The Catholic Church Exposed

If you follow me you know that I have shown that science has falsified Christianity, including Catholicism (It begins at the beginning, folks: link). What you may not know is that conservative Catholicism is essentially Evangelical Protestantism with the veneer of reason and education. Why do I say that? The 60-minute video below includes the highlights of the US Catholic Bishops' Fall Meeting that was held this week in Baltimore. In such, the following points were made:

• The majority of the Bishops agreed with the statement that "Abortion is the preeminent issue we face in the USA." Really? Worse than what is happening at our southern border? Worse than what Trump is doing (or not doing)? Worse than what his cabinet is doing (or not doing)? Worse than what the courts are doing? Worse than the homeless crisis? Worse than the affordability and access to healthcare for millions? Worse than the debt crisis that is going to end with a recession if not a depression? Worse than the effects of climate change? Not one word about the bodily autonomy rights of the women in the discussion.

• The tone of the conference was supportive of Trump and his policies.

Actually, these Bishops are only promulgating the Dogmas of the Catholic Church. Catholics are obligated to support all of them!! Ironically, most Catholic apologists believe that their "Faith" (belief without evidence) and science are compatible and most Catholics don't realize their "obligations" as a Catholic.

(NOTE: This doesn't even mention the sex scandals, and it's financial and corruption scandals that could be attenuated with governmental accountability that secular non-profits have to abide by.)

World Over - 2019-11-14 - Full Episode with Raymond Arroyo

The "Virgin Mary" Debunked

One of the major Dogmas of Christianity, especially within conservative Protestantism and Devout Catholicism, is the virgin birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The links below are just two of many documentations of the probability that there was a misunderstanding of a translation of the Greek Old Testament:

Isaiah 7:14: The "Virgin" Birth?

" - - - the original Hebrew text of Isaiah never prophesied a virgin birth, only that a young woman would bear a child."

Wikipedia Isaiah 7:14: "The book of Isaiah was the most popular of all the prophetic books among the earliest Christians—it accounts for more than half the allusions and quotations in the New Testament and over half the quotations attributed to Jesus himself, and the Gospel of Matthew, in particular, presents Jesus's ministry as largely the fulfillment of prophecies from Isaiah.^[15] In the time of Jesus, however, the Jews of Palestine no longer spoke Hebrew, and Isaiah had to be translated into Greek and Aramaic, the two commonly used languages.^[15] In the original Hebrew of Isaiah 7:14 the word almah meant a young woman of childbearing age who had not yet given birth; however the Greek translation, the Septuagint, rendered it as parthenos, a word which means virgin.^[4] This gave the author of Matthew the opportunity to interpret Jesus as the fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy: Jesus becomes God is with us (Matthew 1:23), the divine representative on earth, and Matthew further identifies Jesus with the Immanuel born to a parthenos by asserting that Joseph did not have sexual intercourse with Mary before she gave birth (Matthew 1:25).^[4] "

Click here for more.

Exorcism And The Rise In Demonic Possession

"Why is the demand for exorcism on the rise? We discuss the belief in demonic possession, the concurrent rise of anti-science attitudes, the cultural role of religious psychology, and the evolutionary origins of demons."

Keep in mind that the Catholic Church is the most progressive religion regarding respect for science and they hold on to this harmful dogma.

Counter Apologetics: CA64 Exorcism And The Rise In Demonic Possession

What To Make Of "Eucharistic Miracles"?

If you are not Catholic, this term may not be known to you. If so, here is a link explaining eucharistic miracles.

To clarify, A miracle is an event not explicable by natural or scientific laws. Such an event may be attributed to a supernatural being (especially a deity), magic, a miracle worker, a saint, or a religious leader. (link). So, for science to accept ANY miracle is a very high bar indeed (link, link). For further information on miracles in general, here is a link to all of my posts addressing the topic. 

Now, let's look at some of the many examples of supposed eucharistic miracles. Below are several links in support of these phenomena:

Christopher Columbus: Hero Or Monster?

Anyone paying attention to the media during Columbus Day will note that there has been a noticeable change in public opinion regarding the character of Christopher Columbus. Below please find links to some representative examples of different perceptions of the man and his motives:

The typical Catholic whitewashing

Was Christopher Columbus a Hero or Villain?

