Ye oŋe and oŋley wordde of God

A particular brand of wingnuttery I've come across lately is the belief that the King James version of the Bible is the one and only Word of God and all other translations are at least substandard, and at worst, works of the devil.
It is called the King James Only movement and is yet another source of schism amongst the myriad Christian sects.

Try this web page for example: Why Do We Only Support The King James Version Of The Holy Bible?

FABLE: The King James Bible was revised several times before 1800, so modern translations are just additional revisions of the original King James Bible of 1611.

FACT: The so-called "revisions" of the King James Bible prior to 1800 were to correct typographical errors, add notes, and omit the Apocrypha from between the Testaments. There were no changes in the actual TEXT of the King James Bible. The REAL changes (over 36,000 of them) didn't start until the modern revisionists came on the scene.

Well that's OK then. The whole thing was God inspired and controlled except for the typos. God can't proof read.

FABLE: The modern translations are more accurate because they have been translated from older and better manuscripts.

FACT: It is truly amazing how so many Christians have bought into this lie without ever checking to see WHAT these manuscripts are, WHERE they came from, and WHO wrote them. Its also strange that no one seems to be asking the question, "Has God honored these 'older' and 'better' manuscripts throughout Church History?"

Older doesn't mean better. Unless it's the KJV in which case older is better.

FABLE: New translations are needed to correct the errors and contradictions in the King James Bible.

FACT: No one has ever proven that there are errors and contradictions in the KJV. Many "Christian" colleges and preachers have a nasty habit of pointing out APPARENT contradictions to their people, but these arguments have been disproven so many times that it is nothing less than disgusting to hear them still being used.

Well there's a few problems here, not least of which is that all the newer translations are full of contradictions too.

FABLE: New Translations are needed to bring the archaic Old English language up to date. People have trouble understanding the language of the King James Bible.

FACT: The King James language is NOT hard to understand. Most of the so-called "archaic" words are explained by the context of the passage or by comparing the passage with other passages in the Bible where the same word is used. Heady and high-minded people resent the King James language because it is plain and simple, and it isn't in tune with their high-minded vocabulary. In fact, the Grade Level Indicator of the Flesch-Kincaid research company says the King James language is EASIER to understand than the new versions.
We certainly agree that the language of the King James Bible is a unique language, but why shouldn't it be? It's the WORD OF GOD!

Can't argue with that. If English was good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for me too.

FABLE: The King James Bible cannot be infallible because the translators were only men, and all men are sinners. The human element prevents the KJV from being infallible.

FACT: If this is true, then even the ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPHS in Hebrew and Greek were not infallible, because they too were penned by men!

Exactly. Do these people have no sense of irony?

FABLE: The King James translators added to the word of God, because the italicized words in the KJV were not in the originals.

FACT: The Italics in the KJV prove that the translators were HONEST in their work. They set the words in italics so we'd know they were not in the manuscripts they were using.
Besides, no one has a copy of the original manuscripts today, so no one knows for certain that the italicized words aren't in them. In fact, there are many cases where we know that the italicized words are justified. For example, notice in Deuteronomy 8:3 that the word "word" is in Italics. However, when Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 4:4 he INCLUDES the italicized word! If the italicized word does not belong in the Bible, why did the Lord Jesus quote it?

Because the guys who wrote the gospels were making shit up?

FABLE: The original King James Bible included the Apocrypha in the Old Testament.

FACT: The King James translators knew the Apocrypha was not scripture, so they placed it BETWEEN the Old and New Testament as a HISTORICAL DOCUMENT, not as scripture.

Ohhh, OK. So why have the Apocrypha been dropped from the KJV again?

Here we have the crazy Faithful Word Baptist church burning the Satanic NIV. A bit of web research will show that the wife of pastor Steven L. Anderson, Zsuzsanna has a particularly hateful blog, and do yourself a big favour and watch the YouTube vid of pastor Anderson very upset after a border cop beat him up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUzd7G875Hc They are also Quiverful crazies and antivaccine crazies

Shurley some mistake...

