Religion follows Science

Religion follows science.  Look around at some of the leading scientific theories of today and you see religions glomming onto them, trying to incorporate them into their beliefs.  Some newly born religions even make them part of their very core.  Take for example quantum physics and new-age religions.  “What the BLEEP do we know” illustrates this perfectly.

Likewise, after Ben Franklin’s discovery of electricity there were countless religions forming up to include this “mystical force”.

When the world hypothesized on being hollow (a failed scientific theory), several religious cults grew around the idea.  You can still visit a compound of one these religions outside of Fort Myers, Florida.

This goes farther back than modern science too.  The Norse had a myth that their gods were licked into existence by a magic space cow.  Is it coincidence that they were domesticating animals at that time?  Is it coincidence that Adam was born of clay or Eve was born of a cutting of his rib?  Think about what was going on when these things were proclaimed.  Mankind had entered  the agrarian age, a period when they were building pots, homes, and a myriad of other things out of clay.  They were experimenting with vegetation, using cuttings to grow more domesticated plants.

If mankind survives and continues to acquire knowledge, I think it is obvious that religions will continue to try and incorporate scientific findings into their beliefs.  It is a way to provide validation for their beliefs.

I bet that if a famous scientist were a practical joker and issued a statement that a specific type of god were possible via some obscure scientific principle, then we would quickly see religions attempt to form around that principle.  I keep looking for something to develop from Cold Fusion, all that is lacking is someone to explain how to possibly tie it into a proposed deity.

The Changing Face of TJM

In a nutshell, everything is changing. Site design, site structure and the way that you will be able to interact with (and contribute to) The Jesus Myth will be changing. It may take up to a month to get things implemented, but those of you in the loop know that I have been thinking about this for some time now. It is not my site, it is yours. So sit back and hang on, ’cause things are gonna get hairy…

I’ve become an angry atheist….

I know I’ve poked fun at different religions… but I still tried to be respectful of other people.  Lately though, that’s been changing.  I think, no, I know that I am becoming an angry atheist.

Maybe I’m lashing out in frustration for other things.  Maybe it’s stemming from personal issues I’ve been having on things unrelated to religion.  Maybe it’s because I’m sick of being told that I harbor “wickedness and evil” in my heart because I don’t follow scripture.  Maybe it’s because I’m tired of being lonely in my views.  I don’t know.

I do know that lately I’ve been more and more intolerant of others.  I ask blatantly offensive questions that would be labeled as “trolling” online and “being an asshole” in real life.

If I want to function in our society, I need to reign in back in.  It’s just seems to be becoming harder and harder.

This post stems from a “Theology Night” at a local brewpub.  I sat down with people I had never met before to discuss religion.  It’s put on by a local church.  Well, mixing alcohol and religion probably wasn’t the best thing for me.

Lately, I have not been able to get this one thought out of my head in regards to christianity.  That is, christianity glorifies human sacrifice.  That it is no better than some ancient tribal religion chucking virgins into a volcano to appease the angry fire god.  I am sick of christians telling me that I’m an immoral person while they believe that sacrificing ANYTHING to their god to earn forgiveness is a good thing.

Of course, pointing that out to christians is not going to make me welcome in their homes.

I can’t help it though.  I find the whole “Jesus died for our sins” to be totally abhorrent.  I think people who regard that as a good thing as being insane.

Anyway, going back to the brewpub… I went ahead and confronted these innocent followers of a god who intentionally had his son stapled to a tree.   I asked them how could they worship a religion glorifying human sacrifice.

I didn’t get into a bar fight.  They were actually very polite about it.  I just couldn’t let it go.  They would offer up their rationalizations and I would show them how those excuses were invalid/illogical/or blatantly wrong.  Yeah, I was in rare form.  I’m lucky I didn’t get a drink thrown in my face.

Later that night, I had the increasingly strong realization that I had just trolled a social group.  That’s not a good thing.  I went over the line and became an angry atheist.  A few years ago, I spoke against people acting that way… and here I am going down that path.  I don’t like it.

The Koran Exposed

The following was written by Ali Sina. Read more

Jesus VS McCain/Palin

This was emailed to me, but I can’t find the original source. Funny as hell though!

Apotheosize Me

The question of religious influence in American politics is as old as American politics itself.  In fact, a major pollster says the U.S. is the most religious developed democracy in the world.  Yet most studies of the influence of religion in American politics show that there is no simple ’cause & effect’ relationship; there is no pastoral ‘Red State & Blue State’ equation.  There are vast differences in all facets of the political spectrum, and the degree to which any religion can or does influence any particular political issue is very much subject to individual perception.  By and large, people consider the overall context of an issue as it relates to any given religious concept.  The U.S. is in fact very much a Purple Nation. Read more

DVD Contest, Starts Today

With the election growing near, I thought that it would be nice to get your take on some questions regarding it. The winning writer will receive a copy of the 2 disc DVD set of The Atheism Tapes.

As part of the making of the ground-breaking series “A Brief History of Disbelief,” Jonathan Miller filmed conversations with some very distinguished minds. Jonathan, of course, could not resist the temptation to make these conversations wide ranging and so – naturally enough – their final contributions to “A Brief History of Disbelief” are only a small part of the original interviews.In these off-the-record interviews, neurologist turned playwright, filmmaker and self-described atheist Jonathan Miller filmed conversations with six of today’s leading men of letters and science: biologist and New York Times best-selling author Richard Dawkins, philosophers Daniel Dennett and Colin McGinn, distinguished playwright Arthur Miller, theologian Denys Turner and Nobel Prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg, who discuss their personal intellectual journeys and offer illuminating analyses of nontheism from a wide range of perspectives.

So, here are the questions that I would like to see your opinions on.

1. Does your faith, or lack thereof, sway you one way or the other when voting? Why/Why not?
2. Does a candidate’s faith, or lack thereof, play a role when deciding who you will vote for?
3. Are you concerned that a candidate’s faith may play a role in shaping future policies?
4. Do you plan on voting this year? If not, why?

And there you have it! All essays should be sent via email. Comments to this post will be turned off. The contest begins at the time of this posts’ publication and will end at 9:00pm CST on October 4. Here is the email address: election(@)thejesusmyth.com

After the submission period ends, all essays will be published simultaneously and the voting period will begin. Votes will be taken until 9:00 PM CST on October 11th.

Good Luck!

Just Tired of the Bullshit

You’ve seen it all over the net; the Christian’s definition of what an atheist is. I’ve read it in Christian literature, even the newest books put out to prop up the failing religious dogma in an attempt to “energize the base.” You’ve got us all wrong, but you don’t care because your depiction of us makes you feel better about yourselves. Read more

Was Jesus gay?

PWNED

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