This whole thing started with the so called elevatorgate debacle. An incident that was way overblown in the first place. All of a sudden, one had to have the "right" opinion or be shunned at best or browbeaten to submission. Some drunk guy hit on Ms. Watson on an elevator and made her uncomfortable. He didn't threaten her or grab her. He was just drunk and loutish. Admittedly, he was out of line, but no one has the right to always feel comfortable. From this little acorn a giant shit oak grew.
When one makes discussion of a subject taboo, it is now sacred. The first rule of skepticism is NOTHING is sacred. I actually agree with most of what the A+ side of things wants, and I have a genuine fondness for Ms. Christina and Mr. Lee. However, I reserve the right to think for myself. Deal with it.
Anyone who knows me knows to never ask me what I think because I'll tell you. I realized at the age of 11 that my bullshit detector didn't have an "off" button. If my response offends you, you shouldn't have asked.
Death awaits us all, but if I'm going to die anyway, I want it to be this way. The undertaker would work on my corpse for hours and never get the smile off my face.
I'm an atheist, I probably have been for a long time. That being said, I went to Catholic school from K through 8th grade, and it was a good education(this was the 70's). At times it saddens me that the fine priests, nuns and lay teachers who were instrumental to my development will always be lumped in with the low-life molesters and those who covered for them. These folks were good people who really cared about my education, and I hate the church for tarring their memory.
The whole idea of god allowing evil things to happen kind of irks me. I don't think that the blame or the credit should go to a being that does not exist. A lot of the "evil" that happens is preventable, by us. Now it's true that we can't as yet stop a hurricane or an earthquake, but there are many things that we can do to make the world a better place. We just choose not to. THAT is, in my opinion, the true evil.
Great post, this is my first time here and I've been perusing the archives. I must say, very nicely done. There are those who would argue that the bible has lots of "good parts", and they would be right, but there aren't any of these things that can't be found in the writings of secular philosophers. They did it without having to rely on fairy tales.
I'm probably going to catch hell for this, but I think you guys could have been nicer to "Guest". He was simply stating what he believed and what he thought were inconsistencies in the OP. As an atheist, I understand why you took a take no prisoners attitude. The fundies want to create a theocracy, and they want us dead. This guy, however is obviously not one of them and could have been treated with a little more love, just sayin'.
I just read Rabbi Wolpe's piece last night on Slate. It was very warn and quite touching. It made me a little more proud of my Jewish mother.
We buy crap we don't need, at prices we can't afford, to impress people we don't like. Merry fucking christmas.