More Deranged People in the World

As the title states I have recently found more deranged people. SaltyBlogger.com has included my post Pass the Word - Obama Loves Jesus in the Anything Goes Carnival of Politics. You may find the piece in the From the Left section. The other deranged folk who need to be institutionalized are over at OnlineCourses.net. They have placed Purgatory on their list of Best 50 Atheist/Agnostic Blogs. Here is their summation of this blog.

Laughing in Purgatory (purgatory is the Roman Catholic concept of temporary punishment) is about atheism, parenting, and comedy. The blog chronicles the life and experiences of a father living his life as an atheist and raising his children in the same vein.

I have a few issues with this. One, there is no mention on how batshit crazy I am, and that is why you're here, right? There must be some internet gambling type pool going on concerning when the authorities will come to take me to the psych hospital (my money is on June 27, 2013). Third, by defining Purgatory they draw attention to the fact that I have never given a definition of Purgatory. I just assume people know stuff. Not those general public people, but people as in those who read this blog often. You guys know stuff.
 
Since we're all here, I may as well mention that I have added another Crazy Quote From Tiger Mom Amy Chua in the section right below the Recent Comments on the blog. The crazy quotes are not hard to find. I have been highlighting them as I read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Needless to say, there is a lot highlighted. I need a new marker.
 
LiP

I assume you did not get married with a traditional ceremony, so what was your wedding like?

This was an anonymous question from the Ask Me Anything Page.

I have been to many weddings, and most of them were not religious at all. A friend of the wife's was married outdoors by a waterfall in New York state. From what I understand the person that married them was a friend and not a Justice of the Peace or minister. In the state of New York there is a system where one can sign up and officiate at a wedding. Pretty nifty. Before gay marriage became legal in MA we went to a very nice commitment ceremony for two women. A Unitarian Universalist minister officiated and there was no Sky Fairy talk going on. The rite was held in a hall and then the reception was held right there after the pictures were taken. A buddy of mine got married out of state and wanted to have a reception for friends and family in MA. They had a professor who was a Buddhist from Boston College do a small "secular sermon" about marriage. It was very pleasant. However, there were many (and I'm not lying about this) people in the crowd who were Christian and were not very respectful. They smirked, laughed, and commented amongst themselves during the talk. Of course, the couple spoke about their commitment to each other. That seems to be the common denominator of nontraditional weddings from what I've seen - the couple make their own vows. When they do that I feel like the couple makes getting married a very personal experience. You may laugh at that. After all, isn't getting married all about two people coming together in a public declaration of love? Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. Practically speaking I found that getting married is a business. An emotional business for mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, friends, and oh yeah, the bride and groom. If you are getting married I have one basic suggestion.

Do not get caught up in the drama.

We didn't have a lot of drama, but I have seen it happen with other couples.

At this point I should remind you, dear reader, that this is Purgatory.

Crazy Quotes From Amy Chua, Tiger Mom

Hi everyone, as most of you know I'm reading through Amy Chua's book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. That book is a gold mine of crazy. Period. One post alone can not do it any justice. My plan? I am now placing wacky quotes from the Tiger Mom on the sidebar to your left. It's right below the Recent Comments. I will place a new quote there every day or so.

This is Purgatory - I'm here to share the craziness.

If you want to comment on any of her quotes just email me and I'll share them on the blog: LaughinginPurgatory@Yahoo.com

The Good News of the Decade?

This is a very exciting (in that nerdy way) video about child mortality and statistics. The presenter, Hans Rosling, is very entertaining and funny at times. Watching this is 15 minutes well spent. I originally found out about this video on Science-Based Parenting. Enjoy.

Top Ten Things Religious People Should Know About Atheists

10. Atheists secretly worship the Devil. It's true. This whole rationalism-verifiable-scientific method lingo we atheists use is just a smokescreen while we work tirelessly on Lord Lucifer's most unholy plan: the Justin Bieber-fication of the world. (FYI-I'm in charge of distributing t-shirts).

