Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
christianity should be practiced like sex
christianity should be practiced like sex, in private, behind closed doors, between
consenting adults. #atheist #teamjesus #godisnotgreat
consenting adults. #atheist #teamjesus #godisnotgreat
Thursday, December 15, 2011
no the worst moments 4 an #atheist R when we C another childs been beaten 2 death by a member of the christian death cult
no the worst moments 4 an #atheist R when we C another childs been beaten 2 death by a member of the judeo-christian death cult
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
If we lost all our hard-won knowledge and all our archives, and all our ethics and all our morals...and had to reconstruct everything essential from scratch, it is difficult to imagine at what point we would need to remind or reassure ourselves that Jesus was born of a virgin.
If we lost all our hard-won knowledge and all our archives, and all our ethics and all our morals...and had to reconstruct everything essential from scratch, it is difficult to imagine at what point we would need to remind or reassure ourselves that Jesus was born of a virgin.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
if it takes more faith to disbelieve, and faith is a virtue, then isnt it more virtuous to be atheist
if it takes more faith to disbelieve, and faith is a virtue, then isnt it more virtuous to be atheist
Friday, November 25, 2011
Argument From Cause
1. The universe had a beginning
No one has evidence of a universal beginning. Although the known expanding universe suggests a smaller volume universe in the past, this does not necessarily mean that it had a primordial "beginning." Recent hypothesis suggest that even a Big Bang does not require an absolute singularity. Furthermore, various "many-world" hypothesis proposed by physicists produce many Big-Bangs. There simply does not exist enough information to determine whether or not the universe had a beginning, or even what "beginning" means in terms of a universe.
2. Everything that had a beginning must have had a cause outside of itself.
Human short life spans do not allow knowledge about "everything" and we could not possibly have tested for everything in the universe to see if it had a beginning or not. Therefore we cannot possibly know everything much less know that everything had a beginning. And why would "everything" have to have an outside cause? Do quarks have an outside cause or a beginning? And what does it mean by "outside." Why not include whatever exists "outside" as part of the total universe?
3. Therefore, the universe had a cause outside of itself
Since we don't know whether the universe exists as open or closed, or whether many universes exist, or whether it had a beginning, or no beginning, we cannot possibly determine cause much less an "outside of itself."
No one has evidence of a universal beginning. Although the known expanding universe suggests a smaller volume universe in the past, this does not necessarily mean that it had a primordial "beginning." Recent hypothesis suggest that even a Big Bang does not require an absolute singularity. Furthermore, various "many-world" hypothesis proposed by physicists produce many Big-Bangs. There simply does not exist enough information to determine whether or not the universe had a beginning, or even what "beginning" means in terms of a universe.
2. Everything that had a beginning must have had a cause outside of itself.
Human short life spans do not allow knowledge about "everything" and we could not possibly have tested for everything in the universe to see if it had a beginning or not. Therefore we cannot possibly know everything much less know that everything had a beginning. And why would "everything" have to have an outside cause? Do quarks have an outside cause or a beginning? And what does it mean by "outside." Why not include whatever exists "outside" as part of the total universe?
3. Therefore, the universe had a cause outside of itself
Since we don't know whether the universe exists as open or closed, or whether many universes exist, or whether it had a beginning, or no beginning, we cannot possibly determine cause much less an "outside of itself."
Argument From Design
1. The universe has a complex design
Yes, the universe shows many examples of complexity and, indeed, may look designed to the naive, but no evidence for a designer of a universe has ever appeared. The only intellegent designers we know of come in the form of earthly based DNA life-forms.
2. Things that have a complex design, have and intelligent designer
A non-sequitur (it does not follow). Designs do not require a monogenetic single designer even for human design. Designs usually come about from many designers. A Boeing 747, for example, required many designers. In fact no one single person could have had all the knowledge required to design its entirety. Even inventions usually thought of as designed by one person (light bulb by Edison, the telephone by Bell, etc.) derive from the knowledge accumulated by many persons and many disciplines. Edison, for example, could not have invented the light bulb without prior knowledge of electricity brought about by scientists before him. I defy anyone to give an example of any physical invention created solely by a single inventor without annexing prior knowledge from others.
Taking the analogy to its extreme, everything in the universe could have come from pantheistic designers, trillions of them, where each designer (god) would consist of the dumbest possible entity needing only "knowledge" of one or two things (to react or not to react). Each designer here would consist of a subatomic particle. Thus we could have an entire universe built from many unintelligent gods. This would also explain their silence, and agrees perfectly with the science of physics.
Complex "designs" can come about without an intelligent designer at all. Snowflakes, crystals and life-forms for example. Order and complexity can even come out of disorder; for example, galaxies, star and solar systems, the Red Spot on Jupiter, hurricanes, etc. These all show order emerging from disorder.
3. Therefore, the universe has an intelligent designer
Another non-sequitur. Simply because complexity exists, says nothing about intelligence or a designer. Again, designs do not require a monogenetic single designer, much less an intelligent one. Complexity and order occurs many times without a designer at all. All present workable scientific theories about the universe and life-forms do not require a Designer for their understanding, much less from an intelligent designer or many designers.
Yes, the universe shows many examples of complexity and, indeed, may look designed to the naive, but no evidence for a designer of a universe has ever appeared. The only intellegent designers we know of come in the form of earthly based DNA life-forms.
2. Things that have a complex design, have and intelligent designer
A non-sequitur (it does not follow). Designs do not require a monogenetic single designer even for human design. Designs usually come about from many designers. A Boeing 747, for example, required many designers. In fact no one single person could have had all the knowledge required to design its entirety. Even inventions usually thought of as designed by one person (light bulb by Edison, the telephone by Bell, etc.) derive from the knowledge accumulated by many persons and many disciplines. Edison, for example, could not have invented the light bulb without prior knowledge of electricity brought about by scientists before him. I defy anyone to give an example of any physical invention created solely by a single inventor without annexing prior knowledge from others.
