Over the last several weeks, I have been trying to finish up the new site design (trust me it’s almost done), when I started to question the purpose of it in the first place. I wasn’t just questioning the new site design, but rather the site as a whole. I asked myself… what’s the point?

What started off as just a little side-project has evolved in to quite an en devour over the last few years. But I do ask myself, often when I am feeling down and overwhelmed with life… what is the point? Is it to merely entertain people with kookie religious stories at the expense of “religious freaks”? Is to serve a slightly more worthful purpose such as enlightening people to the dangers of religious extremism and blind faith? Sometimes I honestly wonder.

Yesterday I received a timely email from a random reader named Frank that brought those questions to light and more. To be honest it got me thinking a little bit and I’m still mulling it over in my head. But in the meantime I’d like you all to have a look and share your thoughts. All I ask is that you read the email in its entirety and respond in a civil manner please.

Frank writes:

I would just like to e-mail you and let you know my personal opinion. I’ve read through a few of the posts that you have here on your site and I find it to have a certain amount of idiocy in and of itself.

In my opinion, I believe that the ignorance that most religious people have today is on the same level as people like you who run sites like this. In your quest to find the truth behind “religious idiocy”, you create your own lens/veil of ignorance to the beauty and life that religious people of all faiths hold.

I agree that there are a certain amount of crazy people who live in this world that use religion as a podium to spew out lies and deceit, but there’s also just as many people who are agnostic and atheist who do the same thing. As a person of religious faith, I believe that we all share a certain amount of sin or sinful behavior, religious or not. And just the same, there are a certain amount of “freaks” that live in this world, whether they’re religious or not.

Frankly, I see you as exactly the same type of person that you’re trying to fight against, a “freak” surrounded by his own extremist beliefs, only yours happen to not be religious. Therefore, somehow, you think that you’re better than those who are religious, because, in your mind, they believe in some type of moral code, which you see as hypocritical.

It’s no secret that the agnostic/atheist community of the United States has a certain amount of contempt for Christian communities that support war, as it is seen as one of the most hypocritical statements that a Christian can make. The, “Who Would Jesus Bomb?” t-shirts tend to be a great example of this school of thought. But the truth is that there are no rules for Christianity. Anyone can be anything and claim to be a Christian. Anyone can take whatever distorted view of a text written thousands of years ago and shape it into whatever they want it to be. “Freaks” can be cannibals and Christians in their own minds, as long as they find some way to justify their claims to others.

My point is that, in my opinion, I don’t think that your website does much good. It just seems to spread an already growing hatred for religious people. While I appreciate that there are people who are critical of people who are “Religious Freaks”, myself being one of them, I think that sites like yours don’t get “Religious Freaks” to change at all. They just get people who already hate “Religious Freaks” to hate them even more.

As an administer of change, I would have to say that sites like this are a complete failure. As I’m one who’s certainly not going to “boycott” sites like yours, because I believe in peoples’ right to have an opinion and their right to criticize freely (as criticism can be a great administer of change), I just think that having a site called “religiousfreaks.com” is complete bigotry. And isn’t that what you’re trying to fight against? I don’t know, maybe it’s not. Maybe you, like others, just want to hate someone, whoever they happen to be, and religious people seem like a good target to you.

I would suggest that if you haven’t already, you should read all of these texts that you are supposedly against and really understand that what you’re trying to fight against. At least try to speak the language of the people you’re trying to change. Then, maybe you wouldn’t have to have a site like “religiousfreaks.com” and you could actually do some good for the community that you, as am I, are both apart of.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this as I appreciate being read/heard just as much as you do.

Thanks,
Frank

This morning I discovered an online petition to censor images of the Prophet Mohammed on Wikipedia. Initially I thought Muslims were angry with Wikipedia having the Danish caricatures on their site, but to my surprise the petition was not aimed at those! It is instead aimed at a few historical depictions of Mohammed on this entry.

The petition’s creator claims that any depiction of the Prophet Muhammed is offensive, even if the creator was a Muslim himself. The petition has gathered over 100,000 signatures thus far and has received a fair share of media attention. You can read more about the petition here.

Wikipedia’s response was short and sweet. They simply stated, “Since Wikipedia is an encyclopedia with the goal of representing all topics from a neutral point of view, Wikipedia is not censored for the benefit of any particular group.”

I agree with this stance, as I’m sure many of you do. It is for that reason I have created an online petition to support Wikipedia on this matter and demand that the images stay put. I ask that you take a minute of your time and please sign this petition if you are against censorship. I also ask that you spread this petition far and wide. Place it on any forums and/or websites that are appropriate.

