10 Things that you Should Teach your Children

First teach him how to be a good passenger  :)

I rarely speak of my family in this forum, but the people who know me best know that being a father and a husband are the only things at which I can't bear to fail. I struggle every day at how to do it properly.
How do I respond to his every concern, his every success, his every failure, his troubles and successes, his every pain and his every joy and know that I am doing it right until he is grown and it is too late?

I can't possibly think of any way this would impact him later in life....

I decided to do this blog entry because of the number of well intentioned posts in the blogosphere that are religiocentric and having noticed the decided lack of any humanist or secular entries. Don't get me wrong, there are a number of very enlightening posts and some very good parenting ideas being tossed around out there, I just felt that there was nothing addressing some of the intellectual issues that secular parents might face in child rearing. I don't claim to be an expert, but some things I feel like I have done very well and have something of value to pass on to other parents, in some I defer to those who have demonstrated success in their particular area of parenting strength. (shout out to the Bitchin Atheist for her take on how to develop an open and sharing relationship with your children). So there will be no "teach them to pray" or "show them the beauty of a life in Jesus" or even any "Teach them to make their own decisions about God" (because if you teach them to be skeptical they'll make that decision anyway). Only good 'ol fashioned parenting.


In any case, on with the list.


Everything is Funny

Ok, not fake mustaches.... they are serious business.

Teaching your child that it is ok to laugh at themselves and in awkward situations gives them a coping mechanism that is invaluable. Nothing heals like laughter... and when you are not ready to heal... nothing distracts like it either. It can lift you up in dark times, it can carry you through confusing times and the sound of your own laughter can show you that it just isn't all that bad. My mother used to say "Everything is funny", and I come to understand more and more each day what she meant. She meant that nothing counteracts the pain and difficulties that we run into more than laughter, nothing helps you cope, and nothing but nothing can keep a family together like laughter. Even the terrible things. We all know that they are not funny, but if we let our humour come out, they can seem a little less debilitating.


Question Everything

Teach your children to ask the questions "Why?" and "How do you know that?". Let them know that it is OK to disagree as long as they have evidence or good reason to do so. Show them how to keep an open mind in case they are wrong. It is this demand for evidence that will inform their beliefs when they are older and keep them safe from bad and harmful ones. Teach them that if someone says that they know everything or that they "know for a fact" that they are right... with no real facts to support it, that is a fancy way of saying they are lying. I am not saying that we should ruin the magic of childhood if they ask about Santa or the Easter Bunny, but don't lie if they figure it out.

Dear God WHY??? We ask the same question kids

Teach them to Respect People (but not beliefs)

Tell them that everyone deserves respect until they show you that they do not. Beliefs only deserve the respect that their validity affords them. Every belief must be based on falsified evidence for it, and that includes their own. Everyone has the right to an opinion, but remember that having the right to an opinion is no guarantee that it is a good one. If a belief can be shown to be worth respecting then respect it, if not then recognize it for the nonsense that it is. Nothing is a good cover for bad beliefs, not upbringing, not religion, and certainly not "the right to an opinion". (let's be clear that I am not advocating your children calling people on nonsense all the time either, just to recognize it. Civility has it's place after all)


When People Show you who they are... Believe them

Teach them that people will very often show you who they really are, and the excuse "they are nice sometimes" just doesn't cut it.  Forgiveness is the key to a happy life, but remembering who people are will save you a lot of time forgiving people who will hurt you over and over again.


Science is Important

Do not allow your household to be a science free zone. The universe is amazing, and they deserve to be fascinated by it too.


Reading is Life

Show them by example how important reading is. Not just comic books, but classics. Let them choose their books but always talk about them over the dinner table. Ask them what they liked about theirs and tell them what you like about your own. It will expose them to new ideas and not only will it expand their vocabulary but it will expand their world as well.


Teach them about hard work

Put them in situations where you can show them how it feels to be successful when you have worked hard for something. It pays off for them to know that the best things are those things that they wanted so bad they worked hard to get it. Give them an example to follow in order to get there.


Teach him the Iron of Words 

Teach them that their words are the only thing that they truly own and that no one can take from them. They define and express who we are... use them wisely and honestly.


Politeness Matters (be kind)

Pleases and thank yous matter. Civility counts. Do I really have to explain this?

WOULD YOU PLEASE BE SO KIND AS TO STOP DRIVING SO SLOWLY???

Talk to them about failures and sadness

Talk to your kids. I mean TALK to them. Tell them when you are upset and why. Tell them when you fail and how it makes you feel. Tell them how you hope to fix things and ask for their opinions about how you can make things right too. Lean on them emotionally without putting pressure on them and they will return the favour when you ask the same questions of them. I can't tell you how important this is. There are so many pressures that we all face as we hit the teenage years and beyond and without this they will not come to you for help. They need to feel like the emotional support is a two way street and that you rely on them as much as they rely on you. This is the only way to achieve the trust that will be needed for them to tell you when things get really difficult for them. (Thanks Char for showing me how to do this!)


Winning DOES Matter (but it is Failure that teaches us)

Teach them how to compete. Not how to participate. Don't steal from them the joy of a hard fought win, nor the lessons of a hard taken defeat.


It's almost never about you

Tell them that when people hurt them, that it is rarely about them. It is about the person that hurt them. It is them expressing something about themselves more than about your children. Let them see that that there are other things being said behind the scenes and between the lines. It will make hard times just a bit easier if they don't feel the weight of the world when things go bad.


Be Positive

Don't fill their heads with worries and insecurities by being negative about them or you. They will copy your reactions to the things that you face. Be careful what example you give them to emulate.


Sex is not a big deal

This is another important one. Say it with me....

SEX IS NOT A BIG DEAL!

Do NOT make your children feel like sex is something to be ashamed of. Or that it is something to be talked about in hushed tones. Or that they need their eyes shielded if a boob is exposed on screen. No one was ever hurt by a boob, but many many people are damaged by sexual guilt.

She just crushed those.. umm.... with her.... ok... boobs SOMETIMES hurt  things.

These last two things are not really things that you teach your children directly, but they will DEFINITELY inform their beliefs and relationships later in life;


Remember that your relationship with your spouse has GOT to come first.

Their future depends on this. If you forget everything else on this page, please remember this. Your marriage is the most important thing in their life. This is where they will learn how to love, and how to live. This is where they will learn how to treat women, and how to be treated by men. This is the first example that they WILL emulate and your marriage and how you love your spouse is what you are preparing your children for when they grow up. If that scares you... then fix it! I am not saying that you should stay in a relationship solely for your kids, quite the opposite. If your relationship is toxic then the worst thing that you can do for your kids is to stay in it. They will learn from your example and the best that you can hope for is to teach them apathy for their spouse. Don't do this to them. Fix your relationship or get out and find one that will provide your children (and you) with what they need.


EVERYTHING is a big deal

No matter what the age of your child, remember this one thing every single time they ask you to look at the cool thing they made with a stick, or to listen to a sports story, or to hear this new, long and awful joke they just made up that even though it isn't important to you, it is their world and they want to share it with you. Don't rob yourself of that and don't teach your kids that what they think is important is not, because what you are really teaching them is that THEY are not.


Ok, so that was 14... but who's counting?


MOM-EDIT ALERT!!!! She's read it and using her mom power to add two more!

I've read this... and YOU'RE WRONG!

"Spelling counts. Smart people will think you're like them if you can, and not-so-smart people will think you're like them if you can't. They'll both be right. 
Secondly;
Stay Curious, you'll never be bored"







PS- Anything else I've left out? Share it with everyone in the comments!

What does "Open Minded" Really mean?

I'm sorry. I'll stop talking about science and evidence  :(

This is an ongoing accusation that every atheist or critical thinker faces eventually.

"Why can't you be open minded?"

or

"Why are you so closed minded?"

Usually in reference to some imagined slight they have received by the audacity of your irrationality.  The irrationality that you display for not agreeing with them.

Water has memory! You'd understand that if you weren't so closed minded.....or addicted to "facts".

What does that particular argument even mean? What IS being open minded?

Do we allow for the possibility of anything as true until it is DISproven?

Do we agree that everything is right if you can find something to support it?

Do we let anything go lest we be branded "Closed minded"?

Do we dismiss unsupported claims until they are supported by evidence and seemingly immune to falsification?


DING DING DING DING!!!!

Not to throw TOO much of a monkey wrench into the works of the woo makers, and religion takers but being open minded means NOT coming to a conclusion without evidence. It is dismissing all claims that are unsupported and unfalsified until they have the evidence to support them and have gone through the falsification process. It is letting the conclusion follow the facts and not just looking for facts to bolster your presupposed conclusion.

