Carnival of the Godless — Xmas Eve Edition (for Sean)
24 December 2006 by Bob
Dedicated to Sean: In Memoriam.
Many thanks to all who submitted. (This excludes all the xian-dumbass-trolls.)
Before I begin the Carnival, I just want to make a quick announcement that Santa Claus died the other day, and that we’re all very concerned.
Anyway, moving on…
I guess if there’s one way to start a Xmas Eve Edition, it’s to deny that annoying Holy Spirit straight off, and Aaron does this on Kill the Afterlife. Yes, there’s nothing like blasphemy to get things going.
Aaron, maybe it was just the timing of the season — i.e., I was noticing the nativity scene on the lawn across the street from me when I saw it — but that video really cracked me up. Nice job. (Your soul will, of course, burn in hell forever. But, still, nice job.)
And now we can focus on other aspects of this holiday season. Bruce from Grounded in Reality writes about how Xmas is not a religious holiday:
You want your religious holiday back? How about “ChristDay” or “JesusDay”? Just make sure you get the date right this time.
Stardust has a nice little ditty about why she has a holiday tree — with, I should add, some hilarious examples of the visual contradictions of other xmas displays.
We also have, from the About Atheism site, a slightly more formal selection which asks (and answers) the question: “Is Jesus the Reason for the Season?”
Vjack has a nice one simply called, “Happy Holidays — Deal with It.”
Over at Lemons and Lollipops you can find one suggestion for an atheist greeting for the season — which, I should add, seems to work all year round.
Given a previous conversation on this site concerning Santa and kids, there’s a related entry called The Spirit of Christmas, which gives a negative answer to whether or not parents should introduce the concept of Santa to kids. (Maybe he could print out the article on Santa’s death and show it to children. I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t tempted to do it.)
And, finally, since I’m always a sucker for the problem of evil stuff, we have a non-xmas entry from Aaron over at Symbolic Order called “The Trouble with Prayer.” (If you want a classic piece on the same theme, I’d suggest “A Moral Argument Against Miracles” by James Keller.)
Thanks again for everyone who submitted entries (except those xian-dumbass-trolls).
The next Carnival of the Godless will be held at Daily Irreverence on January 7th — so be sure to tune in.
24 December 2006, on 10:37 am
Some Xmas Eve Reading…
The Xmas Eve edition of Carnival of the Godless is now up at God is For Suckers! If that isn’t enough reality-based reading for you, check out Skeptic’s Circle at Humbug Online……
24 December 2006, on 11:53 am
Happy Holidays to all my fellow heathen atheists!
[Too bad Sean isn't here to celebrate with us...
then again...'Buddhistically' (Huh?)...maybe he is...OK...at least he's in our memories!]
Moving right along…
I don’t have my own Website [yet]; which means I have have no ‘copyrighted’ original content.
For my part, I guess I’ll just pass on some pretty interesting…and very holiday related…YouTube “Solar Mythology” videos, for your consideration.
I’ve been thinking seriously of passing these on to some of my Xtian relatives and associates…BUT…perhaps I’ll overcome the temptation, in the name of…’Peace Keeping’?
Then again, I [and some of you, perhaps?] could just 1) send, 2) “redeploy” my ass, and…
3)”Cut and Run!” Sound familiar?
“Whoop-de-freekin’-do!”
Anyway…
See what y’all think about these:
1) Acharya S: Sun of God?
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcLNeMiMiNs
2) Solar Mythology - “Origins of religious belief”
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjrJSgMkL68&mode=related&search=
3) “The Reason for the Season…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THykKjIS1Ks&mode=related&search=
4) Last, but certainly not least…
Richard Dawkins - “Revelations”… [and look for other related Dawkins Videos on the same page]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLN1Bd7M1hc&mode=related&search=
Oh, and…
A very Happy Carnival to everyone! Of course…
“POST RESPONSIBLY!”
