The danger with using God’s name to pursue secular goals is that it begs more questions than answers. It clouds rationality. It is used as a cover up and is often a conspiracy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Janet being politically ambitious.
It is her God-given right, but the same God requires forthright, honest and clear articulation of that right, which is also constitutional and inherent in Uganda.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Secular Government
Levi Ochieng in the Daily Monitor Janet should be honest to God and to us
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
WHY AM AN ATHEIST
Today 17th March 2009,It is nine years today since the horrible and devastating Kanungu massacre occurred.
On that fateful day, about 500 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God were burnt to death in Kinkizi county in the south-western Uganda district of Kanungu, about 50km from Rukungiri town. The victims were doused with petrol and paraffin, before being set ablaze.
Days after the inferno, six more bodies were discovered in a pit at the residence of the church leaders. Yet another 494 bodies would be found days later, under the cult’s buildings in Buhinga, Rutoma and Rukungiri.
Other buildings and mass graves were found at Rugazi, Bunyaruguru, Rushojwa and Buziga in Kampala. Pathologists’ reports showed that many of the victims were clubbed, strangled or hacked to death.
It was also believed that some of them could have been poisoned. The cult was headed by self-styled prophet, Joseph Kibwetere and ex-Roman Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Dominic Kataribaho, Credonia Mwerinde and John Kamagara. Area residents said Kibwetere had collected money from believers for a trip to Europe, in quest of a replica of the Biblical Noah’s Ark.
Two days to the massacre, the residents said, the cult members had thrown a big party for themselves. They also gathered their personal belongings and those of the church and set them ablaze in the middle of the camp. The following day, they toured the villages bidding farewell to their friends and neighbours
The sect was registered under the NGO Statute in 1997 to carry countrywide activities to observe the Ten Commandments, preach the word of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary and provide education and health care. Well, it is close to a decade since, but nothing has yielded from condemnations and warrants of arrest issued for the leaders.
Their whereabouts is to date not known, or at least is not in the public domain. Days after the massacre, President Yoweri Museveni vowed that the Government would intensify the hunt for the cult leaders after he inspected the scene. “Forget this scandal and concentrate on building your families and improving your incomes. We shall arrest those people if they are still alive,” Museveni, said then.
The then second deputy premier and internal affairs minister, Moses Ali, in December 2000 appointed Justice Augustus Kania to head a committee to probe the massacre. But to date, the report has never been released. The massacre scene has been eaten up by a bush and unlike in the past when the place was guarded, these days it is abandoned. So, will justice also be engulfed by the ‘bushes’ as years go by? Only time will tell.
There's so many trouble's in Uganda today and millions of Ugandans continue to ask God to save them,am Atheist and i usually laugh loud for them.Here are the reasons why am Atheist.
Many people, famous and not so famous, have written at length on this title. Having read quite a number,I had never therein found another one's reasons to be sufficient in explanation.Perhaps being an Atheist is a personal choice of multiple paths or it may be that sufficient inward motivation to explain oneself has not been properly utilized.
There may be a cacophony of experiences in life which lead to an Atheistic outlook being adopted but, considering the varying degrees of ostracism which go with the territory, a deeper and more meaningful state of mind must be inherent in the whole process.If this were not the case reversion would be a far bigger percentage outcome than reality shows.Once an Atheist on intellectual grounds, always an Atheist.
"An unexamined life is not liveable for a human being," said Socrates in his own defense when charged with impiety.I agree, and lament the lack of philosophical studies in many schools. Questioning our personal attitudes and ideas from time to time, and consciously subjecting them to the spotlight of reason and logic,can prevent us lapsing into lazy acceptance of corrupt and dogmatic ideas and values imposed by those who would rule and control us.
My unbelief began at the age of 18, when I caught my Christian mentor slipping out of his Father Christmas costume. Having learned there was no Santa Claus, it was no great leap to also dismiss fairies, elves, goblins and other supernatural creatures. This was somewhat of a relief, I recall, as it increased my enjoyment of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Superman, Captain Marvel and other tales involving magical phenomena over the years, because I wasn’t obliged to believe in them.
Such fables are a painless method of instilling values, certainly more exciting than the Baptist Sunday school and bible class which, to please my American Missionary mentor, I attended until I left the congregation, before he disowned me, despite considering the teachers to be somewhat pathetic.
As Nobel Prize-winning author André Gide wrote: "The closer you get to religion, the further you get from reality." Unfortunately, I grew up seeing dogma, as a guide to good living and blessings.I see many people who believe in this dying with frustration and rejection from God since no answers being delivered after years of praying!
By the time I was 22, mere unbelief had become full-blooded atheism because I'd realised that the purpose of religion is control, and the earlier the indoctrination starts, the more mind control religions have. "Give us a child until he is four and you can do what you like with him thereafter; he will always be ours!" say the Jesuits with good reason.
