Christian Tyranny

Merriam-Webster's definition of 'Free Will' is, "the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion."

The religious and biblical definition is a bit murky, as it implies: "Free will is a precious gift from God, for it lets us love him with our 'whole heart' because we want to." One bible scripture states, "You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind." - Matthew 22:37.

"You must love Jehovah!" There goes free will. So what if we don't want to "love God with our whole heart?" Free will is nullified because this ecclesiastical mandate is predicated on us loving a Creator. No one alive, past or present, regardless of his canonical pontificating, has any ideal whether the apostolic God of the Christian holy book or Allah of the Koran actually exist. The concept of free will from a religious perspective signifies the essence of pious irrationality.

"And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence."

"The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatsoever that it is not utterly absurd."

~ Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Before the Christian, Islam, or any apologist of pseudo sacred writings attempts to dismiss the two aforementioned quotes, take a look at the late Dr. Russell's credentials: British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist and Nobel laureate. The 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Bertrand Russell, in recognition of his "varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought."

Compare Russell's intellect - common sense, experience, along with the fact that he never asked his audience for money - to Graham, Robertson, Osteen, Jakes, White, Hinn, Creflo and other evangelical shysters who amass tremendous wealth via gullibility and fear, and the meritorious juxtapositions are not even close.

Throughout history, religion has been used to financially manipulate the global population. Dating back to the First Crusade (1095-1099) Christianity and Islam have fought wars to control the region dubbed, "The Holy Land" while molding the minds of billions of converts, initially catechized by force.

From History.com:

"The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East."

Millions of African−Americans are Christians today because their ancestors were converted against their will to the religion of the slave-master.

Hundreds of thousands of American−Indians are Christians today because the Christian missionaries converted their ancestors against their will.

Ditto for Europe. When Rome controlled most of the world, the Roman Emperor Constantine in 325 CE, forced Christianity onto his subjects.

"Christianity was a minority religion during much of the Roman Empire, and the early Christians were persecuted during that time. When 'Constantine I' converted to Christianity, it became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. In the view of many historians, the Constantinian shift turned Christianity from a persecuted religion into one capable of persecution and sometimes eager to persecute. There are a number of examples of forced conversion throughout the history of Christianity: during the Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, Inquisitions in Spain and Goa, and campaigns by Russian rulers."

Those who identify with Christianity may want to do a little research on 'Constantine the Great', the architect of their macabre belief system. Constantine the Great executed his son Crispus in 326 CE, at the age of twenty-one.  In the same year, because of his guilt in killing his son, 'Saint Constantine' executed his wife, Flavia Maxima Fausta, by "suffocation in an over-heated bath." "The Emperor ordered the damnatio memoriae [condemnation of memory, meaning that a person must not be remembered] of his wife with the result that no contemporary source records details of her fate."

In 392 CE Emperor Theodosius I decreed that Christianity was the only legal religion of the Roman Empire and forbade pagan practices:

"It is Our will that all the peoples who are ruled by the administration of Our Clemency shall practice that religion which the divine Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans.... The rest, whom We adjudge demented and insane, shall sustain the infamy of heretical dogmas, their meeting places shall not receive the name of churches, and they shall be smitten first by divine vengeance and secondly by the retribution of Our own initiative." (Codex Theodosianus XVI 1.2.)

Massacre of Verden

October 782 CE: During the Saxon Wars, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, forcibly Roman Catholicized the Saxons from their native Germanic paganism by way of warfare and law upon conquest. The Massacre of Verden saw the mass execution of 4,500 Saxons under order of King Charlemagne.


Christianization of Lithuania

"The Christianization of Lithuania occurred in 1387, initiated by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas. It signified the official [forced] adoption of Christianity by Lithuanians, the last pagan nation in Europe. This event ended one of the most complicated and lengthiest processes of Christianization in European history."

The people of Lithuania did not become Christians because they read the gospels and decided to accept their teachings. On the contrary, the people of Lithuania were forced into Christianity against their will, as a result of relentless military force.

Eastern Europe

Upon converting to Christianity in the 10th century, Vladimir the Great, the ruler of Kievan Rus', ordered Kiev's citizens to undergo a mass baptism in the Dnieper river.

Ivan the Terrible

In August 1552, forces of Ivan the Terrible, operating from the Russian castle of Sviyazhsk, laid siege to Kazan. The Muslim population faced slaughter, expulsion, forced resettlement, and conversion to Christianity. The forces defeated the Tatar inland troops, burnt Archa and some castles. On October 3, after two months of siege and destruction of the citadel walls, the Russians entered the city. Some defenders managed to escape but most were put to the sword and the population was slaughtered. The Kazan Chronicle reports about 110,000 killed.

An interesting fact about Ivan the Terrible:

"In addition to being a horrible animal-torturing and rival-executing scoundrel, he was also a very devout Christian. He ordered reforms to be made that would further Christianize Russia. He would sometimes go into fits of religious devotion, confessing his sins or banging his head against the floor with the same eagerness that he showed when slicing open live birds."

