Praying For Gas Part 2

Here's a video of the group praying for lower gas prices that I posted on a few days ago.




Funny thing about this: Adding in the extra lyrics to "We shall overcome" about lower gas prices. Is this really.... REALLY... what you want to do with your day? Be the Weird Al of Prayer? I want to see these folks drive by a homeless shelter and tell me that gas prices are the real trouble in the world.

I also love the "proof" that God is listening to their prayers because the price went down 8 cents.

8 CENTS.

If God were listening, do think he might be able to do a little better than that? Is Exxon more powerful than God? Maybe God is trying to send us a message about using a non-renewable fuel source that destroys the planet? Or maybe, and this is a big maybe, praying for the price of ANYTHING is just about as far away from the message of this particular deity, that it shows just how absolutely ridiculous people can be.

Join me next week at BlockBuster Video where fellow Atheists will be praying and singing for the end of the tyranny that is paying almost 6 dollars for Miss Congeniality 2. (See how over the edge it sounds?) Stop praying for gas and start lobbying for a new fuel source. Personally, I'll stick with just hyperventilating when I fill my tank.

Praying For Gas Prices

The Washington Post had this little gem on their website today.

My favorite line?

"Nobody else is doing anything," she said. "God is going to do something."

Really? Maybe God could make us less dependent on oil, foreign or otherwise. Or maybe He can make cars run on nothing. Even better, Prayer!

When people pray, it's one thing when it's for a cause that could be considered altruistic, but when it is for the cost of something to go down? What about more affordable healthcare? Housing? Food for the poor? Nah, gas prices.

It's seeing people gather together in the name of a God and doing... nothing that bothers me so much about this. Am I bothered that they do this because it's praying? No. It bothers me that they call themselves Christian and, instead of HELPING someone... anyone, they put their time and energy into a self-serving and insignificant "mission".

Here's a fun game; The next time you see something religious going on, a building being built, a function taking place, ask yourself this: "What else could that money and those people do?" In this case, I wonder what would have happened if these people volunteered somewhere, again ANYWHERE. Claiming to be a part of an organization that supposedly stands for the betterment of "the people" comes with one bitch of a stipulation; Actually bettering something.

I would write more, but I'm about to start a prayer vigil for my car payments to go down. Here's hoping Jesus can help an Atheist out on this.

Brainwashing 101

I understand how this kid's parents could think, "oh! How cute!"



But once you start thinking about how children at that age simply mimic what they see adults doing, it takes on a whole new meaning. Through this kid's eyes, its just yelling and slamming the pulpit. Of course, I tend to see a lot of it that way, too.

Animal Testing: An Open Discussion

My friend, Jesse over at A Wild Change has recently posted a very interesting piece on animal testing sparked by my March of Dimes post.

I can completely see where he stands on the subject and feel inclined to agree. However, I need to state up front and honestly, that (in the words of Penn and Teller, not verbatim, but close) I would personally choke a Gorilla to death if it meant curing Cancer.

I think that in the world of testing, some cases call for a re-examination of our values; Where does our desire to protect animals come from and when does it interfere with our need to protect Humans? This, while cold sounding, is an important question to raise when considering a possible cure being found for any number of diseases that may not be found otherwise. To inherently adhere to an ethic is one thing, but to blindly adhere is another.

Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree with Jesse's position that animal testing for frivolous reasons is abjectly disgusting. When it comes to self-serving products (read: ANY "Product") it is nothing more than a horrible, and consuming glutton that allows an animal to be used.

BUT, when it comes to the all-too-hard to define, "Greater Good" (and I use that term hesitantly as it is mostly used by a person wishing to control you) it is harder to know when the suffering of an animal is malign. I would gladly lay down my life if it meant the cure of AIDS. I say that with all the possible truth and genuine meaning I can. And so it is with that thought that I approach the subject of animal testing with a question; How much is too much? To that question, I have no answer. But like T.S. Eliot, I'm not concerned with offering any facile solution to such a complex problem.

I encourage anyone who reads this to chime in on the comment area. I would love to see a discussion started. Any viewpoint is welcome.

I look forward to reading!


Oh, and if you need to relate this to Atheism: What would God do?

What What (In The Butt) Acoustic Cover

I can't believe I just did this. Don't judge me. My friend Kelsey said it couldn't be done, well... it can and has.


May Non-God have mercy on my soul.

Rays Number Four!!

The Atheist Blogger is hosting the latest round of Carnival of the Godless, an atheist... blog-zine/massposting/everything. I enjoy these and, sadly I don't get to read all of it most of the time, the stuff I've read is really interesting.

Oh, and notice number 4 on the list? Why, that's me! Now I shall go forth and be arrogant to my fiance about how I'm on the list.

Thanks for putting up with me.

The Best Video To Give A Fundie A Heart Attack

South Park already managed to make this better, but I would love to sit a Fundie down and watch them as they melted from watching this.

One Of My Favorite Lists

I absolutely love this list. I just want to know one thing:

What's your favorite one?

RockForLife Calls March of Dimes Evil

I've written on the wonderfully horrible Rock For Life group before, but I wanted to share another delightful tid-bit with you. Check out what they have to say about March of Dimes.

I personally love how they drag embryonic research back into the argument. Honestly, when you're fighting for the "right to life" an embryo has, is it really that important what happens AFTER you lose said fight?

Normally I would rant about this for a few paragraphs, but honestly, I can't do it on this. The simple fact that people's religious beliefs are now impacting scientific advancement in SAVING LIVES is stunning. It's sad and it's scary, too.

Notice, that they also mention how sinister that, "MOD gave $19,000 to Dr. John F. S. Crocker of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to study congenital kidney abnormalities." Is that such a travesty? What would have happened if the Polio vaccine had somehow gone against their religious dogma? Would we still be suffering from it? What about the stem cell research that goes into developing new skin for burn victims? Should we tell the little girl in the hospital with 70% of her bodies mutilated, "Sorry, it would be a sin to help you."?

Just trying to wrap my head around the idea that they want to STOP. HELPING. PEOPLE. is so fucking disturbing.

He-Jesus

I can't begin to imagine what this image is supposed to do. Is it supposed to be offensive? And if so, to whom is it aimed? I'm just confused.