Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Anyone who watches NFL football has certainly noticed that the coaches and players have been wearing an awful lot of pink attire this month: shoes, wristbands, towels, caps… The pink gear is one way the NFL has been promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fans interested in participating can purchase pink NFL gear here.

I came across a related story this morning and decided to share it with you, as you’re not likely to come across it yourself unless you’re

a) dieting, and
b) using Sparkpeople to track your diet, fitness and general health.

As it happens, I’ve been doing both of those things for the past year. But, that’s not the point of this post. The point of this post is to encourage you to read an inspiring story of someone who has survived – twice! – breast cancer and is living life to its fullest. After you’ve read it, go do something you love and get some pure joy out of life today.

– the chaplain

 

My Mailbag Overfloweth

This arrived in my email bag today:

Who knew that Jesus Christ had not just one, or two, or even three missions to complete during his alleged tenure on earth?  Who isn’t inspired by a man-god (or is it god-man?) who completed a whopping 27 missions, every one of which was impossible, in a mere 33 years?

Take that, Tom Cruise!

Move over, Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Daniel Craig!

Wham! Bam! Pow! Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and Christian Bale!

Hang up your capes, Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh!

Steven K. Scott thinks Jesus Christ Superstar Superagent Superhero puts your characters to shame.

What do you think? Let me know by voting in the poll and leaving a comment.

– the chaplain

 

Morality Vs. Ideology

This poster is not entirely correct. The issue it should address is ideology generally, not just religion particularly. Religious ideology has been a source of much wrongdoing, one could even say evil, throughout history. And it is still, unfortunately, the source of much harm. But, other ideologies, such as the current American brand of neo-conservativism, also produce great harm. Rationalists and skeptics need to examine critically all sorts of group-thinking, woo and poor reasoning, whether religious, political, economic or something else. Religion is an easy target because it’s overflowing with all of those traits, but it’s not the only target we need to shoot down.

I love critiquing religion as much as the next atheist and probably more than many. Regular readers here know that I’ve got more than a handful of bones to pick with it. Nevertheless, we should aim to identify and express our criticisms precisely and avoid using cute catchphrases that skirt rather than pinpoint our issues. Even though this poster is cute and made me chuckle, it’s not actually useful as a critique, or even a starting point for a critique, of religion. We atheists can and should do better than mimic the antics of sloppy thinkers. Let’s not sink to their level in either our thoughts or our words.

– the chaplain

 

Cue the Violins…

I’ve been dogsitting my son’s Golden Retriever for the past week while my son and his bride have been honeymooning in the Caribbean. As I reached into the dog’s snack box to dig out a treat for her, I noticed the back of the box:

Is that sappy or what? That box should come with a health warning:

WARNING!

Overindulgence in Milk-Bone moments has been scientifically correlated with insulin shock. Use product at your own risk.

Now – please excuse me while I ignore that warning and help myself to another Milk-Bone Moment with the dogs.

– the chaplain