 Marranos

Jews endured the wrath and forced hand of Christianity as well. Millions of Jews from the fourth century CE until the 20th Century were forced to "kiss the sword" of Christ, or be put to death by that sword. Therefore, many Jews died at the hands of Christians in the name of Jesus. Fortunately, many Jews managed to survive by lying - saying they converted, but secretly remained Jews. The Christian Church finally realized what was happening and in 1492, the Spanish Inquisition tried to purge the country of these "Secret" Jews, called Marranos.

Goa Inquisition - Portuguese Colonial Period

To bring the article writers point home regarding Christian terrorism, listed below are ten of the many atrocities associated with the Goa Inquisition.

1. Indigenous people were forced to adhere to Portuguese religious beliefs, abandoning their faith.
2. Goa Inquisition was almost on par with Inquisition in Spain 1478, in terms of gory treatment and violence in the name of religion.
3. The new Christian Missionaries from Portugal mandated that all Hindu temples be closed by 1541.
4. The beautiful Goa enclave with fine beaches and azure waters, in particular, became a horrible place of horrors of unimaginable proportion just for the simple reason that the natives refused to accept Portuguese religious beliefs and refused to get converted under compulsion or duress to Christianity.
5. It is a paradox that Francis Xavier, the devil in the guise of a priest, who forced the King of Portugal to legally introduce the Inquisition in Goa and ordering the torture of tens of thousands of Hindus and Jews, using various innovative methods, was canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622.
6. The preachers used many dreaded methods of torture to force the innocent people to swallow their preaching of Gospel. According to Richard Zimler, who wrote "Guardian of the Dawn," on the Inquisition in Goa mentioned the missionaries used the “machinery of death” for forceful conversion.
7. Using torture, people were required to pass the ‘act of faith’ (auto-da-fe) by being stretched out on the rack; if they failed they would be burnt at the stake.
8. Dismembering children limb by limb in front of their parents whose eyes were taped continued till they agreed to convert was the most cruel method used by the catholic faithful and they found this method very effective.
9. Death awaited those non-Christians or heretics (kept in shackles by priests) who refused to give up their faith or divulge the names of those who are non-Christians. Death was by strangulation or burning alive in public. These atrocities continued until 1812 when the Inquisition was finally abolished.
10. Those who persistently refused to give up their ancient Hindu practices were declared apostates or heretics and condemned to death. In 1736, over 42 Hindu practices were prohibited.

From the article: 35 Brutal facts of Goa Inquisition (Christian Terrorism) - Portuguese Colonial Period

Christianity should not take pride in their large numbers. In fact, the collective feeling of all who subscribe should be one of unmitigated shame. Practically all Christian ancestors of Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, Persians, Indians, Native and African Americans, had no choice in the matter. Either accept Jesus as your savior or face a brutal death.

In the 21st century, Christianity is aggressively introduced in a non-violent manner, via an army of missionaries beating on your door and brainwashing your children in school classrooms, extracurricular activities and intramural sports.

"I am now convinced that children should not be subjected to the frightfulness of the Christian religion. ... If the concept of a father who plots to have his own son put to death is presented to children as beautiful and as worthy of society's admiration, what types of human behavior can be presented to them as reprehensible?" - Ruth Hurmence Green (1915-1981)

There have been a plethora of forced conversions throughout the history of religion. Christianity and Islam have been at the forefront - primarily Christianity. There are so many more examples as to why Christianity is the "fraud of the age."

Christianity, along with all other theistic belief systems, is the fraud of the age. It serves to detach the human species from the natural world, and likewise each other. It supports blind submission to authority. It reduces human responsibility to the effect that God controls everything, and in turn, awful crimes can be justified in the name of the divine pursuit. Most importantly, it empowers those who know the truth but use the myth to manipulate and control societies. The religious myth is the most powerful device ever created and serves as the psychological soil upon which other myths can flourish. ~ Zeitgeist

Sources

• Christianity and Homosexuality 
• Christianization of Kievan Rus
• Christianization of Lithuania
• Codex Theodosianus 
• Constantinian Shift
• Ivan the Terrible
• Marrano
• Massacre of Verden  
• Personal Tragedies of Constantine the Great
• Pope vs Muslims
• Secret History of Mexican and Black Slaves
• Spanish Inquisition
• The Crusades
• Vladimir the Great

The Holy Land

The ostensible "Holy Land" - considered holy by Jews, Christians, and Muslims - stretches from Egypt to Syria. Before we get started, lets define the word Holy: "exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness." The antithesis of war and bloodshed, wouldn't you say?

The geographical area purported to be consecrated is made up of the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, including the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River. It is synonymous with both the biblical land of Israel and historical Palestine. This ersatz terra firma also refers to a territory corresponding to the modern State of Israel, the Palestinian territories, western Jordan, parts of southern Lebanon, and southwestern Syria.

Pious adherents believe there to be nowhere on earth more sanctified than this segment of the Middle East. In this pseudo sacred space, monotheistic believers are certain that the supreme ruler of the universe entered into a relationship with the human race (never mind the other sextillions of sentient, thinking beings that occupy the universe).

