Jaime Kilstein (on Gays & God, mostly)
Showing posts with label god. Show all posts
Showing posts with label god. Show all posts
10 April 2010
11 September 2009
Satan believes in God, therefore God exists
From Mothrust.com, the following delightful exchange.
Apparently I do believe in God, I just won't admit to it. One cocky seventeen year old fellow, Micah Sonatra, (Deven Hoffpauir, with his truly kitschy myspace) who I thought was a middle-aged lady, said that it was obvious God existed because even Lucifer believes in God - that was the crux of his argument. What the..! Stating that one imaginary character exists because another imaginary character believes it exists is like saying, "Of course Santa Clause is real, heck... even the tooth fairy knows that".
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Sonatra: You see, you have no case. This is your case and still you think you have a case. This isn't about wheter or not God exists. You know God exists.
Umm... no, but I think it absolutely amazing that you think you can tell people what they believe. No, I don't believe there is a god and you telling me that I do isn't going to change that. I don't believe there's a bogeyman under my bed.
Sonatra: The God you guys apparently don't believe in, yet still feel the need to mock - a God you believe doesn't exist
I can't speak for everybody else, but I think I'm mocking your beliefs and possibly you personally, not the imaginary friend you play with.
Sonatra: To see that no matter how much I care about monsters, I can't save them.
Ahhh, such a flatterer... you could love your enemies, or simply call them names.
Sonatra: and I will now take my leave. Take heed, for punishment draws near, wheter you belive in it or not. Just because you don't believe in a sword, doesn't mean it isn't there.
Are you really gonna leave? 'cause you said something like that about 12 posts ago when you said you aren't to throw your pearls to swine. My invisible pink unicorn keeps me safe from invisible swords, so I'll be fine I think. It really is cringey when Christians start talking in Ye Olde English.
Sonatra: Goodbye, I have said all that is required of me to say.
If any of those other little voices in your head tell you to do anything involving swords, knives or weaponry again, could you do your neighbours a favour and drive out into the desert immediately.
_______________________
from http://www.mothrust.com/2007/04/satan-believes-in-god-therefore-god.html
Apparently I do believe in God, I just won't admit to it. One cocky seventeen year old fellow, Micah Sonatra, (Deven Hoffpauir, with his truly kitschy myspace) who I thought was a middle-aged lady, said that it was obvious God existed because even Lucifer believes in God - that was the crux of his argument. What the..! Stating that one imaginary character exists because another imaginary character believes it exists is like saying, "Of course Santa Clause is real, heck... even the tooth fairy knows that".
-------
---
-
Sonatra: You see, you have no case. This is your case and still you think you have a case. This isn't about wheter or not God exists. You know God exists.
Umm... no, but I think it absolutely amazing that you think you can tell people what they believe. No, I don't believe there is a god and you telling me that I do isn't going to change that. I don't believe there's a bogeyman under my bed.
Sonatra: The God you guys apparently don't believe in, yet still feel the need to mock - a God you believe doesn't exist
I can't speak for everybody else, but I think I'm mocking your beliefs and possibly you personally, not the imaginary friend you play with.
Sonatra: To see that no matter how much I care about monsters, I can't save them.
Ahhh, such a flatterer... you could love your enemies, or simply call them names.
Sonatra: and I will now take my leave. Take heed, for punishment draws near, wheter you belive in it or not. Just because you don't believe in a sword, doesn't mean it isn't there.
Are you really gonna leave? 'cause you said something like that about 12 posts ago when you said you aren't to throw your pearls to swine. My invisible pink unicorn keeps me safe from invisible swords, so I'll be fine I think. It really is cringey when Christians start talking in Ye Olde English.
Sonatra: Goodbye, I have said all that is required of me to say.
If any of those other little voices in your head tell you to do anything involving swords, knives or weaponry again, could you do your neighbours a favour and drive out into the desert immediately.
_______________________
from http://www.mothrust.com/2007/04/satan-believes-in-god-therefore-god.html
09 March 2009
God Continues His Preacher Killing Spree
http://www.wsmv.com/news/15642032/detail.html
A preacher, killed by a goat. that's right. Although, in the text of the story, we learn that probably the 40 pound, normally docile goat could not have killed this big strapping man. More likely, the guy had a heart attack after he got tangled in the rope and fell. But they killed the goat, just to be sure. So....god is not above sending a goat to do an assassin's job.
Pastor's six family members killed by accident in Kerala
http://salemvoice.org/svmnews286.html
Can anyone say "The Book of Job"?
From http://www.safeatchurch.com/examples.asp :
Gunman Kills Seven, and Himself, In Texas Church
At the "Living Church of God in Milwaukee... a gunman shoots "the pastor, pastor’s sons, and five other church members before killing himself."
"Richard Dearsmith, 39, was killed by police in the bathroom of St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Colorado Springs on Sunday, January 14, 1996. Dearsmith was delusional and mentally ill, claiming that he was Jesus Christ." [See, that's how it starts. First with the delusion of the existence of a supernatural being, and then you think you ARE a supernatural being].
At the First Baptist CHurch in Conway, MO, Rev. Strauch, was stabbed him in the abdomen, leg, and hand.
In Atlanta, Georgia a woman shot Rev. Johnny Clyde Reynolds, and her own mother after Sunday school and before service began. [I guess she didn't like the message.]
Sixteen members of Gustaf Lutheran Church were poisoned by arsenic-laced coffee they drank after service. [I guess someone didn't like that message, either.]
A man shot and killed Pastor Marvin Valentine, at the First Church of the Nazarene in Sarcoxie, MO.
Rev. Teclezghi Ucbaghiorghis of Our Lady of Fatima Monastery in Maryland was killed in a two-vehicle collision on Route 13.
According to a new poll, Americans are becoming less Christian. I guess so, since it's apparently dangerous to be one.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/03/09/us.religion.less.christian/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-03-09-ARIS-faith-survey_N.htm
Is God Pissed with Christians?
I'm sensing a trend, here. My previous post was about god electrocuting a preacher in the baptismal. Now, he's allowing someone to gun down the pastor? Is god turning on his PEOPLE?
Okay, a couple of questions:
1. why does this poster need armed police officers in his congregation? Does this happen a lot?
2. Can't your God protect you in His own house?
I mean, let's assume, for a quick, brainless moment, that there is a mythical omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being in the cosmos. Doesn't it seem like he's pissed at christians?
Thankfully in my Baptist Church we have 2 police officers who wear their guns under their suit coats during services. My heart goes out to the congregation and families at that church in Maryville ILPastor gunned down in Illinois church Posted: 02:38 PM ET
(CNN) — The pastor of a Maryville, Illinois, church was shot to death during a service Sunday in front of horrified parishoners who then tackled the gunman, state police said.
Fred Winters, the pastor of the First Baptist Church, was shot and killed during the 8 a.m. service, while his attacker and two parishoners suffered knife wounds, Illinois state police spokesman Ralph Timmins said.
The gunman walked in during the service and walked up to the pulpit, opening fire when he was met by Winters, Timmins said. The man’s .45-caliber pistol jammed after he shot Winters, and he pulled out a knife and turned it on himself before being tackled by some of the roughly 150 worshippers attending the church,
Timmins said.Two of those who went after the attacker suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while the suspect’s injuries are “very serious,” Timmins said.
Okay, a couple of questions:
1. why does this poster need armed police officers in his congregation? Does this happen a lot?
2. Can't your God protect you in His own house?
I mean, let's assume, for a quick, brainless moment, that there is a mythical omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being in the cosmos. Doesn't it seem like he's pissed at christians?
20 August 2008
Thatness And Whatness
(from my book in progress, Supernatural Hypocrisy: The Cognitive Dissonance of a God Cosmology")
Existence and essence--two things we are prevented from knowing about god from within the Christian faith. Why would we adopt a lifestyle, belief system, code, or any other guideline that has no basis in rational thought or empirical proof?
Christian theology states that God is incorporeal, which is to say,
non-material. This means God is not composed of matter, which renders the reference to God as a being meaningless. For if something is non-matter, how could it matter? We are beings who are made of matter (in the simplest terms) and thus our understanding of everything is predicated on matter. All else is both immaterial in a literal and figurative sense and negligible.