Religions control their ‘flock’ by the use of fear – psychological and physical.
1. Psychological fear: By taking natural instincts such as sexuality, dancing, pleasure in eating… and declaring them to be ‘sins’, control is asserted.This is psychological torment for those who believe,and in the worst cases can result in self-abuse and suicide as the "guilty" attempt to propitiate a demanding, frightening and jealous god.This guilt is reinforced through fear of excommunication and punishment after death in hell, all at the whim of an ever-watchful and omnipotent god who knows everything, even what you’re thinking!!!
"Be afraid , be very afraid. You will be tortured by the devil for eternity unless you obey god’s will." The fact that god’s will is by no means clear,having been ‘interpreted’ in a multitude of ways by imperfect humans,and that there’s no basis either in reason or reality for these scenarios doesn’t bother the priests and ministers. "Have faith!" they cry. "God works in mysterious ways…." "god will be angry if you question his commands."
You have to admit it’s a very cunning trick. Not only is everyone born sinful, but they can never liberate themselves from that dreadful state.Even death doesn’t secure release. Unless one has abided by the church’s or mosque's rules,after death there will be torture, pain, and misery for eternity. Truly, the Judeo/Christian/Muslim religions are among the most sadistic creeds ever invented for the psychological enslavement of humankind.
2. Fear of physical force: Those who weren’t taken in by fear of an invisible warlord in the sky, have to be persuaded with less subtle means through the real and present fear of torture, burning at the stake, the imposition of fines, confiscation of property and goods, physically painful penitence,See whats happening in Uganda?The robbing has its foundation in religious centers.
It is a damning indictment of humanity that with few exceptions the fear of force has been the major method of control used throughout human history by both religious and secular rulers, and remains the preferred ,indeed virtually the only method of ‘people control’ in all countries of the world.
Two other methods of control, Temptation and Reason, are seldom used by either religious or secular governments.
Temptation: The makers of consumer goods use temptation to make people consume their products but revert to fear of force when dealing with their workforce.
Reason: It was hoped by [mainly French] thinkers in the 1700’s that if people were educated they would use Reason and Logic and Commonsense to see the world as it is, and would behave ‘well’ because that’s the sensible, kind, non wasteful, peaceful, productive thing to do. For various reasons, not least among them the overweening influence of religion, that hasn’t worked.
There are and always have been a small percentage of humans who have used reason,logic and common sense to govern their lives, and invariably [inevitably perhaps] they have denied the existence of supernatural gods and monsters.
Everything existing in our world must be considered "natural", therefore the supernatural cannot exist on earth because if it did then it would be natural-not supernatural — and available to our senses – we’d be able to see or hear or smell or touch or taste it.
This proposition holds no sway with more than half of the citizens of the USA [and probably many people in developing World like Uganda] however, who, according to surveys, believe in the reality of witches, spells, vampires, angels, and extraterrestrials living among us, despite there never having been a case where they have been seen, heard smelled etc...........................
In other words despite a total lack of believable evidence.The following quote has been attributed to Charles Darwin’s father: Whoever wrote it, it makes excellent sense.
"Man is an eating animal, drinking animal and a sleeping animal and one placed in a material world, which alone furnishes the entire human animal can desire. He is gifted besides with knowing faculties,to practically explore and to apply the resources of the world to his use. These are realities. All else is nothing; - conscience and sentiment are mere figments of the imagination.Man has but five gates of knowledge, the five senses, he can know nothing but through them; all else is vain fancy. And as for the being of a god,the existence of a soul, or of a world to come, who can know anything about them? Depend upon it… these are only the bugbears by which men of sense govern fools; nothing is real that is not an object of sense”.
My metamorphosis from a ‘live and let live’ atheist to a rabid antagonist of religion came with the realisation that the objective of all religions is a desire to create a state in which their prejudices are enforced. Anyone who thinks the Taliban are unusual in this regard should think again. Blood is spilt daily all over the planet in the fight for religious control over the minds and bodies of the inhabitants. Ireland,Philippines,Ivory coast,Angola,Somalia,Kenya,Togo,
Nigeria,USA,China,Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon,Uganda,Somalia and many more...........................
And past atrocities perpetrated by colonialists on the indigenous inhabitants of all countries with the tacit approval of religion, continue to haunt society in broken lives, drug abuse, impoverishment and misery.
Every year in Uganda and many African countries, dozens of men are murdered and thousands suffer abuse ranging from bullying to grievous bodily harm and permanent maiming as a direct result of religious teaching. And hundreds, if not thousands of boys are thrown onto the streets to live ‘rough’ by parents who are simply obeying the teachings of religion. These two years,we are seeing a great number of human sucrifice to please divine powers wherever they are.
