sex warehouse

I've got a flat tire. I don't know how I'm going to pay my taxes. Heck, I don't know how I'm going to pay my credit card. I've had a death in my family. I'm getting a divorce. I'm sick. I've lost my job. "I thought I was abused because I had no shoes until a met a man who had no feet." I am a firm believer that every once in a while, all of us should look down, that is, look upon the less fortunate. Yes, we may be having a rough patch but there are others who are having it far, far worse than us.

Tetra-amelia is a word made up of two Greek words: "tetra" meaning four and "amelia" referring to the failure of an arm or leg to develop before birth. This rare disorder is characterized by an absence of all four limbs.

Nicholas James Vujicic, born 4 December 1982, was born with Tetra-amelia; he has no arms and no legs. "Nick", as he is called, was the eldest son of a Croatian family living in Brisbane, Australia. He was born limbless although has two feet, both toeless except for two toes on one foot. Other than this disability, he was born perfectly healthy.

His story is remarkable in how such a person could manage in a world where the rest of us contend with everyday life with arms and legs. According to Wikipedia: He learned to write using the two toes on his left foot with a special grip that slid onto his big toe. He learned to use a computer and type using the "heel and toe" method. He learned to throw tennis balls, play drum pedals, get himself a glass of water, comb his hair, brush his teeth, answer the phone and shave.

Somewhere along the way, Nick realized that he could inspire others. At the age of seventeen he started a non-profit organisation called Life Without Limbs and became a motivational speaker as well as a preacher.

Uploaded by harrish0789 on Mar 12, 2010
Look at yourself after watching this



References

Wikipedia: Nick Vujicic
Nicholas James Vujicic (born 4 December 1982) is a preacher and motivational speaker – born with Tetra-amelia, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. He struggled as a child, eventually came to terms with his disability and started his own non-profit organization Life Without Limbs – at age seventeen. He is widely known as a motivational speaker, giving talks wordwide on life with a disability, hope, and finding meaning in life.

Life Without Limbs

Wikipedia: Tetra-amelia
Tetra-amelia syndrome, also called Autosomal recessive tetraamelia, is a very rare autosomal recessive congenital disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. Other areas of the body are also affected by malformations, such as the face, skull, reproductive organs, anus and pelvis. The disorder is caused by mutations in the WNT3 gene.

Wikipedia: Autosome
An autosome is a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome, or allosome; that is to say, there is an equal number of copies of the chromosome in males and females. For example, in humans, there are 22 pairs of autosomes. In addition to autosomes, there are sex chromosomes, to be specific: X and Y. So, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.

Wikipedia: Hirotada Ototake
Hirotada Ototake (born April 6, 1976) is a Japanese sports writer from Tokyo, Japan.

Born without arms and legs due to a genetic disorder called tetra-amelia syndrome, Ototake is most notable for his 1998 memoir No One's Perfect. Within a year of publication, the book became the third-best-selling book in Japan since World War II. It has since been translated into English.

After publishing his autobiography, Ototake became a successful sports journalist. In 2007, he took a job as a primary school (first through sixth grades) teacher at Suginami Dai-Yon Elementary School in Tokyo.

my blog: Poor Me
Jacqueline Saburido, born in 1978 in Venezuela, went to the United States in 1999 to study English. [Her] vehicle was hit by an SUV driven by a man... who was drunk. ... Jacqueline was trapped in the car, one foot stuck underneath his seat. The car caught fire and Jacqueline suffered burns over 60% of her body. The consequence of this tragic accident, Jacqueline lost all the fingers of both hands, hair, ears, nose, lips, eyelid of the left eye and most of her sight. Since the accident she has had more than 50 surgeries and supposedly, others will follow.

2011-07-20

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That's right, folks. Today is the day. This is the moment where you say to yourself, "What's the point?" as you throw your pop can in an ungreen-like fashion into the trash can instead of the recycling container. Shame on you.

As you stand there perplexed by this announcement, you hesitantly ask, "Is the federal government reaching its $14.3 billion debt limit this past May 16th that traumatic?" Well, no. I'm sure the U.S. will go marching along and somebody's going to figure out how to cook the books so America remains solvent. Hey, why not get one of those Goldman-Sachs guys? Come to think of it, Henry Paulson, the 74th United States Treasury Secretary from 2006 to 2009 was the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs. The current Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, assisted Paulson in bailing out AIG in 2008 which saved Goldman Sachs. But that's another story. (see Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?)

No, the end of the world to which I'm referring has been predicted by one Harold Camping, a 89 year old Christian radio broadcaster. His end comes in two parts. On May 21, 2011 precisely at 6pm local time, we will see the Rapture, the Biblical ascension of God's elect people, approximately 200 million people, into heaven. They disappear and the rest of us have to hang around until October 21, 2011 when the end of the world comes. However, according to Camping, instead of the rest of us going to hell - literally! - we just cease to exist. That's annililationism.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) stated: "We don't plan any additional coverage for the end of the world. Indeed, if it happens, fewer officers will be required for streets that presumably will be empty." (Wikipedia)

7,000 Years
On Camping's web site Family Radio he provides some explanations of how he arrived at this date. First of all he says for God, a thousand years is equal to one day. Apparently, it has been said that God is to return seven days after the Great Flood. Now this flood, from which Noah escaped in the Ark, took place in 4,990 B.C. so 4990 + 2011 - 1 = 7,000. - You have to subtract one because there was no year zero. - Consequently or should I say mathematically we arrive at the conclusion that today is the day.

