They just don’t get it. Here’s a beautiful example: Kurt Warner, the hyper-pious quarterback for some football team, has a number 13 on his jersey. Why?
“A lot of people believe 13 is an unlucky number,” Warner said, “but I’ve kind of embraced it.”
He added: “A lot of negative things come with the No. 13. My life is never dictated by superstitions. My faith is first and foremost. If you believe that God’s in control, there is no reason to believe in superstitions.”
Believing in bad luck is superstition, but thinking that rituals dedicated to a great hairy ju-ju in the sky will let you carry a football across a chalk line in the grass is not? Bwahahahahaha!
Man, I’m glad the magic space man made him lose his big ball game on Sunday.
Uhh. need to fix a link…
“My life is never dictated by superstitions. My faith is first and foremost.”
Wuh wuh what?!?
How do you put those two sentences back to back?
</a>?
I am suddenly reminded of George Carlin.
http://books.google.com/books?id=tAhEQKB1b8MC&pg=PA260&lpg=PA260&dq=%22george+carlin%22+christian+athlete&source=bl&ots=zrqyf5_HEJ&sig=zjl4PGwmIrMbV_cOyBDekeR3U4U&hl=en&ei=hVmISfbSMd-BtweFspifBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
“A lot of negative things come with the No. 13. My life is never dictated by superstitions. My faith is first and foremost. If you believe that God’s in control, there is no reason to believe in superstitions.”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!!
Hilarious!
Notice that in the post-game interviews, he didn’t say that God favored the other team, or that it was God’s fault that they lost…
Hmmm….
The irony, it burns!
hahahaha, that is unbelievably hilarious. Those two little sentences alone will get me through my busy day today. Man, that’s funny.
He only says that because Mars isn’t in retrograde.
god = wizard
prayer = spells
miracles = magic
religion = superstition
Any questions?
“If you believe that God’s in control, there is no reason to believe in superstitions.”
Knock on wood!
Bill Lee’s ghost made him throw that pick at the end of the 1st half? What a di…oh, that OTHER magic spaceman. Right…carry on.
That’s one of the most completely self unaware statements I’ve heard in a while.
Word to the wise: don’t wade into the comments at the bottom. For every somewhat rational post (of which there are few), there are about six dozen incendiary, ignorant comments, most made by God’s supporters. Ah! I wish I could get those moments and those brain cells back. We have a lot of retards in this country, and most of them are posting on Yahoo sports stories.
Hello all – I am an adjunct professor teaching an intro biology course at a community college. Somehow I managed to get a PhD (Immunology) without actually knowin’ much bout evolution. I have a lecture to give on wednesday on evolution that is complete, but I want to make it better by adding examples of evolution that my students can understand. This is an intro class for non-majors, many are religious, and for many this is the only biology class they will ever take. Preferably examples that happened quite recently, where the mechanism of selection is known and is not “artificial selection” and easy to understand (can this be done??). My standard lecture is ok, but the “examples” of evolution are either thought experiments or examples that are to difficult for the students at this point. Later in the class we cover genetics, DNA, cells etc. This is just a quick hit of evolution to soften them up (they get more later). If anyone has any resources or ideas please please please email me at mahrjeff@yahoo.com. I have found some, but they come across as just so stories or are too subtle for my students. I know that this isn’t the right place to post this, but I have been following PZ’s trouble making for quite some time and respect the thinkin’ I see in his writing and the comments. Thank you, jeff
i seem to recall, back in my mandatory religion days, how priests would once a year trot out a sermon about how God is not supernatural. I cannot remember the “reasoning” in these homilies, but it always made me think that they were just splitting hairs and playing word games.
and if a kid can see that, then it’s no wonder that many religions are in decline.
@Jeff Mahr
Get yourself over to richarddawkins.net/forum and start a thread in the Evolution and Natural Selection sub-forum. You’ll get all the help you’ll need there, I’m sure.
