Dr. King: Is the Dream Forgotten?

Today we remember a great American who opened the door to many minorities in this country who were not allowed to advance in society due to race.

Martin Luther King Jr, born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929 was a Baptist minister and social activist who had the courage to stand up to the powers that be at the time.  His father was the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta.  While on a trip to Germany, his father was inspired by the Catholic Augustinian priest and father of the Protestant reformation, Martin Luther.  His inspiration brought him to change his own name to Martin Luther King Sr. as well as that of his son. This is how Martin Luther King Jr. got his name.

Dr. King was a gifted student; so gifted that he was allowed to begin college at age 15 at Morehouse College in 1944.  At first, King Jr. did not want to follow in the pattern of male relatives in his family by becoming a minister. However, the president of Morehouse College, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays who was also a theologian, changed his mind.  King Jr. was then ordained even before completing college with a sociology degree.  He would go on to earn a divinity degree from Pennsylvania Crozer Theological Seminary and a Ph.D in 1955 from Boston University.   Dr. King's great leadership would take him to become a Civil Rights leader.  

As a Civil rights leader, he led many peaceful marches and fought with words against prejudice, segregation and racism.  He was arrested 30 times for this.  Dr. King would gather thousands in marches meant to draw  the attention of other Americans and the global audience regarding segregation in America.  His most famous words are recorded in the "I have a Dream speech."  In this speech he speaks about a future with unity, equality, peace and harmony among all Americans.  Some of that dream has been realized, but we still have a long way to go.  Today many atheists and humanists claim to fight for social justice; however, they were absent during the time of Dr. King. This does not mean they did not march or assist in the awareness of the movement despite not taking leadership roles similar to that of Dr. King.

Being a strong public leader, he was not immune to controversy.  The FBI kept an eye on him not only because of his massive marches, but because of alleged ties to communist groups.  As suspicion surrounded him, so did allegations of adultery.  King was rumored to have an "addiction to women," particularly Caucasian ones.   He was also accused in a book of using his denomination's donations to pay for prostitutes and other vices.  In the 1980's, a study of his dissertation entitled, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman," found that Dr. King had plagiarized someone else's work.

"The readers of King's dissertation, L. Harold DeWolf and S. Paul Schilling, a professor of systematic theology who had recently arrived at Boston University, failed to notice King's problematic use of sources. After reading a draft of the dissertation, DeWolf criticized him for failing to make explicit "presuppositions and norms employed in the critical evaluation," but his comments were largely positive. He commended King for his handling of a "difficult" topic "with broad learning, impressive ability and convincing mastery of the works immediately involved." Schilling found two problems with King's citation practices while reading the draft, but dismissed these as anomalous and praised the dissertation in his Second Reader's report... 

As was true of King's other academic papers, the plagiaries in his dissertation escaped detection in his lifetime. His professors at Boston, like those at Crozer, saw King as an earnest and even gifted student who presented consistent, though evolving, theological identity in his essays, exams and classroom comments. . . .Although the extent of King's plagiaries suggest he knew that he was at least skirting academic norms, the extant documents offer no direct evidence in this matter. Thus he may have simply become convinced, on the basis of his grades at Crozer and Boston, that his papers were sufficiently competent to withstand critical scrutiny. Moreover, King's actions during his early adulthood indicate that he increasingly saw himself as a preacher appropriating theological scholarship rather than as an academic producing such scholarship." - The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. entitled "Rediscovering Precious Values, July 1951-November 1955," Clayborne Carson, Senior Editor. pp. 25-26 of Volume II

"A committee of scholars at Boston University concluded yesterday that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. plagiarized portions of his doctoral dissertation, completed there in the 1950s.
BU provost Jon Westling accepted the panel's recommendation that a letter be attached to King's dissertation in the university library, noting that numerous passages lacked appropriate quotations and citations of sources. The letter was placed in the archives yesterday afternoon, a BU spokesman said.
Westling also accepted the committee's statement that "no thought should be given to the revocation of Dr. King's doctoral degree from Boston University" and the assertion that despite its flaws, the dissertation "makes an intelligent contribution to scholarship."
The investigatory committee, comprising three professors in the BU School of Theology and one from American University, was appointed by Westling last