As they say in Private Eye

Speaking at the modern King Hussein bin Talal Mosque in Amman, he (the Pope) struck a note of harmony and shared purpose between the world's two largest faith groups, urging Christians and Muslims to jointly defend religion from political manipulation.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL852380020090509

I prefer to turn that phrase around.

It seems to me we need to defend politics from religious manipulation. Political manipulation is the Catholic church's no. 1 job.

As for Islam ... how can anyone, especially the Pope keep a straight face while saying Islam needs to be defended from politcal manipulation?

Good luck girls

Irina Fyet and her partner will try to become Russia's first lesbian married couple on Tuesday May 12.

Given Russia's deep rooted homophobia, I doubt they'll succeed. They have a back up plan, which is to get married in Canada, or Norway, where you don't have to be a citizen to get married, and then return to Russia and try and get the marriage recognised.

Three years ago, Russian Police, militant Orthodox Christians and neo fascists violently broke up the first gay rights march in Moscow. (I'd love to see a Venn diagram depiction of those 3 groups, I suspect they all overlap 100%)

Next week will also see Russia's gay pride marchwhich willpurposely coincide with Moscow's hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest and competitors will be asked to back homosexual rights on stage.

The Russian Orthodox Church, resurgent since the fall of the Soviet Union, has helped turn public sentiment against gay pride events, which the then head of the church, Patriarch Alexey II, has called "propaganda for homosexuality."

Bloody savages

Here's a story of mixed messages.

Ameneh Bahrami was terribly scarred and blinded in 2004 when a spurned suiter poured sulphuric acid over her.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/13/AR2008121302147.html

In the weird and barbaric world of Sharia law, the condemned man was originally sentenced to be blinded in one eye, because one man is worth two women, thus two female eyes equal one male.

Bahrami appealled and the sentence was changed so that the attacker will now be blinded in both eyes, under anaesthetic via 5 drops of sulphuric acid in each eye.

Bahrami feels that she has not asked for more than her due, given the suffering, pain, disfigurement and blindness she has endured.

Today, International Womens Day, it is good to know that female eyes have the same worth as mens' in Iran.

Atheists don't do charity, apparantly

How volunteering can stave off depression

Don't waste money on expensive therapy, give up your time for someone else

Julie Burchill reckons that athesists are too busy being intellectual to help anyone.

Those wonderful atheists are obviously too busy doing something intellectual to be bothered with helping others.

She also believes that depression is on the rise because:
a. People are less religious than before
b. People do less voluntary work than before

the Christian presence has stayed constant as middle-aged women have been tempted into more self-regarding activities. And as this has happened, their levels of depression have risen, because religious faith and voluntary work are the twin tried-and-tested pillars of happiness.

If you feel the self absorbed La Burchill needs correcting you might leave a comment on the article at the Times website, linked above.

Witchcraft in the 21st cnetury

Here is a terrible story about child withches in Nigeria.

Fundie Chfristianity, merged with traditional beliefs has caused a plague of evangelical churches springing up who have wich hunt services. Children are accused and tortured until the confess. Then they are ostracised or killed.

In the midst of this horrifying tale, living proof of how religion ruins everything is this statement from Sam Itauma, a Nigerian who is helping these children, currently caring for 150 homeless outcasts.

"Christianity in the Niger Delta is seriously questionable, putting a traditional religion together with Christian religion - and it makes nonsense out of it,"

No, Sam, it is a nonsense already. I am fairly certain that everything these evil people do can be backed up by Bible verses.

Child Abuse?

This lady and I grew up in the same country, Zimbabwe. We both left that country to find better lives elsewhere. That's where the similarity ends. For she is a fundimental born again Christian. And she believes her 4 year old daughter is a wretched sinner.