It wasn’t the magic space man that made him lose the game, it was the ghost of Myron Cope and the Curse of the Terrible Towel!
Not really.
@ Jeff:
Why does it matter whether it’s “artificial selection” or not? Evolution is evolution, is it not? What do you mean by “recent?” Ten years ago, or ten million years ago? How does one get a degree in immunology and not “know much ’bout evolution?” I would think you would know several examples from microbiology, such as MRSA and VRE.
That is hilarious. It reminds me of a scene from Mists of Avalon (a book which I am still laboriously slogging through) in which Arthur’s mother, Igraine, is chatting with some other noblewomen and talking about childhood diseases. The other women say that keeping the Mass book in the baby’s cradle prevents rickets. Igraine says that’s nonsense. The way to prevent rickets is very simple: instead of giving the baby to a poorly-nourished wet nurse, keep yourself well-fed and nurse your own kid for at least two years, and it’ll be fine. The other women say, what silly superstition! Everyone knows, you keep the Mass book in bed with the baby to prevent rickets!
God gets you to the championship, Satan wins it for you.
I did wade into the comments.
Apparently, god is everywhere and is in control of everything. When the absurdity of god controlling a game is shown, the theotards react to the implication that god is limited, NOT to the existence of suffering the world over which shows that god is either not in control or doesn’t care, or *gasp* doesn’t exist. It’s as if they’re completely oblivious to it.
Oh, and according to #50, “i believe that people trying to take god out of not only sports but in all aspects of life has caused GOD to take a step back and allow things like 9/11 to happen…” So I guess we should all shut up.
I weep for my country.
Jeff, I have forwarded you a few of the intro PDF presentations from my 3rd year university biology class entirely on evolution. Hope some of it can be of use.
Regards,
Steve Sauve
My drunk Steeler-fan friend was certainly praying hard. He must have beat out Kurt Warner (I guess god doesn’t care if you’re slurring your speech while praying).
Voss, did you notice there is also a lot of insulting the godless? If you don’t have a coherent or defensible argument, call your opponent an idiot or a moron! Also, to get their points across about God, the theists like to USE ALL CAPS. THIS MAKES IT MORE FACTUAL!
One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight,
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other,
One was blind and the other couldn’t, see
So they chose a dummy for a referee.
A blind man went to see fair play,
A dumb man went to shout “hooray!”
A paralysed donkey passing by,
Kicked the blind man in the eye,
Knocked him through a nine inch wall,
Into a dry ditch and drowned them all,
A deaf policeman heard the noise,
And came to arrest the two dead boys,
If you don’t believe this story’s true,
Ask the blind man he saw it too!
I always tell people it’s bad luck to be superstitious.
They never get it.
XiXiDu: you might like this.
It took me hours.
@ mikecbraun #23
“Voss, did you notice there is also a lot of insulting the godless? If you don’t have a coherent or defensible argument, call your opponent an idiot or a moron!”
I don’t see what’s wrong with that.
We do the same thing here.
Number 13 was a pretty lucky number for a certain quarterback from the Dolphins (at least from a personal performance/records standpoint). However, it was not lucky enough for he and his team to win the ring.
“That’s one of the most completely self unaware statements I’ve heard in a while.”
Self awareness is highly overrated if your job is to stand there and throw a ball as a couple thousand pounds of overstuffed meat bags bear down on you with bad intent.
And here I always thought “13” stood for marijuana because “M” is the 13th letter of the alphabet. Warner would be much happier and much less religiously superstitious if he saw it that way too.
Wait, what?
According to theist tax-evading jailbird Kent Hovind, god isn’t in control. He just knows stuff.
I wish these religious folk would get their stories straight.
xixidu, I never knew that middle portion, only the first and last sets of four lines. Oh, and in the version I knew, “the deaf policeman heard the noise, and came and killed those two dead boys”. Thanks.
