Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Symmetry Of Homosexual Brain Resembles That Of Opposite Sex, Swedish Study Finds
ScienceDaily (June 18, 2008) — Swedish researchers have found that some physical attributes of the homosexual brain resemble those found in the opposite sex, according to an article published online (June 16) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Some psychological tests have shown differences between men and women in the extent to which they employ the brain’s hemispheres in verbal tasks. Other research has hinted that homosexuals may exhibit the tendencies of the opposite sex in brain behavior unrelated to sexual activity.
Ivanka Savic and Per Lindström, of the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, now report that the brains of heterosexual men and homosexual women are slightly asymmetric—the right hemisphere is larger than the left—and the brains of gay men and straight women are not.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scans taken by the researchers also show that in connectivity of the amygdala (which is important for emotional learning), lesbians resemble straight men, and gay men resemble straight women. The researchers analyzed the brains of 90 subjects, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess brain volume and PET data partly gleaned from previous olfactory studies.
One possible interpretation of the connectivity pattern in straight men and lesbians is that the amygdala is wired for a greater fight-or-flight response, the authors say.
Some psychological tests have shown differences between men and women in the extent to which they employ the brain’s hemispheres in verbal tasks. Other research has hinted that homosexuals may exhibit the tendencies of the opposite sex in brain behavior unrelated to sexual activity.
Ivanka Savic and Per Lindström, of the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, now report that the brains of heterosexual men and homosexual women are slightly asymmetric—the right hemisphere is larger than the left—and the brains of gay men and straight women are not.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scans taken by the researchers also show that in connectivity of the amygdala (which is important for emotional learning), lesbians resemble straight men, and gay men resemble straight women. The researchers analyzed the brains of 90 subjects, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess brain volume and PET data partly gleaned from previous olfactory studies.
One possible interpretation of the connectivity pattern in straight men and lesbians is that the amygdala is wired for a greater fight-or-flight response, the authors say.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Chrisitans are better than Muslims?
Remember when Muslims threw a fit because a Dutch newspaper printed images of Mohammad?
ORIGINAL ARTICLE CLICK HERE!!!
Hyderabad(IANS) Christian groups Sunday attacked the offices of Telugu daily ‘Sakshi’, owned by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s family, to protest the publication of a blasphemous picture of Jesus Christ. The daily’s Sunday edition carried a picture showing Jesus with a beer mug in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The chief minister’s family, which practices Christianity, has tendered an apology.
The chief minister’s son and newspaper owner Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and the chief minister’s wife tendered an apology to the Christian community for the faux pas.
Protesting the publication of the picture, Christian groups attacked the newspaper offices in Prakasam, Srikakulam, Vijayawada, Nizamabad and other towns. Raising slogans against the newspaper, they barged into the offices and ransacked the furniture.
In Hyderabad, the police arrested a group of Christians holding protest in front of ‘Sakshi’ head office.
Following the incidents, security was beefed up at the newspaper offices across the state.
Jaganmohan Reddy, who is also the managing director of the newspaper, apologised for the major faux pas and said the newspaper would carry the apology on the front page Monday.
He said the newspaper had highest regard for Jesus Christ and recalled that the daily was launched on Easter.
Chief minister’s wife Vijayalakshmi, in a statement, apologised to the Christian community and said the newspaper would ensure that such mistakes were not repeated in future.
The newspaper management said it was a mistake on part of the sub-editor concerned who had downloaded the picture from the Internet.
An official journal of a Catholic diocese in Kerala had published the same picture, evoking strong protests from Christian community.
“Vachana Jyotis”, the magazine published by diocese of Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthpuram, carried the picture on the cover page of its June issue.
‘Sakshi’ was launched in March this year by Jagati Publication of which Y.S. Jaganmohan is the chairman. The first Telugu daily with all pages in multi-colour is being printed from 23 centres, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE CLICK HERE!!!
