Disqus - Latest Comments for momintum

Re: The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies—How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths

momintum — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:26:24 -0000

I've bought it, read it, and find the entire book well worth it. I've recommended it to several acquaintancies with no ill effects :-)

Re: Is Rick Perry as Christian as He Thinks He Is? - Atlantic Mobile

momintum — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:37:17 -0000

Religion to the ignorant is true, to the wise it's false, and to the rulers it's useful.

Re: Bus Billboards Promote Losing Your Religion - Chicago News

momintum — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:10:17 -0000

The world populations from time before history have been subjected to this or that god or this or that holy proph...er..puppet by way of proselytizing in all its forms. That someone has the courage to speak up, talk back, and challenge these superstitions is more than laudable. As humanity steps out from the cells of ignorance and religious indoctrinations that have created so much misery it has every right to warn others of the mess and mire from which it is escaping. The various deities and demons created by mankind's mental fabrications have proved to be detrimental to the progress of civilization.

Re: Rally Held by Group who Wants End to Nat'l Day of Prayer

momintum — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:02:47 -0000

Time will prove the fallacy of all religions. The human specie with a developed imagination has fantasized itself individual and eternal continuance. Humanity has an affinity for dogma so the seemingly securities associated with supernatural divinity to some carries a mythical shelter that the more emotionally inclined find deceptively comforting. Judge Crabb should be commended for standing up and being counted. "To the common man religion is true. To the wise it is false. To the rulers it is useful." Seneca the Younger.

Re: Judge's Ruling Won't Halt Day Of Prayer Events - Madison News Story - WISC Madison

momintum — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:52:58 -0000

Re: National Day of Prayer returns; Freedom From Religion Foundation sends mayor a letter - Federal Way Mirror

momintum — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:48:30 -0000

Re: Judge Nixes 'National Prayer Day,' a Setback for Sarah Palin's Dream of Establishing a Christian Nation | Belief | AlterNet

momintum — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:11:08 -0000

Politicians who conduct, (and all of them do), surveys finding a "name" for themselves such as Sarah Palin will exploit whatever positions and people are available to them for votes. That's a given. Judge Crabb was exactly correct but you can look for more pressure from politicians jumping on the band wagon for publicity.

Re: Home Depot Cashier Fired over “God Pin”

momintum — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:32:58 -0000

For countless centuries this or that religion has found ways tp proselytize, promote, and force their superstitious nonsense down the throats of the human race. This god, that god, gods in general, boogermen, and various sky fairies have been utilized to separate, divide, and wreak havoc across this planet. The cultural memes that adhere to dogma is strong even in error and until evolution ejects this nuisance, as it eventually will, we can look forward to more of this same fantastic baloney. It behooved the human race earlier in time to quickly explain phenomena away as a creation of some super guy in the sky, ie...Thor with his hammer creating thunder. This mentality has "hung around" for much too long creating miseries and atrocities uncountable. The human race will either progress forward or one of these religious manipulators will manufacture a calamity far worse than Jonestown.

Re: Daily Home - Man wants billboard taken down

momintum — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:27:35 -0000

This is the exact point...To disregard the fundamental right to contest any tradition is in itself detrimental to society as a whole and civilization as a foundation. For thousands of years various forms of superstitious nonsense has been forced down the throats of the populace by manipulative and egotistical charlatans who'd chain the conscience of the world into the dark recesses of the plethora of sky fairy nonsense that's crippled the harmonious mediations of the entire planet. The world is slowly evolving from these prisons of ignorance and progressing from emotional hysteria into logic and reason.

Re: Daily Home - First freethought message appears on billboard

momintum — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:33:19 -0000

Mr Schneider's mother and father were tugboat charlie

Re: Daily Home - First freethought message appears on billboard

momintum — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:47:51 -0000

Hunny...With a name like "Tugboat Charlie" and a dog named "Dixie" this essay was not addressed in particular toward you and I apologize for your struggle to "cipher"the content. Did you brush your tooth this morning?

