Twelve Apostates - Tim Minchin

People who know me know I appreciate sarcasm.  I probably couldn't get through my day without it.  So, of course, I appreciate Tim Minchin.

Sound check before the Reason Rally

I was aware of Tim Minchin before the Reason Rally and already a huge fan of The Pope Song^[1] because it illustrates precisely how I feel about the Pope and the Vatican.

That song hits a complicated issue right in the face with how simple it is.  If you protect pedophiles, you're culpable in their crimes.  In other words, fuck the Pope.  I've encountered Catholics who see that song and only respond with complaints about the language, completely missing the point and further highlighting why the message of the song is spot on.

Before the Reason Rally, I hadn't yet heard his song "Thank You God"^[2], but it resonated with me like nothing had since I first encountered George Carlin's take on religion.  That moment was the closest I've ever come to knowing what religious people feel when they think they're feeling the Holy Spirit.  The song mocks the notion that prayer works, while highlighting some of the errors people make in thinking it does.

He's also used comedy to give the Bible itself some due criticism.

This song shows quite well how Christian Bible is a terrible book that should absolutely not be upheld as a source of morality.

New age woo woo, as James Randi puts it, has not escaped either.

I'm sure we've all met someone like Storm and wanted to rant at them like that.  Silly beliefs aren't restricted to religious beliefs and should not be immune to criticism.  Also similar to Randi, he's offered a reward for anyone who can prove claims such as Storm's.

On top of that, he's handled, better than most, one of the most talked about topics in the debate between religion and atheism.  Evolution.

And after all that entirely appropriate criticism of religion, he managed to create a beautiful song about celebrating Christmas.

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1.  It was rainy that day, and this picture is of the sign language interpreter, who spent much of that day in the rain signing diligently, during the Pope Song.

2.  This is probably because my exposure to Minchin had been primarily on YouTube and it's not up there.  Although, a decent cover has posted since.  It's still the only version of the song on YouTube, while I've seen some others get posted and later removed.

Twelve Apostates - George Carlin

George Carlin was the first celebrity I ever knew was atheist.  He was among the first few I knew, other than myself, who were atheist at all.  Possibly the very first one at all.

To this day, he's still done better than just about anyone at giving religion the criticism it is due.  I think he should have been included in the group labeled "New Atheists" and should have been considered one of the Four Horseman (not to say any of the four given that distinction were undeserving, of course).   His words against religion did precede theirs, after all.

I had heard of Carlin before, but only marginally.  I first learned of his stance on religion when I saw his now famous bit about religion being the best at bullshit.

In that rant, he compared god worship to sun worship and praying to a god to praying to Joe Pesci.  He made fun of the concept of Hell and how it's supposed to be a punishment from an all-loving god.  He made fun of churches' need for money.

He said everything I already felt but had never expressed and had never heard anyone else express.  Until then, I thought I was the only one.  Seeing this rant of Carlin's changed my life.  That was the day I learned I wasn't alone.  I'm a fan of stand-up comedy, and George Carlin was among the best of all time.  But it was this bit from him for which I will be eternally gratefully.

Well, at least as close to eternal as a mortal can get.

Open Letter To People Who Make Prayer Requests

If your standard response to tragedy is to request people pray, this is intended for you.

My intention here is not antagonistic or any attempt to insult, belittle, or mock.  These are genuine questions I have regarding a concept I have never understood.

Prayer has always perplexed me.  George Carlin's famous bit about prayer & "God's plan" described my thoughts on prayer best until I found Tim Minchin's "Thank You God" (the inspiration for this blog's title).

I don't understand why people think praying for someone experiencing a tragedy is actually accomplishing anything tangible.  I'm trying to understand what goes through your mind when you request prayer instead of actual action.

When you make prayer requests, what are you expecting?

Do you think the outcome is dependent on how many people pray?

If God has a plan, how could prayer alter that plan?

How often do you also request direct action other than prayer?  Given the less than stellar success rate of prayer, do you ever wonder if direct action would be more effective?

Do you ever think people who experience tragedy just didn't have enough people praying for them?

What about when people do pray & bad things still happen?  Did God say no?  Were not enough people praying?

Do you think direct action that occurs after a prayer is because of the prayer?  What about when disaster is averted without anyone praying?  Did God help that person anyway?  If so, is prayer even required or useful?  If not, is prayer even required or useful?

As far as I as I can tell, prayer is only useful for making the person praying feel better emotionally & is entirely useless in terms of otherwise helping people.

I'm not trying to tell you to stop praying.  It's not my place to make such a request if praying does make you feel better.  But please never let it be your only effort.

When you see someone in need that you want to help, please think for a minute about what tangible actions you could take to directly help.  That way, the person in trouble receives help and you get to feel better.  Instead of just you feeling better.