Atheist

`most left-of-center political event in Oklahoma City mayoral history` ~ Ya think?

Published by Papa Giorgio

From the Okie:

….Soon after Shadid’s kick-off rally on August 15th, The McCarville Report published an in-depth examination of the rally, calling it “perhaps the most left-of-center political event in Oklahoma City mayoral history.”

Since that time, Shadid has continued the pattern.

On September 1st, an Oklahoma atheist leader who describes himself on Twitter as the co-host of the “Oklahoma Atheists Godcast” revealed that Shadid is actively and personally courting the atheist vote.

[….]

And this past weekend, Shadid Tweeted a photo of himself  with a group of children wearing t-shirts that said “penis” or “vagina”.

Says one longtime Oklahoma politico of Shadid’s campaign so far, “It’s as if Shadid thinks he’s running for mayor of Berkeley.  Promoting himself as the candidate for atheists and advocating property tax increases are things that I would normally consider political suicide.  I have never seen a supposedly credible candidate break so many rules of Oklahoma politics.”….

The Friendly Atheist was driven to post,

Now if only Shadid would stop talking about how he wants to raise property taxes and taking pictures with children wearing shirts with the words “Penis” and “Vagina” on them, he might have a better chance of winning this thing.

I love politics.

Universalism Infects the Catholic Church ~ Pope Francis Claims God Will Save Atheists Via Their `Good Works`

Published by Papa Giorgio

Via Apologetic Press:

On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Pope Francis conducted Mass in Rome. During that service, he made one of the most memorable and astonishing statements ever spoken by anyone who calls himself a Christian. The theme of his sermon was that all humans should do good deeds for others. In the course of the talk he stated:

The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! “Father, the atheists?” Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. “But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!” But do good: we will meet one another there (“Pope at Mass…,” 2013, emp. added).

The Pope’s statement highlights two very important issues. First, it shows how far the Pope and the Catholic Church have fallen from the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus explained to the first-century Jews: “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). His point could not have been more clear: acceptance of the fact that Jesus is the Son of God is required for salvation. That is why Jesus told His apostles: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Furthermore, the inspired apostle Paul explained that Jesus Christ is coming “from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, emp. added). John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, boldly stated: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” Make no mistake, neither Jesus nor His inspired apostles ever once hinted at the possibility that people who do not believe in God will be saved. They will not. Revelation 21:8 explains: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral…shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (emp. added).

The second issue evident in Francis’ statement is the fact that pressure from the unbelieving community is mounting. As the number of unbelievers gradually increases, so does the temptation to appease them and attempt to bend the truth to ingratiate one’s self or organization with unbelievers. As Christians—followers of Jesus Christ—we must resist this tempation at all cost. Yes, praise God, Jesus’ blood is powerful enough to redeem unbelievers, if and only if, those unbelievers turn to Him with humble hearts, confess that He is God’s son, and obey the Gospel (Lyons and Butt, n.d.). Barring that response, unbelievers can look forward to nothing in the afterlife except a “certain fearful expectation of judgment” (Hebrews 10:27).

In my summation, a sad day in the Catholic Church. (Other articles linked in pictures)

A challenge was presented to AOM (see link in “All Dogs Go To Heaven”) and responded to thus:

Response to Some Objections

Some of Rome’s apologists will respond, like Bryan Cross:

It is important, as you mentioned, to distinguish between redemption accomplished objectively, and redemption applied subjectively. Pope Francis was speaking of the former when saying that Christ has redeemed all men, and therefore not implying universalism.

Bryan may be right to insist on that distinction, but Francis is not making that distinction – he’s arguing that the “this Blood makes us children of God.” The consistent reference to “us” in Francis’ lecture is everyone, and specifically not just Roman Catholics. The blood acting on subjects to make them something is not simply objective redemption accomplished, contrary to Bryan’s wish.

Jason Stellman, recent apostate/revert to Rome (it is unclear if he was baptized RC or not) put it this way:

Again, it’s not that “our sins are paid for” in the sense Protestants think of it (i.e., God imputing our guilt to Christ, pouring out his wrath upon him, and then imputing his righteousness to us). So the reason redemption accomplished doesn’t imply redemption applied is that the former doesn’t mean for Catholics what it does for Protestants. Jesus did not suffer divine anger and retribution for a certain group of people who then cannot but be saved. Rather, he recapitulated Adamic humanity in himself by offering a sacrifice that pleased the Father more than our sins displeased him. When seen in this way, redemption applied ceases to be a foregone conclusion and actually becomes something we must actively pursue through faith and the sacraments.

Expressing the recapitulation theory this way, however, doesn’t rescue Francis. Francis is talking about something that has been applied to people, not something that is merely available to people.

Jimmy Akin similarly says:

So far so good: Christ redeemed all of us, making it possible for every human to be saved.

That is not what Francis said, though. Francis did not say simply that it was possible for them to be saved, but that this redemption had made them children of God “of the first class.”

Jimmy Akin continued:

We can be called children of God in several senses. One of them is merely be being created as rational beings made in God’s image. Another is by becoming Christian. Another sense (used in the Old Testament) is connected with righteous behavior. And there can be other senses as well.

Here Pope Francis may be envisioning a sense in which we can be called children of God because Christ redeemed us, even apart from embracing that redemption by becoming Christian.

Had Francis not added “of the first class,” then this avenue might be available. Yet Francis talked about them being made children of the first class.