@#10 Michael the G
As a recovering Expos fan, I laughed out loud at the Bill Lee reference. Thanks.
mayhempix –
“And here I always thought “13” stood for marijuana because “M” is the 13th letter of the alphabet. Warner would be much happier and much less religiously superstitious if he saw it that way too. ”
what makes you sure he doesn’t Jah Rastafari!
@28
Nah, Marino never got the ring because the evil coach preferred running the ball.
I always have a private snicker when the clergy-of-the-day thanks teh Skye Dog for putting on such a wonderfully beyoooutiful day, neglecting to thank the same for a day filled with rain, tornadoes and earthquakes. Even in Iowa.
When the absurdity of god controlling a game is shown, the theotards react to the implication that god is limited, NOT to the existence of suffering the world over which shows that god is either not in control or doesn’t care, or *gasp* doesn’t exist.
But they still pray for it to interceed in their day to day lives. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so stupid.
Good grief, PZ.. you really want us to click that link, doncha?
The Magic Space Man did NOT “make” him lose. MSM don’t work that way.
What happened is that the magic collective prayers of the collective superstitious on the Pittsburg side overwhelmed the magic collective prayers on the Arizona side, thereby causing the MSM to deem the Pittsburg team more worthy of victory.
Don’t you know how that works? I mean, it’s just like the Up button on the elevator… If you keep pushing it the elevator will come more quickly. Sheesh – it’s simple stuff, guys.
:-P
Good old religious remarks, meant to be serious, but devolving into insane and ludricous incredulity. And to think of the countless military combatants who had religious emblems on them, and blown to bits along with the landscape that had no inkling of the human’s nonsense. The enormity of this abject contradiction just staggers the rational mind, and will persist in the face of blatant unreason. As clinteas has remarked, “brain rot by religion”.
God was pissed at Warner because a couple weeks ago he drew God’s portrait (it was all over the sports sites). Warner is a better passer than an artist and that’s not saying much. Also, their defense let the Steelers amble down the field 73 yards in 3 minutes and score. Jesus was filling in as the Steeler’s offensive coordinator on that drive.
That’s kind of mean-spirited don’t you think? PZ saying that he’s glad the space man made him lose his game because Warner is a Godbot. I guess by that reasoning you could say the the space man came through big time for Kirk Durston and smited PZ with his powerful sword of justice.
PZ seems to be in a prolonged grief experience since the great debate, a kind of postmortum period. Isn’t it getting near the “get past it and move on” time.
I always thought that the connection between thirteen and bad luck was Christian: there were thirteen guys at the Last Supper–and allegedly, Judas was the thirteenth one to show up. Booo, Judas.
Or maybe that was just a post hoc Christian gloss on an independent superstition. Still, the history of triskadekaphobia is not exactly free from Christian influence.
@ Somero #27.
I agree it’s done here, but it’s usually along with an argument backed up by facts and evidence. When we have to resort to calling creationists and their ilk morons, it’s usually because they are so thick-headed and it’s the last thing we can do before giving up and getting back to reality. That, or because they really are morons, and statements of fact are always welcome.
Jeff Mahre:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090121-lizard-ants-missions.html
This is also discussed on the January 28 podcast of The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.
Silver Fox @ 41
Yes, as you should also get past your insane religious affliction and move on to rational thinking. There is no imaginary god to do this for you. You have to do it yourself and rid your life of that insane dreck. Will you do it, or will you wait for your god to sanction it? Do you think you will receive an answer?
“That’s kind of mean-spirited don’t you think? PZ saying that he’s glad the space man made him lose his game because Warner is a Godbot.”
*lol* That’s even better than Warner’s cluelessness.
I found out about Warner’s goddicy after the Super Bowl. I wish I had know before the game.
When the born-again Colorado Rockies lost the World Series, I laughed at them and their arrogance. The time they spent in prayer meetings and bible study would have been better spent practicing baseball.
My take on 13 is that it’s the 7th odd number, so 13 isn’t bad luck, it’s odd luck.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
I thought the negative associations with 13 went back further; when Zeus wanted Bacchus / Dionysius to join the Olympians, Hestia stepped down to avoid having 13 members.
