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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
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| Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 |
sonjaaa
|
10:46p |
Jupitero!
Jupitero estas ege brila en la suda ĉielo de Toronto ĉi-vespere! |
atheism
[ jarkimusprime ]
|
9:34p |
Residents upset over Distribution of Qurans It doesn't seem this has been posted before, I know a good lot of you aren't the biggest fans of fox news, neither am I, but I found this article funny Residents Upset Over Group's Distribution of Qurans [ www.myfoxhouston.com]
Last Edited: Tuesday, 01 Jul 2008, 9:27 PM CDT
Created: Tuesday, 01 Jul 2008, 8:31 PM CDT
Quran
FOX 26 News
HOUSTON -- The distribution of Qurans in a southwest Houston neighborhood has some residents worried about the motives of the group who dispersed the Islamic book.
An English translation of the Quran began appearing two weeks ago on the doorsteps of hundred of homes in the BraesTimbers neighborhood. The books came in plastic bags with a note attached from the ‘Book of Signs Foundation’ asking recipients to accept the Quran as a gift from the Muslim community.
But some residents, like Greg and Sue Ann Pieri, said they feared the group is imposing its beliefs on non-Muslims and found the gesture offensive.
“If we went into a Muslim country and left a bible, we would be in prison and then decapitated a few years later,” said Sue Ann Pieri, who chose not to destroy the book like other neighbors did.
However, Houston's Council on American-Islamic Relations President Tarick Hussein said although his organization did not partake in distributing the books, he believes that the Muslims behind the distribution only wanted to educate non-Muslims about the religion.
The Book of Signs Foundation claims to have distributed 30,000 Qurans in Houston, targeting neighborhoods believed to be most receptive of the Quran or in need of a better understanding of Islam.
(For those who don't want to read all that, it basically says, Christians get a taste of their own medicine, and don't like it.) |
antitheism
[ phyxius ]
|
1:42p |
Islam subway ads cause stir in New York - Ads promoting Islam are to be placed on New York subway cars in September, but a U.S. congressman finds people sponsoring the messages unacceptable(link is to the video, but it's there in text form too) |
atheism
[ childofstrings ]
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3:35p |
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antitheism
[ luno ]
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12:29p |
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antitheism
[ stevenxonward ]
|
9:38a |
The sun stood still?! I got this e-mail just a few minutes ago. Read it... then weep for humanity. ( ...and the sun stood still )
x-posted |
atheism
[ stevenxonward ]
|
9:38a |
The sun stood still?! I got this e-mail just a few minutes ago. Read it... then weep for humanity. x-posted |
atheism
[ texanguitargod ]
|
8:36a |
Slavedriver I ruminated on this for a bit, and I propose it to all of you for discussion. It's commonly claimed by Christianity that humans are reflections of God. Looking at the evidence of everything sharing common ties from our creations (buildings, utilities, etc.) to our DNA, it can't be far off track to venture that in some way we are reflections of the original, whatever it be. That being said, if we look at rulers and kingdoms of humanity and even the power structures of the animal world, wouldn't God need to be a slavedriver or some kind of ruler with a designation that sets him apart from the underlings, and that God would need to reinforce his rank through disciplinary action time to time, lest his position as God be challenged? After all, look at the Tower of Babel story in the Bible. Summary: Humans build tower to heavens. God(s) say, curiously, "They have become like us!" Smiting ensues and languages are created to confuse everyone. Forgive me if this has been brought up before. It's a new thought to me. Anyway, my take is that this God is not worthy of worship. No God should require worship, even. God must have taken out of himself to make everything, otherwise where else could he have drawn energy if there was only him? (this is already assuming the improbable feat of being an entity that needed no creation and always was, in spite of reality) And if God had to take out of himself, should we not all be God as well, though we would be divided sections of it? If that's true, no worship should be required because WE ARE what is currently being worshiped. Soooo... if God must be a slavedriver, but God must also not require worship/obedience (the combination of my last two points), God could not be God. God could not be. Point out any wrong data here and discuss. I'm really interested to know what you all think. Current Mood:  thoughtful |
antitheism
[ nikhedonia ]
|
12:47a |
Creationism is whaaat?
While talking to a religious friend yesterday, she expressed she had no idea of the religious agenda trying to infiltrate the science classes. So I briefly mentioned Creationism and Evolution, and she mentioned that she thought both were valid concepts.
Now, I know this person has a brain. So instead of rolling my eyes and stopping the conversation, I asked her if she believed the Earth was about 6,500 years old. She said yes, but after a minute she replied: "Wait. Where do you get that number? I thought that humans alone had been alive longer than that". So then I continued explaining to her the claims of Creationists, and she smirked at me and said: "that does not compute, that does not compute!". She said that she believed in god, but Creationism was absolute madness.
This is the second time this happens to me, and while I know that it is not enough evidence to state any sort of claim, I am inclined to think that people confuse "Creationism" with "Belief in god", and "Evolution" with not "believing in god". While the two items in each set are related, I don't think they are interchangeable.
And like my friend, many other believers in god (Catholics, for example), would surely frown on some of those silly creationist claims if they were knowledgeable of what the words actually mean.
I wonder what would be an effective way of educating people, because while I think that some people truly believe in Creationism, I can see a lot of other religious groups outraged at the concept. Which would work in our favor. |
| Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 |
antitheism
[ jesus_h_biscuit ]
|
11:51p |
5 Proofs For The Existence Of God 5 Proofs For The Existence Of GodIs there an intellectual basis for believing in God? Or is being religious just a matter of faith? Christianity invites scrutiny into its claims and its reasons for having faith and these deserve examination... I loved every minute of this read. Seriously, all it was missing was a unicorn. |
atheism
[ braddogg ]
|
11:22p |
Three questions from a theist I used to work at a Christian summer camp, and still read the blogs of a few friends I made there. Last week, one of them (the wife of the camp director) asked a few questions about the Bible. She said she wanted a lot of people to respond to the post, but after a few days, none of the Christians had answered the call, so I decided to :^D The questions: Do you believe that the BIBLE is a) The DIVINE WORD OF GOD; b) is INERRANT (without error or mistake) in its entirety; and c) is ABSOLUTELY TRUE for all people, in all places and for all time (past, present and future)? Yes or No (on each and/or all), and comment on your answer (why or why not?) My response: The answer to your questions, in no particular order, are: no, no, and no.
a) An article of faith. There is no way to know for sure what the divine word of God would look like. Someone reading the Bible, Koran, a collection of Amerindian myths, and Dianetics wouldn't be able to tell which was the word of God. But, if the Bible IS the divine word of God, he's one evil dude. For example, he commands Joshua to slaughter an entire city, young and old, men and women. It sickens me that that's a children's song.
b) An empirical question. Clearly, the Bible is not inerrant. It contradicts itself. For example, it claims that God doesn't tempt men (James 1:13) and that God tempted Abraham (Genesis 22:1). The Proverbs advise us not to answer a fool according to his folly (26:4) and to answer a fool according to his folly (26:5). Jesus tells us to let our good deeds be done in public so that our light may shine before men (Matthew 5:16), and to do our good deeds in secret (6:3-4). More here. It also contradicts reality. The one that sticks out in my mind is when Jesus is taken by Satan to the top of the Temple and shown all the kingdoms of the world. Only if the world were flat would that be possible.
