The Interrobang Tribune

WE'VE MOVED TO BOLDTYPEMAG.COM

2011-04-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ladies, gents, and all other species and elements interested: Interrobang Tribune has come to an end. If you've recently visited, you're aware there have been no new posts in quite some time. Don't worry, we didn't give up on you, we're simply in the process of moving on to bigger and better things. As of April 18th Vicarious Redemption will appear in the pages of boldtypemag.com.

If you want updates on the progress of Bold Type before its launch you can follow on Twitter and Facebook. Thanks for reading!

Do Not Feed the Mama Grizzly!

2011-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

I wrote this a few weeks ago. Being that Sarah Palin is speaking in honor of what would be Reagan's 100th birthday, and thus she will be appearing in the headlines again, I thought I would remind all my readers the importance of ignoring her (yes, I understand the irony of a post calling for the subject of said post to be ignored. but please, read on).

This is a call for inaction; a manifesto of slactivism, not activism. For slactivism to be on the spectrum of effectiveness, we must all NOT do the same thing: pay attention to Sarah Palin. Simply said: DO NOT FEED THE MAMA GRIZZLY! Sarah Palin is like a food addict and your attention is cheesecake. Those who read this, no matter how difficult it may be to ignore the social media catastrophe that is Palin, please stand in solidarity and agree to stop following her on Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere else on the on the internet not already controlled by China -- even those of us only paying attention to her for the spectacle and its shrapnel of humor. If you're reading the newspaper or a magazine -- yes, the actual printed word -- and you come across a piece featuring Sarah Palin, don't just "refudiate" it, recycle it. If you stumble across her on TV, for the love of humanity, turn the channel. For those addicted to making fun of Palin, there are people here to be your support group.

Why? Because we're tired. We're tired of Palin's incessant self pity and historical illiteracy. We're done hearing from a failed politician, no, actually, a running mate in a loosing campaign who gave up on her commitment to public service to be paraded by Fox News and her lack of amity as a victim of those who disagree with her. We agree, Palin is not at fault for the atrocities in Tuscan. However, spending eight minutes arguing words don't incite violence, just to say that criticism of her "serves only to incite the very hatred and violence," proves her to be completely unaware of herself and unworthy of our national attention. Even more of a concern is the fatuous rhetoric that spews from her mouth like the exhaust of dozen SUV's, not only because it's damaging the environment and our political discourse, but more importantly -- it's hurting our sense of humor. Even the best satirists are bored with Palin and we're starting to feel sorry for them each time they're required to speak her name. It's just too easy to mock a middle-aged woman utilizing the same means and mediums as Kim Kardashian to infiltrate our political discourse for her pursuit of celebrity. Through her years of shouting down from a digital soapbox it has grown evermore apparent that Palin's intellect is more suited for The Real Housewives not the Whitehouse. Until she has accepted how insignificant her political ideology is and that she's just a cheeky entertainer, we can make a difference by spending our time paying attention to more important things. So please, Do Not Feed The Mama Grizzly!

Hitchens: All Life is a Wager

2011-01-24T19:25:00.001-08:00

January 23, C-SPAN

Christopher Hitchens is the author of over a dozen books including God is Not Great and his recent memoir, Hitch-22. He has also written extensively on George Orwell, Mother Teresa, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Kissinger while presiding as a contributing editor for the Atlantic Monthly, a columnist for Vanity Fair and Slate. Even after his diagnosis of stage four esophageal cancer in the summer 2010, Hitchens has continued to write and provide his provocative and contrarian perspective in the public sphere.

Haggard Returns

2011-01-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

Colorado Springs, CO –- Smiling broadly, Pastor Ted Haggard embraced me. With a New Year blessing he welcomed me to his recently founded fellowship, St. James Church. Conversation amidst the nearly three-hundred parishioners filled The cafeteria at Timberview Middle School where Haggard and his wife Gayle hold services for St. James. As I took a seat next to my fiancé Megan, and our friends, Jon and Kona, a young man climbed behind a keyboard and began leading the congregation through a series of worship songs. Soon after, Pastor Haggard took the reigns and initiated a prayer, afterward calling on a family to bring their newborn to the stage so he could dedicate the child to God.

Following the dedication a disconcerting bit of financial manipulation unfolded: Pastor Haggard made a prayer over an offering about to take place, a monetary offering that each person in attendance was encouraged to give to one another.

Haggard prayed, “Let us invest in each other in a practical way. Our money symbolizes our time, our talent, our energy –all those things. So Lord, when we give to one another we demonstrate that we want to invest in them.” Finishing his prayer, Haggard locked into Jon’s bewildered gaze and marched towards him. Resting a hand on Jon’s right shoulder, Haggard palmed seven dollars into Jon’s hand. As Jon attempted to wrap his mind around this unforeseen transaction, Kona retrieved a dollar out of her wallet, one that in protest to the 1957 addition of “In God We Trust” she had changed the noun to something such as science or law, and returned the favor to Mr. Haggard. The congregation followed. Holding out a half-closed hand at bellybutton height like a couple hundred valet parking attendants tipping each other, they passed the buck. As the congregation embraced one another, they embraced the investment process, believing participation could keep them from embarrassment and, after all, the cash would most likely comeback to them in the next handshake.

After a few minutes of this charade, everyone returned to his or her seats to wittiness the dedication of yet another baby. As the mental channels of family and reciprocal investment opened, Haggard called for one more offering. This time the congregation was to tithe the church under the condition that a large portion of the funds collected would go to a family whom the church deemed in need. At the end of the service said family would be handed the cash and a prayer for prosperity would commence. Considering that the flock had just been exchanging money with little loss, they willingly opened their wallets wider than before and placed their hard earned cash into the lottery of St. James Church. In light of the amount of “don’t tread on me” bumper stickers in the parking lot I understood their ability to fall for the charms of a charismatic speaker, but even against the wills of the free market they so proudly champion? This mock-up of mutual investment raised speculation from all of us, was Haggard performing a social psychological experiment or trying to use his power to make cash at the only thing he knows how to do -- run a fiscally lucrative church.

Expecting a sermon promptly after the tithe was collected, I was surprised yet again when Haggard revealed that there isn’t going to be a sermon. Instead, Haggard passed 3 x 5 index cards out to the audience and requested that we write down any question on our minds that we would like to ask him or Gayle. “I mean it, anything. This is Saint James Church after all,” he remarked. Haggard explained that the congregation can help set the direction for St. James and that he wanted to set a precedence that this church is not going to be like a mega church but a place where people get access to their church elders, who are flawed humans like everyone else in the world. As each person in attendance, including yours truly, scrambled for the nearest pen, the Jeopardy theme song bellowed in the background.

From the Mountaintop to The Desert

Focus on the Family Headquarters

During the past twenty years Colorado Springs has become the prime location within the continental US for church planting and spearheading any organization that aims to spread the Christian agenda. Because of its concentrated religiosity this conservative stronghold, with a population of nearly 400,000, is often considered by many to be the evangelical equivalent to Vatican City. within a short drive one can see the Focus on the Family headquarters (which boasts 1,400 employees), the Association of Christian Schools International, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Compassion International, Every Home for Christ, the International Bible Society, The Navigators, WAY-FM Media Group, The Fellowship of Christian Cowboys, and Gary Betchman (the guy who made those silver evolve fish. You know, the Christian fish emblems with the addition of feet that you see on cars. He created the emblem in rebuttal to the extreme religiosity of his community.) If that isn’t enough, Dog the Bounty Hunter also calls this Midwestern town his home.

Haggard, founder and ex-pastor of New Life Church, a 14,000-member mega church, used to reside over 30 million followers as the president of the National Association of Evangelicals (The NAE consists of over 45,000 churches nation wide). Haggard also held weekly conversations with President Bush and was seen rubbing elbows with Tony Blair and other key political players during the beginning of the new millennium. Known for championing anti-gay rhetoric, Haggard famously fell from grace in 2006 when a male prostitute, Mike Jones, confessed to selling him methamphetamines as the two maintained an alleged three-year sexual relationship (Haggard claims the two never had sex, Jones only sold Haggard drugs on multiple occasions and "masterbated him" after a message." After admitting that there is some truth to the allegations, New Life Church, a multimillion-dollar corporation, contractually asked Haggard to resign and the leave the ministry as well as the state of Colorado for a minimum of two years in exchange for one years severance pay (roughly $200,000).

Under the unrelenting scrutiny and scorn of the public, Ted and Gayle Haggard, along with their dependent children, spent the following three years struggling to find work and build a new life in Arizona. Most of the people the Haggards considered to be their family through Christ turned their backs on them and joined the public in ridicule. The Haggards couldn’t go anywhere; whether at a job interview, Starbucks, even the Dollar Store, Ted was often recognized and mocked.

Ted and Gayle eventually both completed a masters in psychology through the University of Phoenix. Proceeding a two year media blackout they returned to the limelight in Alexandra Pelosi’s (daughter of Nancy Pelosi) documentary, The Trials of Ted Haggard, which aired on HBO. The reappearance of Haggard was followed by a young member, Grant Haas, of Haggard’s old New Life congregation coming forward with condemning audiotapes of Haggard. In the recordings Haggard is heard asking Haas to destroy all of the sexual texts Haggard had sent to him along with a plea to keep silent and to forgive Haggard for his sexual advances, which entailed Haggard climbing into his bed and proceeding to masturbate.

After what Haggard refers to as his “dark days wondering the desert,” he moved his family back to Colorado Springs. In June of 2010, despite the concern from a few of his children, he decided to start St. James. The first few St. James services were held in the Haggard’s barn. After moving to a couple different locations due to the unexpected interest and increase of patrons coming to hear his “resurrected” philosophy the congregation found themselves in the Timberview Middle School cafeteria.

Resurrection

photo courtesy: Chris Schneider, The Wall Street Journal

The questions for the Haggards came from diverse ideologies. The first:

“Is president Obama the Antichrist?”

As the laughter subsided, Ted Haggard responded, “No. We’ve got to get out of thinking like that. For some reason evangelicals have made a horrible, horrible, mistake. We’ve allowed for there to be an increase in apocalyptic literature sales every single time there’s a democrat in the Whitehouse. It has not served us well. It’s just not smart. What that indicates is that if we think like that, we’re really stupid people. Stop buying into that stuff. Stop it. I mean it; STOP IT!”

He went on to praise the Obamas for the way they model family and to make a statement about he we need to bless them and pray for them -- not curse them.

After a few ridiculous questions such as, “do cats go to heaven,” and “what’s your shoe size” some one asked, “I’m struggling with my sexuality, does that mean I can’t worship god?”

Gayle Haggard responded, “No, not at all.” She then went on stating that her and her husband believe the best way to express ones sexuality is in a heterosexual monogamous relationship, but that we’re all human, so we all make choices that following Jesus can help resolve.

Ted expanded, “We’re made in God’s image. We, means everyone. God loves people who are different from you and different from me. The great strength that should be of a born again believer, is that we know God loves people who are different from us. That’s why we should always be the ones extending the olive branch, always extending a hand of love, always extending redemption.”

“Why did God create the dinosaurs only to kill them all off?” The slant of this question seemed to be from a creationist perspective yearning for Haggard to dismiss dinosaurs as myth.

To our surprise after seeing his response to Richard Dawkins in The Root of all Evil,

Haggard remarked, “Why do you think he destroyed them? We still have chickens, birds, and lizards. There is a process of natural law on the earth that's going on. And we are somewhat responsible for a decline in the amount of species that live on the earth. Because we have dominion, we have a responsibility -- just like you parents are given dominion over your children -- to care and protect the earth. I personally don’t like that the politically liberal groups seem to own concern for the environment. I think all Christians should have a concern for the environment, because we know we’re living in God’s masterpiece. Don’t you agree? I don’t like the fact that Bible believing people, by and large, have accepted an apocalyptic view, which is, ‘it’s all going to burn up one day and that’s God’s plan, so why should we care about it?’ Thinking like this -- it’s just not good. It’s like saying, ‘you’re going to get old and die someday anyway, so why don’t we just kill you.’” Haggard firmly asserted to his silent audience, “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Not really a question but a statement by a nonbeliever was posed: “I find it offensive that Christians think it's their responsibility to use their faith to influence government.” Looking to my colleagues concerned that one of them may have posed such an inarticulate statement, I was relieved to find that it wasn't one of us; it seems we're not the only spectators in the church today.

Haggard’s response was to first condemn the idea of being personally offended. “Over the past forty years we’ve seen several political movements start over being offended. There are lots of things that are offensive, but being offended is a sign of weakness. So get over yourself.” He replied. Then perhaps the most surprising statement of the morning surfaced:

“We are all citizens and we all should influence the discussion. The lively debate is what protects our freedoms. Now, I think Christians should use their strengths to protect others that are not like us. Rather than saying, ‘we are the righteous ones,’ or ‘we are the moral ones.’ Are we really? I mean it, Really? No we’re not. But what we are, are the ones who can care for others. I remember back in the day when Martin Luther King Jr. was doing his work; the evangelicals hated him. Why did they hate him? Because he had a couple adulterous affairs.”

The audience shifting in their chairs. Some squinted in concern, others mumbled in agreement while others scanned the room in resentment. Haggard continued,

“So what is more important: racial equality or the fact that MLK was unfaithful to his wife? See, I think we got the cart before the horse because we emphasized his moral condition rather than that he was the son of a Baptist minister, he worked his way –against the odds -- through a PHD from Boston University, and spoke of how we should love one another rather than hurt one another, rather than destroy one another. He did a better job of encouraging people to be filled with the Holy Spirit than anyone from his generation. But we allowed the political process and our own bigotry to do the work, and our group ended up on the wrong side of that deal. I argue we (evangelicals) have allowed for this to happen many times. What we should be doing is making America a better place for everybody. We need to start thinking beyond those who feed us the party line.”

Haggard continued, “Now, I know some of you are going to say, ‘Ted has become a liberal.’ Well, perhaps I have. If liberalism means respect for human beings, if liberalism means equality, if liberalism means blacks get to eat in the same restaurant with whites, Hispanic people and Native people. I see many of you are nodding in agreement, but if I had said this back in the day in a born-again, Evangelical, Bible believing church, they would have run me out on a rail. I say we become the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Which means we don’t just fit into the normal stereotypes, but we think things through.

It also means that, in this constitutional republic that we’re in, if one of you is a conservative republican, which I am, and you believe in the free market and limited government and you want all those things and you can argue them, then you should. And then there is Nancy Pelosi.” (Derision and accusations of Pelosi being the Antichrist are voiced around the room.) “Pelosi goes to communion everyday. Her big scripture is Matthew 25, (when I was in prison you visited me. When I was naked you clothed me) and her basis for her liberal ideology is Biblical. So we say, these are different scriptures than the ones we emphasis. So what are we going to do with that? What are you going to do if you see Nancy in heaven? See, we make a mistake when we confuse faith and politics. So if you’re going to a school board meeting, go as a citizen. We don’t need to carry our Bibles. I’m not saying deny your faith. But because it’s in the Bible doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be reflected in law. For example all of the divorce laws are ungodly, but not one of us would want to have those laws removed.”

Haggard then went on to describe laws that are ungodly -- but just. Interestingly, he chose to look at the history of marriage equality in regards to race, hinting at civil unions for gays yet not coming out with it.

Gayle wrapped up the service with a bit about the necessity of forgiveness. As the service was coming to its end the Haggards called on a family to collect $2700 that was collected during the tithe. The family wasn’t present, but another family close to them was and offered to take the money to them. Haggard, turned to the audience, “Ok. I have a suggestion. This week I found a trailer to haul all of the church equipment in. I already purchased it from a man who made me a deal allowing payments to be made on it. How does everyone feel if I put this money towards paying the generous man who sold me the trailer so he doesn’t have to be put out for St. James church?” Before really giving the audience time to digest Haggard asked, “do you agree?” everyone shouted Amen in agreement. Haggard smiled, “Thank you and God bless. Now if you could bring your chairs towards the back of the room we can make room for the tables so we can all dine together.”

After placing my chair against the back wall I approached Haggard to ask a few questions. He was reticent at first, but then, as we spoke he changed his tone and invited me to his house for the Broncos game and the men’s group later that night. Informing him that we had plans in Denver in a few hours, he granted me a few questions. We talked about the freedom that he has been granted since his fall from grace.

Haggard explained, “Oh, yeah. No comparison. I feel so much more freedom with what I say and how I live my life for God than ever before. In fact, I feel closer to Jesus than ever before and believe that my life is affirmation that he lives.”

Gayle Haggard was also kind enough to chat with me a bit about forgiveness and to give me a copy of her book, Why I Stayed. While Gayle and I were conversing, Megan approached Ted about marriage equality. As Haggard was trying to convince Megan that he has been for civil unions and equal legal rights for gays since the nineties, I entered the conversation. Megan and I, not ignoring his hypocritical and bigoted past, expressed our remorse for what his family went through in regards to the condemnation from the public and predominantly the so called believers.

Ted Haggard giving Richard Dawkins the Christian side-hug

“What it is, is that they (evangelicals) get into a mindset where they just aren’t thinking.” stated Haggard. “They just start to become robots. That’s what we’re crusading against here.” He thanked us again and restated that he would be glad to talk to me at his home and that we should at least stay for the meal about to commence. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to do so, but with his arm around me in a Christian side-hug, Ted Haggard thanked us again for coming and welcomed us back anytime.

New Year, New Beginning?

Seeing Ted Haggard speak in 2011 is like watching old Liberachi or Freddy Mercury videos and wondering how people ever mistook them for straight. It's not that he's necessarily gay, it's that when watching his past sermons, what he was trying to keep from the audience is retrospectively obvious. Whenever he spoke about homosexuality in his sermons, or "sneaking out at night," he wasn't actually addressing the people who he was preaching to -- he was preaching to Ted Haggard.

Now those uncomfortable moments of self-reflection surface through self-deprecating humor. Haggard has taken to joking about his past scandal as a setup for how forgiving Christ is. However, what's become searingly obvious to anyone paying attention is that public ridicule and abandonment are what caused Haggard to partially understand a portion of the struggles facing everyday people. It's his fall that helped him see his own bigotry. It took Haggard getting a taste of the hell he helped create to deliver him from Evangelical Christianity and lead him towards his new, more Emergent, theological position. Even with his new interpretation of Christianity, Haggard will doubtfully admit that he's a shinning example of how God is created by man and such creations are slaves to ones experiences. And although he does admit that as sexuality unfolds on a spectrum, he’s not exactly straight, Haggard still refuses to admit that being at least slightly gay, is part of human nature. Haggard's cognitive dissonance is stunning.

In The Trials of Ted Haggard, he states, “I don’t know if I’m gay, but I know I’m an evangelical.” To hold a dogmatic belief that caused him to live a secret life, and then to proclaim that exposure of his natural desire is what cured him from that very desire, is boggling to those who don’t try to put their life inside a box created from something as discrepant and flawed as the Bible. Haggard’s belief in Jesus is what damned him and yet what he claims saved him. All in all, the jury is out. Only time will tell if he’s genuine and has really had a change of heart. Demonstrating that it’s all in how one interprets Christianity, and that the majority of Christians get it wrong most of the time, doesn’t make a strong case for the creditability of Christianity. What it does, however, is show that the only way Christianity can retain any sense of integrity is to adapt its mythology and philosophy to the more thoughtful and just moral philosophies present in the educated secular world. And again, what that proves is the uselessness of this more-often-than-not unjust and oppressive faith, unless of course, you want to make a buck.

For more on the Haggard’s return to the pulpit checkout the 1hr documentary, Ted Haggard: Scandalous, airing on TLC January 16^th, 2011.

Religious Leaders Rail Against Climate Scientists. Who are they?

2010-12-09T15:27:00.000-08:00

The "Green Dragon" is trying to put the world under a destructive control; these environmentalists don't care about the poor or even humanity itself, but rather, want to bring people to premature death through their pessimistic world view -- or so some scientifically illiterate American Christians want you to believe. Proponents of such ideologies have come together for a 12-part DVD series called Resisting the Green Dragon, which seeks to expose how the environmental movement is out to control the world and destroy Christianity.

It should come as no surprise that throughout the world climate change is an increasing topic of discussion -- and it should be. The vast scientific evidence doesn't give us much time to put policies in place that may be able to reverse or slow the human impact on the environment. Climate change deniers such as the conservatives who've railed against the Kyoto Protocol see the advent of environmental regulation as "big government" trying to control the private sector. Some religious leaders, such as the ones in Resisting the Green Dragon, go even further and insinuate that this is not a scientific, economic, or human rights issue but a spiritual one.

Although it's easy to write off these lunatics as fringe ideologists not unlike Holocaust deniers, many, despite their lack of credentials, have more political and financial influence than the environmentally conscious realize. The heavily funded climate change deniers of the Christian right attempt to distinguish the value of humanity from nature, of which we're a part of and dependent. Some suggest that environmentalists are frightening children to forward they're political agenda, an interesting stance to take by people who use Hell as a means to further their agenda. Others speak out against environmentalism saying that it will increase poverty rather than help preserve the resources that are needed to alleviate it. Here's a preview of Resisting the Green Dragon:

Who are these religious talking heads who want to cause catastrophe while playing the blame game on those who fight for the protection of humanity and the environment?

Wendy Wright: is President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation's largest public policy women's organization. Wright briefs congressional and presidential staff on pro-family issues, and trains activists. She is frequently interviewed in national media on moral, social and political issues. Miss Wright was named among "The 100 Most Powerful Women of Washington" in 2006 by the Washingtonian Magazine. Wright believes that evolution is a lie and sat down with Richard Dawkins for an interview.

Dr. E. Calvin Beisner: holds a doctorate in Scottish history, not any scientifically relevant field, has testified against climate change before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, briefed the White House Council on Environmental Policy on it, delivered a paper on it at a conference at the Vatican sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and spoken on it at the 2008 and 2009 International Conferences on Climate Change in New York City.

Janet Parshall: Often compared to Rush Limbaugh due to her erroneous claims such as the Tea Party favorite "Obama is a Muslim," Parshall has been profiled as one of the top 100 radio hosts in leading trade magazine Talkers, every year since 1998. That same year Parshall joined the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the National Religious Broadcasters.

Tony Perkins: Is President of Washington DC's Family research council. He served eight years in the Louisiana House of Representatives and has spent his political career trying to fight the "war on terror," gay marriage, which he some how see's as a blockade against free speech, and the "leftist propaganda" that is sex ed.

Richard Land is the President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. As part of the largest protestant denomination in the country, Land was voted one of Time magazine's twenty-five most influential evangelicals in 2005. He has paraded and championed his beliefs in front of congress many times and makes frequent appearances on Fox News.

Tom Minnery is Vice President of Public Policy at Focus on the Family.

Bryan Fischer is the director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at American Family Association, where he provides expertise on a range of public policy topics.

If you're interested in a psychological perspective as to why people like the above fear terrorism, or some sort of "moral" collapse, while they dismiss the larger threat of climate change, the following lecture from Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert should be of interest:

Part 1

Part 2

Who was Jesus? Town Church Pt 2

2010-11-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago pastor Nate Downey of Eureka’s Town Church sent me an MP3 of a sermon he did entitled “Jesus is: Deity.” The lecture began tersely with a rhetorical question, “who is Jesus?” Considering there are over 33,000 Christian denominations in practice today, the answer to the question varies greatly from church to church. Wanting to set the foundation for his recently formed church, pastor Downey scripturally addressed where he derives his belief in the divinity of Christ. He then attempted to convey what other faiths say about Jesus, along with what he believes to be common cultural and secular arguments in opposition to Jesus being God, or even existing at all.

First depiction of bearded Christ
4th Cent Catacomb of Commodilla,
Rome.

Reading the Bible or about the Bible can be exhausting. However, perhaps to the dismay of you my lovely reader, I will reply to Downey's sermon, not by critiquing but by briefly answering the question he poses, or rather, that western society poses to all of us. I will do my best to keep you from such boredom that your addiction to Facebook overcomes you and you flee this page to play Farmville or stalk someone more interesting than myself, pastor Downey, or perhaps even JC. I feel inclined to make this a lengthy academic retort, but being that it's a blog post I will be briefly summarize a few key points. I guarantee it's still too long for many people's attention span, which is truthfully quite sad.

For those who continuously hurl C.S. Lewis's false dilemma of "Liar, Lunatic or Lord" at me, if by the end of this post you fail to understand why I refuse to answer the trilima by choosing one of Lewis's straw men, perhaps you need to re-ask yourself "who is Jesus." Once you do, the answer Legend will show itself to be the most honest response.

Being concerned with making an argument from history, responding to “who is Jesus” is certainly ridiculous for obvious reasons, so I must reform the question as: who was Jesus?

Eyewitness Testimony

Historians and scholars look for evidence to deduct truths. The evidence historians hope to have is usually from as many contemporary, independent, unbiased, and consistent sources as possible. So how do we tackle the history of someone virtually unknown during the time of his death? Many people are swayed by personal testimony, but if there is anything we've learned from the court of law, eyewitness testimony is the most unreliable source that can be provided.

Ever heard of this guy?

Thus is Sathya Sai Babba. He is believed by millions living today to be the reincarnation of the prophet, and God in human flesh, Sai Baba of Shirdi. He is attributed with many of the miracles of Jesus, including being born of a virgin, and has more followers now than Jesus did even hundreds of years after his crucifixion. So if eyewitness and personal testimony are the factors that authenticate divinity, Sathya sai Babba is a God.

Christians have claimed to be atheists in regards to many prophets like Sathya Sai Babba and reject their miracles as frauds. The eyewitness accounts by the followers of such prophets are also deemed unreliable based on the fallacy rate of eyewitness testimony. Because Christians claim to have the word of God in written form, and because these other prophets are not mentioned in the Bible only Jesus is, for believing Christians other profits must surely be fake. The dilemma this creates for followers of Jesus is that the writers of the New Testament were not even eyewitnesses, but people who wrote about events that had reached their ears through approximately forty years of oral tradition, during which time the events were translated from Aramaic into Greek. (If you've ever played the game of telephone, you know how reliable oral tradition is.) The Gospels were written anonymously, and the original manuscripts used to write the modern Bible were copied from copies of copies of copies etc -- by hand -- some chapters for about a century, others for over hundreds of years.

Depiction of Biblical scribes

So we have a chain of unreliable methods from eyewitness testimony to oral tradition, language translation to genre construction, handwritten manuscripts by scribes some barely able to read write to some bias frauds and forgers, and then through even more language translations. Needless to say, when just looking at the irrefutable passage of information we have no accurate historical evidence of Jesus' existence besides one brief mention of "Jesus the so-called Christ" by Jewish historian and Roman Apologist Josephus (37 -100 C.E.) writing approximately 60 years after the crucifixion. The most logical way it can be claimed that Jesus did indeed exist, which at this juncture I'm inclined to agree with, is that because so many people were talking about him he most likely was a real person. Amazingly, many Christians are able to lie to themselves and others and still believe the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God.

No matter, for the sake of intrigue the only sources to determine what Jesus' life was like are the Gospels, or "the good word," (genre pieces, not any sort of journalistic text). But before further addressing the history of the Gospels lets first look at other figures from myths and history that share attributes with Jesus.

Shared Attributes of Christ

When we say that Jesus Christ was produced without sexual union, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven we propound nothing new or different from what you believe regarding those whom you call the sons of Jupiter.
-Justin Martyr, Church Father

Downey stated that no other major prophet claimed to be God. There is truth to his statement regarding Buddha, Mohammad, and even Zoroaster however Jesus is said to have done more than claim to be God. Many Bible scholars doubt Jesus claimed to be God himself because he only does so in the least historically viable Gospel, albeit a well written hero story, John. (John 8:58-59, John 10:30-33, & John 14:8-9) Some Christians like to quote Mark 14:61-64 as to say, well Jesus remains silent when he's being worshiped so he's essentially claiming to be God. May I remind those reading this who share such a view that Jesus remains silent when asked this vary question several times in the Bible. Pleading the 5th is not an affirmation of attribution.

It should be noted that many political leaders and dictators throughout history have claimed to be God and millions of people have witnessed them performing miracles. Alexander the Great claimed to be descended of Dionysus; Augustus Caesar and his successor Tiberius (who was emperor of Rome when Jesus was executed), also claimed divine lineage. Jesus' story is far from authentic.

So what attributes did Jesus share and with whom?

Dionysus/Baccus (Alexander the Great claimed to be his descendant)

--Dionysus was born of a virgin on December 25 and, as the Holy Child, was placed in a manger.
--He was a traveling teacher who performed miracles.
--He “rode in a triumphal procession on an ass.”
--He was a sacred king killed and eaten in an Eucharistic ritual for fecundity and purification.
--Dionysus rose from the dead on March 25.
--He was the God of the Vine, and turned water into wine.
--He was called “King of Kings” and “God of Gods.”
--He was considered the “Only Begotten Son,” Savior,” “Redeemer,” “Sin Bearer,” Anointed One,” and the “Alpha and Omega.”
--He was identified with the Ram or Lamb.
--His sacrificial title of “Dendrites” or “Young Man of the Tree” intimates he was hung on a tree or crucified.

