100 Facts Every Atheist Teen Must Know 9781105033629

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Introduction Rationality & Reason Atheism................................1 Critical Thinking...................2 Epistemology.......................3 Epicurean Paradox...............4 Russell’s Teapot...................5 Pascal’s Wager....................6 Logical Fallacies...................7 Disinformation.....................8

Science Scientific Theory..................9 Scientific Method...............10 The Big Bang.....................11

Alan Turing........................20 Richard Feynman...............21 Carl Sagan.........................22 Stephen Hawking...............23

Humanism Rights................................24 Privacy...............................25 Health Care........................26

Money Saving................................27 Donating............................28 Lending..............................29 Banking..............................30

Drugs

Earth..................................12

Alcohol...............................31

Evolution............................14

Cigarettes..........................32

Dinosaurs...........................15

Marijuana...........................33

Stem Cells..........................16

Shroooms...........................34

Scientists

Sex

Galileo Galilei.....................17

Masturbation......................35

Charles Darwin..................18

Pornography......................36

Albert Einstein...................19

Health Benefits..................37

Condoms............................38

The Qur’an.........................65

Anal Sex.............................39

Book of Shadows...............66

Conception.........................40

Sublime

Religious Icons Priests................................67

Purpose..............................41

Mother Teresa....................69

Morals................................42

The Pope............................70

Ethics.................................43

Jesus Christ........................71

Forgiveness.......................44

Virgin Mary........................72

Lies and Deceit

Religious Holidays

God....................................45

Christmas...........................73

Abortion.............................46

Easter................................74

Abstinence.........................48

Lent....................................75

Homosexuality...................49

Hanukkah...........................76

Creationism.......................50

Holiday...............................77

Apologetics........................51 Sin......................................52 Female Priests...................53

Cults

Hocus Pocus Soul....................................78 Heaven & Hell....................79 Miracles.............................80

Scientology........................54

Faith...................................81

Jonestown..........................55

Prayer................................82

Solar Temple......................56

Speaking in Tongues..........83

Heaven’s Gate...................57

Transubstantiation.............84

Religions Buddhism...........................58 Catholicism........................59 Christianity........................60 Watchtower.......................61 Voodoo...............................62 Lindy Hop...........................63

Sacred Texts The Bible............................64

Exorcism............................85 Beastly Number.................86 Satanism............................87 Purgatory...........................88 Angels................................89 Demons.............................90 Homeopathy......................91

Destructive Behavior

Religion and Politics

Child Abuse........................92

Church & State..................98

Genital Mutilation..............93

Australian Aboriginals........99

Alexandrian Library............94

Catholics & Nazis.............100

Book Banning.....................95

Fundamentalism..............101

Crusades............................96

Marriage..........................102

Death Penalty....................97

Manhattan Declaration....103

Introduction

What ideas are so dangerous that Catholics want to prevent you from reading about them? The ideas in this book. Every Sunday, hundreds of millions of people gather together, united by their belief that their god is the One True God. They meet in churches to give thanks and to pray. The power of the Catholic Church is unquestionable: over a billion devout believers en masse. And yet belief can be deadly. It is paramount that we understand how the world really works. What if astronomers were prevented from sharing observations they had made while peering through telescopes, by penalty of death? People would never have been told that planets orbit the Sun, or that massive rocks on a cataclysmic collision course could extinguish all life on Earth. Somewhere, a rock is headed our way. Without sufficient notice, any asteroid deflection strategy will fail. As time is our most precious commodity, arresting advancement or dissemination of knowledge is an intolerable transgression. It does not matter how old you are right now. Whether you are a teenager or an adult, you always have a choice of what you want to do with your life. You can always choose how you want to make a positive contribution to humanity.

It is important to point out that science does not have all the answers. The scientific method allows us to systematically examine nature to discover how the Universe works. Science continually refines itself based on new findings; whereas, belief vehemently denies new information to preserve faith. This booklet contains commentary on many topics that religious people tend to preach out of ignorance, faith, or arrogance. This is not a complete list. There are topics that are not included that are just as important as the ones that are, but booklets usually have a beginning and an end. Keep this booklet with you; keep a copy on your laptop. Distribute it to your friends. Visit reddit.com/r/debatereligion if you need a kind voice. Refer to the booklet when your friends and family members have questions. Use it to refute the Bible. Take time to understand the arguments, learn about logical fallacies, and grow as a good, kind, and moral free-thinking individual. Realize that you are never alone. By the end of 2011 there will be 7 billion people on the planet. All of whom, like yourself, need food, love, comfort, friendship, education, and support. Take up hobbies, make friends, see the world, learn a field of science and contribute something tangibly meaningful to humanity. You are actively and strongly encouraged to research every fact in this booklet for yourself. Aug 22, 2011

Rationality & Reason

Atheism

Atheism is a lack of belief in any god; no more, no less. Atheistic morals are driven by a desire to do good in the world. Atheists need not be threatened into doing good deeds by fictional beings. So what stops atheists from killing people? • Friendship. Treating people with kindness and respect sets an example. Killing other people seriously hampers long-term friendships and other relationships. • Kindness feels good. If a god told an atheist to sacrifice her child, she would tell that god to go fuck itself with a solar-powered chain saw while standing a quarter-mile from the Sun's searing surface. Theists would kill the kid. • Death is final. Murder devalues human life; socially welladjusted people value others due to empathetic responses, which are not the exclusive domain of god belief. In stark contrast, religious reasoning has justified murder, torture, genocide, infanticide, and slavery. If anything, propensity for violence increases in proportion to the fundamentalism of a person's religious faith.

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Critical Thinking

Thinking critically means understanding whether an opinion or argument makes logical sense. There is a difference between critiquing the Bible and applying empirical evidence to highlight parts of the Bible that are false. Critical thinking requires reason over emotion, recognizing and acknowledging factual evidence, finding the best explanation (not necessarily the most comfortable), and asking questions. It also means changing your opinion when you are shown to be wrong. Always approach subjects with an open-mind. If you believe with absolute certainty that you are right, leaving no room for doubt, then you have stopped thinking critically. Faith-based thinking is the opposite of critical thinking: it purges rationality from the mind. When you believe something on faith alone, you have closed your mind to other possibilities. The statement, “there is no god” is not closed-minded. It is simply a shorter way of saying, “there is neither empirical evidence nor any logical reason to believe any gods exist.” Facts must have independent confirmation; encourage debate; avoid arguing from authority; consider many ideas; quantify; every step of an argument must work; if two ideas are nearly equivalent, pick the simpler; and theories must be falsifiable.

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Epistemology

This -ology is the philosophical study of knowledge that asks some fairly profound questions: • What is knowledge? • How do we acquire knowledge? • How do we know what we know? Without understanding how knowledge is obtained, how our senses serve us, and how we formulate concepts, our thoughts will have no coherent path. The debate between atheists and people who believe in faeries (or gods) hinges on criteria for truth. The atheist favors logical consistency, coherence, and observable evidence as truth; the theist stands upon custom, faith, revelation, and intuition. The atheist sees the world as nature presents it; the theist twists the natural world with ideas that are inconsistent with reality.

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Epicurean Paradox

The problem of evil, posed by Philosoraptor Epicurus, states: If God is willing to prevent evil, but is not able to Then He is not omnipotent. If He is able, but not willing Then He is malevolent. If He is both able and willing Then whence cometh evil? If He is neither able nor willing Then why call Him God?

And yet Philosoraptor Lactantius argues that gods are allpowerful, he insists that an all-good god does not exist. He says that gods are distant and uninvolved with the concerns of humanity; gods are neither our friends nor enemies. Then why waste time thinking about them? If we cannot prove that they will intervene to help us, then we must abandon them to save ourselves. If gods exist and they are benevolent, they will understand completely. A simpler answer as to why evil exists in the world is that socially maladjusted people do stupid, malicious things (sometimes for religious reasons). Plus, there are no gods to stop them.

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Russell’s Teapot

Bertrand Russell, who was intentionally raised agnostic, was strongly influenced by Exodus 23:2: “You shall not follow the masses in doing evil.” The passage concludes, “nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice.” Would that everyone wholly subscribe to such tenets! Sadly such biblical diamonds are lost betwixt the mire of passages such as Matthew 10:34: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Fortunately, Russell subscribed to a positive, enriching world view. In 1952, Russell wrote a passage similar to the following: If I were to suggest that orbiting the Sun between the Earth and Mars there exists a remarkably tiny comet containing a pink sapphire vein, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were to add that the comet is too small to be detected even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to insist that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a comet were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children, hesitation to believe in its existence would be deemed eccentric and the doubter, undoubtedly, ushered into psychiatric care.

Be wary of the lure of widespread belief for it easily ensnares.

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Pascal’s Wager

Blaise Pascal argued the following: If you erroneously believe in God, you lose nothing; whereas, if you correctly believe in God, you gain everything. But if you correctly disbelieve in God, you gain nothing; whereas, if you erroneously disbelieve in God, you lose everything.

The Atheist's Wager retorts: In your life, try to improve the world, whether you believe in god or not. If no god exists, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by people whose lives you touched. If there is a benevolent god, he will judge you on your merits and not your belief in him.

Either way, this faery tale has no happy ending: 1. The set of all possible gods and the subset of wrathful gods are infinite; wrathful gods punish disbelievers eternally. 2. The odds of worshipping the One True God approach zero as the number of possible (wrathful) gods approaches infinity. 3. Therefore, even if some gods exist that grant entrance to heaven, the probability of being accepted by those that do is essentially zero, regardless of your religion. Wrassle out of that logic.

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Logical Fallacies

When people discuss religion creationism, the Bible, and miracles, they lean on fallacious arguments. Logical fallacies do not support an argument and must be discounted immediately. • Appeal to Authority. The Pope sanctioned child molesting, therefore it must be okay. • Appeal to the People. Almost every Christian believes the Earth is flat, therefore the Earth is flat. • Anecdotal Evidence. Woah! She turned me into a newt! (A newt?) I got better. • Ad Hominem. Darwin was a bad person, therefore natural selection and evolution must be wrong. • Circular Reasoning. God created the Bible because the Bible said God created it.

[citation needed]

• False Dichotomy. There is only Heaven or Hell. (Or neither exist, or you will be resurrected, etc.) • Slippery Slope. You enjoy sex, thus you will rape cats. There many others (too many for one page), and all of them demonstrate incorrect reasoning, independently of spiritual faith.

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Disinformation

Some common Catholic Church (and mafia) customs include: • Hear, see, and speak no evil. Never discuss evidence. • Deny everything. Pretend the event never happened. • Invoke enigmas. State that the situation, number of people involved, and circumstances make the truth impossible to discover. • Internal affairs. Church situations are above the law and should be resolved without impartial police investigations. • Fall-back. Don’t admit to child abuse; admit to being alone with the child, instead. • Silence critics. Use financial might to arrest, detain, or blackmail people who oppose your views. • Defame critics. Use financial might to destroy a critic’s physical health, finances, or emotions. • Lie. Introduce new information designed to mislead others. • Vanish. If someone has crucial information, have them “vacation” somewhere remote.

