The Religion Thread

[JTA]

Receive wisdom: http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/ :

The goal of vibrations is to plant the seeds of synchronicity rather than ego.

This life is nothing short of a summoning canopy of divine peace.

This life is nothing short of a flowering reimagining of advanced energy.

To roam the quest is to become one with it.

Rebirth is the healing of conscious living, and of us.

[Vrede too]

First - and only! - one I tried, perfect for you IT geeks:

To follow the circuit is to become one with it.

By summoning, we vibrate. Life is the knowledge of being, and of us.

The dreamscape is calling to you via sonar energy. Can you hear it?

Who are we? Where on the great path will we be reborn? Throughout history, humans have been interacting with the dreamscape via sub-atomic particles. We are at a crossroads of presence and greed.

Through ayurvedic medicine, our brains are enveloped in wisdom. You will soon be recreated by a power deep within yourself — a power that is cosmic, infinite. Astrology may be the solution to what’s holding you back from an astonishing vector of hope.

It can be difficult to know where to begin. How should you navigate this mystical nexus? Wanderer, look within and enlighten yourself.

We must awaken ourselves and strengthen others.

Although you may not realize it, you are pranic. Have you found your quest? If you have never experienced this reimagining on a cosmic scale, it can be difficult to grow.

Reality has always been electrified with entities whose brains are enveloped in power. We are in the midst of an angelic ennobling of growth that will let us access the multiverse itself. Humankind has nothing to lose.

The best Northern Lights I've ever seen were at Devil's Tower. Nothing supernatural about it to me, but maybe the closest I've come to it. I could almost hear that "five-note alien tonal phrase" from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

[Seth Milner]

I heard that theme music once when I fell out of my boat and went down for the second time . . .

[Boatrocker]

Surprise! Ark Encounter Isn’t Providing the Economic Boost Local Communities Were Expecting

[Vrede too]

Well, that's evidence that God doesn't approve of anti-science BS then.

[rstrong]

Well, that's evidence that God doesn't approve of anti-science BS then.

"We must be on our guard against giving interpretations which are hazardous or opposed to science, and so exposing the word of God to the ridicule of unbelievers."
- St. Augustine of Hippo

[Vrede too]

Augustine took the view that, if a literal interpretation contradicts science and our God-given reason, the Biblical text should be interpreted metaphorically. While each passage of Scripture has a literal sense, this "literal sense" does not always mean that the Scriptures are mere history; at times they are rather an extended metaphor.

In the 5th Century! It's pitiful that we're still arguing about it.

[rstrong]

[Vrede too]

Jesus was a drug manufacturer, so I can guess what he would do.

[rstrong]

Good news for Christians, via this week's News of the Weird:

In June, Dieter Uchtdorf, a high official in the Mormon Church, said the historic narrative of Mormon founder Joseph Smith's use of a "seer stone" to translate the "golden plates" that gave Smith ultimate worldly knowledge has been authenticated, basically, by the 2007 invention of the iPhone. "I can get the collected knowledge of the world through a few little inputs," said Uchtdorf, and thus it is likelier than ever that God gave Smith something like a smartphone in 1823. [LDS Daily (Salt Lake City), 6-21-2016]

[Boatrocker]

Good news for Christians, via this week's News of the Weird:

In June, Dieter Uchtdorf, a high official in the Mormon Church, said the historic narrative of Mormon founder Joseph Smith's use of a "seer stone" to translate the "golden plates" that gave Smith ultimate worldly knowledge has been authenticated, basically, by the 2007 invention of the iPhone. "I can get the collected knowledge of the world through a few little inputs," said Uchtdorf, and thus it is likelier than ever that God gave Smith something like a smartphone in 1823. [LDS Daily (Salt Lake City), 6-21-2016]

You know Yaweh- He's an early adopter.

[rstrong]

You know Yaweh- He's an early adopter.

Somewhere, Jesus is complaining about Apple dropping the headphone jack from the next iPhone.

