From time to time I get email death threats. Most are words of encouragement to hurry up and die. Others aren’t so veiled. So, for the last few years I have thought long and hard about the methods with which the believer would most likely want me to expire. With these punishments in mind, I would like to invite the believers in my audience to shower me with their well wishes for a speedy and painful death. Below you will find a POLL which will give you a myriad of options on how you think best I should die. Please, take your time. There’s no hurry here. Break out your piece-of-shit, dime store, black book novel, and pray for an answer. I’m sure your skydaddy will tell you the appropriate punishment for my Atheist soul! Then, with the click of your science created and manufactured mouse, you can choose how to send me straight to hell! If you can’t decide which one to choose, write your own!
Archive for May, 2009
Vengeance is yours!
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Atheism, Atheist, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, Fundamentalism, Religion on May 31, 2009 by RJ EvansAll it takes is a little faith…
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Abortion, Atheism, Atheist, Christian, Christianity, George, GeorgeTiller, Murder, Non-belief, Religion, Religious, Tiller, Violence on May 31, 2009 by RJ EvansAn eye for an eye? Vengeance for a zygote? Revenge for the unborn? Or, maybe it’s simply “faith” in something that doesn’t exist, a perfect excuse for murder. Dr. George Tiller, a late term abortion physician in Wichita, KS was murdered in cold blood in the lobby of a church this morning. Shot dead in his place of worship. I find this ironic. Which one of the two people directly involved in this incident had the correct version of a skydaddy? The murderer, or the murdered? Someone had to be right, RIGHT? Yeah right! Apparently the skydaddy didn’t care to make its desires clear enough, so someone had to guess. Unfortunately for the victim, his murderer’s decision/guess to do HIS version of a skydaddy’s dirty work panned out. And, even more disturbing is the fact that if this kind of zealotry can happen between denominations (and there are over 33,800+ in the U.S.), what’s to stop it from happening to anyone who doesn’t worship any god? Wouldn’t one think that if a skydaddy did exist he would have stopped this carnage? Yet, it’s these murderous, vengeful, hate ridden acts, that continue day after day, year after year, in the U.S. and around the world that make one wonder. Someone gets a little “faith” and wallah! “My skydaddy’s bigger than yours is and he’s right! So, you better shut the fuck up, do as I say, not as I do, because I got GOD on my side, bitch!” If anyone’s skydaddy is all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, let the fucker do its own dirty work! The fact is that without a zealot to take up the task, the skydaddy is impotent. Hmmm… no. How about the skydaddy doesn’t exist. Sadly, the reality is that all it takes is a little “faith” in a myth to kill in the myth’s name.
I’ll say it again and again…
“Faith” is deaf, dumb and blind. It can easily motivate people to do horrible things they would otherwise avoid. It is a sick and twisted justification for murder, hate, bigotry, and disdain. All it takes is a little “faith”.
________________________________________________________________________
[Addendum]
Here’s a list of other religiously motivated violent acts against abortion providers:
| April 2007: Authorities say Paul Ross Evans placed a homemade bomb in the parking lot of the Austin Women’s Health Center in Texas. A bomb squad disposes of the device, which contained two pounds of nails. There were no injuries. Evans was later sentenced to 40 years in prison. |
| Oct. 23, 1998: Dr. Barnett Slepian is fatally shot in his home in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. Militant abortion opponent James Kopp is convicted of the murder in 2003 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. |
| Jan. 29, 1998: A bomb explodes just outside a Birmingham, Ala., abortion clinic, killing a police officer and wounding several others. Eric Rudolph was arrested in May 2003 after several years on the lam. He later pleaded guilty to that incident and the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He was sentenced in 2005 to two consecutive life terms without parole. |
| Jan. 16, 1997: Two bomb blasts an hour apart rock an Atlanta building containing an abortion clinic. Seven people are injured. Rudolph is charged by federal authorities in October 1998. |
| Dec. 30, 1994: John Salvi opens fire with a rifle inside two Boston-area abortion clinics, killing two receptionists and wounding five others. Sentenced to life without parole, he kills himself in prison in 1996. |
| Nov. 8, 1994: Dr. Garson Romalis, who performs abortions in Vancouver, Canada, is shot in the leg while eating breakfast at home. |
| July 29, 1994: Dr. John Bayard Britton and his volunteer escort, James H. Barrett, are slain outside a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic. Barrett’s wife, June, is wounded in the attack. Paul J. Hill, 40, a former minister and anti-abortion activist, is later convicted of murder and sentenced to death. |
| Aug. 19, 1993: Dr. George Tiller is shot in the arms as he drives out of parking lot at his Wichita, Kan., clinic. Rachelle “Shelley” Shannon is later convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison. |
| March 10, 1993: Dr. David Gunn is shot to death outside Pensacola, Fla., clinic, becoming the first U.S. doctor killed during an anti-abortion demonstration. Michael Griffin is convicted and serving a life sentence. |
My take on abortion?
