joreth | Nov. 16th, 2009

Nov. 16th, 2009

I am declaring my De-Baptism to the Catholic Church and requesting that I be removed from their list of saved souls that is used for statistical purposes. I have written the following letter and I am putting it in tomorrow's mail along with my De-Baptism certificate:

Most Holy Trinity Parish
Records Department
2040 Nassau Dr.
San Jose, CA 95122

To Whom It May Concern:

I was born on ________. I do not have my Baptismal date, but it was shortly thereafter I was baptized in San Jose, CA and my family attended Most Holy Trinity Church.

I wish to declare my formal defection from the Catholic Church in accordance with canons 1086, § 1, 1117 and 1124 of the Code of Canon Law as mentioned in notification Prot. N. 10279/2006 from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

I hereby reject the teachings, dogma and authority of the Roman Catholic Church and any benefits, so-called sacraments, graces and blessings supposedly bestowed upon me, either in the past or the future. Furthermore, please note that I make these statements personally, consciously and freely.

Having been subjected to the Rite of Christian Baptism in infancy (before reaching an age of consent), I hereby publicly revoke any implications of that Rite and renounce the Church that carried it out. In the name of human reason, I reject all its Creeds and all other such superstition in particular, the perfidious belief that any baby needs to be cleansed by Baptism of alleged ORIGINAL SIN, and the evil power of supposed demons. I wish to be excluded henceforth from enhanced claims of church membership numbers based on past baptismal statistics used, for example, for the purpose of securing legislative privilege.

If de-baptism is not an option, please excommunicate me as an alternative. The main point is to be removed from your records as a member of your organization for statistical, legal, or resource/exemption purposes.

If this is not the correct agency to correct this clerical error, please tell me who I should contact.

I respectfully request confirmation that this act has been noted in the baptismal registry (cfr. can. 535, § 2) with explicit mention of the occurrence of a ‘defectio ab Ecclesia catholica actu formali’.”

Greta Christina has decided to start posting her Atheist Memes in her blog once a week instead of daily, although she will continue to post them daily on her Facebook page (since I don't have a Facebook, I get them from her blog).

So here are this week's Atheist Memes:

Disagreeing With Religion Is Not The Same As Opposing Religions Freedom
Our choices for dealing with different religious beliefs aren't limited to uncritical ecumenalism or fundamentalist theocracy. We can question and criticize religious beliefs we disagree with, while passionately supporting religious freedom and people's right to believe whatever they like. That's where most atheist activists are coming from. Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across.

Religious Beliefs Affect People's Decisions And That's Why We Care
The reason many atheists care what other people believe is that beliefs affect decisions. Including political decisions. Political decisions should be made based on evidence about what works in this world, not on what an invisible being whose opinions we have no way of evaluating supposedly wants in an otherworldly realm nobody can agree about. Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across. (Posted the day after same-sex marriage lost in Maine.)

Pascal's Wager Is A Bad Reason For Religious Belief
"Believing is a safer bet than not believing" is a terrible reason to believe in God. Which God should we bet on? If we're believing in God just to hedge our bets in the afterlife, which of the thousands of contradictory religions should we follow? And how would that be sincere belief? Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across.

Unfalsifiable Claims Are Not Useful
If there's no possible way to show that a hypothesis is wrong -- if any possible event can be interpreted to confirm a hypothesis -- then that hypothesis isn't useful. And that applies to religion. If anything that happens, bad or good, can be seen as a sign of God's existence, then God's existence is indistinguishable from God's non-existence. Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across.

Atheists Are Happy Too
Atheism doesn't mean cynicism, nihilism, or despair. Atheists can and do have happy lives, full of meaning and joy, and with comfort and solace in difficult times. Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across.

Where Did God Come From?
"Something had to have made the universe, things don't just make themselves" is not a good argument for God. If things can't just exist forever or pop into being out of nothing... where did God come from? And if God can have existed forever or come into being out of nothing... why can't that be true for the universe? Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across.

Religion Is A Hypothesis
Religion is not just a matter of personal opinion or different perspectives. It's a hypothesis about how the world works and why it is the way it is. And it's not unreasonable or intolerant for atheists to treat it as a hypothesis, and to point out when that hypothesis is inconsistent with the evidence. Pass it on: if we say it enough times to enough people, it may get across.

I somehow manage to get on everybody's catalog mailing list whether I've ever bought anything from them or not. And although I hate the waste of paper for junk mail, I have always enjoyed going through catalogs. I methodically read every one and highlight or circle the items I would like. If you see a catalog at my house, chances are you can open it up and find my markings.

I started this habit as a kid, to help my mother do her holiday shopping. Just naming items on a list was never sufficient - she never seemed to have any idea what I was talking about or where to find it. So I'd comb through catalogs and dogear the pages, circling the items on each page. Even though I have an online wishlist now at The Things I Want that serves this purpose, I still take a great deal of pleasure going through catalogs and circling items I will never own.

In today's mail, I got a catalog for a company called What On Earth. I've never heard of this company, but some of the items were amusing. They were not quite interesting enough to put them on my already overly-large online wishlist, but I liked them nonetheless and I thought some of you might find them amusing too.

Here's what I circled:

LED Umbrella

Jellyfish Glass Paperweights

Storming The Castle Card Game

Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide

Wrench Ware

Mother Mobius Bracelet

Mostly I like this because it's a Mobius strip, and I recently created the Poly Purple Mobius symbol

, so I'm glad to see it does translate into jewelry

Friends Forever

I like this one because it's poly-friendly. Even in platonic friendships, there is some pressure to have only one who is Above All Others, and this statue is inclusive of multiple loves.

Heart-Shaped Hinged Ring Pendant

This one is also poly-friendly. It suggests that it is for keeping family heirlooms close to your heart even if they don't fit on your finger, but the description reads "The mod pendant swivels open, allowing you to add as many rings as you like...", which makes me think this would be a great alternative for such symbols as wedding rings. This way there's no issue about how many rings fit on your "wedding ring finger" or how many rings on a hand, or whether everyone's ring matches or whatever.

My Cat Walks All Over Me