Hey, it's not the fault of the Carroll County Commissioners that they're all Christians and prefer to pray to Jesus

Two Carroll County Maryland residents are suing the county's Board of Commissioners for regularly opening its public meetings with Christian prayers invoking "Jesus" and "the Savior."

The two residents, who say that the five commissioners opened their official meetings with Christian prayers at least 54 times in the last two years, and during that time never prayed to non-Christian deities, have asked a federal judge to end the sectarian prayers by ruling they are unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

However, board members, who take turns offering the pre-meeting prayer, have a really good reason for only praying to Jesus--they're all Christians.

According to The Baltimore Sun, board president Doug Howard explained, "It is simply that commissioner's individual thoughts. I am totally comfortable with what we are doing."

See? It's not the commissioners' fault that they all believe in Jesus and are comfortable with their Christian-only prayers.

I mean, do you expect them to pray to a god they don't believe in? Or some generic "god" or "creator" who either Jesus or those at the meetings might mistake for *gasp* a non-Christian god?!

It's also not the commissioners' fault if some of their constituents are not Christians and uncomfortable with Christian prayers or feel excluded and/or demeaned when only Christian prayers are offered.

The commissioners did not explain in The Sun's article why it's important for them to pray aloud to Jesus at their public meetings rather than silently, or perhaps pray among themselves before opening the meetings to the public.

Maybe Jesus is more impressed, and thus more likely to bless the board's work, its members, and the county, if the commissioners pray out loud at their public meetings, where everyone--in addition to Jesus--can see and hear them pray.

And starting the board meetings without any prayers is apparently not an option because...the commissioners want to pray, so, by golly, they're gonna?

Or they need to pray, because Jesus will be sad or angry if no one prays to him before the meeting?

Don't protest famed creationist commencement speaker; admire his tenancity in clinging to his beliefs

Emory University students and faculty are upset that renowned Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, will be this year's commencement speaker. Why the fuss? Because Carson's a creationist who denies the validity of the Theory of Evolution. 

In an op-ed column in Sunday's Baltimore Sun, Richard Weikart, scolds the Emory protesters. Among other arguments, Weikart claims that Charles Darwin himself would agree with Carson's belief equating "acceptance of evolution with a lack of ethics and morality."

Weikart ends his column with:

Emory University graduates should feel honored to receive a commencement address from Dr. Carson. Aside from the obvious — his path-breaking surgical techniques and medical expertise that landed him a position at one of the most prestigious academic hospitals in the United States — his life story of overcoming poverty and his subsequent dedication to philanthropy are exemplary and inspirational. His willingness to courageously embrace ideas he considers true, despite the ridicule directed toward him, should count as another point in his favor.

Yes! Let's admire a man who despite the advantage of incredible intelligence and a good education, chooses to ignore science and reason in order to cling to a particularly anti-science and anti-education interpretation of mythology.

And, by all means, let's admire a man who adamantly believes in silly things despite ridicule. Because stubbornly refusing to change your views, no matter how ridiculous, is such a virtue.

County commisioner to employees: No pressure, but come pray with me, monthly, in the County Office Building

The Baltimore Sun reports that Robin Frazier, a Carroll County Maryland commissioner, recently "emailed an invitation to about 850 government employees to attend a monthly prayer session, which she will lead." Frazier's "time for prayer" will be held in the County Office Building beginning June 7.

Since Frazier has the right to privately pray, anytime, and anyplace, there must be a reason that she feels the need to ask 850 county employees to join her.

Some possible reasons:

• Frazier is really lonely talking to herself--which is really what praying to a mythological invisible superbeing is.
• Frasier is trying to promote religion as a leader of Carroll County government and pressure employees into participating in a religious practice in contravention of the First Amendment. But Frazier says there is "no pressure," even though the best way to show that she's not attempting to pressure employees to pray with her would be to not invite the county's employees to pray with her every month in the County Office Building. But really, rest assured, Frasier has no intention whatsoever in violating the principle of separation of church and state. She is quoted in The Sun as saying,"The Bible directs us to pray for our country." See? Nothing religious about that, right?
• Frasier wants everyone to admire what a good, pious Christian she is. "Read my email in which I talk about my plan to lead employees in a group prayer. Admire what a good, pious Christian I am. Come witness me praying and setting a good example for you all."
• Frasier is offering to share her special expertise in praying: "Let me lead you in prayer because you don't know how to pray on your own so I have to show you how to do it."
• Frasier is concerned that Carroll County employees no longer have churches or other places of worship to pray in and believes that they cannot pray in their homes or anywhere else outside of the County Office Building. The County Office Building is the only possible venue for prayer.

