Photo Journal
Action without discussion is dangerous. Discussion without action is futile.
The following prayer may shed some light on the true nature of religion, replacing the false sugarcoated image that is so prevalent. For over 200 years, from the landing of the Pilgrims, to the Constitutional Convention, our founding Fathers saw the petty bickering, the persecution, the cruelty of religion, as depicted so poignantly in the following, Christian prayer, that they wanted no part of religion in our government. This is the image our Founding Fathers had of religion, and it is why they attempted to erect a wall of separation between state and church.

''O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; . . . help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land. . . . We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love.''

- Mark Twain, published posthumously in 1923
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmond Burke, member of British Parliament, criticized misgovernment and corruption. (1729-1797)
"You believe in a book that has talking animal, wizards, witches, demons, sticks turning into snakes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water, and all sorts of magical, absurd and primitive stories, and you say that we are the ones that need help." - Dan Barker
Hitler was an atheist? WRONG.

He was a Christian.

A popular myth is that Hitler and the Nazi regime were atheists. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mis-translated passages of Hitler's writings, ignorance, shoddy academic research, and prejudice are the source of this misinformation. This photograph shows a belt buckle from a Nazi military uniform. Religion was used by the Nazi regime to justify their violence, hate, and atrocities. Humans have misused religion throughout history, and the Nazi era is no exception. Beware of any who claim "god is on our side". Remember, the World Trade Center attack of 9/11 was a "faith-based initiative".

"The Government of the Reich, who regard Christianity as the unshakable foundation of the morals and moral code of the nation, attach the greatest value to friendly relations with the Holy See and are endeavouring to develop them."
-Adolf Hitler, in his speech to the Reichstag on 23 March 1933

"Almighty God. Dear heavenly father in thy name let us now in pious spirit begin our instruction, enlighten us. Teach us all truth, strengthen us in all that is good, lead us not into temptation, deliver us from all evil in order that, as good human beings, we may faithfully perform our duties and thereby, in time and eternity, be made truly happy. Amen."
-Adolf Hitler
"God with us," the Nazi motto on military belt buckles. EM German Army belt buckle (Stamped steel, 1937 pattern, made by "R S & S" for Richard Sieper & Sohne Ludenscheid). Photo from the German Militaria Catalog
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist, adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War (1818-1895)

“Find out just what the people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
-Frederick Douglass
Carl Sagan, Astrophysicist, educator (1934-1996).

"History is full of people who out of fear, or ignorance, or lust for power have destroyed knowledge of immeasurable value which truly belongs to us all. We must not let it happen again." - Carl Sagan
George Washington, Revolutionary War hero, patriot, co-founder of the United States of America, first president of the United States.

"Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause."

--George Washington, letter to Sir Edward Newenham, June 22, 1792. From "2000 Years of Disbelief" by James A. Haught:
I have to note that we have a long history of being far more concerned about moral indiscretions than we are about violations of basic human rights or anything else that matters.

The televangelists, e.g., Baker, Swaggert, et al, were guilty of exploitation of the poor and defenseless people who supported their extravagant lifestyles but it was only when they were caught soliciting a prostitute or seducing a young church secretary that people became alarmed. - political observer