Religion is a form of slavery that hides in plain sight.

Until a vast majority of people gain some common sense and realize that religion, as guide for modern day living…. is nonsense, and is dangerous.
Religious based “laws”, especially in many governments world wide, has gained excessive influence in the last 50 years (or so) and as a result the freedoms and equal rights of billions of planet earth’s inhabitants has been getting worst, not better.
Cause? Religion.
Right here in the USA we are facing a fascist regime like hasn’t been seen since the 30’s and Adolph Hitler.
This is a serious problem. It goes beyond our borders and affects human rights and world peace in many ways…. ways that could be vastly improved with a complete separation of all religion and all governments.
There is no doubt, by this writer, that making and using secular laws and leaving the religious crap to the delusional world, would make this a better place to live.
It’s way past time that we take religion off this pedestal of too much respect and immunity to criticism. It relies on this willful ignorance and undue respect to succeed. It calls any challenge to its dogma a word, blasphemy, that was only invented to protect the impossible and unbelievable that ALL religion is. That word is nothing but a crutch.
I think that the extraordinary claims made in all religious text calls for extraordinary evidence…. and since there is NONE…. it deserves as much exposure of its lies as possible, and also deserves criticism for the impossible stories (not to mention all the misogyny, murder, ethnic cleansing [racist roots] etc.) as is needed to challenge its core beliefs.
Until religion has no unnecessary governmental influence, and laws are made that enhance human rights and freedom (to an exacting rational and proven degree), we will not see the progress we need to see on this (one and only) planet we are super lucky to have…… changes that will save millions of lives and protect human rights in the future.

We already lost too much in the way of progress and science in the original Dark Ages and without some positive action, we are headed for another one.

We may not burn people at the stake, or charge scientists with blasphemy and stretch them until their joints separate on a “rack” but it will work the same, if only with more subtlety.

via (61) Jerry Bierens

ISIS is Destroying History (Literally!)

Posted by Julian Drury on Sunday, March 1, 2015 · 1 Comment

In an attempt to provoke a western response, ISIS has declared war on ancient history

ISIS has proven itself to be, perhaps, the most comic-book ideal of a terrorist group I have seen to date. They spare no expense in time or money to make themselves appear barbaric and stylish in their campaign of destruction. Recently this includes an incident in which ISIS militants were smashing priceless ancient artifacts in the city of Mosul.

In ISIS’s attempt to re-create their “Caliphate”, they have set out on a campaign to eliminate all things “non-Islamic” across the parts of Syria and Iraq they control. Part of this program has been a systematic destruction of priceless artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia, which was recently taped and distributed by ISIS on social media.

The video takes place in a museum in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, and for me it was hard to watch. These artifacts are irreplaceable, some well over 3,000 years old. To put it in context, some of the items destroyed by ISIS are older than the oldest books of the Bible (and much older than the Koran). Mesopotamia is also the famed “Cradle of Civilization,” so studying from those artifacts has revealed much about many key developments of civilization.

As a student of history, watching the senseless destruction of those priceless artifacts made me sick. The history that has been destroyed by ISIS goons is heartbreaking, let alone the myriad of other atrocities and violations of human decency they have committed. Any and all culture and history that does not fit their radical narrative is to be destroyed. If ISIS ever took over Egypt, I bet they would destroy the Sphinx and the Pyramids too.

The madness perpetrated by ISIS is not new. This act is reminiscent of terror tactics, such as book burnings, done by dictatorships in the past. The book burnings of the Fascists in Europe perhaps come to mind. The object is to destroy everything that does not conform to the narrative. While committing these acts of vain destruction, though, ISIS merely forces us to take them less seriously.

Clearly these acts, while an affront to all decency, are there mainly as provocations. The object of the destruction of the artifacts in Mosul and elsewhere is both to erase non-conformed history and to provoke the West and wider region to attack them. Nothing gets ISIS more recruits like more war.

There is a method to the madness. While many acts of ISIS seem unnecessarily cruel and without purpose, there is a line of reasoning. ISIS is fueled by war, especially war against the “infidels.” One of the main reasons for being so outwardly brutal is to draw in Western and regional powers to fight them, to give ISIS the “Holy War” it so desperately wants.

While I deplore what ISIS has done to priceless pieces of history in Iraq, I also understand that this is only a strategy to provoke more violent reactions. While ISIS may have a method to its madness, giving in to that method only proves its effectiveness. We shouldn’t combat ISIS on their terms, but on ours.

