Bill Maher seems to be following in Michael Moore’s footsteps by putting out a movie called Religulous. This film, which I’m certain will prove to be extremely divisive, makes the case that the most dangerous force on earth is religion.

Maher’s ultimate message is simple: Abandon religion… or we’ll all die.

In the clip that follows, Maher lays out the foundation of this statement. Here are a few choice quotes which I believe pretty much sum things up:

• “If one believes that the world is going to come to an end, does it not drain one’s motivation to improve life while we’re here?”
• “Religion must die for man to live.”
• “Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking.”
• “Those who preach faith and enable and elevate it are intellectual slaveholders.”
• “Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings, who don’t have all the answers, to think they do.”
• “The only attitude for man to have about the big questions is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but doubt.”
• “The solace and comfort that religion brings you, actually comes at a terrible price.”

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If you ever get a chance to spend some time in Minneapolis (hopefully not during the cold, cold winter) you owe it to yourself to go downtown to the Riverfront District and check out the sites in and around the old Mill City Museum. (Hours and Directions.)

The name Minneapolis is actually derived from “mni”, the Dakota word for water, and “polis”, the Greek word for city. Minneapolis is nicknamed the “City of Lakes” and the “Mill City” – hence the necessity of seeing the historic riverfront area.

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Time magazine just put out an article about how a certain type of Pentecostal Evangelism likely put a large number of consumers more or less in harm’s way by preaching that “God will give you a house, if you first give to God (as in… make an offering to the church).”

The religious movement, spearheaded by Godatorium super-star Joel Osteen (who may also be the devil), is called Propserity Gospel – and teaches that, dammit, God wants you to be rich in this lifetime as well as the next!

And quite a few folks are apparently coming around to this idea…

In three of the Gospels, Jesus warns that each of his disciples may have to “deny himself” and even “take up his Cross.” In support of this alarming prediction, he forcefully contrasts the fleeting pleasures of today with the promise of eternity: “For what profit is it to a man,” he asks, “if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” It is one of the New Testament’s hardest teachings, yet generations of churchgoers have understood that being Christian, on some level, means being ready to sacrifice–money, autonomy or even their lives.

But for a growing number of Christians like George Adams, the question is better restated, “Why not gain the whole world plus my soul?“

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Ok. This scares the crap out of me! Sarah Palin’s church, Wasilla Assembly of God, apparently has created the Master’s Commission: Wasilla Alaska which is some kind of… um, I don’t know what to call it… cult? And for the record, she was baptized in this church at age 12 and attended it for most of her adult life. As I understand it, when she was inaugurated as governor, the founding pastor of the church delivered the invocation.

Anyway, no need to guess as to what is being preached, luckily all of the sermons are online so you can spend as much time listening as you please.

According to one anonymous person, you’ll hear the following if you listen to them (heck, I’m not gonna do it):

• “Pastor Kalnins” has also preached that critics of President Bush will be banished to hell; questioned whether people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted to heaven; charged that the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq were part of a war “contending for your faith;” and said that Jesus “operated from that position of war mode.”
• Kalnins bristled at the treatment President Bush was receiving over the federal government’s handling of Hurricane Katrina. “I hate criticisms towards the President,” he said, “because it’s like criticisms towards the pastor — it’s almost like, it’s not going to get you anywhere, you know, except for hell. That’s what it’ll get you.”
• Kalnins has preached that the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq were part of a “world war” over the Christian faith, one in which Jesus Christ had called upon believers to be willing to sacrifice their lives.
• He preaches repeatedly about the “end times” or “last days,” an apocalyptic prophesy held by a small but vocal group of Christian leaders. During his appearance with Palin in June, he declared, “I believe Alaska is one of the refuge states in the last days, and hundreds of thousands of people are going to come to the state to seek refuge and the church has to be ready to minister to them.

Anyway, ignoring all of that, just watch the promotional video for their “intense discipleship training program”:
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By Guest Star: Karen Rhodes

I am agnostic….