And what of ideas and concepts and immaterial things like kindness? Might the theist argue that kindness is real to us, though not made of matter? of course, the theist could argue that, but the argument would dissolve under the powerful force of reason; kindness is not being touted as an entity, as well as something immaterial . If God is not made of matter or of anything humans can comprehend, then God, is in a very real way, NOT REAL. If we cannot perceive God, then, why would we believe in him? If we cannot experience god, since god is non-matter, how could he possibly exist to begin with? And why don't Christians who peddle this concept just admit that they are agnostic, since agnosticism is defined as something we cannot know? Slippery slope, that.
____________________________
painting, "Chocolate Drizzle" (c)Kelli Jae Baeli
Existence and essence--two things we are prevented from knowing about god from within the Christian faith. Why would we adopt a lifestyle, belief system, code, or any other guideline that has no basis in rational thought or empirical proof?
Christian theology states that God is incorporeal, which is to say,
non-material. This means God is not composed of matter, which renders the reference to God as a being meaningless. For if something is non-matter, how could it matter? We are beings who are made of matter (in the simplest terms) and thus our understanding of everything is predicated on matter. All else is both immaterial in a literal and figurative sense and negligible.And what of ideas and concepts and immaterial things like kindness? Might the theist argue that kindness is real to us, though not made of matter? of course, the theist could argue that, but the argument would dissolve under the powerful force of reason; kindness is not being touted as an entity, as well as something immaterial . If God is not made of matter or of anything humans can comprehend, then God, is in a very real way, NOT REAL. If we cannot perceive God, then, why would we believe in him? If we cannot experience god, since god is non-matter, how could he possibly exist to begin with? And why don't Christians who peddle this concept just admit that they are agnostic, since agnosticism is defined as something we cannot know? Slippery slope, that.
____________________________
painting, "Chocolate Drizzle" (c)Kelli Jae Baeli
Mibber Who?.
(from my book in progress, Supernatural Hypocrisy: The Cognitive Dissonance of a God Cosmology")
"Mibber is loving and wise. Mibber is the essence of all matter and energy. Mibber has not limits. Mibber is all powerful."
When hearing statements such as these, it is not our first inclination to ask "What does that mean, in relation to this "Mibber"? or "how is it that Mibber can be all these things?" your first question is naturally, "What IS Mibber?"
First, we must define an object before we can even begin to examine the other questions that arise once we understand the fundamental nature of that object. The same is true, or at least should be true, of the Christian God. I find it aggravatingly fascinating how Christians make announcements and declarations about what God feels, thinks, does, and intends...but have no explanation for the nature of God. What is God? Who is God? How do they know this information?
In one breath, they say that God is mysterious and unknowable and in the other, they say that God is loving, or God is wise, or all-powerful. How can they know any of this if they don't even understand God and have never met him/her/it in person?
No one has ever had a real conversation with God. No, not even Neale Donald Walsch. Claims to the contrary have been grossly exaggerated. They have only had mental processes which they ascribe to an encounter with this invisible entity. One could just as easily-and with as much credibility-say that one has had a conversation with a tree, or a dog, or Elvis. The difference with the latter is of course that we do have actual evidence of the tree, the dog and Elvis.
But again, there is this pervasive, almost cellular habituation attached to the God-paradigm. As a species, humans have had belief in supernatural beings as part of the fiber of everyday reality. Prevalence doesn't, however, make it real.
Further, why would a person chose to believe in something impossible? If something is black, it cannot also be white. If something is square, it cannot be circular. This is akin to the statements most Christians make about God, the essence of which is, "God remains dry when immersed in water." On the face of that, unless it is trickery, this is contradiction at best, and deceit at worst.
The very first explanation that springs to the lips of the devout is some variation of "God moves in mysterious ways." I'll say! Any being who can exist but be invisible, embody the essence of love, yet be angry, and remain dry while immersed in water, is certainly beyond comprehension and so advanced as to be worthy of our attention. Except for one thing. There is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. It's almost certainly not true. And since no one can prove the existence of this god, we are left only with a choice to believe in something not only unproven and improvable, but in something that is illogical and fraught with contradiction at every turn.