November after researchers at Stanford said they had discovered numerous instances of plagiarism in King's work as a graduate student.
While there was general agreement that King acted improperly, Clayborne Carson, head of the King Papers Project at Stanford where the plagiarism initially was uncovered, noted that King made no effort to conceal what he was doing, providing grounds for a belief that King was not willfully engaged in wrongdoing.
Westling said in a prepared statement yesterday that it was "impractical to reach, on the available evidence, any conclusions about Dr. King's reasons for failing to attribute some, but not all, of his sources. The committee's findings, although important from the point of view of historical accuracy, do not affect Dr. King's greatness, not do they change the fact that Dr. King made an unequalled contribution to the cause of justice and equal rights in this nation."
John H. Cartwright, a member of the committee and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Social Ethics at BU, said the committee had examined King's dissertation independently of the King Papers Project and "we did find serious improprieties."
The chair Cartwright occupies was created by the Boston University trustees after King's assassination. Cartwright was entering BU as a seminary student when King was finishing his doctorate.
"We had many of the same professors, we worked in the same atmosphere during our graduate studies," Cartwright said, and "under no circumstances would the atmosphere under which he did his work condone what Dr. King did. It's incredible. He was not unaware of the correct procedure. This wasn't just done out of ignorance."
The committee found that King "is responsible for knowingly misappropriating the borrowed materials that he failed to cite or to cite adequately." It found a pattern of appropriation of uncited material "that is a straightforward breach of academic norms and that constitutes plagiarism as commonly understood."
The letter to be attached to King's dissertation, Cartwright pointed out, "indicates there are serious improprieties and points readers to sources where they can find chapter and verse."
The committee found no grounds for charges raised last year that King drew his organization and chapter headings from another person's dissertation. The plagiarism, the panel said, was of passages from the works of philosophers whose concepts of God King was comparing in his work. The dissertation is titled "A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman."
The committee also found no evidence that the professors reviewing King's dissertation had a double standard for African-American students and examined their work less critically than the work of whites. "Standards were applied with equal strictness to black as well as to white students," the panel concluded. "Black as well as white students failed out of the program."
Even though faculty supervision of King's work "failed to detect the large number of uncited borrowings that breached academic norms," the committee also found, the examining professors were not negligent "according to normal standards of supervision." - Boston University investigatory committee conclusion, 1991

However, there are possible reasons why Dr. King plagiarized his work.  Due to the hostile environment against minorities participating in higher education, perhaps he felt compelled to plagiarized in order to have his work looked over and judged fairly.  There is also the possibility that maybe he was not good at structuring a paper since most of the plagiarism discovered was based on lack of citation or attribution which is a common mistake even among students today who forget to add quotations and references.  Officials decided not to revoke his degree posthumously.  Doing so would not make sense since he is deceased and it may bring charges against the college for trying to bring down an American icon.  Ironically, one of his professors at the seminary gave Dr. King a C for public speaking class!  This goes to show that academic grades do not often reflect or judge the capacities of students.  

Moreover, there was also a charge that his "I have a Dream" speech was also plagiarized as there are similar words found in the speech of pastor Archibald Carey given in 1952 at the Republican National Convention.  However, a close examination shows that both used the words of the patriotic hymn by Samuel Francis Smith entitled, "America" which was written in 1932.  