Horus/Osiris
--Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Merion December 25 in a cave/manger with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.
--His earthly father was named “Seb” (“Joseph”).
--At at 12, he was a child teacher in the Temple, and at 30, he was baptized having disappeared for 18 years.
--Horus was baptized in the river Eridanus or Iarutana (Jordan) by “Anup the Baptizer” (“John the Baptist”), who was decapitated.
--He had 12 disciples, two of who were his “witnesses” and were named “Anup” and “Aan” (the two “Johns”).
--He performed miracles, exorcised demons and raised El-Azarus (“El-Osiris”), from the dead.
--Horus walked on water.
--His personal epithet was “Iusa,” the “ever-becoming son” of “Ptah,” the “Father.” He was thus called “Holy Child.”
--He delivered a “Sermon on the Mount” and his followers recounted the “Sayings of Iusa.”
--Horus was transfigured on the Mount.
--He was crucified between two thieves, buried for three days in a tomb, and resurrected.
--He was also the “Way, the Truth, the Light,” “Messiah,” “God’s Anointed Son,” “the “Son of Man,” the “Good Shepherd,” the “Lamb of God,” the “Word made flesh,” the “Word of Truth,” etc.
--He was “the Fisher” and was associated with the Fish (“Ichthys”), Lamb and Lion.
--He came to fulfill the Law.
--Horus was called “the KRST,” or “Anointed One.”
--Like Jesus, “Horus was supposed to reign one thousand years.”

Krishna

--Krishna was born of the Virgin Devaki (“Divine One”) on December 25.
--His earthly father was a carpenter, who was off in the city paying tax while Krishna was born.
--His birth was signaled by a star in the east and attended by angels and shepherds, at which time he was presented with spices.
--The heavenly hosts danced and sang at his birth.
--He was persecuted by a tyrant who ordered the slaughter of thousands of infants.
--Krishna was anointed on the head with oil by a woman whom he healed.
--He is depicted as having his foot on the head of a serpent.
--He worked miracles and wonders, raising the dead and healing lepers, the deaf and the blind.
--Krishna used parables to teach the people about charity and love, and he “lived poor and he loved the poor.”
--He castigated the clergy, charging them with “ambition and hypocrisy . . . Tradition says he fell victim to their vengeance.”
--Krishna’s “beloved disciple” was Arjuina or Ar-jouan (Jouhn).
--He was transfigured in front of his disciples.
--He gave his disciples the ability to work miracles.
--His path was “strewn with branches.”
--In some traditions he died on a tree or was crucified between two thieves.
--Krishna was killed around the age of 30, and the sun darkened at his death.
--He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven “in the sight of all men.”
--He was depicted on a cross with nail-holes in his feet, as well as having a heart emblem on his clothing.
--Krishna is the “lion of the tribe of Saki.”
--He was called the “Shepherd of God” and considered the “Redeemer,” “Firstborn,” “Sin-Bearer,” “Liberator,” “Universal Word.”
--He was deemed the “Son of God” and “our Lord and Savior,” who came to earth to die for man’s salvation.
--He was the second person of the Trinity.
--His disciples purportedly bestowed upon him the title “Jezeus,” or “Jeseus,” meaning “pure essence.”
--Krishna is to return to judge the dead, riding on a white horse, and to do battle with the “Prince of Evil,” who will desolate the earth.

Mithra of Persia
--Mithra was born of a virgin on December 25 in a cave, and his birth was attended by shepherds bearing gifts.

--He was considered a great traveling teacher and master.
--He had 12 companions or disciples.
--Mithra’s followers were promised immortality.
--He performed miracles.
--As the “great bull of the Sun,” Mithra sacrificed himself for world peace.
--He was buried in a tomb and after three days rose again.

--His resurrection was celebrated every year.
--He was called “the Good Shepherd” and identified with both the Lamb and the Lion.
--He was considered the “Way, the Truth and the Light,” and the “Logos,” [Word] “Redeemer,” “Savior” and “Messiah.”
--His sacred day was Sunday, the “Lord’s Day,” hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ.
--Mithra had his principal festival on what was later to become Easter.
--His religion had a Eucharist or “Lord’s Supper,” at which Mithra said, “He who shall not eat of my body nor drink of my blood so that he may be one with me and I with him, shall not be saved.”
--“His annual sacrifice is the Passover of the Magi, a symbolical atonement of pledge of moral and physical regeneration.”

Zoroaster/Zarathustra
--Zoroaster was born of a virgin and “immaculate conception by a ray of divine reason.”
--He was baptized in a river.
--In his youth he astounded wise men with his wisdom.
--He was tempted in the wilderness by the devil.
--He began his ministry at age 30.
--Zoroaster baptized with water, fire and “holy wind.”
--He cast out demons and restored the sight to a blind man.
--He taught about heaven and hell, and revealed mysteries, including resurrection, judgment, salvation and the apocalypse.
--He had a sacred cup or grail.
--He was slain.
--His religion had a Eucharist.
--He was the “Word made flesh.”
--Zoroaster’s followers expected a “second coming” in the virgin-born Saoshynt or Savior, who is to come in 2341 CE and begin his ministry at age 30, ushering in a golden age.

The list could go on: Apollonius of Tyana, Attis of Phrygia, Honi the circle-drawer, Thor, Orpheus, Hermes, Buddha, Devatat, Beddru, Balder, Theseus, Romulus, Hercules, Perseus, Zeus, Apollo, Baal, Jupider, Adonis...

In regards to miracles, it's documented more often than not that individuals with minor levels of fame or social status performed them. One would think that if it was agreed upon that all of these accounts were indeed true, then they would reinforce the unlikely possibility of their occurrence. However, religions that make salacious exclusivist claimes would rather believe their prophets are the only holders of divinity instead of trying to reaffirm the supernatural.

THE BIBLE

Paul

Paul’s letters never reference the life Jesus. He has no quotes, no stories; Paul relays no eyewitness accounts from James or Peter and fails to even mention Pontius Pilot and the trial of Jesus. Paul is only concerned with the death and resurrection of Christ. Paul has no Bible, no written testimonies, and no scripture to draw inspiration from besides those deemed holy by the Jews at the time. Anyone today could find out more about you from ten minutes on Google than Paul seems to know about the life of Jesus. For Paul, Jesus is simply Lord beyond the grave who sits at the right hand of a celestial dictator to be worshiped by lesser beings until he's supposed to return to take the thrown of the kingdom (something that Paul believes will happen during his lifetime.) Paul's Jesus is one he could very well have made up himself.

The Gospels

The first Gospel to be written was Mark. Most scholars and theologians estimate that it was written sometime between 65 and 75 CE due to parts of the text that reference it being written after the fall of Jerusalem. The Gospels each followed, one every 10 to 15 years, using Mark and source Q as their main references. Most scholars date the Gospels to be written between 70 and 110 CE. Mathew was the first written after Mark, next was Luke and lastly John. Reflecting the time line in which each was written, each Gospel grows in its antisemitic tone and imagery.

We call the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, not because that's who wrote them, but because an editor added these titles years after they were written. The Gospels were written anonymously, in the third person, and at least forty years after the death of Jesus. Further more, the followers of Jesus were not Greek speakers but uneducated, Aramaic speaking, impoverished lower-class men. In the original Greek, Acts 4:13 identifies Peter and John as being illiterate.

The authors never claim to be disciples, and being highly skilled in Greek rhetorical writing, they most likely would not have been followers of Christ. So where did these authors get the story from: oral tradition.

If you take the time to read the Gospels and place the accounts of Jesus' life, death and resurrection next to each other many discrepancies arise. After doing so the following are a few questions worth asking:

Where is the garden in Mark?
Was Jesus arrested or was he "captured" by 600 soldiers who he really had under his control?
What time of day and how many people were there when Pilot questions Jesus?
Did Jesus carry the cross the whole way to the mount or did Simon of Cyrene help him?
Did both robbers mock him or did one mock him while the other came to his defense?
Did Jesus die on passover or the day after? What time of day did he die?
Did the curtain rip before or after he died?
Who went to the tomb on the third day was it Mary Magdalene alone, or did she take others with her?
How many people saw Jesus after he resurrected?

There's an abundance of contradictions. Here is a link listing only about a hundred or so: CONTRADICTIONS IN THE GOSPELS

The answers to these questions depends on which Gospel one reads. (Jesus could not have died both on passover or before etc) The fact of the matter is, if a supposed truth can be found in the Gospels, then the Bible gets it wrong more often than it gets it right.

If a truth can be argued it should appear multiple times, in different sources, and preferably not copied from a root source. (claiming that Daniel's prophecy affirms the existence and divinity of Jesus fails because Jesus' life could easily have been written with them in mind. This is something fundamentalists like to propose to me.) Considering that it's one of the facts that appears over and over again, a truth that can be taken from the Gospels is that Jesus was crucified for claiming to be king of the Jews. He was tried and convicted as an insurgent. The incident with Jesus and the money changers, which most likely happened prior to passover, is what got the authorities to take notice of Jesus. (Mark, Luke and Mathew agree on this. In John Jesus was crucified before passover.) Thousands of people came to purchase sacrificial sheep at the 500 square yard temple for the holiday. When Jesus knocked over the table and whipped the money changer he became an enemy of the state. Most fascinatingly, the coins, which were being changed at the gates of the temple as to not bring currency inside, contained an image of Augustus Caesar who claimed to be a God and was worshiped as one by many within the Roman empire. The idea that Jesus claimed divinity, which by any historical sense he did no such thing, could more realistically be because he challenged the authority of a God/Caesar in a public setting. Thus he was tried as an insurgent or impostor king, something Roman authority constantly executed people for.

Note: Crucifixions historically happened on the outskirts of town and were scarcely attended due to people's access, the stench, and the gruesome fact that they were happening daily. Crucifixions were used as a symbol of authority denoting Roman occupation for people entering into the city. Most likely Jesus' crucifixion, which was also happening on a holiday, was scarcely attended.

Manuscripts

The oldest fragment of the 5,700 ancient Greek manuscripts discovered thus far is the minuscule P52, which dates to some time approximately between 117- 138 CE. The next closest fragment in age is about 80 years older than P52. The oldest nearly complete manuscript is the Codex Vaticanus, which dates from mid 4th century and currently resides in the Vatican Library.

P52

One undeniable attribute these texts provide to the history of the Bible is a glimpse at the many mistakes scribes made when they tediously hand-copied the texts along with the purposeful additions and alterations made to the text. For example the verses Mark:169-20 were an addition. The original text ends with the tomb being found empty by Mary Magdalene who never says a word to anyone. Considering that the book of Mark was written after the fall of Jerusalem, and that the Messiah was not supposed to die before putting things right on earth, it is often speculated that the text ends with the sentiment towards God that many Jews and even Christians probably shared at the time.

Another notable addition is the story of the adulteress from John 7:53 - 8:11 (some versions of the Bible insert it at Luke 21:38)

The majority of scholars agree on these and many more additions. However, given that the majority of errors are minor ones of the grammatical and spelling nature, there are a few scholars who illogically argue against the possibility of human fallacy and bias alteration. One thing is certain, whether one wants to believe the texts were altered or not, imperfect humans hand-copied copies of copies of the texts, for hundreds of years all of which went through a process of canonization before being accepted as scripture. For people who believe the Bible, a catch-22 becomes apparent: If humans are imperfect and born in sin how did the hundreds of scribes not make an error or alter the texts? Did pastoral corruption not come into play until after the writing of the Bible? And if so, then why was Paul constantly writing about heretical teachers and misinterpretations prior to the writing of the Bible?

The Gnostic Gospels

Jesus said to them,
"When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter [the Kingdom]." Gospel of Thomas verse 22

Gnostic Codices from 3rd and 4th century CE. Nag Hammadi Egypt, 1945.

The discovery of what is now referred to as the Gnostic Gospels, "Gnostic" derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge, brought forth a new perspective on Christianity. Had these Gospels been included in the New Testament they surely would have shaped a religion far different from what we see today. (No, not a Christianity like the one found in the fucking De Vinci Code)

In 1897, 50,000 fragments of papyrus making up the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the Gospel of Peter were discovered buried with an Egyptian monk. More famously, in 1945 a group of seven Egyptian farmers came across some mysterious antiquarian jars in Nag Hammadi Egypt. Reluctant to open them for fear of releasing an evil genie, the farmers reconsidered hoping the jars contained gold. What they discovered was neither a genie nor a fortune, but rather, a multitude of leather-bound codices including the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip, The Apocryphone of James as well as a partial translation of Plato's Republic. Just like the the books that found their way into the new testament these were hand copied unoriginal texts. Written in Aramaic they present a completely different picture of Jesus and Christianity. The Gnostic Jesus was either completely God or man; He felt no pain upon crucifixion and perhaps didn't die at all. He was vengeful. He loved Mary Magdalene over each and everyone of his disciples. What many who take the time to look at these texts find the most shocking is that Jesus spoke not only of God the Father, but of God the Mother.

Catacombs of Priscilla. One of the earliest Christian paintings.

Women preserved early Christianity, by taking it underground while Christians were under persecution. (thus the earliest catacomb paintings depicting them as Biblical teachers) The Gnostic Jesus held that Woman should be in leadership rolls and be seen as equal to men. Such strides towards gender equality outraged many people who feared what it meant in regards to reshaping society and the future of the Old Testament texts. The 2nd century Christian theologian Tertullian expresses such sentiments with his outrage against the Gnostics: "These heretical women -- how audacious they are! They have no modesty; they are bold enough to teach, to engage in argument, to enact exorcisms, to under take cures, and, it may be, even to baptize!"

Instead of the masculinized Christianity dependent on the Old Testament and belief in Jesus, many of these texts such as Gospel of Thomas present a wisdom the Gnostics believed to be the key to eternal life. According the the Gnostic texts one mustn't believe in the resurrection of Jesus but follow his teachings as to find the wisdom that will lead to salvation. Although an elitist ideology, it's one which would undoubtedly be difficult to utilize in a political hierarchy, an ideology that negates martyrdom and a willingness to die in battle. perhaps just a few reasons why they failed to make it through the canonization process.

Athanasius

The patriarch of Alexandria, Athanasius, was one of the first to denounce the Gnostic Gospels as heretical. After appearing at the first Council of Nicaea in 323 CE, where hundreds of bishops had gathered to discuss whether Jesus was God, man or both (thus they came up with the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit), Athanasus took to annually writing all Christians under his jurisdiction in regards to when they could celebrate Easter. In his 39th Festal Letter, written in 367 CE, he added a list of the twenty-seven cannons that now make up the New Testament. He clearly wrote that these should be the only Gospels ever read, condemning the others that until this point had been accepted in the early church as false doctrines.

Who was Jesus?

After pouring over academic sources, of which are not intended to challenge holy writ, it becomes clear why Christianity is the most divided and segregated faith man has yet produced. (need I remind you, over 33,000 different denominations.) All that can be known about Jesus from a historical perspective is that he most likely did exist, he was revered by the less fortunate, and was most likely tried for insurrection. To say Jesus was anything more than a man would be a fabrication of history; to say Jesus is anything other than legend is to make a statement of faith -- not a statement with any viable, factual, and probable truth. Biblical authenticity has been crumbling for quite a while and will continue to do so with each piece of evidence and artifact discovered. For those Christians who feel the need to defend their belief by distorting what little can be known about the historical Jesus, I have to ask, where's your faith? If you have faith, be honest and admit that that is what you stand on, and must stand on. It is what your religion demands of you and what the evidence in opposition does as well. The faith necessary to shuck reason, truth, fact, and justice to believe in the divinity of Christ must be strong indeed.

