Unbelievable Popist Insanity

Ok, so, unfortunately this news story is not unbelievable. Last year, somehow this amazingly hateful popist insanity slipped by my radar. Just in case you live under a rock like I do, I thought it was worth sharing.

Pope Ratz said the following last December in his Christmas address:

"In the 1970s, paedophilia was theorised as something fully in conformity with man and even with children."

"It was maintained - even within the realm of Catholic theology - that there is no such thing as evil in itself or good in itself. There is only a 'better than' and a 'worse than'. Nothing is good or bad in itself."

The abuse revelations in 2010 reached "an unimaginable dimension" which brought "humiliation" on the Church.

Seriously? What world did Ratz live in? I grew up in the 70's and you know what? It was criminal to hurt a child.

How out of touch is this monster? To whine about how the church has been humiliated is reprehensible. Why not be enraged, like normal members of society, that children have been raped and have been scarred for life under his watch?!

Raping a child who is under your protection is abominable. Has it happened throughout history? Yes. Is it more prevalent? There's no evidence that it is. We simply talk about it more now, which is good. Was it ever right? No.

My Pareidolia Has Produced a Miracle!

Recently, I shared my blessing with you of Jesus showing himself to me in a picture in my dining room of pond scum on a creek. I was amazed at your lack of Faith. No one else saw Jesus but me. But that did not deter me! I knew I had a Genuine Miracle in my presence. So I prayed and waited for the Blessings to start rolling in. (and by pray, I mean I sarcastically blogged about it and then promptly forgot about it)

Well here's a big one! My dear husband Butch got a job! He had one but he was offered a better one. Which means he was able to quit the old one that he hated. God always provides!

Of course, my confirmation bias sees the recent pareidolia from August 31 and Butch being offered a job a week later as being magically related. And of course, I have (conveniently) forgotten that Butch had just applied for the job (his mundane, human actions), that he had been looking for a job for quite a few months, and that he had the requisite skills gleaned over many years of hard work to attract the new employer.

In other words, Butch took all the boring, time consuming steps needed to get hired. But I don't have to think about his intelligence, technical skills, people skills and persistence. No, of course not. I just know that Jesus provided through my Faith and Devotion.

Ugh, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. First, it's incredibly insulting to Butch to ignore all of  his efforts to pin all the accolades on Jesus, an invisible, evidence-free friend who gets all the glory when things go well, and never gets blamed when bad stuff happens.

That is really the evil genius of religion. Whoever first came up with that slick bit of mind-twisting psychology obviously skyrocketed to the top of the game. Heads Jesus wins; Tails you lose. But Jesus loves you and will give you rewards after you are dead. Of course, you'll be dead so you will never know if you wasted your life in servitude for a bucket of lies.  Oh, and don't forget, if you don't love Jesus, he will make you burn in hell forever and ever. How can you pass this deal up?

Oh, you need evidence. I see. That's against the rules. God says you have to have faith. See how I move the goalposts so it always goes my way? Pretty sneaky, aren't I? It's evil genius, playing off of our human weaknesses. Brilliant!

'Scientific Rigor' Regarding Exorcisms

The Telegraph wrote a couple of credulous, one-sided articles regarding exorcism recently. Apparently the interwebs makes it easy for people to find information on satanism, which is leading, of course, to more exorcisms. OMFSM, I just said the word satanism! I'm probably already possessed now! Get me a priest!

So is there a rise in satanism? Let's see what Google Trends can find:

First I looked up satanism by itself. There is no increase in searches for that term since 2004. It's really not that popular, I don't think. Then I did "satanism, exorcism". Exorcism has spikes, either from movies like Last Exorcism or "scary" vatican rumblings about the exorcism "crisis".



So, I guess they lied? Or they have no idea what they're talking about.

Anyway, a few things in this article stood out. First, they were written because the vatican hosted a 6 day conference in Rome regarding the "crisis". It was to give support to families and priests. Apparently "there is a particular risk for young people who are in difficulties or who are emotionally fragile."

Also, the objective of the seminars was to look at the "phenomenon" of satanism with "seriousness and scientific rigour". Uh, really? That's laughable!

Brainwashing Little Kids With Christian Propaganda

Some things are incredibly hard to watch. Watching adults lie to children, manipulate them, turn them away from reality and science all because it's "easier" to control them, keep them in line, keep them in the church, is sickening beyond the pale.



I found this on Stupid Evil Bastard, who reviewed it quite well. But I had to share it with you because these horrid people, Ken Ham and his ilk, are killing the critical thinking of children with lies and bullshit. Get them while they're young and you maybe just get them for life.

