Thought for the day.

It takes

a seriously fucked-up individual

to be a religious zealot.

How do I know this? Because for several years now, I've made studying mental illnesses my forte. I give provisional diagnoses, provide therapy, and rate symptoms. Thus, I present for you a blanket diagnoses for just about any kind of religious zealot. Read the summaires of the DSM definitions in Wikipedia and tell me if I'm wrong.

Primary Dx: Delusional disorder (though there may be some wiggle room in the definition of "non-bizarre.") Specific delusions witnessed among 'the faithful':

• persecutory (I am being watched and judged)
• grandiosity (I have a special relationship with a spirit who sends me messages and reads my thoughts)
• magical thinking (If I wish for it hard enough by praying to a spirit, something will happen.)

Secondary Dx: Dependent personality disorder with narcissistic tendencies. (I am imperfect and only a spirit can make me perfect and save me, but I also know what’s best for everyone. I know The Truth. I am superior to all because of my status as a believer. I need to help others understand the truth)

...

Ongoing debate on Topix.

I've been in this ongoing debate online about same-sex marriage that was spawned, by all things, from the thread about the Pride Parade this weekend in Albuqerque. Now, the debating with online evangelicals is simple, provided that you follow a couple simple rules:

1) BE NICE. Name-calling and insults, even veiled ones, furthers the belief that atheists and agnostics are hateful and angry. Let your joy of being free and unencumbered show. They will bate you. If you feel yourself getting angry, take a break. Confuse them with your sweetness (something I learned from my deep south upbringing)

2) Ignore attempts at the straw-man argument. Stay on message. Ask clear, concise questions, and stick to them, avoiding attempts to obfuscate the issue. so let me make sure i understand this, because I'm really trying to understand what people think, you're saying that if we allow two adults of the same sex who are unrelated get married, then people will want to marry their sisters next? What may or may not happen later is not what we're talking about. We are debating same-sex marriage.

3) Whenever possible, you ask the questions. Don't get cornered into constantly responding to their questions. Say things like, I'm not going to respond to the comment about gays being pedophiles, because that's already shown to be untrue. In fact, most pedophiles are heterosexual. Where are you getting your information that pedophiles are gay?

4) INSIST THAT THEY CITE THEIR SOURCES. They can't just copy and paste from their right-wing web sites. Tell them that you find the article interesting, and ask them if they have read it, and if so, to provide the author, journal, and date of the article. Most evangelicals don't know anything about peer-reviewed literature.

5) It does not good to say that there is no god. the best you can hope for is to turn their logic against them, and begin to show that the bible is not applicable to their life. An example follows.

6) BE INFORMED.


Now.================================

Some background, I posted to a forum the list of rules (posted here, earlier this week) from Leviticus and asked how many of the Bible-believing christians on the thread followed them. The answers I received ranged from,

I will not be disuaded from belief by your attempts to draw me into this

to

we all fall down, and then we get up and try again. Christians are not perfect

and my all-time favorite, I'm Jewish, I don't read the Bible; I read the Torah (from some guy calling himself, "Enoch Speaks") . When I pointed out that Leviticus is in the Torah, he said that he would not address this question because I was not Jewish. um, YEAH. Anyway...

It is unfortunate for Christ-chex that I am a recovering evangelical. I know what their responses will be before they make them, because they haven't changed much in 20 years. I have no illusions; at most, I hope to create some cognitive dissonance, otherwise known in Evangelical terms as, "A Crisis of Faith." Because I'm all about the satanic agenda, you know.

Lynns Daughter wrote:
So, in other words, you choose which teachings to follow based on your interpretation of the bible. This is what I am getting from what you wrote above. Correct?

Get That Fool wrote:
I live by Grace,(New Testament) principles, because I believe Jesus Christ is the Light and the Way to Salvation. Grace replaced all Commandments and rules in the Old Testament. But once again, you can not dismiss the subject at hand, because I and every other Christian are not perfect human beings. None of us are, but some of us try to be, and that's the best any of us can do. I accept All of God's principles, that includes those not accepted by other people. As I stated earlier, you can throw your arrows and call me all kinds of names, my faith is unwaivering.

In response to the question about Leviticus, and clothing, Get That Fool wrote:

This is what happens when non-believers try to trip up believers. Principalities are more than clothing. Clothing is determined by custom and climate, as well as decorum. We no longer wear the robes of yesteryear either. It doesn't mean we don't believe. You can throw fire arrows all you want...it will not change what God has set up for us to do to be fruitful and multiply. Christians are not perfect people, but we do try to uphold God's teachings.

