Alex’s Heresies - embracing a physical reality

What can I say…

Hundreds of Proofs of God’s Existence (website)

Oh, it’s not serious!
Alex McCullie

Christian Today, an on-line Christian newspaper, reports that one in four children in the UK are bullied for faith-based reasons.

A survey published today by a leading bullying prevention charity has found that one in four school students admits to being bullying – often violently - because of their religion.

Beatbullying, which runs interfaith bullying prevention programmes, said its research indicated that that there was little provision for young people to talk about their faith and that almost half of young people do not talk about religious or faith issues at all.

The survey of 819 young people also found a degree of religious segregation, with 20 per cent of the young people surveyed saying that their circle of friends consisted mainly of people from the same religious background. (full article 17 Nov 2008)

It amazes me that religious people continue to believe and promote that strong religious belief leads inexorably to good moral behaviour. There seems to be no evidence supporting this stand. We see so many cases of strong faith being destructive. People’s moral behaviour should be seen as a strictly human affair with strictly human solutions.

Alex McCullie

According to Christian Today, on-line Christian newspaper, The American Humanist Association will run bus ads proclaiming a godless holiday with the great quotation:

“Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake”

This follows the lead from the British Humanist Association that ran with the quotation:

“There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”

The newspaper article is quite reasonable from a Christian viewpoint even though some of the quotations just refrain from using the term blasphemy (full article 14 Nov 2008).

A group of humanists announced this week plans to plaster over 200 buses in Washington DC with ads bearing its “godless holiday” message.

Ads proclaiming, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake”, will appear on the outside and inside of DC Metro buses starting next Tuesday and will run throughout December. Newspaper versions of the ads ran in The New York Times and The Washington Post this week.

The advertising campaign is part of an effort by the American Humanist Association to reach out to like-minded individuals around the nation’s capital and elsewhere who might be interested in humanism. The atheist group espouses the belief that people can live a moral life apart from a belief in a god or the afterlife.

…

“It is the ultimate ‘grinch’ to suggest there is no God during a holiday where millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is insensitive and mean,” remarked Mathew D Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group that has defended the rights of cities and schools to display nativity scenes and Christmas decorations.

“Christmas is a time of joy and hope, not a time for hate,” added Staver. “Why believe in God? – Because Santa is not the only one coming to town.”

…

Roberta Combs, who heads the Christian Coalition of America, said the campaign’s attempt to ban God and Christmas from the public square will not sit well with many Americans.

…

But Combs said her organisation plans to mobilise its 2.5 million supporters to contact city officials and Congress to stop the “un-Godly campaign.”

Alex McCullie

According to history and legend the following is true.

He was born in 4 BCE. A spirit appeared to his pregnant mother, preparing her for the birth of a divine figure. His divinity was signalled by an extraordinary sign in the sky at birth. Other supernatural events were also claimed to highlight his birth.

In childhood he showed an amazing precocity for religious understanding and debate.

As an adult he travelled widely and performed many miracles - healing the sick and raising the dead have been documented. He was also renowned for his sublime teachings.

Ultimately he was arrested and tried by the Roman authorities. Many supporters believed he went to heaven and others saw him after death.

His name was … Apollonius of Tyana.

Alex McCullie

 

Other links
http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/apollonius01.html

http://atheismandhappiness.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/apollonius-of-tyana-the-great-healer/

http://www.blavatsky.net/magazine/theosophy/ww/setting/apollonius.html

http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/apollonius_of_tyana.html

http://mountainman.com.au/apollonius_of_tyana.htm

Alex McCullie

The newspaper, The Age Online, has an amusing article about Sarah Palin’s future and the word from God.

Defeated Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she hopes God will “show her the way” before she decides on any future bid for the White House.

…

However the devoutly religious 44-year-old mother-of-five said that if God wanted her to run for the highest office, she hoped to be shown the way.

“You know, I have - faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator’s hands - this is what I always do,” Palin said.

“I’m like, OK God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is,” she added.

“Even if it’s cracked up a little bit, maybe I’ll plough right on through that and maybe prematurely plough through it, but don’t let me miss an open door. (full article 11 Nov 2008)

If you understand this, I’d advise keeping it to yourself and not admitting to the fact.

Alex McCullie

Christian bookshops are keen to sell the Expelled DVD that is supposed to highlight the unfair favouring of evolution over the overtly religious creationism, now neatly re badged as Intelligent Design avoiding US Constitutional problems. The smart ideas of design are being expelled from the classroom by scientists and educators. Here’s an introduction by Christian Cinema.

Intelligent Design (ID), the ultimate oxymoron, keeps raising its ugly head. Instead of pontification about unsupported religious origin-beliefs, let’s see some real evidential support from the design supporters who want to be treated seriously. Evolution is one of most supported scientific theories of all time with numerous academic papers yearly in the most world’s most-respected scientific journals. Let the supporters of the ID achieve something similar and earn the right to be treated as scientific instead of being simply shouting about thinly disguised religious beliefs.

Mainstream scientists would welcome an alternate theory to evolution if it has stronger evidential support. There is nothing religious in science’s backing of evolution - it’s simply the best supported by a considerable margin. However we are yet to see the supporters of the various design beliefs present any sort of broad-based evidential support

Here’s an Expelled debunking site - Expelled Exposed.

Alex McCullie

Ireland’s Roman Catholic Church wants to appeal against new legislation that provides legal recognition for homosexual partnerships. According to PinkNews.co.uk:

Cardinal Sean Brady said that as “marriage and the family are of public interest,” it was appropriate for the Church to intervene. (full article 5 Nov 2008)

To me public interest means that the church has every right to make its voice known like any other organisation or individual. Presumably by intervene the church leaders see that they are more equal that others to comment.

Alex McCullie

After wandering through some science blogs I found this amusing website from University of Southampton and the recent PhDs awarded.

 
I imagine we are talking the same astrology that’s been debunked so many times over so many years. So should we now take star sign reading in the local paper seriously. Or, perhaps do a PhD in the application of alchemy to modern wealth creation methods or to extend current mining practices!

Sorry back to the real world…

Alex McCullie

PS Blog discussion with the above link - Bad Science

According to the WAtoday.com.au, an Australian newspaper website, monks brawled in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - supposedly the site of Jesus’ execution and burial (and resurrection, of course).

Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity’s holiest churches and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus’ tomb.

The clash broke out between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection. (full article 10 Nov 2008)

Alex McCullie

9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. 11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing–if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. (1 Timothy 2:9-15, New Testament NIV translation)

Is this the inerrant Word of God?

These quotations present problems for Christians. If they view the Bible as strictly God’s Word and therefore inerrant, how do they can they possibly reject authority of this passage from 1 Timothy of the New Testament. Hopefully most believers do using modern sensibilities about how to treat women. But doing so negates the belief that all the books of the Christian bible are strictly the Word of God. Implicitly they are acknowledging that the Bible books have been written and edited over 1000+ years by people who have the usual range of human weaknesses. It comes down to personal choice which parts believers accept or reject. It sounds like the dreaded “relativism” that religious leaders so commonly rail against.

On the other hand if believers accept this quotation as truth, heaven help women.

Alex McCullie

As a further note many use this passage to proclaim Paul as a misogynist even though his other writings support women having active roles in the early Christian church. Today many biblical scholars believe that 1 Timothy and the anti-female text of 1 Corinthians were not from Paul but fraudently added or assigned at some later period (St. Paul and Women: A Mixed Record).