Time after time, people fight wars, suffer, make great sacrifices that are never repaid.

They lose loved ones, not to mention arms, legs, eyes, their homes...

Finally the bad guys take a pause and things don't get worse for a little while (but they never get entirely repaired) and then it starts up again and good, innocent people have to suffer some more.

To try and cast that in a good light is completely evil.

It writes off as unimportant the lives lost on every go-round.

According to the story, a god who knows everything (including the future) creates creatures that he KNOWS he will not accept as he made them.

So, he decides that the only just course of action is to deny his role in all of this and create a place to torture all of us forever (for being imperfect, the way HE made us).

Then, he arranges to get himself killed (because somehow that helps) and then rises again, wipes out any solid evidence that he exists, and agrees to be nice only to those people who believe THAT story.

If he existed at all, he'd effectively be Satan.

Here's the Christian idea:

1) God gives us the power to do as he says, thereby pleasing him
2) NONE of us live up to the standard ("For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God.."
3) He reasons that INFINITE punishment is the proper response
4) He gets us out of that predicament by arranging to get himself killed (temporarily)
5) IF you believe that, then he lets you off the hook

There are all kinds of things to criticize there, but here's the one no one ever seems to mention:

If "free will" actually meant that we could ever have pleased him without the whole cross drama, then some of us would.

That's the way it works: If there are currently 2 billion believers trying to please god -- and if it's possible to do so -- then at least a few of them don't really need the crucifixion to get them into heaven. When the bible says "ALL have sinned and come short..." it's a flashing neon sign: "THIS WHOLE THING IS A LIE. YOU'VE BEEN TAKEN!"

Think of it this way, if I built a cylindrical wall 30 feet high with no doors, no way to climb, drains so that the rainwater wouldn't eventually let you swim to the top, etc.

If I then air-lifted you into it and took away the rope, I could say, "You have free will; jump over the wall and escape any time you want. If you CHOOSE not to jump the 30ft wall, that's YOUR fault."

I'd be a devil, not a god. I'd be a monster.

Free will means nothing if you CAN'T fulfill whatever requirements are set upon you.

A whole lot of people have tried VERY HARD to exercise their "free will" and please god over the centuries; the bible assures us that none of them ever had a chance.

FUCK THAT!

That a perfect God -- who, by most accounts could see the future -- made all people in a way that he could never accept.

Setting aside this craziness, this perfect, loving God decided that all of them should be tortured FOREVER after death for what they could not possibly help. (Don't tell me about free will; if that was real, SOME would make it without salvation.)

Then he arranged to get himself tortured and killed (why?) and then erased all evidence that he was here (save word-of-mouth) and lets people off the hook based on whether they believe THAT story.

No apologies. No softening.

There is NO EXCUSE for believing that.

None.

Remember that this country is under the influence of Christianity, which blatantly states that everyone is so guilty that they should be tortured forever.

Everyone.

No exceptions.

It views 'salvation' as a special favor that God does for those he likes even though they still deserve eternal punishment. But if you've got friends in high places you get out of it!

Does that sound anything like our current government and law enforcement?

It should.

There's no such thing as "more than they can spend".

When they're finished buying houses and yachts, they buy ...

Politicians, and so eventually ...

Whole governments with their resources, armies, and legislatures, so they can rewrite the laws and finally go back to buying ...

Slaves.

The first female speaker of the house promised not to go after Bush's war criminals.

The first black president keeps trying to sign all national sovereignty over to the multi-national corps.

Condoleezza Rice is both black and female; was she the right person for her job?

Let glass ceilings break when they break.

Pick the best candidate available at any given time.

This is too important for symbolism.

Nor should it be.

Getting to the truth is what matters.

The truth is never 'balanced'. It always says, "this is true; that is not."

'Balanced' is what the mighty steno-pool of the fourth estate calls its non-reporting.

They might tell the left, "pick a card, any card..." and then hold out two possibilities both of which appeal to Democrats and both of whom really harbor neocon values.

One might be a woman, one might be a minority.

One might tip their hand on the campaign trail divulging where their real sympathies lie while the other might stick to a much better script until actually in office.

They might have anti-complaint memes ready and waiting before the office-holder even has a chance to do anything. Belittling, scoffing memes about ponies.

They might, for all intents and purposes, have canceled real elections in America without our even noticing.

Where the people rule (that's what democracy means), the people make and know the laws.

Let that sink in.

There is absolutely no such thing as a secret body of law in a democracy.

See this: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023142617