The Passion of the Atheist

Catholic Church No Longer Swears by Truth of the Bible

2005-10-14T10:58:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this article when you get a chance: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1811332,00.html

The one paragraph that sticks out for me is this: “The Bible is true in passages relating to human salvation, they say, but continue: ‘We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in other, secular matters.’”

Who decides what is true in the Bible and what is not? To quote George Bernard Shaw – ‘No man believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what he means.’

An example of what should no longer be considered ‘Truth’ by Catholics: The early chapters of Genesis…you know, the ones about Creation, Adam and Eve, the Serpent tempting Eve, and the fall of mankind.

So, let me get this straight…there was no Adam and Eve to eat an apple that would cause the human races downfall. Wouldn’t this destroy the whole ‘Original Sin’ concept then? And if that is destroyed, why the need for a savior? Sorry Catholics, you need to believe that the book of Genesis is true for the rest of your book to make any damned sense. You need to believe that an ‘All Knowing’ deity sent Himself to Earth to save us from Himself because of a mistake He made Himself when creating us…and if that sounds ridiculous to you, well, welcome to my world.

In other news: The patent for my latest invention has gone through and been accepted. You will soon be able to buy my ‘Human Waste Chili Maker’ at Wal-Marts within the next 90 days.

We Have a Winner!

2005-10-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

Well, the contest if officially over (actually, it was officially over as of Tuesday, just took me awhile to get my lazy ass in gear and make this post) and it is time to announce the winner of the ‘Church Sign’ contest.

But before we get to that, let me first thank all of you who participated for your efforts. We had an amazing number of entries…four. Hey, it may not sound like much, but in all reality it is four more than I expected to receive.

The winner of our first ‘church sign’ contest is…Mike M. (I’m assuming the ‘M’ is just an initial and not his entire last name) from Ames, IA. To see his work, please visit the official website www.passionoftheatheist.com.

Where I've Been...AND A CONTEST!!!

2005-10-04T09:11:00.000-05:00

So, you all are probably wondering where I have been the last couple of weeks, right? (Just say 'yes' as it helps my ego.) Well, after a long time of not having one, I finally went on a vacation. The Wife and I (as well as a couple of friends of ours) took a cruise to Jamaica, The Cayman Islands, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. The cruise was originally supposed to be seven days, but thanks to Hurricane Rita, it was extended (Our port was Galveston, TX...and while Galveston did not get hit as hard as expected, the city was still a ghost town, with no one working the ports to get us home.) This was the first time I had ever been on a cruise (unless you count the months I spent on an aircraft carrier back when I was in the Marine Corps), and I must say, it was a blast...I would highly recommend taking one if you ever get the opportunity.

And, while the extension of the vacation was damn nice, I was slammed with work upon returning, thus the lack of updates. Oh well, it was worth it. Anyways, I'm back now...and so is the blog.

Now, for the contest:

I am looking for a new 'church sign' to put on the front page of the official website (www.passionoftheatheist.com) as I don't care much for the one I have on there right now.

The contest if fairly simple and straightforward: I would like everyone to visit www.churchsigngenerator.com when you have a chance and come up with better signs. Then email your sign to me at passionoftheatheist@hotmail.com (multiple entries are allowed). The sign I feel is the best will be the winner.

Here is an example of a sign for you to take a look at:

What is the prize for having your sign selected, you may ask. An all expense paid seven day cruise, maybe? No. A weekend for two in Vegas, perhaps? Nope. How about this: The winner will have his sign posted on the official webpage, along with the winners name and location, for THE ENTIRE WORLD TO SEE if the entire world ever felt like looking at my web page.

Honestly, can it get any better than that?

So, let the contest begin. The winning entry will be selected on Tuesday, October 11th, 2005.

Frustration

2005-09-02T14:40:00.000-05:00

September 2nd, 2005

I never thought that I would ever say this…but for the first time in my life I am embarrassed to be an American. Do not get me wrong, I love my country…I have served my country (honorably, Marine Corps)…And I can honestly say that there is no where else I would rather live then here in the U.S. of A. But, as evidenced by the situation in New Orleans, and the way it has been handles by our leaders, it is clear that we have major problems that need to be addressed.

