It’s great to see Americana music in 2010.

First, the obvious. The sheer audacity it takes to punish people who do not believe as you believe is just stunning for the year 2010. What excuse could possibly be made to work soldiers in maintenance for daring not to attend a Christian concert for “God’s Warriors”?

Second, the implication and outright statement from the military command that U.S. soldiers are somehow sanctioned by the Christian god to be his warriors/army is just disgusting. Did anyone in the upper brass study the Crusades?

Finally, the cost. With a price tag upwards of $100,000 how can this be justified in the current economic climate?

I would like to hear General Chambers side of this but right now, it sure doesn’t look good.

The story behind this is typical GOP operating procedure. Rep. Louie Gohmert went onto the floor of the House and claimed that terrorists (Islamic of course) were sending pregnant women here to have babies. Because the babies would be born in the U.S., they would become citizens. Thus, in 15 to 20 years these babies would blow themselves up, or detonate bombs in the U.S.

The reasoning and stretches of logic aside, this appears to be one part of a bigger plan by the more racially-motivated members of the GOP to repeal the 14th Amendment. As you know, the 14th allows for “anchor babies” or babies being born on U.S. soil to automatically become citizens. This is but one prong of the GOP attack against undocumented Hispanic workers in the U.S.

To sum up, the GOP wants to stop the babies of undocumented Hispanic women from becoming citizens by using fear to rally their base against the 14th Amendment.

DEAR DR. GRAHAM: The kindest, most thoughtful person I know says she’s an atheist and doesn’t even believe in God. I always thought we needed to believe in God before we’d behave like she does, but I guess this isn’t necessarily true, is it?

Mr. Graham, not to take this blasphemy lightly:

Why is she such a kind and thoughtful person? I don’t know the reason; perhaps she simply has a sunny personality (as some people do), or perhaps her parents taught her to be kind and considerate when she was growing up. But I do know this: She’s not this way because she’s an atheist. In fact, she’s this way despite her atheism — because a true atheist has no real reason to believe in right and wrong or to behave sacrificially toward others.

(NewsOK.com)

She has no reason? What about just striving to be a good person? What about just wanting to be respectful of the fact that there are other people on this planet? Why would one need to believe in a god in order to just be kind to others? Would Billy Graham have us believe that humans are just brutal savages that are unable to act kindly without some sort of over-lord threatening them with eternal hellfire if they don’t?

As you know, Tennessee isn’t known for its intellectual prowess when being compared to the rest of the country. The school systems here regularly rank at or near the bottom in most subjects, including overall literacy. There are also a number of stereotypes out there regarding Tennesseans that are very insulting. Most of them have to do with being uneducated, inbred, racist, or a combination of the three. Tennesseans are also known for being overly-religious in their political beliefs–which was confirmed in the 2008 elections when Tennessee picked the reverend Mike Huckabee in the primaries. As a Tennessean, I am often saddled with all of the above characterizations as well as homophobia.

The point of this letter, Mr. Baker, isn’t to insult you or to encourage you to resign from your position due to your open and blatant racism. No, the purpose of this letter is simply to request for you, and people like you, to move out of Tennessee. Yes, you read that correctly. I want you, and those like you, to pack up your belongings, sell your house at a fair market price, and leave this state.

I was born in Indiana but have lived in Tennessee for most of my life. I married a Tennessee girl and we’re raising two Tennessean children. We enjoy the mountains, the wonderful town we live in, and our community. We root for the Vols and the Titans and we try our hardest to be upstanding members of our community. We are raising our children to be open-minded and tolerant of those who are different from them. The bottom line is that we love it here. We will likely grow old together and die here. We won’t leave.

I’ll be honest, each time I hear of some high-profile Tennessean displaying their overt racism, I start thinking about moving my family. I cannot stand the thought of my children growing up to believe that the color of someone’s skin makes them less-important or inferior. Seriously, it’s bad enough that we live in one of the most homophobic states in the entire country, but we have to be one of the most racist too?

I’ve given up the idea of moving my family. I love this state too much for that. Instead, I’m going to assume that you love this state just as much as I do. I’m going to request that if you love this state that much, then move from here. You and people like you are bringing this great state down. We have so much potential here but people like you create the two steps back for every one step forward scenario that has plagued us for so long.

I’m not asking you to change. I have a racist grandfather and father, so I know how fruitless it is to make that request. The fact is, you won’t change–so I’m asking you to do the most logical thing: leave. I’m also not asking you to change your political beliefs. Don’t. You are entitled to whatever political beliefs you have. For the matter, even I don’t agree with Obama with everything. But then again, I don’t have to and neither do you. That is what makes this country great. What I want you to do is help make Tennessee greater by leaving. Please.

Sincerely,
Eric Ragle

P.S. Could you take Sherri Goforth and Brent Gobbell with you when you go? Thanks!

When she asked me my opinion, I really felt it was necessary to temper my response. After all, there was no need in getting into a Atheist vs. Christian debate with only a few days out from her surgery. I explained to her my beliefs, but then told her that my advice to her was to, “cling to whatever beliefs you need to in order to wake up from the anesthesia.”

I really think I differ in a lot of ways from my brother’s brand of atheism. While I do view religion as irrational and sometimes dangerous, I don’t have any desire to destroy anyone’s faith with a devastating argument. I know the personal comfort that religious beliefs bring–especially in times of emotional stress. Yes, it is better to face reality with a reasonable and sound perspective, but that won’t be something that can be imparted on someone five days away from open heart surgery. No, I’d rather let someone find their own way upstream if they aren’t hurting anyone with their beliefs. My brother preached and wailed at me for years but I wasn’t ready. It wasn’t until I desired to learn the other perspective that I began my journey.

People have to find their own way. They have to make their own mistakes–even if that means they pray to a never-seen deity.

After gaining liberation, my brother quickly embraced atheism. I on the other hand, wasn’t quite ready to turn the page on religion, god or this character named Jesus. In fact, after the passing of my grandmother, I dived even further into the religious landscape and became a preacher. During this time I wrote a very popular journal located at evangelicalunderground.com. At one time, it was ranked in the top 100 blogs for viewership; keeping in mind that blogging was relatively new at that time. But alas, like most ideals not firmly rooted in reality, things quickly fell apart. I found that every time I tried to dive deeper into what I was brought up to embrace, the more I had to consciously suspend some element of my own intelligence or common sense. Now, I don’t say that to offend those that still cling to some sort of religious dogma, because I understand how unsettling it was to read something like that when I was still a believer.

The fact of the matter is, I’m an intelligent man. I believe most people are far more intelligent than they choose to express. That is the society we live in, unfortunately. Children grow up being made fun of if they do well in school and are pressured to do well in things like football or cheer-leading. Regardless, this past year as been one of exploration for me. Now some will attribute my awakening to the fact that I went back to college after a 10 year hiatus. I’ll be honest, it DID have something to do with it, but probably not in the manner which they suspect. Going back to school at 33 requires monumental effort. Not am I at a great disadvantage compared to those fresh minds just leaving high school, I also have responsibilities such as working and being a good father and husband.

College requires thought, and for a long time I didn’t really have to put much thought into my place in this wonderful world. Why? Because I was taught that faith in a belief should trump critical thinking and basing beliefs on fact and science. Going back to school acted only as a stimulator in that regard. Having my brain spurred to action triggered a chain reaction of sorts. Now that I was thinking again, I might as well read a book that isn’t designed to make me feel good about religious beliefs. So I read. And read. And read some more.

The conclusion I have come up with is that there is no evidence for the existence of a deity. Furthermore, nothing makes Christianity any more significant in the bigger time-line of religions than say, the story of Horus–son of Osiris. In Egyptian belief, Horus was born of the virgin Isis. I think you can imagine where the story goes from there. Needless to say this story predates Christianity.

It’s also interesting when you look at the Biblical narrative as a whole. Yes, I well know the arguments that Christians are now saved under a new covenant and that the brutality and murderous rampaging god of the Old Testament was replaced by the caring, hippy god, Jesus. The fact remains however, that if we are to believe that the Christian god never changes (as Christians are happy to claim) then we should know that the Christian god condones slavery, rape, incest, and a host of other nasty positions.

Therefore, it is with a touch of guilt (brought on by a childhood steeped in it, I imagine) that I declare myself void of a belief. When the Christian god, (or any god for that matter) decides that I should believe in them, they may make themselves known. If they should make themselves known, (if any gods are reading this) please be armed with a good explanation for why I should worry my life away making sure that you are pleased with me. Please do not tell me you love me enough to burn me forever if I don’t fall inline with your tenets. Please do not tell me how you gave me free will but I’m not allowed to use that free will to do anything other than worship you. While you’re at it, you’ll need to have a pretty good reason to demand I worship you. Sending yourself to impregnate a teenager with yourself in order to sacrifice yourself to pay for the sins you created us with just won’t cut it.

So to all my friends who remain my friends, thanks. To those who feel that Jesus has told them to shun me, ta-ta. To my new friends, welcome.