Che Ahn is a one of the leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation . . . [He] believes the President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak illustrates how government apostles can fulfill their dominionist duties . . . Che Ahn said, “Once we do get to the top, we can make decrees and declarations that shift and influence that whole mountain.”
Read more, and watch video . . .
Among religions, Christianity in general (and Catholicism in particular) is a great example of an authoritarian hierarchy . . . The thing about being told what to do is that it provides a measure of psychological relief by convincing one that one is absolved of responsibility. Read more . . .
Tonight, we have a treat. The Republican Presidential candidates will vie for the support of America’s Stupidest Voters – the Tea Party party movement. This is not name-calling. This is reporting a verifiable fact. A recent Yale-George-Mason poll shows that 66% of the Tea Party members deny the truth of global warming and evolution. Really, on average, these people excel in stupidity. Interestingly, they also exhibit one of the primary characteristics of idiots – an inflated sense of their own intellectual superiority. Read more . . .
The truth of the matter is that prayers get answered in the favor of the petitioner at about the same rate as doing nothing at all . . . When unbelievers point out the obvious lack of concern by their god, the inevitable doctrine of a “fallen world” and “free will” is tramped out. This is, of course, just another example of the “higher/mysterious” excuse for the obvious absence of the divine . . . It takes an astounding level of ignorance to attribute the lack of alleviation of this human suffering to an explanation as mundane and enigmatic as it being outside “his will” or not being in accordance with “his plan . . . “ The truth is that prayer is a placebo, and a dangerous one when it involves the ignorance toward science and medicine. Read more . . .
Lofgren, in describing the reasons for his defection from the Republican party, describes a Republican camp that increasingly acts not like a traditional peacetime political organization, but more like an apocalyptic cult or one of the authoritarian movements from early 20th century European history . . . But for the new GOP, compromise of any kind defeats their central purpose, which is political totale krieg. This party’s entire reason for being is conflict and aggression. There is no underlying patriotic instinct to find middle ground with the rest of us, because the party doesn’t have a vision for society that includes anyone outside the tent. Read more . . .
Always Question Authority 