Many succumb to disease, brutality, prostitution… and when you pass on the streets of Kampala and Nairobi, you will be greeted by thousands of street people as a result.
Both the Uganda and the USA governments are controlled by ‘devout’ Christians who see nothing wrong with lying to their constituents and waging war on innocent people, destroying civilizations, murdering, maiming and degrading the environment for economic gain.And it is the Fundamentalist Christian/Zionist certainty that heaven will not arrive on earth until there’s a Zionist state encompassing most of what we call the Middle East that ensures ongoing horror in Palestine…
History offers us a continuum of atrocities in the name of religion - wars,torture,murder,maimings,witch-hunts,incineration,the "Children’s Crusades" when thousands of homeless, unwanted kids as young as five were forced to walk, barefoot to Mediterranean ports from all across Europe, piled onto leaky ships and sent to the ‘holy land’ to fight the heathens.
All died horrible deaths of loneliness, starvation, drowning, disease, rape, abuse, slavery… in the name of a loving god. And anyone who cares to look at the lives of such sadistic monsters as St. Dominic and his henchman Torquemada, Calvin, Knox and the Borgia popes, or the perfidy of the Jesuits,to mention only a few of the millions of treacherous men and women who, in the name of their god have committed ghastly crimes against humanity, must, if they have a heart, weep.
And when I consider the unimaginable oceans of misery heaped on the indigenous people of The Americas, Africa, Australasia… with the blessing and assistance of the churches, my flesh creeps.
Christianity and Islam are death cults ,you must die to attain everlasting life. Human sacrifice on crosses… Sacrifice yourself for god! Inevitably and tragically this will end with the sacrifice of all life because of religious insistence on human supremacy/dominion over nature.
People who have spent time with animals in their natural state know that humans are simply animals.We are not better at providing for ourselves.We are not happier, more contented, more peacefully inclined.We do not respect other humans more than other animals respect each other; we are not more generous, caring or thoughtful.
Don't get me wrong,there are some great individuals who are struggling to make lives of other's better than well!
In general, human marriages are no longer-lasting than the matings of many other animals and birds.We do not treat or educate our offspring as well as most animals.And, instead of living in harmony with the natural world, our tool-making skills have enabled us change it to the point where there are hundreds of extinctions daily and it is more than likely we will soon render ourselves extinct.
Christians,Moslems and all other religious denominations insist that theirs is a "God of Love". When asked why this loving god allows dreadful things to happen to his ‘children’, they answer: "It’s to test you.To see if you can overcome your affliction and be worthy of god’s love." In other words, god allows people to go around maiming, laming, murdering and spreading dread-diseases, and sends plagues, pestilence, war and death - to test his flock! To see if they are worthy of his love… A god that organises his own ‘snuff’ movies -chilling!
Perhaps "believers" should exercise their minds on the following proposition rather than condemn a raped woman for having an abortion are we have been observing the Catholic church both in Uganda and Brazil!
If god is all-wise and all-powerful he has the power to arrange things better. If he chooses not to, then he’s the personification of evil.A creature so horrible that only the truly depraved would follow.
If, on the other hand, he isn’t all-wise and all-powerful, then he’s not worth following.
Those with minds uncluttered by fear of gods and monsters can accept that ‘life’ has no ‘meaning’ per se. ‘Life’ simply is, and we can either accept it gratefully and make the most of it, or waste it in the pursuit of false desires.
Without gods there’s no imposition of ‘right’ ways to live, but that doesn’t deny ‘good’ and ‘bad’. There are universal values for good such as decency, fairness, compassion… but they’ve been common to all humans in all ages.They are not the invention of religion.
I am responsible for my life and I’ll make it as worthwhile as I’m able. It’s up to me. And when I die, that’s it. That’s what makes life precious. That’s what makes life bearable. That’s why it’s important to live as ‘good’ a life as possible.
QUITSTORM
You can also visit this link below
Bhagat Singh on Why I Am An Atheist?
On that fateful day, about 500 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God were burnt to death in Kinkizi county in the south-western Uganda district of Kanungu, about 50km from Rukungiri town. The victims were doused with petrol and paraffin, before being set ablaze.
Days after the inferno, six more bodies were discovered in a pit at the residence of the church leaders. Yet another 494 bodies would be found days later, under the cult’s buildings in Buhinga, Rutoma and Rukungiri.
Other buildings and mass graves were found at Rugazi, Bunyaruguru, Rushojwa and Buziga in Kampala. Pathologists’ reports showed that many of the victims were clubbed, strangled or hacked to death.
It was also believed that some of them could have been poisoned. The cult was headed by self-styled prophet, Joseph Kibwetere and ex-Roman Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Dominic Kataribaho, Credonia Mwerinde and John Kamagara. Area residents said Kibwetere had collected money from believers for a trip to Europe, in quest of a replica of the Biblical Noah’s Ark.
Two days to the massacre, the residents said, the cult members had thrown a big party for themselves. They also gathered their personal belongings and those of the church and set them ablaze in the middle of the camp. The following day, they toured the villages bidding farewell to their friends and neighbours
The sect was registered under the NGO Statute in 1997 to carry countrywide activities to observe the Ten Commandments, preach the word of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary and provide education and health care. Well, it is close to a decade since, but nothing has yielded from condemnations and warrants of arrest issued for the leaders.
Their whereabouts is to date not known, or at least is not in the public domain. Days after the massacre, President Yoweri Museveni vowed that the Government would intensify the hunt for the cult leaders after he inspected the scene. “Forget this scandal and concentrate on building your families and improving your incomes. We shall arrest those people if they are still alive,” Museveni, said then.
The then second deputy premier and internal affairs minister, Moses Ali, in December 2000 appointed Justice Augustus Kania to head a committee to probe the massacre. But to date, the report has never been released. The massacre scene has been eaten up by a bush and unlike in the past when the place was guarded, these days it is abandoned. So, will justice also be engulfed by the ‘bushes’ as years go by? Only time will tell.
There's so many trouble's in Uganda today and millions of Ugandans continue to ask God to save them,am Atheist and i usually laugh loud for them.Here are the reasons why am Atheist.
Many people, famous and not so famous, have written at length on this title. Having read quite a number,I had never therein found another one's reasons to be sufficient in explanation.Perhaps being an Atheist is a personal choice of multiple paths or it may be that sufficient inward motivation to explain oneself has not been properly utilized.
There may be a cacophony of experiences in life which lead to an Atheistic outlook being adopted but, considering the varying degrees of ostracism which go with the territory, a deeper and more meaningful state of mind must be inherent in the whole process.If this were not the case reversion would be a far bigger percentage outcome than reality shows.Once an Atheist on intellectual grounds, always an Atheist.
"An unexamined life is not liveable for a human being," said Socrates in his own defense when charged with impiety.I agree, and lament the lack of philosophical studies in many schools. Questioning our personal attitudes and ideas from time to time, and consciously subjecting them to the spotlight of reason and logic,can prevent us lapsing into lazy acceptance of corrupt and dogmatic ideas and values imposed by those who would rule and control us.
My unbelief began at the age of 18, when I caught my Christian mentor slipping out of his Father Christmas costume. Having learned there was no Santa Claus, it was no great leap to also dismiss fairies, elves, goblins and other supernatural creatures. This was somewhat of a relief, I recall, as it increased my enjoyment of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Superman, Captain Marvel and other tales involving magical phenomena over the years, because I wasn’t obliged to believe in them.
Such fables are a painless method of instilling values, certainly more exciting than the Baptist Sunday school and bible class which, to please my American Missionary mentor, I attended until I left the congregation, before he disowned me, despite considering the teachers to be somewhat pathetic.
As Nobel Prize-winning author André Gide wrote: "The closer you get to religion, the further you get from reality." Unfortunately, I grew up seeing dogma, as a guide to good living and blessings.I see many people who believe in this dying with frustration and rejection from God since no answers being delivered after years of praying!
By the time I was 22, mere unbelief had become full-blooded atheism because I'd realised that the purpose of religion is control, and the earlier the indoctrination starts, the more mind control religions have. "Give us a child until he is four and you can do what you like with him thereafter; he will always be ours!" say the Jesuits with good reason.
Religions control their ‘flock’ by the use of fear – psychological and physical.
1. Psychological fear: By taking natural instincts such as sexuality, dancing, pleasure in eating… and declaring them to be ‘sins’, control is asserted.This is psychological torment for those who believe,and in the worst cases can result in self-abuse and suicide as the "guilty" attempt to propitiate a demanding, frightening and jealous god.This guilt is reinforced through fear of excommunication and punishment after death in hell, all at the whim of an ever-watchful and omnipotent god who knows everything, even what you’re thinking!!!
"Be afraid , be very afraid. You will be tortured by the devil for eternity unless you obey god’s will." The fact that god’s will is by no means clear,having been ‘interpreted’ in a multitude of ways by imperfect humans,and that there’s no basis either in reason or reality for these scenarios doesn’t bother the priests and ministers. "Have faith!" they cry. "God works in mysterious ways…." "god will be angry if you question his commands."
You have to admit it’s a very cunning trick. Not only is everyone born sinful, but they can never liberate themselves from that dreadful state.Even death doesn’t secure release. Unless one has abided by the church’s or mosque's rules,after death there will be torture, pain, and misery for eternity. Truly, the Judeo/Christian/Muslim religions are among the most sadistic creeds ever invented for the psychological enslavement of humankind.
