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Pastor charged with soliciting sex 2008-03-08 07:07:02 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Police arrested the senior pastor at St. Luke's Lutheran church in Dilworth after a sting at Park Road Park where they say Robert Graff tried to solicit an undercover male police officer for sex. "He's a great man, he's a wonderful man. I'm shocked,” said one church member.The 58-year-old Graff is married and has been the pastor at St. Luke’s for the past four years. The business administrator at the church told us there would be no comment except that members were, “sorting it all out.”Graff was charged and released with a promise to appear in court. He came to his church for a Wednesday night supper, where members closed ranks, and supported their senior pastor."Can you tell us what he's like as a pastor?," WCNC asked another church member arriving at St. Luk Read more:Pastor
Atheism has made me a better person 2008-03-07 05:13:04 Sent in by M. L.It has been a long and often emotionally turbulent journey, but I can now state, without fear eternal damnation, that I am an Atheist.I am not angry. I do not feel “done in” by Christianity. I do not even feel that my years as a Christian were wasted. In fact, I believe that I am who I am today due to the sum of my experiences. And Christianity played a big part in that.That said, becoming an Atheist has had a greater impact on my life than all those years of Theism ever had.I now go through life with eyes wide open.My relationship with my husband has reached an all time high. I can be adventurous without feeling guilty. I can unequivocally state that he is the true love of my life without the nagging voice in the back of my mind reminding me that Jesus should actua Read more:Atheism
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I need some good responses to these Christian explanations 2008-03-07 04:54:00 From BeasterHere is something that was in my school newspaper, The Daily Toreador, and some of the comments made by some Christian
s. I found it rather interesting, and I apologize in advance for the length. It's rather confusing how they have an excuse for everything it seems. What are ya'lls thoughts?It really bothers me when people blame God for the bad things that happen in the world and say he doesn't care about us or he doesn't know how to deal with us.First, let me establish that God is real and that he knows what he is doing. The first and best sources are the scriptures and the words of the prophets. They teach that God does live, that he cares about us and that he has a plan for all of us.Unfortunately, some people think that the Bible is "out-of-date" and not applicable to today' Read more:responses
Creationists 'peddle lies about fossil record' 2008-03-05 19:32:32 A leading scientist accuses creationists of peddling the lie that there is no fossil evidence of evolution.Some Christians claim there is a lack of "missing link" fossils, halfway between two major groups of creatures.They say this proves Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a fallacy and that God created each living species from nothing.But, in an essay published in the magazine New Scientist today, geologist Donald Prothero claims that reports of "huge gaps" in the fossil records have been greatly exaggerated.Dr Prothero, a professor of geology at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said: "Life does not progress up a hierarchical ladder from 'low' to 'high' but is a branching bush with numerous lineages splitting apart and coexisting simultaneously."For example, apes and humans split f Read more:Creationists
Was Moses high on Mount Sinai? 2008-03-05 09:28:24 Study suggests Israelites may have eaten hallucinogens, but scholars scoffJERUSALEM - When Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, he may have been high on a hallucinogenic plant, according to a new study by an Israeli psychology professor.Writing in the British philosophy journal Time and Mind, Benny Shanon of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University said two plants in the Sinai desert contain the same psychoactive molecules as those found in plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca is prepared.The thunder, lightning and blaring of a trumpet which the Book of Exodus says emanated from Mount Sinai could just have been the imaginings of a people in an “altered state of awareness,” Shanon hypothesized.“In advanced forms of ayahuasca inebriation, t
Mythic Origins of the Easter Story 2008-03-05 05:37:41 By Valerie TaricoIn this post about the mythic origins of Easter
, Valerie Tarico , author of The Dark Side, interviews Dr. Tony Nugent, scholar of world religions and mythology. Dr. Nugent is a symbologist, an expert in ancient symbols. He has taught at Seattle University for the past fifteen years in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and is a Presbyterian minister.Tarico: Easter is coming. Some people are saying that the crucifixion and resurrection narratives simply retell the cycle of seasons, the death and return of the Sun. Others say that these stories are literal histories. But you say the reality is more complicated than either of these. You argue that the Easter stories – the death and resurrection of Jesus have very specific mythic origins.Nugent: I view the st Read more:Origins
Fossils are the handiwork of the Devil 2008-03-05 05:30:08 Comedian/author/playwright/pundit Lewis Black stars in his second HBO solo special, an all-new hour of frenetic, take-no-prisoners stand-up comedy, taped before a live audience at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC. Lewis Black: Red, White & Screwed features Black's opinions and insights into such issues as the State of the Union, abortion, frozen embryos, defecation habits, fossils, bad language, FEMA and, of course, Dick Cheney's aim.Stand-up comedian, author, playwright, and actor takes on a few issues regarding faith and science.
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Scientific Breakthroughs from the Bible (Part I) 2008-03-04 13:56:00 By DocMikeToday's comic was inspired by a recent comment (to my last comic) on Ex-Christian.net. A christian poster made the statement, "There is much science in the Bible". To which, several ex-christian posters responded with various examples of scientific errors in the bible. "... talking snakes and donkeys", "...riding chariots of fire into heaven", "...holding up a striped staff to copulating goats so they have striped kids", "... the classification of bats as birds", "Floating axe heads", "Walking on water", "Raising the dead", "Commanding the sun to stand still", "creation story", "firmament", etc.The christian then posted links to websites that actually claim dinosaurs were mentioned in the book of Job and that they lived alongside humans! This is so preposterous that I can only la Read more:Scientific
Scouting and the atheist family 2008-03-04 05:57:06 By Eris DiscordiaHi everyone! I have been hanging around this site for quite some time now and I feel like you all are my extended family! It is so nice to be able to voice my anti-Christian opinions, vent my outrage at their insanity and just rant whenever I am overwhelmed with frustration at having my rights continuously violated in this Bible-Hell called the Midwest, USA!Today is one of those days, so here goes...I have four lovely children. Two are happy non-religious adults who barely tolerate their crazy fundie relatives on their father's side of the family. My other two boys are ages 11 and 14. They are happy, well-adjusted atheists who appreciate the idea of being good, honest people just for the sake of being good. They don't have the pressure of having to please some imagina Read more:Scouting
Pastor Faces Statutory Sodomy Charges 2008-03-03 21:02:32 A former church pastor is accused of having sex with two teenage boys. Joseph Edmund Conger was pastor at New Life Baptist Church in Cole Camp and at Faith Baptist Church in Climax Springs.The 44-year-old faces five counts of statutory sodomy from incidents that allegedly happened in 2003.Conger was a pastor in Cole camp for about two years and in Climax Springs for about six years.STORY LINK
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It's strange isn't it? 2008-03-03 10:00:04 A non-Christian replies to a cute little Christian apologetic. Loved by Catholics and Protestants alike, this thing shows up periodically in email inboxes everywhere. By DavidIsn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?We get something for the $20, and it doesn't seem to go that far. In contrast, we get nothing for donating $20 to an organization that promotes imaginary friends and imaginary enemies. So, $20 seems like a lot to give for nothing.Isn't it strange how two hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?This one is real easy. You're totally bored in church most of the time, but when you go to the movie you are relaxing and b
Survey shows non-religious outnumber those of every single faith (but one) 2008-03-03 09:48:45 Americans' faiths in flux as more reject their given religions Amherst, New York (March 3, 2008)—The most detailed estimates to date of Americans' religious
affiliations reports that a significant portion of U.S. citizens claim "none of the above," placing the unaffiliated second only to Roman Catholics in number. Monday's release of the 35,000-respondent U.S. Religious Landscape Survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that 16.1 percent of Americans have no particular religion at all, while 23.9 percent identify themselves as Catholic. The next largest "belief group" is Evangelical Baptist at 10.8 percent. All other denominational groupings show in the single
digits or less. The study also shows the number of Americans who identify as atheist or agnostic has risen fro Read more:every
Morality Without God 2008-03-02 17:42:29 Thanks to Brand New Atheist for discovering these videos.In these two short videos are described a few of the problems with theistic based morality. These videos suggest how one can be moral and a non-believer.Part IPart II
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Misinformed about evolution theory 2008-03-01 07:09:49 By Jim GIt is disappointing to read opinions by misinformed individuals on the theory of evolution, or it might just be an expression of the paranoia some have for anything that they perceive threatens their little world.First the theory is not politically based. Like all scientific theory, it is based on observation of data. It is not a Faith or Belief. These are based on an acceptance of a Truth which requires no evidence for support. All theories require empirical evidence, and most well-educated people are quite aware of the evidence and understand the validity of the theory, and, like most educated people, they also know theories are subject to adjustment as more information comes in.And the information coming in reinforces the theory. In evolution a random mutation results in a chang
Never again am I going to believe anything anybody tells me without hard proof 2008-03-12 05:25:47 Sent in by StephenI am a long time lurker on this site and I just felt the urge to "come out" as a ... well I don't know if there is any word to describe my belief system but I'm sure you'll all get the idea once you read what I have to say...I guess the term "truth-seeker" is about as close as the English language allows. My upbringing was of the loose catholic variety where we belonged to a church but were about as far from any extremist belief as you can get. I live in New Zealand and here, any kind of extremism is generally frowned upon, even the Christian variety and extremist Christians are often a target of public ridicule (yay! :o) ) . So I wasn't wrapped up in any evangelical/extremist type belief system, but I was still influenced by dogma to believe
that there was a god, who was Read more:anything
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Which pew are you in? 2008-03-11 05:41:34 By Donald CollinsDon't you love surveys?The front page of the Feb. 26 Washington Post carried a story about a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It suggested that Americans are fickle about their religious choices.After the scandals that rocked the U.S. Catholic Church, it shouldn't surprise anyone, particularly Pope Benedict. The Catholic Church has lost more members than any religion practiced here. But it has replaced its losses from the massive immigration invasion by Latinos.Thus, Catholics still claim 23.9 percent of those polled. The mainline Protestant faiths (18.1 percent) have lost out to the newer Evangelical Protestants (26.3 percent). Mormons and Jews each represent only 1.7 percent of the faithful. Muslims, Hindus, Jehovah's Witnesses and others regi
Pastor found guilty on 54 counts 2008-03-10 19:21:10 Click Here to View Pastor
Ross' Indictment.A jury has found Pastor Onslow Ross guilty of 54 counts of bank fraud, money laundering and various other illegal transactions.On the most serious charge, bank fraud, he could be sentenced to as much as 30 years in prison and be fined up to $1 million.According to 13WMAZ's Yenu Wodajo, reporting from U.S. District Court in Macon, the jury returned its verdict just before 2 p.m.She reports that members of Ross's Reaching Souls Cathedral of Praise Apostolic Church began crying, and Ross shook his head in disbelief.Outside in the hallway, Ross told church members and his family, "I lost my dad four months ago, and I just lost my life....Unbelieveable."Federal Judge Ashley Royal said sentencing would be held within four to six weeks and released Ross
Pastor charged with rape 2008-03-10 19:12:52 A Delaware County pastor accused of raping a 15-year-old member of his congregation on Friday was released from jail today after posting bond.Brian L. Williams, 45, of 3159 Berlin Station Rd., is a pastor with Sunbury Grace Brethren Church. He was arrested and charged with one count of rape, a first-degree felony, in Delaware Municipal Court.Authorities say the rape took place at the church, located on Perfect Drive in Sunbury, court records show. Williams is accused of forcing the girl to perform oral sex before removing her clothes and assaulting her. STORY LINK
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You're Kidding Me... Right? 2008-03-10 06:04:48 by Astreja It invariably comes as a bit of a shock to our Christian visitors when their words of wisdom are accorded a less-than-civil reception.Sometimes a zealous teenager swings by to warn us that we'd better straighten up and fly right, lest we be seized by demons and dragged off to an eternal all-expenses-paid vacation in a Very Hot Place.Or we're set upon by a gushy but seemingly well-meaning woman who assures us that we just practiced the wrong *version* of Christianity, and please keep looking for the True Church™ (Oh, and by the way, it's a ree-lay-shun-ship, not a religion).Another fairly common theme is the man who sees "miracles" in everything, and honestly believes that his unverifiable personal testimony is sufficient to convince total strangers over the Internet.And then t Read more:Right
Adventures of some "True™" Christians in Russia 2008-03-09 09:25:47 The cave that 35 members of a Russia
n doomsday sect have been holed up in since the fall of 2007 is not currently at risk from flooding, a local emergency services official said on Thursday. The sect went underground in the central Russian Penza Region order to “save themselves during the time of the apocalypse,” which they say will come in May this year. This video is a Nov, 2007 report by Russia Today. They have threatened to set fire to themselves if any attempt is made to force them to come to the surface. The group includes four children. Russian emergency services officials said at the end of February they were ready to launch an operation to rescue the sect members in the event of the cave being submerged by underground waters in the spring thaw. “Right now we are experienci Read more:Adventures