Re: Daily Home - First freethought message appears on billboard

momintum — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:13:16 -0000

Inventing divinity to avoid the reality of our mortality and the denial of accepting the fact that the human race is no more than a species co-existing with many others on this planet has created a fantastic web of self deceit that has turned around not to bite but ravage .

Our imagination has comparatively taken us to great heights with no limits in the foreseeable future. This same imagination has carried us into the depths of depravity. The linear declinations between the two extremes are uncountable and still growing. When or if these declinations will cease is also debatable and moot for countless arguments. My own posit is that for so long as mankind exists, as we know it, the evolutionary process of the specie will continue. In which direction of the two extremes is the question of concern. A brief examination in retrospection and reflection certainly offers a case for concern. If history is any teacher then awareness becomes a necessity and vigilance paramount.

If we consider our planet’s history and that of our specie a very great many of our problems not only collectively but individually can be attributed to the influences of religion brought on by imagination. I see no reason to vilify or demonize imagination for it’s a fantastic vehicle by which civilization has prospered and may be more invaluable than the human thumb. To curtail our fantasy would be to impede our very development. But as we progress, (and hopefully forward), along those imaginary declination mile markers, it becomes necessary to make adjustments as we recognize our mistakes again both as individuals and collectively as a species. As this written discussion pertains primarily to the collective society as we know it, then I’m prepared to state most emphatically that the invention of religion was and is a mistake. Simply put, the cons far outweigh the pros. Somewhere along the line we got lost and began to accept fantasy for reality. Perhaps at one time the benefits of accepting myth triggered a propensity for the specie evolutionary factors to favor groups that collectively organized in a coherence of beliefs that provided natural selection an advantage. Thus through some form of cultural evolution memes were generated and passed along accordingly. I leave that to Dawkins, Erlich, and a host of others far more qualified than I to comment.

What I have that no other shares are my personal experiences, evaluations, experimentations and the conclusions gathered through my personal sense awareness. I propose that most sane, reasonable and thinking people will have to agree to some extent with the knowledge they gain and disseminate likewise. One needn’t be an authority of any given subject to qualify their own opinion. And, in truth, if one might detach oneself even partially from the bias and influences these carnivals emit, their essences might be regarded in the foulness of their existence. If it were a deception or some fraud only from which we might escape, the circumstances might not warrant such a fervor but the delusions that ferment such rancor and unsheathed animosity, disregard, and indifference have now positioned us in fear of our very continuation as a race and even as a fertile planet for all the specie of our familiarity and those yet undiscovered. One has merely to look about objectively and not that far away to add credulity to these statements.

Within the borders of our own nation the competitive and combative nature of all religions raises its fanged countenance in a variety disciplines that foment both divisiveness and dissention. Frustrated clergy commit sex crimes with a great many not being brought into the limelight for fear of a national uprising and so the media is hushed by the association of church and state. If you doubt this feel free to contact a few organizations such as The Freedom From Religion Foundation for further verification. They can supply anyone with a plethora of criminal activities committed by zealots as well as in the name of whatever religion. Certainly everyone is aware of the impediment of sound medical science by the ignorance of superstition. Children die for lack of medical treatment at the mercy of some religion that condemns blood transfusions or some other concocted representation of sky fairy fiction. Even the most ignorant members of today’s society are aware of the theological hindering of stem cell research. Former President Reagan’s wife Nancy can give you first hand information on Alzheimer’s. Take the time to check into the diabetes program for some eye opening information. The whackos of all right wing evangelical fundamentalists claim a cell too small for the naked eye to see in a Petri dish contains some immortal element that is some divine gift to humanity from some man-god in the sky so this cell must be venerated as a holy representation of this same man-god. Not only is this quite a thick wad to swallow but we’re all supposed to take this on faith that’s been handed down and re-arranged so many times the very originators wouldn’t recognize it. If there were a “Jesus” and he was alive today, he wouldn’t recognize Christianity. Another group of these barbarians arrange marriages between children and grown men right here in this country to appease their pedophilia and a representative of the religion of which this group is a sect runs for election as President of our nation. He only backed out shortly before a child farm/mill was raided in Texas. Has anyone else put two and two together here? Now the time quickly approaches when all those who believe regardless of their past transgressions, (and while still alive), are going to be caught up into the sky taking part in the rapture and revelation of some saint who obviously ate some moldy rye bread or a peyote button. The dead who were believers will be brought back to life to join them for this hallelujah sock hop on streets of gold after passing muster and a credential scan at the pearly gates. Upon entry they may be given a green flying carpet, turban, and 72 virgins especially if they’ve blown up believers from another sect including themselves at their departure. Many of these nuts make up the majority of this country! Remember that this is in the USA. We haven’t gone to the Middle East, the continents of Africa, or South America etc. Let’s not forget Haiti and assorted Pacific Islands. As a matter of fact we can globe trot around and uncover all sorts of depravity and mumbo-jumbo. Well…Perhaps it should be uncovered and eradicated as in replaced by reason and logic before one of these idiots pushes some red button.