"We, Negro Americans, sing with all loyal Americans:
My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrim's pride From every mountainside Let freedom ring!" - Carey, 1952

"This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrim's pride From every mountainside Let freedom ring!
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire!
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York!
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow capped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi!
From every mountainside, let freedom ring! When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" - Dr. king 1963

Despite all this, his image still remains strong.  As with any human leader, personal faults and mistakes are common.  Even the great Biblical heroes made mistakes.  This did not disqualify them from the great work that God accomplished in them.  The same applies to Dr. King.  King was eventually assassinated on April 4, 1968. However his death would not bring an end to the quest for Civil rights.  Segregation is now a thing of the past. Before, there were separate water fountains, separate schools for whites and blacks.  Blacks even had to sit in the back of the bus or give up their seat to white people.  Today that is all gone. Many African Americans have risen the ladder of success and in 2008 the first African American President was elected.  Credit must also be given to Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a bus where Caucasians had the right to sit in the front and African Americans did not.  This was what brought Dr. King publicity when he became the spokesman for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  He was relatively unknown prior to this role.  In 1964, he would be the youngest at the time to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35.  

In 2011, a large memorial was opened in Washington D.C in honor of Dr. King.  He will forever be remembered as a great American and the only African American to be memorialized via stone along with Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Jefferson.  Dr. King is the only American to have his birthday celebrated as a federal holiday alongside our first President, George Washington.

Though not a Catholic, Dr. King was instrumental in bringing Civil rights to African Americans and other minorities who reside in the United States of America.  He was not a perfect man, nevertheless, his personal weaknesses cannot rob him of the great work he did in the name of justice, unity, and equality for all.  Today there are still problems with race in America.  There seems to be a discrepancy with the number of minorities who graduate from school and have successful jobs when compared to the majority.  The recent killings of young African Americans by Caucasian police have reminding America of the problem of racial profiling.  Moreover, some African Americans in the entertainment business seem to propagate the view that African Americans must carry the urban-ghetto social script in order to be respected in their communities as "real Black" people.  Words such as "nigga" and the like are still being used by some younger African Americans which ignore the horrible realities attached to those words.  It seems the "Dream" has been forgotten.  I for one still have hope that we will see Dr. King's dream realized into full completion and with sincerity.

May Dr. King's dream be realized fully soon.  May we all realize that we are all God's children regardless of gender, race, or religion.








Sources:

The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. entitled "Rediscovering Precious Values, July 1951-November 1955," Clayborne Carson, Senior Editor. pp. 25-26 of Volume II Retrieved 2015-01-17

Carson, Clayborne (1993). George Bornstein and Ralph G. Williams, ed. "Editing Martin Luther King, Jr.: Political and Scholarly Issues". Palimpsest: Editorial Theory in the Humanities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press): 305–316. Retrieved 2015-01-17

"Boston University". King Encyclopedia. Stanford University. Retrieved 2015-01-16.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itQq3mzSXwg  Retrieved 2015-01-17

Hansen, D. D. (2003). The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech that Inspired a Nation. New York, NY: Harper Collins. p. 108. Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/11/us/boston-u-panel-finds-plagiarism-by-dr-king.html Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://www.garynorth.com/public/335.cfm Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-martin-luther-king-jr Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://web.archive.org/web/20080205092412/http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/popular_requests/faq.htm Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://news.yahoo.com/five-interesting-facts-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-112211125.html  Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/ Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://web.archive.org/web/20070810230446/http://chem-gharbison.unl.edu/mlk/thesis.html Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/mlking.asp Retrieved 2015-01-17

http://www.martinlutherking.org/chronology.html Retrieved 2015-01-19

http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/mlks-transcript-crozer-theological-seminary Retrieved 2015-01-19

Teresa the Real Humanist

On this date, a saint received her final reward.  

The Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta born on August 26, 1910 entered into the Lord's glory on September 5, 1997.  Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, Mother Teresa received the call to be a sister in the Loreto order. 

After many years in that order, she received what she called "a call within a call."  She founded the Missionaries of Charity which ministers to the poorest of the poor, first in India and then throughout the globe. 

Mother Teresa is a great example to us all, not just Catholics.  Even Atheists who are curious about God can learn from her.  She too doubted God at times.  This is a normal thing as one advances in the spiritual life.   She is a model of true religious life.  In a time where some women in orders want to use their position to push feminist ideas and strange anti-Catholic rhetoric, Mother Teresa pushed for the praise of Jesus, His love and fidelity to His Catholic Church.  

Like with anyone who does good, she had those who were suspicious of her and showed their hate visibly. One of her vocal critics was the late Christopher Hitchens who called himself a 'humanist' yet never lifted a finger to help human beings.  His record pales in comparison to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  Nevertheless, like a true Christian, Mother Teresa prayed for her haters and continued her work to service the poor without interruption.

May we learn from Mother Teresa and may she pray for us all.   

St. Michael the Archangel

Today is the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel and archangels Rafael and Gabriel.   St. Michael is the angelic being who took a stand against Lucifer. He defended God by exclaiming, "Who is like God."  The name "Michael" means exactly that.

Let us pray to St. Michael to help us defeat Lucifer whose pride forced him to equate himself to God.  Human beings are falling for this pride as well.  We have learned about the natural world and can manipulate it.  These achievements have gone to the head of some human beings into thinking we are God - the be all end all of the universe.  This pride is the source of ideas regarding when a person is a "person," the revision of marriage between a man and woman, the pollution and harm done to the Earth, the creation of harmful weapons, technologies that do harm to the planet and its living organism, and so on.  

St. Michael - Long Prayer:

“O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan.

“Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

“These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be.

“Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered the root of David.
V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
R. As we have hoped in Thee.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

Let us pray.O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as supplicants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious St. Michael the Archangel, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all the other unclean spirits who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Roman Raccolta, July 23, 1898, supplement approved July 31, 1902,
London: Burnes, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1935, 12th edition.

Reason Rally

The circus was in town today at Washington DC... well not the circus we're used to seeing, but one of so-called "rationalists."  On March 24, 2012, about 6000 Atheists, Secularists and Agnostics gathered at the mall to hold their "Reason Rally."

Anyone who saw the rally would noticed that it was more of a circus than a convention of intelligent honest people.  The rally had all kinds of people holding ridiculous signs exhibiting theophobia, paranoia, anger and hatred.

It had speakers such as Richard Dawkins, the so called "friendly Atheist" Hemant Mehta, impressionable youth such as Jessica Ahlquist who was given a check for scholarship money in the currency which says "In God we trust.  Videos were even sent in by Bill Maher and others.

Richard Dawkins as usual voiced his hatred toward religious people and called for the crowds to mock and harass them.  Hemant Mehta encouraged the crowd to obtain positions of authority in order to spread the message of Atheism and "Reason."

The rhetoric was clear:  Let us attack everyone with religious beliefs and take those beliefs away by aggressive means and replace them with our beliefs.

The rally had virtually no media coverage and was even mocked by many well known media personalities and rightfully so.  This rally was nothing but a circus of clowns and performers.  It cannot be taken serious, but must be a reminder that hate is still alive and well.

To tell people to bully, mock and harass others because they believe in God is hate.  This is hateful speech that will incite violence against religious people.  There is nothing rational about this.

Dawkins mocked the idea of Transubstantiation but fails to realize that the idea that a human being evolved from an ape is also far fetched based on the lack of solid evidence that this really happen.

All we have is speculation that this might have happened based on observable changes and similarities among all biological life.

The HAR1 gene is a clear indication of this.  This gene is solely found in human beings and its origin is unknown.  It is the gene that allows our brains to be so advanced as opposed to other animals.   The Higgs Boson is another example.  We think it exists but we can't prove it.  So Dawkins' mockery of religious beliefs is not one sided.  Science has its share of strange and irrational ideas as well.      

"Friendly Atheist" Mehta spoke on the premise that religious belief is a myth.  Yet he offers no reason or proof of this.  This is all speculation again.

