Flash! Chaplain knows God's Mind

Apparently, Pat Robertson is not the only conservative Christan who knows for a fact what God is thinking:

An evangelical chaplain who leads Bible studies for California lawmakers says God is disgusted with a rival fellowship group that includes people of all faiths.

My first thought is God is "disgusted" with people worshipping Him? My second thought is how can anyone know the mind of God and therefore know how to worship Him "properly"? MY third thought is the rather more esoteric question of using the bible as any sort of guide to worship, considering it is completely disjointed in its teachings; Jesus' compassion and forgiveness for sinners, and Paul's firey condemnation of the same classes of sinners, etc.

Drollinger said "progressive religious tolerance" is an offense against God and causes harm to its practitioners.
He said the other Bible study group was perpetrating a "deadly lie" by presenting Jesus as "a good moral teacher who loves everyone without distinction."

So then I take it that Jesus was not a good moral teacher? How stupid is this?? One can talk about the good moral teachings of Jesus completely seperate from his supposed divinity. I can only presume that stupidity is a prerequisite for being a conservative evangelical chaplain. I mean even the most casual glancing of the gospels shows that Jesus loved an adulterer, a prostitute (if Mary Magdaline was actually a prostitute) but He hates non-evangelical Christians? Where do you draw the line on who Jesus loves and hates. He himself said to love your enemies [Matthew 5:43-44 NKJV] and hate your family [Luke 14:26 NKJV]. Am I to take it then that if Jesus does not love this "other" bible study group, they are His family, and if he loves Drollinger, then he is Jesus' enemy? Again, the logic here has to be astounding (and not in the good way). Of course, only in fundamentalist Christianity could loving your enemy and hating your family make any sense at all to begin with. But then turn around and ignore that to simply condemn another Christian group is just as absurd.

But to be honest, I still cannot get past the notion that this chaplain, Drollinger, thinks he knows the mind of God. Because no matter how you rationalize it, as a Christian, to claim you know what God really thinks is to put yourself into the same knowledge category as God and that is elevating yourself to diety levels. And I do believe there is a commandment against that, if I'm not mistaken.

You Can't Take the Dumb Out of Dumbass

CNN has put up a commentary by Roland Martin entitled, "Commentary: You can't take Christ out of Christmas." As you can probably guess it is yet another screed whining about some fictiticious War on Christmas.

Because of all the politically correct idiots, we are being encouraged to stop saying "Merry Christmas" for the more palatable "Happy Holidays." What the heck are "Seasons Greetings"? Can someone tell me what season we are greeting folks about? A Christmas tree? Oh, no! It's now a holiday tree. Any Christmas song that even remotely mentions Christ or has a religious undertone is being axed for being overtly religious. [emphasis mine]

I'll tell you what season we are greeting. You see, Mr. Martin, before Christmas became a Christian holiday, it was first a pagan holiday, celebrating the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year and the turning point towards spring). Before the calander was corrected to include leap years, the solstice used to fall on December 25. Odd coincidence, no? What Martin does not realize is that Christmas was chosen as December 25 is to ease the shock of forcibly converting pagans into the Christian religion. It was made easier by turning pagan ritualistic days into Christian holidays. Christmas, Easter and Halloween are all perfect examples of this.

So we can see that he has no idea of the history involved -- What is it the young people say, Ignorance is bliss?? Ah yes, I believe I heard that in the movie, The Matrix.

But the real point here is not Mr Martin's dumbassery, it is perception that there is a war on Christmas. He even says that we --Christians-- need to be more aware of other religions and their holidays:

Don't get me wrong; I'm very respectful of other religions. I don't want anyone to be afraid of discussing the Jewish faith when we address Hanukkah. And we shouldn't dismiss Muslims when the annual pilgrimage to Mecca is held during December. In fact, Americans are so ignorant of other faiths that we can all learn from one another.

