Religion is something you are given by others who are religious or believe in something that you encounter and believe in for one or two of several reasons:
1) You are born into it and believe because it is what your community and family believe.
2) It shortcuts something like death, fear, loneliness, depression, or purpose... Basically you are at rock bottom and anybody that says the will end the pain in exchange for belief will be readily accepted. Note that this is why conversions happen.
3) Because it is cool. Psychic stuff is very very cool. I want to move stuff with my mind. Just believe!
Hate of someone religious or having a 'belief' not based on facts or skepticism is not stupid. They are simply in a state of belief. Suspension of belief is not created by argument. Do you see any argument above? How can you believe argument would cause a change?
Physical proof is usually impossible. How do you counter the existence of gods and ghosts. Can't disprove something that can't be proved.
People are not stupid for their beliefs. It is I believe a part of the mechanism of survival. You don't have time for skepticism when a lion jumps out of the bush.
We all hate to be wrong too. To be wrong is to display a weakness that you somehow were to brain dead to believe in nonsense. The brain rebels and fights back. Again, argument fails.
The only thing that really works is self discovery. Well there is another, you treat skepticism indoctrination like a cult would.
Self discovery usually only occurs when your world fails to make sense. There is only one slight problem. Our brains fight that too. We find an excuse to believe in nonsense, despite what we have discovered.
The most powerful way to remove a belief? Laughter. When you laugh at yourself, you have probably created a new view of the world.
But be careful. Don't hate. Try perhaps to help. But odds are, they are lost and you can only wait for them to find their way.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Texas Textbooks are Faith Based
Texas is becoming California. Why do I say that? Because a belief is swaying the writing of textbooks.
California became a wacky place once it had the belief that paying property taxes was more important than education. Slowly education was commoditized to the teaching on the lowest common denominator or at least the average student. The geniuses were bred to be house painters and the poor performers left behind. Some, like myself, got lucky and had damn good bootstraps and got out of the university before it too was gutted.
How can Texas education be faith based? The board of education in Texas is an elected political body. Because Texas is overburdened with Christian Right Conservatives, we get Christian Right Conservatives for the Board of Education. To turn a phrase, do the math.
This is how you make things better for your faith, political party, or even your paranoid delusions. Just sway the voters to your side, get elected, and then brainwash the masses by rewriting history. Did you see that one coming? Ask the current board, they admit to jamming their ideals into text books.
The funny thing here is the result. If it is faith based, do we stop testing? Surely you can take it on faith? What about getting a job? The moral majority is entitled, right? I mean it is going to be a breeze for kids that are growing up in Texas.
On the other hand, will Texas have a new explosion of Home Schooled kids? Now that the right has the faith and politics on every page, the rest are going to start home schooling in droves. Soon the local Home School Supply stores here in Texas will need to start selling Darwin instead of Bibles.
Are you a budding textbook writer? Time for a whole new line of skeptical student or critical thinker based textbooks. Why not history books that have confirmed facts? Better yet, books that tell the truth rather than both sides (the watered down truth and what someone wants you to believe).
Texas, now a faith based economy. Send me a million dollars, please. I have faith that I will spend it wisely.
California became a wacky place once it had the belief that paying property taxes was more important than education. Slowly education was commoditized to the teaching on the lowest common denominator or at least the average student. The geniuses were bred to be house painters and the poor performers left behind. Some, like myself, got lucky and had damn good bootstraps and got out of the university before it too was gutted.
How can Texas education be faith based? The board of education in Texas is an elected political body. Because Texas is overburdened with Christian Right Conservatives, we get Christian Right Conservatives for the Board of Education. To turn a phrase, do the math.
This is how you make things better for your faith, political party, or even your paranoid delusions. Just sway the voters to your side, get elected, and then brainwash the masses by rewriting history. Did you see that one coming? Ask the current board, they admit to jamming their ideals into text books.
The funny thing here is the result. If it is faith based, do we stop testing? Surely you can take it on faith? What about getting a job? The moral majority is entitled, right? I mean it is going to be a breeze for kids that are growing up in Texas.
On the other hand, will Texas have a new explosion of Home Schooled kids? Now that the right has the faith and politics on every page, the rest are going to start home schooling in droves. Soon the local Home School Supply stores here in Texas will need to start selling Darwin instead of Bibles.
Are you a budding textbook writer? Time for a whole new line of skeptical student or critical thinker based textbooks. Why not history books that have confirmed facts? Better yet, books that tell the truth rather than both sides (the watered down truth and what someone wants you to believe).
Texas, now a faith based economy. Send me a million dollars, please. I have faith that I will spend it wisely.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Boycot Glenn Beck
There is a lot of hoopla over Glenn Beck and his call for folks to switch religions. It is one thing to demonize Democrats, but quite another to call a church a bunch of Nazi sympathizers and Communist socialists.
Just for the record, there is a big difference between Nazi Germany and socialists. Socialists on the whole don't have strange salutes and mustaches. There isn't much talk about genocide ether. Glenn Beck on the other hand would imprison the Democrats for any attempt at helping their fellow man with our collective tax money. Note: This is a ruse. What would Glenn do if Democrats disappeared? No more Fox News gravy train.
Boycotting Glen Beck is like admitting the Antichrist doesn't exist. He of course is the Antichrist, so be careful. If old Glenn can't preach his Rightwing/Republican/Mormon agenda, all that is left is politics which is what everyone believes is high on the list for any aspiring Antichrist.
Back to the Antichrist. I really do think it is bad to get Beck barred from the air. Can you imagine the damage he could do with real power? Forget starting a war with Russia. Beck would probably nuke Massachusetts and California!
We might boycott the sponsors... No, we already are. Who is going to buy Armageddon seeds for your government collapse victory garden? The only real solution is to get Glenn animated and put him on Cartoon Channel's Adult Swim. At least there they are smart enough to limit horribly politically and socially inappropriate cartoons to ten minutes.
Just for the record, there is a big difference between Nazi Germany and socialists. Socialists on the whole don't have strange salutes and mustaches. There isn't much talk about genocide ether. Glenn Beck on the other hand would imprison the Democrats for any attempt at helping their fellow man with our collective tax money. Note: This is a ruse. What would Glenn do if Democrats disappeared? No more Fox News gravy train.
Boycotting Glen Beck is like admitting the Antichrist doesn't exist. He of course is the Antichrist, so be careful. If old Glenn can't preach his Rightwing/Republican/Mormon agenda, all that is left is politics which is what everyone believes is high on the list for any aspiring Antichrist.
Back to the Antichrist. I really do think it is bad to get Beck barred from the air. Can you imagine the damage he could do with real power? Forget starting a war with Russia. Beck would probably nuke Massachusetts and California!
We might boycott the sponsors... No, we already are. Who is going to buy Armageddon seeds for your government collapse victory garden? The only real solution is to get Glenn animated and put him on Cartoon Channel's Adult Swim. At least there they are smart enough to limit horribly politically and socially inappropriate cartoons to ten minutes.
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