The Compleat Heretic's Guestbook Archive:
Volume 3 (16 Mar 1999 - 25 Nov 1999)

This page was last modified on 26 October 2014.

Comments:
Excellent site! I love it!

Webmaster's Response:
Thanks, Rad-Con! Hmm, seems that being a Carolyn Gargaro/Rightgrrl! cyber-groupie draws like-minded folks to my web sites. I reckon I should sign the debate boards, er, guestbooks more often.
-- The Compleat Heretic

Webmaster's Addendum:
On 18 October 2014, in a moment I've been dreading for most of the year, Darrin John Ford died after a lengthy period of declining health.

I've lost one of my oldest Internet friends, going back to the late '90s when we were waging a Conservative counterinsurgency against the Leftist and Counterculturalist infestation on Carolyn's Little World (Carolyn Gargaro) and Rightgrrl! (Carolyn Gargaro and Stephanie Herman). D.J. was The Radical-Conservative, or Rad-Con for short, and I was, as I have been since 1997, The Compleat Heretic. GIT SOME!!!

We agreed on most things which allowed us to most cordially disagree when it came to the notable exception of religion . . .

Go easy, brother. The fight goes on!

Obituary: Darrin John Ford   (17 May 1967 - 18 October 2014)

— The Compleat Heretic, 26 October 2014

Comments:
I think i put it all in your "do you think I'm insame" section? :( oh well

Webmaster's Response:
First, I love voting and have made a point of doing so at every opportunity since I was first eligible in 1980. In the early 1980s, though I was registered "Unaffiliated" and ineligible to vote otherwise, I showed up to vote on a state referendum during a primary. While in the Army, I voted by absentee ballot from Germany in 1986 and from Ft. Lewis, WA in 1988. I consider election day to be a secular holiday, a celebration of the ability of a free people to govern itself. My vote is my say in who governs me whether my candidate wins or loses. My vote is neither less important nor more important whether it's one of two, a thousand, or 100 million; regardless of how many ballots are cast, my vote is just as powerful as any other citizen's. Your attitude reflects your poor citizenship and perhaps even your incapacity for freedom.

Also noted is your coy swipe at biological evolution. Living things are not "created," but rather procreated, that is, reproduced either sexually (combining half the DNA from each of two parent organisms) or asexually (simple mitosis, vegetative budding, etc.). I exist because my father deposited upwards of 500 million of his reproductive cells in my mother's reproductive tract at some point during the summer of 1960; one of these gametes not only reached my mother's reproductive cell, but penetrated it and combined it's load of genetic material with that in my mother's ovum, which formed the nucleus containing the full human complement of 46 chromosomes of my first cell thus beginning the life of the biological entity now known as James Matthew Wallace. The fact that any one of literally hundreds of millions of other human beings could have been conceived instead of me is "demonstrative" of the random, "accidental" if you will, nature of the "process."

As a hard materialist, I assert the following: that only matter exists; that matter has always existed and will always exist as it can be neither created nor destroyed; and that everything that exists is either made of matter or is a manifestation of matter. As a strong atheist, absent evidence to the contrary, I not only do not believe in "God" but deny the existence of "God." (I use "God" as a metaphor which refers not only to the Christian concept but to all deities, supernatural beings, paranormal entities, etc.) Accordingly, I reject your assertion that "everything comes from something and something put it all into being." I recognize this as your expression of the First Cause argument which is readily refuted by the question of the cause of your "something." While it is possible that matter, hence the Cosmos, has a "cause," such a "cause" is unknown, isn't required for understanding how the Universe works, and doesn't necessarily correspond with your imagined "God." To deny this only demonstrates your failure both to acknowledge the obvious and to comprehend the true nature of existence.
-- The Compleat Heretic

Webmaster's Addendum:
Please allow me to offer three pieces of evidence which further demonstrate my enthusiasm for voting. One must understand that my precinct is the UNCG campus with token slivers of residential areas north and west of campus; given that almost all of the precinct's registered voters are students who are on summer break during any needed runoff, and Democrats to boot, the low turnout described is expected. During the 2000 election cycle, two Republican races for council of state positions required runoff elections; when I voted at about 5 pm, I was only the second person in my precinct to vote since the polls had opened that morning. During the 2010 election cycle, I voted in the runoff to select the Republican nominee for North Carolina's 13th Congressional district knowing it was an exercise in futility; after the 2000 census and reapportionment, I was drawn out of my proper 6th district and into the new 13th district by Democrat gerrymandering led by Brad Miller so he could have a safe seat for himself. During the 2012 election cycle, Republicans had four council of state runoffs and Democrats had one; when I voted after 7 pm, just prior to the polls closing at 7:30, I was only the fourth voter of the day, and the lone Republican. I rest my case.

