BS Meter Overload Regarding Rapture

My husband Butch and I were driving at 6pm on Saturday, eagerly waiting for the Rapture. Ok, we weren't waiting for it, but we did joke about it quite a bit. One thing we ruminated over was how the backpedaling would unfold. It took some time but Harold Camping finally crawled out of his hotel where he was hiding and talked to the press and his flock. He said pretty much what was expected.

He forgot to carry the 5 in his calculation, apparently. The Rapture is now rescheduled for October 21. I'm sure you're all relieved.

Here's the other "good news" which is not original to rapture predictors of days past. He said that this past Saturday was "an invisible judgment day" in which a spiritual judgment took place. "May 21 is the day that Christ came and put the world under judgment." I don't know about you, but I didn't see any signs of Jesus on a white horse with a sword. Go figure. In fact, there wasn't even a ripple in the air. It was as if, .... dare I say it? .. as if ... Nothing Happened!*

That's some very clever bullshit, if you ask me. I'm impressed! I'm sure the thousands of people who believed him are quite satisfied with this Fail and will happily wait for October 21. Of course, there were people who donated all of their savings to Camping's ministries and who quit their jobs and stayed home to pray and wait for the glorious end times. They are destitute now.

What will those people do now? They have 5 months to fill. As a friend of mine said, "If they were dumb enough to believe that crazy old kook, they get what they deserved."

I still feel bad for those people, though. Yes, they were gullible, but they are learning a very harsh lesson. The ones I don't feel sorry for are the ones that haven't abandoned Camping now that he's been wrong twice. He predicted the end times back in 1994. And guess what? He was wrong then too, just like every other judgment day predictor in human history.

By the way, in 2009 Camping's nonprofit Family Radio Int'l reported that they received $18.3 million in donations. They had assets of over $104 million, including $34 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities. Sounds like they were really expecting the end of the world, huh? No word on what they made in 2010 or so far this year as people were preparing for the Rapture. Camping said he didn't tell people what to do with their money, but there are reports that many gave donations to his ministry to help spread the word.

So, will Camping give back those donations to the now destitute, jobless families? I'd be interested if he does or not. Somehow I doubt it.

*There were a lot of Rapture parties, mainly by atheist groups. What a great way to spread the word of Reason! I guess I won't complain that now we have to have another party in October. Our group has great potluck parties. The food is "divine." :P

AP Story

The Secret To Teen Power is Harmful Bullshit

Awhile ago my friend's daughter turned 21 and received a copy of The Secret to Teen Power by Paul Harrington. While I'll leave it to you to mull over giving a teen book to someone turning 21, it was not well received. Of course, having written a previous article titled The Law of Attraction - And The Secret - Are Bullshit, I was keen to see how ‘insightful and helpful’ this new book was. My friend was kind enough to send it to me. It's taken me a year to get up the energy to even look at this piece of work.

My first surprise was that it wasn't written by Rhonda Byrne, who wrote The Secret. The guy who wrote this bunch of drivel is an employee for Byrne, although in the acknowledgments he says she is his best friend and mentor as well.

Let's cut to the chase of this book, which is #6 in teen health/mental health on Amazon. The reviews are mostly glowing. The ones I read were of parents and people who gave the book to kids, which I find disturbing.

Here is exactly what the Secret is: (pg 5-6)

According to science, there are certain laws that govern the Universe. There's the law of gravity - whatever goes up must come down. And there's Einstein's law of relativity - everything in the Universe is made of energy. And then there's "string theory" - everything in the Universe vibrates, everything has its own vibe. But the most powerful law in the entire Universe is ... the law of attraction. THE SECRET is the law of attraction. Everything that happens in your life all comes down to attraction. You attract all the stuff that happens to you,  every last little thing, no matter whether it's totally awesome or truly awful, it's all about you. And you do it with the power of your thoughts. Whatever you think about, that's what goes down, that's what happens.

OMFSM! My brain exploded! My BS meter overloaded. And I only got to page 6! Not only is this bullshit, it's Harmful Bullshit. We need some sanity! On the book’s page on Amazon, this is the first (most excellent) review, which sums up some of my thoughts:

Advertisements and Logical Fallacies Part 1

Lately I've been thinking about logical fallacies used in advertising and marketing. The argument from authority when someone in a lab coat tells you what to buy, argumentum ad populum which is "appeal to the people" because everyone else is buying this product so you should too.