9. Atheists are just a bunch of jerks. You Godly people were right all along. Atheists have known that Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians, are correct! We just argue with you all because we are a gaggle of a**holes.

Raising Atheists or I'm Glad I'm Not THAT Guy.

I am lucky. My wife and I agree with raising our kids,Will and Ali, as atheists. Sure, I get the look from her when uttering my (our?) godless fatwa to the kids: God is an imaginary friend that a lot of people have. Do not tell them that God is an imaginary friend, they may get very mad at you. She is what you would call ... normal and from a relatively (in comparison with my family which doesn't say a whole lot) non-dysfunctional family who never talked a whole lot about God. Me? My religious upbringing has left me with the lingering feeling that a horde of religious zombies may attack at any time and infect my kids with the zombie/Sky Fairy meme. Don't worry, I don't go around the house chanting the godless fatwa. Not only would that mean I am dangerously dancing at the edge of sanity (can't have that - I am happy with my neuroses, thank you), but it would be sure to boomerang back in my face with my children eventually turning out to be Mormans and wanting to baptize me when I'm dead.

Atheism and the WTF Response

Atheists find that there are many times you just can't reason with people. I was reading a post on the New Humanist blog concerning a Humanist-Catholic discussion group that took place in London. During the discussion the Catholics were explaining the "miracle" of transubstantiation - the transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

The Catholics explained that the change that they believe takes place in the communion bread and wine involves a change in substance. However, this does not involve a change in molecular structure. The change is in the "metaphysical reality", which exists outside of physical reality. It is not something that is empirically verifiable or falsifiable.

*Sigh* Of course it isn't verifiable.

Sarah Palin's First State of the Union Address

Brought to you by that time machine I have kicking around.

Mister Speaker, Vice President Limbaugh, members of Congress, distinguished guests, fellow Americans, and our collective Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, his dad God the Dad, and of course the Holy Spirit:

Tonight the eyes of the world are upon us. From one end of the planet to the other people gaze up at American exceptionalism and say, "How jealous we are of American exceptionalism and how can we, the unexceptional, become exceptional?" I look at them and declare, "Gosh darn it, you are exceptional in your own way although your foreign exceptionalism pales to our American exceptionalism." God Bless America.

Amy Chua - Do Parents Own Their Children?

Mondays are fairly drab days, aren't they? Today started out like any other. Making breakfast for Will and Ali (8 and 5), packing my boy's lunch, and washing dishes - what everyone dreams of doing when they're in college. Today was a bit different. Thanks to one of Ali's  misplaced shoes I tripped, fell and sprained my ankle. Thankfully I was only 2 hours at the urgent care walk-in clinic. I was a bit peeved, however, because I was clearly a mess having not shaved, in my sweats, and by the musky odor gently wafting around me (ala Pig Pen) having gone without my morning ablutions. Most of my fellow walk-ins did not appear to be in  need of urgent care. They didn't look like they were homeless. I did. If you can get dressed up (hey, nice tie!) for the urgent care clinic then your problem is not that urgent. I used that logic with the secretary (much to the irritation of the aforementioned "dressed up" patients) so that I could get immediately seen. She laughed and told me to take a seat.

Evil Clowns and Five Things You Don't Know About Me.

It never fails to amaze me how people have poor judgement. Once again one of my posts (God and Guns - an atheist wonders what's going on there) is in the current edition of the BoBo Carnival of Politics.  What I am happy about is that BoBo, the evil conservative clown who runs the site (his words not mine), did not place the post in the Liberal category. Rather, the piece is a commentary on the love affair many Christians have for their boomsticks.

Top Ten Reasons Why Godless Girls are Better.

Top Ten Reasons Why it's Better to Date/Be Involved With a Godless Girl.

10. Christian women are already taken. God wants your girl for himself. Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Mathew 22:37 NIV  If she is really doing that, then you place a distant second (on a good day - if she has a cat you're probably 3rd).

9. Personally, I never wanted the responsibility that goes along with being involved with a Christian girl. Being the man in a Christian relationship means being the boss. Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Colossians 3:18 NIV See, when (not if) things go wrong in the relationship who's fault will it be? The guy in charge (me). No thank you. Equal rights are the best thing that happened because the blame gets spread around like jam on toast.

8. Godless girls aren't looking to populate the here after with celestial babies. After they die Mormons believe that if they have been really, really good then they get to become gods. Unfortunately, part of the job of the new god is to make star babies with his celestial wife. Forget it, I'm done with changing diapers.

7. The first year of marriage will be rough if you're marrying an Orthodox Jewish woman. If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. Deut. 24:5 Wow, like, that sounds great. I get the feeling that staying at home means I'm not going to the pub, eh? AND I have to bring happiness to her for a full year? I don't have that much happiness in me - honest.

6. It's one thing that I have to explain to complete strangers, family members, and some friends why I'm an atheist. Good God, I don't want to explain it to the person I'm having sex with. I feel that's pretty self explanatory.

5.  Less chance of being saddled with gobbledygook like being each other's soul mates.

No soul = No chance of being soul mates

It doesn't mean I don't love you, but saying or hearing the term soul mate is worse then watching a full episode of Glenn Beck. The other thing I don't like to hear is how we were "meant to be". Listen, I have spent a lot of time in the past sabotaging my romantic relationships - that took hard work, not fate.

4. Godless Girls don't think you're going to Hell (though they may wish it). If you (an atheist) are with a Christian woman then there is something wrong with her. She thinks that when you die you are going to burn in Hell for all eternity. That sounds like a sociopath to me. For all you know she could kill you in your sleep. Maybe she is planning it right now...

3. Godless girls will never say how their god is the one true god and every other deity is false. Let me tell you something, that is a conversation killer.

2. Godless girls will have less irritating friends. Listen, some of your friends will bug her and some of her friends will bug you. However, in general godless women will have friends who are godless, too. Isn't it better to have a few of her friends who are simply irritating as against to being Sky Fairy delusional and irritating?

1. After having sex and you're both in the afterglow she will never say, "I wonder what Jesus is doing right now." 

Ultimate Fighting: Thor vs Jesus Christ

Who would win a fight between Thor and Jesus Christ? Here's how I see it breaking down.

First, some ground rules.

Thor can use his enchanted hammer Mjolnir, his belt of strength, and the magical gantlets that allow him to wield Mjolnir. You might call Thor a wussy for needing the gauntlets, but even a god's hands can get burnt from tossing lightning around. Jesus is not allowed to resurrect himself during the match.  In case JC goes down he must stay down for at least three days. In this situation the fight goes to Thor although a rematch may be in the cards. Yes, Joe Rogan will be commentating with Big John McCarthy the referee. This is obviously a title fight and there will be five five minute rounds.

I Agree With Amy Chua

Amy Chua has created a firestorm in some circles for her critique of "Western" (her word, not mine) parenting. To put her view in equation form: Traditional Chinese parenting = Good; Western parenting = Not Good.

I agree with her -

Russian Orthodox Church to Women - Stop Dressing Like Whores!

I was reading through the New York Times today and this little article caught my eye: A Dress Code For Russians? Priest Chides Skimpiness. One of the leading Russian Sky Fairyists, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, has stated that women need to be modest. Female modesty, of course, is thinly disguised code-talk for women can do whatever they want as long as they are doing whatever men tell them to do.

Praying to Tom Brady.

thanks wikipedia

Our Brady, who art in Foxborough, hallowed be thy arm. Thy bowl will come, it will be won, in Dallas as it is in New England. Give us this Sunday, our weekly win, and give us many touchdown passes, but do not let the Jets pass against us. Lead us not into frustration, but deliver us to the valley of the sun. For thine is the MVP, the best of the AFC, and the glory of the Patriots, now and forever, AMEN!! GO PATS!

Wow, praying to Tom Brady is as useful as praying to Jesus.

I came across the above incantation a few hours before the big game last Sunday between the Jets and Pats. My Facebook page was littered with the hopes and dreams of the faithful for another Patriot victory. But wait, what happened? How could the good guys lose? What happened to our Lord and Savior? (I live in Massachusetts and you can't tell me that there isn't a cult of Brady.)

However, the team at the Theistic Institute of Technology (T.I.T.)  developed several theories why the Patriots lost yesterday despite all the heartfelt prayers.

Brady's decisions are a mystery. Listen, how can you perceive the mystery that is Brady? Have you wrestled with the Leviathan? Were you there when Brady laid the earth's foundation? Brady has the wisdom to count the clouds! What have you got? A bag of chips and some crappy store bought salsa.

This is punishment because the Brady's chosen people have been unfaithful. The followers of Brady have broken the Covenant of Brady. Worshipping idols, eating lobstah, and not buying every product that HE endorses are clear instances of breaking the Law. We're lucky HE doesn't send a swarm of locusts or kill our first born sons.

That was a test. That was only a test. At any moment Brady will descend from the Heavens and declare the faithful's dedication was not in vain. Brady will then break the Seven Seals and unleash the Horsemen of the Apocalypse upon the NFL. Many will die, but it will be all for the glory of Brady (and that makes it OK - just ask Brady).

The Patriots actually won. Only the heretics deny this divine truth. You only have to believe! Believing in belief is the highest virtue and can never be questioned. Simply stated, facts get in the way of the truth. What would you rather have: Brady or reality? Who would want to live in a world without Brady? Life would lose meaning without HIM.

It's Obama's fault. Afterall, Obama is a Muslim. The Great Recession, death panels, Nazi-Socialism are also his fault - in case you haven't been paying attention.
 
The Book of Brady never stated that HE was going to win that game. It's all about the translation of the Hebrew word lose. You see, the Greeks mistranslated that word in the Book of Brady so that lose became the word win. Don't you feel better now that you know there are no contradictions in the Good Book?
 
The T.I.T. researches are working around the clock to see which "theory" is valid.
 
Don't hold your breath.
 
LiP

Ten Ways to You Know if You're an Atheist

1. You repeat the same valid arguments consistently and get the same result - nothing. So,you've been getting ready to argue with that theist that pushes you around and takes your lunch money while singing "God Bless America". All the finely honed arrows of logic are in your rhetorical quiver. The only thing is: a) the bully's reply to your flawless logic is that one drop of Jesus' blood washes away all reasoning; b) the bully just wants you to bleed in silence.
2. The feeling that the Religious Right is trying to make things so bad that Jesus has to come back and save them.  Crank up those greenhouse gas emissions! Little Baby Jesus won't let the holy fry with the sinners, right?
3. You learn to control your body language so that your disdain for religion doesn't show. You learn quickly not to do the dreaded *sigh* or eye roll (you know that is the non-verbal message of contempt, right?). Just the other day I had someone remark how good natured and easy going I am. That's because of the years of training I spent at the Shaolin Temple learning the ancient ways of controlling my involuntary responses.
4. People call you arrogant. Not to your face, of course. Who wants to anger their better?
5. You have to explain to people that you like some religious music. Yes, I'm an atheist. Yes, I still like Handel's Messiah. Do you know why? The music doesn't suck. I typically like things that don't suck.
6. You have to fight the urge to mix it up with Mormons in public. Who hasn't walked outta the pub at noontime full of lovely alcohol only to see Mormons accosting the naive and stupid? That gets my blood up. Luckily for the aforementioned Mormons I am quite a bit slower on my feet when intoxicated. By the time I get to where I was going they have safely boarded the next bus. Someday though...
7. Getting through election season is similar to gently banging your head against a wall for weeks on end. It's like the drip-drop of water torture. The first few bangs won't hurt too much, but after your candidate keeps blathering about Jesus for weeks on end... well that should be against the Geneva Convention.
8. The internet is your friend. It's fairly easy to find people who don't believe in leprechauns or Sky Fairies.