Momintum

Re: Church, state, and school - Issaquah Reporter

momintum — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:37:20 -0000

Religions have cast an adverse net over humanity for millennia and the jury is no longer out on the basic issue as the verdict has become crystal clear to society excepting those still chained to the walls of superstition. The very word “religions” can be said to pertain to divisiveness and as civilization wakes from the sky-fairy dreams of charlatans and charmers a new and complete overhaul of earlier as well as contemporary thought becomes necessary for humanity to progress.

“Hope” is a wonderful concept but placing the value of its meaning on some fictional icon or object of worship is delusional not to mention damaging and dangerous on a much grander scale than affecting just those attending some local church or mosque. This is becoming more and more obvious as the world observes its social and cultural environments more closely. Though the ignorant postulates of this or that god, creed, or theology rant on the attributes of their particular views, the facts remain that in this it becomes quite evident that theirs is a combatant position. Any examination by intelligent investigation will uncover the myths surrounding these imaginary concepts.

But I also have some questions that have not been answered to my satisfaction…In our day and age, with all the empirical evidences that have been brought to light; how be it still possible for entire nations to be enslaved by these theocratic ideologies? By what means can any group of zealots regardless of their own self-delusions maintain such a sway and influence the reason of so many? How do such far fetched and ridiculous schemes gain such credence while at the same time other stories much less fantastic are deemed as science fiction or fantasy?

I’ve personally witnessed Corporate America use religious conviction to forward its own agenda. The “fattening of wallets” by these unscrupulous characters is no secret and has been exposed to everyone other than the thickest of humanity. One merely does as one “need” and forgiveness is but a prayer away. Belief has replaced morality and virtue. The participants involved with various theologies themselves in power mad schemes aimed at manipulation and coercion are not always aware of their own goals as many are deceived by their own bait and thus lured into various webs of their own manufacture. I find it sad to witness the gullibility and self deceptions played on believers by their own fantasies. It’s almost like a flame that attracts the moth with the flame being an invention of the victim. At times I think some have subconsciously realized their own deceptions, self deception and have pushed a kind of self destruct button. Others continue blindly following their antediluvian mysteries paying homage to long dead and dying concepts and myths in a macabre ritual refusing to acknowledge the obvious, preferring to maintain their antiquated and outmoded systems to change when change is manifested so blatantly visible and entirely simple.