Sometimes during the day or before bed, she always asks me if she has been good, and I always try to be as honest as I can with her, and I will tell her what she has done wrong if I can remember. If she has been better than usual I will praise her and tell her. I have never said to her she has been a perfect little girl who has done nothing wrong all day, If I say that to her then I am a liar and I will be doing her more harm than good. I do not believe in teaching children self esteem or that they should feel good about themselves, because they should not. My daughter is a normal 4 year old who loves to play with her dolls and dress up, but everyday she finds that she is doing things that are wrong like doing something to upset her baby brother or not doing what she is told by her mum. So we have a problem, and this is an everyday battle. The problem is sin. I never taught my daughter to sin. This is because she, and as well as the rest of the human race have inherited a sinful nature from Adam. From the moment we are conceived we are sinners, Pslam 57:5. We are born with a desire to sin. We are all born God hating and evil.

The poor wee mite then told her mother that although she tries to be good, she can't and that she knew that only Jesus could help her to be good.
Jean thinks that she has left no imprint on this child and so it must be the Holy Spirit that has revealed this to the poor tortured girl.

This is bordering on child abuse, and I told her that in the comments.

I don't know if she will delete it, probably not because she is not scared of confrontation on her blog. She took a lot of flak for a previous post on her support for slavery.

Oh Jean, I am disappointed.

That is only a step away from child abuse.

4 years old and wracked with guilt daily.

"I do not believe in teaching children self esteem"

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear.

"So we have a problem, and this is an everyday battle"

Oh my word.

"She is a wretched little girl, who knows she is a wretched sinner who needs only a good saviour to help her."

Jean, that is terrible. Terrible. It amazes me that you and I who have some things in common can be so polarised, so far apart.

This post is one of the most shocking things I have ever read. And to think that you are pleased about it and want to share it, and to think that other people have written to say they admire you for it. Your poor little girl. If I was the praying kind I'd be praying for her right now.

Atheist Muslims

More power to them.

It was bound to happen, and I hope it continues.

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain

They have taken their lead from the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany

I am not sure, but I suspect that the state of athesim in the muslim community might be where atheism in christian societies was 50 years ago.

Please encourage these bright and brave people and help reach other muslim doubters by linking to them.

The manifest is solid:

01 Universal rights and equal citizenship for all. We are opposed to cultural relativism and the tolerance of inhuman beliefs, discrimination and abuse in the name of respecting religion or culture.
02 Freedom to criticise religion. Prohibition of restrictions on unconditional freedom of criticism and expression using so-called religious 'sanctities'.
03 Freedom of religion and atheism.
04 Separation of religion from the state and legal and educational system.
05 Prohibition of religious customs, rules, ceremonies or activities that are incompatible with or infringe people's rights and freedoms.
06 Abolition of all restrictive and repressive cultural and religious customs which hinder and contradict woman's independence, free will and equality. Prohibition of segregation of sexes.
07 Prohibition of interference by any authority, family members or relatives, or official authorities in the private lives of women and men and their personal, emotional and sexual relationships and sexuality.
08 Protection of children from manipulation and abuse by religion and religious institutions.
09 Prohibition of any kind of financial, material or moral support by the state or state institutions to religion and religious activities and institutions.
10 Prohibition of all forms of religious intimidation and threats.

A man is only a man if he pisses standing up

1 Kings 14:10 "Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone."

Atheists often challenge fundie christians that they don't take the Bible literally because it's full of crazy stuff like stoning your children for disrespect.

Well some people DO take the Bible literally.

Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church believes that ONLY the King James version of the Bible is divine, and that Jesus is the Bible, they are the same thing, and that men must piss standing up.*

This man is the brother of Raani Starnes, the lady I blogged abou in the previous post.
No, I'm not stalking the family! She has him as a guest blogger on her blog, in place of the post she had about bombing gay friendly schools.
Madder than a box of fish that family.

Here is a christian blogger criticisng his style of preaching and his theology.

Hate Speech

With any luck, some radical will blow up the gay school. No, I'm not condoning vigilantism--I'm merely saying that it would be poetic justice.

Such are the thoughts of Raani Starnes on her blog about homeschooling.

She also says:

Yes, I've seen the previews for Will and Grace where they're lying next to each other in bed platonically. Isn't that cute? The homosexual agenda wants people to think that homosexual men are safe for women to hang around and even be alone with. Nothing could be further from the truth. The stories about Sodomites in the Bible teach us that they do violate women as well as men. I've also known of people personally over the years who were known as gay yet "experimented" with the opposite sex. The term bisexual is an unnecessary distinction, because a faggot wants to defile anyone or anything he can get his hands on.