We cannot call everything we don't agree with a myth unless we have hard concrete evidence to do so.  This is not rational thinking, but mental sloth.

Mehta is a math teacher and knows very well that numbers do not exist.  There is no such thing as a "1,2,3" etc in the physical universe.  This is an abstract concept made by man to describe quantity.

However, just because numbers do not exist does not mean they are a myth.  We see their representation in tangible objects when counted.  

Moreover, Atheists and others may try to obtain positions of power, but America is a country where the majority hold religious beliefs so it will be extremely hard to reach or hold onto any position of power.  Even if they do reach them, who are they to enforce their beliefs of no-god/no-religion on everyone else?  Isn't this what they accuse religious believers of doing?

The whole rally is an epic fail and has no purpose calling itself rational or for-reason.  It was just a congregation of people who have grievances against God and religion and want attention.  It was a prep rally for the ignorant who hide behind the guise of pseudo rationalism in an attempt to avoid the hard questions of teleology, metaphysics, ontology, science and religion.

Dismissing the questions and ideas of life, purpose and existence is not Reason.  It is intellectual cowardice.

Going around in public like this guy in this photo is not rational.  This is childish immature behavior.

Does this guy look like he can engage anyone in an intellectual discourse regarding teleology, metaphysics, ontology, science and religion?

Imagine if the Pope goes around dressed in Atheism garb in an attempt to mock its beliefs.  Would he have the respect and dignity he enjoys?  No, of course not!

This rally is a waste of time and money.  The latter could have been used to assist the poor and those who are out of a job in these though economic times.  Atheism prides itself in being about the human, but never does anything for the human.  

God and religion are not going anywhere despite these rallies.  Pope Benedict XVI, a true intellectual and rational man can gather hundreds of thousands, even millions in the name of Jesus.  This is proof that faith will always be around no matter the course the world may take.  

Atheism, Agnosticism and Secularism don't offer anything but negation, bitterness and irrational ideas presented as rational.  They are a fraud.  The reality is that there is no real reason not to believe in God.  One side says everything came into existence just to come into existence and the other side says it was an absolute being who caused it for a purpose.  Which sounds more rational to you?  Which makes more sense?  Think about it for a moment.   

Rallies like this are no different than the hateful "God hates f*gs" protests orchestrated by the Westboro Baptist sect.   They attract people such as liberals, progressives, ProChoice/Abortion advocates, gays and others who see egoism as the intended end of the human experience.  Rallies like this serve as a reminder that the delusion of man is god is still alive and must be challenged heavily.   

The rally was entertaining to watch and read about in a comic sense, but no one is listening to the message. We are smarter than this.    

           Source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/reason-rallys-unreasonable-beliefs/2012/03/27/gIQAaVPZeS_blog.html

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2012/03/-atheists-richard-dawkins-reason-rally/1#.T3dx_WEgfyg

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/author/hemant-mehta/

http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=37514

http://www.goddiscussion.com/94848/the-thinking-atheist-asks-why-so-little-news-coverage-of-the-reason-rally/

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/24/why-reason-rally-is-unreasonable/

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-q-a-nate-phelps-20120324,0,4407066.story

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-766329?hpt=hp_bn8

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/reason-rally-nonbelievers_n_1368252.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/reason-rally-on-national-mall/2012/03/23/gIQADzl3WS_blog.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/richard-dawkins-on-the-upcoming-reason-rally-338/2012/03/23/gIQANXnPWS_video.html

Evil Bible

On Twitter and outside in the real world, I have been messaged and confronted by many people.  Some say good things, some ask questions, and some are angry and confrontational.  I will focus on the latter.

Those who are confrontational (mostly Atheists, Humanists, Secularists, Pro Abortion/Choice, Homosexuals, Muslims, Agnostics, and random inquirers) message me regarding the Bible.  They question how it can be God's Word if it is full of "evil and hate."  They cite passages claiming they advocate slavery, infanticide, murder, rape, incest, misogyny, hate, and in a word: evil.


