Meme: Your Daily Principles

Olly at without hyphens has launched a new Meme: Your Daily Principles. I love these things about as much as I hate these things. What the hell...

It’s meme time for me again, this one coming straight out of my own brain! I got to thinking recently about the idea that all of us, as humans, have principles we live by daily. These aren’t your over-arching beliefs neccessarily, but rather the things that you do daily as a part of those beliefs. So, for example, it’s not that I’m an anarchist, but things I do daily in line with that. I’ve kept it to 5 on my own, but there’s no hard rules on this meme; name as few or as many as you’d like! Likewise, no limits on how few or how many (if any) people you tag… do whatever is comfortable!

Mojoey's daily principles:

Observe the world around me: I try hard to see beauty in the world around me. I look for it wherever I am. I drive to work via different routes everyday just so I can see something new. I often take pictures while doing this. I call it photodriving. It is sure to be the cause of my next accident.

Learn something new every day: I work in IT. The need to keep abreast of technology has instilled this principle. Today it was learning how to manipulate the size of bar code fonts on an impact printer, tomorrow I will be picking apart an algorithm for calculating net margin on forecasted products. Learning is fun.

Tell the truth: I do not like to be lied to, so I try not to lie. It is not always easy. I'm not too concerned about the social niceties kind of lie, I'm more concerned with finding the truth in situations. To do this, you must be honest with yourself as well as with others.  This is not easy to do. It takes concentration and a desire for clarity which many people avoid.

Don't be a dick: This one is where I stumble the most. I am sarcastic by nature. Sometimes it gets the better of me. I try to be a nice guy. I succeed most days.

Connect with my family: This is last on my list but first in my heart. I reinforce my love for my family every day. There is no greater pleasure for me than the strength, security, and love that my family shares. Telling them how much I appreciate it is part of my daily ritual.

I'm tagging the blogroll newbies:

Izzworld dot net

Tales of an ordinary girl

Humans: The other white meat

Infinite Monkeys, infinite keyboards

Much ado about nothing

Technorati tags: Memes, Atheism

Leading the blind

Sometimes I act without thinking. It is as if I know the right thing to do without thinking about it. This innate ability rests within me for some reason,. I do the right thing despite the consequences. I can firmly say it is not because I learned it from the bible.

Last Saturday I risked my life to save a man from being hit by a car. The story is a little convoluted so bear with me.

I met a blind man at a service station in Carson near where I work. He was trying to use the bathroom, but was told it was unavailable.  I knew the real story. I few months earlier,  two employees were executed by high school aged gang members during a robber. The new employees have little trust. I remember thinking how sad it was that ramifications from two murders were still felt in the community and even extended to affect innocent blind pedestrians who just needed a place to pee. I resolved to help the man find a toilette. However, when I finished my transaction, he was gone.

It took a few minutes and a painful $65 dollars to fill my tank. As I finished, I caught sight of the blind man standing at the curb, white cane in hand, 100 feet from the corner crosswalk. I jumped in my truck to pull around the pumps toward where he was standing only to find that he was gone. I spotted him up the street another 50 feet flailing away at the center divider while standing in the north bound lanes of Avalon blvd. I saw him trip on the curb and fall toward the grass in the divider, as he tried to stand, he stumbled and fall toward oncoming traffic. I jumped from my truck and ran in front of the oncoming cars with my arms waving; breaks squealed, I nearly peed my pants, nobody hit me or the blind man.  I walked over to him and offered assistance, he asked to be taken to the 7/11 across the street. An awkward moment passed between us as he reached for my arm and we ended up holding hands. A few minutes later I was back in my truck. I knew I had done the right thing, I did not know why.

As I sit writing this post the thing that bothers me is the inaction of the drivers from the 20 other cars stopped in the south bound lanes.  As I walked the across the street with my new friend, one of the drivers even honked when he accidentally bumped into his car. I mean, what the hell?

Technorati tags: Deep Thoughts, morality, Carson

Something for Catholics to be proud of

When religion and the state become one, death follows.  

Father Christian von Wernich, 69, was accused of being one of the members of the Church who took sides with the then-ruling military junta, the Buenos Aires Provincial Police Force, from 1976 to 1983. The reverend was found guilty of his involvement in "seven murders, 31 cases of torture and 42 kidnappings," says the New York Times.

Source: Argentine Priest Sentenced to Life for Crimes Against Humanity

Father Christian von Wernich joins the infamous ranks of those who have committed crimes against humanity. Of course, the Vatican disavows all knowledge of this rouge priest who acted completely on his own.  And... no rational person believes this.

Technorati tags: Christian von Wernich, theocracy, murder, crimes against humanity, Argentina, Catholicism

Pastor sentenced for molesting young girl

Stephen Kerr, the former pastor of Gig Harbor Church of the Nazarene was sentenced to 11 years in prison for molesting a 7-year-old girl. While convicted pedophile Kerr apologized while his lawyer asked sex offender sentencing alterative SOSA and home monitoring.

They are most serious and destructive, bringing pain, ruin and infliction to those I love the most. Including the victims as well as my extending family and friends and those I served in my community... I am truly sorry

Source: Pastor sentenced for molesting young girl

All this after Kerr admitted to molesting a second 2-year-old girl. I'm sure Kerr's lawyer played the god card in his attempts to win the scumbag a lenient sentence.

I first posted on Kerr back in May. I am happy to see he will be spending the prime of his life as a prison bitch. He sure deserves it.

Technorati tags: Stephen Kerr, clergy abuse, child rape, pedophilia, child abuse

Pastor Arrested After Setting Bronx Home Fire

Via the Gothamist - Abraham Serrano, who claims to be a pastor, set fire to his high-rise apartment in an effort to rid his wife of the "devil".

A couple trapped in their burning apartment at the Bronxdale houses was rescued by firefighters. And it turns out the husband was the one who started the fire.

Fifty-two-year-old Abraham Serrano confessed that he and his wife had gotten into a fight, so he lit a piece of paper on fire and then set many other objects in a bedroom on fire. Neighbors called 911, and firefighters responded. Seven people, including Serrano's wife, were injured; firefighters also reportedly had trouble getting Serrano out. Needless to say, neighbors are pissed as well.

A neighbor told WABC 7 that Serrano claimed to be a pastor, too, "He had candles all over the house and he trapped her in the room. He set fire to the curtains and stuff like that and said, he wanted to get rid of the devil from the apartment. The devil seemed to be him."

Source: Gothamist: Man Arrested After Setting Bronx Home Fire

Candles, marital disputes, and the devil.... sounds like a good reason for a pastor to attempt murdering his wife and all the other people in his apartment complex.

Technorati tags: Religion, pastors gone wild

Blogroll Update: Deutschland über Elvis

Deutschland über Elvis has joined the Atheist Blogroll. We all know Headbang8 as the long time blogroll member responsible for High Maintenance Hags. He moved to a new city, thus a new blog.  Enjoy!

Stateless, rootless and godless, headbang8 started life in the theocracy we call Western Pennsylvania, Catholic Church branch.  Escaped to Australia as a teen, and lost faith amid the abundant evidence for evolution one finds there.  Lived in Japan for several years, where religion and superstition are routinely recognized to be synonymous.  Lived in New York for several years, where such clarity on the role of the church is absent.  Finds himself posted to god-fearing Bavaria, which is more secular than it lets on. A law-school dropout, he now works as a global advertising strategy wanker.  Oh, and he's gay, so maybe he should join the clergy.

Technorati tags: The Atheist blogroll, Atheism, Blogging

Minister wants to withdraw plea in sex case

Clifford Jones has had enough. As a pastor he finds it inconvenient to wear the title of registered sex offender. 11 years have passed, now he wants to change his plea. Let's not forget he was convicted of having oral sex with a 15 year old girl.  I hope the judge says no.

NORWALK, Ohio (AP) - The attorney for a minister convicted of a child sex charge 11 years ago says he wants to withdraw his plea. Clifton Jones Senior, a registered sex offender and bishop of Agape Love Ministries in Sandusky, entered an Alford plea, which means he did not admit committing a crime but conceded prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. The case against 51-year-old involved a 1995 incident in which a 15-year-old girl told police she had consensual oral sex with the pastor in a Norwalk hotel room. He was convicted of attempted corruption of a minor. But a motion filed Friday in Huron County Common Please Court says there were problems with the case, including prosecutors who failed to present the court with a sworn statement by the girl.

Technorati tags: Clifford Jones, Sexual abuse, sex offenders, child molestation

light posting

I appreciate the emails regarding concern over my light posting these last few weeks. From time to time unplanned events interrupt my normal schedule.  If shifted from a normal 40 hour weeks to working almost every every waking moment. What time is  spent with my family.  What can I say, work pays the bills.

On a more sober note I can also add that my desire to post has been affected by an event I witnessed last week on my drive to work. I saw a young girl hit by a car as she was using a crosswalk to reach her her elementary school. I heard the squeal of breaks and a thud. As I turned my head towards the sound, I saw a body flying through the air. I understand she passed away. When I try to write, my mind plays back the images. I find I cannot write  my normal subject matter. The words do not come.

It's weird, but I can remember what I was listening too at the time of the accident; Nine Inch Nails, The Day the World Went Away.

I'd listen to the words he'd say
but in his voice I heard decay
the plastic face forced to portray
all the insides left cold and gray
there is a place that still remains
it eats the fear it eats the pain
the sweetest price he'll have to pay
the day the whole world went away

Weird right?

Technorati tags: Blogging, death

Pastor arrested on sex charges

Caught another one! Pastor Justin Ray Peterson of River of Life church in Lutz admits molesting an 8 year old girl before he became a pastor.

The bad memories of a little girl have returned, 14 years later, to ensnare a church youth pastor.

Justin Ray Peterson, 31, of Wesley Chapel was arrested Thursday at River of Life Church in Lutz on two counts of sexual battery of a relative he babysat in the 1990s. A detective arrested Peterson after he admitted the allegations to his accuser in a recorded telephone call, which the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office helped arrange, records show.

Source: St. Petersburgh Times, Pastor arrested on sex charges, by Bill Coats. 

What draws some people to service as a youth pastor? Could it be that he like kids? At least he was honorable enough to admit his actions. I bet he pleads innocent.

Technorati tags: Ray Peterson, clergy sexual abuse, child molestation, pedophilia

Agape Fellowship may sell land to pay claims

I would normally pass on blogging this story. Pastor Terry Hornbuckle is convicted of sexual misconduct, looses his job, and ends up in prison. After the pastor heads to prison, membership falls, bills pile up, and the eventually the victim sues for damages.

Agape Christian Fellowship, faced with lawsuits and owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to creditors and women who sued the church and its pastor for sexual misconduct, could satisfy its creditors by selling land for $1 million.

Source: Star-Telegram - Agape Fellowship may sell land to pay claims. By Nathaniel Jones.

Agape Christian Fellowship owes a million dollars to its creditors. What caught my eye? The new pastor, Renee Hornbuckle, is paid $15K per month to lead the church. That's $180K to lead a church. Wow - I am in the wrong profession.

Renee, the new pastor,  is the wife of convicted rapist and former pastor,  Terry Hornbuckle. Terry was fired a few days after his conviction. Together the Hornbuckles earned a fortune at the helm of the former mega-church.  Sex, drugs, and sexual misconduct brought it all to and end. Except for the continued payment of $15K to Mrs "Bishop". What a scam.

I did some light research on Terry Hornbuckle. I found an enlightening article titled The Reverend Freak by Andrea Grimes and Stephanie Morris. Let's just say Terry Hornbuckle is the worst type of mega-church prosperity preaching jackass Christian sexual predator on the planet. Read it if you can.

Technorati tags: Terry Hornbuckle, clergy sexual abuse, rape, abuse of power

Pedophile pastor headed for prison

Justice is served. Another pedophile pastor is heading for prison.

District Judge Kim Cudney sentenced the Rev. Bryan Sprung, 49, to 241 months in prison for aggravated criminal sodomy, 59 months for each of two counts of aggravated indecent liberties and six months for making a criminal threat.

Source: Former Miltonvale pastor sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. By Sharon Montague

Former Pastor Sprung was not on my radar. His case follows a patter of abuse that I know find common. A man in a position of power find himself alone with a young child - abuse follows. In this case leaving an innocent ten-year-old girl to deal her abuse for the rest of her life.

The problem is trust. People trust pastors. They make bad decisions based on trust. Take this case, the mother of the abused child knew of the abuse, but did not believe her daughter. Co-workers knew of the abuse, and another person witnessed inappropriate behavior, but did not act. All because of misplaced trust. The most common reason for trust - the abuser is a pastor.

She testified that her daughter had been attending Friend’s Club, a youth group program at the Wesleyan Church in Miltonvale. Sprung was a pastor in the church at that time. She said there were numerous times when Sprung would pick her daughter up–and bring her home– from Friend’s Club.

Walsh asked her if Sprung had ever requested access to their home, to which she replied that he had asked for a key on more than one occasion. She said he wanted to be able to wake up the girl to take her to church on Sundays.

Source: Blade-Empire - Sprung makes appearance in district court, by Jessica LeDuc

If any other person requested unsupervised access to a ten year old girl and the parents granted the access, the police would be justified in hauling the parents into court. In retrospect, it seems colossally irresponsible to allow a man to enter your home to wake your daughter and take her to his office for "special attention". What were the parents thinking?