In this Middle Eastern territory known as the Holy Land, lies the ruins of planet earth's oldest civilizations. Located at the junction of Africa, Asia and Europe, the area also serves as a corridor between East and West - a much-trampled and fought over prize for conquering armies. Billions of innocent people have lost their lives on this "holy ground."

For Christians, the Land of Israel is considered holy because of its association with the birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, regarded as the Savior or Messiah, and because it is the land of his people, the Jews (according to the Bible).

Jerusalem is where the plagiarized character Jesus lived, proclaimed his Gospel, performed miracles, was crucified and rose from the dead. His story is one in a long line of recycled myths borrowed from pagan folklore, such as the myth of Serapis, Horus, Dionysus, Mithras and a host of other pre-Christian saviors. The followers of Jesus venerated places associated with him [with the Roman story], foremost among them the cave at Bethlehem and the Holy Sepulchre.

In the Quran, the term Arabic: الأرض المقدسة‎‎ (Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah, English: "Holy Land") is used in a passage about Musa (Moses) proclaiming to the Children of Israel: "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin." (Surah 5:21) The Quran also refers to the land as being 'Blessed'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Land

Amazon Review of "The First Crusade" by Thomas Asbridge:

In The First Crusade, Thomas Asbridge offers a gripping account of a titanic three-year adventure filled with miraculous victories, greedy princes, and barbarity on a vast scale. Beginning with the electrifying speech delivered by Pope Urban II on the last Tuesday of November in the year 1095, readers will follow the more than 100,000 men who took up the call from their mobilization in Europe (where great waves of anti-Semitism resulted in the deaths of thousands of Jews), to their arrival in Constanstinople, an exotic, opulent city--ten times the size of any city in Europe--that bedazzled the Europeans. Featured in vivid detail are the siege of Nicaea and the pivotal battle for Antioch, the single most important military engagement of the entire expedition, where the crusaders, in desparate straits, routed a larger and better equipped Muslim army. Through all this, the crusaders were driven on by intense religious devotion, convinced that their struggle would earn them the reward of eternal paradise in Heaven. But when a hardened core finally reached Jerusalem in 1099 they unleahsed an unholy wave of brutality, slaughtering thousands of Muslims--men, women, and children--all in the name of Christianity.

The First Crusade marked a watershed in relations between Islam and the West, a conflict that set these two world religions on a course toward deep-seated animosity and enduring enmity. The chilling reverberations of this earth-shattering clash still echo in the world today.

Please tell me, what's 'holy' about a territory that has been fought over, an area that has seen billions of innocent people slaughtered since the First Crusade in 1095? That's not a rhetorical question, please tell me what's holy about this macabre 'holy land'? The oxymoron of oxymoron's. 

If this territory is holy, then so should the top 10 most dangerous cities in the world be deemed sacrosanct.

1. Caracas, Venezuela
2. Acapulco, Mexico
3. San Pedro Sula, Honduras
4. Distrito Central, Honduras
5. Victoria, Mexico
6. Maturín, Venezuela
7. San Salvador, El Salvador
8. Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
9. Valencia, Venezuela
10. Natal, Brazil

In the USA, Baltimore, MD and St. Louis, MO are #26 and #14 respectively on the list of most dangerous cities in the world. Today and historically, travel in the holy land is extremely risky due to the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. Historically, there has never been a region of the world that comes close to the barbarity of this area so absurdly dubbed, The Holy Land.

Sources:

• 26 Most Dangerous Cities in the World
• Council of Nicea - The Council that created Jesus Christ
• Dionysus: Greek Mythology
• Serapis vs Jesus
• The Roman Cult of Mithras

Hereafter is a Hustle

Jesse Williams acceptance speech for his BET Humanitarian Award was captivating. His reference to the "Hereafter" being a "Hustle," was the inspiration for this article.

We reside in a world where 34,000 children a day die from poverty and preventable diseases. Two-thirds of the world earns less than $2 per day, and one-fifth of the world is under-fed or starving to death. Why should "Believers" have to wait for an apocryphal 'Hereafter'?

Holocaust

The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews (including 1.5 million children) by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

https://www.ushmm.org/learn/holocaust-encyclopedia

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

The trans-Atlantic slave trade was the largest movement of people in history. Between 10 and 15 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic between 1500 and 1900. But this figure grossly understates the actual number of Africans enslaved, killed, or displaced as a result of the slave trade. At least 2 million Africans--10 to 15 percent--died during the infamous "Middle Passage" across the Atlantic. Another 15 to 30 percent died during the march to or confinement along the coast. Altogether, for every 100 slaves who reached the New World, another 40 had died in Africa or during the Middle Passage.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=446

Nuclear Attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Within the first two to four months following the bombings, the acute effects of the atomic bombings had killed 90,000–146,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000 in Nagasaki; roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

