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Release and Reclaim 2008-01-29 20:40:00 LEAVING YOUR RELIGION? . . .or still feeling the effects? It's not the end of the world. Join us at a recovery retreat. "RELEASE AND RECLAIM"A workshop for letting go of religious indoctrination and reclaiming your life. Led by Marlene Winell, Ph.D., psychologist, and author ofLeaving the Fold, A Guide for FormerFundamentalists and Others Leaving Their ReligionWHEN: FRIDAY, Feb. 29, 7PM until SUNDAY, Mar. 2, 3PM. WHERE: A beautiful house near the beach in Alameda, California, minutes from Oakland Airport.Leaving one's faith often creates intense feelings of confusion, grief, anxiety, and anger. The effects of authoritarian religious training can last a long time and run deep; full recovery can be difficult if the issues are not clear and you feel alone in the struggle.This workshop is designed to support you in the process of healing and growth. The weekend is a powerful group experience of sharing personal history, examining key issues, and exploring new l ...

Fifty seven years of atheism 2008-01-29 14:12:28 By Bob PattersonI'm frequently asked why I pursue promoting atheism. I'm told that atheism is a negative and wouldn't it be better to promote something positive? Au contraire! Atheism is a very necessary and positive force in opposition to irrational superstition. Let me elaborate. The world is a finite place. The "blue ball" is only 7918 miles in diameter. The world population is over 6.6 BILLION people (6,600,000,000). The earth is said to be about 4.5 billion years old. Man, as we know him, may go back at least a million years from our chimp ancestors, but has only matured to technology in a mere smattering of years in geological terms. The technical achievements of man is staggering, in such a short time. I remember the first 4-bit memory chip in the 60's; it could count to ten! I was impressed! From the time of the Wright Brothers' first flight (1903) until we put man on the moon (1969) was a mere 66 years! Man did the work and man alone deserves the credit.As an atheist, I s ...

Life after Death 2008-01-29 05:34:40 By Kent I believe in life after death. So do you. The death of once living animals and plants nourish us. That is why we eat. When plants and animals are eaten, they are transmuted into whatever life form consumes them. Even when flora and fauna are not eaten, their decomposition returns nutrients to the soil or sea. These nutrients are eventually taken up by some form of life and reincarnated. This is the way of the world. Living things die so that other living things may live. Life follows death. I don’t, however, believe individual consciousness transcends death. How could it? Consciousness depends on, and cannot be separated out from, our biological living bodies. Yes, our sense of self –which is as close as I can get to understanding what people mean by the word soul– usually endures throughout our lifetime. It survives sleep and periods of unconsciousness. But it is always affixed to our bodies. There is no way for our sense of self to continue on ...

Circular logic at its finest 2008-01-29 05:03:40 Sent in by JeffAs I perused over a lot of the articles on this site, I realized I fit the common profile. I grew up in Alabama my whole life, was born and raised in a Southern Baptist church, and was inducted into the cult around the age of 9. For several years, everything about Christianity made sense (at least from what I could perceive). But, starting around the age of 15 (i estimate), i would get occasional doubts in my mind. E.g. How could a perfectly benevolent god create evil? and if he didn't, wouldn't his omniscience and omnipotence enable him to prevent ANYTHING from creating a malevolent presence? Or if all of creation was ruled by god, why did he have no choice but to sacrifice his son?But every time, I would cast off these thoughts as evidence that I didn't know enough about the Bible.Then, just a couple of weeks ago, I had my revelation. After hearing a lecture from my Geography professor, I decided to do some research on the age of the Earth. I realized that there is ...

Pastors among those charged in $1.6 million fraud 2008-01-28 13:58:34 CHICAGO | Cook County prosecutors on Friday announced a variety of felony indictments against eight people -- including three county employees and three ministers -- in a series of alleged fraud schemes against government agencies that reportedly cost more than $1.6 million."This is particularly shocking because much of this money was intended to help impoverished individuals looking to better themselves," Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine said in a news release."As if that were not bad enough, three of the defendants were county employees in positions of trust and three others were trusted by their communities as ministers," he said.Indicted were:-- Charles Koen, the managing director of the nonprofit United Front Inc. and pastor of Christian Hope Church, 8849-59 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago-- Alex Brooks, vice president of United Front and a minister at Christian Hope Church-- Ronnie Marshall, an United Front employee and a minister at Christian Hope Church-- Joyce Norfleet, a ...

