Really?

Our country is so divided right now, and I doubt we'll be able to reconcile with each other in the foreseeable future.

An article from ABC7 News about the death of a UC Berkeley student being among the victims of the latest terror attack was not immune to people who bring politics into everything. Now I love debating politics (more like arguing, let's be real), but a young woman died horrifically along with 19 (?) others. So this person points out how liberal her university was and it's us liberals who are saying we should tolerate these people. (Am I late to that party or something? Because I don't remember saying that or thinking it.) Also she took the opportunity to say that all Muslims can become terrorists, and she knows this because she's read the Quran. And she got 40 likes as of the time I snapped this screenshot. (Name not redacted because she posted publicly.)

*sigh*

Confession Time

I just read a linked post from George Takei about atheism, and then I saw some posts on Facebook from a friend who is super Christian. I feel like sharing. Disclaimer: No offense, really.

I was raised in a house that had no established religion. My mother made sure I knew that I could explore and practice what I wanted with no judgement. I went to church a few times (a calvary chapel), checked out two Buddhist temples, read the Bible about a third of the way through, and learned bout Islam in seventh grade. I do not at all claim to be an expert. However, with that said, I still came to the conclusion that I do not believe God (as humanity has described Him/Her) exists. I am an atheist.

I don't usually tell people this because I have this feeling they will immediately judge me and look down on me. Even if they already have an established relationship with me, they will suddenly think that I am immoral, wrong, lazy, a jerk, something else negative.... But then, I am guilty, too. It's a leftover from when I was younger and thought I knew everything (don't all teenagers and young adults feel this way?). I used to downgrade my opinion of someone when I found out they believed in a god. I would high five someone mentally when I found out they were a skeptic. I would laugh at jokes of religious people being denigrated because I thought I was edgy and knew the truth.

The truth? Life is hard. As much as I love science (I teach it, after all), it cannot answer everything. Nor does it try, but that is a whole other can of worms. Anyway, as much harm as some aspects of some religions do, I don't really care what someone else believes. I used to call religion a crutch, but everyone needs help getting through this existence we have an a rock orbiting an average star in an ordinary galaxy that will someday cease to exist. If they leave me alone, I could care less how they cope. I just wish I could be more honest about myself since being non-religious is still so frowned upon.

Also, keep your religious views out of our laws. Does the Establishment Clause ring a bell?

He

Would you please take me away from this place?
I cannot bear to see the look upon your faces
And if there is some kind of God, do you think He's pleased?
When He looks down on us I wonder what He sees

Do you think He'd think the things we do are a waste of time?
Maybe He'd think that we are getting on just fine
Do you think He's skint or financially secure?
And come election time, I wonder who He'd vote for

Ever since He can remember

People have died in His good name
Long before that September
Long before hijacking planes

He's lost the will, He can't decide
He doesn't know who's right or wrong
But there's one thing that He's sure of
This has been going on too long

Do you think He'd drive in his car without insurance?
Now is He interesting or do you think He'd bore us?
Do you think His favorite type of human is Caucasian?
Do you reckon He's ever been done for tax evasion?

Do you think He's any good at remembering people's names?
Do you think He's ever taken smack or cocaine?
I don't imagine He's ever been suicidal
His favorite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival

Ever since He can remember

People have died in His good name
Long before that September
Long before hijacking planes

He's lost the will, He can't decide
He doesn't know who's right or wrong
But there's one thing that He's sure of
This has been going on too long

Ever since He can remember
People have died in His good name
Long before that September
Long before hijacking planes

He's lost the will, He can't decide
He doesn't know who's right or wrong
But there's one thing that He's sure of
This has been going on too long

Besides being regular morons...

You know what I think in the midst of this gay marriage debate (despite the obvious support for New York and all of the same sex couples everywhere who both desire and deserve to have their relationships recognized the same way opposite sex couples are afforded the same privilege)? That social conservativism is an oxymoron.

Think about it. Conservatives want to retain the status quo. They do not want things to change. The thing about culture is that is not something that stays the same. It changes all the time, which is why, oftentimes, the newest generation is more "liberal" on certain issues than their elders. One thing I learned in my anthropology education was that cultures do not need to be saved or documented before they disappear. They do not disappear at all, they simply change. Culture and people change, and the ones who rally against such changes are afraid to let go of what they cling to because it helps justify their own existence. Those of us who can accept that not everyone ought to live the same way, that anyone who says otherwise is wrong, that can find their own meaning, are the ones who realize that things like love ought to be cherished. Norms will change because that is the nature of culture.

/rant

Yet another reason I hate organized religion...

So apparently being agnostic (or atheist in my case) means we are "faith impaired." Isn't faith in myself and in humanity in general to do the right thing simply because it's the right thing good enough?

Apparently not to some of the religious kooks (of ALL faiths).

Easter and its pagan origins

Or: Just another pagan celebration the Christians tried to cover up with their less credible version

Easter, a Christian festival, embodies many pre-Christian traditions. The origin of its name is unknown. Scholars, however, accepting the derivation proposed by the 8th-century English scholar St. Bede, believe it probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.

Such festivals, and the stories and legends that explain their origin, were common in ancient religions. A Greek legend tells of the return of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day; her return symbolized to the ancient Greeks the resurrection of life in the spring after the desolation of winter. Many ancient peoples shared similar legends. The Phrygians believed that their omnipotent deity went to sleep at the time of the winter solstice, and they performed ceremonies with music and dancing at the spring equinox to awaken him.

The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.

An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company