Cognitive Dissonance

by Damien Lee Thorr, 02/19/2015

Today I would like to discuss cognitive dissonance. Specifically about how theists reject science in spite of the overwhelming evidence and how to keep their ignorance out of law, government, schools and our bedrooms.

We need atheist unity to combat politicians who attempt to sneak their beliefs into our laws and violate our freedoms. It made me very angry today when I read the news about the Arabian rape victim who was sentenced to 6 months in prison and 200 lashes. All because by Muslim law, a woman is forbidden to engage in sex before she is married. Clearly, the injustice speaks volumes about how mythological beliefs and ignorance must be kept out of government, courtrooms and laws.

When arguing with a theist, does anyone else ever think things like “if I had a dollar for every time I hear ‘I don’t care how much evidence you have, I’ll never give up my faith’, I would be pretty wealthy”?

One of the many things I encounter with people who believe in mythology (Christianity, Islam, Judeism….), is that no matter how much scientific and archaeological evidence there is out there that debunks their beliefs, they reject it as “opinions”. Isn’t that a pretty good example of ignorance?

Archaeological research indicates that there are NO writings outside of scripture (which are all mythological accounts), that document anything about Jesus.

There were several writers during the first century who reported the current events of the time (political, social, natural disasters and artistic) and not one mentions anything about him.

Additionally, if he was so famous, raising the dead, curing cripples, walking on water, turning water into wine and raising a ministry of hundreds of thousands and so angered the Jewish people and Romans alike, there would be much reason to report something about him….. but there is silence.

There are not even any Roman court documents that mention him in spite of the fact that scripture suggests he was tried by Pilate himself. Keeping in mind, the Romans were meticulous at keeping records of everything they did to demonstrate to their superior intelligence to reinforce their hold on the people they conquered. Everything was accounted for.

One must also keep in mind that there are no birth records, death records, tax records (as the Romans taxed everyone in the region), rabbi records and there is not even any record or mention of a last name. There are simply no documentations or any real life accounts about him during his alleged existence.

He is basically another man-invented deity attached to allegorical stories like the rest of them: Thorr, Horus, Osiris, Zeus, Odin, Metzli, Xenu, etc…..

I constantly hear evangelists and apologists cite Josephus but it is irrelevant. Josephus was not a contemporary and NEVER wrote anything about him.

For a start, Josephus was born in the year 37 CE (Common Era) and the alleged crucifixion took place somewhere between 29 CE and 34 CE. In other words, he was not around to document or witness.

There is a paragraph where he is mentioned in a much later version of the Josephus writings copied by christian scribes under the influence of Eusebius (235-339 CE), who arbitrarily edited the text and added a small paragraph about christ in the middle of two paragraphs where it clearly does not reflect relevance. It is evident by the paragraphs that follow which show zero relevance.

Additionally, if Christ was so famous and so important to the Jews and early Christians of the time period, why only such a short paragraph? And why only ONE, for that matter?

This has been determined by ALL scholars to be a forgery, especially since the passage does not appear anywhere in the earlier versions of the writings by Josephus, therefore, no writings of jesus exist outside of scripture. Therefore, it is all mythological.

The so called “eye witnesses” that Christians claim as evidence were born long after 34 CE (common era), the estimated date of the alleged crucifixion. So how could they have been witnesses to the resurrection if they were not even yet born to witness it? Christians are notorious for misrepresenting the facts.

Here are the facts regarding the “eye-witnesses” that Christians lie about: Flavius Josephus 37-100, Clement of Rome 38-102, Ignatius 35-107, Pliny 62-113, Suetonius 75-160, Tacitus 55-117, Polycarp 69-155, Justin Martyr 114-167, Lucian 125-180, Clement of Alexandria 150-211, Tertullian 155-230, Origen 185-254, Cyprian of Carthage 208-258, Eusebius 235-339. These findings have been confirmed and verified, yet, they reject it.

Sources: Oxford University Press, Dr. Bart Ehrman, Dr. Richard Carrier, Dr. Robert Price and David Fitzgerald.

As for Judeism, there is no evidence outside of scripture that Moses existed. No Egyptian records ever mention him nor a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of jews and there is no archaeological evidence to corroborate that they were slaves and wandered through the desert for 40 years. That legend is a lie. Jews have tried using the defense that the Egyptians never documented their losses or defeats but that is not true since their defeat and conquest by the Romans has been well documented as well as the burning of Alexandria and many other defeats.

