8th Grader kills himself for God

A 14-year-old boy, Dennis Lindberg, killed himself under the instructions of a sadistic cult. This action was blessed by Skagit County (Washington) Superior Court Judge, John Meyer, who prohibited the State of Washington from interfering in the youth’s suicide pact.

Unfortunately, no criminal action will be brought against either the “Cult” or Judge Meyer, because the “Cult” is the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the method of suicide the youth chose was to refuse treatment that would have given him a 70% chance of survival.

TJM author Luci recently wrote about another senseless death associated with Jehovah’s Witness prohibition on accepting blood transfusions.

Basically, JWs are prohibited from consuming the blood of an animal. “Church” leaders decided that hospital patients can be fed intravenously, a blood transfusion is food.

What?

TJM reader Jerry Jones (his link) commented:

Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that when human blood is transfused into their body’s circulatory system that the transfused human blood remains to be human blood and continues to function as human blood. Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that if blood is eaten, then the ingested blood enters the body’s digestive system, where the blood would be treated by the body exactly the same as it would treat a hotdog, a potato chip, or any other food item.

Before you start thinking that I’m singling out JW’s, remember that MANY religions/dogmatic beliefs require the individual to harm himself/herself in the name of worship and/or conformity. Judaism (and others) requires the partial amputation of male genitalia. Sects of Islam require adherents to flog and/or lacerate themselves as a part of their worship. (Check out “Ashoura”) Female Genital Mutilation is still widely practiced in several locations around the world. Foot Binding, an old Chinese custom, has crippled millions of women.

Dogmatism turns otherwise rational people into lemmings. Religion is the single largest source of Dogmatism. Religion is also the most “Protected” in its application. Without Religion to back up this boy’s decision, his parents would have been brought up on child endangerment charges, he would be declared a ward of the court, and his doctors would be ordered to begin treatment.

Read more:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/11/religion_kills.php
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/29/jehovahs.witness.ap/index.html

Apathy: The Cancer That’s Killing Us

Taking a brief departure from questioning religion for a moment, I wanted to take a moment to spew some hate. No, really. I may just hate you. Do you care? Maybe not. Maybe you’re apathetic, and that is why I hate you. Read more

A White Christian lashes out

This is en excerpt from a blog:

The white Afrikaner Christian: a complete and utter train wreck, fully on the road, nay HighWay, to Hell!

Rapport (A South African Sunday paper) has decided to kneel at the feet of the idol of WHITE AFRIKANER CHRISTENDOM. The very same sacks of filthy white shit who supported APARTHEID. We must bow the knee to these racist scum!?

Fuck white Afrikaner Christians! White Afrikaner Christians suck the shit out of a dead man’s colon!

They clearly don’t know me and my absolute antipathy for white Afrikaans Christians.

I am a white English Christian. A confirmed Anglican. I attend Church regularly.

I am not so insecure in my beliefs, my faith, and my religion that I feel the need to squelch all those whose opinions differ from mine. I don’t require the people I do business with to align their religious and political views with mine. Clearly these cocksuckers do.

I would feel sorry for the poor little insecure white Afrikaans (fuckers) Christians, who feel that they have to organise boycotts over a religio political issue, but WHERE the fuck were you cunts when Apartheid was devastating our country?

Where the FUCK were you cunts THEN?

I’ll tell you WHERE! You were in your little kerkies (churches) praying to dear Jesus to save your white arses from the SWART GEVAAR (Black Danger).

Guess what? He didn’t listen.

Why not?

Because, you insane little bastards, you were praying to SATAN! As you still are, because you have NOT repented your Apartheid sins. Only when you get down on your knees and beg forgiveness for the heresy that Apartheid was, and properly kiss black arse, can you arise forgiven. Until then, you are damned to Hell!

Jesus will say to such people, “Begone from me, you evildoer! I never knew you!”

Those mamparas (dumbasses) will soon discover that the only poephols (assholes) that they are hurting are their own ones. The moment anyone caves to religious morons, is the moment they start their slide into The Abyss.

No surrender to racists.

The above is a quote from the blog of Richard Catto:

http://capetownnews.co.za/2007/11/17/

So South Africa has it’s very own Fred Phelps, in the person of Richard Catto, who preaches hate in the name of Jesus. He is extremely proud of the fact that he is a WHITE ENGLISH CHRISTIAN who hates other white Christians and wants all white Christians out of South Africa.