Hyderabad(IANS) Christian groups Sunday attacked the offices of Telugu daily ‘Sakshi’, owned by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s family, to protest the publication of a blasphemous picture of Jesus Christ. The daily’s Sunday edition carried a picture showing Jesus with a beer mug in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The chief minister’s family, which practices Christianity, has tendered an apology.
The chief minister’s son and newspaper owner Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and the chief minister’s wife tendered an apology to the Christian community for the faux pas.
Protesting the publication of the picture, Christian groups attacked the newspaper offices in Prakasam, Srikakulam, Vijayawada, Nizamabad and other towns. Raising slogans against the newspaper, they barged into the offices and ransacked the furniture.
In Hyderabad, the police arrested a group of Christians holding protest in front of ‘Sakshi’ head office.
Following the incidents, security was beefed up at the newspaper offices across the state.
Jaganmohan Reddy, who is also the managing director of the newspaper, apologised for the major faux pas and said the newspaper would carry the apology on the front page Monday.
He said the newspaper had highest regard for Jesus Christ and recalled that the daily was launched on Easter.
Chief minister’s wife Vijayalakshmi, in a statement, apologised to the Christian community and said the newspaper would ensure that such mistakes were not repeated in future.
The newspaper management said it was a mistake on part of the sub-editor concerned who had downloaded the picture from the Internet.
An official journal of a Catholic diocese in Kerala had published the same picture, evoking strong protests from Christian community.
“Vachana Jyotis”, the magazine published by diocese of Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthpuram, carried the picture on the cover page of its June issue.
‘Sakshi’ was launched in March this year by Jagati Publication of which Y.S. Jaganmohan is the chairman. The first Telugu daily with all pages in multi-colour is being printed from 23 centres, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
New Video and Transcript!
INQOINF's Challenge to Christians!
Can you prove the veracity of the Bible?
There have been many gods, many saviors, and many holy books that all claim to be true, so, How would you know, with the Bible as your only authoritative source, if it is true?
How do you know that people didn't just "make up" Christianity? L. Ron Hubbard made up Scientology and today has millions of followers and even famous people like Tom Cruise are among their members. People have made up religions all throughout history and still do so today. How do you know this wasn't the case with Christianity?
If the Bible has been accurately translated and the information devoid of errors then why are there hundreds of English translations and why are they disputed between Christians. Which, in your opinion, is the best Bible translation and why?
The Dead Sea Scrolls are used to prove the reliability of scripture and Enoch is amongst the texts that were found. Enoch is quoted several times throughout the Bible. Can Enoch be considered Biblical? Why or why not? Keep in mind this is a text that was used by the writers of the New Testament and many early church fathers, such as, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origin and Clement of Alexandria. The Gospel of St. Peter was also a favorite among early church fathers but was lost before the Bible was canonized and, therefore, was never up for consideration. Today we have found copies of this text, Can it be trusted scripturally? The early Christian fathers thought it could.
Who really wrote the gospels? With out the gospels is there really any eye-witness evidence? Luke in the first chapter and verse admit that he is not an eye-witness and John cites in text that he did not "bare witness," so if the authorship of the gospels is ambiguous then how would you know that it's true? Keep in mind that Paul never met Jesus and never mentions most of the events from the gospels, including the virgin birth.
Please avoid using the Bible to prove the Bible because this is circular reasoning. This would be like me saying "I know Gandalf really lived because "The Lord of the Rings" details his life. It is just dumb. Muslims use the Koran to prove the Koran but you quickly dismiss them as being wrong. So, lets avoid this type of argument because you must first prove the veracity of the Bible.
Consider the fact that no original manuscript of any Biblical book has survived and that some Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek words occur only once in the Bible, but are found no where else in literature, so their exact meanings are unknown, and some Biblical phrases are ambiguous, with more than one possible meaning. For example in Genesis 21:9, the Hebrew word for mocking. can also be translated as; fondling, or making sport. All of which have very different meanings. Again, How do you know that your translation is the correct translation?