Deadliest Wars

• World War II: 40-85 million deaths; 1939-1945 (Worldwide)
• Mongol Conquest: 40-70 million deaths; 1206-1324 (Eurasia)
• Three Kingdoms War: 36-40 million deaths; 184-280 (China)
• Spanish Conquest of Mexico: 24.3 million deaths; 1519-1632 (Mexico)
• World War I/Great War: 40 million deaths; 1914-1918 (Worldwide)
• Chinese Civil War: 8 million deaths; 1927-1949 (China)
• Russian Civil War: 5-9 million deaths; 1917-1922 (Russia)
• Thirty Years' War: 3-11.5 million deaths; 1618-1648 (Europe)
• War in Afghanistan: 1.24-2 million deaths; 1978-present (Afghanistan)
• War on Terror: 272,000-2 million deaths; 2001-present (Worldwide)

The huge impropriety of the distribution of wealth across the globe is orchestrated by the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican. The Vatican hoards the world's wealth, profits from it on the stock market, and has the unmitigated gall to base their pious rhetoric on giving - you giving your money to them. The privately owned U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, and Central Banks around the world are methods used by International Banking Cartels, and a few of the most influential families in the world.

Throughout history, these families have done whatever it took to achieve their goals. History’s most devastating wars and financial crises were orchestrated by these influential families. Governments, standing armies and sitting presidents have and always will be pawns played by the financially elite to manipulate humanity.

Remain submissive, wait on a Savior, and the Church promises you "Golden Streets" and "Eternity with the Christian God" or "Eternity with Allah" in the "Hereafter."

Caucasoid Domination

Comedian Louis CK, in his stand-up 2008 Netflix special entitled, "Chewed Up," quipped:

"I'm a very lucky guy, I got a lot going for me, I'm healthy, relatively young, I'm white - thank God for that sh#t boy. That is a huge leg up, are you kidding me? Oh, god, I love being white, I really do.. Seriously, if you're not white, you're missing out, cause this sh#t is thoroughly good."

"Let me be clear, I'm not saying that white people are better, I'm saying that being white is clearly better, who could even argue. If it were an option, I would re-up every year - 'oh yea, I'll take white again, absolutely.. I've been enjoying that, I'm going to stick with white - Thank you!' "

"Here's how great it is to be white, I could get in a time machine and go to any time, and it would be f##king awesome when I get there." That is exclusively a white priviledge. Black people can't f##k with time machines. A black guy and a time machine is like, 'hey, anything before 1980, no thank you, I don't want to go'. " But I [white person] can go to any time... (to continue, see video top-right).

Caucasoid world domination is successful primarily because of controlling the money supply via Central Banks and the United States Federal Reserve. Mayer Rothschild stated in the late 1700's, "Give me control of a nation's money supply and I care not who makes its laws."War and religion are tools used by those in power to subjugate, manipulate, and deceive the masses.

"Hereafter" is defined as: (1) after this in sequence or in time... (2) in some future time or state. From a religious perspective, the word pertains to going to 'Heaven or Hell' after one's physical demise. These fabricated places are all part of a Roman story lifted from Egyptian mythology.

If at our core, we are pure energy, and there is no body after your physical death, how would all the 'pain and suffering' described in various holy books be applicable to a sentient being after his or her death? The story is not feasible, it's not logical and it is total balderdash.

In closing, let's look at one scripture in the biblical story of Balaam. Numbers 22:28: Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and it said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"

Did a donkey actually speak? Definitely not. Many of the holy books, specifically the Bible and the Quran, are replete with anthropomorphisms and mythical tales, ascribed to an invisible, punishing, vindictive, jealous deity (be it God or Allah). A deity who plays favorites, has a chosen people, and will punish you eternally (with no body), in horrific ways, if you do not believe in his existence.

The Hereafter is a hustle!

Mother's Day

Don't let the title fool you, this article is not what you think and it's not going to be popular. Allow me to start out by saying, Mother's are definitely appreciated, and this correspondence is not applicable to all single mom's. 

What prompted the article writer to speak on this topic was based on the plethora of single mothers who boast about their roles as individual parents. They talk as if they deserve some type of credit for the responsibilities that are inherent with being a parent. The fact that you happen to be a single parent is neither here nor there.

I chose not to wish anyone a Happy Mother's Day yesterday, for two reasons:

(1) Both my biological and adopted Mom's have transitioned, and...

(2) Mother's Day is highly overrated and this article will explain why this is MY OPINION. Like it or not, I really don't give a rats patootie.

A little background information that brought me to this point. My older brother and I were adopted at the ages of 4 and 5 years. We were adopted by family members who were biologically, our Great Aunt and Uncle. We made the trip from Oakland, CA to Dallas, TX in 1964.

My adopted Mom and Dad were devout Christians so me and 'Kent' would go to church religiously (pardon the pun), four times per week. Twice on Sunday - Sunday School/Church Services, then return at six o'clock for BTU (Baptist Training Union). Monday was youth meeting - organized by a lady named Mrs. Mooring (mean as a goddam snake, but a 'good Christian woman'), who also was the director of our Easter and Christmas plays; bungle or forget one of your lines in rehearsal, she would verbally abuse and scream at you.