Frasier contends that she has the right to use the County Office Building for religious purposes because "[o]ther groups use this same building for noncounty business." So, I'm sure local Muslims, Wiccans, Pagans, Rastafarians, and Pastafarians could start meeting in the building every month, and Frasier would have no problem with that. Some non-Christian religious group needs to test that. Soon. Really. And don't forget to request the use of the County's email system to invite 850 County employees to attend!

Or better yet, since "other groups" can and do meet in the Carroll County Office Building according to Frasier, local atheist groups, humanists, skeptics, pro-choice and gay-rights groups, and organizations like Americans United for Separation of Church and State should start meeting there every month. Because that would be an awesome way for Frazier and the other county commissioners to show that the County Office Building space really is a forum open to all, and that they aren't mixing their personal religious beliefs in with every resident's government.

Gift ideas for your favorite militant Christians

I was puzzled by this ad for a camo-with-cross t-shirt. Why a cross on camo?

 until I saw this...

 

Perfect Christmas gifts for the militant Christians in your life.

Praying for better local government

I had mixed feelings about the article Praying in Public when I saw it on the front page of the May 14 Baltimore Sun.

In the article, The Sun describes the current practice of several Maryland local government bodies of praying during public meetings. And if that weren't bad enough, in several cases, the prayer is sectarian, offered to the Christian God, not a prayer to a non-denominational generic one-size-fits-most(-if-you-ignore-atheists) god.

I was delighted that The Sun recognized there was an issue worthy of front page coverage.

But I was also appalled that the people we trust to run local governments still apparently see nothing inappropriate about beginning government meetings with any type of prayer, let alone one to "Jesus."

Not only is sectarian prayer insensitive to their constituents who practice a non-Christian religion, but also to non-believers. Yes, Salisbury and Carroll County, you have *gasp* atheists living among you! (But heck, who cares about atheists and how they feel about...well...anything? I mean, atheists should just shut up and be grateful that they're allowed to live in Salisbury and Carroll County and stop persecuting Christians by complaining about prayers being offered at their government's meetings, right?)

But my most basic concern is that we have elected officials who believe things for which there is no evidence and ask for help and guidance from a magical, invisible sky-spirit based on ancient Middle-Eastern mythology. And they're damn proud of it. That's worrisome.

I want my government to be led by people who are critical thinkers, who make decisions based on evidence--and who are aware that, even if some prayers offered at public government meetings may be legal under court decisions, they are still always inappropriate. Always.

Facebook Follies:

Today's Facebook Folly: Apparently if you don't post this as your Facebook status, Jesus will be miffed and pretend he doesn't know you, and won't introduce you to his father, who apparently has no idea who you are until Jesus introduces you, and you won't be invited into heaven unless Jesus introduces you properly.

I believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as my personal Saviour. One facebooker has challenged all believers to put this on their wall...In the Bible it says, if you deny me in front of your peers, I will deny you in front of my Father at the Gates of Heaven. Amen! This is simple. If you love God and you are not afraid to show it, repost this.

Free will: The Parable of Two Fathers

One of my most religious friends, an evangelical Christian, and I have been having a discussion about the reason there is evil and tragedy in the world, and it's becoming apparent that my friend is becoming increasingly anxious and uncomfortable talking to me about her beliefs, even though she was eager to share her "good news" about Jesus and the Gospel with me when we started.

Maybe her discomfort is because she's beginning to worry that by continuing to talk to an evil atheist like me, she'll put her own salvation in jeopardy.