–gasmonso

Last November, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley launched a public investigation into the ministries of six top televangelists who attract thousands of followers and collect hundreds of millions of dollars around the world. Grassley is demanding financial records to determine whether these churches deserve their tax exempt status.

1. Benny Hinn, a TV preacher who runs the World Healing Center Church in Grapevine, Texas. Hinn, who travels the globe conducting faith-healing revivals, lives in a seven-bathroom, eight-bedroom mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean valued at $10 million. It is claimed as a parsonage.
2. The Rev. Creflo Dollar’s World Changers Church International in College Park, Ga. Dollar drives a Rolls Royce and has large homes in Georgia and New York. He is asked to provide a list of all vehicles provided for himself, his wife, board members and ministry employees.
3. Paula and Randy White’s Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla. In a letter to the ministry, Grassley asks the couple to provide a list of expense account items “including, but not limited to, clothing expenses and any cosmetic surgery for years 2004 to present.”
4. Joyce Meyer Ministries in Fenton, Mo. Grassley asks Meyer and her husband David to explain expenditures like a $23,000 commode with a marble top, a $30,000 conference table, an $11,000 French clock and a $19,000 pair of vases for the ministry headquarters.
5. Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Newark, Texas. Copeland is asked to explain how cash offerings are handled during overseas crusades and to explain the use of a ministry jet for “layovers” in Maui, Fiji and Honolulu.
6. Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga. Among other things, Long is asked to explain a church official’s 2005 claim that Long no longer accepts a salary from the church but does take a “love offering.”

CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian takes a hard look at one target: Kenneth Copeland, the so-called “godfather” of “prosperity gospel.”

A Christian reader by the name of Kevin left a lengthy response to George Carlin’s Take on Religion. Since Kevin was kind enough to take the time to chime in, I thought it best to move his comment to the main page for all to discuss. It’s a long one so grab a cup of your favorite drink and give it a read!

Kevin writes:

I am a Christian. I’ve read 26 postings on this website and I’ve found only 2 to be somewhat supportive of Christian beliefs (although I don’t agree with their responses). Instead of attacking your beliefs and starting some kind of word war back and forth that does no good for anyone, I would rather provide some basic education on what the bible REALLY says and let you decide what to believe for yourself. Before we begin I want you to know that I’m a normal guy off the street. I’m not a preacher or some weirdo that stands on a street corner telling people their going to burn in hell. I’m just someone who was once like you (didn’t have much belief in religion) but decided to research Christianity so I could make a well informed decision whether I did or didn’t want believe in God. It just so turns out that I chose to believe. If after reading this you decide to explore Christianity further… GREAT! If you have further questions for me… GREAT… just ask! If you decide to remain an atheist, it’s your life and your decision to make. I just want to make sure you are educated when you make this decision.

George Carlin lists three main reasons why he doesn’t believe in God in this skit. They are: 1) why isn’t God visible, 2) if God loves us so much, why does He punish those who don’t follow His rules by sending them to hell, and 3) if God is so good why is there so much war, violence, death, etc. in the world? Since all of you are saying he hit it right on the head, I would like to explore each of these statements. Let’s start from the bottom and work to the top.

“If God is so good why is there so much war, violence, death, etc. in the world?” In the first book of the bible “Genesis” we are informed that God created heaven and earth in six days and then rested on the seventh. During these six days He also created man (Adam and Eve). We are also informed that man did initially live in a perfect place where there was no war, violence, death, etc (the Garden of Eden). God only had one rule for man while living in this place, which was not to eat from “the tree of life”. However, Satan (referred to as the serpent in the scripture) encouraged man to disobey God (which he continues to do even today), so they chose to go ahead and eat an apple from the tree. God was so disappointed with the fact that He created us and gave us this perfect place to live and we broke his one and only rule, that He banished all of mankind from this perfect place forever. Hence the condition of the world today. So in reality, it was our own disobedience to our Creator that allowed the war, violence, death, etc. to come into the world. Now, this may bring-up more questions. Some may wonder why God made this rule. Why not just let people enjoy life without rules? The answer is to establish God as our authority figure. Only those of authority can set rules. He wants us to acknowledge Him as our Creator and Father. Following His rules allows us to acknowledge this through our actions. Others may wonder why Satan was allowed to be in this perfect place. The answer to this is to give us freedom of choice. If God created us to be perfect robots, how personal of a relationship do you think we would have with Him? So, instead of creating us in that way, he allows us to be tempted and to choose Him. If we choose God and decide to place our faith in Him even after facing temptation, our relationship with Him becomes VERY personal. We start to actually live for Him instead of living for our own pleasures.