By the way, the idea of the Rapture comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which reads as per the King James version:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

If that isn't enough evidence, Mr. Camping has also penned an essay entitled "Gay Pride: Planned by God as a Sign of the End" in which he enumerates the various signs which indicate the end of the world is coming. These include the creation of the state of Israel, the rise of Charismatic Movement, the great spiritual decay in most churches, and - here it comes - the phenomenal world-wide success of the Gay Pride movement. Boy, the other day somebody called me a homo sapiens. Should I be worried?

2nd crack at it
This is Mr. Camping 2nd prediction of the world ending. He already said the world would end in September 1994 but when the end failed to materialize, he attributed this to a mathematical error. No one knows what he's going to say this time.

Uploaded by EzekielThirtyThree3 on May 7, 2011
Harold Camping: 13 Days left until Judgment Day / The Great Earthquake
Today's Message: Mr. Camping describes the great earthquakes that will launch the beginning of Judgment Day. Judgment Day begins May 21, 2011. Daily updates will be posted on this youtube channel.


For and Against
Various newspapers are reporting that Mr. Camping's radio network has posted 3,000 billboards about Judgment Day across the world, including 85 in Canada. On the opposite side of the coin, people are organising "rapture parties" to celebrate the non end of the world. Facebook is sprouting several groups named "Post Rapture Looting", I guess with the idea of cashing in with those who are raptured and no longer with us.

Final Word
Well, I've made up my mind. Today I refuse to vacuum. It's a long weekend. If the Rapture takes place and I'm picked, I don't have to do it. If I'm not picked, what the heck, who's going to notice between now and October 21, 2011? If nothing happens, I still have Sunday and holiday Monday to do my vacuuming. Any way you slice it, end of the world or not, I've got this baby nailed down. Well, I've got it nailed down at least until December 21, 2012 when the Mayan calendar comes to the end of its current cycle. That supposedly is when the world comes to an end. *rolls eyes* Call me when you get this figured out.

Postscript: May 21, 11am EST
I just read the Sydney Morning Herald from Australia dated May 22. The title of their article was "Rapture deadline passes, world still here". Oh well, on to the Mayan end of the world.

Postscript: May 22
Okay, no Rapture, no end of the world. Judgement deferred, jokes are on.

George Takei of Star Trek fame (the original series) tweeted:
Today's Rapture postponed as Jesus awaits announcement of surprise guest on final Oprah. Savior "hopeful" but "okay with it" if not picked.

Some Twitter users told people to leave empty pairs of shoes and discarded clothes on their lawns to suggest they had been raptured.

Eternal Earth-Bound Pets is a service offering to take care of your pets after you have been raptured and newspapers are saying that over 250 people have signed up. As per their web site:

You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

We are a group of dedicated animal lovers, and atheists. Each Eternal Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such will still be here on Earth after you've received your reward. Our network of animal activists are committed to step in when you step up to Jesus.

For $135.00 we will guarantee that should the Rapture occur within ten (10) years of receipt of payment, one pet per residence will be saved.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reports that Camping and his followers spent more than $100 million in a worldwide campaign of billboards, posters, and other advertisements. Camping can be heard in a video taped interview declaring that he is positive judgement day is coming and there is no plan B. For those who invested in Camping's advertising campaign possibly selling their own stuff, they are now going to be wishing there was a plan B.

see Daily Mail - May 13/2011 OMG!!!
A retired New York subway employee has pumped his $140,000 life savings into an ad campaign warning that the world will end on May 21. Robert Fitzpatrick, a follower of the notorious California Evangalist Harold Camping, has posted his Doomsday message on 1,000 subway car placards and at bus shelters throughout New York city.


Afterword: Apocalypse Now (Sunday, May 22, 2011)
In the aftermath of the Harold Camping non event, pundits have taken to analysing or should I say interpreting what happened yesterday. Marina Hyde of the Guardian amusingly referred to the Rapture as the fundamentalist Christian equivalent of the last helicopter out of Saigon. (see Wikipedia: Fall of Saigon and the famous photograph of the helicopter on the roof of the U.S. Embassy)

However, Dr. Tim Stanley in the Telegraph writes:

It is true that some evangelical theologians focus upon the Armageddon to the neglect of immediate, material problems. But many more have preached that Jesus would prefer to return to a world that deserved him.

The threat of Armageddon is not, as the Guardian suggests, “the fundamentalist Christian equivalent of the last helicopter out of Saigon”. Rather it is a spur to action: a reminder that God is watching what you are doing and that He expects results.

That is an interesting statement: Jesus would prefer to return to a world that deserved him. If I follow Dr. Stanley, we have a lot of work to do in order to become worthy of Christ's return.

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush in the Huffington Post points out that people who put their trust in these movements have a sense of powerlessness, and they need to believe in a radical solution to their current situation. While the rich and powerful make fun, the followers of Camping and the May 21 movement are largely working-class people who feel that they have less and less of a voice or place in this world. Like buying a lottery ticket, they are placing bets on a instant transformation of their personal situation where the last will become first, and the rich will be sent away empty.