@Jeff Mahr
Stickleback fishes. Marine vs freshwater, differences in armour and spines due to different predators. All since the last ice age.
Try PMID: 18485710 or any other paper from Katy Peichel, the genetics of the spine morphs is quite well worked out as is the genetic and environmental dating on when the species split (where they live was under kilometres of ice 10,000 years ago for eg).
@ Jeff Mahr–
Cichlids in Lake Victoria.
Advice to KW re. faith and superstition–
If you can’t draw a non-arbitrary distinction, don’t make self-congratulatory comparisons.
“…magic space man…!” -ROTFLMAO- Never heard of that one before.
That is a hoot. But sadly he has absolutely no understanding his statement is completely idiotic.
The silly old goat is a stupid old goat. PZ does not believe in a god. Therefore when PZ says; “Man, I’m glad the magic space man made him lose his big ball game on Sunday”, PZ is not expressing a belief in a magic space man(god). He is making fun of Kurt Warner.
What do you expect from a wee beastie who cannot figure out how to use a search engine?
It has always bothered me (and still startles me, even as an adult) that buildings have no thirteenth floor. Architects all over the world do this, apparently. Why entire industries have to do something illogical to pander to a stupid superstition rigidly believed in by basically nobody really pisses me off.
Actually, it pisses me off just about as much as Public Christmas pisses me off. I was born on the 13th, and the public shunning of the date of my birth (OH NOES! UNLUCKEE!!) makes me kind of want to flip the bird and say, “Gee, thanks, assholes,” to the entire culture.
“I was born on the 13th, and the public shunning of the date of my birth (OH NOES! UNLUCKEE!!) makes me kind of want to flip the bird and say, “Gee, thanks, assholes,” to the entire culture.”
me too. I was born on Friday the 13th as well. Doubleplusbad, apparently.
My house number is 13. Never caused me any problems.
Not superstitious eh? A superstition: a premature explanation retained after it has become obvious that it is incorrect. That seems to fit Xtianity, certainly Kurt Warner’s brand of it.
Jeff Mahr #13:
As a non-scientist, I found U.C. Berkeley’s “Understanding Evolution” materials very helpful and easy to understand. The site even has a “teaching evolution” section: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/
There also seems to be a fallacy or urban legend that no buildings have a thirteenth floor listed or available in the elevator. Mine does. People are dumbfounded when I tell them that. Who cares? I am hereby arbitrarily declaring five to be a number to avoid. Stay away from it…it’s evil.
This is ambiguous. Does he mean that there is no connection between the number 13 and negative things? Or does he mean that number 13 is unlucky — but because he keeps God in control of his life, God makes sure that the dangerous forces of the number 13 don’t harm him?
The fact that the statement can legitimately be taken either way pretty clearly demonstrates that there’s no obvious division between superstition and religion. One’s a form of the other.
My building does have a 13th floor. You might argue that the 13th floor is actually the 18th or 19th floor, though…we have a “Lobby” level as well as 5 levels of parking garage before the floor designated as 1st. However, on the elevator banks it is labeled as 13, so that’s what we call it!
Hotels typically do not have a floor designated as the thirteenth. Most other buildings of sufficient height do, in my experience.
Were I rich enough to own a high-rise or a hotel or the like, I would make every floor 13. Maybe they’d be 13-1, 13-2, etc. But I would feel the need to fuck with people. There’d be a black cat in the lobby, all of the mirrors would have cracks in them, there would be spilled salt shakers on all of the tables in the hotel restaurant, and the Bibles in the room drawers would either be charred or nonexistent. I prefer charred.
Somewhat like Warner, I decided many years ago that Friday the 13th is a lucky day for me. Unlike Warner, I don’t take it seriously or boast about it to the press. I declared Friday the 13th a lucky day for me ostensibly because I first became a homeowner on that day, but also as a sneaky way of thumbing my nose at superstitions. I get really funny reactions from people when I tell them it’s a lucky day for me. Heh.
