I wonder how I come across to all you fine people who read my humble little blog. Do I seem like a nice atheist with a heart of gold? Do I seem like a malignant troll? Evil beyond measure as I try to corrupt impressionable minds and turn them from god? It’s interesting to ponder how others see you.
Anyhoo, enough self-examination. Let’s get on with what I have for you today. Sheer mischievous wickedness, I’m afraid. Please don’t mind the fact that there is also a bit of shameless self promotion. That is quite unintentional. This is really about the mischievousness. And the wickedness. Don’t forget that too.
As you may know, my brilliant husband Butch and I make t-shirts. A lot of them are anti-religious in nature. Recently we made one entitled Slave to Fairy Tales. Here it is on a t-shirt:
It says: “Slave to Fairy Tales? Might I suggest something with a better story line and more believable characters, like Mother Goose or Aesop’s Fables?”
If you read the old testament, you will soon come to realize that god was jealous because he hated his competition. This is interesting because he went to so much trouble to be the “one god” for Abraham and his “chosen” people.
Thousands of years later, though, billions of people believe it as gospel truth that there is one god and that it’s always been that way.
As a side note, I also find it irritating and interesting that christians cherry pick so much of what they believe, and conveniently write off the rest of the bible, their one and only book. For example, exodus contains the 10 commandments. So they choose to follow those. And genesis contains the infamous beginnings of the universe and creation of man nonsense. They love that stuff too. But all the ridiculous and petty rules from leviticus are dismissed. Funny how that works.
But I digress.
There are 13 instances in the entire bible that say that there is only one god. Some of those are a bit weak, though. Like Deuteronomy 32:39 – See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me. Read the rest of this entry »
It seems that all major religions share the experience of transcendence. Personally in my religious indoctrination as a child, I never felt it. But lots of people have. It’s a feeling of being one with god where you lose your sense of self. I would guess if you ever felt like you were one with your god, that would strongly increase your faith. Right?
Well, now scientists at the University of Missouri have shown what happens during such experiences. When a person experiences transcendence, there is decreased activity in the right parietal lobe of the brain. This area has to do with your senses, such as orienting yourself in space.
Note that people who have injuries to the right parietal lobe also report increased levels of spiritual experiences, which would further substantiate the findings of this study. Read the rest of this entry »
I saw this commercial for the PrayerMAX 5000 awhile ago on Pharyngula, but I was busy and never actually watched it. Silly me! This is awesome! I need two of these things!
I think if you’re a christian, the most important parts of the bible would be Jesus’ teachings. So why are there churches? Why do christians demand that there is prayer in school and insist on praying openly? Why are there TV evangelists openly crying out, “In Jesus’ name” every other slimy sentence? Because they are all Blasphemers and Hypocrites.
Matthew 6:1-7. Read it, christians. Take it to heart, or do you have more hypocritical lies to twist the words of your own savior so that you can do what you like? Read the rest of this entry »
Ohmygosh, I am not feeling well. I feel like a used litterbox. Ew. I just grossed myself out there. Anyhoo, I’ve had something I wanted to share with you, but unfortunately I’ve not been up to posting it in the detail you deserve. Instead of holding onto it even longer, I’m going to be brief and let you know of this neat study.
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The other day I heard of a study reported in the journal Science about holding warm or cold coffee. The researchers found that holding warm coffee led people to judge others to be more generous and caring. If they held iced coffee they’d think of them less nicely.
They also found that if asked to hold a warm pack, they’d be more generous and give something to someone. If they held a cold pack, they’d be more likely to keep something for themselves.
Which means, physical warmth leads us to see others as warmer, and leads us to feel more generous, while physical cold gives colder results.
The same researchers had previously shown that physical distance between people influences their judgments about that person.
How cool is that!? You can listen to the report of the news item and read more details at the Naked Scientists Science News.
