Sabbath School 24/09/11 - An alternative interpretation of Matthew 24:24

As I was entering church this past Saturday (late as usual), someone was reading Matthew 24:24. I was immediately struck by a new interpretation of it I haven't heard before, and I'm wondering if any serious theologian/pastor has shat it out before. Matthew 24:24 reads:

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

And this got me thinking: the false prophets aren't literally prophets. The signs and wonders are things we're already taking for granted every day: the healing of diseases, increased longevity, technology. I mean, we all know the cause of disease is demonic - the only force outside of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that can cast out demons is the master of those demonic powers themselves. Only the devil can extend the life of a human being beyond the three score years and ten our Heavenly Father hath allotted us, and the only thing outside of prayer that can allow instantaneous communication? Surely you agree with me - it has to be demonic. Those pictures you see on the television? Demons. You are inviting demonic forces into your house the moment you turn on that infernal device.

The coup de grace of the demonic deception is yet to come (for what prophet of doom worth his salt doesn't make up his own predictions?), in the form of a cure for cancer, HIV and all other of ailments God has poured out as a curse upon the sinners, satanic agents and homos (especially the homos) of this world, brought forth by the ritual demonic sacrifice of unborn children known as embryonic stem cell research and, worst of all (cue dramatic organ music), evolution.

The point of all of this will be to divert the sight of the world from the Lord and get them trusting in their own devices and their new god science. Undoubtedly, science is the greatest force driving skepticism and atheism today and has been driven from its very foundation by a diabolical agenda. You have been warned: do not partake of the forbidden fruits of science, lest you be deceived and pulled into its web as well.

And that also means my favourite reason for rejecting claims of gods, holy books and the supernatural - that science has done just fine without them and gone a long way towards disproving them - is all part of the satanic ploy...

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P.S. - My official Back to Blogging post is coming later today or possibly tomorrow.

Hiatus...and To Hell With God

Just want to say that my internet is down, so to any followers - I won't be posting much for quite a while.

This track somehow found its way onto my playlist. It isn't the greatest composition ever, nor is it the paragon of lyrical genius, but hell, I just love the title.

What do Al Qaeda and William Lane Craig have in common?

The same justification for religiously sanctioned evil actions.

Over the weekend I read WLC's post justifying the genocide of the Canaanites recorded in the Old Testament. He says:

Moreover, if we believe, as I do, that God’s grace is extended to those who die in infancy or as small children, the death of these children was actually their salvation. We are so wedded to an earthly, naturalistic perspective that we forget that those who die are happy to quit this earth for heaven’s incomparable joy. Therefore, God does these children no wrong in taking their lives.

And

So whom does God wrong in commanding the destruction of the Canaanites? Not the Canaanite adults, for they were corrupt and deserving of judgement. Not the children, for they inherit eternal life.

Then the death of Osama bin Laden prompted me to read a little of his history, and I read this on Wikipedia:

It was after this bombing that al-Qaeda was reported to have developed its justification for the killing of innocent people. According to a fatwa issued by Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, the killing of someone standing near the enemy is justified because any innocent bystander will find their proper reward in death, going to Jannah (Paradise) if they were good Muslims and to Jahannam (hell) if they were bad or non-believers.^[81] The fatwa was issued to al-Qaeda members but not the general public.

Sounds nigh-on identical, doesn't it? In his article, Craig also attempts to differentiate his philosophy from that of the Jihadists. Frankly, I don't see how the supposed reason for the genocide (maintaining purity) and that of the Jihadis differ. Aren't they also "protecting" their religion from contamination and apostacy? And I don't buy the whole "our god loves everyone" schtick. The god depicted in the Old Testament is definitely partisan, favoring his worshippers over everyone else. The whole love angle came far later with Christianity, which interjected it from pagan sources.

Asking Alexandria - Final Episode...OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!

Following my last two music posts, here's something at the very least refreshingly secular...

From their debut album, Stand Up and Scream. Lyrics:

Oh my God.
Oh my God.
If only he knew,
If only he knew,
If only he knew about the world without the bullshit and the lies,
We could have saved him.
They could have saved me.
But instead I'm here drowning in my own fucking mind,
And I'll be damned if you're the death of me.

Blood and ink stain the walls.
Silently with bloodied knuckles, I carry on
Hoping it's not too wrong.
You said the nights were far too long.
'Honey, it's just the start of it.'

Oh my God.
If only he knew.
Oh my God.
If only he knew.
If only he knew!
If only he knew.

Just stand up and scream.
The tainted clock is counting down.
(Faster and fast!)
You gave in to me.
Would you say the nights are far too long now?
(Faster, faster and fast!)

Oh my God!
Oh my fucking God!

The tears that stain my cheek must make me look weak!
I wear them proudly!
I wear them proud!


