Bob’s post a while back about the comfort that God brings when you don’t make the cheer squad reminds me of a kind of response you ofter get from theists to the problem of evil: They think of cases like this, and note how failing to make the cheer squad might actually be a good experience of growth for little Marie, and then extrapolate that the lack of hardships wouldn’t be as good a world.

And when 15-year-old Marie Massey gets her heart broken — like when she didn’t make the varsity cheerleading squad recently — she knows she’ll find comfort in church. “Right after I didn’t make (cheerleading), the sermon that week was about how everything happens for a reason and how God has a plan for you,” said Massey. “I know that if I have a problem, church can give you advice.”

So, sometimes when bad things happen — like you don’t make the cheer squad — it’s really for the best. Therefore, continues the theist’s “reasoning”, if you think bad things (like being buried alive in an earthquake, fried to death in a car sitting in the sun, or born with a fatal disorder) are really senseless — well then, you’re just not seeing the big picture. After all, look at Marie and the cheer squad!

A new study indicates that the “U.S.’s #1 Religion Loses Ground” — #1 being Protestantism. In fact, the prediction is that win a couple of years, Protestants should make up less than half of the U.S. population. And most of the report is about how the various flavors of protestant are getting together for the safety of numbers. But what they bury in the report mostly is who it is that’s gaining, if Protestantism is losing. Who is it then, you may ask?

US. That’s right, “none” is the big winner. From 1991 to 2002, “None” increased from 6.3% to 13.9% — far and away the third-biggest group, after Protestants and Catholics.

We’re number three! We’re number three!

Explosion victims praise God for life

Four of the five workers who were seriously injured in an explosion on an off-shore Petrotrin/Trinmar platform were yesterday praising the Almighty they survived the ordeal.

Yes, Praise God!

However, the outlook for the fifth victim � Kenneth Merrique � is not so good as he underwent emergency surgery yesterday, and is reported to be in a coma. Merrique, 55, suffered serious head injuries during the explosion on the Trinmar off-shore platform on Wednesday morning at Block Station 16 (North) in the Soldado Field off the Gulf of Paria.[...] Anthony, who suffered spinal injuries, added that he saw Merrique lying unconscious on the ground with a gaping wound to his head.

Yeah, whatever, blah-blah-blah. Still, Praise God!

…and boy do they deserve it.

A new Pew Research Center has some interesting stuff about politics and religion. The big theme is no surprise: GOP the Religion-Friendly Party. But the details are interesting and worth a look. A few appetizers:

…more Americans see the Republican Party than the Democratic Party as friendly toward religion (52% to 40%)…. The stem cell controversy is growing in visibility, and a majority of the public (52%) now feels that the potential benefits of such research are more important than preserving the embryos that would be destroyed — up from 43% in March 2002…. 64% of voters say the issue of “moral values” will be very important to their vote. Kerry and Bush run about even among voters on the question of which candidate could do the best job in improving the nation’s moral climate (45% Kerry vs. 41% Bush)… [there is] widespread opposition… to political parties asking church members for lists of congregants so the parties can encourage them to register and vote… [and] Americans continue to oppose the idea of churches and other houses of worship endorsing political candidates. Nearly two-thirds (65%) say churches should not do this, while just 25% find it acceptable…. Roughly seven-in-ten voters (72%) continue to say it is important to them that a president have strong religious beliefs….a sizable majority of the public (72%) believes that it is proper to display the [ten]commandments in public buildings; just 23% say this is improper….

Lots more in the survey. Although there are glimmers of good (stem cell research, churches out of political process), the expected ugliness far outweighs them.

Newdow tried to appeal the Pledge case but got dismissed:

Because the Supreme Court settled the Newdow case without addressing the broader question of separation of church and state, other parents could pursue a case similar to Mr. Newdow’s. And he could renew his lawsuit if he is awarded full custody of his child.

Don’t think he actually thought it would work, but I can appreciate the effort.instantly via card credit internet acceptaccredited schools engineering electronic onlinepersoanl bad with loan credit 30000credit report free alabamacredit line receivable accard cheap online credit acceptaccredited degree students credits institution coursesaccredited mba schools Map

Just surfing around on Losing My Religion and found a cool quote:

“God says do what you wish, but make the wrong choice and you will be tortured for eternity in hell. That sir, is not free will. It would be akin to a man telling his girlfriend, do what you wish, but if you choose to leave me, I will track you down and blow your brains out. When a man says this we call him a psychopath and cry out for his imprisonment. When god says the same we call him ‘loving’ and build churches in his honor.”

I personally prefer The Sopranos characterization, but whatever. This still works for showing how dysfunctional the whole setup is.porn movies cheerleadingporn cheerlidingmovie porn cheesypornotube cheggitlately chelsea pornporn sinclaire chelsea starpornstar rae chelsieporn chemistry dvd Map

Godchecker - Your Guide To The Gods has “more Gods than you can shake a stick at”; you can “Browse the pantheons of the world, explore ancient myths, and discover Gods of everything from Fertility to Fluff with the fully searchable Holy Database Of All Known Gods.” Main menu items include “Top Gods”, “Find a God”, and “God Shop”. And each main section (e.g., Native American Gods) starts with a “Top Ten” list.

Finally, gods presented as they should be — as team logos. “Go Thor! He kicks Apollo’s ass!” “No way! Bumba rules!”

Nice little article for all the Bayesians in the audience: God’s Number Is Up

Indeed, based on my own theory of the evolutionary origins of morality and the sociocultural foundation of religious beliefs and faith, I would begin (as Unwin does) with a 50 percent probability of God’s existence and plug in these figures: recognition of goodness (D = 0.5), existence of moral evil (D = 0.1), existence of natural evil (D = 0.1), intranatural miracles (D = 1), extranatural miracles (D = 0.5), and religious experiences (D = 0.1). I estimate the probability that God exists is 0.02, or 2 percent.

Some good, clean fun for all you math folk.free ringtone polyphonic nokia 3588i7827 ringtonesbarrington adoptioncent candy ringtones 50 shoplonely ringtone akonringtones akon lonelyforce air academy ringtonesfor ringtone motorola addictive Map