[Seth Milner]

[Seth Milner]

Air Force officer faces investigation over Bible on his desk
By Todd Starnes



The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is demanding an Air Force major be “aggressively punished” for having an open Bible on his desk at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“It [the Bible] is very obviously a statement of Christian preference, Christian primacy,” MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein told me. “Had that been the Book of Satan or the Koran there would be blood in the freaking streets.”

He accused Maj. Steve Lewis, a supervisor at the Reserve National Security Space Institute, of “harboring and encouraging a truly abhorrent example of First Amendment civil rights violations.”

Mr. Weinstein is a fussy little fellow, isn’t he?

Col. Damon Feltman, the commander of the 310th Space Wing, told me they are reviewing the incident involving the Good Book.

“He has removed the Bible voluntarily because he didn’t want this to cause attention or disruption to his unit,” Col. Feltman said. “I’ve performed a walk-through of the office and everything seemed to be in compliance with Air Force regulation.”

So when will Maj. Lewis be able to return the Bible to his desk?

“I’m waiting on the unit commander’s review of the situation before making a final assessment,” the colonel said.

He stressed that Air Force personnel are free to exercise their constitutional rights to practice their own religion “as long as it is respectful of other individual’s rights to follow their own belief system in ways that support good order and discipline and don’t detract from (the) military mission.”

“As long as he’s not doing something excessive, the existence of a Bible or the Koran or the Torah or some other religious article is not prohibited,” Col. Feltman said. “It’s what you do with it when you have it.”

Weinstein, who earns a paycheck by trying to eradicate Christianity from the Armed Forces, accused Maj. Lewis of committing a “repulsive violation of USAF regulations” as well as the U.S. Constitution.

“It’s not his desk,” he told me. “That desk belongs to the American people, to the U.S. military. If that desk was in his home or his car it would not be a problem.”

Weinstein fired off a nasty, adjective-laden letter to the base commander after receiving complaints from 33 unnamed Air Force personnel.

“We have 33 very scared Air Force families,” Weinstein told me.

Just a brief aside: If those Air Force personnel are terrified of a Bible – how in the world will they be able to muster the courage to fight the enemy?

Apparently one of Weinstein’s gentle snowflakes managed to conquer his fear long enough to sneak up on the open Bible and take several photographs – which were then submitted as evidence.

“Major Lewis has created an around-the-clock Christian Bible Shrine on his official USAF workstation desk that has been in prominent static display for years,” Weinstein said. “The pages in his open Bible on his USAF desk never change, ever.”

One of the airmen who reached out to Weinstein complained that the officer’s Bible is a “blatant case of Christian defiance and Christian discrimination.”

“I am intimidated by the display, and I am a practicing Christian,” the unnamed airman wrote. “This open Bible is discrimination at the highest level.”

The airman went on to say that he wasn’t just offended by the Bible – he was “outrageously offended.”
Uhhh..., so what's the beef? We live in the "Offended Age", don't we?

Travis Weber, the director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, said every service member has a right to the free exercise of religion.

“It should be beyond clear that they are protected by the Constitution, statutory authority and regulations,” Weber told me.

He pointed to a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces that reaffirmed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act “applies in the military context.”

“Men and women signing up to defend our country do not give up this right – especially when, of all things, they are fighting to defend the very Constitution which contains this protection,” Weber said.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin said the problem is that militant secularists see the Bible as a threat.

“Indeed it is a powerful weapon, but it is not a threat to America,” he said. “The military should be focused on the real threats to this nation."

Perhaps the Air Force should offer complimentary counseling for those personnel suffering from PTBS (Post Traumatic Bible Syndrome)?

For the record, there is no evidence that any of Weinstein’s clients spontaneously combusted or converted after glancing at the Holy Bible.

[rstrong]

Any time you see "Todd Starnes" as an author, ALWAYS check for the details he's leaving out. For instance, "Innocent Christian persecuted for no reason!" invariably involves explicit misconduct with only a tangential relationship to that person's religion. And that is the case here. Even Baptist Press fired him for making stuff up.

There were a bunch of Bush II-era cases where officers dragged religion into their commands, making it clear that those under them would suffer consequences if they didn't enthusiastically take part.