But perhaps her unease is because she's never had to really think before about the contradictions in, and implications of, the Christian apologetics she regurgitates. All of her religious discussions and Bible study are with people who believe exactly as she does, so never challenge her by saying, "Wait. What?!"

Since my friend apparently no longer wishes to discuss her religious beliefs, but I have things I want to say on the subject, I'll write what I'd have said to her here (I know my friend is unlikely to read this blog for many reasons, but writing about this makes me feel better. And, heck, venting is one of the main reasons I started this blog):

Your argument that humans making bad choices when exercising "free will" is the cause of evil, suffering, and tragedy in the world makes no sense to me if God is, as you claim, omniscient, almighty, inerrant, and loving.

How does "free will" account for natural disasters and diseases? If you're going to tell me it all is because of The Fall and the original sin, I ask, what kind of moral being punishes not only wrong doers, but their descendants--forever? And punish them by making them--and their children--suffer agonizing pain and excruciating deaths? 

Didn't your all powerful, all knowing God know before He created Adam and Eve that they would disobey Him? Didn't they do exactly what He designed them to do? Or is God an incompetent designer? What kind of moral being would design a creature knowing in advance that they would fail a test He designed, then punish those flawed creatures for doing exactly what He'd planned for them to do? No moral being would do that, only a sadistic monster.

Think of the example that started our conversation about free will, that of the child who almost died because of a neglectful mother. What kind of moral being who has the power to prevent suffering, allows a child to suffer because his mother exercised her "free will" wrongly? Is that just? When one of your sons does something wrong, do you harm your grandchild to punish your son or show your son "the error of his ways?" No, you don't, because you are more moral than your God is.

If God designed you, and knew from the beginning of time everything that you would ever do, knew every choice you would make before He made you, how can you have "free will"? Could you, exercising your "free will," make a choice different from the one God already planned for you before you were born? RosaRubicondior wrote cogently about this very issue in a recent blog post, On Omniscience and Freewill. If your answer is "yes," your God isn't all powerful. If your answer is "no," then you don't have free will, do you? God has already determined what action you will take, and there's nothing you can do about it. 

You are fond of parables, so I'll tell you one now:  

Once there were two fathers, alike in every way except for the way they instructed their child on what the child was supposed to do. One father, was very authoritarian, and when he wanted his child to do something, would never give his child an option to obey or not. He would simply say, for example, "I want you to put your toys in the toy box."

In contrast the other father was more permissive. He also wanted his child to put his toys put in the toy box, but because he loved his child so much and wanted his child to have the freedom to make good choices, the second father said to his child, "You can put your toys in the toy box--or not. Your choice." And then, when the child choose not to put the toys in the toy box, the father tortured his child for eternity. 

Which is the more moral father? Are you able to decide, or has your sense or what's moral and what is not been so corrupted by your religious beliefs that you cannot even see that the second father--the one that acts like you believe your God does--is an immoral monster.

At the pharmacy: Scripture candy

Seen today while shopping at Rite Aid Pharmacy:

The Jesus Tin, embossed with "Jesus, Sweetest Name I Know" containing soft peppermints with wrappers printed with Bible verses, $3.95.

Facebook Follies: Christian Christmas Message

The Facebook Folly of the day is this kind, warm, thoughtful Christmas message, full of the spirit of tolerance, understanding, brotherhood and sisterhood, and the true holiday spirit:

Keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas ... Who's with me?

christmas.songear.com

You will never convince me that one ounce of harm is caused to anyone reading or hearing the very word: 'Christmas'.

Unlike, of course, all the horrible pain and suffering inflicted on Christians by those wishing them a "Happy Holiday" rather than "Merry Christmas." Because if you're not "with them," you're obviously against them.

Facebook Follies: With God all things are possible

Today's Facebook Folly (weird formatting and punctuation--or lack thereof--in original, I assure you):

Keep this going!!!Heavenly Father, walk through my home and take away all my worries andany illnesses, and please watch over and heal my family, in Jesus name,Amen. This prayer is so powerful. Stop what you're doing & set thisto your status. Watch what He'll do...With God all things are possible

I did not keep this ^^^ going. The irrationality stops with me.