Taking the analogy to its extreme, everything in the universe could have come from pantheistic designers, trillions of them, where each designer (god) would consist of the dumbest possible entity needing only "knowledge" of one or two things (to react or not to react). Each designer here would consist of a subatomic particle. Thus we could have an entire universe built from many unintelligent gods. This would also explain their silence, and agrees perfectly with the science of physics.
Complex "designs" can come about without an intelligent designer at all. Snowflakes, crystals and life-forms for example. Order and complexity can even come out of disorder; for example, galaxies, star and solar systems, the Red Spot on Jupiter, hurricanes, etc. These all show order emerging from disorder.
3. Therefore, the universe has an intelligent designer
Another non-sequitur. Simply because complexity exists, says nothing about intelligence or a designer. Again, designs do not require a monogenetic single designer, much less an intelligent one. Complexity and order occurs many times without a designer at all. All present workable scientific theories about the universe and life-forms do not require a Designer for their understanding, much less from an intelligent designer or many designers.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Becoming an Atheist is the single most rational sane thing that ever happened to me.
Becoming an Atheist is the single most rational sane thing that ever happened to me.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Lawrence Krauss gives a talk on our current picture of the universe
It turns out, that in a flat universe the total energy of the universe is precisely zero...Because gravity can have negative energy. So, the negative energy of gravity balances out the positive energy of matter.
What’s so beautiful about a universe with total energy of zero?
Well, ONLY such a universe can begin from nothing… And that is remarkable… Because, the laws of physics allow a universe to begin from nothing. You don’t need a deity. You have nothing… zero total energy… and quantum fluctuations can produce a universe.
<…>
Right now, we know it to an accuracy of better than 1%. The universe IS flat. It has zero total energy, and it could have begun from nothing. … And, I’ve written this piece (and, of course, I got a lot of hate mail) saying that in my mind this answers that crazy question that religious people always keep throwing out… Which is:
“Why is there something rather than nothing?”
The answer is… There had to be. If you have “nothing” in quantum mechanics, you’ll always get something. It’s that simple. It doesn’t convince any of those people, but it’s true.
We humans believe that everything that happens to us is special... and significant. And that... Carl Sagan wrote beautifully about that in Demon Haunted World... That is MUCH of the source of religion. Okay... Every event that happens is unusual and unexpected. <...> Everything that happens has small probability... but, it happens. <...> The thing that physics tells us about the universe is that it's big, rare events happen all the time (including life), and that doesn't mean it's special.
What’s so beautiful about a universe with total energy of zero?
Well, ONLY such a universe can begin from nothing… And that is remarkable… Because, the laws of physics allow a universe to begin from nothing. You don’t need a deity. You have nothing… zero total energy… and quantum fluctuations can produce a universe.
<…>
Right now, we know it to an accuracy of better than 1%. The universe IS flat. It has zero total energy, and it could have begun from nothing. … And, I’ve written this piece (and, of course, I got a lot of hate mail) saying that in my mind this answers that crazy question that religious people always keep throwing out… Which is:
“Why is there something rather than nothing?”
The answer is… There had to be. If you have “nothing” in quantum mechanics, you’ll always get something. It’s that simple. It doesn’t convince any of those people, but it’s true.
We humans believe that everything that happens to us is special... and significant. And that... Carl Sagan wrote beautifully about that in Demon Haunted World... That is MUCH of the source of religion. Okay... Every event that happens is unusual and unexpected. <...> Everything that happens has small probability... but, it happens. <...> The thing that physics tells us about the universe is that it's big, rare events happen all the time (including life), and that doesn't mean it's special.
the wittiest atheist response in history
Below is an exchange I just saw on the FAQ section of the blog, Answers in Genesis Busted! The first section is a response to FAQ topics such as "If people came from monkeys, why are monkeys still around?" and "How did life begin?" This person I assume felt compelled to jump in and launch into a rambling monologue about love, truth, god, and satan. It is long and peppered with infuriating repetition, misspellings, and is basically word salad. But I promise, you will thank me when you read the wittiest atheist response in history that is below it.
The post:
"Let me tell you right now. I'm not going to convert you.
We both know only you ultimately decide for yourself what you want to believe. If you ever feel a certain way because of what I've said, maybe you should believe God is trying to tell you something. I'm not gonna, for your sake, pretend God doesn't exist. So when I say He does, you shouldn't get upset. But I know you will, and I know the reason. But since you didn't ask...I won't tell.
1) If you don't beleieve in God. Why do you believe in Love?
2) How can good and evil exist, if there is no God? How do we know of a destinction?
3) If you only see with your eyes, can you really tell me, you can love? I know its possible. Yet whenever you choose to ignore God, you lose that ability more and more. And I know thats what you've been going through. Love can't be seen, smelt, or heard. It can only be felt. So does that mean it doesn't exist? People marry because of love. Is it nothing? Its obviously not.
4) Tell me why you hate God. Do you hate all that is good and love? If you don't, then maybe its because you have the wrong idea about Him. After all if its the truth you love to much, why do you choose not to understand?
God exists. Seeing Him, isn't something I need to believe, because He is with me. Thats why I beleive. In any religion, nothing changes by them believing it. When you believe in God, He will be with you. He won't leave us on Earth with comeplete seperation and expect us to believe in Him. That will never happen. He will be with us. He will not force you to beleive. That is why we have a choice. Otherwise its not your free will. Its not a choice.
What do you, as an atheist, have to live for? Absolutley nothing. Theres no purpose or point. Is that true though, No. There is a reason. You can plainly see there is no reason without God. Its like your pretending theres a reason to keep your sanity, but then denying God. Did you think it will be simple to believe in Him. Do you think the Devil will allow you so easly to believe Him? Of course not.
Atheists will say anyway that none of this is true. But that is the very reason why its so hard for them to believe. The devil is trying to stop you. Its so easy to understand, yet I told you it won't be easy to believe in Him. Whatever I say won't make it easier so don't look for my help.
Ask God to help you understand. Is it so hard to hate a God who is love? Who is nothing like anything you've thought or have been led to believe by the Devil.
