“I cannot believe in the immortality of the soul. . . . I am an aggregate of cells, as, for instance, New York City is an aggregate of individuals. Will New York City go to heaven? . . . No; nature made us—nature did it all—not the gods of the religions.”
Thomas Edison
A sixteen year old Rhode Island girl now needs a police escort just to go to school. Who does she need protection from? From Christians who have been making death threats against her for pointing out illegal propaganda at her school that the courts have ordered the school to remove. For that, she gets death threats. Death threats from the “loving” Christians. See some of the disgusting things these hateful Christians posted at this link:
The average longevity of Americans, and people around the world, has increased not because people are making better choices, and not because people are better at doing what is in their own self-interest, but rather because governments and society has made it really difficult to do the unhealthy things that caused our lives to end younger. People no longer drink polluted water ever day because healthy water is available to everyone practically for free. People no longer pollute their living environments and streets with human waste because disposal of such waste is basically free. Electricity, also provided by socialist government agencies, saves us from experiencing extremes of heat and cold, which increases our longevity. Electricity allows us to keep food fresh longer, and to communicate with the world and receive information about the world more quickly, all of which provide positive health benefits.
The things that have contributed most to improved longevity, health, and quality of life are all provided by government. No pure capitalist society could achieve such gains unless the wealthiest fortunate few of that society also had the saintly nature to share their bounty with the less fortunate.
When government can provide services and mandate standards that will clearly improve the quality of life for the people the government serves, then the government is obligated to do so. It would be immoral for the government to tell cities that they don’t have to purify their water and maintain quality standards if they don’t want to. It would be immoral for the government to tell an electrical company that they didn’t need to provide service to the poor section of town.
The government should push people to use more efficient light bulbs – that is one thing George W. Bush got right. The government should encourage plants to use cleaner sources of coal and oil. The government should not allow a minority of individuals that are profiting from the damage they inflict on society to determine the course of what is best for the majority.
John 3:16: For God so hates the world, that he will condemn billions to eternity in hell, for the single crime of failing to bow down and worship unto him.
Why do so many Christians find such inspiration from John 3:16? I think, to most, it reads like this, “For GOD SO LOVED the world… blah blah blah” – The emphasis is on the words that God so loved, as if to say God is tightening his grip and gritting his teeth and straining to provide as much love as he can to his undeserving people. Well, at least to a few people. Well, at least to the few people that waste their lives worshiping him.
Read the whole verse. “…He gave his only begotten son…”. Is that all? Is that all God gave up in exchange for saving the souls of all humans that ever lived? I think that is a tiny sacrifice. I would easily trade my child, my only child, whom I love as dearly as any parent has ever loved any child, if that sacrifice would save the souls of all people, or even most people, for all time.
And what’s more, God got his son back. In perfect condition. So God really sacrificed nothing. And God knew he was going to get his son back, right? After all, God knows everything. So God knew that he could save the souls of all his faithful and give them everlasting life by having his son spend a measly three days in hell. And when, like God, you live an eternity, three days must seem like 3 seconds would to us.
Not much of a sacrifice, is it?
Thinking out loud 