Humor: Thousands of my potential children died on your daughters face last night! LOL!
Serious: It’s a woman’s body. Religion has no right to legislate morals, values or health issues.
Jokes of the Christo-Jihadists
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Abuse, Belief, Religion, Terrorism, Violence In The Name of on May 30, 2009 by David 2Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… it’s a riot!
So it’s the first day of class at PC University and the professor starts off his course in Astronomy with a look at all of the wonderful sights from the Hubble Telescope. And, as was expected, there were a group of Christians that rolled their eyes in disgust at the descriptions of the splendors shown.
The professor knew this was going to happen. It always happens at the start of every semester. He pointed to one of the eye-rollers and asked him what the problem was, and the student stood up and said that while it was all so beautiful, he wondered why there is no talk about the splendor of God in the celestial heavens; because, after all, it was God that made all of these things possible.
The professor said “I’m glad you asked that.” He then asked how many of the students feel the same way, and sure enough about a quarter of the students did. He said he normally gave a politically-correct answer but he was tired of letting the matter set. He was, after all, an atheist, and he refuses to put his beliefs on the back burner just because they “offend” some of the students.
He then proceeds to go into a fifteen-minute lecture about scientific study and scientific method and how science dispels the claims made by Christians about the origins of the universe. He talks about facts and proof and he sums up his lecture by saying that he does not believe in God, and that if God has a problem with that, he should strike the professor down right that minute.
The class is silent for a minute.
Just then the door opens and a Marine shows up in full dress regalia and proceeds to punch out the professor repeatedly. He then grabs the bloody and battered professor by the collar, slaps him back to consciousness, and says to him…
“God couldn’t be here, so he sent me.”
Cue the rimshot.
Aw, come on! That was a joke! Aren’t you laughing? Why aren’t you laughing? Christians get a GREAT laugh out of it, and then they forward it on to every discussion board they take part in and to all of their friends on their mailing lists and recite it verbatim on talk radio! You sure you have a sense of humor?
But wait! There’s a follow-up!
The next day another professor showed up to teach the course, and he explains that he too was an atheist, and that he also was not going to knuckle under because his views “offend” the Christians. He then also openly challenges God to come down and strike him down.
Again the room was silent for a minute.
Then the Marine shows up again in his regalia and makes a beeline to the professor. Suddenly there is a loud pop and a surge of electricity, and the Marine falls to the ground.
The substitute professor stood there with a taser in his hand.
“My challenge was to GOD,” the learned man said loudly, as he reached for his cellphone to dial 9-1-1, “not to some neo-con asshole that can’t tell the difference!”
Now I’m sure THAT got a few smiles from the audience.
The problem, of course, is that the first part of that “joke” is not a joke, and it’s being spread to others.
But let’s go ahead and change things up a bit. What if it was a CHRISTIAN professor making the challenge, and instead of a Marine, a member of Hamas came in and beat up the professor? Suddenly it’s not so funny, is it? Oh, I’m sure it would be a riot over in the Middle East, but probably not on conservative talk radio in the US of A.
Oh but why not? It’s got the same elements! The same characters and the same punchline, only the beliefs have been changed.
Well it’s not funny because now it’s talking about someone ELSE’S beliefs.
And this is usually the part of the discussion when the self-righteous get on their high horse and they admit that it’s really not that funny and that maybe they should start practicing what they preach.
Maybe.
Maybe if they’re reminded of it as they lay on their deathbed, they MIGHT regret it.
But not right now.
And they certainly won’t stop laughing at that first joke, and they won’t stop passing it on to their friends and relatives and mailing lists and using it as a bumper for talk radio. It’s just too FUNNY for them to not do that!
It all starts with a joke. A funny line, a whimsical comment, a little slur amongst friends. A little dig that suggests that it’s okay to commit violence against someone of different beliefs. A little message disguised as comedy to suggest that you don’t have to be tolerant of other beliefs anymore… that yours are better, and if they aren’t, then a little force will make it so.
And then it’s passed on to others, and they pass it on to others… and so on and so forth… condoning violence against those whose views are not the same as ours.
And then people are surprised when the jokes turn to violence. When the punchline becomes the headline. Death threats, arson, assaults… even murder. And the self-righteous get indignant about it and say “Well the people who did that were not TRUE believers! OUR FAITH doesn’t condone that!”
And yet in all likelihood, THEY DID condone it. Because once upon a time they heard a joke, and they passed it around because they thought it was funny to bash a view that is not their own. And all the while they condoned the message that was contained inside. The message that said it was okay to inflict violence in the name of what they believe in. And it was condoned and approved with a rimshot.
The next time someone sends you that joke, send it back with the word “Terrorist” in place of “Marine” and ask them if they think it’s still funny. They’ll probably say that it isn’t, which is when you can point out that neither is violence in the name of religion.
“I Hate This Blog!”
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Atheism, Atheist, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Religious Humor on May 22, 2009 by RJ EvansI’m never at a loss for words when it comes to revealing the hypocrisy of religion and the people who rely on it. But, every now and then I’m a bit taken aback by the believers who insist that they hate my blog, yet continue to visit. Time and again I’m told that my posts are vitriol, full of “dogma” and are divisive. Most of these visitors declare that they will never read what’s written here again. Yet, they come back! Why? That’s an easy question to answer.
The old saying “Curiosity killed the cat” is one explanation. But, there’s more to it than that. Believer’s come back because they already question their belief. They must quench their natural doubt. But, in the process, one of two things happens, and sometimes simultaneously. First, they’ll read the first paragraph or two, then either scoff, rage and stop reading, OR they’ll scoff, rage, and continue reading. The process’ their mind goes through is most likely the following:
(Internal dialog)
“What’s this crap?”
(insert the word ’shit’ in place of ‘crap’ for the fundamentalist believer)
“Hmmm…”
(a moment of ponder or brief reflection)
“No damned way! ”
(insert the word ‘god’ in front of the word ‘damned’ for the moderate, ‘fucking’ for the fundamentalist)
“This is bull crap!”
(insert the word ’shit’ in front of the word ‘crap’ for the fundamentalist, or for a redneck from Dallas)
(the internal dialog continues)
“This guy’s gonna burn in hell!”
(for the moderate/liberal this sentence would read ‘I feel sorry…’ or ‘I’ll pray for him’ OR ‘This guy needs to the shut the fuck up’ if they’re a redneck from Dallas)
-At this point some readers will leave. Eventually they come back and repeat the process, but for those that stay…-
“Hmmm…”
“I don’t know about this”
(personal doubt)
“I really don’t want to believe this. I’ve gotta have faith. Jesus said that we would be persecuted. And he was right as he always is!”
(the last part about jesus is a direct quote from someone I know)
“This isn’t right! This is crap!”
(insert the word ’shit’ for ‘crap’ depending upon the level of irritation, OR ‘fucked up’ if they’re a redneck from Dallas)
“I don’t know why I come to this god damn blog!”
