Knickers in a Twist

A passing . . . er . . . man got his mormon knickers in a twist over Holy Drawers, Batman! Let's call him Knickers. I deleted the following diatribe from comments because I wanted to yank down his sacred bloomers in public. Here is his nonsense in all its over-emotional glory, color coded in brown, with my rejoinders interspersed.

If you think that by showing Sacred things on the internet, so everyone can see, is going to break the mormon religion or actually have people believe what you "think" goes on... maybe you better do your homework a little better next time.

I pulled the image of the sacred knickers, aka "the garment", from the Internet, where they were available for the gaze of anyone interested in uninteresting underwear.

"Sacred" is a man-made category that has no intrinsic validity beyond that assigned by claimants and accepted by the credulous. Admittedly, if I were to personally see God stitching up these unattractive garments and planting the divine kiss of approval on them, then I might accept their designation as "sacred". I still would not wear them because I approve of the actions ascribed to God about as much as I approve of Dubaya's. Perhaps less.

I should love to have a satirical, long-buried, little-visited post bring down the mormon (I’ll happily drop the uppercase) or any other delusion-inducing religion, but I did not, as Knickers believes, write that post in that hope. It was whimsical.

I always love the way people like Knickers employ quotation marks – he meant to cast aspersions on my intellect by the use of inverted commas around the word think. And yet I am unmoved by his insinuations. As to what goes on in the mormon religion, I have inside information, there is information all over the Internet, and there are those exciting photos of undies. I actually had done my homework, as he may well have realized. He merely thought to throw me, or readers, off the scent.

People have been trying to get people to hate the mormons for hundreds of years, but for some unknown reason their numbers keep getting larger!!!

I nearly fell off my chair laughing at the statement: "but for some unknown reason their numbers keep getting larger!!!"

To be telling the truth that the reason is unknown, Knickers would have to be unaware that mormons bang on people's doors in an attempt to draw new, income-tithing suckers into the LDS Church. This would indicate either that he is immensely ignorant or that he is lying. He's actually probably an adolescent "elder" who's currently paying to go on a mission. (Yup, folks, this immensely wealthy Church expects its missionaries to pay their own way.)

I am informed (by a mormon) that mainstream Christians do not even consider mormonism to be a Christian religion. But hate? Nobody has ever asked me to hate mormons. I think that mormons and JWs are widely held in mild contempt, partly because of their irritating proselytizing and partly because of the exaggerated stupidity of their claims.

And this little tiny thing that you have done, has no effect on any mormons, the thing it has an effect on is your salvation! The mormons are going to rise again, just wait..andwhere will you be?

One wonders at his bothering to comment, then.

I love the predictable way that Knickers finishes with a threatening flourish. A good old fallacious appeal to fear that may fool religionists but that has no effect on atheists.

Where will I be when the mormons, who have never actually been in a majority, rise in numbers? Hopefully, should such stupidity ever surge dramatically, then I will already be dead. By this I mean that “I” will no more exist as a sentient being than I did prior to development of my central nervous system. And nor will any others, mormons included, who have shuffled off this mortal coil. No God means no Hell, no Heaven, and no cause to fear anything except natural disasters and the consequences of human stupidity.

If you just have to know more about these fascinating undies: Mormon Underwear, Temple Garment, Welcome to Heavenly Delight - White Apparel your source forLDS Temple Apparel and Accessories for the family.

Latter Day Stupids

In an interview with New York Times Magazine, GOP hopeful, former Arkansas governor and ordained Southern Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee was asked if he considered Mormonism to be a "cult or religion."

"I think it's a religion. I really don't know much about it," Huckabee responded. Huckabee then asked,"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

A LDS church spokesman refuted the notion, as did other GOP hopeful, Mormon Mitt Romney.

All mythologies include elements of the ridiculous, some more than others. In reaction to the apparent confusion about their religion's beliefs, the LA Times provides an overview of Mormon theology. The article is a comical read – or should I say tragic?

The answer is that, yes, Mormonism does officially include the belief that Jesus and Lucifer are bro's.

The lamentable fact is that less Americans would vote for a rationalist than for someone who believes that native Americans, whose ancestors actually arrived from Asia, are secretly the descendants of Laman, the son of a Middle Eastern prophet called Lehi. To make matters worse, originating with Joseph Smith's personal 19th century prejudices, the Lamanites (native Americans) are portrayed as wicked.

The other mythical American tribe, the Nephites, the Children of God, were supposedly descended from another son of Lehi, one Nephi. The Nephites and Lamanites merged after Jesus paid a surprise visit to North America following his crucifiction and resurrection in the Middle East. (The surprise is that Jesus bothered to make this side trip rather than going directly to heaven, and that the trip remained unknown to Christians until Joseph Smith's literary antics behind a blanket. I daresay that had this trip ever happened, it would also have been a great surprise to the then residents of America, and should have found its way into their folk mythologies.)

America's international reputation has plummeted since the (non)election of the current Moron, but one shudders to think how the election of someone who believes in vanishing golden tablets, posthumous weddings, and Jesus' "Post Crucifiction" tour of America would further damage the world's opinion of America. Remember that Mormon is only one 'm' beyond moron.

As to the difference between cult and religion – I think that all religions are simply mythology-based cults that have persisted long enough and deluded sufficient followers to gain Official Cult Status. Since all supernatural-based religions require a suspension of critical thinking, all adherents of supernaturalist religions qualify for the Latter-Day-Stupid designation.

For a scholarly examination of why Romney's Mormonism ought not to be taken as evidence of fitness for presidential office: Suddenly South: Joining the Faith Club.

Holy Drawers, Batman!

I used to know a guy who showed people what that particular Scotsman wore under his kilt. Goodness knows what other Scotsmen wear, or, in his case, don't wear at Sporran level.

To be honest, I really don't care. Scotsmen are welcome to wear frilly, polka-dot bloomers if that keeps them warm in the Highlands. Or no undergarments at all, if fresh air turns their crank.

However, not in my wildest nightmares had I wondered about what Moroni's fictional golden tablets might have instructed along the underwear lines:

"Now in addition to asking candidates about boxers or briefs, we have reporters asking Mitt Romney if he wears The Garment, the sacred one-piece, knee-length underwear with Mormon markings and strict disposal rules." ~ Maureen Dowd

Sacred? Holy Drawers, Batman!

Strict disposal rule? It boggles the mind. I expect we can rest assured that the lovely numbers at right will not show up in a landfill site.

(I cannot help but think that the Garment is the Latter Day Solution to Population Control.)

However, I would agree with Mitt when he responds, “I’ll just say those sorts of things I’ll keep private.”

It says little about the caliber of the media that a reporter should even have asked the question in the first place.

I change TV channels whenever Giorgio W Borgia appears, but I expect to crack up the next time I see Romney.

Audiovisual INDEX

AVs are slow to load, so use this menu to choose the presentation that interests you:

Atheism:
□ Atheism in Canada :
□ Atheist Call to Arms :

□ Atheism 101 :

□ Atheism: Debunking Sociopolitical and Biblical Misrepresentation :

□ A War on Science : BBC Horizon examines 'intelligent design'.
□ Ayaan Hirsi Ali at the AAIC :

□ Creationist Distortions : the faked video that so delighted science-ignorant creationists
□ Creationist Hoax Exposed : how the Australian creationists faked a video in an attempt to discredit Richard Dawkins

□ Dan Dennett at AAIC '07

□ David Attenborough on Atheism :

□ BBC Profile of Richard Dawkins :

□ Dawkins: CNN interview :

□ Dawkins: God Delusion and Beyond :
□ Dawkins: Enemies of Reason

□ Dawkins: The Root of All Evil
□ Glad, glad, glad
□ Hitchens refutes McGrath
□ Hitchens vs McGrath
□ IDiocy on Trial : intelligent design creationism on trial; PBS, Nova, Nov. 13, 07
□ Jonathan Miller – The Atheism Tapes – Richard Dawkins
□ Jonathan Miller – Brief History of Disbelief
□ Jonathan Miller – Brief History of Disbelief II
□ Jonathan Miller – Brief History of Disbelief III
□ Julia Sweeney Sees the Light : An amusing reaction to a visitation by youthful Mormon "elders".
□ The Nonexistent cannot be Great
□ Ode on an American Turd
□ Of Blogrolls and Banners
□ Operation Spread Eagle
□ Pat Condell
□ Pray to Elvis : at least Elvis did exist.
□ Small Town, Small Minds, Big Problem : unChristian intolerance in rural America

Humor:

BritCom
□ Beyond Washoe – meet Gerald

Frasier :
□ Funniest Silent 5 Minutes
□ High Crane Drifter
□ Hoisted on his Own Sword
□ How do you say 'Fiasco' in German?
□ I Spy
□ Niles' influence?
□ Psycobabble Theme

People!
□ I don't know . . .

Religious Satire
□ These men died for us . . .

Vicar of Dibley
□ Alice in Everwonder Land

Miscellany
□ Hitler Rap
□ Pat Condell on Mitt mitt die üntergärmënts
□ You might have to be one . . .

Morality:
□ Dawkins on Scripture :


Miscellaneous:
□ deviantART animation of stick figure doing battle with Flash
□ Manikin Moonwalk a bird with da moves.

Music:
□ Allegri Miserere
□ Aranjuez
□ Laura Branigan Self Control
□ Kate Bush
□ Celine Dion & Barbra Streisand - Tell Him
□ Haris Alexiou Apopse Thelo Na Pio
□ Kitka Wintersongs
□ KD Lang, Lorretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, and Brenda Lee Honky Tonk Angels
□ Cindi Lauper, Celine Dion, Roy Orbison I Drove All Night
□ Lascia Ch'io Pianga
□ Loreena McKennitt & Leahy
□ Master Soundtrack
□ Sarah McLachlan Angel
□ October Song
□ Orinoco Flow
□ Beth Orton
□ Pokarekare Ana
□ Spem in Alium
□ Survivors' Songs
□ Tango
□ Wayfaring Stranger

Science:
□ A War on Science : BBC Horizon examines 'intelligent design'.
□ IDiocy on Trial : intelligent design creationism on trial; PBS, Nova, Nov. 13, 07
□ Kevin Padian on evolution

atheism, audiovisual, videos

Julia Sweeney Sees the Light

Julie Sweeney presents an amusing reaction to a visitation by youthful elders.

A longer TED version of Julia describing reaching the "age of reason" in a lead up to the "visitation" story. This is also available on Google video.

atheism