Was It God?

It was yesterday at the local grocery store when it happened. It was as if some supernatural force had guided me to a display containing a stack of books, guiding my hand to pick up and look at a specific one, ignoring all the other choices. The force seemed to tell me to buy this particular book, and that’s exactly what I did. Was that you, God?

The book is by comedian Lewis Black and it’s called Me of Little Faith. In the preface Mr. Black writes:

So what am I, Lewis Black, stand-up comic and me of little faith, doing putting my two cents in about religion?

Because I think it’s taken too seriously, and anything that takes itself too seriously is open to ridicule.

Ridicule Mohammad. How dare you? We will now kill you! Ridicule the Eucharist. How dare you? We will now kill you. Ridicule the right-wing ridiculing Obama. How dare you? Well… I haven’t heard about any death threats… yet.

I wonder if the Catholics like having something in common with the Muslims, and vice versa.

The word ridicule come from the Latin word from ridiculum which means jest. This makes me think that something or someone involved in the act of ridiculing must be thought of as ridiculous by someone. Perhaps the ridiculer, perhaps the ridiculee, perhaps both.

Let me see if I understand. I mock and deride an idea because I think it is ridiculous. That means that the person holding this idea has the right to kill me. Is that correct?

I think that Lewis Black makes a good point.

PZ Is Hitting Nerves

And all the dialog that is ensuing is a good thing, no matter what side you are on. Here are what some bloggers are saying in response to IT'S A FRACKIN’ CRACKER.

Here is part of Mike Haubrich’s comment found in response to another comment found on Crackergate And Why PZ May Be Wrong About One Thing:

A Church which preaches the dignity of suffering over allowing people to choose suicide, or a Church which has effectively hampered stem cell research because of the favoring of blastocysts which would otherwise be discarded because of the dignity of human life, a Church which continues to lie and cover the transgressions of pedophilic priests all the while confessing grief (yet offering nothing to show that they are truly contrite) and a church which teaches that abstinence is the only form of birth control, a church that teaches that women must be put at risk of death instead of allowing for a partial-birth abortion, a church which doesn't allow women or active gays to be ordained and condemns another church for doing so in the misguided hope that some day the Anglicans will "Come back to their senses" is insane.

There is more (for those of you who have not yet had your fill of holy cracker), and I’m not saying I agree or disagree with the following:

But really people...IT IS A CRACKER!!!

The Case of the Communion Cracker III - Bill Donahue

It's a frackin' cracker! (from Pharyngula)

Pissing off the Catholics

Holy Breakfast

Body of Christ?

I will say that Pissing off the Catholics and Body of Christ? are my two favorites.

What Would Jesus Do?

He’d get his gun and kill all the fuckin’ atheists. That’s what.

Now they have brought out armed goons to protect that which is not real, except as some form of non-nourishing nourishment.

And Jesus said: “Bring out the armed goons to kill all who would desecrate a cracker.”

Can the world possibly get more insane?

From 'Body Of Christ" Returned To Church After Student Receives Email Threats:

One week after a University of Central Florida student snatched something sacred from church, armed UCF police officers stood guard during Sunday Mass to protect what Catholics call "The Body of Christ."

Read the rest here.

Just how powerful and all-knowing is that stupid Catholic god anyway, that he needs “armed UCF police officers” to protect "The Body of Christ"? Where are the lightening bolts and locusts? I think he’s just some old fart that has lost all his powers.

Crackers And Wafers And Rudeness, Oh My!

Some other bloggers, internetters, and unmentionables think that PZ Myers was rude or abusive to the Catholics because he “didn't accord the Eucharist proper respect.” Some think that he is a jerk. Some find his conduct reprehensible. Just what is the proper respect that an atheist should have for the Eucharist?

Here’s what Catholics believe about atheists like Mr. Myers and myself:

We will spend eternity burning in hell. They believe this just as much as they believe in transubstantiation.

How rude is that?

The god that the Catholics believe in is a fucking asshole.

How rude is that?

For a more sane perspective on all of this visit Majikthise.

The world would be a better place with no religion at all.