But most of all, it is being open to more evidence.

Richard Dawkins tells a story about an old colleague of his who for 15 years argued ardently for a theory that he felt was an infallible model (as far as he could tell) and who one day had to stand in front of the very same colleagues whom he had debated and worked with all this time with a somber truth.

His model had been debunked by new evidence.

Did he argue?

Did he fuss?

Did he cry "Foul" or "Closed minded"??

No, he thanked his peers for showing him his mistake and for adding to the understanding of science. THAT is the scientific and skeptical ideal. His idea couldn't pass the skeptical process of falsification and he was happy to hear it because of the advance in knowledge that this discovery had revealed.

That is the definition of what it means to be skeptical, and the essense of what it means to be open minded. To withhold belief until evidence is presented and it has passed the falsification process.

To be open to new evidence as it comes along, and to not so invest yourself in a conclusion that you are sure that you can never be convinced otherwise.

For THAT is the very definition of "closed minded".

Ghosts aren't real you say? LALALALALA!!!

When your conclusion is more important than new evidence or than re-examining old evidence, then you are closed minded. You have closed your mind to any possibility that you and your idea could be wrong. You are NOT open minded for believing in unsupported things. You have DECIDED before the evidence is counted that what you believe is true, and therefor have entered into the very realm of closed mindedness that you accuse the detractors of your chosen beliefs of being trapped in.
I DO understand however that my post will not convince many people who already believe in such unsupported things and that they will continue to think that we need to "open our minds" to their beliefs but there is a very easy explanation for this. People have invested time, effort and personal identity into these beliefs and to give them up would not only shake the foundations of the logical person that they already think they are for being "taken in" (it shouldn't, quite the opposite actually it should reinforce the feeling of being a rational being) but it would be too costly emotionally to give up something that is so much a part of who they are. Things that are believed without possibility of change tend to tie themselves to our identity, and to give them up would be devastating in many cases. All I can do is try...

SO

Homeopathic healers,

Reiki practitioners,

Aromatherapists,

Crystal Therapy kooks,

Magnet Therapy believers,

Astrology adherents,

Christians,

Muslims, and

Believers of all kinds, you need to listen up!


NEVER SAY "I can't be convinced otherwise" because it is not a statement....

It is a label.

I could share this dunce cap if you like...

It is a label that brands YOU as closed minded.

It is a label that brands YOU as being opposed to rationality

It is a label that brands YOU as the one who simply can't be reasoned with.

and remember..... (in the words of Tim Minchin)

"If you're too open minded, your brain will fall out"










PS- This is not a negative thing. Skepticism is a pathway to ensuring that your beliefs are TRUE. If you care about whether or not those beliefs are true, skepticism is the only real way to achieve the validated assurance that they are. In science this is achieved by the scientific method. For journeymen like the rest of us, we are left with skepticism.

Peace

Connecticut Tragedy and Heroism

No one should have to feel this.

During this continental-wide mourning for the victims, the community, and the families surrounding the Connecticut shooting tragedy, I have found myself listening intently and waiting for some closure.

Some reason for this terrible thing.

Some explanation for the brutality of patricide and the absolute barbarism of the shooting of children and the heroic teachers who gave their lives trying to defend them. (I'll get back to that in a minute.)

First, I would like to extend my deepest ... sympathy? Thoughts? Sadness?  Honestly, I am left without the proper words for the depth of emotion that I feel as a parent (and, in fact, as a human) over this.

I feel it necessary to apologize for not being possessed of the literary acumen to relay my message to those wracked with the weight of this tragedy, and I am left with only these words;

My thoughts are with you.

I struggle to know what else to do.

I am sure that I am not alone in this, but I know that SOME people DO know what to do.

They use it.

They use it as an opportunity to give their agendas weight in the arena of public opinion.

They are those who use it to call for prayer in the classroom.

Those who use it to call for a change to a more religious curriculum.

Those who use it to defend their political opinions.

Or even those who are using it as a platform to "praise" their god.

I understand that it is only natural to hope for something that can offer comfort, but this is different. There is not comfort in this, but a joy. Joy at the amazing nature of their idea or God.

