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David Fitzgerald, author of Nailed, recently posted an except from his book at Atheism Resource. It’s a good read, so go check it out. You may also notice that the link on the bottom of his page to recomended books and sources on the topic comes back to my post, Jesus Who? – Resources.

Ok, so you get the satire on Friday since tomorrow we’ll be talking about New Years Resolutions.

(Via Friendly Atheist)

When I was checking in to the ER on Tuesday one of the questions I was asked in registration was what my religious preference was. I quickly responded, “atheist,” but what I was thinking was, “Why the hell does that matter? I’m here with an allergic reaction. You are wasting time asking me what I believe, when the only thing that maters right now is what might kill me!” But I kept my mouth shut because I was a little more worried about my throat closing up on me and I sure didn’t want to waste any more time.

I took a class in college on hospital chaplaincy, so I understand that religious hospitals (the one’s in Boise are Catholic) want to know if they should administer last rites if you’re about to die or what denomination’s minister to call in if you find yourself in need of someone to talk to. However, I was in the EMERGENCY ROOM, I didn’t need a pastor or priest, I needed a doctor. Save my life first, then you can worry about my nonexistent soul.

While we’re on the topic of Catholic Hospitals, I’m sure a lot of you saw in the news that St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix has been stripped of it’s church affiliation by Bishop Thomas Olmstead, a decision that was seconded by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. What grievous thing did the hospital do?

In November 2009, a 27-year-old mother of four in her third month of pregnancy arrived at St. Joseph’s. She was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a serious complication that might well have killed her if she had continued the pregnancy.

The hospital performed an abortion…

Let’s weigh the options here:

Option 1: Follow Church Doctrine

• Mother dies.
• Pregnancy is terminated.
• Four children left motherless.

Option 2: Abort

• Mother lives.
• Pregnancy is terminated.
• Four children get to keep their mother.

Honestly I’m not sure if this bishop needs a heart or a brain…

I cherish religious (and anti-religious) liberty, but what happens when beliefs can kill? Should the state have the right to force hospitals and doctors to perform life saving procedures that are against their religious beliefs?

I’m torn on this one. Let’s hash it out in the comments.

I hear that of the three below ads, only two are actually going to be posted, but all three are true.

(Via The Flyswatter Show)

Sorry I didn’t get anything more substantial out today. I’ve had a bit of writer’s block as I’ve been trying to figure out what to cover in the next series. I also had to go to the ER yesterday afternoon with an allergic reaction and the Prednisone I’m on for the next few days doesn’t treat me well. I’ll try to have something up late tomorrow afternoon.

If you enjoyed the “Jesus Who?” series then you may want to check out some of the following resources. If there are any good ones I missed, feel free to add your favorites in the comments.

Books
Not the Impossible Faith, Richard Carrier, 2009
The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave, Robert M. Price, 2005
The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, Robert M. Price, 2003
Deconstructing Jesus, Robert M. Price, 2000
Jesus Is Dead, Robert M. Price, 2007
The Case Against The Case For Christ, Robert M. Price, 2010
The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel, 1998
The Jesus Puzzle, Earl Doherty, 2005
Jesus: Neither God Nor Man, Earl Doherty, 2009
The Jesus the Jews Never Knew, Frank R. Zindler, 2003
The Myth Of Nazareth: The Invented Town Of Jesus, Rene Salm, 2008
Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All, David Fitzgerald, 2010

Websites
Jesus Seminar
Nazareth Myth
The Jesus Project

Podcasts
Chariots of Iron – Uncovering the Jesus Myth, Part 1, With Frank Zindler
Chariots of Iron – Uncovering The Jesus Myth, Part 2, With Rene Salm
Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot – Robert Price – How to Study the Historical Jesus
Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot – Bob Price – The Case Against the Case for Christ
Apologia Podcast – The Jesus Myth Hypothesis

A while back I did a piece on the faith of a child, today we’ll cover the curiosity of a child.

There is certain point where every kid switches from accepting everything an authority (adult) says to questioning everything. This isn’t yet at the point of what is commonly an outright rebellion, it’s simply a curiosity that demands to know more.

I remember times as a kid when I would ask “why” until the adult I was talking to would just say, “that’s just the way it is.” I would usually keep asking why a few more times, but not getting an answer isn’t satisfying so I’d eventually stop.

This kind of curiosity that wants to know more, is much more worthy of emulation by an adult than blind trust and faith. It allows children to seek to understand the world around us, and it can allow adults to do the same. We would be better employees if we asked (or could ask) our bosses why we have to do something until we understood it. We would be better citizens if we asked the government why they did what they did until we could understand it. Catholics could benefit by asking why birth control is wrong. Evangelicals could benefit by asking why they should deny their gay neighbors equal rights.

Sure, asking why over and over will turn you into a skeptic, it will also likely turn you into an atheist. But shouldn’t we want to understand the world around us? Shouldn’t we want to know why?

The time of the winter solstice is the darkest of the year. It’s not just the shortest day of the year, but it’s also often cloudy, cold, and wet. It’s really a miserable time of the year, so it’s no wonder cultures around Europe (and I’m sure much of the rest of the world) would have a party around this time.

We are most familiar with Christmas, so let’s look at some of the origins of the various Christmas traditions:

• Gift giving – Roman Saturnalia
• Greenery – Roman New Year
• Lights – Roman New Year
• Charity – Roman New Year
• Feasting – Germanic Pagans
• Yule Log – Germanic Pagans
• 12 Days of Yule (Christmas) – Germanic Pagans
• Mistletoe – Druids
• Santa Claus – Norse god Odin
• Elves – Norse mythology
• December 25 – Mithra’s Birthday

The Christian Church faced many struggles with the conversion of the Germanic tribes and certain elements of of the Roman Empire. One of these struggles was with very strong solstice traditions that they just couldn’t break. So they adopted many elements of the pagan holidays and even the day of Mithraism’s highest holiday (also the day for several other holidays), and identified it as Christ’s Mass, or Christmas.

It really is the perfect blending of the most popular elements of many holidays, enough so that it’s hardly recognizable as a religious holiday. Christmas really is the perfect holiday.

Of course spending time with family is the most important part of the holiday. However, if you need to cope with too much family or not enough, it’s nothing a nice stiff glass of holiday cheer can’t help with.

That being said, I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Let’s break down the war on Christmas:

• Businesses and governments want to be inclusive and reach out to religious minorities by wishing people “Happy Holidays”.
• Atheists want other atheists to not feel alone at the holidays.
• Governments won’t give Christians an exclusive right to post religious images on public property.
• Fox News likes to make stuff up to boost ratings and piss people off.

Where’s the war? As far as I can tell, it exists in the minds of Fox News pundits and Fundamentalists/Evangelicals. So, this Christmas, have some holiday spirits, and chill out!

A few weeks ago I mentioned the The Jesus Potter Harry Christ book contest, well, it has begun. For more information, including the link to download the prerelease PDF file, visit Holy Blasphemy.

On a side note, I would be remiss if I didn’t wish you all a Happy Festivus!