A Question Worth Pondering...

Was it love of culture and civilization, or their hatred of barbarism that led Rome to civilize the world?

"No God" adverts on London Buses

Bendy-buses with the slogan "There's probably no God" could soon be running on the streets of London.

The atheist posters are the idea of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and have been supported by prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins.

The BHA planned only to raise £5,500, which was to be matched by Professor Dawkins, but it has now raised more than £36,000 of its own accord.

It aims to have two sets of 30 buses carrying the signs for four weeks.

The complete slogan reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

As the campaign has raised more than anticipated, it will also have posters on the inside of buses as well.

The BHA is also considering extending the campaign to cities including Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Professor Dawkins said: "Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride - automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children.

"Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side.

"This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion."

Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the BHA, said: "We see so many posters advertising salvation through Jesus or threatening us with eternal damnation, that I feel sure that a bus advert like this will be welcomed as a breath of fresh air.

"If it raises a smile as well as making people think, so much the better."

But Stephen Green of pressure group Christian Voice said: "Bendy-buses, like atheism, are a danger to the public at large.

"I should be surprised if a quasi-religious advertising campaign like this did not attract graffiti.

"People don't like being preached at. Sometimes it does them good, but they still don't like it."

However the Methodist Church said it thanked Professor Dawkins for encouraging a "continued interest in God".

Spirituality and discipleship officer Rev Jenny Ellis said: "This campaign will be a good thing if it gets people to engage with the deepest questions of life."

She added: "Christianity is for people who aren't afraid to think about life and meaning."

The buses with the slogans will run in Westminster from January.

I think overall this is a poor way to spend $36,000 dollars. I would imagine one would spend this money on charity or something to help benefit mankind in someway.

While I agree that the slogan is factually correct -- there probably is no God -- it seems trivial and silly to me to post it as an advertisement on city Buses.

Carter On Israel

LONDON - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says Israel has a nuclear arsenal of 150 weapons, The Times of London reported Monday.

While experts have long maintained Israel has a nuclear arsenal, the Jewish state has refused to confirm or deny it.

Most estimates, many based on evidence leaked in 1986 by Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, put the number of Israeli nuclear weapons at between 100 and 200. But other experts have said the number is as low as 60 or as high as 400.

While this is not news to us at Sins Diatribes, some may find this to be quite interesting. The fact that America will attempt to wage wars on various nations for even attempting to gain possession of Nuclear Technology -- while our so called "ally" continues to stockpile their arsenal, is nothing short of absurd.

Einstein Letter Dismissing God Sells For $330,000

A letter written by Albert Einstein in which he dismissed belief in God as a “product of human weaknesses” was auctioned off Thursday for more than $330,000 US, destroying previous selling records of letters by the renowned physicist.

The letter, written in German in 1954 to philosopher Eric Gutkind, was sold in London, England, by Bloomsbury Auctions to a private collector. It had initially been expected to fetch between $12,000 US and $16,000 US.

“It beats the world record for an Einstein letter by about four times," managing director Rupert Powell told the Guardian newspaper. "It's a massive difference."

In the letter, Einstein writes "the word 'God' is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."

Einstein, who was Jewish, also rejects the notion that Jews were God’s chosen people

"For me, the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he wrote.

He added that "the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong, and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity, have no different quality for me than all other people.

“As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise, I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

Einstein's religious and spiritual beliefs have been the subject of much speculation by both believers and skeptics.

Moments like these make me wish I had money.

The 60th Anniversary Of The Nation Of Israel.

While the Zionist are celebrating the 60 Anniversary of their Nation. We at Sins-Diatribes have decided to spend the time mourning the poor Palestinians who were unjustly expelled from their land, and/or injured or killed during the founding of the State of Israel.


On May 15, Israel will celebrate its 60th anniversary. Palestinians around the world will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba or the “Catastrophe.” Among other things, Al-Nakba marks the forced expulsion and destitution of 750,000 Palestinians from their indigenous homeland and the destruction of 418 villages in 1948. Its aftermath effectively decimated Palestinian identity, culture and life.

While Israelis are exhorted to remember this day and mark the sixth decade of Israel’s creation and independence as a celebratory occasion, Palestinians are encouraged to forget their past and their historic link with their homeland.

We’re instructed to concede to traditional Zionist myths that have depicted the land of Palestine as empty prior to the arrival of Zionist settlers. We’re expected to accept that Israel’s creation did not alter or disrupt the lives of the land’s indigenous Palestinian inhabitants.

Today, we’re reminded Israel is the only country anxious for peace with its Palestinian and Arab neighbors. We’re told the building of the apartheid wall upon Palestinian territories, the repeated military incursions into the West Bank and Gaza, the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories in contravention of international law, the displacement of Palestinians through the confiscation of ID cards and the targeting and collective punishment of Palestinian civilians—including the latest massacre on Gaza, which resulted in the death of at least 106 Palestinian civilians—are all justifiable and “measured” acts. We’re pressured to ignore the current state of colonization and occupation and focus instead on unbalanced attempts at peace and reconciliation that privilege Israeli security over Palestinian sovereignty and human rights, including their UN-sanctioned right of return.

Ironically, in the U.S., it’s no longer possible to celebrate Columbus Day without acknowledging the considerable toll of European settlement. Likewise, 1948 shouldn’t be celebrated as a realization of a dream without recognizing its catastrophic consequences for Palestinians. Yet Israel continually refuses to acknowledge any culpability for Palestinians’ plight.

One can only celebrate the creation of the Israeli state through the deliberate burying of the following historical facts: that the creation of the Israeli state was made possible at the expense of the indigenous population; that its creation was legitimized through racist Zionist narratives that depicted Palestinians in the words of Zionist leader Moshe Smilansky as “semi-savage” and incapable of self-governance; that it actively engages in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Palestine through expulsion, massacre and state terrorism; that Israeli “democracy” privileges its Jewish citizens and actively discriminates against Palestinians; that it has left Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza cut off economically and politically; and finally that Israel continues to employ racist and exclusionary legislative policies that prevent the seven million Palestinians living in the diaspora from returning to their homeland.

Palestinians will mark the 60th anniversary of Israel’s creation by remembering these painful historic facts. They will remember the names of the villages that were destroyed, record the names of those who were killed and lament the loss of their inherent right to a dignified life in their homeland. They will challenge efforts to deny Israeli abuses of Palestinian human rights and oppose attempts to silence Israel’s critics by deliberately conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. They will recognize the contributions and sacrifices of those Palestinians who live under Israeli occupation and languish in refugee camps. They will speak against Israel’s present and continuing crimes in the West Bank and Gaza. When 1.4 million Palestinian women, men and children living in Gaza are deprived of water, electricity and medical care and are subject to brutal military attacks, how can we ignore the pain and suffering the formation of the state of Israel has wrought on Palestinians?

Palestinians everywhere will mark May 15 by celebrating the enduring spirit of Palestinian resistance. They will remember by engaging their communities, by educating others about their plight and by working in solidarity with other marginalized indigenous groups in Canada and elsewhere. They will remember Al Nakba by asserting their right to remember Palestine.

Acts of remembrance involve a conscious effort to resist erasures or commit them.

How will you choose to remember Palestine?

The Church Ladies

It is fortunate that I have co-existed with church ladies who operate type writers. The following sentences have appeared in Church bulletins or were announced in Church services.