Now a lot of people confuse this term and here is my way of clarifying the matter. The way I look at it, I can’t even figure out my taxes, so what chance do I have of figuring out which universal belief system I should subscribe to?

I actually have a theory that accountancy helps people select their religion.

• If you are happy with a more nature centered life and pay taxes in grain/produce or the profit from selling such, then paganism may be the religion for you.
• If you are more in the commodities market and find solace in diversified highly portable wealth then Judaism is just for you.

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All you hear about on the news today is Obama’s racist preacher this… and Obama’s preacher that…

Well, I don’t like to trust the mainstream media to do my interpreting for me. No sir, as Stephen Colbert likes to point out, the mainstream media is way too focused on “truthiness”, and I don’t like to be all weighed down with “facts”. That’s why I like to turn to the Red State Update, to get my news from Jackie and Dunlap!
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Wow, this article got e-mailed to me and it’s so racy I just had to share it and see what kind of comments we’re going to get. This article has it all: War, bigotry, hatred, death… kind of reminds me of The Princess Bride, but without the “kissy” parts.

My favorite part of this rant:

Consider that, in all of Europe, no one under the age of 65 has picked up arms in defense of their country. That task has been borne by the United States since Hitler surrendered in 1945.

Originally published in The Brussels Journal, billed as “The voice of conservatism in Europe” (yeah, right), this article was written by Paul Belien a fairly radical thinking lawyer/PHd and journalist. Oh and he is the director of Islamist Watch, a project which combats the ideas and institutions of Islam in the United States and other Western countries. So I wouldn’t exactly call him an unbiased bystander.

The premise of the article is basically that Muslims are taking over Europe, and Europeans are too weak to do anything about it. So unless you want to die or submit you need to move the heck out! Read the rest of this entry »

Holy crap. Has anyone heard of the film / book called The Secret? I hadn’t, but after watching this funny little video I feel fully informed.

After reading through the massive Wikipedia entry on The Secret, you’ll learn it:

…uses a documentary format to present the “Law of Attraction.” This law is the “secret” that, according to the tagline, “has traveled through centuries to reach you.” The film features short dramatized experiences and interviews of a team of personal transformation specialists, spiritual messengers, feng shui masters, and moneymaking experts.

Well, I’m glad they didn’t forget the moneymaking experts!
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A while back I wrote about a video of a Muslim cleric who gave a lecture on the proper way to beat a woman. And of course we were recently reminded of the true tragedy of spousal abuse with this film of a man actually beating his wife.

Well, thanks to Adi again we have this follow up lecture from another muslim “holy” man explaining with amazingly twisted logic why women do indeed need to be beaten.
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The Power of Nightmares, subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear, is a BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis. It has a 9.2 rating on IMDB.

There are three one-hour films (embedded below), consisting mostly of archive footage with Curtis’s narration, which were first broadcast in the United Kingdom in late 2004 and have been aired in multiple countries and shown in several film festivals, including the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

This series is as controversial as Michael Moore’s Farenheit 9/11 or Sicko. And it will evoke strong opinions on both sides of the debate about the reality (or lack thereof) of a brewing conflict between Christianity and Islam.
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Ok. I can’t wait to see the comments on this one. Some people are going to laugh at it, some are going to be angry, and some will be preachy. I hope we don’t get into a debate about whether God exists. We’ve already done that here.

I can only guess that some kid’s brother filmed his mom cursing him out after he announced he was an atheist. It’s obvious that the camera was placed on a table and then quickly taken away when it appeared the parents might see it.
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Hold on, hold on. Before everyone goes and gets all upset with me, this is not a jab at Christianity. It’s actually an illusion that features Jesus!

You might need to stare at the lines for a few minutes, but after a little while you’ll begin to see the outline of a figure. I found it helpful to actually step away from the monitor to really see the image pop out.
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