Religion is Evil

As civilization enters a global “information age,” some things that were not always obvious in the past, are becoming more and more obvious — almost to the point of “crystal clear.” Religion is the root of all evil, and continues to be used for evil purposes by all sides.

Shiite Islam? Guilty. Christians? Guilty. Hindus? Guilty. Monks? Guilty. Jews? Guilty!

Shiite Muslims:

Hassan Nasrallah

Religion: Shiite Islam

Who is he?: Secretary-General of Hezbollah

Country: Lebanon

Quote: “If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak, and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology, and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice I do not say the Israeli.”

Christianity:

Joseph Kony

Religion: Christianity/personality cult

Who is he?: Commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)

Country: Uganda

Quote: “[The spirits] speak to me. They load through me. They will tell us what is going to happen. They say ‘You, Mr. Joseph, tell your people that the enemy is planning to come and attack.’ They will come like dreaming; they will tell us everything.”

Hinduism:

Yogi Adityanath

Religion: Hinduism

Who is he?: Religious leader and member of parliament from Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous province

Country: India

Quote: “I want Muslim votes, too. But wash them in Gangajal [Ganges water] first.”

Buddhist Monks:

Athuraliye Rathana

Religion: Theravada Buddhism

Who is he?: Monk and member of parliament

Country: Sri Lanka

Quote: “Peace negotiations simply made the LTTE [Tamil Tigers] stronger. We mustn’t talk to them; we can crush the LTTE. It is like surgery.”

Jews:

Dov Lior

Religion: Hasidic Judaism

Who is he?: Head rabbi of Kiryat Arba settlement

Country: Israel

Quote: “A thousand non-Jewish lives are not worth a Jew’s fingernail.”

Free Tibet? Free Palestine? Even “thou shalt not kill?” All slogans for the religious zealots to prove to themselves and their peers that they have god-given authority to murder the opposition. Therefore, remove religious authority from this straight-forward equation, and you get just a little bit closer to peace.

Apology NOT Accepted Yet

After being named “Worst Person in the World,” Representative Davis decided to privately apologize to Mr. Sherman, a prominent Chicago atheist.  That is great news for Mr. Sherman, and I’m personally glad that he accepted her apology, however, I am still offended  — and nobody apologized to me (or any other atheist, for that matter).

CHICAGO (WBBM) — State Representative Monique Davis is apologizing a week after she blasted an atheist activist during a hearing over a million dollar grant for a South Side church.

Because of Davis’ rant, she was named Tuesday night as the “worst person in the world” –a dubious award doled out daily by news commentator Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s “Countdown” program.

Rep. Davis told atheist Rob Sherman that, “What you have to spew and spread is dangerous” and that “This is the land of Lincoln where people believe in God.”

But, after being on the receiving end of a week’s worth of public criticism, Davis called Sherman yesterday to apologize.

Sherman says Davis told him she “took out her frustrations and emotions on me and that she shouldn’t have done that.” Sherman says Davis’ explanation was “reasonable” and that he forgives her.

According to Sherman and State Rep. Jack Franks….Davis claims her outburst was triggered by learning shortly beforehand…that there’d been another Chicago Public School student killed.

State Rep. Jack Franks was chairing the hearing that day and says Davis’ outburst was uncharacteristic, adding “she was having a bad day.”

Chicago public school students are going to continue to die needlessly as long as the second amendment continues to be interpreted that all citizens have the right to bear arms.  The authors of the constitution didn’t make many mistakes, but they made a grievous error here.  Innocent kids are dying every day as a result.  Unfortunately, god does not have anything to do with this problem.  Atheists and theists alike, do not want any children dying in the 21st Century.

Representative Davis, you have to speak out against intolerance for all people — not just religious people.   In the land of Lincoln, God has never prevented gun violence, and never will, but the humanist movement could.  Maybe if you can learn something about the people you demonize, you would understand that we hate intolerance and guns, and promote reasonable solutions to many human issues.

Separation of Church and State is a critical principle in the US Constitution, and therefore, using public funds to rebuild a church is illegal.  Mr. Sherman, who just happens to be atheist, brought this to your attention, and you lashed out at him and all atheists.  You owe us a public apology.

I’m including my original email here, as well, for your reference.

Atheists are simply not religious people (lack belief of a God, or
deity), and are not a threat to communities.  It is generally a
misconception to equate atheists with “evil.”

Strict gun control, an issue that I personally wholeheartedly support,
is in no way related to atheism or the general beliefs of atheists.

