Steve's Rant Fest

Religion Part Two

2009-06-21T01:28:00.001-07:00

I'm in a mood.. and i'm on fire (not literally) so i'm going to launch straight into it

Here's an example of some of the things i read that make me jump up and scream

"a place where we can go to pay our respects to God"

But what if God does not exist... then you'd be paying respects to a big blank nothing

First, God needs to prove that he/she/it exists, and even then Respect is not automatically given. It must be earnt

"i shall be here at the same time next week... God Willing"

My own interpretation is:
"whether i am here or not next week... for sure, God will have nothing to do with it"

You know someone who is sick in hospital... so a Religious person may Pray that the person recovers. Absolutely nothing happens. Doing something real however, like sending that person some well wishing gifts that they receive at their bedside, could actually make a difference

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, i heard George W Bush say something about praying for the people that were affected. I don't want to hear that rubbish from the President. Praying for them isn't going to help. Instead of dithering about with that... send the emergency response teams down there ASAP.. they required real help.
There will be no divine intervention (no matter how many people end up Praying)
Think about it... if God was around... he would have caused the Hurricane to dissipate in the Gulf of Mexico, so that no lives were lost

Another thing that makes me very angry, is that when a dangerous Hurricane is approaching land, and people start saying things like "i pray that it goes somewhere else"
That is effectively saying you wish the death and destruction to visit the community that lives down the coast, on either side of you. How very Christian of you

I'll have more later...
Steve

Religion - Part One

2009-04-14T04:36:00.000-07:00

The mother of all rants. This one will probably have to be multi-part !!

If i make a joke about invisible Fairies fluttering around at the bottom of the garden, the reaction would probably be a few chuckles. Nobody would be offended. If Fairies are offended they are free to contact me.. i've not been contacted by one yet !!

If i make a joke about an invisible entity that goes by the name of 'God' - i risk offence.. and in extreme cases... death threats.

What i find absurd is that public speakers such as Richard Dawkins are dubbed as 'controversial speakers'

So, suggesting that people start to live & think in the real world.. without referring to prayer or God in every other word... and the guy is dubbed 'controversial'

Try thinking about George W 'God Told Me to Go to War in Iraq' Bush
or Tony 'I've made my own faith foundation with my own name on it' Blair, who now reveals that he also sought out God for comfort during the Iraq crisis. Did you hear some voices in your head, Mr Blair... or was it conversations via telephone?

Also, consider the ten commandments:
Exodus 20:2|17
13 - You shall not kill

They may have bought themselves a get-out-clause there. Other's did the killing on their behalf

These were two men, in very high positions of power... and both with very strong religious beliefs

And what if God had told them to launch nuclear warheads at another country. Would they seriously have done it?

Now, Tony Blair claimed he had a life changing experience when he was very young
His Atheist Father, suffered a stroke. So Tony and his Headteacher prayed
His father recovered
A lot of people recite stories similar to this... which then lead to them have a strong belief in God for the rest of their lives
But i argue... that there was no 'magical' moment
Plenty of people suffer from Strokes
Some people make a complete recovery
Some people survive it... but with some lasting damage to themselves
Some people die

There simply isn't any concrete evidence that 'the power of Prayer' is there at all
The person will form the opinion inside their own mind
"Oh wow, i prayed for them... and they are ok again... i really had an influence"

What about the medical staff that assisted the person whilst they were in hospital?
What about the bodies own immune system... tackling whatever the problem is?

There is plenty of evidence that the above factors come into play, when it comes to talking

about a sick person recovering. I refer you to Occam's razor

Those that believe in 'the power of Prayer' to help make sick people recover... now let's see your evidence

End of Part One

Technology might not be all good for society

2009-03-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

No update schedule for these blogs, i'll just blog when i'm in the mood

The next person i see walking along with a mobile phone glued to the side of their head, may just end up eating it !!

Today we have, mobile phones, iPod's. instant messaging, email, and various other gadgets and gizmo's, that enable people to converse at distance... but what is being done less / forgotten about.

Good old eyeball to eyeball, face to face conversations. People that are not willing to make eye contact are on the increase. I don't think that is good at all.

If there is a downward trend in society, with an increase in anti-social behaviour, then this issue may have something to do with it, along with terrible parenting

For those of us old enough to remember the era before mobile phones became popular. Yes, people still used phones, but you have to use a landline phone, so you couldn't carry the bloody thing everywhere you went. Anyway, i think society was generally more friendly back in that era
People did a lot more of the old face to face conversations

So, you are probably yelling at me now, that i'm on a blog, on the net myself. Sure yes, but i'll be pointing all this out to people face to face, whenever i get the chance :)

The rants are coming soon

2009-02-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Gosh, it's been a while, since i've looked at this page.

Old stuff deleted.. to clear the way, ready for some major rants incoming

Hopefully not too long into the future

Tips for handling severe weather

2007-03-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

There was tragic loss of life on 1st March 2007 in Alabama, USA

A tornado which was travelling at speeds greater than 50mph took the residents in the town of Enterprise by surprise. The tornado strike occured at the time of day when it was 'going home' time at the local high school, which took a direct hit from the tornado

The roof and walls of the building collapsed onto the people sheltering inside the building. When there is a risk of a tornado strike, it isn't enough to simply stand inside a building and hope the tornado does not make a direct hit on you

Your safest bet is to head down to the basement (if the building has one)

If there are baths in the building, you head into them, and find something protective to put over you.

You head into the central room of the building, you get down as low to the ground as you can, and try to find something sturdy to shelter under. You are trying to minimise the damage you are likely to sustain from flying debris and collapsing walls / ceilings

I realise with a very fast moving storm system, there is very little time to react. In the BBC report that i listened to, the tornado warning sirens did sound. People have to be very sharp, vigilant, keep watching the skies, and be prepared to move FAST when those sirens sound

You are much better off seeking shelter inside a sturdy building.. compared with be caught outside in the open when the tornado hits

Steve