bible » Morgantown Atheists

Book Club July 18: God Hates You, finishing up

This entry is part 17 of 19 in the series Book Club Meetings

We met at 5pm at the Blue Moose on Sunday, July 18 for the Freethinker’s Morgantown Book Club.

~Update: We finished God Hates You, Hate Him Back and picked our next book: The GOD Part of the Brain

We are finishing up with God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of The Bible by CJ Werleman, from Acts to Revelations, pages 230 to the end.

Feel free to bring your bible for cross references. We’ll follow the same format where we go through the chapters and talk about what we found interesting, using the book as a jumping off point for discussion.

Bring in book suggestions. It might be nice to read something different for a summer change. (Neece wants to read something science-y, but of course, bring in your ideas!)

Book Club June 13: God Hates You, The Gospels

This entry is part 14 of 19 in the series Book Club Meetings

We met at 5pm at the Blue Moose on Sunday, June 13 for the Freethinkers Morgantown Book Club.

~Update: We talked about the 4 gospels and ended up with some questions, such as:

When did the Pharisees move into Jerusalem where Jesus was hanging out? I remember reading somewhere that the Pharisees weren’t in Jesus’ area until around 50 or 70 CE, long after Jesus’ death, so it brings into question all the interactions they have with him.

We are reading God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of The Bible by CJ Werleman.

We will be going over the Gospels, pages 182-229:

Intro to the New Testament section
The Gospels (lumped together for a more cohesive narrative)
Summary of the Gospels

Since it’s all lumped together, and this is the most important 4 books of the Christian bible, please consider bringing other sources like your bible. We’ll mainly use CJ’s book as a jumping off point for deeper discussion into the gospels.

Book Club Meeting May 16: God Hates You – Old Testament 2

This entry is part 15 of 19 in the series Book Club Meetings

We met at 5pm at the Blue Moose on Sunday, May 16 for the Freethinkers Morgantown Book Club.

~We had a great meeting where we got through the rest of the old testament. Swami, a Freethinker from Orlando, came up when we were almost done and we enjoyed talking to him. He came to dinner with us as well. A lot of interesting discussion took place over dinner. I think we solved all of America’s problems, and probably most of the world’s as well.

We are reading God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of The Bible by CJ Werleman.

~EDIT: Since we’re not getting anyone to volunteer for chapters, let’s do it a different way. We are covering Chapters 18-39 (pages 133-181).

Bring in whatever notes you feel you’d like to share and we’ll just go through the chapters and talk about whatever we find interesting.

This is an irreverant review of the bible. Since christianity is the religion we deal with the most as atheists, we will spend some time using this book as a reference. Bring your bible as well, if you want, for more detailed discussions.

Book Club Meeting April 18: God Hates You, Hate Him Back – Old Testament 1

This entry is part 13 of 19 in the series Book Club Meetings

We met at 5pm on Sunday, April 18 at the Blue Moose for the Freethinkers Morgantown Book Club.

Update: We met for a lively and interesting discussion about the first 17 books of the bible. We also talked about some of the exciting things we have coming up in the next few months. Then we went to dinner for more casual conversation.

The book we’ll be talking about is God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of The Bible by CJ Werleman.

For our first meeting, let’s focus on The Books of the Pentateuch (1-5) and the History Books (6-17). Pick your chapters that you’ll cover. I’d say pick 2 or 3 chapters if you like, especially if some are short.

The Books of the Pentateuch:
1. Genesis: Gerald
2. Exodus: Gerald
3. Leviticus: Neece
4. Numbers: Daniel
5. Deuteronomy: Daniel
The History Books:
6. Joshua: Brent
7. Judges: Brent
8. Ruth: Neece
9. Samuel 1: Gerald but if anyone wants this just leave a comment.
10. Samuel 2: Gerald but if anyone wants this just leave a comment.
11. Kings 1: Gerald but if anyone wants this just leave a comment.
12. Kings 2: Gerald but if anyone wants this just leave a comment.
13 and 14. Chronicles 1 and 2:
15 and 16. Ezra and Nehemiah:
17. Esther: Neece

From Amazon: Read the rest of this entry »

What Other Deities Were Born On Jesus’ Birthday?