I am not going to get into who, and what and where specifically because I feel that would take me off point and into discussing individual events, but I WILL get into what I think of that sort of opportunism.

It is DISGUSTING!

People saying that God saved one child, or that he guided that teacher to save her class at the expense of her life is disgusting.  Or taking away from her heroism to give praise to their "god"?

DISGUSTING!

If you believe that, then you are free to do so.  But for the sake of everyone else, keep it to yourself.

Victoria Soto. She was a hero. Not your god. HER. No one forced her and she deserves to be remembered as such on her own merit.

I am bothered that people would be so callous as to imply that this woman was anything less than fully responsible for the heroic acts that ended up costing her everything.

I am bothered by the people who think that they can take away from the evil of this man to suggest that it was not his fault, but OUR fault for removing obligatory prayer from the classroom.

DISGUSTING!

You say that God influenced her to save them but that he couldn't just influence the shooter not to go shoot in the first place? Screw you and your god then if that is the case!

Keep his evil to yourself.

You can certainly argue for the merits of prayer in the classroom (you would be wrong of course but I digress) but to deflect blame from the person responsible just to give your silly argument weight is awful and disrespects the memory of the victims whose lives he took.

It also gets to me when I hear about how God saved the one child who lived by hiding under the dead bodies of her classmates. You think that God gave her the inspiration to do such a terrible and scarring thing to save herself but that he couldn't inspire someone with a plan to save everyone? Words perhaps that might have had the divine power to talk him down? If not then screw your god, and you too for worshiping such an evil being!

For every time these things are said, there is a flip side that is disgusting to the memory of the victims.

God saved that little girl? The flip side is that god loved her more than the others.  How awful a thing is that to say to the parents of the fallen children?  Explain to the parents why she was spared and their child was not good enough.

The lack of prayer in the classroom is the reason for the tragedy? The flip side is that the shooter is not to blame, but that it was the punishment of an evil being to kill children and their protectors for the petty crime of not forcing people to love him enough.

God called them home?  God needed them more than we did? The flip side is that HE IS AN ASSHOLE!  I have had this said when I lost friends from oversea conflict. It makes me very upset to hear this.  I needed my friends, he is an infinite being (according to them) and can wait. He is mysterious? Mysterious is only a cover for us having to admit that, if he is responsible for these things, that he is an ass.

This is what I have to say;

These children died because of a sick sick man.
Teachers risked, and gave, their lives because they are heroes not because they were coerced.
Some children survived and some died. That is the tragedy.

Stop telling me that God chose some to live and let others die.
Stop telling me that God chose to show his love by saving one "worthy" child and not all.
Stop telling me that God was the hero who risked everything.


STOP!

There is real pain here, and your nonsense isn't helping.

The Immoral Power of Prayer

This is an issue that is very close to my heart, because I feel that it is something that is ingrained in children at a very young age and is harmful to their development as humane members of our society.

The immorality of prayer.

Why do I say this?

Not everyone who prays is praying for personal gain, or mundane things, most are praying for very humane and caring things.  

God, I knew that you wouldn't mind taking time out of your
 busy day for Monday night Football....wanna take sides?

People praying for a loved one's cure from cancer, 

Friends praying for friends to find a way out of the dark reality of drugs,

Fathers praying for daughters to find the strength to escape violent relationships,

etcetera, etcetera, and on and on ...

What could be wrong with that?

I mean, even if God ISN'T real, what is the worst that can happen?

We'd still have to see THIS!

The worst that can happen is already happening.

INTENT

Are people really trying to help? I know that the answer would generally be yes, but are they really?

Do they really think that their god will ignore the plights of needy people unless someone kneels and begs him to intercede?

Do they really think that he doesn't already know?

Do they think that it will make ANY difference at all if they believe that their god is a good and just god?

I would say that, if pressed, most people would have to consider their answer and say no to all those questions.

So why do they do it then?

Who does it help? To whom does it offer consolation? To whom does it give relief?

The answer to all these questions is: It helps only the person who is praying.

It makes them feel like they have done their part, like they have some real sympathy for the person in need.  Like they have a sense of humanity and caring that surpasses others. It makes them feel genuinely good that they are a good and caring person.

Seems like all the positive manifestations of prayer are all in favour of the person praying.  At worst, it makes it lazy, self aggrandizing, arrogant, UNcaring, and selfish.

