It IS Possible to be Perfect!! - Jehovah's Witnesses Proved it Today

After a difficult year, we have decided to continue our efforts in promoting critical thought and exposing Christianity as a bane to civilization.  Walking the dog in this case couldn't have come at a better time.  As we walked the dog today, we happened upon a group of lively Jehovah's Witnesses, and we couldn't resist stopping to chat with them, which inspired us to create this post.  The conversation was very one-sided however, as all they could do was repeat their mantra "We are all born sinners!"

Let me explain how this came about, as what we pointed out to them is one of the BEST arguments against Christianity.  When we first happened upon them, they offered us a tract, as Jehovah's Witnesses so often do, and Tony took this as an opportunity to ask these lovely ladies whether or not it was possible to be perfect.  Now, most Christians (and others who are not Christian, but have been brainwashed by the Christian system into believing we, as humans are somehow born "imperfect") would say that no, it is NOT possible to be perfect.  But here's the trick.  Tony did not ask if it was possible to be perfect from the day we are born, he asked if it was possible to be perfect!  Note the difference.

What we mean by this, is that Christians believe it is not possible to be perfect--even just for a moment!  This means Christians believe they sin 24-7.  But is this the case?  We asked the lovely ladies if they had done anything, or thought anything "sinful" during the time we spoke with them, and they were reluctant to say anything, so Tony asked them if they were thinking "dirty thoughts" or had done anything evil in the few minutes we had been speaking with them, and they said "no."  So of course, Tony told them, that they proved it IS possible to be perfect, as they had been "perfect" and had committed no "sin" during their conversation with us!  This is when they began repeating their mantra, "We are all born sinners."  But of course, we had just proven them wrong, so we took their tract, and continued our walk--with smiles on our faces.

We glanced through the tract when we arrived home, and I had to laugh when I came across and interview with a retired environmental consultant who happened to be a Jehovah's Witness who was "convinced that life was designed by god."  Think about this for a moment, as this would mean God "designed" the lives of children who were molested, tortured, and starved to death--making him a sadist of epic proportions.  Surely--not a god worthy of worship, but a god worthy of contempt.

Dear Anonymous: Part 3 - The Real Meaning of Love

This is the third part of a three part series of posts in response to a commenter at the blog post below:
A Critique of Richard Dawkins and WL Craig

Dear Anonymous,

You asked me if I knew what love is--and I believe I do. Love is honor, respect, caring, teaching, and nurturing. I have all of these in my life, and I am grateful for that. There is no reason to love anyone if you know you will not be loved in return. "Loving your enemies" as Christians claim to do, will most likely end in tragedy.   Christians may claim to love their enemies, but for most Christians, this aphorism is quite meaningless, as they have tortured and burned literally millions of their so-called "enemies"--including the innocent medicine women, vilified by the church as "witches." What would America be like if the President "loved his enemies"??--most likely it would not be the America we know today. Loving ones enemies is a trick the power mongers use in order to manipulate the masses into conforming to their will. Love the master=love the enemy. No--loving ones enemy will do nothing to make the world a better place to be.

It is the Capitalist/Christian matrix which promotes such ridiculous paradigms--this needs to change in order for humanity to survive. My goal is not to increase the hate--it is to make those who deserve to be hated take responsibility for their actions. My goal is, as you say to "rid the world of the Christian menace," as I have already explained that the Christian doctrine of salvation leads to moral laxity, and a corrupt society. People such as Harris, Dawkins, myself and others are not espousing despair and hatred, nor are we promoting it. As Shirley Phelps might say, "To what end?" To what end would someone like myself want to promote hatred and despair? Your conclusion on this point makes no logical sense. I promote living, as Jesus said, a "perfect" life. He himself said to "be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect."--meaning do what is right the FIRST time, and do not choose to lie, steal, commit adultery etc, because, well, you believe you were "born bad" and can't help but be that way. This is total nonsense, and is a philosophy that yes, I want eliminated. If society was taught they are born perfect, and can choose right--the world would be a much better place for us all. There is a great deal of meaning in living a life in which you can make it better for those that follow you. This is what I do. In the near future I will be publishing a post dealing with the subject of perfection, and the Christian misconception of it.

I have no interest in humility.  As I have already mentioned, humility, like loving ones' enemies, makes one vulnerable to someone else's manipulations. I have pride in myself, and in my words and actions. Pride, after all, is not a vice--but is, according to Aristotle, the means between humble and arrogant. Pride is having the proper amount of self-respect, and if you have self -respect, you will be less likely to be led to do things that are improper and/or dangerous. There is no such thing as having too much pride if pride is having the proper amount of self-respect. Yes, I have pride, and I am proud of that...;) For more information on why pride is not a vice, but a virtue, see the following blog posts:

Pride is a Virtue, Not a Vice

Pride is a Virtue, Not a Vice Part 2 

Pride is a Virtue, Not a Vice Part 3 

You go on to say:

" At the moment, you are the enemy and someone like Craig is only going to debate someone with enough listeners that it would matter for eternity. You don’t have enough of an audience to matter right now. That’s not taking a shot, it’s just that only a handful of people have big enough names to warrant attention in this realm right now. "

I would philosophize with anyone, even a homeless hobo who had no connections with anybody, as I am only concerned with the arguments. If however, WL Craig is only looking for the fame and fortune of debating well known atheists, well--that says a great deal about his character. I would debate him anonymously, as I do not care for "fame and fortune." All I care about is the arguments, and getting people to see how absurd Christian dogma truly is in order to reduce moral laxity and avoid more suffering.

Oh, and if I am your "enemy" as you say--how much do you love me?--lol. I had to laugh..... All the more reason, according to your Christian beliefs, to spend time arguing/debating with me. In philosophy, an argument is a set of premises from which a conclusion can be deduced logically. I am more than willing to spend time arguing/debating with theists--whom I do not even claim to love!

You claim I do not admit when I am wrong--and you are wrong. I put forth arguments and it is up to anyone who disagrees to offer their counter arguments and rebuttals. If they are not successful, that is not my fault. Like in this case, you have not refuted any of my arguments, but have merely tried to dissuade me via a personal attack--which is irrelevant to the arguments. I have no problem admitting when I was wrong, or if I do not know something. I have no idea how the universe was created for instance, but if all we have are theories, I will hold to the "best explanation" until proven otherwise, and the supernatural is always going to be the LEAST likely explanation for any type of phenomena. What I do know are via my experiences, and I know that I get great joy in helping people view the world in a different light. By viewing this life and the earth as being precious, and by promoting an altruistic lifestyle, the only life we may ever know becomes that much better.

And I will never "knock it off" as you so desperately want me to. I will continue to inform as many people as I can of the arguments, contradictions and inconsistencies in the bible, and how Christian dogma leads to moral laxity, and how it promotes suffering in the world.

Again, my thanks for the great fodder. Please feel free to comment anytime, and I will respond in kind.