Lynn's Daughter's response:
This is directly in condtradiction to God's word that we are to wear clothing that never has 2 fibers mixed together, and that women cannot wear men's clothing (pants). I believe it is reasonable to assume that since you hold that the laws of the bible can be so freely interpreted by you, thus you are free to follow them as you see fit. Am I correct?

By your own admission, you choose which of god's commandments you will keep, and which ones you will not. So, I'll ask it again: why do get to exercise your free will and deny that to others?

Get That Fool wrote:
Now you are lying on me. I never admitted to ANYTHING you are saying. Free will is not a gift given by me, it is given by God. I can not take that from anyone. I can however point out right and wrong, free will or not. I'm required to. Lynn, you are obviously NOT a Christian. You can NOT understand what I am telling you. If you were, you would understand what "Grace" is. Your heart is dark and hungry. God Bless.

Lynns Daughter wrote:
FYI, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 1984. Then I started studying the bible, and the more I read it, the more I saw the contradictions and lack of logic in it. During the time I was in the church, I was in charge of descipling new members, particularly those who questioned their faith. Once again, you dodge the question. May I assume that you have no answer, because there is no answer you can give that consistent with your professed belief system?

Ooo. He's slippery, this one.

Yes, I'm bored at work today.

Stay tuned...I'll add to this as time goes by...

...and the real world came a-knocking.

YOU'RE FIRED! You spoiled, self-righteous, self-entitled priss.

God's Provisional Diagnosis

So, I've been reading the bible today. Particularly, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Exodus. In these The god of Abraham (GOA) throws down very specific rules. I've been using these as ammunition to argue with "People of Faith" who are against same-sex marriage, a little side hobby of mine in which I frequently get to a question they can't answer, and then they abandon the discussion or resort to name-calling. Of note, I have been called a bible-hater, gay-lover, dyke, fag, bitch, "lost soul" and countless other names by God's People. Why do I do this? Because it's fun. I like drama, as long as I get to control its level of intrusion into my life.

So, anyway. The bible.

Over and over again, GOA says, "I am a jealous god, you shall have no others" We read this over and over and over again. He also has a propensity to destroy things by fire, flood and pestulance, but curiously, after the flood, he was all, "Whoops, I'm never going to do that again!" (Gen. 9:11)

These things that you are not to EVER, EVER do according to the bible:

• Deuteronomy 22:5 Ladies, NO MANLY CLOTHES. THAT MEANS get rid of those boy-shorts and pants!
• Leviticus 19:16 Gossip. (this would be the hardest of all of these for me to follow. )
• Leviticus 19:19 Wear clothing made of two kinds of material.
• Leviticus 19:23 Avoid eating anything you planted the first four years after you’ve moved (the third year, you're supposed to harvest it and then set it out as an offering to GOA.
• Leviticus 19:26 Eat meat “rare”
• Leviticus 19:27 Cut your hair (and men, NO SHAVING)
• Leviticus 20:18 Make whoopee during your period (or be with a woman during her period).
• Leviticus 20:22 Eat or participate in Native American traditions, including their art or medicine.
• Leviticus 11:29, 20:25-26 Eat/take any of the following forbidden foods: pork products, frog’s legs, turtle soup, rattlesnake, shrimp, crayfish, mussles, shrimp, scallops, calamari, crab, escargot, clams, oysters, lobster, Glucosamine, Oyster-shell calcium.
• Leviticus 27:32, Numbers 18:26, Deuteronomy 14:22: Give a tenth of your income over to God.
• Leviticus 21:6 No cripples or ugly people leading in church sacraments and services. (Pretty, whole people only.)

So. He throws world-wide temper-tantrums, with disastrous results. He gave you free will, and tempted you, then you yielded to temptation, so now you're going to hell!! And he knew you would do that! But wait, he loves you!! He's your father. No wait, he's your son. No wait, he's a SPIRIT!

Anyway. Based on all past history, I offer a provisional diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, with narcissistic tendencies.

Borderline personality disorder: Usually involves unusual levels of instability in mood, "black and white" thinking, chaotic and unstable relationships with otehrs, unstable self-image and identify, unpredictable and chaotic behavior.

Narcisism: this involves a person who feels in all areas of life that he is better than others in every way. The narcissist has a constant need for admiration, and lack of empathy, and a constant preoccupation with personal adequacy, power, and prestige, and is often referred to as, "the god complex".