— The Compleat Heretic, 19 October 2012

Comments:
It may all come down to just one idea...individual faith. What works for one person may not work for the next. Otherwise, if we were all the same, the world itself would be a rather boring place.

Comments:
This web site is worth checking out http://understandme.cjb.net. As well, I've been to this site before -- and it would appear that there are a number of additions... I especially like the pics page... with your neice, quite sweet. take care

Webmaster's Response:
Uh, Zack and Kyle are my nephews, and they're definitely boys. Oh yes, most definitely boys! But the pics are still sweet!
-- The Compleat Heretic

Comments:
Already sent e-mail. Hope to hear from you.

Webmaster's Response:
Hmm, I suppose that would explain why he asked me to remove him from my guestbook signers' e-mail list on 14 July 2000 after I sent out a site update!
-- The Compleat Heretic

Comments:
Your views seem to be similar to mine. You also seem to have a good sense of humor. As a middle age college student I find that my views seem to be different from everyone I meet.

Webmaster's Response:
Speaking from personal experience, that's what you get for going to school with "kids" less than half your age! What's worse are those young "enlightened" know-it-alls who think you're some sort of dumbass. Worst of all is realizing that I used to be one of those young "enlightened" know-it-alls!
-- The Compleat Heretic

Webmaster's Response:
You received an e-mail from me because you signed my guestbook on 6 November 1998, and why and how could I lie to myself for over 25 years about my atheism which is arguably the most honest component of my worldview.

If theism is necessary to be pro-life and anti-abortion, then please explain the Atheist and Agnostic Pro-Life League. All life exists solely to reproduce itself, that is, to pass on a portion of its genetic material to future generations. I oppose abortion, in part, because it completely defeats this purpose and utterly negates whatever meaning life has. I assert that life is all there is and all that matters. The alternative to existence is not some purported postmortem eternal life but rather nonexistence, and existence is preferable to nonexistence. Given the nature and uniqueness of life, anything that denies life is evil, so abortion used as "birth control," which is undeniably the destruction of an innocent human being's life, is a most horrific evil. All good people, regardless of their religious, philosophical, or political views, must take a principled stand against evil whenever and wherever it arises.

Moral codes, ethical systems, and legal structures are the attempts of human beings to rationalize and to direct human behavior in the absence of instincts. Rules, morals, laws, etc. facilitate the existence of both individuals and the species by serving as behavioral guides for both individuals and social groups. I "follow the rules" and "have any morals at all" so that I may survive and thrive as an individual and live my finite life in the most satisfying way. As I always put it, "There are things you do and things you don't do. If you do the things you should do, you will increase your chances of living a long, healthy, productive life. But if you do the things you shouldn't do, you will suffer the consequences." Your testimony is a clear example of this truism. You knew the rules, you chose to break those rules, and as a result you have lost your health and ultimately your life.

Finally, your assertion "that there is really a true and loving merciful God" just waiting for me to ask to be "forgiven" is truly insufferable. For the sake of argument, let's assume that your "God" exists. According to Christian teaching, this God is the proximate cause of everything, has perfect knowledge of all things through all time, and has the power to bring anything into existence by the simple exercise of His perfect will. Thus, your God created me with full knowledge that I would reject Him and that I would be damned to eternal torment; and even though He possessed this knowledge and had the power either to create me otherwise or simply not to create me at all, He created me as I am, Hell-bound and all! This is the ultimate obscenity of Christianity: that the Christian God's created beings are expected to atone for His having created them precisely as they are or face never-ending punishment!

And please don't throw "free will" at me. Even if I have the "free will" to correct God's mistake, my creation, hence my "need" to be "saved," was never my will, but God's alone, for I exist as I am only because that's obviously what He wanted, else He would not have created me in the first place. Far from being a "loving merciful God," your God is a sadist who knowingly creates sentient beings fully aware that He will have them mercilessly tortured for all eternity. Why in the world would I ever believe in such a being, much less place any faith in a religion that would require me to accept unthinkingly such absurdity as "infallible, revealed truth"!?
-- The Compleat Heretic

Comments:
Its nice to see another atheist Republican. I didn't think there were any more out there. Its nice to know I am not alone.