Does a sense of hopelessness bring out the need for radical change? If an individual doesn't feel there is anything he or she can do to make a better world, maybe the apocalypse seems like the answer.

Collectively we have a lot to do. If I look around, I see pestilence, war, famine, and death. What can I do about it? What can any of us do about it? Nevertheless, it seems like an interesting idea: Jesus would prefer to return to a world that deserved him. Maybe if we could get our act together, Jesus would in fact return.


References

Wikipedia: Harold Camping
Harold Egbert Camping (born July 19, 1921) is a Christian radio broadcaster and president of Family Radio, a California-based religious broadcasting network that spans more than 150 outlets in the United States as well as a website.

Wikipedia: 2011 end times prediction
The 2011 end times prediction made by Christian radio host Harold Camping states that the Rapture (in premillennial theology, the taking up into heaven of God's elect people) will take place on May 21, 2011 at 6 p.m. local time (the rapture will sweep the globe time zone by time zone) and that the end of the world as we know it will take place five months later on October 21, 2011.

Wikipedia: Anniliationism
In Christianity, annihilationism is the belief that sinners are destroyed, rather than tormented forever in "hell" as in the lake of fire.

Wikipedia: Rapture
The Rapture is a reference to the being caught up referred to in the Biblical passage 1 Thess 4:17 when in the End Times the Christians will be gathered together in the air to meet Christ.

official web site: Family Radio

YouTube channel: Ezekiel 33:3
Counting down the Last Days until Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 with Harold Camping and Family Radio.

Ezekiel 33:3  (King James Version)
If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

my blog: A hundred years from now it won't matter

2011-05-21

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I paraphrase Wikipedia here: Satire is a type of comedic writing where vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. While it is meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon.

In my blog Christwire, Satire, and Anal Bleach, I talk about running across a satirical web site called Christwire.Org. In reading over various articles, I realised that it was difficult to determine if the web site was serious about religion or was surreptitiously poking fun at it. Is that a quality of good satire? That is, good satire may be difficult to discern?

I ran across the strangest of videos (thanks to Elijah Rising) where a bearded gentleman who looks, for lack of a better word, a little "crazed", discusses the bible. Did I say crazed? Maybe it's his t-shirt which reads "Turn to Jesus or Burn". It's kind of like the state motto of New Hampshire "Live Free or Die". There doesn't seem to be any room for negotiation; there is no middle ground.

The video starts out with the man quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 5 which reads, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." He then goes on to preach to women that they can't wear pants. Yep, you hear me. Women can't wear pants. Or pantsuits. Or pyjamas. Oh yeah, baseball caps and neckties are also verboten.


Ah, this is a joke, right? It's April 2011. The Middle East is in turmoil. Japan is contending with both an earthquake and a tsunami. Let's not forget global warming, pollution, and gawd only knows what else and I'm watching a guy tell me women can't wear pants. A guy who looks like the Unabomber or some other such anti-social nutbar. I ask again, "This is a joke, right?"

The video has been uploaded by a user called "OnKneesForJesus". After a little hunting around, I find a YouTube channel filled with other such videos which leads to me home base, a web site called "On Knees For Jesus". Is this serious or is this a joke? I read the About page:

My life is all about getting on my knees and faithfully serving Jesus until He comes.

"What a minute..." I say to myself suspiciously. Yes, I'm starting to "get it". This is satire in its purest form. The author of this site is publishing uncommented videos of right wing religious fundamentalists who are preaching a Christian extremism as a means of exposing them, of letting them hang themselves as it were.

As I go down the list of various posting, I begin to see the extent of the craziness being espoused by those who originally made the videos.

"Buddha is a Demonic False Idol" shows Pat Robertson telling me that I should take down a painting of Buddha in my living room and burn it because it contains demon prayers which can give me headaches or cause marital discord.

"The Supernatural Evil Spell of Homosexuality" talks with Dr. Michael Brown who warns that there is a diabolical spell being cast on TV, in Movies, on the Internet and EVEN in public schools to control your children and your grandchildren. His new book was so explosive that no major publisher, secular or Christian, was willing to publish it! Find out how YOU can help protect your children from this demonic onslaught!

"Japan Disaster a Sign from God" talks about a survey where 38% of those polled believe the Japanese disaster is a sign from God.

I found "Hating Gays Doesn't Make Us a Hate Group" to be an anti-gay message based on biblical teachings.

"Girl Finger-Banged by Jesus" showcases one Todd Bentley whose article in Wikipedia paints the portrait of a very disturbed and suspicious individual.

"Christian Pole Dancing" is, ah, different. Do I hear Strippers For Jesus?

Final Word
On the one hand, like the guy who preaches against women wearing pants, this all seems quite funny. It's so far out there, it's fairly ludicrous. However, it is disturbing to realise that there are people out there who subscribe to these belief systems. Westboro Baptist Church has the dubious practice of picketing the funerals of American soldiers killed overseas with outrageous signs like "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". Mr. Fred Phelps, the minister of this church, believes America's acceptance of homosexuality is the cause for all her ills. (see my blog God Hates Fags)

Hats off to the author of this web site. This is quite the collection of videos both funny and disturbing.