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Science

Scientific Theory

Scientific Theory, hypothesis, and theory are closely related terms, but sometimes get confused. The word blue, for example, can mean either sad or a color. If I said my eyes were blue, unless you enjoyed puns, you probably would not think that my eyes were sad. Mixing two definitions is called equivocation. Equivocation can be difficult to notice. For example, faith that a chair will support weight is using the word faith in the sense of, “Based on my knowledge of physics and my previous experiences, I believe ...”; whereas, the word faith can also mean, “Even though there is no evidence, and I'm lying through my teeth, I believe ...” Do not confuse the two definitions. Having “faith in the physical attributes of a chair” and “faith in a god“ are not equivalent definitions of faith. A Scientific Theory, such as the Theory of Evolution, is different than a theory that is a hunch or a guess. A Scientific Theory has been tested, often many times (in many ways) by many different people, and observations have been consistently verified. Scientific Theories are also reviewed by peers to make sure that scientists are accurately reporting their results and that their experiments are conducted using scientifically valid methods.

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Scientific Method

Absolute proof is not a requirement for science. If it were, your laptop would never have been built. Instead, questions are asked, hypothesis are formed, experiments are tried, results are noted, conclusions made, and further tests are proposed to discover the hypothesis that most closely describes reality. An example of the Scientific Method might go like this: • Question: What happens when hands are dunked into liquid nitrogen? • Hypothesis: The hands will freeze and then shatter. • Experiment: Dip a room-temperature hand replica into th

liquid nitrogen for a 10 of a second. • Observation: Temperature differences caused the liquid to boil, forming a flesh-protecting air barrier. • Conclusion: It is possible to rapidly dip a hand into liquid nitrogen without it freezing. But don't: it's dangerous. Scientists avoid bias by trying to prove their theories incorrect. If they cannot show that the hypothesis is incorrect, then they have demonstrated that their idea is true. The experiments must be repeatable so that scientists can test each others’ claims. This helps ensure no mistakes (deliberate or otherwise) are made.

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The Big Bang

The Big Bang is an event of epic proportions that began the instant our Universe came into existence. Evidence supporting the Big Bang is staggeringly overwhelming. Before the Big Bang neither time nor space existed. So what caused it? A Universe without cause is an uncomfortable idea. Even if we attribute the cause to a god, we must ask: What created that god? If the god had no cause, then the uncomfortable idea remains. So why not save a step and remove that god? Perhaps nothing started the Big Bang. Perhaps the Big Bang began from a quantum process. Maybe this Universe is only one of many. Or maybe the Big Bang was the inevitable consequence of the laws of physics? We're alive in an expanding Universe with vast numbers of stars, untold galaxies, breathtaking beauty, and unimaginable wonders. As time tallies forth, galaxies continue to speed away from each other. Eventually distant galaxies will spread out faster than the speed of light, disappearing from view forever. All observable evidence for the Big Bang will be gone.

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Earth

The Earth is about 4.54 billion years old. British naturalist, William Smith, realized that two layers of rock with similar fossils are probably the same age. His nephew, John Phillips, used this realization to conclude that the Earth was at least 96 million years old. Next up, William Thomson calculated how long the Earth would have taken to cool to its current temperature. His calculations yielded an age between 10 and 100 million years old, but neither Thomson nor anybody else knew about radioactivity. Radioactivity was discovered in 1896, and soon it was found that radioactivity gives off heat. This meant that the Earth could stay warm long after its formation. Scientists have since confirmed that much of Earth’s internal heat comes from radioactive decay. Radioactive decay also led to another way to measure age. When an element (such as uranium) undergoes radioactive decay, it becomes a different element (such as lead), which is called the daughter element. By measuring the amounts of the radioactive element compared to the amounts of its daughter element, we can determine the age of rocks. This process is called radiometric dating and has been used to determine the Earth’s age.

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We can also apply radiometric dating to meteorites. The Sun burns hydrogen, fusing it into helium through nuclear fusion. We can use the ratio of hydrogen to helium to determine the age of the Sun. Not surprisingly, the Sun is about 4.57 billion years old: only slightly older than the Earth. There are other ways we can determine the age of the Sun. That the age of the Earth and Sun are chronologically consistent (with cosmological theories and actual observations of solar system formation—the Hubble Space Telescope has taken pictures of protoplanetary disks) gives us confidence that: • the age estimate is correct; • radiometric dating is accurate.

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Evolution

Creationists misinterpret evolution. They think present-day species evolved from one another. They spew statements like: If evolution states we evolved from monkeys, why are they still around?

Evolution states that we share a common ancestor with monkeys. We didn’t evolve from monkeys and monkeys didn’t evolve from humans. Humans and great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas) are more like relatives with common great-great-greatgreat-great-great-great grandparents. Even though those ancient ancestors are no longer around, their offspring thrive today. After its publication in 2007, the chimpanzee genetic code was compared with the human genome. Humans, it was discovered, have two fewer chromosome pairs (46) than the great apes (48). Therefore, the common ancestor of humans and great apes must have had either 48 or 46 chromosomes. Since there are three types of great apes and only one type of human, we presume the ancestor had 48. This means that, in humans, one pair must have fused. Human chromosome number two was discovered to be fused with its neighbor. Evolution for the win. Again.

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Dinosaurs

The terrible lizards were animals that dominated the Earth for over 160 million years. Around 65 million years ago, they went extinct. Their extinction let mammals diversify quite quickly, leading to humans. Humans never co-existed with dinosaurs. Also around 65 million years ago, a giant asteroid slammed into Earth. Most scientists agree that the asteroid that exterminated the dinosaurs left its mark as the Chicxulub impact crater in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Scientists have even measured the crater's gravitational data to study the angle of impact. Genius. In the United States, the Creation Museum, which depicts a fictional, if not imaginative, telling of the Biblical account of Genesis—in all its refutable glory—cost $27 million to build. The museum displays a literal interpretation of Genesis, with humans and dinosaurs frolicking together. That was 27 million dollars spent on the active promotion of lies. What a heart-wrenching waste of time and resources. That money should have been spent sheltering the homeless, feeding the less fortunate, advancing medicine, or any number of ways to improve our plight, not aggravate it.

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Stem Cells

Embryonic stem cells are unspecialized cells from which all other cells (skin cells, blood cells, etc.) in our body develop. Stem cells are obtained from blastocysts, aborted fetuses, umbilical cords, placentas, and genetically reprogrammed adult cells (iPSCs). Research into how stem cells work will give us insights into how to cure diseases and fix the human body. A few rare diseases that could have their secrets unlocked include: • Cancer • Alzheimer's • Parkinson's • Diabetes • Arthritis Banning stem cell research is another way the Catholic Church has suppressed the advancement of knowledge. Stem cells are not special, nor are blastocysts. Opponents of stem cell research rallied against it, saying that the research was unethical because it required cells from aborted fetuses. There are other ways to obtain stem cells, yet opponents continue to use the same tired, ignorant, and invalid arguments.

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Scientists

Galileo Galilei

In 1633, Galileo was sentenced to house arrest (for the remainder of his life) by the Catholic Church for daring to suggest an idea. Yes, an idea. An idea that the Church didn’t like: that the Earth revolves around the Sun. This idea is called heliocentrism. They locked him up and banned reprinting his works; they forced him to recant his position or face execution. The Catholic Church suppresses information because it leads people to conclude that their teachings are false. In 1741, the Pope graciously allowed publication of Galileo’s complete scientific works. That they had to get permission is appalling. By 1835, official opposition to heliocentrism was dropped. Through Galileo's work, rationality and reason were thrust into public consciousness once more. The Catholic Church made a half-assed apology in late 1992. The Pontifical Academy even planned to build a statue of Galileo within the Vatican. A month later the plans were halted. Probably because they needed the money to shuttle fiddly priests around, or perhaps to buy bigger hard-drives for their child pr0n stash.

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Charles Darwin

This man’s visage is on British currency. His ideas of natural selection and evolution influenced the direction of modern medicine, reshaped how we think of ourselves, and helped expunge the backwards literal Bible interpretations from modern society. You have probably heard the rumor that Darwin recanted evolution on his deathbed. Even if this was true: • It changes nothing. If Jane Goodall, for example, changed her mind about chimps using tools, it would not alter the fact that they do. • When a person is dying, their mental state is uncertain. A dying brain is likely to hallucinate, or become clouded. Noting his words in such a state would be like noting his words while he was trippin' on 'shrooms. The story was fabricated by Lady Hope, who was not with Darwin when he died. Accounts of his death, as written by those who were actually present, do not mention recanting. His children, who were there, refuted the recantation and conversion story. However, Darwin did mistakenly think that Christianity was good for common folk, while he correctly believed it was not for educated men. Elitism is not cool, Darwin. Shame shame!

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Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein proposed a revolutionary idea about space, time, and light. He was also rather outspoken on religious matters. He even hammered on intolerant atheists. He once wrote: A man who is convinced of the truth of his religion is indeed never tolerant. At the least, he is to feel pity for the adherent of another religion but usually it does not stop there. The faithful adherent of a religion will try first of all to convince those that believe in another religion and usually he goes on to hatred if he is not successful. However, hatred then leads to persecution when the might of the majority is behind it.

He also wrote: I was barked at by numerous dogs who are earning their food guarding ignorance and superstition for the benefit of those who profit from it. Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source. They are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle.

And he wrote: I am convinced that some political and social activities and practices of the Catholic organizations are detrimental and even dangerous for the community as a whole, here and everywhere. I mention here only the fight against birth control at a time when overpopulation in various countries has become a serious threat to the health of people and a grave obstacle to any attempt to organize peace on this planet.

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Alan Turing

Alan Turing was instrumental in saving the British from the Germans. He was the Father of computer science, a codebreaker, a mathematician, and the victim of religious prejudice for being homosexual. It is bitterly unjust that a man so important to the freedom of his fellow citizens should have had their laws used against him. Such is the power of religious propaganda and dogma. Religion teaches that there is no middle ground: no room for exceptions. This strict regime of right versus wrong is too inflexible, too archaic for a progressive civilization. Stealing is usually wrong (like taking money from your parents without their express permission), but sometimes stealing can be the only action (like lifting documents from a priest’s office that provide evidence of rampant corruption and child abuse). Turing was given a choice: go to jail or suffer chemical castration. He chose the latter, to his physical detriment. Two years after his sentence, Turing was found dead from cyanide poisoning, most likely having taken his own life by biting into a poisoned apple. The Prime Minister apologized in 2009. A symbolic gesture not for Alan Turing, but to admit that the religion-influenced society was wrong in persecuting homosexuals.

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Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman harbored an immense guilt for his contributions to building the atomic bomb. He helped build the device because he believed in the liberating forces fighting for freedom; he believed that if the Allies created massively destructive weapons, they would stand against oppression, slavery, and genocide. Some people unjustly link atheism and communism. Atheists lack a god belief because there is no empirical evidence; the scientific method requires empirical evidence. On the relationship between atheism, communism, and democracy, Richard Feynman spoke out on May 2, 1956: I would like to remark, in passing, since the word “atheism” is so closely connected with “communism,” that the communist views are the antithesis of the scientific, in the sense that in communism the answers are given to all the questions—political questions as well as moral ones —without discussion and without doubt. The scientific viewpoint is the exact opposite of this; that is, all questions must be doubted and discussed; we must argue everything out—observe things, check them, and so change them. The democratic government is much closer to this idea, because there is discussion and a chance of modification.