One of my pet peeves is multigrain labels emblazoned on foods lately. Technically the food has more than one grain in it, but they are touting the product as something healthy when they have still stripped all fiber and goodness out, so the health benefits are still lacking. This is very popular in cereals, and unless you read the label you'd think you were buying something healthy, when really it's just as junky as cocoa puffs.

The "no sugar added" label is another one I find quite vague. There are several different iterations of this one. No sugar added, sugar free, the list goes on. What do they all mean? Again, you have to carefully read the nutrition facts and ingredients to get a better picture of what you'll be buying.

I guess it's basically the idea that advertisers must follow the letter of the law but not the spirit of it. So for something like Airborne (which I've ranted about before), they can make vague claims that basically say nothing to skirt the issue that there is no science behind their product. Then, to make it worse, they strategically make sure it's placed near the pharmacy to appeal to authority. I think in some places they have signs saying that pharmacists recommend Airborne. But really, to make that claim you only have to pay two pharmacists to say what you want to be truthful.

I find it all incredibly frustrating and discouraging. And the only solution is to be aggressively proactive about shopping and watching ads or commercials. Be skeptical!

This is part one of tackling this topic for three reasons.

• One, I don't think we can do it justice in one post.


• Two, I really want your feedback. What are your pet peeves in advertising? What examples stand out for you? What logical fallacies do you see in advertising and marketing?


• And three, I just got the new parts for my computer and have to build my newer, better, faster computer today (with the help of my geek friend, Gary. Thanks Gary!). :P This is my birthday present from my sweetie. Thanks, my love! :D

Ok, I'm off to go fiddle with my new computer parts. Hopefully it all goes well. I look forward to hearing from you about fallacies in advertising! :)

A Rational Chain E-mail

My friend Charles composed the following email as a response to a ridiculous christian forward he got call "Untimely Deaths". He thought I might like to share it with you. So here it is, including the angry christian email reply he already got and his reply to that at the end. His version had the classical large fonts, underlines and bold text that inflammatory emails often have, but for the web, I had to strip most of the formatting. If you decide to send this on to your christian friends, feel free to make them more at ease by using insanely large font sizes, underlines, unreadable colors, etc. :P

Do you have the COURAGE to Read this whole E-Mail?????

The TRUTH about UNTIMELY DEATHS!

John Lennon (Singer):
Some years before, during an interview with an American Magazine, he said:
"Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple. Today we are
more famous than Him" (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

Is god lazy? Lennon said he was bigger than Jesus in 1966. Mark Chapman shot him in 1980.
Fourteen years later! Was god too busy all those years assassinating other sinners? Is he a procrastinator?
"Oh yeah, that one blasphemous beatle. I really should smite him."
The next day:
"Crap! I forgot! again!"

And so on, for the next fourteen years!

The Secret Divides Part 2

The other day I wrote about a woman named Ruth who emailed me asking for some advice. Ruth's sister Esther (not their real names for their privacy) had been introduced to The Secret by her husband and now avoided Ruth because she said she is toxic. The first post is called The Secret Divides and I gave my initial opinion, then asked Ruth for some clarification, as well as asked you for your take on the situation.

Ruth said the following:

My sister and I are 5 years apart, she is in her late 30s I am in my early 30s. We live on opposite sides of the country.

[Esther and I] talked on Christmas - but only if I agreed to be play nice. We did exchange gifts. As long as I am willing to play along, she will speak to me - but it is obviously strained and only to make my mom happy. I have always had issues with hypocrisy or injustice - and I hate the fact that she doesn't have the respect for me and my feelings that she expects for herself - but I try.

Is there anything within the teachings that I can use to help her see my even a tiny bit of the pain that we feel when she says Dad, Grandma or I got what we asked for?  I don't want to destroy her belief - she has a right to it and I can respect that - as hard as it is for me to refrain from argument.

I am not the kind to sit and let people wallow in ignorance. I take serious exception when someone comes to a conclusion based on erroneous fact or assumption - that is my job. It is my job to present evidence and arguments and win. I can't do that here - and that alone throws me so off balance I am unsure how to proceed.