By the way, the essay The Truth About Deuteronomy 22:5 gives a good interpretation of this Bible verse by going back and looking at the original words. The Bible of today is a translation of the ancient tongues and that translation may be disputable. When somebody like the Unabomber here spouts off a Bible verse as justification for something which seems at face value as a little wonky, he's relying on a literal interpretation of a passage which in English may not reflect the meaning of the original tongue.


References

web site: On Knees For Jesus

YouTube channel: OnKneesForJesus

Does the Bible Say It's a Sin for Women to Wear Pants?
The Truth About Deuteronomy 22:5 by Jason Young

2011-04-06

Site Map - William Quincy Belle

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I read a blog dated January 2, 2011 called Another Child Dead, Another Christian Parent In Jail by Al Stefanelli about a woman in Florida who refused medical treatment for her 9 year old son and he died. Apparently she belongs to a faith-based healing church and was relying strictly on prayer to cure her son. Mr. Stefanelli, a self-professed atheist, talked about her actions or should I say inactions and how the Journal of Paediatrics examined a group of such incidents and concluded that in 4 out of 5 of the cases, medical intervention would have saved the person in question.

Taking the stance that action is better than inaction and reflecting on the use of prayer in dealing with sickness, I was about to leave the comment to the blog entry, "God helps those who help themselves." For some inexplicable reason, I decided to double check the saying and discovered that it is not from the Bible. What!?! Yep, it's true: this aphorism retold many a time by many a people is nowhere to be found in the sacred book.

Once upon a time, there was Aesop (620–564 BC), a slave and story-teller in ancient Greece whom we all know today through his fables, Aesop's Fables. These brief tales of moral education, ofttimes involving personified animals have been translated by numerous people and seem to have been known throughout the ages by many different cultures.

Hercules and the Waggoner (6th century B.C.)
In the fable entitled "Hercules and the Waggoner", we find the following taken from Wikisource. Note that this particular translation was done by one Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916) in apparently 1894:

A Waggoner was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy way. At last he came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So the Waggoner threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong. "O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress," quoth he. But Hercules appeared to him, and said:

"Tut, man, don't sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel."

"The gods help them that help themselves."

Discourses Concerning Government (1698)
Algernon Sydney (1623-1683) was an English politician, political theorist and opponent of King Charles II of England. He became involved in a plot against the king and was executed for treason.

In this paper about government, Wikiquotes points out the passage "God helps those who help themselves" from chapter 2, section 23 while making the following comparisons:

• "Help thyself, and God will help thee", George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum
• "Heaven ne’er helps the men who will not act", Sophocles, Fragment 288 (Plumptre’s Translation)
• "Help thyself, Heaven will help thee", Jean de La Fontaine, Book vi. fable 18.

The last comparison comes from "The Carter in the Mire", one of the Fables of La Fontaine and is a retelling of the Aesop Fable above. - Don't forget that La Fontaine originally wrote in French so various translations give different wording in English. - The point is that Sydney, whether he knew the original fable by Aesop or the work of La Fontaine (1621-1695), had said what was a modification of the original from the 6th century B.C. which referred to "the gods" and not God per se.

Poor Richard's Almanack (1736)
According to Wikipedia:

Poor Richard's Almanack (sometimes Almanac) was a yearly almanac published by Benjamin Franklin, who adopted the pseudonym of "Poor Richard" or "Richard Saunders" for this purpose. The publication appeared continually from 1732 to 1758. It was a best seller for a pamphlet published in the American colonies; print runs reached 10,000 per year.

It was in the almanac of 1736 that Mr. Franklin wrote

God helps them that help themselves.

Where did Mr. Franklin get this idea? Aesop himself? La Fontaine? Algernon Sydney?

Today's Saying
From that point onwards, the phrase entered our vernacular with various modifications and rests in its present form of:

God helps those who help themselves.

However, the saying itself does not come from the Bible as many think it does.

What does the Bible say?
The passage which probably closest expresses the idea is Thessalonians 3:10-12 (New International Version)
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.

Some people quote Proverbs 6:6-7:
“You lazy fool, look at the ant. Let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?”

However, curiously enough, various religious critics of the saying point out that it is not through self-help or helping ourselves that we will find salvation but only through our willingness to give ourselves to God. Yes, don't be lazy; work hard but in the end give yourself to God.

Coming back to Al Stefanelli
A woman refuses medical treatment relying strictly on prayer. In other words, it is completely in the hands of our Lord whether her son lives or dies. Let me discuss this woman's actions or inactions by presenting a believer's argument.

God supposedly gave us our intelligence. I would have to assume He meant that we should use it and if in using it, we discover such things as medicine, we should use that too. Medical science, technology, they are all part of the world; they are all part of "God's plan". To ignore it is to ignore God. To pretend to know what God has in store for us, to pretend to know God's plan is merely the height of arrogance and conceit. Can any of us puny creatures truly know God? Medical science has been sitting around for millennia which would indicate to me that God put it there. We were just too stupid to discover it.