Facebook Follies: Nativity Myth

My Facebook feed is filled with howls of outrage about this billboard in New Jersey, put up by the group American Atheists.

The Billboard says, "You KNOW it's a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON!" [Blogger's note: Odd punctuation is not mine, it's on the billboard.]

"How dare those atheists!" my friends rant. "We never tell atheists that what they believe is wrong!" Uh, folks, yeah, you do. Every day. In so many ways, both explicit and subtle. Even your comments on Facebook letting atheists know that we're all going to burn in hell and that "it's atheists who believe in myths!!!!" is doing exactly that. Do you have no self-awareness at all? Oh, and I'm curious; what myths do atheists believe, and why don't you believe in those "myths"? You weren't very clear about that.

"Why do atheists insist on shoving their beliefs into our faces? Why can't they keep quiet and keep their offensive beliefs to themselves?! Christians would never express their faith publicly, especially at Christmas. (Please ignore the Nativity scenes in front of our Churches, in our front yards, in storefront windows. Also please ignore the Christian carols that have been playing and playing and playing on the radio since Halloween, and torment you in every mall and store you enter.) We're very sensitive to that fact that some people don't believe as we do, or don't believe at all." Right. So, you express your sensitivity and tolerance by protesting this billboard? This one. Single. Billboard. In New Jersey.

Can you explain what offensive atheist beliefs you're complaining about being shoved in your face? Atheism is non-belief. Your yelps that atheists have (wrong) beliefs and faith (in the wrong things) only make sense to you because you don't recognize the logical fallacy of equivocation when you use it. 

"Those atheists are ruining Christmas!" (Horrors! The atheists are on to us! They have history to back them up! They have geography to back them up! They have cosmology to back them up. They have archeology to back them up! They have evidence!!!!! What do we do now?! We're not allowed to torture or burn non-believers anymore! We can picket at the local atheist church! No? Drat! Those clever atheists don't spend their money on building churches! We'll fight back by putting up Nativity scenes in front of our churches and our homes. Oh, yeah, um...so we'll howl and whine and do news stories on Fox on how awful the atheists are! That will show those awful atheists how abominable they and their billboard are! (We hope God is watching. He'll be so impressed!))

If a billboard in New Jersey can ruin Christmas, and what Christmas is supposed to truly mean to Christians, then that's a mighty powerful billboard--and a mighty weak myth you believe in. I'm rooting for the billboard.

Facebook Follies: Daily Prayer/Reflective Time for the Gulf of Mexico

The Facebook group Daily Prayer/Reflective Time for the Gulf of Mexico has only 31 members, and one of them is a Facebook friend--a dear, valued friend, both on Facebook and in real life.

This group is "dedicated to the idea that daily prayer and/or reflection can help bring about a solution to the environmental disasters this beautiful region faces."
 
My friend is kind, gentle, caring, tolerant, intelligent, and funny. Generally, she's a rational person. 

She's a good mother and politically liberal. She's environmentally conscious. She supports gay rights. We share a love of dogs, cats, art, travel, and gardening. Our tastes in books, music, TV, and movies are pretty much identical. We support many of the same causes.

In fact, the only area of our lives where we seem to have a major disagreement is religion. She embraces it; I reject it. Her belief in God is deep and unshakable; mine is so shallow as to be virtually nonexistent and extremely skeptical.

And, yet, we like each other. A lot.

We don't talk much about her belief and my disbelief. Although I've often wondered how someone so smart, so reflective, and typically much more rational than so many of my other friends, could believe something as irrational as Christianity, albeit a liberal, "my God is a loving God," Cafeteria Christian who picks-and-chooses which Bible verses she sees as allegorical, historical, or God's actual instructions on how to live her life (which, surprisingly, almost always coincide perfectly with her own personal, non-religious convictions and philosophy).

But I never ask the question. Nor do I ask what kind of solutions for the Gulf environmental disaster have resulted from her daily prayers. And I probably never will ask either question. Because this friend is one friend not easily dismissed and defriended on Facebook.

Facebook Follies: Christ! Walking Billboards!

I've been invited by a Facebook friend to "attend" the public event, One Million Walking Billboards for Christ on October 10.