Just stand up and scream.
The tainted clock is counting down.
(Faster and fast!)
You gave in to me.
Would you say the nights are far too long now?
(Faster, faster and fast!)

Your knife,
My back!
My gun,
Your head!
[x2]

You need a doctor baby,
You scared?
You need a doctor baby,
You scared?
You need a doctor baby,
You scared?
You need a doctor baby,
You scared,
You scared,
You scared!
Yeah!
You need a doctor baby,
You scared!
You need a doctor baby,
You scared!
You need a doctor baby!
You need a doctor baby!
You scared!

OH MY FUCKING GOD this is a great song. I think I'm making it this blog's unofficial anthem :)

Just to squeeze some anti-stupidity sentiment from it, does anyone else hear this line:

If only he knew about the world without the bullshit and the lies

...and just find themselves thinking "creotards..."?

Sabbath School 9/04/11 - P.C. Jesus

Heard someone try to give a defense of Original Sin last Sabbath. It went something like:

Imagine you catch a thief in the act of breaking into a car. The thief runs away and you remain guarding the car. When the police arrive, would they not be justified in holding you under suspicion? It would be up to you to prove your innocence.

That won't work for one reason in particular: God is meant to be omnipotent, no? The two characters being equated here, the police and the supposedly all-knowing, all seeing, ever just deity, do not possess the same qualities. Given this, we are still left with the image of a vengeful, malicious, short-sighted god.

Original sin is, without a doubt, one of the most repulsive doctrines of Xianity. I have heard it argued by very ordinary, average Christians, that a child born to sinful parents who died at birth or young age would be judged according to its parents' sins and burn, with justification given by the numerous passages in the Old Testament that state that the sins of the fathers are visited upon down to the third and fourth generations. To top it off, I remember once a little debate I had with a lady friend over the morality of God wiping out the entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah. I said that even ascribing to the bigoted view you have ascribed to God that homosexuality is the worst sin imaginable and that the women of Sodom were equally as evil as the men, you simply cannot justify punishing the children as well. Know what she said? The children were evil as well.

And this was a normal, fun loving, otherwise caring and empathetic young woman! She couldn't see beyond the narrow-minded view she had been fed her entire life and see the utter objectionability of what she had just said. This is the same kind of reasoning that causes much emotional suffering and, I believe, permanent scarring to young children who are told that they are essentially evil, and that justifies the abuse and murder of children in Nigeria because they are "witches". This is one of the reasons I am so vehemently against religion and indoctrination.

Comment cross-post - Sadventists, badventists(Pharyngula)

Cross-posted from http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/04/sadventists_badventists.php, comment #65

Just want to say, even here in Africa, the Adventist church has had a propensity for producing all sorts of kookery. A few years ago in my home country, Zimbabwe, there was a breakaway movement labelled the "Fugamists" after the Shona "fugama"(to kneel) because one of their core identifying beliefs was that people should kneel every time they pray. They'd go from door to door proselytising people (I think they targeted other mainstream Adventists specifically - they probably gathered intell by lurking around neighbourhoods on Saturday mornings and noting those who left as families all immaculately dressed like), using Ellen White's writings to back themselves up.

They also believed Jesus was coming sometime in 2005 (I think) and pulled their kids from school. Needless to say, this got them in trouble with the authorities plenty times. Eventually, the date of their rapture came and they all went to some remote wilderness spot to wait. And wait. And wait. Eventually, they ran out of food and water and had the authorities had to intervene.

Something similar is brewing in Botswana (where I'm currently based) with some fellows calling themselves the "Present Truth" movement. They're a bit more extreme and ultra-conservative, even boycotting services led by women, in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.

By the way, I'm an apostate 4th generation SDA (still in the closet, though). My great grandfather on my mother's side was quite an Adventist trailblazer, establishing churches wherever he settled. My dad's uncle was an Adventist pastor who established his own ultra-conservative sect (though it did stay within the fold - they were more concerned with morality issues).

Adventist Review - La Sierra University Granted Window to Show its Faithfulness to Church’s Creation Belief

Three days ago, this article appeared on the site for the Adventist Review, "The flagship journal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church". Some may remember the fracas over La Sierra University science faculty teaching science instead of church-endorsed myth that got a lot of people all heated up and ready to burn those evilutionist professors at the stake. Well, the university finally bowed to pressure and announced it would comply with the church's demands. The article I've linked to reports that the university has been given until the second quarter of next year to show its compliance with church dogma by the Adventist Accrediting Association.

I find it kind of ironic that people who clamor for science curricula to "teach the controversy" are so close minded themsselves when it comes to a scientific theory that has been studied, ratified and approved by the majority of biological scientists in the world. Church heads should never have the right to dictate what science professors teach in their lecture halls. Outside of church-affiliated organisations, I doubt La Sierra graduates are able to get a job anywhere.