24 December 2006, on 1:22 pm
Carnival of the Godless - Christmas Eve…
The Christmas Eve edition of the Carnival of the Godless is up at God is 4 Suckers. Some good posts, as usual (though I’m starting to get a complex; once again my submission is rejected…)….
24 December 2006, on 2:19 pm
Good Job Bob
I hope your holidays are going well
24 December 2006, on 2:54 pm
Thanks very much, Jimmer…
And the same to you…
It’s been touch-n-go, as expected…
Luckily, we’re stocked up on wine and liquor…
24 December 2006, on 3:12 pm
Yes, thanks Bob. Hang in there.
My thoughts are with you and your family.
Happy Holidays to all our readers who celebrate the holiday season with family and friends…and thanks for helping to keep GifS going after a very tragic and difficult few months since the loss of our good friend and “captain”.
I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year’s and don’t forget to raise a toast in memory of Sean.
24 December 2006, on 4:30 pm
Argh! Can’t believe I misspelled your blog’s name in my trackback… Nice job with the carnival, thanks!
24 December 2006, on 11:25 pm
Thanks everybody! I’ve had so much fun going through the links tonight! And making Flying Spaghetti Monster ornaments with my kids (ages 4 and 6):
My 6-year-old made hers (red/purple eyes) all by herself, and my 4-year-old had help with his (blue eyes). I hope the picture shows up. Apologies if it doesn’t.
24 December 2006, on 11:26 pm
FSM ornaments!
Here’s the link, since it didn’t make it through.
25 December 2006, on 9:34 am
Bean
That is really cool.
25 December 2006, on 1:15 pm
Bean, those are awesome! LOL!
25 December 2006, on 2:54 pm
What? No Santa?!
I call ~BS~ cuz dude is dangerous and must be stopped! Please help catch this madman by creating your own image for posting so the authorities can finally apprehend this sick villain.
Merry Chris’mas all!
25 December 2006, on 4:14 pm
Well, it’s the 25th…
Thanks so much Bob, and everyone for some great posts and comments.
As Stardust said, Bob…hang in there…
I reread a lot of the Memorial comments last night; and it brought back some very emotional feelings for me. It had to be so tough for you guys, who were really close friends of Sean.
Just getting to know him at a distance…from his marvelous GifS posts, and his sensitive, intelligent, and TRULY compassionate personal replies to me, and to all the GifS member comments; gave me SOME appreciation of what a tremendous person he was. I still can’t quite accept that he’s not with us!
In spite of our somewhat ‘dampened’ Holiday sadness…I wish all of you: Continued success, the Best of Health, and a wonderful remaining Holiday Season!
This decade is really flying by…2007 comin’ up!…YIKES!
One more thing.
Has there been any ’sign’ of RDZ, King Retard, Rat Bastid, even Old Git, and a few others…’whom’ have been…at least for my awareness…conspicuous by their absence? Just busy, I suppose. Anyone have any info…or is it just, that I’m totally ‘outa wack’?
Do any of ‘youse’ guys know? I missed having their usual creative posts; and at the very least, their comments. Maybe I just missed looking in the right spots? Of course, the day is young, yet. I hope all is well with them.
Nothing much surprises me though, these days!
Love and Peace to all!
25 December 2006, on 6:14 pm
Hey Chuck, and all the people who’ve made me welcome here but are too numerous to list, here’s wishing you all a very unreligious holiday and a fulfilling new year!
And, no, Chuck, I haven’t been too busy, just unable to find anything interesting or amusing to say. But, hey, I feed off you guys!
Take care everyone, and all the best from an old curmudgeon!
25 December 2006, on 9:09 pm
Hmmm, I submitted my critique of C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity” on 12/17 and don’t see it mentioned:
Link here
So, there it is - if you want to add it, great.
26 December 2006, on 1:18 am
Am I a bad person because I giggled a little when Santa died? Yes, I probably am, but I could not help it when I pictured all those poor children terrified at the death of their icon.