But after the Play, she would get nothing but kudos from church members. "Oh sister Mooring, you're such a saint, what a blessing you are to these children." To tell the truth, we were afraid of her, plain and simple!

Thursday was choir rehearsal and neither Kent or myself could sing one note. We basically lip-synced; we were the Milli Vanilli of the late 60's and early 70's. The choir director never bothered to ask us to sing a solo because our response would have been, "are you serious?" "You really want me to sing a solo? You and I both know, that's not going to end well." I sang like an African-American Alfalfa (character on the Little Rascals - although he thought he could sing, I knew that I could not) and my brother was no better.

In church, four times per week - Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church - led by a bonafide pedophile. I mention the 'Reverend' Johnny K. Bryant Sr. by name because he has long since been deceased and these are not accusations, this is the TRUTH. 'Pastor' Bryant never bothered me or Kent because my parents were extremely protective, and like most adults in the church, they knew this man was living foul.

Finally, after nearly 20 years of molesting little boys, one parent found out what he did to his son and nearly beat Rev. Bryant to death. That's when the good Christian folk finally forced him to resign. No criminal charges, just leave. Unfortunately, no parent dared even write an anonymous letter to law enforcement. In the 21st century, this type of behavior still exist in many churches across the globe.

Having been born in Oakland, I was always a diehard Raiders fan, starting between 4 and 6 years of age. I mention this because, it was my love for the Oakland Raiders coupled with my mother's fundamentalist religious beliefs, that got me a one-way ticket back to the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area, in 1976, before my 15th birthdate.

One Sunday evening, the Raiders were playing the late game on NBC. BTU started at 6pm and I was in the kitchen, stalling, putting my shoes on very slow, trying to catch the end of the Raiders' game. My mother knew that I was stalling as she kept yelling for me to "get up to that church!" As if it were going somewhere. My response was, "I'm getting ready."

Finally, she stormed into the room (the back door was in the kitchen) and forced me to leave. I suppose I made the mistake of storming out the backdoor. My mom followed me out the door, she grabbed my coat and I snatched away from her and proceeded to walk up to the church.

After arriving back home, a couple hours later, my father took me to DFW Airport and put me on a plane headed to Oakland, CA to live with my biological mom (whom I didn't even know). I would return to Dallas one year later. My one-year stay in the Bay Area turned out to be part of my sojourn because it marked the beginning of my awakening. For the first time in my life, I started to read; I started to do major research pertaining to the origins of Christianity. The rest is a story for another day and in a soon-to-be-released book.

The primary reason Mother's Day is overrated is partly because of the aforementioned, but more so because I had the profound pleasure of raising my daughter and son, as a single parent from 3 and 4 years of age, they are now, 21 and 22 years (the mother did seek custody, she's not unfit, two years after our divorce and custody, she relocated to another state).

For 15 years, I received $220 (total for both) per month in Child Support (and some months we didn't get anything). If the shoe were on the other foot, if I had been the non-custodial parent, I would have paid quadruple that amount. I never raised her child support, never wanted to, and if she fell behind, she didn't have to worry about going to jail. To the mother of my children's credit, she did start paying more consistently after she married her current husband (who is now going around telling people that my daughter is his daughter). Also, to their credit, they chipped in financially for High School expenses and is assisting financially with the expenses of college.

My former AT&T co-workers would often ask, "Barry, how are the kids doing?" "They are doing great!" All of my co-workers knew that I was a single parent and were aware of how dedicated I was and will always be toward my kids. They would sometimes reply, "that's great they are doing well, but don't forget, you need that 'ME' time." I would respond, "I treasure every moment with my children and never want to be away from them.. if I need this so-called 'me-time' I can just go to my room or they can go to their rooms." I thoroughly enjoyed going to the Pixar movies with my kids, even enjoyed the 'Chuck E. Cheese' experience.

The only difficult times when raising my children as a single dad was when I was low on cash; when I wondered how I would pay this bill or that bill, especially after I left AT&T after 24 years. The reason I took a package in 2005 was so I could take my kids to school, go up to the school when necessary, and pick them up from school every day. I enjoyed this and never saw it as a "chore" or something I should be applauded for. I would eventually find legitimate opportunities to work virtual office.

If you are a dedicated parent, love your children unconditionally, and love being a parent... being a single parent is not difficult at all. I fixed my daughter's hair, I cooked, cleaned, assisted with homework, teacher conferences, extra-curricular school activities, doctor's appointments, while still managing to workout 3-4 times per week (as I'd often workout on my lunch break and on weekends) and never missed a televised Oakland Raiders game (see http://www.oaklandraidersblog.com/).

In August 2006 (kids were 10 and 11 years old), I managed to complete a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Behavioral Science. In addition, to date, I have submitted over 3000 articles on the Internet (under the names 'taskeinc', 'workhomehunion', and my given name). I do not mention these things for a pat on the back. These issues are broached to highlight the self-aggrandizement that many single-mothers get caught up in. To be brutally honest, I'm tired of hearing female parents talk about how "great" they are because of their single mother status.

Over the years, every time a woman has tried to compliment me on being a single dad, I've always rejected the compliment.

The reason I despise such a comment is because first of all, my son and daughter are my children, they are my responsibility. Therefore, I'm supposed to take care of them. When they would respond, "you're right, you just don't see that many men 'stepping up to the plate'. Well, the reason for that (in most cases, not all) is because the judicial deck is stacked against any man trying to gain custody of his kids. Not to mention, some women do every thing they can to keep the father away unless he's bringing a check. Sure, there are many amicable divorces and custody issues, but my experience with the Father's Resource Center and Families First (snapshot of attached article) sheds a much different light on the difficulties that many Fathers face when battling for custody of his children.

So if you're a female and you didn't hear from me on Mother's Day (I'm sure you could give a flying flip), this article has told you why!

Common Sense

It is hard for many people to give up the religion in which they were born; to admit that their fathers were utterly mistaken, and that the sacred records of their country are but collections of myths and fables.

But when we look for a moment at the world, we find that each nation has its "sacred records"—its religion, and its ideas of worship. Certainly all cannot be right; and as it would require a lifetime to investigate the claims of these various systems, it is hardly fair to damn a man forever, simply because he happens to believe the wrong one. All these religions were produced by barbarians.

Civilized nations have contented themselves with changing the religions of their barbaric ancestors, but they have made none. Nearly all these religions are intensely selfish. Each one was made by some contemptible little nation that regarded itself as of almost infinite importance, and looked upon the other nations as beneath the notice of their god. In all these countries it was a crime to deny the sacred records, to laugh at the priests, to speak disrespectfully of the gods, to fail to divide your substance with the lazy hypocrites who managed your affairs in the next world upon condition that you would support them in this.

In the olden time these theological people who quartered themselves upon the honest and industrious, were called soothsayers, seers, charmers, prophets, enchanters, sorcerers, wizards, astrologers, and impostors, but now, they are known as clergymen.

We are no exception to the general rule, and consequently have our sacred books as well as the rest. Of course, it is claimed by many of our people that our books are the only true ones, the only ones that the real God ever wrote, or had anything whatever to do with. They insist that all other sacred books were written by hypocrites and impostors; that the Jews were the only people that God ever had any personal intercourse with, and that all other prophets and seers were inspired only by impudence and mendacity.

It seems somewhat strange that God should have chosen a barbarous and unknown people who had little or nothing to do with the other nations of the earth, as his messengers to the rest of mankind. It is not easy to account for an infinite God making people so low in the scale of intellect as to require a revelation. Neither is it easy to perceive why, if a revelation was necessary for all, it was made only to a few.

Of course, I know that it is extremely wicked to suggest these thoughts, and that ignorance is the only armor that can effectually protect you from the wrath of God. I am aware that investigators with all their genius, never find the road to heaven; that those who look where they are going are sure to miss it, and that only those who voluntarily put out their eyes and implicitly depend upon blindness can surely keep the narrow path.

Whoever reads our sacred book is compelled to believe it or suffer forever the torments of the lost. We are told that we have the privilege of examining it for ourselves; but this privilege is only extended to us on the condition that we believe it whether it appears reasonable or not.

We may disagree with others as much as we please upon the meaning of all passages in the bible, but we must not deny the truth of a single word. We must believe that the book is inspired. If we obey its every precept without believing in its inspiration we will be damned just as certainly as though we disobeyed its every word. We have no right to weigh it in the scales of reason—to test it by the laws of nature, or the facts of observation and experience. To do this, we are told, is to put ourselves above the word of God, and sit in judgment on the works of our creator.

Robert Ingersoll Quotes

To my fellow seekers of truth, if you've not heard of Robert Ingersoll, you're in for a treat and an awakening. To say that his speeches and writings were logical, concise, necessary and appropriate, would be a major understatement, while not affording Ingersoll his overdue diligence.

Known as "The Great Agnostic," Robert G. Ingersoll was born at Dresden, NY (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899). His family moved to Illinois in 1845, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. Ingersoll also entered the political arena as a Democrat. He was nominated for Congress in 1860, but was defeated.  

In 1862 Robert entered the army as Colonel of a regiment of cavalry and was taken prisoner, but was exchanged. Returning to civil life he became a Republican, and in 1868 became Attorney General of Illinois.

At the Republican convention of 1870 his speech, in proposing "Mr. Blaine's name for the Presidency," aroused general attention for its eloquence.  

This marked the beginning of Colonel Ingersoll's brilliant career as a dynamic orator. He frequently appeared upon the lecture platform in advocacy of views opposed to Christianity and the Bible. It is chiefly to this skepticism that he owed his celebrity.

The reason why Col. Robert Ingersoll's name is not historically bandied about like your Thomas Jefferson's, Ben Franklin's, Nikola Tesla's, and the like, is because Ingersoll logically, skillfully and astutely attacked and dissected organized religion at every turn. 

Couple his intellectual brashness with the fact that he was one of the greatest orators the world has ever known, an abolitionist and defender of women's rights (long before the Women's suffrage movement) and you will begin to understand why the majority of 'dependent thinkers', past and present, have attempted to expunge his work from the annals of American history.