At best, it is just arrogant, self aggrandizing and selfish.

Ummmm, that touchdown was for the whole TEAM!

When someone prays they are thinking that they have a special connect line to the creator of the universe, the artificer of the laws of physics and the writer of all morality. That is the very definition of arrogance and is worse than the worst case of nepotism that you have ever encountered.  

Ok, the second worst

When someone prays they are not bothering to bake a cake, or make a call to raise funds, or write a letter to help someone get a job, or even buying a card. What it does is give someone is a sense that they have done something. It gives them the sense that they are a good person and a feeling that they have proof that they really do have the person in need's issues at heart. Since no one would say that God would ignore the plights of the needy without THEIR voice to plead the case of the needy, it follows that the act of praying is lazy, self aggrandizing and uncaring (since prayer only benefits them, it is clearly not out of caring for the person in need).

At the very best, when the person praying DOES bake a cake as well, or DOES make a phone call as well, or even DOES pay a visit, it makes the act of praying useless.  What bothers me about those people praying is that if something good DOES happen, they attribute the prayer and god for the improvement, not the interceding of caring people. That spreads the wrong message in my mind.

So I can't see a single instance where prayer is a good thing unless it is for yourself and for the comfort that your beliefs give you.  (Even then I would argue that there are better ways to do that, but this is where opinion rings pretty heavily and I can't really back it up with evidence.  Just more opinion.)

Let's give credit to the people who really deserve it.

Doctors, case workers, wives, husbands, children, loving friends, policemen, science, caring strangers, and sometimes even bald chance.

But don't give credit to the prayer that did nothing but make the person praying feel as though they were finished and had to do nothing more to help.

If you really believe in God, and that he is a good being, then don't worry ... he's got it under control.

If you believe that your prayer is helping, then what you are saying is that God really is a self important, narcissistic, malevolent being who cares nothing for the needy but only for the praise that begging for help gives him.

And

If you really want to help someone in need, get up off your knees and use your hands.

Place a call, buy a card, send a donation, or just make a cake ...

Trust me, that is the kind of help, that actually helps.

maybe it doesn't help THIS guy

Peace

My Wife the Activist....(on the Evils of Operation Christmas Child)

Recently I caught wind of a charity that was being supported at my sons school, and thought that I should look into it as I always do.  It is not that I care if a charity is religious or not, there are many religious charities that do great work out there just as there are secular ones.  No, I don't care about the ideologies of the members of the organisations  What I care about is the CHARITY and good that a charity goes. As long as the help and money is going to the people who need it most and it is charity being given freely without deception, then I am (as you should be) happy with giving them my support and my money.

YOU LIED!  I can't eat this, even WITH mayo!



So I looked into it to ensure that the money was going where it was supposed to go. This is an act that I encourage everyone to do when donating money to charity.  Make sure your charity is above board.  Even some of the big ones can be pretty shady. 

Such is the case with Operation Christmas Child.

On the surface it seems nice enough but as soon as you start looking around warning signs start to pop up.  Nothing too alarming, but enough to make you look into it if you are of a skeptical mind.

I googled the organization to see if there had been any complaints filed about how they conduct their business. 

First thing that I learned is that they use this charity in traditionally non-christian countries to evangelize to the poor and needy as a way to trap them into listening and taking their literature.  They admit this freely in their newsletters and in speeches. 

They are just as clear in their fearmongering message. 

You are a liar, you are a cheat, you are worthless......

Unless you are MY buddy!

You all know how I feel about telling children that they are bad people.  Ray Comfort does it regularly to emphasize how badly they need his buddy.

If you do this, you are a predator.

But, I am starting to rant and this is not my rant to make.

ANGER! FRUSTRATION! YELLING!

This is my wife's rant.

GIRL ANGER! GIRL FRUSTRATION! GIRL YELLING!

So I will let her do it.  She was a pit bull and within 5 minutes she had dug up TONS of terrible information on the organisation and it's leader Franklin Graham (the son of Billy).

I say "dug" but it was really all right here...with a sign saying "read me"...and a crossing guard directing me to it. )It really was that easy)

She decided that she would write to the Principle....

and the school board....

and the trustees.....

and the Director of Education!

She is awesome.

If no one says "Good Job" with a creepy happy face, she'll never know our appreciation!

