I eagerly admit I am a devout atheist, and wish all other critical thinking atheists would do the same. Religion acts to divide people, and the sooner people treat religion as a human cultural manifestation rather than a form of tribal affirmation, the better off the human population will be.
One nation under God. Welcome to Christian Nationalist America! Iran has its mullahs, we have our Christian Zionist preachers. Get ready for the coming Inquisition.
I don’t think he’s even doing his “Christian thing “very well. As a Speaker of the House, he’s essentially Kevin McCarthy with a couple of Bible verses.
Well, in regards to Spirituality on our planet my awe for Nature I think is known to most on here... Instilled by my own experiences in life as a Firefighter on all manner of Calls, not much I haven't seen, or heard-- makes you pretty cynical I tell you, and my reading C.S., Ann his wife, and even Sasha their daughter. I am Secular, and think the world would be so much better off without any more mythology. I think just being alive on this magnificent planet is, by itself cause for celebration. I immediately shut-off when holier than thou's feel the need to witness to me. In politics, or any other venue in life. I love the Solstices, the Astronomy, Science, history of myth, phases of the moon, like tonites thin crescent w/ earthshine. I don't need the supernatural. Birth, death is just a natural thing study Biology...
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any Church that I know of. My own mind is my own Church. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all."- Thomas Paine
"There is not one redeeming feature in our superstition of Christianity. It has made one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites."- Thomas Jefferson
"This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it"- John Adams
"Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst."- Thomas Paine
"Take away from Genesis the belief that Moses was the author, on which only the strange belief that it is the word of God has stood, and there remains nothing of Genesis but an anonymous book of stories, fables, and traditionary or invented absurdities, or of downright lies."- Thomas Paine
"The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my profession."- Abraham Lincoln
"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise."- James Madison
"The most harmful thing is the idea of treating faith as a virtue. The glorification of irrationality and the demonization of doubt." - Dennis Merwood
And yet you'd think it should be enough that we are born and made from the same enriched guts born in the bellies of exploding "Novae" Stars! We really are Star Childs... Since the Dawn of Time! But.., somehow we can now know ourselves, and we've developed the ability to destroy ourselves as well as know it, and ourselves, and our Universe of which there could well be an Infinite "number" of... Ponder that immensity for a while. At the end of the day we are a species that evolved on a distant rock orbiting a not so special sun. The only reason it's special is because it's ours....!
You know we're all searching for the answers to life's greatest Questions. If I had only one it would be like Warren Buffetts-- "Where will I be when I Die? Then I'd avoid it....:/ :O)"Happy Thanksgiving. Funny too-- all Christians can't wait to go to Heaven tho. none it ever seems are in a hurry to get there!!! lol
far preferable was our former helper's animism, who was our 'steward' during 3 years in sierra leone. peering off our back porch one day, ibrahim excitedly erupted to our bantlings, "look kids! see that pineapple peeking up from our garden? she knows you're hungry and she has come to feed you! she can feel your hunger."
Love that last line, Bill! And agree wholeheartedly with every word.
As you point out, the zealots utterly fail to recognize the country's history, and they invariably---incorrectly---paint the Founders as Christians. But that's merely a convenience to backstop their right-wing, evangelical Christian theocracy fantasies.
Johnson's reference to the Bible as his policy guide immediately disqualified him for office, IMO.
as well as can be expected, dennis, given the genocidal horrors cascading down over my palestinian friends, surrogate families, consociate volunteers, and students in the palestinian refugee camps where firth and i taught throughout may, june and july. all 7 of my adult children are in a frenzy of contacting, writing to, admonishing, and redressing their canadian parliamentarians, US congress people, the besmirched 'white'house, and our poltroonish buffoon of a prime minister, justin trudeau. they have coordinated to create an effective template, which you are welcome to use if you druther. it would require the few odd tweaks here and there in order to make it applicable to your politicos in new zealand and the US where you abided for so many years. i do wonder how you DID 'abide' the US for so many decades.
The US I immigrated to in 1974, with my new Californian bride, was a much different place back then Jeanie. 50-years ago now. I lasted 45-wonderful years in Seattle. Where did all that time go eh?
You need to get it in your mind that I am not interested in scriptures in your 2,000-year-old holy book. Nor your relationship with your imaginary "God".