Which is why the Air Force Instruction (AFI) 1-1, Sections 2.11 and 2.12, states:

Every Airman also has the right to individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs, to include conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs, unless those expressions would have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, good order, discipline, health and safety, or mission accomplishment.
[...]
Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for their own free exercise of religion, including individual expressions of religious beliefs, and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. They must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief.

Military officers cannot, in any way, promote religion. But Major Steve Lewis created an around-the-clock Christian Bible Shrine on his official USAF workstation desk, always open to the same pages, for years. It was obviously there as a religious display to promote to others - including those under him - his Christian faith.

The military made him lose the illegal shrine. He does not face punishment.

tldr: Once again Seth Milner quotes a largely fictional claim with no understanding of the issue.

[Seth Milner]

tldr: Once again Seth Milner quotes a largely fictional claim with no understanding of the issue.

Surely you don't think I would post anything that would usurp your vast wealth of incontestable knowledge, do you?
Heaven forbid I should step so far out of line! I'll try not to soar so far above you again!

My posting of the article was to ridicule these words:

MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein (said). “Had that been the Book of Satan or the Koran there would be blood in the freaking streets.” (A grown man named "Mikey"?)
WTF is this idiot talking about?

He (MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein) accused Maj. Steve Lewis, a supervisor at the Reserve National Security Space Institute, of “harboring and encouraging a truly abhorrent example of First Amendment civil rights violations.”
“harboring and encouraging” Oh dear, whatever in hell is this world coming to? What with murders, drugs, terrorism, fraud, identity theft, and just a gamut of crimes, now we have to deal with “harboring and encouraging”. Will it ever end?

[O Really]

Yep, the issue at the Air Force Academy is pretty old - and investigations found it to be a valid complaint more than 10 years ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/23/polit ... igion.html

Interestingly, Weinstein, the one complaining in Seth's article, is a USAF Academy graduate who knows whereof he speaks and was part of a lawsuit against the Academy back in 2005 or so. He may be a bit of a zealot, but he's not lying about the historical coercive use of religion (apparently only Christianity) at the Academy and in some other USAF posts.

[rstrong]

My posting of the article was to ridicule these words:

MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein (said). “Had that been the Book of Satan or the Koran there would be blood in the freaking streets.” (A grown man named "Mikey"?)

Except that you didn't. Instead you ridiculed the person who was offended by the officer abusing his power to dictate his religion to those under him:

(Uhhh..., so what's the beef? We live in the "Offended Age", don't we?

As for...

MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein (said). “Had that been the Book of Satan or the Koran there would be blood in the freaking streets.”
WTF is this idiot talking about?

Perhaps you should ask this similar idiot who occasionally makes the same claim:

If that clerk in Kentucky had been a Muslim, do you think she would have landed in jail for failing to do her job because of religious anti-homosexuality beliefs?

[Seth Milner]

Yep, the issue at the Air Force Academy is pretty old - and investigations found it to be a valid complaint more than 10 years ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/23/polit ... igion.html

Interestingly, Weinstein, the one complaining in Seth's article, is a USAF Academy graduate who knows whereof he speaks and was part of a lawsuit against the Academy back in 2005 or so. He may be a bit of a zealot, but he's not lying about the historical coercive use of religion (apparently only Christianity) at the Academy and in some other USAF posts.

I knew the history behind the article, and I posted only it because of a small part I had in the investigation. ('nuff sed)

What was interesting was the re-hashing of this old news story by FOX. (rstrong thought he was doing us all a favor by displaying his vast wealth of knowledge in vilifying the author because he wrote for FOX, a news organization that rstrong wallows in)

I'm guessing that FOX and Yahoo! needed something to spur either interest or discord in it's respective readers. Then there's rstrong . . .

[Vrede too]

... As for...

MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein (said). “Had that been the Book of Satan or the Koran there would be blood in the freaking streets.”
WTF is this idiot talking about?

Perhaps you should ask this similar idiot who occasionally makes the same claim:

If that clerk in Kentucky had been a Muslim, do you think she would have landed in jail for failing to do her job because of religious anti-homosexuality beliefs?

:!: