"The study of theology, as it stands in the Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authority; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion." -- Thomas Paine, in "The Age of Reason"
"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, in "Self-Reliance"
"He who does anything because it is the custom makes no choice." -- John Stuart
Mill, in "On Liberty"
Okay, this is just insane! Anyone who knows me, knows my history and the role played by a Ouija board in the destruction of life as I knew it. If you don’t know this part of my history, you can send me $17.95 for my Ouija story.
Hasbro is marketing a special PINK version of their Ouija board. They’ve been around over a hundred years, and a popular pastime for slumber parties and other such things.
But critics are making outlandish, ignorant, and downright stupid claims about it:
some say the mysterious product is a “dangerous spiritual game” that opens up anyone, particularly Christians, to attacks on their soul.
“Particularly Christians”? Why is that? Do you think it might be because Christians are particularly steeped in woo-woo supernatural stuff and might fall prey to someone else’s woo instead of your own brand of woo?
“There’s a spiritual reality to it and Hasbro is treating it as if it’s just a game,” said Stephen Phelan, communications director for Human Life International, which bills itself as the largest international pro-life organization and missionary worldwide. “It’s not Monopoly. It really is a dangerous spiritual game and for [Hasbro] to treat it as just another game is quite dishonest.”
Phelan, who has never played the game, said the Bible explicitly states “not to mess with spirits” and that using a Ouija board will leave a person’s soul vulnerable to attack.
“All Christians should know, well everyone should, that it’s opening up a person to attack, spiritually,” he said. “Christians shouldn’t use it.”
“Spiritual reality”? Really? Hasbro is treating it like a game BECAUSE IT IS JUST A GAME! And this Phelan person admit he’s never played with a ouija board, yet he is some sort of expert and professional spokesperson for what might or might not be acceptable for others? Fuck him. He’s a liar, just like all the other Christians.
Unlike what was shown on last night’s episode of Ghost Whisperer, the planchette does NOT move by itself. And it doesn’t much move with just one person, either. Two (or more) people put their fingertips on the planchette, ask a question, and try to ‘encourage’ the planchette to move about the board, spelling out a response. There are no spirits (evil or otherwise) manipulating the planchette. The planchette is moved by the people touching it. Whether consciously (as is usually the case) or subconsciously, the operators are already thinking of the desired response and are causing the planchette to move. Largely it depends on who is more able to direct its motion without signifying to the other(s) who exactly is causing the planchette to move.
My life was seriously fucked up at age 13, but NOT by the Ouija board. It was fucked up directly because of the alcoholic, drug-addicted, superstitious person on the other side of the board, who was also into pendulums, ‘automatic writing’, and other forms of spiritualistic woo. I lost my childhood and youth in one fell swoop, and never got to pass through the normal teenage rites of passage that my peers did. It was a scary time for me, but not because of the Ouija board.
The more easily manipulated a person is, the more likely they’ll actually believe the bullshit coming from a Ouija board. Religious people are already susceptible to that sort of thing, so it’s understandable that leaders of one kind of woo don’t want their gullible followers to be lured into some other thing. But it is all the same bullshit, whether it is spiritualism, Christianity, or some other silliness.
These idiots who wail about “spiritual attack” and warn against the woo are the very same ones who tell their followers to “pray and trust God”. WTF? It is the EXACT SAME THING! It is nonsense telling people not to fall prey to superstition while at the same time insisting they practice superstition.
There is absolutely no danger in a Ouija board. It is an inanimate object, neither good or bad by itself. Any fun (or danger) encountered is the responsibility and invention of the people using it. That’s all. Once you know what you’re doing, the fun is NOT from trying to guess “the message of the spirits”, but trying to feel the planchette to determine which of your companions is moving it.
Please, Christians … wake up and get a fucking clue already.
I’ve not posted a lot here lately — been busy. So many articles on the Web lately, and I’ve avoided dealing with it all — anti-gay bigots, religious idiots, and assorted fools can be a real drain. But I’ll get back into discussing these things on Monday.
I would love to be able to sit and observe the entire trial, and hear what is being said. But, then, I would probably be escorted out of the courtroom. I don’t easily sit still when liars are making up shit about me, or about an identifiable group to which I belong.
