Month: September 2014

I Really Ought to Mention…

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I think 66% of the stuff on this blog is religious in nature, so I would be remiss if I did not mention one person who has had a huge influence on my religious leanings.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?319745-1%2Fdepth-reza-aslan

That is a very lengthy interview with Reza Azlan, a religious historian who has written books on Islam and on Christianity. He is incredibly well spoken, and is worth a watch (and definitely worth reading his books) if you are interested in Religious History. He also speaks about contemporary religion today, and his views are very eloquently stated. If all religious people were as full of understanding and spirituality as this man, there would be no war, and we’d all be friends forever.

Social Commentary

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http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comic/20140819/

While passed off as comedy on a comedy site, I think it is certainly something that people need to *Expletive Deleted* THINK ABOUT! SHIT!
If you wouldn’t say it in person, why is it ok to tweet it? Would you deliver death threats to someone who made fun of <childhood cartoon> if they were right there in front of you? No? Then why tweet it at them.

I don’t understand, personally, why people think that being a dick is ok if the person isn’t right there in front of them.

There are people behind that keyboard, and if the world remembered that, the Internet would be a better place…

On (More) People Slightly Crazier Than Me

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Young Earth Creationists (YEC from here on in) make me so sad for the state of humanity, but not even for the reasons you might be thinking.

I do a lot of research on a wide variety of topics, and often I will watch or listen to YEC videos or podcasts. I used to do it because they are funny to me (hahaha, these guys know less about science than a 7th grader! [that kind of thing]), but lately I can’t laugh at them any more. Their disingenuous attitude towards those that don’t share their view is dangerous.

Their vacuous arguments are cruel, and I would say they may even violate many tenets of the Bible (I am aware that the more literally you take the Bible, the more laws of the Bible you are breaking just because many are, as a technicality, impossible to follow since they contradict each other — but for the sake of fair play, I will say they are [as a general rule] following their own religious doctrine). They lie, or change evidence to fit their goals. They engage in ad hominem attacks on scientists. They ignore evidence that disagrees with them, and praise evidence that can be used for their side (even if they have to remove context, change the wording, lie about the source of the data, or just straight up bend it until the square evidence fits into the circular theory [SEE WHAT I DID THERE?! HAHAHA! Jokes!]).

I could forgive them for cherry picking evidence if they weren’t so cruel about it. One of my favorite YEC podcasts is Creation Today (www.creationtoday.org)
I enjoyed their videos until the Bill Nye vs Ken Ham debate. After that debate, they spent two full episodes discrediting, berating, and making fun of Bill Nye. If your message of love, peace, and acceptance has to come at the expense of someone, if you can’t say you can love Bill Nye, then how does your message work? “We love and accept EVERYONE! Except those that we don’t, whom we list here, as well as any sins we could dig up over the course of their entire life!”

I have no problem with Christianity, when it does not hurt those around it. Many people have found solace, solidarity, and happiness in the embrace of God. I would never want to take that from them. But as soon as you use your religion to actively exclude or harm another person or group of people, I think you have gone astray. I think Ken Ham, Eric Hovind, and his ilk have officially tripped the line from scientifically ignorant (not an insult; they just don’t know, and that is [for the most part] ok) to actively harmful.

I am not here to campaign against them. Or maybe I am. The hashtags I am going to use are kind of inflammatory, I won’t lie. But still.

I will leave you with this last bit of bad science that did actually make me laugh. Reading the body language of the lecturer, one notes that he doesn’t even seem comfortable with his own message — it does take a bit of intellectual dishonesty to get a PhD in a scientific field, then ignore all of the science in that field. Perhaps he has not gotten over his conscience just yet.

https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/science/ice-age-bible-explains/

‪#‎YEC‬ and ‪#‎CreationToday‬ ‪#‎AreKindOfAssholes‬
‪#‎ReadTheNewTestament‬
‪#‎ReadTheWholeOldTestament‬
Once you’ve read both, and decided that the Bible is perfect and consistent and without contradiction, get back to me. If you still believe that there are no faults in that book, go read it again. Please.

Answers in Genesis
Creation Today
Why do you have to denigrate others to argue your side?

On People (Slightly) Crazier Than Me

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So due to tripping over a link I never should have clicked, I have been introduced to Radical Feminism. I mean, I knew it existed, as a general thing — but to read their articles, their ideas, their opinions, in great detail (WHY MUST MY CURIOSITY ALWAYS OVERPOWER MY BETTER JUDGMENT?!)… One finds oneself in a very confusing state of wondering if they have any idea about the long term repercussions of their ideas.