God is love and He made you and there is a connection, He wouldn't create you without the ability to love Him. Its not impossible to truly understand the truth.
There is absolutly no reason to say God doesn't exist, when He has always been with you. He will never leave you. Have you ever thought as a child about God? And not about what people think He is, but what He truly is.
You know you've been watched over. You might have felt alone but you've always known He was with you. And its probably not the idea you have of Him you've thought of, but it was Him. Don't let anyone tell you who God is. Find Him out for yourself. Not from others. To understand Him is to know Him. So find out for yourself. You may need help, and thats ok, but what I'm saying is, don't let others give you a false idea about God.
Heres a suggestion - Amazingfacts.org or .tv for videos. They can tell you all you want to know. Or any questions you have to ask. My name is Justin."
The response:
"Hi, JustinSkye! I read your message while passing by this site, and you're right about one thing: you're not going to convert anybody with that.
A few questions for you:
1) If you don't believe in Leprechauns, why do you believe in mischief and rainbows?
2) How can light and music exist, if there is no Apollo on his golden chariot?
3) If you only see with your eyes, can you really tell me, can you fear? I know it's possible. Yet whenever you choose to ignore vampires, you lose that ability more and more. Fear can't be seen, smelt, or heard. So does that mean it doesn't exist? People hide under the covers because of fear. Is it nothing? It's obviously not.
4) Tell me why you hate elephant-headed Ganesha, the four-armed Lord of Beginnings. Do you hate His domains of art, science, intellect, and wisdom? If you don't then maybe it's because you have the wrong idea about Him or his associated Muladhara chakra. After all, if it's the truth you love so much, why do you choose not to understand?
Xenu, my Galactic Overlord, exists. Seeing Him isn't something I need to believe, because He is with me. When you believe in Xenu, He will be with you. He will not force you to believe. That is why we have a choice. Otherwise it's not your free will.
What do you, as a non-believer in Thor, have to live for? Absolutely nothing. There's no purpose, no point, no comprehension of the apostrophe in the written lies of the non-believer. You can plainly see there is no reason (and no Jötunn-slaying) without Thor or the Sky-Father, Odin. Deniers of the Hammer-Wielding, Fiery-Haired One will say anyway that none of this is true. But that is the very reason why it's so hard for them to believe. Loki and those Jötunn are trying to stop you.
Ask the Blue Fairy to help you understand. Is it so hard to hate a Fairy who is love? Who is nothing like anything you've thought or have been led to believe by sneaking chupacabra.
Allah is mercy and He made you and there is a connection, He wouldn't create you without the ability to obey Him. It's not impossible to truly understand the truth as revealed by His Messenger, Mohammed.
There is absolutely no reason to say The Invisible Girl doesn't exist, when Susan Storm has always been with you. She will never leave you. Have you ever thought as a child about superheroes? In blue spandex? Have you ever thought as a grown man about Jessica Alba? Of course you have.
You know you've been watched over. You might have felt alone but you've always known the Ghost of Elvis was with you. And it's probably not the idea you have of Elvis you've thought of, but it was the Sideburned One Himself. Don't let anyone tell you who the Ghost of Elvis is. Certainly don't believe The Colonel, or anything Priscilla says. Find Him out for yourself. Thankyouverymuch.
You may need help, and that's OK, but what I'm saying is, don't let others give you a false idea about Yahweh, the Bronze-Age deity Who slaughters children, commands rape and slavery, and hates the shrimp He created.
Here's a suggestion: http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/darkbible1.htm or http://unreasonablefaith.com/2008/11/16/an-evil-god-table-of-contents/ They can tell you all you want to know.
Good luck on your awakening!"
I can't credit the genius who wrote this, because clicking on his name links me to nothing, but I really want to know this person. :-)
The post:
"Let me tell you right now. I'm not going to convert you.
We both know only you ultimately decide for yourself what you want to believe. If you ever feel a certain way because of what I've said, maybe you should believe God is trying to tell you something. I'm not gonna, for your sake, pretend God doesn't exist. So when I say He does, you shouldn't get upset. But I know you will, and I know the reason. But since you didn't ask...I won't tell.
1) If you don't beleieve in God. Why do you believe in Love?
2) How can good and evil exist, if there is no God? How do we know of a destinction?
3) If you only see with your eyes, can you really tell me, you can love? I know its possible. Yet whenever you choose to ignore God, you lose that ability more and more. And I know thats what you've been going through. Love can't be seen, smelt, or heard. It can only be felt. So does that mean it doesn't exist? People marry because of love. Is it nothing? Its obviously not.
4) Tell me why you hate God. Do you hate all that is good and love? If you don't, then maybe its because you have the wrong idea about Him. After all if its the truth you love to much, why do you choose not to understand?
God exists. Seeing Him, isn't something I need to believe, because He is with me. Thats why I beleive. In any religion, nothing changes by them believing it. When you believe in God, He will be with you. He won't leave us on Earth with comeplete seperation and expect us to believe in Him. That will never happen. He will be with us. He will not force you to beleive. That is why we have a choice. Otherwise its not your free will. Its not a choice.
What do you, as an atheist, have to live for? Absolutley nothing. Theres no purpose or point. Is that true though, No. There is a reason. You can plainly see there is no reason without God. Its like your pretending theres a reason to keep your sanity, but then denying God. Did you think it will be simple to believe in Him. Do you think the Devil will allow you so easly to believe Him? Of course not.
Atheists will say anyway that none of this is true. But that is the very reason why its so hard for them to believe. The devil is trying to stop you. Its so easy to understand, yet I told you it won't be easy to believe in Him. Whatever I say won't make it easier so don't look for my help.
Ask God to help you understand. Is it so hard to hate a God who is love? Who is nothing like anything you've thought or have been led to believe by the Devil.
God is love and He made you and there is a connection, He wouldn't create you without the ability to love Him. Its not impossible to truly understand the truth.
There is absolutly no reason to say God doesn't exist, when He has always been with you. He will never leave you. Have you ever thought as a child about God? And not about what people think He is, but what He truly is.
