Some Random Updates From My Delayed Plane

Well, I'm stuck on a plane so I thought I would blog a bit. Delays CAN be constructive :)

I just saw on the FFRF website that the "Good Without God" billboard in OH was removed for the second time this week. First it was removed because a church complained. It was moved to a new location and now a 'business owner' has complained. Are religious people so worried about people turning away from God that they fear a harmless billboard stating a simple truth. Come On!



Next, have you heard about Caylee's Law. It is a new law they are trying to pass in honor of Caylee Anthony that would make it a felony for parents to not report a missing child. This is the change I was talking about in my previous blog. Head over to change.org and sign the petition today! It already has over 450,000 signatures!



Lastly, a couple reviews came in for the new Harry Potter movie and they all seem to be very positive! One reviewer indicated the film made up for some of the deficiencies in the book (WHAT!? That is sacrilege!) The movie is the shortest Harry Potter film to date, coming in at 2 hours and 11 minutes. Only a few more days :)

You can head over to the rotten tomatoes website to read some of the reviews. So far it has a 100% fresh rating!!!

The Sword of Truth

I just finished reading the 5th book in The Sword of Truth series. I have to say that I LOVE these books.

When I first started reading them awhile back I felt slightly overwhelmed by the series. There are currently 11 books and they all come in around 1,000 - 1,200 pages each. However, I've always enjoyed reading long books / long series because you become so invested in the characters. They become a part of your life. You devote a huge amount of time to sit with them and visit.

The first book in the series is called Wizard's First Rule and I highly recommend you go out and buy it or download it to your e-reader. The series is considered a fantasy series, and similar to George RR Martin (another awesome author).



The books are written by Terry Goodkind, who is an amazing storyteller. The main characters, Richard and Kahlan, and almost role models for me. I find that I think a lot like Terry Goodkind and relate to his ideals, morals, and ethics.

On another note... the new / final Harry Potter movie comes out in 8 days on 15-Jul-2011!!!! The previews look amazing and I can't wait to see it :)

Water to Wine

A little humor to start the day :)

Caylee Anthony

There are some things that I will NEVER understand. I ran across this picture on the web and it literally made my stomach hurt.



*NOW* she's safe in the arms of Jesus? NOW?! Where was Jesus when this innocent and pure child was being molested. Where was he while she was being abused... while she was in pain... while she cried? Where was he when someone put duct tape over her mouth and murdered her? Where was your God when she cast her eyes up to heaven and begged for one more breath?

Let's say Jesus is real. He was the only all-powerful being able to help this child or that knew of her abuse. Did he use his power to give her new parents? Did he try to ensure that law enforcement got involved? Did he take her life PRIOR to her pain and suffering?

NO!

He sat there in his perfect paradise and watched this poor girl suffer every day of her life until she was murdered. Was this all just part of his plan... and what plan would that be? If this is the God you worship, then I want nothing to do with your religion

Caylee was raised, tortured, and murdered by a loveless human, and if there was a God, she was cruelly allowed to suffer and die at the hands of that God. We as humans need to stop looking to the heavens for answers and start looking at each other.

Don't let another Caylee go unseen or unheard. Look for the warning signs in every child you encounter, give them the voice that Caylee was denied.

VBS / aka Jesus Camp

It seems like I see a new sign for Vacation Bible School pop up every time I drive down the road. They are usually big white banners displayed in the front lawn of your standard corner church, presenting bright smiling faces, crosses, and colorful rainbows.

As a good Baptist child, I went to my fair share of Jesus Camps growing up. I remember lots of praying, going to the front of the church to ask for forgiveness, raising your arms and closing your eyes to sing hymns, people getting Baptized in the lake, and watching the plays (puppets and live-action).

I don't have any bad memories from my time at VBS, but looking back as an adult it seems like a nightmare. I was presented a one-sided story, not permitted to ask questions, and told that if I didn't follow the instructions I would probably suffer an eternal damnation. Ouch.

A documentary came out about 5 years ago called 'Jesus Camp.' I've seen most of the movie by watching clips online and you can also stream it on netflix. The documentary follows a group of children attending a fundamentalist VBS in North Dakota.

It infuriated me. Take a look at the video.