He took great joy in finding things out.

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Carl Sagan

We are fortunate that this renown astronomer lived in an era where he could freely express his ideas without fear of being burned alive. His poignant words have the cold, sharp, refreshing splash of clarity and honest insight: A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism. In Italy, the Inquisition was condemning people to death until the end of the eighteenth century, and inquisitional torture was not abolished in the Catholic Church until 1816. The last bastion of support for the reality of witchcraft and the necessity of punishment has been the Christian churches. Think of how many religions attempt to validate themselves with prophecy. Think of how many people rely on these prophecies, however vague, however unfulfilled, to support or prop up their beliefs. Yet has there ever been a religion with the prophetic accuracy and reliability of science? One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. it is simply too painful to acknowledge—even to ourselves—that we've been so credulous. (So the old bamboozles tend to persist as the new bamboozles rise.)

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Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking has been misrepresented to support the baseless position that certain gods exist. Even though this is an Appeal to Authority fallacy, his book The Grand Design clarifies that he does not believe in a personal god. Hawking also regards Heaven as mythical: I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.

In 2010, Hawking contrasted religion and science by noting their fundamental differences. Religion is based on authority (imposed dogma and faith), while science is based on observation (rationality and reason). Science will trounce religion, he declared, because it works. Without medical science, Hawking would have died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. And yet countless numbers of people have died from disease. How many of those people could have reshaped the world for the better had they lived a full life? Now consider how much money is wasted on religious propaganda that could be used to advance medical science. Religion affronts all of humanity in many ways.

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Humanism

Rights

Wherever, whenever, and whoever you are, you have the right to: • form your own opinions; • say what you believe (without promoting hatred); • live without religious beliefs; • pursue your own path in life; • control what happens to your body; • name whomever causes you harm; and • seek help from trusted sources. You may not impede the rights of others. Keep a card listing your country’s legal rights on you at all times. Be vigilant and vocal when standing up for your rights, as governments have little incentive to monitor or defend them.

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Privacy

The expression “I’ve got nothing to hide” is deeply encumbered with flawed reasoning. The expression presumes that privacy is about hiding a wrong, but privacy is not about hiding illegal acts. Privacy is about declining installation of a public video camera above your bathtub. Or not revealing birthday present purchases. The correct curt retort to “if you have nothing to hide...” is “...that’s none of your business.” Include the ellipsis if you like. Without privacy, governments will abuse knowledge, rather than serve its people. The nothing to hide argument invites: • Surveillance. Privacy erosion gives governments the ability to learn anything about us. • Aggregation. Tidbits of information form a bigger picture. • Exclusion. Who may audit how the information is used? • Exploitation. Will information collected for one purpose be used for another purpose (without permission)? • Distortion. Who guarantees the data will not be changed? • Corruption. Vindictive, malfeasant politicians retaliate.

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Health Care

Free health care must be a global priority. In 2011, the Royal Society of Medicine published a scathing report of the United States health care system. The report shows that the U.S. system is one of the least cost-effective (one of the most inefficient) systems in the entire world. Free health care means more than defending bank accounts during sickness or accidents. Public health care lifts a weight of worry from the shoulders of adults—for themselves and for their children. It is this worry that United States corporations and businesses leverage to entrap employees through contractual health care coverage, similar to legalized slavery. Applying taxes to offset medical costs is not a communistic concept, nor does it necessitate abolishing privately funded health care. It does, however, mean that some money devoted to other causes (such as war) might have to be redirected to avail proper and expedient care to citizens.

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Money

Saving

Tithing money to churches grows the reach and influence of an organization that can finance its own nation state, yet finds it necessary to pass around a collection plate, begging for more. Start saving your hard-earned coin and invest in your own future, secure your own financial security. Be your own boss. If (or when!) financial hardship hits, you will have your own foresight to thank. A 10% tithe equates to about $100 a week for the average person. When investing that same amount at a moderate interest rate of 5%, a 22-year savings account will equal approximately $204,000. And $89,000 of that is money the bank payed you. Now 22 years is a long time, but if you start investing at 18, you will have a golden nest-egg ready to hatch by 40.

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Donating

Churches will squander your money lobbying government to further their own agenda while paying no tax. Instead of donating money to a church (which then will give some percentage of your money to worthy causes and spend the rest proselytizing the word of some deranged deity), give directly to secular and humanitarian groups. Some notable groups include: • Doctors Without Borders (also Médecins Sans Frontières) • The Nature Conservatory and World Wildlife Fund • Amnesty International • United Nation’s Children's Fund No matter how you choose to spend your money, avoid giving it to churches or anyone else with an expensive administrative process. Encourage your parents to read about other noble causes and support those instead. Where possible, donate directly to the people who need help. Sometimes you need look no further than your own neighborhood.

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Lending

Not facts, per se, but golden guidelines for handling money: • Never lend large sums of money to strangers. • Those who ask for money do not have your best interests in mind. • Have a lawyer read contracts that involve large sums of money before you sign anything. • Use signed contracts when dealing with large sums of money. • Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend. • Never wire large sums of money overseas. • Without a direct way to wire money, there is no direct way to get that money back. • Anything that promises over 20% return is likely a scam. Find other ways to make or invest your money. • Listen to a trusted friend’s advice before making large monetary decisions.

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Banking

A for-profit bank does not always have your best interests at heart. A financial institution that must return profits to its shareholders will try to maximize the amount of money it makes. By definition, this means it will try to minimize the amount of wealth you can accumulate through it. In the United States, for-profit banks lobby for deregulation. They offer poor financial trades as they leverage your mortgages, loans, or savings. Credit Unions are generally smaller institutions often established by its clients. Every credit union member receives a voting share and may have their concerns heard at public general meetings. Credit unions often have special perks, such as higher savings interest rates for long term account holders.

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Drugs

Alcohol

Chugging too much alcohol is fatal. When someone sips too much Ethanol Entertainment, call emergency services immediately. It is no rumor that adults prefer meeting stomach-pumped teenagers in the hospital than dead ones on their kitchen floor. Clues when someone needs a ride in the meat-wagon: • confusion; • vector spewing; • violent, or dangerous anger; • skin changes: pale, blue tinge, or cold and clammy; • seizures (major or minor uncontrolled trembling); and • shallow breathing (fewer than 12 breaths per minute). Short-term alcohol effects can cause fetal damage during pregnancy. Long-term toxic effects of excessive alcohol abuse include disease, strokes, sleep disorders, weight gain, kidney stones, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, and higher susceptibility to infection, colds, and cancer.

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Cigarettes

Random cigarette facts: • Urea, the main substance in urine, is added for flavor. • Smoking while aroused removes blood from the penis. • Nicotine might reduce arousal in women. • Smoking takes 14 years off your life, on average. • 4.5 trillion cigarette butts become litter every year. • 1.1 billion people smoke cigarettes. Like alcohol, smoking cigarettes while pregnant causes birth defects such as mental and physical disability, slower growth, and increases the chance of miscarriages. Yeah, yeah, you already know all this crap. And you don’t care. If you must light up, respect that other people do not want their health to deteriorate because of second-hand smoke. Keep your distance, and avoid smoking anything while near children.

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Marijuana

Marijuana is also called cannabis, 420, grass, hash, herb, weed, wacky tabacky, pot, dank, dope, doobie, killer, El diablo, Mary Jane, rainy day women, swag, buds, trees, and tweeds. It is a psychoactive drug and used for medicinal purposes. It is great for pain relief, and counters the nauseating effects of chemotherapy. To be clear: it is stupid to smoke or ingest marijuana before or while operating heavy machinery. Ditto for alcohol. To be even more clear: smoking anything, be it marijuana or cigarettes, is horrifically bad for your lungs. There are no known cases of death from a marijuana overdose. Cocaine, heroin, crack, meth, X, and other drugs are highly addictive and will, statistically speaking, cut your life short. If you want to experiment with hard drugs (which is stupid because they have detrimental long-term effects on your brain), only do so with someone you trust who has previous experience. Don't do drugs alone, n00b.

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Shroooms

Catholic missionaries wanted to prevent pagans from worshipping other gods, so they suppressed the use of mushrooms. Mostly because the Spanish Catholics believed mushrooms allowed Aztecs to communicate with devils. Probably a translation error. In converting people to Catholicism, the Spanish influenced people to switch from shrooms to eating symbolic Jesus-fleshwafers. From the Shroomery (an unbiased source, obviously): There are no known long term physical effects from ingestion of mushrooms containing psilocybin and psilocin.

Mushrooms (the magic variety) are fungi that, after consumption, cause a person to experience illusions through the senses. Common hallucinogens include psilocybe cubensis, psilocybe subaeruginascens, and amanita muscaria. The active chemicals in psilocybin mushrooms are psilocybin and psilocin, while the active chemical in the amanita muscaria is muscimol. These fungi are considered powerful hallucinogens capable of creating lifealtering mental experiences. When Tamarins and Komondors color out neapolitan Faraday cages, walk lengthways as vacuums next ontological mayhem mourning. Tramp-o-smear, tramp-o-smear, kingsail! Oooh...

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Sex

Masturbation

Masturbation is giving yourself physical pleasure, often (but not always) to achieve orgasm. For males: • Stroke your penis. For females: • Rub your clitoris. Other than taking up your time (doing something fun), there are few drawbacks to masturbation. You palms will not grow hairy, you will not go blind, nor will any other ridiculous claims occur. Masturbation is perfectly healthy (but not to excess). Nope, there is nothing wrong with masturbation. Be back later. Note: Originally, this page perpetuated an outdated, inaccurate stereotype about female arousal. While intended as humorous sarcasm, it promoted a sexist attitude. In 2006, a McGill University study measured the sexual arousal rates of both men and women. On average, men and women take about 10 minutes to reach maximum arousal.

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Pornography

Pornography (also shortened to porn or pr0n) is visual material, such as streaming video, that illustrates sexual activity. Pro-tip: Use your web browser's private browsing feature. Now while there is nothing wrong with most pornography, be aware that the actors you see in pornography are portraying fictional situations. They may also have prepared their bodies for certain sexual acts prior to being filmed (see also: anal sex). Before attempting any of the sexual acts with your partner that you have seen on the Internet, always ask for your partner's permission. If they say no, then respect that decision. (Perhaps ask for oral sex, instead.) Never coerce or manipulate someone into doing something that they are not comfortable doing. Non-consensual sex is rape, punishable by jail time. You may withdraw consent anytime. False accusations of rape are equally as immoral and unethical as rape. Too long? Didn't read? • Do not use alcohol to lower a person's inhibitions. • Do not secretly place drugs in another person's drink. • Only accuse someone of rape if you did not give consent.

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Health Benefits

Sexual intercourse offers more than weight loss and healthy teeth. A few great reasons not to abstain: • Longevity. Two orgasms per week lowers risk of death. • Emotions. Absorbed semen is a natural antidepressant. • Rejuvenation. Orgasmic oxytocin helps cell regeneration. • Confidence. More love equates to higher self-esteem. • Cancer. Sex reduces prostate and breast cancer risk. • Pain relief. Endorphins and morphine are close cousins. • Estrogen. The more she has sex, the more she wants it. • Sleep. Fall asleep faster and deeper; awake refreshed. A wide-awake, well-rounded, emotionally steady, confident individual busting with zeal is zero bad. Have frequent sex, but be responsible: use condoms and contraceptives. If you have sex with multiple partners, get checked for sexually transmitted diseases on a regular basis.