Janine @ 54
Wee beastie with a wee brain, who thinks a search engine is a fire truck looking for a fire. Or is that giving him too much undeserved praise? I’ll bet he can use as many search engines as possible and never find his imaginary god.
Mikecbraun, I love that idea!
Kurt: There’s probably no Vince Lombardi trophy. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.
Wow, a community college professor cracking on a football player in the name of irony…
Being from Phoenix I felt compelled to lie to everybody about wanting the Cards to win..I guess I can share my secret with you – I am so f-ing happy they lost! Where is your god now Kurt? Idiot.
Not the best weekend for god. Not only did his fav QB lose Sunday, but Saturday Satan scored a goal vs Toronto.
“A lot of negative things come with the No. 13. My life is never dictated by superstitions. My faith is first and foremost. If you believe that God’s in control, there is no reason to believe in superstitions.”
Thanks for putting the biggest smile on my face that I’ve had all week. I don’t think I will need to eat today as the irony in this statement is delicious enough to keep me going for months.
I’m sure there is something about Warner’s number here. The Book of Revelation, numerology and the Superbowl all in one blathering blog:
http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/super-bowl-43-parable-of-church.html
Janine #54
“PZ is not expressing a belief in a magic space man(god). He is making fun of Kurt Warner.”
Oh, I see, is that what Freud called displacement?
What is obtuse ignorance called? Silver Fox. You really need to stop posting here, as you offer nothing to the discussion.
Repeated for the sake of the willfully obtuse.
There is no displacement. PZ is not giving praise to a deity.
You’re an idiot babe
It is a wonder you still know how to breathe
Actually, from my understanding (and this is not just from “Da Vinci Code”, but from historical accounts) the superstition around Friday the 13th came about because that was the day the Pope at the time had the Knights Templar wiped out (or at least nearly so) for idol worship. So in this case shouldn’t 13 be a good number for Catholics and Christians?
There is a difference here. Superstitions do not fit with a philosophy like religious beliefs do. You can say what you will about such philosophies, but there is a logic to them that goes beyond superstition.
If you want only to believe in that which is tangible and physical, then sobeit, I don’t blame you a bit since this is less confusing, but many people believe there is something beyond the physical world. Obviously, that cannot be proven one way or the other since it is by definition supernatural and therefore not subject to scientific inquiry. That is different from superstition in my view.
In the US military, payday falls on the 1st and the 15th of the month. If that date falls on a weekend, payday happens on the Friday before. Every month with a Sunday the 15th means a Friday the 13th payday. As a military brat and the ex of a leatherneck, I *loved* Friday the 13th. The eagle poops early.
Janine:
“There is no displacement. PZ is not giving praise to a deity.
You’re an idiot babe.”
Oh, I’m sorry Janine. I guess I wasn’t really clear on “displacement”. I was referring to the ego defense mechanism by Freud. You know, like when the father scolds the child, the child is angry but can’t get back at the father because the father is too big, so the little boy kicks the family cat; that kind of displacement.
Silver Fox, one with no argument, why are you still posting here? You offer nothing.
Silver Fox, #80, wrote:
Analogy FAIL. The reason? In your story, the child has a father; this can be proven with physical evidence – unlike your god, in whom we have no more reason to believe than we do leprechauns or the Invisible Pink Unicorn.
Heh.
Freud was an atheist.
I was laughing at this when I read it. Especially since Warner was all over the sports shows prior to the game with a smug “I’m so gonna win” perspective. The cognitive dissonance expressed in the quote is just the cherry on top!
Maybe Arizona failed because Dog is still mad at McCain after the election and felt the need to punish Arizona some more?
Nah!
wow@82
“Analogy FAIL.”
Oh, I’m sorry WOW. I guess subtlety is not your game any more than it is Janine’s. The analogy didn’t fail, you just got the wrong displacement analogy.