The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.

Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again', giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

The Rector will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy'.

Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the Church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S is done.

The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

God damn spell checks and modern computers!

Male VS Female At The ATM Machine

A new sign in the Bank Lobby reads: "Please note that this Bank is installing new Drive-through ATM machines enabling customers to withdraw cash without leaving their vehicles.

Customers using this new facility are requested to use the procedures outlined below when accessing their accounts.

After months of careful research, Male & Female procedures have been developed. Please follow the appropriate steps for your gender."

Male Procedure:

1. Drive up to the cash machine.
2. Put down your car window.
3. Insert card into machine and enter PIN.
4. Enter amount of cash required and withdraw.
5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt.
6. Put window up.
7. Drive off.


Female Procedure:
1. Drive up to cash machine.
2. Reverse and back up the required amount to align car window with the machine.
3. Set parking brake, put the window down.
4. Find handbag, remove all contents on to passenger seat and locate card.
5. Tell person on cell phone you will call them back and hang up.
6. Attempt to insert card into machine.
7. Open car door to allow easier access to machine due to its excessive distance from the card.
8. Insert card.
9. Re-insert card the right way.
10. Dig through handbag to find diary with your PIN written on the inside page.
11. Enter PIN.
12. Press cancel and re-enter correct PIN.
13. Enter amount of cash required.
14. Check makeup in rear view mirror.
15. Retrieve cash and receipt.
16. Empty handbag again to locate wallet and place cash inside.
17. Write debit amount in check register and place receipt in back of checkbook.
18. Re-check makeup.
19. Drive forward 2 feet.
20. Reverse back to cash machine.
21. Retrieve card.
22. Re-empty hand bag, locate card holder, and place card into slot provided.
23. Give dirty look to irate male driver waiting behind you.
24. Restart stalled engine and pull off.
25. Redial person on cell phone.
26. Drive for 2 to 3 miles.
27. Release parking brake.

...On Hate Crimes And Art

I have not seen quite as much truth ingrained in an image as I do in this particular satirical depiction. It would appear that the law has made Christians exempt from being the victims of "Hate Crimes" -- while all others are consistently defended by the ACLU, NAACP, and various other "equal rights" organizations.

It is plausible to say, if an "artist" were to urinate on the Old Testament, or on a image of the Jewish genocide, they would be charged with committing a vicious hate crime; but we see crucifixes, images of Mary, images of Christ, being urinated on, defecated on, spit on -- and justified in the name of "art".

The idea of hate crimes is being used as a means to undermine the foundation of our constitution -- our freedom. One can only quote Voltaire in matters such as these:

"I disagree with your opinion, but I'll die defending your right to say it."

Our justice system should not be hypocritical - and the law should not justify so called "hate crimes" on account of it being considered "art".

Target Appeases Muslim Workers

MINNEAPOLIS - Muslim cashiers at some local Target stores who object to ringing up products that contain pork are being shifted to other positions where they don’t need to, the discount retailer said Saturday.

The Star Tribune reported this past week that some Muslim cashiers at local Targets had declined to scan pork products such as bacon because doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. They would ask other cashiers to ring up such purchases, or sometimes customers would scan those items themselves, the newspaper reported.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has now offered its local Muslim cashiers who object to handling pork the option of wearing gloves while cashiering, shifting to other positions or transferring to other nearby stores.

“We are confident that this is a reasonable solution for our guests and team members,” Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Greear said it was a localized problem and that it would be handled on a case-by-case basis.

“It is not an issue in most of our stores in the Twin Cities,” she said in separate comments via e-mail. “There is also no indication that this is an issue in the Minnesota market overall or nationwide.”

I don't think it's an over-reaction to be absolutely appalled, disgusted, and downright distraught over such a thing as this. The primary reason immigrants in America have been successful, and consequently, America has been successful, is because immigrants in the past have conformed to the ideal America has presented.

What pains me most when reading a piece of news such as this -- is that these Muslims were very well aware that their job entitled them to not only scan, but also to bag groceries and/or meats that may compromise their belief system. That Target, a "Super Store", would bow to these Muslims in this regard is beyond rationale.

These employees should, like any American, do the job -- or get fired.

...On The Jew

The Jew is the greatest chameleon the world has never known. It knows of no situation it cannot adapt to, and consequently -- flourish in.

...On P.E.T.A

NORFOLK, Va. — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is seeking the suspension of Eight Belles' jockey after the filly had to be euthanized following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Gabriel Saez was riding Eight Belles when she broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was euthanized on the track.

PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky's racing authority claiming the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish" and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles' death is investigated.

"What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?" PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. "If he didn't then we can probably blame the fact that they're allowed to whip the horses mercilessly."

Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones said the filly was clearly happy when she crossed the finish line.

"I don't know how in the heck they can even come close to saying that," Jones told The Associated Press on Sunday. "She has her ears up, clearly galloping out."

Guillermo said if Saez is found at fault, the group wants the second- place prize of $400,000 won by Eight Belles to be revoked.

Saez, a 20-year-old Panama native, was riding in his first Kentucky Derby. He frequently rides for Jones.

A call to the jockeys' room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.

Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby, appeared fine until collapsing while galloping out after the finish.

The letter to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority also sought a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.

Naturally I am sympathetic to the cause of respecting animals - and to the horse that was needlessly euthanized. However, it would seem the hypocrisy and cruelty of P.E.T.A goes beyond whatever good deeds it may perform. For instance:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a group that complains bitterly when animals die accidentally in horse races or intentionally in slaughterhouses, killed more than 90 percent of the adoptable animals in its care during 2007.

Last year, PETA wrangled with the Virginia government for nine months before its 2006 records were finally made public. In a cynical bid to hide the outrageous percentage of animals that wind up in their giant walk-in freezer, PETA's leaders tried to lump the pets they spayed or neutered in with those they took in for more than an hour. That squabbling continues, but this year we decided not to wait for the dust to settle.

Instead, with the help of Virginia's public records law, we did a little digging. Responding to our formal legal request, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has released PETA's 2007 "Animal Record" report. Although VDACS itself has still not relased this report, we're making it available to the general public.

PETA claims to be dedicated to protecting animals and treating them "ethically"—it’s right there in the group’s name. But killing animals that could otherwise be placed in adoptive homes isn’t terribly ethical, especially for a group whose $30 million annual income is more than enough to do the right thing instead.

In comparison, the Virginia Beach SPCA, right down the road from PETA’s Norfolk headquarters, managed to adopt out almost 70% of the animals in its care last year. And it did it on a relative shoestring budget.

Adding PETA's 2007 numbers to the mix, we can now document that the group has put down over 19,200 dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens. While it's possible that some of these animals were too broken or sick to be rehabilitated, humane societies in Virginia managed to save an average of nearly 65 percent of their animals in 2007. PETA found adoptive homes for less than 1 percent.

One wishes that the members of P.E.T.A would admit to their own unethical treatment of animals before criticizing others. To quote the man they call Christ, "How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." [Luke 6:41-43]

...On The Term, "Free Spirit"

Nothing more than a pleasant adjective used to describe a decadent whore.