You know you've been watched over. You might have felt alone but you've always known He was with you. And its probably not the idea you have of Him you've thought of, but it was Him. Don't let anyone tell you who God is. Find Him out for yourself. Not from others. To understand Him is to know Him. So find out for yourself. You may need help, and thats ok, but what I'm saying is, don't let others give you a false idea about God.
Heres a suggestion - Amazingfacts.org or .tv for videos. They can tell you all you want to know. Or any questions you have to ask. My name is Justin."
The response:
"Hi, JustinSkye! I read your message while passing by this site, and you're right about one thing: you're not going to convert anybody with that.
A few questions for you:
1) If you don't believe in Leprechauns, why do you believe in mischief and rainbows?
2) How can light and music exist, if there is no Apollo on his golden chariot?
3) If you only see with your eyes, can you really tell me, can you fear? I know it's possible. Yet whenever you choose to ignore vampires, you lose that ability more and more. Fear can't be seen, smelt, or heard. So does that mean it doesn't exist? People hide under the covers because of fear. Is it nothing? It's obviously not.
4) Tell me why you hate elephant-headed Ganesha, the four-armed Lord of Beginnings. Do you hate His domains of art, science, intellect, and wisdom? If you don't then maybe it's because you have the wrong idea about Him or his associated Muladhara chakra. After all, if it's the truth you love so much, why do you choose not to understand?
Xenu, my Galactic Overlord, exists. Seeing Him isn't something I need to believe, because He is with me. When you believe in Xenu, He will be with you. He will not force you to believe. That is why we have a choice. Otherwise it's not your free will.
What do you, as a non-believer in Thor, have to live for? Absolutely nothing. There's no purpose, no point, no comprehension of the apostrophe in the written lies of the non-believer. You can plainly see there is no reason (and no Jötunn-slaying) without Thor or the Sky-Father, Odin. Deniers of the Hammer-Wielding, Fiery-Haired One will say anyway that none of this is true. But that is the very reason why it's so hard for them to believe. Loki and those Jötunn are trying to stop you.
Ask the Blue Fairy to help you understand. Is it so hard to hate a Fairy who is love? Who is nothing like anything you've thought or have been led to believe by sneaking chupacabra.
Allah is mercy and He made you and there is a connection, He wouldn't create you without the ability to obey Him. It's not impossible to truly understand the truth as revealed by His Messenger, Mohammed.
There is absolutely no reason to say The Invisible Girl doesn't exist, when Susan Storm has always been with you. She will never leave you. Have you ever thought as a child about superheroes? In blue spandex? Have you ever thought as a grown man about Jessica Alba? Of course you have.
You know you've been watched over. You might have felt alone but you've always known the Ghost of Elvis was with you. And it's probably not the idea you have of Elvis you've thought of, but it was the Sideburned One Himself. Don't let anyone tell you who the Ghost of Elvis is. Certainly don't believe The Colonel, or anything Priscilla says. Find Him out for yourself. Thankyouverymuch.
You may need help, and that's OK, but what I'm saying is, don't let others give you a false idea about Yahweh, the Bronze-Age deity Who slaughters children, commands rape and slavery, and hates the shrimp He created.
Here's a suggestion: http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/darkbible1.htm or http://unreasonablefaith.com/2008/11/16/an-evil-god-table-of-contents/ They can tell you all you want to know.
Good luck on your awakening!"
I can't credit the genius who wrote this, because clicking on his name links me to nothing, but I really want to know this person. :-)
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Who but a delusional slave considers it "free choice" 2 have only 1 option available w/out fear of punishment or torture #teamjesus #atheist
Who but a delusional slave considers it "free choice" 2 have only 1 option available w/out fear of punishment or torture #teamjesus #atheist
Who but a slave thanks his master for what his master has decided to do without bothering to consult him?
Who but a slave thanks his master for what his master has decided to do without bothering to consult him?
Monday, November 14, 2011
Don't ask "What is the meaning of life?". Just ask "Does life have to have a meaning in order for me to live it?"
Don't ask "What is the meaning of life?". Just ask "Does life have to have a meaning in order for me to live it?"
It's better to live in freedom for one life time than to be a slave of God for an eternity.
It's better to live in freedom for one life time than to be a slave of God for an eternity.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
i'm not afraid of dying & going 2 hell or heaven. I expect death 2 B nothingness, 4 removing me from fears of death, i'm thankful 2 atheism
i'm not afraid of dying & going 2 hell or heaven. I expect death 2 B nothingness, 4 removing me from fears of death, i'm thankful 2 atheism
I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.
Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.
--Isaac Asimov
--Isaac Asimov
Saturday, November 12, 2011
#teamjesus comforts by telling us death is not real. Science comforts by telling us how incredibly lucky we are to have lived #atheist
#teamjesus comforts by telling us death is not real. Science comforts by telling us how incredibly lucky we are to have lived #atheist
Friday, November 11, 2011
morality is doing what is right regardless what we R told. christianity is doing what we R told, no matter what is right #teamjesus #atheist
morality is doing what is right regardless what we R told. christianity is doing what we R told, no matter what is right #teamjesus #atheist
If you seem to witness such a thing [a miracle], there are two possibilities. The first is that the laws of nature have been suspended (in your favor). The second is that you are under a misapprehension, or suffering from a delusion. Thus the likelihood of the second must be weighed against the likelihood of the first.
If you seem to witness such a thing [a miracle], there are two possibilities. The first is that the laws of nature have been suspended (in your favor). The second is that you are under a misapprehension, or suffering from a delusion. Thus the likelihood of the second must be weighed against the likelihood of the first.
Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise.~ James Madison #teamjesus #atheist
Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise.~ James Madison #teamjesus #atheist
there is something feeble & contemptible about ppl who cant face life w/out the help of the comfortable #christian myth. #teamjesus #atheist
there is something feeble & contemptible about ppl who cant face life w/out the help of the comfortable #christian myth. #teamjesus #atheist
To be an atheist requires strength of mind and goodness of heart found in not one of a thousand.