You Do Not Have To Be Religious To Be PRO-LIFE ~ Just Reasonable

Published by Papa Giorgio

VIDEO AUDIO DESCRIPTIONS

In one of my favorite presentations by Scott (his ministry is outstanding: http://www.prolifetraining.com/), arguments touching on scientific laws, philosophy, and common sense allow the pro-life advocate to deal with opponents in clear and concise ways. This isn’t a Bible bashing fest, but a tactic in bringing the whole of the argument for the preciousness of life to the forefront.

Here is the VIDEO Scott Klusendorf references near the end of this presentation. THERE IS A WARNING WITH THIS VIDEO, it is GRAPHIC!

A good presentation as well is the 180 movie. Well worth your time.

HERE ARE PARTS 2 AND 3:

A Noted Atheist Agitator Becomes a Christian (the Nativity, Changing Hearts 2000 Years Later)

Published by Papa Giorgio

While he isn’t converting to a born-again Baptist preacher overnight, he has made a choice to believe Jesus is Lord… that is a start… the most important one. Via The Blaze:

This is one of those stories that seems too good to be true. Last month, we told you about Patrick Greene, an atheist activist who threatened to sue over the presence of a nativity scene in Athens, Texas.

Despite his actions against the religious symbol, Christians came together to raise funds for him and his wife to purchase groceries after he fell ill. Now, as a result of the kind gesture, Greene has reportedly announced that he has become a Christian — and that he wants to enter ministry.

(Related: Christians Raise Funds to Help Atheist Who Threatened to Sue Over TX Nativity Scene)

It’s only been two months since the atheist was threatening to wage a legal war against the nativity scene in Henderson County. But something changed over the past 60 days. After residents found out that Greene was suffering from a serious eye condition that could lead to blindness and he was forced to retire, Christians‘ kindness transformed Greene’s worldview…

[….]

… The Christian Post recapshis transformation from non-belief to an adherence to Jesus Christ:

“There’s been one lingering thought in the back of my head my entire life, and it‘s one thought that I’ve never been able to reconcile, and that is the vast difference between all the animals and us,” Greene told The Christian Post on Tuesday, as he began to explain his recent transformation from atheist to Christian. The theory of evolution didn’t answer his questions, he says, so he just set those questions aside and didn’t think about them anymore.

But when the Christians in a town that had reason to be angry with him showed him a gesture of love, he began reconsidering his beliefs altogether. He eventually began to realize that evolution would never have the answer to his questions, he says, and it was at that time he began to believe in God.

“I kind of realized that the questions I [was] asking you just had to accept on faith without doubting every period and every comma,” he said. He later began studying the Bible, both the Old Testament and the Gospels, and also discovered his belief that Jesus is the Son of God.

Democratic Drama Queens! Stopping the Leftist Narrative from Taking Hold in the American Psyche

Published by Papa Giorgio

Gateway Pundit astutely mentioned the truth in the matter, as, you can see the narrative immediately above and below set by liberals:

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing today on Barack Obama’s unprecedented attack on religious freedom. Democrats invited the notorious Christian-hater Barry Lynn to represent them. Then they withdrew his invitation. And, then they stormed out of the committee hearing hoping to deflect all of the media’s attention away from Barack Obama’s assault on religious organizations.

Think Progress predictably reported that the Republicans would not allow any females on the panel. Not true. Rep. Darrell Issa (R_CA) the committee’s chairman explained to Greta Van Susteren On The Record tonight that the minority party historically is allowed one panelist at a typical hearing. The democrats picked Christian-hater Barry Lynn. Then they switched and chose a young woman to come in and talk about birth control. That was not the topic of the hearing so Issa told democrats they could not bring her in to represent them. Then they walked out. It was all planned.

Of course, the state-run media will never report these important facts.

After the hearing started democrats still tried to disrupt the proceedings and turn it into a sideshow. They were determined to hide from the American people their disdain for religious freedom.

…read more…

Just a few years ago this narrative may have been embedded in the psyche of the general public, but the new media (sites like these) and Fox News, can correct the leftist media in their attempt to create a story:

Atheist Sees Image of Big Bang in Piece of Toast

Published by Papa Giorgio

Satire News:

(ACPA-london) Excitement is growing in the Northern England town of Huddersfield following news that local atheist Donald Chapman saw an image of the Big-Bang in a piece of toast. In an exclusive interview with “The Huddersfield Express” Chapman, 36, explained that he was sitting down to eat breakfast when an unusual toast pattern caught his eye.

“I was just about to spread the butter when I saw a fairly typical small hole in the bread surrounded by a burnt black ring,” said Chapman. “Then to my amazement, I noticed the direction and splatter patterns of the crumbs, with their changing shades emanating outwards from the center of the black hole. It was identical to the chaotic-dynamic non-linear patterns that followed the Big-Bang. It’s the beginning of the world!” Images of the actual Big Bang toast are copywrighted by Don Chapman so we can only show this image which is a US Govt public domain picture

Ever since news of the discovery made national headlines, local hoteliers have been overwhelmed by an influx of atheists from all over the country who have flocked to Huddersfield to catch a glimpse of the scientific relic. “I have always been an Atheist and to see my unbelief validated on a piece of toast is truly astounding,” exclaimed one guest at the Huddersfield Arms hotel.

To the surprise of many, the UK Atheist Association has asked its members to ignore the story despite its potential to inspire less faith. “Given what the religious believe already, this is an easy sell,” complained one disgruntled activist who said he was going to Huddlesfield anyway noting that “Seeing is not believing”.