This lady is the mother of five children who she schools at home. I presume she teaches them this hate too.

from the comments to the blog post she states that

I believe that a homosexual can no longer get saved. They weren't born gay and God wanted them to get saved at some point. The reason they are that way is that they have pushed God too far and he has given up on them.

and

When someone seems questionable in that area, I would be polite in a group setting if necessary, but never leave my kids alone with that person for safety reasons. The person I am referring to has also abused children. When someone is a known pedophile or homosexual they should be completely cut off.

If you are as appalled by this woman's hatred as I am, can I suggest you go to her blog and use the "flag blog" option at the top of the google screento alert google. With a bit of luck they'll pull the plug.

The Mark of the Beast - tamed

The planet is a big place. And most of it is not the USA. Most of it is not Europe.
This is something that SciFi films and End Times believers always forget.

I was watching an episode of Farscape the other day. It was episode 6, Series 1 "Thank God It's Friday, Again" The Peacekeepers had drugged up an entire planet and had them growing the druggy root, which the Peacekeepers used in weaponry. Luckily the Farscape crew landed at the one town where the sole representative of the entire planet happened to be.
Which was lucky.

The program would have us believe that all the people on the planet grew the same crop. That all the people on the planet were under the control and reach of the Peacekeepers. It's not very likely is it?

And this is what SciFi has in common with End Time prophesy, the inability to grasp global scale.

Because with the current financial crisis, various christian knobs are getting excited and claiming it is a sign of the end. And when it is pointed out that the crisis will not last I read one person claiming that the solution to the crisis was
"International Socialism. The progression to worldwide totalitarian socialism is what is prophesied."
They go on about only being able to buy and sell if you have some kind of mark. And this is where I get global. Across the whole planet? So, while folks in USA and across Europe have some kind of mark/tattoo/chip that enables them to shop, peasant farmers in the Congo have them too? And fishermen in Bangladesh will have this chip? And trappers in Mongolia? They don't even have shops for chrissake! In Zimbabwe the official inflation rate is in the trillions percent and things are done by barter. Do you think Zimbabweans are going to get uptight about a tattoo? The shops are empty. So if the R
rapture and tribulations starts tomorrow, Zimbabwe will be exempt?

It's stupid. This antichrist, one-world government thing is so small minded. For the same reasons that the authors of Ezekiel, Isaiah, Daniel and Revelations were incapable of percieving a world beyond their horizons, so we tend to think that what effects us and our countries can have planet-wide applications. Small mindedness, lack of imagination.
The Left Behind series tried to make a nod towards the effect of the rapture in other countries, but in the same way that Independence Day did, by showing an alien craft crashing near the pyramids. A token effort.
The reality is, that christians in America think that God is uniquely concerned with America, just like christians in Britain think about the tribulation causing problems shopping at Boots.
But the reality is that the world is a big, big place, and the mark of the beast is simply a logistical impossibility.

Satire, not very well done then

While reading one of my favorite blogs, barry beelzebub, I discovered that a Catholic priest, Peter Mullen is in hot water over offensive remarks he made about homosexuals in his blog. He has claimed he was being satirical. I wanted to see the original article to decide for myself whether it was offensive or not.

I couldn't find the blog, it has been taken down. But thanks to the wonders of internet caching it has left its traces. So I'm reposting it here to save it for others who may want to judge for themselves.

Everything in the blockquote is from Peter Mullen BA PhD, rector of St Michael’s Cornhill and St Sepulchre without Newgate in the City of London, and London's Stock Exchange. he has apologised repeatedly for the remarks.

Matthew Parris is wilfully refusing to give his readers his opinion about the recent "gay wedding" and about relationships between the church and homosexuals generally. He says, "When it comes to the church, synagogue or mosque, if you think the whole thing ridiculous, its hard to get excited about the ridiculousness of a subset of it. I should feel the same if morris dancers or the British Astrological Society tried to exclude gays."