I have been thinking about this for 2 days. I'm afraid I can't really give Ruth what she's after. I don't have a copy of The Secret but I am quite familiar with the law of attraction as I spelled out awhile ago in a post called The Law of Attraction, and the Secret, are Bullshit. For your convenience, here are the basic rules for the law of attraction again:

The Secret Divides

As you may know, I make no bones in saying books like The Secret and their ilk are complete bullshit. I wrote about it awhile ago - The Law of Attraction, and the Secret, are Bullshit.  Beyond the bullshit I have found them to be harmful if swallowed. If you believe what the book says, you will have a distorted worldview. This can be extremely detrimental to your own thought processes, and as you will see below, can also skew how you look at someone who is in an unfortunate situation.

For example, let's say you believe that your thoughts dictate what will come to you. Then someone steals your wallet while you're at the grocery store. According to The Secret, you brought that negative event to you by worrying and thinking negative thoughts. Because you were afraid of having your wallet stolen, you worried about it in the back of your mind, and that made that guy behind you decide to run up and steal it. Wow! You are so powerful! The universe listens to your thoughts and acts upon them, even when you aren't paying attention!

In this fantasy world, the universe is a busy-body accountant, tallying your thoughts and then scheduling events to correspond. Ridiculous!

So wow, what would happen if you really focused your attention? What would happen if you got rid of all of your negative thoughts (not humanly possible or healthy)  and wished for only good things? Perfect health? Wealth? A perfect spouse? Sure, why not! If you can dream it, you can make it happen. (cough cough BULLSHIT!!)

Of course, here's the catch. It doesn't happen overnight. In fact, it might be years and years of wishful thinking before something comes true. (Coincidence?!) Oh, and most likely you actually DID things to make it finally happen. Maybe you made decisions and took actions that led to you finally acheiving your dream.

But that's not magic. The universe doesn't work the way The Secret says it does. If it did, my life would be very different because of the power of my thoughts.

Dan Saves Us A Visit To The Creation Museum

[caption id="attachment_2017" align="alignright" width="511" caption="The best picture Dan took in the museum. I smiled when I saw it. :)"][/caption]

Did you miss the Creation Museum Field Trip with PZ Myers last month? I did, and so did Dan, my friend from Rationality Now. But he and his friend decided to go to the museum not long after. He wrote up a 6 part tour that I found amazing, disturbing and depressing. His writing is excellent and thorough, quite interesting and fascinating.

So I wanted to share Dan's investigative tour with you. He sums up my feelings about the place rather perfectly. He has lots of pictures to illustrate as well.

Take a deep breath and dive in:

• Creation Museum Part 1 (which will lead you through to the other 5 parts)


• The Creation Museum Series page, with all the parts listed together

Logical Fallacy Land 1 - intro

As you may have noticed, there's a new conversation element in the sidebar. I added it so people can leave general comments for the whole site easily. You can be anonymous or sign in with all different kinds of accounts, not just google. It seemed like a friendly way to promote communication.   Someone posted a video in there the other day with a request for help on how to refute "an arrogant christian".

Here is the video. I'll warn you, it's almost 27 minutes long and incredibly irritating to watch.



Honestly, it's so ridiculous, I almost decided to do nothing about it. I suggested to the unknown person to get a copy of Atheist Universe by David Mills because basically that whole book refutes this video in very clear and easy to follow detail, without oversimplifying. It's quite thorough and I highly recommend it.

But then I talked to my mother today. She knows I'm a rather vocal atheist. She is kind of in the middle. She doesn't believe "all that religious crap" but doesn't know what to replace it with. She asked me what I believe about the beginning of the universe, if I believed in the Big Bang Theory. So I explained a bit about that, how science works (evidence and observation), how it changes over time to reflect new evidence and observation, and how that's awesome.

I told her about this video, about creationism and intelligent design, and how silly it was to base anything on a book written over 2000 years ago by desert goat herders who knew nothing of science or how things worked. She asked for a link if I decided to refute the video for the person who left it. She wanted to read it. So I decided I would tackle it after all.