But working on projects in the early 70's in Long Beach, and living in an apartment in Seal Beach; many times, as a younger man, Anne and I visited the Venice Beach Boardwalk in the weekend to see all the crazies preaching their weird religions. In the days of hippies and "Flower Power". Maybe you were one of those crazies eh Ray! LOL
Mr. Speaker needs to review his "operating manual" a bit more closely. I'd suggest starting with Luke 6:26-38. Short, sweet and to the point. (And one need not be a Christian to appreciate its ethic.)
Once he, his fellow Zionist lovers and the pastors so all in on nationalism master this directive from Jesus, I might be more inclined to believe their exclamations of Christian faith as more than a means to power and material success in the USA. Hollow words from hollow minds with the deadliest of consequences.
We would like to think America does not discriminate against the non-religious. But can an atheist become POTUS? Today, the answer is surely no.
A study at Pitzer College recently noted that there is only one member of Congress who identified as atheist — Peter Stark in California.
In private, who knows how many other Congressmen/women privately hold the belief that they don't believe in God? They just wouldn’t say it publicly, of course.
While there is no ban on being an atheist in the United States, atheists have always been framed as being un-American. When in 1954 Representative Louis Rabaut proposed adding “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, he argued that an “atheistic American” is a “contradiction in terms.”
To this day seven states still have bans on atheists holding public office.
These bans - although unenforceable under Supreme Court ruling - represent anti-atheist prejudices that are ingrained and endemic in America. They remind American atheists that, despite their beliefs being protected by the First Amendment, being open about not believing in God often has bad consequences and is best avoided.
Bill: That ranks right up at the top of THE BEST OF BRACING VIEWS [to be published soon].
Thank You for that very clear, bottom line, bullet-hits-the-bone explanation as to exactly what The Founders had in mind regarding Church and State and their relationship.
i look forward to seeing this widely read, pondered, reflected on, and figured out how to be acted upon. Have a Great day. ~ jeff
It's just an opinion. Johnson doesn't sit on the Supreme Court so in that respect his opinion doesn't matter anyway. Besides the Speakership is a singular office. Why would Johnson give that up to become just another preacher? In the meantime he's helping to keep funding for our semi-declared war against Russia off the table. Too bad he can't get any help from the other side on that but they're all in on death and dying. Perhaps they're the ones who should be resigning.
Both parties seem to be bent on destroying the interpretation of the Constitution, be it on freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, etc. Indeed they have become a uni-party! Mike Johnson was elected as speaker for a reason, as I am afraid we will find out soon enough, the way it has been going. Linking today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/ Also linking a good one from Judge Andrew P. Napolitano on freedom of speech as well today - "What Ever Happened to the Freedom of Speech?" - https://staging.judgenap.com/what-ever-happened-to-the-freedom-of-speech/
"O tempora! O mores!" Had I known I would live to see such times I might well have put even more energy into my gloriously misspent youth.
Let us offend--- Jesus, Texas, Guns, Tacos, Gains... Going Rogue here!!! J.K.
I eagerly admit I am a devout atheist, and wish all other critical thinking atheists would do the same. Religion acts to divide people, and the sooner people treat religion as a human cultural manifestation rather than a form of tribal affirmation, the better off the human population will be.
"Devout atheist" is an interesting concept. It's like "intensely not interested".
"A form of tribal affirmation" - a small group wagging their fingers at a larger group.
As far as I can tell, "God" hasn’t spent a moment with me.
We haven’t done a single activity together.
I’ve never heard a "God’s" voice, or shaken a "God’s" hand.
Never had a "God" come and help me mow the lawn, or comfort me when my wife was very ill.
My fellow humans have made infinitely more effort to be a part of my life and give it meaning than any "God" has.
How foolish would it be for me to say that this absentee "God" is what gives my life meaning?
God never sent me a bottle of Amaro Montenegro.
Thanks, Dennis!
You are welcome, Lt. Col. Enjoy.
I will write it off as a Political Contribution.
LOL
Great Blog today my man.
"Charitable" contribution.
All writers must have spirits available, especially when viewing readers' comments. :-)
hahahahahhaha :-)
BRAVO, John! Agree!
One nation under God. Welcome to Christian Nationalist America! Iran has its mullahs, we have our Christian Zionist preachers. Get ready for the coming Inquisition.
We worship Mammon as god.
Onward Christian Soldiers!
Ray my friend,
I no longer read your long Christain sermons my man.
