Almost by definition, secularism cannot be a future: it's a present-tense culture that over time disconnects a society from cross-generational purpose. Which is why there are no examples of sustained atheist civilizations.
Mark Steyn in America Alone, p. 98

We Believe

I have to give you one more from Steve Turner. I was simply going to quote the postscript beginning with "If chance be the Father of all flesh," but the whole poem is quite good and has some juicy nuggets throughout. Substitute "Radical Muslims" or "Islamofacists" or the like to update the "Russians" reference. Very insightful.

Creed

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin

We believe everything is OK

as long as you don't hurt anyone

to the best of your definition of hurt,

and to the best of your knowledge.



We believe in sex before, during, and

after marriage.

We believe in the therapy of sin.

We believe that adultery is fun.

We believe that sodomy’s OK.

We believe that taboos are taboo.



We believe that everything's getting better

despite evidence to the contrary.

The evidence must be investigated

And you can prove anything with evidence.



We believe there's something in horoscopes

UFO's and bent spoons.

Jesus was a good man just like Buddha,

Mohammed, and ourselves.

He was a good moral teacher though we think

His good morals were bad.



We believe that all religions are basically the same-

at least the one that we read was.

They all believe in love and goodness.

They only differ on matters of creation,

sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.



We believe that after death comes the Nothing

Because when you ask the dead what happens

they say nothing.

If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its

compulsory heaven for all

excepting perhaps

Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn



We believe in Masters and Johnson

What's selected is average.

What's average is normal.

What's normal is good.



We believe in total disarmament.

We believe there are direct links between warfare and

bloodshed.

Americans should beat their guns into tractors .

And the Russians would be sure to follow.



We believe that man is essentially good.

It's only his behavior that lets him down.

This is the fault of society.

Society is the fault of conditions.

Conditions are the fault of society.



We believe that each man must find the truth that

is right for him.

Reality will adapt accordingly.

The universe will readjust.

History will alter.

We believe that there is no absolute truth

excepting the truth

that there is no absolute truth.



We believe in the rejection of creeds,

And the flowering of individual thought.



If chance be

the Father of all flesh,

disaster is his rainbow in the sky

and when you hear



State of Emergency!

Sniper Kills Ten!

Troops on Rampage!

Youths go Looting!

Bomb Blasts School!

It is but the sound of man

worshipping his maker.

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men.
~Benjamin Franklin~

What if you were a pompous curmudgeon who was pudgy with self-importance?

You would be Chris Hitchens! Initially I wanted to place here the video of Hitchens making a self-righteous fool of himself as he blamed every problem on earth for the last 30 years on Jerry Falwell, but I decided I didn't want his face on my beautiful little corner of the internet, so if you want to take a look at it you'll have to go here. He begins by lamenting that there is no hell for Falwell to go to. Well, at least there's no atheist heaven for Hitchens to go to. Now, I'm not the huge fan of Falwell that Ann Coutler is, but he is nowhere near the cause of the world's ills.

Also, Hitchens vs. Wilson Part 3 is up over at CT. I'm learning from this debate that Hitchens is not all that interested in the debate; he's simply impressed with his own thoughts. And somehow he has convinced himself that Thomas Jefferson was an atheist, but he needs to see my post of May 15, or he could at least read the Declaration of Independence!

God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed our only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?

~Thomas Jefferson~

Take God out of the universe and everything is annihilated, every higher joy of the mind, every love, and only the wish for mental suicide would remain, and only the devil and the beast would still desire to exist.
~Jean Paul Richter~

Wilson / Hitchens, Part 2

Hitchens is running around the ring with his hands raised as if he scored a round one knockout. His response to Wilson's opening statement reads rather like the Democrats shouting "Victory" and retreating in medias res. Not to worry; Wilson has explained to Hitchens how he might give a more cogent response. We shall see.

Atheists Crawling Out From Under Rocks

Maybe atheists are their own evidence for evolution. They strike me as closer kin of Amoeba than Homo Sapiens. Lately they've been taking their "God be damned" message to the public in louder, prouder ways. I've recently mentioned Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation. Now Christopher Hitchens is trying to steal the bully pulpit with his God Is Not Great. And this morning (though it aired last night on Nightline) I began to view the debate between Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort of Way of the Master ministries and two joy-filled amoebas from the "Rational Response Squad." I don't have time to comment yet, but you can view the first installment here. I believe there are six parts.

Probably of more interest (because who cares what the "Rational Response Squad" thinks; at least someone other than amoebas do care what Christopher Hitchens thinks) is the debate in Christianity Today between Hitchens and Doug Wilson. That can be found here, and is supposed to run throughout the month of May.