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http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_calvinism.htm

Calvinism is the Protestant theological system designed by John Calvin (1509-1564). Calvinist theology is often labeled "federal" or "covenantal." According to this perspective, God has made to agreements or covenants with humanity, both of which are important when it comes to understanding human history.

Usually divided into the following doctrines:

1.Total Depravity (Inability) refers to the fact that human sin has affected every aspect of the human character – thought, emotions, will, etc.

2.Unconditional Election is the doctrine which teaches that God chooses some to be saved and some to be damned. These choices are not, however, based upon any acts performed by those people or any merit which they have achieved (otherwise, there would be a violation of the principle of Total Depravity).

3.Limited Atonement is a concept which teaches that Christ died for the sins of some (those predestined to heaven), but not for others (those predestined to hell).

4.Irresistible Grace refers to the fact that when God has bestowed his grace upon a person because they have been predestined for heaven, it is impossible for a person to "resist" this grace and not end up in heaven. No matter what they do and no matter what they think, they are saved.

5.Perseverance of the Saints is the doctrine which argues that the saints (i.e., those whom God has saved) will always remain under God’s protection until they are brought to heaven. In other words: Once a Saint, Always a Saint.

The above doctrine puts believers in a catch 22 situation. Why bother being good? Usually phrased as:

You can and you can’t,
You shall and you shan’t;
You will and you won’t.
You’re damned if you do,
And damned if you don’t.

Some of the more controversial of John Calvin’s quotes:

(source different from above.)

Let it stand, therefore, as an indubitable truth, which no engines can shake, that the mind of man is so entirely alienated from the righteousness of God that he cannot conceive, desire, or design any thing but what is wicked, distorted, foul, impure, and iniquitous; that his heart is so thoroughly envenomed by sin that it can breathe out nothing but corruption and rottenness; that if some men occasionally make a show of goodness, their mind is ever interwoven with hypocrisy and deceit, their soul inwardly bound with the fetters of wickedness.

Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?

[Those who assert that] the earth moves and turns … [are motivated by] a spirit of bitterness, contradiction, and faultfinding; [possessed by the devil, they aimed] to pervert the order of nature.

John Calvin lived during the waning years of what has been labeled the Dark Ages. During this time religious zealots were resisting the discoveries of science. In particular they were raging against the discovery that Earth was not the center of the Universe, and that it moved, rotated, and indeed, circled the sun instead.

In many ways the ideas espoused by John Calvin rendered Christianity a hardy blow. People were helpless to change their fate, so why adhere to the restrictive rules of a belief system since if they were predestined to go to either heaven or hell they could do nothing to change it. Under the ideas put forth even many members of the churches could be predestined to hell and no matter the effort to alter the course of events hell is where they would go. Each and every parishioner was expected to behave as if they were one of the “chosen” ones never knowing whether they were chosen or not until they landed at the side of god or in a fiery pit of sulfur.

Although many people accept evolution as a given some of these same people ask how did evolution get started. Of course there are some who would insert a “God of the Gaps” into the story of life’s beginning. Now some scientists have come up with a link in the Chain.

They have managed to create from chemical compounds that existed in the soup of primitive Earth RNA molecules. This may indeed be the story of life’s beginnings.

There is much more work to be done. Stay tuned…

 

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/43723/title/How_RNA_got_

A special thanks to Joe

Calvinism: doctrine of faith and predestination: the religious doctrine of John Calvin, which maintains that salvation comes through faith in God, and also that God has already chosen those who will believe and be saved.

The Calvinistic doctrine of predestination is a doctrine of Calvinism which deals with the question of the control God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to the salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, men must be predestined and effectually called (regenerated/born again) unto faith by God before they will even wish to believe or wish to be justified.

In effect the decision who will fry eternally or who will sit beside god in heaven has already been made. This doctrine effectively eliminates free will. Whatever will be will be. Your fate is set in stone. God knows everything, and knowing everything, he knows who will choose everlasting life and who will choose death.

What a moribund philosophy. What a depressing outlook, lacking any hope. Here you thought what you were doing in life had some importance. Knowing now that this life is but a game, why do anything?

Or, you’ve been duped. This great plan for humankind is simply a story, a hoax. Your fate is not sealed, and you can actually change the outcome. There is no fate, but what you make.

You can choose to believe a story written thousands of years ago by an ignorant people seeking to explain existence, or you can dismiss it and take charge of your life. In the rejection of the philosophy of doom as depicted in the bible, there is real hope. Knowing this natural world is all there is, without gods of any kind your initiative is freed and real steps can be taken to preserve it.

The fate of the world is in our hands.

It saddens me to see the most intelligent species on the face of the planet buying into so many ignorant offerings.

So many religions of various types exist, each one claiming to be the only way to true nirvana. None of them correct in their assertions.

So many peoples, a majority in fact, denying our natural beginnings, instead opting for myths. The simplest of explanations for our existence ignored, instead complex imaginings accepted.

So many factions raging against one another, wasting time, materials, in the quest to overcome one another. I marvel at what the race of man might have done without the chains of myth holding it back.

The only hope is that the myths someday will be extinguished, freeing the minds of countless millions. Then at last, nirvana might be achieved.  

