Christian Billboard: Beautiful Message, Ignorant Theology

Posted on April 4, 2012 by

In my own journey towards intellectual freedom, one driving factor was present, even through my Christian years: truth.  To borrow some of the decent wisdom of the Bible,

Proverbs 12:17 Whoever speaksthe truth gives honest evidence,
but a false witness utters deceit

John 8:32 … the truth shall make you free

The pursuit of truth, or discovering that which has the most fidelity to reality, ultimately led me away from Christianity and convinced me of its mythological nature.  The same hunger for truth frustration me when, as a Christian, charlatans spoke false theology that directly contradicted the God of the bible.  I now understand that the nature of religion is one such that everyone has a conception of God that agrees with their views, and then proof-text to support their view. However, I was fairly certain that at least one thing could be agreed upon by almost all Christians:

Salvation and the love of God hinge on belief, not works.

This is the bedrock of the so-called “good news” of the gospel: that your actions don’t determine your salvation status, but the condition of your heart, and if you’re honestly trying to do what you believe is true, you’ll be saved.

Controversial Sign, Confused Message

Yesterday, the Christian Post reported on a sign in Portland, Oregon, that has been making waves in the Christian and Atheist community.  Many atheists are embracing and cheering its sentiment, as are more than a few Christians.  The sign first appeared on their Facebook page, and has now gone viral.  Its sentiment is simple: God prefers kind atheists over hateful Christians.

I hate this sign.  It is absolutely contrary to multiple warnings and positions espoused by the God of the bible.  I hate it for the same reason I hate other pastors which tell known falsehoods as truth.  These pastors are liars for Christ, who peddle falsehoods about the nature of reality, and of the god portrayed within the text of the bible, as truth, for the express purpose of gaining congregants or respect in an unrespectable, unteneble, intellectually bankrupt position of superstition as reality. Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Christianity | 5 Comments

Lord, Liar, Lunatic, Literal 3: Let’s Make a Resurrection Legend

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

I’ve explained elsewhere (part 1) why I don’t accept the gospels as eyewitness documentation, as well as why extra-biblical sources (Part 2) do nothing to add credibility to their corroboration.  What I am learning is that the most basic facts about Christianity are rarely discussed in detail.  Therefore, today I’d like to look at the account of the resurrection given by the gospels.

Apologists often throw the Red Herring of textual attestation found in antiquity as somehow making the gospels acceptable from a historical perspective.  The best documentation of historical events comes from eyewitness testimony near the time of the event, with multiple independent corroborating stories that agree in details.  Such is the standard historians use to evaluate ancient history’s attestation in consult with archaeology.

In contrast to historical reality, legends are expected to grow in extraneous detail over time,  embellished as oral tradition invents new details.  As the gospels are neither eyewitness documents, nor are the authors known, it provides a beautiful picture of a fabrication developing over time. Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, History | 8 Comments

Westboro Baptist and True Scotsmen to Join Us at Reason Rally!

Posted on March 14, 2012 by

When I found out that the National Atheist Party had invited Westboro Baptist Church to the Reason Rally in March, I couldn’t understand why.  Why would we make a mockery out of what was supposed to be a reason-celebration event?

Why invite trolls?

Not surprisingly, I’m not alone in my opinion.  Kelley from the Friendly Atheist wrote an article yesterday: Why the invite?  And some of the most influential forefront atheists came out to agree in the comments section.

Matt Dillahunty of The Atheist Experience:

 If they’d have shown up on their own, THAT would have been something to talk about…but this is the rough equivalent of a movie studio hiring protesters to drum up advertising.

American Atheists (Prime promoters for the group)

We would not have invited them, but now that they are coming we *can* take advantage of it.

Meanwhile, a representative of NAP, Troy Boyle, played the fool:

Do you think that our invitation, just 3 weeks prior to the event, ACTUALLY persuaded the WBC to come? You’re not that naive.

Of course not.  A tongue-in-cheek snarky letter inviting the most reviled hate-group in America to “Come on out and join the fun!” wouldn’t at all serve to incite their “righteous anger” at folks like us, who they fervently believe are the reason our country is facing so much hardship.

Give me a break.  Continue reading →

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The Bible is Satanic, at Least When Pennsylvania Atheist Billboards Quote It

Posted on March 8, 2012 by

“The right of holding slaves is clearly established in the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example.” - Dr Richard Furman, South Carolinan Baptist Pastor (1838)

When the Pennsylvania Nonbelievers, in partnership with American Atheists put up a billboard with a biblical message, they were not expecting the response it received.  The billboard quotes Paul, who admonishes slaves to obey their masters.  The passage continues by urging (Christian) masters to be kind to their slaves, though inconsequential to the command given to Christian slaves.

The bible condones slavery, throughout its text.  To think that it doesn’t is to be ignorant of the bible, and to be willfully ignorant of the Bible’s historical use to both support and oppose slavery in the 19th century.  This is the idea that the billboard attempted to present, though its message was lost on those who should be most outraged by the truth. Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Atheist Movement, Civil Liberties, History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment