The AHA (American Humanist Association) has provided electronic and paper copies of Jefferson’s Bible to all in coming congress.

The so-called “Jefferson Bible” was handcrafted by the second president with a razor blade and a paste pot. He cut what he considered supernatural events — the virgin birth, miracles and healings — from the story of Jesus’ life, and pasted together what remained. In letters to John Adams, Jefferson described this as tearing down the “artificial scaffolding” from Jesus’ teachings.

Yes, edit the damned book. Christians create tons of translations to make it accessible and then insist on its literal veracity. As so many devout say it is the word of god as it needed to be expressed at the time. While I still think it is bullshit, at least we could make people aware of how it is an interpreted document.

A new version published by Humanist Press takes Jefferson’s idea further. In addition to Jefferson’s text, “A Jefferson Bible For the 21st Century,” includes what its editors consider the best and the worst of the sacred texts of other world religions — the Hebrew Tanakh, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist Sutras and the Book of Mormon.

While I think this is a step. It’s a damned small step. A big step would be to have congress read John Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Wollstonecraft. These are the great minds that created the philosophy birthing America’s democratic republic. Every politician should read them.

The ideals of the enlightenment still stand today as the source of energy towards a better world.

· People can comprehend, change and perhaps control universe.

· Philosophy and science – combination of reason and empirical research.

· Abstract systems of ideas that made rational sense, but with study of the real social world.

· Application of scientific method to social issues – discover social laws.

· Social analysis and social scientists should be useful to the world – create better world.

· Criticism of traditional authority, institutions and beliefs – irrationality of these.

· Human growth and development of society occur if tradition gives way to reason.

· Emphasis on the individual rather than society.

If we give congress a stack of bibles we reinforce that sacred writings count in governance. We also continue the incorrect assumption that all religious practices are evidence of one great spiritual belief.

As far as I am concerned we could take all of these ancient tombs put them in libraries, admire them for their quaint perspicacity, and get on with the law and philosophy appropriate to govern people now. To think we still don’t eat pork or consider women unequal should be enough to show these ancient texts are no more than stories and allegories, many of them evidencing horrid and cruel practices.

Jim Newman, bright and well

www.frontiersofreason.com

 -Bridget R. Gaudette

..Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Mother’s Day (and we’re unpatriotic).”

The primary reasons that Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t participate in the celebration of the holidays listed above (and below) is because the holidays are categorized as either patriotic, originating from a “false religion” (anything but JW) or not SPECIFICALLY commanded by god: all of which are BAD.

I decided to lump in the JW ban on patriotism because it has the same root reason they use for not celebrating certain holidays. Patriotism is a dirty word. You won’t hear a JW say they love their country. JWs do not vote for individuals in elections, they do not salute the flag nor sing the national anthem. JWs will not serve in the military nor will they work for a company that is associated with the military. They use the following scriptures to justify this:

John 18:36: “Jesus answered [the Roman governor]: ‘My kingdom is no part of this world.’”

So I’ll give you a quick breakdown of the holidays and the reasons JWs give for not celebrating them. For brevity’s sake I am coding them as follows: patriotic (P), originating from a “false religion” (FR) or not SPECIFICALLY commanded by god (NoGod):

Let’s start with the Federal holidays:

• New Year’s Day- P, FR, NoGod. The Romans dedicated New Year’s Day to the pagan god Janus. In addition it offers the opportunity for  drunkenness and the accompanied “sins“.
• Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. & Washington’s Birthday- P, NoGod: From their website jw.org, “The only two birthday celebrations spoken of in the Bible were held by persons who did not worship Jehovah. (Genesis 40:20-22; Mark 6:21, 22, 24-27) The early Christians did not celebrate birthdays. The custom of celebrating birthdays comes from ancient false religions.” This is the reason no JW gets to celebrate their birthday. Shit.
• Memorial Day & Veterans Day- P, NoGod: Since these days are set aside to remember the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and JWs are against military service, they don’t celebrate it. They benefit from the sacrifices made by these individuals, but they won’t show appreciation.
• Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving- P, NoGod: God didn’t spell all of these out in the Bible and they celebrate the birth and growth of this nation so.. nope!
• Christmas Day: FR, NoGod. Most people are aware of the pagan roots and many non-JW Christians do not celebrate for this reason so I won’t even get into that. JWs take is a step further and state that “Jesus never commanded Christians to celebrate his birth.” Jesus never commanded his followers to do LOTS of things, but I find that to be a very weak reason for not celebrating Christmas. I’m an atheist so I don’t really care, but still…

More holidays.. but I think you’re getting the point.