Technorati tags: Bryan Sprung, pedophilia, clergy sexual abuse, abuse of authority

Dominionism on Wikipedia

Dominionism is the tendency amount conservative politically-active Christians to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action. Wikipedia's article on Dominionism has grown from a mere entry in January of 2005 to a enlightening summary of one of the most significant threats to our liberty.

The terms Hard Dominionism or Theocratic Dominionism, are used by some to describe forms of Dominionism which evidently envision, and work toward, a future (prior to the Second coming of Christ) in which all the institutions of society will be governed by the principles of their form of Christian faith.

It my black and white world, dominionist are the enemy.

Technorati tags: Dominionism, Wikipedia, Theocracy, Christians

McCain wants a Christian nation

Well, not really. To quote presidential hopeful John McCain "personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith". His statement is no different than my desire to see a president who does not place his faith (or lack there of) above the needs of our country. No more Bush or McCain  for America please.

Of course McCain also thinks America was founded on Christian principles but that he would vote for a Muslim under certain conditions.

"I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values."

Source: McCain" I'd prefer Christian President

My bullshit detector flashed full on when I read this. I translate it to mean McCain would vote for a Muslim only if he or she where the last person in thepresidential race.

The Atheist blogroll covered this one at length over the last 24 hours. Atheist Revolution hit the nail on the head:

McCain is clearly desperate to remain relevant as the primaries approach. His campaign has been a disaster, and he is probably having a difficult time realizing that he hasn't been part of the first tier for some time. Now it seems that he's made a strategic decision to engage in the worst kind of pandering to boost his dismal numbers.

Technorati tags: John McCain, Religion, Politics, 2008 Elections

Christian rap and other crap

I love music. There are a few genres I do not care for. Contemporary country does not appeal to me, nor does Christian rock. With these two exceptions everything else is far game.

I once heard a Christian band cover Sublime's What I got. They did a decent job, that is right up until the changed the lyrics to remove the profanity. Then the song became a joke.

I got a dalmation
I can still get high
I can play the guitar
Like a motherfuckin’ riot

In general, I listen to all kinds of music. My wife knows this, that's why she picked up a copy of Christian rap artist Thadius's new Never Say Never CD when she ran into him pimping his CD's in the parking lot of our neighborhood grocery store. It sounds odd, but that's what Christians do, they pimp records to unsuspecting atheists in parking lots.

It was $10 well spent. Never Say Never is outstanding. It's a little Christian hokey mind you, but essentially good music, even if it is God music.

Thadius does it all himself. He can be contacted at:

Thadius Butler: (artist & producer)
Phone: 714.5538162
Email: thadius@thadiusproductions.com
Links: [bio] [www.thadiusproductions.com]

On another note - I am officially an old fart. Apparently there is a teenage phenomenon sweeping Youtube called Crank That- Soulja Boy. My 12-year-old introduced me to the WINII DA POOH version, I went on to watch a dozen user contributed teen videos all doing the dance. Yep, I'm old.

Technorati tags: Music, Christian Rap, Thadius

Blogroll Update: Mere Skepticism

Stacy and Jared co-author Mere Skepticism. In my brief visit to verify that they were suitably atheistic (we all know my loose standards), I ended up reading every post plus a dozen or so from Stacy's other blog. I also love their blog's title. I think it might be a play on Mere Christianity.

 Stacy wrote a brief introduction - enjoy.   

Mere Skepticism, authored by me (Stacy) and Jared (and looking for contributors!), began recently as an offshoot of Stacy, Interrupted . Stacy, Interrupted has been my blog for a long time, and when I finally decided to publicly profess my atheism, it seemed my religious posts got a lot of hits and a lot of discussion. We decided to branch off and keep the religious talk at the new site. We live in the Dallas area, and are relatively new to the atheist "community." Jared and I are both 30, and were both raised in Christian households. Jared recently told me he's irked by feeling slighted his whole life--atheism has been around in the form of intellectual arguments, and it was always forbidden to us as "work of the devil" or something trying to "lead us astray." We're now "astray" because of the intellect of many before us; it has encouraged us to use our own and shown us that things once considered taboo are part of our rights as humans and as Americans. I am proud to be an atheist and I hope you will enjoy our blog as it grows.

Here are some sample posts from Stacy, Interrupted:

http://bpdme.blogspot.com/2007/09/question.html

http://bpdme.blogspot.com/2006/09/democraptic.html

and from Mere Skepticism:

http://mereskepticism.blogspot.com/2007/09/imperfection-wisdom.html

http://mereskepticism.blogspot.com/2007/09/sowing.html

Welcome to the team!

Technorati tags: The Atheist Blogroll, Atheism