To be an atheist requires strength of mind and goodness of heart found in not one of a thousand.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
You can’t sell stupidity, but you can disguise it as religion and make millions. #teamjesus #atheist
You can’t sell stupidity, but you can disguise it as religion and make millions. #teamjesus #atheist
When someone tells you that Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot killed millions because they were Atheists, answer that they were not responsible for the horrendous atrocities; god was! Those three were simply acting out god’s great plan. That should shut them up.
When someone tells you that Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot killed millions because they were Atheists, answer that they were not responsible for the horrendous atrocities; god was! Those three were simply acting out god’s great plan. That should shut them up.
The Sun provides life on Earth, so why not "pray" to the Sun? Would the Sun care if everyone died on the planet, or if a futurist predicted the end of the world? No. The Sun will set and rise over the horizon whether we are here or not.
The Sun provides life on Earth, so why not "pray" to the Sun? Would the Sun care if everyone died on the planet, or if a futurist predicted the end of the world? No. The Sun will set and rise over the horizon whether we are here or not.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
A Universe From Nothing
In a flat universe the total energy of the universe is precisely zero. Because gravity can have negative energy so the negative energy of gravity balances out the positive energy of matter. What's so beautiful about a universe with a total energy of zero? Only such a universe can begin from nothing. . . the laws of physics allow the universe to begin from nothing. You don't need a deity. You have nothing, zero total energy, and quantum fluctuations can produce a universe.
--Lawrence Krauss (A Universe From Nothing)
--Lawrence Krauss (A Universe From Nothing)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
WHY I’M ATHEIST & NOT AGNOSTIC
Dear friend,
I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion we had on your live radio show last night, although there was one thing which left a sour taste in my mouth. This was your assertion that I am an agnostic and not an atheist. I know you meant this as a polite gesture, since in your view agnosticism is more palatable. In my view, it is just the opposite. Here is why I say this:
Agnosticism is a position concerning KNOWLEDGE.
a = not or absence of
gnostic (gnosis) = Greek for “knowledge”
An agnostic posits that a god does not exist in the context of human knowledge. What agnostics are doing by taking this position is to attempt to escape the stigma associated with admitting they don’t believe in a god by asserting that there is a “god” which is unknowable. This is worse than saying there is no god because it implies that even proof of a god cannot be admissible because there is no way of knowing of a god and, therefore, no way of knowing of proof of a god. God is completely shut out by the agnostic under the guise of acknowledging a god concept. As such, not a single attribute applied to a god by any religion can be postulated to an agnostic. The agnostic enjoys the benefit of the church having decided that any acknowledgment of a god is better than outright denial. But the agnostic has cleverly denied the existence of a god for GOOD!
Atheism is a position concerning THEOLOGY.
a = not or absence of
theism = belief in a deity or deities
Unlike the agnostic who cannot know of a god which is unknowable, the atheist is open-minded enough to accept demonstrable proof and upon such proof will know of – which is to say believe in – such god or gods. Historically, agnostics are considered more acceptable than atheists because of the false appearance in the acceptance that there is a god. But a god which is impossible to know of is much further away than a god which may be knowable given the proof that an atheist is willing to accept. An atheist who posits the absence of a god and furthers this assertion with the denial of the possibility of there being a god is just as close-minded as the theist in which they oppose. Dogma is dogma no matter which pole the attraction. I am not such an atheist. I am an atheist who does not believe in a god and who seriously doubts that there will ever be proof of the existence of any of the thousands of gods proposed by the human race. Monotheists have also since abandoned the thousands of other gods in exchange for one god. I’ve simply gone one god further than monotheism. This is called atheism. And given acceptable proof, I reserve the right to acknowledge a god or gods.
Atheists need proof
The types of proof an atheist will accept are based purely upon the assertions made by any particular religion concerning their god or gods. Remember, atheism is about THEISM, not about scientific wonders of some unexplainable force which you might conveniently label as a “god.” Your Abrahamic god is already clearly defined in scriptures which are claimed to be the word of this very god. So, it’s indisputable. And based upon these characterizations of the Abrahamic god, here are three examples of proof an atheist would accept:
It is written that your god answers prayers. I want statistics that show results of prayer are more probable than a coin toss.
It is written that your god loves everyone. I want all poverty and sickness and hunger cured absent any conditions imposed on the people being cured. Conditional love is a vice – not a virtue.
It is written that your god performs miracles. I want a demonstration. I don’t want naturally occurring phenomenon to be described as miracles performed by your god because they’re not. Nor is our emergence. Hard to conceive? Yes -much is. Miracle? No. An acceptable miracle would be for your god to simply reveal itself at once to a crowd of people of all different religions (I would like to be there too).
So far, the only “proof” anyone has ever been able to put forward concerning a god or gods is personal feelings or thoughts. By definition, a god is a supernatural being which is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent. Remove any of those attributes and you get something less than a god.
An omnipotent god has the strength and energy to manipulate anything in the physical realm. It was this god-force which was long ago (and still is today if you ask Pat Robertson) attributed to earthquakes and storms and fire and flood. We know that the forces of nature require no god to remain in full force.
An omniscient god knows all. Past, present, and future. This means that the idea of putting living creatures through a test while already knowing the outcome is nothing short of cruel and sadistic. All the prayers and worship and sacrifice made for this god by anyone – or the denial of this god by anyone – will not change their own outcome nor that of the universe. This means there is no free will. No choice. No chance to “change history” or “control our own destiny” for any of us.
An omnipresent god is a god who is everywhere all the time. Under the premise of this intrusive imposition, we are all being watched every moment of our lives. Even in our sleep. And including our most private thoughts. We cannot escape the surveillance of this god and therefore have absolutely no privacy. Our “free will” is threatened as we make decisions to appease this supernatural “peeping Tom” over ourselves and others.