c) Truth doesn't change. A=A, for all times and all places. Since the Bible is not true, then it is not true in any place or any time. Anyone want to object or add to my response? ETA: A week after her post, mine is the only comment left, and she hasn't responded to my comment yet. I think people have learned that it's better not to get into discussions with her (she's aggressive and stubborn), and that she's learned that it's better not to get into discussions with me (I'm a heathen and can be stubborn). |
antitheism
[ toll_booth ]
|
6:05p |
Why American atheists cannot persecute. Disclaimer: The analogy I am going to use for my point is *highly* controversial, but to make it, there isn't really way around it. It could serve as a debate in and of itself, so for the purpose of this discussion, let's try to stick to the subject: Why American atheists cannot persecute. Fundy Christians, as we well know, are notorious for claiming that we humiliate them, deny them opportunities, and ultimate have set out to destroy them. The very fact that Christians represent the overwhelming majority of this nation and have the largest share of its power, refutes this myth. And I say, we need to become aggressive about standing up to this bullshit. To do that, I think we could find a saying from civil rights activists very, very useful: ( Read at your own risk. ) |
atheism
[ greenwavedave ]
|
5:38p |
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antitheism
[ intotheaether ]
|
4:19p |
Food Insanity: Not just for Christians anymore! A Muslim diner in Nigeria discovered pieces of gristle with the name of Allah inscribed on them.The meat was boiled and then fried before being served, owner Kabiru Haliru told newspaper Weekly Trust.
"When the writings were discovered there were some Islamic scholars who come and eat here and they all commented that it was a sign to show that Islam is the only true religion for mankind," he said.
...
A vet told the newspaper the words "defied scientific explanation".
"Supposing only one piece of meat was found then it would be suspicious, but given the circumstances there is no explanation," Dr Yakubu Dominic said.The great war between Islam and Christianity continues. Forget jihad, both sides should spend their time baking religious icons into their food instead (then maybe they'd leave the rest of us alone!). |
antitheism
[ mangy_mathan ]
|
1:25p |
Hamlet 2 Many of you have probably already seen the trailer for this, but I decided to post it up because it's a movie that deals with A) making fun of Jesus and B) a person's right to do so. ( Trailer... )I want to see this movie. |
antitheism
[ hambydammit ]
|
1:18p |
Morality from Science? The “Should Trap” and How we Ought to Behave I've frequently mentioned the trap hidden in the word, “should.” It's time now for us to look at exactly what the word means, what it doesn't mean, and how a good understanding of these things will allow us to understand how humans form concepts of morality. We'll soon see that everything from what we should eat for dinner to who we should vote for in the upcoming election to whether or not we should have children or adopt – all of these questions become much easier to answer when we realize exactly what we're asking. ( Read more... ) |
| Monday, July 21st, 2008 |
antitheism
[ phyxius ]
|
9:09p |
|
atheism
[ mothwentbad ]
|
11:18p |
1st Generation Atheists vs Others Define "atheist" in your mind in whatever way seems reasonable for this poll. Poll #1227496
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllI am: The recent post about dating Christians got me thinking in general about how seriously different atheists take atheism and whether this correlates with being brought up with the expectations of religious faith. How is it with you on both questions, and can you attempt to speculate how it may've been different? I would've liked to have added questions about attitudes toward religion, but it would've been complicated to pigeonhole the options reasonably well, and LJ wouldn't correlate the answers for me, anyway. |
| Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 |
antitheism
[ possi88 ]
|
1:09a |
I have a few questions or a topic of discussion if you like.
About a year ago I started university and am a math major.
What puzzles me a bit is that a (to me) surprisingly large portion of mathematicians (and the physics people, too) seem to be such big Jesus fans. Not only do they believe in God, but are active in a bunch of christian organizations, read all sorts of books about how maybe science/scientists need a god etc.
Why is that? To me, math is something extremely logical, so how is it even possible to combine these two things? What do you think? |
| Monday, July 21st, 2008 |
atheism
[ aaeichsteadt ]
|
4:02p |
This article is made of creepy."After dinner comes the ballet performance, when seven tiny ballerinas in white tulle float in; then seven older dancers carry in a large, heavy wooden cross, which they drape in white, with a crown of thorns. Four of the five Wilson daughters are among the dancers, and they offer a special dance to their father, to the music of Natalie Grant: Your faith, your love And all that you believe Have come to be the strongest part of me And I will always be your baby ... Then Randy and his friend Kevin Moore stand in front of the cross, holding up two large swords, points crossed. Fathers and daughters process beneath the swords to kneel; the girls place a white rose at the base of the cross while the fathers offer a quiet blessing. Splayed on the floor all around them are half a dozen photographers looking for the right angle and a camera crew from the BBC, in a syncopation of private praise and clicking shutters." |
antitheism
[ rpeate ]
|
3:23p |
Turnabout is Fair Play 
Having been called an "antireligious bigot" myself, I thank ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) _53 for bringing this comic strip to my attention.