What really gets me is that some people actually and sincerely believe they have the power to determine the lives of others. White men in power sought to control the lives of black Americans, for example. Straight religious people still try to control the lives of gay folks.
There are certain things that cannot be left to majority rule. Religious bigots can have their opinions, but those opinions cannot determine the lives of other people.
I am hoping the Prop 8 Trial shows that Proposition 8 was, and is, unconstitutional (a foregone conclusion, of course). The reality, however, is that whichever way this judge rules, it will be appealed back and forth until it lands in the Supreme Court. Ultimately, civil marriage will be extended to all people equally because that’s the only possible outcome that makes sense under our Constitution. DOMA will be repealed. Religious fools will be upset, but so what?
Today the U.S. observes the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. I haven’t a thing to say about that. Or rather, I haven’t anything to say that hasn’t already been said.
Those who don’t get it, won’t be swayed by my words. Those who appreciate his contributions to advancing social equality don’t need me to remind them.
I AM rather disappointed that Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday were combined into Presidents Day, but I’m not against honoring King as well. People of nearly every race have contributed to making the United States as good as it is.
Is America as good as it could be? Certainly not. But because the work is unfinished is no excuse to fail to acknowledge what has been achieved so far.
In the last week or so, much attention has been given to Haiti and the overwhelming need for aid to recover from the earthquake. It has overshadowed almost everything else.
But we continue to deal with buffoons. Not all Christians are idiots, but most of the visible idiots are Christian. And most Christians are liars. Pity.
Based on all the available evidence, we can say with a safe degree of assurance that:
There is no god; and therefore,
No god created the universe
Lovely to see this principle illustrated so neatly.
Religions have tried for ages to claim this or that god created it all. Unfortunately, there has been no evidence offered to support these silly claims. None. So, do you really believe that there is a god, and that your god is somehow responsible for this universe? Why?
The Redheaded Skeptic just wrote about “Best Friends?” where she asks an important question: Why do certain conservative Christians have this idea that you have to have formal academic degrees in order to really understand God or Jesus?
Indeed.
If fully understanding the message of God depends on doctoral level classes explaining language and culture, doesn’t that kind of diminish the message?
And if only those with theological training can really understand God, it means all these other people don’t really have a relationship with God, but have a second-hand experience filtered through preachers. A real friendship, like any other relationship, requires active participation of both parties. This is impossible with Christians and their ‘best friend’, because their best friend is a figment of their imagination, fed and stoked by reading about God, but not really having any contact or interaction with God directly.
What? You say you have a relationship with God? You’re a liar, straight up. The God you claim to know is not the same as the God other people know. Not the other people in your church. Not the other people in your religion. And definitely not the people in other religions. You’re all just making it up inside your own heads. You read your sacred texts and invent your own Gods in your own ways. That’s how it has always been, and you cannot prove otherwise because it cannot be otherwise.
If there were a God, then everyone who actually experienced God would have similar testimonies. This is not the case, clearly.
So, when you tell me about your friend Jesus, you are telling me about your imaginary make-believe “friend”, not someone real.
I don’t have to read about my friends. I don’t have to study about them in some book in order to build a relationship with them. I go meet them directly. We go out together. We actually talk. And if someone is standing nearby, they can verify the conversation — both sides of it. That’s real. Your talks with Jesus are not real; when you talk to Jesus or pray to God, you are merely talking to yourself. You need to get over it, and wake up to the fact that the God you believe in simply does not exist, and never did.
Never mind about trying to reconcile Science and the Bible. I would be happy to see if they could just reconcile Genesis 1 with Genesis 2 (two inconsistent accounts supposedly reporting the same thing) ….. or reconcile 4 different accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life.
Scientists around the world, of many cultures and many religious affiliations, agree on the basics of what constitutes science, and what does not. Science is an evidence-based pursuit. The fields of geology, biology, cosmology, astronomy, paleontology, and all the other natural sciences agree with each other. Their findings often overlap and support each other where their fields meet and overlap. It’s amazing. And because science knows it doesn’t have all the answers, they are busy seeking answers. The knowledge science provides to the world is tangible, testable, and repeatable by any one, any where, at any time. It is consistent.