Final Word
I would say the best way of describing my belief is that I'm agnostic. Ha! I want to have it both ways: not believe in God but if I end up at the Pearly Gates, I hope God's infinite forgiveness will still gain me entrance!

Does God exist? Does He not exist? Does it matter? I sometimes refer to the Bible as a means of making a point: fight the believers with their own words. I worry that misinterpretation of the sacred texts, whether the Bible or the Koran, lead people to the wrong conclusions. I worry that extremists in the various religious and political camps are hijacking the agenda for their own personal gain and do... well, extreme things that at second glance, do not follow the "proper interpretation" of said texts.

While the following story is amusing, it also illustrates for me the idea that everything could be construed as part of God's plan and anybody who thinks they know "the truth", is sadly mistaken.

There is a story told about a man who was stranded in his housed during a flood. A boat came to rescued him while he was standing on his doorstep, surrounded by water. But he waived the rescuer off, saying "God will rescue me!”

The following day the water rose and another boat came to rescue the man now stuck on the upstairs balcony. He again refused help, shouting, "God will rescue me!"

Late the next day, he found himself sitting on the chimney, the waters swirling around him. A helicopter hovered overhead, a man shouting, "Let's help you!" But the man shouted back, "God will rescue me!"

As fate would have it, the water rose and the man drowned. He arrived in heaven in a not-so-good mood, complaining to Saint Peter, "I expected you to rescue me!"

"Frankly, I am surprised to see you here," Peter replied, "because we sent two boats and a helicopter to pick you up!”

God helps those who help themselves.

2011-01-03

Site Map: William Quincy Belle

The Earth is an organism and we're all cells of this organism.

What? The other day someone mentioned this idea to me. At first I was very much puzzled by the concept but slowly, in thinking about it, I became intrigued. Yes, the idea is quite bizarre however could it possibly be true? If it is true, how would anybody prove it? Of course, it is very easy to dismiss such a theory by saying that there is no evidence or there seems to be no evidence. But if you take a moment to think about it, can we really say that it is false? Does a goldfish living in a fishbowl know that he is living in a fishbowl?

The idea of Mother Earth has existed so it seems since the beginning of time. Our ancestors were well aware of the importance of the Earth and knew that everything from the trees and birds to the sea and fish, even life itself depended on it. In Greek mythology, the word refers to Gaia a goddess identified with Mother Earth, otherwise called today the Great Goddess or mother of all living things.

In 1970, British ecologist John Lovelock presented a hypothesis that the Earth is a kind of system that includes all living beings on the planet and that system keeps the planet in harmony. The whole could be regarded as a vast self-regulating body that would maintain the balance of its components in order to support life. Mr Lovelock named his theory the Gaia hypothesis.

In recent decades, this hypothesis has generated much controversy. The fact that Mr. Lovelock used the term "living" when describing the Earth, suggested that the Earth itself was a living being. Despite his explanations ensuring that the word "living" was a metaphor, Mr. Lovelock could not prevent other people from interpreting his works as establishing a vision of the Earth as a true living being. The goddess Gaia has become the personification of Lovelock theories and New Age spiritualism took advantage of the idea of a Living Earth: we are all part of the planet; we're all cells of this planetary organism.

True or false? Obviously, there are many other aspects to the theories of Lovelock but in the simplest terms, even the experts do not agree on the fact or fallacy of ideas of Lovelock. However, it is easy to see that these ideas have captured the attention and imagination of many people whether they are scientists or not.

Imagine: Each of us is a cell of a larger organization. I have often heard of something possible beyond the life we know: something after death, aliens, and the spirit world. However, I never thought of such a concept of a super-organism. It seems amusing to ask the question of whether or not the cells of our bodies are aware of our bodies to which they belong. It also seems amusing to ask the question of whether or not we are aware of an organization or organism to which we belong. I think we would all agree that the cells of our bodies are not aware of our bodies. At least not in the sense we as human beings understand it. We must admit that we are not aware of this supposed super-organism Gaia if it exists.

All joking aside, this idea reminds me of a science fiction story I read long ago. The author suggested that in the future the human race would develop a kind of telepathy, where every brain would be able to interact with the rest. Instead of a race of individual people, we would be able to think together, acting as a single being, a super-being. Hmmm, do I speak of the "Borg" of the television series "Star Trek, the Next Generation"? [chuckles] At the moment, the buzz word of the tech world is "cloud computing" where a bunch of computers work together to provide services. Could we have "cloud thinking"? Hmmm, I am familiar with "cloudy thinking". :-)

Despite these references to science fiction, I do not think the concept of the human race as a whole is as of yet valid. Yes, we have forms of communication: phone, television, the Internet. Yes, we work in groups: teams, companies, cites. Yes, we have systems of government that allows us to act as a more or less coherently. Ha! Okay, maybe the word is not quite "coherently" if I laughingly think of some of the political problems we have, but at least there is some sort of attempt to work together! If I give any credence to Lovelock's idea, I would have to say that this alleged entity is at a very primitive stage of development but can I with a little imagination conceive of the super-organism where we are all cells?