Take care
Ray,
Your geo-political posts I enjoy, and always learn from.
Your Christian proselytizing - not at all.
Take care.
I don’t think he’s even doing his “Christian thing “very well. As a Speaker of the House, he’s essentially Kevin McCarthy with a couple of Bible verses.
It’s wild that a Young Earth Creationist is Speaker of the House
Well, in regards to Spirituality on our planet my awe for Nature I think is known to most on here... Instilled by my own experiences in life as a Firefighter on all manner of Calls, not much I haven't seen, or heard-- makes you pretty cynical I tell you, and my reading C.S., Ann his wife, and even Sasha their daughter. I am Secular, and think the world would be so much better off without any more mythology. I think just being alive on this magnificent planet is, by itself cause for celebration. I immediately shut-off when holier than thou's feel the need to witness to me. In politics, or any other venue in life. I love the Solstices, the Astronomy, Science, history of myth, phases of the moon, like tonites thin crescent w/ earthshine. I don't need the supernatural. Birth, death is just a natural thing study Biology...
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any Church that I know of. My own mind is my own Church. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all."- Thomas Paine
"There is not one redeeming feature in our superstition of Christianity. It has made one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites."- Thomas Jefferson
"This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it"- John Adams
"Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst."- Thomas Paine
"Take away from Genesis the belief that Moses was the author, on which only the strange belief that it is the word of God has stood, and there remains nothing of Genesis but an anonymous book of stories, fables, and traditionary or invented absurdities, or of downright lies."- Thomas Paine
"The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my profession."- Abraham Lincoln
"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise."- James Madison
"The most harmful thing is the idea of treating faith as a virtue. The glorification of irrationality and the demonization of doubt." - Dennis Merwood
And yet you'd think it should be enough that we are born and made from the same enriched guts born in the bellies of exploding "Novae" Stars! We really are Star Childs... Since the Dawn of Time! But.., somehow we can now know ourselves, and we've developed the ability to destroy ourselves as well as know it, and ourselves, and our Universe of which there could well be an Infinite "number" of... Ponder that immensity for a while. At the end of the day we are a species that evolved on a distant rock orbiting a not so special sun. The only reason it's special is because it's ours....!
We are stardust/we are golden/and we've got to get ourselves/back to the garden
Joni Mitchell was right.
That's the Spirit!!!
You know we're all searching for the answers to life's greatest Questions. If I had only one it would be like Warren Buffetts-- "Where will I be when I Die? Then I'd avoid it....:/ :O)"Happy Thanksgiving. Funny too-- all Christians can't wait to go to Heaven tho. none it ever seems are in a hurry to get there!!! lol
George Carlin is so needed in these times eh Fireman!
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=george+carlin+heaven+and+hell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tp0UNcjzl8&t=15s
far preferable was our former helper's animism, who was our 'steward' during 3 years in sierra leone. peering off our back porch one day, ibrahim excitedly erupted to our bantlings, "look kids! see that pineapple peeking up from our garden? she knows you're hungry and she has come to feed you! she can feel your hunger."
That's great Jeanie.
Hope you are well my dear.
Dennis
Love that last line, Bill! And agree wholeheartedly with every word.
As you point out, the zealots utterly fail to recognize the country's history, and they invariably---incorrectly---paint the Founders as Christians. But that's merely a convenience to backstop their right-wing, evangelical Christian theocracy fantasies.
Johnson's reference to the Bible as his policy guide immediately disqualified him for office, IMO.
Mike Johnson is a monster.
Every religion claim's that theirs is the only true God!
What evidence does Speaker Johnson have that his religion is not just another false religion?
Why is his "God" real and all the others are not?
When he understands why he dismisses ALL the other possible "Gods", only then will he understand why people dismiss his.
You might as well ask a duck why it quacks, Dennis. Best wishes from windswept Holland.
We are on the opposite sides of the globe my friend.
And can communicate as if we are in the same room.
Bloody amazing!
But the million-dollar question is - are we all the better off for that?
