Soulless Sundays

Six down and 44 more to go. This Soulless Sunday post is going to be a little different than most. Earlier this week, New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage. The progress being made for marriage equality is at the same time surprising and expected. It's surprising because of the ever-present hatred of homosexuals (and equality in general) by most of the religious majority in this country but expected because, as history has shown, progress is truly unstoppable. While religious conservatives have fought every measure that attempted to make people equal in this country, equality has prevailed. It will be no different with this issue.

A very significant contributing factor to the marriage equality bill passing in N.H. was the support of the bill by reputable and respected faith leaders. Without them, this bill would not have passed. But these faith leaders are teaching a very valuable lesson to both sides of this debate. It's a lesson that we've lost sight of in recent years. The two sides were able to strike a compromise. As we all know, the only reason one would have to keep homosexuals from getting married is based on their religion. Lucky for us, the religious laws of one group (no matter how big a majority that group is) have absolutely no bearing over the laws in this country. We are not a theocracy. These clergymen have struck a compromise that would allow homosexuals to marry without forcing religious entities and churches to take part in it. Everyone is equal and no one has to do anything that their religion forbids. Everyone wins.

On the other hand, marriage equality advocates are learning that the path to equality isn't easy and it won't happen overnight. They made concessions in this case and will have to continue making concessions in order to see this through.

It took over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation for black people to have equality. The pious in this country are still a powerful force. Despite the attempts of those that think they're justified in subjugating segments of the population, equality will be had.

These clergymen (and voters) should be proud of themselves. They, more than the conservative extremists, are true patriots. What is more "American" than equality for all?

Soulless Quote Of The Week:

"The United States of America should have a foundation free from the influence of clergy."
-- George Washington. Yes, that George Washington.

Soulless Sundays

Throughout the years that I have considered myself an atheist, my definition for the term has changed somewhat. Due to constant debate, discussion, and defense of my "beliefs" I've gotten to the point where my position on an omnipotent "god" is pretty fine tuned. Of course, there is always room for refinement. That, in my opinion, is the key difference between me and those I ridicule for their religious beliefs.

In recent months, I've had to explain my position on god and what exactly I believe numerous times. I guess it's about time I laid out my definitions of theism, atheism, and agnosticism. Hopefully, this will allow a clearer understanding of my atheism and how it influences my worldview. And hopefully, it will allow us to discuss these things without confusion or cloudy labels.

For starters, I reject the current use of the term "agnostic." Most people understand an agnostic to be someone who isn't sure about god. They don't necessarily believe, but they don't necessarily disbelieve either.

The current understanding of the word "atheist" is someone who knows that there is not a god(s). This position is equal in ignorance and arrogance to those that know that there is a god(s). It is understandable that a distinction between atheists and agnostics was made. For much of history, the denial of the gods of a person's society was blasphemous and usually resulted in some sort of horrible torture and/or death. Finally, and with no thanks to the theists of the world, we've reached a point where those distinctions can finally be discarded and we can actually speak with honesty and without fear of violent repercussion.

I consider myself an atheist. I also consider anyone who currently claims to be an agnostic an atheist. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't explicitly believe in a god(s), then you can't be called anything but an atheist. If we look at the qualifications for being Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc. they all demand one fundamental belief from their followers; an unquestioning belief in the deity(s) outlined in their holy book of choice. By definition, you cannot be a Christian unless you believe that Jesus was the son of God. You cannot be a Muslim unless you believe that Mohammed was a prophet sent by God. Therefore, anyone who doesn't believe these things cannot be considered a member of the respective religion. This goes for every other religion as well.

Modern agnostics, like most atheists, agree that these things are unknowable. The only real difference between agnostics and atheists is their ability to come to terms with (and more importantly, admit to) the stigma that is attached to the label "atheist." I have never claimed that I know there is no god. In fact, I'm always open to some sort of proof or evidence of a god. As of now, I have yet to hear anything that even borders on convincing. But I will follow the evidence, even if it leads to a god. Unfortunately, not enough people can make the same claim.

That is one of the many gripes I have with theists. Not only are they unwilling to budge on their beliefs in the face of mountains of evidence, but they expect others to to be willfully stubborn with them. Make no mistake, I'm not suggesting that this evidence disproves god. What much of our scientific evidence challenges is the manner in which each religion claims that the universe, the earth, and humanity, came to be. If, by challenging certain tenets of a particular faith, the evidence does challenge the overall truth of the religion, then so be it. Science may prove religions wrong, but it hasn't (and most likely will never) disproved the existence of a god.

