Conflicts between science and religion - bring 'em on!

Adrienne said something particularly clever about religion and I'm going to pass it on. We were talking about the touch of flames on this post, the fiery touch being about, unsurprisingly to those who read my blog, intelligent design. Which I, of course, think is deeply stupid and a pretty pathetic attempt to insert supernaturalism into science.

For my part, I was opining why intelligent design folks decide to take on the best scientific theories. In the above discussion, the point wasn't evolution, but cosmology. The gent with whom I was talking was making some bizarre points like . . . because physical laws are uniform throughout the universe that's proof of intelligent design. Which is a bizarre argument. I mean, also false, but additionally bizarre. Even if it was true - and it's not, say, inside a singularity, or in the very early universe, or the differences between quantum effects and relativistic effects, there's plenty of reason to think that the universe isn't the same everywhere - I don't know why that's suggest an intelligent designer. I mean, couldn't the same reasoning be applied regardless of how the universe is? But one of the specific things that the person said is that there is no scientific theory, even a bad one, that explains the origin of the universe. This is very wrong. Not only does science have a theory about the origin of the universe, the big bang, but it is amongst the strongest theories in science. The big bang theory is science working very much how science "should" work - the theory of general relativity suggested that far enough back in time that all matter and energy would achieve infinite density and there would be a beginning to space and time. From that reasoning, there have been numerous experiments that validate the big bang. There are few scientific theories with the level of proof we have for the big bang, both theoretical and observational. The same is true of evolution. The proof for it is staggering, overwhelming. If supernaturalists want to challenge science these are not the theories they should be challenging. I mean, much better would be . . . gravity. We don't know what the fuck it is, hehe. It's downright confusing and there is simply no connection between quantum gravity and relativistic gravity theories, and gravity behaves in certain unique ways that make it the odd-man out of physics. Or electricity. Or turbulent motion. All these things science is having trouble addressing. But, no, they always go after evolution and cosmology, which are particularly strong as theories go. Adrienne opined, certainly correctly, that the reason they go after those two is because they challenge the narrative of religion.

Then Adrienne said, and this is the clever thing, that some religious apologists will try to reconcile religion and science by saying that they cover entirely different subjects, different parts of the human experience, but that's a lie. And it is. The reason why science and religion are brawling is because both of them talk about . . . how humans came into existence, how the universe came into existence. No major religion lacks a creation myth. But this isn't discussed very well, that so long as religions have creation mythology there is going to be considerable antagonism between religion and science. Because, y'know, science says that the universe came into existence because of quantum flux in an instanton around fifteen billion years ago causing the big bang, and religious folks say that a supernatural being that transcends time and space willed the universe into existence. These are conflicting narratives, mutually exclusive, so the people who say that religion isn't about the same things as science are wrong. They are, and evidently so, and people don't much talk about that as being the essence of the conflict, because it is a conflict. Science says one thing, religion says another.

And even beyond cosmology and the origins of life, there are still conflicts. Religious people all make supernatural statements. Even if you're the species of religious person who says that the big bang and evolution are the way that god created the universe, almost all of those people will still cling to supernatural events to justify their belief. So a Christian might say that evolution is the method that god created life, but what about Jesus rising from the dead and physically ascending into heaven? Even religious folks who are willing to concede the creation myths are allegorical or whatever nevertheless make statements of fact. They say, "Jesus rose from the dead". They say, "He physically ascended into heaven." Even when they avoid the biggest issues, they make all these statements that simply cannot be physically true. They still are saying that supernatural agents are at work amongst us.

Which is back to intelligent design. That's what intelligent design is - saying that supernatural agents work amongst us, but do so invisibly. In the case of ID, the invisible is the bogus concept of irreducible complexity. Otherwise, it is invisible amongst the annals of history - which are, of course, woefully incomplete. A Christian says that, you know, supernatural events are only recorded in religious texts because they are otherwise lost to history. Sometimes they can sorta get away with this, like the census that supposedly took place at the time of Jesus' birth. We know the Romans did a number of censuses whose records did not really survive. It becomes less plausible, of course, when you're talking about the graves giving up their dead and zombie prophets walking around Jerusalem, or the Nile turning into fucking blood, or the destruction of two large cities by angels, or . . . you see the point by now, I think. That the only records of the innumerable supernatural events that occur in all religions seem to be recorded only by members of that religion. So, we entirely lack Babylonian accounts of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or any other of these supposedly supernatural events (save when one religion copies a story from a second religion, like with the Biblical Flood).

(Yes, I know there are a smaller section of Christians who believe all supernatural events in the Bible are allegorical and treat Jesus simply as a wise man or whatever, but this isn't really addressed at them and they are a very, very small portion of Christians and most other Christians would say that they're not Christians, so even calling them Christians is fairly problematic.)

I think that non-religious people should stand up more to religious people who are trying to slip it in, then, that "science and religion aren't about the same things". They are. Religions have creation myths that explain the origin of the universe and of life, and these are in direct contradiction to scientific theories. Religions also include supernatural events which also contradict science in a number of ways (being that science, by definition, can't have supernaturalism in it). The people who say that religion and science are about "different things" are ignoring the cases when science and religion do discuss the same topic and are at odds.

More Makin' Fun of Genesis!

Because I know y'all can't get enough of me in video format, here is me makin' some more fun of Genesis. This talks all about the sex!

Messiah Abuse - Rapin' Jesus and then Mary Magdalene Gets it Awn!

This is an excerpt out of the novel I'm currently writing, Simon Peter.

Without Peter there, Mark and James came over to start picking on Jesus. Peter looked back and Mark had Jesus in a headlock and was leading him away. Jesus was struggling, but it was futile. Mark was a couple of years older than Jesus, and Mark had always been big – he was still slightly bigger than Peter, whom he had started to avoid.

Peter looked forward. The teacher was on a roll. He was talking about Isaiah and being translated into Heaven, and saying that Isaiah would return to his people in their hour of need. Peter looked around. The adults seemed rapt. Peter was still upset with Jesus, childishly, but Ephraim was dull. It didn't take ten minutes for Peter to get up and look for Jesus.

Once out of the square, he used his ears, going towards the landward side of the village and into an olive grove. He heard Mark laughing, giggling like a girl. He heard other noises, physical sounds, and he grabbed a rock. He walked as quiet as a cat, rock in hand, figuring to hit Mark or James in the head with it. He was willing to escalate.

He found the three boys, Jesus bent over a fallen tree. His robe was over his hips, and behind him stood James, who was fucking him. Mark was standing to one side, giggling, but there was something wrong with the sound – it wasn't humor, he wasn't laughing because he was afraid, he was laughing because he had to make some noise to get out what he was feeling. But it was not humor. Peter could see the sick dread in Mark' face.

In James' face there was this savagery. It was beyond anything that Peter – who was beaten so hard, so often he had a head like a rock – had never seen.

No, not just savagery. Glee.

Jesus' face was empty, slack. Nothing.

They didn't see Peter. Peter didn't know what to do. He stood for a long moment watching. Then he slowly backed away, and when no one could see him he ran like Satan was on his heels.

So, we have children raping other children, which happens more often than we might like. Children raised in sexually abusive environment pick it up real fast. But, there you have it, the scene where I give it to Jesus in the ass! That's about page four in the book. It goes downhill from there for poor Jesus.

Still, here's some more sex out of Simon Peter. Here, Peter and Mary Magdalene talk about John the Baptist:

She looked at Peter. He had spent time looking at her, studying her. All these emotions were new. She could be curious, playful, determined, cruel, lusting – but she looked open, she looked delicate and uncertain. She said, “He's not like us. He's not even like Jesus. Jesus speaks the words of the Lord, this I believe, but John . . . he lives them.”