Christianity, on the other hand, is not evidence-based. Christian theologians and Bible scholars cannot even agree within their own ranks on some very important core doctrines. Christianity (and religion in general) is pretty much the opposite of science.
Off to church this morning ready to hear what God wants me to know.
Truly a wasted effort.
Christianity is supposedly “not a religion, but a personal relationship with God”. Rather pitiful “personal relationship” if you have to go somewhere and listen to someone else pass a message to you “from God”. You aren’t hearing what God wants you to know — you’re hearing what the preacher wants you to know. That’s all.
Here in the United States and around a large part of the world, today is Christmas.
I am spending the day working because I don’t observe Christmas. It has a history of unfortunate and unhappy personal memories, along with mounds of religious connotations that no longer make sense. If the religious world could keep their silly myths to themselves and just let the rest of the world enjoy the winter holiday as it used to be (a nature-based seasonal celebration) that would be great.
When I was a kid, summer was spent at the YMCA. And on swimming days, we could almost always count on Charles and Charlene pooping in the pool (they were problem children and didn’t get that you couldn’t poop in the pool). And when their surprises were found, the counselors had to take everyone out of the pool, fish out the offending turd, and wait for the chemical dude to restore safe swimming conditions.
Before the offending turd was found, it was already busy contaminating the waters of the pool, but nobody noticed it right away. If everyone decided to poop in the pool, it would be known as the place to poop, not the place to swim and have fun. Rational people know you don’t swim in the toilet. But once the poop was found, everyone had sense enough to get the kids out of the pool, for the same reason that you don’t swim downstream from a manufacturing plant or sewer outlet. Doesn’t matter if it is one little turd, or a whole septic tank of ’stuff’ — even a little contaminant will ruin the whole.
Some people might be offended by the analogy, but knowing what the earlier winter celebrations were about, I think the Jesus in a Manger story superimposed onto the celebration is like the poop in the pool. Not knowing the pool is contaminated, people continue to swim in it and don’t understand other people’s refusal to jump in.
Those who claim that “Jesus is the reason for the Season”, and want to “Keep Christ in Christmas” are the ones not knowing the true nature of the winter holidays and only see their own version of it. If they want to celebrate that way, it’s their own business. I have no reason to go near the pool at all until it is sterilized and made safe from the contamination created by religious people pooping in the pool.
World Harvest Church said in a statement this afternoon that the church has no plans to close any ministries in 2010, including its schools, despite its Web site’s assertion that ministries are “in jeopardy.”
The Rev. Rod Parsley has issued a desperate plea for money, telling his flock that he is facing a “demonically inspired financial attack” that is threatening his ministry.
Parsley is asking for donations by Dec. 31, calling that date an “unavoidable deadline” during an episode of Breakthrough posted yesterday on www.rodparsley.com. Breakthrough is Parsley’s television show.
A message titled “Crisis — Urgent” on the Web site says ministries such as Breakthrough and World Harvest Bible College need help.
The headline of the appeal for donations reads: “Will you help me take back what the devil stole?”
When asked to comment yesterday, Parsley’s World Harvest Church issued a statement saying the recession caused a decline in member giving in 2009, which has led to a fourth-quarter deficit of $3 million despite a 30 percent reduction in the budget.
Wow…. doesn’t that sound like something from Oral Roberts, Jim Bakker, Pat Robertson, Robert Tilton, Jimmy Swaggart, and a score of other televangelists?
Okay, first off… times are hard for EVERYone. It is normal that churches would take a hit and have fewer donations.
And, like many fancy televangelists, the budget wouldn’t get so screwed up if the leadership wasn’t addicted to the most expensive homes, cars, jewelry, travel, wardrobe, and so forth. There is no excuse for a preacher to have an income 10 or 15 times higher than the median income of his congregation. No. Excuse. EVER. Even if the entire congregation is living below the poverty level, the pastor has to be at the level of his congregation, no matter how much it hurts his ego. He’s just not all that important.
But, then… in this particular case, isn’t it odd that they have a $3 million deficit and ….