Here are the facts:

1. In early 2001 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ranked the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country. The other two were a massive earthquake in San Francisco, and a terrorist attack on New York City.

2. In this year’s budget, the Bush administration proposed a significant reduction in funding for southeast Louisiana's chief hurricane protection project. Bush proposed $10.4 million, a sixth of what local officials said they needed…and at least nine articles in the Times-Picayune (the newspaper serving the greater New Orleans area) from 2004 and 2005 specifically cited the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane and flood-control dollars.

3. A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken.

4. From a recent article in the Washington Post: “This year it was announced that FEMA is to "officially" lose the disaster preparedness function that it has had since its creation. The move is a death blow to an agency that was already on life support. In fact, FEMA employees have been directed not to become involved in disaster preparedness functions, since a new directorate (yet to be established) will have that mission.

FEMA will be survived by state and local emergency management offices, which are confused about how they fit into the national picture.”

5. On Monday, August 29th, the President went to California (for a Medicare event) rather than Louisiana, although he did touch on the greatest natural disaster in our Nations history briefly: “For those of you who are concerned about whether or not we're prepared to help, don't be. We are. We're in place. We've got equipment in place, supplies in place…we'll be able to move in and help those good folks in the affected areas. (Applause.)”

6. On Monday, August 29th, the President went to Arizona (again, not Louisiana) to celebrate John McCain’s 69th birthday…then went off to yet another Medicare event.

7. On Tuesday, August 30th, the President went to deliver a speech at the Naval Base in Coronado California (once again, not Louisiana), where he got guitar lessons from country music singer Mark Wells. Perhaps he felt this was more important than addressing the situation in New Orleans?

The pictures alone should speak volumes…but there are serious questions for the President that we should demand answers to. Just a few of these should be:

1. Why was funding for the hurricane protection project in New Orleans cut by the Bush Administration when FEMA had listed this scenario as one of the top three catastrophic events likely to occur in the U.S.?

2. Why, with knowledge that Hurricane Katrina was headed for New Orleans (as early as August 25th), were more National Guardsman not federally called up to prepare for the looming disaster?

3. Why was government transportation not issued to the citizens of New Orleans that were unable to evacuate the city because they had no form of transportation?

4. Why has it taken over a week to get food and water to those stranded in New Orleans, when food drops were occurring (from the U.S.) to those affected by the tsunamis by the next day?

5. Why has the government not seized control over every damn Grey-Hound bus in America, and sent them on their way to rescue those stranded in New Orleans?

6. Why the smiling, happy photo-ops, while a huge national crisis is occurring?

7. Did you do everything in your power, Mr. President, to ensure the quickest response to action regarding this national emergency?

8. A solid leader hopes for the best scenario, but prepares for the worst. Was this administration adequately prepared for the worst? Or was too much stock put in ‘hope’?

Again, as evidenced by the handling of the situation in New Orleans by our leaders, it is clear that we have major problems that need to be addressed. Not just within our government, but within ourselves as Americans.

No longer can we afford to favor one of the two parties in our government in the same manor we favor our favorite sports teams. The Republican and Democratic parties are not the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox…and we need to refrain from treating these elected officials with the same unabashed, biased support. Newsflash for the country: Politicians are human, and they do make mistakes…and as our elected officials, representing the people of this great country, it is our civic duty to hold them accountable for their mistakes and errors in judgment.

No longer can we accept that, come election time, we need to vote between the lesser of two evils…we’ve accepted this principle of our government for far too long. It is time, as citizens of the greatest country on Earth, that we demand to vote between the greater of two leaders.

(And no longer can we sit silently, and allow groups [such as the ‘Religious Wrong’] to make the claim that the people of New Orleans deserved what they got from God, for their ‘sinful’ nature. Anyone that makes this claim is an uncaring, selfish individual that worships a god of wrath rather than a god of love.)

The Iraq War is at least debatable. The situation in New Orleans and the response of our leaders is not. It is plain and simply unacceptable…yet we are accepting it…and this is the cause of my embarrassment…and should be for you as well.

If you agree with what was stated here, send it to someone, anyone. Email it. Post it on newsgroups. Spread the word. It is time for us to reclaim our title as the greatest country on Earth.

Eric Weeks
Kansas City, MO.

I'm Just A Pat-sy!

2005-08-24T14:37:00.000-05:00

Well, if you have been following the news here in the good ol' US of A (and if you know me at all) you should have been expecting this post:

It seems one of our favorite reverends, Pat Robertson, has once again put his foot in his mouth. On Monday night, the Christian Coalition founder called for the assassination of the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. Regardless of how you may feel personally about Chavez, it just seems to me that calling for the assassination of a foreign leader is not WJWD (What Jesus Would Do)...or maybe it is, hell I don't know. Regardless, having a religious leader calling for the assassination of a president just sounds rather Al Quaida-ish, don't you think? (Another tie-in to my previous article "What's the Difference" located below this one.)

Today, Patsy boy tried defending himself by further sticking his foot in his mouth. "I didn't say 'assassination', I said our special forces should go 'take him out,' and 'take him out' could be a number of things, including kidnapping...I was misinterpreted by the AP, but that happens all the time."

Well, first off, I think anyone with any sense at all would have taken your comments of 'take him out' to mean 'Kill.' I sure as hell did. Don't blame the AP for your poor choice of words (if those were the words you had used.)

Second, you did call for his assassination. I know you are getting older in your age, and because of that, your memory may be sliding a bit...but c'mon, surely you remember your words from two days ago...right? If not, here they are: "If he thinks we are trying to assassinate him, we should go ahead and do it..."

I thought lying was a sin in your book Pat-sy boy...guess I'll see ya in hell!

For more quotes from our revered reverend, please see my article on 'The Religious Wrong' located at http://www.passionoftheatheist.com/Default.aspx?tabid=217

What's The Difference?

2005-08-23T12:15:00.000-05:00

Can anyone here (particularly any theists that are lurking about) tell me the difference between Christian Extremism and the Muslim terrorists?

Before you answer (or read further), check out this website: www.forceministries.com

Did you see the 'Mission Strategy'? Purpose: Impart faith in Christ The dictionary I use defines 'Impart' as "Allowing others to partake in." Using the military and it's weapons to spread the word of Christ is not 'Imparting' anyone to do it...It's 'Forcing' them to do it. But of course, the founders of this organization already realize this (take a look at the 'Defining Passage' they use, and tell me I am wrong.)

As an Ex-Active Duty Marine, a site such as this infuriates me. I never joined the Marines to spread the word of god (and I was a Christian back then)...I joined the Corps to protect this great nation...this included the protection of our right to freedom of religion, as well as freedom from religion.

What is the difference between a Christian Extremist and a Mulsim Terrorist? One shouts 'Allah Ackbar' while they kill...the other shouts 'Spread the Good News' while they kill.

Once again, we have an answer to those that ask "What is wrong with having a little faith?"

Hey All...

2005-08-19T16:45:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of any posts this week. Just recently got promoted and have been working my fingers to the bone.

Posts will resume next week. In the meantime, if you have a particular topic or subject (relevant to this blogs subject matter, obviously) that you would like me to comment on, or make a post about, feel free to leave the idea in the 'Comments' section.

Everyone have a good weekend.

Eric

Jerry Falwell: 'Vote Christian'

2005-08-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

Reverend Jerry Falwell, founder of Liberty University and the 'Moral Majority', has come under fire by some jewish groups, as well as the Anti-Defamation League, for sending out letters and bumper stickers with the phrase 'Vote Christian' on them.

The 'reverend' appeared on the Fox News Channel show "Your World with Neil Cavuto," last night to try to explain himself...let's see how he did:

CAVUTO: You have no anti-Semitic intentions here?

FALWELL: Oh, absolutely not. Anybody who knows me knows better than that.

Well, Mr. Falwell, does 'anybody who knows' you, know that you have made these following statements in the past as well?:

"The Jews are returning to their land of unbelief. They are spiritually blind and desperately in need of their Messiah and Savior." - Personally I sense just a tinge of anti-semitism here...

"The Antichrist will, by necessity, be a Jewish male." - Falwell...Hitler...What's the difference?

"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being." - Wow, not just anti-semetic...this is anti-MajorityOfTheWorld.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...If heaven is full of people like Mr Falwell here, I'll be more than happy spending my time in hell.

"Until we get rid of religion, we will never advance past being nothing more than a bunch of bickering tribes." - Some guy I heard on the radio last night.

What's Wrong With Having A Little Faith?

2005-08-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

The next time you are in a debate with a theist and they bring up this question, point them in the direction of Fred Phelps, a reverend at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. This guy and his followers are a perfect example of the dangers that can arise when you use faith over reason.

Last week Phelps and 15 of his followers (including children) led a protest at a U.S. soldiers funeral. Their reasoning? The protesters stated that America has ignored the word of God, and those who defend the nation must pay a price. One protester even had a sign that read, "Thank God For IEDs," which are explosive devices used by insurgents to blow up military convoys.

"Who would serve a nation that is godless and has flipped off, defiantly defied, defiantly flipped off, the Lord their God?" said protester Shirley Phelps-Roper (aka: Moron-Wacko) "That's the first piece of solid evidence that you have that the young man is currently in hell..."

The soldier, Spc. Edward Myers, was killed in combat in Iraq and left behind a wife and two children.

For more information on Phelps and his followers, check out their filth at www.godhatesfags.com and www.godhatesamerica.com

G.W. Wants Intelligent Design Taught

2005-08-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

The President, in his infinite wisdom, stated yesterday for the record that he believes 'Intelligent Design' should be taught alongside evolution in our public schools.

"You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes," he stated to a round table of reporters.

Yes Mr. President, you are absolutely correct. No longer shall we teach facts in our schools. Let's just teach ideas. Furthermore, let's just teach ideas that have absolutely no basis in fact.

Since apparently what we really want to do is teach our kids to have ideas alone, and not facts, let's teach that 2+2 now equal 'Chair'...Let's teach that the Sun is really a tiki torch floating upon a tortoise...Let's teach that 'The Germ Theory of Disease' should be taght alongside 'The Catholic Theory of Possession' as the cause of sickness in this world...After all, all we really want to do is teach ideas, not facts.

Ahhh...Georgie Boy, why did we elect thee?

'The Good News' - A Conversation With a Christian

2005-07-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

The following is an excerpt from my most recent article on www.passionoftheatheist.com

-- C - "Well, would you like to hear 'The Good News?'"

M - "Sure."

C - "Well, hear it is…You Ready?"

M - "Enlighten me."

C - "'The Good News' is this: You are evil! You were born evil! You have no say-so in this matter! You have no free-will, or choice, in this matter! You see, we are all evil…we are all born evil. All thanks to our great, great, great, ancestors Adam and Eve…you see, they're the ones that made the choice for you, all those years ago…by eating from the 'Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil', which our heavenly father told them not to do, you see?" --

To read the article in it's entirety, please click on the following link: http://www.passionoftheatheist.com/Default.aspx?tabid=509

Comments? Suggestions? Complaints?

Harry Potter and the Overzealous Theists

2005-07-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

I was listening to the local, overly conservative, 'Talk Radio' station on my drive home from work the other day, when the host of the show brought up the new Harry Potter novel, and questioned whether or not we should allow kids to read it. What was his reasoning for the question? Well, apparently a local reverend made the comment that the Harry Potter book series is evil, un-Christian, and that it's influence could lead children to end up like the BTK killer...and for those reasons, the books should be banned.

I was floored.

Now, I am not what you would probably consider to be a highly emotional individual, but this reverend REALLY p**sed me off with his comments...furthermore, the talk show host REALLY p**sed me off for even considering that the reverend could be correct...and further yet still, the callers into the show REALLY p**sed me off because they were agreeing with the reverend.

What is it about religion that can turn otherwise intelligent individuals into complete morons in a matter of seconds? Newsflash folks...'children will not become serial killers if they read Harry Potter...move along.'

With each passing minute of having not one dissenting opinion called in to the show, I was becoming more enraged. Finally, I reached for my cell phone and dialed in to the radio show. To my surprise I did not hear a busy signal, and the screener for the show immediately answered the phone...he asked me my age, location, and then told me to hold on for a few minutes.

A little time had passed, in which I continued listening to the show through my cell phone, when the host of the show finally took my call:

Host: "Let's go to Eric on a cell phone in KC."

