Something a little lighter...

People know what I think of religion. Hell, just read this blog!  But then my mother-in-law sends me this story, so I thought it would be a great thing to use to lighten up the tone...

HELL EXPLAINED BY A CHEMISTRY STUDENT

The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry mid term, and an actual answer turned in by a student.

The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct..... ...leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a Divine Being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.

Don't get me wrong, I may look like an atheist... but...

Many of my posts on this blog would leave one with the idea that I belong to this new atheist movement some of you may be familiar with. The big names that everyone quotes (me included) are Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Hawkins. Christopher Hitchens is no longer with us (R.I.P.). They're sought-after keynote speakers, authors, scientists, and philosophers. I've read most of their publications, and agree with 100% of what they say when criticizing traditional religion.

But - that does not say I believe 100% of everything they say. No one should believe everything anyone says anyways. If you do, shame on you.

The point is that although I agree with these atheists' arguments against religion, I do not make the stretch to say that science has discovered everything we need to know, and therefore reject anything and everything spiritual or unexplained. These people mock things like chiropractors, Eastern medicine, distance healing, Reiki... basically anything that traditional science hasn't proven with years of funded research.

So, before swallowing the new atheist movement's pill whole hog, consider where they come from... they are hard core philosophers and scientists who don't give an inch to anything not backed up by pure (read: traditional) science. In contrast, me and a bazzilion other people have legitimate and very real experiences with these "unknown" areas of spirituality, so I take their opinion on these matters lightly.

My underlying point here is that personally, I have indeed turned my back on traditional Christianity (as anyone who reads the Bible cover to cover should), but there's a massive difference between being religious and being spiritual. I brand myself the latter. Just so you know...

Book Review: God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of the Bible

I haven't done a book review in ages, but I have to say - this dude's book has me in stitches. C.J. Werleman does an extraordinary job of harpooning the most basic contradictions in the bible, articulating them in such a detailed fashion that leaves the reader in a state of - "Oh yeah, of COURSE!".

He goes through the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, revealing the obvious contradictions that the casual reader would not pick up on. Like me... I've read it cover to cover dozens of times, but never really picked up on the ugly morals, and sanctioned evils, and the character of God himself - which should make us all shudder.  Mind you, I was reading it as a bible-bashing born-again Christian. Duh...

Funny what happens when you read the fine print.

Warning: he swears throughout the book, but to me, it adds to the import of his messages: HEY FOLKS, the bible is the best argument against itself!

Check it out if you dare.  Cheers friends,

Jim

It seems ANY Abrahamic-based religion is kinda funky...

Been finding out some interesting things about Islam's holy book. Well, firstly, it's written by just one person, Muhammad, and it took him from from 609 to 632 AD to write the whole thing. Seemingly the peaceful side of the writings are in the first parts of the book, but as it goes on, he instructs his followers to get rather violent, telling them that they can lie to non-believers for the sake of world domination. I lie not... watch this informative 9 minute video. Be informed...

What Happens if you REALLY follow the bible?

Sam Harris once again shreds the idea that the bible/god/christianity is all about love and peace. If we really took the bible seriously and lived by it, we'd all have slaves, beat our children, and stone our new wife if we found out she wasn't a virgin... give it a quick listen...

If you have ten minutes, watch this video. It's the best I've heard from Sam Harris so far and it gives bible believers a run for their money. So much so, that one has to be in absolute denial to dismiss the points he makes.  I literally could not be more direct and succinct in showing the folly of believing in the god of the bible...