Infant Dies, Given Prayer Instead Of Medicine

Ava Worthington is dead. She was only 15 months old when she died. The people responsible are her parents, who relied only on prayer as their child expired before their eyes. The question is whether they deserve to be put on trial for doing so. I think they do.

Ava succumbed on March 2 to bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection, problems easily treated with antibiotics. But Ava’s parents, Carl and Raylene Worthington of Oregon City, Ore., do not believe in antibiotics. As Ava struggled for days to breathe, her parents prayed, never calling a doctor, an ambulance or 911.

The Worthingtons belong to a small fundamentalist sect, The Followers of Christ Church. The Followers believe that faith will heal all and that death, if it comes, it is God’s will.

In fact, death has come often to the children of the Followers. Before Ava, other children died in circumstances where simple, well-proven medical treatments might have saved them. According to an investigative report done some years back by Mark Larabee of The Oregonian newspaper, at least 38 young children lie in graves in the church’s cemetery in Oregon City. And the Followers have reported a suspiciously high number of stillborn deaths in recent years.

Ava Worthington is not the only child to become a victim of prayer in recent weeks. Madeline Neumann, 11, of Weston, Wis., died March 23 from an easily treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to rely on prayer. According to news reports, Madeline spent a month suffering from nausea, excessive thirst, vomiting and and loss of mobility before she died.

So far, nothing has been done to punish the Neumanns. Rarely do the authorities take action, because many states have laws that permit exceptions to required medical care if prayer is involved. That sad circumstance may be about to change.

Oregon authorities have charged the Worthingtons with manslaughter and criminal mistreatment in connection with Ava’s death. They should. Not to punish her parents but to make it clear that Americans will not tolerate the neglect and abuse of children in the name of religion.

Any adult has and should have the right to refuse medical care. That option is sometimes chosen by Jehovah’s witnesses who refuse blood transfusions, Christian Scientists who prefer to rely on faith, or others who don’t want to use Western medicine and would rather follow another healing philosophy.

Such decisions make little sense in light of the data showing the ability of modern medicine to treat diabetes, acute trauma, deadly infections, and other life-threatening diseases and injuries. But they are decisions that ought to be respected nonetheless. The same legal and public policy stance should not extend to children.

Parents do not have the right to watch a child wither away while they pray. Parents do not have the right to watch a child convulse in pain while they pray. Parents should understand that if a child is in agony, if a child is slowly dying before their eyes, that they have an absolute duty, the same as any other parent — religious or not — to call the police, an ambulance or emergency services.

Society must make the protection of children a core value. The way to do that is to make it clear that child neglect is still neglect, even when performed under the cover of religious faith. So, the authorities in Oregon should prosecute Ava’s parents. It is important, even if they never serve a day in jail.

We need to send the right message to parents — you can rely on prayer, but not when your child’s life clearly hangs in the balance. When it comes to children, faith must have limits.

Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.

I rest my case.

A Protestants Question

Prot: "I just wounder[sic] why if you don't believe in a god what dose[sic] it matter to you that anyone dose[sic]?"

Sin: It's not the belief in God that I'm attacking, it's you presenting that belief as if it's absolutely true - and attempting to prove God through logic or science. In the case of the positive religions, it's the ideas that come along with that belief in God. For instance, Old Testament states, "Disobedient children should be stoned to death." I'm going to attack anyone who believes that because their God or a book told them to. It's dangerous and it should be treated as such.

If someone were to say to me, "I believe in a first principal, the God of philosophy, the God of Spinoza, the God of Aristotle, The Prime Mover", I have absolutely no problem with that. However, when someone says, "I believe in the God of the Bible." Well, that God is a dangerous God and, ibid, should be dealt with accordingly.

Prot: It is not a dangerous God, the God of the Bible is a God of love.

Sin: Scripture states, "For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts [the Canaanites] so that they would come against Israel in battle, in order that they might be utterly destroyed, and might receive no mercy, but be exterminated, just as the LORD had commanded Moses." That in no way resembles a God of love. It resembles a racist, sexist, violent God.

Prot: Well couldn't that be construed as quote mining and possibly a straw man fallacy?

Sin: It is not a strawman. The Bible, especially Old Testament, is littered with a violent, racist, selfish, sexist God. Period. If you read that book without having any preconceived notions of what particular God it's about, or anyone telling you. "It should be interpreted this way", you will probably come away saying, "That God is an evil God."

If people insist on claiming their God is a God of love, which is an extraordinary claim considering the content of the Bible, then I would like them to show me how -- without attempting to explain away or rationalize every violent, genocidal, racist verse in the Bible with, "Well God in his infinite wisdom had to do this" - teleological suspension of the ethical rubbish.

Prot: Well, if it isn't a strawman it's definitely mining for quotes.

Sin: No it is not mining for quotes. You obviously have limited knowledge of how logic works, its' principles or its laws. The claim was made, "The God of the Bible is a God of love." That is an extraordinary claim. All I'm required to do to debunk such a claim is produce one single shred of solitary evidence from the Bible itself that does not support God being a God of love. Which I did, thus proving that he is not a God of Love.

The United States For Israel

Under a 1975 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the USA guaranteed all Israel's oil needs in the event of a crisis. This Memorandum of Understanding is quietly renewed every five years. It commits U.S. taxpayers to maintain a strategic U.S. reserve for Israel, equivalent to $3 billion in 2002 dollars. Special legislation was enacted to exempt Israel from restrictions on oil exports from the USA. Moreover, the U.S. government agreed to divert oil from the USA, even if this causes domestic shortages. The U.S. government also guaranteed delivery of oil in U.S. tankers if commercial shippers become unable or unwilling to carry oil from the USA to Israel.

Memorandum of Agreement between the Governments of the United States of America and Israel - Oil, March 26, 1979

The oil supply arrangement of September 1, 1975, between the Governments of the United States and Israel, annexed hereto, remains in effect. A memorandum of agreement shall be agreed upon and concluded to provide an oil supply arrangement for a total of 15 years, including the 5 years provided in the September 1, 1975 arrangement.

The memorandum of agreement, including the commencement of this arrangement and pricing provisions, will be mutually agreed upon by the parties within sixty days following the entry into force of the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel.

It is the intention of the parties that prices paid by Israel for oil provided by the United States hereunder shall be comparable to world market prices current at the time of transfer, and that in any event the United States will be reimbursed by Israel for the costs incurred by the United States in providing oil to Israel hereunder.

Experts provided for in the September 1, 1975 arrangement will meet on request to discuss matters arising under this relationship.

The United States administration undertakes to seek promptly additional statutory authorization that may be necessary for full implementation of this arrangement.

M. Dayan
For the Government of Israel

Cyrus R. Vance [at the time, Secretary of State]
For the Government of the United States
Annex to the Memorandum of Agreement concerning 0il

ANNEX

Israel will make its own independent arrangements for oil supply to meet its requirements through normal procedures. In the event Israel is unable to secure its needs in this way, the United States Government, upon notification of this fact by the Government of Israel, will act as follows for five years, at the end of which period either side can terminate this arrangement on one-year's notice.

(a) If the oil Israel needs to meet all its normal requirements for domestic consumption is unavailable for purchase in circumstances where no quantitative restrictions exist on the ability of the United States to procure oil to meet its normal requirements, the United States Government will promptly make oil available for purchase by Israel to meet all of the aforementioned normal requirements of Israel. If Israel is unable to secure the necessary means to transport such oil to Israel, the United States Government will make every effort to help Israel secure the necessary means of transport.

