He came from star stuff…

A great man died this week.  He’s not spending eternity in Hell or Heaven.  His consciousness has ended.  For him, it is as it was before he was ever born.  He came from star stuff, as we all do, and in a million years the atoms that for a short time came together to make a brilliant and beautiful mind will return to burn in another star.

Though he can no longer hear our voices, we will never forget his. And in this way he has attained some small measure of immortality. So raise a glass and say a toast to Hitch. Post your favorite quotation from his prolific writings. Do your part to make sure that even though he has gone, his ideas will never die.

Rest in Peace, Hitch.

Christopher Hitchens

April 13, 1949 – December 15, 2011

Is Your God an Abusive Spouse?

Psychologists recognize that there are certain signs that a relationship might be abusive. Let’s take a look at some signs published by Health Central* and see how Jehova does.

An emotionally abusive spouse wants you all to themself and makes efforts to have it that way. They do not understand that you have a life outside of the relationship – one that includes family and friends.

Jesus tells his followers they must leave their families, forsake those they love, to be with him:

Luke
14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Matthew
10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
10:36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

If someone calls you derogatory names, even if they say they are joking, they mean to hurt you and keep you in line. Abusers sometimes cover themselves by blaming you, saying that you need to lighten up or that you are too sensitive.

The bible tells us we were born sinful

Psalms
51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Genesis
8:21 says “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. “

If your significant other always blames everything on someone else, namely you, this may be a bad sign. If he throws a tantrum or attacks you verbally, he will say it was because of you.

God created the world and everything in it. Even though he’s supposedly all-powerful and all-knowing he decides he doesn’t like how his creation is behaving so without even considering any other option he decides to destroy everything, even innocent babies…

Genesis
6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

If you feel fear around your boyfriend or spouse then there is something very wrong. Abusers may try to intimidate you with violence, dominance or power tactics.

This one is pretty obvious..

Deuteronomy
4:10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

Ecclesiastes
12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Proverbs
14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

An abusive man goes through life feeling entitled to be treated like a king and he wants you to be his willing servant.

We know how the God of the old testament felt about being the top dog:

Exodus
20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

A prominent trait of abusers is their jealousy. An abusive partner or spouse is often jealous of you, other people and even your dreams and goals.

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me

Deuteronomy
6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Zechariah
8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

Joshua
24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God;he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
24:20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

An abuser is a grand manipulator and will sulk, threaten to leave, and emotionally punish you for not going along with his idea of how things should be. An abuser will try to make you feel guilty any time you exert your will and assertiveness of what is right for you.

Jesus threatens that those that do not follow him will be destroyed…
Luke
13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

John
3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

God doesn’t want you to know too much…

1 Corinthians
1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

Yep. Doesn’t look good for Yahweh. I suggest if you are in a relationship with this douche you leave now. It’s time to show yourself some respect and get involved with reality.

* Signs. of abuse found on http://www.healthcentral.com

What’s Wrong with the Burqua

I must admit when I see women wearing traditional Islamic garb, I wince. I can’t help it. Multiculturalists insist that women should have the right to choose to wear the all encompassing symbol of their faith. And if they wear the burqua or the hijab outside of Islamic controlled countries, then obviously they are choosing to do so since they have that freedom.

But do they really?

Is it really freedom to choose if your entire community has told you that if you choose differently you are evil, whorish and will burn in the fires of eternal damnation. Is it really freedom if you are beaten by your husband when you do not cover yourself in the way that the male leaders of your community say is necessary? How can a woman be considered free if her community tells her that her testimony is only worth half of a man’s? How can a woman be free if her community only allows her to inherit half of what her brother can? Simply because she doesn’t have a penis. Can a woman be free to choose if her entire life she has only been given one choice?

Do we believe that victims of abduction that have been held against their will, and develop what is known as “Stockholm Syndrome,” actually have the freedom to choose? When Jaycee Dugard didn’t run away from her captors after years of isolation and abuse, did she really “choose” to stay with them?

No. We consider people with Stockholm Syndrome and people who have been systematically denied education or are not conscious of their ability to say no to have a diminished capacity to choose. This is why consent for even basic medical care must be informed consent. People must know their choices and have the freedom to exercise them. If you believe the consequence of one of your choices is that you will burn for eternity, be shunned by your community and possibly even beaten or killed – even if you believe that this is all justified – then you do not have a choice.