I have not addressed the hypothesis of Lovelock in detail. I leave that to the experts. Yet I find the idea, the human race as an organism, to be an intriguing one. As I mentioned earlier, Lovelock distanced himself from the idea of the Earth as a conscious entity and claimed that his use of the word "living" was a metaphor for a biomass that is trying to maintain some sort of balance which is hospitable to life. If I consider the term organization as a metaphor for all human beings who live, work and exist together, I could put forward that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. There is something, either a concept of an organism or a real organism, which includes humanity and who represents the synergistic entity called the human race.


References

Wikipedia: Gaia Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

Wikipedia: James Lovelock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock

2010-12-07

"For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man."
(I Corinthians 11:8-9)

"Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
(I Timothy 2:11-14)



"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
(Ephesians 5:22-24)

"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."
(I Corinthians 14:34-35)

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
(Genesis 3:16)

"Give me any plague, but the plague of the heart: and any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman."
(Eccles. 25:13)

"Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die."
(Eccles. 25:22)



Bible God vs. Women by Old Fart Rants





Jimmy Carter; US president from 1977-81

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. It is widespread. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths.
...
The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter.

Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.




References

The Dark Bible: Women's Inferior Status
http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/darkbible7.htm

God Hates Women: Feminism and religion do not mix By Allison Kilkenny
http://www.buffalobeast.com/121/godhateswomen.htm

Attention All Women: Religion Threatens Feminism by CJ Werleman
http://rationalistsblog.net/2010/03/26/attention-all-women-religion-threatens-feminism/

Jimmy Carter: The words of God do not justify cruelty to women
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/12/jimmy-carter-womens-rights-equality

Christian Mysogyny: Alive And Well In America by Al Stefanelli
http://alstefanelli.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/christian-mysogyny-alive-and-well-in-america/

2010-08-17

Scientology, Tom Cruise, Oprah, South Park. This dates back a few years but a reference on a recent blog made me think of my own run-ins with Ron. This is not an exhaustive description or analysis of this so-called religion but merely my personal experiences.

1969: Prelude

In my late teens, around 1969, I ran into a number of people who seemed to be caught up in the hippie age of self-discovery, new age movements, etc. These people were exploring various spiritual options which for lack of a better word were not mainstream. Some of these people were a tad extreme in their quest for spiritual fulfillment and it made me wonder what was missing in their lives that they seemed to be so hell bent on finding.

My girlfriend at the time liked to drag me out to various groups. I accompanied her to various mainstream churches and even an evangelical church where the service was punctuated with people standing up and yelling out "Praise the lord!" We visited the local Bahá'í group who turned out to be very nice people: I remember our informal discussions usually had Seals & Croft playing in the background, a popular musical group who were also Bahá'í. At the time, I didn't understand just what my girlfriend was looking for but I went along because... well, she was my girlfriend. Now, I realise that something was missing in her life: her father had died when she was young; she married at the age of 16; she had a child, got divorced at 18 and had to give up her child to her husband. That's a lot of upset to deal with before the age of 20.

Oddly enough, I remember one boy who became such a fervent follower of the Bahá'í movement that he attempted to convert his family. It got so bad at home that his own family finally had to kick him out. It didn't stop there, though. The regional council of the church actually took him to task for being too persistent in his proselytising as he was giving the church a bad name. Aside: I know the church; I know the religion and even though I'm not a believer, I found these people to be very nice, not some nefarious cult.

Framework

As I watched all this with both bemusement and amusement, I began to see that for some people the need for a spiritual framework in their lives was of the utmost importance. I realized that each one of us has "something", whether it is our church, our family or our job which provides us with a place to hang our hat so to speak. It was our base, our bedrock upon which we built our lives and gave us the stability we needed to weather the storm, to live our lives. I grew up in a solid home with parents who loved one another and never divorced. The boy I mention above came from a family whose parents divorced and whose father eventually committed suicide.

I theorized that I could create a religion. If I provided a structure, rules, guidelines, etc., I could give to people this all important framework they needed. It could provide the foundation upon which they could build their lives and allow them to get along in life. I also conjectured that such followers could be devoted, could be a little gullible and could be a source of revenue. Of course, this was just a theory I came up with while idly cogitating on my experiences and I never acted upon such a possible plan.

1974: Boston

The 70's were my musical decade: sex, drugs and rock and roll. Nothing major, believe me; just an aberrant part of my past in an otherwise average life.

In 1974, I had an opportunity to spend some time at the Berklee College of Music located in Boston, Massachusetts. At this particular point in history, Chick Corea, the jazz pianist was riding a wave of popularity because of his group Return to Forever, a fusion of jazz and rock. Everybody at the school talked about Chick and a television special just about closed down the entire school as everybody in the place stopped to crowd around the nearest available TV set.

Chick Corea was a scientologist and this was very much a question at the school. I had no idea what Scientology was but there was a church of Scientology just down the street and several students at the school claimed to be involved with it including one of my 2 roommates.

Mike, my roommate took the time to explain to me about L. Ron Hubbard, the movement and the church and even got me a copy of the book Dianetics. He took me through the ideas of auditing, the e-meter and becoming clear and went on to explain that he had so far spent $8,000 US in taking various courses in Scientology.

Wow. $8,000. This was 1974. That's a lot of money. It is even more money when I think that Mike was only in his early twenties was a student and didn't really have that kind of money to be throwing around. After all, Berklee was an expensive school.

