kerriganheartsyou:

fauxmosexualtranstrender:

10k-notes:

xxboy:

When I was in Boston this weekend I took my friend to Copley Square because it has, in my experience, two of the most beautiful churches in the country. Outside of Old South Church (a United Church of Christ church), there was this sign. Big. And it was amazing how great I felt to see Trans on there. I imagine it would be the same for someone who was homeless or a recovering addict or bisexual or something else that people often judge you for - or who had an identity that has made other religious communities abandon you or shame you. It also wasn’t just listed with things that are “problems” or difficult. It was listed with Male and Female, with Nerd and Cool Kid… I just think this sign is so powerful and I wanted to share it with everyone.

I like the idea of a church saying directly and publicly “Hey you’re trans (and this and this and that) and you’re ‘beloved.’”

Christianity: You’re doing it right.

I believe Old South Church is UCC (United Church of Christ—commonly known as Congregational). UCC churches are very welcoming to LGBTQ+ Christians.

I love the slight difference in words that changes a church’s entire approach.

Let me make this clear: when I talk about the churches of Christ, I am not talking about these people in the slightest. The church of Christ I grew up in is like a lite version of the Westboro Baptist Church, without the loud swagger.

These folks are doing good things.

On top of the glories of being included in their outreach of awesome, I’m impressed with their acknowledgement that being housed is just as much a status as being homeless. If their practice is as good as their advertising, I wouldn’t mind spending the occasional Sunday morning chilling with them or maybe doing some volunteer work for good causes.

I’ll also add the MCC and Liberal Quakers to the list of good uns.

(via goddesskerrigan)

Source: xxboy

unknowablewoman: I am very sorry to inform you all that this is a real thing in the world.  The Farrels explain why a man is like a waffle (each element of his life is in a separate box) and a woman is like spaghetti (everything in her life touches everything else). End–of–chapter questions and exercises make this unique and fun look at the different ways men and women regard life a terrific tool for not only marriage, but also for a reader’s relationships at work, at home, at church, and with friends. Why can’t I be a fucking waffle?  Wow. I wonder if my dad got this from the same source. He describes it as buckets vs. compartments. I guess my bucket/spaghetti emotions don’t count as a strike against the stereotype since I’m genderqueer but I found the idea well beyond insulting.
View Separately

unknowablewoman:

I am very sorry to inform you all that this is a real thing in the world. 

The Farrels explain why a man is like a waffle (each element of his life is in a separate box) and a woman is like spaghetti (everything in her life touches everything else). End–of–chapter questions and exercises make this unique and fun look at the different ways men and women regard life a terrific tool for not only marriage, but also for a reader’s relationships at work, at home, at church, and with friends.

Why can’t I be a fucking waffle? 

Wow. I wonder if my dad got this from the same source. He describes it as buckets vs. compartments.

I guess my bucket/spaghetti emotions don’t count as a strike against the stereotype since I’m genderqueer but I found the idea well beyond insulting.

(via little-sword-deactivated2013040)

'Why it’s hard to be Christian at Christmas'

feurety:

atheismfuckyeah:

Oh cry me a fucking river, mate. Seriously.

~Mooglets

aww, let me get you poor fellows some tissues to dry your tears!

As someone who used to be a Christian—even by this guy’s definition!—whatever, man. It’s not hard to be a Christian at Christmas.

He did say one small snippet I agreed with:

As Christians we need to turn off the fights about “Merry X-Mas” at malls and Santa Claus and “Holiday” celebrations as opposed to Christmas celebrations and unplug ourselves from the collective cacophony of the modern Christmas season.

Yep. Turn off the pointless fight over (some) of y’all hating to admit you’re not the center of the universe. And if you want to turn off cacophony too, sweet. Just feel free to start owning up to the fact that the fundamentalist Christianity you follow is married to capitalism and that capitalism is responsible for the cacophony specific to this season.

It’s not caused by secularism.

On a related note, I spend too much time with my family already. Heh.

(via ofpaperandponies)

Source: atheismfuckyeah

So, an Evangelist Science team…

inthedimhereafter:

…claims to have discovered Noah’s Ark! Carbon dating has shown that this enormous, ship-like structure found in Turkey is 4,800 years old, which correlates perfectly with what the Bible tells us. My friend told me about this, and so I looked it up for myself only to find some hilarious quotes from Todd Wood, a Biologist who “pursues his work in the frame of Creationism.” 