ANYWAY, here is her letter.  (Read it for the real scoop on Operation Christmas Child)

Re:  Operation Christmas Child

As a parent of a third grade child at (blanked out) Public School, I am writing this letter to you to voice my concerns about Operation Christmas Child and to explain to you why a public school is not an appropriate venue to host such a program.

In the past, my family has provided support to Operation Christmas Child, however, with surprisingly little research; I felt I had received enough information to make an informed decision and change my mind about this program and it’s parent organization.  I sincerely believe it is very likely that other parents would share in objection to this program if they were aware of its complete agenda as I now am.

At first glance, Operation Christmas Child seems to be a worthwhile exercise for our children; a hands-on activity which teaches them to give to others less fortunate by packing a shoebox of gifts for needy children in the third world.  However, upon closer research, the organization behind Operation Christmas Child, called­ Samaritan’s Purse, (which is headed by evangelical minister Franklin Graham), has a very different goal: proselytizing with the purpose of converting children to fundamentalist Christians.

The shoeboxes, therefore, are not gifts in the true sense of the word.  There are strings attached to these boxes that our children are putting together.

Mr. Graham himself admits the program

“…is not just about reaching children with a shoe box…this project focuses on sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with them through Christian Literature distributed with the shoe boxes.”  

Before receiving these shoebox gifts, children must attend a Christian rally.  Essentially, these underprivileged children are being offered a gift in one hand, and a pamphlet in the other.  It’s simply unethical.

Operation Christmas Child abuses the generosity of our students by using their shoebox gifts as a tool for Christian evangelism. The shoeboxes are distributed (along with proselytizing Christian literature) to children of diverse religious beliefs in other countries of the world in an attempt to convert them to Christianity.

In the November, 2002, Samaritan’s Purse Canada Newsletter, Mr. Graham says:

“I believe God has blessed this program because it is about more than Christmas presents. It is about introducing children and their families to God’s greatest gift—His Son, Jesus Christ. As long as evangelism is the focus, God will continue to bless it.” 

The Newsletter also states:

“Shoe box gifts are distributed along with The Greatest Gift of All, an illustrated booklet that gives a clear presentation of the true meaning of Christmas—God’s love and salvation in Jesus Christ. The booklet has been printed in 65 languages. Local churches and ministry groups help us deliver the gifts and Gospel booklets…” 

The 2002 Operation Christmas Child Special Report also quotes Mr. Graham as saying:

“Our outreach to these children and their families may begin with a shoe box gift but our ultimate goal is to open doors to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and to open hearts to receive Him as Lord and Saviour."

As you can see, some of Mr. Graham’s comments are truly disturbing given the multi-cultural make-up of the students in our schools. It is not appropriate for our schools to ask our students to help promote one religion over another.  By allowing this program to be hosted by a public school, you are sending a message to parents and our children that the school (and public schools in general) are condoning the actions of Operation Christmas Child and that you support their efforts to convert others.

Further to this, Mr Graham makes his anti-Semitic, anti-Islam, anti-Hindu, and anti-tolerance message very clear in other statements that he has made at Samaritan’s Purse speeches, interviews, and in their newsletters.  Mr. Graham's words and actions toward other world religions reveal a remarkable lack of respect for the dignity of people whose world views differ from his own:

On Islam, Graham says, “…it is a very evil and wicked religion.”

On Hinduism Graham says, “…we traveled to the subcontinent of India, with its hundreds of millions of people locked in the darkness of Hinduism… These people were bound by Satan’s power.”

On a local religion in Indonesia Graham says, “A witch doctor ruled that particular village, and I could sense an evil presence.”

The Samaritan’s Purse website contains an article entitled;

“Shoe Box Gifts Help Dispel Spiritual Darkness in Haiti”

this denigrates another local area, it's people and it's religion by claiming it is a false religion and that they are shrouded in "darkness".

The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance say that, “statements that categorize other religious groups as evil, degenerate, sub-human and/or hated by God are statements that promote religious intolerance.”

These statements made by Mr. Graham and Samaritan’s Purse promote religious intolerance. Do you think that it would be appropriate for our public schools (or any public facility or institution) to be used as a venue for an anti-Semitic organization? Or an anti-Islamic, or anti-Hindu? The principle is the same.

