Lying For Jesus [Part III – The Sneak-Attack Baptism]

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

That’s Mark 16, verse 15 (KJV). It also happens to be the impetus behind Christians going out and knocking on doors at 9:00am on Sunday mornings. As bad as that is, I don’t have a problem with it. I think if they’re that compelled by an ancient book that can’t even maintain internal consistency, then bring it on.

What I’m not ok with is lying to gain converts. Deceiving children, no less. Lying to parents and the children in order to get a few more baptisms under your belt. I’m pretty sure Jesus doesn’t keep a scorecard, or a running tally on what church gets the highest number of baptisms or converts.

Last month (August 26, 2009) Breckinridge County High School (Kentucky) football coach Scott Mooney led a group of players from their school’s football team to see what he told the parents and children would be a “motivational speaker” and a steak dinner. What Mr. Mooney failed to mention to anyone was the fact that this “motivational speaker” was the pastor of his church, Ron Davis (Franklin Crossroads Baptist Church). And the “steak dinner” was, in fact, a mass baptism and the teammates were to accept Jesus Christ as their “Lord and Savior” as a way to, as coach Mooney said, “bring the team together.”

So coach Mooney used peer pressure to get all of those teammates baptized in his church. He lured them under a false premise of going to see a “motivational speaker.” Not only this, but he used a public school bus, with the expressed permission of superintendent of the district, Janet Meeks.

What seems to be at issue here is the fact that believers take Mark 16:15 and use it as an excuse to do whatever is in their power to force their religion on everyone they can, honestly or not, willfully or not. If you have to lie, cheat and deceive to get a few more converts, then all the better for the receiving church.

Thankfully, one of the teammates parents is considering legal action against the school district. A lawyer, Bill Sharp, from the ACLU was contacted and he said that…

The message conveyed to the students is there’s an official endorsement.

And also that…

There’s certainly a coercive element. He’s in a position of authority.

I think one of the biggest tragedies of all wasn’t even the fact that these kids were corralled into a big baptism fest. The biggest problem for me was the fact that when one of the kids was asked by his parents, after returning from the trip, what baptism actually means, he hadn’t a clue. This entire process was nothing more than a “getting saved” assembly line. Pump ‘em through the system and get them into the fold as quickly as possible, before they realize what’s happened to them.

I think this is a big problem with the mentality of fundamentalist and evangelical Christians. They’ve got this mindset that they have to get everyone saved as quickly as possible. They just need to get as many people  as possible to say a certain prayer as quickly as possible, regardless of whether or not they understand what’s going on. The important part is that the person says the words just right.

Anyway, if all goes well and the parents follow through with their legal action, hopefully any faculty involved in this incident will be fired, including the coach and the superintendent.

The public school system is not a place to push your religion on children. And more importantly, without permission from their parents – and that means ALL of the parents… not just the Jesus lovers of the group.

My conclusion? Believers, stick to knocking on doors at 9:00am on Sunday morning. Keep your religion out of the school system. Also, Mark 16:15 doesn’t condone lying, cheating or deceiving in order to follow through with that verse. Remember the 10 Commandments? Bearing false witness?

Astronomy Cast In BitTorrent Form

Astronomy Cast takes a fact based journey through the cosmos as it offers listeners weekly discussions on astronomical topics ranging from planets to cosmology. Hosted by Fraser Cain (Universe Today) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (SIUE), this show brings the questions of an avid astronomy lover direct to an astronomer. Together Fraser and Pamela explore what is known and being discovered about the universe around us.

Are you a big fan of Astronomy Cast? Ever heard of Astronomy Cast? Well, in either case – have I got something for you!

Astronomy Cast is an awesome Podcast dealing with… wait for it… Astronomy. A great show, in my opinion. I listen to it as much as I do The Skeptics’ Guide To The Universe… that’s as soon as there is a new episode available (once a week).

I’d heard on one of their episodes that they thought it would be a good idea if their show was available in BitTorrent form. So, I’ve taken the liberty of doing just that.

I’m breaking them up into nice, neat chapters (chunks of 25 episodes each – as suggested by host Frazer Cain). They are available (I submitted them) on The Pirate Bay. Each torrent has a list of episodes and titles. Here are the links…

1. Astronomy Cast Chapter 1 [Episodes 1 - 25] – Here or here.
2. Astronomy Cast Chapter 2 [Episodes 26 - 50] – Here or here.
3. Astronomy Cast Chapter 3 [Episodes 51 - 75] – Here or here.
4. Astronomy Cast Chapter 4 [Episodes 76 - 100] – Here or here.
5. Astronomy Cast Chapter 5 [Episodes 101 - 125] – Here or here.
6. Astronomy Cast Chapter 6 [Episodes 126 - 150] – Here.

If you’re interested in some of the series they’ve done, they’re here… more to come soon.

1. Astronomy Cast [Journey Through The Solar System] – Here or here.

Just click “Download This Torrent” under each link.

If you don’t know how to use BitTorrent technology, learn here.

I’ll be updating this post as I create more chapters. Until next time, enjoy!

Read a book. It’s good for you.

IMPORTANT: After you finish downloading, don’t just close out your BitTorrent client. Be sure to share. Make sure you get a share ratio of at least 2.0. Don’t be a leech!

Finally Finished "A Tour Of The Calculus" By David Berlinski

I’ll start out by referring you to a previous post where I wrote about David Berlinski and his Creationist math problems. This was my introduction to Berlinski and his philosophy of mathematics – how it should be used to calculate the odds of evolution happening; that small odds is proof that something didn’t happen. And by that logic, no one could win the lottery because the odds are so small.

I tried not to let his bad logic interfere with my reading of A Tour Of The Calculus, and I think I did a pretty good job. I actually enjoyed this book.

Overall, it’s very well written. It’s easy to follow. He is very narrative and eloquent in his writing.

My only problem with the book, and it really isn’t a problem, is that it isn’t really for someone who has no experience with calculus at all. The first half may be alright for the beginner, but when he starts talking about the integral and differentiation, I feel like he makes some grand assumptions about his reader – that they understand these concepts to begin with. I found myself struggling with the equations and ideas that he presented simply because I didn’t understand the processes involved in integration, differentiation and the like.

I also understand that you couldn’t possibly encompass the entirety of the calculus in a 300-page book. I suppose it’s more a problem of time and space than it is of incompetency of the writer.

Personally, I would absolutely recommend this book for someone who is experienced with calculus, but hasn’t touched it in a long time. It would be a great refresher course.

To conclude with, Berlinski doesn’t bring up any Creationism or Anti-Evolution rhetoric in this book, which I was somewhat surprised with. Usually Creationists love to inject their religion in everything they do. So congratulations to Berlinski on a great book.

And, as usual… read a book. It’s good for you.