Freedom From Religion

A very interesting article by Austin Cline; http://atheism.about.com/od/churchstate/a/FreedomFrom.htm

What Freedom From Religion is Not

Freedom from religion is not a demand that one never encounter religion, religious believers, or religious ideas at all. Freedom from religion is not freedom from seeing churches, encountering people handing out religious tracts on the street corner, seeing preachers on television, or listening to people discuss religion at work. Freedom from religion is not a demand that religious beliefs never be expressed, that religious believers never voice an opinion, or that religiously-inspired values never have any impact on laws, customs, or public policies.
Freedom from religion is thus not a social right to never encounter religion in public spaces. Freedom from religion has two relevant aspects: personal and political. On the personal level, a right to be free from religion means that a person has the freedom not to belong to any religion or religious organization. The right to be religious and to join religious organizations would be meaningless if there did not exist a parallel right not to join any at all. Religious liberty must simultaneously protect both the right to be religious and the right not to be religious at all - it cannot protect a right to be religious, just so long as you pick some religion.

What Freedom From Religion Is

When it comes to politics, the freedom from religion means being "free from" any government imposition of religion. Freedom from religion does not mean being free from seeing churches, but it does mean being free from churches getting governing financing; it doesn't mean being free from encountering people handing out religious tracts on a street corner, but it does mean being free from government-sponsored religious tracts; it doesn't mean being free from hearing religious discussions at work, but it does mean being free from religion being a condition of employment, hiring, firing, or one's status in the political community.
Freedom from religion isn't a demand that religious beliefs never be expressed, but rather that they not be endorsed by the government; it's not a demand that religious believers never voice an opinion, but rather that they not have a privileged status in public debates; it's not a demand that religious values never have any public impact, but rather that no laws be based on religious doctrines without the existence of a secular purpose and basis.
The political and the personal are closely related. A person cannot be "free from" religion in the personal sense of not having to belong to any religion if religion is made a factor in one's status in the political community. Government agencies should not endorse, promote, or encourage religion in any way. Doing so suggests that those who accept the religious beliefs favored by the government will, by extension, be favored by the government - and thus a person's political status becomes conditioned on their personal religious commitments.

What Religious Liberty Is

The claim that the Constitution only protects "freedom of religion" and not "freedom from religion" thus misses an important point. Religious liberty, if it is to mean anything, cannot merely mean that the state won't use the police to stop or harass adherents of certain religious ideas. It must also mean that the state won't use more subtle powers, like those of the pocketbook and the bully pulpit, to favor some religions over others, to endorse certain religious doctrines rather than others, or to take sides in theological disputes.
It would be wrong for the police to close synagogues; it is also wrong for police officers to tell Jewish drivers during a traffic stop that they should convert to Christianity. It would be wrong for politicians to pass a law banning Hinduism; it is also wrong for them to pass a law proclaiming that monotheism is preferable to polytheism. It would be wrong for a president to say that Catholicism is a cult and not really Christian; it is also wrong for a president to endorse theism and religion generally.
This is why freedom of religion and freedom from religion are two sides of the same coin. Attacks on one ultimately serve to undermine the other. The preservation of religious liberty requires that we ensure that the government not be handed any authority over religious matters.

THe Bible Is Funny

God gets fucking serious

Psalms 78:66
“And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.”

the bible is funny

Exodus 33:23
God moons Moses.

The Bible Is Funny

Mark 16:18
 
“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

By the way everyone that drank the deadly drink didn't recover.

the bible is funny

Here's another installment to the bible is funny this time its two verses

Ezekiel 13:18-20
“Thus saith the Lord God, Woe to the women that sew pillows…. Behold, I am against your pillows.”

Micah 2:1, 3
“Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds!”
“Behold, against this family do I devise an evil.”

By the way i'm getting all these quotes from the website http://www.patheos.com

Analysis of the Ten Commandments

Just a warning this isn't my work; here's a link to the website where this is from: http://atheism.about.com/od/tencommandments/a/analysis.htm

First Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Have Any Gods Before Me
The first, most basic, and most important commandment — or is it the first two commandments? Well, that’s the question. We’ve only just gotten started and we’re already mired in controversy both between religions and between denominations.
Second Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Make Graven Images
What is a “graven image,” exactly? This has been the subject of a great deal of controversy between various Christian churches over the centuries. Of particular importance here is the fact that while the Protestant version the Ten Commandments includes this, the Catholic does not. A prohibition against graven images, if read literally, would cause a number of problems for Catholics.
Third Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of the Lord in Vain
What does it mean to “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”? That has been the subject of quite a bit of debate. Some have argued that this prohibition was limited to the use of the name of God in any frivolous manner. Others have argued that it was a prohibition against the use of the name of God in magical or occult practices.
Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath, Keep It Holy
This is the only ritualistic commandment in this particular listing, and curiously enough it is pretty much unique among ancient cultures. Nearly all religions have some sense of “sacred time,” but the ancient Hebrews seem to be the only ones to have set aside an entire day every week as sacred, reserved for honoring and remembering their god.
Fifth Commandment: Honor Thy Father and Mother
Is the Fifth Commandment something that everyone should obey? As a general principle, honoring one’s parents is a good idea. It would have been especially true in ancient societies where life could be precarious and it’s a good way to ensure the maintenance of important social bonds. To say that it’s good as a general principle is not, however, the same as saying that it should be regarded as an absolute command from God.
Sixth Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Kill
Many believers regard this as the most basic and easily accepted of all the commandments. Who would object to the government telling people not to kill? Unfortunately, this relies upon a superficial and uninformed understanding of what is going on. This commandment is, in fact, much more controversial and difficult that it appears at first.
Seventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery
What does the word “adultery” mean? People today tend define it as any act of sexual intercourse outside of marriage or, perhaps a bit more narrowly, any act of sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not their spouse. That is appropriate in today but it isn’t not how the word has always been defined.
Eighth Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Steal
With this commandment, the simplest and most obvious understanding may actually be the most correct one — but not necessarily. Most people read it as a prohibition against stealing, but it may not be the way that everyone understood it originally.
Ninth Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness
There is a question of just what “bearing false witness” means. It might have been originally intended to prohibit lying in a court of law. For the ancient Hebrews, anyone caught lying during their testimony could be forced to submit to whatever punishment would have been imposed upon the accused — including death.
Tenth Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Covet
Of all the commandments, the Tenth Commandment has a tendency to be the most contentious. Depending upon how it is read, it can be the most difficult to adhere to, the most difficult to justify imposing upon others, and in some ways the least reflective of modern morality.

The Bible Is Funny

Numbers 22:20-22
God tells Balaam that if men come to him and tell him to go with them, he should. Men come to Balaam. They tell him to go with them. He does. God gets mad at Balaam for going.