Kia pai to ra e taku hoa Tatimana
As Spencer Tracy said in "Inherit the Wind" about the benefits of advances in communications, "... you will lose the charm of distance."
as well as can be expected, dennis, given the genocidal horrors cascading down over my palestinian friends, surrogate families, consociate volunteers, and students in the palestinian refugee camps where firth and i taught throughout may, june and july. all 7 of my adult children are in a frenzy of contacting, writing to, admonishing, and redressing their canadian parliamentarians, US congress people, the besmirched 'white'house, and our poltroonish buffoon of a prime minister, justin trudeau. they have coordinated to create an effective template, which you are welcome to use if you druther. it would require the few odd tweaks here and there in order to make it applicable to your politicos in new zealand and the US where you abided for so many years. i do wonder how you DID 'abide' the US for so many decades.
The US I immigrated to in 1974, with my new Californian bride, was a much different place back then Jeanie. 50-years ago now. I lasted 45-wonderful years in Seattle. Where did all that time go eh?
Ray my friend,
You need to get it in your mind that I am not interested in scriptures in your 2,000-year-old holy book. Nor your relationship with your imaginary "God".
But working on projects in the early 70's in Long Beach, and living in an apartment in Seal Beach; many times, as a younger man, Anne and I visited the Venice Beach Boardwalk in the weekend to see all the crazies preaching their weird religions. In the days of hippies and "Flower Power". Maybe you were one of those crazies eh Ray! LOL
Take care my friend.
Mr. Speaker needs to review his "operating manual" a bit more closely. I'd suggest starting with Luke 6:26-38. Short, sweet and to the point. (And one need not be a Christian to appreciate its ethic.)
Once he, his fellow Zionist lovers and the pastors so all in on nationalism master this directive from Jesus, I might be more inclined to believe their exclamations of Christian faith as more than a means to power and material success in the USA. Hollow words from hollow minds with the deadliest of consequences.
"Angels", like "Gods" Ray are mythical creatures.
You and Dennis need to call a truce on religion, Ray.
Though you both seem to like squabbling about it.
We would like to think America does not discriminate against the non-religious. But can an atheist become POTUS? Today, the answer is surely no.
A study at Pitzer College recently noted that there is only one member of Congress who identified as atheist — Peter Stark in California.
In private, who knows how many other Congressmen/women privately hold the belief that they don't believe in God? They just wouldn’t say it publicly, of course.
While there is no ban on being an atheist in the United States, atheists have always been framed as being un-American. When in 1954 Representative Louis Rabaut proposed adding “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, he argued that an “atheistic American” is a “contradiction in terms.”
To this day seven states still have bans on atheists holding public office.
These bans - although unenforceable under Supreme Court ruling - represent anti-atheist prejudices that are ingrained and endemic in America. They remind American atheists that, despite their beliefs being protected by the First Amendment, being open about not believing in God often has bad consequences and is best avoided.
https://theconversation.com/why-it-matters-that-7-states-still-have-bans-on-atheists-holding-office-161069
Bill: That ranks right up at the top of THE BEST OF BRACING VIEWS [to be published soon].
Thank You for that very clear, bottom line, bullet-hits-the-bone explanation as to exactly what The Founders had in mind regarding Church and State and their relationship.
i look forward to seeing this widely read, pondered, reflected on, and figured out how to be acted upon. Have a Great day. ~ jeff
It's just an opinion. Johnson doesn't sit on the Supreme Court so in that respect his opinion doesn't matter anyway. Besides the Speakership is a singular office. Why would Johnson give that up to become just another preacher? In the meantime he's helping to keep funding for our semi-declared war against Russia off the table. Too bad he can't get any help from the other side on that but they're all in on death and dying. Perhaps they're the ones who should be resigning.
Both parties seem to be bent on destroying the interpretation of the Constitution, be it on freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, etc. Indeed they have become a uni-party! Mike Johnson was elected as speaker for a reason, as I am afraid we will find out soon enough, the way it has been going. Linking today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/ Also linking a good one from Judge Andrew P. Napolitano on freedom of speech as well today - "What Ever Happened to the Freedom of Speech?" - https://staging.judgenap.com/what-ever-happened-to-the-freedom-of-speech/
I urge everyone to read it as well!!
luv that kiwi wit! so subtle, so understated, but oh so penetrating... the most worthy manifestation of comic relief, eh dennis?
it must have been a shocker returning to your homeland of NZ, dennis, after 45 years away... or was/is NZ a more homeostatic ecesis than the US?
Kiwi's know they can't control the World Jeanie! And don't want to.
It's like the Kiwi guy in WW2 who was given a rifle for when the Japs came ashore.
He looked puzzled.... "Obviously the Japs have never met my mother!"