• Good Friday- FR, NoGod: This day commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and his death. Jesus DID command his followers to observe this. Luke 22:19 reads:  And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” That being said, JWs do not mix in their celebration with other Christians. They celebrate this one holiday and call it “The Memorial”, not Good Friday. This is the ONLY sacred day that JW’s recognize. It’s like Easter for everyone else because they dress up and 99% of them show up for the sermon and to pass around the wafers and the wine.
• Easter: FR, NoGod. From JW literature, “Promoted as a celebration of Christ’s resurrection, [...] the name Easter itself has been linked to Eostre, or Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and of spring [...] Easter, therefore, is really a fertility rite thinly disguised as a celebration of Christ’s resurrection.” I’m a 34 year old woman who has never gotten to go on an Easter egg hunt or paint eggs. I did however, partake of the discounted candy the next day. Too bad it has pagan roots!
• Mother’s Day: FR, NoGod. Again from the JW magazines, Mother’s Day is “a festival derived from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Formal mother worship, with ceremonies to Cybele, or Rhea, the Great Mother of the Gods, were performed on the Ides of March throughout Asia Minor.” Heaven forbid JW’s get caught up honoring the feminine!!
• Halloween: FR, NoGod. Do I even need to explain? A quote from the JW mags: “Known for its witches, goblins, and other grotesque decorations and paraphernalia, Halloween—also called All Hallows’ Eve— can be traced back to the ancient Celts of Britain and Ireland. On the full moon nearest November 1, they celebrated the festival of Samhain, meaning “Summer’s End.” They believed that during Samhain, the veil between the human and the supernatural worlds was parted and that spirits, both good and evil, roamed the earth. The souls of the dead were thought to return to their homes, and families would put out food and drink for their ghostly visitors in hopes of appeasing them. Thus, when children today, dressed as ghosts or witches, go from house to house threatening a mischievous trick unless they receive a treat, they unwittingly perpetuate the rituals of Samhain.” For some reason that sounds fun to me. <shrugs>
• Valentine’s Day: FR, NoGod: “Valentine’s Day comes on the feast day of two different Christian martyrs named Valentine. But the customs connected with the day . . . probably come from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia which took place every February 15. The festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature.” It’s amazing that the JWs find a way to take the fun out of celebrating LOVE!
• St. Patrick’s Day: FR, NoGod: This is fairly obvious. The Catholic said this guy was a saint and since JWs believe they are the only ones who know what god thinks they don’t recognize Patrick as anyone special.

__________________________________

Check back for more Shit JWs Say.

#1 “Keep Records on Your Neighbors”

#2 “It’s Only a Legitimate Rape if You Scream”

Follow on twitter @ShitJWsSay, #ShitJWsSay

Find ShitJWsSay on Facebook.

Also, check out my other blogs at EmilyHasBooks where I talk about being an ex-JW, Black female atheist and orgasms, yes orgasms.

My personal twitter is @BridgetGaudette.

A Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll shows 36 percent of Americans believe natural disasters indicate end of times for religious immorality. Yup, a third of Americans think the world is going to end with natural disasters because we don’t believe and follow the Bible. Not from nuclear annihilation, not from war, and not from resource depletion. Nope, god is punishing us for immorality. Yes, a third of the US believes the end is near because we are too immoral for god to stand. Don’t you feel special? Not only that but nature is his executor. If nature were god…oh wait, that’s pantheism, heresy, not Christian-Islamic-Messianic-Judeo.

More than one-third (36%) of Americans believe that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in what the Bible calls the end times. Roughly 6-in-10 (59%) Americans disagree.

• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of white evangelical Protestants believe that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence of what the Bible calls the end times, compared to roughly 1-in-5 Catholics (21%) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (15%).
• Four-in-ten (40%) independents, 35% of Democrats, and one-third (33%) of Republicans agree that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in what the Bible calls the end times.