Just so I get this straight, Mr Martin says that we should only use Christian terms for this holiday season, but we should respect other religions and their concurrent holidays. So why then is "happy holidays" so evil and non-respective of Christianity and other religions, but "Merry Christmas" shows all due respect to other religions?

Again, this is an interesting observation, that Mr Martin has dumbass-poor logic skills, but is not the real point.

The real point is simple. There is no movement at all to destroy the Christian's Christmas. In fact there is a large majority of of even us evil atheists who celebrate Christmas. I certainly do. I even will say Merry Christmas to the Christians I know. (I do say happy holidays to everyone else). But I guess respecting the fact that I do not know everyone's religious preferences, and thus use the more "generic" phrase as a sign of respect really means that I am not "very respectful of other religions".. I should show real respect by assuming that everyone is Christian.

But this seeming backlash against Christianity is bordering on the absurd, and we should continue to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Jesus..reason..season.. Yeah right. We're back to this? Didn't I already explain this??

So anyway, here is a good link to other atheist views on Christmas:
Ed Brayton of Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Coming Soon! This year's picture of our Christmas Village.

Anyway, Happy Holidays to everyone, and a big Merry Christmas to you Christians out there!

War On Christmas; The Secret Inside Job

You know for some reason I just realized that there are some from the inside who are working to undermine Christmas and, via secularization, eliminate Christmas. Just consider the "pro-"Christmas song, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas".

But then there is this line following:
"...And a Happy New Year"

Get that? This song that is supposedly pro-Christmas, because it actually mentions Christmas (and mentioning Christmas is what the war-on-Christmas fighters like Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson want most) slides in through the back door a very secular message, "and a happy new year" Since there is nothing about Jesus wrapped up in this whole New Year thing, then secularism has been snuck into a Christmas song!

Maybe someone should warn Bill O' and let him know that there are some Christmas songs which should not be sung, or even listened to, if he wants to win his war on Christmas...

hehe

Here is another great Christmas ditty (warning, it is Monty Python's Eric Idle, thus replete with the f-bomb)

The War on Christmas Has Begun, This Time by An Irish Catholic

Sean Hannity, of Fox News Channel, has fired the first shot in the war against Christmas. If you read this Media Matters post about how he describes Halloween, it is equally as applicable to Christmas -- Children learning to be liberals by asking for free handouts. Who knew that an Irish Catholic conservative was really secretly a part of the "great atheist conspiracy" to destroy Christmas.....


Children asking Santa Claus for free toys that they didn't earn the money to buy. What could be more liberal than that? Free handouts from a magical man paid for by nothing more than blind faith that that magical man, God, errr... Santa Claus exists. Well, maybe I'm wrong after all. What could be more Christian than asking for free handouts from a God paid for by nothing more than blind faith in that God. That is most certainly more noble and worthy than asking for a free handout from a flesh and blood person, paid for by dressing up in a costume and having to walk from door to door.

Wait, what is the difference again??

A Bible Moment to Remember

No, this is not a post about Christmas. Rather a holiday tragedy. CNN put up a news story about a woman in San Francisco who killed her sons.

When I read something like this, I have to wonder. There are so many Old Testament stories which describe how God talked to some person, who went out and did what God requested. It always had to do with killing someone, from one's son, to one's daughter, to entire civilizations. Yet today, when a person goes out and kills their sons or daughters, or groups of people and claims, "God told me to do it" they are called insane. So, what if all those biblical heroes lived and performed their actions in the name of God today? Would they be called insane, or would they be honored as prophets of God like they are in the Old Testament?

If I were a Christian and believed that the Bible were true, then there would be no way I could deny that God actually did talk to that person who just killed their children or some other group of people in God's name and at His behest.

For that would be duplicitous.

Christmas Wishes

Well, we are moving into the home stretch now. Last week of Christmas preparations. This atheist and his beloved woman have completed all shopping, dinner ingredients, and a final sprucing up of the jeffperado homestead. Here is a pic of our Christmas village we have set up. (Oddly enough, no nativity to be found.)

Unless something really interesting comes to light, I won't be blogging much for the next week.

Have a Happy Holidays! And enjoy a wonderful pagan holiday that early-middle century Christians absconded so that they could convert more pagans.

P.S. It's not too late to purchase that last minute Christmas gift for jeffperado from his Amazon Wish List either.... hint hint

God's own "gay agenda"

Note: Sorry for the slowness of this post. I know that this is old news by now.

Not too long ago we had Ted Haggard as the latest Christian conservative to admit to not just being gay, but still being gay. Now we have another downfall of a conservative Christian pastor, the Rev. Paul Barnes of Grace Chapel in Douglas County.

It seems as though the healing power of prayer is not strong enough to "heal" even the most ardent of Christian warriors of the "homosexual blight." As we noted with Haggard, if God's most powerful and influential ministers and preachers cannot overcome homosexuality, how does that play out for your average gay?

But then I suddenly saw the light, just like God intervenes via small miracles in all fundamental Christian's lives to send them messages. Maybe he is sending one to fundamental Christianity as a whole, right now. And if God is speaking to them through these revelations, they had better listen. God's new message to all conservative Christians: "Get it right, Gay is OK."

The Next Salvo in the War On Christmas

Who knew that George and Laura Bush were on our side (for the second straight year) when it comes to the war on Christmas. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, John Gibson and Bill O'Reilly all claim that anyone who says Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas is nothing but a dirty secularist/atheist/satan-worshipper. Well, it looks like the Bushes for a second year are dirty secularists/atheists/satan-worshippers. For their "Holiday" card makes no mention of Christmas. Thanks go out to Americans United for pointing this out.

I expect the outrage from O'Reilly and Co at Fox News any moment now. Not to mention the Christian Right's own condemnation of the secularism of the Bushes and how they are not "true" Christians for the capital sin of recognizing other's rights to religious expression.

Now if the President could just take this idea and apply it to his Office of Faith-Based Proselytization. (Based on this NYT article.) Thanks Go Out to Crooks & Liars.

Well, this atheist has this to say to all:
Have a Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas if you celebrate it (as I do).

War on Christmas part (infinity)

For all you Christians out there who want to make me suffer because my atheism means that I am out to eliminate Christmas; here is your chance to win back Christmas. Simply click on the wishlist and buy me a Christmas present. Let the spirit of Christmas shine though and defeat all the humbuggery of us dirty atheists.

(Oh, and if you need any extra incentive to fire back in this war on Christmas by buying me a Christmas gift, here is my first shot:)

Happy Holidays!

Warning! The War on Christmas Has Begun

This atheist, jeffperado, and his girlfriend may have begun putting up our CHRISTMAS decorations; but don't let that fool you Christians! For I am really at the forefront of the battle of Santa Claus/Baby Jesus. While we may celebrate Christmas, all you Christians know that in our hearts, the Jesus myth just isn't present, therefore even though we may say "Merry Christmas" you know we don't mean it. You know that merely saying "Merry Christmas" and not meaning the birth of the (fictional) baby Jesus is exactly the same as actually saying "Happy Holidays." (/end snark)

But seriously. How crazy must one become to claim that the "peace" symbol is an affront to the Prince of Peace (for those of you who are Christian, Jesus is called the prince of peace)? Apparently, the lack of oxygen has severely affected Coloradan Christian's brains.

Update: Someone must have led them to an Oxygen bar, they relented...

The question remains, but for how long?

Impartiality? At the WoldNetDaily?? Who'ya kidding..

WorldNetDaily can be called anything but impartial. But somehow, an impartial message accidentally slipped through.

My favortie passage was this:

The point is this. I am a professional, educated and responsible man who is strong in his faith and is quite comfortable debating the social and political issues of the day. Yet when placed in a setting where the majority culture proved hostile to my faith and beliefs, I became paralyzed with indecision and could not act decisively to defend and proclaim my own beliefs. I felt instantly ostracized and viewed myself as a foreigner in my own land.

Now if we could only get this sentiment spread throughout conservative Christianity...

This is the seed of understanding as to why it is so important to put religion in its place, in the home, in churches, in the personal lives of its advocates, and not, I repeat not, into school systems, or public legal systems. For imagine if you were to go into a court of law, and find that a religious advocate (other than your own views) were deciding your fate. How much worse would that be, compared to a prayer before a high school football game?

Remember that the next time you want to go screaming to the defense of some unAmerican postulate like Judge Roy Moore.

Unfortunately, this will quickly slide into the memory hole of WND, and tomorrow they will return to their persecution of Christianity, already in progress.

Differing Worldviews

I would like to open by saying it is true that I am an atheist. With that comes a worldview, one I would call progressive (not necessarily liberal or conservative, but mostly liberal). My worldview is based on a number of concerns and facts about the reality we all live in. There are however, other worldviews. In our great nation, one prevalent worldview is that of conservative Christianity (what I've called anti-blasphemy Christianity). Another one is that of liberal Christianity (Da Vinci Christianity).

While I disagree that worldviews can be considered purely in "good" or "bad" qualities, I think some worldviews lead to very destructive consequences. In this country, the most destructive is that of the anti-blasphemy Christianity. The reason is straightforward enough, it is a worldview of "I am always right and you do what I say to avoid suffering the consequences." But the most dangerous worldview, in my opinion, is that of Da Vinci Christianity. It is one of conflicting goals and set upon itself to eat itself up. It combines a warm take on humanity, one allowing gays and non-Christians to persist in their lives, with a strong sense of theological doctrine at the other end, a real Jesus who is really God. This dichotomy causes a real problem for the Da Vinci Christians; they are linked to the anti-blasphemy Christians through doctrine -- that of Jesus Christ -- but otherwise view the world in a more rational light; one of personal freedom. When the rational world attacks "Christianity" the Da Vinci Christians band together with anti-blasphemy Christians under the big banner of Christianity, even though the majority of their worldviews are wholly at odds. Thus, the anti-blasphemy Christians in essence hijack all of Christendom and claim to speak for all 80% of Christian Americans rather than the small minority they actually represent. It is the Da Vinci Christians who hand this power over to them. (This situation is completely analogous to what happens in Islam, the moderate Muslims throw in their lot with the radical Muslims when the rest of the world attacks "Islam." Christians recognize this when it comes to Islam, but fail completely to see it happen in their own camp, Christianity. That is what makes Da Vinci Christians so dangerous, they artificially give anti-blasphemy Christians more power to accomplish their (twisted) goals due to the one lone connection, Jesus.

This coalition, if you will, is what leads to that apparent contradiction we read so much about in the news and on blogs. The contradiction being the Christian coalition (not to be confused with Pat Robertson's organization, the Christian Coalition) is a majority of Americans (80%) and in power in most all local, state, and federal governments, yet there still exists a "war on Christianity" because the minority anti-blasphemy Christians cannot get their narrow agenda to become the law of the land. This is seen in their whining about school prayer and a war on Christmas/Easter. (Here's a thought: What about their war on Halloween, another Pagan holiday -- as is both Christmas and Easter? Halloween is also a Christian holiday, yet it is the anti-blasphemy Christians who want to destroy it, and they admit as much.) Da Vinci Christians just roll their eyes, and say, hey my kids can pray any time they desire, at home or in the school, they learn their religion at Sunday School, church, and at home, they are not limited or persecuted in any sense. Anti-blasphemy Christians on the other hand think that if they cannot Evangalize to other people's children through forced school prayer, then they are being persecuted.