Early Christian writers scoured the Hebrew scriptures for references to and prophecies of Jesus. It would seem they even turned Psalms into prophetic literature, Psalms is not prophecy it's poetry. How would you know if the prophecies were really fulfilled? How would you know that these authors didn't lie and say Jesus fulfilled these prophecies?
How do you explain blatant contradictions and errors in the Bible? The genealogy of Jesus is different in Matthew and Luke and even if you attribute one to Mary this still makes Mary over 200 years older than Joseph. None of the Gospels agree on what happened before Jesus was born in Bethlehem nor what happened afterwards and Mark fails to mention the Nativity Story. Matthew dates the birth of Jesus around 4 B.C.E. and Luke dates his birth around 6 C.E. This is at least a 10 year difference. They also do not agree on what happened at Jesus Baptism. After Judas betrayal one story states that Judas purchased land with the money he had been payed for betraying Jesus and in another story it says that he returns the money to the high priests. Why does each gospel confuse how many times the cock crows in relation to Peter's denials of Christ? In one gospel before Jesus crucifixion he is put on trial before Pilate and then Herod but does not speak. In another he is anything but mute. Why is John's account of the crucifixion so different than the other gospels? Why do they each claim Jesus said something different before he died? Why are the stories at the tomb so different? The number of angels, women, appearances, and much more is completely different from one gospel to the next. If these texts were divinely inspired or if these authors were actually eye-witnesses then these stories would not be as different as they are. This is just a quick and simple but critical analysis of 4 books in the Bible. Imagine a critique of the whole Bible.
How do you know that the Bible's story of a savior who triumphed over death is any different than the claims made by the followers of; Osiris, Horus, Attis, Mythra, Sol Invictus, and many others? How can we know your savior is the true savior, with the Bible as your only evidence, and these are fake?
The extra-biblical sources are just as vague as the Gospels when concerning the historicity of Jesus. Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Suetonius all mention people who follow Jesus but none actually mention Jesus as a living breathing, miracle working man. Even if we did accept their references as being true it still only counts as hearsay.
Some people claim that Early Christians were never refuted. If this were so then why did Justin Martyr say this to early skeptics. "when we say that Jesus Christ was produced without sexual union, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended to heaven, we propound nothing new or different from what you believe regarding those whom you call the sons of Jupiter. "
Remember that the number of people who follow a religion has no bearing on it's verisimilitude and just because someone would die for what they consider truth does not make it true. For example, There are almost as many believers in Islam as there are Christians. There are Muslim extremists that blow themselves up because they believe so fervently in the Koran, but does that make it true?
Is the Holy Bible the Word of God? All of us need to know. A person’s very salvation can depend upon it.
These video's are not my sources for this video but they do contain a lot of the same information and may elaborate more on some of my points. I highly recommend watching these video's before making a video response to my video. This will allow you to see what other kinds of opinions are out there and if your point has already been completely refuted by someone else.
General
azsuperman - Tough Questions for Christians
Paul Harrison - Anathema
God Is Imaginary - Why won't god heal Amputees? - GIIVideo Channel
Jesus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct28heTUKvM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ji2Y8DddaU
Errors and Contradictions
Danmill23
More Errors and Contradictions
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Exorcism protected by 1st Amendment, Texas high court rules
By MAX B. BAKER
maxbaker@star-telegram.com
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colleyville church Friday saying that church members involved in a traumatic exorcism that ultimately injured a young woman are protected by the First Amendment.
In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God’s efforts to cast out demons from the Laura Schubert presents an ecclesiastical dispute over religious conduct that would unconstitutionally entangle the court in church doctrine.
In a 1996 lawsuit against the church, Schubert described a wild night involving the casting out of demons from the church and two separate attempts to exorcise demons from her.
The 2002 trial of the suit never touched on the religious aspects of the case, and a Tarrant County jury found the church and its members liable for abusing and falsely imprisoning Schubert, who was 17 at the time. The jury awarded Schubert $300,000 for mental anguish, but the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth shaved $122,000 from the verdict for loss of future income.