Recommended treatment plan:

1) Referral to psychiatrist for a mood stabilizer and/or anti-depressant

2) Group therapy with emphasis on social skills training

3) Cognitive-behaviorally-based individual therapy focusing on confronting inconsistencies in thought and behavior, "thought-stopping" techniques to control destructive impulses, and relaxation techniques.

Of course, it will never work. GOA doesn't have a job that pays, doesn't qualify for medicaid (too much in assets) and his followers don't believe in universal health converage. He'll most likely wind up homeless or living alone in a squallid apartment, bitching and moaning about how he's surrounded by assholes.

...

Irony.

Irony (n): from the ancient Greek εἰρωνεία eirōneía, meaning hypocrisy, deception, or feigned ignorance, is a literary or rhetorical device in which there is an incongruity or discordance between what one says or does and what one means or what is generally understood.

This is the "Pro-life Day of Silence Solidarity" website.

It's not to be confused with the "Day of Silence," oh, no. Any confusion here is strictly accidental, I'm sure...

Meanwhile, it is truly ironic that the chosen symbol for the anti-abortionists is:

a picture of a woman with duct tape covering her mouth.

The message here:

Woman, we will shut you up, we will silence you; we will take away your voice.

You see, we love you and your zygote. With our zealous message of LIFE we will keep you silent. Because, we love you, don't you know?
Can't you see?
Those other people--they'll never love you the way we will. See, we'll prove it.

Come inside. Stay pregnant. Stay out of the light. It's safe in the dark.

Then, when your zygote is born, we'll
abandon and vilify you as an example of public assistance abuse and immorality.

Because we love you.

We do.

Now, just take this red piece of duct tape...

...

Fundamentalist Decision-making Chart.

Shhhhhhh...be vewy, vewy quiet.

If you listen really closely...you can hear...the republic base fracturing.

It was just a matter of time before that many deluded assholes started fighting amongst themselves.

I would especially like to thank Rush Limbaugh (pictured, right) for clarifying that if you are at all interested in compromise, there is no place for you in his Grand Ole' Party. He said recently that Arlen Spectre should take John and Megan McCain with him, because they aren't really Republicans

WOW. The republican presidential candidate from less than a year ago is not a "real" republican according to their most prominent spokes-asshole.

Oh, and also. Dick Cheney says that Colin Powell isn't a real republican, either.

Maybe the nasty menage a' tres between isolationist paranoids, fundamentalist christians, and the GOP has finally ended. For 8 years, the GOP has busied their voting base with smoke and mirrors in the form of abortion and gay marriage, while shouting, Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain driving up the deficit, awarding millions billions in wartime contracts to rich friends, while looting the VA and education!!

But, just like any stupid greedy friend, the super-religious just demanded more and more until finally the GOP said, Christ, SHUT UP already! I gave you some money. Now go play! and then later on, What? Oh, no. I was never really friends with them. Not really.

Then we have a little bitchslap from Republican Bill Bennett who, when asked about the GOP's "struggle to define itself and identify new leaders" said we should just forget about Sarah Palin (pictured, left) and Rush Limbaugh, because they are "not the future of the Republican Party.”

So, now their recent vice presidential candidate is not really part of their view of the future of the GOP, either.

Sarah, oh, Sarah. Sweetie. They used you.
and now they never call.

I hope you made them wear a condom.

...

Comment.

I'M TOTALLY JAZZED

...that I'm party of a party that is gaining control over Maine. Buwahaha.

Now, at last--POWER! Let them eat lobsters!!

And, I'm proud and excited to be a member of the party of sexual sin. Why, it makes me want to go out and commit some good, raunchy, sexual sin. Of course, I'm in this monogamous relationship...so I guess my partner will have a really good night.

I was further more fascinated to learn that I'm part of a feminized culture. I'm fascinated because

1) if true, it's apparently a very bad thing, and

2) my huband, (a fellow member of the party of sexual sin) who is an 8-time Ironman triathlon finisher and buzz-cut veteran of the US Marine Corps, will be fascinated to learn it too.

Yesssss. We'll share our fascination together, along with some truly raunchy sexual sin. BOO-yah!

Should I invoke Mike? Should I? Oh, Mike, oh, Mike....
PS: MIKE HEATH only posts comments that agree with him. He says he doesn't allow anything profane, but apparently if you don't agree with him, you're profane. I, on the other hand, will post your comment as long as it's not too cussy.

'Cause I'm a lady, you know.

Besides, I love getting comments from fundies. Most of the time, they show their own silliness and it's just cheap entertainment.

...

National Day of Whaaa?

I find it interesting that Google did not create special Google logo art in favor of "National Day of Prayer." Good for them.