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Condoms

Contrary to Monty Python’s ear-worming tune, not every sperm is sacred. Condoms, when used properly, significantly reduce the chances that a man will impregnate a woman while they are having vaginal intercourse. They also reduce the risk of giving or receiving sexually transmitted diseases. The Catholic Church incorrectly believes that the indiscriminate use of condoms encourages promiscuity, and does not endorse their use to combat AIDS. We already know that people are going to be promiscuous with or without condoms because orgasms feel great! Condom use encourages people to plan pregnancies, form deeper bonds through more acts of intimacy, and allows sex to be much more pleasurable without the worry of pregnancy (or spreading disease) hanging over the lovers. If you cannot afford condoms, or the idea of free condoms sounds better than paying for protected sex, visit any of these locations: • pregnancy planning centres; • STI and STD health clinics; • county health departments; and • campus health centres.

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Anal Sex

Anal sex, also called sodomy, is a disgusting, morally bereft act performed by Catholic priests on little children against their will. Between two consenting adults, however, anal sex can be a pleasurable sexual experience, an expression of trust, and a little bit kinky. (Butt once in the stink, keep it out of the pink!) When improperly performed, anal sex can be dangerous. A ripped rectum is a rather embarrassing way to be hospitalized and can lead to serious bacterial infections. Inside tips to get you going: • Be clean. Shower or bathe before getting dirty. • Lube it. Smear water-based lubricant on the anus. Use more lube than you think is necessary. And a bit more. • Suit up. Put on a condom. Gasp! • Stretch. Before inserting anything big into a butt, insert something small, such as a finger. This will help relax the sphincter and give you a stinky finger. • Stop! If the person receiving whispers, says, moans, or screams for you to stop, you stop. Exit slowly. Respect. Warning: There might be some poop when exiting the exit.

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Conception

Embryogenesis is the name given to the process that begins with sperm bumping into an egg and ends when a fetus is formed. There are many observable stages to embryogenesis: day 1 is fertilisation, day 2 is cleavage, day 3 is compaction, day 4 is differentiation, day 5 is cavitation, and so on. Catholics believe that human life gets a soul at conception. Except for when Saint Alphonsus Liguori, in the 18th century, pulled from his derriere the idea that a fetus receives a soul around 40 days after conception, and thus abortion was acceptable within during that period. When exactly does a blastocyst, zygote, or fetus receive a soul? One can easily state human life begins at conception, or the soul is bestowed sometime in the first 40 days, or babies are assigned a soul at birth. To the inquisitive, rational mind the question of when is imperative. The Catholic Church will not, and arguably can not, be specific about when the soul is bestowed. Even if Catholics fingered the soul-bestowing moment during pregnancy, the soul is metaphysical mojo, and conveniently said to be beyond scientific inspection.

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Sublime

Purpose

Life has no intrinsic meaning or purpose. So far as we know, our genetics urge us to meet, greet, and hit the sack. This is true for donkeys, pigs, Christians, and sane humans who understand that religion is naught but faery tales and fan fiction. However, life is not all storm clouds and metal muffins. We make our own purpose. We can choose to make more happiness in the world; choose to contribute to humanity’s progress. We can look at morality in terms of how much happiness we create, or how much pain and suffering we can obliviate. This set of ethics, philosophy, and morality is called Secular Humanism. Secular humanists act in ways that promote the happiness and well-being of everyone. They believe that there is no god to save humanity, so humanity must save itself. Now that is a noble purpose for all mankind.

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Morals

Morals are the concepts, standards, and rules we choose to follow. Morals depend on how a person interprets what it means to be a decent, well-rounded, and good individual. The notion of decency, or “goodness”, is influenced by experience, parents, peers, culture, and society. This means that everybody has different moral standards. Yet, to function as a just, rational, and decent society, most people adhere to a few common morals: • respect the lives, liberties, and values of others; and • treat all people equally, regardless of differences. Modern research indicates that no single part of the brain is responsible for moral decisions. Moral judgements stem from different parts of the brain collaborating together. When societies learn morality from biblical texts that extol torture, persecution, and genocide, the resulting population veers towards war, exploitation, slavery, famine, and inequality.

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Ethics

Ethics (moral philosophy) concerns categorizing, discussing, and offering ideas about acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Utilitarianism holds that correct (or “good”) actions maximize happiness. Ethics includes meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Questions to help clarify their differences: • Meta-ethics: What does good mean? • Normative ethics: What actions should we take? • Applied ethics: Are gods necessary for objective morality? Theists argue that morality is meaningless without a god and, consequently, atheists have no moral foundation. Even if we pretend that gods do exist, that position is craptacular. Morals can be asserted through contractarianism many ways, including: • Self-defense needs neither rationalization nor justification. • Community defenses and benefits surpass nomadic exile. • Agreeing to societal rules rewards communal privileges. Further, societal rules defined by secular ethics improve over time; whereas, morality based on biblical texts does not.

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Forgiveness

You cannot change anyone who does not want to change. Your own safety, or the safety of those for whom you are responsible, must be, generally speaking, your first priority. People like to say, “Forgive and forget.” People should say, “Forgive and make some new friends.” Everybody has their own ideas on acceptable behavior, and what they will forgive. Here are some things that you should not forgive, for your own safety and well-being: • Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. • Threats of physical violence. • Major theft of personal property. Most other things can be forgiven, but do not forget. Someone who lies to you on several occasions can be forgiven, but is not someone you should keep as a close friend or confidante. Someone who manipulates others can be forgiven, but is best not befriended. Put yourself and your loved ones first: it is natural.

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Lies and Deceit

God

Of the thousands of gods that humans have invented, why must the Christian God exist while gods of other societies do not? Gods are so culturally pervasive due to societal cohesion, rather than scripture. Early societies had two main threats: internal lawlessness and external warfare. Religion motivated individuals to put societal needs first, including self-sacrifice for the greater good. The idea that religion evolved because it was useful for social structure hinges on natural selection for groups as well as individuals—a controversial concept. Around 1750 BCE, the first known creation myth, Enûma Eliš, was carved into stone tablets by Babylonians, using cuniform writing. Their mythology tells of our origins in tales of Apsû and Tiamat, which predates biblical origins tales by 500 years or so. Proving that Apsû does not exist is the same as proving that God does not exist. Fortunately, proving the existence of either God or Apsû is the burden of those who say they exist.

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Abortion

An abortion is a pregnancy that is terminated before the fetus can survive outside the womb. For a large part of its history, the Catholic Church did not regard early term abortions as sinful. In the book Freakonomics, the authors showed that giving women the ability to choose when to bring a baby into the world results in lower crime rates. The reason is that young adults (in their twenties) in lower socioeconomic classes are more likely to commit crimes. When women of this class have abortions, they reduce the number of potential criminals. Twenty years after the legalization of abortion, crime waves that were predicted never materialized. Some religious people claim abortions are unacceptable for biblical reasons; some religions preach that miscarriages are abortions. In both cases, rational thought and reason is ignored in favor of superstition and fallicious appeals to tradition. Consider these circumstances: • Rape. A woman who is raped should not be forced to carry the rapist's spawn to term. (Women get raped by both strangers and people they know, including family.)

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• Genetic disorders. If the zygote shows signs of genetic deformity, it seems cruel to prevent a woman from ending the pregnancy. Kinder to allow her to attempt to conceive a healthier, viable offspring. (Sometimes, though, defects cannot be detected until too far into the pregnancy.) • Safety. Criminalizing abortion will not prevent women from getting abortions. It will make abortions more dangerous. • Complications. Pregnancies can endanger the woman's life; sometimes the only way to save her is by terminating the pregnancy. As of 2010, statistically speaking, 24 weeks is the earliest age a fetus from a preterm birth has a greater than 50% chance of rd

th

survival. An infant born in the 23 or 24 week of gestation has a 16% chance of survival and 64% chance of serious disability (such as brain damage and blindness). th

Amillia Taylor is reported as being born (on October 24 , 2006) after 21 weeks and 6 days. However, when her gestation period is calculated using the more common method—her mother's last menstrual period—she is no longer a statistical anomaly. Amillia was born after 23 weeks and 6 days of gestation; she is healthy. The earliest premature baby in the world was born after 21 weeks and 5 days in gestation. James Elgin Gill survived and is healthy. Amillia and James were exceptional babies.

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Abstinence

Abstinence means, among other things, choosing to avoid sexual intercourse. It is the assertion that the only way to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy is to refrain from sex. Life has risk, but risks can be mitigated. Proponents of abstinence argue abstaining from vaginal intercourse. As a result, many Catholic teens experiment with everything except vaginal intercourse: oral sex, anal sex, mutual masturbation, dry humping, burtreynolds, and other sexual acts. Sexual acts can result in the transmission of diseases. Abstinence-only education incorrectly teaches that condoms and contraceptives do not work, or increase risk. This makes it easier to justify the dangerously misguided view that abstinence is the only solution. Erroneously teaching that contraceptives and condoms are “risky” results in people not properly protecting themselves from exposure to sexually transmitted diseases. It is natural and expected that people will have sex. Without practical sex education, women are at risk of becoming pregnant, and both partners risk contracting STIs. Learn about condoms and contraceptives. Use them as instructed when having sexual intercourse or sexual relations.

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Homosexuality

Homosexuality is the emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction with a person (or people) of the same physical sex. When a woman is primarily attracted to other women, she is considered a lesbian. Most men get sexually aroused watching two women make out. When a man is attracted to other men, he is considered gay, although sometimes gay can refer to lesbians, too. In the past, the word “gay” meant happy or joyful. Straight women are equally aroused by all human sexual activity, and sometimes by watching monkey sex. Homosexuality is as much a choice as being born with red hair is the baby's choice. Homosexuality is biological: any discrimination must be considered and denounced as bigotry and hate speech. In Leviticus, the Bible states that shrimp and homosexuality are abominations, the latter worthy of death: • if a man also lie with mankind... both of them have committed abomination (Leviticus 20:13); • shrimp is an abomination (Leviticus 11:9-12); and • insects have four legs (Leviticus 11:21). Bibles can be destructive sources of morality because they are contradictory, unethical, hypocritical, and promote ignorance.

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Creationism

Creationism is the belief that an omnipotent being is responsible for setting into motion the events that directed humanity, or even life itself, to where it is today. Creationists pretend that their beliefs are valid by wrapping them in a thin veil of pseudo-scientific nonsense and attempt to pass it off as valid scientific theory. They now call it Intelligent Design and, quite loosely, it states that complex things (such as the human eye) cannot be explained by natural selection because all the parts that make up this fully working complex thing need to be in place at the same time. Complexity and design are not the same thing. The Nike “swoosh” logo is simple, and designed, while a winding river path is complex but not designed. The only true part is that evolution does not create all the parts of complex things simultaneously and instantaneously. Evolution recycles existing parts by adapting them for new purposes. Sometimes these parts become slightly more complex in their new role. The Designer of Intelligent Design is not necessarily a god but could be an advanced alien civilization. This then raises the infinite regression, “What designed the designer?”

