Persecution complex

Gods not dead 2 is just a further evolution of the persecution, and torture porn fetish that is Christianity. It started in the original gospels and is now being portrayed with modern technology instead of campfire fables. True GND2 is not a retelling of these ancient stories, but still seeks to frighten the masses with tales of persecution. These false narratives are drivers in the political will that is behind some of these egregious new laws popping up in the more evangelical states. Laws like the Tennessee bathroom bill, and Mississippi's Christians can shoot people bills. A staggering majority of the populations in these states are evangelical, and indubitably buy into the “if I can't be a bigot I'm being persecuted” message the proponents throw around. The truth that I wish they could see is that the world around them is moving forward and leaving Christian privilege behind.

 No group should have rights that harm other groups. The evangelical majority has held positions of privilege and power over others for far too long, and the rest of the country is fighting back to make America “one nation, indivisible ,with liberty and justice for ALL ” again. This does not mean everyone has to agree on everything just that every one enjoys the same liberties.  

My path: brief summary

In our lives there are few moments that force us to reevaluate the way we
approach our core beliefs. Whether we can actually control what we believe or
not is in question. I tend to think that we don't actually control what we
believe so much as we control what we do with our beliefs. The average person
either doesn't challenge their own beliefs, or they don't see a reason to
challenge their beliefs. Many can go their entire lives without seeing this as
a necessity. For some we get into a situation where something we see, read, or
experience can cause a moment of self-reflection. If confronted with this
situation some people can find themselves not trusting their own mind. I know
that for me it was very disturbing. I still find myself embarrassed at the way
I saw the world. Many of the things I thought were true, were completely false.
I believed in all sorts of conspiracy theories, magic and above all God.
As I came into adulthood I was slowly letting go of the specific gods of
scripture, and fell into a pseudo deism. It was closer to pantheism. I believed
that all of the god claims were true,but just misunderstood by the rest of the
world. I believed that God was an emergent phenomena of the collective
consciousness of the entire world. I was so completely convinced I had this
right,and the rest of the world held onto scripture because they were unable to
think properly. This to has slowly faded to where now I look back and laugh at
how wrong I was. I had just became very astute at leading the evidence to my
conclusion.

Tennessee theocracy strikes again...

Tennessee fails again with their new "bathroom bill". This bill requires
transgender students to use the restrooms that match the sex on their
"original" birth certificate. Effectively, this prevents transgender students
from using restrooms in public schools.  The bill sponsored by Tennessee
theocrats highlights the need for the secular community in Tennessee to make
themselves known.  We are an ever growing number and must show politicians that
we are a viable voting block.

With the presidential elections looming over us,
it is easy to over look the importance of participation in local elections.
It is on the local level where our legislators cause the most problems, or
potentially make the most progress for our communities.  Tennessee has been
ruled by theocrats for far too long. We must organize and stand behind more
progressive local leaders. We need to support leaders more willing to stand up
for the rights of the minorities. The evangelical majority has harmed too many
and needs to be removed. We need to clear the way for Tennessee to move out of
the dark ages.

The necessity of secularism

Secularism has become a necessity in a world of such diverse beliefs as ours. These beliefs lead to irreconcilable political differences. The various sects of religion all have expressed a desire to legislate their oppressive doctrines. Secularism solves this by leaving room for all to participate, while preventing any from becoming oppressive. A truly free and open society will thrive only when all are represented, and none are privileged. The theocratic regimes in the world are being seen with a new clarity as the world is shifting toward global communities. People are communicating and connecting with people around the world in ways never before seen in all of human history. And from this global community we are slowly learning to accept people of various cultural backgrounds. In fact, a new culture is forming. An interconnected global culture shifting toward reason, acceptance, and above all equality. It is on the lips of all forward thinking humanists, who desire to make this life here and now the best life possible. After all is that not the true meaning of life, the life your lead, the decisions you make, and the people you help. These are the factors that give our lives purpose.


The laws for any society must be written with pure secularism, reason, and compassion. Any sectarian ideals that are not conducive to equality should be left off the table. Equally any anti-theistic ideals that would suppress the practice of religion should also be dismissed. Now I would like to make this point clear , there is a distinct difference from private citizens and government. Legislators and other government officials should absolutely be restricted from influencing laws on any religious or anti-religious grounds. I would also like to make clear what is meant here by anti-religious. By anti-religious, I mean against or oppressive to private citizens who wish to practice their faith traditions. Lawmakers, however, should be barred from using their faith or lack thereof as a political tool.

In America , people often fail to realize that although we hold democratic elections ,we are a republic. Public servants are chosen to represent everyone in their communities, not just the majority. The constitution outlines the protections that individuals and minority groups are given. Often miss-understood is the first amendment protections for religion. And it is important to understand, that without freedom from religion there is no freedom of religion. Many progressive Christian groups understand this. If one is to interpret it as a freedom to legislate dogma it will lead to oppression of minority religions. The atrocities of bloody Mary alone show the dangers of sectarian leaders. When they implement dogma as the law, reason goes out the window.

God of the week: Hades

Hades in Greek mythology is the son of Cronus and Rhea. He is brother to Zeus and rules over the underworld. Hades tricked and kidnapped his niece Persephone and made her his bride, causing Demeter to curse the Earth part of the year giving rise to winter. Hades is known as Pluto to the Romans. The name is the Latin derivative of the name the Greeks began to call Hades,Pluton. Guarding the entryways into Hades underworld realm Erebus, is the three headed dog Cerberus.(Although Homer refers to Cerberus as a dog it is closer to a serpent as its is the child of a half-human half serpent hybrid Echidna) Cerberus is later defeated by Heracles(Hercules) in “the twelfth labor of Heracles” where Hades agrees to let Heracles take Cerberus to the surface if he can subdue him unarmed.

 Hades is the ruler of the underworld, and is often feared by mortals. The realm of Hades is the place where all of the dead go when they die rather than simply a separate place of punishment. Erebus was one of the three realms divided up by drawing of lots, whereas Zeus(Jupiter) rules the skies, Poseidon(Neptune) rules the sea, and Hades(Pluto) rules the underworld. If you were judged to go to Tartarus it was there Hades would decide how you would be punished, according to whatever crimes you committed. Although hated and feared, Hades was more of “supervisor” of the underworld.  

God of the week : Persephone

God of the week : Persephone

Persephone was the Greek goddess of the harvest. She was the Daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone is sometimes referred to as the princesses of the underworld. The Homeric hymn to Demeter tells the story of how Hades carried her away to the underworld to make her his bride. Upon hearing what had happened her mother ,Demeter, caused all of the vegetation on the earth to stop growing. The cries of the people and the other gods persuaded Zeus to send word to Hades to release Persephone. Hades agreed to release her, but before doing so he tricked her into tasting the pomegranate fruit. In doing this, he had cursed her into being bound to him in the underworld for half the year. The story of the abduction of Persephone is often called the rape of Persephone as she was forced to to be the bride of Hades, and then later to bound to him half the year.

Ovid gives her Roman name Proserpine. In the version told in the Metamorphoses it was Jupiter that decided she would spend half the year in the underworld. He did this to console Ceres (the name given to Demeter by Ovid). This was because Jupiter had said he would only rescue Proserpine provided she hadn't eaten anything in the underworld. So when Ceres had learned that Proserpine had eaten the pomegranate she was devastated at the loss, and Jupiter offered consolation by allowing her to return for six months out of the year.    

God of the week : Dionysus

God of the week : Dionysus

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele(daughter of Cadmus of Boeotia) Often referred to as the god of vegetation and wine. The jealousy of Hera led to the deception of Zeus ,tricking him into showing his true self to Semele. The true form of Zeus incinerated Semele. In some accounts, Zeus took the unborn Dionysus into his thigh were he was taken to Olympus to be born.

The adult life of Dionysus was filled with spreading his teachings in human form across the land. He would madden those who didn't believe or worship his divinity, and he would bring wine and happiness to those who did. We see in the tragedy of Euripides, The Bacchae, Dionysus is arrested and brought before Pentheus. Pentheus interrogates Dionysus for his crimes of corrupting Thebes. After the brief interrogation period Dionysus is placed in the dungeon , where he escapes by conjuring earthquakes and fire from his mothers tomb. Dionysus proceeds to madden and trick Pentheus into adorning a costume and walking up the mountain to be torn apart by his own mother. The method of slaughter was indicative of the ritual madness the worship of Dionysus involved.

In The Metamorphoses of Ovid we see Dionysus by the name preferred by the Romans, Bacchus. This is the story were we get the fable of king Midas. Dionysus grants king Midas any gift he wants for returning Silenus, the foster father of Dionysus. Midas foolishly asks that whatever he touches turns to gold. Finding he can no longer eat or drink because of the impetuous “gift” he asked for, Midas begged Dionysus to free him. Midas was instructed to the river to release his "gift" into the waters, where the riverbed became lined with gold.