(image via Atheist Cartoons)
Judges 5:24-27:
Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. He asked water and she gave him milk, she brought him curds in a lordly bowl. She put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sisera a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple. He sank, he fell, he lay still at her feet; at her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell dead.
For this callous and premeditated murder, she is praised and stated as “blessed”. She goes to meet Barak the Israelite general and claims the credit for her deed. She kills your guest while he is asleep…how heroic! There is no evidence that Sisera offered Jael any insult or violence. It is really impossible to justify Jael’s act, except that it was cold, calculated murder.
How’s that for hospitality? 
If Jesus was here today, what truck would he drive? Would he drive something that would travel off road and through rough terrain? Would he drive a large semi with trailer to help spread his gospel? Would he drive an older, no-frills type of pickup?
Which truck would Jesus drive?
(image from spreeblick.com)
For those who may not know (like me) what a Venn diagram is, this is a short description from Wikipedia.
Venn diagrams are diagrams that show all hypothetically possible logical relations between a finite collection of sets (groups of things). Venn diagrams were conceived around 1880 by John Venn. They are used to teach elementary set theory, as well as illustrate simple set relationships in probability, logic, statistics, linguistics and computer science.
Virginia McInerney
Three workers have been fired because they wouldn’t adhere to religious indoctrination from a pushy Christian supervisor, Virginia McInerney whom is the director of the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Council.
They allege that McInerney, active in an evangelical megachurch northeast of Columbus and an occasional guest on “The 700 Club,” led the staff regularly in prayer, provided them with copies of “God at Work” CDs to listen to, and encouraged one to read a book she wrote titled “Single not Separate: How to Make the Church a Family.”
“It became increasingly clear that the Director was judging employees not on professional performance but on the quality of their faith, according to her beliefs,” former staff attorney Kim Finley alleges in her letter.
McInerney fired the employees Feb. 16 after tensions rose in the office. According to the letters, the three began to air their grievances toward her and she offered them a severance agreement to sign releasing her from any legal claims. All three refused to sign.
(the rest of the article found here)
* Do you have any supervisors that push their religion on you or pressure you to participate?
* Does your workplace promote their brand of religion during working hours?
According to a new study by British evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa, social, political, and religious viewpoints that are “evolutionarily novel”, which means relatively new to human history and are more likely to be held by people of higher intelligence.
Characteristics of what Kanazawa defines as being novel are “caring about an indefinite number of genetically unrelated strangers you never meet or interact with” (liberalism), and failing to “perceive agency and intention…at work behind otherwise natural phenomena” (atheism).
Here’s a piece from an article at National Geographic:
Your apelike ancestors probably aren’t top of mind when you enter the polling booth. But a new study suggests that human evolution may have a big influence on whether you’re liberal or conservative—not to mention how smart you are, whether you believe in God, or whether you’ve got a cheatin’ heart.
As a result of their iconoclastic ancestry, he suggests, people with higher levels of intelligence are more likely to adopt social values and behaviors that are relatively new to human life—liberalism, atheism, staying up late, and (for men) monogamy, for example.
It’s all linked to the evolution of intelligence, says author Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
The study used a picture-based vocabulary test to estimate the IQ of participating teenagers. Seven years later, the same people were asked about their religious and political beliefs.
People who later admitted to being “not at all religious,” and who classified themselves as “very liberal” politically had higher IQ scores as teenagers than those who were “very religious” and “very conservative.”
The difference isn’t huge. Only 11 points, on average, separate the liberal from the conservative, for instance. But Kanazawa believes it’s significant.
“Liberalism”—which Kanazawa defines, in part, as caring about the well-being of vast numbers of people you’ll never meet—”is a very new thing for humans,” he said.
“Historically, humans cared about the welfare of immediate family and friends but not complete strangers.”
I quite sure that many religious people of science will refute this claim by Dr Satoshi Kanazawa by emphasizing that it is “only a theory”, forgetting that he based this claim on at least 15 years of studies of the same group.
Even though that I may be flattered by Kanazawa’s findings, being both a “liberal” and an “atheist”, I would like to see more studies to support his claims. I’m not thoroughly convinced of a claim like this until more studies are done.