You see, PZ goes into a debate with Kirk Durston (the father) and the latter kicks his butt, but Durston (the father) is too quick for PZ to get back at, so he kicks Kurt Warner (the cat).
Silver Fox, another fail. Quit failing. Go away. You add nothing. And you know it.
No, you fucking dumbass. PZ would be laughing at Warner, no matter how that debate went. But I do thank you for being around so that you can be a punching bag.
Gee, A happened. Then B happened. Therefore A caused B.
Silver Fox,
<sarcasm>Oh, SF, you sure got me. Obviously that’s what you meant – you with your long history of clever and coherent posts and proficiency in subtlety. Boy, is my face red. I guess I’ll just retire in shame.</sarcasm>
Idiot.
Um, he was working on a Sunday? Isn’t that against one of SkyDaddy™’s rules? :P
Janine:
“A happened. Then B happened. Therefore A caused B.”
That is exactly the dynamics of ego defense displacement. Janine. You got it. Congratulations.
Silver Fox, still as stupid as ever. Go away.
‘Head hits desk’
‘Repeatedly’
Did SF think it was being… sarcastic?
Bwahaha!
A legend in its own mind.
Umm… guys? Could you maybe stop beating up on this SF character?
I mean, it just struck me: what if he has a cat?
/Me, I’m only posting this because my cat scratched me.
Actually, in your needling PZ and Wowbagger and Janine, I see ego defense displacement against the angst brought on by the subconscious realization that your religious beliefs are false.
Why do religious people suck at analogies?
Because the silly old goat has a juvenile relationship with his big sky daddy.
Probably because they’ve spent their lives struggling to understand how much of their ‘holy book’ that’s full of them is meant to be taken literally rather than figuratively. It’s really screwed with their perception.
Still, SF is far short of Pete Rooke and his post-crackergate papist pals.
because…. most of their examples come from a really badly edited book?
because… a good analogy requires interpretation of the real world and an understanding of metaphor and language (beyond godditit)
because….dey is teh stupid! ?
Every so often, I wonder if I shouldn’t tone down my opposition to religion and religious thinking.
And then I read through the comments of Pharyngula, and the convoluted, confused apologetics of faith’s defenders, and I realize that the more actively such thinking is opposed, the better off the world will be…
Silver Fox,
Did your parents have any children that weren’t born brain dead?
PZ would have posted on Wagner regardless of how his debate went. A godbot made a silly statement about how he doesn’t pay attention to one superstition but follows a different superstition. PZ couldn’t resist pointing out how unrational that was.
I’m not superstitious either. Its bad luck to be superstitious.
OT – but I had to post it anyway – here’s another example of the benefits of being surrounded by religious believers:
A WOMAN suspected of recruiting more than 80 female suicide bombers has confessed to organising their rapes so she could later convince them that martyrdom was the only way to escape the shame.
Monstrous isn’t a strong enough word.
Holy fuck. That is the perfect storm of misogyny and religious belief. That is one of the sickest stories I have ever read. I do not want to believe it. Damn.
… Oh for fuck’s sake. That’s disgusting! Words fail me.
Janine,
Yeah, I didn’t want to believe it either – it’s absolutely everything I hate about religion in one go: violence, coercion, guilt, shame, lies and misogyny. All part of a ‘religion of peace’.
And it’s not even as if you can only blame ‘the extremists’; if the moderate women weren’t so oppressed by the sense of shame their religion provides them they wouldn’t be able to be coerced by needing to alleviate it, and the awful people wouldn’t have raped them.
I sent the link to PZ so he might give it its own post. It needs to be out there.
Actually, I’m sure I heard Warner say this after the game
“I threw for 377 yards. I did my part, but Jesus really blew the coverage on Ward in the end zone.”
I am the proud housekeeper for two black cats. The only ‘bad luck’ is cleaning up the occasional fur ball.