So, for Parris, the views of billions of Christians, Jews and Muslims worldwide are of no more consequence than a couple of obscure sectional interests. From what point of privileged judgement does he thus discount 4000 years of civilisation? The great world religions have survived the criticisms of far more intelligent and better informed opponents than the ignorant upstart Parris. There is a whole history and literature of distinguished apologetics for religious belief, but Parris will attend to none of it - sufficient only to attract his disdain is mainstream religion's disapproval of homosexual acts.

Since Parris will not dirty his hands by entering theological discussions with his readers, perhaps I might answer for religious believers in the purely utilitarian terms which even the lofty Parris is bound to engage with. We disapprove of homosexuality because it is clearly unnatural, a perversion and corruption of natural instincts and affections, and because it is a cause of fatal disease. The AIDS pandemic was originally caused by promiscuous homosexual behaviour. Such promiscuity is itself an evil because its perpetrators merely use others indiscriminately for their own gratification, treating their fellows as sex objects and as means to an end rather than as ends in themselves. I should have thought that Parris, having rejected religious belief, might want to construct his moral beliefs on this Kantian humanistic imperative. But I suspect he is not really interested in morality of any kind - except as a special plea to excuse his lust for gratification at whatever cost to human dignity and the sanctity of human life.

It is time that religious believers began to recommend specific utilitarian discouragements of homosexual practices after the style of warnings on cigarette packets: Let us make it obligatory for homosexuals to have their backsides tattooed with the slogan SODOMY CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH and their chins with FELLATIO KILLS. In addition the obscene "gay pride" parades and carnivals should be banned for they give rise to passive corruption, comparable to passive smoking. Young people forced to witness these excrescences are corrupted by them.

Let me continue the comparison with smoking which is banned in most public places. Those committing homosexual acts in public places - such behaviour being a crime in any case under the Homosexual Reform Act of 1967 - should be arrested, tried and punished. Parks, open spaces and public lavatories would at once become more wholesome places. There ought to be teaching films shown in sex education classes in all our schools. These would portray acts of sodomy and the soundtrack would reinforce the message that it is a filthy practice ending with the admonition: "We do, after all, know the importance of washing our hands after going to the lavatory."

But I should like to turn Parris' disdain for religion back on to him. If I consider that homosexual practices are vile, why should I concern myself with subsets of their aspects? I might as well concern myself with other minor irrelevancies such as the Doris Day fanclub and polo-neck sweaters

The Holy Spirit is the DubMeister

A bunch of guys have posted YouTube vids where they have overlaid drumm&bass tracks to clips of people freaking out and dancing in church.

I laughed a lot.

If you double click the vid to launch YouTube you will find many more.

Prayer, What's it all about?

Jesus said "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matthew 21:22) and it is repeated in the Gospel of Mark "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)

This kind of prayer is obviously intercessionary prayer, praying on behalf of other people, praying for a change of events, praying for an outcome of some sort.

the difficulty is, as we all know, believers and heathen alike, prayers do not always get answered. Christians will often explain that God answers prayers in one of three ways: Yes, No, and Later.

Well, the "No" option is a direct contradiction of Jesus' promise. So Christians who are not getting their prayers answered will have to assume that either "Later" is in play, or, they did not have enough faith.

Others will explain that prayers will be answered, providing what is being asked for is in God's will. Well, if it is in His will, His plan, then it will come about anyway. It's His will. So there's no need to bother asking. And if it's not in His will, well again, no need to bother asking. Either way, no need to bother God.

Any ideas on how to resolve the many Biblical contradictions about prayer? Jesus tells us tio pray in private and secret so as not to be like the hypocrites, and yet in Paul's letter to Timothy, Chapter 2 entitled "Instructions on Worship" we are instructed: "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer"

Paul also wants us to bother God in 1 Timothy 2:1 "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior" Wouldn't have done anyone any good in the Holocaust would it? Or perhaps not a single person in the world prayed during 1939-1945 with enough belief.