This is a travesty, and would NOT be tolerated in any other form.  How can we, in all good conscience, support an organization that is just below the surface boiling with intolerant hatred of other religions?  The students that make up your student bodies are of very diverse religious backgrounds and to have them unknowingly participate in an activity which represents such attitudes is unethical and intolerable.

As our public schools are made up of children of many diverse religious beliefs, you would also be sending them the message that you value Christianity over their beliefs. This is absolutely NOT appropriate for any publicly-funded institution, and certainly less appropriate for any public school.

It is not my intention to suggest that there has been any deliberate attempt at the school level to misinform. Rather, I believe that the Samaritan's Purse organization deliberately downplays this issue so that they can further their very real goal of bringing more people from their “evil” religions and over to Christianity by exploiting our desire to do kind things to help others.

For complete documentation of my comments regarding the use of the shoeboxes, and additional quotes from Operation Christmas Child, please refer here          

I urge you to please take a few minutes to review this information as I did.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Yea, Hinduism might be harmless, but it's a gateway religion to more dangerous ones, like anything not Christian! 

For the rest of you, take her advice and stay away from these people if you are actually interested in helping the children.  Remember that children of Muslim, Hindu, and Jewish (among others) parents are participating in this effort only to have the recipients told that a nice "Christian child" sent these boxes.  Are we all unwittingly to participate in this blatant attempt to manipulate our feelings of sorrow and obligation to help our fellow man in this way? 
Before receiving these shoebox gifts, children must attend a Christian rally.  Essentially, these underprivileged children are being offered a gift in one hand, and a pamphlet in the other which you can only take once you attend their church.  It’s simply unethical to use people at their weakest for an effective membership drive.

The Spongebob brings em in the door, but it is the guilt and fear that makes em stay!

(Even the US Air Force has apologized for once condoning this organisation.)


All there is left for ME to say is WOW.

And well done baby!

My wife rocks, you should listen to her.

Apologies

It has been over a month since I have written anything, and there has been a lot to write about that I have missed.  I have been waylaid by life and my hearts insistence not to work as it should. 

It's been a bad month for sickness as I have been in and out of the hospital all month with either Bronchitis or with heart issues.

Even still the mail keeps coming.  I have had an influx of emails from angry Christians wanting to know why I don't target other religions like I do Christianity (which I feel I do) and angry Muslims trying to convince me through a skewed understanding of science that it agrees with the Korans "science" (I have always found "retrospecitve science apologetics" very strange) and still others just telling me that I am worthless and not "worth even a penny".  (Which he recanted as an insult after I called him on it by saying that we are ALL "Unworthy and worthless without Jesus", which we both knew was not what he meant)

WE'RE UNWORTHY! (You think that's what he meant?)

This sort of hateful email only serves to enbolden my motivation to speak out and try to make this conversation normal.  It is more important than ever to make EVERYTHING open to critique. 

If an ideology is immune from criticism, then it is free to do as it wishes under the protective veil of "respecting their belief". 

Can't we just get along?

This can't be allowed to continue.  We have to be able to judge each and every idea by it's own merits openly, especially when it is something that affects our daily lives as religion does. 

If we aren't open to point out moral and ideological flaws in ideas of any kind, then those ideas are left (as are the people who espouse them) open to some very bad and potentially very harmful information with no method by which to examine the morality of those ideas. 

So keep talking, and keep writing.

*cough cough*

and I apologize for my absence.  Here we go, picking up where we left off.....

The Stupid, it Burns in Canada too!

Earlier this week a friend messaged me with a story to tell about his trip to the Canadian Maritime provinces.  He was dismayed by a sign that he saw posted on a church billboard outside a New Brunswick area church, and felt that he had to vent by writing about it.

I too, am now dismayed and feel that I have to write about it.

I won't leave you in suspense for too long, but this blogpost isn't really about what the board said.  (nor is this board the actual board (it is merely the same message).  I wasn't able to obtain a picture, but I will get the name and post it in an update)

If this sign came from stupid, why is there still stupid?

Seriously?

Science denial? 

Here in Canada?

This is what bothers me more than the actual billboard. 

I was pretty confident in my "Not here" pride about Canada's attitude towards skepticism and freedom from religious science denial, and now that confidence has been shaken.  We live in a country that never raged over the "Teach the Controversy" nonsense, and although religion is allowed in our schools, it never really plays a significant part (even in science class). I am saddened to know that fellow Canadians have fallen to this depth of willful ignorance but am renewed in my dedication to speaking out about about these attitudes.