Mr Catto is a racist who hates whites and is not ashamed to acknowledge it openly in his blog; he is even proud of the fact. He claims allegiance to a religion that has nothing to do with his ideologies. He is intolerant to the point of being a vile pig. He calls himself a liberal but his actions speak louder than his words.

He wrote this to me in a letter: My whole point is this: people must stop fucking with other people.

Mr Catto, isn’t that exactly what you are doing?

He has so much anger and hatred in him that I believe he is a danger to society. He clearly has a problem with color, as he specifically calls himself WHITE.

As far as I am concerned he is a throwback from evolution; a subhuman.

He is shooting himself in both feet. This is Christianity speaking.

I asked him where he was 20 years ago; when Nelson Mandela was still in jail? During that time I was a card carrying member of Nelson Mandela’s political party, the African National Congress. I risked my freedom for my own sanity and to live with my conscience. During that time the ANC was classified as a Terrorist Organization, today they are the ruling party in South Africa.

Where were you, Mr Catto? You have not answered me.

Lu

TJM IS CURRENTLY FOR SALE

I have come to a decision with regards to our moniker here at TJM. I have come to this decision through various talks with others involved with this site and though some people that are simply third party voices on the subject. Read more

Behold, the Power of Prayer!

I am just lovin’ Eddie Current’s material!

 

NEW THEORY SUGGESTS PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TO RELIGION FOR 16 REASONS

People are not drawn to religion just because of a fear of death or any other single reason, according to a new comprehensive, psychological theory of religion.
There are actually 16 basic human psychological needs that motivate people to seek meaning through religion, said Steven Reiss, author of the new theory and professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University.From Ohio State University:NEW THEORY SUGGESTS PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TO RELIGION FOR 16 REASONS

People are not drawn to religion just because of a fear of death or any other single reason, according to a new comprehensive, psychological theory of religion.

There are actually 16 basic human psychological needs that motivate people to seek meaning through religion, said Steven Reiss, author of the new theory and professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University.

These basic human needs  which include honor, idealism, curiosity and acceptance  can explain why certain people are attracted to religion, why God images express psychologically opposite qualities, and the relationship between personality and religious experiences.

Previous psychologists tried to explain religion in terms of just one or two overarching psychological needs. The most common reason they cite is that people embrace religion because of a fear of death, as expressed in the saying ‘there are no atheists in foxholes,” Reiss said.

”But religion is multi-faceted  it can’t be reduced to just one or two desires.”
Reiss described his new theory  which he said may be the most comprehensive psychological theory of religion since Freud’s work more than a century ago — in the June issue of Zygon, a journal devoted to issues of science and religion.
”I don’t think there has been a comprehensive theory of religion that was scientifically testable,” he said.

The theory is based on his overall theory of human motivation, which he calls sensitivity theory. Sensitivity theory is explained in his 2000 book Who Am I? The 16 Basic Desires that Motivate Our Action and Define Our Personalities (Tarcher Putnam).

Reiss said that each of the 16 basic desires outlined in the book influence the psychological appeal of religious behavior. The desires are power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and tranquility.

In fact, Reiss has already done some initial research that suggests the desire for independence is a key psychological desire that separates religious and non-religious people. In a study published in 2000, Reiss found that religious people (the study included mostly Christians) expressed a strong desire for interdependence with others. Those who were not religious, however, showed a stronger need to be self-reliant and independent.

The study also showed that religious people valued honor more than non-religious people, which Reiss said suggests many people embrace religion to show loyalty to parents and ancestors.

In the Zygon paper, Reiss explains that every religious person balances their 16 basic human needs to fit their own personality.

”They embrace those aspects of religious imagery that express their strongest psychological needs and deepest personal values.”

One example is the desire for curiosity, Reiss said. Religious intellectuals, who are high in curiosity, value a God who is knowable through reason, while doers, who have weak curiosity, may value a God that is knowable only through revelation.
”People who have a strong need for order should enjoy ritualized religious experiences, whereas those with a weak need for order may prefer more spontaneous expression of faith,” he said.

”The prophecy that the weak will inherit the earth should appeal especially to people with a weak need for status, whereas the teaching that everybody is equal before God should appeal especially to people with a strong need for idealism.”

If religion and personality are linked, religion must provide a range of images and symbols sufficiently diverse to appeal to all the different kinds of personalities in the human population, Reiss says. Religious imagery potentially accommodates everybody because in many instances the images and symbols are psychological opposites.
”How we value and balance the 16 psychological needs is what makes us an individual, and for every individual there are appealing religious images,” he said.