Biblical Nonsense

A Review of the Bible For Doubting Christians
Dr Jason Long

I ordered this book, along with 50 Reasons People Give For Believeing in A God because they are on the list for the book club on Adrian Hayter's Atheist Blogger site.

Biblical Nonsense arrived first so it got read.

On the plus side it was an easy read, for me that was also its downfall. I felt that often Dr long is talking down to his reader. There wasn't much that I didn't know already, but I found his chapters on Prophesy Slavery and Women most interesting.

The book is subtitled - "A Review of the Bible For Doubting Christians" but I doubt very much if doubting Christians would enjoy it. In the chapters on the flood, logical fallacies and science he uses disparaging language to describe the mindsets of believers and apologists. Perhaps such language is justified, but I'm not convinced it will help to persuade.

I felt another weakness of his argument for the scientific weaknesses of the Bible is to criticise the science of events that are obviously miraculous. For example, he states that it neither logical nor scientific that God created light before he created the sun and the stars. Sure it's illogical, but he's God, by the Christian definition he is entirely capable of anything. he can have plants groing before the sun's creation, sure, why not? he's God.

I felt the book did a very good job of illustrating that the Bible cannot be divinely inspired because of the errors and contradicitions contained. And importantly for me were the errors of edition. A book authored under the direct guideance of Holy God had a crap proof reader.

Dr Long explains that the book grew out of a series of essays and unfortunately, in this respect it is a lot like the Bible it criticises: A collection of disparate works that don't hold together well. With more time and effort, Dr Long could have re-worked some of the chapters to homogonise the writing style across the whole book. A stricter editor would have insisted on it. I've never written a book, and I acknowledge it must be pain in the arse to rework and re-write material.

I spent my church time in a Baptist Church and was led to believe that the NIV translation was super accurate and tip top. I was amazed to discover via this book of some of the liberties the NIV has taken in its translation.

I'd recommend the book, not as an in-depth study, it doesn't claim to be that, but as a great primer into the failings, errors, fallacies, and lies contained in The Holy Bible. It is certainly a stimumus to further study.
The end of the book gave a list of further reading of on-line sources which I am going to find very useful.

Faith ≠ Doubt

From an Another Voice in The Spectator by Matthew Parris

Some apologists are argueing that doubt strengthens faith. That it is natural to doubt, especially in the face of claims made by religions, but that faith is a step beyond doubt.

Parris doesn't buy it.

Because of increasing skepticism and secularism, many apologists attempt to redifine "faith". They want to apply the word faith to the kind of belief that we have about things which are firly certain. Like faith that the sun will rise in the morning. But that goes against the traditional and biblical sense of the word. "Real faith involves not a calculated risk, but an abandonment of human doubt."

Parris gives some examples of why, outside of religion faith is an estemed quality. Especially in the realms of having faith, as in putting your trust, in other people. "An ability, once committed, to commit absolutely even if the decision to commit was only taken on the balance of probabilities."

But the leap having been taken, all doubt must fly. And here progressive theology confounds the foundations of its own logic. You who have faith may show sympathy and understanding towards me, who doubts. But you should not share my doubt. Not if you have faith.

If you are wondering, as I am, what Parris' beliefs are, is he atheist, is he agnostic or theist,the final paragraph of this article seems to sum it up.

You are living, dear reader, at a watershed in human history. This is the century during which, after 2,000 years of what has been a pretty bloody marriage, faith and reason must agree to part, citing irreconcilable differences. So block your ears to the cooing voices on Thought for the Day, and choose your side.
“But how can you be sure?” Oh boy, am I sure. Oh great quivering mountains of pious mumbo-jumbo, am I sure. Oh fathomless oceans of sanctified babble, am I sure. Words cannot express my confidence in the answer to the question whether God cured a nun because she wrote a Pope’s name down. He didn’t. Mere language does no justice to my certainty about whether God might be waiting for the return to their Biblical lands of the Israelites, before arranging the Second Coming. He isn’t.
Shout it from the rooftops. Write it on walls. Carve it into rock. He didn’t. He isn’t. He won’t.