Okay, the next issue we need to deal with is, “If God loves us so much, why does He punish those who don’t follow His rules by sending them to hell?” The bible does in fact tell us that God HATES sin so much that the punishment for sin is eternity in hell. So, if this is true (which it is) doesn’t that mean we are all going to hell? After all, we are all sinners. I am. You are. Everyone who has ever walked this earth or will ever walk this earth has or will sin… except for one… Jesus Christ. This is the good news! All throughout the bible we are informed that Jesus lived an absolute perfect live (i.e. he never sinned – not even once). The reason He could do this was because He came from God. Jesus is a divine being that was not created by man, but rather a part of God who simply walked the earth. Maybe the best description is the spirit/soul of God’s Son who lived inside of a human body. He is the only One who has or will ever live on earth that didn’t deserve to be punished for sin. However, during His perfect life of teaching God’s word and showing us how to live He was unrightfully sentenced to death and killed (crucified on the cross). When this happened God took all of the hate He had for sin and took it out on Jesus. So, Jesus willingly stood on that cross and took the punishment we deserve just so God’s anger for sin could be quenched once and for all. Stop and think about this… Jesus laid down his life after doing nothing wrong because He loves us so much that He doesn’t want to see us go to hell. And God actually spent his wrath on His one and only son who did everything right, just so sinners like you and I could be forgiven. So, shouldn’t our question be, “How could God love us so much that He punished His one and only Son who lived a perfect life just so sinners like us could be forgiven?” This often leads to a secondary question, which is, “Do I need to do anything to be forgiven?” The bible tells us that everyone can be forgiven for their sins, no matter how bad they are. There are three actions that must be taken in order to receive this forgiveness. They are: 1) have faith that Jesus Christ was God’s son who lived a perfect live and died for our sins, 2) formally claim Jesus as your Lord and Savior by being baptized (also known as “being saved” – this is for a reason), and 3) “repent” by changing your life and trying to obey God’s commands the best you can (when you fall short – which we all will - just ask Him to forgive you and He will as long as you don’t take advantage of His grace by intentionally sinning over and over).

“Why isn’t God visible?” This was the first question asked. The bible tells us that nobody has ever seen what God truly looks like. However, before the birth of Jesus he did actually appear many times to humans in various forms (e.g. light, clouds, etc) and He spoke to them as well. So… why doesn’t He appear anymore? The answer is three fold. All answers relate to those already given. The first answer is that He has already told us everything we need to know. Not only did He speak to us many times before Jesus, but he most importantly spoke to us through Jesus. Jesus spent his life showing and teaching us what God wants. So what purpose would He have to hang around after telling us everything we need to know? To repeat himself? This leads us to our second answer, which is that He wants you to genuinely trust Him. Why should He have to repeat himself over and over? The only reasons we want to hear something repeated is if we didn’t understand it the first time or if we need reassurance. He wants us to read the bible for better understanding and to trust the words He and His Son have spoken to us. The last answer might be a tough one for some of you to grasp… its to help us establish a closer relationship with Him. This probably sounds backwards to most of you, but I assure you its not. I can testify as being a Christian myself that when you place your faith in the Lord, you are baptized, and you start to live your life for Him, you can actually feel His presence/guidance in your life as though He is a part of you. It’s an absolutely amazing felling! It’s an inner peace that words can’t describe. If you can’t relate to this just ask yourself, “Would you have a closer relationship with a God that actually becomes part of you, or with a God that is an independent being?

Well, these are the biblical answers to the questions that George Carlin and most of you struggle with. The tough part of believing in God is that it deals with “faith” or emotion/heart and not “science” or thinking/brain. Those of you who are very intelligent and rely on your brain than your heart to get you through life will likely struggle more than others. I would encourage all of you to seriously consider what I have written and to even visit a local Christian church to talk to a minister. They would be happy to spend one on one time with you answering any questions you have. The one thing I can’t stress enough is for you to take your time and make a good sound decision on this… after all we are talking about eternity. If you have questions for me, please feel free to reply. However, I would like to ask on both of our behalves that we keep it cordial and not get into a “war of the words” because that does no good for any of us. God bless.

–Kevin

I’d like to thank Faith TV on the Sky Angel Network for taking television programming to new lows. This Christian network, which prides themselves on family values, is carrying Flamethrower, a new “cutting-edge political show” that will challenge Islam and undoubtedly praise Christianity.