These 'persecuted' souls see themselves as a minority because they do not consider the Da Vinci Christians to be real Christians, whereas, the rest of the country considers both Da Vinci and anti-blasphemy Christians to be real Christians. This is where the break in perception arises, and why to most of America, there is no "war on Christianity" or persecution, because this overwhelming majority does not see any problems. It is only the tiny minority of anti-blasphemy Christians who see persecution, and believe that they are not in power.

As much as I would like to see the anti-blasphemy Christians fade into the dust bin of the stupid and insane ideas, they never will as long as Da Vinci Christians continue to turn a blind eye to this demented worldview; choosing only to focus on their "brotherhood" of Christian doctrine of Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, the rest of us continue to suffer the indignities of the anti-blasphemy Christians rantings as a result. The Da Vinci Christians will never sever their ties to the anti-blasphemy Christians in exactly the same way that we all see the moderate Muslims continuing to maintain their ties to radical Islam. The reason is clear; they cling to Jesus as do the anti-blasphemy Christians and think (mistakenly) their peaceful loving Jesus is the same as the vengeful warmongering Jesus who is set to return any moment and pull a genocidal rampage that makes Hitler look like Barney on ecstasy.

The solution is the same in both cases, and one that is very difficult to imagine happening. That being that the Da Vinci's and the moderate Muslims give up their links to their radical brethren, that being their religious doctrines. Asking any Christian to give up Jesus (or any Muslim to give up Muhammad) is not going to work. At least not until the parasitic nature of both branches of the radical religions is recognized for what it is.

Da Vinci Christianity

"Christianity is a religion of peace." How many times have you heard that coming from conservative op-ed, blog, or Townhall column? This is usually followed by some hit piece concerning Islam, and their holy book teachings of violence.

Now I want to come out ahead of this and say that I find nothing appealing about Islam, I think it is every bit as reprehensible (and useless) as Christianity. I think any time a person wastes their time worshipping a mythological diety is ultimately destructive to society. (I can say I appreciate a "religion" that jettisons all the supernatural, and focuses on social and cultural value -- charity, etc.)

One thing both Islam and Christianity have in common is a broad spectrum of doctrines, from the very lax to the brutally extreme. The difference is largely cultural; Islam has its suicide bombers and Christianity has its Crusades, lynch mobs, and abortion clinic bombers. I have often pointed this out to fundamentalist Christians who make the "peace" claim.

However, today I eat crow. I have been proven wrong. I guess Christianity is a religion of peace after all. Just check out the box office total for The Da Vinci Code. For a movie that was blasted by virtually every conservative Christian pundit and organization, it performed quite well. I can only say that I gues the way conservative Christians showed their displeasure with this movie was to buy tickets.

Considering that this movie is about as inflammatory as that Muhammad cartoon (and on the exact same literary level as well), then by my reasoning Christians should have rioted as much as Muslims did. But instead of rioting (or even protesting) they bought tickets. I say good for them. Jesus told them, "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." [Matthew 5:39 NASB] They listened to Jesus and snatched those tickets right up.

But then I got to thinking. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place for evidence. Consider the fact that roughly 80% of Americans consider themselves Christian. Certainly a large percentage of those Christians went to see Da Vinci, but not all. And the rest certainly have an opinion on the movie, either they have no problem with it and may or may not see it based on it's interest to them, or they do have a problem with it and won't see it. This means that there are basically two types of Christians, Da Vinci Christians and the anti-blasphemy Christians. The second group being the ones who produced all the anti-Da Vinci noise over the years (and especially recently due to the movie).

Based on the popularity of the movie, it seems as though the first group is certainly the larger of the two, but the second group was the most vocal (and the minority). If this second group, the anti-blaspheming Christians is the minority then we have discovered something new that we never could point to before, concretely at least, that there is a set delineation in American Christianity. We all knew it existed but could never pin it down (Catholic/Protestant, liberal/conservative, figurative/fundamental, etc.). Now we have. The majority of Christians are Da Vinci Christians -- and those are the ones who recognize fictional works of literature and are not offended, who allow differing worldviews to coexist with their own, who don't buy into the whole faux "war on Christianity" meme put out by fundamental Christians.