This blog will highlight some of Ingersoll's more memorable quotes.

"The idea of hell was born of ignorance, brutality, fear, cowardice, and revenge. This idea testifies that our remote ancestors were the lowest beasts. Only from dens, lairs, and caves, only from mouths filled with cruel fangs, only from hearts of fear and hatred, only from the conscience of hunger and lust, only from the lowest and most debased could come this most cruel, heartless and bestial of all dogmas."

"The Emperor Constantine, who lifted Christianity into power, murdered his wife Fausta*, and his eldest son Crispus, the same year that he convened the Council of Nicea to decide whether Jesus Christ was a man or the Son of God. The council decided that Christ was consubstantial [of the same substance or essence] with the father. This was in the year 325. We are thus indebted to a wife-murderer for settling the vexed question of the divinity of the Savior."

* Fausta was executed by suffocation in an over-heated bath, a mode of assassination not otherwise attested in the Roman world. The Emperor ordered the 'damnatio memoriae' of his wife. Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory", meaning that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate on traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State. The intent was to erase the malefactor from history, a task somewhat easier in ancient times, when documentation was limited.

"Let us be honest. Did all the priests of Rome increase the mental wealth of man as much as Bruno? Did all the priests of France do as great a work for the civilization of the world as Diderot and Voltaire? Did all the ministers of Scotland add as much to the sum of human knowledge as David Hume? Have all the clergymen, monks, friars, ministers, priests, bishops, cardinals and popes, from the day of Pentecost to the last election, done as much for human liberty as Thomas Paine? — as much for science as Charles Darwin?"

"There is no slavery but ignorance. Liberty is the child of intelligence. The history of man is simply the history of slavery, of injustice and brutality, together with the means by which he has, through the dead and desolate years, slowly and painfully advanced."

"So I say, let us judge each other by our actions, not by theories, not by what we happen to believe -- because that depends very much on where we were born."

"We have now a science called astronomy. That science has done more to enlarge the horizon of human thought than all things else. We now live in an infinite universe. We know that the sun is a million times larger than our earth, and we know that there are other great luminaries millions of times larger than our sun. We know that there are planets so far away that light, traveling at the rate of one hundred and eighty-five thousand miles a second, requires fifteen thousand years to reach this grain of sand, this tear, we call the earth -- and we now know that all the fields of space are sown thick with constellations. If that statute had been enforced, that science would not now be the property of the human mind. That science is contrary to the Bible, and for asserting the truth you become a criminal. For what sum of money, for what amount of wealth, would the world have the science of astronomy expunged from the brain of man? We learned the story of the stars in spite of that statute."

"It may be, however, sufficient to say, that wherever the church has had power it has been a crime for any man to speak his honest thought. No church has ever been willing that any opponent should give a transcript of his mind. Every church in power has appealed to brute force, to the sword, for the purpose of sustaining its creed. Not one has had the courage to occupy the open field. The church has not been satisfied with calling Infidels and unbelievers blasphemers. Each church has accused nearly every other church of being a blasphemer. Every pioneer has been branded as a criminal. The Catholics called Martin Luther a blasphemer, and Martin Luther called Copernicus a blasphemer. Pious ignorance always regards intelligence as a kind of blasphemy. Some of the greatest men of the world, some of the best, have been put to death for the crime of blasphemy, that is to say, for the crime of endeavoring to benefit their fellow-men."

"Blasphemy is what an old mistake says of a newly discovered truth." 

"Blasphemy is what a withered last year's leaf says to this year's bud." 

"Blasphemy is the bulwark of religious prejudice."

"Blasphemy is the breastplate of the heartless."

"And let me say now, that the crime of blasphemy, as set out in this statute, is impossible. No man can blaspheme a book. No man can commit blasphemy by telling his honest thought. No man can blaspheme a God, or a Holy Ghost, or a Son of God. The Infinite cannot be blasphemed."

"What is blasphemy? I will give you a definition; I will give you my thought upon this subject. What is real blasphemy?"

"To live on the unpaid labor of other men — that is blasphemy."

"To enslave your fellow-man, to put chains upon his body — that is blasphemy."

"To enslave the minds of men, to put manacles upon the brain, padlocks upon the lips — that is blasphemy." 

"To strike the weak and unprotected, in order that you may gain the applause of the ignorant and superstitious mob — that is blasphemy." 

"To persecute the intelligent few, at the command of the ignorant many — that is blasphemy."

"To forge chains, to build dungeons, for your honest fellow-men — that is blasphemy."

"To pollute the souls of children with the dogma of eternal pain — that is blasphemy." 

"The jury that gives an unjust verdict, and the judge who pronounces an unjust sentence, are blasphemers." 

"The man who bows to public opinion against his better judgment and against his honest conviction, is a blasphemer."