Pardon me while I lean toward the more rational approach.
"Mibber is loving and wise. Mibber is the essence of all matter and energy. Mibber has not limits. Mibber is all powerful."
When hearing statements such as these, it is not our first inclination to ask "What does that mean, in relation to this "Mibber"? or "how is it that Mibber can be all these things?" your first question is naturally, "What IS Mibber?"
First, we must define an object before we can even begin to examine the other questions that arise once we understand the fundamental nature of that object. The same is true, or at least should be true, of the Christian God. I find it aggravatingly fascinating how Christians make announcements and declarations about what God feels, thinks, does, and intends...but have no explanation for the nature of God. What is God? Who is God? How do they know this information?In one breath, they say that God is mysterious and unknowable and in the other, they say that God is loving, or God is wise, or all-powerful. How can they know any of this if they don't even understand God and have never met him/her/it in person?
No one has ever had a real conversation with God. No, not even Neale Donald Walsch. Claims to the contrary have been grossly exaggerated. They have only had mental processes which they ascribe to an encounter with this invisible entity. One could just as easily-and with as much credibility-say that one has had a conversation with a tree, or a dog, or Elvis. The difference with the latter is of course that we do have actual evidence of the tree, the dog and Elvis.
But again, there is this pervasive, almost cellular habituation attached to the God-paradigm. As a species, humans have had belief in supernatural beings as part of the fiber of everyday reality. Prevalence doesn't, however, make it real.
Further, why would a person chose to believe in something impossible? If something is black, it cannot also be white. If something is square, it cannot be circular. This is akin to the statements most Christians make about God, the essence of which is, "God remains dry when immersed in water." On the face of that, unless it is trickery, this is contradiction at best, and deceit at worst.
The very first explanation that springs to the lips of the devout is some variation of "God moves in mysterious ways." I'll say! Any being who can exist but be invisible, embody the essence of love, yet be angry, and remain dry while immersed in water, is certainly beyond comprehension and so advanced as to be worthy of our attention. Except for one thing. There is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. It's almost certainly not true. And since no one can prove the existence of this god, we are left only with a choice to believe in something not only unproven and improvable, but in something that is illogical and fraught with contradiction at every turn.
Pardon me while I lean toward the more rational approach.
The Furnace of Furniss
(from my book in progress, Supernatural Hypocrisy: The Cognitive Dissonance of a God Cosmology")
A popular booklet for children in the late 19th Century was authored by Father Furniss, an English priest who wrote "books for children." Furniss delighted in describing the horrors of hell:
"...his eyes were like two burning coals. Two long flames came our of his ears...sometimes he opens his mouth, and breath of blazing fire rolls out. But listen! There is a sound just like that of a kettle boiling. Is it really a kettle boiling? No. Then what is it? Hear what it is. The blood is boiling in the scalding veins of that boy. The brain is boiling and bubbling in his head. The marrow is boiling in his bones. Ask him why he is thus tormented. his answer is that when he was alive, his blood boiled to do very wicked things."
and,
"A little child is in this red-hot oven. Hear how it screams to come out! See how it turns and twists itself about in the fire! It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little feet on the floor. You can see on the face of this little child what you see on the faces of all in hell--despair, desperate and horrible."
Father Furniss was paradoxically dubbed the "Children's Apostle."
A popular booklet for children in the late 19th Century was authored by Father Furniss, an English priest who wrote "books for children." Furniss delighted in describing the horrors of hell:
"...his eyes were like two burning coals. Two long flames came our of his ears...sometimes he opens his mouth, and breath of blazing fire rolls out. But listen! There is a sound just like that of a kettle boiling. Is it really a kettle boiling? No. Then what is it? Hear what it is. The blood is boiling in the scalding veins of that boy. The brain is boiling and bubbling in his head. The marrow is boiling in his bones. Ask him why he is thus tormented. his answer is that when he was alive, his blood boiled to do very wicked things."and,
"A little child is in this red-hot oven. Hear how it screams to come out! See how it turns and twists itself about in the fire! It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little feet on the floor. You can see on the face of this little child what you see on the faces of all in hell--despair, desperate and horrible."
