Still can't stand up to Mama

The following is the actual response I sent to my mother regarding a myspace bulletin she posted.

How did you get this story? How much further did you dig beyond what was presented to you? Please tell me that you questioned this post!?

Mom, you can't take internet fodder as truth unless you dig deeper and decide for yourself.

Just because you want to believe it does not make it true.

I found the post to be mostly false with simply a Google search. Just type in "Rick Mathes" in any search engine.

While I abhor war and the actions of Islamic extremists, I do not place the blame on Islam. Judaism, Christianity (which is ironically divided between Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as many other cult-status segments) and Islam are the three major religions in the world.

All three believe, without a doubt, that they are right and that everyone else is wrong.

The most common response I get to the above statement is that one simply has to "have faith."

All three segments HAVE FAITH! That's WHY extremists strap bombs to themselves and take out whatever their targets may be.

"Faith" is the exact reason why millions were murdered during the Christian Crusades. Killing in the name of God... Don't the Ten Commandments contradict that?

If "faith" is such a powerful concept, then the world as we know it will be torn in thirds very soon.

Don't hesitate to correct me when I'm wrong. I don't want to be made a fool. If you can scientifically prove that the Southern Baptists have had it right all along, I'll change the belief system.

Aaron

Letter to my Mother

This is the message I was going to send my mother in regards to a myspace bulletin that she posted. Myspace and Weller don't mix well.

http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/rickmathes.html

I want you to read in full the material on the address above. My education of media (no degree doesn't mean I'm not educated, it only indicates that I have a lazy streak) has instilled in me an innate desire to always dig just a little bit deeper and never take things at face value.

I hope you realize that the Palestinian people were forced out of their homeland (Israel) after WWII in the same way that the founding fathers of this entire nation have forced Native Americans on to reservations.

Don't believe everything that you read. Just because a "friend" sends you a message, doesn't make it true.

I have Muslim friends and clients. They are disturbed by the actions of extremists. They do not identify with the inciters and instigators. They cherish their freedom as Americans (albeit Muslim Americans...the Jews went through the EXACT SAME HATRED in the 1940's, just ask Groucho Marx).

By declaring war on a religion, America basically signs its own death sentence. We are NOT at war with Islam. We ARE at war with those who wish to undermine our freedom. Unfortunately, our leaders are disillusioned otherwise.

At this point, I feel it necessary to clarify my own views. I love the USA. I am proud of the freedoms we have. I support our troops though I abhor war. If those men and women are willing to put their lives on the line to defend my freedoms, then I will embrace those freedoms to the fullest and exemplify them at every turn.

I only wish that they didn't have to put their lives on the line. Since they willingly do, I want to say thank you to each and every one of them. I truly appreciate every single person who has stepped up to defend us against the wrong-doings of others.

Islamic extremists lay claim to 9-11. How many Christians lay claim to The Crusades? Killing in the name of God...seems a little too familiar...

Teeth

Sent this e-mail to my brother:

I'm pretty sure that maybe donating some money, clothes, or material necessities will do more good than prayer. It's the equivalent of the redneck couple on TV thanking God that it was a miracle that their trailer home in Kansas was spared in the midst of the tornadoes. God must have hated all the other trailers in the park.

This trailer must either have the most teeth (per capita). Otherwise, the God I know would not have spared the abomination of the ENTIRE GOD-FEARING NEIGHBORHOOD!

Surely, it must have been the teeth...


Aaron

Fire! Firrrrrrrrerrrrreeee, Fire.

My former English teacher's house burned down today and she and her husband lost all their material possessions. We were all asked to pray for them. Really? That's the solution?

Had we been praying for them, according to the general status quo in the Bible belt, God would have intervened - that is, unless it was His will that a God-fearing couple who continually contributed to their community and served the public (she was a Texas school teacher, he was a veterinary doctor) should lose their every material possession in their retirement age, even though they professed their faith and regularly attended church.

God has a plan for all of us. We are too weak to know it. God apparently also made us in His own image. What a trip!

Does a spiritual being need physical arms and legs, eyes and ears, etc? There are plenty of babies born everyday who are deaf and dumb, paraplegic, etc to answer that question.

Here's the difference between my wife and I and our beliefs, and the aforementioned couple:

God didn't choose my place of residence. God has not chosen our careers. I am an atheist. God has no influence in my life or decisions because I do not believe that God exists. My wife is Agnostic. She doesn't know but accepts that. She's braver than I am. She's willing to acknowledge God as even possibly existing.

I do believe that a nuclear disaster is possible in my town and that my family and I could be vaporized into oblivion at any moments notice. I do believe that science has advanced enough that the aforementioned will not occur without outside (human!) intervention.

When a trailer house in Kansas is skipped by the F3 tornado, it's called a miracle by the residents. What about the neighbors? Did God spare that one sad-sack trailer because He hated everyone else around?