GD IS LV... A powerful message for us all.

 

I saw this lovely license plate as GOP's other half and I were driving around town. Forgive the bad image-- you try taking a photo in a moving car at night!

I don't get this kind of proclamation via license plate. God is Love. Wow. Original and clever. Good for you. I hope this driver is some kind of minister, otherwise, is this really the focus of their life? Is this the total summation of their philosophy? 

"God is Love" doesn't make any sense, either. I doubt they're some kind of "spiritual" type person who thinks that Love is God... meaning that love triumphs all evil and that the presence of love and the capacity to love is the closest to godliness that any of us can get. That sort of philosophy I can get on board with. When someone is shocked by my atheism, gasps, and asks, "But what do you BELIEVE in??" I can usually at least placate them by saying that I believe in love.

But I don't think that was the message this SUV driving do-gooder was going after. I'm sure they were trying to tell us that God is all-loving. That he loves unconditionally. Well, no. 

LOVE ME OR I SEND YOU TO HELL! WORSHIP ME ON THE SABBATH OR I SEND YOU TO HELL! In most religions, you have to at least repent at the last second or be "saved" to get into Heaven. That's not really unconditional love.

Even if you belong to a religion like Judaism that doesn't believe in Heaven or Hell... you still have to admit that isn't a very loving god. The Old Testament god is certainly not a loving god, but a vengeful, spiteful, wrath and fury sort of god. Let's not forget my favorite Hollywood temple...

So.... I'm still confused. Who is this god that's all love? Because I have yet to see evidence for it.

WAIT! Unless I'm interpreting this all wrong. Could that license plate actually mean:

God Damn IS L'Heart

Of course! This person isn't religious! They're just emo and have been tortured by love! I totally get it now! Are there some interpretations that I'm missing here?

Guest Post #2: National Exceptionalism and Religion

 Guest Post #2 from our friend Zach. Anyone who wants to submit ANYTHING is welcome! Videos, photos, cartoons... we want it!

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The US really has one export that it has traded on for about the last 150 years that has driven it like no other.  Regardless of what we sell or what we make, the thing we have really been selling since we got to the Pacific is the idea that the United States of America is special.  We have pulled people here in droves, and still do today with the promise that somehow this country, this place, these people here are going to give them a better shot than they had back home.  I will get to the merits of the idea later but right now it's the manifestation of this idea that gives me pause. Every country believes it's special somehow and that's fine.  They wouldn't have developed themselves as a country if they didn't. Where this becomes dangerous is when it's God telling you you're special.  Right now in the world there are three perfect examples of the dangers of God picking one nation over another.

1: Iran.
Iran is considered the world's only theocracy (I don't know why the Vatican isn't considered one but whatever).  President Ahmadinejad is only the head of the government.  The head of state is the Ayatollah Khamenei is the actual leader of the country and NOTHING gets done without his say so.  He had to certify the last contentious elections and Ahmadinejad serves at his pleasure.  Under the theocracy, Iran has alienated the larger international community, taken steps to develop nukes, and oppressed the freedoms of its people and their rights to choose their own leaders.  All unilateral actions taken without regard to the larger world in which they reside because Allah is on their side. 

2: Israel. 
Israel is not technically a religious state.  However, any Jew who steps on their soil is immediately a citizen, and they are preparing legislation right now to force all non-Jews who want citizenship to sign a loyalty oath.  A Christian or Muslim or Atheist born and raised in Jerusalem could potentially lose their citizenship if they didn't sign.  The Jews like to refer to themselves as the chosen people and if that doesn't smack of divine exceptionalism, I really don't know what does.  It is evident even as far as Jews of OTHER nations are concerned:  ex.  I have a very close devout Jewish friend.  We often get into debates about Israel.  In the last one she said something that disturbed me to the point that I have spoken to her little since (to my own discredit).  Debating the flotilla and the "ground Zero Mosque,"  she accused me of anti-semitism and then said that she would "Support Israel whatever they did, because it was the [homeland]."  This girl loves the US and would never show it such blind deference nor should she nor anybody.  This type of support can only be engendered by God and is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.   