Bibliography (other sources are linked in above text)

Baigent, Michael The Jesus Papers (Harperone 2007)

Bruce, F.F. The Cannon of Scripture (IVP Academic 1988)

Crossan, John Dominic Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (HarperOne 2009)

Eherman, Bart Misquoting Jesus (HaperOne 2007)

Eherman, Bart Jesus Interrupted (HarperOne reprint edition 2010)

Fredriksen, Paula From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the NT Images of Christ (Yale University Press 2 edition 2000)

Holding, James Patrick Trusting the New Testament (Xulon Press 2009)

Jones, Pete Owen The Lost Gospels, presented by BBC$

Koester, Helmet Intro to New Testament (Walter de Gruyter; 2nd edition 2000)

Meyers, Eric Archaeology, The Rabbis, and Early Christianity (Abingdon 1981)

Pagels, Elaine, "God the Father/God the Mother" The Social Dimension of Western Civilization (Boston, MA Bedford/St Martins 2003)

Spong, John Shelby Jesus for the non-religious (HarperOne 2007)

Tony Blair Gets Hitchslapped

2010-11-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 26th, ex-prime minister of Britain Tony Blair squared off against atheist and journalist Christopher Hitchens in a debate on whether religion is a force for good in the world. The debate, hosted by Munk debates, took place in Toronto with an audience showing pre-debate scores of 57 per cent con and 22 per cent pro. (The rest were undecided.) Despite being in stage four of esophageal cancer Hitchens never faltered from his charming wit, subtle humor, and passionate retorts. In moments where Blair attempted to demonstrate religious solidarity, such as stating, "I recently went to a meeting that bridged the religious divide in Northern Ireland,"
Hitchens simply replied, "Where does the divide come from?"

Over all the two seemed to rather enjoy the discourse and argued with the utmost respect for each other. Exit polls showed a victory for Hitchens with 68 per cent opposing the resolution and 32 per cent supporting it.

Olbermann Gets Foxy

2010-11-06T01:58:00.000-07:00

Remember that scene in Return of the Jedi when Luke Skywalker, who while having a lightsaber duel with his father Darth Vader, cuts off Vader's mechanical hand and then looks down at his own cyborg phalanges and decides that he will no longer fight hate with hate? After falling down an internet wormhole today and watching the three videos contained in this post, I couldn't help but think of how much that scene relates to Kieth Olberman's situation.

Even if you're not like me and you refrain from wasting time spiraling through internet loops while TweetDeck incessantly spits new links at your face and the daily news rattles away in the background, you've probably still heard about MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann's suspension for giving three campaign contributions during the last election season. (Interestingly, one of the candidates Olbermann donated to was Jack Conway, who lost the Kentucky senate seat to racist Rand Paul) News Flash: Olbermann's a liberal.

Journalists who are openly bias rather than attempting to hide their humanity behind a facade of neutrality are in a position to be the most persuasive, often because they're able to be the most honest. When a journalist's bias is allowed to distort truth, and/or ones position as a "journalist" is used to endorse a candidate, either financially or through their connections, then their integrity should rightfully be called into question. By this standard Olbermann's actions should be addressed, although if you pay attention to other news agencies his punishment seems extreme. Perhaps the punishment is MSNBC's attempt to distance themselves from Fox, something Olbermann has been addressing, even more so since Jon Stewart lumped MSNBC and FOX NEWS together as opposite sides of the cable pundit spectrum at his Rally to Restore Sanity.
What's peculiar about Olbermann's actions is that campaign contributions are extremely transparent. The only skill needed to find out how much has been donated, and by whom, is knowing how to Google. The story was broke by a young reporter, Simma Aujla, who's only been working in Washington D.C. for six months,. She simply looked it up on Opensecrets.org, a site Olbemann has mentioned on his show several times. Olbermann knew of MSNBC's implicit policy in which campaign contributions can only be given by employees with the permission of NBC management. He also had to know someone would see his contribution, yet he contributed anyway. I'm left wondering why he chose to donate and how NBC decides who can receive donations from their staff and who can't. In regards to how often something like this occurs, and to further separate MSNBC from FOX, Rachel Maddow had this to say:

Aptly, the hour prior, Bill O'reilly interviewed Christine O'Donnell who he informed could have had a better chance winning the election in Delaware had she came on his show a few weeks earlier.

Then, shortly after interviewing O'Donell, O'reilly went on Bill Maher's show and had this to say.

Conclusion: Keith Olbermann, it's not too late to turn back from the dark side.

Too Young for New Age

2010-10-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

Hunkering towards Eureka’s First United Methodist Church the encompassing bluster of wind and precipitation deracinated me from my surroundings. For several blocks I could only make out silhouettes of parked cars and a distant shimmer of light pelting the gray sky from behind stained glass windows. Once at the steps of the church I quickly signed off on my ticket and stepped into the stuffy scarlet-carpeted chapel. Every seat in the house was taken by an audience composed of roughly 80% middle-aged women (several of whom were knitting), 15% supportive husbands, and 5% other. After panning the chapel for a few minutes contemplating who looks as though they may be willing to either let me sit on their lap or consider sitting on mine, I headed back towards the entrance and providentially found a door leading up to a scarcely inhabited balcony.

A half hour late, Democracy Unlimited, the hosts for the event, eventually took the stage and introduced new age spiritualist Marianne Williamson. When the applause died down Williamson got everyone to close their eyes for a moment of silence. After a minute or so she began with a diatribe on the founding fathers. Given that her goal is to bring spirituality into politics, she wrangled God into her speech by laying out her belief that the founders understood the significance of democracy, not from a historical perspective, but because of their unique shared insight that everyone is equal in the eyes of God. “That’s the principle they built this country on. Because of that they stood to provide universal education and to have a free press. ” She states. “It didn’t matter one’s education or social class.” She then addressed, “Yes, they were all white men. But it’s been the political journey of every generation since then, including our own, to further expand those principles to everyone. In every generation, however, we also have those who want to roll that founding principle back.”

I agree that we must fight to expand those rights to everyone no matter race, class, gender, religion, and sexual preference, but that doesn’t mean that the intention of the founders was to do so, nor does it mean that they had a shared perception of God and thus unanimously contracted the founding of the United States. I abhor such cocksure oratory that stands solely on the peg leg of historical knowledge. Williamson doesn't appear to understand that the nation was founded as a republic, or that rights only belonged, and were only intended to belong, to the ten percent of the population --the rich patriarchal landowners. She's oblivious that James Madison defined pure democracy as “a society consisting of a small number of citizens who assemble and administer the government in person,” or that Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine were Deists and thought the concept of miracle, which Williamson parades as the guardian of reason, to be an absurdest fable for the undignified and uneducated. As she continued, it grew evermore apparent that I would be choking on her jagged rhetoric like a child who's decided to swallow a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle one piece at a time.

Williamson started her spiritual career by founding Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program aimed at providing for victims of Aids in the Los Angeles area. Although riddled with controversy due to capitalizing on homes given to her by dying aids patents, Williamson rose to become an international public speaker and author after Oprah championed her 1992 book, A Return to Love. The principles Williamson bases her theology on and dribbles onto the printed page are taken from A Course in Miracles, a 1,200-page scripture dictated between 1965 and 1972 by a the disembodied voice of Jesus to the late Helen Schucman, a psychologist at Columbia University. ''I've heard it referred to as a 'freed Christianity,''' says Williamson, who believes it appeals to ''people who seek Jesus, but without the judgment, the guilt, the punitive doctrine.'' As a Jew the step towards Christian spiritualism was difficult for Williamson, but she says, “You know the Jews say the Messiah is coming and the Christians say the Messiah came and Einstein said there is no time. So this whole idea he's coming, he came -- I think we're living in a time where the official take on Jesus is not particularly relevant to me." Apparently physics lacks relevance to Williamson as well.

Williamson doesn’t demand critical thinking of her followers who she teaches that if one defines love as she does, and “prays really hard,” a miracle will happen in their favor. By preaching peace and love Williamson has become a new age superstar along side Deepak Chopra, and predating Eckhart Tolle and the “will it to be” phenomenon of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret. Williamson has gone from prayer circles held in homes to auditoriums seating thousands. She was at the altar offering a blessing for Elizabeth Taylor as Taylor’s last marriage fell apart. She was invited to the White House during the mid-nineties to share her message with Hillary Clinton. As a result, she is in the gauche position of promoting emotional accessibility while hiring handlers to keep unpleasant interactions at bay. Due to such a duality, her publicists often demand to know in advance what questions she will be asked.

Williamson continues her speech informing the audience that the founders believed if all people could hone their critical thinking skills, then we will have a democratic society. For Williamson critical thinking doesn't mean the same thing as it does to most thinking people. Williamson's critical thinking means to open one's mind to a spiritual phenomenon thus being able to see beyond what physical sensory and intellect can provide. To exemplify, she tells of the missing gold capstone from the Great Pyramid (Horus’s all seeing eye), which has gone undiscovered for as long as archeologists have been studying the pyramids. She stated that the founders used the image of it being placed back on the pyramid, illustrated on the dollar bill, as a representation of America as a nation of critical thinkers. As she’s making her point a sixty-year-old woman seated next to me sets down her knitting needles and asks her husband to retrieve a dollar bill from his wallet. She turns, peering over at him from above her glasses, and notes that, “Well, look. I’ll be, there is a pyramid on the dollar bill.” I had to fight the urge to lean over and inform the woman that although the Great Seal was designed in 1782, it didn’t find its way onto the dollar bill until 1935.

Once Williamson had established a thesis drawn from her mid-nineties book, Healing the Soul of America, she continued with disjointed psychobabble and mother bear references leading me to realize that, although much more articulate, she’s applying the same tactics as Sarah Palin; She believes in shooting from the hip, only for her -- it’s the left one. Over and over Williamson referenced slavery and the woman’s suffrage movement as being conquered by God. She proclaimed, “It’s not up to you if you learn. It’s up to you if you learn through love or pain.”

It’s this kind of thinking that embezzles acclaim and marginalizes one of my favorite words: struggle. Justice isn’t simply resting on the surface of desire or supplemented via half-baked history, it's earned, often with great sacrifice. Such erroneous idioms as the ones dropped throughout the night, mostly with the purpose of bringing people to a moral relativist view of God and politics through contextually misconstrued feminist language, have an uncanny way of influencing people who simply want reassurance that they're right. It’s disappointing to see an audience overflowing with praise for someone like Marianne Williamson while people they should be drawing inspiration from, such as the enduring and brilliant Ayaan Hirsi Ali, go unnoticed.

Williamson wants for people what many sensible people want: to have hope and stand in solidarity with the aim to make the world a better place for all. While a noble cause, one I share with Williamson, she fails to understand that religious hope is a driving force for those who don't share her politics. It's foolish to say that those spreading ideas in opposition to ones own are "hateful and not hopeful." Even the most destructive acts perpetrated by man are often done because of a utilitarian hope. It takes hope to strap a bomb onto your chest and set it off in a public market place. To solve the problems that face the world it's going to take reason, compromise, and hard work, all of which we must have hope in -- but we cannot solve global issues with hope alone.

Wrapping up Williamson rallies on the current agenda of Democracy Unlimited by calling attention to one of the biggest problems facing America, corporate personhood. In a complete circle, one in which the center remains empty, she states that corporations are bad, but not all corporations because, for instance, she relies on corporations to publish her books. Oh, and capitalism, “well capitalism isn’t the problem; it’s been good to me.” To which the audience bellowed in approval.

While the crowd cheers local KHSU DJ and wannabe pundit David Cobb grabs the mic and roars, “now that’s what a politician should sound like! I love this woman!” Proceeding to pass a collection plate he informs the audience that the money collected is for sending Marianne Williamson across the state, perhaps even the country, to spread her message. Shaking her head in disapproval Williamson took the mic from Cobb and informed the audience that all the money was, in fact, going to Democracy Unlimited. After 45 minutes of questions I left understanding that the political spectrum from conservative to liberal doesn’t exist on a horizontal plan, rather, like the earth, it’s a sphere. If you go too far to the left or right you’ll end up in the same place.

Earth: The Book

2010-10-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

Review: Here

Separation of Church and State?

2010-10-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

Christine O'Donnell, the dabbled-in-witchcraft-but-not-in-masturbation source for endless humorous fodder (especially for Bill Maher), demonstrated the failure of our nation's eighth grade curriculum when she challenged her democratic rival, and attorney, Chris Coon on the first amendment. When O'Donnell sincerely asked, "where in the constitution is the separation of church and state?" the audience rightfully erupts in discerning gasps and laughter. (2:48)

Right wing pundits and radio shock-jocks such as the bloated Rush Limbaugh tried to rally today behind their mistress of ignorance by pointing out that the 1st amendment doesn't say "separation of church and state" verbatim, therefore, she was right to make such a statement.

The 1st Amendment does, however, clearly state:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

15 years after the constitution was written Thomas Jefferson coined the term, “ separation of church and state” which appeared in his Letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802.

The intent of his letter was to ease the fears of a Baptist group, which was a religious minority in Connecticut at the time.

He explained that “building a wall of separation between Church and State” was something they could rely on within the newly established nation.

With that, I concur; we must not let that wall fall by any means, especially not by the words of the uninformed.

Books, Brillance, or Burgers

2010-10-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

Although they posted a letter to the editor I wrote last year, this is my first article for the Nation. I hope it's not my last.

Books, Brillance, OR Burgers

Deity and the Feast (Town Church pt 1)

2010-10-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I received a text from a friend informing me that, if interested, I should contact an up and coming pastor named Nate Downey because he’s trying to find someone of contrasting belief systems, perhaps someone without belief, to converse with. At the time Nate was leading a particularly hectic life attempting to balance work, spending time with his wife and kids, and regularly commuting to Seattle to finish seminary with “resurgence” pastor Mark Driscoll. Like many of the younger pastors I’ve had the pleasure to meet, Nate suggested that a brewery would provide the right amount of social liniment to discuss the big questions concerning faith, reason, science, and morality. It did. Since then Nate and I have established a friendship beyond mere beer acquaintances. Our world views are quite incongruous, he’s significantly further right than most of even my other religious friends, and I’m, well, this blog is a statement of my anti-theist position.

