about that great RRS essay , A Silence That Screams - ( No contemporary historical accounts for "jesus" ) http://www.rationalresponders.com/a_silence_that_screams_no_contemporary_historical_accounts_for_jesus

Heres another xlint related essay, DID JESUS EXIST? by Frank R. Zindler http://www.atheists.org/christianity/didjesusexist.html

I find it helpful when talking with the religious to say WE ARE GOD, ..... just as their Myth of Jesus reads, and HAVE NO GOD'S and no Idols BEFORE YOU , works pretty well .... mark

Sam Harris was at his provocative best at the Atheist Alliance convention last night, warning us all against the dangers of labels and suggesting point blank that we should all stop calling ourselves atheists. Here are some of his points:

1. By using the term atheist, we are automatically defining ourselves in terms of the thing we oppose. We put ourselves in a conceptual box created and defined by our enemies. As he put it, it's as if the theists drew a chalk outline of a dead body on the floor to represent atheists and we are willingly lying down in it. Philosophically, we're accepting their paradigm and their terms of discourse before we even begin the discussion.

YOU INSPIRED THIS EMAIL , JUST WANTED TO SHARE, THANKS AGAIN RRS

Lionel / Mark , .... about that great essay , A Silence That Screams - ( No contemporary historical accounts for "jesus" ) http://www.rationalresponders.com/a_silence_that_screams_no_contemporary_historical_accounts_for_jesus

Lionel writes: It's not surprising that there would be no contemporary writings about Jesus. Nobody knew or understood who he was until after his resurrection. Even his disciples were dejected after his crucifixion because they believed that they had placed false hope in him as being their Messiah. It wasn't until Jesus opened their eyes to the messianic verses about him (after his resurrection) that the epiphany of who Jesus was actually sunk in. It wasn't until Pentacost (the giving of the Holy Spirit) before the power of the Lord came upon the disciples, allowing them to preach the gospel and begin the rapid birth of the church.

The conservative group Concerned Women for America is complaining about the "hipocrisy" of this ad for San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair. This take on the infamous Da Vinci painting, "The Last Supper", replaces Jesus and his followers with men and women dressed in sadomasochistic gear (as well as one cross-dresser), and replaces the food with various sex toys. CWA attributes the advertisement to the gay community, saying on their website:

Bulldog, of our forums is using an avatar of a sonic boom. It reminded me that the sonic boom videos are some of my favorite. The first video I pulled up today had a nice scientific explanation.

Enjoy...

"Join us as we look into the fascinating topic of supersonic travel and we examine the amazing phenomenon of sonic booms! Don't forget to visit": http://www.sciencemadefun.org.uk

I meant to write this up a while ago...

My wife and I traveled to Ecuador for two weeks and one thing we noticed in our guide book was La Capilla del Hombre ("Chapel of Man"), a Humanist chapel in the hills overlooking Quito.

A little history...

The Chapel was conceived by a man named Oswaldo Guayasamín. He was an Ecuadorean painter and sculptor who gained international recognition for his works depicting the emotions of the history of South America. They run the gamut from the pain of Spanish conquest, to exploitation by industries, to simple "working a living out of the earth to survive" dedication (whose name I can't quite think of at the moment), to the love and caring that radiate despite these things. It's been said that his work helped bring catharsis to many by exposing racism, poverty, and social injustice.

Funny...

O.J Simpson I Heart Famous People Spoof MSNBC Countdown Keith Olbermann

Normally I'd make a big stink over how much I like guys like this. People that at least try to "get us." Lost in the mix of our fight against evil in Operation Spread Eagle, I am neglecting to remind people that there are Christians and Muslims out there that could live in a world with others... however it's a rare few. I personally would have no problems becoming silent about my atheism, the moment there was no need to speak up. What the religious people see in me today, they've built on their own deck of dishonesty, ignorance, and hate. So as I say a "big fuck you, and snap out of it" to roughly 50% of the world, allow me to point out what I think a "good Christian" looks like.

It's hard to count more than a few Christian names I can respect. Father Matthew Moretz is one of them, and add John Shore to the list.

Thanks John for being the best Christian in the world this week. Feel free to drop him a line and say thanks for trying.

http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/johnshore/11554316/

There's something that has always bugged me about certain people's arguments. For example, the creationist thermodynamics argument they keep throwing out like a dead cow and saying "whaddya think about that! Betcha never seen this before, have ya?" It obvious that when they talk about entropy it's vastly different from the way physicits and information theorists talk about it. An argument over terminology and what entropy is usually ensues, diluting the overall point like an impromptu red herring.

I've often tried to solve this problem by going along with what I think they think whatever verb they are using means, and slowly shifting their view of it to its actual definition within the context. I think such arguments over terminology only serve to put the listener on the offensive even more and distract from the topic, and are therefore useless WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE. That's why the broadcast format works so much better than individual intervention; it's not the person you're arguing with who you're trying to persuade, it's the people who happen to be listening.

http://www.richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24827

this is fucking ridiculous.