I only go to church if there's a jumble sale on.

---

Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

Two per cent of Anglican priests don't believe in God, survey finds

As a prerequisite for the job of being a Church of England priest, it would seem not unreasonable to expect a belief in God to be fairly essential.

But this is not the case, according to a poll of Anglican clergy which found that as many as 16 per cent are unclear about God and two per cent think it is no more than a human construct.

Clergy were significantly more likely to hold unorthodox beliefs the older they were and the longer they had been in the ministry. Nearly 90 per cent of those ordained since 2011 believe in God compared with only 72 per cent of those who became priests in the 1960s, the research discovered.

Well Celttooth and myself are in discussions to form a new religion that does away with all those other religions (see the cafe for further details when they are available). ;-)

Cheers.

Well Celttooth and myself are in discussions to form a new religion that does away with all those other religions (see the cafe for further details when they are available). ;-)

Cheers.

Hail BOOTICAN!!

---

rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Further confirmation that religion is only used to control/oppress...

The book in every Iranian home

"Small wonder the people of Iran comfort themselves with the poetry of Hafez. Even the mullahs cannot ban their own national poet."

If they could get away with it, they would!

I am reading this book now, and it is fascinating.

No Meek Messiah: Christianity's Lies, Laws and Legacy

Religious leaders generally spoon-feed their flock the few parts of the Bible that are not blatantly contradictory, nor evil, nor violent. The Bible is a very boring, very frightening, yet a very hilarious read. And the history of religious oppression is much more murderous than most people are aware. The book No Meek Messiah chronicles the cobbling of Christianity, its outrageous forgeries, and its immoral acts of torture, genocide, and obfuscation over the many centuries. The "virgin birth" tale was a forgery perpetrated 250 years before Jesus, even admitted by the Catholic Encyclopedia.
No Meek Messiah exposes that Jesus believed in Noah's Ark, Adam & Eve, Jonah living in a fish or whale, and Lot's wife turning into salt. (Historian Josephus, often cited by Christians as proof of the historicity of Jesus, also claims that he as actually seen the "pillar of salt" that Lot's wife turned into; "for I have seen it, and it remains at this day," Josephus lied.
Jesus even bought into the absurd notion (Jn 3:14) that a magical pole proffered by the OT (Num 21:9) could cure snakebites merely by gazing upon it.
Only a very selective reading of the Bible can adduce the eternal assertion that Jesus was a perfect and saintly figure. Meek Jesus boasted he was "greater than Solomon, and that he "came not to send peace, but a sword," and "to send fire on the earth."
Jesus desperately needs your praise, and advises savage whipping for disobedient slaves. These are scriptures never mentioned at the typical sermon or Sunday school. This is merely the tip of Jesus' "meek" iceberg.
No Meek Messiah exposes the plethora of forgeries perpetrated by Christian leaders over the centuries, showing how the corrupt Church gained massive power and wealth. The many murders and witch hunts are also exposed in great detail.

Steve

---

Warning, addicted to SETI crunching!
Crunching as a member of GPU Users Group.
GPUUG Website

Another good read
http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Eden-Speculations-Evolution-Intelligence/dp/0345346297/ref=sr_1_1

Dr. Carl Sagan takes us on a great reading adventure, offering his vivid and startling insight into the brain of man and beast, the origin of human intelligence, the function of our most haunting legends--and their amazing links to recent discoveries.
"A history of the human brain from the big bang, fifteen billion years ago, to the day before yesterday...It's a delight."
THE NEW YORK TIMES

---

I am reading this book now, and it is fascinating.

No Meek Messiah: Christianity's Lies, Laws and Legacy

It's ALL Religions.

However... As an Atheist:

What exactly does anyone have against Christianity?

Whether Jesus was 'divine', or not: What exactly about 'His' teachings, if 'He' was a Secular Ideologue, does one object to? The world would be a better place if they followed them.