An omnibenevolent god is one who loves and cares for everything. Although this all-loving god did not care enough about animals or plants to give them a soul and thus denying them the rights of passage to its “kingdom.” Although this all-loving god does not love those who don’t love it. Although this all-loving god does not love children enough to prevent their being molested or starved or becoming the unintended target of bullets or poison or still birth. Although this all-loving god does not love me enough to have placed the knowledge of its existence in my brain from birth and, instead, makes itself impossible for me to justify or acknowledge. And as if this weren’t enough, this planet, this universe, and everything in it, is subjected to the cruelty of chaos and extreme external and internal forces and does not reconcile with omnibenevolence.
But I get it. All of these god traits are obviously based upon a human desire to build a sense of security through ultimate control of everything. It is impossible for man to control everything and so having a “big buddy” who can is a clear advantage. A way to frighten enemies and rest easy at night. Although some of us are content with the absenceof an imaginary big buddy. We realize that by working together human kind can find REAL security and that collectively, WE are the “big buddy.” But through arguments that his god is the real one and her god is not, the “big buddy” remains only an elusive force of separatism among the faithful, affecting all of us.
In the atheistic view, the time for gods has passed. Mankind is entering a point where important decisions for our survival must be made using sound evidence and lesson’s learned, placing superstitions and dogma aside. We have great power over our environment and our future and unless we decide the world is in OUR hands and not at the mercy of some antiquated man-made myth, we just may bring forth the mass destruction which our oppressed desert-dwelling religious pioneers saw as the only way to wipe out their hell-bound enslavers while ending their own horribly miserable mortal lives in exchange for an imagined eternal bliss. They have planted the seeds of destruction by claiming their god wants this to happen. And we are cursed with this self-fulfilling prophecy as long as we continue to cling to these ancient superstitions.
In closing, I want you to know that aside from not having been presented with any proof for a god, I am an atheist because I don’t agree that the life we have now should be cheapened by the false promise of a better life after death. I think it’s extremely irresponsible to believe there needs to be a “final act” which amounts to suicide at a global scale. I don’t agree that our purpose is to serve a supernatural dictator that commands that we love it. And I loathe the idea of encouraging people, especially children, to pretend they love a mythical being using the “motivation” of eternal damnation. The human race can do much better than that.
Sincerely yours,
Sean Rowland
SupportAtheism.com
I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion we had on your live radio show last night, although there was one thing which left a sour taste in my mouth. This was your assertion that I am an agnostic and not an atheist. I know you meant this as a polite gesture, since in your view agnosticism is more palatable. In my view, it is just the opposite. Here is why I say this:
Agnosticism is a position concerning KNOWLEDGE.
a = not or absence of
gnostic (gnosis) = Greek for “knowledge”
An agnostic posits that a god does not exist in the context of human knowledge. What agnostics are doing by taking this position is to attempt to escape the stigma associated with admitting they don’t believe in a god by asserting that there is a “god” which is unknowable. This is worse than saying there is no god because it implies that even proof of a god cannot be admissible because there is no way of knowing of a god and, therefore, no way of knowing of proof of a god. God is completely shut out by the agnostic under the guise of acknowledging a god concept. As such, not a single attribute applied to a god by any religion can be postulated to an agnostic. The agnostic enjoys the benefit of the church having decided that any acknowledgment of a god is better than outright denial. But the agnostic has cleverly denied the existence of a god for GOOD!
Atheism is a position concerning THEOLOGY.
a = not or absence of
theism = belief in a deity or deities
Unlike the agnostic who cannot know of a god which is unknowable, the atheist is open-minded enough to accept demonstrable proof and upon such proof will know of – which is to say believe in – such god or gods. Historically, agnostics are considered more acceptable than atheists because of the false appearance in the acceptance that there is a god. But a god which is impossible to know of is much further away than a god which may be knowable given the proof that an atheist is willing to accept. An atheist who posits the absence of a god and furthers this assertion with the denial of the possibility of there being a god is just as close-minded as the theist in which they oppose. Dogma is dogma no matter which pole the attraction. I am not such an atheist. I am an atheist who does not believe in a god and who seriously doubts that there will ever be proof of the existence of any of the thousands of gods proposed by the human race. Monotheists have also since abandoned the thousands of other gods in exchange for one god. I’ve simply gone one god further than monotheism. This is called atheism. And given acceptable proof, I reserve the right to acknowledge a god or gods.
Atheists need proof
The types of proof an atheist will accept are based purely upon the assertions made by any particular religion concerning their god or gods. Remember, atheism is about THEISM, not about scientific wonders of some unexplainable force which you might conveniently label as a “god.” Your Abrahamic god is already clearly defined in scriptures which are claimed to be the word of this very god. So, it’s indisputable. And based upon these characterizations of the Abrahamic god, here are three examples of proof an atheist would accept:
It is written that your god answers prayers. I want statistics that show results of prayer are more probable than a coin toss.
It is written that your god loves everyone. I want all poverty and sickness and hunger cured absent any conditions imposed on the people being cured. Conditional love is a vice – not a virtue.
It is written that your god performs miracles. I want a demonstration. I don’t want naturally occurring phenomenon to be described as miracles performed by your god because they’re not. Nor is our emergence. Hard to conceive? Yes -much is. Miracle? No. An acceptable miracle would be for your god to simply reveal itself at once to a crowd of people of all different religions (I would like to be there too).
So far, the only “proof” anyone has ever been able to put forward concerning a god or gods is personal feelings or thoughts. By definition, a god is a supernatural being which is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent. Remove any of those attributes and you get something less than a god.
An omnipotent god has the strength and energy to manipulate anything in the physical realm. It was this god-force which was long ago (and still is today if you ask Pat Robertson) attributed to earthquakes and storms and fire and flood. We know that the forces of nature require no god to remain in full force.
An omniscient god knows all. Past, present, and future. This means that the idea of putting living creatures through a test while already knowing the outcome is nothing short of cruel and sadistic. All the prayers and worship and sacrifice made for this god by anyone – or the denial of this god by anyone – will not change their own outcome nor that of the universe. This means there is no free will. No choice. No chance to “change history” or “control our own destiny” for any of us.
