Nothing new here. Move along.
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Humanism is sometimes mistaken for another form of religion, or something which is very complex. Here, some well known humanists explain that all humanism really is, is people wanting to live ethical and happy lives, thinking for themselves, without religion imposing its own morals on them which are not necessarily compatible with living ethically today.
This lovely video was recently released by the British Humanist Association in an attempt to define the term “humanism” to those outside our group. Their YouTube page defines the group thus:
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.
I wanted to spotlight this group and their good work humanizing atheists (forgive the pun). We all know that words hold power and “atheist” has gotten a bad rap over the years. “Atheist” is often seen as a sterile, cold-hearted individual trying to force change on happy families while the term “humanist” portrays a lofty intellectual with evolved views who still deigns to care for other people. One would call Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da Vinci “humanists” but Kim Jong-il and Joseph Stalin are “atheists”.
A good reference for this sort of discussion on general views of a word is Urban Dictionary where anyone can post a definition for any word and then the different definitions are voted upon by the public. “Humanist” reveals only a few definitions all of which mention a lack of religious belief but focus more on humanists caring for “the welfare of humans and other living beings”. Meanwhile the term “atheist” has 224 separate definitions which range from “do not believe in god” to snotty bigots to imaginary creatures when the shit hits the fan to aggressive idiots who just need to read the Bible. Please, take a trip through the 32 Pages of definitions and see how much stigma is associated to the word and what we are up against the instant we say we are “atheist”.
Now an atheist by any other name still doesn’t believe in any gods, but is this maybe a term we should drop for the more friendly “humanist”? Or by doing that are we just retitling ourselves like the Creationists—>Believers in Intelligent Design? Personally I see nothing wrong with “atheist”, but I also use the term “feminist” to define myself and that is another loaded word. Maybe the time has come to cut our losses with the term “atheist” until we can reclaim it someday in the future when it is no longer a weapon against us. Or will such a day ever come?
Let me know what you think. Honestly I don’t know the answer myself. I do know, however, that I like what the British Humanists are doing for our cause.
Do you define yourself as:
- Atheist
- Humanist
- A non/dis/un/believer
- Skeptic
- Agnostic
- Freethinker
and why?
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All right fellow piglets. Today we are going to discuss Gay Marriage! This subject has lately been getting a lot of press because of Chick-fil-a’s totally unbigoted anti-gay statements. *rolls-eyes* At this point it is hard to remember what started all this but here is a short summary I was able to unearth under a pile of articles and mud.
Personally this is my favorite response so far, being the geek I am:
But what is really funny is that a fried-chicken shack feels the need to voice a public opinion about gay marriage at all! I mean, will Taco Bell come out next saying that they are anti-pot? Or McDonald’s voice support for birth control? Why does a fast food establishment even need to proclaim religious beliefs?
It becomes even more insane when you consider the source these conservatives keep quoting for their homophobic propaganda: The Bible. The specific quote in Leviticus often used as the reasoning for the “don’t ask don’t tell but do block rights” policy is oft confused.
So, first off, lesbians are totally chill but gay men are not. I once asked this of a local priest and he said that “women are implied, just like women are implied in our constitution to be created equal.” [When I then asked why women can't be priests if we are equal he said something about "women and men are equal on Earth but only men can represent the body of God." Thus continued my descent into atheism.] But personal digressions aside, I do think it is notable that most gay bashing is pointed towards men in love with other men. I attribute this to the continuing dominant male stereotype in our society which prevents men from having emotions, crying, wearing most forms of clothing, and being more open sexually. For whatever reason, being angry is ok and manly, though.
Next, I think this Facebook debate actually sums up the other issues with this text. Yes, Facebook can be an instrument of good sometimes!
Indeed, why can one verse be used as a hammer against a specific group of people who make you “feel funny” but the other bits in the Bible can be easily ignored? If we truly want to be accurate about marriage based upon the Bible then there are actually several options for a biblical marriage which these same protesters would generally consider immoral:
I can go on with this subject, but my two points for the moment are:
- A fast-food restaurant has no place in religious or political discussion. I cannot speak for the future, but thankfully restaurants do not yet have political power in our government. If you are a restaurant owner and decide to place your bigoted opinions out there for people to view, do not be surprised by a backlash. Your opinions are not the only ones and your rights end where mine begin. I have the right to call you on your hate speech and I will do so. I am proud that many others have done so as well. I only wonder, how many obese Americans will really ban them and simply go to KFC instead this weekend?
- Using a single verse from an ancient document as the reasoning behind your hatred does not work when you blatantly ignore the context within which the quote was made and you cut out other sections of the same document as being irrelevant due to “further revelations”. How is it that God, who supposedly authored the text, was wrong for hundreds and thousands of years? Yet you choose to believe that suddenly decades ago God just woke up and changed his mind, basically pulling an “Oops! My bad” maneuver upon mankind. If this God is all knowing and wise then why did the rules change on other things? And why is the misconstrued “rule” still the same on this one subject?
What is positive about this whole thing is that now other companies feel compelled to step up and embrace gays, if only to keep themselves from falling into the same chicken bucket as Chick-fil-a. Now that the conversation is going on a national level, let us keep it going until true change occurs.
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I get email, although I doubt this guy is a fan.
Dear reader,
You Are A Sinner
The first fact that you need to realize in life is that you are a natural-born sinner, a natural transgresor against God:
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10.
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5.
Most people have the false idea that we all LEARN to be sinners as we grow older and are influenced by evil, but this isn’t true. God’s word declares that we are all sinners by nature. We are all transgressors against God.
You Are Going To Die
Death isn’t a very popular subject, but it is certainly a very REAL subject. Sooner or later, your heart will beat for the last time, your loved ones will mourn over your passing, and your body will be laid to rest in a grave. It’s a fact of life. People die, and the Bible tells us WHY:
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23.
Why do people die? People die because people are SINNERS. Do you remember the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden? It wasn’t until AFTER they had sinned that they were subject unto death. God told them in Genesis 2:17 that they would “die” when they ate of the forbidden fruit. Before man had sinned, he was ABOVE death, not subject unto it. Today, however, we are all sinners, because we have all inheirted our sin nature from Adam. We must all die, just as Adam died (Genesis 5:5).
You Will Be Judged
God is the All-powerful Creator, the Supreme Commander of the Universe. He is in complete control of all people, places, and things, so no one should think it unreasonable that God intends to judge all men. We must all give account to our Maker.
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27.
It may be a terrifying thought, but it is still the truth: YOU will stand before God and you will be judged by Him. Every sin that you have ever committed will be revealed–EVERY SECRET SIN! You may have managed to hide many things from your fellow man, but you have hid NOTHING from God. He knows all things, and He will hold you accountable. You WILL be judged.
You Can’t Save Yourself
When God judges this world, millions upon millions of people are going to be absolutely SHOCKED to find out that NO ONE–ABSOLUTELY NO ONE–was able to earn their way into Heaven. People have the false idea that they’ll be permitted to enter Heaven as long as they “do more good works than bad.” The word of God tells us just the opposite:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5.
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6.
The “good works” that you do are only good in YOUR eyes. In God’s sight, you are a hopeless sinner, and your works are totally unacceptable. If you are counting on your own righteousness to save you, then you are setting yourself up for a very big disappointment.
“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Romans 10:3-4.
The Bible clearly states that we are all cursed with sin, and that we are all totally incapable of earning our salvation by our own righteousness. Friend, unless your SINS are removed, God will NOT accept you. You are hopeless.
Your Only Hope Is The Lord Jesus Christ
When you are ready to accept the fact that you are a lost and dying sinner and that your “good works” are unacceptable to God, then you can begin to see your need for Jesus Christ. He came into this world to lay down His sinless life for YOU–to pay for your sins, because you couldn’t. Jesus is your only hope for salvation. Only by receiving Him as your Savior can you enter the gates of Heaven. There is no other way.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” John 14:6.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.
The Lord Jesus Christ has come and PAID for your sins by shedding His own Blood on Calvary. By receiving Him as your Savior, you can be WASHED from all your sins in His precious Blood (Rev. 1:5; Col. 1:14; Acts 20:28; I Pet. 1:18-19). Notice these important words from Romans 5:8-9:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Jesus PAID your way to Heaven for you! By receiving Him as your Savior, you will be receiving God’s ONLY means of Salvation for you. Are you willing to forsake YOUR righteousness and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, your ONLY HOPE for Salvation? Romans 10:13 says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Are you willing to forsake your own righteousness, and ask Jesus Christ to save you? Why not pray right now and ask the Lord to come into your heart and cleanse you from all sin. He will save you just as He promised. That’s a fact. Why not receive Him today?
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Let’s all say it together: “…and Now for Something Completely Different.”
Yup, I’m a singer too. And a video editor. I spliced this up myself! Thankfully iTunes had a backing track and my boyfriend has sweet audio recording skills. Which all combine to mean that I can pop one of these out without too much hassle 
Fun fact: I’ve actually never sung rock/popular music before. In college I was trained in opera and I have done plenty of art songs, operettas, and musicals, but never “popular” music. Or at least, nothing that would be played on popular music stations in the last 50 years. I guess my point here is: this is an experiment of sorts and I’m not sure how it will end up. I do, however, know that this song spoke to me more in its lyrics than an aria has for some time.
(Also, this is my very FIRST YouTube video of myself singing! I’ve always shied away from it over fears of internet trolls. I guess I’m getting a bit more fearless as I age but I’ve reached that point where the worry of being laughed at is less than the desire to not regret having never done something I wanted to do.)
So please give me feedback! This is the first in hopefully several covers I’m planning and I could use some opinions. Otherwise how will I become the first well-known Atheist Musician/Blogger?
*shy-Oink*
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