I just read what I will call a manifesto, proclaiming that males are going extinct, and cherry picking a ton of scientific articles to ‘prove’ her idea. Now, ignoring the fact that the data she used is, largely, open to interpretation, she has said that males will be gone very soon. Males will be an extinct species, leaving the female species (best you know that males and females are completely separate species, and they get really damn militant towards anyone that proclaims otherwise) to live on in bliss and paradise. Now, we aren’t off the rails yet, we are merely tipping the train a bit — she does go on to quote some genetic literature that suggests that we may be able to graft (for lack of a better term) Y chromosomal genes onto other chromosomes, leaving the Y chromosome useless, and males no longer required.

Now, I did say we are at least sort of on the rails, but only if you don’t think any further. What about every other species on the planet? If human males are somehow going completely extinct, are insect males immune? Bird males? Other mammals? How is this ecosystem going to work? Are we going to genetically resplice every other species on the planet? Of course, they are going to have to go against over 100 million years of evolution and instinct, and just know that females are supposed to (somehow) breed with females now?

Look, lots of men are jerks. I get that. But Radical Feminists do not blame living men for the issues they perceive; they blame the existence of men completely on men. In fact, to them, the fact that I was born a male is a PERSONAL INSULT.

They are not open to the idea of cooperation and solving problems. In fact, the more I read, the more I have discovered that many of them do not even have an end game — their articles are just expounding the issue of the existence of men. Aside from “This is the problem in the world,” there is no content, no substance. No solution (aside from killing all men, which TWO of the radical feminists I have read have suggested so far). Well, perhaps that is a bit dramatic, they just want all men to die. Somehow. They are never super clear on that point. They are also never super clear on what happens when all men are gone; they just seem to think that part will work itself out.

Anyway, I find the whole thing both entertaining and frustrating. This is to say nothing against feminists in general; I respect your cause to the utmost. Just that some Radical Feminists work hard enough to be heard that the vocal minority, as so often happens, makes the feminist movement sound crazy.

One of the Radical Feminists whose blog I read said this:
“We live in male bullshit stories. Male bullshit stories are simplistic and monotonous dude-delusions dudes repeat incessantly.”
Her lack of self-awareness is almost stunning… If indeed I could be stunned by anything I read on RadFem blogs at this point.

On a Local Restaurant

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So I went to CRAFT Beer Market Edmonton for lunch today, and I can say I wasn’t expecting much (Does the food even have to be good, if you have 100 kinds of beer? That was my first thought). I am happy to report that I was not just pleasantly surprised, but fully impressed. I ordered the Big Rock Beer Chicken, and I enjoyed it a great deal, but the chicken was not what truly impressed me (though I… will admit that it was an amazingly delicious chicken)… But the side of garlic mashed potatoes… They were divine.

The angels themselves are forbidden to eat of those potatoes, for they would sacrifice their divinity for just another bite.

I ate them, and the solution to all of the world’s problems, to war, strife, famine, plague, unhappiness, it was as clear to me as the sun on a bright July afternoon — but gone as soon as I swallowed. I took another bite, hoping to grasp it again, and instead I saw how humans could travel to and colonize other planets, and that, too, left when I swallowed. A third bite showed me my own future, a future of happiness, where I was content in all parts of my life, and I saw the path and chain of actions that would help me arrive at this future, but now it, too, is gone. A fourth bite taken, I saw the face of God, and he smiled at me, a glint in his eyes. He knew I had experienced the truest happiness a human can experience on this plane of existence, but I do not recall the feeling now as I write this.

To eat these potatoes was bittersweet torture, for each bite I took I knew another bite would come, but I knew that one bite had gone. When the potatoes themselves were gone, my world became a dimmer, darker place, and now I live only for the day when next I can eat them.

I preach the Gospel of Craft Beer Potatoes, now, and will write it down for future generations. My new role is that of the Prophet of the Potatoes, even though there is no Irish blood in my veins.

What I am really trying to say here is would anyone like to go to Craft sometime for dinner?

A General Introduction

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Hello! I whipped up this blog because I am fairly certain most of my Facebook friends are tired of reading this stuff in their news feed, so I migrated it to a place where it is no longer forced upon anyone.

All of the content prior to this post is stuff I have copied and pasted from my Facebook, and I hope you find some of it interesting. If not, of course, feel free to comment. Or if you do feel that it is interesting, feel free to comment, anyway.

Cheers!

Chad

Toilet Philosophies

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There is an out of order sign on the inside of the bathroom door, to be put outside in the event of a failure… But in my caffeine deprived state, it seemed strangely philosophical. You see that sign as you exit into the real world, as though it is warning you that reality isn’t quite right.
Maybe reality just needs a competent plumber.

