Issue 135

News: Ray Comfort has no idea about atheism.
I first discovered Ray Comfort through his claim that the Banana is evidence of God's design, failing to notice that it was more likely "designed" by New Guineans over generations. Later, I stumbled upon a blog he uses to try to convert atheists. Here is a list of 10 things he thinks atheists do, with annotations by me (in italics).

1. Whenever you are presented with credible evidence for God's existence, call it a "straw man argument," or "circular reasoning." This, of course, depends on the proposition that there really is credible evidence for his existence. If something is quoted from somewhere, label it "quote mining." It's only Quote mining if you take a small quote out of context, like claiming that Darwin thought that the evolution of the eye seemed improbable without noting that he went into a three-page spiel about how it could be done.

2. When a Christian says that creation proves that there is a Creator, dismiss such common sense by saying "That's just the old watchmaker argument." The Design argument only implies a powerful creator, not with all of the qualities we assign God. Indeed, why can natural processes count as a Creator?

3. When you hear that you have everything to gain and nothing to lose by obeying the Gospel, say "That's just the old 'Pascal wager.'" Pascal's Wager is quite possibly the most debunkable argument for God's existence. For instance, suppose you get another God than YHVH in the afterlife and he's just as jealous?

4. You can also deal with the "whoever looks on a woman to lust for her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart," by saying that there is no evidence that Jesus existed. The existence of Jesus and questions of the morality of his teachings are two totally different issues.

5. Believe that the Bible is full of mistakes, and actually says things like the world is flat. Do not read it for yourself. That is a big mistake. Many Atheists have read the Bible cover to cover, and some (such as Julia Sweeney) have lost their faith as a direct result of reading it.

6. Say that you were once a genuine Christian, and that you found it to be false. Additionally, if a Christian points out that this is impossible (simply due to the very definition of Christianity as one who knows the Lord), just reply "That's the 'no true Scotsman fallacy.'" According to What dictionary does the definition of Christian mean "somebody who knows the lord?"

7. Believe that nothing is 100% certain, except the theory of Darwinian evolution. Indeed, few things are 100% certain to most educated people (except math). A lot are 99.99999999999% certain, and Evolution is most likely one of them.

8. Deal with the threat of eternal punishment by saying that you don't believe in the existence of Hell. The mere denial of something does not make it false. It is the absurdity of the fact that a just God would give infinite punishment for finite sin. Even the Holocaust was supposed to end.

9. Blame Christianity for the atrocities of the Roman Catholic church. Christianity is a mixed bag, with people whose aims range from world peace to perpetual war claiming inspiration from the Bible. The sheer malleability of the Word seems to be another thing that takes away from the crebility of Christianity.

10. Finally, keep in fellowship with other like-minded atheists who believe as you believe, and encourage each other in your beliefs. This tends to be true. Of course, a lot of atheists have theist friends who are willing to agree to disagree. Indeed, I tend to be willing to do that as long as they don't push Jesus on people like they're dealing Jesus heroin to unsuspecting youth, or if they can admit that they can't prove it, like Kierkegaard.

Band Name of the Day: The J-Men. From an interesting mash-up of many old movies that I've seen recently, J-Men Forever (perhaps a review will come in a later issue).

Film Idea of the Day: Don Giovanni. I've come up with the idea, from Ken Branaugh's doing a similar film, to create a modernized and translated version of Mozart 's Don Giovanni, whose dark comedy tends to fit in better with my style than The Magic Flute's Enlightenment Optimism. Translation is certainly a must, and Perhaps I could turn the recitatives into standard dialogue, among other things, most likely including a modernization of the plot, maybe with Leporello reading the catalogue of his master's conquests not from a scroll, but from a PDA.

Film Review of the Day: S.F.W. I recently discovered this film in a DVD bargain bin, and found that it was certainly quite interesting and not at all deserving of the obscurity it's gotten. It's about how Steven Dorff managed to get kidnapped by terrorists and held in a quick stop, only to shoot his way out, and become a celebrity, only to get shot himself by an honors student screaming "Everything Matters!" who would eventually usurp his stardom. Perhaps the aforementioned climax was what turned off a lot of critics upon its release, but as a satire of the media, it certainly works.

Quote of the Day: "I heard, I heard what you were saying. You, you know nothing of my work. How you ever got to teach a course in anything is totally amazing."
____________________Marshall McLuhan, Annie Hall.

Link of the Day: Some funny and concise articles and stories explaining atheism. Anything with a paper icon next to is highly recommended by me.

Issue 134

News: I think I finally figured out "Some Velvet Morning."
In 1967, Nancy Sinatra was becoming one of the highest rising pop stars, due to the success of her hit "These Boots are Made for Walking", which would later become the soundtrack for the Waco siege, and the success of a romantic duet with her father (a move few father-daughter singers have bothered to attempt except for Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg, in a more overt way). Somehow, nobody could have anticipated what would come next: a psych-AC single of her duet with a deep-voiced cowboy named Lee Hazelwood which would soon become one of the most bizarre hits to top the Top 40: "Some Velvet Morning." I first heard of the song from an old tape of J.C. Webster calling Coast to Coast AM, where he was complaining about it encouraging men to have sex with Greek goddesses. The song is famous for its cryptic nature, hinting to the myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra, which eventually led to both being killed, but the fact that both of the singers seem to represent the characters shows that neither have been killed. About Lee's verse: Th first two lines seem to me to mean that Lee is trying his best to move on from Phaedra (Nancy Sinatra's character), and is failing horribly, and through the rest of his side of the verse seems to be announcing his intention to put his failure into context for the girl, which he never does, but seems to leave to Nancy. Nancy's verse, however, does seem to be quite telling. My theory about the meaning of her verses is that they seemed to bond over her gardening, but as it turned out, especially with the line, "look at us, but do not touch", it seemed that Phaedra managed to become to engrossed in her gardening, and this caused him to become so frustrated with her that he left her, and this managed to lead to both feeling enough regret that they managed to dwell upon it, due to the fact that these verses are repeated three times in the song. Of course, I may be very off, but the only person who knows this for sure is dead and has been since last August.

Band Name of the Day: The New Babel. From The New York Trilogy.

Film Idea of the Day: An greengrocer for a small town becomes old and the people in the town he serves get annoyed at the fact that his getting old is leading to him getting slower. When they act on their frustrations, the old greengrocer takes matter in his own hands.

Film Review of the Day: Reds. This has to be one of the best biopics I've ever seen, especially coming from a man who stars, wrote in, and directed the movie. Especially with the subject matter, about a socialist journalist who saw the rise of the USSR, and saw early on how much it had lost its way.

Quote of the Day: "Baudelaire: Il ne semble que je serais toujours bien la ou je ne suis pas. In other words: It seems that I will always be happy in the place where I am not. Or, more bluntly: Wherever I am not is the place where I am myself. Or else, taking the bull by the horns: Anywhere out of the world."
_______________Paul Auster.

Link of the Day: There's more than enough in the news section.

New Tract: "Somebody Angry?": Jack looks for a link between natural phoenomena and America's attitude towards Israel.