One Man's Body Of Christ Is Another Man's Frackin' Cracker

This is a long one. Father forgive me, for I know not what I do.

It seems to me that we have yet another case of faith versus reason, of religion versus science, of belief versus fact. Who will win this time? Whose side are you on? Will it cost a university biology teacher his job? I hope not.

Just how evolved are we? Not very, if PZ Myers loses his job over this.

From Communion wafer held 'hostage' raises holy heck by Paul Walsh:

A Minnesota university instructor and avowed atheist is jousting with a national Catholic watch dog group over a smuggled communion wafer, which the associate professor dismisses as a "frackin’ cracker."

Paul Z. Myers, who teaches biology at the University of Minnesota, Morris, on his blog this week expressed amazement that a Florida college student who briefly took a wafer "hostage" from a church ceremony has been receiving death threats for an action that was characterized "a hate crime" by the Catholic League.

Under the headline, "It’s a frackin’ cracker!" Myers wrote in an at-times profane blog entry: "Crazy Christian fanatics right here in our own country have been threatening to kill a young man over a cracker. This is insane."

"It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ," Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a news release. "We look to those who have oversight responsibility to act quickly and decisively."

Read the rest here.

I would like to point out that Mr. Myers’s blog is called Pharyngula.

If there isn’t a term called “Universal Acceptance”, then there should be. (And give me the credit for coming up with it, if there isn’t.) I’ll give some examples, in order to define what I mean by Universal Acceptance. I would say that murder is universally accepted as being morally wrong and that people should be punished when they commit murder. Anyone disagree? No? That is Universal Acceptance. It is different from Majority Rule. Universal Acceptance stands the test of time, Majority Rule does not. Universal Acceptance always “wins” in the end, Majority Rule does not. Universal Acceptance is always right, Majority Rule can be right, but it can also be wrong. Slavery is an example of this difference. The earth being thought of as flat, but now being accepted as being round is another example. Universal Acceptance has truth on its side, Majority Rule does sometimes, but not always. Universal Acceptance can give power to minorities, Majority Rule does not. The Republic of the United States of America gives us a good example of this. Universal Acceptance is Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all believing in the Constitution together. Majority Rule is one of the parties electing a good or bad president. The Constitution endures, the president can be remembered (Lincoln or Washington) or fade away (Franklin Pierce). Universal Acceptance is the Constitution saying “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Majority Rule is Christians thinking the United States is a Christian nation. Deciding who has committed a Universally Accepted as wrong murder is decided by Majority Rule (a jury), and that decision is sometimes right and sometime wrong. Science is Universally Accepted, religion is Majority Rule. Religion really is Majority Rule and not Universally Accepted, even though most religions claim they are a minority, and that they are persecuted. If religion truly was Universally Accepted, there would only be one religion and no atheists.

Although it may appear that they do, these statements do not contradict one another: “Universal Acceptance is always right.” “The earth being thought of as flat, but now accepted as being round is another example.” “Science is Universally Accepted, religion is Majority Rule.”

Even though scientists of the time thought that the world was flat, this belief was Majority Rule and not Universal Acceptance. Scientists can change their minds to suit the facts. Theists are not supposed to change their minds, and are supposed to ignore the facts. Universal Acceptance is dictated to by factual evidence, Majority Rule is dictated to by people who have been influenced by some combination of factual evidence, emotions and belief. I can’t think of how to say it better. (Please forgive this humble blogger.) The “some combination” means that any of the three could be set to zero, so to speak. For example, factual evidence does not need to be part of the equation. Majority Rule could be dictated to by people who have been influenced by emotions and belief without any factual evidence. Or by people who have been influenced by emotions only. And so on.

From IT'S A FRACKIN’ CRACKER! by PZ Myers:

So, what to do. I have an idea. Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers? There's no way I can personally get them — my local churches have stakes prepared for me, I'm sure — but if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won't be tempted to hold it hostage (no, not even if I have a choice between returning the Eucharist and watching Bill Donohue kick the pope in the balls, which would apparently be a more humane act than desecrating a goddamned cracker), but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web. I shall do so joyfully and with laughter in my heart. If you can smuggle some out from under the armed guards and grim nuns hovering over your local communion ceremony, just write to me and I'll send you my home address.