Hopefully this clarifies my position and enables us to continue with our discussions (and shit talking) with a better understanding of each other. I would honestly like to know what you guys believe. I'd appreciate it if you were as specific as possible.

Soulless Quote Of The Week:

"The man of belief is necessarily a dependent man.... He does not belong to himself, but to the author of the idea he believes." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Soulless Sundays

Well loyal readers, I have returned from my sabbatical filled with more vile hatred and contempt than ever before. Lucky you. Unfortunately for all of us, just because I stop writing doesn't mean that theists stop speaking. Off we go.

Last week, segments of the Catholic church started the proceedings to gain exemptions from treating homosexual married couples as equal. This article sums up the argument pretty well. This is a tricky issue. I think any church or religious organization has every right to operate however they want. They shouldn't be forced to marry or recognize the marriage of homosexuals.

Where this issue gets sticky is the public sector. I don't believe that people should be forced to do something that is completely against their religious beliefs. On the other hand, I don't think a grocery store owner, gas station attendant, a restaurant owner, or anyone else should be able to freely discriminate against homosexual couples. Despite what conservative America claims, homosexuality is not a lifestyle choice. Since homosexuals are born the way they are, this issue is no different than the civil rights movement. Therefore, public services shouldn't be allowed to discriminate based on race OR sexual orientation.

The anti-gay groups would have us believe that ruling against this legislation would infringe upon their rights to some degree. I'm trying my hardest to be sympathetic. I just can't take the side of a group that wants legal backing for their discrimination of an entire segment of our population. Sure, some toes will be stepped on and there will be outrage for a while but look at what happened following the civil rights movement. Racists were still allowed to hate minorities. They still are today. But the government set a precedent by declaring "separate but equal" unlawful. Hopefully they remember that when deciding on this issue.

P.S. Does anyone else think it's even the slightest bit odd that the Catholic church is leading the charge against lifestyle's of sin? This is the same Catholic church that hides their child raping priests in small town parishes instead of removing them and allowing them to be brought to justice. This is the same church whose leader said condoms would NOT help the AIDS epidemic in Africa. This is the same church that excommunicated a woman for having her preteen daughter's fetus aborted after she was impregnated by rape. This is the church that is calling for morality. This is THE. VERY. DEFINITION. of hypocrisy. How do they take themselves seriously?

Soulless Quote Of The Week:

“I fear the righteous, because they commit atrocities with a clear conscience..” –- Unknown

Soulless Sundays

There has been a lot going on in the ridiculous theist world this week. I don't understand how believers aren't shamed into seclusion. Off we go...

Conservatives in this country are happy that we haven't had diplomatic relations with Cuba because they're Commie bastards. Strangely, they cite our more than friendly relationship with Saudi Arabia as a beneficial thing and a sign of our willingness to understand those with different cultures. Well, that has blown up in their faces. Let's get this straight. Cuba and Fidel Castro are evil because they are communists BUT Saudi Arabia and their royalty are strong allies and overall good people. Am I the only one who finds the similarities between Muslim fundy "morality" and Christian fundy "morality" extremely alarming?

According to the religion of peace, this 75 year old woman deserves to be beaten because she was in the presence of men that she is not related to. The mentality that created laws against this sort of interaction are the same laws that conservatives from all religions say are necessary to keep people moral. Well, I personally hope this immoral harlot gets more than 40 lashes. How is a society ever going to achieve morality if they can't make examples out of people like this? Clearly, Mohammed would want this grandmother to suffer for her mistake.

That Muslim woman should consider herself lucky that she isn't a lesbian in South Africa. The predominantly Christian nation has decided that "corrective rape" isn't something they oppose enough to do anything about. The only people who seem to give a damn about these women are those pansy liberal human rights and homosexual rights groups. What's even more sad is that none of the churches have come out and vocally opposed this either. The significance of the collective Christian silence on this issue is something that can't be stressed enough. In the U.S., Christians have been denouncing Muslims for not doing enough to denounce the radical Muslim sects that are beheading journalists and whipping grandmothers. According to most holier than though Christians (and non-Christians too), if you aren't out front and extremely vocal in condemning something that "your" people are doing, you're almost as guilty as they are. I wonder if these same people will condemn their Christian brethren as rapists for sitting back and allowing this to happen. I guess dikes and fags deserve what they get. How loving.

Speaking of Christian love, I found a great demonstration of it in the hotbed of piety that is Colorado. This fundy jackass murdered someone because he was a different religion. Sound familiar? Anyone? So the next time your Christian relative, friend (Tim), or significant other rants about the virtues of the more civilized Christianity, remind them that religious lunatics are everywhere. There's no such thing as a "civilized religion."

Now we move on to the Mormons. Those poor Mormons. They're a bit of a paradox. They have endured severe persecution at the hands of the loving Christians in the U.S. since they invented their prophet. Maybe the exposure to religious hatred and persecution they've dealt with is to blame for the hatred and persecution they're now doling out. How's that Prop 8 working out? But that's not the point of this commentary. The Mormons are upset about one of their "sacred" rituals being shown on the show "Big Love." Strangely, I don't remember them protesting the show "24" when they were constantly employing Middle Eastern Muslims as the bad guy terrorists in their show. Now, I hate Muslims just as much as the next theist, but I don't understand the hypocrisy. One might think that, once a group has been oppressed, they would be more sympathetic to the oppression of others. Not religions. What good is a religion if it doesn't allow its members to wrongfully believe they're better than non-members? Hell, the very foundation of religion is exclusivity and persecution of "others." Thankfully for us atheists, believers in these different fairy tales don't play well together. With a little solidarity, theists might be able to actually cause more harm to humanity than they already have. Can you imagine??? It's terrifying.

This blog isn't all bad news and doom and gloom. There is a light at the end of this moronic religious tunnel. This new age of scientific discovery and reason is allowing people to realize that they don't need wives tales and superstition to answer life's great questions. While the 15%ers grow, it opens the door to more thought about just what we do or do not believe in. A glorious byproduct of this is the erosion of religious doomsaying. Unfortunately for the O'Reillys of the world, they lost the culture wars. I'm sure none of us will miss the people mentioned that NY Times column. We can only pray.

Soulless Quote Of The Week:

"I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." -- FORMER President George W. Bush

Soulless Sundays

Happy Sabbath to all. Well, theists have had quite a week. They've all been very busy spreading the word of their gods and demonstrating the love that is supposed to convince heathens like me to join their ranks. I don't even know where to start.

Let's start with the honorable archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, who tends the flocks in Olinda and Recife Brazil. A Catholic stronghold, to be sure. You would think that such a place would be among the most loving and tolerant of places, since there is so much of God's love there. Well, it is a great place to live, unless you're a 9 year old rape victim who is pregnant. You see, this little girl was raped by her stepfather. She is now pregnant with his twins. The doctors had concluded that her body would not be able to handle the stress of carrying a child, much less two. So what's a girl to do? Her mother, after speaking to doctors, decided to have the fetuses aborted to save her daughters life. It would seem to be a pretty cut and dry case, right. Well, not according to God. Apparently, murder is only ok if done in His name. The ever helpful archbishop reminded his sheeple that going through with the procedure would result in excommunication. But we shouldn't be angry at him. After all, he "simply recalled what is in church canon law. Excommunication is automatic for those who participate in an abortion. I did not excommunicate anyone, just remembered the church’s law which says they are automatically excommunicated."

See, he isn't a bad guy. He's just following orders. God's orders. So who the fuck are we to question God's orders? (I'll spare you the reference of another group of guys who were "just following orders." You know who I'm tombot.) According to the archbishop, "God’s law is above whatever human law. So when a human law is contrary to God’s law, this human law has no value.” Of course. Well, he may have to follow God's law, but at least he's sympathetic to the plight of this girl, isn't he? Not really. His archiocese agreed that abortion is murder. Now they're mad as hell and they're not gonna take it anymore. According to the report, "before the abortion was carried out the archdiocese’s lawyers threatened to charge the mother with homicide, citing the Brazilian constitution’s guarantee to the right to life."

C'mon. Really? They really oppose this? What would they prefer? If this CHILD carries these fetuses, all three of them are going to die. How is that pro life? Then again, these are the same guys that harbor child rapists and protect them from justice. Hell, the archbishop was probably just pissed that he didn't get a chance with this girl. How could anyone ever support an institution that adheres to these horribly outdated superstitions, thus causing the pain and suffering of so many for so long? They make me sick.

