Mr. Deity!
7 May 2007 by NaomiYes, it is about “that Seed” — Sacred Sperm! My favorite subject!
Here is the Mr.Deity webpage, where you can see the first nine episodes, read the FAQs and listen to an interview with Mr.Deity on Humanist News Network.
BTW, here is something interesting from the FAQs:
Brian, what is your stand on Religion?
I am a formerly religious person (non-bitter), and as such, have great sympathies for the beliefs and feelings of religious people. I love the fact that they are concerned with the big issues like Good and Evil, Existence, Creation, etc… I don’t always agree with the answers they provide to these questions, but I deeply respect their concern. Our goal here is not to mock religion, but to use it as a foundation for the humor. I’m thrilled that so many religious people have written to tell me that they love the episodes. In future episodes, I intend to turn the tables a bit and poke fun at what I call the “angry atheists” (of whom I am not fond). We’ll see if they take it so well.
We “angry atheists” are likely to cringe. But our “moderate/liberal atheists” can jump to our defense…
Actually, you can contact him on his webpage, and nicely express your disappointment in his flawed understanding of atheists’ anger. I’m going to!
7 May 2007, on 3:44 am
I admit, as an angry atheist, that I won’t take it very well. I guess it’ll just make me go rape Jesus one more time.
7 May 2007, on 4:03 am
Reminds me of this great line from the Black Donellys: “Us Irish are the victims of these negative stereotypes, like drinking & brawling. It makes you so mad, you wanna go out, get drunk, & get in a fight.”
7 May 2007, on 8:50 am
I will wait to see his portrait of angry atheists. So far, I have enjoyed Mr Deity immensely, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
This may be unpopular among GifS…, but here it goes. Depending how he does it, I may enjoy his episode on atheism. Atheists, like every other group, contains reasonable and unreasonable people (ok, maybe some groups by definition cannot contain reasonable people… you know which ones I am thinking of). I do not agree with somebody, nor do I support everything they say, just because they are an atheist. Unlike religion, you can argue for atheism with consistent, reasonable, educated, smart arguments, but that does not mean that every argument for atheism is all that.
If by angry atheists he means stupid atheists who do not know what they are talking about and who only like to insult and yell, then I have no problem with it. If by angry atheists he means Richard Dawkins (whom I have never seen angry!), just because he states things clearly (and argues them smartly), demands no privileges for religion, and is not afraid to ofende religious sensitivities for being childish, stupid, or primitive, then I will be angry!
7 May 2007, on 10:16 am
Some of us come across as angry at times, and some more often than not, however, we often have good reason for being angry with Xians…especially the ones who tell us we are going to burn in hell, and we are not worthy of being citizens, the most hated, least trusted group in America, etc.
Austin Cline has a good article about “angry atheists” and responds to the questions Why Are Atheists So Angry All the Time? and Do Atheists Have Any Reason to be Angry?
Excerpt:
7 May 2007, on 10:27 am
You know, I don’t really consider my sperm to be all that sacred. Or course, I have problems getting off while having sex, so…
That’s probably too much information.
7 May 2007, on 10:47 am
I can honestly say I’m not an angry atheist. My anger is universal so it sort of nullifies itself. I hate everything equally.
7 May 2007, on 1:41 pm
Good one, Star!
7 May 2007, on 1:47 pm
I’m angry at blatant stupidity. Not just theism. Especially when i have to clean up the intellectual and social mess they produce.
Nice blog btw. Keep it up!
7 May 2007, on 2:19 pm
I fall into the category defined by Our Lady of Perpetual Motion. A friend once described me as an “equal opportunity misanthrope.”
7 May 2007, on 3:35 pm
Yes, Stardust, excellent comments! I loved them so much, I included them in this email to Brian, the genius behind Mr.Deity:
I included some points he might check out first (on rampant theocracy activism, anti-democracy and revisionist-history, and the “playahs”…) I’ll let you know if he replies.
7 May 2007, on 3:58 pm
Naomi, excellent.
7 May 2007, on 4:10 pm
Great to see a woman who loves sperm!
7 May 2007, on 4:40 pm
JimmyDean, you failed to recognize my snark. I know that you’ve been around long enough to have read some of my scathing comments on SacredSperm.
Although I doubt you meant to give me this chance, take it I will!
The fundamentalists’ attitude about sperm is quite elitist, isn’t it? None shall be spilled! And to that end, they abhor contraception, abortion, condom use, masturbation and homosexuality. Did you know that Sam Brownback (God’s Senator!) has an aide who is notorious for being expelled from a campus for trying to convince gay men that it is “a sin against gawd” to mix precious sperm with feces?
Perhaps I should have more accurately called the subject my bete-noire…
7 May 2007, on 5:02 pm
JD: I may be beating a dead horse — but the horse is not complaining yet…
As usual, I blame the Patriarchy!