This year, the church settled for $3.1 million with a family whose son was spanked at its day-care center in 2006, to the point his buttocks and legs were covered with welts and abrasions.
Gosh…. the devil didn’t steal from the ministry, after all. Rod Parsley is lying, just like all the other preachers whining about “the devil” attacking them where it hurts, in the pocketbook. Why is it so common for preachers to blame their misfortune on “the devil” instead of taking responsibility for their own fuck-ups? Parsley probably didn’t even know the child or the child’s parents (because mega-church pastors don’t know their congregation, most of the time — it is simply too many people to even get to know, much less care about). But his many and varied ‘ministries’ of the church are an extension of his charismatic draw and they damn well better measure up.
Rod Parsley is just another in a long line of charismatic, attention-whoring, money-grubbing liars who can tell a good story and rip-off ignorant, gullible, superstitious people.
The next time you hear someone complaining about “the devil” attacking them, or stealing from them, or otherwise interfering with their lives … dig a little deeper and you’ll find someone who is unable to admit their own shortcomings or take responsibility for their own mistakes.
The sign was defaced by a paint-wielding vandal just hours after it was erected Thursday outside the St. Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church in Auckland, and triggered passionate and sometimes angry debate on talk radio and the Internet.
It’s amazing that people could be offended by this, but apparently so.
Church vicar Archdeacon Glynn Cardy said the billboard was intended to challenge stereotypes about the way Jesus was conceived and get people talking about the Christmas story.
“This billboard is trying to lampoon and ridicule the very literal idea that God is a male and somehow this male God impregnated Mary,” said Cardy, who described his church as having very liberal ideas about Christianity.
“We would question the Virgin Birth in any literal sense. We would question the maleness of God in any literal sense,” he said.
Yes. It is important to question EVERYthing in the Bible, and EVERY precious doctrine of the Church, because we know that there was no “virgin birth” in real life, and there is no god who would have impregnated a young woman. Besides going against common sense, biology, and rational living, it goes against all the morality of the Old Testament.
There are still people who believe it is disrespectful to even suggest that Joseph and Mary might have had sexual relations (even though the N.T. names four of Jesus’ brothers — where did they come from if Joseph and Mary never had sex?).
And some people think it is disrespectful to make fun of other people’s beliefs. But then, that only applies to their own beliefs; they gladly ridicule the religious beliefs and practices of other religions.
As the vicar said, the purpose was to challenge stereotypes (”traditions”) about Jesus’ birth. What’s wrong with that? After all, we know that Adam and Eve were not two literal people who introduced “sin” into the world, so there is no reason for a literal savior to have been born in the way the stories describe. It is all mythology. So why not say so? Why not challenge the old ideas?
Cousin John sent me an interesting link this morning with the note “Run with it”.
A brief, succinct, and broadly-applicable essay On the Redundancy of Purportedly Divine Written Sources. The author, Sveinbjourn Thordarson, uses the Christian Bible for his point of reference, but his thoughts apply equally to ANY “sacred” text of the world.
He opens with:
It is a strange fact that most of the world’s major religions seek their truths and their moral codes in ancient written records of dubious origin. It is stranger still that the adherents of these religions believe the written records to be sacred and divinely inspired, and that it is possible to glean from them eternal and divine moral truths. Be that as it may, it still seems that even if we grant the unverified and unverifiable assumption that these written records are divine in origin, they remain highly questionable as sources of religious truth and moral instruction due to interpretive problems.
I’ll let you read the rest of the article on your own, since he makes his points quite well.
Anyone who has been reading over my shoulder the last 20+ years already knows that there are no divinely inspired, divinely-delivered “sacred texts”, and that all allegedly divine texts were written by humans, interpreted by humans, and abused by humans. There is no ultimately authoritative text above which no other can stand. Period. Whether it is the Bible, the Koran, the Gita, the Tarot, or any other “sacred text” — all are obsolete, redundant, and wholely unnecessary and irrelevant to life in the 21st Century.
Does that mean we should pitch them all into the fire? No. Indeed, it would serve an atheist well to read them all, to see that they repeat the same fables, myths, legends, and collective weird shit. And, to provide a foundation for dealing with those who actually believe such texts have any claim to truth or authority.