Let’s assume that PZ Myers has gone ahead and done the deed.

I propose that PZ Myers is not desecrating the body of Christ in the form of a wafer. He does not believe in the body of Christ in the form of a wafer. Mr. Myers believes he is desecrating a wafer. Is that a crime? Now, you may point out that many Catholics believe the wafer IS the body of Christ and that Mr. Myers should respect that belief. Why? Jewish people do not believe that the wafer is the body of Christ. If Mr. Myers were to respect the beliefs of the Catholics in this instance, isn't that disrespectful to all Jewish people? (Let's not even consider any of those heretical atheists.) Buddhists do not believe it, either. Anyone from a non-Christian religion does not believe it. Only in the minds of Catholic believers is PZ Myers actually desecrating the body of Christ. For the rest of us the body of Christ decomposed a long time ago. Where do you draw the line?

I say it is time to call on a super hero. Let’s bring out our hero: Universal Acceptance. He is always right and knows just what to do.

Clearly this matter flunks the Universal Acceptance test. Why? Because I said so. I believe in Universal Acceptance. And I get to decide what’s right and what’s true. And I made it all up, just like the Catholics made up all the stuff they believe in. I'm only playing by their rules. Seems fair to me. If the Catholics can use the argument of belief, then why can’t I? And why can’t PZ Myers? He believes that the wafer is not the body of Christ. PZ Myers should get to keep his job, and Bill Donohue should shut the hell up. He has a right to believe what he chooses to, and so does PZ Myers. And they both have the right to talk about it, even though I just said Bill Donohue should shut the hell up. Let’s just stop all the death threats, job threats, and all other threats of any kind. OK? Except for crackers and other inanimate objects. Go ahead and threaten them all you want. (And if you want to insert a joke here about Bill Donohue being both crackers and an inanimate object, go right ahead. Just remember that I didn’t put that joke here. You did.)

But wait! There’s more!

I can think of many things that are more vile than desecrating the body of Christ. George W. Bush comes to mind immediately. A war criminal responsible for who knows how many senseless deaths. A war criminal who will probably never be punished until he arrives at that non-existent hell that he and Mr. Donohue like to believe in. (Like I said, he will probably never be punished.) What could possible be more vile than that? Then just round up the usual suspects: murder, rape, war, pedophilia, necrophilia, etc. Even vomit is more vile, for Christ’s sake.

Next I have a question for Mr. Donohue. (I already know his answer, and I think it’s a stupid answer. See if you can guess the answer and not win a prize.) How could anything that PZ Myers or Webster Cook do to your precious “body of Christ” be any more desecrating than placing this “body of Christ” in one’s mouth and causing this “body” to pass through the human digestive tract, then a toilet, finally ending up in a sewage system. And millions, if not billions, of Catholics do this every day. They have been doing this for a very long time, and unfortunately will probably continue to do this for a very long time. Over and over and over again. Talk about desecration! Talk about vile!

Some more questions for Mr. Donohue or anyone else who has seen the light. Why does an all-knowing, all-powerful god not tell his popes, cardinals, bishops, priests, brothers and sisters to just un-consecrate that little cracker that has fallen into the hands of someone like PZ Myers or Webster Cook? Then everyone could be happy. “He just desecrated a cracker. Ha ha. Good one, PZ.” God sure seems to like to leave Jesus hanging. Why does Jesus always get the short end of the stick? Or cross, or cracker, as it were. Help Jesus out here God, just tell the idiots to un-consecrate your son's body and turn him back into a cracker. Why do people choose to believe in an all-knowing, all-powerful god who seems to be so stupid and spiteful, someone who hates his own son so much? And again I know the answer to that one: “Mumbo jumbo, gibberish, and more mumbo jumbo, and don’t forget to put some money in the collection plate.”

Lastly, no religious people are allowed to criticize what I have written here. It is all true, factual, and correct. Because I believe that it is. That is all that you believers should need to know.

God, I’m tired.

Hungry too. I think I’ll go eat some crackers.