Sorry…typo brain fart. It’s been one of those days. I will fix it, thanks for pointing it out and thanks for turning it into a funny mistake! LOL!

Hey, there’s an idea. Let’s get Richard Dawkins’ family and Jerry Fallwell’s family on that show and see which group has more brainz.

And stupid brainwashed people fork over their money easier and in larger quantities. The facilities of that cult center in Colorado shown on the Dawkins video Jimmer provided the link for above, didn’t get there by the snapping of the fingers of the great sky daddy. It came out of people’s pockets. Money that could have gone to take their families on a nice vacation, home repairs, helping the poor, feeding the homeless…and so on. It’s pure greed. I remember when Robert Schuller’s “Crystal Cathedral” was being built and he was on television begging for money to build his “dream”…my father would say what a THIEF the man was and how he was doing that for his OWN glory, not for the glory of his gawd. These pastors in charge are into glorifying THEMSELVES. That guy on the Dawkins video is an arrogant prick. (Ironic he keeps saying that Dawkins is arrogant, when he is so full of himself.)

(fixed Dawkins name sp-thanks Sean for pointing that out.)

At the worst end of the theist group-think-mind-control spectrum they become frightening cults and I think it is time our culture starts acknowledging that somehow. What is the difference between drinking the Kool-Aid and believing the world really was created in 7 days, other than one is immediately fatal. Both are stupid and any group that wants you to be stupid qualifies as a cult in my book. Stupid people are much easier to control as are people who are more inclined to the emotions of faith as opposed to the facts of reason. Emotion clouds logic.

To get away from cults people need to go through some sort of deprogramming.

Some friends of mine go to church but freely admit they don’t believe in any of the fundamental tenets. They go mostly so their kids can take part in the youth programs and for some of the social aspects, which I can understand. There really is nothing comparable on the non-theist side of things. Not on a global scale.

Brief Tangent: One of my fave shows is PBS’ “Mental Engineering” where Host John Forde and a guest panel “vivisect” TV commercials. During a discussion of a Lockheed Martin commercial which posited that Freedom was most important, host Forde mentioned recent physiological research that found that “belonging” was the single most important thing for people, even above freedom. If that is true it would further illuminate the hold religion has had on people through the ages. The need for “belonging” might also explain your friend’s return to the church, Lynda.

At this point I think the best thing individuals can do is discuss their non-theist beliefs publicly, like Stardust and her hubby. I am getting braver. The other day a Jehovah’s Witness came to the door and tried to give me a pamphlet, I was very courteous but explained that I was a committed Atheist and he should save the pamphlet for someone else. He came right back with, “Don’t you want something better?” and I responded, “Yes, I work everyday for something better, for me, my friends and everyone else – even Jehovah’s Witnesses. But I don’t rely on mythology.” He left shortly after that and I could tell he was not used to that sort of comment. Can you imagine Atheists going door-to-door?

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!