I can relate to their concerns too because as an Atheist at first, I did find the Bible a bit too racy and crazy to be the "Word" of a All knowing, All Good, All Present Supreme Being.  However, I did not knock the Book down, so to speak.  I gave it a chance and let it speak to my rational mind before it spoke to my heart and soul.

To claim that the Bible is Evil is an unfair, biased and uneducated opinion.  This is a conclusion based on poor interpretation of particular texts.  When one reads the Bible in light of the time, language, culture, mind frame of the people, and circumstance in which a particular verse was written, it will be more understandable.  One must not fall into Presentism when interpreting the Bible or any other text that is old.

The Bible is not a "Book" per se.  It is a collection of Books.  The word "Bible" means "books."  It is a collection of 73 books: 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.  Each book was written at different times.  Some chapters within books were also written at different periods.  This is important to know if we are to understand the Bible instead of judging it as hate speech and what not.

We cannot be quick to label people of the past because of how they lived, thought or acted.  Let us take Slavery for example.  In America and other nations, Africans and Indigenous people were used as Slaves.  This was seen as normal.  These people were not people, they were just "livestock."  Even the laws defined them as such.

Take this letter by Trott, S published in 1842 in the Cincinnati Post where Trott is claiming that Slavery is God's will and ending it will harm society and the Slaves themselves.  (http://www.teachushistory.org/second-great-awakening-age-reform/resources/pro-slavery-letter-s-trott)  More info can be found here: http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/613

One can find many articles, books, and writings of people both well known and common who supported Slavery. Many were outspoken against those who wanted the Slaves free, or the Abolitionists.

Here is an ad warning Citizens of the Abolitionists.  

Here is another inviting people to a meeting to stop the "evil and fanaticism" called Abolitionism. 

As you can see, the movement to free Slaves was seen as dangerous, fanatical and evil.  Many warnings were published.  

If that is not bad enough, here is an ad requesting that a runaway Slave described as "Negro Boy Joel" be found for a reward of 5 Dollars:

Now one who has never heard of this past and is reading it for the first time might say, "what the heck is this??? These people are evil, ignorant, hateful, and racist."  

Others might say, "They published an ad to find a Slave teen boy for a reward of 5 bucks???!??"  

After this culture shock they can take one of two positions:

• This nation is evil, ridiculous, hateful, primitive and must be destroyed.

OR

• This is the past. This is how people saw each other and things.  We cannot judge them for their ignorance at the time or how they interpreted life.

An educated rational person who does research in History will take the latter position.  Yes this was the past.  This was how people saw each other and things in life.  We must interpret their ads, writings and behavior in light of their time, their culture, and circumstance.  

Now, the same must be done with the Bible.  When one reads it in context, then it will not be the "Evil Bible," but the Bible that is the Word of God in the language and experience of Man.  

Clowns with a Frown

Clowns are often used to entertain children or grown ups. They do silly things, say silly things and make us chuckle and laugh.  However, clowns are not limited to people dressed in funny costumes with red noses and make up.  Clowns are everywhere.  Atheism is not immune to this.

Atheists often cite bogus claims that the majority of scientists and inventors are atheist.  That is not true.  It is propaganda used to give the false idea that some how those who reject God are rational and progress scientifically and intellectually.  History shows that the majority of scientific minds were theists.  Modern science and the scientific method was developed by the Catholic Church.  

Yes we can find atheists in science today, but the claim that all or most scientists are atheists is erroneous.  In the book, "Science vs Religion - What Scientists Really Think"  nearly 2,000 scientists were approached and the conclusion was reached that not all were atheists.  A large portion were theists, the others were Apatheists who did not focus on religious tenets personally but try to bridge faith and science in order to better society.  A small minority were apprehensive and hostile towards religion.

