(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg818.imageshack.us%2Fimg818%2F2757%2Ficonpicard.gif&hash=5939a87245af11e38450515ca3a3127d19f4ea30) Lest we forget. . .
Raw Story | "Pennsylvania General Assembly names 2012 'the year of the Bible' " (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/29/pennsylvania-general-assembly-names-2012-the-year-of-the-bible/)
QuoteThe Pennsylvania General Assembly this week passed a non-binding resolution that declares 2012 as "the year of the Bible."
"As not only Pennsylvania, but the United States, continues to face great tests and challenges, House Resolution 535 serves as a reminder that we must look to our faith in God and the Holy Scripture to provide us with the strength, wisdom and courage to conquer these great trials," Rep. Rick Saccone (R[epublican]), who sponsored the resolution, said.
"All over the Pennsylvania Capitol, one can easily see the tremendous influence that Christianity and the Bible have had over our founders and predecessors," he added. "These images and quotes illustrating the beliefs and morals that have shaped our great Commonwealth must never be forgotten."
The symbolic resolution was approved by a unanimous 193 to 0 vote.
"[The] House of Representatives declare 2012 as the 'Year of the Bible' in Pennsylvania in recognition of both the formative influence of the Bible on our Commonwealth and nation and our national need to study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures," it states.
. . .
[Quote from Freedom From Religion Foundation response:] "Our constitution grants sovereignty not to a deity or a 'holy book,' but to 'We, the People.' There is no reference to God, the bible, the Ten Commandments or Jesus in the U.S. Constitution, just as there are no references to 'consent of the governed,' 'civil liberties' or 'democracy' in the bible," the group said.
Freedom From Religion's article about Resolution 535 (http://ffrf.org/news/releases/pennsylvania-bible-resolution-is-sinful/)
PDF file of letter from Freedom From Religion Foundation (http://ffrf.org/uploads/legal/PAYearofthebible.pdf)
Not one vote against; it would be a career killer. This is the United States in the 21st century. (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rationalskepticism.org%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Ficon_nono.gif&hash=a7c022536ba8a506bde2800c1ca943b8c4563b5c) I do like the Freedom From Religion response, though.
That face palm Picard says right. The U.S continues to de-evolve. Soon, we'll be in the dark ages, where public hangings are held for using the lord's name in vain or cheating on a spouse. e__e
I'll take 2012 as the year of the bible, as long as we get 2013 as the year of The God Delusion.
Quote from: skwurll on January 30, 2012, 08:04:53 AM
I'll take 2012 as the year of the bible, as long as we get 2013 as the year of The God Delusion.
No chance. 2013 will be the year of the Quran.
Quote from: Tank on January 30, 2012, 08:06:52 AM
Quote from: skwurll on January 30, 2012, 08:04:53 AM
I'll take 2012 as the year of the bible, as long as we get 2013 as the year of The God Delusion.
No chance. 2013 will be the year of the Quran.
...And 2014-2042 are the Years of The Asmo.
it seems like when it comes to the people of the US, every year is "The year of What the f¤¤k!?!"
Chinese too. Year of the pig, monkey, dragon, Chairman, you-name-it... What's wrong with just the number?
I wonder if we're past peak bible yet.
As a percentage I think we are but total bibles and biblers remains high.
We're only one month in, and 2012 is already ruined!
Seriously, though, what is the point of this?
Quote from: Radiant on January 30, 2012, 03:09:38 PM
We're only one month in, and 2012 is already ruined!
Seriously, though, what is the point of this?
You got that right. :(
As to the point, the point is to royally piss me off. Oh, wait, the world doesn't revolve around me, does it? Sigh. But seriously, what a sad state of affairs that an entire state's government can fail to remember that we were founded on various principles, including separation of church and state. And that many of our founding fathers were not christian. I shall now creep off to bang my head against the wall and check out immigration policies to countries with more sense.
I just don't understand how these things even get pushed through. Much less entirely unanimously.
I mean, I might expect for it to get passed in my state (which has people like Sally Kern). Even so, it shouldn't. State sponsored religion is dangerous.
Quote from: Guardian85 on January 30, 2012, 09:27:47 AM
it seems like when it comes to the people of the US, every year is "The year of What the f¤¤k!?!"
Sadly true.
I reject the motion to make 2012 the "Year of the Bible" and instead move to make 2012 the "Year of Ikea."
Ugh. The worst part is that not a single politician had the backbone to stand up and say "no". It's things like this which drove me to finally say "Fuck it, I'm atheist"
Quote from: Ali on January 30, 2012, 04:24:35 PM
Quote from: Guardian85 on January 30, 2012, 09:27:47 AM
it seems like when it comes to the people of the US, every year is "The year of What the f¤¤k!?!"
Sadly true.
I reject the motion to make 2012 the "Year of the Bible" and instead move to make 2012 the "Year of Ikea."
Technically, it would be "I move to amend the motion by striking out bible and inserting Ikea."
Hehe sorry, I had parliamentary procedure practice so it's fresh in my mind.
Quote from: Budhorse4 on January 30, 2012, 04:33:21 PM
Quote from: Ali on January 30, 2012, 04:24:35 PM
Quote from: Guardian85 on January 30, 2012, 09:27:47 AM
it seems like when it comes to the people of the US, every year is "The year of What the f¤¤k!?!"
Sadly true.
I reject the motion to make 2012 the "Year of the Bible" and instead move to make 2012 the "Year of Ikea."
Technically, it would be "I move to amend the motion by striking out bible and inserting Ikea."
Hehe sorry, I had parliamentary procedure practice so it's fresh in my mind.
:P :P :P :P
Hey, all you haters! You don't like the way my state swings, just stay the hell out of it!
;D
But someone please come and rescue me first!
As a former Pennsylvanian, I'm embarrassed that they think this is okay and angry that they wasted time passing this when they could be doing something that would actually help the people who pay taxes there.
I'm in Maryland, which borders Pennsylvania. My dad, an agnostic humanist from his teens until his dying day, was born and raised in Pennsylvanie. I continue to be pissed about this. I showed it to my 80 year old mother and she was equally shocked. I wonder how many, if any, of them wanted to vote against it but were afraid to. It's a sad state of affairs when a country that used to be considered a major superpower, and that was known as a nation of freedom fighters, has been brought to such lows.
I think most bible thumpers think the world is ending this year. *eye roll* They're in for a fun surprise.
Quote from: Sweetdeath on January 30, 2012, 10:51:05 PM
I think most bible thumpers think the world is ending this year. *eye roll* They're in for a fun surprise.
Don't they think the world is ending
most years? I wonder if they ever get sick of being wrong...
Quote from: Sweetdeath on January 30, 2012, 10:51:05 PM
I think most bible thumpers think the world is ending this year. *eye roll* They're in for a fun surprise.
Which doesn't even make any sense as I'm pretty sure it says somewhere in the Bible that nobody will know the date of the end time.
Quote from: Radiant on January 30, 2012, 11:37:10 PM
Quote from: Sweetdeath on January 30, 2012, 10:51:05 PM
I think most bible thumpers think the world is ending this year. *eye roll* They're in for a fun surprise.
Which doesn't even make any sense as I'm pretty sure it says somewhere in the Bible that nobody will know the date of the end time.
I forget the exact passage, but yeah, it's in there.
I don't think they ever tire of being wrong. Except my dad loves to delight in "knowing the end will come in his lifetime, but only jesus will tell him so."
.... It is so moot to even attempt to argue such stupidity.
I'm just going to assume all my decent genes came from my mother.
Fuck, I knew I should've stayed in Colorado.
This is ridiculous. How did I miss this little news item. Maybe next year we can reprise the inquisition. Year of the Bible my ass. I'm offended, repulsed, angered, disgusted, and nauseated all at the same time. I should throw in ashamed too, because I live here.
I vote that next year we have the year of the Harry Potter series. And the year after that we can have the year of the Twilight series. Next year it can be Dr. Seuss, and so on. Maybe that'll learn 'em!!!
This is the most ridiculous idea I've heard in awhile.
There should be a 'Discworld' year.
Quote from: Tank on February 15, 2012, 11:04:40 PMThere should be a 'Discworld' year.
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg840.imageshack.us%2Fimg840%2F8269%2Fmontypythonaudienceagif.gif&hash=d84dc920f1ef684120348ef75238aed63a6b0a11)
Hear, hear! I move that 2013 shall be "Year of
Small Gods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Gods)." (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cool-smileys.com%2Fimages%2Fdancing-turtle.gif&hash=c3d367db408b78be83d0b6b7c7a1213dcecc179c)
The dancing turtle is highly appropriate!
In case anyone was wondering, two Congressional reps for PA brought this back for a revote because the outcry against it was so significant and because they admittedly hadn't read the resolution as carefully as they should have.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/139411523.html (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/139411523.html)
When is it going to be year of the zombie?
If they make it the year of the Bible, what do they expect people to do? Read the Bible?
Rape. Murder. Slavery. Ritual human sacrifices. Advocating death for people who disobey their parents, are homosexual, or for not being a virgin. And that's just the Old Testament. The New Testament features beautiful, loving concepts like Paul assuring us that all scripture is the inspired word of God. And which scripture would that be? The Old Testament, since the NT wasn't considered scripture and the canonical gospels hadn't been formed yet. And then we have threats of hellfire in the NT, along with Paul advocating slavery and misogyny. Luke 19:11-27 has a disturbing parable of Jesus' that's rarely discussed in any church, where the servant who hasn't put to good use what his master gave him must be slaughtered in front of the master, which of course suggests the implicit threat that that's what God would do to his people, if they didn't make good use of what he gave them. There are also all kinds of fabulous stories in the book of Revelation (which reads as though it was written while on a drug trip) about God's holy and perfect justice. :P
In all fairness, there are some very good ideas and nice passages in the Bible. And why wouldn't there be? After all, the Bible was written by humans, and while we're all a product of our culture (the writers included), humans do have good ideas from time to time. Humans have always been capable of love, of altruism, of looking after one another -- and those concepts are expressed in the Bible too. I'll give it that. The problem is, if a Christian believes that the Bible is THE word of God, then they can't just cherrypick the nice, fluffy ideas out of it and leave the rest. They have to admit that it has massive problems that cannot be ignored. Ever.
My hope is that if some people actually read the damned thing cover to cover, there'll be a few more free thinkers in Pennsylvania, when all's said and done. The Bible's a book. Holy it isn't. To proclaim 2012 the year of the Bible is to proclaim that all the above, and much more, is sanctioned by the state of PA... and that's truly insane.
I wouldn't mind a "Year Of The Good Parts Of The Bible", or, even better, a "Year Of Good Stuff Taught By Various Belief Systems", but this is nothing more than the most shameless pandering, and a power play by religious conservatives. As a religious liberal, I've gone from annoyed to outright offended by this.
Quote from: statichaos on February 20, 2012, 10:10:28 AM
"Year Of The Good Parts Of The Bible"
Well the problem with that would be that first you'd have to decide or let the people decide what these "good parts" are. And that would never be settled so that everyone would be happy. Maybe most, but not all.
And pretty much the same thing with the other idea. You are simply not going to get any sort of agreement on such specific criteria when it comes to religions. And that's before we add the fundies.
Now, a "Year of the Golden Rule" might not be so bad....
Edit: Oh, and welcome to the forum! ;D
Quote from: statichaos on February 20, 2012, 10:10:28 AM
I wouldn't mind a "Year Of The Good Parts Of The Bible", or, even better, a "Year Of Good Stuff Taught By Various Belief Systems", but this is nothing more than the most shameless pandering, and a power play by religious conservatives. As a religious liberal, I've gone from annoyed to outright offended by this.
What 'good parts' ? None exist IMO.
Quote from: Sweetdeath on February 20, 2012, 03:37:59 PM
Quote from: statichaos on February 20, 2012, 10:10:28 AM
I wouldn't mind a "Year Of The Good Parts Of The Bible", or, even better, a "Year Of Good Stuff Taught By Various Belief Systems", but this is nothing more than the most shameless pandering, and a power play by religious conservatives. As a religious liberal, I've gone from annoyed to outright offended by this.
What 'good parts' ? None exist IMO.
In the entire Bible, there are no good ideas, acts of kindness, nice words, etc? I can think of several if you're looking for examples. I think that's what is meant by 'good parts'. :)
Quote from: Amicale on February 20, 2012, 03:45:16 PM
Quote from: Sweetdeath on February 20, 2012, 03:37:59 PM
Quote from: statichaos on February 20, 2012, 10:10:28 AM
I wouldn't mind a "Year Of The Good Parts Of The Bible", or, even better, a "Year Of Good Stuff Taught By Various Belief Systems", but this is nothing more than the most shameless pandering, and a power play by religious conservatives. As a religious liberal, I've gone from annoyed to outright offended by this.
What 'good parts' ? None exist IMO.
In the entire Bible, there are no good ideas, acts of kindness, nice words, etc? I can think of several if you're looking for examples. I think that's what is meant by 'good parts'. :)
I think the parable of the Good Samaritan would be one I would consider a worthy morality tale.
Quote from: Tank on February 20, 2012, 03:50:57 PM
Quote from: Amicale on February 20, 2012, 03:45:16 PM
Quote from: Sweetdeath on February 20, 2012, 03:37:59 PM
Quote from: statichaos on February 20, 2012, 10:10:28 AM
I wouldn't mind a "Year Of The Good Parts Of The Bible", or, even better, a "Year Of Good Stuff Taught By Various Belief Systems", but this is nothing more than the most shameless pandering, and a power play by religious conservatives. As a religious liberal, I've gone from annoyed to outright offended by this.
What 'good parts' ? None exist IMO.
In the entire Bible, there are no good ideas, acts of kindness, nice words, etc? I can think of several if you're looking for examples. I think that's what is meant by 'good parts'. :)
I think the parable of the Good Samaritan would be one I would consider a worthy morality tale.
Yep. :) As well as the tale of the prodigal son -- he squanders his money/wastes his time/makes poor choices but as soon as he decides to return home, his father welcomes him back and throws a party, forgiving him.
And then there are the classic texts, such as the one often used in weddings, one which I personally like a lot: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13.
Quote1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,1 but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It idoes not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;2 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For now we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Quote from: Sweetdeath on February 17, 2012, 03:54:33 AM
When is it going to be year of the zombie?
Isn't the bible about a zombie? How about "The Necronomico?"
Quote from: Amicale on February 20, 2012, 04:05:15 PM
Quote from: Tank on February 20, 2012, 03:50:57 PM
Quote from: Amicale on February 20, 2012, 03:45:16 PM
Quote from: Sweetdeath on February 20, 2012, 03:37:59 PM
Quote from: statichaos on February 20, 2012, 10:10:28 AM
I wouldn't mind a "Year Of The Good Parts Of The Bible", or, even better, a "Year Of Good Stuff Taught By Various Belief Systems", but this is nothing more than the most shameless pandering, and a power play by religious conservatives. As a religious liberal, I've gone from annoyed to outright offended by this.
What 'good parts' ? None exist IMO.
In the entire Bible, there are no good ideas, acts of kindness, nice words, etc? I can think of several if you're looking for examples. I think that's what is meant by 'good parts'. :)
I think the parable of the Good Samaritan would be one I would consider a worthy morality tale.
Yep. :) As well as the tale of the prodigal son -- he squanders his money/wastes his time/makes poor choices but as soon as he decides to return home, his father welcomes him back and throws a party, forgiving him.
And then there are the classic texts, such as the one often used in weddings, one which I personally like a lot: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13.
Quote1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,1 but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It idoes not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;2 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For now we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
And the sexy parts, talking about making people "drink the spiced wine of my pomegranite" and "his hand is by the door and my bowels are moved for him." Okay, the "bowels moving" isn't particularly hot (to me) but I suspect it was meant to be, and in any case, it's a good deal raunchier than most supermarket romance novels.
*shrug* I guess it's just me. I don't find any part of the bible as enjoyable as other mythologies. It's just boring .
Quote from: Sweetdeath on February 20, 2012, 11:03:46 PM
*shrug* I guess it's just me. I don't find any part of the bible as enjoyable as other mythologies. It's just boring .
I'd have to agree. Maybe its because I have read far to many other books that deal with philosophy in far more interesting, enjoyable, and are overall better philosophies that when I got around to reading the bible it was totally underwhelming, questionable and quite frankly rubbish.