Archive for the ‘history’ Category
2 November, 2009
Some years back, I went on vacation (with the (((family))), of course) to Yellowstone (same destination described in a much earlier post, but a different year (and without the providential porta-potty)) On the first day, we drove to Janesville, Wisconsin and let the kids enjoy the fantastic city parks there. Second day, we drove to Bismark, North Dakota.
As we passed through eastern North Dakota, the brilliant blue sky gave way to dark clouds. And some really impressive thunder heads. Coming over the high ground to the east of Bismark, we spotted some funnel clouds on the horizon. We tuned in to the radio and listened to all the warnings. And kept going into town. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Christianity, god, history, Me, religion | 9 Comments »
20 September, 2009
Over at the Spanish Inquisitor, SI brought into the discussion about the recent study showing that religiosity and teen pregnancy are closely linked a view into the willful ignorance of faith. Faith, the willingness to believe something despite no or contrary evidence, requires ignoring certain aspects of the world around us. And to protect the worldview of the faithful, almost anything — the beliefs of other religions and cultures, any contrary world view, even the findings of scientists — can be relegated to myth. The thing of it is, though, every religion teaches that their mythology is fact, and all others are myth. Maybe they are all correct. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Bible, Christianity, creationism, Evolution, god, history, Me, Mormons, religion, Satan, school | 42 Comments »
30 June, 2009
Today, (((Wife))), (((Boy))), (((Girl))) and I went for a drive. We meandered up the back roads of the Pocono Mountains, traveled West to Binghamton, and then down through the Endless Mountains and the Back Mountain back to Wilkes-Barre. We managed to stay off the main roads. It was nice.
I did, however, see a sign for a church up in Laceyville, PA. And the name of the church brought an instant reaction from me. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in (((Humour))), abstinence-only education, Christianity, Church Signs, education?, history, humor, Me, religion | 17 Comments »
24 June, 2009
When I was young, I lived at the Grand Canyon. Right on the South Rim. Went to Grand Canyon Elementary School. Fun place. One year (and this is from How I Got Where I Am (an old post of mine (which means I am quoting myself (but I am giving credit)))), Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in (((Humour))), Christianity, god, history, humor, idiots, Me, religion | 21 Comments »
22 June, 2009
When I was 12 years old, we moved from Grand Canyon, Arizona (a small (less than 3,000 year round residents) and educated (more than half the families had at least one member with a college degree) one) and moved to a small town in western Maryland. I moved from a school with 16 students per grade to one with about 200. And I moved from an ecumenically open and diverse community to a northern lobe of the Bible Belt. I felt a strong need to belong. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in atheism, Authoritarianism, born again, Boy Scouts, Christianity, history, humor, hypocrisy, idiots, prayer, proselytizing, religion, Religious Abuse | 33 Comments »
26 May, 2009
Archbishop James Ussher was a brilliant man. He decided to figure out just how old the earthis and used both written history, astronomy, and the Old Testament of the Bible to do it. And he arrived at the “entrance of the night preceding the twenty-third day of October in the year of the Julian calendar 710.” In other words, October 22, 4004 BC. Despite slipshod calculations and a hefty helping of assumptions, this date is accepted by a remarkable number of Americans. In the early 17th century, science was so limited, so primitive, so unrefined, that Ussher’s estimate was not bad. Wrong, but, given the temporally necessary limitations, not bad. He had an excuse. He did not have to disbelieve almost everything in order to hang on to that date. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Bible, creationism, Evolution, history, Intelligent Design, naturalism, science, uniformitarianism | 26 Comments »
4 May, 2009
A couple of comments between Chappie and I, over at Postman’s blog, Postcard’s From Gawd, got me thinking about the various sins — especially tobacco and liquor (which really wouldn’t work all that well in hell; heaven would be a heavenly atmosphere for these sins). And it got me thinking about the attitudes of kids back when I was in high school. Last century. Way back in the 80s (no, (((Girl))), the 1980s).
In high school, I began to watch people. Not in a freaky, stalking way, but in an almost sociological way. I began to observe. I tried to figure out why people acted the way they did, behaved the way they did. One of the most fascinating aspects was the disconnect between words and deeds. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Abstinence, abstinence-only education, alcohol, born again, Christianity, history, humor, hypocrisy, Me | 10 Comments »
2 May, 2009
I graduated from high school 24 years ago (it should have been 25 years ago, but I ‘enjoyed’ high school so much I stayed for an extra year). My high school, a public high school out in Western Maryland, was a bit redneck. And quite religious. I never fit in all that well — I wasn’t related to half the school, I didn’t go to the right church (or, really, any church), I didn’t have a German last name, I wasn’t racist.
When graduation came around, I felt an indescribable joy — I would be out of that place. I just had to go through graduation, and then I would be in college. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in atheism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Church and State, history, Me, prayer, Predators, religion, Religious Abuse | 14 Comments »
28 April, 2009
The radical right likes torture. They have a great deal of faith that, despite clear illegality and ineffectiveness, torture works. I find it very difficult to stomach the idea that we, as a nation, are actually debating what torture is and whether it works. I really cannot add a whole lot to the various discussions going on all around the blogosphere, but I can point out a couple of things. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in 9/11, Authoritarianism, conservatives, faith, history, Politics, Reagan, terrorism, the law, torture, United Nations | 10 Comments »
(((Billy))) The Atheist 