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The iBible 2007-08-12 08:30:59 From the makers of the iPod, the iMac, the iBible and all sorts of other iStuff, comes the iBible! It's the completely automated, Charlton Heston-narrated, self-cleaning, disco-dancing, multi-lingual religious tome of the 21st Century. The good book just got even gooder!To monitor comments posted to this topic, use . ...

Michael J. Behe on the Colbert Report 2007-08-12 08:27:11 From Wikipedia: Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. Behe is professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. He advocates the idea that some structures are too complex at the biochemical level to be adequately explained as a result of evolutionary mechanisms. He has termed this concept "irreducible complexity". Behe's claims about the irreducible complexity of key cellular structures are strongly contested by the scientific community. The Department of Biological Sciences, at Lehigh University, published an official position statement which says "It is our collective position that intelligent design has no basis in science, has not been tested experimentally, and should not be regarded as scientific." [1] His comments about intelligent design have been characterized as pseudoscience.[2][3][4]The Colbert ...

Let the bodies hit the floor! 2007-08-12 06:00:13 Christianity provides a perfectly rational way to view the world. Right? To monitor comments posted to this topic, use . ...

Does God Heal His Own Human Leaders? 2007-08-11 07:27:14 By AtheistToothFairyWe hear much from Christians about how god takes cares of his own flock, especially when it comes to something like god healing the sick via prayer. These Christians insist that praying for someone can at least help abate their disease (despite many non-biased studies to the contrary). They also tell us that praying even for ourselves when we are sick, will also inspire god to intervene on our own behalf.I haven't met a Christian yet that would deny this 'quality' of god, as his handbook clearly states this as a given Christian benefit. So, let us now assume that the bible god really does exists and that he really is suppose to answer our request for a healing (even if only conditionally).Would it then not make perfect sense that he would also take care of his human religious leaders?Surely if any run-of-the-mill believer can have god help them through this praying ritual, for either themselves or others, then it wouldn't make very much sense that god would turn ...

Pastor arrested for assault 2007-08-10 19:12:51 A San Antonio pastor and an employee of his Christian boot camp were arrested today on aggravated assault charges, accusing them of dragging a girl behind a van after failing to keep up with others during a running exercise. Investigators with the Nueces County Sheriff's Office arrested Charles E. Flowers shortly before noon at the Faith Outreach Center in northwest San Antonio, said Brad E. Bailey, a spokesman for the Schertz Police Department. The department assisted Nueces County authorities in the arrests because some of the camp's training exercises occur in Schertz. Bailey said boot camp trainer Stephanie Bassitt was arrested later in Kirby. Authorities said both boot camp officials restrained a girl June 12, tying her to the back of the truck before dragging her on her stomach at the Love Demonstrated Ministries boot camp in Banquete, about 10 miles west of Corpus Christi. The 15-year-old girl's mother complained to authorities about the incident after taking her daughter t ...

Loving Without God 2007-08-10 13:23:03 By Bill JI've come to realize that loving someone without God is incredibly freeing. I mean, as a Christian I was compelled to love people, even my enemies, but to truly love someone you have to be free to do it. Christianity is not about freedom because the ever present threat of hell looms near. It’s also a commandment. It’s not an option. How would you like to be commanded to love everyone? I command you to love every vile dictator and every person that has ever done you wrong. I command you to love the homeless mentally ill drug addict in your city. I command you to love the man that raped your love one. I command you to love the neighbor who lets his dog shit on your lawn. I command you to love your spouse who keeps cheating on you. I command you to love the guy/gal at work who bugs you. Is this really what Christians do?I work in corrections, so I see a lot of people who have done bad things. I've learned that being professional and reasonable goes a lot farther when dealin ...

GOP bigotry rears its ugly head 2007-08-10 09:47:14 Please email Senator Sali your thoughts on this.GOP bigotry rears its ugly headBy: Steve Benen on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 5:21 AM - PDTA few weeks ago, the Senate invited a Hindu leader to deliver the daily invocation. Apparently, this has sent Idaho’s Bill Sali (R) over the edge.“We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes — and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers,” asserts Sali.Sali says America was built on Christian principles that were derived from scripture. He also says the only way the United States has been allowed to exist in a world that is so hostile to Christian principles is through “the protective hand of God.”“You know, the Lord can cause the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike,” says the Idaho Republican.According to Congressman Sali, the only way the U.S. can continue to survive is under that ...

I am an Agnostic 2007-08-10 07:09:02 Sent in by Rip WoodwardI remember at an early age thinking of Jesus as Santa Claus. If I pray to him ,and I am good, then I will get what I want. I contemplated becoming a priest at 16. I delved into the bible and really questioned what the verses meant. I got no greater pleasure than stumping a so called "bible expert". One thing that always bothered me was the notion of G-d not being accessible to me. I had to go through his mediator, Jesus, to talk to him. It did not fit in with my belief in a loving G-d. Later in life I began to experiment with drugs and eventually developed into what most people would call a junky. One thing that drugs do well is equalize people. When you are an addict there is no better than or less than, only who has dope and who does not. To make a long story short I used for too long and eventually got clean.I joined a program for recovering drug addicts and was given some instructions, one of which was to turn my life over to a higher power. The catch was ...

What was I thinking? 2007-08-09 20:58:15 By Dave, the WMThe longer I'm out of Christianity, the more difficult it becomes to comprehend how I could have ever accepted such a twisted view of reality -- one that promotes flying chariots; floating ax heads; talking bushes, snakes and donkeys; magic refilling urns; water walking; zombies; a worldwide flood; giants; raving, naked prophets; fire falling from heaven from time to time; cruel plagues; and life changing visions that resemble the descriptions of bad LSD trips.This is the reality one must accept as a Christian: There is an invisible war going on between the sovereign ruler of the universe and one of His former minions. These "guys" are waging a battle over the eternal souls of the upright-walking, hairless monkeys living on tiny planet circling a particularly unimportant star on the outskirts of a small and ordinary galaxy. The prize? If the monkeys have the correct thoughts in their heads (Believe in Jesus, whatever that really means) at the time they expire, the Big ...

Priest arrested for jogging naked 2007-08-09 13:15:53 Provided by Monk:FREDERICK, Colo.—A Catholic priest faces an indecent exposure charge after police said he went jogging in the nude about an hour before sunrise. The Rev. Robert Whipkey told officers he had been running naked at a high school track and didn't think anyone would be around at that time of day, a police report said. He told officers he sweats profusely if he wears clothing while jogging. "I know what I did was wrong," he said in the report. Whipkey did not return phone messages. His attorney, Doug Tisdale, told the Longmont Times-Call that Whipkey had no comment. Whipkey, 53, was arrested June 22 in this small town about 20 miles north of Denver. An officer said he saw a naked man walking down the street at 4:35 a.m. The U.S. Naval Observatory Web site said sunrise that day in Frederick was 5:31 a.m. The officer said when he shined his flashlight at the man, he covered himself with a piece of clothing he was carrying. The Archdiocese of Denver said it takes the inciden ...

When I was 15... 2007-08-09 13:00:34 Sent in by Robert WFor me, the worst part of being a Christian was this: taking things on faith, even when my mind totally, utterly disagreed with what Christianity wanted me to believe in. I'm soon going to be 31, and I had my first moments of doubt when I was about 15. I can't remember what, exactly, set me off, but the end result was that I became a bit more fanatical about my belief in the truth of Christianity. That's not odd, I suppose. How many Christians who, when they feel doubt, begin to fear that Satan is working his wiles upon them? They, like I was doing at the age of 15, cling more tightly to a sinking ship. The water spills out of the ship, the ship goes down to the deep, so to speak, but the faitful remain unawares in a mad, blissful sort of way. That's how I was at age 15, and up on through till my mid-20s: unaware, mad with faith of a sort, and blissful with that happy sort of stupidity that only a complete denier can possess.Now, at almost 31, I'm having, I hope ...

Military Leadership Ethics Breach in Christian Video 2007-08-09 08:32:04 Sent in by JoeB, from the Washington PostThe Defense Department's inspector general has found that four generals and three other military officers improperly participated in a fundraising video for an evangelical Christian group, inappropriately offering support for the religious organization while appearing to operate within the scope of their official government duties, according to a 47-page investigative report.Investigators concluded that the officers should not have participated in the filming in 2005 of a 10-minute video for Christian Embassy, a nonprofit religious group, which ultimately used the video as a fundraising tool. While Christian Embassy has hosted prayer meetings at the Pentagon for years, the inspector general concluded that the officers' endorsement of its activities -- while in uniform, showing their rank and in the halls of the Pentagon -- violated ethical rules."The overall circumstances of the interviews emphasized the speakers' military status and affiliat ...

Pastor charged with insurance fraud and theft 2007-08-08 05:15:24 Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced the conclusion of a months-long investigation into the financial dealings of the Rev. Acen Phillips.Phillips has been charged with 12 felonies in Arapahoe County District Court; there are seven counts of theft and five counts of forgery related to insurance fraud. The counts list five people whose names allegedly were used by Phillips for fraudulent policies, but Suthers said there were others who said they were duped by the reverend. Phillips is accused of stealing or attempting to steal more than $575,000 between July 2005 and May 2006. He faces up to 81 years in prison and $5 million in fines. State authorities had said they were looking into one life insurance policy that a woman had taken out through a group called American Church United, which listed Phillips as its chief executive officer. Officials said the life-insurance sales program operated by Phillips made his religious organizations beneficiaries when the faithful die ...

You make your own Christianity 2007-08-08 04:31:03 A short clip by comedian Doug Stanhope. Some of the language may not be work friendly. Thanks, xrayman!To monitor comments posted to this topic, use . ...

Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" 2007-08-07 21:58:19 View Carl Sagan's incredible series Cosmos online. You'll need a DivX player and a high speed Internet connection. LINKWikipedia article about Cosmos: LINKTo monitor comments posted to this topic, use . ...