9. When a theist says something crazy that they believe in you are shocked. It's easy to forget how wacky some of these beliefs are. How many times has this happened to you? I was having coffee with a buddy and his new girlfriend when she stated that evolution is a wrong and GOD did the whole thing with a wave of his magic wand. Or the time that I was on the train in Atlanta and a father was telling his young son that evolution is the Devil's work. Or the... OK I'll just stop there.
10. You know more about religion than the religious. Obvious? Yes. But not unexpected. Reading the Bible, Koran, etc. are great ways at turning people into atheists. 

I hope you laughed because...

this is Purgatory.

Blog Update

Hey, I spent some time today and updated the Parenting in Purgatory! page. Currently it has 17  posts on my traumatic journey as a father.

US Military to Atheists: Go Get Spiritual NOW!

The military doesn't want its soldiers to kill themselves.

I support that idea 100%.

Mypods and Boomsticks at the Dinner Table

There is too much to write about. I'll see how much I can crank out tonight.

First, my son discovers Islam.

Kinda.

My New Super-Cool Religion: I Needs Me a Militia!

I was perusing the internet today and happened upon a lovely article in The Independent titled: Hindu holy man reveals truth of terror attacks blamed on Muslims. It looks like some hardcore Hindus have developed a terror network to attack India's Muslim minority.

Then it hit me.

My new super-cool religion needs a militia. Periodically I'll offer sneak peeks into the religion that is being forged (I like that word!) in the depths of Purgatory. There is but one rule: the Purgatorian faith must be far more awesome than any other! In that spirit I have insisted that the uber-cult include things like: funny hats, an enormous amount of busy-work, and subsidies from the government. A militia is necessary, and not for the reasons you may think. Sure, a militia is there to persecute non-believers, but there are many other reasons.

1. Impromptu a capella jams. Who doesn't have the fervent desire to just start singing at any moment with no instrumental accompaniment? The members of the militia could bust out a rendition of their favorite songs from the Glee soundtrack in a wide variety of circunstances. For example, Pokerface by Lady Gaga  may be just the right tune while waterboarding a heretic.  
2. Midnight torch rallies. A great way to spend an evening! Gather all our militia buddies, find some torches and march around a field. Once we're done with the march we'll make smores... or burn books ... or terrorize the countryside...
3. Swords, badass swords Why join a milia if you can't carry a sword? They won't be those silly blades you see the military use for ceremonial purposes, either. Each member of the militia will carry a two handed 6 foot 3 inches tall flamberge. Can't handle such a large blade? You're not praying hard enough. Purgatory's God (or gods - haven't figured that out yet) hates weak wrists and forearms.
4. War Games These won't be the garden variety militia war games where the militia fights the United Nations or Obama's stormtroopers - known as the US Army. These war games will reenact great  moments in religious militarism like the Crusades (afterall, we will be carrying those swords). 
5. Epaulettes are about to make a fashion come back. You know those ornamental shoulder thingies (see below - thanks Wikipedia). Epaulettes will be part of the dress uniform for Purgatory's militia. What says "I'm a success even though I never finished high school," than epaulettes? 

I haven't flushed out all the details about the new faith...

but a militia is necessary -

in Purgatory.

God and Guns!

I am an atheist.

No surprise there, eh?

Atheists, by definition, have one thing in common: we reject the God hypothesis. In everyday conversation I'll quip that there is no God. Scratch under the surface a bit and I'll say "OK, there maybe a God (maybe gods) but the chances of God(s) existing are very, very low. The smart money is on God doesn't exist." Push me a bit further and I'll get into the nitty gritty concerning the God exists assertion that theists toss up: "I reject the God hypothesis. You, (the theist) are stating that God exists (the hypothesis), but without any good (verifiable) data to back it up."