Not all recession is bad: baptisms down

Baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention have fallen to a 20-year low, a trend that is setting off alarm bells in America's largest evangelical denomination.
From Reuters

I was a Baptist, and our church put a lot of emphasis on full-immersion, adult baptism. We believed that salvation was thru faith in christ, and not by works, but that a truly born-again person would want to follow the commands of jesus, hence baptism, communion etc.

The article discusses the unease felt by Southern Baptists over the decline in baptisms, as it is an indicator of church growth, but as it interviews some of the nuttier delegates, some choice quotes result.

Evangelist Jim McNiel of St. Louis, the drop in baptism numbers was a sign that the biblical "end times" described in the Book of Revelation were drawing near.
"I see two factions. You have one for believers but you also have a faction from Satan and there is a strong battle looming," he said.

Yes, it's the Satan faction. They are a bit like lobbyists, but have more integrity.

Why atheism is wrong

A commenter on a post sent me a link to a poem "Why Atheism is Wrong?"

Some examples around us given to prove that there is God.
Answering is simple,
Here's the first example,
Will a baby learn to walk?
If he didn't try to crawl,
Here's the second example,
Will a student pass the exam?
If he didn't study at all
Here's the third example,
Will you see your wife beside you?
If you did not marry anyone
Here's the fourth example,
Will you get money?
If you didn't work for it
Focusing to the point,
Will you see the building?
If there is no developer
Will you see the car on the road?
If no one is making the car
Have you ever try to plant a tree?
And are we growing the tree?
No, it's not us.
It's God
Will you ever see this poetry?
If no one is writing it
The answer remains,
There is force behind it
Wonder who creates us,
And you will know,
God do exist

Very weak. The logic behind it is basically: these things have a cause. I don't understand the cause, therefore God did it.

Babies crawl before they walk. Amazing. God must exist.
You have to study to learn something. Incredible. God must exist.
If you don't get married, you won't have a wife. Zounds. God must exist.
Buildings need architects. So God exists.
Cars need manufacturers. So God exists.
Plants grow. So God exists.

See hundreds of Proofs of God
Proof number 98:
ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN (II), a.k.a. GOD OF THE GAPS, a.k.a. ARGUMENT FROM PERSONAL INCREDULITY (II), a.k.a. DESIGN/TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT (IV)
(1) Isn't X amazing!
(2) I don't understand how X could be, without something else (that I don't really understand either) making or doing X.
(3) This something else must be God because I can't come up with a better explanation.
(4) Therefore, God exists.

Even If I granted the existance of a Designer, where did the Designer come from?

I leave you with a poem of my own, just knocked out in a few minutes. If it seems similar to the one you linked to, it's because it is.
Answering is simple,
Here's the first example
Does a baby have to die
From a terrible disease?
Here's the second example,
Will a person do the right thing
If there wasn't a God to please?
Here's the third example,
If I thought of a paradox
Would you give up all your logic?
Here's the fourth example,
Do things ever happen to you
That seem to have no purpose?
Focusing to the point,
Do you see the painting
And praise someone else for painting it?
Do you see the technology
And all the advances we have made
And think it has come from the sky?
We are alone. We triumph, we fail.
There is no God to fear or blame.
I hope you will see this poem
And think deeper than bumper sticker philosophy
The answer remains,
Think of the contradictions
found in ALL religions
Look for solid proof
And ask if God exists.

Because they don't believe.

I'm fed up, maisie, why do I have to get up early and go to church, maisie, what about all these other people, maisie, why are they still in bed, maisie, why don't they get up an' go to church, maisie, why do i have to...

Another Perishers comic

Click the image to enlarge

Beyond Disgusting

Beyond words. I don't know what to say. It's a nightmare come true.

'Cannibal relatives ate boy alive'

It will chill you to the core.

Ondrej and his nine-year-old brother Jakub were locked and chained in the cellar for months by their mother Klara, 31 – a member of a group called the Grail Movement.
He was caged, beaten and gagged to stop him screaming, according to reports.
Mauerova had the monitor installed so that she could watch the abuse from her kitchen but the images were picked up by a neighbour who used an identical system to monitor a newborn baby, the regional court in Brno has heard.