Note: I am not speaking about those who profess to follow 'His' teachings, and commit evil.

I agree, it is all religions.
Christianity is not what most people think. Much of it was copied from previous religions, and all of the reported sayings of Jesus were not as peaceful as one would think. He even encouraged his followers to abandon their families for him. This is not the family oriented values that are taught today. Modern Christianity has evolved to not focus on anything violent or contradictory, but it is cherry picked from a history of violence, deceit, and outright fraud. If people were true Christians, they would be killing each other because one brand of Jesus warship was better than another brand of Jesus warship. I have recently seen shows about ancient history, where priests hired scientists to create mechanical devices for their parishes that would trick the patrons into believing that particular church was the site of miracles.

I enjoy learning the actual human history, and how different reality is from what is commonly perceived. What Christianity is today is nothing like what it started out to be. This holds true for other religions also, but I admit I am more knowledgeable about the roots of Christianity, so much of what I say here is about Christianity.

Steve

---

Warning, addicted to SETI crunching!
Crunching as a member of GPU Users Group.
GPUUG Website

We could, and have done worse, not following the teachings of this man.

Christians 'pick and choose'. So? Every organization, and group does.

Really feel no need to obsess over Christian teachings, or the minutia of his life. Apparently you do.

There are many more important things.

Fully agree with you here.

Some atheists seem a little obsessed with pointing out all the perceived flaws of Christianity and how horrible some of the stories in the bible are. Yeah sure, what about it? Christianity has evolved over the past 2000 years, its just not the same thing anymore as it was 2000 years ago.

Does it still inspire some people to be horrible towards other people. Yeah, sure. It also creates a community of people and brings people closer together. And those horrible people? They would still be horrible even if Christianity didn't exist. Religion doesn't make you a horrible person, it just gives a horrible person a framework in which to be horrible. But trust me, there are dozens of other ways in which people can be horrible towards others.

For the most part it is not the basic religions that are flawed but rather the direction religious leaders take in promoting their particular branch. The core teachings of Christianity if followed would make for a much better society, but I also believe the same could be said for most of the others.

---

Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

Christianity has evolved over the past 2000 years, its just not the same thing anymore as it was 2000 years ago.

Who is the editorial board that has edited "the book?" If the book hasn't been edited, it has not evolved. Same issue with another faith that is presently doing exactly what their book that can't evolve says.

---

Christianity has evolved over the past 2000 years, its just not the same thing anymore as it was 2000 years ago.

Who is the editorial board that has edited "the book?" If the book hasn't been edited, it has not evolved. Same issue with another faith that is presently doing exactly what their book that can't evolve says.

Maybe he should have said that they way Christianity is taught and practiced has evolved.

---

Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

Christianity has evolved over the past 2000 years, its just not the same thing anymore as it was 2000 years ago.

Who is the editorial board that has edited "the book?" If the book hasn't been edited, it has not evolved. Same issue with another faith that is presently doing exactly what their book that can't evolve says.

Maybe he should have said that they way Christianity is taught and practiced has evolved.

With the added proviso; in some places.

---

Who is the editorial board that has edited "the book?" If the book hasn't been edited, it has not evolved. Same issue with another faith that is presently doing exactly what their book that can't evolve says.

Maybe he should have said that they way Christianity is taught and practiced has evolved.

Christianity is more than just the bible. Even so, the bible itself has also evolved. You honestly believe that a book that has been around for 2000 years is still the same as the original is a little naive. Especially when that book had to be translated from Greek to Latin, and then later from Latin to modern languages. Not to mention the fact that there isn't just one version of the Bible, there are are several. And then we leave out the revisions made by the church itself (you know, like when they decided which books counted as canonical and which ones didn't).

Its a sure bet to say that the Bible of today is nothing like the original bible written after Christ.

