It was both amusing, and a bit depressing, to read last month about yet another evangelical christian announcing his stupidity to the world.
It seems that a Geogia factory worker [Billy Hyatt] was fired by Berry Plastics in 2009, and consequently brought a lawsuit against his empoyeer alleging religious descrimination. Berry Plastics required its employees to wear stickers indicating the number of consecutive accident-free days, and March 12, 2009, was the 666th day. Naturally Billy Hyatt refused to wear "the mark of the beast" cllaiming that wearing this number would condem him to hell. He was suspended and then fired. Hence the lawsuit.
Now if Billy had done just a little bit of homework, but evangelicals are not well know for their intelligence, he would have known that the verse given in the KJV of Revelations 13:18 ["This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person."] was iincorrect. The number "six hundred and sixty-six" was a scribe's mistake dating back nearly 2000 years. The number was really 616. The original Bible was compiled from earlier copies on papyrus sheets and scribes in the copying process often made mistakes. [However, one early version of the Bible in Greek even had 616 written in full: hexakosioi deka hex - "six hundred and sixteen".]
Billy probably doesn't comprehend that the compilers of the Bible did not speak English. The various books of the new testament were first written in Greek, eventually translated into Latin, and then much later into English. I have even read that John, who had his visions while exiled on Patmos, and wrote the admittedly scary book of Revelations, was the Stephen King of his day. Or the visions of John of Patmos may have resulted from his having encounted some really powerful weed.
And not even the cartoonists can get it right. That is an AZTEC sun stone, and has nothing to do with the Mayans. The Mayans and Aztecs may have both lived in Mesoamerica, but historically were very different civilizations.
"Ever since I wrote my very first "No Doomsday in 2012" article for Universe Today in 2008, I've been repeating the same message over and over again: The Mayans never predicted doomsday in 2012. And I'll say it once more, this time with even more expert endorsement: The Mayans never, EVER predicted doomsday in 2012.
Sadly, science and history has been bent and twisted to suit supporters of this doomsday hoax, and when scientists or archaeologists go on the record to debunk the nonsense, the blame falls on some kind of convenient global conspiracy.
But where did this Mayan doomsday idea come from anyway? . . . .
...The National Institute of Anthropological History in Mexico, no doubt getting fed-up of their inboxes getting filled with panicked emails about fake doomsday theories, issued a statement too: "The West's messianic thinking has distorted the world view of ancient civilizations like the Mayans."
That last sentence needs to be repeated and in large type: "The West's messianic thinking has distorted the world view of ancient civilizations like the Mayans."
So, the doomsayers are projecting their Christian Book of Revelation and 'end times' nonsense on to a different culture, and the result is as strange as they are.
“…when a calendar comes to the end of a cycle, it just rolls over into the next cycle. In our Western society, every year 31 December is followed, not by the End of the World, but by 1 January. "
Short video which is concise,well presented and pleasant to the eye and ear and mind.
And surprise, surprise, evolutiion is based on verifiable scientific facts.
The story of Adam and Eve, was just that, a story. And it wasn't even original with those authors of the Jewish Bible, but rather plagerized and reworked from the earlier 'Epic of Gilgamesh', the Sumerian/Mespotamian creation story.
".....In 1929 a teenager named Ridgely Whiteman wrote to the Smithsonian Institution about what he called warheads that he had been finding near Clovis, New Mexico. The spearpoints were elegantly chipped to sharpness on both edges and finished off with a groove, or flute, down the center of each side. Eventually such fluted points turned up in the oldest archaeological excavations elsewhere in North America.
Stone can't be carbon-dated, but the dating of organic material found with the tools showed that the people who used them were in America no earlier than about 13,500 years ago." . . . . . .
STOP, STOP, STOP.
At this point we have just lost all the literalist Bible Bangers who contend, contrary to all scientific evidence, that Jehovah created the earth 6,000 years ago, made the garden of Eden, populated with two white folk [Adam and Eve] and an evil talking Snake. After the Snake has screwed things up royally, he slithered off into the bushes, A & E did a considerable amount of fornicating, and produced the human race. And everyone is now permanently scared because of the Snake [according to Christians].
Wankers, each and every one. I really abhor stupidity, which is probably why I do not live in the U.S. But to continue with the narrative. . .
"The story most archaeologists built on these ancient tools was of a people they nicknamed Clovis, who came into North America via Siberia, moved south through the ice-free corridor, then dispersed, their descendants occupying North and South America within a thousand years. Since their tools were often found with the bones of mammoths and other large creatures, scientists usually described the Clovis people as big-game hunters.
For decades attempts to find proof of earlier people failed the rigorous tests of archaeological science. As late as 1996 a prominent archaeologist, Frederick Hadleigh West, could state in a major book that "Clovis is taken to be the basal, the founding, population for the Americas." But in the past decade that certainty has been dramatically shaken.
The most straightforward challenge to the old story is the matter of time. The era in which the Clovis people lived is limited by a time barrier that stops about 13,500 years ago. Two things create that barrier: the dates of organic material found with the tools and geologic evidence that the ice-free corridor would not have been open much before then.
But in 1997 a blue-ribbon panel of archaeologists visited a site in Chile called Monte Verde and agreed that people had lived there at least 14,500 years ago, about 1,000 years before the first sign of Clovis people in North America. Acceptance of the Monte Verde date not only broke the time barrier but focused new interest on other sites with early dates. . . . . . "
It would appear that some charlatans will do absolutely anything to establish the validiity and historicity of Christianity, well, religion in general. The 'Jordanian Codices' episode began in March of this year. But by September it had been established that the 'Jordanian Codices' were undoubtedly fakes, not even very well produced fakes, and David Elkington's proposed book deal was in the process of collapsing.
