has been told over and over again especially in the south. I have relatives living in Arkansas that still believe this today.

Yet they all believe the story of Noah too.

So, either Noah was a decendant of Cane as are we all (which means we are all black to some degree),

or all of Cain's decendants were wiped out by the flood which means that preacher and others have lied all this time,

or the Noah story is a myth which means we've been believing a lie all this time.

Anybody got the answer to that one.

June 14, 2004, Thoughts on Christians

If Christians followed the teachings of Jesus, why don't they embrace all people regardless of race, color, sexual preference or religious beliefs? By setting an example of behavior more consistent with that attributed to Jesus, they might win over more converts.

Christians have for 2 centuries pulled sentences from the Bible for their own purposes. Quite often, a verse is quoted to make an example but other adjacent verses are left out. Those left out verses sometimes put the original quote in an entirely different context when all the verses are taken together.

Christian leaders ask people to follow only some of Jesus' teachings, their particular churches doctrine. That's why there are hundreds of different denominations of Christians, each teaching those portions of the Bible they want their congregations to hear.

I'm not angry as much as disappointed. Disappointed that Christians, or Jews or Muslims for that matter, would condemn me for befriending a gay person or performing a Handfastng. Disappointed that they would stop any person from being happy when that happiness doesn't hurt anybody else. I'm disappointed that their own self worth is keeping them from enjoying life, friendship and happiness because they can't accept each other as they are. Disappointed because words written by men thousands of years ago influence their reason and behavior.

I simply want people to stop and think about what they are
saying and doing. Whenever I see or hear something about God, you can be certain within a 99% probability that the God they are talking about is the God of the Old testaments. I want people to see the complete God in those works, not just what Churches teach them about God.

I ask that people use their reason, and respect others even if they don't agree with their lifestyles or religious beliefs. Jesus would.

Until the religions of the world, including Christianity,
realize that they are a main cause of bigotry, hatred and strife nothing will change.

June 10th, 2004, Thoughts on the Christian God

In receint correspondence with Scott Thomas (mentioned in the June 16th commentary) We discussed the Christian God.

Truely inspiring. This Christian God that loves loves us all. An awesome God indeed. Awesomely Cruel, Violent, Hateful, Vengeful and Spiteful. This list doesn't include the inquisition, crusades, the destruction of the Azetcs, witch hunts, child molestation by ministers and priests, cruelty to women, slavery, all in the name of that Awesome God acomplished by true believers of that God following the writings in the "Word of God".

I was accused of Judging the Christian God by what prople do. Yes, I judge the Christian God by what his followers do in his name based on the writings in the Bible which is considered the "Holy Word of God" by those same followers.

There a passage about God's chosen people bashing babies against stone and a passage about children who teased a man about being bald and God sent bears to eat them.

I'd compare the Jewish and Christian God as taken from the Bible to an abusive husband/father. You know the type, spouts love one minute, beats the wife and or kids the next. The kind that weeps with remorse at having given his wife a fat, bloody lip then turns around the next time and breaks her arm. Oh, he's a loving husband as long as everything goes his way, but just once, do something trivial like be 1 minute late with dinner and he's a raving maniac. It's often believed that abuse is caused by drinking. I couldn't say if God drinks, but abuse isn't necessarily caused by drinking. The feeling of power a person gets from being able to bully and abuse another person is quite often an intoxicant itself.

Sound a lot like the God from the Bible? God loves you, but he'll destroy you in a heartbeat. Why Would God be this way? Why would he not make himself known from time to time in good ways. Stopping a tornado from destroying a town, Turning a flood away from a populated area. If he's a forgiving God, why hasn't he forgiven the original sin without having his supposedly only begotten son murdered? Oh, I forgot, he's a murderous God.

Or is he? Could it be possible that God is a myth created by the priesthood to dupe an ignorant populace into doing what the priests want? It's happened in every other culture that ever existed.

