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Why Debating God is Futile
Why Debating God is Futile
I’ve heard and seen plenty of debates about this topic and to me it seems a total waste of time, especially if you’re trying to convert someone to the “other side”.
Debating if God exists is futile
Belief in God basically boils down to how someone perceives the world and it is often times very hard, if not impossible, to change their perception.
This is a very important topic for me as…
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Why do Christians care so much about what we do with our bodies and what gender we do it with? Fuck off and just give us our rights already.
There is a science which has for its object only incomprehensible things. Unlike all others, it occupies itself but with things unseen. Hobbes calls it "the kingdom of darkness." In this land all obey laws opposed to those which men acknowledge in the world they inhabit. In this marvellous region light is but darkness, evidence becomes doubtful or false, the impossible becomes credible, reason is an unfaithful guide, and common sense changed into delirium. This science is named Theology, and this Theology is a continual insult to human reason. If religion was clear, it would have fewer attractions for the ignorant. They need obscurity, mysteries, fables, miracles, incredible things, which keep their brains perpetually at work. Romances, idle stories, tales of ghosts and witches, have more charms for the vulgar than true narrations. Everything is made by chance for those who do not understand nature, the properties of beings, and the effects which must necessarily result from the concurrence of certain causes. It is not chance that has placed the sun in the centre of our planetary system; it is by its very essence, the substance of which it is composed, that it occupies this place, and from thence diffuses itself to invigorate the beings who live in these planets. Every national religion has a tendency to make man vain, unsocial, and wicked; the first step toward humanity is to permit each one to follow peacefully the worship and the opinions which suit him. But such a conduct can not please the ministers of religion, who wish to have the right to tyrannize over even the thoughts of men. (Source)
Welp some seminar notes
I took these notes during a 6 hour seminar that are not necessarily religious: I am not really religious I consider myself an Agnostic
Don't let others get in the way of your beliefs
Does love overcome hate? In the midst of suffering look up and forward
Painful experiences to accomplish his purposes
Takes it and turns it into good
Going to use every detail of your life down the road
If the whole world were athiest god would still be god. He is who he is.
I will show myself faithful to my promises
Don't evaluate Gods justice in the short time
The speaker said Jesus has no sin: yet he healed people on Sunday which was sinful
Life goes in a cycle of relapse, ruin, repentance, restoration, rest
When God seems farthest away he could be laying out the building blocks to the best thing yet.
He shelters the weak underneath his wing-disagree
The path is not always straight but satisfying
Live with passion
Live with confidence
Sin always brings suffering
God is always working - The Holocaust?
Suffering is often deserved-disagree
Suffering seems unjust
Suffering is unexpected/ unimmaginable
Bad can not do good without anyone's permission - Favorite quote that I have ever came up with
The universe is 100 percent for you -no it's not
If you lack faith in God you will suffer- Really?
Suffering leads to a purpose
Speak in creation through our pain - :D
Devastation, desertion, and danger make up pain
Wisdom always sustains us through suffering
Everything is pointless unless you do something to make it something - Another good quote I had
When you believe in something strong enough the people that follow you were ment to- another one
And if you read all of this you are awesome because I sure wouldn't
Please come out and support the youth and young adults working toward their goals in the freethought community.
Exorcism Much?
What: Talk on Exorcism--yeah!
Where: St. Joseph's Catholic Church/Colorado Springs by Southgate
When: July 6, 2011
Church Ranking: in exorcism terms---raaawwrrraaaaacckkkkkmmmm. The people asking questions were more frightening than anything... Let's give them a 4.5.
Pastor: Fr. Grzegorz Golyzniak (He's Polish)
A good friend of mine invited me to this talk that she came upon at her son's daycare, of all places (or something like that), and there was no way I was passing this one up! Over two hours of exorcism chat was a bit overkill for me (pun intended) but it ended up being very enlightening. The pastor was a little difficult to understand with his Polish accent and I kept getting distracted because he was just too cute! It also didn't help that I had a glass of wine with Cynthia before we entered this sacred space--wine is acceptable at a Catholic Church, right? From what Fr. Golyzniak had said, it sounded like there was a pretty good turnout for this talk. He said normally about 5 people show up to these classes or lectures on Catholic Faith/History and there were at least 40 people (if not more!) in the sanctuary with us. After warning people that he was going to show youtube videos and talk about uncomfortable things (so squeamish people might leave) he began with a prayer:
"Prayer of exorcism and anointing before Baptism:
Almighty and ever-living God, you sent your only Son into the world to cast out the power of Satan, spirit of evil, to rescue man from the kingdom of darkness, and bring him into the splendour of your kingdom of light. We pray for this child: set him (her) free from original sin, make him (her) a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him (her). We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
The celebrant continues: We anoint you with the oil of salvation in the name of Christ our Saviour may he strengthen you with his power, who lives and reigns forever and ever.
All: Amen."
He then continued to explain that being possessed by a demon is a choice by the host and that people chose to be evil or to follow Satan. Free will was not used lightly in this talk. I always enjoy when "facts" are thrown about, such as the existence of evil.
::::Thunder Rumbling outside:::: so freaky!
Who gets possessed by demons?
unbaptised children
atheists
people in Africa
anyone who uses "native" medicine
psychics and witches
satanists of course
What are the signs that someone is possessed?
speaking another language or speaking in tongues
strong forces in the body
person is able to foresee the future
Atheism/iconoclasty or blasphemy
Satan worshipers would be number 5 "they are very nice dressed people and have nice manners." They are among us! But, according to Catholic faith, "He will never touch you as long as you are close to God." So, you are safe from possession as long as you are Catholic...?
My favorite part of the talk was when people were provoked to ask questions... Here are some of my favorites:
"Would it be wrong of you to kill someone if they are possessed by the devil?" (Yes, it is wrong to kill people) ha!
"If I have a premonition in a dream, am I possessed? (Yes, you are possessed, too)
"If you are possessed, are your actions still considered sins?" hahaha! (Yes, if you are possessed you are free to sin as much as you want! Go crazy.)
According to the pastor--an exorcist has been called to pray for 5 people in Colorado Springs last year. No one knows who the exorcist is except the people that receive the servies. I never would have thought... Also, the most exorcisms performed in the world are performed in Italy...go figure. However, Africa is said to be the host of the most possessions because they do not have the right religion in their life, apparently.
In case you were wondering...there are four parts to getting possessed:
Curiosity (extreme Halloween parties)
Pleasure Commitment (satan's bribe)
Full commitment (full possession and chose this possession)
The End (Free from Satan or the person dies) eek...
How does the priest go about getting rid of Satan from the host?
The priest is called to do the exorcism (and only few priests are trained to do this)
Profession of faith/Gregorian Masses for 30 days after the death of the possessed in order to save them from purgatory
Pray five times a day
some other stuff that I started zoning out on...
In closing: This was an informative and interesting talk to sit in on. I was definitely frightened of the other people in the room and tried to remember their faces so as to avoid them in public in the future. I am glad I had a glass of wine beforehand and I'm even more excited that there was an epic thunderstorm outside while it was going on! Jokes aside, the pastor actually did a nice job of explaining the possession of someone as a last resort diagnosis after scientific and psychological evaluation. If I had a family member that had something going on with them and doctors couldn't find out what was wrong and psychologists were throwing there hands up, why not bring in an exorcist? It couldn't hurt! He closed his talk saying "It is important to look at things from the practical point of view." Just how practical is exorcism? You tell me...
A New Crazy
We haven’t forgotten you! In this episode we discuss the Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate at the University of Notre Dame. You can find the video (in 9 parts) here. Unfortunately, the audio version I mentioned during the podcast is no longer available. Also interesting is an account of the debate by Sam Harris himself.
We also discuss the definition of atheism and what it is…and isn’t. We go on a bit, so enjoy our fun rambling rant! Also, please note that Melissa was on heavy doses of Sudafed™ during this podcast, which might explain a few things…