I'm going to do it in stages. It's simply too long to tackle all at once. Also, I welcome your input, suggestions and refutations! Links to research, science, quotes, specific logical fallacies, anything and everything, is all welcome! Specific is good here, I think. So feel free to contribute. We can do this together much more easily than me alone.

The first thing to point out is the Argument from Authority. The guy in the video is a chemist in a lab coat. That is supposed to make him look like a trusted expert. But how is a chemist an expert in geology, astrophysics, astronomy, anthropology, etc? He's not, of course. Whatever background he has is irrelevant to what he's arguing.

Ok, that will get us started. I'm looking forward to your feedback!

The Resurrection Never Happened

Neece posted on the Codex Sinaiticus a few weeks ago. I've been digging around, reading it (a little) and about it, and was formulating a reply to add to her article. After a bit of writing, I decided I should just make it a separate article.

Let me start with a little background information. Many Christians mistakenly assume that the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) are independent accounts of the life of Jesus. Thus they assume that four corroborated eyewitnesses prove his existence, and the validity of every story told of him. Several facts knock this premise on its ear; but somehow Christians hold fast to their belief still.

First, Luke starts his book by stating that he is drawing up accounts "as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses" (in case that is too cryptic, he is admitting these were the stories told to him; that he was not an eyewitness). Second, we have historical and archeological information that indicates the new testament books were written after 45 CE at the earliest; most were after 90 CE. Third, we have in depth analysis and research that has resulted in plenty of proof that three of the four copy from another. Yet still many Christians think them all perfect accounts of the life of Jesus. Even his existence cannot be proven absolutely.

Most scholars agree that Mark was written first, and the other three had a copy or version of Mark they built their work from. The most common hypothesis currently is that Matthew used Mark or a version of Mark (M) in conjunction with the Q document (an as-yet undiscovered document). Luke used Mark and the Q document; as well as at least one other source (L), possibly two (J). The gospel of John came last, in addition to being very obviously written by a Greek (when original versions are examined). "The Gospel [of John] certainly does not appear to have been written by an uneducated fisherman from Galilee, which is who John the disciple is portrayed as in Gospel stories." John appears to use Matthew, Mark, and Luke; but takes many liberties by using "eloquent Greek prose for the speeches of Jesus" instead of just translating. [SOURCE]

Most of you probably knew this, or knew of it in general, so I'll get on with the "new" information.

How Many Gods Are In The Bible?

Let's start with what is probably the most famous and most used excerpt from the Bible: the ten commandments. Actually all we really need is the first commandment. Exodus 20 verses 2-4 are typically what comprises the first commandment: "I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." I think the second sentence (Exodus 20:3) says it all; Yahweh admits there are other gods, but tells his people he is number one.

Christians vehemently subscribe to the view that the Bible proves the existence of Yahweh. They also view all other gods as fake or myths.

Does the Bible ever actually say the others are fake gods? This might just be arguing technicalities, but as I recall the Bible refers to them as false gods. In fact most of the time the Bible doesn't even imply that much, often just referring to them as gods.

This seems to indicate that Yahweh (or at least the Bible authors) knew these other gods existed. Yahweh does mention that he is jealous (who would he have to jealous of besides other gods), and that his people should worship no other gods before him. The theme seems to repeat often through the Old Testament: acknowledgment of other gods, and then reinforcing that they are the wrong gods.

If the Bible provides repeated 'proof' of Yahweh, doesn't this same argument work as proof of other gods? Especially when you consider that Yahweh himself acknowledges the existence of these other gods.

So based on this information, couldn't we imply that anyone who believes in the existence of Yahweh should thus believe in the existence of these other gods? Even if they don't worship these other gods, wouldn't it make sense to concede they exist?

But how many other gods are there in the Bible? Probably more than you think, and definitely more than most Christians think.