I cried for these children. As you can see from the video, they are brainwashed to the point of delirium. They are told over and over again that they are impure and undeserving of love. They are sinners, vile, and cruel and can only have their sins washed away by listening to their preacher and praying to God.

These are children! My readers know I feel very strongly when it comes to children being treated badly by adults, and once again I will use the term 'child abuse'. What the adults in this video do to these children is CHILD ABUSE - plain and simple.

How do you feel watching this video? What would you think if you saw your children speaking in tongues and twitching on the floor? This video scares me and I just hope these children are exposed to other viewpoints during their lives.

Good Without God?

I've been following a few stories going around the atheist blogosphere. I wanted to post about them since I think they make a good point.

Can you be good without God? According to Dylan Galos, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the "Out of the Closet" campaign, YES! I know, it's shocking, right!?



(On the FFRF website you can create your own "out of the closet" banner!!)

This particular banner made headlines when the FFRF posted the banner on a billboard in Columbus, OH... on church property! Apparently, there was a mix-up and the organizers did not realize it was on the church's land. Of course, the church complained, even though the billboard did not directly go against the church, they demanded the sign be removed. The FFRF relocated the sign to a different part of town and all was well.

In a separate but correlating story, two Churches were vandalized in Oregon with phrases such as "Praise the FSM." For the people unfamiliar with the acronym FSM, it stands for flying spaghetti monster, an internet 'religion' devoted to his holy noodleness. He boiled for your sins!

Well, apparently-- without God --the Atheist community CAN do good and actually raised over $3,000.00 to help the church remove the graffiti. The money was raised by the friendly atheist (check him out on my blogroll) and over 200 non-believers contributed to the fund. I feel like this was a noble deed and I'm really proud of my community for stepping up and helping their fellow humans.



We can be good without God; and to me the deeds feel more sincere when they are done out of kindness instead of brownie points for heaven.

Consulting the Bible - Part 1: Slavery

What is your favorite book?

Apparently, there is an unspoken rule in Christianity that one must answer this question with 'The Bible' before the words even finish reaching their ears. Just look at facebook. Every religious person I know has 'The Bible' listed in their favorite books section, yet I can guarantee that 99% of them have not actually read the Bible from cover-to-cover.

I can't even imagine the thought process. "Well, I've always wanted to read To Kill a Mockingbird and everyone else likes it... so... I'm SURE it's my favorite book."

What I can't comprehend is how a person can call themselves a Christian when they haven't read the actual Christian text. Learning a few of the verses doesn't count, nor does reading a few psalms. If I'm going to believe in something, you can rest assured that I fully understand what I'm buying into before I go out proselytizing. I expect you to do the same thing.

Also, you don't get to pick and choose which parts / verses of The Bible you accept. If you're a Christian, I'm going to assume 1. you've actually read the Bible, 2. you comprehended the Bible, and 3. you accepted the Bible as you're religious text and live you're life based on that moral code.

You know, the moral code that embraces human sacrifice, rape, slavery, genocide, and infanticide.

Part 1 - Slavery

Even though it didn't make the Ten Commandments, one would expect The Bible to be pretty clear about slavery. It's bad. People who enslave others should be punished, right? The Bible is your moral compass, right - so, let's take a look to see what the verses say about the issue.

However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)

That's right, The Bible clearly indicates that slavery is okay and you can treat your slaves as property.

Have you ever wondered how hard you could beat your slaves? Well, there is no need to wonder, just consult your Bible:

When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)

What about sleeping with your female slaves? Yes, The Bible also provides guidance on this issue:

When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment. (Exodus 21:7-11 NLT)

Maybe Jesus himself can clear up this issue, because there is no way the Bible could actually condone slavery, right? Wrong!!! Jesus said:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)

Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

In the following parable, Jesus clearly approves of beating slaves even if they didn't know they were doing anything wrong.

The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. "But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given." (Luke 12:47-48 NLT)

The Bible is a scary place, and before you start telling people it's your favorite book, you should probably ensure you know exactly what that means. Educate yourself. Don't listen to your preacher or your friends or your minister or even to me. Open the book and read it. You may be surprised at the God you fall to your knees to worship...