(insert the word ‘fucking’ for ‘god damn’ depending on whether or not the person making the statement feels like obeying the 3rd commandment, and whether or not they are reading the blog from work or home on Sunday.. If the person is a redneck from Dallas, insert ALL OF THE ABOVE) BTW… Scripture for taking the lords name in vain and breaking the sabbath says:
- For Blasphemy
- He that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him. — Leviticus 24:16
- For Breaking the Sabbath
- Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death. — Exodus 31:14
- Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. — Exodus 31:15
- Six days shall work bedone, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. — Exodus 35:2
“GOLLLLY! We’s gonna have ourselves a sinner barbecue this Sunday! I’s guess’ that we’s needs to round up all those fuckin’ sinners and roast’em! Not, ta mention dem dar atheists!”
I’m sure there are many variations of the above internal dialog. But, one has to wonder how many times the believer must reject their own doubt in favor of ignorance before their belief collapses under the weight of fact. I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and guess 1,234,623.567 times. The sad part is that all it really takes is ONE healthy dose of skepticism and a little knowledge.
Knowledge: The True Power
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Atheism, Atheist, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Religious on May 22, 2009 by RJ EvansOne of the real pains in the ass when dealing with those of you who believe in a skydaddy is your lack of desire to question your beliefs through acquisition of knowledge. I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to entice you to feed your cranium! But, alas, no one listens. I’m sure there are plenty of folks who WANT to, but resist because of their “faith” (read, deaf dumb and blind here). The fact is that while I can destroy your skydaddy delusion with tons of facts and information, it ultimately comes down to your willingness to listen. Unfortunately, many of you can’t stomach the thought of that, so I am going to list a series of books GUARANTEED to enlighten you and utterly destroy your skydaddy vision. What’s more, you can TRY and argue with the facts in these books, but you will fail miserably. Much to my joy, and eventually yours, you just might learn to use your brain in a manner that actually benefits humanity instead of fantasy. The books I’m going to list are linked to Amazon.com. Spend a few dollars, open your mind, and think for yourself for once. You will be pleasantly surprised.
For the novice:
Letter to a Christian Nation – Sam Harris
(Sam Harris is a Stanford University philosophy graduate, doctoral candidate in neuroscience)
For the scientifically minded:
Irreligion – John Allen Paulos
(John Allen Paulos is a professor of mathematics at Temple University who explains why the arguments for god just don’t add up)
God: The Failed Hypothesis – Victor J. Stenger
(Victor J. Stenger is emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii and adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado)
The Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkins
The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins
(Richard Dawkins is the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, and a leading evolutionary biologist)
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature – Steven Pinker
(Steven Pinker is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University)
Read and learn. More importantly, stop telling me I’m spewing Atheist dogma as if it were some sort of baseless dribble. You fail to realize that my “dribble” is supported by very distinguished science, logic and reason. And second, there is no such thing as Atheist “dogma”. So, grow a set of testicles, man up, (or in the case of women, titty up) and feed your mind. Then, when you have put the gray matter in gear, decide for YOURSELF. Now, slowly step away from that black dime store novel (full of vile, disgusting, violent, reprehensible shit) called the bible, disengage the fantasy carousel, step off and enter the real world!
“Angels & Demons” An Excuse for Blame?
Posted in Uncategorized on May 19, 2009 by RJ EvansMy wife and I went to see the new Ron Howard film “Angels & Demons” starring Tom Hanks this past weekend. Much to my surprise, it was great entertainment. However, the context with which the Illuminati were portrayed by the religious characters in the movie bore an amazing contemporary reflection of the religious views of non-belief and science. Art imitating life? Unfortunately, there are those -many in fact- who believe anything they see and/or hear (hey, they believe in a skydaddy right?), and this movie will undoubtedly inspire and fuel the already bigoted religious mentality. Today there is a trend toward so-called “religious tolerance”, at the expense of free speech. Basically it’s more of an end run around the Constitution to shelter christards from criticism. Look for more of this as time moves forward and sensibility moves backward. Censorship may be at hand.
Onward X-tian Soldiers?