Really? You're my friend, and you thought I'd like to: "Just throw on a Christian T-Shirt, hat, button, Hang a flyer, sticker or anything you can think of that will let those around you know of your love for Jesus"?

Oh, you think, maybe my friend is being snarky, and thought I'd respond by wearing a t-shirt like this one:

Or this one:

But, alas, no. My friend is serious about wanting me to join "fellow Christians" and "show overwhelming enthusiasm for the One Million Walking Billboards event."

Ah, no. 

But I think I'll try to organize a event with my atheist friends that day which will involve drinking, enthusiastically--and enthusiastic blasphemy.

Sorry, Facebook-friend-who-invited-me, that's the best I can do.

No, wait! Actually, I'm not sorry at all. Except for the fact that I have Facebook friends who are as oblivious as you are.

On Twitter: My Christian Followers

I'm both bemused and amused by the growing number of my Twitter followers who are Twitter Christians. These are not my friends and followers who also happen to be Christians, but Jesus-tweeting strangers who have decided that they should follow me. 

It began last week when, much to my delight, I discovered the Christian Coalition had become one of my Twitter followers. And almost every day since then, another Twitter Christian--someone whose tweets have a primarily Christian content, and who usually has a Christian-focused website too--has decided to follow me. I'm not quite sure what to make of this.

My guess is that these are people who follow anyone whose tweets contain a key word like "Jesus" or "Christian." A few weeks ago, something similar to that happened to me when I tweeted some quotes from Olympic ice skater Johnny Weir (who I adore). One of my tweets mentioned Johnny's love for Balenciaga purses, and shortly after, a twit selling designer purses started following me. Later, I tweeted a quote from Johnny that contained "Long Island," and gained a follower who collected and retweeted Long Island related gossip. Both eventually apparently realized that I was unlikely to follow them back, and/or that I wasn't going to provide them with appropriate tweets to retweet, so they stopped following me.

The other two possibilities for my new Twitter Christian followers are a bit more creepy, yet still amusing:

The first is that they're hoping to make me see the error of my atheist ways, and embrace their own particular brand of irrationality. But, really, they need to face reality in at least this instance. I'm not going to follow them back. I'm not going to visit their websites except for material to poke at on this blog. And if they start tweeting me, I'll just block them.

The other possibility that crossed (no pun intended) my mind is that the Twitter Christians are just keeping an eye on me--the old "keep your enemies closer." Although that seems very unlikely given that in the atheist world and the blogosphere, I'm a nobody.

I've tried checking to see if other atheists on Twitter also have a fairly large proportion of Twitter Christian followers, but most of the atheist bloggers I thought of have many more followers than I have--too many to count the number of Twitter Christians among them.

I suspect that if my new Twitter Christian followers actually read what I tweet, and/or follow the links provided in some of them to this blog, they will either be horrified and/or angry, and stop following me. Or, admittedly more unlikely, they will read, learn, think, and see the error of their ways. 

Either way, it's good.

Facebook Follies: Celebrating the Fourth of Jesus

I saw this on my Facebook newsfeed several times today, July 4th: 

WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...Please remember only two defining forces have offered to die for you... JESUS CHRIST and the AMERICAN SOLIDER. One died for your soul the other for your freedom. If you agree... copy and paste in your status... GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!! GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS!! 

On the Fourth of July, a secular holiday, we Americans celebrate our independence. Our freedom. Our birth as a nation. It's not about Jesus, for Jesus Frickin' Christ! In part, it's about freedom from religion, including freedom from your religion and your Jesus, so give the rest of us a break from this incessent, "I'm witnessing. Look what a great Christian I am. I hope everyone, including God, is favorably impressed."

Did it ever occur to you that many of those in the military who offer to die for you are not Christians--the atheists, agnostics, Deists, Jews, Muslims, Wiccans, Unitarian Universalists, and others? Guess they don't count, eh? And yet, they're willing to fight and die on behalf of even bigots like you.

