Isn't it interesting that when judges agree with republicans on such things as abortion and stem-cell research, they're responsible and educated, and when the disagree they're unelected reactionary aPpointed for life judges trying shove their decisions down the american throats?

Hello Margaret,

Here's some more red-hot ink for your pen. Now help me "vanquish the sword."

The time has arrived for those blinded by religion to open their eyes, see the light, and help me vanquish the sword they have been deceived into supporting and wielding. How can Judeo-Christians blindly support rich and powerful leaders who rule using great wealth, deception, war, destruction, torture, and injustice when the messiah is supposed to deliver truth, wisdom, and justice, vanquish the sword, and dethrone the unjust, rich, and powerful? What is wrong with this picture?

No leader of an empire ever truly believes the religions used to manipulate subjects. That would be like a drug dealer hooked on his product; its bad for business...

Understanding why religion is strong delusion

Christians often quote things like "know them by their fruits," yet after millennia of being duped into abetting blatantly evil scoundrels, many still don't understand the meaning or import of much of what they read. The same canon paradoxically propounds "faith," which means the complete opposite of "know them by their fruits," i.e., to discern the truth by analyzing deeds and results (works) and to weigh actions instead of merely believing what is said.

The deceptive circular logic of posing a fantasy messiah who urges both discernment of the truth and faith (belief without proof) clearly represents a skillful and purposeful effort to impose ignorance and confusion through "strong delusion." Any sage worth his salt could understand the folly of this contradictory so-called wisdom. This and mountains of evidence demonstrate that faith and religion are the opposite of truth and wisdom. It is no wonder charlatans like Rove, Bush, and others have marked Christians as dupes to be milked as long and as hard as possible. Any accomplished con artist easily recognizes religion as the ultimate scam and fervent followers as ready-made marks and dupes.

We now live in an era where science has proven so much about the vastness, rationality, mathematical preciseness, and structural orderliness throughout every level of our 11-dimension universe. Nonetheless, large percentages of people still conclude that these flawed and contradictory religious canons are the unmodified and infallible "word of God." People who can't (or won't) discern the difference between truth and belief are easily misled about the differences between good and evil, wisdom and folly, perfection and error, reason and irrationality, and right and wrong.

The fact that political leaders have always had close relationships with religious leaders while cooperating to manipulate followers to gain wealth and power is overwhelming evidence that the true purpose of religion is deception and delusion. People who are unable to effectively discern basic moral choices or to reason accurately are easily indoctrinated to follow the dictates of national and imperial leaders who wrap themselves in religious pretense. Truth and wisdom are direct threats to the existence and power of empires. That is why imperial leaders always strive to hide so-called secret knowledge and impose deception and ignorance upon their subjects.

What then is the purpose of "faith" but to prevent otherwise good people from seeking to understand truth and wisdom?

Read More...

Peace...

Well, I wouldn't call Bush's appointments to the Supreme Court as 'nothing'. Better than the nothing the Democrats offer.

Looking at the Dems., it doesn't seem to me they are any more honest with their voter base. They talk a good game but rarely deliver either. So I guess one can be conned whether one is religious or not. Politics do emphasize the point that people are sinners at the end of the day, which actually backs up the Christian observation about human nature.

Better than the nothing the Democrats offer.

Not having the narrow view of the fundies shoved down my throat is an offer I'll take anytime.

Besides, the author makes the obvious point that the repubs are too afraid of losing the middle by following through on their promises to the base. They're not stupid. Just opportunistic.

Great point about how their past methods are not as successful when there are some real issues that leave a bad taste in thinking folks mouths front and center. Would that it were true more often.

That the religionists were Seduced And Abandoned by the repubs, is sad, but no sadder than the rough damning treatment that the religionists themselves have aimed at everyone else from their sanctimonious heights.

Great article, Margaret. I hope this is the issue that finally drives the religious nutcases out of the GOP. They need their own party and they can take the Neocons with them. Gooid riddance.

That the religionists were Seduced And Abandoned by the repubs, is sad

No, it's ironic and inevitable. I can't believe they managed to be so willfuly ignorant for so long.

How Kolbe being gay could be a revelation to them is a mystery, since he's been out of the closet for years.

Dave

I beg to differ, Jet. I think it's typical when people cry foul over judicial decisions with which they do not agree. It is human nature.

In sports, when the referee makes a call that is advantageous to team A -- even if it was fair and in keeping with the official rules of the game, as well as verified by slow-motion instant replay -- the fans of team B call the referee nasty names and question his eyesight, intelligence, and judgment; while the fans of team A will think that he is sharp, attentive and fair.

But I don't think the outrage over "activist judges" is going to be very outrageous as times have changed since 2004.

