Anyone can go to heaven - if you believe as I do

A couple weeks ago I posted about the Pope's holier than thou attitude toward other xtians and how they don't truly follow christ. There was an interesting response to the Pope in the Fargo Forum letters section this morning. The Rev. Howard Fleury claims that god does not exclude anyone from eternal life, despite what the pope says. Now, that sounds all nice and inclusive until you really read his letter. Just as I expected from a delusional charlatan, the Rev. Fleury goes on to explain that you must believe as he does and be 'born again' to enter heaven. He even proudly claims that xtianity is an exclusive club and no one else can be saved. The rest of us will all end up in hell. Interestingly he claims that about 66% of the world's population will rest in hell. Does that mean that 33% of the Earth's 6 billion people are born again xtians? I think not! Certainly the "Born Agains" are a much smaller fraction of the xtian population. Not only is Rev. Fleury delusional, he thinks HIS club is the biggest in the world. Perhaps he should read more than just his bible.

(for a PDF of the Forum letter, click here)

The War that Wasn't

It's July and it's not just the summer sun that is getting hot. The War on Christmas™ is heating up also. Before anyone has even uttered a "Happy Holidays" (which is an expression of well wishes, not a slap in the face) the lunatic fringe is mobilizing their xtian soldiers to take on the great opposing army. The non-christians are swarming like plague-infested rats during the dark ages. If left alone to reproduce, they will soon take over! Oh wait, xtians still make up over 80% of the US population. Yes, I'm being satirical.

Two articles have caught my eye today regarding this so-called war. The first I gleaned from the Atheist Revolution blog about a petition in Berkely, Michigan for the city to display a nativity scene on public land. The second article comes from the xtian news source, One News Now. This reports on the attempts by the Seattle airport to ban religious displays. The local locos have their panties in a bind claiming this is some kind of "censorship" of religion.

I have just one question for the xtians out there. There's a christian church on nearly every street corner in America. If you put a nativity scene on every lawn, wouldn't you just about saturate every city in America with your religious symbolism? Why must you have it on the city square, or, for crying out loud, in an airport? Have you been in an airport lately? With all the delays people are just running from one end to the other to make their connecting flights. They don't have time to sit and wonder at the fantastical magic of a virgin birth. Please, just leave a little room for the rest of us. That's all we ask.

I agree with PZ

Magical incantations DO NOT belong in the senate. Unbelievable that these so-called christian zealots want everyone to tolerate their prayers in our senate, at high school football games, and everywhere else, but they can't sit in silent respect for two minutes to listen to a Hindu prayer.

Read more and watch the video on Pharyngula.

Superiority Complex

Nearly every religion has it. If you ask a leader of any one of the world's religions, they will tell you their version of reality imagination is the only true one. Some are more vocal, and violent, than others. The latest 'holier than thou' proclamation comes from the Vatican. Yes, Pope Rat has decreed that non-catholics are not true followers of Jesus Christ™. Of course, this declaration is basically aimed at any christian denomination that does not bow to the pope. Silly me, and I always thought religion was about a personal relationship with one's deity. Perhaps we need to replace the 10 commandments monument that is in Fargo's city hall square with a graven image of Pope Rat.

Read the full story here.