26 December 2006, on 6:14 am
Another good link. Sam Harris on 10 myths—and 10 Truths—About Atheism.
http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/10-myths-and-10-truths-about-atheism1/
26 December 2006, on 10:15 pm
The reason for the season… my fave thing ever is that witty little bumper sticker that says “The tilt of the earth’s axis … is the reason for the season.”
I went OUT of my way to get one of those for dh this year. Love it.
26 December 2006, on 11:16 pm
We are getting bashed again:
http://christmatters.freepa.org/?p=248#comments
Typical strawman’s argument.
26 December 2006, on 11:28 pm
TAJ - These gawdly idiots are exhausting. I have had plenty of this type of thing with relatives recently. They choose to remain ignorant because they want their Jeebus and afterlife so badly.
They insist on using their bible to prove their bible…that’s all they’ve got.
27 December 2006, on 12:02 am
Thanks, jimmer and Stardust! Happy…err…Boxing Day? (In all of it’s apparent meanings and forms, the best of which is another day off!)
27 December 2006, on 12:53 am
[...] Commentary, news, and rants on the evils and stupidity of belief in the big invisible daddy in the sky. Illuminating and watchdogging the widespread attempts to institutionalize the theocratic rule of the US. Making fun of believers everywhere. Prev/Next Posts « Carnival of the Godless — Xmas Eve Edition (for Sean) | Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 at 12:41 am [...]
27 December 2006, on 1:01 am
Michael Bains (#12)…that link is so “evil.” LOL!
27 December 2006, on 10:13 am
re: being bashed again.
I can’t even read that garbage. They say that without the Judeo-Christian framework there’s no moral code. Bullshit. The only thing the babble did was put the existing moral code (at least as far as the 10 Suggestions goes) into a religious framework, in other words, the other way around. And of course the babble is full of such wonderful moral stuff, like incest from the get-go, psychological torture (gawd “testing” Abraham and Job), murder of millions in the name of gawd, etc, ad nauseum…
And they talk of the soul and all that garbage as if it actually existed. They want so badly for such a thing to exist, so they become somehow different from the animals that we all are.
Sad, pathetic, stupid, motherfuckers.
27 December 2006, on 11:07 am
Atheist Jew, the admin at that Christ Matters site says this:
“This blog doesn’t allow posts that are meant to merely irritate me with their moronic blather.”
ROTFLMAO. This made me laugh so hard I now need major organ replacement. He gets enough moronic blather from his own fanboys, to supplement his own, that he doesn’t need any from other people. Fair enough.
Hoenstly, it’s a waste of time to even go there and try to argue intelligently.
27 December 2006, on 1:54 pm
Revenant said:
I disagree with that conclusion.
In actual fact it is a waste of time to go there and to try to argue intelligently AND with integrity, since the proprietor of that site would not recognise either attribute if it bit him in the ass (where his brains are situated)!
27 December 2006, on 2:13 pm
I also like the fact that he complains that atheists keep quoting the ‘bad bits’ from the inerrant words of his god in his so-called ‘holy fairy tale’ or bible, as if there were ANY ‘good bits’! LOL.
27 December 2006, on 2:16 pm
And as for his claims that there is a soul, it’s not just atheist who deny that, since Gautama Buddha himself taught that there is no such thing; anyone who doubts that should read the ‘Doctrine of No-Soul’ or ‘Anatta’.
27 December 2006, on 2:58 pm
The Old Git wrote:
Ok so I came to a partial conclusion
27 December 2006, on 3:11 pm
No shit. Wouldn’t a perfect creator be able to create a holy book that was incorruptible and perfect? Further proof of the non-divinity of the babble.
27 December 2006, on 3:38 pm
I also like the fact that he complains that atheists keep quoting the ‘bad bits’ from the inerrant words of his god in his so-called ‘holy fairy tale’ or bible, as if there were ANY ‘good bits’! LOL.
I was recently told by fundie family members that non-believers are “just misinterpreting” the bad parts and just taking certain parts of the babble and twisting them to justify our rejection of the invisible sky daddy beliefs. That was a good one, wasn’t it?
27 December 2006, on 3:49 pm
I have to give Atheist Jew, Krystalline Apostate…and Karen et.al…
] perspective…you guys are extremely knowledgeable, sharp, amazingly perceptive…quick on your feet [OK...fingers?]…”not to mention”…
but ESPECIALLY AJ & Krystalline…WOW!…my deepest respectful ‘Ramen’ for engaging in such a…shall I say…mind boggling discussion. I’m always, personally, reminded of that, oft referred to, little animated icon of “arguing with Fundies is like…” banging one’s head on one’s computer keyboard [or wall, if you prefer!]…and so close to the end of the Winter Solstice celebration! YIKES! [or Sheesh, if you prefer!]
From my totally unbiased [
flatout…”THE UNDISPUTED WINNERS”!
Hmmm…Shall we design a trophy?
In short: “Youse guys gotta lotta guts!”
What! “Atheist Warriors”?
[OK...now I'm hearing that awful Xtian tune in my head...albeit with new lyrics, no less!]
Thanks [I think] for that link AJ! Actually, most of the time, I completely avoid visiting ANY Fundie Sites…
Yeah…like the Plague!
27 December 2006, on 3:53 pm
stardust:
I was recently told by fundie family members that non-believers are “just misinterpreting” the bad parts and just taking certain parts of the babble and twisting them to justify our rejection of the invisible sky daddy beliefs. That was a good one, wasn’t it?
Yeah, allegory sure leads to some twisted neural pathways, don’t it?
I took a few swings, but am unsure as to whether I want to disrupt their circle-jerk much further. I might get splashed w/…a metaphorical something-or-other.
He should rename the site ‘Ipse Dixit for jay-sus’.
27 December 2006, on 3:58 pm
ChuckA:
Thanks for the nod (aw, shucks, he said, drawing a line w/his toe & looking away embarrassed).
What! “Atheist Warriors”?
That made me think of that scene in the ‘Warriors’, where [David Michael Kelly?] has an empty beer bottle on each finger of 1 hand, & clacks them together, chanting, “Warriors, come out to play-yay!”
Substitute the loony xtian of choice as the gang leader.
27 December 2006, on 5:01 pm
Chuck A: I figured out why it is important to do this stuff. I’m not going to change the mind of a Fundy, but all these blogs have lurkers who are still not convinced one way or the other. Many are young. If I have the time, I have no problem CORRECTING theists when it comes to their views of Atheists, which usually includes a large dose on why they are wrong about most things religious.
27 December 2006, on 6:41 pm
Stardust said:
Does that mean that I don’t have to kill my kids if they give me cheek?
Phew, that’s a relief!
27 December 2006, on 7:29 pm
Old Git - I guess xians and non-believers alike must all be “misinterpreting” Genesis 19:24 when God kills everyone (men, women, children, infants, newborns) in Sodom and Gomorrah by raining “fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven.”
29 December 2006, on 7:14 am
Revenant said:
No doubt he/she/it would, but recent research
has shown that their so-called ‘holy book’ was actually written by a tribe of monkeys bashing away at typewriters over an extended period of time.
This ground-breaking finding came to light after researchers had originally tried the experiment to see how long it would take the monkeys to churn out the complete works of William Shakespeare. As the lead researcher, Theodore J. Winkelspein III, said, “We were absolutely amazed at the outcome, for this proves definitively that God has made a monkey out of his believers!”
29 December 2006, on 10:59 am
ROTFL. That explains EVERYTHING!
30 December 2006, on 2:12 pm
Theodore J. Winkelspein III?
I thought it was Winkelspein IV!
But, waddo I know!
What imagery that elicits!
TOO funny Old Git! Keep that up, and America’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ will be looking for you…
or maybe Tony Blair’s minions?