BevoAbyss

The Christians and theists who claim that America is a nation founded to be ruled by Christianity/religion always conveniently ignore the very first right in the First Amendment. The VERY FIRST RIGHT atop the Bill of Rights! 1. Congress shall make NO LAW establishing a religion.

With all due respect, that is so sophomoric. Christians and theists (of all stripes) toss that out like it is some kind of irrefutable profound challenge, especially the ones who populate Starbucks in Suburban Dallas with their trusty Bibles. It's one big evidence-free, logic-free fallacy. 1. If you claim God exists, the onus is on you to provide evidence. Theists have none. 2. To claim a Creator created the universe is an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary proof. None has been provided by theists. Not one tiny shred. Never. 3. There is plenty of science to show that a God is not needed as an explanation for: — Life on Earth; see evolution, biological, genetics, etc. After all, we share 98% of our genes with chimps/bonobos. — The universe to exist; see cosmology, astrophysics, etc. — In fact, our bodies are made of the most common elements of the cosmos: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous, and traces of others 4. To ask one to "show there's no God" is asking one to disprove a negative. That's hard, but not necessarily impossible. Poe: I can point you to "the logic that show's there's no God." It would take a longer post, but I doubt any theists would bother to read it or think it through. Bottom line: Theists never provided evidence of God. Science shows God not needed. Logic shows God non-existence (that'a future post).

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and cronies should be tried as war criminals — by any sane, evidence-based definition of the term. — Unprovoked invasion of Iraq based on an evidence-free claim (lie) about weapons of mass destruction. — Violated Geneva Convention with torture of prisoners (a policy supported by the majority of Americans). — Bombed Iraq, then let it be ransacked and pillaged, while contractors raked in billions. — Hundreds of thousand dead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War

Editorial gaffe. The above should read: "I don't see any other group blindly following the buffoon's orders and enacting a violent insurrection ..."

Is that supposed to some kind of profound take down? Lulz. This ain't the football thread. You have no idea what I do for a living, what I may have said or written in multiple venues, across three decades. No idea. Nada. Zero. Did I say Christian fascismMAGA/GQP are the only problem in education or across America? No. I could name many more problems. But MAGA/GQP/Christian fascists are the most destructive force in America, in education and intellectual standards across culture. By far. No one is even close. Hell, even Ancient Aliens is a distant second! — I don't see any other groups attacking basic knowledge all across the culture. Building for decades, though it has accelerated in the past two decades. — I don't see any other groups seeking to ban school books wholesale, seeking to brainwash kids with Bible-thumping, seeking to enforce blind patriotism, and so on. — I don't see any other group actively attacking basic medical science and enabling the deaths of more than 1.1 million Americans with their idiocy amidst a global pandemic. — I don't see any other group advocating and believing the most insane conspiracy theories, from Q to Bill Gates to fake moon landings to believing to climate catastrophe is a hoax. The list is endless. — I don't any other group celebrating assault weapons (including in family photos) and doing absolutely nothing to prevent mass murders in schools. — I don't see any other group utterly enthralled by a news network that openly lies to keep its ratings. All the time! — I don't see any other group worshipping an orange-faced buffoon, an obvious serial liar and criminal who tried to overturn an election, who is easily the most malevolent and malignant man in America. — I don't see any other group blindly following the buffoon's orders and after enacting a violent insurrection to overthrow a presidential election. And still believe the insurrection did not happen. Now that are openly planning to steal future elections. The doublethink is astronomical. — I don't see any other group openly attacking the rights of women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+. They are nowhere near stopping. They will come for others. All because they believe the sacred scrolls (Bible) have ordained them to roll back secular culture and the rights of others they don't like. The literally believe the Bible overrules centuries of secular law and the recognition of human rights. — I could go on...... But, yeah, an atheist like me is part of the problem. Only for the Christian fascists educators and their enablers and apologists.

Is that referring to me? If so, sorry dude, ain't happening on my end. Time's up for the apologia and excuse-making for Christian fascism, which has been building since Reagan. Time's up for tolerating the intolerant. Time's up for equivocating (#bothsides). Standing up to Christian fascism sure ain't coming from the weak-ass institutions of America: media, academia, corporate America, science organizations, or the Democratic Party. They are all standing down. Have been all my life. If the atheists and secularists don't stand up to Christian fascism, then who in the hell will?

Never forget the code words: School choice = School Christian. Private = Prophets and profits. — About 3/4 of private school are affiliated with religious organization. Only about a quarter of private schools are not religious. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/schoolchoice/ind_03.asp The long-term GQP goal is clear: theocratic education for a Christian-ruled America.

