The Emperor's clothes

“Daddy what is the Holy Virgin?” my youngest daughter asked me. I explained her that she is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Then she asked: “But she was his mother, how can she be a virgin?”. So I told her that that was just the miracle of the whole thing. She started giggling and asked me if grown-up people really believed that...

Gerard Bodifee

Open letter to Mr. Gerard Bodifee

Dear Sir,

Recently I have been in the audience for your lecture “God and stones: what religion and science speak about and keep silent.”

Either I misunderstood the title or it is deliberately misleading. A better name for your tale should have been something like: “God and stones: the mental splits of a scientist next to his god”.

As engaging and well structured the part of your disquisition was on the cosmos, as woolly was the part on religion. In your thesis on ethics I strongly sensed the human and religious feelings of superiority that for centuries are the cause of a lot of misery.

Why attribute only the good to religion? Religion is nothing more then a safe harbor for the distressful and fearful and is further used by the zealots and the good-willing as hat-stand for their conviction. The same hat-stand as you use for your “religion as basis of ethics”.

Apparently you are a religious man and that's your choice. However to use your status as scientist to bring all sorts of sophisms just to justify your combination of scientist and believer I find ill-suited. It diminishes the alloy of the integrity of the human behind the scientist and believer.

Kind regards,
Circum

(link to Mr.Bodifee's site)



Open brief naar De Heer Gerard Bodifee

Beste heer Bodifee,

Ik ben onlangs toehoorder geweest van uw lezing “God en het gesteente: waarover religie en wetenschap spreken en zwijgen.”

Misschien had ik het òf verkeerd begrepen òf de titel van uw lezing is bewust misleidend. Uw relaas had beter een andere titel kunnen hebben, namelijk zoiets als “God en het gesteente: de mentale spagaat als wetenschapper naast god”

Zo boeiend en gestructureerd als uw uiteenzetting over de kosmos was, zo zweverig was het gedeelte over religie. In uw stelling over ethiek proefde ik zeer sterk het menselijke én religieuze superieuriteitsgevoel en egocentrisme dat al eeuwenlang aan de wieg staat van zoveel miserie.

Waarom enkel het goede aan religie toeschrijven? Religie is niets meer dan een vluchthaven voor de angstigen en verdrietigen en wordt verder door zowel zeloten als hen van goede wil als kapstok gebruikt voor alles wat zij eraan wensen op te hangen. Dezelfde kapstok die u gebruikt voor uw “religie als basis van de ethiek”.

U bent blijkbaar een religieus mens en dat is uw keus. Echter om uw status als wetenschapper te gebruiken om met allerlei drogredenen te komen om uw combinatie van wetenschapper en gelovige te kunnen goedpraten vind ik niet gepast. Dat doet afbreuk aan het allooy van de integriteit van de mens achter de wetenschapper en gelovige.

Met vriendelijke groeten,
Circum

(link naar Dhr.Bodifee's site)

Can't you believe in a god and be quiet about it?

That you believe in a god I don't mind, it's your decision. But it annoys me when you bring your god into most conversations and correspondences. It's almost if you are reassuring yourself that your god exists by bringing it up all the time. There is no need to convince me that you believe in a god and it has no added value other then to yourself.

Anyway, that's my belief.

Believe it or not

A recent American study has evinced that children sucking their thumb are more likely to become religious then the non-suckers.

Believers... (02)

Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

The old god is just a fear reflex

It seems that in our society the (individual colored) god image is turning into a methaphore for good ethical behaviour. Can we see this as a sign of our evolution?

And I saw, god is product of man

But how do I tell my rabbi? He’s a good guy.

I believe in gnomes...

... and people who believe in god make me grin.

I believe in god...

... and people who believe in gnomes make me grin.

Clash of civilisations?

People need to belong to a race, religion, country, club or whatever to fight for against “the others” to justify their identity. The problem are not the good willing but the nationalistic and/or religious hooligans. From those we have to be aware of that they can drag us into their elementary medieval thoughts and tribe fights.

I will criticize all jingoistic fools disregarded their religion. It is not about condemning Muslims, Jews or Christians but about condemning zealots. The maniacs amidst us who will never accept criticism and while we cannot blame fools to act within their limited potential we still have to try to bring our narrow-minded brothers to a more civilized era; a task not easy as they think they are justified in their behaviour.

The healing power of precious stones

I met a stone polisher who strongly believes in the healing power of precious stones. On my scepticism he told me that his sister in law suffered strongly from asthma and that he had cut a malachite for her to wear on her chest. When I asked him how she is doing now, he said that three weeks after she got the stone she passed away.

He couldn’t laugh on my remark that the stone had definitely proofed its power as she clearly doesn’t suffer from asthma anymore.

Jacob, kids and drunks

After reading about the slaughtering of all males of a village by Jacob sons (Genesis 34) my youngest son said:

"... and then all Jacob cared about was his name!"

The Jacob dogma

I would have much more respect for those who explain the Torah would they admit that Jacob was nothing but a con man, coward and liar only surpassed by his sons who also turned out to be ignoble murderers; and that we, being descendants of such a deceitful family, should try with every generation to improve ourselves morally and thus aiming for heaven on earth.

And god said let there be cancer...

Just heard that the son of friends is diagnosed with cancer and wide spread metastasis. I’m sincerely happy for them they can find comfort in their belief.

Thou shalt not worship

period.

Does your god have a sense of humor?

... just wondering.

If I was god, I would say: (02)

I AM GOD ALMIGHTY,
BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY
SOLVE YOUR OWN PROBLEMS AND LEAVE ME ALONE!


(P.S. I DON'T EVEN EXIST!)

Pitiful believers

I sincerely feel pity for those who are stuck in their religion, unable to look beyond its borders.

Atheists all countries unite!

Power to the people!

If I was god, I would say: (01)

I AM GOD ALMIGHTY,
BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY
SOLVE YOUR OWN PROBLEMS AND LEAVE ME ALONE!

(I got real sick of all your moaning, complaining, bootlicking and begging. Especially the glorifying pisses me off as if you see me as a child that needs its self esteem to be lifted up by your compliments.)