Some of the Gods Mentioned in the Bible not an exhaustive list
Adrammelech	II Kings 17:31	Sepharvite sun god (day to Anammelech's night).
Anammelech	II Kings 17:31	Sepharvite lunar goddess (night to Adrammelech's day).
Asherah	II Kings 23:6 & Jeremiah 7:18	Yahweh's consort; the mother goddess and "queen of heaven."
Ashima	II Kings 17:30	Samaritan lunar goddess.
Ashtoreth	I Kings 11:05	Canaanite goddess (version of Ishtar).
Baal or Ba'al	I Kings 18:19	Canaanite god ("lord" or "master") of fertility, vegetation, and storms.
Baal-berith	Judges 8:33	A regional variation/aspect of Baal.
Baal-Peor	Numbers 25:03	Moabite regional variation/aspect of Baal.
Baal-zebub	Luke 11:19	Philistine/Ekronian regional variation/aspect of Baal.
Baalim	I Kings 18:18	Canaanite gods ("lords" or "masters"), a collective of the different aspects of Baal.
Bel	Isiah 46:01	Assyrian/Babylonian/Sumerian god ("lord" or "master") aspect of Baal.
Chemosh	I Kings 11:07	Moabite war god.
Dagon	I Samuel 05:02	Philistine/Ekronian/Babylonian god of grain and agriculture.
Diana of the Ephesians	Acts 19:35	Ephesian moon and nature goddess, (equivalent of the Greeks Artemis).
Jupiter	Acts 14:12	King of the Roman gods.
Mercurius	Acts 14:12	Roman god of communication and travel, and messenger of the gods. Also known as Mercury.
Milcom	I Kings 11:05 & 07	Ammonite god of fire (also known as Moloch, Molech, Molekh, or Molek).
Nebo or Nebu	Isiah 46:01	Assyrian/Babylonian/Chaldean god of wisdom and writing (Some scholars think Moses may be a humanized adaption of Nebu).
Nergal	II Kings 17:30	Cuth/Assyrian/Babylonian war and underworld god.
Nibhaz	II Kings 17:31	Avites god.
Nisroch	II Kings 19:37	Assyrian god of agriculture; also called Dagon, and could be a different version of Nusku.
Rimmon	II Kings 05:18	Babylonian/Syrian storm god; also known as Ramman or Rammon, and most likely an alternate version of Baal.
Succoth-benoth	II Kings 17:30	Babylonian fertility goddess ("she who produces seed").
Tammuz	Ezekial 8:14	Assyrian/Babylonian/Sumerian god of food and vegetation.
Tartak	II Kings 17:31	Avites god.

Then there is Yahweh, how many names can one god have? Besides Yahweh (YHWH) there's the mistranslated Jehovah, the coincidentally plural Adonai, the name given to Moses as Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, then Elohim and El with all their sub-forms, the poetic combination of El and Yahweh Elyon, the name given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as Shaddai (and there are more).

There was even a time when he was referred to as The Seven: Eloah, Elohim, Adonai, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, Yahweh, Shaddai, Zebaot.

I've run down a side tangent a little now, but think about this for a moment: Is Yahweh even a monotheistic god? You really could argue that he is almost polytheistic. From the Jewish take on him, look at all these different aspects and versions; seems more like multiple gods they tried to cram into one. Then from the Christian take, look at the father, the son, and the holy ghost; seems like its just taking multiple gods and forcing them all into a single being.

Just a final note, check these contradictions on Skeptics Annotated Bible; seems the verses for multiple gods far outweigh the verses for a single god.

Thanks to Norbert Sykes for the original list.

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:

Sometimes It Sucks To Be A Skeptic

I think I understand what it's like to be lost in a world of woo thinking. Maybe even an inkling of what it's like to believe in Jesus as your personal hero.

Butch, my awesome husband, came home Friday night and told me he felt awful. He and I both got a cold about 3 weeks ago and he shook if off in about 4 days while I suffered with a nasty chest cold, congestion and laryngitis until just the other day. I didn't want to hear that he was sick again. It was my birthday weekend, we were supposed to go out to dinner on Sunday (last night), and I was hoping we'd both be feeling well for a change.

Alas, it was not to be. He had a fever, the chills, and was completely miserable. And here's where I realized I felt totally helpless. I can't stand seeing someone I love sick. When Butch or my dogs or someone I care about has a problem or is in pain, I want to fix them. I want to make them at least feel better. But sometimes there's nothing you can do.

Why Are The Religious So Threatened By Atheists?

I've noticed that since atheists have become a bit more vocal, religious folks have become exceedingly nasty about their faith. Their tactics are those of a cornered injured animal - vicious, unfair, ruthless. It doesn't make sense to me. You'd think, considering their beliefs, they'd be indifferent at most to people who are atheists. Why are they so threatened?