Flamethrower has been described as a low-budget, gritty cross between the “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report,” and “The View” if Ann Coulter were the producer. Yea that made me cringe too! Furthermore the cast members are all flaming Christians and consider themselves the next generation of conservatism. The future is bleak indeed.

I will say one thing about this show. It is definitely what The View would be if Ann Coulter were the producer. Just look at this teaser trailer and you’ll see why. The cast members dress in Muslim clothing and there are enough guns on the wall that it appears as if the show were filmed in some Redneck’s pickup truck. To top things off they threaten to devour a cookie featuring the depiction of Muhammed.

A few days ago I received a well-written email from Roger, a Christian and supporter of Evolution. He had a few things to say with respects to Christianity that I thought you might all enjoy. I’m hoping that Roger will stick around to answer any questions that readers may have as he actually appears to be a reasonable Christian ;)

Roger does mention a few books in his post and I’d like to know if anyone here has read them and could share their thoughts.

Here’s Roger’s email (which was free of spelling mistakes! A religiousfreaks.com first!):

Roger wrote:

Hi gasmonso, I appreciate your frankness on all the points you raise here, or toss into the public forum. Although honestly your horrid experience with religion (in your upbringing, as well as from some of the people flaming you on this site!) doesn’t really reflect the biblical belief system.

While I was raised in a (very loving and tolerant) Protestant household, in my late 20s I took the stance: “OK God, if this book [the Bible] is true, it’s true not because someone says it is, certainly not because IT says it is, but only if it’s REALLY true.”

I embarked on an odyssey to put that to the test; actually, the biblical belief system (not necessarily organized religion!) specifically instructs people to put it to the test; and if it is found wanting, to toss it. (You don’t hear THAT from a lot of pulpits! I don’t think they often have the balls.) My eventual conclusion was that, despite the horrendous hypocrisy and outright evil among many professing Christianity (think Inquisition, pogroms, etc.), that in fact contradicts who Jesus is and what he said; and he himself turns out to be pretty cool and reliable.

But this isn’t a “preach” letter. You mentioned looking for books to read: “Who Moved the Stone?” (Frank Morison), originally in around 1930, is an interesting volume by a British investigative journalist who set out to prove that the story of Jesus’ resurrection was merely a myth; what he found instead brought him to believe in Christ. Much later, an American, Josh McDowell, likewise rejected religion and set about to completely debunk Christianity; what he found turned him to faith in Jesus, and his findings were published in a (huge) book, “The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today” (originally in the ’70s, revised edition 1999).

And as above, I hold the view that Christianity (the biblical belief system, not necessarily what you get in a lot of churches) is based on fact, not mere “belief” (read: make believe). To that end I also fully embrace evolution as a fact, not contradicting biblical teachings at all, as you will see if you have the patience to wade through the blog I’m currently building at http://rogersshrub.blogspot.com … and maybe more to the point, as you can see from the comment I left tonight on your “America not a Christian nation” post, I would advocate that if people professing Christianity would actually walk their own talk (or really, walk Jesus’ talk), for one thing society would have a profoundly different view of Christians, and society might even be positively affected the way he advocated. (Gandhi’s quote about liking Christ but not Christians hits it on the nose.) I should add that for the last 15 years I’ve had the great privilege of being part of a church that actually DOES advocate and aim to live by love, mercy, compassion, tolerance, genuineness, and that openly refutes the hypocrisy of the Christian “subculture”. Rare but honestly refreshing!

However, enough rambling; thank you if you had the patience to read through all this.

Take care and all the best to you.

Yours sincerely,

Roger

On behalf of the entire one-man staff at ReligiousFreaks.com, I would like to wish you all a very Happy Ashura for 2008! Be sure to click on the image for an even larger one to share with family and friends. Allahu Akbar!

Sincerely,

gasmonso

On Monday, Colorado Springs Republican Douglas Bruce was to be sworn in as a state representative in Colorado. So with bible in hand, Bruce went to the House floor for Morning Prayer.

The room was filled with various reporters and photographers to capture what would normally be a mundane event. But this particular ceremony would be a little more entertaining.

Photographer Javier Manzano crouched before Bruce as he stood for the chamber’s morning prayer. With camera in hand, Manzano snapped a harmless action shot of Bruce in mid-prayer.

Douglas Bruce “Lee” responded with a swift kick to Manzano’s knee followed by the words, “Don’t do that again.” Complete story here.

Now some might argue that taking pictures during prayer is rude, and to that I might agree. However, a state representative should know better. Especially one that is Christian, and holding a bible, and in the middle of a prayer!