Posted in Uncategorized on May 19, 2009 by RJ EvansIn a frightening turn of historical proportions, it was revealed yesterday that former president GW Bush and former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld used bible quotes on the covers of secret intelligence briefings. What’s more GQ magazine and the New York Times have revealed that religion may be playing an even more inappropriate role in the military than first thought. Does this really surprise anyone? Once again, I cannot stress enough the importance of Separation of Church and State. But, there are those who read this blog who think that Church/State separation is a fallacy. Really? Then welcome to the beginning of the United States of Theocracy and the New Crusades.
[Adendum to "...innappropriate role..."]
Polchristocrats..The End of Liberty?
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Atheist, Athesim, Christian, Christianity, Freedom, Liberty, Politics, Religion on May 18, 2009 by RJ EvansA very good friend of mine recently wrote an excellent post about the potential demise of American society due to political and religious extremism. Normally I consider such writing as paranoia. Many have written or spoke of the fall of the United States, but with clear evidence of religious and political fanaticism showing up everyday in a multitude of media throughout this country and abroad, I cannot discount my friends viewpoint. In fact, I can only agree.
I don’t want to repeat what my friend Chuck has said here. Please take the time to visit his blog. But, I do want to talk a little about divisiveness, the key ingredient in the war against reason.
I take my fair share of shots at religious extremism. I also take shots at religious moderation from time to time. The two go hand in hand, as I have shown in many of my posts. I call people names, and I also insult their religious beliefs. But, what I do pales in comparison to what is done to me, and others, in the name of religion. If the worst I have done is call people names, then maybe my moral compass is pretty accurate. But, being Atheist automatically qualifies me, in the eyes of the religious, as a heretic, an outsider. I’m incapable of being moral. At least, I’m prayed for, an insult to my logic and reason, and a blatant attempt to separate me from morality. Even though I’m a happy, loving, caring, compassionate, empathetic, law-abiding citizen, it’s not good enough without belief in a skydaddy. So, the religious pray for my salvation. At worst, I’m demonized, thought of as less than human, scorned, ridiculed, damned, threatened, isolated, discounted and discriminated against. Religious “friends”, who know me well, discard what they know of my character and instead choose to vilify me in one of these two forms. Some of them even dare to call ME extreme. How ironic. Once again, if the worst thing I do on this blog is call people names, and put their skydaddy under a microscope of logic, reason and science, then what of their dialog?
Words only have power if you let them. But as the old cliche goes, actions speak louder than words. And, yet, with every fiber of my body, I stand up for religion’s right to believe, despite their malignment of my character and my integrity, and at the expense of being thought of as inhuman. These are MY actions. I fight for their rights, yet they disgard mine, and the rights of others like me. Such is the division, the polarization, that religion continues to foster. And, this same mentality permeates ALL religions when dealing with each other.
As religion has infiltrated the hallowed halls of government over the past 50 years, the erosion of common sense and political moderation has increased. Questions of morality, an individual choice, have entered the political arena as legislative time bombs, designed to be political wedges, blinding the electorate to domestic and international issues. Politics and religion are now bedfellows, cavorting together in an un-Constitutional fuck fest to usurp freedom. “Follow the money” is an accurate phrase. But, more than that, power is the end game. However, the two go hand in hand. As religion has amassed huge amounts of money, tax free, they have used it to buy political influence. Not just a lobbyist or two, but hundreds. And, more importantly, they have purchased the politicians. Politics has always been a dirty game. But, when religion bought into it, it became a filthy pigsty. Now, the political landscape is the dumping ground for bigotry, hypocrisy, discrimination, and out and out hatred. And now this garbage is legislated into law in the affirmative.
Those of us who speak of moderation are slowly being forced to one side or the other. I resist. But, as I watch the rights of all vanquished by extremism, I wonder how long moderation can hold on. What little is left is becoming harder to find. Ignorance is unfortunately prevailing. But, to sit idly by is not an option. Neither is trying to hold a civil dialog with those who care more about a skydaddy than humanity. Both are nothing more than watching liberty face conviction and execution. Is there an answer? I don’t know. Revolutions are dangerous, fraught with pain and suffering. Yet, maybe that is what’s needed? Or, maybe religion and politics should simply opt for a divorce before they give birth to death and destruction in the name of a skydaddy.
[As an adendum to the above...world wide Atheists are not considered human]