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Apologetics

Christian Apologetics attempt to rationalize and defend Christian faith and the Bible. Given that it is morally wrong to: • deliberately slaughter men, women, and children; • hold women captive for slavery, sex, or both; • force people to cannibalize friends and family; • practice any kind of human sacrifice; and • torture people because of their beliefs. Then whomever claims to have committed such atrocities (god or human) is as reprehensible as the acts themselves. Consider: • Genesis 7:23. Every living thing on the face of the Earth was wiped out. • Numbers 31:17-18. Save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man. • Jeremiah 19:9. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. • Judges 11:30-39. I will sacrifice [my daughter] as a burnt offering. • Revelation 14:10-11. They will be tormented with burning sulphur...

Defending these acts demands calling into question the morals of the defenders.

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Sin

Religious sins are supposedly unchanging, universal rules dictated by gods. Yet these inflexible rules have flexed over time. (For example, it used to be a sin to not raise a child as Catholic. Barf.) The concept of sin must therefore be based on human advancement and adapting, rather than godly pronouncement. The seven deadly sins are said to be: • Lust. Scratch this off the list. Humans are animals, animals have a natural desire for sex. Thought-sex is healthy. • Gluttony. It's okay to indulge every once in a while, but try not to be wasteful. • Greed. Wealthy Catholics, anyone? • Sloth. Some people sleep in because they are up late. • Wrath. Even Mister Rogers said that it's okay to be angry. • Envy. Rarely accomplishes anything positive; breathe deep, move on. • Pride. Boasting is somewhat arrogant, but if you think you created something worthwhile, there's no harm in smiling.

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Female Priests

Corinthians 14:34-35 reads, “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.” This progressive attitude and traditional interpretation of the Bible has kept women out of priesthood for centuries. Some people still think that women are not permitted to be priests (or ministers) because, according to Genesis, they were not created for that purpose. Others insist that it should not happen because it has not yet happened. Try to wrap your mind around that illogical buckshot. Perhaps they were smoking weed when coming up with such iron-clad reasoning. Or perhaps the Catholic Church is a male dominated patriarchy unwilling to yield its financial power to the gender that would be most likely to protect youth from harm? That’s not to say that all men want to molest little children and all women are pure of heart. There are male ordained Catholic priests who believe all forms of child abuse should be stopped. It would certainly be nice if more of them shared the names of known child rapists with the police; and nicer still if whomever is appointed to protect the children wasn't also guilty of manufacturing child pornography.

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Cults

Scientology

Next to the Catholic Church, this is perhaps the biggest swindle in the entire world, possibly the galaxy. Operation Clambake notes: The Church of Scientology is a vicious and dangerous cult that masquerades as a religion. Its purpose is to make money. It practices a variety of mind-control techniques on people lured into its midst to gain control over their money and their lives. Its aim is to take from them every penny that they have and can ever borrow and to also enslave them to further its wicked ends.

The Church of Scientology must be stopped, dismantled, and forgotten. (The people perpetuating its crimes are also its victims.) Approach Scientologists with caution and distrust. They will lie about you, frame you for crimes, lock your finances up in artificial legal battles, bribe or coerce police officers and judges, turn your family and friends against you, listen in on your telephone calls, spy on you, commit fraud, steal private documents, blackmail you, threaten your life, and possibly kill you. They have mastered manipulation and brainwashing. Read about Paulette Cooper's experience for details. Cult and religious power must be restricted or eliminated.

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Jonestown

The People’s Temple, founded in 1955 by an Indianapolis preacher named James Warren Jones (who lacked formal theological training and thought himself a prophet) asked his congregation to move with him to Guyana, in South America. By 1977, his cult of 1200 people lived under his socio-communistic regime in Jonestown. Concerned cult member relatives asked the United States government to investigate and intervene. In late 1978, U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan visited Jonestown, but violent threats ended his trip early. While boarding the plane, Jonestown guards shot at Ryan, killing him and four others; a few people escaped the slaughter. Once Jones learned of the escape, he convinced cult members that the government would retaliate by taking away and then torturing their children and seniors. Jones “foresaw” they had no recourse but suicide. Parents subsequently fed their children a mix of tranquilizers, sedatives, and cyanide. Most adults followed suit, concluding with 918 deaths, including those who were shot. Cult and religious power must be restricted or eliminated.

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Solar Temple

The mentally deranged Joseph Di Mambro wanted to help humanity prepare for the second coming of Jesus, the solar godking. The cult members combined Protestant Christianity, New Age philosphy, and adapted Freemason rituals. In October of 1994, three month old Emmanuel Dutoit was stabbed to death with a wooden stake. The murder is thought to have been ordered because Di Mambro identified the baby as the biblical Anti-Christ. Shortly thereafter, the suicides and murders of cult members began. Between 1994 and 1997, around 74 deaths took place. Farewell letters stated that through death the victims would escape from hypocrisy and oppression. Oh, and Joseph, lunatic that he was, somehow managed to convince those whom he brainwashed that their final destination was Sirus—the night’s brightest star. Cult and religious power must be restricted or eliminated.

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Heaven’s Gate

Marshall Applewhite believed himself to be directly related to Jesus. He and his cult members were convinced that the Earth was about to be recycled, and that the only way to survive was to leave it immediately. You can find recordings of their nutty psychobabble saved on YouTube. Applewhite claimed that a space craft was trailing comet HaleBopp. In late March of 1997, he urged his followers to commit suicide so that their souls could board the craft. They were truly brainwashed into believing they had to leave Earth as quickly as possible. Including Applewhite’s, 39 deaths were counted, poisoned by cyanide and arsenic. Cult and religious power must be restricted or eliminated.

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Religions

Buddhism

Buddhism is not actually a religion as you may have heard, and has some good things going for it. Siddhãrtha Gautama (Buddha) reputedly said do not believe in anything simply because: • it is often repeated, as in oral tradition; • it is tradition, handed down for many generations; • it is in scripture (the Bible, Qu’ran, or Buddhist texts); • it is conjecture, like a guess or estimate; • it appears to be common sense; or • it has been taught to us by a teacher. Rather, Buddha suggested that when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. Whether you prescribe to the rest of Buddhism, or not, these principles are sound. Buddhism declares that part of life is suffering, and all suffering can be overcome through the mind. Buddhism encourages constant evaluation and development of morality, focus, and wisdom—that life's struggles can be overcome.

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Catholicism

Catholicism is founded on fear. The pulpits support indoctrinated preachers as they threaten congregations with eternal damnation for sin. There are some problems with this: • Sin is hogwash. • There is no Hell, no Heaven, and no Purgatory. • Humans have no soul that can be damned for all eternity. • Threatening people is morally and ethically wrong. Thousands of Catholic priests rape, beat, fondle, manipulate, and scar children. Then the Pope, with his audacious, arrogant, and hypocritical prowess has seen to it that the Vatican remain unhelpful during child abuse investigations. This is not a religion. It is a scandalous cult intent on controlling the masses to serve its own diabolical, perverse desires. It is a repulsive, wrathful, acrimonious, chronic, abhorrent, detestable, scatological, callous, and endemic immoral atrocity that evokes visions of Holocaust brutality. An investigative report is available online: http://www.childabusecommission.com/rpt/pdfs

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Christianity

All Christians buy into the idea of eternal suffering, which keeps adherents docile and obedient. Worse, Christianity terrorizes children with horrors that await them after death. Knowingly lying to children ranks among the most deplorable acts, fourth in line after sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Kindergarten children should be told the truth, instead: Jesus loves me! Some say so.

We all have one life to live,

Where's the proof? Well, I don't know!

While the Sun has heat to give.

Teaching children through a song,

On the Earth, from far and wide,

Brainwashing sung all day long!

Evolution's on your side.

Christ is dated, don't you know?

Stardust starts where life begins,

My young mind's empirical.

Gravity pulls it all in.

Once was blind, but now I see:

Planets form, it takes no skill.

Faith is priestly fantasy.

Nature's rules are quite a thrill.

Toss religion, it's no good,

Asteroids are hard to see,

Let's explore your neighborhood!

When they strike they are deadly.

Twinkling starlight, I am glad,

We don't need to ever pray,

For the time that we have had.

Wasting time is not the way.

Light I see from you today,

Science works, it sets us free

Travelled such a long, long way.

To research reality.

Egotistical is the belief that the creator of the universe is vitally concerned with your sex life. Arrogant is the belief that a god created the entire universe for one religious affiliation of one species out of millions on one planet out of billions.

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Watchtower

Jehovah Witnesses engage in detrimental behaviors: • Anti-Homosexuality. Alan Turing. 'Nuff said. • End Times. If the world will end soon, why recycle? • The Anointed. Believing societal laws can be trumped by the word of God places believers beyond critique. • Anti-Abortion. Women must have the right to decide when it is appropriate to bring a new life into the world. • Anti-Masturbation. Women can learn to orgasm by masturbating; masturbation helps control premature ejaculation in men. Both lead to healthy sex lives. • Abhor Unnatural Sex. Oral sex, anal sex, mutual masturbation, 69, doggy-style, reverse cowgirl, Hawaiian muscle rubs, bondage play, and other sexual activities are perfectly normal. As long as the act is mutually acceptable, and does no permanent physical or psychological harm, who cares what goes on behind closed doors? Like most religions, belief that the Bible was handed down by an invisible, omnipotent entity, leads people to ignore observation, reason, and fact.

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Voodoo

Louisiana Voodoo (or New Orleans Voodoo) is an underground religion that underwent a partial mind meld with Catholicism. Louisiana Voodoo gave Hollywood a plot device: prick an effigy in doll form with a pin and the human target flinches. Not surprisingly, Hollywood twisted the truth: Voodoo dolls are not used for curses. The word Voodoo comes from vudu, a physicsdefying immaterial force that can interfere in the day-to-day activities of mere mortals. Like most religions, Voodoo has its own special brand of sexism: Having a woman visit you the first thing on Monday mornings is bad luck for the rest of the week.

Thankfully, Voodoo is a dying religion. Though, people still cough up cash at tourist traps in New Orleans on Voodoo mumbo jumbo trinkets. Like all religions, the voodoo that some do is more poo-poo than true-true.

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Lindy Hop

In the beginning (the late 1920s), there was a man named Frankie Manning. Frankie said unto his friends: dance. Jazz music had swung through the United States. The Lindy Hop was the buzz of the towns. People were happy, except for one thing... At the large dance halls, such as the Savoy Ballroom, there were ropes that divided the black dancers from the white dancers. The trouble with dancers is that they are often young and rebellious. The white women wanted to dance with everyone. Studs. The black men wanted to dance with everyone. Sluts. The white men couldn’t dance. The black women stood around looking hot. The trouble was that these people didn’t see ethnicity. They heard only the music; in their hearts they only wanted to swing-out with another person. Skin color didn’t matter; so why the ropes? Quite quickly, the ropes were jumped. Black and white people danced with one another: the walls of segregation started to splinter. Since then, Lindy Hop has enlivened social scenes, introduced prospective lovers, financially supported musicians, given people a fun reason to exercise, formed compassionate communities, taught humility, put smiles on faces around the world, and held fundraisers for worthy causes. Lindy Hoppers also rebelled against Nazis.