What’s even more amusing is that he refused to apologize and had the balls to ask the reporter for one instead. Douglas Bruce “Lee” said is best:

“I’m glad that he maybe, finally, I hoped learned a lesson, that he should not disrupt a public prayer of the House.”

What would Jesus do?

Over the years many churches, like many other businesses, have faced the same problem. How do you market your product and increase your customer base. To be honest this is where churches never cease to amaze me. In the past I’ve seen Christian martial arts exhibitions, catchy billboards, and other assorted gimmicks.

But pastor Robbie McLaughlin of the Next Level Church in North Carolina has come up with yet another stunt that I kind of respect. Like many marketing experts, McLaughlin did his homework and found the target audience he was looking for. Gone are the days of handing out useless fliers to random people on the street, McLaughlin decided to go after people drinking their sorrows away in the local bars and taverns. And instead if handing out useless pamphlets, McLaughlin went with something more useful… shot glasses!

And they aren’t just run-of-the-mill ones either. Oh no sirree! McLaughlin has these beauties custom outfitted with the church’s name and logo. He even came up with the catch phrase, “Give us a shot.”

Personally I wish I lived in North Carolina so I could get a set of these things. I have an idea! Let’s all write Pastor Robbie McLaughlin and see if he’ll donate some to the readers of this fine blog. If enough of us drop him an email on behalf of religiousfreaks.com, I think we can score some :) Here’s his email: robbiem@nextlevelchurch.org

But I digress as usual. Let’s get back to business. Do you all think this is just another sign that churches are getting desperate or a sign that they are changing with the times? Personally I don’t have an issue with this so long as the shot is free, or at least discounted ;)

Cheers!

A few days ago I came across a great book just published by the National Academy of Sciences entitled Science, Evolution, and Creationism. It’s a quick 54-page read on how evolution is the “only tested, comprehensive scientific explanation for the nature of the biological world today that is supported by overwhelming evidence and widely accepted by the scientific community.”

It’s a great read and I encourage everyone to take a peek. You can go to their site and register to download it for free or grab it locally here to save yourself the hassle :)

The reason I posted this article today was due to an email I received from Scott in Oklahoma. Scott claims that evolution is baseless and has little supporting evidence if any at all.

Even though I here this often, it still shocks me that in this day and age people refuse to accept what countless independent researchers from every faith, race, and culture have tested and come to accept. It truly is baffling.

Take a gander at Scott’s email and see what you think. To me this is like arguing that Earth is flat and not accepting the fact that we have seen the planet from space much less circumnavigated it :)

Please be thoughtful and thorough in your responses. Maybe we can enlighten just one person :)

Scott from Oklahoma writes:

Hey,

I’ve read through some of your site and see the usual excuses and focus on people’s opinions. My question is have you really considered what is true. It’s easy to say something is not true if you see corruption, ignorance, abuse and a host of other anomalies within a movement or religion. That’s just an excuse to not believe something. Don’t make the mistake of associating these religious shortcomings with the truth.

Whether you and I agree or not does not change the truth. I hope you would at least agree that there is an absolute in this world. If not then I’m talking to the wrong person. It’s interesting to hear your discussions of evolution and how un-scientific the creation story is. I guess those same nagging questions within the “religion” of evolution about lack of scientific evidence don’t ever come up. Like those silly Laws of Physics and how they get in the way of evolution religion. Oh well, what’s a little matter being destroyed or created for the sake of a religion that makes it easier to deny God. Yeah, I can really see how the universe is getting more organized at the same time it is becoming less organized.

It’s just amazing that someone of reasonable intelligence like yourself can buy into a theory that was eventually abandoned by the ones that came up with the whole thing. If I were you I’d really look at this whole evolution religion thing a little more closely. I personally think you’ve been duped and hate to see you misled. Maybe start with logical questions like where are all the remains, fossils, etc of the actual trans-species of animals or humans. I guess I’ve missed out on all the amphimammals out there or the dino-birds that we’ve dug up. Not that I’m denying there were dinosaurs. Just questioning that everything came from a few central life forms.

Oh yeah, if the evolution theory of natural selection actually happens then how after millions or billions of years or whatever the latest guess is, how are there still weaker species of animals that are predated on by stronger species. Seems like they would all be gone. Oh well, again these are just pesky questions that don’t have to be considered when you believe in a religion like evolution. Unless you can prove that evolution is true (you can’t because it’s a theory) then if you believe in it, it’s a religion to you. Oh, wait a minute you don’t believe in religion. That’s a serious problem I think. Good Luck!

Scott

PS I tried to be smart and answer your challenge question with a silly answer,
but you got me.