3: Speaking of Extremely Dangerous...The USA. 
Since Manifest Destiny there has been a sense that the US should be an empire.  We quail at calling it that but displacing entire native and colonizing populations in a land grab to take hold of an entire continent really reeks of such an attitude.  Our last president spoke openly of being "Chosen by God" to lead us through the trials we face and Reagan liked to refer to Russians as the "Evil Empire" indicating that we were inherently good.  Conservative with a simple and unexamined view of the Constitution, tend to have an equally simple and unexamined view of the Bible.  What they believe in is God's will and they believe in America. This perspective is dangerous because America doesn't have to do anything to BE exceptional aside from be the place where these people live and can vote Republican. We can claim to be against Torture and Nation building while doing THOSE EXACT THINGS, yet we are the USA and God says we are special.  We can act out of fear and protectionism and seal our borders and kick out all the illegal immigrants without exception (even if they were brought over the border as infants and have never known any other country but ours), but we are the land of opportunity: open the poor, the tired and the huddled masses, because we are the USA and God says we are special.  We can forget the poor and accept a prosperity gospel despite it being EXACTLY the OPPOSITE of what democracy, our country and CHRISTIANITY are founded on, because we are the USA and GOD says we are special.

I believe the US is special. We can provide opportunities. We can welcome all who love peace and we can say whatever we want.  But like it or not we are not alone in these things anymore. We are special because we a nation strong enough to be able to stand by our ideals.  We are powerful enough and brave enough to stand firm and say WE DON'T TORTURE in the face of fear stay fast to that. We are special because we have the power to say WE BELIEVE IN FREEDOM FOR ALL and fight to expand those freedoms at home and abroad. We are special because we have the wealth to say NO ONE SHOULD GO WITHOUT BASIC NEEDS.  And work to pull people out of degradation and poverty. We are special because we have the influence, the wealth, the strength and the avenues in place to lift not just other nations but our own towards ever greater heights.  But if we don't use those exceptional qualities, if we don't constantly strive to be better and less compromising for the good of all.  If we rely on some god to tell us that we're special.  We won't be anymore. 

Christine O'Donnell is a Hack

I'm sure just about everyone has seen the video of Christine O'Donnell (R) in a debate with her opponent, Chris Coons. They're competing for Delaware's seat in the Senate.

I like the way Anderson Cooper breaks it down. She repeatedly asks, "Where in the First Amendment is the Separation of Church and State?" If one gave her the benefit of the doubt, she might have simply meant that those exact words aren't actually anywhere in the Constitution. This is true. But Article Six of the Constitution states that anyone running for office shall face "no religious test" and the First Amendment clearly states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." And the Supreme Court over the years has clearly interpreted the First Amendment to mean "separation of church and state."

During the same debate, O'Donnell also didn't remember what the 14th (dealing with citizenship) and 16th (income tax) Amendments were, despite the fact that the Tea Party has made a big deal about these this year, going as far to call for their repeal. I mean, I don't know what each Amendment is without looking it up, but O'Donnell constantly invokes the Constitution as the basis for her opinions and claims to have studied Constitutional Government. Well, she obviously didn't study it very hard. What a dingbat.

This is so disturbing, because this is a right wing, über conservative, fundamentalist Christian who doesn't believe in Evolution and thinks "intelligent design" should be taught in schools. GAH! THIS is why political involvement is so important right now!  

If you care about SECULARISM, get out and VOTE!!!!

Jesus Loves all the Little Velociraptors

Velociraptors and Jesus go together like fat kids and...

CAKE?!

I couldn't help but share this when I saw it on Cake Wrecks this morning. I really hope this was part of a joke. I really hope that the person who created this image also got it put on a cake. But somehow, I really doubt it. Since the Creation Museum exists, I'm sure someone painted this with sincere intentions. I tried looking for this around the interwebs, but I'm not sure of the picture's original origin. Any help out there?

Homophobia is Deadly

By now, I'm sure everyone has heard about Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman who committed suicide after his dorm roommate publicized a video of his private sexual encounter online.

I hope, hope, hope that the young man who was Tyler's roommate thought of his harassment as just a prank. I hope that his behavior was not the result of bigotry, but just immaturity. However, since Tyler committed suicide, I think that all kinds of anti-gay rhetoric has bubbled to the surface. I do love that celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris are calling out to gay teens to be strong and be proud.

As someone who was pretty depressed as a teen, my message to young people is that it GETS BETTER. Leave your home town, leave the people who make you sad, form your own family of close friends, go to a town that's friendlier to you. Plus, as you grow older, you'll find that you become less sensitive, events seem to affect you less. You gain a little perspective.