“He calls you a whore, Magdalene.”

She was trembling. “Maybe that's true. I fuck men that I want to fuck. I've had half a dozen lovers in this camp. Maybe I am a whore.”

Peter started to get angry. “That's shit, Magdalene! I listened to that little prick, myself, and believe me, he's saying what he says because he's got problems, not because you've got problems. He's that skinny kid that never could manage to talk to a girl, never get a wife, and rather than figure out how to get a woman, rather than talking to a matchmaker or finding a prostitute, a real prostitute, to work all this out, he decided that the problem is that men and women could find each other. He turned it into his sacred cause, but the world isn't ending because . . . because men and women fuck each other! That's stupid. It's . . . like Jesus says. The world is winding up because we are full of anger and wrath, we can't forgive each other for our trespasses and when the world is like that it's inevitable that it end, because we do nothing but build up hate and anger, year after year, generation after generation. The Lord isn't destroying the world, we are, humans are, and Heaven is forgiveness. That makes sense, not this nonsense about how the Lord is going to wipe us out because Herod Antipas is screwing his niece . . .”

He stopped because Magdalene had slapped him. Her eyes were wide, hard, filled with such heat as he'd never seen.

Peter grabbed her robe with one hand and raised his other hand to strike. But he didn't. He let go and she settled back on her feet, and Peter took a few steps back, away from her. He flexed and unflexed his hands. He turned to face her. “Do you think that the Lord wants you to hate yourself? Can't you see how this . . . man does nothing but spread hatred?” Peter said. “You told me that a better question than why Jesus and John rail against sex is why sex is a sin in the first place.”

Magdalene sagged. She collapsed into a chair. She was struggling not to weep. She said, “Perhaps. But . . . you don't understand, Peter.”

“No one tells me anything.”

She looked at him and she shook her head. “I will not tell you this. But . . . it is easy to believe that John is right, for me, Peter. I don't want to hate myself. I want to be a better person.”

Peter looked at her for a long time – he looked at her dark beauty, her deep sadness. He knew that everyone had a reason to be here, something they were looking for enough to . . . enough to leave their home, to leave their aging father, to set aside their loving wife. Everyone was driven to the Nazarenes because they felt a terrible hollowness in their hearts. He had never questioned why Mary Magdalene was here.

Peter said, “Do as Jesus says. Forgive yourself.”

She covered her face and sobbed. She said, “Go, Peter! Go!”

Peter trembled. He didn't go. He crouched next to Magdalene and put his hands on her lap, and looked to her. He said, “You can forgive yourself, Magdalene. You can embrace the love of the Lord. If . . . if you want, I will pray with you.” He felt this outpouring of emotion, this release. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. “Lord, we are your servants, imperfect and wanting, but we have heard the words of Jesus, and we want to heal ourselves, to be worthy of your grace, so teach us how to forgive each other, forgive ourselves, or our sins and weakness, for only then can we be worthy of your grace and love.”

He felt a change. Mary was not crying. She laid a hand on his hair. She said, softly, “Jesus is wiser than even I can know. How did he see this man under all the stone?”

She slipped from the chair and embraced Peter. She smelled like roses. He opened his eyes, and she kissed him. It was slow and soft, and grew deeper. She shifted her head from side to side, kissing him, and teased open his mouth with her tongue and he tasted her, deep and long. He pushed her back and her legs wrapped around his hips, her robe falling down to her hips. Peter held her breasts in his hands. Magdalene arched up into him.

She laughed, her eyes closed, “I can feel your cock, Peter. I want to feel you inside of me. I've never wanted anyone like this. No one. Not my first, not Jesus, not Andrew.”

Peter stiffened and Magdalene locked her ankles behind him. She opened her eyes, and he knew her look, cruel and playful, like a cat with a mouse. “Yes. I fucked Andrew. He was a child. You're a man. A murderer.”