And the mother who says it's just easier? I have nothing nice to say so I'll keep my thoughts to myself about that. But I'll just say she gets what she deserves with that kind of lazy, willfully ignorant parenting.

Nothing to me is more despicable that cultivated ignorance. Except maybe spoon feeding it to poor kids who can't reason through the lies yet.

Last Mr Deity Of Season Three and A Bit About the Vatican and Pope Ratz

Mr. Deity and the Quitter
Jesus gets upset when he realizes that there's no reason for his sacrifice.



I can't believe Jesse quit! He'll be back, don't you think?

Now onto more serious issues that have been weighing on my mind lately, and yours as well, most likely.

Johnny posted something on Facebook the other day that I have been meaning to share with you.

Religion Is Evil And Contagious

But don't take my word for it. How about an Oxford professor whom you know and love? Richard Dawkins, of course! I found this 2 part video he did for the BBC in 2006. It's a very good overview of his ideas and concepts of religion, evolution and atheism. See below for the descriptions of each episode.

The Root of All Evil? Part 1: The God Delusion. (Richard Dawkins, 2006) - 47:51



The Root of All Evil? - The Virus of Faith (2 of 2) - 47:58



Here's a description of the first episode:

Religion's Problem of Evil: The Top 15 Excuses Religious People Give For Their god

I think Epicurus said it best and most succinctly:

Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him god?

Epicurus 341-270 BCE

But August Berkshire gives 15 excuses religious people give for the horrible behavior of their god, which I thought you might enjoy. You can also read this article as a trifold pdf.

If a god exists who is all-powerful and all-loving, then why is there evil in the world?  For the sake of this argument, let’s concede that the harm that humans do is a misuse of our free will, for which a god cannot be blamed.  That still leaves us with genetic birth defects, genetic and acquired diseases, predators, and natural disasters.

These things seem like wanton cruelty on the part of this god.  Without them, we could still be left to struggle with good and evil in terms of moral dilemmas and human actions, and be judged accordingly.

Here are “The Top 15 Excuses” religious people give in an attempt to explain away the horrible behavior of the all-powerful, all-loving god they believe exists.

Objective Versus Subjective

I'm seeing this video being repeatedly posted on Facebook as it chains its way though the theist world. From what I've gathered from the YouTube mirroring, this is a TV commercial running in the Republic of Macedonia. The campaign is apparently something like "Knowledge Is Power." And this part of the campaign is apparently sub-headlined "Religion is knowledge, too. Bringing religion back to school."

How Far Does God Push The Faithful?

Apparently Abraham is the role model for how far god can push the faithful. Only in real cases, sometimes someone innocent actually dies. It seems that parents kill their children through denial of medical attention all too frequently these days. Often I don't blog about these sad stories because I am so enraged I don't feel I can do it without copious amounts of profanity and vitriol.

We have all heard about the Neumanns. They were both convicted of 2nd degree reckless homicide in the death of their 11 year old daughter Madeline. She had diabetes but it was undiagnosed. She died a horrible death at home, surrounded by praying sheeple who refused to call an ambulance until she stopped breathing. Doctors testified that Madeline could have been saved if she had received simple medical care like insulin and fluids before she stopped breathing.

The mother said that she and her husband believed their daughter's deteriorating condition may have been the result of a falling out with another couple, and called them once the girl was unconscious and persuaded them to come pray for the girl.

"I asked her if she loved Jesus," the mother testified. "She might have said yes. I know for sure she was acknowledging it. What sounds came out, I don't remember. She was making noises. ... My focus definitely was to pray."

Their lawyer told the jury that Neumann sincerely believed praying would heal his daughter and he did nothing criminally wrong.

"Dale Neumann was doing what he thought would work for his daughter. He was administering faith healing. He thought it was working."

What god would punish a young girl because her parents had a fight with another couple? Oh, right. The christian god. Of course. Dale Neumann had studied to be a pentecostal minister, but at the time of Madeline's death the family didn't belong to any organized religion. The mother said she didn't have anything against doctors either. Then why is her daughter dead? Oh, right, because it was a spiritual illness. Yeah, the prayer really was helping. I see why they decided to hold off on the tried and true medical care in favor of pleas to an invisible man in the sky. Go with what (doesn't) work, and keep doing it till your daughter is dead. Smart thinking.

'I wed Iranian girls before execution'

Excerpt from article by Sabina Amidi, special to the Jerusalem Post:

In a shocking and unprecedented interview, directly exposing the inhumanity of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's religious regime in Iran, a serving member of the paramilitary Basiji militia has told this reporter of his role in suppressing opposition street protests in recent weeks.

He has also detailed aspects of his earlier service in the force, including his enforced participation in the rape of young Iranian girls prior to their execution.

