Road Rage Catches God off Guard

On November 11, 2014, a young woman in Houston Texas was shot while driving her car, another of those increasingly common road rage incidents. The surprise is, the gunman was an off duty Harris County Constable, Reserve Deputy Kenneth Caplan. The shooting took place when the 20 year old woman was in rush hour traffic on the 610 Loop south of the city. She told authorities that a car swerved over and cut her off, so she honked her horn, accelerated, and cut in front of him in retaliation. According to the report, the other driver then sped up, pulled alongside her, rolled down his window and pointed a gun.

“He was aiming at me,” she said. ”I thought he was just going to cuss me out. It didn’t register that I was going to get shot.” In the car with Caplan was an unidentified woman who leaned back so the Deputy could get a better bead on his target. Just as he pulled the trigger, the victim had a moment of lucidity and tilted her head to the right. Caplan’s bullet creased the left side of her head, leaving a deep groove. Stunned and bleeding, she stopped her car on the freeway and called 911. Several other drivers also called 911 with some reporting a description of Caplan’s vehicle as it sped away. Paramedics arrived and rushed the woman to the emergency room. Doctors at Memorial Hermann Hospital commented that she was lucky to be alive and that “this case is one in a million.”

Information led to the identification of Kenneth Caplan as the suspect. He is currently in jail with bond set at $200,000. It remains to be seen if he will be given paid time off or charged with attempted murder. No word on who was the female in the car with him, or if she’ll face any charges.

And then strangeness enters the picture. After being shot by a highway lunatic, after EMTs and doctors save her life, after surgeons at the hospital place eight staples in her scalp to close the wound and keep her for three days to make sure she would recover, she claims that God has given her a second chance…not the quick-responding emergency personnel, not the doctors, not a deputy with poor target acquisition skills…she appeals to the imaginary for still being on this side of the dirt. To me, adding God to this only makes things worse. This God pulls a couple of strings and spares her life by letting the bullet glance off her head instead of blowing it off, and she thinks this is okay? Why didn’t that entity just calm her so she wouldn’t have retaliated, or better yet, intervene so Caplan’s car doesn’t swerve and precipitate the whole incident? What kind of a God does she believe in? No benevolent being operates this way.

With an assumed second chance now granted, the young woman says she wants Caplan off the streets. “He tried to kill me,“ she said. “I’m worried that since he’s a cop, they’re going to let him off easy.”

                                               Close call

The victim requested anonymity while talking with reporters

Why doesn’t she refer the matter to God through prayer? If God is the reason for her second chance, maybe, once and for all, he can address the whole human penchant for road rage.

However, God might be planning to give Caplan a “second chance” too. The young woman is justified with her concern because Caplan has only been charged with “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.” One cynical observer noted Caplan’s defense will probably be “…’The noise from her horn startled me to the point where, when she cut me off, I feared for my life and was forced to engage’. At worst, he’ll get a short term suspension with pay, just you watch.” Conceivably, Caplan could walk, in which case, he may get a second chance to finish the job he started on November 11^th.

Notice any similarities to the Waffen SS?

I hope the cynical observer is wrong but this is the kind of treatment more and more Americans are experiencing when it comes to law enforcement. Police are now an extension of the military and are often no longer subject to the laws they are sworn to uphold. Possibly that’s all in God’s great plan. Law enforcement has His blessing to use us as targets whenever, wherever. Since most of us don’t wear a badge, we didn’t get the memo.

Why does the victim think God spared her?  Why, in his infinite wisdom, didn’t God just prevent it? Did this incident catch God off guard and all he could do was deflect the bullet at the last instant so she was only grazed by it? How was that done? Did god interfere with: 1. Caplan’s aim, 2. the bullet, 3. the young woman’s head movement, or 4. did He slow her car at the opportune time? God truly does work in mysterious ways if this is how the episode unfolded.

I would also like to ask her which God gave her that second chance. The Christian god isn't inclined to offer second chances (Look at how he deals with Adam and Eve, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and, supposedly, every living thing when He sends the great Flood.) so maybe she was calling on something we’re not familiar with. Only the young victim can clear this up.