(b) If the oil Israel needs to meet all of its normal requirements for domestic consumption is unavailable for purchase in circumstances where quantitative restrictions through embargo or otherwise also prevent the United States from procuring oil to meet its normal requirements, the United States Government will promptly make oil available for purchase by Israel in accordance with the International Energy Agency conservation and allocation formula, as applied by the United States Government, in order to meet Israel's essential requirements. If Israel is unable to secure the necessary means to transport such oil to Israel, the United States Government will make every effort to help Israel secure the necessary means of transport.

Israeli and United States experts will meet annually or more frequently at the request of either party, to review Israel's continuing oil requirement.

Source: Israeli Foreign Ministry

One can't help but wonder how our great country can continually fund the state of Israel(65 Billion$ and counting) while our infrastructure continues to collapse, recession looms, and THEIR war is being fought with our soldiers lives.

Absurd Protestant Claims Part 1.

Prot: Albert Einstein died a Christian!

Sin: No, he did not.

Prot: No he did not? What kind of answer is that? Yes he did!

It is so often used by theists as a means to say, "See, even the most die hard non-Christian eventually saw the light!" Fortunately, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence -- So it makes it very easy for us who are in a perpetual state of suspended judgement to debunk such claims with solid evidence.

"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism." [-Albert Einstein]

Let us not become confused -- Einstein is not claiming Buddhism as his faith and conviction -- merely pointing out that Buddhism is most open to scientific advancement than the other positive religions.

"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." [-Albert Einstein, 1954, The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press]

An obvious denial of both theism and moreover, Christianity.

"Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the action of people. For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a Supernatural Being."
[-Albert Einstein, 1936, The Human Side. Responding to a child who wrote and asked if scientists pray.]

Ibid.

"A man's ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."
[-Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science", New York Times Magazine, 9 November 1930]

I'm not going so far as to agree with him on this subject -- but once again we see Einstein denouncing the necessity of religion.

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature." [-Albert Einstein, The World as I See It]

Sound absolutely nothing like something a Christian would say.

"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings."
[-Albert Einstein, responding to Rabbi Herbert Goldstein who had sent Einstein a cablegram bluntly demanding "Do you believe in God?" Quoted from Victor J. Stenger, Has Science Found God? 2001, chapter 3.]

Check the link for a quick overview of Spinoza, his idea of God, and his general philosophy.

"The idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I am unable to take seriously." [-Albert Einstein, Letter to Hoffman and Dukas, 1946]

Is there any more room for doubt in this matter?

Behold! The Future Of America

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- A couple fighting about which gang their 4-year-old toddler should join caused a public disturbance that resulted in the father's arrest, Commerce City police said Thursday.

On Saturday, Joseph Manzanares stormed into the Hollywood Video store where his girlfriend worked, threatened to kill her and knocked over several video displays and even a computer, Commerce City police Sgt. Joe Sandoval said.

After he ran out of the store, police were called and the 19-year-old was arrested at his home.

His girlfriend told police that they had been arguing about the upbringing of their son and which gang he should belong to. The teen mother, who is black, is a member of the Crips. Manzanares is Hispanic and belongs to the Westside Ballers gang, the woman said.

"They have different ideas on how the baby should be raised. Basically, she said they cannot agree on which gang the baby would 'claim,'" Sandoval said.

Manzanares was charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, and domestic violence. He was transported to the Adams County Detention Facility.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a year of probation. The misdemeanor harassment charge was dropped.

Such vulgar decadence leaves one questioning, "Is man truly the rational animal?"

12 Proofs For The Existence of God

Taken from a satirical piece called, "243 Proofs For The Existence Of God". I decided to cut it down to the twelve I enjoyed most -- and present it for your entertainment. Granted, this is completely satirical. However, I have actually observed and experienced these arguments being used by theists while debating.

1. ARGUMENT FROM UNINTELLIGENCE
[1] Okay, I don't pretend to be as intelligent as you guys -- you're obviously very well read. But I read the Bible, and nothing you say can convince me that God does not exist. I feel him in my heart, and you can feel him too, if you'll just ask him into your life. "For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son into the world, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish from the earth." John 3:16.
[2] Therefore, God exists.

2. ARGUMENT FROM BLINDNESS
[1] Atheists are spiritually blind.
[2] Therefore, God exists.

3. ARGUMENT FROM FALLIBILITY
[1] Human reasoning is inherently flawed.
[2] Therefore, there is no reasonable way to challenge a proposition.
[3] I propose that God exists.
[4] Therefore, God exists.

4. ARGUMENT FROM SHEER WILL
[1] I DO believe in God! I DO believe in God! I do I do I do I DO believe in God!
[2] Therefore, God exists.

5. ARGUMENT FROM INCOHERENT BABBLE
[1] See that person spazzing on the church floor babbling incoherently?
[2] That's how infinite wisdom reveals itself.
[3] Therefore, God exists.

6. ARGUMENT FROM BIOGENESIS
[1] Where did Adam come from, dummy?
[2] Therefore, God exists.

7. ARGUMENT FROM ARGUMENTATION
[1] God exists.
[2] [Atheist's counterargument]
[3] Yes he does.
[4] [Atheist's counterargument]
[5] Yes he does!
[6] [Atheist's counterargument]
[7] YES HE DOES!!!
[8] [Atheist gives up and goes home]
[9] Therefore, God exists.

8. ARGUMENT FROM CREATION
[1] If evolution is false, then creationism is true, and therefore God exists.
[2] Evolution can't be true, since I lack the mental capacity to understand it; moreover, to accept its truth would cause me to be uncomfortable
[3] Therefore, God exists.

9. ARGUMENT FROM INFINITE REGRESS
[1] Ask Atheists what caused the Big Bang.
[2] Regardless of their answer, ask how they know this.
[3] Continue process until the Atheist admits he doesn't know the answer to one of your questions.
[4] You win!
[5] Therefore, God exists.

10. PEACOCK ARGUMENT FROM SELECTIVE MEMORY
[1] [Christian asks "stumper" question]
[2] [Atheist answers question]
[3] [A lapse of time]
[4] [Christian repeats question]
[5] [Atheist repeats answer]
[6] [A lapse of time]
[7] [Christian repeats question]
[8] [Atheist repeats answer]
[9] [A lapse of time]
[10] Atheist, you never answered my question.
[11] Therefore, God exists.

11. ARGUMENT FROM PERSONAL SANITY
[1] I've had religious experiences that can't be explained unless I'm insane or God exists.
[2] Therefore, God exists.

12. ARGUMENT FROM LACK OF DISPROOF
[1] You can't prove God doesn't exist!
[2] Therefore, God exists.

Now if you read them all and still don't believe in God -- you're an idiot.

Protestant Logic Part 2

Prot: You're interpretation of that Biblical passage is wrong.

Sin: By what authority do you make such a claim?

Prot: Because I have the Holy Spirit -- which is the Spirit of Truth. Therefore I interpret scripture correctly.

Sin: What if I claimed to also possess this Holy Spirit?

Prot: You do not. If you did, you would interpret scripture the way I do.

Sin: ...

Prot: I interpret scripture correctly because I have the Holy Spirit. I have the Holy Spirit therefore I interpret scripture correctly. What don't you understand about this?

