Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura on June 4, 2009 at 6:18pm

You should post some of those gems for everyone to enjoy.

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Permalink Reply by Wendy on June 4, 2009 at 6:19pm

I vividly remember the Music Machine. Honestly, I was probably 8 or 9 before I realized it was a religious thing. I feel the same sense of "Holy Brainwash, Batman!" whenever I visit a church with my parents. I look at all these otherwise intelligent, normal, friendly people, and wonder how they can just accept the teachings. Even "Cafeteria Catholics" still take a lot of garbage that's just nonsensical.

It kinda breaks my heart, honestly. My dad is a biology teacher. Very scientific, and uses logic pretty much in his every day life. Except in regards to faith. Arguing with him about that (or homosexuality) kills me. Where did I learn to be so open minded & ACTUALLY scientific??

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Permalink Reply by Rev. James Thomas Hicks, D.D. on June 4, 2009 at 7:13pm

I haven't been punish to listen to those types of things, except for in church, but I have come across some dvds called Hermie & Friends that my son has been apparently watchin'. Not sure where they came from yet. Will post these events later.

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Permalink Reply by Johnny on June 5, 2009 at 7:04pm

I was a kid in the 80s too.

I remember Music Machine and Psalty; but most prominently of those "auditory memories" are the Bible stories with "Uncle Dan & Aunt Sue."

There's all kinds of new brainwashing music today, I hear it from my nieces all the time (as well as occasionally hearing some of those flashbacks from my childhood).

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Permalink Reply by Misty: Baytheist Living! on June 6, 2009 at 9:40am

I can still sign "Jesus Loves Me" in ASL

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Permalink Reply by Kenneth Ed on June 6, 2009 at 7:15pm

Yeah teaching kids that non-scientific belief offers unconditional love and intrinsic worth is pretty insidious. Plus there's a chance they might miss out on a hot three-way down the road. I recommend that you free thinkers introduce your little globs of carbon to these classics:

"Jesus Was a Possibly Fictional Ancient Jew Who Doesn't Love You"
"Grandma's Gonna Die Soon and She'll Just Be Dead"
"Stifle that Urge to Seek Something Beyond What We Know For Sure Cause It's Just A Chemical Reaction"

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Permalink Reply by Nelson on June 6, 2009 at 8:14pm

i love it when religious people say "free-thinkers" as if they just took a bite out of a dog turd and are spitting it out. it's incredible that thinking freely is so repugnant to you Kenneth.

regarding your oh so clever song titles... do you have evidence that Jesus loves us? do you disagree that Jesus was an ancient Jew?
do you have any evidence that Grandma will be anything other than dead when she dies?
and since when does understanding the naturalistic mechanisms by which the universe works stifle the urge to seek something beyond current knowledge? if anything it is the acceptance of non-answers that replace real answers that stifles the search for current knowledge. after all, why continue searching when you have all the answers and have had for between 2000-3200 years!

great first post though! you've really changed everyone's minds regarding the quality of the arguments put forth by the religious!

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Permalink Reply by Laura on June 6, 2009 at 9:02pm

So you think that kids need to believe in the supernatural in order to understand that their lives have intrinsic worth? If worth only comes from a god, then it's not intrinsic, is it?

I don't think that we need to lie to children about omniscient dieties and eternal life in order to teach them that their lives have value.

And does your god offer unconditional love? In that case, we should just teach our children to do good and be themselves, and we shouldn't need to worry about their belief in a deity that may or may not exist. Because unconditional love would mean that we haven't have to believe in a god in order for it to love us. And if it loved us, certainly there would be no worry about hell. So why do we need to drill into our kids' heads that that there is a god and an afterlife when we don't have any proof that that's the case?

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Permalink Reply by Dave G on June 8, 2009 at 2:03pm

"Yeah teaching kids that non-scientific belief offers unconditional love and intrinsic worth is pretty insidious."

Not that I've noticed. The threat of eternal torment and pain is pretty far from unconditional love. Matter of fact, it's pretty damn conditional. 'Do as I say, or I will hurt you forever.' Nice guy, your God.