HuffPost - Half Of Brits Say Religion Does More Harm Than Good, And Atheists Can Be Just As Moral

Christianity is on the decline in Britain, with In the 2011 Census finding 33.2 million people identifying with the religion, a decrease of 4.1 million from 2001, from 72% to 59% of the population.

Islam is on the rise, with the number of people identifying as Muslim growing from 3% to 5% of the population within a decade. But the 2011 census showed a huge increase in the number of people with no religion, currently 14.1 million people, an increase of 6.4 million since 2011, which is a growth of 10%.

In the HuffPost poll, Christians and Jews both expressed negative opinions on the role of faith in society. Around 45% of Christians thought religion was, on balance, a negative force in modern life, with around a third believing it does more good.

Jews view religion even more negatively, with 70% saying religion does more harm than good, and 27% believing the reverse.

Muslims were most likely to described themselves as very religious, around 20% of those surveyed. Almost 50% of Jewish people surveyed said they were not religious at all, compared to just 7% of Muslims.

Both Believer's, and Non-Believer's, commit the same Horrors, if given the opportunity.

And even if someone commits some horrible act and believes in God, it does not mean that they commit the horrible act because they believe in God. Correlation does not imply causation, which is something a lot of people seem to forget when they start talking about how religion supposedly caused the majority of wars in the past.

I think that generally some form of religion is necessary for most people to cope with life. That way they don't have to take responsibility for the results of their actions or inactions claiming that what has happened to them is God's will.

---

Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

I think that generally some form of religion is necessary for most people to cope with life. That way they don't have to take responsibility for the results of their actions or inactions claiming that what has happened to them is God's will.

So true. Just like some religions promise that anything, no matter how vile and disgusting, will be forgiven if you just really really believe.

Man was happy before he invented religion. We should return to that state of happiness.

In all seriousness, there are persons who can not accept an answer to a question of "unknowable" or "unknown." There are others who are quite content with such an answer. I suspect one is highly religious and the other is not.

---

HuffPost - Half Of Brits Say Religion Does More Harm Than Good, And Atheists Can Be Just As Moral

Christianity is on the decline in Britain, with In the 2011 Census finding 33.2 million people identifying with the religion, a decrease of 4.1 million from 2001, from 72% to 59% of the population.

Islam is on the rise, with the number of people identifying as Muslim growing from 3% to 5% of the population within a decade. But the 2011 census showed a huge increase in the number of people with no religion, currently 14.1 million people, an increase of 6.4 million since 2011, which is a growth of 10%.

In the HuffPost poll, Christians and Jews both expressed negative opinions on the role of faith in society. Around 45% of Christians thought religion was, on balance, a negative force in modern life, with around a third believing it does more good.

Jews view religion even more negatively, with 70% saying religion does more harm than good, and 27% believing the reverse.

Muslims were most likely to described themselves as very religious, around 20% of those surveyed. Almost 50% of Jewish people surveyed said they were not religious at all, compared to just 7% of Muslims.

Excellent news. Looks like we might finally be ready to join the 21st century.

How's this for an idea, since religion is on the decline, we undo the damage caused by primarily but not exclusively the catholic church, and put some solid R&D money into the sciences! This is space year 2014, by now we were supposed to have flying cars and be living on the moon!

---

Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

Religion Does More Harm Than Good?

If one disregards the Total Horror's perpetrated by Non-Believer's in the last century.

Except that many you list as non-believers in the last century aren't actually non-believers. However, I agree with the premise that all men (and women) are capable of great horrors.

The above is just an example of Acceptable Anti-Religion Bigotry.

Amazing that after all the oppression religion has done toward anyone that doesn't believe in their particular sect, and even moreso toward anyone that doesn't believe at all, that anyone who speaks out against this self-righteousness and sees nothing good from it is labeled by you and everyone that thinks like you as bigots.

I suppose blacks that spoke out against slavery or Jews that spoke out against Nazis were also bigots too. If you do not accept these arguments, then why suggest that an Atheist that speaks out against religion is a bigot?