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series History

Was Jesus unique and special, born of a virgin on December 25th? The Anointed One, the Messiah? Was his message even all that original? Not at all. Back in the day, religions and cults mixed and borrowed freely from each other. The only thing special about Jesus, you could say, is how long his myth has been embraced as truth. Butch found this at American Atheists and I thought you’d enjoy it for the holiday season.

December 25 is close to the Winter Solstice which has been an important event for ages. It’s the longest night of the year. December 25 was the Roman Winter Solstice upon establishment of the Julian calendar. We now have the Gregorian calendar which put the Winter Solstice to December 21st – 22nd. Many cultures recognized this Longest Night with holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals about rebirth and other celebrations.

EDIT: I shared the following article and a few readers noted at HDC that there are no references or resources for any of this information. I fell into the trap of the Appeal to Authority. I had found it on what I considered to be a reputable site and didn’t think much about who wrote the article or what his sources were. I apologize.

Over the next day or so, I am going to edit this article to include some resources and references.

Horus c. 3000 BCE

–born of the virgin Isis-Merion December 25 in a cave/manger with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.
–his earthly father was named “Seb” (“Joseph”).
–was of royal descent.
–at 12, he was a child teacher in the Temple, and at 30, he was baptized having disappeared for 18 years.
–baptized in the river Eridanus or Iarutana (Jordan) by “Anup the Baptizer” (“John the Baptist”), who was decapitated.
–had 12 disciples, two of who were his “witnesses” and were named “Anup” and “Aan” (the two “Johns”).
–performed miracles, exorcised demons and raised El-Azarus (“El-Osiris”), from the dead.
–walked on water.
–his personal epithet was “Iusa,” the “ever-becoming son” of “Ptah,” the “Father.” He was thus called “Holy Child.”
–delivered a “Sermon on the Mount” and his followers recounted the “Sayings of Iusa.”
–was transfigured on the Mount.
–crucified between two thieves, buried for three days in a tomb, and resurrected.
–he was also the “Way, the Truth, the Light,” “Messiah,” “God’s Anointed Son,” “the “Son of Man,” the “Good Shepherd,” the “Lamb of God,” the “Word made flesh,” the “Word of Truth,” etc.
–he was “the Fisher” and was associated with the Fish (“Ichthys”), Lamb and Lion.
–came to fulfill the Law.
–called “the KRST,” or “Anointed One.”
–was supposed to reign one thousand years. Read the rest of this entry »

Logical Fallacy: Correlation Does Not Imply Causation

This entry is part 7 of 12 in the series Logic and Critical Thinking

Here are several examples of people trying to use the logical fallacy of Correlation and Causation which is loosely defined as follows: Just because two events occur together does not mean that one caused the other. Or just because two variables have a connection does not automatically imply that one causes the other.

1. From a creationist website:

1. “All crime is a result of sin, and of course there was crime before Charles Darwin promoted evolution, but as the theory increased so did the crime rate. Today Creation is not taught, even as a theory, in our schools, therefore children have nothing to base their morality upon. As God has been removed from the classroom, so all kinds of evil has multiplied on our streets. Remove the Bible and you take away the conscience of the nation. Evolution has absolutely nothing to offer with regards to morality, no wonder then that our leaders have no answer to societies problems.”

In fact crime rates have been going down in recent years. Other western nations teach evolution, and they have lower crime rates than the US. Historically the south is the most anti-evolution of geographic regions. The south also has the highest crime rate of any region in the US.

Crime statistics by country
Crime reporting in the US (pdf: see pages 9 and 10, especially) Read the rest of this entry »

Logical Fallacy: Cherry-Picking

This entry is part 5 of 12 in the series Logic and Critical Thinking

Cherry-Picking is when you count the hits and ignore the misses. It is used when only certain quotes, data, studies or research are used to support an argument while ignoring other valid and credible quotes, data, studies and research. In my personal experience, cherry-picking is rampant in the religious population.