2. Fear of physical force: Those who weren’t taken in by fear of an invisible warlord in the sky, have to be persuaded with less subtle means through the real and present fear of torture, burning at the stake, the imposition of fines, confiscation of property and goods, physically painful penitence,See whats happening in Uganda?The robbing has its foundation in religious centers.
It is a damning indictment of humanity that with few exceptions the fear of force has been the major method of control used throughout human history by both religious and secular rulers, and remains the preferred ,indeed virtually the only method of ‘people control’ in all countries of the world.
Two other methods of control, Temptation and Reason, are seldom used by either religious or secular governments.
Temptation: The makers of consumer goods use temptation to make people consume their products but revert to fear of force when dealing with their workforce.
Reason: It was hoped by [mainly French] thinkers in the 1700’s that if people were educated they would use Reason and Logic and Commonsense to see the world as it is, and would behave ‘well’ because that’s the sensible, kind, non wasteful, peaceful, productive thing to do. For various reasons, not least among them the overweening influence of religion, that hasn’t worked.
There are and always have been a small percentage of humans who have used reason,logic and common sense to govern their lives, and invariably [inevitably perhaps] they have denied the existence of supernatural gods and monsters.
Everything existing in our world must be considered "natural", therefore the supernatural cannot exist on earth because if it did then it would be natural-not supernatural — and available to our senses – we’d be able to see or hear or smell or touch or taste it.
This proposition holds no sway with more than half of the citizens of the USA [and probably many people in developing World like Uganda] however, who, according to surveys, believe in the reality of witches, spells, vampires, angels, and extraterrestrials living among us, despite there never having been a case where they have been seen, heard smelled etc...........................
In other words despite a total lack of believable evidence.The following quote has been attributed to Charles Darwin’s father: Whoever wrote it, it makes excellent sense.
"Man is an eating animal, drinking animal and a sleeping animal and one placed in a material world, which alone furnishes the entire human animal can desire. He is gifted besides with knowing faculties,to practically explore and to apply the resources of the world to his use. These are realities. All else is nothing; - conscience and sentiment are mere figments of the imagination.Man has but five gates of knowledge, the five senses, he can know nothing but through them; all else is vain fancy. And as for the being of a god,the existence of a soul, or of a world to come, who can know anything about them? Depend upon it… these are only the bugbears by which men of sense govern fools; nothing is real that is not an object of sense”.
My metamorphosis from a ‘live and let live’ atheist to a rabid antagonist of religion came with the realisation that the objective of all religions is a desire to create a state in which their prejudices are enforced. Anyone who thinks the Taliban are unusual in this regard should think again. Blood is spilt daily all over the planet in the fight for religious control over the minds and bodies of the inhabitants. Ireland,Philippines,Ivory coast,Angola,Somalia,Kenya,Togo,
Nigeria,USA,China,Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon,Uganda,Somalia and many more...........................
And past atrocities perpetrated by colonialists on the indigenous inhabitants of all countries with the tacit approval of religion, continue to haunt society in broken lives, drug abuse, impoverishment and misery.
Every year in Uganda and many African countries, dozens of men are murdered and thousands suffer abuse ranging from bullying to grievous bodily harm and permanent maiming as a direct result of religious teaching. And hundreds, if not thousands of boys are thrown onto the streets to live ‘rough’ by parents who are simply obeying the teachings of religion. These two years,we are seeing a great number of human sucrifice to please divine powers wherever they are.
Many succumb to disease, brutality, prostitution… and when you pass on the streets of Kampala and Nairobi, you will be greeted by thousands of street people as a result.
Both the Uganda and the USA governments are controlled by ‘devout’ Christians who see nothing wrong with lying to their constituents and waging war on innocent people, destroying civilizations, murdering, maiming and degrading the environment for economic gain.And it is the Fundamentalist Christian/Zionist certainty that heaven will not arrive on earth until there’s a Zionist state encompassing most of what we call the Middle East that ensures ongoing horror in Palestine…
History offers us a continuum of atrocities in the name of religion - wars,torture,murder,maimings,witch-hunts,incineration,the "Children’s Crusades" when thousands of homeless, unwanted kids as young as five were forced to walk, barefoot to Mediterranean ports from all across Europe, piled onto leaky ships and sent to the ‘holy land’ to fight the heathens.
All died horrible deaths of loneliness, starvation, drowning, disease, rape, abuse, slavery… in the name of a loving god. And anyone who cares to look at the lives of such sadistic monsters as St. Dominic and his henchman Torquemada, Calvin, Knox and the Borgia popes, or the perfidy of the Jesuits,to mention only a few of the millions of treacherous men and women who, in the name of their god have committed ghastly crimes against humanity, must, if they have a heart, weep.
And when I consider the unimaginable oceans of misery heaped on the indigenous people of The Americas, Africa, Australasia… with the blessing and assistance of the churches, my flesh creeps.