Personally, until a few days ago, I was an outspoken supporter of your
policies and proposed legislation, as my personal views align with
yours on many different fronts.  However, the separation of church and
state is one of the most important concepts in the US constitution,
and your recent attack towards atheists was misguided.  Therefore, I
will not be able to support you any further, unless you issue a public
apology to Chicago atheists that you obviously offended.

Please let me know if you have any questions, or would like to meet to
discuss this further.

Thank you,
Rational Russian
Chicago Resident, Supporter, and Liberal Democrat

Best Quote Ever

“Almost everyone would concede, for example, that a presidential candidate who wanted to outlaw interest on loans and revert to a barter system would be an absurd steward for our troubled economy. So why isn’t there a similar consensus that someone who believes the Earth is 6,000 years old and that Noah’s Ark is an event in zoological history would be an absurd leader on issues such as stem-cell research, climate change and renewable resources?”

— John Allen Paulos, author and mathematician

Tags: religion, atheism, politics

How to Trap an Atheist?

I found the following brilliant quote that I would like to share:

How to trap an atheist:

“Serve him a fine meal, then ask him if he believes there is a cook.”

Brilliant! Here are several minor revisions, all on the same line of thought (please feel free to add more, since the possibilities are endless):

“Put him on a flying airplane, and ask him if he believes there is an engineer.”
“Give him an apple, and ask him if he believes it sprung up from a seed.”
“Give him a paper and ask if he believes it came from a tree.”

Tags: Dinner, God, Atheism

The Race Is On: Islam vs. Christianity

Like any good race, it seems that this one has all the markings of a nail-biter. We have all the necessary components:

1) Islam, sponsored by Muslim radicals and clerics, led by the prophet Muhammad at the helm.
2) Christianity, sponsored by the Vatican, propelled by Jesus himself.
3) All other, apparently lessor, religions, trailing far behind.

According to the Vatican, Muslims have overtaken the lead (or market share of religious crazies), and are reproducing at an astonishing rate that, even the Christians cannot contend with.

I’m speculating here, but I have a hunch that the Vatican is going to promote abstinence rather any useful form of contraception, in an attempt to keep up.

Tags: Islam, Christianity, Atheism, God, Christ

Does God Hate Ill Children?

It seems to me, that there exists a direct correlation between fundamentalist religious beliefs and unnecessary child death. A conclusion can be drawn that the more prominent and literal the belief in <insert your favorite deity here>, the more that deity tests faith, by killing innocent kids.

Let’s look at this article, for example.

“Two followers of a fundamentalist Christian church that favours faith healing over conventional medicine are to be prosecuted for manslaughter after their daughter died of a treatable infection.

Carl and Raylene Worthington were indicted by a grand jury in Oregon’s Clackamas county following the death of their 15-month-old daughter Ava in March.

The toddler died of bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection, according to the state medical examiner’s office – both conditions that could have been treated with antibiotics.”

The notion that any rational human being living in the 21st Century, can believe that something other than medicine would heal illnesses, is a little hard to swallow. Apparently, there are plenty of people who would rather pray for miracles rather than save (or murder, depending on the point of view) an innocent 15-month-old life.

Okay, all rationality aside (for just a moment), let’s assume that your chosen deity actually cures the sick. Why not in this case? According to that god, the 15-month-old Ava therefore deserved to die, like a blood sacrifice? Furthermore, following the sacrifice, that deity then failed to protect it’s faithful followers by basically sending them to jail? What a horrible god! This particular god clearly hates its followers. Why would anyone believe in him?

Oh, right… I forgot that we cast rationality aside. Keep on praying, then! I’m sure that *your* flavor of god loves you and your kids more than Ava.

Tags: god, children, christ, deity, atheism

We Make Our Own Heaven

This is so sad! I can’t figure out if the reporting is just inadequate, since the reporter continuously interviews the eight-year-old, or the atheists of Palo Alto are simply confused.

An eight year old, Jane, in this case, can be taught to believe in anything. Just because her parents taught her to say things like “I like free thinking” doesn’t mean anything, well, because she is *eight* years old. She may also believe in Santa, but that doesn’t make Santa real.

Shedding religious baggage is an invitation for atheists to use the time they normally would be spending in a church, mosque, or synagogue to do something really productive for themselves or the community they live in. Simply replacing that baggage with atheist dogma, and surrounding yourself with like-minded “free-thinkers” who “believe in science” is a mistake that makes atheism look and feel like a replacement to religion, which it definitely is not.

Tags: religion, church, atheism, heaven