”The values that guide a personality with a strong need for vindication are expressed by a God of wrath, or a war God, while the values that guide a personality with a weak need for vindication are expressed by a God of forgiveness.”

”The values that guide a personality with a strong need to socialize are expressed by religious fellowship and festivals, while the values that guide a personality with a weak need to socialize are expressed by religious asceticism.”

The need for acceptance makes meaningful images of God as a savior, while its opposite inspires the concept of original sin, according to Reiss. The need to eat motives some people to value abstinence and others to value sustenance.

”Because this theory can be tested scientifically, we can learn its strengths and weaknesses, and gradually improve it,” Reiss said. ”Eventually, we may understand better the psychological basis of religion.”

Reiss emphasized that the theory addresses the psychology of religious experiences and has no implications for the validity or invalidity of religious beliefs.

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/2788

Why I don’t give to the Salvation Army this year…

It’s that time of year again. Bell ringers in front of every store. You can’t get past them without the little bell deafening you and feeling a little guilty when you don’t give anything. Most people will fish around for a little change in their pockets to donate it to charity. Me too. “God bless you.” is what I usually hear when I make a donation. I don’t pay much attention to this anymore. So why won’t I donate this year?

Well, I’ve learned a few things. For one, the Salvation Army discriminates against Homosexuals (rescinding same sex partner benefits after quotes from people like AFA president Donald E. Wildom:

“We are absolutely shocked that an evangelical Christian organization would grant health benefits to same-sex partners,” Wildmon said. “Homosexual relationships are not legitimate in God’s eyes, and treating them as if they are by extending the benefits traditionally reserved for married couples is troubling.”

The threat by the AFA (American Families Association) to shift their “financial support from the Salvation Army to ministries that uphold Biblical standards in defining the family.” made it actually very easy for the Salvation Army to rescind their benefits.

And then, have you ever wondered what happens to the money that you donate to the Salvation Army? Well, needless to say a lot of money goes into church services. Yes, they do offer help to homeless people for example… by giving them a place to sleep and food. But not just out of the goodness of their hearts. No, you have attend church services in return. So you better be a Christian, because otherwise you’ll be screwed.

Did you also know that the Salvation Army evicted hundreds of low income women in NYC to sell their buildings for $100.000.000 each? That’s one hundred million dollars!! Not that it was a great life for those women anyway. They were not allowed to have male visitors and were strictly supervised on that.

Of course you can’t just throw out tenants, so the Salvation Army has argued that they are a religious organization and can do whatever they want. Their reason for selling the buildings have been that they are too costly to maintain. This is actually surprising. The Salvation Army is hardly pressed for money. They have received a $1.5 billion bequest from the estate of Joan Kroc… (whose husband founded McDonald’s by the way)… obviously by far the largest donation to charity in American history! Add to that government funding (yes, YOUR tax dollars) and donations from people like you every year, and you get a nice little sum of money to do good (…uhm for those who deserve it… )

The Salvation Army has a history of trying to discriminate based on religion and sexual preferences. They do ask their employees not to do so by signing a statement every year. However they will not hesitate to fire you if they find out that you are not Christian or that you are a Homosexual. Quite a double standard, don’t you think?

As far as my yearly donations are concerned… there are many ways to handle this. Not all charities are religious. I contribute to my community with financial gifts as well as working as a volunteer. If I adopt a family at christmas it doesn’t have to be through the Salvation Army, although I will admit that their Adopt a family program is at least one of those that really does benefit the family (by providing food, clothes and presents at christmas). But then those needy families might just have to attend church services in return for the help….

I agree it’s necessary to do good. There is a lot of poverty on our planet. People who can’t help themselves need our help. So do your homework when it comes to making a donation, and choose wisely. Make sure that it’s not just 10% of your money that goes to the poor, but 90%. And by all means make sure they get this help without having to go to church or convert to Christianity or some such thing.

The Jesus Myth Challenge

This site was started with a purpose; bring together theists and non-theists in a format of open dialog and debate. Along the way, some have been befriended and some have been offended. Are you one of the ones that hate this site or find it to be offensive? Okay, the site is yours to do with what you wish…provided that you can step up to the challenge. Read more

Atheism is a Dangerous Religion!

(Please, for the love of your god, if you do not understand what satire is, don’t comment!)

Ode to Christian Joe

Where do you stand on life? When will it begin? When will what begin?” you may ask.

When will peace begin? When will love outweigh the hatred of different faiths, but yet that person and you believe in the same god.? Read more

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