Take the virgin birth for instance, a theme repeated several times in the Bible. There was Sara, Rebekah, Rachael and Mary. A theme repeated throughout history in various cultures. Hercules was born of a virgin mother, fathered by a God, was the only son. He died and went to
the lower world and was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

And lets bring up Mithra of Persia who descended into the abode of death and rose again for the glory of light and the eternal salvation of man.

The gods and heroes of legend that died on a cross includes Krishna of India, Iva of Napal, Tammuz of Babylonia, Baili of Orissa, Thules of Egypt, Hesus of the Druids, Quetzacoatl of Mexico.

I'm not upset about what God supposedly did as much as what his believers do today. In the name of this God, they will ruin peoples lives, shout hate slogans in public, burn books, bomb clinics, suppress free speech and demand the ban of civil liberties that do not conform to their interpretation of The Bible.

Why does the Word of God inspire meanness, corruption,
civil disobedience and hatred? Shouldn't the Word of a
loving, peaceful and forgiving God inspire love and
kindness. Why do the followers of this Word of God collect
money and food to send overseas when men, women and
children in this "Christian" country are starving and
homeless right here in our own back yards? Why do devout
Catholics in South America raise crops of drugs and ship
them to America?

As far as God actually existing, I guess that's up to the individual to determine. If people wish to believe a book that is littered with inconsistencies, contradictions, with stories paralleling myths of dozens of other cultures, a book that expounds the virtues of a God that is cruel and hateful to his creations what can I say.

I don't say the Bible is wrong about the nature of God, I question what people really read. The Churches of Christianity subtract from the written words of the Bible on a daily basis. I've never heard a preacher give a sermon on the slaughter of innocents, David taking the foreskins of Philistines to Saul, Killing all but the virgins of a city and keeping the virgins for use by the Hebrews. Preachers and Sunday school teachers don't teach the whole Bible. If they did, they'd probably be run out of town. It's not that the Bible doesn't identify the true nature of God, it's that the Churches have withheld that identity or deliberately misrepresented that information.

God allows man to do what he wants. God does whatever he wants according to the Bible. God allowed man free will. God did it. Then why does God punish those that don't want to do what he wants. Why not just reward those that do. If he's patient as you say, then rewards would eventually bring around those that aren't believers. Fair is not flooding the world, destroying cities with fire and brimstone, ordering his "chosen" to murder ruthlessly without compassion. Just. Just is teaching a father to be patient with his rebellious son not stone him to death. We don't need metaphors to describe God's justice. It's in black and white in the Bible. God's justice is murder, torture and bloody vengeance. Is this a Perfect God?

It'd not that I don't believe in a Creator or God, or Supreme Being, whatever name you choose for a label, I just
can't believe in the God that Christians, Jews and followers of Islam believe in. I don't take the "revealed"
religions seriously. Men wrote those books. Men's frailties
and shortcomings are in those works. Men's hatred and vindictive nature are "revealed" in those books, Not God's.

Is this being reverent? I'm reverent to the concept that Man can rise above those shortcomings. Can rise above the hatered. But only if men stop believing in myths and legends and believe in themselves

June 9, 2004, Is a belief in God necessary to be a Partiot of the U.S.?

On MemorialDay, in a commentary by Pastor Scott Thomas titled Patriotism means loving God and country, Thomas said "Patriotism in the United States is loving God and country -- in that order.." and "I do not think you can fully be a true American patriot without first loving the God who blesses this nation".

Thomas' reference was to the Christian God, a slap in the face for all those military and ex-military personnel and statesmen of the past who did not belive in the Christian God. Those individuals who served this country with the utmost patriotism but belived differently, such as Wiccans, Buddhists, Diests and many more faiths. A number of the founding fathers of this country were Diests. I my self served during the Vietnam era in the U.S. Navy.

He claimed "Without God, there is no free United States"
But he forgot the one statement in the Constitution that helps keep this nation free from tyranny, Religious Tyranny. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" This admendment does not promote the belief in the christian God, nor any God. It does not take away privleges
for not beliving in a God. It simply grants the people of this country the right to believe or not without interference from the Government.