Nate Downey speaking at Town Church's October communion feast

Upon completion of his thesis, as part of the Acts 29 movement, Nate founded Town Church with friend Lane Kennard. The church meets Wednesday nights at 6:30pm in the Centerpointe Church building. I told Nate that I wanted to come and write about his approach to the gospel so he invited me to his October communion feast and agreed to send me a recording of one of his sermons. (Part 2 will be up shortly after I receive the recording)

As I pulled up to the house of worship I was reminded of the many houses turned tavern that subtly garnish residential neighborhoods of Midwestern cities such as Milwaukee. Nestled back in a neighborhood of Eureka California the church is, shall we say, petite. Removed from any internally portentous décor and natural light the chapel feels like a basement. Walking up the steps, Nate, child in arm, welcomed me. Standing roughly a torso taller than your average chap and sporting a beard Grizzly Adams would admire, Nate has a calm presence that reflects the pace of life on the north coast while concealing his corporeal awkwardness. With a genuinely inquisitive nature Nate listens intently without any external discernment, and if you take the time to listen to him, he will tell you all about the marvelous beer cellar he's been assembling.

Conversing about our day, we walked into a chapel flooded with children. (In fact, if they had the aspiration they surely could overthrow us adults by sheer number.) Fortunately for us, though full of vigor, most were joyous and concerned with playfully chasing each other and eating pizza.

“I don’t know if you’re interested in coffee, but if you head to the back room you can help yourself to some,” offered Nate.

Being my drug of choice next to scotch I headed to the backroom and located the pot warming on the burner. I started to pour myself a cup, when “Bam! Clang! Tsszzzz ttuttut.tut..tut...tttzzzzzz.” echoed off the walls. I turned my head, sharply peering over my tense right shoulder. A blonde little boy edged up on a stool with one knee up on the counter was rapidly downing thimbles of Christ’s blood from a silver communion tray. To his right the silver lid slowly spun to a stop sending beams of light flickering on the walls and across the fridge. Humored by the unrestrained child as he shucked dogmatic symbolism for the simple desire of juice, I thought to inform him that it’s not good to get too in the habit of drinking alone but decided it would be best to notify one of his parents rather than intervene. Besides, who could blame the little tike? Had it been wine, I may have joined him.

Reconvening in the chapel, I grabbed a couple slices of pizza and sat down with Lane, his wife Michele, his sister, and a couple friends. They welcomed me and were intrigued when I told them about Vicarious Redemption. The main response I heard from almost everyone at Town Church was, “I should be doing that myself.”

Lane and Michele are expecting (Update: Michele just gave birth to a little girl) and proudly muse over their traditional family life. Being a construction worker, Lane puts in his time under the sun while Michele takes care of their son and the preparations for the new addition to the Kinnard family. According to Lane he doesn’t know much about kids but fortunately, Michele has it all figured out. As the conversation dropped off we settled into eating our dinner.

Every night this week, just as I was this particular evening, I met with old friends and new to converse and share a meal. For several of those dinners I sat down with strangers who wanted to meet me because of this blog and the "Beer me, Jesus" article. Many of the questions asked of me by believers pertained to biology, evolution in particular. (I’m pleased that they’ve been asking questions, but it’s been concerning to see how little most believers know about the basic tenets of evolution or science in general.) Everyone, however, believer and nonbeliever alike, instinctively knew one thing -- the importance of community. No one had to analyze the notion of community; no one engaged with others only because God “told” them to, they did it because they desired to. That’s not to say that a small portion of people in the world don’t exhibit antisocial behavior, or that having a weekly church meeting doesn’t help enforce the desire of community, (although meeting weekly is not mentioned in the Bible), but that it’s important to people across the spectrum of belief to experience the company and support of others.

In biological terms, a community is a group of interdependent species or organisms interacting in a shared habitat. In regards to human community, we’ve taken it to mean a surplus of different things based on belief, resources, preferences, identity, needs, and companionship, which a number of other conditions may be present that effect people’s degree of cohesiveness.

Two main reasons the religious think one should believe in God, or must believe in God, are: without belief we wouldn’t be able to act morally, and we would disregard community unless, of course, for self-interest. I addressed the first in my last post (and I will revisit morality), but for now I want to focus on the later.

We are highly social beings. The worst punishment for upper primates like ourselves is solitary confinement. Within forty-eight hours of such ghastly castigation the brain starts to disassociate and cognitive reaction times slow. After a couple days, depending on an individual’s mental stability, the experience is qualitative to physical torture and can lead to permanent mental damage. Some who’ve experienced solitary confinement describe it as feeling like their being slowly suffocated. We must be social, not only because it take cooperation for survival, but also due to the reality that our physical health depends on it. (health is not always at the for front of our consciousness. I state this to differentiate between genetic dependency and selfishness. Genes may be propelling altruism for their survival as Richard Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene suggests, but it doesn't mean the individual the in habit is selfish.)

So for the sake of community do we need one exclusive faith, or even need faith at all? Christianity claims that if you don’t believe in Jesus, eternal damnation awaits. Islam states that although Jesus was a prophet, if you believe him to be the Son of God then you will burn in hell. These faiths are mutually nullifying. One certainty becomes prevalent: the encounters religions, particularly of Judeo origin, demand to be accredited with such as transcendence, compassion, forgiveness and the desire for community -- exist outside of their exclusive traditions. This statement is not an advocacy for moral relativism, but to highlight that community is indeed bigger than religion or any single faith. To truly value community there is no need for God or faith considering that without community, we wouldn’t exist. Perhaps that is why to say you trust a friend is much more of an acknowledgment than to say you have faith in him.

Someone you’ll never meet had every experience you’re having today. At this very moment every human experience you can think of is occurring. Perhaps after reading this you’ll be on the shore observing the breath of waves until it seems as if the sand is repelling the salty horizon. If so, look up. Perhaps you’ll notice the sun drawing a refracting column unswervingly across the oceans surface of which tapers forming a tip aimed directly towards your eye. That very column of light, at that very angle, is also hitting the eye of every person along the coastline in that very same way. It’s as Italo Calviono’s Palomar asks when viewing the same refracted beam, “Is what we have in common precisely what is given to each of us as something exclusively his?'"

Although for our purposes I’m not at the beach but at a table with a group of people. My daydream collides with the present and I’m reminded that as all life depends on heat from a star, our survival depends on having others to share our lives with. I give credit to religion for emphasizing community, but in the case of Judeo originated faiths their exclusivism is in direct conflict with communities outside of the fictional bounds they've created. Part of the constrain that tries to bind by locking people in rather than embrace their differences, is the idealism these faiths impose rather than suggest (Example of suggested: a couple people may tell me that I should burn in hell if I don’t show up to my monthly book group, but I know that they would be at least partially joking) Such social structures and regulations are effective in retaining a congregation but are destructive and damaging to many of the benefits of community. Many of these constrains are being challenged by the global age and connectedness via the Internet. (The Internet, which is mostly deprived of face-to-face interaction, has many faults as well but that doesn’t mean digital communication will always hold the form we’re now experiencing it in.)

Lane Kennard singing hymns about Christ's blood.

After we finished eating Nate read a from 1 Corinthians 11 in which Paul explains that communion is not only about a personal relationship with Jesus, but also something that brings people from all social constructs together. Someone dimmed the lights and Lane sang songs, mostly about the redeeming power of Jesus’ blood. Flipping through the song book, I was taken back by the inverse metaphors about what Jesus' blood turns into rather than what symbolizes Jesus' blood. I started to wonder if he believes in transubstantiation (based on what I know about Nate’s beliefs, Town Church leaves that to the Catholics). While the sing along continued people gathered in their immediate families and at their leisure approached a corner table adorned with bread and a couple goblets of wine. Most paused for a moment and then took communion. Some fed it to their children, most of whom are too young to understand mortality or the symbolism. For a moment I pondered the question: is raising your child in a religion child abuse? I can answer this in many ways, and typically would answer yes, it is, but what I witnessed tonight didn’t fall in that category.

For me the communion part of the gathering was an activity at the party, but by no means a necessary reason to gather. I know that’s not how the people taking it felt. I know this because when I was a child and took communion -- I felt something. Consequently, a couple years later when I was baptized for the second time, I felt it again, only this time the substantiality was escalated a notch. (I had been baptized as a baby, but I was concerned because I had not heard the voice of God so I requested to be baptized again at around the age of seven)

As I now picture the eyes of the pastor turning into chlorine scented bulbs silhouetted by ripples of amber, violet, and emerald stained glass, I remember what I was thinking at that very moment. I was reflecting on nearly drowning a year prior. How I lost track of the distance from the tips of my fingers to the surface; how my compulsion to breathe asphyxiated the desire to keep water out of my lungs. While what felt like shards of glass undulating through my upper body, anxiety formed an impermeable noose and slipped it over the sharpest angles of my jaw. I gave in. The struggle ceased; I simply floated, neither rising nor falling. I readily embraced a fatalist perspective, a defense mechanism for my hopelessness. I was pure. I was saved from my humanity. There was no need for hope because hope in the face of an immediate struggle is merely a catalyst for action. I doubt at the time I could fully comprehend death, but I had lived enough to know that I couldn’t bear the hopelessness. I had to break the surface and get someone’s attention. With every muscle fiber vomiting disapproval I launched an arm into the air and slapped the flat of my hand down onto the water’s surface. Through the ripples of my perceived fate I could see my mother’s dress flitter as she sprinted to the edge of the pool. I could hear her cries for help. Then, because I refused to give in, hands of a negligent swimming instructor pulled me up to the surface and set me on dry land. The pastor pulled me out of initiation. I was part of God's family. Everyone clapped; my mother wept with joy. The stained glass beamed with the cheap smirk of imitation.

As a child I first interpreted my experience of Baptism to be an encounter with God. After I had dried off and we headed home I sat silently, eyes closed, at the end of my bed. I was listening for the voice of God. When I didn’t hear it, I started to wonder if my thoughts, or at least particular ones, were God’s voice. But then again my thoughts could be the voice of the devil, because, even if they where removed from Satan, I was a sinful human with a mind that could betray at any moment. This left me wondering, if my thoughts are in motion and I wanted them to be pure, but they can be either good or bad, how do I control them to always be good? To do so I have to depend on the Bible and my pastor to distinguish what's right and wrong. But then, I'm made in God's image so part of my nature must be good as well. Right? Wrong? I could look out for "signs" but how could I tell the difference between coincidence and a sign from God? Perhaps my consciousness was God communicating with me. The problem is that would take omnipotence, which only God possesses -- and I’m surely not God.

I decided it would be best to ignore my critical mind and put my faith in the teachings of Jesus, because if the four gospels are not accurate and true, then knowing what God deems good would be impossible. I had been Christian my whole life, but at this moment I felt I was on a path towards a deeper transcendence; a calling as many Christians claim. I had many questions. The next day I went to school (Calvary Christian School) and started asking every teacher, pastor, and authority figure about their experiences with God. I asked them an abundance of questions about life, death, resurrection, atonement, compassion, acceptance, and most importantly -- about how they communicate with God. Some honest people, such as the third grade teacher’s aid, admitted that God doesn’t speak to her directly but through signs. I wondered how she knew it was God speaking to her because I already questioned my own judgment on the ability to interpret “signs.”

So I asked to talk to the pastor. When I got into his office I sat down and asked him to pray with me. I then asked him if he’s ever spoken to God. He said he does on a regular basis “How?” I inquired. He told me that sometimes it’s through events, moments that go against the odds, but most the time it’s through prayer where he listens and God directly speaks to him. I then asked him about dinosaurs because, like to most children, they’re fascinating. Why would God kill all of them? Why did God create them before us? He told me that they weren’t created first. I started to rebuke, “But I read in my Zoobooks magazine that they died hundreds of thousands of yea…”

“Those magazines lie,” He informed me. “If you love God you should read the Bible and stay away from that other nonsense.”

I spent another couple years trying to listen for God’s voice. I looked out for signs figuring that if something seems really obvious, then it may be God showing me the way. When I came to terms that God wasn’t going to speak directly to me I started to wonder if, perhaps, those who speak for God are listening to the wrong voice, and if so, what they say may not be the truth. I concluded that I should rely on the Bible as the voice of Gods and anything that challenges it must surely be evil. However, no matter what, I couldn’t stop reading my Zoobooks.

I loved everyone at school and my church. I was told that love was Christ working through me, so I decided that I wanted to be around the unbelievers who, if showed Christ’s love, I could help save. I was warned that nonbelievers didn’t care for others in the same way as Christians, and were not capable of true compassion since they were distant from God. I didn’t care; I wanted to see for myself.

At CCS I received a decent education despite being infused with Christian propaganda (Math problem: You have $30 and you must tithe %10 percent to the church. How much do you tithe?) so when testing into public school I scored a couple grades higher than my age group. Being that I already started school a year earlier than I would have had I initially gone to public school, and because I was small for my age, they left me in the third grade.

Already knowing the curriculum in the class, the teacher allowed me to go to the library and grab whatever books I wanted. I read them while she taught the class how to multiply and divide. I read a book of my choosing nearly everyday. As I progressed through public school I made friends just as I had at the Christian school. Yes, I came across bullies. People, who do to maladaptive responses to tragedies in their lives would have been kicked out of my old school. But that’s just it -- they would have been kicked out! How is that compassionate or showing God’s forgiveness? Another year or so passed and by the time I was about ten or eleven, through a process of education and analysis, along with observance and experience, I realized that what my pastor had told me years ago was completely backwards. I realized what utter nonsense religion was. I continued to go to church anyway, but why I went was for reasons other than a belief in God. (Sometime later, if readers would like, I’ll explain my path from Christian schoolboy, high school relativist, and then anti-theist. As of now I’ve gone on so long that I’ve probably lost most readers interest just in this post)

In reality what overcame me when I took communion and was baptized wasn’t what everyone was trying to fasten to my consciousness. I thought it was at the time, but in the attempt to truly experience God’s love I realized that no matter how much I wanted it to be true; my heart was not being filled with the love of a character of fiction: Jesus. (Now, with the knowledge and perspective I’ve gained I’m very pleased that such a horrific dictatorship isn’t true.) Much of the feeling people interpret as God’s love consists of being accepted by a group. No, actually thee group, and most importantly, by those in the church who speak for and represent God. They’re the ones closest to Christ and who claim to be guiding followers closer to him. It’s even more solidifying if either/or your family is involved in the process or you have regrets you want to shed. That's why being "born again" is so effective as a reformation.

The cohesiveness of pertaining rituals solidifies groupthink, and although some people use ritualistic methods to install justice, the faiths that utilize such rituals are constructed around many flawed morals. I imagine that’s why, from what I’ve seen, the larger a church is the more often they call people up to the front to confess and be prayed for. I wouldn’t be surprised if this routine of "laying on hands" increases church loyalty as well as allows for God's hands to reach into more pockets.

From there many thoughts and feelings are anthropomorphisized into being Jesus. We synthesize our happiness, and through the ability of our frontal lobes to work as "simulator machines," we have authentic emotional responses. (Daniel Gilbert Stumbling on Happiness)

As a seven year old I wanted to be a pastor, spread God’s word, and save the world with God's love. Communion was a reformation of this within my mind. Now I know that that experience, which is a trigger and reinforcer of religious belief, is a subjective manifestation of a collective delusion. If that delusion remained in settings no bigger than a family BBQ or pizza party, it wouldn’t be a threat to the world; unfortunately, that’s not the case.