And the worth offered is not intrinsic. As a matter of fact, the concept that humanity is inherently worthless and vile, and only God can lift people out of that state, is pretty core to a number of Christian denominations, and at is most basic form, to Christianity as a while. Original Sin, etc.

Sorry, Kenneth. 0 for 2.

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Permalink Reply by Misty: Baytheist Living! on June 10, 2009 at 8:04am

Oh damn! I thought this guy was serious! That's the kind of post I'd make. I'm seriously about to pee myself over here! Let's break this down to understand the truth in his apparent attempt at sarcasm.

"Yeah teaching kids that non-scientific belief offers unconditional love and intrinsic worth is pretty insidious." -Yeah. It is. You know why? Because shit happens. If you really believe that you are loved unconditionally by an omnipotent being, it is safe to assume you'll be protected and happy forever or at worst tested and rewarded when you show your faith. The problem with this is that your god fails to deliver on his promise. Good, god-fearing people have crappy lives and die miserable. That is a fact. The argument of being rewarded in heaven is no better than a rumor since the concept of it changes from person to person, denomination to denomination. Life isn't fair, therefore god isn't. He is either evil, incompetent or both. Teach your child to be a good citizen and earn the love of their neighbors is much more fulfilling and beneficial to everyone. Intrinsic worth is a flawed concept. Love and admiration is something to be earned. The only person deserving of immediate devotion is a baby or newborn. As soon as they are old enough to learn, they gain responsibility for their actions. From that stage on, it becomes a process. Everyone needs to make thoughtful choices in life and pay the consequences when these choices are bad.

"Plus there's a chance they might miss out on a hot three-way down the road." - And the downside to this is ....what exactly?
Wait a minute.. whose side are you on, anyway?
Why are you so concerned with what goes on between two -or three-or more(!) consenting adults? You some kind of pervert? There are people that are into that, you know. I'd really suggest finding another who's into voyeurism play first or risk having the cops called when you're crushing Auntie Belle's petunias while peeking in her window at night.

"I recommend that you free thinkers introduce your little globs of carbon to these classics:" -Not making any personally. I feel that our earth is passed capacity for prime human load. If I do make the decision to adopt, I'll pass on your ideas. Let's see what we have here:

"Jesus Was a Possibly Fictional Ancient Jew Who Doesn't Love You" -How about we cut out all the fat there and just make it. "Jesus was Probably Fictional"
"Grandma's Gonna Die Soon and She'll Just Be Dead"- Oh.. tough one. Not all atheists believe in obliteration, (I have a blog on that somewhere. You can go take a look!) And even if you are one of those, how about explaining to your child that "Grandma is in a lot of pain right now, because that is the life-process." Telling your kid a fairy tale might make YOU feel better, but it will probably confuse them a bit down the road. I can't wait to hear your idea of where-babies-come-from! Obviously your own sense of comfort is way more important than your child's grasp of reality. Awesome!
"Stifle that Urge to Seek Something Beyond What We Know For Sure Cause It's Just A Chemical Reaction" -Awww.. see, I knew it! YOU ARE fighting on the atheist side! See, it's the religunuts that tell everyone "hmm.. no need for science here. We can stop all education and be happy with the story that god did it! No.. no! Look over here! I have cookies! No need to explore the beginnings of the universe or evolution. So what if it can unlock the cure for horrible diseases. Didn't you know that disease is a punishment?" Religion has a write off excuse for every mystery. GOD DID IT! Any research beyond that answer has been seen as blasphemy for thousands and thousands of years. My orgasms are just great even though I know it's a reaction of nerves. How are yours?

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Permalink Reply by Jacob on June 9, 2009 at 4:22pm

I remember in 8th grade the only music our teacher would let us listen to was Christian music. I tried not to show it, but I couldn't help but laugh while listening to it.

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Permalink Reply by Laura on June 9, 2009 at 5:06pm

I hope you were at a religious school and weren't having your constitutional rights repeatedly violated at a public school. :)

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