Please, take a moment to truly admire the circular logic.

...On Obama

Big Brother Obama is hopeless. One can only hope his army of cult followers doesn't hunt me down for this one.

The Protestant Mantra!

"Be a sinner, and sin boldly, but believe more boldly still. We must sin as long as we are what we are. Sin shall not drag us away from Him [Christ] even should we commit fornication or muder, thousands and thousands of times a day."

"Prayer Works!" -- Says Who?

From the actual research article in the American Heart Journal:

Methods
Patients at 6 US hospitals were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: 604 received intercessory prayer after being informed that they may or may not receive prayer; 597 did not receive intercessory prayer also after being informed that they may or may not receive prayer; and 601 received intercessory prayer after being informed they would receive prayer. Intercessory prayer was provided for 14 days, starting the night before CABG [coronary artery bypass graft]. The primary outcome was presence of any complication within 30 days of CABG. Secondary outcomes were any major event and mortality.

Results
In the 2 groups uncertain about receiving intercessory prayer, complications occurred in 52% of patients who received intercessory prayer versus 51% of those who did not. Complications occurred in 59% of patients certain of receiving intercessory prayer compared with the 52% of those uncertain of receiving intercessory prayer. Major events and 30-day mortality were similar across the 3 groups.

Conclusions
Intercessory prayer itself had no effect on complication-free recovery from CABG, but certainty of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with a higher incidence of complications.

"Patients who received prayers were marginally more likely to develop complications (52.5 to 50.9 percent) and substantially more likely to develop major complications (18.0 to 13.4 percent) than patients who received none."

Well, it would appear in this case, that "Goddidntdoit!"

...On George

Either "God" isn't much of a skilled architect, or evolution burped -- when producing this ape-man.

...On "Thou Shalt Not"

"Thou shalt not kill."

"Thou shalt not commit adultery."

"Thou shalt not steal."

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

Nothing in history has robbed, killed, deprived, suppressed -- the fundamental nature of man -- more than the great "Thou Shalt Not".

...On McCain

If this man of particularly repugnant nature, manages, somehow, to be elected the next President of the United States -- He guarantees you -- that he will spend the next 100 years securing the borders of the state of Israel.

Furthermore, he has the Christian right-wing backing him -- Reason enough to reject him outright.

...On Hillary

I considered adding some sinful witticism to help my readers understand my absolute loathing of this woman, but after editing this campaign picture to my fitting -- I think it is sufficient in and of itself.

Baby Born With 2 Faces, Worshiped

SAINI SUNPURA, India - A baby with two faces was born in a northern Indian village, where she is doing well and is being worshiped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, her father said Tuesday.

The baby, Lali, apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Except for her ears, all of Lali's facial features are duplicated — she has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes.

"My daughter is fine — like any other child," said Vinod Singh, 23, a poor farm worker.

Lali has caused a sensation in the dusty village of Saini Sunpura, 25 miles east of New Delhi. When she left the hospital, eight hours after a normal delivery on March 11, she was swarmed by villagers, said Sabir Ali, the director of Saifi Hospital.

"She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time," Ali said.

Rural India is deeply superstitious and the little girl is being hailed as a return of the Hindu goddess of valor, Durga, a fiery deity traditionally depicted with three eyes and many arms.

It speaks volumes in terms of a cultures progression when they continually worship those born with deformities.

That Lunatic Luther

Listed below are direct quotes from the so-called "Father of the Reformation" -- Martin Luther. The quotes will be listed in two separate stages: Pre-Defection and Post-Defection -- with obvious comments of the most sinful nature!

Pre-Defection:

"If Christ had not entrusted all power to one man, the Church would not have been perfect because there would have been no order, and each one would have been able to say he was led by the Holy Spirit. This is what the heretics did, each one setting up his own principle. In this way as many Churches arose as there were heads. Christ therefore wills, in order that all may be assembled in one unity, that His power be exercised by one man to whom also He commits it. He has, however, made this Power so strong that He looses all the powers of Hell, without injury, against it. He says: 'The gates of Hell shall not prevail against it,' as though He said: 'They will fight against it but never overcome it,' so that in this way it is made manifest that this power is in reality from God and not from man. Wherefore whoever breaks away from this unity and order of the Power, let him not boast of great enlightenment and wonderful works, as our Picards and other heretics do, for much better is obedience than the victims of fools who know not 'what evil they do."

We see here, Luther proclaiming the clear Roman Catholic view of heresy. The same Roman Catholic church he would later rebel against.

"The principal sin of heretics is their pride. In their pride they insist on their own opinions. Frequently they serve God with great fervor, and they do not intend any evil; but they serve God according to their own will. Even when refuted, they are ashamed to retract their errors and to change their words. They think they are guided directly by God. The things that have been established for centuries and for which so many martyrs have suffered death, they begin to treat as doubtful questions. They interpret the Bible according to their own heads and their own particular views and carry their own opinions into it."

Tsk.. Tsk.. Tsk...

"From misplaced reliance on my righteousness, my heart became full of distrust, doubt, fear, hatred and blasphemy of God. I was such an enemy of Christ that whenever I saw an image or a picture of Him hanging on His cross, I loathed the site and I shut my eyes and felt that I would rather have seen the devil. My spirit was completely broken and I was always in a state of melancholy; for, do what I would, my 'righteousness' and my 'good works' brought me no help or consolation."

Is it not blatantly obvious from this particular quotation, that, Luther suffered from severe psychological problems? It would have been better had he resided in a mental institution than taken up the cause of Reformer.

"When I said my first Mass at Erfurt, I was all but dead, for I was without faith; it was unjust and too great forbearance in God that the earth did not at the time swallow up both myself and the bishop who ordained me."

It would appear, much to my dismay -- that God has stopped using to Earth to swallow up those who offended Him after the case of Korah.

"I call God and man to witness that I have never wished and do not now desire to touch the Roman Church or The Pope's sacred authority; and that I acknowledge most explicitly that this Church rules over all and that nothing in Heaven or the earth is superior to it, save only Jesus Christ Our Lord."

Post-Defection:

"Unfortunately, it is our daily experience that now under my Gospel the people entertain greater and bitterer hatred and envy and are worse with their avarice and money-grabbing than before under the Papacy."

"The people feel they are free from the bonds and fetters of the Pope, but now they want to get rid also of the Gospel and of all the laws of God."

"Townsfolk and peasants, men and women, children and servants, princes, magistrates and subjects, are all going to the devil."

And we thank you for guiding them there!

"Avarice, usury, debauchery, drunkenness, blasphemy, lying and cheating are far more prevalent now than they were under the Papacy. This state of morals brings general discredit on the Gospel and its preachers, as the people say, if this Gospel were true, the persons professing it would be more pious."

We thank you again!

"Reason speaks nothing but madness and foolishness."

Not so! Reason does, however, show nothing less than you being a madman and a fool!

"If the mistress of the house is unwilling, let the maid come."

A true glimpse into the psyche of the great Reformer.

"The Papists contend that faith which is informed by charity, justifies. On this point we must contend and oppose with all our strength; here we must yield not a nail's breadth to any; neither to the angels of Heaven, nor the gates of Hell, nor to St. Paul, nor to an hundred Emporers, nor to a thousand Popes, nor to the world; and this be my watchword and sign."

