Frankly, who cares? I think when most people say "Jesus never existed", they mean he didn't exist as described: working miracles, being born asexually, resurrecting, etc. I guess some people can dislike a person/idea so much that they deny basic established facts. (see Obama/Birthers)

I see. Do you know if there is there a publicly available breakdown of the income and expenses? It would be interesting to know how much money the church receives from various sources, and how it gets spent.

Thanks for the response.

I take issue with this. Your church should not be pushing its definition of marriage into law. If a gay couple can't be married at a Mormon church, that's fine with me. They can always leave. But that couple should be able to elope at a local courthouse. Civil unions do not provide the same rights, privileges and responsibilities under current law that marriage does.

I fail to see your point. To me, the church and the government here are doing the exact same thing: taxing people and giving them benefits in return. The "heart of the problem" isn't how people feel about receiving benefits. It's the fact that in our society, some people often get ahead at the expense of others who are left behind. That's called "capitalism". Some people, like the Mormon church, don't think that it's right for the system to leave people behind. So they come up with safety nets. I fail to see anything wrong with that.

Interesting. Have you personally seen non-believers receive assistance? If so, are they expected or encouraged to give back to the church in some way? I personally would feel guilty about receiving assistance from a church. Welfare works because people who aren't actively using it are still paying into the system. I wouldn't feel as guilty about receiving unemployment (for example) since I have paid a lot of money into that system. It's too bad your church spends money on things I don't support, otherwise it might be worth joining just for the safety net. =) Maybe you can come out with a non-believers insurance plan - a mere x% of your income, and you too can have guilt-free access to these excellent benefits! ;-) Just need to hire a good accountant to make sure you aren't spending that on anti gay rights propaganda.

OK, just wondering. Is it a members-only charity? Can I walk in [as an atheist] and receive benefits?

It varies widely by state.

The interesting part to me, if you browse to qq.com you'll see a logo that was clearly ripped off from the Google Chrome logo.

My interpretation is that the Chinese government is mocking Google's attempts to scorn them - hence, they are a bunch of whiners - QQ.

They have two /8s and change. ;-)

015/8 Hewlett-Packard Company 1994-07 LEGACY
016/8 Digital Equipment Corporation 1994-11 LEGACY

And don't forget that people who get college degrees have an easier time getting visas to go to other countries. So you get to say "so long suckers!" while your college educated friends have to go to those overseas hot sites. ;-)

The mormons are only slightly crazier than the average religion. I imagine these guys would be spinning this news like crazy.

I wish it were that easy. Where is this elusive "work" you speak of? From where I sit, there is no hiring growth in 1st world countries. Requirement #1 for hiring is "low cost geography".