Dr. Wood is clearly aware of Carbon Dating, which estimates an item’s age by the deterioration of carbon 14, you know? We all took a basic Earth Science class in 8th grade, so this shouldn’t be news to Dr. Wood. However, he stated that “If you accept a young chronology for the Earth … then radiocarbon dating has to be reinterpreted, because the method often yields dates much older than 6,000 years”.

Basically, Dr. Wood is saying that we need to change the nature of Carbon Dating to fit his belief. Apparently, he wasn’t able to be simply blindsided like the team who discovered the ship. He realized that reality didn’t sync up with his bullshit and is now trying to alter facts to be able to rest comfortably. It simply baffles me that people hold these beliefs so strongly.

Here’s the National Geographic article, by the way:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture/

Having learned of the Eridu Genesis, I find the search for Noah’s Ark to be especially hilarious. The writers of the Biblical Genesis lifted one (or possibly both?) creation myths from Sumerian myth along with the Flood myth.

The Eridu account predates the Biblical account and the Biblical account was likely added during the Babylonian Exile which would have exposed the writers of Genesis to the necessary source material.

That the Bible’s flood story is so dull in comparison and has Jehovah playing both villain and hero is another source of amusement for me.

At any rate, Noah’s ark will remain as unfound as Atrahasis’s, though no one is looking for Atrahasis’s boat.

Philosophy at the Dog Park

helvetebrann:

I’ve been taking my puppy to the dog park for months.  I’m familiar with almost all of the dogs and their parents.  Today, Abbey and I met a new dog parent.  We talked while our dogs played.  Eventually the conversation turned to my job as a teacher.

The new individual mentioned that he was frustrated that non-Christian religions could take their holy books to school, but Christians couldn’t. 

I corrected him.  Students can bring in a holy book to read.  I have had students reading the Bible during SSR or reading the Qur’an during SSR.  Most choose to read something more interesting, like Harry Potter, but students are more than welcome to bring and read their own holy books.

He then mentioned that he was frustrated that the law said that students couldn’t pray aloud at school.

I corrected him.  Students are more than welcome to pray aloud at school.  However, their prayers should not disrupt the classroom environment.  (Aka, you shouldn’t be doing verbal prayers in the middle of class, just like you shouldn’t be talked in the middle of class.)  Prayers are also not allowed at events where all those in attendance are not there for prayers.  In other words, if a group of students wants to have a prayer group before class, during passing period, or at lunch, that’s absolutely fine.  If a student wants to pray at the beginning of a football game or graduation ceremony where those in attendance are not there for the prayer, but rather for the event, that’s not ok.

He agreed that this was fair.  He mentioned that it was fair for everyone.

The conversation was going well.

Then he found out I’d been dating my fiance for almost five and a half years.  As a Christian, he felt he had to comment on this.  How he felt that it was wrong and that my relationship must not be healthy.  I politely informed him that my relationship was very healthy and that because we knew each other well, our relationship was more likely to succeed.

The conversation ended on a friendly note.  However, while I’m glad I could educate him on common misconceptions regarding religious freedoms at schools, I am rather irritated that he felt that his religious beliefs gave him permission to comment on my personal relationship.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?

-Ben Stein (via nikosnature)

I’m far too lazy to check to see whether a bunch of people I despise really said something I disagree with so I’ll focus on the ‘argument’ instead of whether or not Ben “I’m bad at producing false documentaries” Stein really told this story or whether Anne Graham really was the one to say the horse crap I’m about to argue against.

If there is a god and that god is omnipotent and meddles in the affairs of humanity, disallowing the state endorsement of that or any other god in a public school would not be enough to prevent that god from operating in said public school. Or, lo, even New Orleans (just as off-topic as the Pat Robertson “Oh, it was the gays!” complaints).

Jehovah supposedly does things all the time which neither take anyone’s will into account nor are the slightest bit gentleman-like. And there really is nothing preventing you or anyone else from praying in schools. You’re just not allowed to make it some official thing.