Return to Sender (Please?)

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Often times, it is said by young earth creationists that you can tell a watch is made by a designer, it has a clear purpose. It tells time, with mechanisms made for the purpose. They apply this to humans, too. That we are designed, have a purpose, have mechanisms that are designed to keep us alive. Let’s compare a human to a watch, then.

The human appendix does not serve a valuable function (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiform_appendix), yet it can explode, burst, or otherwise kill the human it exists in. This would be akin to a hand on the watch that serves no purpose, but occasionally jams the other hands on the watch.
The human eye is backwards in function, and has a blind spot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_eye). This would be akin to the watch band being put upside down so the face is against your skin. Not only that, but part of the face is opaque, so you can’t see what time it is if the hands are there. You can guess, and be close, just like the blind spot, but you won’t know until the hands aren’t there any more.

Now, you might say, God created us in his image. Let’s ignore the fact that this implies God is flawed, and move on. Why did he give us broken eyes? Installed backwards, upside down, with blind spots? You might think, we have the best eyes there can be… But you’d be wrong, and I can prove that.

The cephalopod eye (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_eye) has no blind spot. Why didn’t God give me an eye with no blind spot? That can see under water? In the dark? Why did he give the best eyes to squids?

I could go on for next to infinity, but I’ll stop here. So what would you do if you found a watch with a blind spot, upside down, with a hand that does nothing but get in the way of the other hands? You’d return that watch, because it is awful.

So where do I go to return my broken body? My terribly designed body? Why won’t the watch maker give me a refund, or a working watch? You suck, watch maker. You suck so much.

If there was no watch maker, there is no vendor to return to… And that is why I feel the watch maker is absent my life.

Have a great day, and sorry to have made your day a little worse.

I Wrote This While Deleriously Tired…

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So here’s a question I have… Why is it that so many ex-Christians that I know, personally, have such a deep knowledge of the Bible? Why do so many of them have a deeper knowledge of the Bible than so many of my currently Christian friends?
Most Christians I know can pull at the big picture of the Bible, but that isn’t entirely fair, is it? During my religious Searching (I’d say a capital ‘s’ is warranted there), I find so many quotes in major parts of the Bible that should change the big picture, but you would never see them in the “Children’s Bible.” That being said, why does it seem that so many people know only about as much about the Bible that one would find in the “Children’s Bible”?

I am not an Atheist, or a Christian, I am just a seeker. I want to find the Truth. Will I ever find it? No, I don’t believe anyone ever finds the Truth with a capital T. They can find what they believe to be the Truth, sure, I won’t deny that.

But that’s the point. Why do we argue, and fight, and kill, in the name of something that is truly, absolutely, unprovable? Why is it so hard for so many to follow the pillar of their own religion (The Golden Rule, for Christians). When Jesus came upon an adulteress, what was his response? Even if you aren’t Christian, you probably just thought about how he did not cast a stone. He did not condemn her. And yet today, in what is called the Bible Belt, homosexuality is being condemned, and people are being persecuted daily, and often in the name of religion.

Richard Dawkins related, in his book The God Delusion (definitely strongly atheist leaning, but I read from both sides), that the most terrible hate mail he receives is often from people professing to be strong Christians. He receives death threats in the name of God.

Does that sound Biblical? Sure, they may be a small minority, but from whence comes their vitriolic hatred? How do we find the root of this weed, and pluck it out?

People who read and understand the Bible, who stand on the principles of love and justice for all, I love you all. People who pick very short passages, often a single out of context verse, to justify your hatreds, I hate you. I am not going to say I am holier than thou, I am not going to say I follow the Bible to the letter. I am not fettered by the trappings of a single book. I will hate those who cause suffering to others, no matter their creed. Christian, Atheist, Muslim, Agnostic, Buddhist (if you hate people, you are probably doing it wrong), doesn’t matter.

And yet, if you love others, and try to remove suffering from the world instead of bringing it in, whether you are Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, then I will return that kindness.

If you are cruel to me, if your hatred tries to touch my own personal soul? I may hate you, but I will respond only with kindness. All humans deserve that.

I think that’s the point I was trying to get across with this whole thing. Be nice to everyone. If you aren’t nice, I will still be nice back to you — but I don’t have to like it.

This was really rambling. I am rereading it and I realize that this post probably makes less sense than a Rube-Goldberg machine made purely of cooked pasta. I am sick, and my brain isn’t working. Don’t care. Gonna post.