Thought for the Day:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Galatians 3:28

Thought for the Day:

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

John 8:36

Thought for the Day:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "

Declaration of Independence
July4, 1776

Thought for the Day:

"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."
John 8:32

Thought for the Day:

"We fight not for glory nor for wealth nor honours; but only and alone we fight
for freedom, which no good man surrenders but with his life."

Declaration of Arbroath
April 6, 1320

"When You Wish upon a Star"

Today I have read some excerpts from Christopher Hitchens' new book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. So much to comment on, so little time. For this post, I'll concentrate on one little gem.

“There are four irreducible objections to religious faith:… and that it is
ultimately grounded on wish-thinking.”

Okay Mr. Hitchens, I'll take the bait on this one. If I could design life my own way, here's how I'd do it.

Item # 1 on the Wish List Hit Parade: I'm am an inherently good and nice person. Any shortcomings I have are the result of bad nurturing. I can overcome those shortcomings by working hard to be good. What exactly is goodness, though? That brings me to...
Item #2 on the Wish List Hit Parade: I will create my own moral code. I will be able to live by the rules I have created. If anyone does not like my moral code, it's too bad, so sad for them.
Item #3 on the Wish List Hit Parade:I'll do lots of good works (according to my standards) and everyone will love me.
Item #4 on the Wish List Hit Parade: I am autonomous. I can control myself and my life.
Item #5 on the Wish List Hit Parade: When I die, I'll have eternal peace. I'll either totally evaporate into nothingness or I'll go to some great collective human consciousness that is shared by everyone. I haven't decided which. I'l let you know when I figure it out.

Let's take a look at the reality list in Christianity:

#1 Christian Reality:I 'm a sinner. I was born that way and I can't blame anyone else for it.
#2 Christian Reality: I have to follow God's moral code.
#3 Christian Reality: Working really hard to follow God's moral code doesn't get me anything. I already broke the law and He doesn't like that.
#4 Christian Reality: God is sovereign. He doesn't let people do any old thing they want. I have to depend totally on the work of someone else ( i.e. Jesus Christ) or things will get really toasty for me.
#5 Christian Reality: When I die I'll be held accountable. If I don't have anything other than my own goodness to present to God, then it's off to the lake of fire I go.

Christopher Hitchens, come on down, you win today's award for unmitigated gall!

Allah who?

Pakistan has banned a play that makes fun of burqas. Comments from a Pakistani lawmaker courtesy of Reuters:

"They have committed blasphemy against the Prophet (Mohammad)," Razia Aziz, a female lawmaker from the Islamist opposition alliance, told the National Assembly.

Blasphemy according my dictionary sources is:

'A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God '(FreeDictionary.com)
'The act of expressing lack of reverence for God '(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

'Impious or profane speaking of God' (The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary)

'Impious utterance or action concerning God'(Dictionary.com)

Yet Muslims have the unmitigated gall to say that Christians are polytheists.