Yes, she’s lucky to be alive, but it is no thanks to some invisible, celestial puppeteer.

Satan Goes to School

         The stupidity factor climbs higher in Central Florida. Thanks to our ever-vigilant religious fundamentalists and their demands on area learning institutions, the administration for the Orange County Public Schools is entertaining the idea of distributing material promoting Satanism. The schools previously allowed bibles and books promoting Christianity to be passed around, and the chickens have now come home to roost. I think it’s ridiculous to counter one mythology with another but I understand why the Satanic Temple is doing it. If Christianity is allowed, then why not that religion’s nemesis, since he is a necessary part of that mythology. Showing an astounding degree of ignorance, the mother of one student huffed “This only proves why we need God back in our schools.” She means Jehovah, the Christian god…the only god allowed in schools.

          Ah, Christian outrage. Where would we be without it? All this fuss was generated when the Satanic Temple submitted a coloring book and two fact sheets regarding Satanism to the Orange County School Board to hand out to Elementary School students starting in January 2015. There is nothing spellbinding in it. The book looks like the kind of stuff that would appeal to any 5 to 8 year old. These are typical pages.

Nothing evil or revolting. Only the emblems give any hint regarding Satanism.

But fundamentalists think its influence will create this kind of child.

      It should never have come to this. Our schools are meant for learning, not proselytizing. If you want your kids to learn about religion, take them to church. But don't force the mystical and supernatural on the schools.
Christians don’t like it but this is a secular country, and as such, the kids are to be free of religious influence in public school teaching. But many faith-based organizations feel that’s just a small road bump that they are commanded to ignore, jump over, or break down. The head of the Florida Family Policy Council openly told the Orlando Sentinel that their Bible-distribution program in the school is intended "as a way to expose children to Christianity" in hopes that it will "lead to a fundamental change in the condition of a student's heart." God can’t do it by, say, answering a prayer, or just placing the desire in children’s minds. He is so inept and weak; he must call on imperfect and admittedly wicked humans to present his case and hope the kids will crack open His holy book. This is where the Satanists saw an opening. The Satanists are simply saying, if there's religious heart-changing allowed in public schools, all religious heart-changers should get an equal shot at the students: "If our materials are consistent with their standards, they can't simply deny our literature because of its religious viewpoint," said a Satanic Temple spokesman.

Guess which book contains more violence and divisiveness?     
     

                If the Satanists succeed, expect to see Islamic groups submitting the Koran and Muslim information next, followed by the Mormons, the Hindus, the Sikhs, the Zoroastrians, and eventually documents about Native American beliefs. They all have just as much right. It will take up the entire school day just to name all the different religions and the various factions of each.

     So that mother who was upset over the Satanic Temple handing out material better be prepared for a religious rush on the area schools. This is the end result of ignoring the Constitutional separation of church and state. 

     How about you? Do you want today’s school kids to waste any more time on religion and NOT learn science, math, history, reading, biology, spelling, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography, social studies…etc.?  

     One particular response was so stunning, I quote it in full: “These monsters peddling their book full of murder, incest, human bondage and exploitation to school children must be stopped. It's a good thing that the Satanists are doing something about it.”

Will Gay Marriage Now Lead to Sex With Ducks?

             On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to let stand several state rulings that allow gay people to marry. Fundamentalists immediately challenged the decision. Their bible states that what gays do is an abomination and their wickedness should not be rewarded by permitting them to marry. Many of the faithful are asking why the justices are mocking their religion. After all, this is a Christian nation (It is, just ask them), and as such, they should be free to continue pushing their intolerance on our society for the foreseeable future. As Pat Robertson of the 700 Club said, if homosexuals are allowed to marry, it’s a slippery slope where people will be then be able to engage in any perversion.

Garfunkel & Oates sum it up succinctly in "Sex with Ducks"

Gay marriage makes Christians angry. Sure, children are dying from a variety of diseases around the world, like AIDS, Ebola and West Nile Virus. Yes, people are being killed by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and religious extremists in Africa and the Middle East. Mothers even have to explain to their seven year olds what to do if a gunman begins shooting up their school. But those are just inconveniences when compared to two people of the same sex wanting to profess their love for each other and marry. In that case, Christians must prevent it at all costs.

