Introducing Lost My Faith in You

Please join me in welcoming one of the newest members of the Atheist Blogroll, Lost My Faith In You.

Hi.  I'm TheDon.  Just over a year ago, I began a journey to find out exactly what I believed as a christian.  Along the way, I read a couple of really insightful books: The Reason Driven Life by Robert Price and Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman.  Of course, it brought me to a place of serious skepticism and ultimately, non-belief.  During this transition, I needed a place to be myself as I explored this very strange time in my life.  Thus, Lost My Faith In You was born.  I assumed the moniker, TheDon because I required some anonymity.  I was a christian for most of my life, having made that decision when I was six.  I even worked on staff at my church. I am now 34 years old and married with five children.  My wife is still a believer and it's a challenge to come to some sort of middle ground, but that is thankfully changing.  Most of my friends are believers and unaware of my de-conversion.  I write anonymously so that my family is protected.

I have a fascination with all things science, especially origins of life and the universe.  I am also very intrigued with human psychology; what makes us be the way we are.

Lost My Faith In You is simply my journey, uncut and uncensored.  I have no idea where this road will lead me, but I'm excited.  I hope you can join me.

Are you interested in becoming a member? Visit the Atheist Blogroll for more information. or visit the the full Atheist Blogroll membership list.

Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll

Churches hoard wealth

One of the problems I have with organized religion is the conflict between the institutions vast wealth and poverty. Is it consistent with the message of Christ to hoard wealth while millions starve? Is building wealth the purpose of religion? Take the Catholic church, its hoarded hundreds of billions of dollars world wide. Or take the Church of England, it’s worth billions. Want more? check out The Business of Religion at Money.co.uk.

The link between money and religion is a grey area, fraught with conspiracy and scandal. Some of the wealthiest organisations on the planet are religions or religious movements - some ancient, some modern - yet the followers of religion and the countries in which they are practised are often the poorest.

Here, the money.co.uk team has examined some of the richest religions and their relationships with wealth.

Read more: The Business of Religion

I cringe when I see the collection plate at local churches. The dollars pour in while the hungry look on. Sure, some religious organization feed the poor and provide other services, but billions of dollars are held back for no other purpose than to enrich an institution the is supposed to represent charity, compassion, and love. It’s despicable, and its completely at odds with message they are supposed to preach.

Reposted for a correction: Replaced horde with hoard… duh.

Technorati Tags: Religion,Money,Charity

Introducing the Truthful Heretic.

Please join me in welcoming one of the newest members of the Atheist Blogroll, the Truthful Heretic.

Dear fellow Homo sapiens, or if you prefer conscious mammals! And of course, friends nonetheless: My name is B.S Knight and I am the writer of the Truthful Heretic. I created my blog in order to speak my very weird mind, mostly about three subjects (as I identify myself and my state of mind with them): Atheism, as I was born in the Middle East and saw and felt the affects of Islam; Homosexuality and equal rights, as a gay man who has tasted the Homophobia and also Sexism in that society; and Liberalism and political philosophy, which I think is a good ground for secular values and criticism of fundamentalism. If you wish, visit and join your state of mind to mine. I hope they don't short circuit!

On twitter @Truthfulheretic

Are you interested in becoming a member? Visit the Atheist Blogroll for more information. or visit the the full Atheist Blogroll membership list.

Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll

Disc golf drill card

I played a game of disc golf Wednesday at El Dorado Park in Long Beach. It was a fun game with friends but frustrating for me. I missed 7 putts from 20 to 30 feet. I finally made 2 putts from 25 feet near the end of the game. It was too late to help my score. The real kick in the teeth was hole 12. I had a chance to par on the second longest pin placement. I’ve never done it before. I bounced off the basked low from 25 feet away. I was so close too. It’s the only hole on the course that I have not conquered.

 

My misses were frustrating. There were no clear misses except for a flubbed 10 footer. I hit the chains or the bucket on each shot. One of my friends asked me how I was so accurate. I told him that I practice and then explained my system.

 

I shoot at least 100 putts every session. I use a drill card (show above). An “X” marks a made putt. An “O” marks a miss. An “O!” is a bounce out. An “O>” is a miss right. The arrows mark the direction of my miss. My goal is 90%. If I make 90%, I call the session a success. If I don’t, I make another 100 putts.

 

It’s really helped my game. I’m a good putter. I feel like I can make anything up to about 40 feet every time I step up to a putt. Practice builds confidence.

Technorati Tags: Disc Golf Tips

iPhone photo - Ponch

I shot this while walking with a friend in Hollywood. People who know me well understand that I might simply stop in mid stride or while talking and start taking photos. There was no need this time. My friend was smoking a cigarette before jumping in my truck so I took a few photos to keep my mind of smoking. Being a former smoker sucks.

This shot caught my eye because whoever put this tag up was so neat. It's like they stayed within the lines on purpose. I shot a few photos with my iPhone. This was the best.

It's been a long week folks. I've found it hard to do anything besides work and sleep. Plus I'm sick of pedophile pastors. I'll get back to blogging soon. 

It’s only $300K

Why would we even charge Rev. Michael Angeloni? Who would miss a paltry $300k? Perhaps it was the elderly lady he allegedly stole the money from?

Angeloni is accused of soliciting money on multiple occasions from the woman -- a parishioner at Church of the Holy Child (Brandywood) on Naamans Road -- where Angeloni had served as an associate pastor.

Prosecutors said Angeloni told the victim he needed the money for certain, specific personal expenses, "when in fact, the money was used for other purposes."

Source: Priest charged with stealing $305K

Apparently this is not the first accusation against the Catholic Priest I doubt it will be his last. He seems to like milking his sheeple.

Technorati Tags: Catholic Crime,Catholics

Metropolis II at LACMA

Chris Burden has worked on this kinetic display for nearly 4 years. It will show at LACMA in autumn. I’ll be first in line.

Technorati Tags: Art,Museums,LACMA

Photo: Spanish street preachers

Where ever you go, they are always there. Spreading the Good Word with giant obnoxious signs. Do they think that this brings in converts? Do they think it reaches the hearts and minds of the unchurched or atheist? Is this effective or obnoxious?

It’s entertainment folks. It’s no better than a McDonalds commercial.

Technorati Tags: Street Photography,Christians

Introducing Greatplay.net

Please join me in welcoming one of the newest members of the Atheist Blogroll, Greatplay.net.

My name is Peter Hurford and I am the creator of www.greatplay.net, a blog for philosophy, politics, economics, and a few other things.  I write to try to get to the bottom of it all, and this quite often involves discussing atheism -- both making arguments for why religion is false and trying to figure out why, despite these arguments, believers still believe as they do.  Feel free to read along.  There are new posts every weekday.

Are you interested in becoming a member? Visit the Atheist Blogroll for more information. or visit the the full Atheist Blogroll membership list.

Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll

iPhone photo – stucco pattern

I pulled into a drive through restaurant to get an ice tea and saw this stucco pattern on a nearby wall. Patterns and textures are one of the joys of iPhone photography.  I can capture what I see in just a few seconds without carrying my professional gear around. I do it all the time.

Shot with the iPhone Hipstamatic app.

Technorati Tags: Photography,iPhone

Introducing the Secularity

Please join me in welcoming one of the newest members of the Atheist Blogroll, The Secularity.

I'm Liv Jones, author of "Sheep Under the Sea", and I'd like to share with you The Secularity, a unique blog experience written from our interesting perspective. It's a open community, from many authors, that discusses news, politics, and religion, in real-time- generally biased towards atheism. Most all our authors are Atheist, though we do encourage, any secular belief to contribute.

Personally, I'm an Atheist who has started to wonder if she's a Christian. I'll never believe in the supernatural, but I believe the idea that doing good in this world is the best thing we can do as a society. Perhaps, as Elizabeth Gilbert once wrote, "God dwells within" me? Maybe if we replaced God in our prayers, as just a conversation with ourselves; explained as our mental workings simply trying to figure out our reality- then religion, doesn't seem so crazy. Of course many disagree, and that's the beauty of our little website which we'd welcome anyone who's interested to participate in.

So drop on by and visit! We'd love how to see how you see the world!

Are you interested in becoming a member? Visit the Atheist Blogroll for more information. or visit the the full Atheist Blogroll membership list.

Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll

Introducing Color Me Atheist

Please join me in welcoming one of the newest members of the Atheist Blogroll, Color Me Atheist.

Hello!  I'm Amber and I have just started coming out to the world as a Atheist.  I just started up my own atheist blog called Color Me Atheist.  It's my own blog to show my journey as a Atheist.  I used to be a member of a church but only recently decided to come out.  I'll post my own experiences, but also posts from some of my favorite atheist writers such as PZ Meyers, Pamela Gay, and James Randy of JREF.  I hope it'll help someone else who is a closet atheist to be able to come out into the open.  So stop by and say hello and I'll do the same!!

Are you interested in becoming a member? Visit the Atheist Blogroll for more information. or visit the the full Atheist Blogroll membership list.

Technorati Tags: Atheism,The Atheist Blogroll

Deacon Albert Chambers arrested

If I opened my posts up to Church deacons and elders, I would need to quit my job just to keep up with the volumn. There are too many cases to keep track of.

A 47-year-old deacon at Antioch Tabernacle was arrested on charges that he molested two teenaged girls. Deacon Albert Chambers had been active in the church youth group. We all know how these stories end. Deacon Chambers should get used to prison life. Given the charges, I think he’s looking at a very long prison term.

He was sent to Dauphin County Prison on charges of indecent assault, corruption of minors, furnishing alcohol to minors, photographing minors depicting sex acts, and illegal contact with minors.

Source: Harrisburg youth volunteer charged in sexual abuse of teen girls by Miles Snyder.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Child Molestation

iPhone Photo – Pinkberry’s Grass

I keep my eye open for patterns while I’m out and about. This grass pattern came from inside a Pinkberry shop near my home. The shop features a backlit floral display behind frosted class. It’s large and subtly beautiful. I shoot something in the shop every time I visit. It’s a stimulating and tasty environment.

By the way, Pinkberry’s Salted Caramel flavored yogurt is crazy good. Give it a try and snap a few photos of your own.

Technorati Tags: iPhone Photography,Photography

Related articles

• Gender Marketing: Pinkberry is for Girls, Ben & Jerry's is for Boys (compete.com)
• Cool your palates: Pinkberry coming to Wellesley (boston.com)
• iPhone photo - Evil eye (mojoey.blogspot.com)

Rev. John Schneider sentenced

I would file this case under small crimes and misdemeanors except for that the nature of the crime highlights the  hypocrisy of the Catholic church. The prevalent mindset amoung priests is to protect accused priests against all complaints. It may not be the official policy, but when one priest acts to protect another by deleting incriminating child porn, it shows what the leadership of a parish is willing to do. They will commit crimes to protect their fellow priests. How screwed up is that?

Rev. John Schneider was sentenced to 45 days suspended sentence, 12 months probation, and 100 hours of community service. Oh, and lets not forget the massive $100 fine. Schneider deleted pornographic images of children from the computer of convicted pedophile Paul Lawrence Berrell. The district attorney let Schneider plead to a misdemeanor.

According to police, Schneider went to the North Ridge Drive apartment of former music minister Paul Lawrence Berrell on May 18, 2009, and deleted hundreds of pornographic images of children “in secret and with malice” during a criminal investigation of Berrell.

Source: Former Asheville pastor pleads guilty to obstruction in child porn case by Clark Morrison.

Pedophile catholic music director Paul Lawrence Barrell was sentenced to 28 years in prison. Pedophile enabler Rev. John Schneider is still a priest. How does that work?

Schneider, 58, resigned as pastor of St. Eugene shortly after he was charged. He remains an ordained priest but can't publicly present himself as a priest or publicly celebrate the sacraments, Hains said.

We see self imposed punishment. He’s no longer leading a church. He should be defrocked. One need only act, were Schneider’s actions Christ-like? I hear a resounding no. Why is this criminal still a pastor?

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Pedophiles