9 reasons Christopher Columbus was a murderer, tyrant, and scoundrel

Columbus and Genocide

Coard: Five facts proving Columbus was one of history's worst monsters

10 Facts About Christopher Columbus

11 Christopher Columbus Facts That Most Of Us Learned - But Are Totally Wrong

The Truth of Christopher Columbus

Please note that only the first link overlooks the truth. Ironically, the Catholic Church constantly promotes itself as "The Truth."

The Catholic Church And Science

The following article is a stark revelation (pun intended) of how buried in superstition and dogma the Catholic Church is. As a former Devout Catholic who has studied most major religions, the Catholic Church is the most accepting of science. However, I find the title of the article ironic. When you read it you will understand why.

The Science of Angels

How NOT To Handle a Christian

I just finished a lengthy several-day email interaction with a committed Catholic. Sadly, I got sucked into his bullshit. Do not ever do what I did with him: allow him to control the conversation. Here is the lengthy conversation:

Magical vs Scientific Thinking

I am going back and forth with a Catholic who is having difficulty following me on the difference between magical vs. scientific thinking. This link clarifies it pretty well.

Original Sin: Talk about Difficult To Defend

The Catholic Church should be embarrassed over this Dogma. Even this child questioned the apologist’s initial answer. ANY thinking person can see the answer was just pulled out of his ass. Hello??? Science has not only falsified Original Sin, but also an independent soul. SMH

How Do We Know Adam And Eve Existed?

Former Atheists Who Are Now Catholics

As anyone who knows and/or follows me knows, I was more Catholic than the Pope most of my 73 years. The internet "Saved" me from the bullshit of religion. Since leaving the Catholic Church, I have been following and interacting on several Catholic websites. One, in particular, is EWTN.com.

On this website is a section that highlights folks coming to the Catholic faith from other worldviews. I have commented on a few former atheist's entries regarding how they could possibly go in the opposite direction as me. Reading their testimonies, the consistent finding was that they had a crisis and, instead of studying why most of us are atheists, they went with their feelings and the influence of those around them. Sad.

What I really learned from this effort is that, even though we atheists are a small minority, many are not science-based thinkers. Perhaps we should be spending more time proselytizing our own toward science-based thinking.

Note to atheists who are not science-based thinkers: Theism is Incoherent.

What do you think?

(Pixabay)

AGAIN, One Does NOT Have To Be Religious To Be Good

The following classical blog post by Atheist Revolution of over 10 years ago made some important points that most theists are not aware of even today. Thus, the need to re-post it.

Secular Humanism Involves Compassion Too

 

Simple Logic Against The Religious Infringing on the US 1st Amendment

1) The USA Constitutionally is a SECULAR government (link).
2) The SECULAR government MUST make decisions based on reason and science ONLY.
3) The Evangelicals and the Conservative Catholics want to insert their dogma into our SECULAR government.
4) mic drop.

Even Pro-Lifers Can See The Difference

"But hardly anyone truly regards having an abortion as equal in evil to killing an adult or a child. Hardly anyone thinks a woman who has an abortion belongs in a cell next to a guy who strangles his child."

I don't think abortion is murder, and neither do you

Science-based thinker:

Conception is uniting of egg and sperm from two people. During each ovulation cycle, many eggs and perhaps a conception are rejected by women each month. There are no characteristics of a person within a conception. If one or more of these conceptions are implanted in the uterus of a woman, the woman, since she has bodily autonomy, can choose whether to bring this tissue to the point of personhood.

Magical thinker:

This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrdTy58cJro&t=0s&list=WL&index=41

Don't accept the propaganda from the pro-lifers: most women who have first trimester abortions are okay.

The FACTS around the laws in the USA regarding abortion that every Pro-Choice proponent needs to know.

Abortion and the "Sanctity of Life"

Man Shuts Down Anti-Abortion Argument

Abortion rate less now than before Roe v. Wade

Making Stuff Up For 2,000 Years

Anyone who has studied religions knows that one of the most dogmatic religions is the Catholic Church, with its volumes of promulgations concerning do's and don't's, as well as claims on reality.  Following are several examples from YouTube videos produced by a major Catholic apologetic source called "Catholic Answers." As you view this representative collection, please keep one question in mind, "How do they know that is true, where is the evidence?"