I also wince at the thought of banning the burqua. It grates against every freedom-loving fiber of my being. I hate the style of wearing pants down below the butt and allowing boxer shorts to show, but I will defend your right to do so with my dying breath…no matter how stupid I think it makes you look. With the exception of showing one’s face for identification purposes, or ensuring that whatever you wear does not impede your vision in situations that you need clear sight (eg. driving), I don’t believe any government should be in the business of telling people what to wear. I would hope that through education and example the western world can show Muslim women that they are equal to men, that they are not second class citizens in countries that value freedom.

So much meaning has been instilled in the simple headgear of another culture. When I see it in the Western world, I could say to myself, “Well at least here, she has the choice to wear it.” And maybe she really believes she does have that choice.

I wince because I imagine what could happen if she chooses to say no.

The End of the World…As We Know It?

I suppose I should have some sympathy for this bunch of Rapture pushers. After all, many of them have given away all their possessions and will find themselves in quite the pickle when they are still here come May 22nd. However, I am so disgusted by their complete and utter stupidity, I am having a hard time feeling the least bit sorry for them. These are people with children. How the fuck are they planning on taking care of their kids now that they have quit their jobs and given away all their money?

If you are so stupid as to throw away all means of supporting your children, based soley on one man’s interpretation of a story passed down by illiterate, uneducated goat herders over 2000 years ago…then you should have your children taken away from you and placed in homes of people that know how to think rationally.

It is the fucking 21st century. You are putting your faith in fairy tales that were invented by people that thought the world was flat and the sun revolved around it. What a bunch of dimwits.

My Deconversion Story

When I was a child I went to church. (You thought I was going to say ‘reasoned like a child…’ didn’t you? Well I didn’t, my reasoning skills have always been pretty advanced.) Church for me was boring. I had to get up early on the weekend. We lived in the country and the church my father wanted to go to was a 45 minute drive from our home. And it wasn’t one of those fire and brimstone, bible thumping, pentecostal-tent-revival-speaking-in-tongues kind of churches. I’ve been to a few of those. That would have at least been entertaining. No, we had a rather nondescript pastor who went on about salvation like he was a politician on a trek through Iowa. Which left me little to do but listen (and risk falling asleep and snoring) or read. And the only book I could get away with reading during church services was the bible.

That is why I don’t understand how people who claim to read and ‘study’ the bible don’t all become atheists. I was probably around 11 or 12 when I stopped believing in god…maybe even younger. My first problems with the bible came from the contradictions in the gospels, specifically, the death of Judas. There were two completely different versions of how Judas died. That’s when I really started questioning the veracity of the bible. I mean, really. If this book is inspired by God, shouldn’t the writers know how Judas died? Wouldn’t God have ‘told’ them? What else didn’t add up?

I was also troubled by the idea that people who didn’t believe in God, no matter how good they were, would burn for eternity. My pastor always was quick to point out that this only applied if they had been told the word of God. So… it was better off if those Buddhist monks never heard about God? Seemed to me that would make missionary work particularly cruel. I mean, if you get a free pass if you’ve never been told about Jesus or God, then why would you tell someone and risk their soul? You could send far more people to heaven if you just kept your mouth shut.

I could not really pinpoint a time when I stopped believing and became what I would call an atheist. I suppose for a while I would have described myself as agnostic, saying I didn’t know what happened after we died…maybe there was an afterlife, maybe we were reincarnated, maybe we moved on to a higher plane of consciousness or maybe this was it. But somewhere between the ages of 10 and 20 I knew that the Abrahamic God of the bible was nothing more than a fairy tale and no more legitimate than the writings of the Grimm brothers.

So, sorry, there’s no horrible abuse by a pastor or an overly religious parent. The people at my church were generally nice, so my atheism was not the result of any kind of bad experience or anger with God. I just realized that I didn’t buy it. It didn’t make sense. As I got older and studied science, I found all the things that the bible claimed to explain were more clearly and consistently explained by science. That’s when I knew I was an atheist.