These Da Vinci Christians are not the ones who pose the ominous threat of fascism clothed in "Christian Nation" sheepskins. But they are the ones who allow things to get worse. They allow the other group of Christians, the anti-blasphemy Christians, to dictate their fundamental Christian doctrine. Now that I have you pegged down, be forewarned that I will push the truth that just because we have common goals -- liberty -- you will not get a pass any more. You are now smoked out, and now must own up to the threat that anti-blasphemy Christians pose. Just because I fight Christianity, you can no longer defend them because that is giving them the cover they need to pursue their goals. And the time is coming that you will have to accept their dogmas or be relegated to the level of those like me, the atheists, the gays, the brown people, and everyone else who is not a part of their "Christian Nation."

The irony: There is a war on Christianity, but it is coming from an unknowing enemy, the Da Vinci Christians.

Please leave your thoughts or rants in comments.

Christians and Persecution

Christians in this country are undoubtedly a whiny bunch. One 16 year old cashier says 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry Christmas' and suddenly there is a 'war on Christianity'. They scream persecution any time someone who doesn't want Christianity shoved down their throat actually has the nerve to speak up and say so. Christians control the entire government and make up a solid majority of America's population. Yet when anyone speaks out because their beliefs aren't the same as Christians', its persecution.

We have recently seen what real persecution is; the threat of execution for the 'crime' of converting to Christianity. That example just goes to fully highlight how whiny and cry-babyish American Christians really are.

Then there is this recent opinion poll result (Thanks PZ, you're the best!). Apparently it is worse to be atheist in this country than black, jewish, muslim, hispanic, or foreigner.

"Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry"

When asked about who shares their values, Americans responded:

"Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in 'sharing their vision of American society.'"

Looks like the real people being persecuted in this country are us godless heathens. Not that I think we atheists are being persecuted, we do have to continually fight to prevent the onslaught of indoctrination tactics Christians want to foist upon us and our children by placing their religious claptrap in our schools, public buildings, and courts of law (of man, not God). Yet everyone distrusts us enough not to want us to marry their sons and daughters...

...But no, I don't think we are being persecuted just yet. I'll save my final opinion on that issue until when/if Christians ever succeed in remaking this great nation into a Christofascist "Christian Nation." The American Taliban are hard at work towards that goal even now.

I've been born again!

It is true. I've been playing for the wrong team all along. Today I officially came to Christ.

I have burned my own book as a heresy, and am taking evangelism lessons now. I just hope the hate kicks in soon, for today I still feel love for gays, single moms, brown people, Catholics, and anyone else whom I now recognize as taking the zippy bus to hell.


Have a happy April Fool's Day, and keep up the fight!

Thankful? You bet!

So today is thanksgiving. In between the all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving Buffet at the Fiesta Henderson, and the Egg Bowl, I thought I'd post a bit about what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for science. For without science I could not eat turkey without wondering if I was going to die of food poisoning.

I am thankful for Christians (really, I am!). For without Christians persecuting other Christians so viciously, this country would never have been born (or even discovered for that matter). Thank you Christians for that insuppressible appetite to eat your brethren. For without you, dissidents would not have been borne and fought for religious freedom.

I am thankful for elitist. Elitist dole out only what they want to us, but they give us a reason to strive, and learn. I also include Christians as well, for they give us a reason to continue to fight tyranny in our very own country.

Turning to more practical thanks, I wish to thank Juan Cole, Bartholomew's Notes on Religion, PZ Myers, My compatriots at Sadly, No!, The General, and last but certainly not least, all the gang at my favorite Christian web site (because they actually let me post comments there), The Narrow ....

An honorable mention goes out to those wild and crazy (white) guys over at Answers in Genesis for providing me with so much material over the years to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that by ignoring reality, anything is possible.