Why?

Because they are harmful to our children in the way that it steals opportunity for understanding the world around them.  It degrades our critical thinking skills, and what is most important to me, it sets a very low standard for accountability for determining what is true.

You see, what is true is important to me, and to a lot of people that I know.  Words hold an iron to them, and if we allow unsupported claims to be made publically we give silent consent to them being placed on equal status with evidence based opinions and claims. 

Imagine someone at a dinner party saying;

"Gravity is not real, but just a construct of our conciousness, and you too could escape it's oppressive force if you only had an open mind."

Would you nod politely and validate his "theory" by not opposing him?  Of course not!  Any claim so ridiculously made would be met by ill concealed laughter. 

And rightly so.

Isn't it?

What about someone who was convinced that Elvis lived next door to him, and that he was obsessed by exposing it?

Would you stay silent?

Unless that IS actually the King buying groceries.  Hmmmmm

Here is the issue. 

Bad ideas have their own societal filter.  People react when they hear them, and usually not well, especially when they are demonstrably false or exceptionally silly.

That is all bad ideas and opinions except for religious ones.  No one seems to question them.  They get a level of forgiveness from this societal peer review. 

They get a pass.

NO, sir, shhhh.  The Pope is allowed to do that...

As a matter of fact, people get offended when their religious ideas are challenged.

But I digress into ranting.

The point is that I am disappointed in you Canada.  I actually thought that I lived in a country that believed as I do.

That one mans ignorance does not hold equal standing with educated fact. 

Let's not allow the terrible practice of allowing it to hold such a position take hold in our, or any, land.


On a side note....ARGH!!!!!  (I am very frustrated by this)


My thanks to Craig White for frustrating me to such lengths.  You have him to thank for my undirected and ill written rant.

Thanks Craig!

PS- I will deal with the claim made in the billboard in my next "Rational Response" post

Free Will isn't Free...



Come with me of your own free will or I'll kill you.  I'll just point this at you while you decide...



At least not if it is the "free will" that the Abrahamic religions offer. 

It is often said that god's first gift to us was free will, but how can we choose freely when the consequence is eternal torture?

Any choice that we make under duress is not really a free choice is it?

Read my blog, or the cat gets it!

Now I admit that society limits our free will as well, in the form of laws. Organized society gives us rights, but at the expense of giving us rules to guide our behavior.  There is even a justice system that deals with those who disobey, but nothing that even approaches the scale or scope of heavenly punishment. 

The eternal torture for finite crimes is not a punishment, it is more akin to revenge. 

Punishment is finite. 

It fits the crime and ends when a person has paid for the crimes that he has commited.

Revenge is emotionally motivated and is an expression of anger that can be cruel and far beyond the severity of the actual crime that it was enacted in response to.

Infinite torture for finite crimes?

That seems overly punitive. 

But all I did was read the "God Delusion"!

It surprises me when people act surprised when I tell them that I am offended by the concept of a loving god sending his creations to hell.  No one would argue that our prisons should physically and emotionally torture their wards for the rest of their lives for even the smallest crimes (unless they said they were sorry first).

INHUMANE

That would be the cry from the masses, and they would be right to cry thusly. It would be a grisly and immoral system of crime and punishment, not to mention completely ineffective at creating a society that could live together in harmony.  It would be an evil dictatorship that is hated by the masses. 

Once you put the parameters for that punishment into the mix, we enter the realm of the completely freaking crazy.

And there is really only one rule...

"LOVE ME OR BE TORTURED FOREVER!"

That remind you of anyone?

Love and obey me, cause I'm as nutty as squirrel poop!

It is an fantastic indicator that the only completely unforgivable sin is not loving god enough.  And it is a terrible and immature reaction to have hell as the punishment for it.  Does it even make sense to threaten someone to make them love you? Would that love ever even be genuine? 

Free will?  Not with the hell-gun to our heads it isn't.

So let's get this concept of religious free will out of our heads.  Neither the bible, the Torah, nor the Koran have set up a system of morality that is anything but terrifying.

Don't think...OBEY

Don't choose...FOLLOW

Don't love him....then you will be coerced to do so under pain of being sent to the eternal torture room in the sky.

That sound like a loving and moral system of codifying behavior?

Not to me.