I recall reading Revelations as an adult. Concluded that most of the apocalyptic scenarios to come were based on mere extreme weather events — which they had no science and satellites to explain. Just think: If there had only been a Weather Channel, millennia of history might different!

Don't forget that Penders' 1990 team blew out highly-ranked Xavier 102-89.

With all due respect, I am not saying the same thing as you. I am not saying religion is a good thing used to "cover" for the bad that humans do to others. I am not saying religion offers some kind of moral compass that covers for bad behavior. That's cherry-picking. I am saying history is clear. For millennia, religion has offered a fact-free philosophy — born of a pre-scientific world with no telescopes or microscopes or modern sciences — that claims to explain the origins and destiny of humanity with a fundamental goal of conquest/colonization/conversion to rule/cleanse the Earth until the unseen savior returns. This pre-scientific philosophy appeals to inherent human narcissism and a variety of fears, insecurities, and violent tendencies that go back to hunter-gatherer societies and especially to our primate origins. Jane Goodall showed that to the world starting in the 1950s; Carl Sagan also explained it in his writings; others have as well. When people believe the Creator of the universe (or an all-powerful dictator) has their back and says they are super-special and on the fast track to spiritual purity and eternal destiny — then they will often do bad things to other people. The so-called charity and morality come after the bloodbath, not before. It's freedom within religion, not outside it. Always. The only thing to tame this has been the laws and rights from secular philosophy. Here's why most people believe religion is used as a "cover." 1) easy cherry-picking from the sacred scrolls, while ignoring other directives and passages. 2) The power of relentless religious propaganda at all levels, from the local preachers to the talking heads in media to the halls of academia. 3) Too many scientists who are lame secular philosophers. TLDR. Time's up for cherry-picking propaganda. MAGA is not an aberration.

Spot on. Check out the bios of the scholars at the Civitas Institute. Among almost all of the non-economics profs, there is a clear pro-religion, pro-theology perspective in their works—albeit couched in scholarly terms and prestigious publications. Ain't no atheists in that Civitas. https://civitas.utexas.edu/people/ Of course, the great libertarian/capitalist delusion is that "free markets" and "religious freedom" are natural allies and can peacefully co-exist. In the end, it's always about freedom within capitalism and freedom within religion. Long live the profits and prophets. Now, no doubt, the union of capitalism and technological innovation have propelled society/culture forwards in ways, some/many of which are good or further social progress. Of course, the impact on Planet Earth's living systems is a massive negative, along with staggering inequalities. And capitalism serves the secular version of narcissism and tribalism by selling identities via endless consumption. Seems consumerism/trash/pollution has dwarfed most hopes of the eco movements, who can now only hope to minimize the carnage. In contrast, religion religion and theology are always about the backward gaze, the drive to return to a mythical yesteryear, a realm of spiritual purity and anti-science idiocy. Of course, the idea that God is looking out for America and its faithful is sheer delusion, yet another form of narcissism. In a universe of two trillion galaxies! Lulz. And that unseen God has to appear or do anything to prevent war, famine, disease, oppression, etc. Nothing. Ultimately, the capitalist drive forward (via innovation/consumption) and the religious drive backwards are incompatible and will tear society apart. Absent sufficient checks, one leads to ecological destruction and the other leads to cognitive destruction. TLDR: Unchecked profits and Prophets equal bad news long-term. Oligarchs and theocrats rule a Mad Max-Handmaid's Tale world. Sorry for long post.

Really? A cover and copout? Go tell that to the Native/Indigenous Peoples on three continents — South, Central, and North America — who were conquered and colonized in the name of God and the Holy Bible. Same principles with the Inquisition. Religious history is clear. It's the three Cs: Conquest, Colonization, and Conversion (of those few still alive). Any so-called religious/Christian charity comes after the bloodbath. Not before.

The Christian war against human progress is nothing new, going back decades, centuries, and millennia. In the "Free Speech" area of the West Mall in the 1980s-1990s, there were most always a couple of tables of Christian students passing out flyers and pamphlets touting creationism and railing against sin, abortion, evolution, etc. Walking from Texadelphia (pure greatness) on the Drag to Garrison Hall or the PCL, I and friends would sometimes stop and chat. Clearly, the Christian students had zero understanding of evolutionary science or even basic logic. All about the sacred scrolls (Bible). That's it. That's all it will ever be. Three decades later, they are winning in the courts and many statehouses. It's insane. Now UT is funding (with millions of dollars) that Civitas Institute to be run by a self-described "pro-life evangelical" with a doctorate from UT. I wonder if he was one of the students passing out flyers.