I wanted to share an observation of mine. It’s something that I’ve noticed among conservatives (mostly Christian) that I have encountered at the workplace and other facets of my everyday life:
* They tend to be “routine type” people, rarely straying from their schedules and they despise change.
* They seem to do every task in a “play it safe” manner, with little or no attempt to improvise when “something is missing” to complete a task.
Perhaps, this “play it safe” attitude has a connection with religion or an afterlife.
* They seem to pride themselves on being routine rather than being inventive and tend to say this, “I always do it that way”.
* They often use the term, “I never heard of that” when introduced to an new idea or opinion by someone outside their realm of thinking.
* Thinking “outside the box” is rare.
Like I said, It’s just an observation of mine and of course, opinions may vary.
I think that Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa is onto something, but I like I said before, I’m not thoroughly convinced.
President Obama states that “science holds the key” to our future. I cannot agree with him more! It’s very refreshing to see a president that supports science, even though he is a man of the Christian faith.
That’s how it’s supposed to work. A politician retains his own personal faith and doesn’t allow his “iron age” religious views to hinder scientific progress.
It’s been such a lonnnnnnnng time since we have had that sense of balance coming from the White House. It’s not just about science. It’s about how the human race can progress.
Jews, Roman Catholics and Muslims are objecting to the full body scanners at airports. Currently, there are 40 full-body scanners at 19 airports in the U.S. Their main objection is because of the operator of the scanner will be able to view their body parts, which include their genitals. This procedure violates their religious laws of modesty and the Pope is worried about integrity. Should these religious laws take precedence over high-tech security measures?
From a Muslim perspective:
The Fiqh Council of North America – a body of Islamic scholars that includes some from Michigan – issued a fatwa this week that says going through the airport scanners would violate Islamic rules on modesty.
“It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,” reads the fatwa issued Tuesday. “Islam highly emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts.”
From a Jewish perspective:
Rabbi Steven Weil, CEO of the Orthodox Union, said the scanners violate Jewish laws on modesty, or tzniut. While Islamic interpretations discourage exposure to either male or female eyes, it is not a violation of Jewish law for men or women to be seen exposed by the same gender, meaning Jews can walk through scanners if men are screened by men and women screened by women.
And the papal point of view:
Pope Benedict XVI has criticized the use of airport body scanners, saying that despite the threat of terrorism, “the primary asset to be safeguarded and treasured is the person, in his or her integrity.”
Currently, a person can “opt out” of the full body scan and simply be “patted down”.
* Should religious laws be respected regarding the full body scanner?
* Should everyone be scanned by this machine regardless of religion?
May 21st, 2011 is the first day of the day of Judgment
Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:”
For more insanity, visit:
http://www.familyradio.com/
You can clearly hear his reference to the “Old Testament” at 0:13 of this video. You can also hear terms like “firstborn”, “Lord” and “punishment”.
Western Prince William Del. Bob Marshall, R-13th, says disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy.
He made that statement last Thursday at a press conference to oppose state funding for Planned Parenthood.
“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children,” said Marshall, a Republican.
“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”
Marshall was among more than 20 people, mostly Christian pastors and clergy, who gathered for the press conference in the General Assembly Building.
They called on Virginia officials to eliminate state funding for Planned Parenthood because the organization provides abortions.
“We are gathered this afternoon to draw attention to the unethical, immoral and racist practices of the largest abortion provider in America,” said Dean Nelson, executive director of the Network of Politically Active Christians.
(wtop.com)
Later, Marshall clarifies his comments on video Fox News.
Many politicians tend to use their own personal opinions rather than what the majority of their constituents say when discussing touchy issues like abortion and gay rights. In either case, religious views should not be imposed on others.
Madalyn Murray O`Hair
An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist believes that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated.
That quote is from the famous “School prayer” court case back in 1963: Murray v. Curlett, 374 U.S. 203, 83 S. Ct. 1560, 10 L.Ed.2d (MD, 1963): which helped to end coercive prayer and Bible verse recitation in the public schools of America. Murray had two things against her, being an atheist and a woman, but she made history, nonetheless. When it came to her atheism and the separation of church and state, Madalyn Murray O’Hair was fearless.
O’Hair later founded American Atheists and became so controversial that in 1964 Life magazine referred to her as “the most hated woman in America.”
