By Carl S. ~ D epending on what major religion one belongs to, one believes: That Jesus, unaided, floated up from the Earth's surface, into the sky, and was never seen again, or, that his mother likewise, did the same, or, that Mohammed also floated up, but this time on a horse, or that the prophet Ezekiel, likewise, floated up into the sky, but in a chariot. Do you believe in the Incarnation, reincarnation, hagiography, transubstantiation, transmigration of souls , predestination, eternal damnation? Where are your beliefs when it comes to the worship of a god or many gods, of worship of Ganesh , the elephant-headed god, or Krishna, Vishnu, Satan and Shiva? Don't you believe in holy underwear, magic tablets, holy water that can cure diseases, etc., etc.? Don't you believe that the Bible, Talmud, Book of Mormons, Catholic catechism, and Koran, are all the word of God? Don't you lack belief in Scientology ? And, besides these, there are many other dogmas amongst the...

By Rebecca Scharpf ~ E verything happens by God’s will and His (this is the only time in the article I was capitalize the pronoun when referring to God) alone—from the fall of the tiniest of sparrows to the birth of a Savior for Mankind. At least, that’s what I was taught, and that’s what I believed . . . for a time. However, there were questions that prodded my mind the older I became and the more I studied the Bible and Christian theology. And the questions I had were never met with good answers. Here is a list of some of those questions and my thought processes, plus the often unsatisfactory responses I received: “How can we tell the difference between God’s answer to prayer or God’s intervention in the world and a plain and simple coincidence?” I asked this because it was impossible for me to tell. If I prayed for a parking space and one opened up, was that God, or was that just coincidence? I could never decide, and the Christians I asked didn’t seem to know how to decide, e...

By Valerie Tarico ~ Religion is just one part of the lethal cocktail, but it is a powerful intoxicant. T he year 2015 has opened to slaughter in the name of gods. In Paris, two Islamist brothers executed Charlie Hebdo cartoonists “in defense of the Prophet,” while an associate killed shoppers in a kosher grocery. In Nigeria, Islamist members of Boko Haram massacred a town to cries of Allahu Akbar— Allah is the greatest! Simultaneously, the United Nations released a report detailing the “ethnic cleansing” of Muslims in the Central African Republic by Christian militias, sometimes reciting Bible verses. On a more civilized note, Saudi Arabia began inflicting 1000 lashes on a jailed blasphemous blogger—to be doled out over 20 weeks so that he may survive to the end. In media outlets around the world, fierce debate has erupted over who or what is responsible. Is monotheism inherently violent? Is religion an excuse or cover for other kinds of conflict? Are Western colonialis...

By glebealyth ~ The Holocaust of the Children Y ou may remember, or have heard of, a study correlating societal health with the degree of religiosity in many nations. That study was carried out and written by Gregory S Paul . Mr Paul has also written a paper with the above (abridged) title, which is available here: LINK . It is a 24-page article in an academic journal, so I have attempted to write a quick précis of it here for your enjoyment. Please, do not stop at reading this bastardised, cut-down and inadequate summary, but click on the links read the whole article and, I beg you, be gentle in your criticisms of my literary inadequacies. In his paper, Paul begins by talking about the standard approach to suffering in the presence of a benevolent god, known as theodicy. Typically this talks about moral evil and suffering caused and suffered by adults. Although newsworthy disasters such as tsunamis, missing aircraft and hurricanes hold the public attention for a short while...

By undercover agnostic ~ Alien Invasion A couple of months after my mountain top experience at Bible camp, I entered Sixth grade , on fire for Jesus and ready to change the world. Sixth grade can be a tumultuous time for many kids, and my experience was no different. With the onset of puberty, raging hormones, acne and the insatiable need for social acceptance, it’s no wonder I have no desire to revisit 1974 even if my time machine could take me back with just the simple push of a button. To compound, an already difficult stage of development, my Christian zeal only added to the awkwardness. During Bible camp, I was warned that there was a cost to taking up my cross and following Jesus. I was told that I would be hated, ridiculed, alienated and rejected for being a Christian but the payoff in Heaven would be worth it all. When I threw my stick in the huge purging bonfire, on the last evening, I was essentially saying that I accepted the challenge. From that decision, emerged a ...

By Mark Fitzgerald ~ I t seems to me that life is a journey, one day we are basking in the sun and the next we are crashing against the rocks. I think it's fair to say that most of us like a life that is comfortable and easy, however the life we get is not always the one we asked or hoped for. Pain happens to us all and what we do with that pain shapes who we become. My life started out with fairly humble beginnings, I come from a broken home which is typical of many families in this day and age. It never really bothered me; it was all I knew. I am a twin so from time to time I found myself comparing my life to my brother's and feeling like I came up short. He was always the outgoing one; carefree or so it appeared from the outside. As you grow older you realize that nobody gets a free pass, we all have our cross to bear. We grew up very religious and went to church every Sunday. I can't think of a time in my life that I didn't believe in God; it was never an op...

by WizenedSage (Galen Rose) ~ T his is from a recent NBCnews.com article : Pope Francis suggested there are limits to freedom of expression , saying in response to the Charlie Hebdo terror attack that "one cannot make fun of faith" and that anyone who throws insults can expect a "punch." The pontiff said that both freedom of faith and freedom of speech were fundamental human rights and that "every religion has its dignity." Dignity? Religions are based on revelation claims involving supernatural entities which cannot be substantiated. As a result, religions are ultimately superstitions. Where is the dignity in superstition? Revelations, if they exist at all, are communications from a deity to one person. Upon retelling, that revelation becomes mere hearsay. Without physical substantiation, or some kind of proof, it is no more than rumor at best, and lie at worst. Anyone can claim to have had a revelation. It has happened thousands, maybe mil...

