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I will not go quietly into the night!

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  • Instead of a Virus, a Lymphocyte

    Many people compare humanity to a virus which is slowly sickening the Earth. It is true that human beings are over-breeding and exerting a powerful strain on the resources of this planet. The atmosphere is being choked by the industrial activities of this mammal, the rivers, lakes, and even the oceans are being poisoned by the waste products generated by over-population. More like bacteria in a petri dish we are poisoning our own environment with our wastes. This, I think, can be expected if humanity is compared to a toddler who simply doesn’t know any better. This, I think, is on the brink of change. We are at least aware of the problem, and that is the first step in the solution.

    Numerous people have compared the Earth to a living organism. Much like the human body the Earth has suffered from “illnesses”. Events that occurred which were adverse to life. In the eons which have passed many extinctions have occurred. Five major extinction events have occurred. Could it be that perhaps, through evolutionary forces, the Earth has produced a being which could be compared to the human body’s lymphocyte?

    For the first time the Earth has within it’s array of many species a being which not only is aware of it’s own existence, it’s environment, but one that can think beyond the needs of the moment. A creature that can observe events and draw conclusions as to where those events may eventually lead. Not only that, but this creature, the human being, has the intelligence, the wherewithal, to change the course of events. At least the potential to do so. I am not suggesting that the Earth is a thinking creature, no more so than the human body, which developed only those attributes which natural selection pressures drove it to develop. I am suggesting that only as a happenstance humanity might exhibit those qualities which might compare to the immune system of the human body.  Many could argue that if humanity is as such, that presently the immune system of the planet is compromised. This is what I think can change.

    The intelligence of the human being can be used to alleviate many of the natural disasters which threaten life here on this orb. Threatened species can be preserved through many means. Indeed, the ultimate threats that meant certain extinction on massive scales in past eons can be alleviated if enough time still exists to do so. The science and technological achievements will eventually allow the asteroid or meteor which might be bearing down on the Earth to be redirected, allowing species to survive what otherwise would have been certain doom.

    All we need do is to develop this vision. To reference this vision when going about our daily activities. All we need do is be aware of the consequences of our activities, and arrange them so as to be beneficial instead of destructive of our environment. All we need to do is … think.

  • What Causes Catharsis ?

     

    World English Dictionary definition:

    Catharsis:

    1.(in Aristotelian literary criticism) the purging or purification of the emotions through the evocation of pity and fear, as in tragedy

    2.See also abreaction the bringing of repressed ideas or experiences into consciousness, thus relieving tensions

    3.
    purgation, esp of the bowels

    World English Dictionary definition:

    abreaction : the release and expression of emotional tension associated with repressed ideas by bringing those ideas into consciousness

    Religious catharsis: a sudden emotional breakdown or climax that constitutes overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter, or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal, restoration, and revitalization.- New World Encyclopedia.

    The definitions in and of themselves reveals the cause of catharsis. I imagine that numerous people who saw the movie “The Ten Commandments” starring Charleton Heston  had a catharsis. He was the embodiment of Moses to many.  Many other movies with a religious theme no doubt produced numerous adherents to the Christian faith. In the end, however, it was all a mental change within the mind of the individual with no supernatural event having been involved. Emotions never were  based in reason. Appealing to reason never has been as easy as appealing to emotion.

  • Danger Lurks in your Cupboard.

    Aspartame was ok’d by the FDA in 1981. It was approved amidst a great deal of controversy. After 29 years the controversy still has not gone away.

    Problems associated with Aspartame (Nutrasweet) have been said to include:

    Birth Defects,

    dizziness,

    mental retardation,

    Brain Cancer.

    Also the ADA is actually recommending aspartame to persons with diabetes even though research has shown that It leads to the onset of clinical diabetes, causes poor control in diabetics on insulin or oral drugs, and aggravates diabetic complications such as retinopathy (non-inflammatory damage to the retina of the eye), cataracts, neuropathy (nerve disorders), and gastroparesis (medical condition consisting of a partial paralysis of the stomach , resulting in food remaining in the stomach for a longer period of time than normal).

    People with mood disorders that consumed Aspartame products were reported to suffer exacerbated symptoms.

    A large and growing number of individuals have been reported to have suffered seizures caused by aspartame. Despite this the Epilepsy Foundation promotes aspartame as safe.

    One can only speculate that a great deal of money exchanged hands to allow this product to be approved. A lot of people had to compromise their principles and turn a blind eye for this travesty to have occurred.

  • Conversations With a Local Pastor

    December 22, 2010 was a very interesting day. On that evening I met with a local pastor who had indicated his purpose in asking for the meeting would be to question me about my worldview.

    Although the conversation didn’t seem to have a planned direction some of the topics included: Abortion, Armageddon, and morality.

    Abortion. I told him my views on abortion, making it clear that I felt that abortion should not be used as a contraceptive. I told him that I felt abortion was necessary in cases of r&pe, danger to the mother’s life, incest, and if the fetus was obviously deformed or would suffer in total agony during a very short life. Although I did not express one other reason, I also think that abortion should be permitted when the mother and father cannot financially care for a child. In this case though I would prefer the child be given up to adoption. I explained that I did not think late term abortions are moral, nor the procedure of sucking the infants brain out as it is being born.

    The only reason he saw abortion as necessary was in one case: danger to the mother’s life. For rape, incest, and deformations no matter what they might be, the baby must be carried to term. I saw this as an absolutists view, one expected of an individual steeped in religious doctrine. I was truly surprised that he did make his one concession to abortion. This is a view some fundamentalists do not share.

    As a goal in life I expressed the view that people should help other people. By this I meant that we should all help those in need with food, housing and other needs. I told him that I envisioned a world where no one was hungry or homeless. This of course initiated a response from him asserting that my goal was similar to socialism, in that I wanted to create a utopian society. That’s when I said that his ultimate goals are similar to mine up to a point, which would have ended the need for religion, but that his goal did not end where mine did, in that Armageddon was his ultimate goal. The destruction of humanity and the return of his Lord.

    Concerning morality… he stated at one point that Atheists did not have a basis for morality, for God is the source of all morality. We returned to a discussion of abortion, where he asked at what point I felt an individual was human and should not be aborted. I told him that my thoughts on that were that a fetus becomes a human life that should not be aborted at the point where it is able to survive outside the womb without extraordinary measures.

    This led to a discussion about cattle, adult humans, and of all things blades of grass. He asked if I could allow the abortion of a fetus, even at conception, then why not casually kill adult humans, If I could make a distinction at the point where they are viable, then how could I allow a cow to be slaughtered for it’s meat. How could I mow the grass, as it is a mature growth. 

    This pastor, who in all respects seemed an intelligent individual, well-read, also didn’t hesitate to say that he was against euthanasia, stating resolutely that only God can decide when a person is to die. It didn’t matter whether the individual was in abject agony, the suffering must continue until God decides the end has come. I expressed support for euthanasia, explaining that a person who still possesses full control of their mental faculties should be able to exit life with dignity.

    Despite our differing views, we had desert and beverage, and parted amiably.

  • The Ultimate Goal

    apocalypse 2

    Christianity claims beneficent  intentions. Feeding and clothing the poor are among those claimed intentions. Good works by the church, however, usually also involve proselytizing the patrons. This proselytizing is the tool used to help achieve the ultimate envisioned goal: The destruction of humanity.

    Once the proselytizing is complete, and all upon the face of the Earth are aware of the message, it is said that Armageddon will ensue. There are some very prominent Christians on record as stating that they look forward with glee to the time when those who will not convert are gnashing their teeth in agony.

    Let’s take a closer look at the claimed intentions. Alleviating the suffering of the poor is not the goal of these claimed intentions. Were they to accomplish the goal of ending the suffering of people they would instantly lose their appeal to same. To have a ready supply of potential converts, the poor and suffering must exist. Even Mother Teresa realized this, as she only took small amounts of supplies when she visited impoverished areas. Jesus proclaimed no interest in alleviating suffering of the poor, stating that the poor will always be with us.

    If God was so very powerful, and if the deification of Jesus is to be accepted, then why didn’t he take care of the poor, instead of merely stating the obvious.

    The church, read all religion, perpetuates and strengthens poverty by advocating unprotected procreation and a zero policy on abortion. (Some churches, some religions, have ignored fundamentalist interpretations so as to allow the use of contraceptives and allow abortion under some circumstances) Unchecked population growth of humanity has taxed the world’s resources to near breaking point. This too, contributes to the ultimate goal: Armageddon.

    I hereby proclaim that those that desire Armageddon and the subsequent destruction of humanity are human failures. Unable to endure the rigors of life, unable to achieve their material desires, unable to control other peoples’ lives, they have simply given up. Yes, given up. They impress me as a people who have no hope except that promised in a children’s fairy tale. And… the church wouldn’t have it any other way.

  • Biblical Contradictions

    A local pastor asked me to present a list of contradictory passages in the bible. He remarked that he’d never seen a single contradictory item within the pages of the bible in the many years he had studied it. These are just a few of about 2000.

    Item 1:

    Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10: The dead know nothing and have no reward; there is no consciousness after death.

    Isaiah 26:14 “They are deceased; they shall not rise.”

    Contradiction:

    Revalation 20:13: The sea, death and hell will give up their dead to be judged.

    John 11:26: Believers will live forever. 1Corinthians 15:52 “The dead shall be raised incorruptible.”

    Item 2:

    Ephesians 2:8-9: “Ye are saved through faith… not of works.

    Contradiction:

    James 2:24: “By works is a man justified, and not by faith.”

    Item 3:

    Timothy 5:23: Drink wine, not water.

    Contradiction:

    Proverbs 20:1, Romans 14:21: Don’t drink wine.

    Item 4:

    Numbers 14:22: God has been tempted 10 times.

    Contradiction:

    James 1:13: God can’t be tempted.

    Item 5:

    Micah 4:3 “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.”

    Contradiction:

    Matthew 24:7: “Nation shall rise against nation.”

    Item 6:

    Luke 6:27: Love your enemies.

    Contradiction:

    Luke 19:27: kill your enemies.

    Item 7:

    Matthew 19:26: “With God all things are possible.”

    Contradiction:

    Judges 1:19: God can’t prevail against chariots of iron.

    Item 8:

    1Samuel 8:2: Samuel’s firstborn son was Joel.

    Contradiction:

    1 Chronicles 6:28: Samuel’s firstborn son was Vashni.

    Item 9:

    Exodus 20:5: god punishes children for their parents’ sins “unto the third and fourth generation.”

    Contradiction:

    Ezekiel 18:20: “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.”

    And finally for this posting:

    Item 10:

    Proverbs 3: 13: “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.”

    Contradiction:

    Ecclesiastes 1 : 18: “In much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”

    The bible has been put together like a hodgepodge soup. Multiple translations, with re-translations of translations. Various books have been voted in, then out, then in again by various councils, each with a different end purpose in mind. Passages have been “corrected”, and other passages added. The result is obvious… you have a book, badly written by ignorant people, with no actual effort to edit or remove errant or contradictory passages. It is not the infallible word of God, unless the god involved is a babbling madman, or in this case, mad-deity.

  • P.T. Barnum Was Right

    Every so often there is a biological science report extolling the advanced level of the human brain. These reports expound upon the remarkable memory capacity and reasoning ability of this evolved organ. It is unfortunate that like the muscles in a body if a brain is not utilized, not exercised, it atrophies, or fails to reach it’s potential in the first place.

    The Creation Museum established by Ken Ham in Petersburg Kentucky is expanding. Also a theme park is being planned. Ken Ham is doing a brisk business. Obviously, pulling the wool over the eyes of the majority of the American public is no difficult task. He is fully substantiating the assertion of many non-believers that religion is just a business.

    1. Science has proven the age of the Earth at around 4.5 billion years.
    2. Evolution is a proven fact. Countless fossils and genetic analysis proves this.
    3. Scholarly research has established the distinct possibility that Jesus is a composite of many earlier messiahs and most likely never walked the Earth.

    Nevertheless there is a segment of the American public which prefers to extract their science from an ancient tome written for the most part over 2000 years ago, by people who thought that the world was flat, the stars were mere lights in the sky, and that the Sun orbited the Earth. They declare that the Earth is possibly 6000 years old at best, this determined by examining scriptural references of the lineage of humans leading back to Adam. They believe totally that the human race is a creation of God, created as adults, with Eve taken from a rib of Adam. “I didn’t come from no monkey” is the usual response when it is suggested that humans arose as all other animal species did, via evolution. No one suggested that they did evolve from monkeys, but they can’t seem to hear that instead preferring to dismiss evolution.

    Christianity has an investment in this segment of people. To allow them to enter the real world would diminish the flow of cash into their coffers. By holding out the carrot of eternal life in paradise they have been able to keep the sheep in the fold, and the cash flowing in. Ken Ham, in carrying this fleecing to greater heights, is merely feeding an addiction. Many people want so to believe the bible infallible, true in every aspect, making Ken Ham’s sham possible.

    http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/11/pt_barnum_was_right.php

    http://www.wlwt.com/r/25852269/detail.html

  • Solstice Season

    My how the years pass swiftly by, seems just a short while ago that my parents celebration of the Christmas holiday was taking place when I was a child. Of course, their celebration was just that, no ceremony, just celebration. Not a church going couple and I think they never did attend as long as I can remember. Actually as I think back today, in many ways ours was a truly secular family, with my own childhood only disturbed once  by a friend’s invitation to his church. (Even that short exposure was difficult to erase, so I can understand why so many stay trapped so long.)