It's a Party and I'll Drink if I Want To!

It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

- based on a Chinese proverb 

Not what you expected from me, is it?

Many of the posts here have a structure like this: religious lunatic doing some religiously loony activity - cheap joke - attempt at witticism - maybe an embarrassing tie-in with my own personal rap sheet of poor decision making - In Purgatory - fin.

Not tonight.

Before beginning, however, I want to say that those cursing the darkness can often times be quite entertaining if they do it well. The entire comedic-industrial complex is built on screaming into the night. Look at Lewis Black, Dave Chappelle, and South Park. There's a lot of cursing going on there. Those lot shine with a weird ultraviolet light where all the nasty nasties can be seen (the best sanitizer is laughter, of course).  OK, I think I've covered my bases with the cursing at the darkness crowd (of which I am one).

Tonight I am sending out invites to my February Sucks party. February is the worst month. Period. It's not my opinion. It's fact. Look it up. Do a quick search of this blog and you will find an article from an authority (me) on February sucking from last year. In the past I have livened up the dead of winter with a feast just to break up the cycle of: cold daylight/colder night - repeat until March. (Yes, I'm aware that March is no picnic, but there seems to be more sunlight then and that goes a long way for me.)  I have to admit, it's less of a feast than a forum for me to get drunk and talk smack. I've tried doing those activities alone - it never works out well and comes dangerously close to breaking one of my cardinal rules: Don't go crazy (it goes hand in hand with Don't get hurt)

This year will be smidge different.

This is just not a February Sucks party. It is also a Darwin Day party.

That's right, Chuck Darwin was born February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury England. This year February 12th falls on a Saturday - prime party time.  I was perusing the International Darwin Day Foundation site  about the activities that some universities and museums are doing. I suspect they will be more informative than my soiree though not as fun. Don't get me wrong, there will be some edu-tainment going on. I'm looking to get a Glenn Beck pinata since he called Darwin "the father of modern day racism".  Maybe I''ll fill the pinata with nips of rum and vodka that have quotes about evolution tied around them (a fave of mine: Evolution is a fact. - Carl Sagan).  I'll probably dot the party area with small bits of trivia about Darwin and evolution.

You may accuse me of using Darwin Day as a excuse to get drunk. That there are more appropriate ways to celebrate the man's life and work.

Here is my reply.

Screw you.

In Purgatory.

Fin

Skepticism and American Life.

My thoughts are with the families and friends of the dead and wounded from the shooting in Arizona.

Richard Feynman on Explaining Inertia to a Kid

This is a good example of how to explain the world to a kid.

Mahhk Twain and Purgatory's Remix of Famous Quotes

Hi! I'm from Boston and I decided that Samuel Clemens' nom de guerre needed some Boston-ification!

Mahhhk Twain

I kinda like it.

Regardless of how you, dear reader, feel about the altering of Huck Finn to make it more accessible, here are some famous quotes that I have remixed so that they too are user friendly.

Enjoy.

Original quote-

A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Friedrich  Nietzsche

That is too ouchy.
New and improved quote!

A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that platypuses do not prove anything.

Original

 A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, - a mere heart of stone. - Charles Darwin

That will not win the hearts and minds of indolent American students.
New and improved quote!

Science is AWESOME! Scientists are SUPER AWESOME!

Original -

The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry. - Richard Dawkins

Wow, I don't know what that means, but it seems controversial.
New and improved quote!

God loves you.

Original -

Do you hear what's coming outta your mouth? You are 100% certifiably full of bullshit. - Andrew Hall

That guy sounds like a dick.
New and improved quote!

You Sir, are a scholar and a gentleman.

Original -

Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government. - Thomas Jefferson

Sounds like something you'd hear on Public Television. We have to Americanize it.
New and improved quote!

Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government - unless we can do it without raising taxes.

I hope you enjoyed these remixes.

LiP

Pass the Word - Obama Loves Jesus!

Hey, everyone. I had this horrible stomach bug on Monday and Tuesday. Here is the post I had just started before the apocalypse started...

When in doubt talk God.

If this was a Sky Fairy blog all I would need to write would be...

All work and no play makes God a dull boy.
All work and no play makes God a dull boy.
All work and no play makes God a dull boy.

And all of the other Sky Fairyists would rub their chins and say something like, "Andy, he has such a sublime conception of our Heavenly Father."

OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit.

However, if I were a politician looking to get reelected (maybe not in Cambridge, MA or Berkeley, CA) there would be but one choice...

Talk up God. Make it seem like your freak'n Moses ready to part the Red Sea so that your supporters (especially the special interests who give you all that yummy money) can eventually enter into the Land o' Milk and Honey.

What recent evidence do I have of this phenomenon?

I'm glad you asked.

Obama is on a faith offensive. He wants everyone to know that he is on Jesus' team. I'm sure you heard from the typical crappy U.S. news sources that Obama went to church the Sunday after Christmas at the Marine base in Hawaii. You know, Rome could be burning (*ALERT* It is!) and you would find out two things from the nightly news-

1. Which prison/detox Lindsay Lohan is currently at.
2. Obama goes to church.

Can you hear that sound?

It's my teeth grinding.

The cause of my frustration isn't the fact that Obama is going to Church or throwing the C word (No, not that word! C as in Christian) around during Christmas...

Each year we’ve come together to celebrate a story that has endured for two millennia. It’s a story that’s dear to Michelle and me as Christians, but it’s a message that's universal: A child was born far from home to spread a simple message of love and redemption to every human being around the world. - from the lighting of the National Christmas Tree.

Sure, I'm a bit miffed at the Sky Fairy talk, but that's not the rub.

It's not even the fact that 1 in 5 Americans polled believed that Obama is a Muslim.

That is irksome, but not the main cause of my consternation.

It's not even the fact that many Christians do not know their own faith.

Obama has frequently used biblical language in his presidential speeches, but he often cites the Old Testament -- the phrase "my brother's keeper," from the Book of Genesis, is an old standby -- and he favors verses from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, for example. But not many Americans can automatically connect those scriptures to Christianity, so Obama has to spell it out. - from the Politics Daily article Obama Tries to Reassert His Christian Bona Fides, With Words and Deeds

C'mon! How dim are people in this country? If you are a Christian and think Karl Marx coined "my brother's keeper"  (it does sounds like a Commie/Socialist thing to say) or the Sermon on the Mount is a porn movie from the 1970's then you're confused on what a Christian really is. Maybe you aren't really a Christian? Perhaps you're Zoroastrian? Or just a really confused bee keeper?

I'm prepared to do a lot of teeth grinding between now and November 2012. I just hope Obama uses really small words and simplistic Christian messages (Jesus = Good) so that he can blunt the Christocrat's (Republican's) smear campaign that he (Obama) is the anti-Christ.

I may not like the fact that Obama has to do the God talk to win.

But I accept that it's necessary,

and that's the reason why my teeth grind ceaselessly.

This is Purgatory.

Not Knowing Not Knowing is the Real Problem!

Man, there is no easy way to say this.

There is a good chance you are screwing up don't even know it. On the plus side, you may be doing several things right, but you are not aware of them either.

Purgatory Inc. and T.I.T. Bring You...

NEWSFLASH

The grey beards, hot sciencey women-types, and small, furry wunderkinds at T.I.T. (Theistic Institute of Technology) have teamed up with Purgatory Incorporated, the world's #1 distributor of panaceas, placebos, and Macguffins. Years of dedicated research and product development have given you the consumer...

the ultra-awesomest...

most practical...

can't live without it-