Christianity and Islam are death cults ,you must die to attain everlasting life. Human sacrifice on crosses… Sacrifice yourself for god! Inevitably and tragically this will end with the sacrifice of all life because of religious insistence on human supremacy/dominion over nature.
People who have spent time with animals in their natural state know that humans are simply animals.We are not better at providing for ourselves.We are not happier, more contented, more peacefully inclined.We do not respect other humans more than other animals respect each other; we are not more generous, caring or thoughtful.
Don't get me wrong,there are some great individuals who are struggling to make lives of other's better than well!
In general, human marriages are no longer-lasting than the matings of many other animals and birds.We do not treat or educate our offspring as well as most animals.And, instead of living in harmony with the natural world, our tool-making skills have enabled us change it to the point where there are hundreds of extinctions daily and it is more than likely we will soon render ourselves extinct.
Christians,Moslems and all other religious denominations insist that theirs is a "God of Love". When asked why this loving god allows dreadful things to happen to his ‘children’, they answer: "It’s to test you.To see if you can overcome your affliction and be worthy of god’s love." In other words, god allows people to go around maiming, laming, murdering and spreading dread-diseases, and sends plagues, pestilence, war and death - to test his flock! To see if they are worthy of his love… A god that organises his own ‘snuff’ movies -chilling!
Perhaps "believers" should exercise their minds on the following proposition rather than condemn a raped woman for having an abortion are we have been observing the Catholic church both in Uganda and Brazil!
If god is all-wise and all-powerful he has the power to arrange things better. If he chooses not to, then he’s the personification of evil.A creature so horrible that only the truly depraved would follow.
If, on the other hand, he isn’t all-wise and all-powerful, then he’s not worth following.
Those with minds uncluttered by fear of gods and monsters can accept that ‘life’ has no ‘meaning’ per se. ‘Life’ simply is, and we can either accept it gratefully and make the most of it, or waste it in the pursuit of false desires.
Without gods there’s no imposition of ‘right’ ways to live, but that doesn’t deny ‘good’ and ‘bad’. There are universal values for good such as decency, fairness, compassion… but they’ve been common to all humans in all ages.They are not the invention of religion.
I am responsible for my life and I’ll make it as worthwhile as I’m able. It’s up to me. And when I die, that’s it. That’s what makes life precious. That’s what makes life bearable. That’s why it’s important to live as ‘good’ a life as possible.
QUITSTORM
You can also visit this link below
Bhagat Singh on Why I Am An Atheist?
WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE MY FAITH
I have been asked many times what do i believe,perhaps people have asked me to explain more on my beliefs,its always harder to know how to start but being a man of narration,i always find my way to do so,despite of the limited time i always pay in internet cafes.
You are aware that am a Humanist and in the same way an Atheist,so this is a brief introduction to what i regard as my faith but its not all,its just a small part of my bigger view of life.
What is Humanism?
Humanism is the belief that we can live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. Humanists make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values. We seek to make the best of the one life we have by creating meaning and purpose for ourselves. We take responsibility for our actions and work with others for the common good.
What humanists believe?
We believe in an approach to life based on humanity and reason - humanists recognize that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone. Our decisions are based on the available evidence and our assessment of the outcomes of our actions, not on any dogma or sacred text.
Humanism encompasses atheism and agnosticism but is an active and ethical philosophy far greater than these negative responses to religion.
I do believe in individual rights and freedoms but believe that individual responsibility, social cooperation and mutual respect are just as important.
I do believe that people can and will continue to find solutions to the world's problems so that quality of life can be improved for everyone including you and me.
Am positive. I gain my inspiration from our lives,art and culture, and a rich natural world. I do believe that we have only one life so it is our responsibility to make it a good life, and to live it to its fullness.
I hope that I have done all that I imagined just to give a clear view of me so that you make a right decision to join me in my quest to change the World.
Quitstorm
You are aware that am a Humanist and in the same way an Atheist,so this is a brief introduction to what i regard as my faith but its not all,its just a small part of my bigger view of life.
What is Humanism?
Humanism is the belief that we can live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. Humanists make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values. We seek to make the best of the one life we have by creating meaning and purpose for ourselves. We take responsibility for our actions and work with others for the common good.
What humanists believe?
We believe in an approach to life based on humanity and reason - humanists recognize that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone. Our decisions are based on the available evidence and our assessment of the outcomes of our actions, not on any dogma or sacred text.
Humanism encompasses atheism and agnosticism but is an active and ethical philosophy far greater than these negative responses to religion.
I do believe in individual rights and freedoms but believe that individual responsibility, social cooperation and mutual respect are just as important.
I do believe that people can and will continue to find solutions to the world's problems so that quality of life can be improved for everyone including you and me.