From the most simple of atoms and compounds life sprang forth in the form of primal molecules. Over the eons these molecules under the energy providing sun progressed into more complex forms. First single cell animals, then organisms composed of individual cells. Progressively through random mutation and natural selection pressures these simple organisms grew more complex.

For millions of years survival meant either eat or be eaten. Brains were of use even then in the form of savvy for hunting, but intellect was not yet selected for in the race for survival. Mostly survival meant a robust procreative drive. The more offspring the more likely the survival of the species.

Then a short few million years ago a species arose that had a larger brain. Through nutrition gains developed from cooking food this animal was able to support it’s energy intensive brain. In a short time, compared to the eons, this creature, this animal, developed an ever larger brain. The development of instruments for cutting, hunting, followed suit. Here was a thinking animal, capable of dominating even heretofore much larger physically superior creatures.

There was however a limit to what this intellect could understand. Questions that could not be answered due to primitive knowledge at the time. Out of fear, out of need to understand, this primitive creature desperately needed answers. Individual leaders, not wanting to seem out of control of things began to fill in the vacuum of knowledge with fabricated conjecture. What were the lights in the sky at night? What caused the thunder in the storms? What caused the great catastrophes which came and tested mettle of both man and beast? Mythical entities were invented to fill the gaps in the knowledge. What caused the sun to rise each day? Why, it was the sun God. Why did the ground quake? It was a being in the Earth turning over in it’s slumber. Every where there was no understanding a God filled that gap.

In recent times many “Gods in the Gap” have been eliminated, but many persist. The questions are more complex now. Science strives to answer them. Nevertheless, the primitive need to feel secure and that things are under control persists. No one definitively knows how life began on this Earth, so many cling to a God to fill that Gap. No one wants the end of this life to be the end totally so a God is put in control to make death less fearful.

Even though the facts are in and the progression of life has been made knowledge by Darwins genius many gaps in knowledge by way of fossil evidence are gaps filled by the religious with a God. Dismissing new information from genetic discoveries these people, mollified by religious belief continue to persist in ancient dogmatic beliefs.

Feeding an industry bent on stifling the progression of knowledge the religious pour millions of dollars into religious institutions. The very institutions which may lead to the eventual decline and extinction of the human race. Each year school districts face pressure to teach the myths of creation science, or now named Intelligent Design. The United States, already falling behind in science is facing this threat in many southern states which are virtual pits of religious ignorance.

This human race, not content with being the most advanced creature on the face of the Earth for some reason continues to denigrate itself by giving credit instead to a mythical deity.

I say it’s time to stop being so humble and take the credit ourselves. The superb piano player, working hard, practicing unceasingly, is responsible for the fantastic music produced. His talents were in no way originated by a deity. The craftsman who sculptures a fine statue is responsible for his creations. His talents did not pour forth from some mythical being. It’s time to enter the new millennium, leave ignorant ravings behind, and be responsible for ourselves.

In the middle ring we have the human race, wondrous creatures, capable and intelligent. Watch them perform, watch them excel. The most intelligent animal on Earth!

A day set aside to celebrate reason. A day to remind people of the importance of the separation of Church and State. This May 7th has been proclaimed the National Day of Reason.

http://www.nationaldayofreason.org/

There are many serious threats to the wall separating religion and government. Give voice to your concerns this year by contacting those in government and expressing your desire that that wall of separation be strengthened and maintained.

Before someone claims that all this is now changed: Jesus said he did not come to change the law in any way.

There are some sects which cherry pick what they want to believe. They don’t of course call it cherry picking, they might refer to it as progressive redemption.

In either case, Jesus assured the believer that the old law continued intact without change.

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_meritt/bible-contradictions.html

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/inconsistencies.html

http://www.evilbible.com/Biblical%20Contradictions.htm

The only thing the Bible proves is the fallibility of humans. Every book was written by a human and is packed with human error.

My Dad was capable of writing a more entertaining and less error filled book when he was drunk on a Saturday night.

Programming, or mind washing someone with words, concepts, involves making someone think in the way that you desire. Conditioning someone with repetition is the usual fashion used.

Even so, to avoid losing your subject, the individual must be insulated against contradictory information. Words, phrases and concepts must be drilled into the subject which will cause the individual to reject anything that contradicts the original instilled information. Perhaps some threat of annihilation or withdrawal of reward if a concept is violated will deter the subject. When these threats are inserted in the original instilled conditioning, concepts that contradict will be automatically rejected.

As long as information coming in does not contradict some facet of the instilled conditioning the individual will react in a normal fashion. If information presents itself that contradicts the programming not only do mental conditioning concepts act to reject it, physical symptoms also occur. The fight or flee response, with the attendant flow of adrenaline results. The individual becomes flushed. Rhetoric to reject the contradictory information flows freely. If the incoming contradictory information is not averted by the instilled rhetoric the flee response engages and the individual seeks any way to end the encounter. Name calling, insults and even violent aggression can result.

For most, this maze of instilled rhetoric does not contain an exit. For most the maze is a lifetime entrapment.

The maze is religion. The programmer is the minister, preacher, priest or pastor. Due to his/her own instilled programming this programmer actually believes that he/she is doing a good thing.

The programmer must act upon the individual at a young age while the subject is particularly vulnerable and impressionable. At a young age contradictory information is less likely to be inherent in the subject.

 

 

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