After the service ended I chatted with people at town church for a half hour or so. I enjoyed the company of everyone. Nate handed me the bottle of Merlot which starred as the blood of Christ that evening and told me to take it because he’s more of a beer drinker. I thanked him and made my way home. Although Nate and I will probably never agree on Christianity, I really appreciate his company. I thought about the new people I met at Town Church the rest of the night as my fiancé and I shared the rest of the bottle Merlot with friends.

Christian Nightmares

2010-10-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Simply a blog true to its name.

Oh my Goodness!

2010-10-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

I have examined all the known superstitions of the word, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth.

- Thomas Jefferson

Breakfast for a Buck

Arcata First Baptist church holds a 9am Sunday gathering for college students and twenty-somethings called “Breakfast for a Buck.” The intention of this Sunday ritual is to provide a place where young adults can meet for fellowship, eat a warm affordable meal, and have an informal Bible study. Located across the street from the Behavioral Science's Building at Humboldt State University, the church and its attached K-8 school rises in tiers up the hillside amongst scattered redwood trees.

As the sun marbled through the morning fog I briskly clambered up the stairs inhaling the nostalgic scent of the surrounding sequoias. I made my way across the corridor on the top floor of the tallest building and rounded the corner entering a minor banquet hall. The damp scent of redwoods was replaced with the aroma of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. About a dozen people, ranging from several weeks old to over fifty -- with the average age being in the mid-twenties -- looked up slightly confused by the presence of my unfamiliar face and shaggy hairdo. After promptly wiping sleep from their collective eye they greeted me and started asking questions.

“Have you been to AFB before? Are you a student at HSU?”

I answered no to both, desperately panning the room for coffee. There was none to be found. No matter, I grabbed a plate, the necessary utensils and a few morsels of the generous breakfast. Sitting with the friendly lot of AFB I felt welcome in spite of one pair of uneasy eyes.
After a few minutes of forks clanking and scraping on plates conversation arose regarding college pastor Robin Pierce’s toddler son and the funny things kids say. As the meal was seventy-five percent into the digestive process, a timid girl, Sarah, began to lead a discussion.

Sarah read from 1 Corinthians 2:1-16.

“God knows what we go through as Christians,” she replied, “how we’re beaten down and looked upon -- because we’re different. Especially in college because people are, like, ‘you believe that? Why do you believe that?’”

Considering that 86% of Americans are Christians, to state that Christians are different and beaten down is reminiscent of Rush Limbaugh complaining about being oppressed by the poor black minority. What’s more remarkable, is that when in a higher educational institution, which is purposed to challenge ignorance, one feels threatened by being asked to justify their beliefs. If one were to walk into a classroom and proclaim their faith that Elvis lives, surly, and rightfully, they will be met with skepticism. If you’re a believer reading this you are probably now thinking to yourself, comparing Elvis to Jesus is not fair. In a way, I agree. No one has been killed in the name of Elvis. Christianity on the other hand has a legacy of violence greater than any other institution the world has yet produced.

Pastor Peirce spoke up saying that once God enters our life everything changes for the good. “The fruit of your tree is changed and what you produce should be good,” he proclaimed.

When asked if nonbelievers are then not as good or moral as believers, he felt that to state so isn’t exactly correct, although he agreed with Sarah that it’s the reason for doing good that changes. According to him, nonbelievers, since not doing good deeds for God, mostly act altruistically and morally for self-gratification. He followed with a stipulation that nonbelievers usually think Christians are judging them as sinners, but he wanted to clarify -- all humans are sinners, so it’s not really a judgment merely for people who don't follow Christ.

“You could pull up examples of nonbelievers that have done great things,” he stated, “and there are those who call themselves Christians that have done awful things.”

As always, if a nonbeliever has performed good deeds he’s damned because it wasn’t done in Christ’s name, and if a Christian perpetrates evil, he isn’t really a Christian but using Christ's name as cover. This lack of responsibility and accountability seems to be a defense mechanism central to Christian theology and has so far permeated much of the discourse as I’ve gone from church to church.

This leads us to a proposal by Christopher Hitchens:

“Name one moral or ethical action or behavior committed or carried out by a believer that could not have been committed or carried out by a nonbeliever. Now, name one immoral or unethical action or behavior that has been committed or carried out in the name of God.”

Hitchens proposed this at every debate during his God is not Great book tour. No one has been able to name one true answer to the first proposition, and yet floods of answers come to mind within seconds of hearing or reading the latter.

What it comes down to is that nothing is more selfish than doing “good” in the name of God. Believers will deny this, but to justly deny it would mean to also deny the divinely installed systems of reward and punishment – Heaven and Hell. Acting morally then becomes a conscious effort, one done from either fear of hell, desire to enter heaven, or for the acceptance of others who share this belief. Such a belief system undermines our neurobiology, discredits empathy, and abandons compassion for compassion's sake.

Doing “good” via aprioristic suggestion (in this case, the Bible) also lends to lazy thinking by removing analysis and inquiry, which is often more damaging than helpful. For example, Mother Teresa, who is praised as being one of the most charitable humans of our lifetime, worked in Bengal and Calcutta and led one of the largest anti-birth control and family planning campaigns the world has seen. Any thinking person who looks at Bengal or Calcutta doubtfully comes to the conclusion that more people born into poverty is what the region needs. The number one cure for poverty is the empowerment and education of women -- this has been proven time and time again. Until the religious realize this and follow with pertaining acts of social justice, they don’t deserve praise for splashing a drop of water onto a fire they’re fueling.

The breakfast ended and we all cleaned up. Robin and I had a friendly discussion about theology that shifted to a discussion about organized sports, something I care very little about, perhaps due to my stature. Genetics be damned!

Arcata First Baptist's Service 9/26/10

Fifteen minutes after breakfast, as we convened in the main worship hall, several people, including pastor Denis McGuire and his wife Linda, came up to greet me.

“Is this your first time at AFB? Are you a student at HSU?”

I politely replied, "I haven't been here before, but so far I've met some friendly people." They glanced at each other and smiled. "As for school, I will always be student, I'm always studying, but I'm not currently attending HSU." After our pleasant interaction I thanked them for their gracious welcoming. When they moved on to say hello to a som parishioners a few pews down, I found myself falling into a lively conversation with the older ladies seated behind me.
The band started to play. An elderly woman slowly walked up and grabbed two large flags from the side of the stage. Compulsory swinging arcs as the music meandered she transcended into a flower power state.

After a long while of melodically and inspirationally undersupplied music (granted worship leader Brian Pilger has an excellent electric guitar tone. I recognized him from being in Anthony Skinner’s band at Lifehouse. I can tell that he can play beyond what church music calls for, it’s unfortunate that Christianity has a way of sucking the soul out of rock & roll.) A woman, clad in her anti-abortion shirt, led the group of college kids I had met earlier, along with a little girl, up to stage for a demo of her freshly made protest signs.

I was reminded of how many churches within mainstream Christianity often try to apply theories of moral utility (the greatest good for the greatest number) to the world while misunderstanding what the real problem is, because, not only are they too self centric, they have limited knowledge of science and/or the social implications of what they're standing for. The Bible, written before the comprehension of bacteria, is not the place one should go to determine issues regarding health. I don’t know for sure AFB’s stance on abortion in consideration of rape or incest, however, from gathering the fact that they would grotesquely use a child as part of their message, I have a hunch it’s not a stance that's in favor of protecting the woman involved.

Once the parade returned to their seats pastor McGuire took the stage to deliver his fourth sermon in a series on God’s goodness. I was thrilled that his sermon would flow well with the discussion from breakfast. McGuire is a talented speaker able to utilize repetition and call and response to engage the crowd.

“Goodness is love’s character,” he stated. “God's desire is to fill the entire earth with his goodness. The way he does that is to fill us with his goodness, which reflects his nature and character. God is love. Therefore, God is good.”

This struck me to be a bit new age except for the part of the pastor claiming to know God’s desire.

McGuire then followed, “as a matter of fact, I think I could argue effectively that the goodness of God may very well be the supreme doctrine in all theology, because if God is not good -- all the time -- nothing else about him matters. Does it? So the goodness of God is the character trait that applies to every other attribute of God. God's wrath is Good. God's holiness is good. God's righteousness is good. God is good in his entirety. There is nothing about God that is not good. God gives to his children that which is only good. He withholds no good thing from us. There is nothing God intends or accomplishes that is not good.”

Well, pardon me, but actions done in the name of God cannot be separated from the atrocities done in his name. Centuries after the Bible was canonized, from the early raids on the Jews, the oppression and attempted genocides against nonbelievers, the Crusades, French religious wars, the Spanish Inquisition, the Witch Trials, the terrorism and torture of millions that continues to this day – from the dawn of Constantine through the building of America -- “God’s goodness” has been one of the most monstrous forces in the world. (If anyone wants, I will post a blog detailing the history of the destruction done in the name of Christianity.) To dismiss this as not part of Christianity, or that it was God’s wrath and thus good, is either supreme ignorance or surely evil. Christianity owes the world an apology for the “goodness” of its God.

This video is a little dramatic but it details some of God’s "goodness" from the Bible:

Furthermore, if an omnipotent leader capable of miracles controls the world then destruction by definition must be his doing as well, and as pastor McGuire stated – God’s wrath is “good.” Is it really though? Only from naïve privilege can one claim that such a celestial dictator accomplishes only good. I dare anyone to utter such nonsense to the Rwandan families, still refugees, 15 years after 800,000 of their brothers and sisters were brutally murdered as the Catholic Church turned a blind eye to the initiated genocide. State that it’s God’s love flowing along the streets of Yemen where refugees from Ethiopia and Somalia, more often than not victims of female genital mutilation, have ended up to live the rest of their short lives as HIV positive sex workers. Or how about in the impoverished neighborhoods of Philadelphia and Detroit, or really any major city in our so called developed nation, where illiterate children must sell drugs for survival often still receiving physical and emotional abuse by those who God requires them to compulsorily love. I wouldn’t be surprised if such foolishness was whispered into the ears of infants as Spanish conquistadors smashed their heads on rocks because they were conceived by way other than the missionary position. To call this love, is madness. So I would have to agree with the good pastor, if God is not good all the time, nothing else about him matters.

Some argue that these actions are the actions of men. Yes, these actions are the actions of men, and as McGuire's sermon continued he claimed that Christians are God’s hands, his body, and his heart.

Psalms 27:13 was invoked, “that is exactly my thoughts and my prayers for HSU,” McGuire proclaimed. “I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe with my whole heart that one day this university going to see and here and experience the goodness of god in the land of the living.” McGuire states this with sincerity and warmth. It’s as if he means well, but is completely unaware of how ludicrous and lost his message is to people with a basic grasp of history, or those who are not of a white middle to upper class world that wishes to be living in the fifties again. Perhaps that’s why his audience, though containing a spectrum of ages still consists more of people over 45 and is not, and will never, become the official doctrine of HSU.

McGuire then brought faithfulness into the picture. Faithfulness he describes as loves dependability, faithfulness is an attribute of God. “Let it be seen that not one generation has passed who has not seen the faithfulness of God.”

McGuire brought forth five areas of faithfulness that must be adhered.

Faithfulness to the:

1. Message of the church

2. Ministry of the church

3. Members of the church

4. Mission of the church

5. And to model Christ likeness in the church and the world

As he wrapped up his sermon he made sure to remind us that there will be supreme blessings for the faithful but a supreme judgment on the unfaithful.

“A faithful man will abound with blessings as will a faithful church. His mercy show follow us for all the days of our lives.”

Afterward many friendly folks stopped and chatted with me. If one ignores the stupidity of the sermon and simplifies it to mean "just be kind," then many of these folks shared that with me. If that is all the pastor really said then I would have found nothing wrong with the sermon. Unfortunately that was not the case.

Stepping into the aisle an elderly couple who felt as though I needed Jesus in my life, asked if they could pray for me. I told them that if it makes them feel good, they could do so. They grabbed my shoulders and for a moment mumbled to themselves. I suppose it was a nice gesture no matter how ineffective.

Passing through the doors of the chapel I got a couple patronizing “Jesus Loves you” from folks who I told about this blog before the sermon had begun. Overall it wasn’t as dark or intentionally fear provoking of a message as the one at Calvary Chapel Arcata, though it was unprecedentedly naïve.

Here's a link to the sermon on 9/26/10: growing together in God's love pt4

So where do morals and goodness come from? What can science say about the issue of morality and human values? Stay tuned for a blog post on this fascinating subject.

Lifehouse

2010-09-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

Lifehouse (perhaps a moniker in honor of the grating band of the same name, though I’m not sure) is located behind CVS in Arcata. From what I gathered from parishioners the church building used to have low ceilings, crusty walls, and altogether poor structure. Now, through several years of volunteer work, the place has been spiffed up and may one day be used as a music venue for secular and religious musicians alike.

The quasi-service began with a young bleach blond woman in a effervescent purple dress pacing the front of the stage rapidly spitting about how powerful her God is. She even got a few Amen’s when she announced that she had recently gotten a tattoo of a scripture from the book of Matthew. She then passed on the mic and Skinner was introduced.

As the band started to rock, the audience sprung to their feet. Hands were thrown in the air as if Ice Cube had commanded. Homies in the front row were out jumping Kris Kross. In the loft above the band six young women were gyrating and writhing like cage dancers -- cage dancers for Christ. I started to wonder, was there a communion consisting of Red Bull and ecstasy taken before I got here?

The band was… actually pretty good. For not playing together for quite some time they listened and responded to each other exceptionally well. Their most impressive feat was the ability to vary dynamics collectively. They sounded a bit like a pianoless Spoon with a Department of Eagles tinge.

Skinner’s vocals were engaging and distinct. He was able to build decent melodies and falsetto while still retaining a scratchy edge that added a morsel of soul.

The weakest part of the songs: the lyrics. They were reminiscent of the South Park episode in which Cartman starts a Christian rock band by taking classic songs and replacing the words “girl” or “lover” with Jesus. This element was heightened by the tacky use of “baby” in several of the songs. There was also a song about “Tall Angels” that sounded as if it was taken straight out of a Hallmark card one would only reluctantly purchase to appease their grandmother.

Theologically the most obtuse song was one titled “Super Love” in which Skinner got the audience to suggest abstract things to crucify such as doubt, poverty, and difference. The lyrics went as follows:

Anthony Skinner

I crucify you, I crucify you

The thing we used to do

I crucify you

Let me tell you why…

(fill in the blank)

________ you don’t hold me no more

________ go on… hit the door

________ go on and leave

________ you’re gonna lay down for me

The idea of torturing anything to death, even metaphorically, is revolting. I don’t think it’s something Jesus would recommend. Besides, if these problems go away and come back again, could that mean they have, perhaps, resurrected? If so, when are people going to start worshiping these abstracts?

Another line from a negligent mantra that stuck with me was:

“If I’m right or wrong

I’ll keep singing this song

I wanna stay in this love

Whatever it takes”

This inability to critically think and admit one’s errors due to the masturbatory satisfaction of delusion is not something to proclaim in front of any thinking person and expect to be respected. Unyielding, uncompromising, absolute blind devotion is the unjust desire of any dictator. I hope Skinner’s lyrical statement is an oversight of thoughtless penmanship and not the reality of his message.

On a positive note:
(yes, I will have positive things to say about my Vicarious Redemption experiences) There was a family present, from what I gathered consisting of a mother, father, and a wheelchair bound boy with special needs. As the music played the family lovingly held their son. Dancing and swaying to the beat they exuded pure joy. They embraced each other with purity, which even though influenced by a synthetic spirituality -- was beautiful. Music has a power that transcends religious denominations and affiliation. For those who will say it was a religious moment, I can say that sometimes we synthesize happiness; removed from systems of power, oppression, and falsehoods those synthetic experiences are of no less quality than what society deems as real.

As the band ended the room turned into a community gathering in which I was recognized and warmly greeted. It seems I may have to return to Lifehouse to see what their actual teachings are. It was announced that they want to express grace, which they defined as, “The ability to love someone for their differences.” I hope that idea catches on.

Vicarious Redemption: an atheist goes to church for you

2010-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Within a few miles of your home hundreds of religious gatherings happen weekly. They vary from extremely dogmatic, to inspirational, radical, and even as passive as sitting on a floor for hours in meditation. What are the similarities and uncompromising differences between these denominations and faiths?

I'm an atheist. In fact, I often identify as an antitheist. That is, I think religion is more often than not harmful to society. From that perspective I've decided to visit as many churches, temples, and gatherings as I can. Vicarious Redemption is a column were I write about my interactions with the religious community.

I don't know how long I will continue, nor how frequent my posts will be, but I hope this blog will inspire much needed conversation about religion in our community and world.

Your humble atheist,

Deric Mendes

If you are a church member or leader and you would like me to come to your church, or you simply want to have a discussion, feel free to contact me. If you would like to hold a public debate/discussion I would be honored to do so.

Shepherd's Pie

2010-09-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

Photo from Cardelli's Myspace page

Ever seen a house engulfed in flames? The first thing most bystanders stumbling upon such a tragedy instinctively mutter is, “I hope everyone got out ok.” Whether or not there are casualties, as specks of ash float upwards through the cardinal and tangerine tented vapor, one can’t help but be locked in the gaze of such astonishing devastation. After the fire is tamed and the new morning sun is pouring over the debris, the town can often be heard discussing reconstruction. “What’s the new building going to look like? Is it even going to get rebuilt? How did the residents deal with the catastrophe?” It’s from here that I attended church at Calvary Chapel Arcata following the arrest of alleged child rapist and pastor, Dino Cardelli.

Calvary Chapel Arcata holds services in a quaint pale blue building across the street from Arcata High School. The service in which I was present started like most do with a typical acoustic guitar led sing along. Attendance was high. Tension filled the musty air and quivered as it was squeezed past the vocal cords of the crowd. Several trepid brows were raised by my presence. I understood. Considering that I was a stranger in this chapel, and many of these people just had their trust breached by Cardelli, it was to be expected.

I had met with Cardelli’s son-in-law and CCA’s assistant pastor, Daryl Messina, a couple weeks prior. He disclosed that some of the less tactful online critics of Dan Davis and I regarding “Beer me, Jesus” were members of his congregation. One such commenter had gone as far to suggest that, as an atheist, I should throw myself off the roof of Humboldt State to see if I believe in gravity -- then I’ll know how obvious God is. With that in mind, as a meet and greet was initiated by a man wearing a tricorne hat (he announced that it’s talk as a pirate day), I knew that for those few who shook my hand it was merely a formality.

As the singing ensued I looked over the morning’s syllabus. The first thing to catch my attention was an insert titled, “Let’s take America Back!” The insert was adorned with a picture of a child praying and a phone number one could call for directions to a gathering. I was later informed the meeting was being conducted due to America’s backsliding morality. This left me wondering if the nation was more moral when it was enacting genocide on the natives or when one third of the population was kept in shackles and being publicly tortured to death by Christians -- while picnickers watched.

The next page I turned to was titled, “Impact the World for Christ” (cleverly printed in impact font) showing a picture of “misled” Muslims in prayer. The purpose of this propaganda was to inform churchgoers they could financially support spreading the Gospel to Muslims without having a “face-to-face confrontation.” (for more information: gladnewsministry) By the time Calvary Chapel Eureka’s pastor Glen Mustian approached the stage to give his sermon, I was no longer in need of the morning cup of coffee I didn’t have time to drink.

A feeling of deep sadness for these people stuck between delusion and betrayal over came me. How was Mustian going to rebuild solidarity? Is he capable of delivering a speech filled with enough hope to help ease these people to the next transition of CCA? CCA has spent the last two and a half years solely studying Psalms. Is antiquated poetry going to help at this moment?

Mustian started his sermon by telling the audience that he need not mention why they are in a downtrodden position. He then read from Nehemiah utilizing the destruction of the wall of Jerusalem as a metaphor for the state of CCA and the demise of Cardelli.

He announced, “The enemy Satan took the wall down. He wants to kill you. He will not be satisfied until the work here ceases.”

He then went further and said that it is the end times and “the enemy” is circling the wall. (the enemy was used vaguely in reference to anyone who challenged the church or that church goers don’t agree with) The local media is part of the enemy. Now that the wall is down, earthly people, who are doing Satan’s bidding, will come in and mix with the crowd. We should be cautious of them. This statement, though not denoted in the sermon, is clear for those familiar with Nehemiah. It was Mustian’s way of twisting the interbreeding of Jews with foreigners, and thus loosing their religion, to the situation at CCA. Then, as a chimp throws feces from his cage, Jim Jones crazy was flung at the spectators:

“This is the end times. The enemy surrounds us! We need to bring our alert level to five! Spiritual warfare is real; the enemy is real; destruction is real, but God is real, real!”

As presumably the only atheist in the room, one who had been threatened and ridiculed by members of this congregation, I could understand the feeling of being surrounded by people who were less than approving of myself. I, however, knew all too well that that’s not where these people are.

I had assumed that Mustian would build hope by identifying Cardelli’s actions as human and not of God. Which, he did (metaphorically). Although Mustian didn't directly mention Cardelli by name, he attributed the current atrocities at CCA to Satan, who he then attributed everyone else to who sees those alleged atrocities as monstrous. By doing so he absolved Cardelli from personal responsibility and accountability. The message this sends is that for Calvary Chapel, if you accept Jesus you’re forgiven for your sins, and if you sin – it’s surely Satan’s doing.

In regards to hope, though some people in attendance will surely claim that it was there, what seemed to prevail was fear. Mustain’s speech was fascist and filled with hate. He built moral by stating over and over again that CCA is engaged in warfare with an enemy that has them surrounded. Considering his long carrier in the military I understand how he was able to find this to be a unifying message. However, Mustian seems unsure of where to draw the line between metaphor and reality.

So where does it go from here? If Mustian is right, it's the end times and the church is under siege then everyone at CCA who is a "true" Christian must stay together. Perhaps die together. Those standing in the rubble, meagerly waiting to find God at Calvary Chapel Arcata, are indeed shepherd-less sheep.

Atheism Video Collection: vol. 1

2010-09-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

Brief History of Disbelief part 1.0 & 1.2 (if you click through to youtube you can see the whole, not so brief, series. It gets much better by the second hour)

Bertrand Russell on God Richard Dawkins makes his case

Christopher Hitchens: The failures of Christianity (Illustrated)

Sam Harris: Misconceptions about atheism Sam Harris: Science vs Religion

Stephen Fry: Catholicism A force of Good in the World? (He starts at about 2:40)

Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson Hitchens: Ten Commandments

I don't care for the snarky tone in these two videos, but they do layout the main arguments against common assumptions made by many creationists.

Beer Me, Jesus: Response

2010-09-01T00:54:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Due to insufficient time I decided to respond through an unscripted video post. It's raw, a little cheesy, but truthful. If anyone wants me to do more professional posts that are on my views, I will. Gladly. let me know.

The List:

I'm thankful for all of the people who have shared their time with me, their love and compassion, their knowledge and continuous support. I'm thankful for those who challenge me, who help me fine tune my arguments, those who allow me to understand that cheesy isn't wrong as long as it's sincere.
I'm thankful for music. It's led me around the country, kept me company when I was alone, and allowed me to access emotions that my have been to subtle to be recognized. I'm thankful for my friends and family who are part of my daily experience. I'm thankful for my lover and partner who is beside me morning and night, whether I'm plagued with work or seeking relaxation. I'm thankful for all of the job experiences I've had from waiter to manager, bookseller to reviewer, paper boy to journalist. I'm thankful for what I don't know; only when one admits what isn't known can one pursue truth. I'm thankful for all who read this whether you're judging me or not. I'm thankful that I live in the least violent time in the history of humanity. I'm thankful for the authors and books that inspire me. I'm thankful for anyone who cares enough to know what I'm thankful for. I'm thankful that I'm free of defining myself and my life based on an aprioristic text. I'm thankful that I could go on like this for hours.

NOTE: Who am I thanking? I'm thanking people both alive and dead. I'm using the term "thankful," because of the way the question asked of me was framed. What I mean by it is appreciation or admiration. Specifically for my fellow man. For the religious, they attribute thankfulness or gratitude to be given to God for all things on earth. I don't. That doesn't mean, however, that I can't feel a since of awe when looking at the world.

Beer Me, Jesus

2010-08-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Beer Me, Jesus

Christopher Hitchens: Hitch-22 A Memoir

2010-07-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hitch-22 review

First Synthetic Cell Produced

2010-05-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

       Today, in the publication Science, J. Craig Venter and his colleagues at the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland and California announced that they have recreated a bacterium's "genetic software" and successfully transplanted it into a host cell. Once placed within the preexisting cell the microbe behaved in accordance to the dictations of the synthetic DNA. Though the cell itself was not synthetic, the ability to control it through human commanded synthetic properties could revolutionize life as we know it. Venter hopes to create bacterium for medical use, oil removal (a hot topic of late), and ethanol production. According to the book, The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil, M.I.T. professor and grandfather of such marvels as the scanner, computer voice recognition, and a line of the best synthesizers in the world this is the first baby step towards the next evolution in computer tech.
      As with most advancements in science an ethical discussion is surely going to commence - and it should. Chromosome creation has the potential to do much good for the world, though the possible risks along with corporate control could lead to unsurmountable problems. One concern is that even with the ability to create such entities, the knowledge of if we can control them once they're released into the "wild" is surely lacking.
         Dr Helen Wallace from Genewatch UK, an organization that monitors developments in genetic technologies, told BBC News that synthetic bacteria could be dangerous. She displayed particular concern in regards to the use of artificial bacterium for the means of fighting pollutions commenting,
"By releasing new organisms into areas of pollution, [with the aim of cleaning it up], you're actually releasing a new kind of pollution."

Ethics professor Julian Savulescu, of Oxford University, concurred, "The risks are unparalleled, we need safety evaluation for this kind of radical research and protections from military or terrorist misuse."
We should also be aware of who is funding these projects. For this particular project Exxon happens to be one of JCVI's largest contributers. If one has followed Venter's career thus far it may be noted that he's first and foremost seeking monetary gain while trying to minimize regulations that could hinder this process. For me this is the problem that plagues much of the science community and causes the most trepidation. It's not a concern of whether we should or should not be pursuing new advancements, but the fact that the humanitarian aspects are often overshadowed or ignored due to capitalist intent. With that in mind, I mustn't advert my gaze from the coming singularity.

Robot Reformation

2010-05-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 16^thI-Fairy, a robot adorned with a flower headdress, plastic pigtails and the voice of a prepubescent girl officiated a wedding on a sun stricken Tokyo rooftop. Being that the bride and groom met within the realm of Japan’s thriving robotic industry, the inclusion of I-Fairy was a natural sign of respect for the elements that brought them together. This may be shocking to –as well as highly disapproved of- by many in the west, but in Japan, where the animistic Shinto religion came into fruition, inanimate objects are often contended to have an intrinsic spiritual quality. Religious practitioners, especially Catholics, should learn a particular lesson from this: robots make perfect clergy.

For the first time in history children will want to touch the clergy more than the clergy wants to touch them. If a sin is perpetrated by robot clergy it will only be because a flawed creator created it to do so. The robot will not misquote scripture or give into a single self-indulgent desire. It will not question its creation for it will have a relationship with its creator, or at least its maintenance provider. Most importantly, the robot will symbolize what is expected from its congregation, a programmed refection of someone else’s ideal of perfection. What more could any good catholic want?

Jonsi - Go

2010-05-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Jonsi Go Concert and Album Review

I am Ozzy Review

2010-05-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

I am Ozzy Reviewed in the Northcoast Journal

Logicomix Review

2010-02-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

Here is my review of the graphic novel Logicomix:

Northcoast Journal Logicomix Review

15 Events, Transitions, and Oddities from 2000-2009

2009-12-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Future is never as we predict. No flying cars, hoverboards, or personal robot assistants were created at the dawn of the 21st century. In place of those most anticipated objects of scifi we got the Prius, Nintendo Wii, and the Roomba. Not really even a fair trade. But hey, going to the crossroads to trade freedom for consumerism doesn't have to be all bad, we at least taught the communists how to make money off of the free market and happened to use technology to change many other aspects of modern life.

Besides technological marvels, many political, militant, and natural disasters shaped the decade. To name a few: Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami off the coast of Sumatra, the devastating earthquake in Kashmir, the controversial US presidential election of 2000, George W. Bush and his cronies taking office, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, conflict and massive death toll in Darfur, The London subway bombing, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the Patriot Act, the pending economic crisis, collapse of the auto industry, physical signs of global warming, and detention facilities such as Guantanamo bay and Abu Ghraib. Some positive events also occurred: the election of Barack Obama -the first African-American US president, The expansion of the internet and other communication mediums, and a great depression was narrowly avoided (we hope).
I'm sure if you do a google search you will find thousands of blogs or news articles rattling the events above off in a cry for understanding and ratings. This post, though reflective and often in accordance with those very significant events, is not about them. Instead, I've gathered incidents, event transitions, and marvels that could have only happened at this moment in history. Perhaps they will prove to more accurately reflect the past and/or have implications for the future. If not, may you at least be entertained.