Losing My Religion 2008-01-28 06:56:13 Sent in by BrandineIt's amazing how a little time and a lot of information can completely change your point of view. I never was really touchy about my religion. That's not to say I didn't get offended when someone said something I considered blasphemy, but I wasn't the one who was going to get up in their face about it. I pretty much accepted that everyone had their own road to walk.My sister, Layla, posted a testimony on this site a couple of weeks ago so I won't go into too many of the same details. Suffice it to say, we grew up in the rural south, bible belt where religion isn't so much of a choice or epiphany as it is just a way of life. Even our crackheads are somewhat practicing Christians. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I started questioning my faith. I can pretty much pinpoint the high water marks.I never really gave much thought to my spirituality until I was about sixteen. Until that point, I knew I was saved, and that was good enough for me. Then I moved in wi ...

A response to Christians regarding my thoughts on the god delusion 2008-01-28 06:29:22 By Bill Jeffreys As I said in my previous article, it's very difficult to leave the cult of Christianity once you're vested. The shift in thinking that needs to occur is not an off / on switch. It's more like a fluid event driven type of change. Certain things have to fall into place before we are able to look outside the box of Christianity or any other religion.In my experience, some type of cognitive dissonance needs to occur first. Some type of internal conflict, predicated by an external event, like a child dying or a major conflict at church, or a failed Christian marriage has to happen in the life of the religious person. Some form of "emotion verses belief conflict".Christianity teaches that with God all things are possible. It makes very clear statements that if you do these things, or ask in Jesus' name it will be done. I could list multiple verses to support this, but why waste my time.The problem starts when the Christian has to put these "truths" to the test for themse ...

Former pastor, ex-Christian, and super-villain 2008-01-28 06:16:12 Sent in by MattIt has been almost two years since I called myself a Christian. In my last days as a pastor I decided to take a break, I had grown tired of the stress of the church I assisted at, and the questions I had when I was younger in the faith were still unanswered. It was time to finally deal with them. I walked away, scared of what was ahead for me as all I "knew" was what god had called me to be, but not who I was or what I wanted to be.One night it hit me. "It" was actually a bright balloon that hit my face during a wonderful concert. But as the balloon smacked me I was overcome with laughter and wore a smile -- something I hadn't had in some time. Not only was it okay that god didn't exist, but it was a beautiful thing because all my joys were now mine. No longer was happiness something given to me for being a good solider.Recently I performed at a local "spoken word" event. It was only the second time I had been in front of a microphone since I was a pastor, but this tim ...

Banned From Church 2008-01-25 14:47:08 Reviving an ancient practice, churches are exposing sinners and shunning those who won't repent.On a quiet Sunday morning in June, as worshippers settled into the pews at Allen Baptist Church in southwestern Michigan, Pastor Jason Burrick grabbed his cellphone and dialed 911. When a dispatcher answered, the preacher said a former congregant was in the sanctuary. "And we need to, um, have her out A.S.A.P." Half an hour later, 71-year-old Karolyn Caskey, a church member for nearly 50 years who had taught Sunday school and regularly donated 10% of her pension, was led out by a state trooper and a county sheriff's officer. One held her purse and Bible. The other put her in handcuffs. (Listen to the 911 call)The charge was trespassing, but Mrs. Caskey's real offense, in her pastor's view, was spiritual. Several months earlier, when she had questioned his authority, he'd charged her with spreading "a spirit of cancer and discord" and expelled her from the congregation. "I've been shunn ...

Thinking of the god delusion 2008-01-25 14:39:33 By Bill JeffreysI was thinking about god recently. I was wondering why Christians, like I use to be, don't see the hate, genocide, rape, murder, contradictions, false writings, and so forth in the bible? Why don't they look at the origins of the bible and see how messed up the process was, or how many other gospels and thousands of spiritual writings were circulating before the council of Nicaea, under Constantine who authorized the New Testament, or how the gospels weren't even heard of by ancient people for hundreds of years after the supposed death of Christ, or how the Apostle Paul never cites the gospels in his letters to the churches.I used to think of Jesus as loving and forgiving and my personal best friend. I never looked at his anger, or his killing and damnation of unbelievers. Just look at the book of revelation. Jesus comes back with a sword and plagues to murder people and send them to hell forever. He tells his disciples that they must hate their parents if they are ...