An omnipresent god is a god who is everywhere all the time. Under the premise of this intrusive imposition, we are all being watched every moment of our lives. Even in our sleep. And including our most private thoughts. We cannot escape the surveillance of this god and therefore have absolutely no privacy. Our “free will” is threatened as we make decisions to appease this supernatural “peeping Tom” over ourselves and others.
An omnibenevolent god is one who loves and cares for everything. Although this all-loving god did not care enough about animals or plants to give them a soul and thus denying them the rights of passage to its “kingdom.” Although this all-loving god does not love those who don’t love it. Although this all-loving god does not love children enough to prevent their being molested or starved or becoming the unintended target of bullets or poison or still birth. Although this all-loving god does not love me enough to have placed the knowledge of its existence in my brain from birth and, instead, makes itself impossible for me to justify or acknowledge. And as if this weren’t enough, this planet, this universe, and everything in it, is subjected to the cruelty of chaos and extreme external and internal forces and does not reconcile with omnibenevolence.
But I get it. All of these god traits are obviously based upon a human desire to build a sense of security through ultimate control of everything. It is impossible for man to control everything and so having a “big buddy” who can is a clear advantage. A way to frighten enemies and rest easy at night. Although some of us are content with the absenceof an imaginary big buddy. We realize that by working together human kind can find REAL security and that collectively, WE are the “big buddy.” But through arguments that his god is the real one and her god is not, the “big buddy” remains only an elusive force of separatism among the faithful, affecting all of us.
In the atheistic view, the time for gods has passed. Mankind is entering a point where important decisions for our survival must be made using sound evidence and lesson’s learned, placing superstitions and dogma aside. We have great power over our environment and our future and unless we decide the world is in OUR hands and not at the mercy of some antiquated man-made myth, we just may bring forth the mass destruction which our oppressed desert-dwelling religious pioneers saw as the only way to wipe out their hell-bound enslavers while ending their own horribly miserable mortal lives in exchange for an imagined eternal bliss. They have planted the seeds of destruction by claiming their god wants this to happen. And we are cursed with this self-fulfilling prophecy as long as we continue to cling to these ancient superstitions.
In closing, I want you to know that aside from not having been presented with any proof for a god, I am an atheist because I don’t agree that the life we have now should be cheapened by the false promise of a better life after death. I think it’s extremely irresponsible to believe there needs to be a “final act” which amounts to suicide at a global scale. I don’t agree that our purpose is to serve a supernatural dictator that commands that we love it. And I loathe the idea of encouraging people, especially children, to pretend they love a mythical being using the “motivation” of eternal damnation. The human race can do much better than that.
Sincerely yours,
Sean Rowland
SupportAtheism.com
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
god hated the world so much that he sent his only son so that whoever does not believe in him will perish and be denied eternal life.
god hated the world so much that he sent his only son so that whoever does not believe in him will perish and be denied eternal life.
ppl dont argue over things they know exist..the very fact that there is an argument at all is evidence 4 atheism #atheist
ppl dont argue over things they know exist..the very fact that there is an argument at all is evidence 4 atheism #atheist
Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of awesome mystical power. We know this because they manage to be invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can’t see them.
Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of awesome mystical power. We know this because they manage to be invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can’t see them.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
there are easily and quickly 2 reasons
there are easily and quickly 2 reasons we talk about god...though we don’t believe in god, we certainly believe in christians. They’re everywhere, it seems. And while most of them are harmless, a number of them are annoying… or worse. Much worse. They bomb abortion clinics. They do their best to hinder the advancement of science and the arts. They elect candidates based not on their competency, but on whether “he prays” (and says so more often than his opponent). They try to interfere — and get laws to do it — in the sexual lives of consenting adults. They ban stem cell research and contraceptives, thus condemning millions around the world to disease and suffering, because of books written by primitive desert nomads thousands of years ago. So, yes, christians are a problem.
and
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
and
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
"We are called "infidels" and denounced as "unbelievers" because we will not march in the ranks of hypocrisy and dance to the music of Orthodoxy. We believe no statement which our reason cannot approve; we accept no doctrine which is contrary to commonsense; we have confidence in human nature; we believe in truth, justice, and love; we accept life as a blessing, and try to make it so; we believe in taking care of ourselves, in helping others and in being just and kind to all, and we say to the Christian Church, "If this be Infidelity, make the most of it!" Marilla Young Ricker
"We are called "infidels" and denounced as "unbelievers" because we will
not march in the ranks of hypocrisy and dance to the music of Orthodoxy.
We believe no statement which our reason cannot approve; we accept no
doctrine which is contrary to commonsense; we have confidence in human
nature; we believe in truth, justice, and love; we accept life as a
blessing, and try to make it so; we believe in taking care of ourselves,
in helping others and in being just and kind to all, and we say to the
Christian Church, "If this be Infidelity, make the most of it!"
Marilla Young Ricker
not march in the ranks of hypocrisy and dance to the music of Orthodoxy.
We believe no statement which our reason cannot approve; we accept no
doctrine which is contrary to commonsense; we have confidence in human
nature; we believe in truth, justice, and love; we accept life as a
blessing, and try to make it so; we believe in taking care of ourselves,
in helping others and in being just and kind to all, and we say to the
Christian Church, "If this be Infidelity, make the most of it!"
Marilla Young Ricker
Saturday, October 1, 2011
thieves can find policeman at the local station. if U show me a picture of yr god I'll show U a picture of a policeman. #atheist
thieves can find policeman at the local station. if U show me a picture of yr god I'll show U a picture of a policeman. #atheist
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
No Tolerance for Bigots!
No Tolerance for Bigots! Atheists Shouldn't Tolerate anti-Atheist Bigotry
Atheists Must Denounce Bigotry, Prejudice, Discrimination Against Non-Believers
By Austin Cline, About.com Guide
If you are an atheist, an agnostic, a humanist, or secularist of any sort, then you have a problem in America because there is a significant number of people in this nation who don't believe that you can be as moral, as good, or as trustworthy as religious believers. They don't have to know you in order to arrive at such a conclusion; they believe this based solely on the fact that you don't believe in any god and/or don't have a religion like they do. Most people regard you as inferior.
