Goran

Utah 12.24-12.31.2008

LOL Fallout3

Obama on religion

For one, they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn't want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves. It was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they did not want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it.

Moreover, given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.

And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles.

This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.

Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what's possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It's the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God's edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one's life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing.

For entire speech go to:
http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/index.php

Quote on life :D

I'm quoting this from a French newspaper. Those frogs know how to live

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways Champagne in one hand...strawberrys in the other, your body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO-What a ride!!"

How to get rid of ads.

After few noisy adds, I decided to get medieval on them. Here is how to get rid of all banner adds on wire:

If you use Firefox:
1. Go to http://adblockplus.org/en/ and dload the firefox addon for free
2. Open Tools/Addblock Plus menu
3. Click 'Add Filter' and paste
http://images.imgehost.com/3341/banners/
4. add another filter and paste
http://adserving.cpxinteractive.com/

bye bye ads. good riddance.

Abortion

Okey dokey, here is the boomerang issue that always comes back just before the election day. I'd compare it to a religious issue because it has to do with subjective belief on when life begins.

Here is what Obama says about it:

I think making abortion illegal would only send it underground and would remove little influence society has over it. Banning issues based on subjective belief is often counter productive. As long as there is demand there will be supply. Drugs have been illegal for very long time yet they are easy to get. Booze was illegal at one point but that didn't stop people from drinking. What makes people think that making abortion illegal will be effective?

I also think republicans will never do anything about abortion since this issue gets them elected at every level of government.

Double Windsor Knot Anonymous

My name is Goran and I cannot tie a tie. At least not consistently. If I don't do it for a couple months I have to relearn it. Since I always seem to forget the darn double Windsor I'm posting this link for myself and other blokes with similar problem.

How I came to Wire

I came to wire via religion forum. Through discussion I wanted to better organize my thoughts on religion. I was accused of various things during that time including having hidden agendas, being close minded, arrogant, ignorant, unable to think outside the box, hateful of god and religion, etc.

But this didn't dissuade me from participating in discussions because we atheists have two things in common. First is well known. Second is, when religious majority find out we are atheist, most reject us, look at us with pity, disrespect, or worse as targets for conversion. All of that could be witnessed on these forums. Let's face it, we are a tiny minority living in world or religious majority. Religion is all around us and affects us whether we like it or not.

Various people have developed various ways of dealing with that. Fact is that majority of atheists at this point in time are skeptics with above average intelligence, curiosity, and inner fortitude to go against the flow. Being atheist is still not for feeble. Because of all these factors, we can sometimes come across as stubborn, or plain arrogant.

But I will never be ashamed of being atheist or being anything else for that matter. I'm who I am, I am here to stay, and I will do my part in helping atheists overcome insecurities stemming from minority status. I will do so because our world is the one with no religious divisions, focused on here and now, and that's something to be proud of.