Fascinating trail of deception, somewhat like a contemporary detective story. This involved story all began with a press release, passed though the hallowed halls of academia and scientific investigation, naturally was touted on Facebook, and eventually found its way to YouTube:
"One of the biggest and best preserved hoards of ancient sealed books, which had been secretly hidden for centuries, has been discovered in Jordan. Early indications are that some of the books could date from the first century CE/ADand may be among the earliest Christian documents, predating the writings of St Paul. Leading academics consider that the find might be as pivotal as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.The hoard consists of up to 70 ring-bound books (codices) made of lead and copper. Many of them are sealed on all sides. Scrolls, tablets and other artefacts, including an incense bowl, were also found at the same site. Some of the lead pages are written in a form of archaic Hebrew script with ancient messianic symbols. Some of the writing appears to be in a form of code.There is likely to be considerable academic and political debate about the collection’s authenticity, meaning and interpretation. But now there is also a race against time to safeguard the collection’s future. Having been originally discovered some 5 years ago in a remote cave within a militarized zone by Jordanian Bedouin, the hoard was subsequently acquired by an Israeli Bedouin, who illegally smuggled them across the Border into Israel, wheret hey remain hidden under his protection.However, legal advice has confirmed that the find qualifies as treasure troveunder Jordanian law, and is rightly the property of the Kingdom of Jordan. TheJordanian Government is now working at the highest levels to repatriate and safeguard the collection. The British team leading the work on the discovery fears that the present Israeli ‘keeper’ may be looking to sell some of the books on to the black market, or worse - destroy them.The collection appears to be of mixed provenance. But initial metallurgical tests indicate that some of the books made of lead could date from the firstcentury CE/AD, based on the form of corrosion which has taken place, which experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially. Sealed books were used by early Christian writers as a code for secret teaching; they were heavily persecuted and needed to protect their knowledge. Until now, no such book has ever been found. The codices were discovered in an area to which Christian refugees are known to have fled after the fall of Jerusalem in 70CE/AD, and where important documents from the same period have previously been found. The existence of a significant, hidden collection of sealed codices is mentioned in the Christian Bible’s Book of Revelation and in other biblical books."
"The current consensus amongst expert bloggers in the fields of Religion, Archaeology and Linguistics is that the Jordinian Lead Codices are in – all probability – not authentic." [many links]
"More scandalous is the complete lack of journalistic integrity, honest research, and thorough fact-checking. These codices might never have been heard of if the authors of the reports for BBC and Fox News (among others) had just checked with the academic community before publishing the “find”. At the very least, the journalists might have used less authoritative language, expressed more caution, and exposed the controversy rather than simply stating, as if doing so made it fact, that these codices were “the earliest Christian texts” and that they held “early images of Jesus. . . . . .”
But my favortite report is from the sensationalist Daily Mail [with lots of lovely photos and is a must see/read]. This British tabloid is always good for a few chuckles.
"Seventy metal books found in cave in Jordan could change our view of Biblical history. For scholars of faith and history, it is a treasure trove too precious for price. This ancient collection of 70 tiny books, their lead pages bound with wire, could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of Christianity. . . . . "
The Strange History of Don't Ask, Don't Tell — HBO documentary on military gay ban to premiere on September 19 at midnight.
On the day the U.S. military will officially lift its ban on gays and lesbians in the military, HBO will screen the new documentary from filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato “The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The film will have a sneak preview Monday September 19 at midnight and will air again Tuesday, September 20 at 8PM.
The film follows the history of the bill, from the lead-up to Bill Clinton’s signing the policy into law to its repeal earlier this year. The policy has resulted in the discharge of 13,368 active service members.
The film features interviews with Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Iraqi war vet and former Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, and more.
DADT from a US Service member. Currently nameless and faceless, but will post his 'coming out' video on September 20.
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My military service was successfully completed more than 50 years ago, during the end of the Korean War and the Occupation of Japan - long, long before DADT became official policy. On the day that I reported for duty at a special intelligence gathering school on the east coast I met my roommate for the next six months. It was love at first sight, not only were we aware of this, but accepted it completely.
Gay personnel have always been a part of the military. There are, and always have been, gay soldiers, sailors, marines and airforce personnel. Why has it taken the US military so long to accept this basic fact of human nature?
Two chapters from 'The Repository', about being gay in the military during the 1950s [pdf files]
British YouTuber 'potholer54' once again shows that Creationist Christians will lie, fabricate, and invent ridiculous bullshit in order to to perpetuate their "spiritually induced hallucinations". After all, lying for Jesus has become an enormous and lucrative business.
"Citizens are reeling after a blast ripped through Oslo's government headquarters and a gunman opened fire on a nearby youth camp, killing at least 91. Police in Norway have charged 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, who they say is a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing affiliations. "Norway lost its innocence today," a grim-faced Ola Borten Moe, the minister of oil and energy, told The Daily Beast. "This will change Norway forever. This is something we have read about from other countries." Åsne Seierstad reports on the terror attack.
As rain poured down from a gray sky Friday afternoon, the heart of Oslo was struck by a powerful explosion outside the prime minister’s office, and on an island outside the city, a man dressed as a police officer began shooting at teenagers. The twin attacks left a total of 87 dead."
Politically conservative religious fundamentalists are bad news the world over, be they Christian, Moslem, Hindu, or any other group that espouses religious/political concepts as 'truth'. Many, if not most, are mentally unbalanced.
Sam Harris talks about how our modern understanding of the world has forced religions to change.
We live in the 21st century. The stories and tales in the Torah, Bible, Koran, Upanishads, Dhammapada, etc, quiant and charming [and occasionally gruesome] though they may be, cannot be used to dictate how we live today.
Time for people to recognize the fact that no book was ever written by anyone other than a human being. There is no factual proof that a 'god' has ever dictated a book.
