Pope, Church Pretend that Religion & Science Compliment Eachother

Pope Benedict XVI, the "holy" man formerly known as Joseph Alois Ratzinger (Prince reference anybody?), used Winter Solstice as an opportunity to continue a lie.

Ratzinger proclaimed that by comprehending the laws of nature we can somehow grow in our understanding and appreciation of "the Lord's" works.

In truth, there is a HUGE disconnect between religious "faith" and scientific fact.

One must either fully believe in what their holy book says, or one must concede that the holy book is flawed, and thus not "God inspired," but rather the written musings of man.

It's all or nothing people. God either meant it, or he didn't. And choosing for conveniece is the same as acknowledging the falsity and numerous inconvenient flaws.

Science has shown us that the earth is much older than holy texts suggest. Religion has made up excuses to try to incorporate this. They either conveniently make up something called "God's time" or they disregard science and radiocarbon dating all together.

Science has also shown us that the earth was not created in a matter of days, and that humans, and every organism we see on this planet, did not exist when the earth originally began to develop.

(Many religious leaders would have us believe that the earth is not BILLIONS of years old, but rather, only a few thousand.)

In other words, the creation story, which is how the holy book says everything came to be (THIS IS A BIG DEAL HERE) is a myth that is in direct conflict with science.

Science has shown us that, contrary to what religious leaders may tell us, humans are the result of evolution: we were not simply placed here on earth by some deity who made us "in his image." We evolved, this is a fact.

Religion and science have been battling eachother for as long as wishful thinking (rather than truth and logic) has been used to give peace of mind.

At first religion rejected evolution, and now, with the overwhelming amount of evidence, it is trying to accept it by calling it part of "God's plan." Labeling it "creationism."

I call it a sad attempt to remain relevant via slight of hand. Religious leaders are picking and choosing from the bible and cherry picking data from science. Then they mold them together as much as possible and sweep any disconect under the rug.

This is nothing new for religion.

As noted by Fox News today:

"The Catholic Church condemned Galileo in the 17th century for supporting Nicholas Copernicus' discovery that the Earth revolved around the sun; church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe. In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized, saying that the denuncuation was a tragic error." (took long enough?)

Nothing like being condemned for using your brain and scientific fact.

Just as the church found it insulting to think that we weren't the center of "God's" universe: His CHOSEN creations. They still find it troubling to realize that their teachings are being unvelied as false by science.

"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world." ~ Richard Dawkins.

Dressing Up Like Idiots & Being Fired For Being One

Two INSANE Topics Here: Misguided People are Dressing Up Like Jesus at their jobs and in public to "fight the secularization of Christmas" which doesn't allow them to say "Merry Christmas" to customers that come in. Customers who they do not know.

AND

A woman in Florida claims she was fired for refusing to stop saying "Merry Christmas" to customers. Once again, customers who she doesn't know. Oh, and she's suing!

Okay, let's just stop and take a second to analyze these things LOGICALLY.

People were told by their pastor in Kansas City, Kansas to dress up like Jesus and "at least" wear a crown of thorns and a sash or robe.

They are doing this at their places of work, especially in malls and restaurants because they think it will help fight the "secularization of Christmas" because they aren't allowed to say "Merry Christmas" in the work place to the customers that come in. CUSTOMERS THAT THEY DO NOT EVEN KNOW.

I will ask this: WHY in the world do people feel that they must say "Merry Christmas" to people who they do not even know. To people who may be Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist, or what ever else.

Why does it offend certain Christians to not ASSUME that someone who they do not know is Christian like them?

Additionally, as you can see from the photo link below, these people are making themselves look ridiculous and one individual is claiming to have lost her job because of her unwillingness to use logic when dealing with her company's customers and refraining from using the religion-specific greeting.


P.S. What's the deal with nut-job church ideas coming out of Kansas? (Like Westboro Church in Topeka).


Story Links:
Fired for Idiocracy
Dressing Like Jesus
Pictures: HERE

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays

So as trivial as this may seem, the debate rages on over whether or not to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" to people who you do not even know.

Isn't it simple to find the answer?

If you don't know someone, why assume they are Christian?

What's offensive or less meaningful about saying "Happy Holidays?"
What is the built-in or inherent superiority in saying "Merry Christmas" ?

Working at a store in a strip mall I see this little battle raging everyday.

I TRY to avoid the issue all together by saying, "Have a nice day," or "Have a good night," maybe "Have a great weekend!"

Other employees at the store sometimes do say "Happy Holidays," which is fine, if you are willing to deal with the more than occasional proclamation-esque response of "Merry Christmas!" Which normally might not pass through your ears causing any stir of emotion, but these people say it like they are proving a point.

Then they follow it up with a look in their eyes as if to say, "Yah, that's right I SAID IT!"

I even get this holier-than-thou, that's right I DARE to assume you are Christian - Because I am one and I'm a rebel who is doing something NOBLE!!! - Response after saying "have a good day!"

What's the deal with people?

Dehumanization: It's a Problem

Overall, I truly feel that this description applies to how homosexuals are being treated today:

"At the core of evil is the process of dehumanization by which certain other people or collectives of them, are depicted as less than human, as non comparable in humanity or personal dignity to those who do the labeling. Prejudice employs negative stereotypes in images or verbally abusive terms to demean and degrade the objects of its narrow view of superiority over these allegedly inferior persons. Discrimination involves the actions taken against those others based on the beliefs and emotions generated by prejudiced perspectives..."

"...Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil. Dehumanization is like a “cortical cataract” that clouds one’s thinking and fosters the perception that other people are less than human. It makes some people come to see those others as enemies deserving of torment, torture, and even annihilation."

Taken from The Lucifer Effect, by Philip Zimbardo

I firmly believe that religion is the root of the problem. If we based our judgments on scientific process, observation of nature, biology, and psychology ... rather than old books written by men... there would be less of a problem here.

Louis CK "Everything i s amazing, nobody's happy"