The interview took place by telephone, and on condition of anonymity. It was arranged by a reliable source whose identity can also not be revealed.

Founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 as a "people's militia," the volunteer Basiji force is subordinate to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and intensely loyal to Khomeini's successor, Khamenei.

Explaining how he had come to join the volunteer Basiji forces, he said his mother had taken him to them.

When he was 16, "my mother took me to a Basiji station and begged them to take me under their wing because I had no one and nothing foreseeable in my future. My father was martyred during the war in Iraq and she did not want me to get hooked on drugs and become a street thug. I had no choice," he said.

He said he had been a highly regarded member of the force, and had so "impressed my superiors" that, at 18, "I was given the 'honor' to temporarily marry young girls before they were sentenced to death."

In the Islamic Republic it is illegal to execute a young woman, regardless of her crime, if she is a virgin, he explained. Therefore a "wedding" ceremony is conducted the night before the execution: The young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with a prison guard - essentially raped by her "husband."

Oh Lordy, Kill My Oppressors, Please!

Wiley Drake, a southern baptist preacher in California went on Fox News Radio's Alan Colmes show on June 2nd and said he's praying for god to kill President Obama. Drake used to be the 2nd vice president of the southern baptist convention.

Apparently there's a special kind of prayer from psalms where you ask god to kill people for you, to vindicate your innocence and relieve you of your oppressors. It's called imprecatory prayer.

Imprecate: To call down by prayer, as something hurtful or calamitous. To invoke evil upon; curse.

Drake prayed to his god for the death of Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered in his church on May 31st. Drake called his death an answer to prayer.

(emphasis of the following quotes are mine, with my comments interspersed)

"Imprecatory prayer is agreeing with God, and if people don't like that, they need to talk to God," Drake told syndicated talk-show host Alan Colmes. "God said it, I didn't. I was just agreeing with God."

Lame! Cop-out! 'Don't blame me, it's god's responsibility! I just pestered him till he did what i demanded!'

Asked if there are others for whom Drake is praying "imprecatory prayer," Drake hesitated before answering that there are several. "The usurper that is in the White House is one, B. Hussein Obama," he said.

Later in the interview, Colmes returned to Drake's answer to make sure he heard him right.

"Are you praying for his death?" Colmes asked.

"Yes," Drake replied.

"So you're praying for the death of the president of the United States?"

"Yes."

Colmes asked Drake if he was concerned that by saying that he might be placed on a Secret Service or FBI watch list, and if he believed it appropriate to talk or pray that way.

At least he's just praying, which we know to be completely ineffectual.

Morals, Ethics and Pope Benedict Evil

Every week I look forward to cleaning up a bit on Monday. After my husband goes to work, I update my iPod and blast The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe while I tidy up. I love the Rogues. I learn an awful lot from them. They spark my interest in various topics and have helped me to learn to be skeptical.

So, the reason I'm sharing that is because I want to share part of the most recent podcast with you. It was Episode 191 and they talked about the Pope who was in Africa talking about Aids recently. Pope Benedict Ratz-en-evil said,

"(HIV/AIDS) is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems."

Um, WTF? That is reprehensible. The pope, the spokesman for god, is basically telling people who are uneducated and fully indoctrinated into the god myth that condoms are unhelpful and even harmful when it comes to spreading AIDS. That is evil.

Here are some of the other stances he's taken regarding science:

Atheist Fun

Sometimes I just want to relax and have a bit of fun.

I like this comic, jesus calling god the worst dad ever. LOL

Geez, those "evil" atheists are so wicked and skeery!

5 Evil and Crazy christian Movements

Here are 5 christian movements that are crazy and evil. As if any christian-based movement isn't evil, I know! LOL... anyway, I just wanted to bring these issues to your attention, if you didn't already know about them.

And I Thought Oprah and Dr. Phil Were The Antichrists

Ok, I don't believe in the antichrist, of course. But there are people on this planet that are so heinous, so evil, so insidious, that a word is needed to describe them. I use antichrist because I can't think of anything that encompasses evil like that word. If you have a better term, please share.



I think I have a candidate for the antichrist position. I used to think it was oprah and dr. phil together, tearing America down through bullshit and lies, making America weak and soft and stupid. But now I've been introduced to the insidious pastor rick warren. This fat, uncharismatic car salesman (soul salesman?) thinks he's the Brain and we're all Pinky. "What are we going to do tonight, Brain?" "Same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world."

You think I exaggerate? I wish! The Huffington Post had a long and disturbing post about parasite warren the other day. Here is a video so you can see and hear this slimeball yourself. Notice when he's speaking to the crowd of 30,000 people how eerily silent they are. How obedient and passive they are.