Stanislaus Skeptics

FRFF Letter to Modesto Mayor

For a text of the letter from FRFF to the mayor of Modesto as well as the mayors proclamation declaring a week of prayer see the link below.

FFRF ltr to mayor Modesto CA

Plan is for lots of prayers for Modesto over six days

http://www.modbee.com/2010/04/18/1131992/plan-is-for-lots-of-prayers-for.html

Although prayer is a widely practiced tradition, for some us the old, “I’ll pray for you” is as meaningless as it is offensive.  I’ve attended many parties, holiday celebrations and barbecues where we all pray.  Sometimes there is insistence on holding hands, I can’t even hover quietly in the background, I have to hold hands with some fat guy and hope there’s no peeking as I refuse to close my eyes.

As a child my mother told me that prayer was our way to communicate with God and strengthen our relationship with Him.  I tried in earnest for many years to have this dialogue, but it was as vacuous and one-sided as a chat with a man about ‘feelings’.  I didn’t understand it, laying there, talking to my ceiling.  I knew I could ask for things, I remember praying for a Nerf football, blue & orange like my mother’s  alma mater, Syracuse.  I hadn’t told anyone but God I wanted it, mostly to see how my prayer would come to fruition.  It didn’t, unless you count 20 years later when I bought one for my oldest son.  Those are some mysterious ways.

The concept of prayer befuddles me.  We are asking God for things because He doesn’t know He needs to intervene unless I ask?  Really?  There was 6 year old boy named Alex with the defective kidneys, I babysat him for years.  We were always praying for Alex’s kidneys to get better, when that didn’t work we prayed for someone close to him to be a donor match.  When that didn’t work we prayed he would come up on the national donor list.

Logically, you’re asking an omniscient being to do your will, when he does it’s ‘answered prayer’, when he doesn’t it’s ‘his will’.  God wins either way, so does it really matter if you pray at all?  Not really, despite the fact that God – in any sort of prayer/dialogue way, doesn’t exist.

Do amazing things happen?  Absolutely.  Whether you pray or not.  Go ahead-if it makes you feel better, but that’s all it’s doing for the world.

In the end, prayer has no business in any facet of American Government, if I petitioned for a “National Day of Ouija Board Playing” it should be as unwelcome as any other religious nonsense.

I enjoy the liberties I’m granted because our government is not convoluted by dogma.  I’d imagine trying to coach soccer in a Burka might be a little awkward.

Separation of Church and State? Not in Turlock

Christian Prayers Challenged in Turlock, Calif., Read the rest of this entry »

The Mojave Cross

THE MOJAVE CROSS

Mojave Cross (mojavechristainchurch.com)

On the 30-foot high Sunrise Rock in the Mojave National Preserve sits a Latin cross that has been dubbed, The Mojave Cross. Read the rest of this entry »

“The world’s first organized counter-skeptic group”

I think the description is incorrect–most religions predate this group–but check out their website…

http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/

Fix Wikipedia: make the people’s encyclopedia a science-based resource

I would like to encourage everyone to read this article (http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/09-07-22#feature). Further, I propose someone (or two or three someone’s) pick a Wikipedia topic/article each month for the group to work on. At our monthly meeting we can discuss how we want to proceed to fix the article.

This is one way in which a little effort can have significant effects.

Why I—an Atheist—Became an Ordained Minister

‘Reverend’ is a title of respect, much like ‘Mister’; it does not necessarily imply formal training. In the not so distant past, many ministers had little formal training. Read the rest of this entry »

The “Sanctity” of Marriage

For years the Religious Right have been palavering about the “sanctity of marriage.” Read the rest of this entry »