I have to say that, honestly, that I'm in support of any kind of quiet meditaion. I get mine when I run in beautiful places and see the beauty of the natural world. Early in the morning, pre-dawn, I find my "church," the place where I know my place in the universe and my role in it and feel good about who and what I am.

I'm not in favor of prayer being imposed on me, however. I'm especially annoyed when people start praying en masse in public forums and expect me to shut up while they pray. I do a lot of running events, and there are some places where a pre-running prayer is not only imposingly christian, but everyone is supposed to show their respect while they share their mass delusion out loud.

Well, not me. To me, it's somewhat akin to people talking loudly on their cell phones. Except, at least they're talking to a real person. Meh.

I mean, imagine you lean over and start ever-so-obviously listening in on their phone conversation. They would, most certainly, ask you Do you mind? Could I please have some privacy.

To which I would rightfully respond, No, you cannot. You're in public.

Same with praying. You're in MY PUBLIC. Go pray somewhere else if you want peace and quiet, but don't give me dirty looks or ask me to "respect" your prayer. I don't have to. I won't.

I'm going to paraphrase something, and put it here, in honor of National Day of Prayer. Any one who ever tries to "prove" to me why a sky-god must exist would have to address this first, or I won't listen to them. They, furthermore, have to do it without the stupid old arguments that theists fall back on, "we cannot know God's plan" or, "he don't know what he has in store for us," or, tell me that I'm going to hell.
=============================================
...suppose that a good, moral doctor has the ability to prevent cancer in all children anywhere in the world even before it occurs. Well, you would expect that if he had this ability then he would use it, if he really is "good." If the doctor has this ability, and uses it, you'd expect there to be no infantile cancer in the world. If this super-doctor has this ability, he would not wait for someone to ask him to prevent the suffering of children with cancer; he'd just act immediately out of pure goodness.

Similarly, an all-good God would not want anyone to suffer. An all-knowing [omnicient] God would know who would suffer ahead of time, and an all-powerful [omnipotent] God could prevent suffering before it happens. Thus, if there were an all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful God, then there would be no need for prayer in the first place, especially if the prayer is used to alleviate illnesses or any other type of suffering.

Avalos, H. (2004). Can Science Prove that Prayer Works? Council for Secular Humanism. Online, http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/avalos_17_3.html. Accessed May 7, 2009.
=====================================================

...

Dear Carrie,

Did they lie to you? Did they lie and tell you that you could be America's spokesperson? Poor baby. That wasn't very nice of them.

Baby, first of all, you are just so very, very pretty. But sweetie, being pretty and a Special Ed major does not qualify you to speak about anything other than Special Ed and makeup. Your parents should not have given you mixed messages, teaching you wholesome abstinence while allowing you to be commercially photographed partially nude. Now there are images all over the Interent of you in your ass-pants, looking over your shoulder as us coyly. They will never go away. It's clear to us that you have no problems selling your sexuality. But it's not your fault; this is how you've been trained, to be desireable. I've seen the pageant upbringing. It's very sad. So sad.

And then your oh, so incoherent answer, about being happy to live in a country where "everyone can choose between opposite or same marriage" ... honestly I'm mystified as to why anyone is upset, or being so hard on you.

After all, I realize that you are, quite simply, quite simple. At 22, your brain hasn’t even stopped growing yet, and at this point, you simply parrot the views of all the people who have brainwashed you for 22 years. If pressed, the only reason you can give for your beliefs is that, “this is what I believe,” or more pithily, ‘I can feel it in my heart; God speaks to me through His Word and I know that His World is Truth.” Yes. You will.

But darling. You can't run around selling your body to get people to look at you, and then try to get them to focus on your message of good, wholesome family values. It just doesn't work that way. You see, religion has made too much of sex, sexiness, and sexuality being bad, bad, bad. For thousands of years, they've told us that sex should not sell. No take-backs.

And now, I fear, you may no longer be the darling of the Christian world. Oh, it won't be obvious. Like poor, gay Ted, they'll pat you on the back and voice their support even as they roll their eyes, thinking, how fast can we drop this hot potato? and slowly, gently, getting as far away from you as they can.

Dear, we aren’t mocking your Christian faith. We’re mocking your ignorance. A brainwashed beauty that has yet to experience any suffering in the world, and yet you seek to be its spokesperson. Carrie, go join the peace corps, and see suffering and truth. There is so much good to be done in the world, so much you can do, and you'll realize life is too short to give much thought to whether two men in love are threatening anything in your world. While you're at it, ask yourself, what kind of an omnicient being allows people to suffer? what kind of "plan" is that?
BTW, I do find it ironic that the pageant allows surgically enhanced women to parade around in high heels and bikinis but draws the line at their contestants being nude “or partially nude.” Which is kind of off topic, but there it is. Solidarity, sistah.