So, in no particular order of importance:

15 - Y2K Bug (1999-2000)

If you ask most Americans what emotion is the most prevalent in our current society, most would probably say fear. They would be correct in that fear has run amuck, and through technological means it has been advertised at a higher rate, but many most likely misjudge where that fear comes from. Currently many people attribute our current societal fear to the attacks of 9/11, which not only shows that we've forgotten the cold war and the shifting definition of freedom to consumerism, but that we've forgotten the way everyone looked at the clock as the ball dropped at midnight on December 31, 1999. During the late nineties I lived in post grunge rock Seattle. I had quite an appetite for clothes shopping at local vintage stores and boutiques. Though not nearly as popular as they became in the early 2000's, many vintage shops had old band shirts for $5, leather jackets for $20, and of course shirts made locally that sold for a fraction more. One day I picked up a locally made grey button-up, and upon trying it on in the fitting room of Red Light, noticed a label proclaiming "This shirt is 100% Y2K compatible." I'm always a sucker for dad jokes. So since the shirt fit, I wore it. At the time Seattle was considered the computer tech capital of the world. The conversations I happened upon while eavesdropping -one of my favorite pastimes- were a buzz with programmers, dot-comers, and tech enthusiasts discussing the inevitable apocalyptic doom that was going to strike western civilization because older programmers tried to save space by writing the date with two digits instead of four. The shortcuts taken by many programmers from the 60's to the late 90's did leave room for financial institutions and the corporate world to fear collapse, however, those institutions also had the funds to fix the problem, and in no way were they going to let it topple their empires. Fear of societal collapse seems to echo today from an unknown origin. This allows for the source of American fear to keep being projected onto what ever is trendy to scapegoat on at the time. It seems the fear is ours to have independent from causation. As I sold most of my grunge rock cds back to used record stores I remembered that psychologically the first thing we as humans fear is loud noise...

14 - The Human Genome Sequenced (2003)

In 1990 the Human Genome Project was founded with the intent to determine the sequence of the chemical based pairs making up human DNA and to map the 20,000 to 25,000 genes contained with in. Due to the $3 Billion dollars worth of funding and international cooperation of many molecular, developmental, and cellular biologists the genome was sequenced in April of 2003, two years earlier than the projected completion of the project. Now if you come up with the cash you can find out if you have a genetic predisposition for several disorders and/or diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Cystic Fibrosis. That is if you really want to know...

13 - Mobile Phones in the Third World and Developing Nations (2005)

Poverty struck and isolated communities have always fell victim to the harsh realities of their environments and the oppressions of their surrounding, often corrupt, governments. Though it will take much more than cell phones to end such atrocities, the cell phone has opened doors that many in rural Africa and Southeast Asia never knew were there to be opened. For example, by selling mobile phones that we would considered to be outdated, many Africans have been able to set up e-businesses, contact clients, get access to education, and order resources such as medical supplies, clothing, and other goods necessary for business. In many working class households, especially around Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Kenya, the head of the family has had to cross borders in order to get work. The work is often laborious and brutish, and when trying to return home with their paychecks, governments or gangs often steal their money or demand payment to cross back into their country of origin. Now these individuals can transfer funds digitally saving them from robbery and a minimal portion of the harassment they receive. One thing is for sure, those Nokia faceplate kiosks that cluttered shopping malls throughout the late 90's have found another home.

12 - India Holds the Largest Democratic Election in the History of the World (2009)

The farce of American exceptionalism is amplified when watching the rest of the world rise up and take control of their own futures. Over 428 million Indians hit the polls to vote in their general election. Democracy was presented with beauty and pride and it had nothing to do with America.

11 - Jeff Han Demos his Multi-Touch Screen Computer/ The Rise of Smart Phones (2006)

When Jeff Han presented the next wave of computing during the 2006 TED conference, nerds, CEOs, artists, and scientists all became enamored by the possibilities the future will hold for them . His multi-touch screen, which was perverted by CNN during the 2008 American presidential election, demonstrated a new hands on approach that will soon replace the keyboard and mouse of the past.

Embedded systems have been around for a while and have taken many shapes throughout the past ten years. The ipod revolutionized the music business, toppled the record industry, and changed the face of the media market for ever. One year after Jeff Han's Demo, Apple released it's first generation iphone. Originally meant to contain gimmicky applications for entertainment purposes, many programmers soon realized that they could revolutionize the tech world with this new interface. Now there are apps that function with GPS, some that can tell you about any product you can snap a picture of, give you email access, let you take and upload pictures and videos instantaneously, and many other things unimaginable a few years ago.

10 - Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics (2008)

For the first time in the history of the games, China hosted the Summer Olympics. The world watched closely as the city of Beijing shut down factories, prohibited citizens from driving, and took what ever means they could to drop the carbon emissions to a level deemed appropriate by the Olympic council and the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). The ability to do so, especially within the dire time restraints, proved to be a feat that could have only been had by a communist nation. No capitalist society could get away with restricting the monetary gain of several corporations for the sake of meeting a temporary deadline. Following the revamping of Beijing Life, another demonstration of the authoritarian control China has on it's citizenry was the awe striking display of their opening ceremony.

The opening song, beautiful though it was, was controversially lip-synced by a little girl deemed more attractive than the original vocalist. China had also enlisted thousands of citizens to train for over two years to perform during the opening ceremonies. Many of the drummers, and people who hid under boxes that were animated through dance later in the show, were required to wear diapers due to the 12 hour wait they entailed before the start of the performance. Never before had the world witnessed such a dazzling show of synchronization, technology, and authoritarian driven beauty.

9 - First Full Face Transplant (2008)

No, this is not reference to that horrible John Travolta film Face Off, but a new procedure that can remedy deformities that have hindered the life's of many people across the world. For 24 years Frenchmen Pascal Coler (above) had lived as a recluse due to the taunts and social phobia that ensued because of his deformed face. Coler had suffered from neurofibromatosis, a rare form of cancer (the same disease as the elephant man) that had left his face swollen. Laurent Lantieri, the head of plastic surgery at Henri-Mondor Hospital replaced most of Coler's face with that of a donor. Granted he's no Brad Pitt, Coler feels that he can reenter public without the harshness that he had experienced in the past.

8 - Social Networking Sites Change Human Organization on the Macro and Micro Scale (2006)

AOL chat begot Friendster, who begot Myspace, who begot Facebook, who begot...

In response to George W Bush's immigration address, over 500,000 people in the Los Angeles area gathered in protest against the criminalization of people found to be 'assisting' illegal immigrants. Not only did people gather, they also led boycotts. 100,000 students, 1/4 of the junior high and high school population, didn't go to school on May 1st, a day they referred to as the "day without immigrants." Republicans had little room for their legislation and quickly rushed to BusinessWeek -of all mediums- to offer their condolences. Perhaps if the congressmen had learned how to use myspace they could have notified the students of their victory a week earlier.

Considered to be one of the biggest protests in history, and organized mostly by high school students, the power of social networking demonstrated that anyone with computer access and little funding can organize like minded individuals to unite and share a collective voice.

About a year and a half ago my girlfriend stumbled upon the myspace page of a guy who happened to have the same song as her playing on his page. So she wrote him a message. That guy was me, and now we live together... and neither of us use our myspace pages anymore. I recently read an academic study that said couples who meet online are more attracted to each other than those who first meet in person. The psychologists who did the study also discovered that many relationships now come to end when one partner changes their online status from "In a relationship" to "single." Have you checked your relationship status lately?

7 - FDA Approves Cloning Animals for Meat (2006)

Remember Dolly...

In 1996 the Roslin Institute cloned a Finn Dorsett ewe (domestic sheep). Named after America's favorite busty country western singer, Dolly became an international sensation as the first mammal ever to be cloned.

Unfortunately, Dolly contracted a respiratory infection and died a premature death in 2003.

Now cloning has become a growing method of producing livestock. So, providing identical conditions are met, you may be able to perfectly recreate that perfect seared pork belly you had last week...

6 - Dutch Comic of Muhammad (2005)/ The Death of Jerry Falwell (2007)

This is it...

All religions have their extremists. Some perpetrate atrocities against their fellow man when depicted unfavorably, others blame atrocities on those they don't agree with. Though the extremists don't represent the beliefs of the moderates, when moderates choose to remain silent they relinquish the voice of their religion making them accomplices to the destruction. When the Dutch comic of Muhammad was published (above) riots and protests took place across Europe and the Middle East. Angry Muslims set fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon, and Iran killing over 100 people.

In the West we have our extremists as well. Instead of doing the terrorism themselves, Christian leaders give their God credit for the destruction done by other religious extremists and natural disasters. Then they take to scapegoating atrocities onto homosexuals, feminists, atheists, and any other subcultures they don't align with; much like they do with their own sins onto Jesus Christ. Jerry Falwell did this very thing when he spoke on behalf of God's involvement in the attacks of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Dare I say, I wish there was a hell so I could know his bloated carcase is burning there. Here he is two days after 9/11 with other proclaimed divining rod of the religious right, Pat Robertson.

5 - We Are Big Brother (Youtube) 2006

Youtube was originally conceptualized in 2005 by Paypal employees Chad Harley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim because they wanted to share videos from a dinner party. Following their innovation the first video, Me at the Zoo, was uploaded by founder Jawed Karim on April 23, 2005. If your curious here it is:

When youtube first hit the net it only took a few months before it grew exponentially. It was a new medium that at first seemed to be perfect for uploading classic TV shows and home movies to share with the public. Even though many videos started to get pulled due to copyright infringement, youtube grew to a point that it was sold to Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Soon youtube turned into a massive mess of video blogs, self-gratifying wanking, whining, and much more than anyone ever imagined. by 2007 the bandwidth of youtube was said to be bigger than the whole internet of 2000. Also in 2007 the merging of embedded digital video recorders, mobile wireless, and youtube changed everything. The first example of this was when comedian Michael Richards, known as Cosmo Kramer on the hit show Sienfield, rattled off racial slurs while performing live at a comedy club. Someone filmed it on their cell phone, posted it to youtube.com, and before the night was over his reputation was destroyed. Here is the famous video:

Many more videos of other people acting a fool or breaking the law in various ways have appeared on the internet since then. Many more will follow. Now we need not wonder if big brother is watching, we're watching ourselves and sharing what we see with the world.

MORE TO COME!!!

The Greatest Show on Earth

2009-12-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

Here is my review of Richard Dawkins' new book, The Greatest Show on Earth.

Local Churches Spread More Than Fear

2009-12-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Local churches have removed the meet and greet portion of their Sunday ritual due to fear that the congregation might contract the N1H1 disease from one another. Unfortunately, I don't believe any of the hygienic practices mentioned in the article will protect these people from the real disease their spreading... It also must be noted that they're still passing the tithe basket. I wonder if the pastor wears gloves when he goes to the bank? If it's a catholic priest, will wearing gloves -or finger condoms if you will- prove to be more dangerous than not?

Local churches change rituals to reduce N1H1 risk

Philospoher's Drinking Song

2009-11-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

Dear Monty Python,

If not for you and your argument clinic I may have not seen the absurdity of philosophy, and with out philosophy, I may never got pissed enough to have found the following funny. How dull would that have been?

Immanuel Kant was a real piss-ant who was very rarely stable.
Heideggar, Heideggar was a boozy beggar who could think you under the table.
David Hume could out-consume Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel.
And Whittgenstein was a beery swine who was just as sloshed as Schlegel.
There's nothing Nieizsche couldn't teach 'ya 'bout the raising of the wrist.
Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed.
John Stewart Mill, of his own free will, after half a pint of shanty was particularly ill.
Plato, they say, could stick it away, half a crate of whiskey every day!
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,
And Hobbes was fond of his Dram.
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart:
"I drink, therefore I am."
Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed.

Letter to The Nation

2009-11-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

I felt compelled to comment on Tom Hayden's delusions, and The Nation posted it.

Kilcullen's Long War

Outliers

2009-06-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a Q@A with Malcolm Gladwell at the University of Pennsylvania about his current book Outliers. I really appreciate his view of privilege. It's Amazing how it can shape our lives and install delusions of accomplishment.

Lyrebird Poetry

2009-02-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

Obviously I started this blog a few months ago and then dropped out after my Christmas morning post. I do intend on posting more often than I have, and just because I haven't posted recently doesn't mean I haven't been compiling ideas, interests, time wasting material, and such in my mind and on my computer the past month. So here are two things that fascinate me:

Prepare to be amazed, this is the Lyrebird!

John Rives is a poet/linguist/historian who has taught def kids poetry, who has done his fare share of spoken word, and become known in certain circles as the poet 2.0 for twisting modern research methods into a humorous and entertaining look at our information driven society. One of his many talents is that he goes to conferences, usually ones that are presented over several days, and make a poem incorporating most of the presentations that took place into a poem that he recites at the close of the event. It amazes me that he can do this within such a short amount of time and come up with something so amazing. I wish he would have read at Obama's inauguration.

In this clip he happens to be talking about our friend the lyrebird at the TED Conference in 2006.

A Fond Farewell

2008-12-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today I went to a memorial for Woody Marshall held at his favorite watering hole, Everett's. Someone purchased a cake with,"So I took the $50,000. RIP Woody" written on top in red frosting. It was perfect. When liquored up Woody was like a child's toy with a string, that when pulled spouts a dozen or so catch phrases. The $50,000 is a reference to one of them. I wrote the following in the Arcata Eye for his friends and drinking buddies.

Woodbridge Marshall owes me 15 bucks! For those who knew him, I'm sure you would have advised me to have caught him before he crossed the street with the "$50,000."
From his college days at Harvard in the late 30's, to his final days in Arcata California, Woody witnessed the world through its most amazing and rapidly transitioning century. He sailed the world during WWII on the Liberty Ships, the last steam powered military crafts ever in use. After the war he returned to the states, got married, had three children, went back to college to get his masters, and eventually became a city and regional planner for Pasadena City and Santa Clara County.

Later in life he could be seen walking around the plaza or napping in front of Arcata Exchange with his Northtown Books bag, usually filled with a New York Times (he loved the crossword from Monday thru Thursday; the weekend puzzles were "too damn hard") and of course, left overs from his Alibi lunch. Woody had a charm that, if allowed to surface, could resonate beyond his often annoying anecdotes and abrasive demeanor created by too many early morning cocktails and over used idioms. Many afternoons he shared with me his love for humanity, books, playing the piano when he was physically capable, and the fragility that he felt from being alone after living well into his eighties.

About one month ago we had a discussion about his approaching 88th birthday. He marveled at the idea of living "one year for every key on the piano." With Barrack Obama just being voted in as the first African American President, Woody felt proud to have witnessed something he wasn't sure would happen during his life time. He relayed to me how he felt at peace knowing that my generation could possibly see a world which could hardly of been imagined when he was my age. It's inspiring. Even more so when contemplating that I'm the age Woody was when he returned home from the war.

As we remember Woody, I'm reminded of all of his catch phrases which have become immortalized throughout the local bar scene. Many of theme may not make sense to those who don't know him, many of them don't make sense to those of us who did, though I can't help when looking at life retrospectively to not mumble to myself, "If we knew what we're doing it would be different."

He will be missed.

Just a Perfect Day

2008-12-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

The years not even over, but I know it was the best day of 2008.