To put this in perspective only 2% believe the so-called Mayan prophecy of an end being in December. If there is so much news over the Mayan calendar imagine how prevalent biblical termination is in people’s minds. Mayan scholars have dismissed this calendar, epic ending yet headlines indicate otherwise. Even more think god is in control of everything.

 Nearly 6-in-10 (58%) Americans agree that God is in control of everything that happens in the world, while nearly 4-in-10 (38%) disagree.

• Nearly 9-in-10 (89%) minority Christians, roughly three-quarters (76%) of white evangelical Protestants, 6-in-10 (60%) Catholics, and a slim majority (51%) of white mainline Protestants agree that God is in control of everything that happens in the world. However, only 3-in-10 (30%) religiously unaffiliated Americans agree with this statement, while 6-in-10 (60%) disagree.

Yes, two thirds of Americans believe god caused the rape of your daughter, the death of your aunt, and the wars in the world. If god is in control then why do we not hold him responsible? How is it that religious people accept so much evil as god’s will? Especially since no on can come up with a good answer of why he would allow this evil. Often the free will issue is raised as support of why god indirectly allows evil to occur so people have to make a covenant with god for eternal life, the culture of which we know nothing. This means god is willing to allow death and mayhem for some to make a choice. Saving you is worth killing others. Wow, that;s some exchange. god is love! Juts mind your p’s and q’s.

I don’t know what’s worse that god created murder and disease so people have the choice of choosing him or that he sent his son to death to save others, though how one son equals the death of millions is beyond me. I guess the deaths of millions of evildoers doesn’t equal the life of one son–no wonder religious people cast off evil ones to hell like a dog shedding hair. If I thought I could save the world I would happily hang on a cross all day long. Hell if I could cause world peace they could let me rot to the bones on that cross and never resurrect me. I am willing to wager that millions of people would give up their own life if they knew the result would be world peace! Indeed, I would say that millions already have given up their life for what they believe is moral. Why don’t we worship them like Christ?

This narcissistic view of the world encourages a me or them attitude and causes believers to either isolate themselves or try to save the world through proselytizing. One is either selfish or oppressive. Yet, even our political choices are fraught with cosmic, moral liability.

Roughly 3-in-10 (29%) Americans agree that God sometimes punishes nations for the political decisions their citizens make. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans reject this idea.

• White evangelical Protestants (57%) are more likely than to believe in divine retribution for political decisions than are minority Christians (39%), white mainline Protestants (22%), Catholics (25%), or religiously unaffiliated Americans (17%).

You can’t just be a good person you have to vote correctly! If all of us were to vote that being Gay is sufficient to be married as well as being hetero, a third of the US would say it’s OK that we all be punished. I guess this would assume that at least a third would have voted against it. A third would damn the other two-thirds based on a vote, not even an action, a god damned vote! They don’t even have to do anything wrong. Just vote the wrong side. Yes, folks we will be punished by god, sometimes, for voting incorrectly. Better make sure your chad hangs correctly.

But 17% of unaffiliated believe in divine retribution. So even if you don’t ally to a specific religion you still believe in church dogma? I’d like to have unaffiliated better defined. I’m thinking there are a lot of renegade Abrahamic thugs in there.

Even more soften their view but believe that Americans are moving away from god, as evidenced by politics.

Nearly 6-in-10 (57%) Americans agree that the political choices being made by Americans these days are moving the U.S. away from God, while more than one-third (36%) disagree.

• Nearly 9-in-10 (89%) white evangelical Protestants and 53% of Catholics agree that Americans’ political decisions are moving the country away from God. Only roughly one-third (34%) of religiously unaffiliated Americans agree.

With a god that holds us hostage and uses emotional blackmail, I’d back away. Way back. But it works. I have an extremely intelligent friend that still says he believes cuz if god does exist, he’d be screwed. If there is one religious charlaton I wish had died young it would be Blaise Pascal. Friend, what if god is secular and is testing us to see if we realize his infinite secularity–you’re screwed unless you stop believing.

• Only 2% of Americans believe that the end of the world, as predicted by the ancient Mayans, will happen by the end of this year.
• However, 15% of Americans believe that the end of the world, as predicted by the Book of Revelation, will occur in their lifetime.
  • College graduates are four times less likely to believe that the world will end in their lifetime than are Americans with a high school education or less (5% vs. 22%).
  • Roughly 3-in-10 white evangelical Protestants (29%) and minority Christians (27%) believe that the end of the world, as predicted in the book of Revelation, will occur in their lifetime. By contrast, no more than 1-in-10 Catholics (10%), white mainline Protestants (8%) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (7%) hold this belief.

