It Sounds Like Science...

Fiction.



This is part one in my new series of crazy things in religion!

I decided this afternoon to look up Scientology because I don't want to study for exams and I don't know a lot about it.

Scientology gets a lot of crap from the rest of the world for being a bit kooky. They're the D&D playing trekkie on the playground and Christianity is the mean stinky bully with bad teeth.

And it isn't hard to see why when the holiest of their religious Scriptures is called a "Space Opera". According to Scientology's founder "modern-day science fiction genre of space opera is merely an unconscious recollection of real events that took place millionsof years ago." Also, our souls temporarily go to the planet Venus when we die. Also, this one guy Xenu commits a big genocide on earth with a bunch of Hydrogen bombs and that is where we all come from! We are immortal souls locked in fleshy cages or something and we reincarnate. Oh, and a lot of this action with Xenu happened roughly 300,000 x the generally accepted age of the Universe years ago. Also, the way that the big bad Xenu got us all here? DC-8s.

So yeah, it is a bit crazy. But so far the worst I can see they've done is be all anti-psychiatry. Which is bad... psychiatry can be very useful in many situations. But is isn't that bad compared to some of the other shit that goes down.

Not Another Post About Michael Phelps!

My feelings towards the Phelps have been well documented on this blog. And I assure you, they remain largely unchanged. HOWEVER, I would like to publicly say that I don't blame him for letting his hair down a bit.
Swimmers are in large part (yours truly being one of the very few exceptions) party animals. A friend of mine who met an NCAA champ butterflyer (butterflier?) on a recruiting trip came back and told me "I didn't know one person could drink that much." So the Phelps isn't the only swimmer with less than Mother Teressa-ly conduct, and that's without factoring in the fact that he is a young man (albeit a freakish, dumb, fast one).
Not only that but I don't think people really understand what his life is like during serious training. Sure, they're all seen the human interest pieces about the billion waffles he has to eat a day or whatever, but they really don't understand the true meaning of "Eat, Sleep, Swim". Being restricted like that... it is understandable that he would go a bit crazy once he got his freedom. It happens to a lot of people, not just swimmers.
The Phelps is a simple man (the idea of successful swimmers being simple is a theme I've been meaning to write about, but haven't quite gotten around to). Do I think going out and partying, bong and all, is stupid and a wast of time and energy? Yes. But so is wasting your time watching MTV or being a creationist. Yes, I did just equate being a creationist with taking a hit off a bong, in fact being a creationist is dumber in my opinion. I actually don't think that smoking pot (though the practice has never appealed to me) is that bad, so long as you don't allow it to take over your life.
So Yeah... I had a point in that last paragraph somewhere... but I've forgotten it. Summery:

1. I still don't like the Phelps but the whole bong thing doesn't really affect the way I look at him.
2. This kind of thing could have happened to about +75% of the college population... except they're not world class swimmers, so get over it.
3. Swimming is very demanding.
   
4. Pot shouldn't be illegal.
5. That other point I was going to make but forgot.
6. Creationism is stupid.

And in honor of that last number I present to you, a picture of the Phelps... looking like Jesus.


Freak.

A quick post on Atheism

Watch the video from 1:3o on.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - The Unbearable Lightness of Supreme Being

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Text from the sign:

At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail.

There are no gods, no devils, no angles, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

I'm not sure how I feel about this sign. While I think that they should absolutely have the right to put it up, I question the wisdom of doing so. It comes off as a bit hostile. There are ways and means to achieve converts and equality, but this is not it. It will just create outrage.

Depressing stuff from the U.N.

I'm not going to pretend to know a great deal about the going ons of the U.N.

But this particular article has not done much to contradict the many negative things that I have heard about them.

You can find the article:
here

"The ban came after a heated session on Monday, when the representative of the Association for World Education (AWE), in a joint statement with the International Humanist and Ethical Union, denounced female genital mutilation, the penalty of stoning for adultery and child marriage as sanctioned by Islamic law."

Now I could understand why Egypt, Pakistan and Iran would get all up in arms if they were criticizing Islam for something like praying towards Mecca or their belief that Allah is the only god, but female genital mutilation (a dangerous, painful and basically cruel practice)? The stoning of adulterers (something that only applies to females in most places and the burden of proof for a man accusing his wife of adultery is really a joke)? Child marriage (I kinda want to put parenthesis after this one because I put them after the other two, but I don't really think that I need to elaborate)? These are legitimate issues that can/are causing harm. Oh, yea and free speech. That one is important too.