Webmaster's Response:
Actually, there are even more of us. I must have been contacted by about a dozen godless right-wingers since I started webmastering. Hmm, time for another web site, say the Radical Irreligious Right (RIRR)?
--The Compleat Heretic

Comments:
Keep the state separate from all religions.

Comments:
Interesting site you have here. I think you and I are probably polar opposites on all issues except atheism. Still, I found your home page quite interesting. I have it bookmarked, so I will return when I have time to check out everything more thoroughly. take care :o)

---

casey and lisa - 05/28/99 04:12:18
My Email: caseym17@hotmail.com
Location (City, State, etc.): Vic
How did you find me?: altavista
Do you like my site?: yes we do!!!
Will you visit again?: yeah sure
Recommend site to others?: defenitly
Do you think I'm insane?: not at all

Comments:
if you have any more info or pictures that you would like to send it would be greatly appreciated thanx casey and lisa

Webmaster's Response:
Uh, I'm not really sure what to make of this, but what you see is what you get.
-- The Compleat Heretic

---

Joe Soria - 04/08/99 13:59:52
My Email: soriaj@exempla.org
Location (City, State, etc.): Denver, CO
How did you find me?: Web Engine
Do you like my site?: Sure
Will you visit again?: Sure
Recommend site to others?: Sure
Do you think I'm insane?: Nope

Comments:
Please add me to your e-mailing list if you have one. Keep up the good work!!!!

---

david scheidt - 03/20/99 17:53:54
My Email: davids@iac.net
Location (City, State, etc.): cincinnati
How did you find me?: search sec. hum.
Do you like my site?: have at it yes
Will you visit again?: ok
Recommend site to others?: ok
Do you think I'm insane?: ok

Comments:
Pressing s in your index revealed no mention of the "SOS" program. I was looking for info on this alternative to the religious method that AA uses to help individuals stop abusing alcohol etc. Another alternative called "Rational Recovery" is fascinatingly direct. I hope that you would appreciate the personal responsibility inherent in such an approach. But this is a personal home page and not a directory of rationalist thought so I will continue to search elsewhere. I hope to visit again and glean from your philosophy.

Webmaster's Response:
I'm sorry you didn't find what you were looking for. While I recognize the need for secular/nonreligious substance abuse recovery programs, I have no experience with any of them, so I've never written anything about them, hence "no mention." My Site Index is simply a partial topic listing of my site's content. You're more than welcome to visit at your leisure.
-- The Compleat Heretic

---

Carol Arnold - 03/16/99 17:34:37
Location (City, State, etc.): Fosston, Mn
How did you find me?: Very opinionated
Do you like my site?: yes and no
Will you visit again?: yes
Recommend site to others?: yes
Do you think I'm insane?: undoubtedly!

Comments:
Some of your opinions that you express I agree with wholeheartedly. Others I think are so wrong. Whether I agree or not, your site is interesting.

Webmaster's Response:
Oh my lack of god, my misspent youth has caught up with me yet again! Well Carol, I'm pleased to see that you finally visited my web site. Of course, I'm not at all surprised by your reaction to it and its contents. Thus has it been since we were in the Army together with HQ & A Company, 26th Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division and stationed in sweet little Aschaffenburg-am-Main, Bavaria, Germany back in the closing days of the Cold War. Ah, the sordid little stories the barracks of Graves Kaserne could tell. "ROCK OF THE MARNE!"
-- The Compleat Heretic

Please note: Carol Diane Arnold, SPC, U.S. Army, Honorably Discharged, died suddenly
and unexpectedly at the home of her sister in Fosston, MN on 30 July 2005. She was 39.
She is missed and will be so evermore.
( Obituary: Carol Arnold - Farmers Independent - Google News Archive Search )
-- The Compleat Heretic, 3 August 2005

---

For other entries:

Proceed to Guestbook Archives: Volume 2.

Proceed to Guestbook Archives: Volume 4.

See Guestbook Archives on the Compleat Heretic's Guestbook Central.

---

	Direct comments to The Compleat Heretic
	Return to The Compleat Heretic's Guestbook Central
	Return to The Compleat Heretic's Homepage