Anyway, Good luck, sweetie. It's a tough world. The best we can hope for in it is to be kind to one another, and to let people who love each other be allowed to love each other, without placing any kind of judgement on it based on the mass-delusion known as religion.

When you're all grown-up, you'll see that. As Judge Judy used to say, "Beauty fades, but dumb is forever."

Sincerely,

Lynn's Daughter
---

I'm back.

I couldn't keep up with everything. I couldn't get my mind around all the stuff I wanted to do, and all the stuff I needed to do to keep me sane enough to do the things I wanted to do. So, I quit. In May, I resigned from my 9-year teaching position. Now what?

I've done another Ironman triathlon, and a whole bunch of marathons and ultraruns. Running provides the cathartic sort of hyperactive meditation that I crave. Professionally, I'm working in mental health for the federal government, so I still can't come out of the closet, so to speak, about my beliefs. But I have lots to say, of course. Mostly, this is where I rant about stuff that bugs the crap out of me.

Lately, my sister has been sending me these YouTube videos that are supposed to get me all warm and fuzzy. Here's the latest one. It frightens me that Sarah Palin (pictured, right-->) thinks that this is a "Holy War". Of all the stupid reasons to go to war, religion tops the list.

Lastly...
I'm working with people mired in unfortunate lives, struggling with addictions, having had their children permanently taken away and adopted, having accidentally killed people, having had limbs amputated because of infected needle tracks. One client in particular has had six children and has lost them all because of her addiction. I'm sure that, somewhere along the way, she was told it was a sin to have an abortion.

What can I say to them?

They are hanging on to their last hope, their feverent hope that all this suffering must mean something...that god has a plan. Yes. Well, someone has a plan, dear soul. Mostly it's your local republican dogmatic politician , who will use you to further his or her gains. You'll be pointed to as an example of a liberal world gone mad, and how you lack family values even though you tried desperately to follow gods plan each and every time you gave birth to those six kids you'll never see again.

yes, dear soldier, someone has a plan. It's to use you for their gain to show that patriotism at any cost is what's needed to win elections.

I am the sister-in-law, daughter, wife, and mother of soldiers and veterans. I tried to join myself and was kept out becuase of my asthma. Am I any less patriotic because I don't fly a flag?

Meanwhile, I and my fellow mental health workers will try to pick up the piece of lives ravaged by Holy Wars and politicians run amok. Maybe they can explain why you lost your house, and how that fits into god's plan.

Okay, I'm rambling here. But I'm back.

---

Dear God...

Dear God, i admit that i am a sinner,and i need your forgiveness: i belive that jesus christ died in my place, paying the penalty for my sins. I am willing right now to turn from my sin and accept jesus as my personal savior and lord. i commit myself to you and ask you to send the holy spirit in my life,to fill me and take control,and to help me become the kind of person you want me to be thank you father for loveing me in jesus name. Amen

(Oh, c'mon. Seriously. Look at the date.)

The News that Wasn't News Because We Already Knew It.

The January 2009 issue of Pediatrics. Janet Rosembaum, Ph.D. in a study of over 1000 adolescents studied the effects of abstinence-only education.

Dr. Rosenbaum followed a group of students who were over the age of 15 in 1996 and who had made the pledge to be abstinent. She compared them with a group that did not make that pledge, in a longitudnal, matched-subject design.

Subjects were matched on a variety of factors, including religiosity (theirs and their parents), friend's attitudes, and available information.

Results:

• 5 years after the pledge, 82% of the pledgers denied ever making the pledge.



• There was no difference between the groups in the rate of premarital sex between pledgers and non-pledgers.



• There was no difference between the groups in lifetime number of sexual partners, types of sexual activity, or number of STDs.



• There was a statistically signficant difference found in use of birth control: fewer pledgers used birth control and condoms in the past year.

Among the author's conclusions: "Clinicians should provide brith control information to all adolescents, especially virginity pledgers."

This should make you feel better if all the self-righteous virgins in high school ever called you a slut.

...

Inauguration Comment.

I like Barrack. I even voted for him. But did we need all that religious stuff to make the day special today?

The invocation: "Everything we see and do is because of you, God" from that reverend guy.

I suspect that Barrack isn't nearly as religious as he lets on. Or at the very least, he doesn't let it get in the way of common sense.

Time will tell. Don't let us down, Mr. President.