Were it not only dangerous but detrimental for humanity in general, perhaps I could find the patience to ignore these various and sundry postulates and proselytizers allowing time itself to erase these fallacies by natural evolution. Yet, when I see and realize through my own studies, evaluations and experimentations the clearly vile and reprehensible acts and condition these religions have brought to humanity I can no longer remain silent. This plethora of belief systems is responsible for a very great deal of the many ills that afflict mankind both individually and collectively. For example: When I see a child’s suffering and demise due to some nonsense based on an over active imagination to the point of creating an adverse system of posits that refute sound medical principle I’m more than appalled. When I become aware of people who are suffering from diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s and understanding that great strides to alleviate these conditions are hindered, suppressed, and even halted due to some fabricated interpretation of some imaginary man-god or spirit or talisman, book, or scarecrow I marvel. That the human race can be captivated and controlled by such ignorance as sexual and racial prejudices not only condoned but promoted by religion is not only frightening but travels much deeper into thoughts beyond my ability of expression.

Credence has somehow been bestowed perversely on a mere few in comparison to the number of acolytes who stumble along obediently struggling to follow the teachings of this same few who’ve concocted these regimens. It seems in these scenarios that these “leaders” simply take the time to read and memorize a certain set of “isms” and then by attesting to the profundity and in most cases altering the original arrangements in such a manner to promote their own agendas create their own concepts accordingly. At the same time, there seems to be any number of recipients who are quite willing to accept these concepts naively and without question or challenge. It suggests of an emotional whirlpool of enormous scope that’s void of reason and logic. Does this eddy of innocence remain unaccountable relying on the excuse of ignorance? Is absolution of the personal conscience derived from the, “I am/was just a soldier following orders” philosophy and response? “This is the way I was taught.” or, “This was the way I was raised to believe.” can only take one so far but somewhere the “buck” stops, or does it? Is there a quirk in the human psyche that will allow responsibility to be caromed about as if contained in some infinite pinball machine gone mad?

I enthusiastically take note that the United States is gradually moving in a direction that’s reducing the influence religions play in the political arena for example but at the same time take note that the supporters of religion seem to grow more militant in their charges. The numbers attest that Americans are seeing an expanding percentage of “nonbelievers.” A very large portion of Europeans by comparison have shed the confines of religious addiction. Orientals experience a far better form of philosophy that much better advertises itself in a more passive term than that of a “true” religion in the strictest sense of that description. The Middle East remains another story as the fires of Islam have never been tempered by an “Enlightenment” and remains the youngest of the major religions. Conceived in this cesspool of sand, the constituents remain trapped in an ignorant society funded by the abundance of fossil fuel that lines the pockets of the most volatile and violent Theocracies on earth. It is quite evident that the majority of these people remain closer to the savage as evolution knows no firm and even expression of order. A reversal toward barbarism is not an unheard of occurrence in the history of humanity and is certainly not ruled out even in today’s cultures. If one observes closely and examines carefully it will be of no surprise that the majority of these, “reversals” are triggered by or has their roots connected to some religious mythology. Even in the religions that appear to have evolved somewhat, the cauldron of hate resides just under or behind a veneer of smiles. If one strips away their veils of superficial tolerance and exposes what lies beneath, the ugly truth of their camouflage becomes apparent and once again they’re exposed for the terrorists they are and the terror they export.

Rationalizing religion is nothing more than a band-aid over hypocrisy. An inability to confront the obvious is washed over in an attempt to pacify the more adamant zealots of any given theology. Most everyone is familiar with that old but true adage, “People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.” Without a great deal of effort in recall the truth of this axiom has been experienced by most of us. Those who do ask about a differing opinion in most cases are merely searching for a point of contention. A brief conversation with any of these exposes their combatant nature as their rehearsed rebuttals and challenges are voiced in a kind of repetitive rote. These efforts can’t be rationalized to the thinking brain anymore than a willfully and deliberate negative choice can be attributed to an “accident.”

It must also become evident that unless some unforeseeable and cataclysmic event takes place, religions will be with us in some varying degrees for quite some time. Perhaps in the short history of man some cultural meme has been injected into our DNA creating these conditions. I certainly don’t have all the answers or even a few. It’s probable that I haven’t addressed your own particular view. None of this has been my intent. There is no way for myself or anyone to address the entirety of humanity’s consciousness. My efforts have been directed at exposing only a few considerations for contemplations.

Momintum