May 24, 2007

Big thoughts first thing

The existence of a few Christians or even some groups of them that reject this type of thinking is no longer enough, in my opinion, to hold nonbelievers accountable for not believing. The truth of the matter is that religion in this world is so messed up, so far from what it could and should be, that I wonder if Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus is not himself an atheist.

Because I don't think he believes in the bullshit god of the religious fanatics either.

I will still believe, and will still try to do my small part in keeping Christianity from completely falling into the abyss of hate and fear. But my theology says that those who attempt, at least, to live dedicated to love, acceptance, peace and justice, will be accepted by God, even if they intentionally reject belief in Jesus Christ - because the Christ they know is not Christ as he really is, and so they reject not him but a false belief in him, a lie. And though they reject the name, they embrace the person.

Thinkery

Let's be clear, it is this type of christianity he's rejecting:


Let me be the first to say: I ALWAYS agreed with the Rev. Falwell.

Actually, there was one small item I think Falwell got wrong regarding his statement after 9/11 that "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians — who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle — the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'"

First of all, I disagreed with that statement because Falwell neglected to specifically include Teddy Kennedy and "the Reverend" Barry Lynn.

Second, Falwell later stressed that he blamed the terrorists most of all, but I think that clarification was unnecessary. The necessary clarification was to note that God was at least protecting America enough not to allow the terrorists to strike when a Democrat was in the White House.

(If you still think it isn't Christ whom liberals hate, remember: They hate Falwell even more than they hate me.)


Ann Coulte

Posted by Andrew at 04:15 AM | Comments (1)

May 14, 2007

History Lessons

Kevin Drum writes:


Extremely longtime readers may recall that I once suggested that history could be made more interesting to high school students if it were taught backwards (see here)

At my Community College (Hawks Rule!), American history was broken into a pair of 1 semester classes. The first half was taught "traditionally": 1492-1865. Anyone who doens't know why those dates ought to retake American History! The second half (1866-2001) was taught in 5 sections. We mixed things up quite a bit, though. Day 1 was about the Vietnam war, the next section was "Present". Then we went backwards. I recall vividly how, on 10 September 2001, the entire class laughed at the idea that we would be engaged in a major war, and that a draft would even be thinkable...

I don't recall exactly what the breakdown was. I do recall that the class was both interesting and engaging-- we were given enough context that historical connections were easy to form. Other schools ought to try this approach...

As for Drum's specific article:

But then, the school district forbade him from teaching that way any longer. The school's consultant said it was "not logical, does not contribute to effective teaching or monitoring of progress, and puts students at a disadvantage" with newly instituted statewide tests, according to a paper on the subject by Professor Nancy Patterson of Bowling Green.

This makes some sense, actually. I recall reading in Lies My Teacher Told me that traditional American History classes (1492-2007) rarely get past 1945. If the tests are constructed similarly, then loading kid's with information about the Cold War, Civil Rights, and the Culture War would put them at a distinct disadvantage in passing the test. The fact that they would become better citizens is rendered irrelevant...

Posted by Andrew at 02:07 AM | Comments (0)

January 31, 2007

Chavez declared Dictator

Chavez gets powers to remake Venezuela | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

No surprise there...

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December 24, 2006

At least in my world...

Well, if I’ve been a good boy and studied my Charles Dickens the way I ought to have, I can reasonably certain that today is the day that Bush discovers the true meaning of Christmas...

Around 4pm (EDT) President Bush will be visited by the Ghost of Richard Nixon. Nixon will tell Bush that the chains our current president has forged in this life are heavier than the ones Nixon did. That takes some doing! Anyway, Nixon ought to be telling Bush that he can expect a trio of sprits—Presidents Past (Washington), Present (Al Gore from the alternate history where Florida followed its State law and counted the over votes), and Future (Emperor Norton II. Not technically a president)...

They will show him the utter disaster he’s made of both America and the World. Finally, when he is confronted with the preventable malnutrition and avoidable disease which are plaguing the children of the future because his administration didn’t help their parents, he’ll turn to Emperor Norton and ask if it is preventable, or inevitable...

Bush then wakes up Christmas morning and pledges that day, that very hour, to ensure that poverty will no longer mean utter suffering. In the future that Bush will pledge to work towards, the best indicator of adult income will no longer be how much food or pre-natal medical care their parents could afford...

And as President Bush goes out that evening to a DC area soup kitchen to personally ladle out food to the poor, a child speaks up:

"Gods bless us, every one"...

Posted by Andrew at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)

April 18, 2006

3 on Bush

Bush demonstrates that he’s a dreamer, but not the only one at Pandagon

Rather than link to each piece individually, I'll just let you kids click over to Amanda's and take a look. The last two are of especial import...

Posted by Andrew at 11:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 08, 2006

So very much in Ernest

14 things to do if you have missed the rapture!

I kinda want to say thank you. The author of this post so obviously wishes me well. But at the same time his death-cult is destroying my nation. So what are you gonna do?

Posted by Andrew at 01:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack