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.
The madness that is Muhammad strikes, and strikes again. It induces a rabid frenzy in its followers, and rains horror upon believer and non-believer alike:
Thousands of mourners have attended funerals for those killed in a double bomb attack targeting Shia Muslims in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
The death toll from Friday’s bombings rose overnight to 33, with 165 injured.
A police official told AFP news agency more then 10,000 people had attended a funeral for 14 Muslim victims. Five Christians are to be buried later.
The attacks – the second at a hospital where victims of the first attack were being treated – targeted Shia pilgrims.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appealed for calm amid fears of growing tensions between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
Security was tightened in Karachi as the mourners gathered.
Security in a predominantly Muslim country where all sorts of crazies are running about ready to kill and die for their ridiculous beliefs must be a nightmare. And especially in Pakistan, a country primarily founded on Islam.
An old blasphemy law, which was written in 1927 during during colonial days, banned insults directed against any religion. In 1986, dictator General Zia-Ul Haw modified the law to protect only Islam. The law require a life imprisonment or a life sentence for anyone who defiled the name of Muhammad or committed other blasphemy. In 1990, a religious court ruled that the penalty for crimes under the law (Section 295-C of the country’s Constitution) is execution. 6 The law states: "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by inputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy prophet Mohammed…shall be punished with death and shall be liable to a fine." The law is being used in Pakistan to discriminate against religious minorities: largely Christians, and Ahmadis. Under the present law, a Muslim may blaspheme Christianity with impunity. But a Christian doing the same against Islam can theoretically be executed.
Small wonder that these uglinesses continue, considering that Pakistan was a country born in the blood of its people. The body count continues, and the texts of alleged ‘holy books’ continue to cut swathes through the populace to this day.
Religion – it brings out the best in people? When? Never. It’s gotta go.
Christians love to make up warm and fuzzy sayings and stories about their imaginary friend. I received a religious email today that contained several of these dumbass quotes that are the romanticized inventions of delusional folks who think they are the special pet of an invisible god who controls all that they do, say and think while looking down from “up there”, (wherever “up there” is).
Here are a few from just the one email I received today:
“Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though
Sometimes It’s Hell in the Hallway”
So, we are going along fine in life and this sadistic god slams it closed, tortures the shit out of us only to open another one? This statement just shows how much thought this was given….none.
A coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.
No, a coincidence is a coincidence. A miracle is when human beings can’t stand not knowing an answer as to why or how something happened, so they make shit up. No grand cosmic puppetmaster is pulling any strings while playing hide and seek.
How about this one?
All true love is from God, and man receives the divine affection as he himself bestows this love upon his fellows.
Christians choose to disregard the fact that the god of their Bible is a sadistic, evil, destroying bastard. Examples of love and affection come from other human beings. Not from the god who had to create a son for himself to sacrifice (who is also supposedly himself at the same time) to allow to be tortured and murdered (and to commit suicide) in order to appease himself. In addition, many Xians are just nice to other people because they think that will make their god happy and they get extra reward points when they get to Heaven or something.
Here is another one:
“Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.”
I think the correct word here would be “deluded”, not blessed.
This is a good time to go ahead and get all those ghastly religious emails out of your systems.
Go ahead and vent. After enduring the religious holiday season, I am sure many of you will welcome the opportunity for random venting.
Damn, Hitchens is really dead-on is this clip (his part ends at around 5:10). Good form, Hitch.
(Granted, I’m not exactly a fan of the times when he’s drunk off his ass — but, to be fair, I’m guessing that daily death threats to one and one’s family might cause one to be slightly anxious.)
LISBON (AFP) – A row broke out in Portugal on Monday after a Nobel Prize-winning author denounced the Bible as a “handbook of bad morals”.
Speaking at the launch of his new book “Cain”, Jose Saramago, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, said society would probably be better off without the Bible.
Roman Catholic Church leaders accused the 86-year-old of a publicity stunt.
Anyone who is familiar with Jose Saramago’s works knows that this is not a publicity stunt on the part of this author. Saramago writes allegorical novels which present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor. He is a proclaimed atheist as well as admitting himself to be a “pessimist”. You can read more about him at Wiki.
The news article goes on to say:
The book is an ironic retelling of the Biblical story of Cain, Adam and Eve’s son who killed his younger brother Abel.
At the launch event in the northern Portuguese town of Penafiel on Sunday, Saramago said he did not think the book would offend Catholics “because they do not read the Bible”.
“The Bible is a manual of bad morals (which) has a powerful influence on our culture and even our way of life. Without the Bible, we would be different, and probably better people,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency Lusa.
Saramago attacked “a cruel, jealous and unbearable God (who) exists only in our heads” and said he did not think his book would cause problems for the Catholic Church “because Catholics do not read the Bible.
Good burn — Catholics don’t read the Bible! And if Catholics and other Christians do read the Bible they read bits here and there and they all interpret those bits any way they want to.
“It might offend Jews, but that doesn’t really matter to me,” he added.
And we’ve heard this following comment many, many times from the believers who cling to this terrible book:
“Saramago does not know the Bible,” the rabbi said, “he has only superficial understanding of it.”
It would be refreshing if they would just be honest and admit that the god of their Bible is a dick.
It would be amusing to just have a contest asking people to guess what the vertical axis on this chart is supposed to represent. The answer is, “reply rate to first-contact messages on an online dating site, as a function of words appearing in the message.” In particular, the site OkCupid, which has a handy rundown of which words and phrases are most likely to garner a reply to an initial contact. (Via FlowingData.) The average response rate is 32%, so you can see how using some specific word increases or decreases your chances of success. Apparently mentioning “God” is a big turn-off, although calling Him by a proper name is slightly helpful. But nothing works at turning a stranger’s head quite like bringing up His complete lack of existence.
Yes, that’s right, kids: If you want to date online, start with you you really are (i.e., atheist), don’t be a jerk when you meet them, and they’ll be nothing to worry about.
By the way, for face-to-face dating, I’d suggest the same thing. Saves a lot of time and aggravation…
Christians love to make up warm and fuzzy sayings and stories about their imaginary friend. I received a religious email today that contained several of these dumbass quotes that are the romanticized inventions of delusional folks who think they are the special pet of an invisible god who controls all that they do, say and think while looking down from “up there”, (wherever “up there” is).
We already knew the Bible is evil, but nice our views making headlines via a well-respected Nobel Prize winner. 
