Why the masks, ladies?

If you are that convinced of your strongly-held beliefs then wouldn't you want the world to know how invested you are in your cause? If you are truly proud of what you stand for, then why do you need to hide your face?

Is it because you secretly do not believe in what you are willing to kill over. Are you in fact willing to die over it? Hiding behind a mask makes it easier to run away later on...


It might be that you think there is more mystique and production value pretending to be one of countless masses that walk like you, talk like you, think like you. But even the Slim Shady army that represents masses of like-minded people would hold their heads high and without a mask.

So even your masked masses hide from society. Is that really brave?

If you want to show how proud you are of your beliefs, then why can't you be as openly proud of what you believe as these people?

For the little weasel that can't make an actual point about my post but feels I've enacted a double standard, I'm in this photo below standing up for what I believe. Call me when you've done something meaningful with your life.

Religious websites demonstrate the hollowness of God argument

Here is a simple way to tell if an argument is defensible or not.  Can the argument hold up to criticism?

Anything that can be proven, or demonstrated, can take any criticism. There's always a way to work to a solution. And when someone doesn't get it, you can guide them to the truth. Guidance requires dialog.

Not so with religious websites. Most give long dull self supporting arguments that cannot hold up against criticism. It doesn't matter what St. Doofus said. It doesn't matter if you have a Ph.D. Or not. If your argument is defensible it will stand on its own merits. Or not.

So if I had a doubt about God I should be able to ask you to clarify your argument and you could walk me through my ignorance. Seems reasonable?

Most religious websites have their comments turned off. They ignore all dialog. Why? Isn't the purpose of a website expressing ideas to communicate? No, to those that preach it's about acceptance and obedience and no questioning what is said. Why, even first century Roman society allowed free expression on the walls of the Coliseum. Anyone could post a written note and replies for ALL to see.

Maybe the Romans had a point? Maybe the absolute dogmatism of religious zealots is a problem?

You are free to comment. You can say whatever you like. If you say something interesting, I'll consider it.  If you're moronic, I'll laugh and ignore it. But I don't possess the sin of pride to think my views are omnipotent and above criticism. Religious people that preach demonstrate their arrogance and the hollowness of their argument.

The Internet: A Gift from God?

I like the new Pope, Pope Francis, because I think he is a really compassionate - if misguided - human being that is practicing what Jesus (allegedly) taught. But from what he says from time to time I question whether or not he understands the dogma he believes that the Church has indoctrinated him with. How can you truly affect the human condition if you can't see through your own misperceptions? In January of this year, he called the internet: he said Francis said: '[The internet] is something truly good, a gift from God.' Read more: The Daily Mail. He got the first part right. The internet is a wonder of invention. But the odious and wrong part of this statement is claiming it was the product of otherworldly creation. Question, if God thought the internet was such a good idea, then why did he wait until man was in the second millenia to give it to us? No, the Pope has committed a blunder and an act of piracy at the same time. To claim that the effort of discovering, making, and producing the internet was a godlike act lies to humanity and ignores the real human suffering that went along with that creation. Scientists and engineers worked very hard, worked through disputes and technical challenges, missed their families and vacations, debugged nagging problems and lived a life devoted to achievement. It steals a great achievement of man and gives it to a non entity. It is unfair and unjust and takes away from real people's dignity. This is what the Church does - it steals the real achievements of men and deceives believers to give more credit where no credit is due. So while you may admire the Pope, beware of his dogma it hasn't changed.