7 May 2007, on 9:47 pm
I am not an ‘angry atheist’, I am sometimes irrascable, but I’m willing to cut someone as much personal slack as they cut me. Spent too many nights in holes in the ground or laying under deadfalls wondering if I’d see the next day. Have been perforated and lascerated and evulsced. Nothing like seeing your body injured in ways that can’t be reversed to make you appreciate every moment you get. Sometimes I’d like to believe, I really would, but the one right you have is to look in the mirror and tell yourself the truth. This is it for better or worse. Just remember, the cemetaries are full of irreplaceable, unexpendable people. I have been advised to plan for my seventieth birthday party, but don’t plan on attending. Life, in my case, is too short to wear my ass on my shoulderbecause the next guy insists on doofusness. I spent most of my life around people who made misery and anger a sport and recreation, I don’t deal with them anymore.
I do wonder, though, why this alleged supreme entity and its followers are so interested in who joins giblets with who and how. But then if you can make the generative act a “sin” then EVERYTHING is a sin…just what the preachers want.
7 May 2007, on 10:27 pm
Stardust, excellent article. I am bookmarking it.
8 May 2007, on 7:35 am
Sometimes I feel a little despondent, and angry as an atheist when attempting to debate with Christians.
However as a rule I am generally quite chilled out about the whole debate issue.
However the christians I meet, aren’t quite as fundemental as the ones you have over the pond, and I quite often find myself discussing religion with agnostics and other atheists. I guess its a bit of a gift horse to not be a reviled minority over here.
I find that in this short life one of the most important things to learn is to be able to laugh at yourself.
In this regard, I shall enjoy seeing Mr Deity’s take on us “angry Atheists”.
Toodle pip =-)
Gosh as for sacred sperm.
To quote the late Bill Hicks “This is it, folks. This is the idea which has kept me virtually unknown for the past 16 years. I have watched my crowds dwindle. I am going nowhere, and nowhere quick, but, those of you who have children, I am sorry to tell you this, but they are not special. Wait! I know some of you are going “what, what?” Let me just clarify: I know YOU think they’re special … ha ha ha! I’m aware of that. I’m just here to tell you, that they’re NOT! Ha ha ha ha! Sorry. Did you know that every time a guy comes he comes two-hundred million sperm? One out of TWO-HUNDRED MILLION – that load, we’re only talking about one load – connected: gee, what are the fucking odds? Do you know what that means? I’ve wiped nations off’ve my chest with a grey gymsock. ENTIRE CIVILISATIONS HAVE FLAKED AND CRUSTED IN THE HAIR AROUND MY NAVEL! [...] I’ve tossed universes in my underpants while napping. Boom! A Milkyway shoots into my jockeyshorts: “Unngh … what’s for fucking breakfast?!”
8 May 2007, on 10:21 am
Wilful ignorance makes me angry.
Self-righteous bigotry makes me angry.
Self-deluded arrogance makes me angry.
Filling young minds with warped and malevolent woo makes me extremely angry.
But these things would make me angry even if I didn’t identify as atheist. So does that make me an angry atheist, or an atheist who is quite often angry?
Or does it actually matter anyway?
8 May 2007, on 1:09 pm
Joules, atheists see your point but the xian apologists don’t, apparently. They demand that atheists be civil and temperate, while providing a bulwark against criticiam of their brethren who are not only uncivil and intemperate, they are also toxic and intent of infecting our youth with their ignorance.
Gawd-virus is Polonium-210: not very dangerous to be around – but lethal if consumed or inhaled!
8 May 2007, on 4:30 pm
Naomi: Gawd-virus is Polonium-210: not very dangerous to be around – but lethal if consumed or inhaled!
That’s brilliant!
I know what you mean re: the xians. We’re lucky over here – so far – that it isn’t such an issue, at least in my sphere and where I live. For a nominally xian nation, precious few of us appear to live that way, and apart from the odd nutcase spouting in the occassional shopping mall, ‘religion’ tends to be very much a personal, private thing – if it exists at all. We must have our fundies, but I’ve never seen hide nor hair of any. My son has RE classes at school, but they’re thoroughly multicultural: so far he’s learned about xianity, judaism, islam and shinto!
I’ll be civil to anyone who is civil to me. And as for respect, as far as I’m concerned it has to be earned (I don’t exclude myself either!). No one gets it automatically – even my parents, as my mother learned the first time she tried pushing her ridiculous ‘angel’ thing…
Then again, I’m hardly a shy and impressionable young thing any more (more like a grumpy old rhinoceros).
9 May 2007, on 9:37 am
One dollop of spunk contains about 200 million individual trouser-tadpoles. If you have successful (that is, resulting in conception) sex, then about 199 999 999 sperm still go to waste.
In which light, it’s hard to feel much for the one that didn’t make it if you have some kind of deliberately-unsuccessful sex.
Plus, if you don’t have sex, your body re-absorbs most of your excess sperm and your immune system kills them off.
Face it, they’re going to die anyway!
23 May 2007, on 2:13 am
I gotta show that “semen is the new prozac” article to my cousin. She is so hot.