Just like I’m not allowed to lead official Discordian services in public schools and a coven wouldn’t be allowed to hold official rites either. It’s a fair trade off that you don’t get to officially do prayer services. If you don’t like it, better be ready to deal with your kids sitting through Buddhist, Wicca, Jewish, Muslim, and Satanist services. Kind of offended by the possibility? Welcome to non-Christians’ world. You’re the frakking majority. Quit trying to pretend like a slight trim to your unfair advantages constitutes oppression.

This “gentleman” nonsense has been going around since long before I gave up Charismatic Evangelical Christianity. It’s a great excuse … if we had any evidence to believe a god existed.

Instead, you sound like the prophets of Baal making excuses for why your god won’t light an altar on fire.

The simple fact of the matter is that I wrote about the possibility of New Orleans flooding back in 2003 (urban fantasy, never finished it but it was based on research a friend of mine did with me). It was common enough knowledge that it was a possibility. What wasn’t common knowledge was that FEMA, Louisiana, and New Orleans were completely unprepared to deal with the crisis and FEMA was headed by someone who had been awarded the position not because of his capability but because he donated a lot of money to the Bush campaign.

Katrina was not a tragedy caused by (or “allowed by”) a god. It was a human tragedy with human perpetrators.

Anyway, would it really speak anything positive to the character of a god for that god to smash ( or “allow to be smashed”) a city just because state sponsored religion isn’t allowed in schools?

Buffalo New York Atheists Are Turning Back To Jesus!

freeingfenrir:

deanpepin:

God is good! 

And it is great to know that Buffalo New York can understand the truth about a Lord who lived—that’s a fact! About a Lord whose trademark was miracles—that’s a fact! And a Lord who rose from the dead—another fact!

You need to read the dictionary.  You clearly don’t understand what the word fact means.

I know you should have never turned from your faith, but God has totally forgiven you, Buffalo New York. Spread the word throughout the college that people are turning against atheism. And tell them to write to me!

That last line, LOL. 

Write me, because I  have no proof that I have changed anyone’s mind by being malicious and cruel.

—Pastor Dean

Your posts are malicious and full of cruelty.  You spread lies, you slander, and you misrepresent in order to make your points seem valid.  I know no one will change your mind, but your posts fly in the face of everything you “preach.”

-helvetebrann

^^

Hey Atheists, you’re right. No life after death, no bright light, no one coming to save you and give you glory. Death, just death, no change. It’s called Hell. The choice is yours.

Another loving Christian taking glee in the theoretical torture of unbelievers and those who believe differently. Fascinating.

I don’t really have much to say to it. Do you think this reflects the love you believe your savior wanted you to exude?

Do you realize it’s possible to be a Christian without being a hateful fundamentalist?

laureneatsyouu:

‎”[As an atheist] my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” -c.s lewis

This realization led Lewis out of atheism and ultimately to Christianity.”

What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?

From the fact that humans, left to their own devices, were perfectly capable of devising a better one. No god necessary.

And when they should conceive (I use the term advisedly) a god or gods, it shouldn’t take much work for other humans to come along and improve on it. Thank evolution by means of natural selection that humanity is not damned to reliance on the thoughts of people as willing to hamper their own imaginations as Mr. Lewis.

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Kevin Max (via bobephen)

No. It’s not all about you. It’s really not.

Every unbeliever has their own reasons for not believing.

This quote makes unbelievers a tool to manipulate your fellow Christians into following your version of fundamentalism. This is incredibly crass.

Please stop using this quote and spread the message on to anyone else you see using it. Unbelievers aren’t object lessons.

Ann Norman

weareatheism:

Name: Ann Norman

Born: 1962

Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Organization affiliation: none

Label: Atheist (but still getting used to it)

Former religious affiliation: Christian

My Story

In my early 20s, I un-became a Christian. I did not “lose my faith” or “reject God”: I un-became a Christian—-a positive act.

I had been a serious Christian. Our family went to church twice every Sunday, which we called the Sabbath, and my social life revolved church camps and youth group. I was missing out on some things—-particularly every TV show that aired on Sunday—-but I thrived on the community and social justice message of the church.

Because of my religious commitment, I joined a Christian relief and development organization right after college. All the volunteers had to fundraise for their 2-year service. I showed a slideshow and raised the $20,000 from hundreds of friends and family at several churches, pledging about $10 or $20 a month each. The organization sent me to Thailand to administer a supplemental feeding program in a camp for Hmong refugees.