Examples:

When christians speak of the bible, they invariably cherry-pick the parts that support whatever they are trying to get across. Homosexuality is a prime example (leviticus mentions it twice). Of course they don’t mind eating shellfish or wearing a poly-cotton blend shirt, which is expressly forbidden in subsequent chapters. We’ve all dealt with the hypocrisy of the old testament, especially the homosexuality issue. Instead I’m going to share a bit of the new testament, which most people use to show how kind and loving jesus was. I’ll stick to the gospels for this exercise, to make my point:

Here are a few examples of nice things that are in the bible.

Matthew 7:3-5: jesus says to avoid hypocrisy. Consider your own faults rather than criticizing others. Don’t tell your brother he’s got a mote in his eye when you have a beam in your own eye. (not an original idea, really, but it’s a good lesson)
Matthew 19:18-19: jesus talks about the commandments (notice he mentions 6 instead of 10, and the last one is not in the old testament. Also these are all secular commandments, not religious) Don’t murder, don’t cheat on your spouse, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your parents, love your neighbor as yourself. (these are basically good rules, also not original)
Luke 6:31: The Golden Rule. As you would have others treat you, treat them likewise. (not an original idea, either, but a good way to live)

Of course, most christians ignore the more hateful things and skip over them, or apologetically dismiss them using other logical fallacies. Here are just a few: Read the rest of this entry »

Codex Sinaiticus: The Oldest Bible Holds Surprises

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series History

The Codex Sinaiticus, which means ‘the Sinai Book’ holds a special place in history. And now the whole world has access to it for free. Here, let the website explain. This is from their about page:

Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. The hand-written text is in Greek. The New Testament appears in the original vernacular language (koine) and the Old Testament in the version, known as the Septuagint, that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians. In the Codex, the text of both the Septuagint and the New Testament has been heavily annotated by a series of early correctors.

The significance of Codex Sinaiticus for the reconstruction of the Christian Bible’s original text, the history of the Bible and the history of Western book-making is immense.

First, the many corrections are quite telling, spanning the centuries. Letters, words and whole sentences are added or removed. The books are in a different order, and there are some books in there that have since been removed. The codex is dated to the middle of the 4th century. This is one of the earliest manuscripts. The only other is at the vatican, so therefore out of the reach of the public.

What is contained in the codex as described by the Codex Sinaiticus website:

As it survives today, Codex Sinaiticus comprises just over 400 large leaves of prepared animal skin, each of which measures 380mm high by 345mm wide. On these parchment leaves is written around half of the Old Testament and Apocrypha (the Septuagint), the whole of the New Testament, and two early Christian texts not found in modern Bibles. Most of the first part of the manuscript (containing most of the so-called historical books, from Genesis to 1 Chronicles) is now missing and presumed to be lost.

The Septuagint includes books which many Protestant Christian denominations place in the Apocrypha. Those present in the surviving part of the Septuagint in Codex Sinaiticus are 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 1 & 4 Maccabees, Wisdom and Sirach.

The number of the books in the New Testament in Codex Sinaiticus is the same as that in modern Bibles in the West, but the order is different. The Letter to the Hebrews is placed after Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians, and the Acts of the Apostles between the Pastoral and Catholic Epistles.

The two other early Christian texts are an Epistle by an unknown writer claiming to be the Apostle Barnabas, and ‘The Shepherd’, written by the early second-century Roman writer, Hermas.

I think this will prove extremely useful to the debate of the legitimacy of christianity. With this online resource, you can see the original manuscript and the transcription in one of several languages. For the first time, we are all able to access this historical work for ourselves. It’s amazing and awesome.

If you spend some time with the codex and find anything interesting, please feel free to share it with us.

(cross-posted from Heaving Dead Cats)

Book Club July 18: God Hates You, finishing up

Book Club June 13: God Hates You, The Gospels

Book Club Meeting May 16: God Hates You – Old Testament 2

Book Club Meeting April 18: God Hates You, Hate Him Back – Old Testament 1

What Other Deities Were Born On Jesus’ Birthday?

Logical Fallacy: Correlation Does Not Imply Causation

Logical Fallacy: Cherry-Picking

Codex Sinaiticus: The Oldest Bible Holds Surprises

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