What happened to Tyler though, was enough to ruin any adult. The breech of trust, the invasion of privacy. I'm sure Tyler felt like he'd been violated. That would be enough to deeply disturb any individual. And for Tyler, with all the anti-gay rhetoric in the media, it would seem like life wouldn't get any better. I'm sure that he thought that college would be 10x better than high school. I'm sure he went in with a lot of hope, only to be completely let down.

I saw a video over at The Friendly Atheist with an interview between Anderson Cooper and the Michigan Assistant Attorney General, Andrew Shirvell. For the past 6 months, Shirvell has been blogging against the openly gay student body president at Michigan University. He's called him a Nazi, a bigot, and the servant of Satan. Shirvell claims he's not against the young man because he's gay, but because of his "radical homosexual agenda" to petition for gender neutral housing at the university. What a great idea, especially considering what happened to Tyler Clementi. My first year of college, I had a lot of friends who had to change roommates because of issues surrounding their sexuality. Even if they weren't open, they knew that their roommates would be difficult if they found out.

I know this post is a little redundant because it's been talked about so much in the blogosphere, but I just felt like I had to comment on it because it upsets me so much. So-called "Christians" attacking gay people and feeling like they have a moral imperative to do it. It's so much god obscuring perception that I just can't stand it.

The TEN COMMANDMENTS are a joke

A couple days ago a co-worker mentioned that they didn't understand why anyone would have an objection to the 10 Commandments being displayed somewhere. The obvious objection, I said, was separation of church and state. Secularists object to a religious text being on government/public grounds. "But there's nothing WRONG with the ten commandments!" she argued.

Oh, but there is! The first three or four commandments (depending on your religion) all have to do with honoring God. What a jealous and petty god! It needs a WHOLE day devoted to its holiness? Geez, how narcissistic! And besides, there's a whole lot of things that I find offensive that I would include on a list of Commandments that certainly don't make it on, mainly rape, sexual assault, and the exploitation of human beings in general. And slaves are okay, I just can't take them from my neighbor.

The Ten Commandments are also the perfect example of how self-contradictory, widely interpreted, and variously translated the Bible is. I don't understand how anyone can know anything about the Bible and view it as the WORD OF GOD when it is so clearly the convoluted WORD OF MAN. You don't need to be a Bible scholar to figure this one out either. Just look at the Wikipedia article on the Ten Commandments. There's a lot of variation.

Moreover, why are Christians so reverent about the Ten Commandments? If one claimed to be a follower of JESUS, wouldn't they hold the Beatitudes a little more holy? Of all religious sentiments, I definitely favor those over the Ten Commandments. Of course, those have contradicting versions (Matthew vs. Luke) just like everything else in the Bible.

But, in a violent power-hungry society, the Christian Right is never going to value things like the poor, the mourners, the hungry, the meek, the peacemakers, etc... Even though that's what their Holy Book tells them to value. Typical.

Here's my Commandment:

DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE!

User Comments Make My Brain Hurt

I once read in a magazine article that a New Year's Resolution should be to STOP READING USER COMMENTS. On every Yahoo News article or YouTube video, there are dozens of idiots espousing opinions that they would never dare to voice in person. If the topic at hand happens to be about religion or politics, you can throw all logic and reason and basic civility out the window.

Recently, I stumbled upon this article that stated that the majority of Republicans believe that Obama sympathizes with Islamic goals. A whopping 59% believe that Obama favors Muslim Americans over other groups. I don't even know how this "reasoning" occurs.

According to the poll, 14 percent of Republicans said that from what they knew of Obama, they thought such allegations were "definitely true"; 38 percent thought the allegations were "probably true." Meanwhile, 33 percent of Republicans thought they were "probably not true" and 7 percent thought they were "definitely not true." Asked whether Obama favors the interests of Muslim Americans over other groups of Americans, 59 percent Republicans said yes, whereas 34 percent said he has "generally been evenhanded."

For realsies????? The article was bad enough, but then when I went down to read the comments... OH, MAN. I really wanted to punch myself in the face so I could forget what I had read. This is the one that made me throw my hands up:

I voted for this knucklehead since the primaries and have regretted it for a while. He is a muslim sympathizer. He reaches out to the Muslim world by saying a Mosque is o.k, by hosting Ramadan dinners at the White House. This imbecil bowed to the Saudi king. How pathetic!!!!

Thanks "Steve." What really surprises me is that he voted for Obama when he has such ridiculous views. Um, yeah, of course a Mosque is OK. They are allowed to build anywhere they want, zoning restrictions considered. And if you want to talk about a President that was good buddies with Saudi Arabia, look no further than the darling Bush family.

From http://archive.popandpolitics.com/tag/religion/

But the thing that gets me about this is that President Obama has been adamant from the beginning that he is a Christian. But honestly, I think he is a Christian/Theist for political reasons only. Given Obama's life experiences and religious history, I've always had the gut reaction that he is a bit of an agnostic...perhaps the sort of humanist that Thomas Jefferson was. I love the Jeffersonian Bible. It takes out all the mysticism and leaves only the nice, pleasant philosophy of the New Testament...the "love your neighbor" kind of stuff that Jesus supposedly preached.

Most importantly, I just appreciate having a President who doesn't inject his religious beliefs into everything he does. Unlike certain leaders, I'm relieved that Obama doesn't believe that he's on a mission from God. I'm glad that he doesn't believe that military involvement in the Middle East will bring about the Apocalypse so that all good believers can go to heaven. I don't care if Obama is a "real" Christian... but to fear him and believe that he favors Muslims over all other Americans??? It's on such a level of absurdity that I don't even know how to deal with it.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

This is one of those Bible Summer Camp songs that everybody hated to sing because they were so damn repetitive. Anyone ever hear that one about Noah and the ark? Ohhhhh, did I hate that song. It was SO obnoxious. What are these songs supposed to teach anyway? Jesus loves all the little children. Red, yellow, black, and white... OK. Well... plenty of Christian churches teach that most of those children are going to Hell since they're heathens, so...maybe Jesus DOESN'T love those little children since they don't worship HIM.  I mean, how can Jesus love them unless they're born again? Or maybe Jesus just loves them until they are no longer children. When they become adult heathens, then it's time for the smiting.

This is one of those well-meaning religious things that just goes horribly, horribly wrong. It is a true example of God Obscures Perception. How could anyone ever think that this was OK? Granted, it looks pretty old...but seriously?




A friend of mine did this song for an elementary school pageant when he was very young. They put him in black face and an afro wig and tattered jeans. Apparently, everyone thought the performance was just precious. This was in Alabama. Surprise, surprise. Supposedly, the performance was captured on VHS. I can't wait for him to go home and retrieve it. 

Future Website

The ultimate goal of God Obscures Perception is to have a community website where like-minded people can have a public forum. We'd like to feature guest essays and posts, share news, and post videos and other media content. It wouldn't have to be entirely serious, either. Life Partner created an animation for the site that I hope to share ASAP... But for now... check out how beautiful our page looks! There's no content, but it sure does look nice. I love the logo that LP created.

A few friends of ours put together this video that's the kind of stuff we're hoping to do!

An Empire of Faith - watch more funny videos

I think the video is a little too long, but overall it's hilarious. 

This whole mosque thing is getting old...

I'm really tired of hearing about this debate over putting a mosque/Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in NYC.

Oddly enough, this household is split.

My LP thinks both sides are being assholes. He thinks that the imam behind the project should be more outspoken to try to appease the irrational fears and sensibilities of those who oppose the building. He thinks that the Islamic group should be a little more sensitive. Of course, he thinks that the opposing side should acknowledge that the imam and his followers have a right to build wherever jurisdictions allow.

You should see their other shirts.

For me, I don't care much for any religion. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all have the potential for extremism. The Koran, Bible, and Torah all have violent implications if taken literally. Some people choose to be assholes about their religion. Now, the imam of this particular mosque is currently on a tour in the Middle East promoting "Americanizing" Islam. He's been a sponsor of the state department

on many previous tours of a similar type. It seems to me that this particular mosque and center is of little threat to anyone. Even though I dislike the propagation of religion and religious buildings and icons... they certainly have the right to do it in this country and I certainly respect that. I appreciate that in this country, my blog is just as welcome as Conservative Paradise. But at least I don't spew hate.

To me, the hubbub over this issue is akin to a pro-choice group getting up in arms over a conservative Christian church building two blocks away from the site of a bombed Planned Parenthood. It's not a perfect comparison, but you get the idea.