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Religion should be treated with ridicule, hatred, and contempt 2008-03-09 07:06:02 This is Christopher Hitchens on Free Speech. This is the tail end of twenty minute speech given in Canada in November 2006. The reason I am posting this video here is because I would like to point out that Hitchens does not advocate hating Christians, Muslims, or other religious people. It is religion itself that he says should be hated. I think that hating individuals because they are infected with religious delusion is just as bigoted as hating people who are infected with a disease, or who are ignorant, or who are mistaken about something. I left Christianity when I figured out I had been duped by an ancient, well supported, propaganda campaign machine. I was angry about it. I felt deceived and cheated. But feeling anger, in my mind, is not hatred
. When Christians try to evangelize me, Read more:Religion
West Memphis Christian Hypocrites 2008-03-15 05:17:55 By Tim This is just a quick rant. A while back I called the principal of the West MemphisChristian
School (which is part of the Church of Christ on Missouri Street) to see if he might be able to find a volunteer to help me around the house once a month. I have two herniated discs in the middle of my back, recently injured both my legs, and had been in physical therapy for several months trying to get my legs in shape. Some things are just about impossible to do and I thought perhaps a young Christian lad wouldn't mind donating thirty minutes to an hour of his time once a month to help me do things like change a light bulb, move a heavy box, etc.I guess I was wrong. Sometime later I talked to the principal again and he told me that he couldn't find anyone to do it. It was really hard
Happy Friday! 2008-03-14 16:08:39 By DocMikeTZIF! Thank Zeus it's Friday
! If christians can thank a mythical god for good things that happen and things that are inevitable (like Fridays), why can't Atheists do the same?I think the christian god has had exclusive rights to Fridays for too long! It's time to dethrone him! So before some christian can recite their TGIF tag line, why not throw them a curve ball by thanking some other mythical character? I find it really freaks them out and often prompts some very interesting conversations...Happy
Friday, everyone!Technorati Tags:humor Atheist God Christian Comics
Grassley, Baucus Urge Four Ministries to Cooperate with Information Request 2008-03-13 22:04:23 From MarinaWASHINGTON – Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Committee on Finance, and Sen. Chuck Grassley
, ranking member, have written to four ministries to urge cooperation with an earlier information request from Grassley. Baucus and Grassley lead the committee with exclusive Senate jurisdiction over tax policy; the ministry inquiry that Grassley launched last November is meant to gauge the effectiveness of certain tax-exempt policies."This ought to clear up any misunderstanding about our interest and the committee’s role," Grassley said. "We have an obligation to oversee how the tax laws are working for both tax-exempt organizations and taxpayers. Just like with reviews of other tax-exempt organizations in recent years, I look forward to the cooperation of these ministries in the week Read more:Ministries
I am a christian 2008-03-13 21:42:00 From BrandonI want you to know that just because you dont believe in God, doesnt mean he's not there. God loves you. Romans 5:8 says God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us. God has a love and a grace that is beyond human understanding. I am a christian obviously and I believe that Jesus Christ will be coming again and that He will take His people, the believers, with Him. I pray that you and the people who dont believe in Christ will turn before that day. If you want to ask me some questions or anything email me back.Email: brandon.buck41@yahoo.com
You Can’t Have It Both Ways: Part 2 2008-03-16 07:50:00 By Brian Worley The Split Personality of Christianity Philosophical vs. Fundamentalism Christianity has had this split personality for some time now. On one hand you have the obsessive fundamentalist side that is aggressive in nature. On the other hand you have the calm and steady philosophical or cultural (PC) side that has made positive contributions to society. Why should this duality be ignored by skeptics and perpetuated by Christians? If Christians were to "clean their house", I think a reasonable case for a sustainable Christianity could be made. An Episode of Christian Rivalry: A Brief look at Yale Back in the
The Atheism Tapes 2008-03-15 09:32:00 ExChristian.Net has partnered with Alive Mind Media to offer The AtheismTapes
on DVD. Alive Mind Media holds exclusive rights to the The Atheism Tapes.The Atheism Tapes is a BBC television documentary series presented by Jonathan Miller. The material that makes up the series was originally filmed for another, more general series, Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief, but was too in-depth for inclusion. Instead, the BBC agreed to create The Atheism Tapes as a supplementary series of six programs, each consisting of an extended interview with one contributor.In these off-the-record interviews, neurologist turned playwright, filmmaker and self-described atheist Jonathan Miller filmed conversations with six of today's leading men of letters and science: the New York Times best-selling author
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