Excellent point.

Yeah that idea the a portly old white guy could do all of the magical things they claim he can do is just ridiculous on its face.

I'm of course talking about Donald Trump.

That Santa fellow seems legit.

The difference between Trump supporters and Clinton supporters all in one graphic.

Courtesy of Inside Same Grain: 

Trump supporters are more likely to believe in most paranormal phenomena - angels, ghosts, alien visits, conspiracy theories, and Big Foot. Clinton supporters are only more likely to believe in psychics. The biggest difference between Trump and Clinton is with a belief in Big Foot; Trump supporters are 28% more likely to believe in the mythological ape-like creature. Clinton supporters' stronger belief in psychics is likely due to to the fact that women, from whom she enjoys strong support, are more likely to believe in psychics. Note also that Clinton supporters are nearly 40% more likely to have no paranormal beliefs. 

If you get right down to it this is really the thing.

The thing that separates the rational from the irrational.

The less intelligent superstitious are easily convinced to put critical thinking aside in favor of feelings, or intuition, or even faith. All of which are easily manipulated to lead them down the path toward making choices that are harmful to them personally or harmful to all of us as a nation.

These are people that Donald Trump, a rabid consumer of conspiracy theories, understands on a fundamental level. And in turn they also feel a connection to him.

This is why fact checking and in depth reporting has no impact on his support.

They BELIEVE they know him, and no facts to the contrary will shake their faith. 

Starting to really love the Liberal Redneck.

"Crazier than Michele Bachmann on bath salts."

Oh yeah, this guy's going places.

Ken Ham has no idea what Atheists think.

The atheist religion -& that’s what is a RELIGION - is intolerant of Christianity as they worship nature & shake their fist at God

— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) March 19, 2016

For the zillionth time Atheism is NOT a religion.

We have no rituals, no holy books, and really no consensus on anything except for the fact that there is not enough evidence to convince us to accept the existence of any the gods worshiped by our fellow humans. 

As for shaking our fist at God, we do that exactly as often as we chase Leprechauns, shoo unicorns off of our lawns, and get into fistfights with Bigfoot.

Producer suggests that rash of new TV shows featuring the devil, Antichrist or demonic possession is because people think we are entering the End Times.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter:

So why is the devil suddenly so sexy again for the small screen? 

"The devil has always been very sexy," Mazzara told THR following his time in front of the press Wednesday at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour. "There's something in the air that people feel like these are the end times, in some way. There's an anxiety about what's happening all around the world and some of these shows — like Lucifer may take a comic approach — we're taking a hopefully more thoughtful, thematic approach to that material. There has been a lot of post-apocalyptic shows out there now and we're the show that's about the question: "Can you stop it?"

Glen Mazzara is a producer on an A&E show called "Damien" that explores the life of the Antichrist.

Similarly themed programs are also coming from Fox and Cinemax.

Of course stories featuring the devil or Antichrist are nothing new. From Schwarzenegger's "End of Days," Keanu Reeves in "Constatine,"  to Al Pacino's scenery shredding performance in "The Devils' Advocate," these movies have been around essentially since movies have been around.

However these days there really MIGHT be more Americans who believe that the biblical prophesies are about to come true, especially for those one in four Americans who think that President Obama IS the Antichrist.

Yeah, I wonder who we have to blame for that?

All I can say is that I hope I live long enough to see the country move away from these crippling superstitious beliefs into an enlightened age where ghost stories, movies about demonic possession, and music inspired by Satanism are seen as purely entertainment and not some harbinger of terrifying things to come.

Now how come I did not get THIS for Christmas?

Now there's a conversation starter for you.

Just a reminder that the tenets of the Satanic Temple are far more instructive and moral than the Ten Commandments.

There are seven fundamental tenets. 

• One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason. 
• The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. 
• One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. 
• The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo your own. 
• Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs. 
• People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused. 
• Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word

By now I'm sure that most of you realize that the Satanic Temple really has very little to do with Satan, and actually exists mostly to troll Christians.

I actually enjoy much of their work, and I might think about joining them if I were not already dedicated to repairing the reputation of Atheists instead.