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Sacred Texts

The Bible

The New Testament remains a shamefully immoral upgrade from the Old Testament. It advocates slavery, murder of children, war, self-mutilation, and is anti-homosexual. Ignoring these morality issues, the Bible is often used (informally) to prove God’s existence. Such proof often resembles: 1. God exists because it is written in the Bible. 2. The Bible is the infallible word of God. 3. Therefore, God exists. This is known as circular reasoning (also known as trolling). It is equivalent to stating, “The balls are blue because they are blue.” Those who study God and religious belief are clever enough to avoid being so blatantly illogical. The Bible alone cannot be used as evidence for the existence of a supernatural being. Such reasoning incorrectly assumes that God already exists. To prove that the Bible is the infallible word of God, evidence other than the Bible is necessary.

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The Qur’an

This book, the primary religious literature of Islam, is blindly believed by Muslims to be the incontrovertible word of God. The Qur’an does not explicitly condemn slavery nor does it offer helpful suggestions of abolish it. Moreover, the book declares that sexual relations are permitted between masters and their slaves. Defenders of this trite will note that the contemptible behavior was widely acceptable practise among early Muslims. The Qur’an also gives permission for men to keep female concubine-slaves. That millions of people could not see a grave injustice does not mean God-written rights of slavery were ever a correct moral choice. Religious myopia is the gateway to immoral actions. Here are glaring problems: 1. Islamic faith is so socially entrenched that believers are uncomfortable even addressing the aberration of slavery. If slavery is wrong it means that their god passed along a controvertible oopsie. 2. Moral lessons from an omniscient being should have predicted emancipation and explicitly advocated for it. The Qur’an is no more God's word than this booklet.

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Book of Shadows

Around 1950, the first Book of Shadows was written by a Wiccan. The book contains religious text and magic ritual instructions. Traditionally, each group of witches has their own Book of Shadows. Of pinnacle importance is the Wiccan Rede (advice for witchcraft), which states: An it harm none, do what ye will.

Translated into Swedish Chef-speak: Du vhetefer yuoo vunt, es lung es yuoo coose-a nu herm.

Translated into concise English: Harm nothing; enjoy life.

Wicca is harmless fantasy when not taken seriously. Yet, like other cults and religions, the potential for bad consequences abounds. Wiccans believe magic can affect quantum probabilities and other nonsense. When job hunting, someone could conjure an intricate spell to improve the likelihood of finding work. Time spent casting the spell would be better spent looking elsewhere for jobs because incantations will have no effect. A woman might try to decrease her chances of getting pregnant through special enchantments. The results could be a trip to the abortion clinic or 18 years of doting on an unplanned child. Magic has no effect on reality, no matter how fun it is to believe.

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Religious Icons

Priests

With much revulsion and contempt, the Catholic Church has provided the most abominable example of religion’s incongruity and hypocrisy. Sodomy is called a sin (probably owing to its homosexual implications), yet hundreds of Catholic priests have been observed to perform it on children. Think carefully. Where was God in all this? Where was the God who is angry at homosexuals but allows priests to sodomize under-aged boys until those children bleed? Or how about expecting children to eat their own vomit, mixed with mould? Or neglecting children until starvation drives them to eat ointment used for treating boils? Or supplying nought but newspaper and rags for girls during menstruation? Or forcing child labor under brutal conditions? Or brainwashing them with religious bullshit to the detriment of a well-rounded education? Every time religious propaganda is taught to children, precious time is taken from their education about the real, natural world. Those fuckers must expect wrath when an organization claims to be a moral authority, yet is found to have inflicted unfathomable amounts of abuse, suffering, and mental stagnation on children.

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From the CICA Report Vol. III Confidential Committee: Form of Sexual Abuse

Reports

Inappropriate fondling

102

Enforced nakedness

52

Vaginal rape

27

Forced masturbation

22

Attempted rape

15

Kissing

14

Vaginal penetration by objects

10

Digital penetration

8

Oral/genital contact

7

Indecent exposure

6

Anal rape

3

Other

8

Total

274

Table 1: Forms & Reported Frequency of Reported Female Sexual Abuse

Form of Sexual Abuse Inappropriate fondling

Reports 183

Masturbation of abuser by child

89

Use of violence

88

Anal rape

68

Masturbation of child by abuser

50

Oral/genital contact

30

Non-contact abuse

25

Attempted rape

14

Kissing

12

Digital penetration Total

6 565

Table 2: Forms & Reported Frequency of Reported Male Sexual Abuse

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Mother Teresa

In her 1979 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Agnes Bojaxhiu said: These are things that break peace, but I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing - direct murder by the mother herself. And also, we are doing another thing which is very beautiful - we are teaching our beggars, our leprosy patients, our slum dwellers, our people of the street, natural family planning.

The Home for Dying Destitutes in Calcutta, India does not attempt to save lives. It is a morose haven for the sick to suffer and die according to rules invented by the Catholic Church. No doctors, no nurses, and no friends are permitted entry. Only untrained nuns and those who suffer may enter. Agnes genuinely wanted to alleviate suffering, yet at the same time believed that suffering was necessary. These are polar agendas. Agnes wanted people to live in impoverished conditions so that she could identify with them. Her ultimate goal, therefore, was not to alleviate poverty, but to encourage it. One such encouragement was to condemn condoms. Spreading suffering is no more saintly than it is moral and ethical. Even witches declare that harming others is a no-no.

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The Pope

Joseph Ratzinger’s day job is to shelter and defend known child abusers. During the evening, he likes to prevent condom use in Africa, where AIDS is pandemic. Around 25% of all AIDS care in the world is provided by Catholics, whose spiritual leader discourages condoms. And yet, the World Health Organization has shown, statistically, that condoms reduce the spread of AIDS. Joe is a smart guy. He probably even understands statistics. In the past, the Catholic Church has shifted its views on subjects as controversial as evolution (and soon the Universe's creation). Why, then, does it continue to teach lies about condom use? Here’s a chilling theory: the AIDS epidemic is a money machine for donations. Funds are split between “church operations” and actual care. What better way to ask people for money than to show pictures of emasculated African AIDS victims? Eliminate the epidemic and a substantial cash flow will vanish. Since condoms play a key role in prevention, preaching an abstinence-only society ensures that in 20 years there will still be donations to fight AIDS (without any scientific discovery and cure). Why ardently ignore the reality of concrete, statistical evidence?

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Jesus Christ

The New Testament is myth, legend, internal contradictions, and historical irregularities. It contains so many falsehoods that no meaningful verification about Jesus of Nazareth (including his existence) can be extracted from the texts. Nearly all biblical scholars agree he existed. Yet the idea that Jesus never existed has been long ignored by such scholars due to conflicting theological interests and lack of incentive. The only known accounts of Jesus' birth are in the Bible gospels of Matthew and Luke. The texts disagree with the actual date. The gospels were written around 70 A.D. Before 70 A.D., no single mention of a Jesus of Nazareth exists in the works of contemporary historians and writers. Also, the first copies of the gospel of Mark didn't include the resurrection: it was added much later. Even if Jesus existed, he did not preach or stand for anything the Catholic Church currently represents. Nothing. The scriptures show that Jesus was more like Mohandas Gandhi, preaching nonviolent civil disobedience and love. Effectively, Jesus is described as a revolutionist.

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Virgin Mary

Here is what one book has to say about Maryām: While we’ll never be perfect like Mary, our pursuit of Christ should lead us to saintliness like hers: rooted in humility, trust, service and love.

There is no such thing as a perfect human. The idea of perfection is like the notion of beauty. Everyone has opinions about what is beautiful. A perfect human would live for ten thousand years without serious ailment or injury, ace every school test ever given, be physically symmetrical from head to toe, and have six fully functional fingers on both hands and six fully functional toes on both feet. The concept of perfection is itself flawed. Beyond biblical accounts, and a few other early Christian sources, there is no independently verifiable information about any aspect of her life. The story of Mary’s perfection (her humility, trust, service, and love) is vulgar. Mary was impregnated, possibly against her will, and was praised because she accepted and endured her fate with humility. Hearken, ye women: accept being raped for it is the will of God. Double barf.

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Religious Holidays

Christmas

Pagans enjoyed winter solstice. The Christians thought that the Pagans should worship Christ, instead. So Christians borrowed from Pagan festivals, rewrote some history books, and then converted many Pagans to Christianity. Probably under threat of persecution, purgatory, or threat of being burnt alive. Fundamentally, winter celebrations are frivolous fun. People are free to believe whatever they like (so long as it does no harm). The trouble starts when governments give preferential treatment to one religion over another. This means that neither Christmas decor nor any other religious artifacts may be put on government property. This is a difficult idea for fundamentalist Christians to accept because it involves two concepts. The first is called “fairness” and the second is called “preferential treatment”. That is, to be equitable, no religion may be given special attention.

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Easter

Easter is yet another Christian theft of ideas from other cultures to ease indoctrinating non-Christians. The word Easter is actually linked to the Pagan goddess Eostre, and the celebration of warm sunshine and newborn babies. Originally, rabbits and hares were a symbol of fertility, due to how quickly they reproduced. Thus the Easter Bunny was conceived. There was no resurrection. Miracles have never been proven under any scientific test, and break the laws of known physics. Apologetics argue that miracles are the work of God, but that presupposes that God exists. There is insufficient evidence that any gods exist. Miracles cannot be used as evidence because it leads to a circular argument: God creates miracles; miracles prove God exists. And blue balls are blue because they are blue. The history of Easter eggs extends back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who also enjoyed coloring and then eating eggs during spring. Christians thought they would make a marvellous representation of Christ’s tomb. Easter itself is only mentioned in the King James translation of The Holy Bible (Acts 12:4), which is a mistranslation of Passover.

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Lent

Lent begins a Catholic holiday that allows adherents to forget the horrible actions they took during the previous year by abstaining from something for forty days. For example, Catholics could give up chewing bubble gum, or not watch television. It was inspired by the forty days Jesus allegedly spent fasting in the desert, where neither chewing gum nor television were available. Frustrated Catholics could even give up masturbation for Lent. Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent where people foolishly smear ashes on their forehead. Biblical cherry-picking allows them to keep the symbolic ash part, but ignore dressing up in sackcloth. Priests (or ministers) also taint the session with negative thinking: Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.

The human body is a complex chemical machine. Some people around the world (foundations like Methuselah) do not see returning to dust as thy only conclusion. Rather, they see death as a disease to be cured.

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Hanukkah

The eight candles lit for Hanukkah are said to represent miracles, the most notable being about some long-lasting oil. The royal Hasmonean family wanted to celebrate the Maccabean victory by lighting a menorah. They had enough oil to last only one day. Allegedly, and miraculously, eight days later, the oil finally ran out. Bollocks and ballyhoo. One rational explanation for longer lasting candle light is slower burning wicks. Another is that there was actually more oil than the tale tells. Yet another explanation is that they did not let the candles burn all night. One more solution is that rabbis lied. The military success and glorification of the Maccabeans posed a threat to Roman rule (think riots). By making up a miracle, public attention was shifted from rabble rousing to piety.