"Gentlemen, you can never make me believe — no statute can ever convince me, that there is any infinite Being in this universe who hates an honest man. It is impossible to satisfy me that there is any God, or can be any God, who holds in abhorrence a soul that has the courage to express his thought. Neither can the whole world convince me that any man should be punished, either in this world or in the next, for being candid with his fellow-men. If you send men to the penitentiary for speaking their thoughts, for endeavoring to enlighten their fellows, then the penitentiary will become a place of honor, and the victim will step from it — not stained, not disgraced, but clad in robes of glory."

"What is holy, what is sacred? I reply that human happiness is holy, human rights are holy. The body and soul of man — these are sacred. The liberty of man is of far more importance than any book; the rights of man, more sacred than any religion — than any Scriptures, whether inspired or not."

"What we want is the truth, and does any one suppose that all of the truth is confined in one book — that the mysteries of the whole world are explained by one volume?"

"Any church that imprisons a man because he has used an argument against its creed, will simply convince the world that it cannot answer the argument."

"The hands that help are holier than the lips that pray."

"You ask me what I would “substitute for the Bible as a moral guide.” I know that many people regard the Bible as the only moral guide and believe that in that book only can be found the true and perfect standard of morality. There are many good precepts, many wise sayings and many good regulations and laws in the Bible, and these are mingled with bad precepts, with foolish sayings, with absurd rules and cruel laws."

"The story of Job shocks the heart of every good man. In this book there is some poetry, some pathos, and some philosophy, but the story of this drama called Job, is heartless to the last degree. The children of Job are murdered to settle a little wager between God and the Devil. Afterward, Job having remained firm, other children are given in the place of the murdered ones. Nothing, however, is done for the children who were murdered."

"On the whole, the Old Testament cannot be considered a moral guide. Jehovah was not a moral God. He had all the vices, and he lacked all the virtues. He generally carried out his threats, but he never faithfully kept a promise. At the same time, we must remember that the Old Testament is a natural production, that it was written by savages who were slowly crawling toward the light."

"I admit that there are many good things in the New Testament, and if we take from that book the dogmas of eternal pain, of infinite revenge, of the atonement, of human sacrifice, of the necessity of shedding blood; if we throw away the doctrine of non-resistance, of loving enemies, the idea that prosperity is the result of wickedness, that poverty is a preparation for Paradise, if we throw all these away and take the good, sensible passages, applicable to conduct, then we can make a fairly good moral guide, — narrow, but moral."

"Of course, many important things would be left out. You would have nothing about human rights, nothing in favor of the family, nothing for education, nothing for investigation, for thought and reason, but still you would have a fairly good moral guide. On the other hand, if you would take the foolish passages, the extreme ones, you could make a creed that would satisfy an insane asylum. If you take the cruel passages, the verses that inculcate eternal hatred, verses that writhe and hiss like serpents, you can make a creed that would shock the heart of a hyena. It may be that no book contains better passages than the New Testament, but certainly no book contains worse. Below the blossom of love you find the thorn of hatred; on the lips that kiss, you find the poison of the cobra. The Bible is not a moral guide. Any man who follows faithfully all its teachings is an enemy of society and will probably end his days in a prison or an asylum."

"What then is, or can be called, a moral guide? The shortest possible answer is one word: Intelligence. We want the experience of mankind, the true history of the race. We want the history of intellectual development, of the growth of the ethical, of the idea of justice, of conscience, of charity, of self-denial. We want to know the paths and roads that have been traveled by the human mind. These facts in general, these histories in outline, the results reached, the conclusions formed, the principles evolved, taken together, would form the best conceivable moral guide. We cannot depend on what are called “inspired books,” or the religions of the world. These religions are based on the supernatural, and according to them we are under obligation to worship and obey some supernatural being, or beings. All these religions are inconsistent with intellectual liberty. They are the enemies of thought, of investigation, of mental honesty. They destroy the manliness of man. They promise eternal rewards for belief, for credulity, for what they call faith. This is not only absurd, but it is immoral."

"These religions teach the slave virtues. They make inanimate things holy, and falsehoods sacred. They create artificial crimes. To eat meat on Friday, to enjoy yourself on Sunday, to eat on fast-days, to be happy in Lent, to dispute a priest, to ask for evidence, to deny a creed, to express your sincere thought, all these acts are sins, crimes against some god, To give your honest opinion about Jehovah, Mohammed or Christ, is far worse than to maliciously slander your neighbor. To question or doubt miracles. is far worse than to deny known facts. Only the obedient, the credulous, the cringers, the kneelers, the meek, the unquestioning, the true believers, are regarded as moral, as virtuous. It is not enough to be honest, generous and useful; not enough to be governed by evidence, by facts. In addition to this, you must believe. These things are the foes of morality. They subvert all natural conceptions of virtue."

"All “inspired books,” teaching that what the supernatural commands is right, and right because commanded, and that what the supernatural prohibits is wrong, and wrong because prohibited, are absurdly unphilosophic. And all “inspired books,” teaching that only those who obey the commands of the supernatural are, or can be, truly virtuous, and that unquestioning faith will be rewarded with eternal joy, are grossly immoral. Again I say: Intelligence is the only moral guide."