I read some of the literature; I skimmed through some of Dianetics when all of a sudden it hit me: L. Ron Hubbard had done what I had jokingly theorized about. He had created his own religion. The more I looked at scientology itself, the more I discovered about the man, the more I understood what he had previously done, the more I understood that he made up his own church. In fact, as I later discovered, he admitted this to people.

Further discussions with this Mike underlined what I had run across in 1969. Mike was looking for this framework, this spiritual structure to his life and just by utter coincidence, he had run into Scientology. In looking back on these discussions, I have to chuckle. I have to chuckle in the same way I've chuckled over the years when I run into somebody who seems to know "the truth". There was Mike talking to me with a great deal of conviction about this Scientology. Had he read the Bible? No. Was he familiar with the Book of Mormon? No. Had he ever looked at the Jewish faith or the Muslim faith or Hinduism or the Bahá'í's? No. Had Mike ever read "Discourse on the Method" by René Descartes in which he formulated his famous saying, "I think there I am"? No. Did he know that "God is dead" as per Nietzsche's "Also Sprach Zarathustra"? No.

Poor Mike

I'm sorry, Mike. You know the "truth"? You have fallen into the trap I had seen many people fall into: the first thing you ever bother to look at becomes your answer. You don't continue looking, you don't continue any research, and you just accept the very first thing you find as being your big discovery of the truth. How narrow minded, how convenient, how simplistic. I'm not saying I'm some big scholar, I'm not saying I know the "truth" any more than the next guy but I am saying that people who stumble onto something as Mike did as others I know in my life did, does not constitute for me justifiable grounds for anybody to be telling me they have discovered the "truth".

But here's the odd issue that goes along with Mike's conversion to Scientology; did L. Ron Hubbard know this and did it deliberately or was this just dumb luck? Mike had shelled out $8,000 to get where he was and was going to have to spend so much more to arrive at what is labelled "clear". Thinking of the psychological condition of cognitive dissonance, the inability of holding onto two conflicting believes at the same time, Mike would never be able to admit to himself that Scientology was wrong because to do so would require him to come to understand that all the money he had spent was wasted, that he had been duped. Nobody likes being duped so who's going to admit that Scientology may be wrong?

I found out later that apparently Hubbard had deliberately set up a fee structure for his courses because he knew that people do not value something if it's free. Charge for it and you give the impression that what you're offering is valuable.

Xenu

In a nutshell, Scientologists believe that 75 million years ago a galactic warlord brought billions of his people to planet Earth in DC-8 like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes then killed them using hydrogen bombs. The "spirits" of these beings, thetans, float around and attach themselves to us causing harm. The auditing process attempts to remove thetans from us so we become "clear" or psychologically sound.

When I first found out about this, I admittedly rolled my eyes. In thinking about it though, can I say this is any wilder than the various things I've heard connected to religion? Nevertheless, Ron was a science fiction writer and when I look at this, I merely see science fiction. He made this all up. It isn't true; this isn't factual. Right now I'm chuckling because I'm sure somebody in reading this would say that I can't prove that Xenu is false; belief involves a leap of faith. Let me add that this "leap of faith" seems to cost over $100,000 US and I return to the idea of cognitive dissonance. After shelling out a hundred grand, what do you think the chances are that you are going to wake up one day and say to yourself, "I've been duped"?

My Own Religion

Hats off to Ron. He did what I theorized about; it is possible to make your own religion. He knew what I had experienced myself: people need a spiritual framework for their lives. Give them structure; give them rules; give them guidance and they will follow you. I'm sure Tom is a nice guy; he makes entertaining movies but I'm guessing he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I'm sure he's never read Descartes; he knows nothing about Nietzsche and his familiarity with the major religious teachings of the world is very limited. Like Mike, Tom was looking for something and by sheer coincidence, runs across Scientology. He could have run across anything. After all, Prince (the musician) became one of Jehovah's Witnesses in 2001 at the age of 43.

In the end

John Lennon wrote "Whatever gets you through the night" and the lyrics continue with "It's alright; it's alright." We all need something: some structure, some framework, and some spiritual foundation upon which we can build our own personal faith system. That may be a religion; that may be agnosticism; that may be atheism. However, we also have to admit that sometimes mixed up in a belief system may be something that one considers bad. Scientology costs a lot of money and Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept in blood transfusions but let's not forget that even mainstream faiths are not without fault. How many people have been killed in the name of God?

I have recounted my own experiences with Ron and in so doing; I have tried to be fair. Let me add, however, in case it's not obvious, just where I stand myself: I found the South Park episode on Scientology to be hilarious.

Warning

Scientology has a dark side and this dark side certainly gives credence to the idea that it is a cult. The organization has been ruthless with its detractors; employing a battery of lawyers to sue the pants off of anybody who says anything negative about it. Anyone who leaves the church warrants "disconnection", a supposedly nonexistent policy whereby other members shun the person which may break up friends, spouses and even parents and children. There are several well documented cases where the church has employed illegal means to further its causes and been prosecuted for it such as Operation Snow White. While the Southpark episode about Scientology may have been funny, the dark side of the church is anything but.