Me: "Yeah Jerry, thanks for taking my call."

Host: "What do you want to say?"

Me: "Ummm...I just wanted to say that I think the reason you'll find some of these religious leaders so against people buying the Harry Potter books, is that they want a monopoly on their own little book of fantasy!"

Host (angrily): "So the sole purpose in you calling in is to insult christianity? Is that it?"

Me (angrily): "No, the sole purpose of my call is to say you are lowering the intelligence of your listeners."

And with that, the line was disconnected...but I did feel a little better.

- - On a side note, for anyone thinking the reverend and his groupies correct in their thinking: The BTK killer...He started killing long before Harry Potter ever came out. However, he was the former president of the church council at 'Christ Lutheran Church' in Wichita, KS. Using the reverends critical thinking skills: the evidence would indicate that it is the Bible's influence that leads people to become serial killers.

Prayer Appears To Have No Effect On Patients

2005-07-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

http://http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5507502.html

The above link is to a recent article, in the Baltimore Sun, concerning a recent 'scientific' study on the effect of prayer in patients that were undergoing heart-related procedures. While this particular article leads to the conclusion that prayer may have no effect, there will soon be countless other 'studies' coming out that will come to the opposite conclusion.

It's time that someone asks the 'scientists' conducting these studies some tough questions, such as:

1. How have you shown, in your study, that the 'prayed for group' actually was prayed for (and that these prayers were sincere)?

2. How have you shown, in your study, that the 'not prayed for group' had absolutely no one praying for them (to include themselves, or distant relatives)?

3. How do you measure the strength of the 'faith' of those saying the prayers?

4. How do you account for individuals outside the groups that pray for the 'well-being' of all life on the planet (which would include those in the 'not prayed for group')?

and most importantly,

5. Which god being prayed to was the one answering the prayers?

Welcome to The Passion of the Atheist!

2005-07-13T13:20:00.000-05:00

Greetings everyone, welcome to my new blog.

For those of you that do not know me, I am a 29 year old former Active-Duty Marine, husband, and father of a four year old son. I am also a former christian. In my off time (what little I have) I run a website called:

www.passionoftheatheist.com Please take the time to check it out when you have the chance.

My intentions for this blog are that this will become a place where both atheists, and theists, can come in and debate (in what hopefully can be a somewhat friendly manner) all aspects of religion and matters pertaining to it.

Let's jump right in, shall we?

Faith: If we are to define 'faith' (as the dictionary I have does) as 'A belief which does not rest on logical proof or evidence', then I personally feel that having faith is irresponsible.

The problems that arise with believing in something for which there is no evidence (or faith) are two-fold as I see it:

1. There is a good chance that the belief will be false. Many Christians are forced to agree with this, whether they like it or not. Here is why: The majority of the world is not Christian, this is fact…ask any Christian and the majority will tell you that all the other religions of the world, such as the Muslim religion, Hinduism, Mormonism, etc., hold false beliefs. Therefore, their faith is wrong. Even within the Christian religion you have countless denominations, all holding that their faith and beliefs are the correct way to practice Christianity (the Catholics say the Lutherans are wrong…Lutherans say the Catholics are wrong, etc.).

2. Someone that believes something on faith is more likely to adopt other beliefs for which there is no evidence, and the chances increase even more that they are false…and this can lead to dangerous or un-wise decisions. For example: Let's say there was a person that had a headache and no Tylenol was available for them to take. So, they decided to 'pray' to their god to rid them of the headache…after a night of sleeping, they wake up and…surprise…the headache is gone. They have faith that their god heard their prayer and answered it. No medicine was necessary. One week later they get diagnosed with cancer. I think you can see the danger here. "Why take medicine…prayer should do the trick…" And you may think that the example is a bit extreme, maybe so, but how many other false beliefs have been adopted that have eventually led to dangerous or un-wise decisions?

Shouldn't we, as logical human beings, abandon 'faith' for 'reason'? Should we not base our decisions on the evidence that is presented before us, and use 'trust' and 'hope', not 'faith', that the decisions we make turn out for the best, as opposed to the worst?

Discuss.

2005-07-13T11:25:00.000-05:00