@bronze wombat I suspect PZ was poking fun at the MANY levels of irony in Kurts statements:
1) superstition substitution
2) failure of the speaker to recognize it.
3) public idiocy.
4) public supporters of public idiocy.
5) omipotent god as football fan.
6) choosing sides.
7) interviening (or not).
8) god’s got nothing better to do??
etc.
Shadenfrued yes, Sigmond Freuid, no.
“Football is a game for trained apes. That, in fact, is what most of the players are–retarded gorillas wearing helmets and uniforms. The only thing more debased is the surrounding mob of drunken monkeys howling the gorillas on.”
A better link than the Yahoo one:
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/for-warner-jersey-no-13-is-emblem-of-spirituality/
PZ: Did you not get the memo?
0.5 * ;^)
Hey PZ, let us know when you have a rational case for your atheism aside from relying on “magic space man” and “hairy ju-ju” slogans.
OOHHHH! A teeny-tiny little person with a teeny-tiny little brain is upset. Turn off your computer, sit in a quiet place and breath deeply. It will help you to relax. And also to get some oxygen to your few overworked brain cells.
Poe!
Of course, anyone who calls Janine’s master out for his stupidity must be “upset”. Great logic there.
So instead of Warner winning, you would rather see a team owned by a devout Catholic win? An owner that has a priest say Mass for the Catholic players on Sundays? One that has practices at a Catholic seminary? Talk about irnoy! The “great desecrator” indeed!
Fuckwit! I am a Queen! I have no master! Now drop to your knees and kiss my toes.
Besides, PZ is bigger and meaner than me. I hardly need to defend him. I just happen to enjoy stomping on trolls.
Posted by: mikecbraun: “the Bibles in the room drawers would either be charred or nonexistent. I prefer charred.”
Why not put a copy of Bulfinch’s Mythology in each guest room?
OH, that’s rich!!! Guess you don’t really need a brain to carry the ball fifty yards or whatever.
Show us your rational case for your god.
When you can’t you’ve shown ours.
@ Kobra #2:
Carlin put it even better in When will Jesus bring the pork chops. “Play now, pray later.”
He’s saying what fundamentalists usually say: magic works, superstitions are all real, demons haunt us and will possess you, the number 13 can bring you “a lot of negative things” but if you believe in Jesus, you have a magic shield and sword, spiritual armor, that will protect you from the scary world of witches and warlocks.
What a moron you are, john. You’re the kind of person who, upon hearing criticism of war criminal George W. Bush, replies “well I guess you want the Taliban to take over America and make everybody pray to the moon god.”
** unlucky 4 u **
In Japan, the number 4 is the unlucky one.
The word for ‘four’ gets transliterated as ‘shih.’ But, the same word also means death.
In order not to mention death, the polite substitute for ‘shih’ is ‘yon.’ The inhibition extends also to ‘forty’ (four groups of ten) — thus ‘yon-ju’ (four groups of ten).
Years ago I was told by my karate sensei that when we counted in Japanese we used ‘shih’ because the samurai ethic disdained death. (Nice story if true, but I’ve not tried to determine its veracity.)
bipolar2
#116: Speaking only for myself, and not for any fellow atheists, hell, yes. I would be proud and happy to see teams owned by people like Dan Rooney, if there were many more, which there aren’t, every time. Despite the religious beliefs of his mother, he’s a class act.
I feel compelled to add something I just remembered: Dan Rooney’s uncle Dan, the brother of Steelers founder and professional gambler Art J. Rooney Sr., was a priest.
I’m sorry, but wasn’t that pretty much what Occam said?
Someone here has mentioned the odd mindset of fundies with respect to superstition before.
They’ll say they “don’t believe in astrology” for instance, but when questioned it turns out they think it’s from the Devil. So they believe it works, alright, it’s just not something Godfearing Christians should engage in.
Isn’t there something in Genesis about God putting the planets in the Heavens for us to take signs from them? Or summat? Just to make the irony thicker.