Peter silenced her with a kiss. He pushed Magdalene's robe off, she shimmied to get it off, and a linen undergarmet, and she was nude, her skin walnut brown, her breasts full, her stomach flat, his wide and thighs open for him, wanton, her face needy and her eyes wet, her lips wet, Peter on his knees before her. She got to her knees, too, she pulled up his own robe and she gasped, her eyes smiling and playful, mocking, her hands running over his body, touching the muscles of him, before her hand circled his cock. Her hand was soft. She smelled like perfume. He was hard to her touch. Put a hand between her legs and touched her sex, she closed her eyes and groaned, and she took Peter's hand and put it between her legs so he could feel her slick heat.

She opened her eyes, eyes dark and dilated. She clenched her legs around Peter's hand and gripped his shoulders and slid body against his hand touching her. Peter thrust his other hand into her hair and kissed her, hard, mouth open and he caught her moans in his mouth.

He thrust her down, and she gasped, laughed, he arranged himself behind her. He took his cock in hand and entered her from behind. She groaned, whispered, “Oh, fuck, Peter.” She put the side of her face against the floor. “I'm on my face for you.”

He grunted as Magdalene's sex enfolded him, tightening, and she looked back, raising herself a little to look over her shoulder at him. The lamplight flickered in her eyes as she arched back into him. He reached forward, supporting himself with one hand, and with one hand and cupped her breast. She twisted back to him, reaching back to grab one of his shoulders and used that to push herself more against him. Her torso was revealed to him, beautiful and womanly.

She said, “Yeah, like that. Make me forget everything, Peter, fuck me so hard I can't remember my name.”

He took her by her hips and drew out of her, and he could feel her thighs trembling, and he entered her, again, and she groaned, bit her lip, her hair down and cascading over her face, and then thrown back to go down her back.

He fucked her, then, his mind a confused whirl for a while, but just a while, because with his cock inside of Magdalene, his hand on her breasts, looking into her face contorted in lust – thoughts fled. He thrust inside of her, increasing in force, and she grunted, and put her face down against the ground, her hands over her head, bracing herself as their sex increased in speed and force.

Then she started to writhe, groan, she whispered his name, “Peter.” Then she made noises that weren't words, but suggested them, her belly flexing and unflexing hard, her cunt flexing and unflexing, and then she gripped him and he couldn't do anything but make small motions with his hips inside of her, but it was enough, and it was like he was pouring himself into her, his thighs burning, his stomach burning, his cock in an agony of pleasure.

Magdalene laughed and said, “We haven't even gotten to the bed.”

For the first time in months, Peter wasn't thinking about Jesus and the Nazarenes, he was just there, living his life with the tensions flowing out of him, like Magdalene's cunt had take them from him. He drew out of her and pulled her to her feet, and kissed her before pushing her down on her bed, and she smiled up at him, legs parted as she sat down, inviting, and he went into her arms.

And that's it for this installment of Bible porn! See you tomorrow with some of the sex out of Condotierri.

The Bible is Stupid: Makin' Fun of Genesis #1

I have a new humor video! The embed is below, of course. The video speaks for itself, but the subject is largely a reaction to how seriously people -- even non-theists and non-Christians -- take the Bible. Even people who should know better say things like it's a great work of literature. This baffles me! The Bible is boring, and where it is not boring it is silly. It has enough plot holes to drive a truck through, is rife with all manner of deus ex machina, and has stilted and unbelievable characterization and dialogue. Every so often, part of the Bible will raise itself from the purely craptacular to the mediocre. There's some stuff about Moses that is pretty good, and in Judges someone's head gets nailed to the ground, and the first part of Ezekiel had some nice psychedelic things. And Revelations is fascinating in its creepiness. But on whole? It's a bad book. So, this video is in part response to that.

I'm also putting this one up on GodTube with some modest changes in the title and description. I'm gonna start pushing it to see how far I can go before they kick me off GodTube. ;)