Ha ha Purdue! Every time Purdue loses, I think of Panama Myers and that beautiful blocked shot in the last second that sealed the huge upset win for Texas (1990). And the Purdue coach storming off the court because no goal tending was called. And Penders with his 1980s-style hip haircut! Lulz! Good memories.

That Santos is still in office illustrates the moral, philosophical, and empirical bankruptcy of the GQP — a complete free fall born decades ago. Let's not forget that it was Prez Bush 1 who said (in 1988) he would never apologize for America saying: "I don't care what the facts are."

That is a helluva post! Profound, in fact. There is nothing — and I mean NOTHING — more narcissistic that believing the unseen Creator of the universe is securing you and your tribe's destiny. And it's all on a speck of a planet, in a remote part of the Milky Way, just one of two trillion galaxies in a universe stretching across 100 billion light years, populated with zillions of black holes, supernovas, neutron and untold numbers of possible life forms. But then, the so-called "prophets" likely still believe in a 6000 year-old universe—with boundaries just outside Neptune and the stars/planets on a sphere orbiting Earth.

The Federalist Society is code for a Fascist Society. Been moving that direction for 3-4 decades, at least since Reagan.

Patriarchy is a central feature of almost all theocracies. Spot on. GQP = fascism, American Taliban = theocracy Team USA is descending into medieval barbarism, the Christian merger of fascism and theocracy. They are acting with utter impunity because they know that no firm or institution in media, academia, or Corporate America will stand up to religion. No one. Fact is, religions/Christians get a free pass on their fact-free idiocy. No surprise they are largely winning.

My bad. Someone else posted it originally, and I mistakenly copied it from your quote. Sorry about that.

Crawl in? UT is marching into the SEC sewer with flags waving!

In the prophetic novel 1984, Orwell realized that the "telescreen" (large flat-screen TVs) were perfect technologies for ideological control and emotional manipulation—orchestrated by Party intellectuals, especially those in the media. Fox News is filled with Doublethink and "Two Minutes Hate." From 1984: "The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but, on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. ... In its second minute the Hate rose to a frenzy. People were leaping up and down in their places and shouting at the tops of their voices"

Dude, I never said Elon was liberal. I said California was. Elon is aligning with the fascists and, indeed, is likely a fascist. Like I said, I was trying to keep the post brief, but you seem to think you are some bad ass logician with an awesome takedown. Try some reading comprehension skills. Nothing you have said undermines my point. The fact remains, UT is aligned with the SEC idiot states with lower college education. Not the higher educated and more liberal states like California, which have high tech companies with names on skyscrapers and factories in Austin. Adios, I am not replying to you again.

Yeah, I know Musk moved Tesla HQ to Austin. Was a California-based company, still has huge presence there. Was trying to keep my post brief. Doesn't change my point. But thanks for your profound takedown.

No doubt, by joining the SEC! SEC! SEC!, UT is aligned with the idiot states, which also happen to be the most fascist and regressive. Several years ago, UT could have been aligned with more educated states, such as California, which has companies with names on actual Austin skyscrapers and factories (Facebook, Google, Apple, Tesla). But that economic powerhouse is too liberal for UT's BMDs and BOR. Last time I passed through Austin, I did not see any skyscrapers with names of firms from the Deep South. Can't help but wonder how much of the SEC move was also driven (in addition to $$$) by a "cultural alignment" with the South, ordered by BMDs and Regents. After all, UT's new "Civitas Institute" is a right wing organization run by a self-described "pro-life evangelical" (according to Texas Tribune). Funded with a whopping $12 million. I wonder if any of that SEC $$$ will be going to Civitas? Hard to believe creating Civitas and joining the SEC are just a simultaneous coincidence in a cultural vacuum. Just sayin'.

Question: Does that mean the Euro-Christians who waged a genocidal annihilation of Native/Indigenous Peoples across three continents for centuries were not true believers of Christianity in any way, shape or form? -- If the answer is they were not, then that can only mean America was never a "true believer" Christian nation to begin with and the religious/conservative/GOP-MAGA foundational assumption about the origins and founding of America is historically and factually incorrect. -- If the answer is yes they were, then the "true believer" Christians waged a genocide in helping found America and the violence and racism of GOP-MAGA is line with Christian history. Which is it? The answer is yes they were. All that alleged Christian peace, love, and charity comes only after the bloodbath of colonization, conquest, and conversion. The historical record is clear across centuries on three continents. Violent conquest comes first, peace and charity comes second (if at all).