Why is it that Jesus never spoke a word about homosexuality?

    

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called the court’s decision “tragic and indefensible.” Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said it was “unconscionable, unconstitutional, and un-American.” In other words, how dare the justices give gay people the same rights as homophobic, religiously dogmatic, prejudiced Americans? What good is being in the majority if Christians can’t use that power against those they don't like...especially when it involves an issue where they claim the right to interfere - the sex lives of gays?

Notice how each is cheapened by the other.

And why all this fuss? Because Christians believe same-sex marriages will devalue traditional marriage, just like when they order a Big Mac and someone else orders the Filet-o-Fish sandwich. It devalues their choice of the hamburger. Sandwich selection is a choice, just like sexual orientation. After all, non-gays remember when they chose to be heterosexual. It’s similar to when everyone chose their race. That’s why for centuries white Christians railed against inter-racial marriage. If god had meant for the races to sexually mingle, he’d have made us all choose one color. Caucasians were the dominant race for over three hundred years in this country and that was not to be diluted, or polluted, by mixing with a different skin pigment.

      The intolerance and lunacy hasn't changed - only the target.

One anti-gay marriage activist wrote,"Admittedly, society's interest in marriages that do not produce children is less than its interest in marriages that result in the reproduction of the species. However, we still recognize childless marriages because it would be an invasion of a heterosexual couple's privacy to require that they prove their intent or ability to bear children." Invading the privacy of a homosexual couple however, is justified because they cannot bear children via their sexual relationship, so any recognition of their commitment should be withheld, and it is why Christians have a 'heightened interest' in preventing gay marriage.

Christians claim they will be forced, through silence or tolerance, to condone what they view as an attack on the 'natural order of things', especially biblical morality. Biblical morality is an oxymoron because the bible calls for gays to be put to death - as Leviticus 20:13 says - even though gays have harmed no one. Christians are also commanded to kill (usually by stoning) anyone who claims to be a witch, worships another god, or picks up sticks on the Sabbath. Frankly, I don't think there are enough stones in the world.

Everybody must get stoned!

Claiming that someone's marriage defiles your religion is like slapping someone for eating a donut because you're on a diet. Considering all the malevolence that exists in the world, the fact that a religion condemns two people loving each other proves just how evil religion is.

It’s simple enough; if you don’t like gay marriage…don’t get one.

You WILL believe. It's in the Constitution

Speaking before about 400 students and faculty at Colorado Christian University this past Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that secularists are wrong when they argue the Constitution requires religious references to be removed from the public square. He opined that a battle is underway over whether to allow religion in public life, from referencing God in the Pledge of Allegiance, to holding prayers at school events and town hall meetings. “I think the main fight is to dissuade Americans from what the secularists are trying to persuade them to be true: that the separation of church and state means that the government cannot favor religion over non-religion.” Scalia said.

           …and yet the First Amendment clearly states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Where does it indicate favoritism towards religion? That a jurist on the Supreme Court can misinterpret the meaning is astounding! 

Antonin Scalia conjures up a whole new interpretation

Alright, let’s take Scalia at his word, that he really believes the First Amendment actually favors religion over non-religion. Which religion does it favor? There is not just one religion, so if we are to believe he means it, which religious faith is the one that guides us? Scalia is a professed Catholic, so should it be Roman Catholicism that is the moral compass and guiding light of our nation? Most Pentecostals, Baptists and Mormons will vehemently disagree with that idea. Should the Jews and Muslims be left out of Constitutional protection, or is it extended to them because they at least believe in some sort of supernatural entity?

                                     Whose altar do we bow before?

Scalia continued, “We do Him honor in our Pledge of Allegiance, in all our public ceremonies. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is in the best of American traditions, and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. I think we have to fight that tendency of the secularists to impose it on all of us through the Constitution” meaning that in the past, secularists simply wanted the Constitution upheld. But no more. Upholding the Constitution has changed under his judicial guidance. It means the government is now free to impose religion, ill-defined though it may be, on all of us.

Justice Scalia suggests that we already acknowledge god in our pledge of allegiance, which is an odd position for him to take since during his school years the phrase ‘under God’ wasn't even in it. If we are one nation under god, which one do we stand under…Amon Ra, Wotan, Kulkukan, Zeus, Brahma, Quetzalcoatl, or The Great Spirit? It can’t just be the gods that Europeans brought over when they wrestled the American continents away from the original inhabitants. The native’s various deities were sacred and revered before the immigrants arrived, so those gods should be included in those we stand beneath. And it was only a year ago that Scalia admitted that he believed the devil was a real being, so he apparently recognizes Satanism as legitimate. Wouldn't it be logical then to include Satan as worthy of worship since Satanism is recognized as a religion?

Americas list of gods to worship continues to grow

Freedom of religion means the freedom not to worship at all. People can do what they like as long as they allow others to do the same without forcing it on anyone. Thanks to Scalia, we may have 'freedom of religion' re-interpreted as ‘we have to worship some god…but we have the freedom to choose which one.’ If the government gets to impose a religion on us, what happens if it turns out to be, say, the "Christianity" as practiced by Westboro Baptist Church? Would Antonin Scalia use the power of the court to force all Americans to adhere to Westboro’s concept of what god wants? In which case, who is going to protect us from Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia?

Public Spectacles

While watching the local news Labor Day weekend, there were two stories that make me wonder if people really understand our Constitution and why we separate church and state in this country.

Brighthouse Network’s Central Florida News 13, or CFN13, repeated the two stories every hour for about 12 hours. One involved Apopka football players being led in a Christian prayer before and after their games. The prayers made some of the players and fans, who were from different faith backgrounds, uncomfortable and they asked school officials to refrain from saying them. CFN13 covered the story from the outraged-Christian-point-of-view with interviews of people all but damning freethinkers and non-theists for interfering, and for what they perceived as “stopping kids from praying”. The people who objected to the prayers were only asking that school officials and coaches not instigate or give the prayers recognizing only one religion.

Can you imagine what would have happened if one of them began saying an Islamic prayer, started chanting a mantra to one of the Hindu gods, or conducted a Voodoo ritual? The same people who think there is too much fuss being made over simple prayers at school events would be livid, and would insist that only Christian prayers be allowed at these functions. In their view, prayers to Jehovah/Yahweh are acceptable but prayers to other gods are wrong. Yet Christians have the same evidence regarding their deity that other religions have of theirs. Zero!
        I’m looking forward to the day one of the cheerleaders does this at a football game: 

Several parents were quick to point out that atheists were in a minority in this country and insisted Christians had the right to pray anytime, anywhere, with the insinuation that atheists should keep quiet since they were outnumbered. A free society is one where it’s safe to hold an unpopular view, which makes me wonder if we're a free society anymore. Christians might want to consider that sometimes a majority only means all the mistaken are on the same side. Ignorance has become a point of view.

Winter Garden City Council opening the meeting with a Christian prayer

The second story involved a man named Joseph Richardson who attended a Winter Garden city council meeting. Winter Garden Mayor John Rees told Richardson that he “may rise or leave the room” as they gave the prayer and the Pledge.

“I don’t believe I have to do that, thank you,” was Richardson's response.

After the prayer in the name of Jesus was concluded, Richardson was again ordered to rise. “Now, sir, please stand while we do the Pledge… please stand. Children have to do it in school, too,” Rees said. "You don’t have to say it. Please stand.”
       Richardson stood his ground, responding “I don’t have to do that.”

Rees seemed to take this as a personal affront rather than a citizen exercising his rights.

Richardson was abruptly told, “You have one of two choices, sir. I'm asking you to either stand or be escorted out [as we do] the Pledge. It’s just not fair to our troops and people overseas, sir.”

When Richardson still didn’t stand, the Mayor turned to the Chief of Police and said, “Chief, ask him to either stand or please escort him out 'til we get through the pledge,” the mayor said.

The officer walked over and asked Richardson, “What do you want to do? Do you want to stand or leave?” The man was quickly escorted out of the room.
        As Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote in 1940, “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us."

Mayor Rees should know that citizens are within their rights to remain seated for the Pledge and that it does not reflect a lack of patriotism. The fact is, refusing to stand and repeat it is more patriotic and respectful of our secular constitution than rising and declaring us to be ‘one nation under god.’ That 'god' part was only inserted in 1954 when Congress wanted to demonstrate the nation's piety as compared to Communism's godlessness.

The pledge seemed fine up until 1954

The mayor and those city council members should spend a lot more time studying the Constitution and its meaning. Nowhere is there anything that states 'not standing' is considered disrespectful to military personnel. The flag does not equal the military, nor is it written they, or any American, needs to be respected just because they are posted on foreign soil.

The Mayor’s judgment really needs to be scrutinized when he insists American citizens should stand when he makes an appeal to the Christian god.

Some Americans think this should be our flag.

Anyone who doesn’t see a threat in religion had better take notice of these events. When Christianity and politics were previously blended together it was called the Dark Ages and Europe eventually suffered over 600 years of the Inquisition. In nations where politics and religion are one in the same today, you have places like Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. 
     People insisting that Christianity is harmless are deluding themselves. It is not harmless once someone in power decides to do exactly what the bible says, as the Crusades, the witch trials, the killing of heretics, the slavery issue, and even opposition to gay marriage shows. If the new Christian-politicos gain control of the government, the old Inquisition will pale in comparison to what they will do with that power. These 'religion trumps secularism' events are happening more and more frequently. Those who believe a wall should permanently separate church and state need to stand their ground. Our future depends on it.
       Don’t misunderstand; anyone has a right to their beliefs, but they don’t have a right to force it on anyone else or to have them respect it. We might acknowledge it, but we also then have the right to say “Are you kidding me? Your belief is stupid.”

Jesus, not again

Will wonders never cease? Jesus the Christ, the 2000 year old son of god, made another unusual appearance. His timing was uncanny, on Good Friday 2014 no less. This time he revealed himself on a pancake in California. Never mind the biblical stories about him coming in a cloud in all his glory to save us from ourselves in the end days. He’s convincing the gullible that he is real, not by showing himself bodily, but by making fleeting appearances in random places that have no bearing on his divinity.
          Karen Hendrickson, the manager of the Cowgirl Café in Norco, California claims that a face that looks like his appeared on (as in not baked or burned into) a pancake the day after she had prayed to God to watch over the restaurant. The breakfast order had been dished up and a waitress was taking it to the table when she saw the likeness on the flapjack and showed it to Karen. God apparently was busy when the prayer first arrived, or saw no need for an immediate response, as He waited until the following day to grant her request. But then, on the anniversary of His son's death, He made Jesus' image manifest on an edible surface in order for His son to keep an eye on things. And it did vaguely have facial features with a head of hair and a beard, which is to say it also looked like Jerry Garcia, Ulysses S. Grant and Charles Manson.

                How often does Jesus' face appear, and where? Here’s a small selection from just the past five years.

Is this rust spot on a pipe the face of Jesus, or the iron man on Queen's News of the World album?

He’s also appeared on a tortilla in Guadalupe, Mexico, on a tree in Jacksonville, Fl., and even in a splatter of bird crap on a car windshield in Brooklyn, Ohio.

             Let’s see if YOU can find Him in this picture.

 Look closely;

Jesus...he's everywhere!

Atheists 9/11 cross lawsuit dismissed

A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the American Atheists that could have affected the 9/11 remembrance display. They had hoped to ban the steel beam cross taken from the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 13, 2001 from being put in the museum as part of the memorial to the 9/11 victims.

Christians assume it is a victory for their beliefs at the federal level, but it is not. The decision does not mean Christian symbols need to be afforded special consideration, that Christianity trumps all other religions, or that whatever Christians want should be deferred to. It’s because allowing the cross in the museum is a devastating indictment of their god. Without any evidence, Christians have decided that the cross was god’s way of showing how much he loves us even in moments of trial and tribulation, and they are desperate for acknowledgement of their religious beliefs. That is why they want the cross in the 9/11 memorial, not realizing that it shows that god, A) Didn’t know what was going to happen, B) Didn’t care what happened, or C) Doesn’t exist. (If they existed, what creator would be that ignorant, capricious or malevolent?) Some could argue that 9/11 shows the believers of Allah triumphed over the believers in Jehovah since it was Muslim extremists who successfully brought the Towers down. And what did Jehovah do? According to the Christians, he sought to console us with basically a scavenger hunt in the debris. So inclusion of the cross at the memorial symbolizes: ‘Nothing protected the people who died here. A vivid imagination doesn’t change what transpired. Only the gullible worshipers of a made up supreme being find this metal crossbar meaningful.’

As a side note, how hard is it to find crossed steel beams in high rise structures? If the building didn’t contain any crossed members and the fallen debris fused and formed a cross, that might be more interesting, but it wouldn’t prove anything. Christians so want god and Jesus to be real, anything, even a human-constructed cross beam, gives their beliefs validity.

Atheists pursued the lawsuit, correctly perceiving that Christians would assume god was giving them a sign that in the middle of tragedy, all would be okay, that death was not final, that the cross' presence in the ruins shows we’re a Christian nation, and that all need to come to Christ through the cross. See, if you're from outside of the Christian faith; you're out of luck...god only favors Christians.

If their god was real, Christians have to concede he watched over the destruction of the World Trade Centers, the strike on the Pentagon, and the deaths of around 3000 people, did nothing to prevent any of it, and then showed his love - after the fact - by arranging one of the thousands of steel crossbeams in the mountains of WTC rubble to be discovered looking vaguely like the cross Jesus was reputedly killed on. That way, all would be inspired by its presence and know god loves us. Does this strike anyone else as absolute madness?

And yet the atheists are the ones who are considered crazy and need to explain their irrational belief.

Worshipping Nonsense

              On April 20th, Easter Sunday, a letter to the editor from Richard Pluth of Casselberry was published in the local newspaper entitled ‘Worshipping the creation’, claiming an undefined ‘some’, later identified as ‘modern environmentalists’, had created a new religion that, in his words, worships a mass of rock and soil on Earth Day.

             Mr. Pluth asserts that this environmental religion has spawned new high priests known as scientists, is infallible, its orthodoxy cannot be questioned, and the commandments are not to be debated or challenged. All these are pointed out to the reader as unmistakably negative attributes. Yet the religion he is contrasting it with is every bit as undesirable. The Christian bible is claimed to be the infallible word of God simply because it says so. Christianity brooks no debate or challenge to the commandments, its orthodoxy cannot be questioned, and it has rewards and punishments. Those who don’t conform will not only be ostracized, the believers will tell them they are going to hell. As little as five hundred years ago, the non-believers would have been burned at the stake. Nothing says a belief is true like the threat of death if you don’t subscribe to it. The message of God of the bible is: “You humans that I created have offended me. Here, take my son and murder him so I can forgive you.” And He loves us so much; He created a special place called hell just in case we don’t love Him back. That is not the hallmark of an intelligent creator.

            For reasons only Mr. Pluth can explain, he also juxtaposes Vladimir Lenin’s birthday with the same date as Earth Day, April 22^nd, as though one had something to do with the other. Lenin may have been many things, but an environmentalist he was not. He didn’t give a damn about the environment, only building up the Soviet state at any and all cost. His faith was in communism, not environmentalism. Mr. Pluth starts off his article by mentioning ironies but fails to note that this Easter Sunday is also the birthdate of Adolf Hitler. So if Lenin and Earth Day are synonymous, does that mean there is a correlation between Easter and the Fuhrer?

            When it comes to science, Mr. Pluth’s scorn for rationality comes out at the end of his letter where he claims he puts his trust in a dead man who walked out of a grave. Isn’t that the description of a zombie…a dead being who walks out of a grave? And that is supposed to be a valid argument against science?

            What we can agree on is that religion or faith is not a good thing.