Muslims believe that the Qur’an contains a message from an all-powerful, all-knowing, infallible god. If this is true then it should not contain any errors or information that contradicts known facts about the universe. If even one error exists in the text of their holy book, then the claims of divine authorship and infallibility are not true. An objective evaluation of the Qur’an shows that it contains numerous scientific and historical errors and reflects a pre-scientific, 7th century view of the natural world.

Some apologists will contest those scientific errors in the Qur’an by appealing to metaphor, alternative meanings, or supernatural interpretations of the text. Even if we accept that alternative explanations were possible in every case, the wording and content of the verses often mimic the popular mythology and unscientific misconceptions of the time in which they were written. The author makes no clear or unambiguous statements that differentiate his understanding of the natural world from the common folklore of the people living in that era.

If the Qur’an was delivered by an all-powerful, all-knowing god, then he would have been able to foresee how such misleading statements would be understood by future generations and the doubts and confusions they have caused. This alone should be reason to reject any claims to divine authorship.

The worst part is that most theists are not at all interested in viewing the evidence that debunks their beliefs.

The problem with believers is that they cannot accept our atheism (they often feel threatened and they resort to insults and name-calling) because they feel they have “proof” to back up their claims in spite of evidence that debunks it all. The church controls gullible followers (who never question anything) with horror tactics, such as the threat of eternal burning hell. The facts remain that archaeological evidence demonstrates that it was man, in all cultures, who invented god/s to interpret and answer what he could not understand before we had science for valid, satisfactory answers.

When there is zero evidence to prove your imaginary god is real, that, within itself, is evidence he does not exist. However, apologists cling to their faith and one gets the feeling that a discussion with them is pretty much like administering medication to a corpse.

Turning water into wine, a woman getting pregnant without a man’s sperm, walking on water, a talking snake, raising the dead, the building of an ark to shelter and feed two of each species for more than a year, a woman transforming into a pillar of salt, a man swallowed alive by a whale for several days, the world being only six thousand years old, and resurrection…… These outrageous, untrue and impossible claims are nothing more than story-telling myths and should be the very first clue that the bible is not a newspaper from the past and in no way evidence of a god.

This doesn’t even touch the contradictions it is overwhelmed with!!!

Bottom line:

They all only believe their mythology because they have been lied to. They are clearly the product of the falsehoods their organizations teach and closed to the reality that there is no god, suspending rational judgment.

Long ago Christianity became the major mythological belief due to its gargantuan violence against those who opposed it. It was never about how true or divine it was because it never has been.

Today the Islamics use threats of violence in the same manner but they should know this:

WE WILL NOT YIELD TO ANY MORE MYTHOLOGICAL INSANITY THAT MASQUERADES AS REALITY!

The Terrorists Are Winning by Remote Control

By Jerry Bierens, February 18, 2015

Think the president or anyone in congress or any budding candidates for office in the future know what to do with this terrorism? They have missed the point that the extremists are using to affect nearly all that we try to do to stop/contain them. Here’s my insight as to what is really happening:

I believe that these Islamic extremists know exactly what they are doing to America. They are as cunning as a master criminal, in that they are using their false religion and insane terrible acts to inflame the religious right in the U.S…

They know full well that it will enhance the chances for more and more laws getting passed and imposed on the American people that are of the (Christian Sharia type) religious nature. As a secular nation, this is the greatest threat to our democracy and freedoms. They have been eroding now for a decade and a half.

We have to go through extreme measures to fly on an airplane, we have surveillance by our own government, on our own citizens, we have had a deep wedge driven between the two major political parties that is leading to even more and more dysfunction and more laws proposed that are of this nature.

To them it must be great fun to watch us flail around and not have a clue as to what their intentions are and to not have a clue that this is their ultimate goal.

Be aware my friends, we are certainly under an internal attack as well.

The right wing crazies are just what the terrorists want to get into control of our government. We can see it in the voter restriction laws being passed, the fact that corporations (speciffically the Koch Brothers) can pump billions into getting their bible thumping, puppet candidates elected, a SCOTUS that might as well be working directly for them, attacks on women’s rights, the LGBT community and on freedom and equality in general.

It must be understood that if we are do not to stop this tide of extreme right wing nut job proposed laws and candidates and elect those that will stand up for our freedoms and total equality, we will soon cease to be anything close to a democracy.

We must get this corporate money out of our elections, be informed about candidates true intentions (sometimes they’re not so evident) and desires to turn this country into a form of a theocracy (it doesn’t work there now or ever and never will). These terrorists can only be defeated when and if we ignore their extreme acts and not let them remotely dictate to us how to act and how we react to their nonsense.

Think about it.

Jerry Bierens