Okay, so Christians like to say that in order to get to heaven (or “get saved” as they call it) you have to “invite Jesus into your heart.”
Okay, so a happy and willing organ donor decides to invite Jesus into his heart. Woo-hoo… he’s saved. But in a tragic car accident, he loses his life, and his heart is transplanted to the town’s most obnoxious atheist.
So now is the atheist suddenly saved and bound for heaven, like it or not, just because he got a heart with Jesus included? And the Christian suddenly buried without a heart full of Jesus is going to end up in hell?
So, whattaya think? Does anyone REALLY want to pluck verses here and there like this? Yes, the Bible does say if a woman is not a virgin when she gets married, she should be taken out and stoned to death in the doorway of her father’s home, because “she has committedan actof follyin Israelby playingthe harlotin her father’shouse.” Funny, even if she is molested or raped, she is still held guilty and punished — how can this be righteous, or just? The rules invented to justify anti-gay sentiment came from the same place as this insane command to kill a woman who is not a virgin when she marries.
If people want to cherry-pick from the Bible, they need to be prepared for reciprocity, because (like the sign says) “we can quote the bible, too”
And, while we’re at it, here’s some other cool Bible stuff, found buried in a response comment posted under some religious nonsensical stuff:
I’m not going to analyze any of these, but merely post them for Christians who want to understand what the Bible says on the subject. (Clue: if you believe being gay is a sin, you have not read or understood the Bible!)
This was left as a comment to a long-ago previous post;
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
YES!
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An awesome retort to be given in response to trash-talking, foul-mouthed conservative idiots (and cussing Christians)
“Did you learn that in church?” <*snark*>
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Why is it that those funda-gelicals who are soooooo convinced of owning “eternal life” with God, and berate those who reject such a silly notion, can’t manage to wrap their brains around an Earth older than 6,000 years?
———-
“Eternal Life” isn’t something you can obtain or relinquish. There’s only one life, and we are already living it. “Eternal Life” isn’t something you can acquire as if it were something you didn’t already have. It is something you are already privileged to experience here briefly. Life is eternal; you are not, and never will be. And even “eternal life” isn’t really eternal, because life depends on the sun and the sun will one day burn out, and life will cease. But several billion years from now, when the sun does finally burn out, humans as we know them (us) will have long since ceased to exist; as the last of the known hominids, our species will either become extinct completely, or will fully evolve into something other than homo sapiens.
(I recently read that as humans were evolving there were several other hominid species evolving during the same time period over several million years; we are the last remaining of our line; indeed over 95% of all animal and plant species that have ever existed in our planet have already become extinct or have evolved into something else.)
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Did any of you folks realize that the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha is also occuring during the Winter Holiday season? When you say “Happy Holidays”, you are extending to others the wish for a pleasant holiday season, whichever holiday they observe: the same kind you wish to enjoy (i.e., “do unto others”). When you insist on saying “Merry Christmas” you are saying “your holidays don’t matter; if you don’t celebrate my holidays, then fuck you.”
We have this discussion every year, of course, and some Christians (the most intolerant, unbending, unyielding people I’ve ever had to deal with) still don’t grasp the concept that they are as obligated as the rest of us to share this earth with people who don’t follow their religion, and they have to participate in the process of facilitating peace with their neighbors. Insisting on “Merry Christmas” is the antithesis of “peace on earth, good will toward all.”
American Family Association is really making a stink from stirring their own shit. As in years past, it is the Christians who pretend there is a war on Christmas, and they haven’t even let Thanksgiving be done before they start in on their annual tirade against reason and sanity.
They’ve had their “Naughty or Nice” list for years, encouraging fundagelical right-wing Christians to boycott the stores that don’t highlight Christmas or those that choose to say “Happy Holidays”.
Last year The Gap stores made the “Naughty” list. This year the Gap included Christmas … and Hannukah and Kwanzaa and Solstice … in their TV ads. I liked the ad before I could make out the words. It has a youthful kicky sound. But now that I know the words, I like it even better.