A Deeper Look Into Original Sin

I have made 3 prior posts on the dogma of Original Sin.  I have essentially falsified all Abrahamic religions by doing so.  However, in my interactions with Christians on their websites, I can't seem to break through their dogma.  In light of such, I have searched the internet for more in depth analysis of this topic.  Below is a summary of my result. If you still think that the literal interpretation of Genesis is relatively recent and only within Fundamentalist Christianity, please tell me why the Catholic Church (the MAIN Christian authority at the time) attacked Galileo for challenging Genesis' account of the relationship between the Earth and the Sun.  The writers, while using some metaphorical wording, were clearing writing history from their POV.

Note that even the pre-Abrahamic religions has stories of Original Sin and also assumed that they were literal.

This exposes the folly of religious apologists in attempting to explain away Original Sin as metaphorical.

Exposing the pretzel-twisting of Catholics (the best of Christians accepting science) on the subject, a perfect example of coming to a conclusion first, then struggling to support it.  This is not science, but apologetics.

The religious apply science and evidence when it helps their claims, but ignore it when it doesn't, such as regarding human origins and sex/gender realities.

A final piece of reality:  religious people do not act better than the non-religious.  Therefore, "Original Sin", and the need for a "Redeemer" to be "Saved", does not make sense.

Abortion: Not A Biblical Or Moral Issue, But A Political Issue

"In continuing to support Donald Trump simply because he says he will outlaw abortion (as if he even could), evangelical Christians have effectively given up their right to speak to moral issues in American life. Five decades of well-coordinated political action has programmed them to draw a line in the sand over issues about which the Bible says virtually nothing, even while turning a deaf ear to the cries of the less fortunate, the marginalized poor and the socially disadvantaged in our country (something Bible speaks about voluminously).

What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?

The Hypocrisy Of "Pro-Life" Proponents

The following article highlights the incongruity of those religious dogmatists who rail against abortion but are insensitive to actual persons.  The fact is that there is a direct relationship between those who call themselves "pro-life" and those who actively work against providing life-saving healthcare for the poor.

If you are reading this with criticism, please consider the following points:

• The growing uterine life does not have all the features of a human person from the moment of conception, thus, is really a potential person throughout most of its uterine existence.
• The pregnant women has the right of bodily autonomy.
• There is no evidence for an un-embodied "soul", much less its presence at the moment of conception.
• The vast majority of fertilized eggs are flushed down the toilet.  If you believe the dogma of the religious conservatives, God is the greatest abortionist.

Poor die without N.C. Medicaid expansion

An honest look at abortion statistics

Whether It's Baking A Cake Or Saving A Life, If You Can't Provide The Service, GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS!!!

The spread of Catholic hospitals has created an evil within the US healthcare system.

The expanding Catholic healthcare system in America, and the invidious restrictions that places on women’s healthcare.

Belief In Demonic Possession And Exorcism Causes Real Harm

"I think the question is relevant because we see so many examples of the damage caused by belief in demons and exorcism. We see how such beliefs fueled cruel treatment of the mentally ill, and it should make us nervous that the Catholic Church is still pushing this stuff."

 Link

More "food for thought:"

http://www.csicop.org/si/show/exorcism_driving_out_the_nonsense

Exorcism: Facts and Fiction about Demonic Possession 

We never hear about an atheist being possessed and then healed by exorcism.

A Psychiatrist Falls for Exorcism

What To Expect In The USA If Catholic and Evangelical Christians Win: Vote Wisely

"As I’ve mentioned several times before, Poland was set to enact, though its legislature, the most stringent anti-abortion law in Europe, forbidding all abortions, including those resulting from rape or incest, or when the mother’s life was endangered. Further, all abortions would have been crimes, punishable by up to five years in prison—presumably for both the woman and her doctor. Right now, those specific abortions are legal in Poland, though “normal” abortions aren’t. Two days ago, on “Black Monday,” thousands of Polish women went on strike, donned black clothing and, with sympathetic men, demonstrated against their right-wing, Catholic-dominated government in cities throughout Poland."

 Poland backs off its attempt to criminalize all abortions