Have you ever listened to a pseudoscientist hyping their product? They do the same thing. They tell you they have a secret that only they know. They say everyone is against them, that THEY are holding back information that you can purchase for only $49.95, or 3 easy payments. They make themselves out to be the victims when in fact they are victimizing every poor fool that buys their stupid crap.

The religious do the same. They claim they're oppressed, downtrodden, victimized. When in fact they are the oppressors, the victimizers, the ones with jackboots on the necks of sheeple. Hypocrisy is vile and repugnant, and they use it like it's gold.

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.

Thanksgiving and Family Fundie Nonsense

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I'm a bit bummed out that I don't have a great outfit to wear to dinner on Thursday. Like one of the 30 or so anti-religious shirts my husband Butch I have created on Zazzle and Cafepress with maybe some nice black cargo pants. I just don't think I could get one shipped to me in time. Maybe if I order soon, I can have something festive for baby jesus' birthday.

Oh if I only had the nerve. Maybe it's not nerve but respect for the people who throw the family get-togethers - Butch's aunt and uncle. She's a bit on the religious side, so I wouldn't want to upset or offend her. She's the kind of christian that I don't mind at all. I know she's a christian because she goes to church every Sunday, but we've never talked religion and she's never tried to push her faith on me. She is a good person, one of the few christians I know that I truly respect, because she walks the walk without talking the talk, if you know what I mean.

Her mother, on the other hand, she's nasty. The typical fundie moron that is unbearable and full of lies and hatred for anyone who actually thinks for themselves. As a schoolteacher, I just wish she wouldn't be so ignorant about simple facts like oh, I dunno, maybe that we're not a christian nation, and that the founding fathers created a separation of church and state very deliberately.

Let's Pick Out The Lies - Part 2

This is part two of a forwarded email I received the other day. Part One is here.

The rest of this email was all added on sometime in 2006. It was NOT said by Ben Stein. This kind of stuff drives me crazy. People forward emails because they blindly believe what is being sent. They just accept that it's all true and important, so they send it to me, and you, whether we like it or not. I really can't stand spam when it comes from someone I know.

Anyhoo, the following is a combination of older items about a TV appearance of Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Graham's daughter) made just after 9-11 and the false claim that child care expert Dr. Benjamin Spock's son committed suicide.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different:  This is not intended to be a joke;  it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Talking about an invisible man in the sky does not really require thinking. It is blindly believing in fairy tales, but I digress.

Let's Pick Out the Lies- Part 1

Personally I don't like to talk to friends and family about politics or religion. The older I get the more strongly I feel about certain issues. While I try to remain open to more information, and am willing to learn and grow and change my thinking, my tolerance for certain behaviors in those around me wanes.

Anyway, the other day I got an email from an acquaintance. She hasn't emailed me in about 2 years, but I guess this was so important to her that she just had to send it to her entire email list. Instead of deleting it, I thought I'd share it with you.

Here's the email in its entirety, with my commentary thrown in after each "quote".

Subject: is quite impressive , what do you think
Remarks from CBS Sunday Morning (everyone should read!)
I can only hope we find God again before it is too late!!

(oh lordy I'm so glad I got this email! Now I can see the light of god and I'm saved from hell! Oh wait, no. It was just a seizure.)

Thinking Is Hard Work

Well, it is. It sure is easier to just follow the crowd, to believe forwarded emails, to think commercials and tv shows are honest and forthright, to believe everything the news tells us as fact, etc, etc....

I used to podcast a morning radio show. It was goofy fun. Amusing if a bit crass. But after awhile, I realized they never really said anything new. And they had their producer on there who was so full of lies and hate that I just couldn't stand it anymore. It didn't help that he proclaimed his christianity along with the hate he spewed forth.

So I gave it up, even though I had been using it to keep me company since I'm alone most of the day. I had to replace it with something. I like to listen to people talk while I do mundane things. Around the same time I found Atheist Nexus. One thing led to another, and I discovered that there's this whole Skeptical community out there, as well as an Atheist community.

So I've been sampling and listening to different Skeptical and science podcasts lately. I love it. It's intelligent, fun, interesting, and stimulating. I've realized several things, though, as I've been listening and taking in all this great new information.