The irony of the "reformer" proclaiming, "Bible Alone", yet refusing to acknowledge St. Paul in regards to justification.

"No man on earth can properly distinguish between the Law and the Gospel. Even the man Jesus Christ, when in the Garden of Gethsemane, suffered from such ignorance."

And this man deigned to call himself a Christian?

"The moral duties of the Law were impossible of fulfillment and incited not love, but hatred of God."

One of the rare exceptions in which I actually agree with the madman.

"That shall serve you as a true rule, that wherever the Scriptures order and command to do good works, you must so understand it that the Scriptures forbid good works. If you should not sin against the Gospel, then be on your guard against good works; avoid them as one avoids a pest."

"Moses should be looked upon with suspicion as the worst heretic, as a damned and excommunicated person; yeah, worse than the Pope and the devil."

From one heretic to another -- one reformer to another.

"A pure heart enlightened by God must not dirty, soil itself with the Law. Thus let the Christian understand that it matters not whether he keeps it or not; yeah, he may do what is forbidden and leave undone what is commanded, for neither is a sin."

Does this not contradict Christ, who answers the question of, "What must I do to be saved?" with a simple, "Keep the commandments."?

"I confess that I am more negligent than I was under the Pope and there is now nowhere such an amount of earnestness under the Gospel, as was formerly seen among monks and priests. If God had not closed my eyes, and if I had forseen these scandals, I would never have begun to teach the Gospel."

There is almost always at least some grain of truth in madness.

"Be a sinner, and sin boldly, but believe more boldly still. We must sin as long as we are what we are. Sin shall not drag us away from Him [Christ] even should we commit fornication or muder, thousands and thousands of times a day."

Oh dear Martin -- if you were truly prophetic, you would have foreseen that I do, in fact, drag them away from your Lord.

...On Absolutes

Dependency on absolutes is a sign of an intellectual weakness.

Debate With A Protestant Part 2.

In a recent debate with a Protestant Christian, I brought up the 11 year old girl dying because her family decided to pray for her instead of give her the necessary medicine needed to safe her life. Below is the ensuing debate that followed:

Prot: God gave us medicine and medical care to help us as well. Prayer works don't get me wrong but there isn't anything wrong or anything ungodly about getting the correct medical care.

Sorry but people aren't perfect, and people make mistakes and I find it funny how people use incidents like these to not believe in God but with all the medicines that are taken off the market (like the anti depressants that make you MORE depressed) and all the medicines that cause all these deadly side effects they sure don't lose faith in medical care.

Sin: We don't use silly arguments to not believe in God. We use arguments like this to show others how utterly retarded theists can be when they take a 2000 year old book literally.

Prot: So why don't you do the same with medical science? That's had plenty of errors and deaths and deformations etc. etc. etc.

Sin: I do. However, there aren't millions of medical scientist running around saying, "You have to take this medicine or you will burn in hell!"

Prot: But at any given time there are (not a million) probably thousands of medical scientists running around saying TAKE MEDICINE X for ILLENSS(Sic) Y OR YOU WILL DIE! Not exactly identical but you get the picture right?

Sin: And in most cases, medicine "X" is needed. In zero cases is anyone going to burn in eternal damnation.

Prot: Really in most cases? Is that why medicines are taken off the market? Because they're needed? But those errors are acceptable, right?

Sin: You're talking about a fraction of the medicines that are on the market, and those medicines are removed accordingly.

Hence: Christianity should be removed accordingly. It's a bad medicine.

Protestant Logic

Below is an excerpt from a debate I was participating in with a Protestant Christian.

Prot: God created the universe from nothing. Thats what Ive been saying.

Sin: Why does the universe need a creator when God doesn't?

Prot: Because the universe was CREATED by God.

Sin: If God can exists without a creator then why can't the universe?

Prot: Because the universe was CREATED.

Sin: ...

Prot: The universe needs a creator because it was created. How hard is that? The universe can't exist without a creator because it was created.

You have to admire the circular logic.

...On Pride

One can only swallow it so many times before falling victim to asphyxiation.

...On Morality

What is good? What is bad? What is right? What is wrong?

Trifles best left to theologians and philosophers to discuss.

...On Marriage, Again

...to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

One has trouble imagining anything more dishonest, not to mention despicable, than this promise.

Beating A Dead Horse...

The Bible shows God engaging in acts, that, if a man were to engage in, would be considered at minimum, sinful in nature.

Yet -- The Bible then states to emulate, and, "..Be perfect, as the Father in heaven is perfect."

Clearly, that doesn't make any sense.

Question:
How can one be perfect as God is and manage to avoid sin at the same time -- Since, by mimicking Gods acts, one would, ipso-facto, condemn oneself based on Gods own laws?

...On Marriage

I have made the conscience choice not to marry because I have never met a woman that I could have meaningful conversation with for the rest of my life.

Atheism Or Agnosticism?

a·the·ist /ˈeɪθiɪst/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ey-thee-ist] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

ag·nos·tic /ægˈnɒstɪk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ag-nos-tik] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience.
4. asserting the uncertainty of all claims to knowledge.

Definitively, I'm an agnostic. Since I'm neither convinced by A-Priori or synthetic metaphysical arguments for the existence of God, nor by the evidence educed from the physical world around us, nor by the claims made by various positive religions -- I cannot affirm the proposition, "There Is A God." This in no way implies an affirmation of the proposition, "There is no God." The means of verification seem to be unavailable to the human mind for either proposition. Therefore, I stand in a state of suspended judgement on the matter.

Prayer Healing?

WESTON, Wis. - Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl's death from an undiagnosed, treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to use prayer rather than medicine to heal her.

An autopsy showed that Madeline Neumann died Sunday of diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that left too little insulin in her body, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said.

She had probably been ill for about a month, suffering symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness, the chief said Wednesday, noting that he expects to complete the investigation by today and to forward the results to the district attorney.

The girl's mother, Leilani Neumann, said that the family believes in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but she said they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.

She insisted that her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her straight brown hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently.

"We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks," she said Wednesday. "And then just the day before and that day [she died], it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that, to us, it looked like she was recovering."

Her daughter - who hadn't seen a doctor since she got some shots as a 3-year-old, according to Vergin - had no fever and there was warmth in her body, she said.

The girl's father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said that he started CPR "as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter's body.

Family members elsewhere called authorities to seek help for the girl.

"My sister-in-law, she's very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors," the girl's aunt told a sheriff's dispatcher Sunday afternoon in a call from California. "And she called my mother-in-law today . . . and she explained to us that she believes her daughter's in a coma now and she's relying on faith."

The dispatcher got more information from the caller and asked if an ambulance should be sent.

"Please," the woman replied. "I mean, she's refusing. She's going to fight it. . . . We've been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few days now."

The aunt called back with more information on the family's location, emergency logs show. Police and paramedics arrived within minutes and immediately called for an ambulance that took her to a hospital.

But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline - a bright student who left public school for home schooling this semester - was declared dead.

She is survived by her parents and three older siblings.

"We are remaining strong for our children," Leilani Neumann said. "Only our faith in God is giving us strength at this time."

The Neumanns said they moved from California to a modern, middle-class home in woodsy Weston, just outside Wassau in central Wisconsin, about two years ago to open a coffee shop and be closer to other relatives. A basketball hoop is set up in the driveway.