References

Wikipedia: Scientology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

Wikipedia: Xenu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu

Wired: Wikipedia Bans Church of Scientology - May 2009
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/05/wikipedia-bans-church-of-scientology/

South Park: Trapped in the Closet; Episode 912 (Original Air Date: Nov 16, 2005)
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/912

Church of Scientology: World=8 million; U.S.=25,000 (2008); Canada=1,525 (2001)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology#Membership_statistics

Disconnection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disconnection

Operation Snow White
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Snow_White


2010-07-12

My father grew up in a tiny town on the Canadian prairies. His father, his family, his youth represented a salt of the earth type of scenario: hard working people of faith tilling the soil. As such, when my father became a parent, he followed a path dictated by his own up-bringing. From an early age, while my parents attended church every Sunday, I would participate in Sunday School, this organized class of children led by a lay person with the objective of studying the Bible. While I do not remember ever hearing the word creationism, I do remember this somewhat strict adherence to the study of the Bible and a somewhat literal interpretation of its texts.

However, other non Sunday School sources of reading materials began to play an important part in what I thought; so important in fact, I began asking questions at Sunday School. I discovered that these questions did not fit into the prescribed curriculum and always netted me a standard response of them not being part of the programme. What to do? How to correlate the ideas I was discovering out of Sunday School with the ideas being presented to me in Sunday School?


At this time, I was approximately 12 years old, I was reading a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury and was particularly fascinated by the story "A Sound of Thunder". Without going into the details, the central idea was about going back in time to the period of the dinosaurs. Elsewhere I had read about dinosaurs and found the various drawings of these gigantic creatures to capture the imagination of this young boy. The problem with dinosaurs was that they existed according to science millions of years before our time while the Bible seemed to show that the world was only about 6 thousand years old. If the world was only 6,000 years old, how could dinosaurs have existed millions of years ago?

Years later, in clearing up the estate of my parents after they died and was cleaning out the house, I ran across the "family Bible". I could remember this weighty volume as the de facto source of religious teachings, all the more holy by its size and weight. At the top of every page, was marked the associated year based on the time of Jesus Christ, showing either B.C. or A.D. I had never forgotten that at the top of the page where one found Genesis Chapter 1, verse 1, you could see 4004. That is, the world was created in 4,004 B.C.


At the same time, at school, astronomy was part of the curriculum. I found the study of the planets, the sun, the Milky Way to be very interesting as this seemed to correlate quite nicely with the ideas I was presented with while reading science fiction. I could argue that the secular school system played a role in disenchanting me about biblical studies.

Within the study of astronomy, I discovered that the concept of a "day" varies from planet to planet. While the Earth spins on its axis approximately every 24 hours, Mars has a rotation of 24 hours and almost 40 minutes, Jupiter under 10 hours and Mercury rotates every 59 days. The concept of a day led me to the concept of a year, the period of time to orbit around the sun. While the Earth orbits around the sun every year, 365 days, Jupiter takes almost 12 Earth years, Neptune takes 165 years and Mercury only needs 88 days.

Obviously, while we here on Earth talk about a "day" and a "year", these ideas are only relative to the Earth, the planet upon which we live. There are other circumstances where the ideas of day and year are totally different.

Back to this conundrum of the Bible and dinosaurs. Genesis stated that God made the Earth in 6 days. Dinosaurs seemed to have lived millions of years ago. Was there a way of associating 2 ideas which seemed not just disparate, but conflicted with one another?


Suddenly, it occurred to me. What if a day for God was not the same as our day? What if God's day was not 24 hours, but millions, maybe billions of years long? Jupiter takes 12 Earth years to circle the sun. If I was 3 years old on Jupiter, I would actually be 36 years old on Earth. If one of God's days was, let's say a billion years, that could mean that when God made the Earth in 6 days, 6 of "His" days, He actually took 6 billion Earth years.

I remember that I was stunned. Now it all made sense. It made sense how God made the Earth in 6 days, how dinosaurs existed a long time ago, how there was no contradiction between the Bible and science. I wanted to bring this up in Sunday School. I was excited; I had a revelation to share; I had managed to solve a mystery! However, disappointment was just around the corner. The Sunday School teacher politely listened a bit then told me we all had to follow the prescribed programme and talking around the orbits and rotations of the planets to explain "God's day" did not fit in.


Needless to say, this was the beginning of the end for me; the start of my disenchantment with not just Sunday School, but religion in general. Eventually I dropped out of Sunday School... well, I first played hooky quite a bit then managed to convince my father that I would no longer even go to church. I've never gone back.


Postscript

I recently discovered the term Old Earth Creationism which in effect reconciles the Bible with scientific thought. The term day is not considered as a period of 24 hours but of some period of time which is very long: a day for God is possibly billions of years for us. Finally, some common sense. This may not 100% correct but at least it views the Bible with an interpretive eye not a completely literal one.

Reference

Wikipedia: Old Earth Creationists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Earth_creationists

Smith climbs to the top of Mt. Sinai to get close enough to talk to God. Looking up, he asks the Lord, "God, what does a million years mean to you?"
The Lord replies, "A minute."
Smith asks, "And what does a million dollars mean to you?"
The Lord replies, "A penny."
Smith asks, "Can I have a penny?"
The Lord replies, "In a minute."

2010-06-03