Ben Stein is a dangerous, Creationist moron. I have no respect for Creationists. People who are religious and respect science are great, but Creationists have been making it up as they go for over 50 years and selling their brand of crap to the ignorant masses causing all sorts of mayhem and destruction. Here's an informative video. Note that one of the expert scientists is a devout Christian and has written a book called "Finding Darwin's God". I liked his book and hope other Christians read it and "Thank God for Evolution" by Rev. Michael Dowd. Both authors respect science as truth. If I remember right both also believe that science reveals the hand of God in creation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV4_lVTVa6k&feature=PlayList&p=319CA812777223DC&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=4
J, I do like you, girl. So this response isn't about you. Nevertheless, for your knowledge:
1. they aren't Christmas Trees really, they are Tannenbaums i.e. Yule Trees. Christians coopted this from the pagans.
2. I don't care if someone says Merry Christmas or Joyous Saturnalia as long as they don't assume their holy day is the only holiday in December. Christians tend to think that their Christmas is the only legitimate holy day during the season.
3. I think manger scenes are fine, as long as those displaying them aren't receiving government funding and/or get all bent out of shape if their neighbor displays a symbol of their religion during their December holiday even if it happens to be a Wiccan pentagram.
4. I don't like it when Christians try to force their morals and beliefs on me; I have my own that work really well. It happens every single day in this country. I also don't like it when atheists like Richard Dawkins are complete jack asses towards people who are religious. This type of behavior will never see a bridge built between science and religion anymore than forcing prayer and Bible reading in school has or will suddenly make people behave.
5. It is NOT the absense of God i.e. the Judao-Christian God, that is destroying anything; fundamentalist expressions of religion/God is in fact a lot of the problem i.e. religious wars and ignorance in the name of Faith. Religion does not teach morals or values by example anymore than parents do these days. It has nothing to do with spirituality or God/god and everything to do with our society. As a society we no longer value anything but fame and money. The bad things that happen in the US have nothing to do with the absence of God/god; that is just a poor excuse for bad behavior. Just as an athiest can be the most moral person in the room, so too can the most revered religious leader be the least moral. Morality is a social necessity that's been co-opted by religion. As I've heard numerous times, Going to church makes you a good Christian like going to a garage makes you a car. Forcing people to go to church or convert to Christianity isn't going to solve our social problem. Take a look at http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/index.php for an idea how to improve society without forcing religion.
6. (This is NOT said with any malice towards you at all... it does come off harsh, but I have to in order to speak to a part of the email) And in my opinion, forwarding emails of a Christian nature (or with any specific religious focus) is bad form and I won't do it unless I know that the person receiving it will appreciate it. I also know that a lot of Christians don't think anything of passing on Christian messages to everyone. They assume that their audience is either Christian, because they really don't see the world as having any other important religion besides Christianity, or that if the person isn't Christian that they should be and the email might help convert them. This assumption is off-putting to the rest of the world because it is so "holier than thou" and completely non-Christ-like. Forwarding Christian messages is offensive NOT because of the religion itself, but the presumptuousness behind the motivation to forward it.
7. The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is bloody and horrible and shows a jealous and vengeful God who kills people for the slightest transgression. That type of behavior is not the kind of example I want the kids in our society to have as something to revere, emulate and worship. They have a hard enough time with the transgressions and deplorable behavior of their real life heroes like Mike Vick and Tiger Woods. Talk about confusing. If you want kids to read something that will teach them compassion have them read the Tao De Ching or Siddhartha, not the Bible.
My six cents.
And here's the truth of the history and nature of the email http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/confessions.asp
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
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