"This Week in God"

This installment on Rachel Maddow's blog is becoming a handy way to keep up with the insanity of the U.S. culture war, particularly where it has to do with religion.

This one kicks off by examining a favored tactic among the Christian Right -- fabricating a story about Obama to enrage their fellow travelers, who will always believe what they want rather than fact-check for the truth. Apparently Obama is ordering Christian U.S. military leaders not to talk about their faith:

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/05/04/18053343-this-week-in-god?lite

Beer is good, Christians are crazy....

If you follow the link, be sure to check out the photo at the bottom

When I passed him he proudly announced "The atheists are winning!"

LOL

http://boingboing.net/2013/05/01/homeless-mans-ab-test-of-ge.html

Words to live by:

https://2img.net/h/i70.photobucket.com/albums/i111/Lurker61/WestboroWisdom_zps88b51e7a.jpg

of course athiests are winning.

funny that people think that Christians are charitable, ridiculous Christians have never been charitiable all those missions were about conversion not charity. one only has to look at the church to see it is the exact opposite of charity in everythign it does and stands for.

Oh man, you just reminded me of something I found last week. This sounds like it might have been written by an unfunny Stephen Colbert, but it's absolutely sincere:

The Bible mandates free market capitalism. It is anti-socialist.

Gary North
The essence of democratic socialism is this re-written version of God's commandment: "Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote."

"Economic democracy" is the system whereby two wolves and a sheep vote on what to have for dinner.

Christian socialists and defenders of economic planning by state bureaucrats deeply resent this interpretation of their ethical position. They resent it because it's accurate.

When Christianity adheres to the judicial specifics of the Bible, it produces free market capitalism.

On the other hand, when Christianity rejects the judicial specifics of the Bible, it produces socialism or some politically run hybrid "middle way" between capitalism and socialism, where politicians and bureaucrats make the big decisions about how people's wealth will be allocated. Economic growth then slows or is reversed. Always.

Free market capitalism produces long-term economic growth. Socialism and middle-way economic interventionism by the state produce poverty and bureaucracy. If your goal is to keep poor people poor, generation after generation, you should promote socialism. But be sure to call it economic democracy in order to fool the voters.

The Bible is an anti-socialist document. Socialist propagandists for over four centuries have claimed that the Bible teaches socialism, but we have yet to see a single Bible commentary written by a socialist. If the Bible teaches socialism, where is the expository evidence?

More here: http://www.garynorth.com/public/department57.cfm

The Bible is an anti-socialist document. Socialist propagandists for over four centuries have claimed that the Bible teaches socialism, but we have yet to see a single Bible commentary written by a socialist. If the Bible teaches socialism, where is the expository evidence?

This guy is a lunatic. So, he's NEVER read the words attributed to Jesus (the ones in red) in his Bible. The Pharisees and Romans were the Republicans. Jesus and the disciples were Democrats.

Jesus even ran the Republican money changers out of the temple. Jesus said "feed my sheep." Jesus was a LIBERAL!!!!

veya_victaous wrote:of course athiests are winning.

funny that people think that Christians are charitable, ridiculous Christians have never been charitable all those missions were about conversion not charity. one only has to look at the church to see it is the exact opposite of charity in everything it does and stands for.

The morons here go out to the poorest areas of Cambodia and tell people, "Come to our church, get free English lessons, free school, food, shelter, and a bike to ride around and convert other Cambodians." So of course the people attend the church for the English lessons, food, school, and the higher they move up in the church, the more benefits they get. It is a business that uses food and education to entice the poor and weak. Then they tell the head office in Utah how many converts they have and get more donations to expand more. Mormon churches are popping up everywhere here and they are always much nicer than all the surrounding buildings.
I think the Mormon's beliefs are completely insane and idiotic, but I have met a number of people who said if it weren't for the Mormons, they would have already been dead. Religion is a business (which is why they should have to pay taxes) but sometimes in the process people are helped.
Is it really fair to say that the Mormons should have never come to Cambodia or helped anyone?

@dr School
they could have came and helped out of love for their fellow man and not to convert them.
Long term will the Cambodians be better off? missions have been going to Africa for a couple of hundred years now and if anything diease and poverty are getting worse directly as a result of Missionaries preaching ideas from the Bible (like no contraception)
In fact I think it pretty fair to say IF Cambodians did end up better off because of missionaries they would be one of the only people ever in the history of Christian Misisons to be so. Lord knows that all those Pacific Islanders (the main ones Aussies went to ) would have been better off with out the church's dogma obliterating their local culture and demonising many of their traditions.

Where are you getting your info Veya? I was in Africa for over 14 years and I never saw a single missionary that made disease and poverty worse and I never heard of missionaries teaching against the use of contraception. At the mission hospital near the village (which was a free hospital in the middle of an area that had no form of healthcare ever) they gave out condoms, educated on other forms of birth control, cleanliness, hygiene, etc. Sure there may have been some whacked out Catholics spreading their no condom nonsense but not in a long long time.

Have you ever been to a 3rd world country? The number of people I have see missionaries help by providing them with clean water, healthcare, education, and housing far outweighs those who were hurt by the missionaries. My brother in law is a missionary that travels around Africa building hospitals (for free) in places that desperately need them and then he helps raise the funds to outfit and run the hospitals. He doesn't make anyone become a Christian, he just sees the need and goes and helps because he has a passion for helping desperate people. Then volunteer Christian doctors come out on short mission trips and do nothing but offer free healthcare to the locals and save thousands of lives. They offer medicine and help to ALL not just those who attend the church service. They also build wells and bring mosquito nets that end up helping thousands of people (especially children). Even just clean drinking water for the wells can make a HUGE improvement on the life expectancy, mortality rate, and health of the people. I could sit here for hours and write stories from personal experience about how converted Africans dedicated their lives to helping other Africans and resulted in thousands of people being helped and saved from starvation or disease.


And yes, the poor Cambodians that the Mormons helped survive will be better off in the long run because they are alive. I doubt you have ever known total desperation, so it is difficult for you to understand the ways that many missionaries are helping people.

Sure, in a perfect world missionaries would want to go to these countries to help people just to help and not to convert, but it doesn't take religion trying to help to fuck people up. I have worked in 3rd world countries for most of my life and I have seen tons of non-religious NGOs and charity groups and religious groups that did a huge amount of damage when they were attempting to help. The organization doesn't have to be religious to fuck people you know. We can always talk about how the Australian Govt tried to breed the black out of the Aborigines...and many many many other horrendous things done by the US govt. Humans are fucking wretched creatures and even if they didn't have any religion they would find ways to control and instill fear in people. Religion is a blade...it can be used for good or bad depending on the one wielding the blade.

Has religion been used to do a massive amount of irreparable damage to humankind? Sure it has, but it has also been a catalyst for many good and helpful actions as well, especially having a positive effect among the extremely desperate and impoverishment.
I know it sounds like I'm defending religion but I'm not, I'm just trying to show that a lot of good has also been done in the name of religion.

btw...in the long run, the evil done in the name of religion far outweighs the good. I have always wondered what the world would be like if everyone abandoned all religious and superstitious beliefs or if there had never been any in the first place...maybe we'd be more like Vulcans.

theres lunatics in all religions christianity isnt as bad as the media shows it, look at islam, media show the terrorist side and most islamic people despise them because thats not what its about


atheist arent that great either, i know many that try to push that there is no god down the throats of people

That's a fair point. I have known many, many people whose faith inspires them to make positive changes in the world. I remember a group of local Catholics going down to a dismal trailer park nearby that had been hit by a tornado and flash flood, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Those people worked all day in the heat to help the residents of the trailer park, and the best thing was that they didn't preach as they were doing it. To me, that's leading by example.

My rule is -- if your faith, or lack thereof, inspires you to do good in the world, you're all right in my book. If your faith, or lack thereof, inspires you to be a dick, you're a dick.

I have a friend whose politics are conservative, but he is a nice man who doesn't run anybody down. He's a retired dentist and works for Habitat for Humanity building houses for the poor. I admire the man. He is what all Republicans should aspire to be. You will hear no vitriol from him. I may not agree with all he stands for but he has my utmost respect.

There's a family that was friends with my family, and they're staunch Republicans. Very nice people, always willing to help others out, but ever since Obama's election, they want nothing to do with us. I think they stopped trusting themselves and started trusting right-wing pundits to tell them what we're all about (my family ranges from centrist to far-left, but we all vote Democrat).

@DR School
the POPE (or the last one)
Said Don't use these cheap and easy methods for preventing transmittable dieases.
Don't practice Family planning to ensure that you can afford to feed your children.
Because Our Dogma says its bad. So yeah Anyone going and preaching that this is the truth is causing the increase in both diease and poverty.

@dr school
I agree that indiviudals can do good work in a 3rd world counrty. and the indivual may be better off (as you said they are alive) but the culture and nation in general probably not.
how many(organisations) follow the principal of 'teach a man to fish' that jesus was so fond of? how many do it only to profit from there cheap labour? these are not things done by the individuals but the organisations, it is part of the long game, Church started it in the 1600's for South America and it's still going today in the 'new markets' for their religion.
Seriosuly enough aid has gone to Africa since the 80's that is shouldn't need it any more, but of course much more of that money slipped into pockets of religious charities before it got to Africa.


Aussie Gov't didn't try to breed the black out of them. we took half castes away because the aboriginal tradional methods child raising inculded gang raping girls on their first menstration and lots of other things we would call monsterous today. Basically it was racists but only because we didn't care what happened to the full blood aboriginal children. Of course it often get portrayed in a different ways 50 years on because no one wants to admit how terrible the aborginals actually were. It is more complex than that as Aboriginals are actually about 100 different nations that all got rolled into 1 by Europeans, even though they had significantly different cultures. It is easy to cherry pick examples of Good cultural features and Horrific ones, few were universally practiced.

On the Stolen Generation, there is apparently more issue being created because fear of being seen as Racist is preventing Authorities from protecting Aboriginal Children.

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/nt-chief-minister-adam-giles-says-fears-over-stolen-generation-are-causing-child-neglect/story-fncynjr2-1226641498953

Lurker wrote:Beer is good, Christians are crazy....

...I think i'm going to like it here!