It just so happens that I consider religion to be one of the World's biggest evils, and Christianity is the World's biggest religion. I consider Christianity to be irrationality, those who believe in it to be misguided at best. But I wish to liberate them from the lies, to the extent and by the means I am able. That is my morality.
And I consider the response illustrated above to be nothing more than a tactic to stifle and oppress opposition, rational thought, free inquiry, et cetera. If religion allowed that those with no religion were fine and dandy, religion would lose its "indispensible" status, of course. The price the religious must pay is that of being forced to tell others they are bad. Don't you feel sorry for the religious, being forced to do that? |
atheism
[ nom_anor ]
|
3:44p |
revelations Every time I find out a girl I met (and liked) is a hardcore Christian, I die a little inside. What's everyone's opinion on religiosity in the context of forming relationships? I've been wrestling with this personal demon for some time. While I hate to cut myself off from the vast majority of the population (at least here in the US), past experience has taught me that it just doesn't work. As nice as these people can be, most do still judge you and assume that without God you can have no moral compass. One even admitted to me a fear that I would poison the minds of any potential (emphasis mine) future children against her raising them to be good (brainwashed) Christians. In my experience, we both say it doesn't matter in the beginning, but we're both lying. It complicates things later on, and it's just a ticking time bomb waiting to end a relationship with a single ill-timed/-worded remark. I've also noticed that, though we are a fairly diverse lot, we all do share a number of core personality traits. I've noticed that those people I get along best with and are most compatible with often turn out to be freethinkers, atheists, and agnostics when it's more appropriate to ask about that taboo topic without fear of giving offense. Coincidence? I think not. But that's my opinion, and my experiences, for what they're worth. I'm wondering if anyone else has similar experiences or has a different opinion of this issue. x-posted in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) atheist Current Mood: contemplativeCurrent Music: Vanessa Mae - Contradanza |
atheism
[ bandersnatch_02 ]
|
2:17p |
When Loony Christians Make Websites I've been digging around on BlessedCause.org a little today, and finding it just jaw-droppingly scary and made of dumb. What pearls of wisdom can you dig up on here? |
atheism
[ bandersnatch_02 ]
|
2:08p |
Taibbi or not Taibbi Just a quick book recommendation: The Great Derangement by Matt Taibbi. Taibbi is a very funny writer for Rolling Stone, albeit one who sometimes seems to be trying a little too hard to position himself as the heir to Hunter S. Thompson's mantle. In this book he offers a snapshot of America, with a particular emphasis on two fringey groups: the 9/11 conspiracy freaks and the End Times churches of people like John Hagee. Not all the stuff in the book is pertinent to this community, but the sections in which Taibbi goes undercover inside Hagee's church offer a scathing (and scary) take on what goes on in those places. I just finished the book last night, and will be buying it for various friends' and family members' birthdays in the months to come. Highly recommended. ( Here's Taibbi on the Daily Show) |
nighstar
|
6:36a |
America yay zzz... ........................................ ....... ....so yeah, i made it to America safely and have been enjoying it here too much to be bothered to get online. it was a looooonnnng trip... the flights were all fine, but god layovers and transfers suck so much. i had only gotten 2hrs of sleep before leaving my apartment for the airport and then i took random naps during the course of the trip here, but by the time i made it to my layover in San Fransisco i just wanted to die right then and there. :'[ but anyway, Portland, YEAH. PORTLAND, YEAH.dont expect updates from me while i'm here. D; Current Mood:  still on Japan time |
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