    The time of year as a season of celebration was hijacked from ancient cultures. Christians, observing that the pagans were obstinate about celebrating the Solstice simply inserted their holiday, Christmas, into the slot the Solstice celebration existed within for many years. They were quite successful, as most Christians now believe the lie that the bible says Jesus was born at this time. Like the brown-headed cowbird which lays it’s eggs in other birds nests, Christians have substituted their religion for that of the pagans, and succeeded in having others aid in it’s proliferation.

    Winter Solstice Celebrations were not simply the creation of  ancient Europeans, even the Native Americans had winter solstice celebrations which lasted many days. Many countries and religions had various winter solstice celebrations, some of which continue even today.

    In closing, I sincerely hope everyone gives thanks this Thanksgiving, thank the farmer for growing the food, the supermarket for making it easier for you to acquire, and your employer for providing the means for you to earn the money to live the good life we Americans live.

    And this Solstice Season, put up a tree, as many cultures have always done, provide gifts for your loved ones, and drink a  toast to life, as it is wonderful and worth living.

  • Pilot project:video

  • Poor Old Campbell

    This is the City. Two police officers on patrol on a Sunday morning.

    “Good to have you aboard this morning, Bill.”

    “Well, if I had to be demoted back to the beat from detective, this is the place I would want to end up, Pete. Too bad about Reed, what with the economy forcing his layoff, and all.”

    “How’s Joe taking it?”

    “The stress of the extra job load is taking it’s toll. He’s smoking like a chimney these days.”

    “Those coffin nails are going to kill him someday.”

    “Can’t tell him anything.”

    Just then the car in front of them makes a left turn without signaling. Pete flashes the lights, the woman pulls over. Pete exits and approaches the car. Bill, observing from the car sees the woman hand Pete her license and registration, just a routine stop, only a warning this time. The radio blares a message as Bill watches Pete, “Car in vicinity of Azitex Mills, manager reports man by the side of the road, possibly inebriated.”

    Grabbing the mike Bill responds, “Car 12, will respond.”

    As Pete reenters the car Bill relays the message and the patrol car speeds off. Soon the car is on East 15th street. Approaching Azitex, the man lying near the curb is soon visible.

    “It’s old Otis, again! This is twice this month.” Bill observes.

    The car pulls up in the parking space next to where the man is resting. The two officers exit and casually walk over to the man.

    “Otis, wake up…” shouts Pete as he physically tries to bring Otis out of his stupor.

    “Wha…. guh! What are you doing in my house, Pete?” blubbers the man, obviously still 3 sheets to the wind.

    “Come on Otis, we’ll take you back to the tank where you can sleep it off.” states Pete, lifting the man by his arm to a standing position. Carefully the two officers escort Otis to the back seat of the patrol car and once he is secure the car pulls away from the curb.

    “Don’t know what got into me, Pete, how did I end up on the street there. Don’t know how I got there.”

    “I don’t know how you got there either Otis, but I do know what got into you. Probably some cheap wine.”

    As the patrol car navigates the streets, Otis, slipping into sad drunk mode observes a church they are passing, parking lot filled to the brim, overflowing into the streets.

    “Them people. They go to the church for the same reason I go to a bar. They want to magin’ being some place better, at least for a little while. They goes in, seeking god, but he never shows. At least for a little while, they feel important, not neglected, part of a group. Then they go back home, but the magic don’t last, soon they are just like everybody else, tryin’ to survive. “

    “Maybe you need to go there Otis. Might keep you out of the gutter.”

    “All’s the same! My world, their world, make believe. We both find a different way to deal with it, reality, that is. Or should I say, avoiding it. Pete, you know, I went in one once, to see if God was there.”

    “You, in a church, that’ll be the day.”

    “No, really, did. Didn’t find no God, but found a lot of people who said they spoke for him. Everybody claimed they knew him. When I asked to see him they said it was all a matter of faith. If I would just believe, they said, I would live forever in heaven with God.”

    “What happened then?”

    “I asked them to show me some proof, instead they showed me the door.” is the short reply.

    As the car pulls up to the station Otis makes one last remark. “Weak, that’s what we are. Both me and the church people. Seeking escape from reality, from facing the truth. Being sober is too hard, so I look for relief in a bottle, they look for relief in an old book of fables.”

    Gently Otis is pulled from the car and escorted inside.