Father Furniss was paradoxically dubbed the "Children's Apostle."
Dubya Must Die
 I find it reprehensible and infuriating that Bill Clinton can be impeached for getting his weeny pleasured, and then trying to cover it up, and George W. Bush can lie constantly, rig his election, send thousands to their deaths just to line his pockets, patronize the viewing public every time he gives a press conference, deprive the citizenry of their vote, abandon the needy in his own country while giving billions to another that harbors Bin Laden, keep company with terrorists, commit treason on a daily basis, and he is still in office.Perhaps the Christian's "angry God" will simply smite him where he stands. But since it didn't happen to Hitler, Stalin, Saddam or Osama Bin Laden, i won't hold my breath. |
Author's Note
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I will make no secret of the fact that, at this writing, I am almost certainly a card-carrying atheist. This book is a representation of how I got there.
I am not a Bible scholar or a Ph.D.-wielding lecturer, nor a scientist. I earned a degree in Professional Writing, and intend to complete a Masters Degree program in writing as well, soon. Other than that, I am just a writer who is many other things, not the least of which is a lifelong learner and seeker of truth. This journey is a personal one. My truth may never be your truth. So take this or leave it. But understand that I embarked upon this task with the utmost sincerity and the most profound need to know myself and my place in this world.
I am only now fully recognizing the courage it will take for me to embrace this part of my identity in a world where this stance is often cause for oppression in general and ostracization in particular. But I'm no stranger to that. I have been a minority more than once and still am. I am a woman-(though not minority in number, at least minority in a patriarchy and all that entails); I am also a lesbian-though I dislike the connotation of that moniker. I am simply attracted romantically to certain other women, and never, men. I fought disability for years, but refuse to let that define me, currently. And last, and most sobering: I am an atheist.
Let's see...what more could I do to achieve the permanent status of pariah?
In this work, I do not seek to denigrate other great thinkers or respected persons, but to ferret out the facts and, as much as possible, put it down in words.
The act of composing this book led me to some conclusions, or verified those I suspected along the way, and so there will be an unavoidable slant in that direction throughout the text. I didn't stumble on this project after a random thought waltzed through my head. I began the project to refine the ideas and questions that have always niggled at my brain; questions about belief, mortality, reason, religion, human nature and my place in this world. I seek peace with those things I know which might at first appear daunting, and clarity of those things I know on some intuitive level to be true.
I seek my own personal cosmology.
I will make no secret of the fact that, at this writing, I am almost certainly a card-carrying atheist. This book is a representation of how I got there.
I am not a Bible scholar or a Ph.D.-wielding lecturer, nor a scientist. I earned a degree in Professional Writing, and intend to complete a Masters Degree program in writing as well, soon. Other than that, I am just a writer who is many other things, not the least of which is a lifelong learner and seeker of truth. This journey is a personal one. My truth may never be your truth. So take this or leave it. But understand that I embarked upon this task with the utmost sincerity and the most profound need to know myself and my place in this world.
I am only now fully recognizing the courage it will take for me to embrace this part of my identity in a world where this stance is often cause for oppression in general and ostracization in particular. But I'm no stranger to that. I have been a minority more than once and still am. I am a woman-(though not minority in number, at least minority in a patriarchy and all that entails); I am also a lesbian-though I dislike the connotation of that moniker. I am simply attracted romantically to certain other women, and never, men. I fought disability for years, but refuse to let that define me, currently. And last, and most sobering: I am an atheist.
Let's see...what more could I do to achieve the permanent status of pariah?
In this work, I do not seek to denigrate other great thinkers or respected persons, but to ferret out the facts and, as much as possible, put it down in words.
The act of composing this book led me to some conclusions, or verified those I suspected along the way, and so there will be an unavoidable slant in that direction throughout the text. I didn't stumble on this project after a random thought waltzed through my head. I began the project to refine the ideas and questions that have always niggled at my brain; questions about belief, mortality, reason, religion, human nature and my place in this world. I seek peace with those things I know which might at first appear daunting, and clarity of those things I know on some intuitive level to be true.
I seek my own personal cosmology.
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