Outside of their most conservative evangelical base (if they even have a significant one in their state/district), Republican candidates aren't going to get much traction with the New Jersey decision; not only because it is more like Vermont in 2000, than Massachusetts in 2003, but also because the GOP is going to need every moderate vote they can get this time, if they wish to prevail.

Seven Star Hand (LW Page), the true purpose of religion for the faithful is not deception or delusion, even if that is true of those who manipulate the doubtful to satisfy their own vices.

Faith is impervious to the plying of politicians and other panderers, for they are mere flesh, just like the rest of us.

If one has faith, one doesn't depend upon government or any other Earthly entity for delivery from temptation, inspiration to repent, inner peace, and salvation.

It is the doubtful who are susceptible to such machinations because they are lost and confused in a world that frightens and angers them, and they are looking for something in which they can believe -- or at least be part of.

Hypocrisy is as old as humanity, and that it always seems to rear its ugly head in matters concerning the exploitation of human weaknesses for the attainment of wealth and power is part of our human nature.

Faith is also part of human nature, however -- and where we place it is a matter of free will. Religion is not faith; it is the institutionalization of scriptures and fellowship by temporal beings, who can be both good and evil.

Truth and wisdom are not virtues (so they cannot be the "opposite of faith," BTW) for they can be both good and evil.

The evil truths and wisdom we cannot help but encounter in this life will test our virtues. When we fail those tests, we become more susceptible to our weaknesses, which makes us vulnerable to those who are looking to take advantage.

It is cowardice that prevents people from seeking to understand truth and wisdom, not faith. And it is cowardice that makes people "easily indoctrinated to follow the dictates of national and imperial leaders who wrap themselves in religious pretense."

It's not cowardice. It's just plain ole laziness.

There's omething that bothers me about this whole thing, and a lot of republicans too... I hope. What makes them think that voting repbulican this November is going to stop gay marriage initiatives in the future, when the party obviously hasn't stopped it in the last 12 years?

Homosexuality is out of the closet. The awareness of gays in our mist is pervasive. As time goes by it becomes harder and harder to run with homophobia as a reason to elect a government.

It ran its course.

wanted to touch base on a Margaret thread before i fade back into Obscurity, and i had found something that relates to this particular Subject...

when Literalists talk out against homosexuals, they are always quoting good old Leviticus, well a tiny portion of it at least

yet they seem to conveniently forget a lot of the rest of the stuff in the same book and chapter, narrowly focusing on the one Verse that suits their purposes

i got a little video link that completely refutes the entire basis of their mewling far better than just about anythign else i've come across on the subject... from a fictional character who was Jesuit educated....

linkage

give it a look, and remember it next time you run across some Westboro Baptist or the like

thanks for the Thoughts and exchanges, Margaret.. and while we may not always Agree, know that i'm rooting for your Sane and Reasoned approach

Excelsior?

dreck..the link doesn't seem to work properly...so here it is...

http://www.videosift.com/story.php?id=17063

Excelsior?

zrMv4A First of all, there's no one else like YOU--your story is unique and you can tell about people, times, and places that only YOU can share.

Why not tell your grandchildren about you....plus their grandparents, great-grandparents, and even their great-great grandparents (that's

your grandparents)! It's really about creating a loving, lasting bond--preserving not just life stories, but relationships, for

generations to come.

Of course, you can also give them your own advice about love, work, and how to lead a good life. Here was my grandma's advice to me: "Be

what you want. If you do something, do it the best you can." Because it's my grandma, it means so much more. I'll always be able to

remember what she said because it was actually written down. What's your advice for your family? This is your opportunity to write it

down.

Reminiscing is good for you too! Over 100 studies over the last 10 years have found that reminiscing lowers depression, alleviates

physical symptoms (arthritis, asthma), and stimulates the hippocampus where memories are stored in the brain. So consider the great

health reasons for reminiscing too.

7txggb First there is the need to find the real meaning life has for you. This journey we are all on is a varied one, for sure, but there are some similar things we are all going through.

Each of us, in our search for meaning in life, has a vast amount of experience to draw upon. Our struggles and hardship, along with our achievements and blessings, teach us life's lessons. Your experience, your strength and the hope that endures are part of your unique story -- and part of the reason why you should tell your life story.

The second primary reason to tell your life story is to leave your mark. We all want to be remembered. Certainly we want to be remembered for the good we've done and for the significant accomplishments in our lives. There is satisfaction in a life well-lived. Living a life fully... richly experiencing what it means to be alive and involved in helping others is a great thing. To share with others who you are, what you are about and what you believe in is passing on some very valuable personal history.