For some reason this article brought to mind an image of George Burns at a color zerox machine running off copies of 20 dollar bills.

I really need to stop watching so much TV....

Makes me think of how George Carlin pointed out that God is all powerful, but bad with money.

So, did the dude try to pass a photocopied check (thus no imprint), or were these some of those shitty starter checks you used to get when opening an account?  Either way, makes me wonder what god’s credit rating is like.

I read it then just sat here shaking my head.  What was this silly twit thinking? ( I had another name in mind but being your Mom I cleaned it up). Does the whole world think that because you use religious names or references that you are entitled to get anything you want?  I respect each individual for their beliefs or lack there of and try to keep my peace with all but people like this guy need to be put away so they won’t hurt themselves.

I have to believe this is true but I still don’t believe it.
What are they teaching 21 year old children in Sunday schools these days? 

He was charged with one count attempted check fraud and one count intimidation, both Class D felonies, and one count resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor. He faces a maximum sentence of seven years.

Of course, this could been god’s plan…
(as well as generally to get people who can’t back up what they see to look silly or get sectioned, as well as getting people to go on murderous schizophrenic rampages - well I’d be bored if I were an eternally existing god )

LJ: What are they teaching 21 year old children in Sunday schools these days?

Or - it could have been the sunday school’s plan for this to happen…

Yeah, ever since Jesus drove the moneychangers from the Temple his credit has been for shit.

I used to work for a church as a custodian.  What always amazed me were people giving stock to the church.  The church always turned around and sold it.  Then I realized that if the cheerful giver sold it, they would have to pay capital gains tax on it, but if they gave it to the church they could write it off as charity.  Very clever.

religious people are the lowest of the low.

religion is the number one sponsor of bigotry, prejudice and hate in our society.

religion is discrimitory, sexism and homophobic.

identifying yourself as a religious person should have the same social stigma attached to it as being a member of the KKK or any other hate group.

I wouldn’t go that far, Peggy. While I do agree with your third point, the other three vary depending on which religious person you’re talking about.

Let’s be completely honest here: There are plenty of religious people that we, as atheists, shouldn’t have a problem with. They try to practice the best parts of their religion and are overall decent people who are happy to let others find their own paths through life. Despite appearances at times, I honestly believe those sorts of religious people outnumber the bad ones I write about all the time here on SEB.

Sure their beliefs are silly and wishful thinking at its best, but if it works for them and they’re not really bothering anyone else with it then who am I to take away their security blankets? I might tease them occasionally, perhaps a little rib poking, but otherwise I leave ‘em alone. I certainly don’t count them as the lowest of the low nor do I think they should be regarded as being equivalent to the KKK. There’s no reason we can’t get along with the good ones.

Les, this goes the core of the “appeaser wars”.

Religion is a major, if not the major, divisive tool. While one can’t reasonably generalize from the religious asshats to all religious people, the sum total of all religious people are enablers for the asshats. I don’t know that being religious warrants a stigma, but for starters I’d settle for dismantling the insane level of privilege religion enjoys.

peggy- try looking on religion as theories about stuff, so you deal with the issue instead of counter-hate, which in my eyes makes you no better

People are easier to talk to if you’re more logical than emotional in your approach- you dont take on credit in my eyes simply by aligning with a respected faction

Elwed: the sum total of all religious people are enablers for the asshats

As much as I totally agree ( ) with this I still find myself leaning towards Les’ appeasement comments which makes me feel like Lite White Milk when I wish I had the balls to switch to Soy ‘milk’ - if that makes any sense.

I’d settle for dismantling the insane level of privilege religion enjoys.

Yeah, they are in a unique position … even in Oz:

While Australia does not have an established church, it has many churches and religions that are all treated equally, at least for tax purposes, by the government. Legally, religions are charities and thus exempt from nearly all taxation7. Also, the core definitional criterion for a religion in Australia and New Zealand is that it have a ‘supernatural’ belief.8 Religions are, therefore, ‘supernatural charities’.

They sell invisibility and get visible privileges.

This policy puts the government in the unenviable position of having to set policy on exactly what constitutes a religion.

Whilst ever they, them mass swindling bastards, successfully spin that what they do is not a business (and an extremely profitable little scam it is too … oh, and thank your mother for the rabbits) or that it’s not an industry (a.k.a. the asshat production line), we’ll be left holding an empty bag of invisible promises – mmm, a double negative – I shoulda said: a bulging bag of invisible promises but that makes no sense either … although it’d make a good scam. 

You expect children to occasionally have invisible friends but this mass delusion parading as sanity is wearisome. Sometimes I think I’d like to drink from their water and become insane – but it’s just never worked for me because … “I have thoughts”.
We are all born atheists – the Unlucky get sucked into the vortex of the invisible man myth - imagine if no one ever told you dog existed.

We (= a bunch of rationalist thinkers) are fighting an up hill battle. 
It’ll take decades to de-breed the delusions of the invisible man syndrome and make them (= a bunch of non-rationalist a-thinkers) realise Atheism is not a religion, let alone that it equates to Satanism, Saturnism*** or Stalinism.
They won’t be paying taxes in my lifetime.

***Saturnism, in case you don’t know, is an, um, “unconventional” view of the solar system that contends that Earth was once much closer to Saturn, and that in fact the planet Venus was once a part of Saturn, which was expelled in a catastrophic event that sent it on a disastrous “near-miss” trajectory with Earth ... and that this cataclysm is reflected in various ancient mythologies.

I just ‘made up’ the word to fit the poetry and then just Googled it for kicks.
Yeah, it surprised me too.

And talking of asshats I don’t normally appreciate Will Ferrell but he does a very amusing shrub here.
I liked when he opened the ‘pop-up’ book.

Elwed: the sum total of all religious people are enablers for the asshats

I understand why you want to paint with this brush.  It’s not a good idea though.  Equally applied to all beliefs, you will not like the corner you end up in when you are convicted of enabling others.

Les: Despite appearances at times, I honestly believe those sorts of religious people outnumber the bad ones I write about all the time here on SEB.

Equally applied to all beliefs, you will not like the corner you end up in when you are convicted of enabling others.

I’m neither religious nor did I vote for Bush