Am positive. I gain my inspiration from our lives,art and culture, and a rich natural world. I do believe that we have only one life so it is our responsibility to make it a good life, and to live it to its fullness.
I hope that I have done all that I imagined just to give a clear view of me so that you make a right decision to join me in my quest to change the World.
Quitstorm
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ANSWER?
What is your opinion,as an atheist and as a parent(People think i must be a parent at my age) about teens having sex?Should it be permitted? What are the implications and how do you deal with it? This is a question that greeted me when i visited my usual place tonight,am not a party animal but i sometimes pass by Caanan restaurant to meet friends who nicknamed "Dr Kalungi" because of my stand always on many topics and i always present them in an Atheistic view and those who know me sometimes find reasons to smile while listening to me and enjoying their tea,pork,coffee and sometimes wines.
Iam not sure why they nicknamed me so but one guy told me that "its because of my sexual talks" i don't recall when i last came to Canaan restaurant and of course this time,they are the one who invited me for a cup of coffee having known about my hernia surgery,they wanted to make me feel good and loved atleast. Below is my answer to their questions.
I have no kids of my own.I do have a little kid who happens to be my good friend who is now 12 and has visible peach fuzz on his upper lip, and spends a lot of time on the phone talking to girls he likes. He also bragged to me about having hit puberty before his other friends.We really talk much and i love to be trusted by him. In this post,i won't mention the names of this child!.
I know that his parents have talked to him about sex and puberty, because they told me they did.And he was quite open with me about knowing to use condoms,and how he shouldn't go on one-on-one dates until he's 16 years old. (He goes on group outings now-3 guys, and 3 girls, with a chaperon).
Since I have a great relationship with my friend, and he is so open with me,I decided to tell him what I thought. I told him that sex education can teach him all about the plumbing and the biology, but that understanding the emotions and the reality of dating and having a serious relationship is something that can only come with experience.
I told him that in puberty, the hormones rage hard and can cloud judgment,and that,coupled with lack of experience,can lead kids to make bad choices about sex and sexuality,so it's better to wait until the time is right.
I also talked to him about how easy it is to treat girls like objects or things that guys can possess, and how many guys see sex as something you "get" rather than something you share.I wanted him to understand and value girls as people, rather than as objects of gratification. He's too young to really understand, but at least I have him thinking about it.
I told him then, to sum it all up, that there's a difference between "having sex," and "making love." He asked me what the difference was, and I said, "until you know, you aren't ready for either one. And even when you do know, you're still probably not ready."
It was a good talk.I think it was good though mainly because I was honest and open and didn't bullshit him in any way.I didn't preach in any way either. I shared my personal values with him -the values I live by.
And I think values are the key. I live on a a shanty area, surrounded by young poor people. Invariably I see young people who get into a lot of trouble, are very rebellious, do lots of things they shouldn't, and basically just ignore everything their parents ever told them.I also see quite a few young people who are exemplary people, who have strong values and live by them.
I noticed a pattern when talking with these kids. The ones who rebel and get into trouble always speak of their parents only in terms of rules their parents have given them, and typically they mention how their parents don't follow their own advice or rules.
The kids who have values and live by them, however, speak of their parents with examples. They tell me things they've seen or heard their parents do. They never say things like, "my dad tells me not to lie, and one time I saw my dad be honest," no, it's never that overt. It's usually more a case of the kid telling me something about their parents casually, that tells me that their parents have strong values and live by them.
In short, I think the kids I know who are moral and honorable have parents who aren't hypocrites and who lead by example.
I hope something I say here can inspire someone there.
Iam not sure why they nicknamed me so but one guy told me that "its because of my sexual talks" i don't recall when i last came to Canaan restaurant and of course this time,they are the one who invited me for a cup of coffee having known about my hernia surgery,they wanted to make me feel good and loved atleast. Below is my answer to their questions.
I have no kids of my own.I do have a little kid who happens to be my good friend who is now 12 and has visible peach fuzz on his upper lip, and spends a lot of time on the phone talking to girls he likes. He also bragged to me about having hit puberty before his other friends.We really talk much and i love to be trusted by him. In this post,i won't mention the names of this child!.
I know that his parents have talked to him about sex and puberty, because they told me they did.And he was quite open with me about knowing to use condoms,and how he shouldn't go on one-on-one dates until he's 16 years old. (He goes on group outings now-3 guys, and 3 girls, with a chaperon).
Since I have a great relationship with my friend, and he is so open with me,I decided to tell him what I thought. I told him that sex education can teach him all about the plumbing and the biology, but that understanding the emotions and the reality of dating and having a serious relationship is something that can only come with experience.
I told him that in puberty, the hormones rage hard and can cloud judgment,and that,coupled with lack of experience,can lead kids to make bad choices about sex and sexuality,so it's better to wait until the time is right.
