Monicks: Unleashed

Tag: God

  • Richard Dawkins on the Big Debate

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-S7M0KZTsU]

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZllHfSLsRZg]

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzjnL4HVoMU]

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtUd7-tha_w]

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MPS_GLoNDk]

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndXYip6pdco]

    Jonathan Dimbleby and a panel of experts come together to debate the controversial subject of religion in Britain’s schools.

    The role of religion in education is a subject rarely out of the headlines. Despite Britain’s multi-faith society, schools are still required to include a collective act of worship of a Christian nature, while faith schools and religious academies have raised fears about community cohesion and covert selection.

    Claims by some religious educationalists that faith is the best way to teach moral values is challenged by others in schools who believe religious morality to be outdated and dangerous.

    Dimbleby is joined by Professor Richard Dawkins, Schools Select Committee chairman Barry Sheerman MP, and a multi-faith studio audience.

  • An open reply to hate mail

    UPDATE

    August 24th, 2010

    Travis… um, or maybe you prefer Lorena? Whichever.

    Don’t you think that you’re taking this out of proportion? Dude! SEVEN EMAILS? SERIOUSLY? And the last one, TWICE! SERIOUSLY??

    So you don’t like what your bible says about your sexual preferences? I have a present for you from my favorite book of the bible:

    Leviticus 18:22: Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

    In short, your god detests you. I don’t – I advocate for the rights of people like you.

    … and you’re calling us atheists, “hypocrites,” and engaged in a fight defending religion? RELIGION??!!  Don’t you see how ridiculous your argument is? Get a grip, man.

    Next time I will expose your email address and have you know what massive hate mail is. I’m done with you.

    *****************************************

    August 23rd, 2010

    So after our Twitter Sunday School I got this email:

    ———- Forwarded message ———- From: **** **** Date: Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 2:19 PM Subject: Wow. To: me Sunday school…. What hatred. Umm hypocrite much?

    And today I got this new one:

    ———- Forwarded message ———- On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 6:40 PM, **** *****

    wrote:

    Confused and lost? If you despise religion, and humans practice religion, then you are asserting that you hate peoples’ beliefs, which in turn can hurt a persons feelings. Knowing that a person hates/despises who and what they are, and believe inevitably brings them down. Remember, “Practice compassion & remember that everyone you meet loves something, is afraid of something, misses something & has lost something. ♥”

    I am a male gay Christian. My partner is an atheist. You’re a hypocrite. Ha!

    What what?

    So, here is my reply:

    Greetings sir,

    Thanks for taking the time to write this missive, I appreciate your efforts.

    I take it that you’re replying to this tweet of mine: “So in RE. to your mail: Not hatred nor hypocrisy. Everything I said in Sunday School is true, I don’t hate religion – I despise it.”

    Aye – I do despise religion, not people, not people’s beliefs, the fact that religion enslaves people’s minds. I am not trying, though, to change anyone’s mind. I find it saddening, that you feel that you have the right to call me a hypocrite, but I understand that you’re frustrated, and maybe, just maybe, afraid of losing your faith.

    On the other hand, I don’t appreciate the way you have treated me. You, as a Christian, should find in your heart enough goodness to forgive my inability to believe in any gods. You are not a very good Christian, I suppose, since you must have read that verse in your holy book that explicitly says that you’re not supposed to marry, let alone just have intercourse out of wedlock, with a person of a different set of beliefs, much worse an atheist infidel, and for as unbelievable as you might think it is, much much worse in a gay relationship. But that is none of my business, right?

    Just for your enjoyment I am going to show you what I’m referring to:

    2 Corinthians 6:14-15: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (KJV)

    1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

    Do you still believe that you have the right to call me a hypocrite?

    No, sir, I am not confused, it seems to me that you are.

    I do practice compassion, and believe in every word I say publicly and privately. I am a humanist, I respect people.

    You didn’t take in consideration that I didn’t expose either your name nor your email address in my tweet, and I’m not doing it here either. That should show you a little bit of the type of person that I am.

    I don’t have to respect religion, I think it is a bad thing, but I also know that, since your mind is enslaved, you won’t accept any of the facts that I could present to you to make you understand why I think this way, I know that religion has caused much harm, not just your religion, religion in general.

    I am glad that you read my tweets, I suppose you do like at least half of them, so thanks for that too. I hope they don’t bring you down too much. By the way, does your ‘atheist partner’ know that you’re emailing me this?

    Point in case, thank you for your time, I think you should leave a comment here, my email address is for more productive and amicable things. If you want to debate, I am here for you.

    Good day, sir.

  • How to Persuade an Atheist to Become Christian

    I wish they tried to convert me, I wonder if after a few attempts they would keep categorizing this task as “easy.”

    I found it funny, don’t you?

    ~

    By an eHow Contributor

    If you want to persuade an atheist to open up and listen to your Christian beliefs, you need to arm yourself with evidence, examples and a good testimony of what you led you to the Christian faith to begin with. Atheists often remain steadfast in the denial of a supreme being because they expect concrete proof that God truly exists. While no one can gather that type of evidence, you can use other resources to help convince them of your faith.

    Difficulty: Easy

    Instructions

    1. Focus on the emotional conversion to Christianity. Atheists tend to focus on the rational things of life, things they can test and touch. You cannot test and touch emotion, but you certainly can feel it. Try relating to the atheist on this emotional level by recounting the story of how you found Christ and why you decided to turn to Christianity. Retelling your story of the emotional journey you took to get to the level of faith you have now may peak the interest of an atheist.
    2. Ask the atheist what they believe caused the universe to be formed. Explain that a universe so complex and vast simply cannot come from nothing; a supreme being, often called in arguments an intelligent designer, must exist. Acknowledge that the existence of a supreme being does not necessarily negate the existence of scientifically proven data, such as evolution. In fact, science and religion can work hand in hand if one is willing to listen. An atheist need not give up his knowledge of science and the origins of the Earth to accept that a supreme being exists.
    3. Raise the question of morality with the atheist. Inquire of him where he feels he got his moral values and sense of right and wrong. Argue that morals are something many are innately born with. While our Creator has given us free will, he has also provided us with a sense of right and wrong and the choice to do right or wrong. Most of us experience that inner feeling of guilt and shame we get when we do something wrong. Acknowledge that the society and type of home our parents choose to raise us in greatly affects our moral values as functioning adults but it is difficult to deny the innate awareness we have of what is right and what is wrong.
    4. Present the stories of the Bible to the atheist and show Jesus Christ’s words in the New Testament of forgiveness and love. An atheist may think of the Bible as little more than a storybook but show the atheist your strong belief and faith in the Bible as the true word of God anyway. Persuade the atheist to come with you to a non-denominational church service that is open and informative so he can learn more.

    Tips & Warnings

    • Don’t present the evidence for your case in a threatening or accusatory way. Telling an atheist he may reside in hell one day for rejecting Christianity won’t persuade him at all to your beliefs. In fact, he may reject them completely. Explain your faith in a gentle and non-threatening way that shows him you truly care about his soul and not that you’re passing judgment or just trying to win an argument.
    via ehow.com