Aaaah, so only 15% believe it will be in this lifetime. You know I thought the reformation individualized religious expression and obeisance but it seems like it was just abeyance of buying indulgences for stricter moral rules. The reformation was about being more pure not being less pure. That’s the big secret. The reformation wasn’t the secularizing of the church. It was the condemnation of the church being too worldly, too secular, and cheating the people. Think twice before you ask for Islamic reformation, it might mean more religious purity and not less.

A majority (55%) of Americans agree that God gave human beings the task of living responsibly with the animals, plants, and resources of the planet, which are not just for human benefit. Nearly 4-in-10 (38%) Americans disagree, saying that God gave human beings the right to use animals, plans, and all the resources of the planet for human benefit.

Yikes, 38% believe we can do what we want with the earth. 38% believe we can convert the world to dirt, create mass extinction, and destroy every bit of life as we see fit because we are god’s children. How on earth are people going to act responsibly if they are given the right to use all resources to human benefit to utter depletion? Aaah, god’s plan must be to have humans waste this world so he can reseed it.

It is no wonder Abrahamic religions are the main cause of global ecological catastrophe, they believe god gave them the right. At least disease can claim ignorance.

Jim Newman, bright and well

www.frontiersofreason.com
Follow me on Twitter: Follow @jimnnewman

I grew up in a small town with a lot of bible-believing religions in it, including a pretty big group of Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Evangelicals. I had a lot of LDS friends growing up and it wasn’t until college that I started to realize that Mormons weren’t as common as I’d thought. The Mormons I know are pretty chill and wonderful people. They’d never abandon a gay family member and they’re usually game for any of my odd questions about Mormonism. And they like The Book of Mormon: The Musical.

In college, though, I ran into more and more people that thought all Mormons were anti gay and extremely secretive. Then Prop 8 happened and I didn’t know what was happening anymore. A couple Mormon friends and I put together a FAQ about this new website and the Mormon perspective on homosexuality. You’ll probably find the answers to be conservative, but give it a read anyway. There’s things here that you probably haven’t heard before and many news sites a

Image from Mormon Meme Tumblr

ren’t reporting on. You should always get your information from the source.

“Why are Mormons so secretive?”
They’re not secretive, they’re just uncommon. You probably just don’t know any. The next time you get some Mormon missionaries at your door, ask away. Also, the Mormon Churches (but not the temples. Temples are members-only.) are always open to the public, so feel free to drop in and get some of those questions answered. Pro-tip: don’t open with “what’s up with Magic Underwear?” or “I heard that during the temple marriage ceremonies that …” Those sorts of things either a) aren’t true or b) super holy things that aren’t proper to discuss with non-members. Do ask about polygamy though. Always ask about the polygamy. They’re very eager for that rumor to be settled down.

“Are Mormons polygamous?”
Nope. Not since the wild, wild, west days. They can tell you all about it though. (Fun side fact: one of my ancestors was Ann Eliza Webb, so I could also tell you all about it, but that’s for another time.)

“Are Mormons anti-gay?”
To Mormons, being gay isn’t a choice. You’re born that way. It can’t be helped. Homosexual urges are normal and sin-free, but acting on them is a sin because any sort of sex outside of marriage is a sin.

“Are Mormons anti-gay marriage?”
Mormons across the board are anti-gay marriage in a Mormon temple. If secular people or non-mormon people want to get gay-married outside of a Mormon temple, that’s their choice and most Mormons don’t really care. But if you want a Mormon wedding at the local temple, God says that proper Mormon weddings are between a man and a women.

“Can Mormons have gay relationships outside of marriage?”
Mormons shouldn’t have sex outside of marriage. Even though the book of Mormon doesn’t specifically talk about homosexual relations, the Book of Mormon is very clear about chastity before marriage and about fidelity to your wife.

“Mormons sound really conservative.”
Yes. Yes they are. But not as conservative as you’d might think. In the US, Mormons are about 20% Democrat and most of the rest characterize themselves as “moderate conservatives,” and don’t really identify with Glenn Beck. There’s a chunk that are very right-wing, ultra conservative, but for the most part, Mormons are moderate conservatives.