By WizenedSage (Galen Rose) ~ F or those readers of this site who may be contemplating a return to the fold, I offer a brief course intended to smooth your transition. You may have forgotten what it takes to be a good Christian, so I am here to help you brush up on three very basic principles, the three strands of our brief course which I call Self-Deception 101. The idea for this course comes from a recent Christian visitor to this site who actually used all three of these basic precepts within a very brief span of time in his comments. So, if you happened to read his comments and paid close attention, then you may qualify for advance placement credit. The three basic principles of self-deception are these: 1) Testing god offends him, 2) You must always TRY to believe in Christian dogma, and 3) Much of Christian dogma is above human reason. Now, let’s expand on each of these time-honored and well-proven principles of Christian faith. But, first, we should recognize that all t...

By Ben Love ~  W ant some hard honesty? Here you go… Sometimes I miss my old religion. I do. There are moments when I recall what it was like to have that constant sense of someone larger than yourself, someone you could come to whenever you needed to, someone in whose presence you would always find comfort. There is an encompassing fortitude that spreads through your whole being when you feel you’re connecting to this person, a person that obviously loves you and accepts you no matter where you’re at or what mess you’ve gotten yourself into this time. No one who has experienced that kind of spiritual transcendence could possibly ever forget what it was like, nor could they fail to miss it if indeed they end up walking away from it. God, real or not, has a powerful pull on those souls who have encountered his charms, and this pull is not easily undone. After all, if you believe there is a God of the entire Universe who happens to know you, like you, live within you, and des...

By Daniel Scott ~ M y name is Daniel, I'm twenty-one years old. I come from a family of mostly Christians, as my parents both hold positions in their current church as Sunday school teachers. To be honest i want to come out about my atheism. I know it would break their hearts but at the same time I don't know what amount of backlash i can expect. To put this in perspective my one uncle (un-saved) is referred to as "the one to watch out for" whereas my dad (licensed through the Church of God ) is the "god one" and constantly brags that "Every time my brother sees me he runs off cause I'm going to talk about one thing and that's God.". After over twenty years I'm sure he's tired of hearing about god, I know I am. My family is the type that'll fight for their rights, and only their rights as Christians, to be respected. They don't care that Pagans, Muslims , etc are human beings and have rights to. Especially the Gay Comm...

By Carl S. ~ H ave you ever noticed how someone who is called a “wise guy” turns out to have been the one who saw through what others missed? And usually, it turns out that that person was truly wise after all. (This site is loaded with insights from such wise guys and wise gals. ) Wise guys are those who sarcastically tell others what they don't like to hear, refuse to consider, or won't say, but suspect or even know is the truth. Wise guys have always been with us in history. Ancient Greeks wrote sarcastic plays. Well known wise guys are Mark Twain , Voltaire, Dorothy Parker , Bill Maher , George Carlin , and Oscar Wilde . In the past, monarchs would employ their personal wise guys in courts as “jesters” or “fools.” They were the royal commentators, entertainingly warning kings and queens of court intrigues and lies, the follies of reigning unwisely. By their presence, they represented the fact rulers should not take themselves too seriously. To this day, many wise gu...

By Valerie Tarico ~ A  woman who values fertilized eggs or who believes her deity does should use the most highly effective contraceptive available. Most fertilized eggs spontaneously abort during the first weeks of life. Estimates of death before implantation range as high as 80 percent and bottom out around 45. More than thirty percent of those that do implant later die on the vine. This means that unprotected sex produces more dead fertilized eggs than live babies. Reality TV ’s Duggar parents are fundamentalist Christian opponents of contraception and abortion who have produced “ 19 Kids and Counting .” Based on the live births that Michelle Duggar delivered, we might estimate that Michelle and her man-on-a-mission flushed somewhere between 17 and 75 precious little bundles of joy in order to get the herd they have. Any woman who leaves family planning to chance or her deity probably has a fertilized egg in her Diva Cup most months. Gross image, I know. But you know wh...

By Nohl Wormser ~ W ith my face more intentionally close to the carpet than it had ever been before, and subsequent relief that I vacuumed as much as I had, there marked the beginning of my search for Jesus. The true Jesus not distorted by any of the different doctrines or denominations surrounding him. I wanted to remove all of the filters so that I could truly hear his voice, experience the relationship and do his will. So with face on floor and heart towards heaven, I prayed and pleaded for wisdom, direction, comfort -any or all of the above. Just something… anything. Those of you who have, or have had, anymore than a casual approach to your faith may relate to this experience in one form or another. What is on sale for us is a personal relationship unrivaled by any other human relationship we can have or ever experience. He loves us so much that he died for us. He has formed us in our mothers womb and knows us so well that the number of hairs on our head is counted. His on...