Atheism has no exclusive claim over the sciences or intellectualism  Those that do claim this are the Clowns who Frown.  That is to say, they are the ones who go around spewing bigotry in the name of science and rationalism while at the same time entertaining us all with their nonsensical rants.

Here are some I can think of:


George Carlin

If you have not heard of this guy, he was a clown in real life, or a comedian.  He made a living telling crude hateful jokes at the expense of other people.  His only audience was the young rebellious crowd.  Though being Catholic and going to Catholic school, Carlin had deep hatred towards God and religion.

While watching his stand up on Youtube I didn't see humor in his act, but hurt.  He seems to mask some deep hurt by attacking God and religion.  I can only assume that perhaps because he had a rough childhood and attended the strict Catholic school system during the time of his youth, he grew up angry.  Priests, Sisters, Brothers and lay teachers were often heavy disciplinarians and it is understandable why a youth would grow up angry, especially towards God and religion.  He and his mother did not have a great relationship from what I've read. Carlin attended Cardinal Hayes high school for a while, a high school that is rumored to be a breeding ground for dissent from Catholicism.  I've heard complaints that teachers use sexual innuendos to teach subjects and also promote homosexuality and other progressive views.  Carlin is deceased now.  I hope he found God at death again and answers as to why his life was what it was when he finally saw God face to face as he saw the Sun from Earth.  


Penn Jillette 

This guy is another comedian and magician who also calls himself an atheist and uses sarcasm to present his anger towards God and religion.   Ironically he is a graduated of a Clown school.

He strictly believes there is no God.  Despite his strong words in defense of Atheism, Penn supposedly was thankful for a fan who gave him a Gideon Bible.






Bill Maher 

Another comedian who was raised Catholic and had a Jewish mother.  Supposedly his father stopped practicing due to the Catholic Church's teachings on sexuality and procreation.
Maher is often seen on TV bashing religion and making sarcastic remarks about God, prayer and other religious themes.  Just like with Carlin, I also see deep pain in this guy.
Most of his rants are comical and have no intellectual basis.  He pretends to sound intelligent by misrepresenting Christianity, Faith and God with his use of comedy.   He refers himself as an Apatheist, but his words are atheistic in nature.   Like a Clown with a Frown he goes about trying to be funny but spewing hate and anger instead.



Richard Dawkins

This one is probably the most infamous of all Atheists.  He is a trained Biologist and self proclaimed Humanist.    In 2006 he wrote "God delusion," a book that reads more like an outline of why he does not believe, rather than actually explaining or describing God as a delusion.

 Book reviewers have describe the book as using "sloppy logic," incoherent prose with some parts of it showing immaturity and mockery.

Dawkins is vocal about atheism, but not as powerful as Madalyn Murray O' Hair who was always in court trying to make God illegal in America.  His most aggressive attempt to get attention for the Atheism cause was when he attempted to get Pope Benedict XVI arrested for Crimes against Humanity when the Pope visited Britain.   This of course was a failure and backfired on him because there is no way to prosecute a Pope since the Pope answers to no one except God; nor is there evidence that the Catholic Church endorses crimes against humanity.



I applaud all these men for trying to look out for the well being of all humanity; however, their anger and hate is something that is troubling.  As a former Atheist and now Catholic, I know not everyone is going to believe or think as me, nevertheless, I expect rational people to speak their minds in a rational and respectful manner.

Once you spew hate either for Atheism or God, you lose credibility.

• How can a Christian 'love a neighbor as himself' when he or she shows hate?  

• How can an Atheist or Humanist be for humanity if he or she shows hate?   

It is time for these Clowns with a Frown to realize that we are all in this world together and must care for one another.  Our minds may not send the same signals in regards to God, but the Theist and Atheist heart beats the same beat of life.  Let's march on to that beat and build a world where we can co-exist in peace and harmony.

Let Theists and Atheists preach Tolerance, Peace and Justice.