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By Neece, on December 9, 2009, at 9:30 pm
 The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life just released a new survey today. I’ve given it a quick persusal and I have to say, while some of it is interesting, most of it doesn’t surprise me. Apparently large numbers of Americans engage in multiple religious practices. Stuff you’d think would cancel each other out, but they handle the cognitive dissonance without hesitation.
For example, many blend christianity with Eastern or new age philosophies such as reincarnation, astrology and the belief in spiritual energy in physical objects. Sizeable minorities in all major U.S. religious groups say they have experienced supernatural phenomena, such as being in touch with the dead or with ghosts.
A third of Americans attend different religious services. Personally I find this amazing. When I studied different religions, I lost my faith in all of them pretty quickly because they sort of canceled each [...]
By groovecat, on September 16, 2009, at 11:08 am
 Debating Evolution with religious folk is a waste of time.
With the unknown, one is confronted with danger and discomfort–the first instinct is to abolish these painful states. First principle: any explanation is better than none. We all do it, we hear a strange noise and we quickly come up with a guess to explain the noise, i.e., wind, a ghost, a…? All tribes/social groups through time have come up with myths to explain unknowns, answers arrived at not through reason or logic, but to tranquilize the fear of the unknown, providing comfort.
Religious folk form their identities through their religious teachings and any information that doesn’t fit their belief system, triggers feelings of insecurity and fear; emotionally, they feel they are being personally attacked–they must abolish the danger and discomfort they feel. They can’t use reason or logic to evaluate any of the millions of facts supporting [...]
By Neece, on September 11, 2009, at 12:40 am
Did you miss the Creation Museum Field Trip with PZ Myers last month? I did, and so did Dan, my friend from Rationality Now. But he and his friend decided to go to the museum not long after. He wrote up a 6 part tour that I found amazing, disturbing and depressing. His writing is excellent and thorough, quite interesting and fascinating.
So I wanted to share Dan’s investigative tour with you. He sums up my feelings about the place rather perfectly. He has lots of pictures to illustrate as well.
Take a deep breath and dive in:
By groovecat, on July 11, 2009, at 4:21 pm
LAS VEGAS – A self-proclaimed prophet accused of molesting children would threaten his followers with excommunication if they did not succumb to his wishes, Las Vegas Metro police said Monday.
Benito Catello, 75, operated a non-denominational Christian church called The Ministry. Alleged victims told police that members were called “sheep” and they were instructed to call him “papa.”
A 17-year-old girl who accused Catello of molesting her said she had been a member of the church for nearly 10 years. In a police report, she said Catello instructed her to move into his spare bedroom so he could “counsel” her.
But the girl claimed Catello wanted to have sex with her and threatened to degrade her in front of other church members during daily services if she did not comply. The teen also told police Catello threatened to excommunicate her and her entire family.
As a result, the [...]
By Neece, on July 9, 2009, at 2:10 am
I got another email from Beth! We are still on the topic of cherry-picking, but deal with a few more issues. Here you go, my friends. Your comments are always welcome.
EDIT: Johnny and GMNightmare commented below and I agreed completely with what they said. So I sent her another email a minute ago with that information as an addendum. Since I felt it was important and also sent it to Beth, I wanted to add it to the post, because it all fits right in. Thanks, guys, you’re so awesome!
This “cherry picking” issue is really starting to bug me, honestly. I always viewed cherry picking as using only certain parts of things instead of incorporating the whole for your own convinence. If that is the case, I can assure you I am not. It would only be such if I were to view the Bible as [...]
By Neece, on June 28, 2009, at 8:08 am
 Hello everyone. I heard from Beth again today and will share our further exchange with you in a minute. After I posted the first conversation with her, she and I corresponded at least once more that night. So the following exchange is actually a few emails back and forth. I hope I can keep it straight for you so that it all makes sense.
I have to say, talking to christians is no easy task. I’m sure you understand that in your own experience. It’s almost crazy-making to try to reason with someone who believes that Jesus raised the dead and walked on water. I don’t know how people who debate such things don’t lose their tempers and start smashing things. I guess I understand why some atheists are considered angry. They’re probably just frustrated, like I am.
Anyway, here we go. We’ll start with Beth. My comments will [...]
By Neece, on June 27, 2009, at 5:14 pm
 This is not about church so much as society and culture. Recently Farrah Fawcett died. Later in the day Michael Jackson bit the dust as well. The world seemed to forget about Farrah immediately and focus on Jacko and how much of an amazing person he was.
Do people have such short attention spans and memories? Do they so easily forget what a freak he was? Do they so mindlessly get selectively nostalgic when someone dies or a big event happens?
I am so over Jacko, not that he was ever big on my list. He was a pedophile and a full-on freak. Why is he being revered? Has the catholic church’s silent acceptance of pedophilia made most people numb to such horrors when committed by the exceedingly rich? I question the cognitive processes of anyone who feels the need to worship at the feet of such sickness.
On [...]
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