Florida churches just love Snipes 2008-01-25 14:18:32 At about 7 a.m. Monday, before heading for the federal courthouse, actor Wesley Snipes joined black ministers from churches in Orlando, Gainesville and Ocala for a prayer service.Several ministers then came for the beginning of Snipes' trial on tax evasion charges. In front of the Golden-Collum Memorial Federal Building, they talked with reporters, saying they prayed for fairness, deliverance and God's favor.The Rev. Frank E. Thompson, of The Worship Center Orlando, had organized the service at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Ocala."All the pastors came because, No. 1, Wes' from Orlando and we came to pray on his behalf," Thompson said."It's important not only to show support for him - but any person," said the Rev. Fred Maeweathers Sr., pastor of Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Ocala.Snipes' lawyers had raised the issue of whether Snipes, as a black man, can get a fair jury in the Ocala Division of the Middle District of Florida."Can a person get a fair trial her ...

Pastor pleads guilty 2008-01-25 07:16:23 NEW CASTLE - A former pastor of a Slippery Rock Township church pleaded guilty this week to two counts of possession of child pornography.No sentencing date has been set for Robert D. Schmidtberger, 52, but prosecutors recommended a sentence of 12 months minus two days to 24 months minus four days with 15 years' probation.Lawrence County Judge Thomas Piccione, who oversaw the guilty plea, ordered a psychological assessment to determine whether Schmidtberger might be a violent sexual predator.After his release, Schmidtberger will be required to register with the state police under the provisions of Megan's Law.State police filed the charges based on information provided by the America Online Internet service, which periodically reviews subscribers' e-mails. A review on March 12, 2005, detected three e-mails that included images that depicted child pornography.AOL personnel matched the sender's screen name to Schmidtberger and notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Ch ...

You must be a Christian if... 2008-01-25 06:00:51 By Brother Jeff1. You believe that an ancient Book of Myths filled with contradictions, absurdities, atrocities, myths, fables, and plenty of nonhistorical "history" is somehow magically the inerrant, infallible "Word of God".2. You believe that a Magical Being magically brought the universe into existence by speaking a powerful magical spell from Nowhere approximately 6000 years ago.3. You believe, concerning the origins of mankind, that a Magical Being magically made us by fashioning a doll from a mound of scooped up dirt, which he then somehow magically brought to life via His Spook who is also somehow magically Him.4. You believe that Three Magical Beings are somehow magically One Magical Being, and that the Three Magical Beings who are One Magical Being are somehow magically Each Other.5. You believe that mankind "fell from grace" and deserves to be BBQed eternally because two primitive people who lived in an awesome garden located somewhere in the Middle East listened to a lying ...

What is Christianity? 2008-01-25 05:30:35 By Brother JeffThis is my glorious parody of this page (http://www.carm.org/seek/christianity.htm). Glory!Kryasstianity is a religion based upon the teachings and miracles of Jesus. Jesus is the Kryasst. The word “kryasst” means anointed one. Kryasst is not Jesus’ last name. Jesus is the anointed one from the Magical Being who came to this biblically flat world, fulfilled the Old Testament laws and shit, Croaked in the Spook on the big giant stick, and Magically Undeadened Himself physically. He performed many magical miracles which were recorded in the Gospels by the eyewitnesses. He is magical in nature as well as human. Thus, He has two natures and is therefore somehow magically worthy of worship and prayer.Kryasstianity teaches that there is only one Magical Being in all existence, that the Magical Being magically made the universe, the flat Earth, and magically created Adam and Eve. The Magical Being magically created man in His magical image. This does not mean that the Mag ...

Hell? Consider the following 2008-01-24 17:24:11 A video by vdizhoorMany people live in fear of Hell. But is Hell real? In this (my first) video, I put some commonly held conceptions about Hell to the test. Even without looking at the history of how this idea developed, I think there are enough problems within this concept itself that demonstrate that it is fictional, or at least inconsistent with the idea of a Just and Loving creator.To those who believe its real - I hope you will gain a perspective that will put you on a path of realization that Hell is not real and that fear of it is pointless. In either case, I welcome your input.Some points of my argument are:1. A minor side point: Adam ate the apple (fruit of knowledge) not knowing YET good and evil. He was so dumb he didn't even knowhe was naked. He was no more responsible for his choice than a child that tragically plays with a shiny blade or a live hand grenade.Whatever consequences of his action are, be it the tough living outside of paradise or knowledge of good and evil ...