Lay Theism

Legendary comedian George Carlin passed away Sunday night at the age of 71. I owned many of the original LPs that George cut back in the 70s and 80s… and I must say, as funny as those were, I really was impressed by his recent comeback. He had become much more outspoken about politics and religion, and the best part was that he forced you to think. He had not forgotten the value of a cheap laugh, but he also knew the power of intellect.

Incredibly, I had blogged about George just a few days ago. Wonder what would happen if I blogged about Glenn Beck? Hey, I just did!

George, you will be missed.

Look for the HBO George Carlin marathon on June 25-27.

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Atheism, History comedy, epitaph, George Carlin, obit

Obama is a true believer in the religion of Environmentalism. Not the science of the environment. Where that science survives, it provides us with a vital service; and it doesn’t take any faith to believe in the findings of genuine scientists doing science properly.

Read more below in the column by Orson Scott Card…

Freeman Dyson’s thoughts on the subject are stunning:

All the books that I have seen about the science and economics of global warming … miss the main point. The main point is religious rather than scientific.

There is a worldwide secular religion which we may call environmentalism, holding that we are stewards of the earth, that despoiling the planet with waste products of our luxurious living is a sin, and that the path of righteousness is to live as frugally as possible.

The ethics of environmentalism are being taught to children in kindergartens, schools, and colleges all over the world.

Environmentalism has replaced socialism as the leading secular religion. And the ethics of environmentalism are fundamentally sound. Scientists and economists can agree with Buddhist monks and Christian activists that ruthless destruction of natural habitats is evil and careful preservation of birds and butterflies is good.

The worldwide community of environmentalists — most of whom are not scientists — holds the moral high ground, and is guiding human societies toward a hopeful future. Environmentalism, as a religion of hope and respect for nature, is here to stay.

We have to be cautious of Environmentalism as a religion vs. a science… The Environmental Puritan movement is anti-American to the core. You can’t follow their advice while being president of the United States — we don’t need an anti-American president.

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Atheism, History, Politics, Religion, Science democrats, environment, liberals, Science, tree huggers

Truth conquers all…  I wish.  Clearly this is one of those maxims that requires its own brand of faith to believe.  The difficulty of the problem is compounded by the sheer number of “truth-tellers” that do little else than to spread myths, half-truths, and downright lies. 

I certainly have faith that this human race will slowly become enlightened.  The number of rational thinkers currently on this little blue marble FAR outnumber those at any prior period in human history… and that number continues to increase not just in absolute terms, but also in relative terms.

That’s all I have for today… thanks for reading.  Incidentally, do me a favor and let me know you stopped in by dropping me a comment.  I enjoy doing this for the cathartic effect, but wouldn’t mind an intelligent discourse on occasion as well.  Cheers!

Atheism, History, Religion faith, human, latin, myth, roman, superstition

I just watched Frank Miller’s ‘300′ again today.  It truly is an impressive work.  This story is impossible to tell without the extreme violence.  To the filmaker’s credit, they tone down the gore and blood quite a bit by stylizing the spurts and splashes into mostly dark brown droplets.  There is hardly any bright red in the movie other than the capes worn by the Spartans.  It’s very artful, clever, and historically significant (if not 100% accurate).  This is an important chapter in human history that occurred a mere 2,500 years ago and it was about freedom.

What caught my attention more than the viseral imagery and over-the-top Persians was the story and the characters.  King Leonidas, his wife Queen Gorgo, and Dilios are fantastic characters.  Xerxes the outlandish megalomaniac scoffs at the idea of a few hundred Spartans stopping his advance. 

And so the Spartans and the Persians meet at Thermopylae.  I won’t drag you through the whole history, but except for the dramatic visualizations, the movie brilliantly tells the tale of several incredible days of battle for freedom.  See Wikipedia for an impressive retelling of the Battle of Themopylae.

My point in bringing all this up is the quote by Dilios at the end of the film.  It is now a year later and the Greeks are several thousand troops strong and resisting another invasion by the Persians.  In the final moments of the movie, he says:

This day we rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny and usher in a future brighter than anything we can imagine…

What a shame that things didn’t quite work out that way… but imagine… what if we could rid the world of superstition and myth?  Truly, that would be the dawning of a future that I look forward to and desperately want to be a part of.

Atheism, History, Religion freedom, imagination, inspiration, justice, liberty, movie, myth