“But what about Prop 8?”
Prop 8 has been a headache for Mormons everywhere. As a group, they’re trying to move on and they don’t really like to talk about it. While a lot of Mormons support the *idea* of Prop 8, they were pretty baffled why the Church went full force into California. The Church generally isn’t particularly politically active. Because of their Church’s history, Mormons are pretty big believers in the separation of church and state. Even though the membership is pretty conservative, the Church tries to stay politically neutral.
Some of the more liberal membership flipped a lid, some of the more conservative were hard core into it. Most were a bit surprised, but ultimately were OK with it and went on with life. Within the Mormon community, the debate around Prop 8 and the new website, characterize the difference between so-called “Utah Mormons” and other Mormons.

“What’s a Utah Mormon?”
It’s a very conservative and slightly fanatical type of Mormon. It’s not an official term for an official group of Mormons. It’s just in-group jargon to refer to Mormons that are extra conservative and a little bit holier-than-thou. You don’t have to have ever lived in Utah to be considered a ‘Utah Mormon’. Also not all Mormons in Utah are “Utah Mormons”. It’s just jargon. The character “Elder Kevin Price” in the Book of Mormon Musical is a good example of a Utah Mormon.
As my friend says in their characteristically diplomatic way: “The best way to describe them is a little bit judgmental, naive, and hypocritical.”

“So what’s the deal with the website?”
Prop 8 was a public relations nightmare for the Church, but the website is only partly about reaching out to the public at large. Another reason for the website is to give Mormons a resource to go to when they have questions about their gay son or daughter, or if they have questions about their own homosexuality. But most importantly, it’s an attempt to get the “Utah Mormons” to chill out, because they’re not loving everyone like they should. The message of the website is: We’re all God’s children, so stop ostracizing people. Especially your kids. Seriously.

“Now can I ask about the Magic Underwear?”
Sure. It’s not as weird as it sounds. Mormons call them garments. The garments are a symbol of the covenants Mormons make with God in the Temple. These covenants are basic things that any good Christian should be following anyway. (chastity, etc) They are no different than other religious article of clothing. Priests have their collars, Jews have their yarmulke, other religions have their clothing. The clothes are there to remind us who we are. Mormons just wear them on the inside.

Christmas is a tough time of year for atheists. It shouldn’t be. Christmas is a pretty secular holiday and has been for a while, but thanks to Scrooge, it’s a Christmas tradition to take petty shots at generic non-believers. Every once in a while, though, television series get sick of converting the strawman and they do their own thing for Christmas. And every once in a great while, an atheist plays a lead character. Here’s three of those specials:

Charlie Brown Christmas as performed by the cast of Scrubs
Charlie Brown Christmas was pretty notable at the time for dragging religion into a christmas special. I still love it, but the cast of Scrubs decided they could do one better and do their own version, with “Meaning of Christmas” speech delivered by resident atheist character Dr.Cox. It’s pretty heart-warming, even if you don’t know the characters very well. This was never part of an official release that I know of, so the only place to find it is on youtube.

Charlie Brown Christmas as performed by the cast of Scrubs

All in the Family: A Christmas Day at the Bunkers
Some of you out there might not be familiar with All In the Family, but Archie Bunker is to All in the Family what Chevy Chase is to Community – the lovable racist. And sexist. And homophobic. And… everything else. Edith is his sweet and slightly ditzy wife, Gloria is his daughter who lives at home with her husband Mike, “the Meathead.” The Jeffersons (yes, THOSE Jeffersons) live next door. Mike is an atheist and often buts heads with Archie over politics and religion. Just… watch. You can dig up the whole thing online or at your local library.

Christmas Day at the Bunkers clip

The Boondocks : A Huey Freeman Christmas
This one is probably my favorite on the list. Boondocks was an amazing show. There is nothing funnier than combining racial politics with Christmas. This may be animated and it’s hilarious, but it’s not really for kids. It’s very VERY easy to find online, and at your local library.

The little boy in this is Huey’s brother.

He likes to act and dress like a gangster and he’s declared war on Santa.
I hope this makes your Christmas television specials a bit more tolerable this year.
If you guys have any favorite Christmas special, share them in the comments and I’ll do a follow up post.