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Holiday

When ignorant Kansas State Board of Education members mandated equal teaching time for evolution and intelligent design, Bobby Henderson wrote the Board a satirical letter suggesting that his theory of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) also receive equal educational time. His interpretation of life's origins gave rise to FSM worshippers, whom call themselves Pastafarians. Pastafarians celebrate the winter holiday season with a holiday called Holiday. Without a specific date or specific requirements, Holiday allows each Pastafarian to celebrate it when and however desired. (Some even celebrate Pastover and Ramendan.) The non-denominational greeting of “Happy Holidays” that is quickly replacing non-secular greetings in popular culture gives weight and credence to the Pastafarian movement. Once touched by His Noodly Appendage, you will understand.

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Hocus Pocus

Soul

There is no such thing as the soul in the sense of an abstract, metaphysical concept. Believers will note that the soul is immaterial: its existence is not subject to empirical methods. (Otherwise, it is tempting to ask: Exactly when during evolution were humans bestowed a soul?) If an immaterial soul influences (or is somehow intertwined with) our bodies, it must exhibit a change in the electrons that comprise us (otherwise it cannot affect us and we should discard the concept of souls altogether). The Dirac Equation describes how electrons behave at normal energy levels and has been verified in every related experiment. If souls exist, then the equation is wrong and we must throw our knowledge of physics out the window. (Who needs cell phones and satellites, anyway?) The soul introduces complexity: How does the soul physically influence us? Do its interactions preserve conservation of information? What is its relationship to Lorentz invariance? These are for theists to answer, for they posit the existence of the soul. Ockham’s razor suggests we should lean towards simplicity. The natural world is simpler to describe without metaphysical souls.

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Heaven & Hell

There are no such things as Heaven and Hell. They are religious inventions to keep people indoctrinated. You can motivate donkeys to move by dangling a carrot in front of them, or hitting their rump with a stick. Heaven is the ultimate carrot and Hell is the supreme stick. These ideas allow religious leaders to influence people who reject their teachings, reward those who follow them, and lend the illusion of importance to their teachings. The promise of Heaven and the threat of Hell is how followers are retained. Many religions base morality entirely around acceptance of and entrance to Heaven. In contrast, secularism prompts people to help others with the goal of reducing suffering.

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Miracles

There is no such thing as a miracle in the sense of a surprising event considered the work of a divine agency (as opposed to an event explicable by natural or scientific laws). Miracles are falsehoods, covered in a transparent layer of misconception and ignorance, recounted to glorify religious tenets. Miracles can also be pranks (such as faith healing), or tricks, to fool (or frighten) people into obedience through threat of supernatural powers. Even though our universe is filled with mysteries, we should neither accept those mysteries as miracles, nor end questioning the origins of those mysteries. Every mystery humans have ever solved has been shown to be governed by natural, scientific laws. When we investigate the real cause to a mystery, we learn something astounding about this spectacular universe. Leaps in knowledge are not preceded with bombastic exclamations of Eureka! but with interrobanged head-scratches partnered to the immemorial phrase What the fuck‽ Attributing events to divine intervention retards humanity. Duh.

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Faith

The Oxford Concise English Dictionary defines faith as follows: 1. complete trust or confidence; and 2. strong belief in a religion based on spiritual conviction rather than proof. Scientists trust empirical evidence; the two definitions are exact opposites. Lumping evidence-based belief with beliefs based on spiritual conviction together as faith-based is dishonest. Disbelief in supernatural entities is not an act of faith. It is a rational position held by the extensive evidence that natural forces created the universe. We cannot prove the Earth will continue to rotate tomorrow, but the historical, empirical, and statistical evidence justifies the belief that it will. Accepting ideas on faith curtails important questions, dissuades people from dissecting the universe, and can influence people to take actions they otherwise would not. The Salem Witch Trials involved people who accepted witchcraft accusations as true, rather than demanding substantiated empirical evidence that supported those accusations. Faith is no more a virtue than lies and threats are virtues.

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Prayer

Praying is a worthless activity that makes the person praying feel good about having accomplished something, but, outside of the person's mind, has no measurable effect on reality whatsoever. The efficacy of prayer has never been demonstrated to any standard worth holding up, and yet millions around the world believe that only prayers can change the world around us. Praying does have one measurable effect: it wastes time. It wastes time that you could be using to understand how the world works. You could be exercising your body. You could be exchanging interesting ideas with friends. You could be studying for school, or finishing homework. You could help people build a home, or volunteer at a homeless shelter. You could read a scientific study on the empirically proven uselessness of prayer. When Japan was hit by a tsunami, many people thought it would be a good idea to pray for them. That was the most lazy, inconsiderate, selfish, futile, ignorant, insulting, and infantile response. Instead of a five minute prayer, a $5 donation for reconstruction, food, or shelter would have been far more practical and appropriate. It is not too late: You can still organize an event to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross!

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Speaking in Tongues

Languages let you express your thoughts so that other people can understand you. Read the following sentence aloud: Our universe exists without meddling, omnipotent, omniscient entities.

Now read it aloud again. Putting aside that repetition is a form of brainwashing, chances are that you made very similar sounds both times. When a person speaks in tongues, the phrase, “Our universe exists without meddling, omnipotent, omniscient entities,” in their supposedly supernatural language won’t sound the same twice. The reason is because they are making it up, just like everyone else who claims to talk in meaningful gibberish. Try it: record them on your cell phone and play it back. Peer pressure is interesting. If everybody around you is doing something, it becomes socially awkward to buck the trend. The Emperor's New Clothes is a great tale of such an incident. It took a young boy to courageously tell the Emperor of the tailor's joke: the Emperor was riding completely nude through the city streets. At that point, everyone started laughing and pointing at the Emperor. (Not a nice thing to do, mind you!) Speaking in tongues is a lie to yourself and a lie to others.

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Transubstantiation

Transubstantiation is a longer spelling of “fiction”. Some people believe that the delicacies consumed during the communion ritual are not merely a symbolic representation of the body and blood of Jesus, but literally (and magically!) transform into his body parts upon ingestion. Empirical evidence supports the fact that no change whatsoever takes place. Surprised? The shape, color, flavor, odor, texture, and constitution of the goodies never literally change to the body and blood of anything. Also, Penn and Teller have turned water into wine, without divine intervention. Theologians moved the goalpost to suggest that the words were spoken figuratively. After sifting through the Bible (John 6:35 and 6:53), it is clarified that eating his skin means coming to him, and sipping his juices means believing in him. After all, empirically testing transubstantiation means opinions would have to change if it turned out to be scientifically impossible (which it is).

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Exorcism

The Roman Catholic Church is the butt of jokes. They still possess ritual books to expel evil spirits from a possessed person, place, or thing. Ooga-booga-boo! The case of the dutifully Catholic Anneliese Michel is one that Catholics would like to bury. Her story became the plot for a few movies about exorcisms. Michel suffered from epileptic seizures and hallucinations, which meant Satan possessed her, of course. She died on July 1, 1976 from malnutrition and dehydration, after having endured around ten months of partial-starvation while the exorcism was performed. At least one doctor claimed medical intervention could have spared her life up to a week before her untimely death. Her parents were found guilty of manslaughter. It is interesting to note that a Carmelite nun, based on a vision, told the parents that their daughter’s body was still intact: proof of supernatural meddling. The undisputed official reports stated the body, upon exhumation, bore signs of consistent deterioration. Your move, Satan.

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Beastly Number

Numbers have neither inherent meaning nor are they the domain of any immaterial mythical creature (such as the Antichrist or the Devil). Consider these tasty morsels from Wikipedia: Jehovah's Witnesses believe that The Beast for which 666 stands symbolizes many unified governments, harmonizing with the symbolic depiction of past governments (denoted as "kings") in the Book of Daniel as wild beasts. Some researchers have reportedly found the number of the Beast in the Greek word Maometis. Some Protestant Bible commentators and some Protestant Reformers have equated the "beast" of Revelation chapter 13 with the Papacy. Some scholars contend that the number 666 is a code for the Roman Emperor Nero. In the Old Testament, both 1 Kings 10:14 and 2 Chronicles 9:13 state that Solomon collected "six hundred threescore and six" talents of gold each year.

The number 666 probably refers to 7:06pm, though, which is the best time to eat rice pudding: right after an early supper. Its definition hinges on mainstream social awareness. Since humans gave it meaning, humans can redefine its meaning. Henceforth, 666 means puddin’ time!

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Satanism

Modern public practice of Satanism began in 1966, when the Church of Satan was founded by Howard Stanton Levey (later Anton LaVey). Surprisingly, the two major trends were Theistic and Atheistic Satanism. We can chuckle at Theistic Satanists for their worship of Satan as a real supernatural deity. The Atheistic flavors idolize Satan in a symbolic sense. LaVeyan Satanism, the most well-known worship, is based on individualism, self-control, and revenge mentality. Adherents consider themselves truth-seekers, skeptics, and adversaries of religion. Peter Gilmore, a Church of Satan leader, notes: Satanists do not believe in the supernatural, in neither God nor the Devil. To the Satanist, he is his own God. [...] Satan is not a conscious entity to be worshipped, rather a reservoir of power inside each human to be tapped at will. Thus any concept of sacrifice is rejected as a Christian aberration—in Satanism there’s no deity to which one can sacrifice.

They also believe in magic, which seats them decisively on the couch of hypocritical loopy-loos.

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Purgatory

Purgatory is a scare tactic used by the Catholic Church to encourage obedience in its disciples, congregations, and young adults. Neither the concept nor place of purgatory have any merit. Rather than debunk it for the insipid poppycock that it is, here are some practical tips to save the environment and money: • Vinegar. Mix one part vinegar to one part water and you have a general purpose cleaner. It is an inexpensive disinfectant and deodorizer. Great for bathrooms and kitchens. Keep it away from grout and marble. • Lemon juice. This natural acid dissolves soap scum, gives shine to brass and copper, removes hard water deposits (bathtub rings!), smells great, and can clear up garbage disposal indigestion. • Baking soda. King of the deodorizers, great abrasive cleaner, and makes volcanoes when mixed with vinegar. Purgatory cannot compare to the cleansing power of vinegar.

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Angels

Angels, or faeries, do not exist. Angels are said to be spirits without a physical form. Strange that people who believe in angels manage to depict or describe them anyway. Worse, adults will tell children that a guardian angel (perhaps even a dead relative) watches over them. Webster’s dictionary defines this scenario as follows: Hypocrisy (noun) 1. Feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion 2. Lying to children about guardian angels to encourage honesty and righteousness.

Religious faith is a choice, but manipulation through deceit is a debase controlling tactic. When the child learns that angels do not exist (for example, by reading this booklet), they will discover that their parents lied to them. Same goes for Santa Claus. Encourage honesty and honor by being honest and honorable.

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Demons

Demons, or devils, do not exist. Malevolent supernatural beings causing catastrophe is a fail-safe the pious crutch upon to discourage investigation into anything that might reveal flaws, or inconsistencies, in dogmatic religious drama. Demons, like angels, are a lazy way to hide the truth or deter questions, which can have deadly consequences (such as human sacrifices, cannibalism, and burning faggots). It is incredulous that in modern times people still believe in the devil. There is a web page that states: Satan is not a mere force, a symbolic figure of evil, or the figment of [the] imagination. He is a real personage. There is no evidence whatsoever that we should understand him as some sort of illusion or symbol of evil.