Concerning his statement "even the freedom to not believe in Him, comes from and is ordained by God Himself" is somewhat pompous considering The Constitution and the First Admendment is what guarntees our freedoms of belief in this country, a document written by men not by the Christian God. And what about all those men and women who died to ensure the Constitution and this country would survive. That's where our freedom comes from.

In the column, Thoms states "Left to our own hearts, we would either endlessly seek the power to control people or we would acquiesce to being controlled" Pretty much sums up what the Fundamentalist Christians are trying to do. They want the power to control everybody in the U.S. by making them conform to the Christian belief system. Fortunately, wisdom, common sense and a morality that is not dependant upon the Christian God continues to prevail.

Thomas statement "the difference between the United States and the rest of the world is God" tends to thumb its nose at the other countries whose primary religion is Christian (including Catholics). This line of thought is no better than the rehtoric used by the Taliban and other so called Islamic fundamentalists to promote the concepts of holy war and terrorism in the name of their God.

Patriotism is not ordained by God. It is not a religious belief. It's a human emotional belief in and a willingness to protect the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, and U.S. fredoms. Maybe for some, a belief in a God is needed to inspire them to become patriots, but it certainly is not a prerequisit to being a patriot.

June 4, 2004 Is America a Christian Nation?

I keep hearing and reading that "America is a Christian nation" over and over again. But is it really? Check out the following link and remember this nation was founded on principles of "Liberty For All" of it's inhabitants, not only those of Christian faith.

Is America a Christian Nation?

April 15, 2004 Is There Really Intolerance to Christians?

Lately I've read a number of columns and articles on religion getting a bad rap or intolerance toward Christians. You know what? They are right, the Christian religion is being held with contempt by millions upon millions of people around the world, including other Christians. Heres a list of questions you need to ask yourself.

Have you heard of Catholic priests and Christian ministers being accused of sexual abuse?

Do you see Christians on network news broadcasts picketing courthouses with signs reading Youre going to Hell?

Have you seen Christians delivering verbal abuse to Gays and Lesbians on network television?

Did you hear about the Christian mom who drowned her kids because God told her to?

Did you hear about the Christian church that gave an Easter Play to show that Easter was about Jesus not the Easter Bunny and whipped and beat the Easter bunny in front of children who cried because they couldnt understand why?

Did you know some Christian organizations are using free pizza and other deceitful tactics to lure young people into places where they assault them with Christian music and preaching to earn that free pizza?

Did you know that millions of people and children that do not believe in God are being forced to use the term under God because Christians want it that way?

Do you know there are Christians who promote hate and intolerance for anything that doesnt conform to their moral beliefs?

Do you wonder why people look down on Christianity?

Do you really think the intolerance toward Christians is unjustified?

If you answered yes to all of these questions (every one of them is true), then you cannot help but know why there is so much intolerance toward Christians. These are the examples of Christian behavior that influence Christians to turn away from religion, why atheism is growing, why churches in the Europe hold only a tenth of the worshipers they used to.

And these are just the recent headlines. This kind of Moral Majority behavior isnt new though. Throughout the past 2000 years, Christians somewhere sometime have performed numerous non-Christian
Behavior over and over again. Entire civilizations have been wiped out by Christians, usually in the name of God when the underlying factor was simply greed for gold and territory. The Inquisition maimed and murdered countless thousands of innocent men women and children in the name of God simply because they didnt believe the same way the Christian rulers (in Rome) wanted them to. In the New World at Salem Massachusetts and surrounding areas, hundreds suffered and died mostly because a Christian had a grudge against them and accused them of being witches. Hundreds of thousands of Africans were kidnapped and forced into slavery by Christians in the United States.

If you want to improve the respect and attitudes toward Christians, then I would recommend all Christians follow the teachings of Jesus and promote Love, honesty, tolerance, courtesy, friendship and set an example for non Christian to see and respect. Actually, It might not hurt if Christians just shut up for a while. Stick to your Churches. Get your congregations straightened out first, then worry about the rest of the world.

(*) The original picture was created by Daryl Cagle andis used here without permission.