one thing i didnt like, though, was that although he pointed out alot of negative aspects of the three major religions, he only focused on violence in islam…just too easy and fed a stereotype im clearly sick of.

however, i wouldve paid a few extra bucks for the reactions of folks asked to explain how adam and eve and other parts of the old testament could possibly be true. a river in egypt, perhaps?

You can tell your daughter that the universe is vast, complex, awe-inspiring, beautiful and painful. And there are many ways that people try to make sense of it, all of which are on equal footing.

You can make fun history and culture lessons out of exploring them together. Even if you’re not Christian, the Bible is a great collection of stories. And when I was a kid, my favorite book was a huge compendium of mythology (that word is kind of derogatory but oh well) of world cultures. Comparing Native American creation myths to West African orishas to Greek and Roman gods is a turbo boost to the imagination.

Then you can tell her to fully engage with people and the world around her and then listen to her heart to find her own personal truth.

i agree with u tho
religion has been abused n fucked up thru the ages. wtf was up with poor people being put in the back of churches. and that story where God told that guy to kill his son, i would like heeeeeeeeeell no im not kilin my son

ahaha for bible bashing fuckery look at this bible basher forum:

http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=14865

My dilemma comes in what to say to my daughter when those questions about God come. What’s funny is we have enrolled her in a Christian Academy — a Baptist one and sometimes I chuckle at some of the worksheets they send home with the Alphabet. While learning the letter ‘A’ there is an apple, an alligator and Adam (a white one at that).

I am a reformed agnostic and after being subjected to Islam & Christianity early on, I finally decided that God exists in my adult life. but I don't subscribe to the Major Three conventional religions views of God.

Like Maher, I too feel that the Old Testament only proves how much the people back then were trying to grasp their world and their place in it. Life was hard, and so was their image of God. As an angry, jealous scorned type who seems sort of like Lady Macbeth with all the scheming, plotting, and testing.

I'm not going to sit here and say that having a child changed my view of faith. Hell, even my name meaning "faith" did not have the impact on me that my parents likely thought it would. What happened is that I discovered that I possess an ability that many other people don't have or deny themselves. I am speaking about being naturally psychic.

Many will think I am crazy for admitting this or for believing that this ability is possible. But the only way I can make sense of it is to know that there is a higher power greater than me who allows me to "see" certain things. I'm fun at parties

But seriously, I am of the mind that people can believe in whatever makes the most sense to them. I do get down with Agape (www.agapelive.com) , whose tenets teach that all the faith you need is within and to not wait to make a change in your life. Heaven may not exist so make your world a better place NOW. It really is that simple.

How about you just do you and I’ma do me.

But of course that isn’t human nature. And that’s the problem with religion, as opposed to faith. I just tell folks that if Jesus really wants to show me the error of my ways, he knows where to find me. He is God and therefore omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, right? I’ve got some cold beers waiting for him because we’d have a lot to talk about.

I need to probably just get my Spaghetti Monster on.

Or maybe I should start a Persecuted Black Agnostics support group, unless I’m the only one who has caught hell from friends, family and even strangers for eschewing religion. (but not a belief system, morals or spirituality)

There’s a Kingdom Hall right down the street from me. The Witnesses stopped coming around years ago after I made the mistake of engaging with them one day. I flustered a whole team of them who had to call in reinforcements who met the same fate.

I do love me some Maher, even though I feel a litte dirty for doing so, hehe.

L

“e certainly don’t blindly accept any tents of organized religion as fact. Every religious text is filled with loopholes and lies that are contradictory to common sense or historically impossible. Fundamentalist organized religion, whether as familiar as Christianity or as wacky as Scientology, has been used to manipulate and control people since the beginning of time. This facet of religion continues to poison society, especially in The United States.”

COSIGN TO THE FULLEST!