At the camp, we worked with people from around the world. The Protestant and Catholic groups were surprised to find many Buddhists and secular humanitarians selflessly working alongside us in organizations like the International Rescue Committee, Doctors without Borders, and UNHCR. (I remember a Thai worker saying “They are our brothers and sisters” when explaining why she helped the Hmong.) The high quality of their service was disturbing for many of the Christians volunteers who, before arriving, had expected our Christian good-works would be a light to the world. Instead we blended in with all the other lights. The example of the non-Christian volunteers was inspiring, but also challenging.

My church’s particular brand of Christianity was very intellectual. The cerebral Paul was our favorite apostle. I had been assured that faith and reason were compatible and, since God had made the world, I could pursue any question to its logical conclusion because the evidence would point to God. So I had been rationally pursuing philosophical questions my whole life since about the first grade. Consequently, by the time I arrived in Thailand, I understood that most of the Bible, if taken literally was utter nonsense. Yet I still believed (OK, desperately hoped) it contained some uniquely profound, transcendent message for the world. Towards the end, I could only maintain this hope on Sundays WHILE singing some particularly inspiring hymn. Even there, the hymn would probably have been about the tortured death of Jesus, and working myself up over this ancient event, again and again, was becoming dull and just a little twisted. I recognized that my internal struggle to believe things I didn’t really believe was getting to be a mental illness.

So one night I was at a prayer meeting with the Christians, when one of my best friends began praying about a coworker. Our eyes were closed, and she was going on and on in her prayer about how she feared for this person, that he was going down the wrong path. She was working herself up towards some real tears. Finally she got to the point: she was worried for his soul because she had seen him reading (horrors!) a book about Buddhism!

Well that was it for me. Suddenly I knew with total clarity that I identified more with the guy reading suspect books than with my friend who was wringing her hands about it at the prayer meeting. I stood up right there, left the circle of the prayer meeting while the others had their eyes closed, and walked out into the night. It was a beautiful warm night. The craziness was over. I was free from religion. And I never looked back.

The next day, I went and found the guy caught reading a book about Buddhism—-because I needed to talk with someone normal. The next Sunday I stood up in the little home church service we had in Thailand and announced to the small congregation that I was no longer a Christian because I just couldn’t force myself to believe it all anymore. I had no idea what would happen next.

It was scary, but mostly I remember the HUGE relief. No more internal conflict. No more lying to myself. And I must give them credit: my Christian friends and coworkers took it remarkably well. Everyone needed to have one heart-to-heart talk with me; they felt it was their duty to try to change my mind—to try to “save me.” But of course there are no magic words that can cause a person to believe something once they are convinced it’s nonsense. So they each gave it one good shot and then dropped it. Everything went on as before. They accepted me. And why not? Nothing real had changed. My best friends from that time are still my friends to this day. We used to exchange Christmas cards, but now I see them on facebook. I didn’t even lose my job. I served out my last six months with my organization. They treated me very respectfully, and I still send the volunteer organization money whenever there is a humanitarian crisis.

Coming out as non-Christian was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Suddenly my world was so much bigger. I was able to connect with people of differing beliefs and backgrounds, whereas previously I was detached from those outside my tiny subculture. If you think your friends are going to hell, it’s risky and painful to get too close. As a nonbeliever, I was free to gravitate towards things in the real world that seemed truly good and fulfilling and fun! I became a happy person. I wasn’t wasting my time pursuing a futile fantasy.

So I was an agnostic for about the next 25 years. I’ve been happy, especially as a mother. I raised my 3 children to be free thinkers. Now they are happy, moral, loving, successful young adults. I’m so glad I spared them the pointless traumas I suffered over religion. My husband is in fact a practicing Christian, but he knew I wasn’t when we married.

For the longest time, I felt compelled to tell my “coming out” story to anyone who would listen. Mostly they would watch me with a worried expression. Of course, the Christians worry because my experience is challenging to their faith, but even my secular children will have that cautious expression, like, “There she goes again: Mom hating on religion. Why can’t she let it go?” I’ve NEVER met a person who shouts OMG! ME TOO! That’s exactly how I FEEL!” So I’ve always felt a little odd and lonely in this area or my life, until last year. Last year, I went to Jon Stewart’s political Rally to Restore Sanity in Washingon DC; its stated theme was “moderation.” On my sign for the rally, I wrote, “I’m proud to be an American, Where at least I know I’m free” (because I am proud of our American freedoms and the song itself always chokes me up, despite its “God Bless the USA” refrain.) On the other side of the sign, I wrote, “Thomas Jefferson was a Deist, and Thomas Paine was an Atheist.* Just saying …” (Because I’m sick of hearing that United States was founded on “Judeo-Christian values.” It was founded on Enlightenment values, which are also my values.) The sign got a HUGE reaction from about 10% of the crowd. It really hit a cord with some, while most still gave me that familiar worried look. As I walked down the street with my sign, people here and there would read, then burst into a smile or give me a thumbs up. They’d ask to take my picture, or just look moved and say, “Thank you.” One young man ran up to me and shared that he was an atheist at a Christian college, and he got so emotional expressing his solidarity, I thought he was going to hug me. There were others with signs announcing their atheism. It was the day before Halloween, and one person was dressed as the Flying Spaghetti Monster. In one surreal moment, I found myself face to face with a man holding a sign saying, “Read the AGE OF REASON” (Thomas Paine’s devastating critique of Christianity.) Only one person got angry with me, starting an argument and shouting that I was a heretic. He seemed a little unglued so I melted into the crowd. A moment later I was parading again with my sign. A man raised his hand over my head and I ducked. He looked hurt: “I wasn’t going to HIT you. I’m giving you a high five!” Then he proceed to pretend to hit me, joking, “You evil atheist!” and I laughed happily.

That was the day I finally became comfortable being called, and calling myself, an “atheist.” I saw the importance of non-religious people speaking up and supporting each other in this mixed-up world. Someone once told me an agnostic is just a wimpy atheist. I’m done being a wimp. I’m going to go for it!

*I didn’t’ realize this at the time, but Thomas Paine, author of “Common Sense” and “Age of Reason” actually identified as a Deist. I had remembered correctly that he was strongly anti-religious (which is an understatement, lol …).

Original Article

300,000 babies stolen from their parents - and sold for adoption: by the Catholic church in Spain

abaldwin360:

By Polly Dunbar | dailymail.co.uk

Up to 300,000 Spanish babies were stolen from their parents and sold for adoption over a period of five decades, a new investigation reveals.

The children were trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests and nuns in a widespread practice that began during General Franco’s dictatorship and continued until the early Nineties.

Hundreds of families who had babies taken from Spanish hospitals are now battling for an official government investigation into the scandal.
Several mothers say they were told their first-born children had died during or soon after they gave birth.

[FULL STORY]

I pray for others constantly and God answers my requests CONSTANTLY. I prayed for an atheist the other day, a professed, aggressive, self-proclaimed authority on atheism, and his heart softened. Pray for people who don’t believe. Pray for people who don’t know what to believe. Pray for people who hate you. Pray for people who insult you. Pray for your enemies. But whatever you do, pray,pray pray! And you’ll eventually whip-up a miracle!

Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)
7  “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
—Pastor Dean (via deanpepin)

You keep making these claims about people. I’ve asked you once before to link to someone who is actually doing the things you say they are. If you don’t start backing your claims up, I must conclude you are a liar.

(via deanpepin-deactivated20111108)

An atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her and said, “Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.”

The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, “What would you want to talk about?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said the atheist. “How about why there is no God, or Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?” as he smiled smugly.

“Oh, wow. Mister, I think we’re caught in one of those e-mail forwards my ignorant parents send out,” the little girl said.

The atheist blinked his eyes and seemed to be in some pain. “I think you may be right. I hate talking to strangers on airplanes and proselytizing is something I hate most of all.” His face turned red and he scowled.

“It’s ok. We’ll show them.”

“What do you suggest?”

She held up the book she’d been reading.

The atheist chuckled. “Yes, I think we will show them.”

And for the next hour and a half, they irritated the shit out of their fellow passengers by discussing the merits and potential flaws of Anton LaVey’s Satanic Bible.

C.S. Lewis