Leilani Neumann said that she and her husband are not worried about the investigation because "our lives are in God's hands. We know we did not do anything criminal. We know we did the best for our daughter we knew how to do." *

There is something wrong with this picture -- I think it's prayer.

The Violent Scriptures

Supposedly the people of Judah shouted and God helped them kill ½ million Israelites:

[2 Chr 13:15 NRSV] Then the people of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the people of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

[2 Chr 13:16-18 NRSV] The Israelites fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hands. Abijah and his army defeated them with great slaughter; five hundred thousand picked men of Israel fell slain.
Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

God slaughters 70 men for simply looking into the Ark:

[1 Sam 6:19 RSV] And he [God] slew some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked into the ark of the LORD; he slew seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had made a great slaughter among the people.

Korah questions Moses’ leadership and God makes the earth open up and swallow his people: men, women, and children:

[Num 16:20-21 NRSV] Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: Separate yourselves from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment. They fell on their faces, and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one person sin and you become angry with the whole congregation?"

[Num 16:27 NRSV] […]and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents, together with their wives , their children , and their little ones .

[Num 16:32-33 NRSV] The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households–everyone who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they with all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

Not Appeased Yet, God Burns Some More Followers:

[Num 16:35 NRSV] And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred fifty men offering the incense.

[Num 16:41 NRSV] On the next day, however, the whole congregation of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD."

...God is further angered:

[Num 16:45 NRSV] "Get away from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.

[Num 16:49 NRSV] Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.

God Commands And Assists In Genocide:

[City of Jericho][6:21] Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

[City of Ai][8:22]Israel struck them down until no one was left who survived or escaped.

[8:29] And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; and at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, threw it down at the entrance of the gate of the city …

[The Amorites] [10:10] …[the Israelites] inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon …, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

God throws boulders down from heaven onto fleeing Amorites:

[10:11] As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

[10:12-13] …Joshua spoke to the LORD; and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon." And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.

[10:20] When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great slaughter on them, until they were wiped out.

More Genocide:

[11:1-4] People of Hazor, Madon, Shimron, Achshaph, northern hill country, Arabah, Naphoth-dor, Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites [again?], the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites and the Hivites unite against the Israelites.

[11:14] All the spoil of these towns, and the livestock, the Israelites took for their booty; but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed.

[11:20] For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts [the Canaanites] so that they would come against Israel in battle, in order that they might be utterly destroyed, and might receive no mercy, but be exterminated, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

God threatens to punish the Israelites by forcing them to eat the flesh of their children:

[Lev 26:27-28 NRSV] But if, despite this, you disobey me, and continue hostile to me, I will continue hostile to you in fury; I in turn will punish you myself sevenfold for your sins.

[Lev 26:29 NRSV] You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.

[Jer 19:9 NRSV] And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and all shall eat the flesh of their neighbors in the siege, and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.

God kills scores of innocent babies and children:

[Exo 11:10 NRSV] Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

[Exo 12:29 NRSV] At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

God kills a man for not impregnating his brother’s wife:

[Gen 38:9-10 NRSV] But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother. What he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also.

God allows Jewish babies to be dashed to pieces and pregnant Jewish women to be ripped open:

[Hosea 13:16 NRSV] Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword, their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.

The Bible says to kill your wife, your daughter, your son, your brother, your friend, etc… if they worship other gods:

[Deu 13:6-10 NRSV] If anyone secretly entices you–even if it is your brother, your father’s son or your mother’s son, or your own son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your most intimate friend– saying, "Let us go worship other gods," whom neither you nor your ancestors have known, any of the gods of the peoples that are around you, whether near you or far away from you, from one end of the earth to the other, you must not yield to or heed any such persons. Show them no pity or compassion and do not shield them. But you shall surely kill them; your own hand shall be first against them to execute them, and afterwards the hand of all the people. Stone them to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God.

...And people still claim this is the WORD OF GOD?

The Rapture Trap.

A Pentecostal Christian recently questioned me on my views about the idea of The Rapture. Here is my rather long, but educational response destroying such a notion.

While on Mt. Olivet, the Disciples remark on the magnificence of the Jewish temple. Jesus then responds to them with the sombre prediction that the temple will be destroyed. His disciples then ask him a two part question, which is, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and the close of the age?"(Matthew 24:3)

Take note that the Disciples are asking a two part question. First, about the destruction of the temple. Second, about the SECOND coming of Christ.(Not a Second and Third, simply a Second.)

History proves that the Temple was indeed destroyed, in A.D 70. Obviously, the so called Second coming of Christ has not yet happened.

Take note of that, the two events are widely separated in time, which is why part of his answer is related to the Temple being destroyed, and part of it to his supposed Second Coming.

His response is troubling, and he describes some of the Tribulations that will occur. The details found in Luke 21:20 are quite obviously connected to the first part of the question, which is referring to the Temple being destroyed, and the siege of Jerusalem. The city was in fact invaded by Romans, the temple was destroyed, and the city destroyed as well. This occurred during the lifetime of many of Jesus' followers. I will quote scripture here to show you clearly his response to the first part of the question.

"Great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Luke 21:23-24) After the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans, these prophecies came to pass.

Other prophecies in the Olivet discourse have found their fulfillment time and again throughout the two thousand years of Church history: persecutions, martyrdoms, betrayals, false prophets, apostasies(Such as yourself), wars, earthquakes, famines(Matthew 24:9-14). Christ then follows with a dire warning: "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect [that is, those God will save] those days will be shortened" (Matthew 24:21-22)

The principal which Jesus states clearly, here and elsewhere, is obvious: Not the one who is snatched out of tribulation but the one "who endures to the end will be saved."(Matthew 24:13; also 10:22) The days of trial are not a time of escape, but of sifting, proving, purging, strengthening the faithful and sorting them from the unfaithful, the wheat from the chaff.

You people go on and on about this "secret" rapture in which you will get snatched up, clothes remaining, people in cars disappearing(Refer to the absurd novels: Left Behind). But yet again, Scripture contradicts this utterly ridiculous position.

One of Jesus' main concerns in his warnings is that his followers would not be tricked into believing he has come when he hasn't. How will they know he has truly returned? Simple. He says, "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man"(Matthew 24:27) The event will be universally recognized, visible, and unmistakable.

Even more: "Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another." (Matthew 24:30-31)

What is the "sign of the Son of Man in heaven?" Jesus doesn't say. But it is obviously a public event that prompts worldwide attention and is directly linked to history's end, and end that is clearly visible and recognizable to all: "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."(Verse 30) Add to this the angels and loud trumpets, and you have a reentry to Earth that is anything but secret.

Later, when Jesus was on trial, the Jewish elders asked him if he was, "the Christ, the Son of God"(Matthew 26:63). He replied: "Hereafter, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."(Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62). Keep in mind these two phrases: "the Son of Man... clouds of heaven."

Now you can refer to Daniel when he says, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given all dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him"(Daniel 7:13-14)

The Jews understood completely what Jesus was referring to when he called himself, "The son of man... Coming on the clouds of heaven."

Whether it be from Daniel or from Christ, the prophecies state that the Judge comes on the "clouds of heaven", with loud trumpets, and angels who accompany his coming. This is by no means a SECRET COMING!