But the church raised the question of whether the Fort Worth appeals court erred when it said Pleasant Glades’ First Amendment rights regarding freedom of religion do not prevent the church from being held liable for mental distress triggered by a "hyper-spiritualistic environment."
A majority of the court agreed, with Justice David Medina writing that while Schubert’s secular injury claims might "theoretically be tried without mentioning religion, the imposition of tort liability for engaging in religious activity to which the church members adhere would have an unconstitutional 'chilling effect’ by compelling the church to abandon core principles of its religious beliefs."
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson was among the justices that disagreed with the majorities ruling, and in a dissenting opinion states that a church will simply have to claim a religious motive to deny a church member from bringing a claim against it.
"This sweeping immunity is inconsistent with United States Supreme Court precedent and extends far beyond the protections our Constitution affords religious conduct," Jefferson wrote. "The First Amendment guards religious liberty; it does not sanction intentional abuse in religion’s name."
Schubert testified in 2002 that she was cut and bruised and later experienced hallucinations as a result of the church members’ actions in 1996. She also said the incident led her to mutilate herself and attempt suicide. Schubert eventually sought psychiatric help.
But the church’s attorneys told a Tarrant County jury that Schubert’s psychological problems were caused by traumatic events she witnessed while with her parents who were serving as missionaries in Africa.
The church contended Schubert had "freaked out" about following her father’s life as a missionary and that she was acting out to gain attention.
After the 2002 verdict, Pleasant Glade merged with another congregation in Colleyville.
MAX B. BAKER, 817-390-7714
maxbaker@star-telegram.com
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colleyville church Friday saying that church members involved in a traumatic exorcism that ultimately injured a young woman are protected by the First Amendment.
In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God’s efforts to cast out demons from the Laura Schubert presents an ecclesiastical dispute over religious conduct that would unconstitutionally entangle the court in church doctrine.
In a 1996 lawsuit against the church, Schubert described a wild night involving the casting out of demons from the church and two separate attempts to exorcise demons from her.
The 2002 trial of the suit never touched on the religious aspects of the case, and a Tarrant County jury found the church and its members liable for abusing and falsely imprisoning Schubert, who was 17 at the time. The jury awarded Schubert $300,000 for mental anguish, but the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth shaved $122,000 from the verdict for loss of future income.
But the church raised the question of whether the Fort Worth appeals court erred when it said Pleasant Glades’ First Amendment rights regarding freedom of religion do not prevent the church from being held liable for mental distress triggered by a "hyper-spiritualistic environment."
A majority of the court agreed, with Justice David Medina writing that while Schubert’s secular injury claims might "theoretically be tried without mentioning religion, the imposition of tort liability for engaging in religious activity to which the church members adhere would have an unconstitutional 'chilling effect’ by compelling the church to abandon core principles of its religious beliefs."
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson was among the justices that disagreed with the majorities ruling, and in a dissenting opinion states that a church will simply have to claim a religious motive to deny a church member from bringing a claim against it.
"This sweeping immunity is inconsistent with United States Supreme Court precedent and extends far beyond the protections our Constitution affords religious conduct," Jefferson wrote. "The First Amendment guards religious liberty; it does not sanction intentional abuse in religion’s name."
Schubert testified in 2002 that she was cut and bruised and later experienced hallucinations as a result of the church members’ actions in 1996. She also said the incident led her to mutilate herself and attempt suicide. Schubert eventually sought psychiatric help.
But the church’s attorneys told a Tarrant County jury that Schubert’s psychological problems were caused by traumatic events she witnessed while with her parents who were serving as missionaries in Africa.
The church contended Schubert had "freaked out" about following her father’s life as a missionary and that she was acting out to gain attention.
After the 2002 verdict, Pleasant Glade merged with another congregation in Colleyville.
MAX B. BAKER, 817-390-7714
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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