I also talked to him about how easy it is to treat girls like objects or things that guys can possess, and how many guys see sex as something you "get" rather than something you share.I wanted him to understand and value girls as people, rather than as objects of gratification. He's too young to really understand, but at least I have him thinking about it.
I told him then, to sum it all up, that there's a difference between "having sex," and "making love." He asked me what the difference was, and I said, "until you know, you aren't ready for either one. And even when you do know, you're still probably not ready."
It was a good talk.I think it was good though mainly because I was honest and open and didn't bullshit him in any way.I didn't preach in any way either. I shared my personal values with him -the values I live by.
And I think values are the key. I live on a a shanty area, surrounded by young poor people. Invariably I see young people who get into a lot of trouble, are very rebellious, do lots of things they shouldn't, and basically just ignore everything their parents ever told them.I also see quite a few young people who are exemplary people, who have strong values and live by them.
I noticed a pattern when talking with these kids. The ones who rebel and get into trouble always speak of their parents only in terms of rules their parents have given them, and typically they mention how their parents don't follow their own advice or rules.
The kids who have values and live by them, however, speak of their parents with examples. They tell me things they've seen or heard their parents do. They never say things like, "my dad tells me not to lie, and one time I saw my dad be honest," no, it's never that overt. It's usually more a case of the kid telling me something about their parents casually, that tells me that their parents have strong values and live by them.
In short, I think the kids I know who are moral and honorable have parents who aren't hypocrites and who lead by example.
I hope something I say here can inspire someone there.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Bashir Finally Wanted by the ICC!
Its always very hard to start writting when you are in Africa.There are just too many issues to talk about from Men who beat and torture their wives in the name of love,corruption,highest inflations,failing states,state sponsored homophobia,religions,ritual killings,denial of the right to live in a better organised enviroment,just name it and the list is endles, and you can talk years and years and nothing changes.When you are someone who believes in a just society,then you get dissapointed all the time.And it gets worth when you are using the internet cafes to write,because you spend your money there and you see no results of the compaigns you are carrying on,may be am just skeptical!
I want to say that,yesterday 4th March 2009,the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the arrest orders for the Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to face charges against War crimes in the Sudanese region of Darfur,the first of its kind in our modern political enviroment. This is a very big challenge for the ICC,there are many questions on how Bashir will be arrested,who will arrest him?
The ICC requests that the Government of Sudan itself should be cooperative on this matter,this means that before anyone else,the Sudanese authority should be the first to hand him to the Hague,or in a little knowledge,Bashir should hand himself to the ICC,something that cannot happen now.
There are 108 member states that make up ICC,so any member of it can arrest Bashir if he visits,but what if he stays home until when he dies?
I have been folowing this issue from July 2008 when the prosecutor of the ICC first put this matter on table,there are many questions,less answers. How many people should be brought to the ICC?
USA is a member of the ICC but it does not believe in it when it comes to its citizens who commits the war crimes,why is Bush,the former President of USA is not on arrest warrant for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? What are the criteria used by the ICC to see how should face the books of law and who should not?
While i support the ICC move and would appreciate the corrective responsibility of all the ICC member states to arrest Bashir,we should know that there are many people who should face it including Tony Blair,former UK prime minister,Former President Bush for the killings of Iraqi people,then the President of Uganda,Museveni and many more. We should also not forget if,this move can really help the people of Darfur, lets wait and see.
Beera Bulungi(be safe)
Quitstorm
I want to say that,yesterday 4th March 2009,the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the arrest orders for the Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to face charges against War crimes in the Sudanese region of Darfur,the first of its kind in our modern political enviroment. This is a very big challenge for the ICC,there are many questions on how Bashir will be arrested,who will arrest him?
The ICC requests that the Government of Sudan itself should be cooperative on this matter,this means that before anyone else,the Sudanese authority should be the first to hand him to the Hague,or in a little knowledge,Bashir should hand himself to the ICC,something that cannot happen now.
There are 108 member states that make up ICC,so any member of it can arrest Bashir if he visits,but what if he stays home until when he dies?
I have been folowing this issue from July 2008 when the prosecutor of the ICC first put this matter on table,there are many questions,less answers. How many people should be brought to the ICC?
USA is a member of the ICC but it does not believe in it when it comes to its citizens who commits the war crimes,why is Bush,the former President of USA is not on arrest warrant for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? What are the criteria used by the ICC to see how should face the books of law and who should not?
While i support the ICC move and would appreciate the corrective responsibility of all the ICC member states to arrest Bashir,we should know that there are many people who should face it including Tony Blair,former UK prime minister,Former President Bush for the killings of Iraqi people,then the President of Uganda,Museveni and many more. We should also not forget if,this move can really help the people of Darfur, lets wait and see.
Beera Bulungi(be safe)
Quitstorm
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