Strangely enough, the Catholic church is actually making some strides with other issues. In a Vatican sponsored conference on science, they have excluded creationists, much the the creationists chagrin. Ironically, it appears that the Catholic church is evolving. How funny is that. I'd be so much happier about this if they weren't trying to jail people for saving the lives of raped children. Baby steps people, baby steps.

Out of Northwest Pakistan this week, we see that Sharia Law (loosely translated as "Bullshit Beliefs Law") is taking hold. There's a huge shock. These pictures are kinda eerie though.

These guys are full of God's love.

All of these guys are full of God's love too.

And finally, we have more from the "God hates fags" types. California Supreme Court justices have decided that Prop 8 will stand, but so will the marriages of those gay couples that were married prior to the "separate but equal" legislation. I wonder how this is gonna work...

Note the sign on the far right...

Progress much?

Soulless quote of the week.

I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours --Stephen Roberts

Do We Want REAL Equality Or PERCEIVED Safety?

Well, here is a shock. White Americans think that there is a worldwide Muslim conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. and subjugate and/or eradicate Christianity. According to this article from the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, there are Muslim terrorist cells already operating inside the U.S. The Christian Action Network (CAN) claims to that some of it's operatives have "been on location, deep inside hidden Islamic terrorist training compounds, scattered across the United States." Now, CAN is probably a nice, loving organization but can we really trust them on matters like this? Isn't that the equivalent of trusting the opinions of the klan about blacks, Jews, and hispanics? Seriously?

I'm not trying to diminish the necessity of keeping an eye on religious extremist groups. I do wonder, however, why we only want to keep an eye on the Muslim extremists, assuming that they are extremists. Does anyone else find it even the slightest bit hypocritical that when "good, white, Christians" form militias and conduct military training exercises, they're just exercising their right as Americans but when any Ay-Rabs do it they must be a terror cell? Aren't Muslim Americans still Americans? What makes them different from Christian Americans? Some would cite the September 11 attacks and the ensuing war on "terror" as evidence for Muslims not to be trusted. If that's the case, I have to ask.... has anyone checked the box score lately? How many presidents were assassinated by Muslim terrorists? How many bombings on American soil were committed by Muslims? By my count, the good Christians are blowing the Muslims out by an incredible clip.

So why aren't we concerned about the Christian militias and the Muslim ones? Well, I think we all know the answer to that.

Personally, I'm just as afraid of the Christians as I am the Muslims. I mean, what is the difference between a Christian extremist and a Muslim one? People in this country are so disgusted when our soldiers are blown up with I.E.D.'s but many of these same people aren't so quick to condemn the extremists who blow up our civilians at abortion clinics!

Make no mistake about my position. In no way do I support or condone Muslim extremists trying to overthrow our country. I just wish more people felt the same about Christian extremists.

It's kinda depressing how few of our citizens actually want the equality that we champion so loudly.

Soulless Sundays

I've got a very special treat for this week's installment. Apparently, the hundreds of thousands (millions?) of churches in this country just aren't getting the job done. Well, that is if you ask this Ohio man. Here is the article from that liberal rag, the New York Times.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A man held a woman captive in handcuffs and an adult diaper for three days while he read Bible passages to her, police said. Troy Brisport, 34, was charged with kidnapping and felonious assault. Bail was set Tuesday at $400,000. He picked up the woman Wednesday night in Detroit after she told him she had nowhere to stay, and brought her to his home in Toledo, about 55 miles away, police said. The woman told police that after she fell asleep Brisport handcuffed her wrists and ankles, gagged her, undressed her and put her in an adult diaper, then read Bible passages, said police Capt. Ray Carroll. She apparently was not sexually assaulted, Carroll said. However, court documents alleged that Brisport tried several times to suffocate the woman using a pillow and blanket. The woman told police she escaped Saturday after Brisport fell asleep. Police found her dressed only in a T-shirt and the adult diaper and still wearing handcuffs. There was no immediate response Tuesday to a call seeking comment from jail officials, and there was no indication whether Brisport had an attorney to speak for him.

Surprisingly, I'm having a hard time coming up with commentary for this story. I mean, seriously, what the fuck? I wonder what would happen if the guy had been a Muslim????

Soulless quote of the week:

Religion easily has the best bullshit story of all time. Think about it. Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money. -- George Carlin