Truth and the Devil

As the debate between science and religion rages on, I am simultaneously inspired and dejected at the ramifications of it and how it affects those on the sidelines. I am optimistic regarding how much publicity atheists like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are getting in the mainstream media, and that many ridiculous religious claims are being examined out in the open. Unfortunately, despite the exposure of atheistic ideas to the theistic world, many of the same misrepresentations of atheists remain.

I believe the logical arguments proposed by secular thinkers against belief in gods or religion actually resonate with a large portion of people, however, the prospect of a world without religion is also frightening for many.

Related to the recent UCLA student tasing, a man having a complex partial epileptic seizure was tased and beaten with a baton in Oakland. He was then prosecuted for disorderly conduct.

This is one of the most important concepts for people professing the removal of church-state separation to understand: the danger of letting religious rather than constitutional law be the guiding force of the land.

The perfect example of transference regarding this issue, is exemplified by the following quote by Jan Markell (of Worldview Weekend) about the first Muslim to hold public office.

Ellison will be sworn in on a Koran. So now the Bible is equivalent to the Koran in the halls of Congress? Doesn’t this then mean he is pledging allegiance to Islamic Law (Sharia) rather than our Constitution? Where is the outrage here?

Ed Brayton puts the rubber band on the other claw and throws the quote right back at her.

Watch this video, and if you can’t get through it without wanting to kill something, let me know.

Mostafa Tabatabainejad was tased by university police, after he failed to exit the university library quickly enough when he failed to produce the ID that is required of all students using the library after 11. He was tasered once when he didn’t get out quickly enough, and then repeatedly after that for failing to stand up after being tased the first time. Other students who asked the police for their names and badge numbers where threatened with tasing.

Tasers are not something to be taken lightly. They are intended for subduing a violent suspect as a replacement for guns in the hands of law enforcement agents. They should never be used in place of negotiation, and especially such a benign “crime” as not having your student ID readily available in the school library.

In reading through Paradoxy by Tom Taylor, I’m am constantly perplexed by it’s peculiarities.
The book itself is really nothing spectacular. It’s basically a sermon about how to live a better life and find inner peace. It has some good points, but the whole book seems diminished with it’s constant references to Jesus. It’s odd because the references to Jesus don’t seem to add anything to the arguments he’s making. He tells interested stories about individuals (I’ll probably add some specific examples in a later post), but then he says something about Jesus that seems, to me, to completely miss the point about his own stories.

I received a mysterious package in the mail today. Which is fine, I enjoy getting packages, it’s like Christmas. Anyway, it was mysterious because though there was a return address, it had no name, and inside there was no note, only 2 books. One was marked “Read First” and the other “Read Second.” But the books themselves gave away the sender.

The one marked “Read First” was Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman, the second was Paradoxy: Coming to Grips with the Contradictions of Jesus by Tom Taylor. I’m pretty sure they were sent by my grandmother. Ever since I’ve ‘come out’ to my family about my atheism, they’ve had some problems with it.

My new response to 9/11 conspiracists:
Bush and his cronies conceived and executed the most elaborate conspiracy in the history of our country, killing 3,000 of their own citizens to get themselves into a ridiculous war in Iraq, and they can’t rig an election to keep their own party in power?

The Democrats have taken the House, and it looks like the Senate is a good possibility as well. The President is on CNN right now trying to make it seem that he’s not scared that he’s lost his rubber-stamp congress. It’s not working.
Rumsfeld resigning is an interesting event. Perhaps getting rid of him will possibly postpone troop withdrawals from Iraq. Bush might want to convince everyone to give the new guy a chance before removing troops. We’ll see how that plays.
Now lets see if a Democratic Congress will be able to get some real changes made.