The folks at AFA are truly grasping at straws with their childish whining:
Did you notice it? Gap compares Christmas to the pagan holiday called “Solstice.” Solstice is celebrated by Wiccans who practice witchcraft!
Gap also encourages you to “86″ or “dismiss” traditions and “do what feels just right.”
Uhh… hello??? Christmas began as a Pagan Holiday, all Christified by Christians who just couldn’t stand that other people had their own holidays before the Christians even showed up. And who says their “traditions” are worth keeping?
And Solstice, of course, is not just a Pagan holiday. Solstice is the changing of season from Autumn to Winter. It is a naturally-occurring event EVERY year, and it is observed by virtually all people around the world. Observing or celebrating the Solstice is focused on the lengthening of days, return of the sun. Because it is a natural event, it makes sense that the Earth Religions would observe it and make it a sacred time in their traditions, but not all Solstice revelers are Pagan or Wiccans.
And, in case Christians have forgotten all reason and reality completely, axial tilt is the “reason for the season” – SOLSTICE is the reason for the season, NOT Christmas!
“Solstice is celebrated by Wiccans who practice witchcraft”. OOOOOoohhhh… scarey! But, umm… as Wiccans why would they NOT practice witchcraft? And just because Wiccans observe Solstice does not mean everyone who observes Solstice is a witch. Duhh.. Ooooohhhh… the internet is used by people who are addicted to pornography, so the internet is bad… BAD!
The American Family Association is a bunch of Anti-American, Anti-Family fundagelical bigots who don’t have the right to decide what the rest of the world is supposed to celebrate, or how, during the Winter Holiday Season.
For the last year or so, the world has seen a growing fleet of atheist advertising: the bus ads, billboards, etc. There is not a single such ad that has been attacking or hateful. They’ve been positive affirmations that those who don’t believe in a god or gods are not alone, and are free to live their lives.
And yet certain Christian factions have been consistently whining about “the atheist threat” and “atheists are attacking our way of life” and all sorts of other messages of victimhood.
These atheist ads don’t even mention any specific religion, yet many Christians believe it is only about them and they take it highly personally.
This:
“Jesus died and rose and lives for you.”
is a merely affirmative message of belief. It is a lie on its face, of course, but many people believe it. I don’t care one way or another, because even though it is not a true statement, the mythic message simply comforts superstitious people the way a shot of whiskey comforts a drunk. If I saw that message on a church sign or even a billboard, I would merely laugh at the childish folly of silly superstition and not give it much thought.
But this:
“Jesus died and rose and lives for you. What did Allah do.”
is NOT ‘just’ an affirming message relevant to Christian superstition. It is a blatant and direct aggressive challenge to Muslims. While whining about being attacked when there is no attack, Christians apparently have no reservations about initiating an obvious attack on others. Rather hypocritical.
Sounds far-fetched, but it’s not. From the Bible Baptist Church:
Pastor Bob Parker told the Tribune-Star of Terre Haute the sign wasn’t meant to be derogatory toward Islam. He says its message simply meant that “the founder of Christianity still lives.”
No. It is not “simply” a statement of belief that Jesus lives. It is a statement of belief that Jesus lived, and did something, and continues to live … and that Allah hasn’t done diddly-squat. How does Parker NOT grasp that this is a clear nose-thumbing at Muslims? Bob Parker is a lying piece of shit. If he’s not lying, but truly believes the sign on his church is completely innocent, he is too stupid to be leading a congregation of people who have entrusted their spiritual care into his hands. But really, he’s not that stupid. He’s just another Christian who doesn’t understand the meaning (or application) of the term “boundaries”.
The whole article is sickening, of course, because it merely highlights how bad the Christians are becoming. But this one part is particularly bothersome because it hides a double-message:
Maddow: And then, there‘s this biblical quote making the rounds in anti-Obama circles. As reported this week in the “Christian Science Monitor,” “Pray for President Obama, Psalm 109, verse eight.” What‘s psalm 109 version eight? Well, it reads, “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” Let his days be few. It‘s followed immediately by another verse, “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”
And don‘t forget, that sentiment is now being merchandised on bumper stickers, on mouse pads, on Teddy Bears on aprons, framed tiles—those are nice. Keepsake boxes, t-shirts? “Let his days be few”—cute on a Teddy Bear.