Oh, and how could I leave out William Dembski? His ego is larger than God's; anyone who disagrees with him in his "comments" section is placed in the (his) blogosphere's version of hell..... (Go ahead, try it just for fun, just say something like "there are other currently living mathematicians today who are more insightful than Dembski" and Bill will remove your comment. Now that is EGO!


Anyway, I hope this little trollop through my thanksgivings helps a little. It certainly reminds me of what I find stimulating in this world.

Religious Freedom? Ya Gotta be Kidding!

Greetings,

The State Department recently released its 2005 report on International Religious Freedom. If one were to bother actually reading it, the information contained within gives us all the usual suspects; China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. They all legislate out opposing religions and actively discriminate against its participants.

Does any of this sound familiar? Well it should if you pay attention to the religious right of our very own country. Those countries already have and practice what conservative Christians of this country desperately want: Religious dominance.

Consider just a small sampling of the proclamations of the leaders of the conservative Christians. "This is a Christian nation." "This country was founded on Christian principles." "All our forefathers were Christians, and they intended for this to be a Christian Nation." What they say is pretty much what they want to happen; that is turning our great country, founded on the basic human right of liberty, into a Christian Iran. They want all non-Christian Americans to be taught Christian principles sin school, have Christian prayers forced upon them when they pledge allegiance to this country, proclaim Christian holiday slogans when they don't believe in them, and their ultimate goal:

To have all non-Christians, or even Christians with differing doctrines, be treated as second class citizens.

What evidence do we have of conservative Christians fighting for a Christian Iran?
1. It is vile and evil for store clerks to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"
2. Christian prayers are to be recited in school, at sporting events, during governmental proceedings. And not just any Christian prayers; Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons, need not bother with trying to pray their prayers.
3. Evolution is right out. No science that contradicts the Bible is allowed. Biology is the conservative Christian's primary target, but physics is not far behind. (Physics supports the anti-biblical notions that the earth is not flat, not the center of the universe, that the universe is about 14 billion years old, and that it all began in a "big bang"). Math, too, is a target, as math teaches such anti-biblical things such as the value of pi -- the Bible teaches it is 3.0 (see 2 Chronicles 4:2).
4. Human sexuality (we will discuss homosexuality in particular in the next point) is to be tightly controlled. Teens will not be taught facts, instead only taught the "chained and locked Chastity Belt" method. Pregnancy is to be carried to term for teens, And most importantly, any sexually transmitted disease is to be taught as a punishment from God.
5. Gays get out. No homosexual tolerance is allowed. Gays can either pretend to act "straight" or leave the country. If any person is caught in any "gay act" imprisonment ensues. Gays certainly are not allowed to marry, as that would make them equal with straight marriages. And equality is a sin.
6. Niggers and sand niggers get out (unless you work as a servant to a white person). Need I really say more about this one? This is a "whites only" country.
7. Down on your luck? Starve or get out! Christians only help when you're on your way to becoming wealthier than Bill Gates. If you're just a hard working, yet poorly educated person, then you deserve what you get.
8. Money begets education. No money, tough luck. The government does not provide public education or higher education except unless you're wealthy. (Just try spending a $2,500 school voucher for a $5,000 private education, if you have no extra money.)
9. Jobs, schmobs... It is the worker's fault if their job is sent overseas because they were demanding too much money for salary because they had the insane notion of sending their kids to a better education -- and feeding them.

And finally number 10...

10. Have I mentioned that if you're not the "right" kind of Christian, you might as well not even be Christian? United Church of Christ, they're looking at you!

Does any of this ring familiar? Yes it does, these are all things that Dobson, Robertson, Falwell, Santorum, Bush, Frist, et al. have stated as their goals at one point or another. This is not even touching on all the things they want banned, like dissent, books, and thought and reason. When you put all that in one place and then look at the "sins" of China or Saudi Arabia or Iran, the only difference is the name.

Oh, and have I mentioned that if Christ were alive today, he'd be waterboarding Muslims just like Cheney wants?