Such faulty logic (shifting the burden of proof onto those who claim Satan does not exist) is an embarrassment to the idea of evidence, and laughs in the face of rational thought. Beyond our overly active imaginations, there is no evidence for the existence of demons, devils, spiritually possessed aardvarks, or creatures that lurk in dark closets.

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Homeopathy

The homeopathy scam is the snake oil of modern day snake oils. Medicine works by allowing beneficial molecular compounds to interact with and change cells in your body. Homeopathy is the delusion that by mixing fewer helpful molecules into liquid, it somehow makes the remedy more effective. A recommended dilution for homeopathic “remedies” is 10

-60

helpful molecules for

each litre of water. Learn about Avogadro's number to discover why such a ratio means that the medicine will have no effect on anything whatsoever. Proponents claim that even when the last helpful molecule is gone, a “memory” of the substance is retained. If true, every substance encountered by a water molecule might impart an “essence” that would have potent (and possibly dangerous) medicinal effects when ingested. Plus, it would mean that water “remembers” fish poop. Charming, but completely untrue. Homeopathy is stupid, ineffective, and a wastes money in two ways. First, the money paid by consumers to support the nefarious industry; second, the money spent fabricating homeopathic solutions. It is incomprehensible that laws do not prevent homeopathic shams. For your own safety, don't buy any of it.

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Destructive Behavior

Child Abuse

Child abuse is the emotional, physical, or sexual mistreatment of children. This could include neglect or improper care. Catholic priests, for example, are known to molest children, yet rather than admit to it and seek professional psychiatric care (because rape, unlike homosexuality, is morally and ethically wrong), those reprehensible priests ask the Pope to cover up their despicable, deplorable actions. For a time, the papacy instituted a policy of reporting incidents to secular authorities, however this was almost never followed in practice. Popes have an impeccable record of not reporting child abuse, often only reporting the abuse years afterwards, and generally only if it is believed that the rapist will otherwise be exposed. This makes the Pope—and anyone else who has harbored or helped assailants escape legal prosecution—equivalent to child abuser by association. As guilty and spineless as rapists themselves. Never trust anyone who belongs to a community that hides the truth about such foul, harmful, menacing deeds. If they can hide the truth about these heinous of crimes, how easy would it be for them to lie about other, lesser matters?

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Genital Mutilation

For guys, the tip (or “head”) of the penis is the hot spot of male pleasure, with many sensitive nerve endings craving attention. Stimulate the penis, especially the head, and an orgasm results. Then sleep. Nearly all males are born with the head of their penis surrounded by protective flesh called the foreskin. When aroused, the foreskin pulls back, exposing the tip of the penis. For gals, the clitoris (or “clit”) is the hot spot of female pleasure, with many, many sensitive nerve endings desiring attention. Stimulate the clitoris and an orgasm often results. Then cuddling. The end of the clitoris is usually tiny (cribbage peg-sized), which can make it difficult to find at first. Nearly all females are born with the clitoris covered by the clitoral hood (for protection). Arousal tends to poke the clitoris a little bit beyond its hood. Orgasms are amazing because humans evolved that way. If sex was extremely painful or damaging, we wouldn’t do it as often. Less sex means fewer pregnancies, which leads to extinction. Some religions require slicing off the foreskin at birth; other religions require cutting off the clitoris at birth. Removing the clitoris makes it practically impossible for a woman to experience sexual pleasure through orgasms. Removing the foreskin makes the head of the penis less sensitive. Both of these actions are forms of genital mutilation.

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Alexandrian Library

Libraries embody architecture and composition: they physically represent the idea that attaining knowledge leads to enlightenment, equality, and ethics. The ashen destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria was a terrible strike against progress, with the suspects including a Roman (Julius Caesar), a Christian (Theophilus of Alexandria), and a Moslem (Caliph Omar). Books, knowledge, and freedom of communication are tools of the oppressed. Regardless of what transpired so long ago, libraries remain with us today. The Internet and World Wide Web have become the symbolic successors to the Great Library of Alexandria: havens of logic and reason for those who seek it. Like Alexandria, people oppose the electronic world, seeking to suffocate, subvert, and silence its spread of knowledge, idealism, justice, and reality. Such opposition must not spread. When a government censors the Internet, or seizes web pages, it infringes upon the rights of its citizens, and is a futile assault on the practical application of a distributed global network. Where rationality and reason prosper, there will always be refuge for knowledge and the freedom of information.

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Book Banning

Sometimes religious zealots ban books. Common reasons to ban books include: • they contain ideas a community fears; • a community misinterprets the content; or • they are inked with worthless hate speech. Of these reasons, banning a book because of hate speech is a good idea, as World War II exemplified. When a book is banned, however, there should be open discourse and a public review of the discussion that led to the banning decision. Quote passages from the book to highlight the rationale. Banning books because they contain ideas or situations that are uncomfortable to hear, or disagree with your unfounded, ignorant spiritual beliefs, on the other hand, are woefully insufficient reasons. In our information age, anything that the authorities want to keep suppressed tends to become more famous or widespread. It is hoped that fanatics will prevent people from reading this booklet. Nigger chink whore bugger-breath whale chalk nickel.

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Crusades

Christian terrorism, rallied by the pope and enacted by kings, were campaigns the Roman Catholics fought against Muslims, Slavs, Balts, Mongols, and Christian heretics. Mostly they wanted to control land they thought had religious significance. The result was that over one million people died. During the Crusades, many innocent people were tortured and executed in the name of Christianity. Add to this list of religious extermination the French Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years’ War, and the Second Sudanese Civil War. Then look at First World War. A brutal, shocking, and ghastly 15 million casualties (though likely much higher) was a painful result from the First World War, wherein the Germans, upon attacking, would cry the credo embossed on their helms: Gott mit uns!

In English, this translates to: God with us!

The Russians had the same motto.

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Death Penalty

Texas is big, religious, and has government-sanctioned death. Bibles describe situations where taking a person's life is just punishment. When communities glean morality from a book that glorifies revenge, they become indiscriminate, amoral zombies. In 1991, Todd Willingham, not the most honorable man, was sentenced to die for burning his house and three children. Critically, in 2004, just four days before Willingham’s scheduled death by injection, renown arson expert and chemist Dr. Gerald Hurst submitted a report regarding the evidence: The fire investigation report of the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office in this case is a remarkable document. On first reading, a contemporary fire origin and cause analyst might well wonder how anyone could make so many critical errors in interpreting the evidence. However, when the report is looked at in the context of its time and in light of a few key advances that have been made in the fire investigation field in the last dozen years, it becomes obvious that the report more or less simply reflects the shortcomings in the state of the art prior to the beginning of serious efforts to introduce standards and to test old theories that had previously been accepted on faith.

The original evidence for arson was invalid. Todd Willingham was innocent. Yet Governor Rick Perry denied a stay of execution. At 6:20pm on February 17th, 2004, the United States government and the Texas Governor knowingly authorized the murder of an innocent man. On faith and superstition.

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Religion and Politics

Church & State

Separation of Church and State refers to laws that specifically prohibit the establishment of any government-sponsored religion or imposing a specific religion upon the members of that country. Religious campaigners vigorously insist that the majority should have privileged access to draft laws or influence government. They also decry government attempts to regulate or influence religious policies. The Separation of Church and State protects both sides from each other: the government cannot meddle in private religious affairs, and the population's minority is protected from religion's antiquated belief systems. Notable lawful statements about separation include: The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

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Australian Aboriginals

Members from church organizations and Christians stole Aboriginal children from their families. With no end of charm in sight, they indoctrinated the children into Christianity. The children are known as the Stolen Generations. The kidnapping occurred between approximately 1869 and 1969 although in some places children were still being taken in the 1970s. The policy of separating Aboriginal children and their parents was partially based on the notions that civilizations could be forced into segregated hierarchies. It hinged on the erroneous idea that northern Europeans were somehow superior to Aborigines. Those northerners believed, without any supporting empirical evidence, that mixed-descent children (called half-castes) would threaten the stability of their civilization, or to its heritage. On February 13, 2008 a formal apology was made.

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Catholics & Nazis

The Catholic Church is not all bad. While the Catholic Church has been accused of encouraging antisemitism, prominent members of the Jewish community have contradicted these criticisms. Still other Jewish historians found that the Catholic Church gave millions of dollars to assist Jews during World War II. Historian John Toland noted: The Church, under the Pope’s guidance... saved the lives of more Jews than all other churches, religious institutions and rescue organizations combined.

A set of magnificent, inspiring, and noble actions: a sparkling reminder of how people ought to behave. A sword and shield set upon the dark dragon of genocide and persecution. While tempting to note that such rare gems are found in a river of filth, corruption, dishonesty, temporal waste, and moral decrepitude, let us refrain. A good deed is a good deed and truly stands alone.

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Fundamentalism

The Christian Right are fundamentally misinformed on subjects such as education, creationism, evolution, sex, separation of Church and State, abortion, stem cell research, and the founding of the United States of America as a Christian Nation. Fundamentalists are a pristine example of people who choose to ignore the findings that the scientific method has allowed us to discover about the natural world. For example, some 40% of Americans believe Earth is less than 10,000 years old. For irrefutable evidence that the Earth is older than 10,000 years, look up on a clear night sky. Revel in the stars and the light of the Milky Way galaxy. Light from the nearest galaxy takes well over two million years to reach Earth. If God created the universe with light already in transit, then the Catholic God is deceitful (see Romans 1:20, and 3:4). Every other argument fundamentalists or creationists use to explain the distant starlight problem has been refuted.

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Marriage

From the Princess Bride: Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togethaw today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam... Then wove, twue wove, will follow you fowever...

Marriage is a sanctimonious religious institution and the Church can keep it. A Civil Union between people, whether they are homosexual, heterosexual, transsexual, bisexual, or overtly dolphin-friendly, is not something any progressive state, country, or person dressed up in a Ku Klux Klan outfit should have the right to deny. Once Civil Unions have been established throughout the world, we can provoke the ire of religious fundamentalists by using the word “marriage” to refer to any Civil Union. Marriage is, after all, two syllables shorter.

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Manhattan Declaration

Nearly 500,000 signed the Manhattan Declaration, released in 2009. The Declaration offers a brash misrepresentation of reality: Christian women stood at the vanguard of the suffrage movement.

Women’s rights activist Elizabath Cady Stanton was a skeptical woman, followed more for her logic than religion. Lucretia Mott opposed historic Christian doctrine and befriended atheists. Margaret Fuller was a Protestant transcendentalist who fought for women’s rights on rebellious, not religious grounds. Lucy Stone said of Christianity: “A wall of Bible, brimstone, church, and corruption has hitherto hemmed women into nothingness.” Matilda Joslyn Gage published a book about how Christianity oppresses women. By the 1880s, Susan Brownell Anthony, chastised by Christian religious groups, became agnostic. Ernestine Rose, a major women’s rights advocate, was an atheist who questioned God at the age of five. Women’s Suffrage vanguards found Christianity contemptible. The Manhattan Declaration promotes homophobia (“call on the entire Christian community to resist sexual immorality”), arrogance (“human beings created in the divine image”), and bigotry (“place orphaned children in good homes rather than comply with a legal mandate that it place children in same-sex households in violation of Catholic moral teaching”).

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