Pump & Pray

Church groups offer cheap gas and draw in a huge crowd.

"Folks from three different churches handed out free sodas and bottled water along with "connection cards," as they squeegeed windows and filled tanks in an effort to help reduce prices at the pump and get motorists closer to God."

What would Jesus do if he were alive today and saw today's high gas prices?

"We really believe that if Christ were alive today that he world be doing the same thing." said one earnest pastor.

Really? God would be offering discounted gas in exchange for the chance to hand you a tract and evangalize? I guess God would be too busy pumping gas to heal all those little kids with cancer, but it's good to know He would care about saving you from high prices at the pump.

History lesson

Clos had a good post (A Challenge to America ) about America's response to global warming, which prompted me to reminisce about the good old days of Jimmy Carter. Say what you like about the peanut farmer, if we had listened then we wouldn't be in the trouble we're in now. Cynthia Tucker expressed it well in her column, which I link here because she says it so much better than I did.

"What if the nation had stuck to the path Carter laid out? What if we had invested billions back then in public transit and alternative fuels? What if we'd made a national campaign of conservation, similar to the successful no-smoking campaign? What if we'd insisted that Detroit continue pushing up fuel efficiency?"

Water under the bridge now, but I hope we as a nation are ready to make the difficult decisions that lie ahead.

Pet Peeve

Every Saturday our local paper prints a Religion section, which I am sure is common to most newspapers. Most of the time I ignore this section except to read the comics, but today the headline caught my eye: IN THE BEGINNING...AT THE CREATION MUSEUM IN PETERSBURG, KY. The article is basically one big infomercial complete with ticket prices and admission information. There are quotes from wide eyed tourists, Mark Looey, and Answers In Genesis. One of my favorites "Why would a powerful, loving God, use such a cruel and wasteful form as natural selection?" and "if you can't believe him (god) in everything, how can you believe him in anything?" Read the full article for more laughs.

What peeves me is that the newspaper prints this article as though a creation museum is something that should be taken seriously. Placing the article in the Religion section doesn't exempt the paper from using a little critical reporting. This is not an isolated incident as this newspaper has a definite Christian bias. Why would an editor check his brain at the door and give the Creation Museum a free plug?

People are dying and going to hell at a rate of about 1.7 people every second.

"When you compare these belief systems with the Bible you have a good idea how many people believe in the Biblical plan of salvation. According to these studies, 7% of the world's population has accepted the Biblical plan of salvation. Even if this research is wrong and 75% of the world is going to Heaven, that still means that 40 thousand people are going to Hell every day. Clearly, any way you look at it, there is still a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done. "-www.biblehelp.org

Clearly, any way you look at it, God is a jerk.

God's salvation plan has a 93% failure rate. Only 7 out of 100 people make it to heaven. Imagine if God were evil instead of good. 100% of us would be in hell! That would be 54,655,470 tortured per year instead of 54,300,000. With God on our side, who needs Satan?

Bug Wars

This is for Flinging Dust

Family man or pervert

Mr Smith, a unemployed widower, living as a recluse in a cave, claimed to social workers that he had been raped by his daughters after they had first gotten him drunk. The case came to social workers attention after his two pregnant teenagers tried to collect welfare benefits. Mr Smith has a history of alcohol abuse and has previously threatened his daughters.

Based on the above report, pick a correct response:

a) an investigation should be immediately launched against Mr Smith, he should face criminal charges, and his daughters should be removed from the home.

b) Mr Smith is telling the truth, no further action is necessary.

Congratulations if you chose "a". You are a normal rational person.

Open your bibles and read Genesis 19, the story of Lot's daughters. Same story, opposite conclusion. Lot's version of events, unlike the fictitious Mr Smith's, is completely acceptable to those who believe the bible. No one questions this unlikely account, no matter how preposterous it sounds to modern ears.

Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.- KJV

The continuation of Lot's family line is the central point of this bible fable. It originated as a "just so" story about how the Ammonites and Moabites came to be a people, and over time the tale was modified to put the patriarch in a better light. Do not allow the bible to perpetuate the myth that those who are abused in a relationship wanted, instigated, or deserved what they got. Genesis 19 should be read with the understanding that Lot deliberately, willfully, and repeatedly had sexual relations with his daughters. Lot had sex with his daughters for the same twisted sick reasons that men continue to have sex with their daughters today. And like all predators he put the blame on the victim. The bible covers his crimes with lies and encourages others like him.

He was a sick M*F*

Pretty, but what is it?

It's a flower. Anyone know what it's called?

Update

The unknown flower has been identified as Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)