Gay Marriage (and Life Partnership)

Please, PLEASE can this be legal now? 

I'm from Iowa, one of the swingiest states in the Union. You never can tell what those goofy Iowans are going to do and that goofy Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage over a year ago.

I left Iowa for California in order to live in a more progressive state. To be around more liberal people like me. Hmmm... guess I was somewhat wrong. Just about everyone knows about Prop 8 (Prop Hate, as it's usually called in our house) and that millions of Californians enjoy voting to restrict the rights of others.

Luckily, the case went back to court and as the L.A. Times put it, "Prop 8 is Hanging by a Legal Thread." Right now, we're just waiting to on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide on the case.

At least a precedent has been set that even if this ruling is overturned in the future, that all those same-sex couples waiting to get married will have permanently legitimate marriages. If I were part of a lesbian partnership that missed the chance to get married before Prop 8... I'd be on pins and needles right now.

I think that same-sex marriage, more than almost any other issue, is a clear cut example of when God Obscures Perception. Why should anyone care if two gay people in a committed relationship receive the same benefits as a straight couple? No one is being harmed here. This isn't a threat to marriage. Divorce is a threat to marriage. The iPhone is a threat to marriage.

 
There are people out there who don't understand parody. Don't waste your time reading user comments.

My very Catholic mother has always been pretty iffy about gay marriage, even though she personally knows plenty of nice gay and lesbian couples. It took me explaining to her that no matter what the law said, they would never be able to force churches to marry same-sex couples. She was surprised. Why? I don't know. I thought that was rather obvious given all the restrictions the Catholic church already imposes on married couples (vowing to raise their children Catholic, pre-marriage counseling, etc...). But this actually satisfied her concerns! I explained that it was about tax laws, hospital visitation, insurance, and most importantly, equal recognition!

Actually, one of the many reasons that Life Partner and I aren't married yet is because the ugliness surrounding this debate has made marriage seem like some dirty, exclusive club... and we aren't sure that we want to be a part of that until same-sex marriage is safe in this state. I'm not judging those who care about this issue and still get married...I'm just saying that it feels wrong to us.

I can't claim to understand the discrimination the gay community faces, but I have felt it in a very small way. My life partner and I have been together for almost six years and act like any other young married couple. We live together, share expenses, have always been completely monogamous, consult each other on pretty much everything... we plan to spend our lives together and renew that promise almost every day. Yet, when I went to the doctor's office, there were boxes to check for single, married, divorced, widowed, and domestic partner. Well, in California, you can't be domestic partners unless you are a same-sex couple or one partner is older than 62. 

So what do I check?

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• Majority of Iowans support marriage rights for same-sex couples (pinkbananaworld.com)

Yeah, those kooky Iowans.

UPDATE! American Atheists to have 2011 convention in Iowa.... GAH!!!!! FOR REALSIES?!

Sarah Palin inspired this blog

Yep. If Sarah (I really can't stand her) Palin had not been chosen as John McCain's running mate, we probably never would have come up with God Obscures Perception. She's the QUEEN of this. This woman can't think for herself. She is such a religious idiot that her ideas of god and religion and its corresponding "rules" completely negate any shred of rational thought she may actually have.

Although, I seriously doubt that Sarah Palin possesses ANY rational thoughts at all.

Lab rats have more sense than Sarah. I swear.

I'm hoping that she has completely pushed herself out of the political scene. I'm hoping that she has pretty much lost any relevance in our society. But... I'll let Matt Damon speak for me on why she scares the shit out of me.

Oh. This is terrifying.

Sarah Palin believes in abstinence only sex education, despite its obvious failings with her own daughter. She believes that creationism should be taught in schools. She believes that the U.S. Army is on a mission from God in Iraq. She believes that rape victims should be denied abortion access. More recently, Sarah Palin tweeted this:

Gulf disaster needs divine intervention as man’s efforts have been futile. Gulf lawmakers designate today Day of Prayer for solution/miracle




Really?! REALLY?! Are you fucking kidding me? This is a disaster CAUSED by man's negligence and it has been SOLVED (albeit very frustratingly) by man's ingenuity. I could go on and on about Sarah Palin's disturbing beliefs.

Yeah. Let's pray about it. I'm sure all those prayers help solve problems.  
Just like they helped you and McCain win the presidency.