Has anybody else crept [sic] out by this?
Joining us now is Frank Schaeffer, whose father, Francis Schaeffer helped shape the evangelical movement in the United States. Mr. Shafer grew up in the religious far-right and he‘s the author of “Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don‘t Like Religion (or Atheism).”
Mr. Schaeffer, thanks very much for coming back on the show.
Frank Schaeffer: Thanks for having me on.
Maddow: “Let his days be few; and let another take his office,” “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” This is such strong language in secular terms about President Obama. Can you tell me if this means something less threatening to people hearing this in a biblical context?
Schaeffer: No, actually, it means something more threatening. I think the situation that I find genuinely frightening right now is that you have a ramping up of biblical language—language from the antiabortion movement, for instance, death panels and this sort of thing. And what it‘s coalescing into is branding Obama as Hitler, as they‘ve already called him, as something foreign to our shores. We‘re reminded of that. He‘s born in Kenya—as brown, as black, above all, as not us. He is Sarah Palin‘s not a real American.
There are many simple-minded Christians who will see such bumper stickers reading “Pray for Obama, Psalm 109:8-9″ and not have a clue what that passage says. They’ll merely pray for Obama in whatever way they think appropriate, assuming that the Bible reference is a command to pray for our leaders. (The New Testament does, in fact, have directives to pray for leaders.)
On the other hand, there will be people who will take the time to look up the reference and read:
8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
and will be crazy enough to lift these verses out of context and take it as a suggestion to actually help God accomplish this end — i.e., seek to assasinate President Obama. They don’t seem to have any qualms about dispatching abortion doctors in support of their misguided beliefs, so they likely wouldn’t see any problem shortening Obama’s days on earth.
How can these right-wing idiots actually believe they are doing the will of God, or even seeking it? It seems that they are increasing attempting to establish what THEY want God’s will to be and then carry it out. (This, of course, has been a big problem with Christianity from the start — humans making fiction in their heads and calling it “God’s will” to control others.)
I usually manage to hide the religious folks from visibility on my Facebook page. It saves me a lot of angst and grief. But somehow a person from whom I would not have expected this managed to post:
Let’s see how many people on FB aren’t ashamed to show their love for God and admit that Jesus is their Savior! We need to get God back in America. If you’re not ashamed, copy and paste this in your status, I did. God Bless You and God Bless America!
“We need to get God back in America” …. ??
Ummm… okay, let’s analyze this:the statement assumes (1) God is real, and (2) is no longer in America.
“God” is not a proven, verifiable entity or thing to begin with. “God” is (at best) a concept, an idea, about which there is no clear definition. There is no objective of what God is. No, seriously — you might think you know what God is or what the term means, but whichever version you put forth there’s about 2/3 of the world who would instantly DISagree, and among the remainder who might agree on the surface will debate you on the details. NObody has the same idea about God that you have, and the odds are very good that if a god or gods is ever actually discovered in measurable, provable form, your idea of God is wayyy wrong.
But, more importantly, when you look at American demographics (or the recent ARIS numbers) you will discover that nearly 85% of the country has a belief in God. Doesn’t matter if God is real or not, the fact that the vast majority have a belief in God, would suggest that putting God “back” in America is like putting the wet back in water.
America is not devoid of a belief in God, but will always be devoid of a clear, objective God that can be pointed to and agreed upon. We know that America has Barack Obama — a real, tangible human person. Not everyone likes him, and there are all manner of opinions about, but there is no doubting his existence. There are all manner of opinions about God as well, but there is no evidence to suggest God is real, so there is plenty of reason to doubt the existence of ANY God, much less any one God in particular.
And I’m not even going to touch the “we NEED” part of that statement. No, we don’t NEED to do any such thing. If the God you believe in isn’t big enough to get himself “back” (?) to America …. well, there’s not much we mortals can do. (Which reminds me … all those right-wing conservative folks who prayed and prayed for “God’s will to be done” are still bitching about having Obama for a President …. why?)