After the Gospels, the next reference to the second coming of Christ is found in Acts. After Jesus was "lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sights." Two angels appeared and offered one more reminded of what Jesus had told them before: "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven."(Acts 1:11) How would he return? ---- Coming with the clouds of heaven.

Take note that throughout Old Testament, the clouds of heaven were associated with the glory of god's presence. The term glory has several layers in scripture, a few examples are: brightness, splendor, praise, renown - the honor publicly given to someone of greatness. For further reference, look to Exodus 13:21, Exodus 40:34, 1 Kings 8:10-11, Ezekiel 10:3-4. In the new Testament, refer to Matthew 17:5.

Given the recurring form of "majestic glory", you should not be surprised when Jesus says he will return to earth "coming on the clouds of haven with power and great glory." He is describing an event of magnificent grandeur, such as could not be hidden, or secret, but one the entire world will see."

St. Paul, St. James, St. Peter, and St. John all speak of the second coming of Christ a number of times in their letters. Refer to: 1 John 2:28, James 5:8, 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Peter 4:7, and lastly, Titus 2:13(Most Protestants do not accept the Book Of Titus.)

St. Peter says reminds the Church in his second letter that the seeming delay of Christ's return demonstrates God's mercy, because the "day of the Lord" will be terrifying(2 Peter 3:2-17)

When St. Paul attempted to settle a controversy in Thessalonica about the lord's coming, he reminded them of a point he had already during a homily: "Do you not remember, that when I was still with you I told you this?" (2 Thessalonians 2:5).

The Christians at Corinth seem to have had questions, and even doubts, about the resurrection of the dead(See 1 Corinthians chapter 15). In explaining the nature of the resurrected and glorified body, St. Paul described how it will take place: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep [that is, those who have died]. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom of god the father after destroying every rule and every authority and power" (1 Corinthians 15:20-24). The trio of closely connected events are simple: Christ's coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the judgement (His triumph over evil).

St. Paul then argues for the bodily resurrection. He describes the nature of the change, and then continues to describe the close of the age: "Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [that is, die], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinth 15:51-52)

We have already heard about the trumpet. Recall the words of Jesus: "They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other"(Matthew 24:30-31). The son appears in brilliant glory, on the clouds of heaven, he then sends his angels to do his bidding and to gather his people for resurrection and judgement.

The Christians at Thessalonica, like those in Corinth, had some questions about the resurrection of the dead as well. Would those believers who had already died have to wait longer to meet Christ than those who were still alive at his return (1 Thessalonians 4:15)? And what of the people who were saying that Judgement Day had already taken place (Thessalonians 2:1-2)?

With regard to the first question, he insisted that the saints -- those who had died in favor with God and whose souls were in heaven - would actually accompany Christ on his return to earth. Then, after a few exhortations to godliness and warnings about the judgement, he returns to the theme of the saints accompanying Christ:

"For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep... We who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who has fallen asleep. For the lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of god. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17)

St. Paul gives enough details here to make it clear that he is not talking about a secret rapture, but about the same event we have already heard described by Jesus to his disciples and by the same apostle when he wrote to the Corinthians. Once again, we find Christ's descent from heaven, clouds, angels, the trumpet, and resurrection.

Three critical points should be noted: First, these descriptions of Christ's coming share enough common elements to indicate that they all refer to the same sequence of events. The sequence include Jesus' glorious second coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the judgement of the world. Second, the references to the trumpet, the blazing light, the glory of the saints, the judgement or conquest of evil, and the fact that people will "marvel," all show that his is no secret or hidden event.

Third, the text in 2 Thessalonians shows that this sequence takes place after the horrors of the Antichrist's deceptions and attacks on the Church. "For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, proclaiming himself to be God... The lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and destroy him by His appearing and His coming." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 8).

One detail included in St. Paul's comments may raise a question. When Jesus and the saints come down from heaven, he insists, the faithful Christians who are still alive on the earth "shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord"(1 Thessalonians 4:17). What is the significance of this?

First, note that this statement parallels Jesus' words about sending out the angels to "gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven," so they can be with "the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory" (Mark 13:26-27, Matthew 24:31). In addition, St. Paul's remarks on the same subject in 2 Thessalonians are prefaced with a slightly different description of this meeting: "Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet Him" -- a day when "the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire" (2 Thessalonians 2:1; 1:7).

Again, as we have seen, the context of this references the angel, the trumpet, the clouds. This shows that St. Paul is writing about the glorious PUBLIC return of Christ. So, the question remains, what is the purpose of the faithful on earth being "caught up" in the glory of their descending Lord to meet him as he arrives in triumph?

The answer is simple when you recognize the ancient custom common in St. Pauls culture. When a hero, or military leader, made grand public entrances to a city, what is called a parousia(The same Greek term St. Paul and other biblical writers often use to write about Christ's glorious arrival at the close of the age, see for example: 1 Corinthians 15:25, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 2 Peter 3:4, 1 John 2:28), he was often met by the citizens who wanted to go out to welcome him and then accompany him back into the city. It was a way for people to honor such a person's arrival and to take part in the celebration of his coming. This, in fact, was the custom that led to Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the day we call the Passion, or Palm Sunday.

When you find that the Greek word translated here as "meet" or "meeting" (Apantesis) is the same term that was used for the gathering of citizens to meet the approaching celebrity, the passage makes perfect sense. Those who are still alive on earth when Jesus returns, will have a great privilege: They will be caught up in the clouds of glory to meet the approaching "King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15) and to join the saints whose souls have already experienced the rewards of living with him in heaven. They will then accompany him as he enters the world in triumph.

On that day, each faithful Christian will become "a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed" (1 Peter 5:1). Those who "suffer with him" (that is, for his sake) through the terrors of the last days will at that time "also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:17)

I will not point out that Christians, according to Scripture, will have to suffer through the great tribulation. That they will not be "plucked" out of the sky, but they themselves must suffer for Christ.

St. John has a vision of "the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne," who were "each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been" (Revelation 6:9-11). But there was more. In answer to the question, "Whence have they come?" the elder declared: "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:13-14)

What could be clearer? God did not pluck these faithful believers out of the horrors of persecution; in fact, he told them that others would be joining their ranks as martyrs.

Even Jesus' prayers for his followers at Gethesemane reflect this perfectly: "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." (John 17:15)

Summary:

Having showed what seem to be the most straight forward biblical passages about Christ's second coming, I can now summarize what we find there. First, Jesus' own instructions about the events to come are confirmed by the apostolic teachings of Sts. Peter, Paul, John, and James. In every scenario presented, the Second Coming is not a secret or invisible event. On the contrary, in various accounts as it's described, it is an unmistakably public, universally visible, glorious, full of splendor. The Lord returns on magnificent clouds of glory with brilliant angels and saints and a trumpet blast announcing their arrival; the faithful on earth are gathered to Him, while the rest of the world wails at the terrifying sight.

Second, Jesus and the Apostles warn that the Church will face severe tribulation before His second coming. The demonic forces that have resisted God from the beginning of history will launch ferocious attacks on his people. Christians will not be spared this adversity, but God will provide the grace to endure, and those who endure to the end through such cleansing and strengthening trials will be saved.

There it is folks. The idea of the rapture being rendered absolutely null and utterly void.