Of obsession with fiction and the reason behind it

I have been musing, as I often do, on the topic of people's obsession with religious fiction. Whenever you ask a feligious fanatic/fundamentalist and even more moderate believers to prove some part of their faith, the answer is often the same: "Because the bible/Al-Qur’ān/talmud says so and it is the inerrant word of allah/jehovah/god/etc". They take their preferred bit of fiction as fact whithout a moment of doubt in its veracity. Now consider for a moment how these people would react to someone publishing a book with the premise of the world being created by the Q continuum. I'm sure they would see it as pure fiction and nothing more. Why is it then that they don't see their respective holy books as the fiction they are? The reason that comes more easily to mind is indoctrination. I have mentioned before that I find the idea of religious "education" of children as a truly contemptible one, as it is forcing one's beliefs over someone else, worse even, someone else incapable of distinguishing fact from fiction and taking the dogma he or she is being fed, as truth. Furthermore, in the case of the bible (and I'm almost sure it applies to other holy books as well), the belief of its inerrancy is so deeply ingrained that those indoctrinated doublethink their way out of its obvious contradictions. The fact that dogma can supress reason in such a manner is utterly apalling. Not to mention the sheer power of indoctrination (Take a look at Richard Dawkins' Root of all Evil p.2 for a wider view on that one). The point here being the disservice religious education does to humanity in general, converting people into absolute irrationality. That's why I think that religious education should be illegal, just like drinking or smoking, for minors.

Come on, Eureka too?

So, I've been watching this fairly recent series named Eureka, about a town filled with the greatest scientific minds of the US, all in all a rather interesting series for a science and sci-fi nut like me. Season one and everything's lovely, season two and all's well until episode ten. Why, because the writers were utterly incapable of envisioning a town without a damned church, even if the town is filled with the greatest of American geniuses. Oh, and to top things off, the churchgoing was pretty slim until things strarted to go biblical-awry and then the bloody church is filled to capacity. Well done, sci-fi channel, thank you for reinforcing the stereotype of the false atheist, ready to turn believer at the flick of a match. The sad thing is that it has been a good series so far. Hopefully, they won't further wreck with it more religious nonsense.

Rêves doux.

Of theocrat hierarchs and their opinions

Bonsoir, mes chês lecteurs, comment allez vous? Today I bring you this. Apparently the pope not only dislikes the existence of other religions in the world, he criticizes "Secularist ideology", which according to him, denies any kind of "trascendent truth". I'm quite sure that his view of in ideal world is a global theocracy, ruled by none other than himself, who knows, maybe bring the inquisition back, for old times sake. It is fortunate that he is the head of state of a really tiny country, though it is unfortunate that so many people heed his ill-concieved words.
And on the note of ill-conceived words, have you heard of the 7 new capital sins? I find it most paradoxical (not to mention hypocritical) that they had the audacity to put among those "sins" one about becoming obscenely rich at the expense of others, since the Catholic church has been doing it for more than a thousand years, and continues to do so today.

Of government-assisted religious transgression

Bonsoir, mes chês lecteurs, aujourd'hui je suis furieux. Je suis furieux parce que le gouvernement de mon pays a décidé d'offrir quatre-vingt-dix Millions de Pesos (MXN) a l'eglise catholique. Quatre-vingt-dix millions! It is truly outrageous. This particular transgression comes from the state of Jalisco (which is notorious for the borderline and not-so-borderline religious fanaticism of most of its inhabitants). I'm sure you can understand my anger at this event. Oh, and to top things off, the ninety million are to be used to build a monument to catholic martyrs of the Cristero war, when their so called "martyrs" were the ones who started the war and committed the atrocities during the conflict (Further reading here). Mexico is by law a secular nation, and this is an open violation of said law (pdf). As it has come to be expected, the governor of Jalisco is a member of the National Action Party (PAN). The church constantly violates the Law of Religious Associations and Public Cult, one of the more recent incidents being their attempt to coerce congresspeople into not legalizing abortion here in the city by threatening them with excommunication (I'm sure that only scared the people from PAN).

Para cerrar, los que vivan en México y sean seres racionales, y los que no vivan en México y tengan un lugar especial en su corazón para este pais nuestro, no se queden callados ante este abuso. Ese dinero es de todos los contribuyentes y no es correcto que lo desperdicien, mucho menos regalándoselo a una asociación religiosa (notando particularmente que esta asociación, la iglesia católica, no necesita ese dinero para un monumento, porque estoy seguro que el retrete del papa cuesta mas que eso). Que sepa el ciudadano gobernador Emilio Gonzalez que no importa que maquille el asunto como que le está dando dinero a una Asociación Civil, no engaña a nadie.

If anyone requires a tranlation of anything I wrote, feel free to ask for it.

Rêves Doux, chês lecteurs.

Of secularity and belief

Bonsoir mes chês lecteurs! Every country seems to have a party that favors the participation of religion in politics, or at least the creation of laws that enforce religious "values". In the US it's the Republican Party, here in Mexico it's the National Action Party (hereafter referred to as PAN). The PAN originally was a center party that was ready to favor either left or right policies, if those were to favor the country and its people, but it became a highly conservative, right-wing, "christian democratic" party (I cringe whenever I hear christian and democracy together). PAN has opposed same-sex civil unions, legalization of abortion, day-after pills (One member of the party went so far as to call them "weapons of mass destruction"). Fortunately, Mexico, with all its wrongs and flaws, has very strict Church-State separation laws. One example of this in action was seen during the campaign of Vicente Fox Quesada (President, 2000, 2006) when he used the standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a symbol of run for presidency. His effort was quickly stopped and he was given a fine of about 2'000 dollars (a mere slap in the wrist, but a powerful message none the less). Still, the battle is far from over. Catholic priests and bishops have the bad habit of meddling in politics (Exempli Gratia: The church threatening to excommunicate politicians who voted in favor of legalizing abortion here in MX City), particularly the big bad wolf Norberto Rivera.

Fortunately for us atheists, we are not even remotely as hated or discriminated here as in the US, so hopefully we'll one day have an atheist president.

The current president is a member of PAN. Luckily enough he is kept from being too harmful because PAN does not have majority in congress. Some of the less rational of their policies in states governed by PAN are forbidding the use of miniskirts by public employees and outlawing the use of profanity in public marketplaces (Guadalajara and Queretaro).

The sad truth is there is not a "Best Choice" in politics here, rather a less harmful one. Oh well, I'm sure you all know how that feels.

Rêves Doux

Of religion and morality (or lack thereof)

Bonsoir, mes chês lecteurs! Comment ça va. I read an inspiring piece of news and decided to comment on it (link is further down), enjoy.

I've read time and again of christians labeling us atheists as immoral, citing the supposed need for religion in order to be a good citizen (which is utter bollocks, mind you). Funny how they abstain from commenting on one of their own endorsing acts which are widely seen not only as immoral, but also as atrocious. In case you are expecting an example, I have one right here:

Bush vetoed a law that would prohibit waterboarding interrogation in the CIA.

Now, you may be asking yourselves, what the bloody hell is waterboarding?

Wikipedia defines waterboarding as follows:

Waterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing a person on their back with the head inclined downward (the Trendelenburg position), and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences the process of drowning and is made to believe that death is imminent. In contrast to merely submerging the head face-forward, waterboarding almost immediately elicits the gag reflex. Although waterboarding does not always cause lasting physical damage, it carries the risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries (including broken bones) due to struggling against restraints, and even death. The psychological effects on victims of waterboarding can last for years after the procedure.

You can read the complete Wikipedia entry here.

Just so you know, waterboarding was a technique used by the Spanish inquisition.

So, Bush wants the CIA to keep on performing "Autos de Fe" on suspected terrorists, how lovingly benevolent and humane of him...

Now, president Bush is a devout christian, he himself has stated that. Furthermore, he even stated that he, as a christian, did not believe atheists could be good citizens. Yet he wants to keep the CIA torturing people as they see fit. That says quite a bit about christian morality, don't you think, mes chers lecteurs?

Rêves doux.

Ever seen one of those little bibles in a hotel room?

They're place there by this group called "The Gideons".

Their chosen name is taken from a biblical character who supposedly was sycophantically obedient to "God" (and heard his commands directly). Among his great feats were destroying the altars of other religions.

So, these Gideons are a christian organization dedicated to spreading their belief all over the world, incluiding Mexico (I'll go into more detail of their operations here in my next post).

Now, they claim they used the Gideon story because

"Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads."

Of course, since there is no direct connection to this "God" other than the pastors or the bible, they're pretty much looking for someone that will do anything as long as they cite the name "God" along with those orders.

I took the liberty of going through their FAQ and found these two quite outstanding (comments in yellow):

Is The Gideons International a denomination or a church?

No. The Gideons are an association that works with Protestant/evangelical churches. Our members come from many denominations, live all over the world, and share a desire to see the lost come to Christ.

To be read as: "a desire to impose our nonsensical beliefs over the whole damn world". They also happen to consider as "lost" anyone who doesn't share said belief. According to them no non-christian can be truly happy and successful in life. I'm quite certain I'm an example of the opposite, and I know quite a few others that fit into that description too.

What do Gideons believe?

The Gideons International is a diverse association in that our members come from many Protestant denominations with a common interest in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. All Gideons also hold certain core beliefs:

• The Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God.

This point should should be unsurprising, coming from the people who believe themselves to be at the center of the universe. Also, this "inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God" is self contradictory (take the gospels of Luke and Matthew as an example) and written by human beings. I wonder If part of evangelizing a "lost" person is teaching them to doublethink* their way around things like those.

• The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.

And they devote themselves to follow the alleged teachings of someone who lived two thousand years ago, and believed himself to be the son of god. Medicine has long identified this particular type of psychosis. Its called schizophrenia, with some delusions of grandeur.

Members must also:

• Have received Jesus as their personal Savior.
• Endeavor to follow Him in their daily lives.
• Be members in good standing in their Protestant/evangelical churches.
• Have the recommendation of their pastors.

Apparently, these Gideons will not stop until they have managed to convert every last person on the world to christianity. While not quite as bloody as a jihad, the principle behind it is the same. the misguided belief that their belief is unequivocally superior, without proof to sustain such an assumption.

I will follow this post with more about the Gideons activities.

Rêves Doux

*Doublethink is the act of simultaneously and fervently holding two mutually contradictory beliefs. it was used in the novel 1984 by George Orwell