Must you Jesus-shillers ruin every secular celebration by interjecting your silly mythology about the middle-Eastern, Jewish son of an invisible sky guy, who really is his own sky guy daddy, except when he's not (not to mention that both the daddy and son are sometimes a spirit who is not either one of them), who sent his son-self to die to save his human critters from his own punishment because they did some naughty stuff he designed them to do and always knew they would do from before time began? And who had to allow himself to be tortured and killed because he couldn't think of any other possible way to fix things? But who knew all along that he really was god and wasn't going to stay dead, and then, as he always knew would happen, after two nights in his tomb, he became undead and walked around until he flew up to heaven to be god with his father/himself.

Really? My brain gets swirly just trying to comprehend how any sane, reasonably intelligent, and reasonably educated person could possibly believe that. (Heh, maybe it's the "reasonably" that's the problem. Reason seems to be sorely lacking in your beliefs.)

You seem to think your many Facebook posts about your God and Jesus are something all your friends would agree with, or at least tolerate.

Did it ever cross (no pun intended) your mind that some of your Facebook friends--and this is shocking, I know--aren't Christians? (And at least one of your Facebook friends is--gasp--an atheist. That would be me. Boo!) And in fact some of us think your religious beliefs are superstitious nonsense on par with believing in Thor or Zeus or the tooth fairy?

How would you feel if I started regularly posting how ridiculous I find your beliefs, and self-congratulate myself for not being as credulous and irrational as you are? I don't. (I blog about you and my thoughts about you instead.)

I guess it also never occurs to you how tiresome your continual Facebook praying, preaching, and witnessing is. How narrow-minded you seem when you do it. How insulting your implication is that I'm not a real American because I don't share your Christian beliefs. Are you really that oblivious (a definite possibility, since so many U.S. Christians are)? Or is it that you just don't care about how I, and other non-Christians, feel when you post your Christian status updates?

And you don't need to "welcome" me to the U.S. I'm already in the U.S. I intend to stay in the U.S. I like the U.S. I like the freedom I have in the U.S. I really like the fact that I don't need to believe in your god to live in the U.S. But I really, really wish that I didn't have to visit your Jesus-filled, irrational, bigoted version of it.

On the web: Jesus Christ News

Yesterday, I received my first tweet about Jesus--a link to Jesus Christ News. I don't know what the intent of the twit that tweeted that link to me was, but after giving the matter as much careful thought as it deserved--none at all, really--I have decided to do what I love to do with such nonsense, and that's to express my actual reaction to it, beginning with, "What a disappointment."

That site could have been soooo awesome: "Wow! Jesus has his own news site!" South Park come to life! (And I'll admit, I might have been impressed if the site either had videos of the real Jesus himself reading the news, or if it were a South Park-type parody of Christian beliefs) but alas... 

Right now, the headline "news" story on the site is: "The Way To Heaven--An Important Message Explaining The Truth About Going To Heaven." That's news? Seems like the same-old, same-old regurgitated silly invisible sky-guy fiction being promoted as non-fiction and sold to gullible readers.

Why I've read more hoppin-ing articles on the Easter Bunny's news site! Santa often has some really jolly, cool news posted too, especially in the down-time between his magical sleigh rides. The Tooth Fairy regularly posts toothy gossip full of truthiness. And you can find pure gold on the Leprechaun's news site on an almost daily basis.  

If you missed out on going to Heaven for any reason, the extremeness of your mistake would be impossible to measure.

Maybe not. Have you thought about using the Invisible Pink Unicorn Scale? I've heard that works pretty well for measuring the extremeness of messing-up and missing out on trips to make-believe places. Never used it myself though, so don't ask me for instructions. 

And in other Jesus Christ News "news":

Feathered Dinosaurs or Flightless Birds?: Click here to listen. On this episode of ID the Future Ridiculous as Usual, Casey Luskin....

 Fixed that for you.

In Tweet: Jesus Christ News

Oooo...exciting. Received my first god-related tweet!

Some twit I don't know directed me, along with a number of other Twitter users I also don't know, to JesusChristNews.org.

Don't know if I'm supposed to read the Jesus news and repent, or read it and say snarky things about it.

What shall I do? What shall I do? 

I'm going to ponder this weighty decision for a while, then blog about it. Check back to see whether I went for Option #1 or Option #2.