God's calling

This article talking about a "calling" from God rings true to me.

Once I married and starting having children I decided that my "calling" necessarily needed to contain these elements of family building. What else was there to do? God would never ask me to divorce and abandon my children for a "higher calling" would he? And yet, the idea of God relocating us at a moment's notice did bother me from time to time early on. (That's what comes from being a part of fundamental/evangelical religious groups.)

I don't believe in a god with a calling, just to be clear. The idea that my so-called "calling" coincided with my personal choices makes sense now. It was my choice all along.

the ark again?

Some good explanations here as to why the Bible should not be taken literally.

if there is a God

"If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult than religion."
         -Edmond de Goncourt

So what are believers to do with the examples of "odd-balls" I've posted below? There is not a thing they can do about it! It must be terribly frustrating to see people who proclaim the same precepts that you do throw in the extra stuff that you would never say yourself because you're too kind, thoughtful, or worse, afraid. The problem with religion is that it is open to personal interpretation. You'd think that a god would have recognized the myriad of problems which would arise from giving "free will" to the people.

My thoughts... there is no god thinking this stuff through. There is no way we humans can surmise that a god exists. Religion is man-made, plain and simple. This is the explanation that makes sense to me. An unseen god, especially the Christian God, makes no sense considering the current state of the our world.

can you feel the hate?

I'm not really trying to turn this blog into an expose on Christian leaders and their idiot ways, but I can't help myself. I am so glad there is no heaven in my future. It would be unbearable to share space with this person for an eternity!!!

yet again...

Another example of how religion harms humanity...

an enabling god

Recently in Florida a mother shot her four children before turning the gun on herself... five dead. The pastor at the funeral said that it was God's will for this to happen. Here's the USA Today coverage. He went on to say that the husband of the killer and father of the dead children forgave his wife while leaning over her casket in the church.

One way this father can mouth words of forgiveness over his murdered children's killer's casket is if he feels under some threat or danger of this God getting to him. Another  reason might be that he is in shock and denial and is unable to think the thing clearly at this time. Perhaps under instruction from his pastor, he mouthed the words to find some relief from the overwhelming pain he's experiencing.

My brain does not work this way. Never has, never will. Pain suffered from egregious acts of senselessness doesn't just go away by saying "I forgive you". This man has lost his entire life. Speaking words of forgiveness may even short-circuit his ability to recover from this horrific tragedy.

Assigning meaning onto an invisible God is what the pastor is doing. Making it "God's will", in my mind, it makes God an enabler of murder and suicide. Doesn't it logically follow? The pastor said that God could have stopped it but then didn't, doesn't that make God a party to the outcome? Those in attendance seem to go along with the idea as something good and comforting.

What this sort of thinking really does is devalue human life. That's what it did inside of me when I thought this way. God is exalted and human value is diminished.

Some might say, "We can't know God's will or actions. We don't understand His ways. His ways are so much higher than our ability to understand." Okay... if God is not possible to know, then how come we humans know so much about Him? The pretzel just gets more twisted as more questions are posed in an attempt to excuse the "unknowable" loving God from acts that run diametrically opposed to the nature assigned him by his people. (A pretzel sentence to be sure.)

So, how do I look at an event such as this? I'm not able to explain the specifics. I'm sure it gets very complicated once you go below the surface of this particular family's problems. I would simply say that the natural world we live in is an unpredictable, scary place sometimes. Human beings are the most dangerous creature on earth. We have positive attributes certainly, but we are dangerous too.

The pretzel loses a number of twists when life is observed naturally. It makes life easier in some ways, but there is still pressure put on the participants to make their own life count.

another reason I can no longer believe

This is compassion-less Christianity at its best!

reality and truth rate high

I'm reading Greta Christina's new book Why Are You Atheists So Angry? It is invigorating to say the least. She lists 99 reasons but says she could name thousands if given the encyclopedic space. Here is reason #93. It reflects my sentiments now that I've given up wishful thinking. Reality rates higher than hope. Hope is okay but truth is better. Here's what she says:

"I'm angry that the idea of religious faith - the idea that it's acceptable, and even virtuous, to believe things you have no good reason to think are true - leads people to ignore, dismiss, trivialize, and flatly reject reality. I get angry when believers make arguments for religion that amount to - and sometimes flatly state - that they don't care whether the things they believe are true. And I'm not just angry because ignoring and rejecting reality leads people to make bad decisions that hurt themselves and others. I'm angry because reality is freaking awesome - terrible sometimes, for sure, but also delightful and wondrous and more surprising than anything we could make up about it - and it upsets me that so many people shut it out just so they can keep believing their made-up stories."

Ignoring and rejecting reality is what I did for many years - all for the sake of my religion and its silent god. Life is not easier. It is definitely more challenging. Meaning is important and I'm learning to create it for myself. But I'm the one creating it - no one else.

no, no, no

"God isn't the 300 people who died in the plane crash.  No, no, no.  God is the one person who survived it.  God is that unlikely event.

"God isn't the death, mayhem, destruction and chaos of the tornado.  No, no, no. God is the miracle puppy which lived through it.

"God isn't the hundreds of US children who die every year due to medical neglect by their Christian Science parents.  No, no, no.  God is the one who may have suffered needlessly, but didn't die.

"Christian faith is blindness to manifest horror in favor of comfort.  Christian faith is picking over a cataclysm looking for anything to indulge their insatiable lust for feeling good."    (from a sir_russ post on a blog that I read)

All very natural human reactions. Denial is not a profitable endeavor however.

the proper place for books

god in the rearview mirror

parallel myths

click here... parallels to Jesus

plus Jesus & Romulus

BEWARE if you are a Christian... you're not going to like these links unless you have doubts about your faith... just warning you. Don't even bother if your heart is racing while you read these words. Go somewhere else, quick!
  

the cost of belief

Religion forces walls between people. Here are words from a song written by the band Words Such As Burn.

Flow

I know you can't sleep at night
You worry about me.
And I know you wish I would
Return to the fold.

Can't do as I'm told.
Because I don’t believe and won’t pretend
That your beliefs are sacred.
Not sacred.

Sometimes I can't sleep at night
You worry about me.
I wish you could see from my side
See through my eyes

I know you can't sleep at night
You fear for my soul.
You only want what’s best for me
But I can't do as I'm told.

Can't do as I'm told.
Because I don’t believe and won’t pretend
That your beliefs are sacred.
They’re yours to defend.
And I don't say this to hurt you
But because you have to know.
If you love me, then...
Let love flow.

Lately, I can't talk to you
You no longer hear me.
But I’m the same; the change is you.
The true cost of your belief

I know this won't change over night
But please don’t let go
I’ll meet you half way, take my hand
and don't go with the flow.

Don't do as you’re told.
Do not believe and do not pretend
That your beliefs are sacred,
Nor are mine, my friend.
Tell me, how can I show you,
That your beliefs are torturing us?
If you love me, then...
Let love flow