I think I found my next bumper sticker.

Perhaps my biggest criticism of religion is that it targets children too young to separate fantasy from reality.

If I could pass a single law to change humanity for the better, I would make it illegal to introduce religion to people until they were at least sixteen years old.

Then let's see how long it survives.

It's easy to be an Atheist.

For those who are having trouble reading the sign:

"It's easy to be an Atheist when you don't think about there everything (Including God) came from."

Yes, it is SO easy to be an Atheist.

And the reason is because we simply do not think. Nope, not us.

You sure nailed our asses random guy with a sign.

Yes, this. Exactly this.

This may be the best representation of religion that I have ever seen.

Now THAT'S a coincidence.

It kind of reminds me of L. Ron Hubbard quote, "You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion."

I mean it is almost as if these two were charlatans who recognized how easily manipulated people were by noticing the sway that previously established religions had over their actions, and purse strings. 

But nah, that's just crazy talk.

Food for thought.

Source

Spiritual people more likely to suffer from mental illness. Interesting.

Courtesy of the Telegraph:

Professor Michael King, from University College London, and his fellow researchers wrote in the British Journal of Psychiatry: "Our main finding is that people who had a spiritual understanding of life had worse mental health than those with an understanding that was neither religious nor spiritual." 

The study was based on a survey of 7,403 randomly selected men and women in England who were questioned about their spiritual and religious beliefs, and mental state. 

Of the participants, 35 per cent described themselves as "religious", meaning they attended a church, mosque, synagogue or temple. Five in six of this group were Christian. 

Almost half (46 per cent) described themselves as neither religious nor spiritual, while the 19 per cent remainder said they had spiritual beliefs but did not adhere to a particular religion. 

Members of this final group were 77 per cent more likely than the others to be dependent on drugs, 72 per cent more likely to suffer from a phobia, and 50 per cent more likely to have a generalised anxiety disorder. 

They were also 40 per cent more likely to be receiving treatment with psychotropic drugs, and at a 37 per cent higher risk of neurotic disorder. 

The researchers concluded: "We conclude that there is increasing evidence that people who profess spiritual beliefs in the absence of a religious framework are more vulnerable to mental disorder.

Well of course I have  numerous opinions on this data, including why I think it might be so, but I think I will simply leave this here for all of you to discuss and then later I will revisit it and perhaps add my two cents worth.

I think one thing to keep in mind is how one defines "spirituality" and the reason WHY somebody usually joins a religious organization. I think that will help narrow the focus of the debate.

Julia Sugarbaker tells Michele Bachmann off! Well kinda.

It is too bad that Julia Sugarbaker is only a fictional character, that the actress playing her is no longer with us, and that she is not actually running for anything. Because I have to say that if she were I would sign on to her campaign in a hot minute.

By the way if Christians ALL conducted themselves as Julia Sugarbaker does, when it comes to the expression of their faith, I would NEVER say one word about them or their religion. Not one.

But sadly that is not the case. And so long as certain religious people insist on injecting their belief system into America's politics, or interfering with the teaching of science to our young people, or bludgeoning the average citizen over the head with constant images and references to their faith on our money, in our pledge, and during our holidays, then I don't see that I have any choice but to address, investigate, and yes even repudiate, the claims of that religion.

I imagine that if I lived in India, and they promised no state sponsored religion, while constantly bombarding me with Hindu imagery and propaganda, that I would have no choice but to address it there as well.

Okay seriously the world is going to end in 2012. Would the Mayans lie to you?

So just in case you are wondering, yes this is another version of "magical thinking."

Only this time unless you are a New Age believer, an apocalyptic groupie, or a Mayan, you probably will not be insulted by having that pointed out.

Okay, well NOW I get it.

American Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson destroys idea of "Intelligent Design" by pointing out the complete lack of intelligence in nature's design.

So there you have it.

The only reason that people assume that things are perfectly created are those people too stupid or lacking in curiosity to investigate the truth.

And if that explanation was too hard to follow, or you just like your dismantling of the Creationist's argument to be more humorous, here is Louis CK's smackdown. Less "science-y" but perhaps more satisfying.