Don't you think you should do something about this? Why allow religious believers to continue expecting you to submit to laws written to benefit them at your expense? Why allow religious believers to continue insisting that you hide your opinions lest public condemnation lead to you losing your job, your friends, or more? Why allow religious believers to continue imposing a religious test for public office that ensures few if any atheists serve in government despite the fact that such tests would be illegal if imposed officially?
No Tolerance for Intolerance, No Compromise with Bigotry
Atheists, agnostics, humanists, and secularists of all sorts must draw a bright, sharp line against any bigotry, intolerance, and discrimination they face from religious believers in America. There can be no tolerance for explicit or implicit claims that you have to be a believer to have morals, values, happiness, or meaning in life. There can be no tolerance for the assumption that one has to be a believer in order to be good, kind, or trustworthy. There can be no tolerance for efforts to carve out special, unjust privileges for people based solely on their having a religion or being Christian.
There can be no compromising with or accommodations for bigotry of any sort, even when bigots actively mask their prejudice in the guise of merely securing the "rights" of those who would be privileged over others. Bigotry isn't just a matter of treating one group as inferior, but also of treating another group as superior. Anti-atheist bigotry can be expressed by telling atheists that they aren't moral enough for politics and by telling Christians or religious believers that they are needed in politics because the government is in need of their moral values. They are two sides of the same coin and each must be opposed as strongly as the other
If You Don't Stand Up For Yourself, Who Will?
It's not always easy to stand out in a crowd and many atheists find it easier to just keep their heads down and not make waves, but no one ever accomplished anything good or important by hiding from negative public opinion. One of the reasons why it's difficult for atheists to come out of the closet is the influence which anti-atheist bigots and defenders of Christian privilege1 have, so it's imperative for someone to speak out publicly against such heinous beliefs and on behalf of the equal rights, dignity, and importance of secular atheists in America.
When you hear anti-atheist bigotry expressed in your presence, it's directed at you even if the speaker doesn't know that you personally are an atheist. Such bigotry exists to keep atheists quiet, subordinate, afraid, and submissive. When you fail to speak out, you are behaving exactly as the bigots want and so they succeed in oppressing you a bit further. Someone needs to speak out against such behavior and it's far too rare to find religious believers doing it. So, if you aren't going to stand up for yourself and defend your own equality, then who will?
High Standards & High Expectations for Religious Believers
Most religious theists probably won't express anti-atheist bigotry very openly, directly, or publicly. The more common situation is to have a small number of vocal bigots plus a much larger number group of people who passively nod their heads and go along with it, giving the impression that the bigotry expressed is natural, expected, and proper. In addition to standing up against the vocal bigots, then, atheists also need to set higher standards of behavior from the passive observers.
It's far too common for most people to stand by passively and allow all sorts of bigotry to foul the air: racist jokes, off-color comments about women's sexual behavior, generalizations about Muslims as terrorists, etc. Perhaps it's because they secretly agree or perhaps it's because they just don't want to make waves, but no such excuses should be accepted. People must be judged by the company they keep and if someone passively allows bigotry to pass by without objection, they must be deemed as guilty as the original speaker.
Religious believers must therefore be held to the standard that if they don't want to be treated or thought of as anti-atheist bigots, then they must be willing to publicly object to anti-atheist bigotry, religious privilege, and Christian privilege whenever they see it. This doesn't mean that they have to launch into a long argument about it, but they do at the very least have to willing to point out the bigotry of what was said, that it is wrong, and that they don't want to continue hearing it. Nothing less will do because nothing less can represent genuine or sincere opposition to such bigotry.
Atheists Must Denounce Bigotry, Prejudice, Discrimination Against Non-Believers
By Austin Cline, About.com Guide
If you are an atheist, an agnostic, a humanist, or secularist of any sort, then you have a problem in America because there is a significant number of people in this nation who don't believe that you can be as moral, as good, or as trustworthy as religious believers. They don't have to know you in order to arrive at such a conclusion; they believe this based solely on the fact that you don't believe in any god and/or don't have a religion like they do. Most people regard you as inferior.
Don't you think you should do something about this? Why allow religious believers to continue expecting you to submit to laws written to benefit them at your expense? Why allow religious believers to continue insisting that you hide your opinions lest public condemnation lead to you losing your job, your friends, or more? Why allow religious believers to continue imposing a religious test for public office that ensures few if any atheists serve in government despite the fact that such tests would be illegal if imposed officially?
No Tolerance for Intolerance, No Compromise with Bigotry
Atheists, agnostics, humanists, and secularists of all sorts must draw a bright, sharp line against any bigotry, intolerance, and discrimination they face from religious believers in America. There can be no tolerance for explicit or implicit claims that you have to be a believer to have morals, values, happiness, or meaning in life. There can be no tolerance for the assumption that one has to be a believer in order to be good, kind, or trustworthy. There can be no tolerance for efforts to carve out special, unjust privileges for people based solely on their having a religion or being Christian.
There can be no compromising with or accommodations for bigotry of any sort, even when bigots actively mask their prejudice in the guise of merely securing the "rights" of those who would be privileged over others. Bigotry isn't just a matter of treating one group as inferior, but also of treating another group as superior. Anti-atheist bigotry can be expressed by telling atheists that they aren't moral enough for politics and by telling Christians or religious believers that they are needed in politics because the government is in need of their moral values. They are two sides of the same coin and each must be opposed as strongly as the other
If You Don't Stand Up For Yourself, Who Will?
It's not always easy to stand out in a crowd and many atheists find it easier to just keep their heads down and not make waves, but no one ever accomplished anything good or important by hiding from negative public opinion. One of the reasons why it's difficult for atheists to come out of the closet is the influence which anti-atheist bigots and defenders of Christian privilege1 have, so it's imperative for someone to speak out publicly against such heinous beliefs and on behalf of the equal rights, dignity, and importance of secular atheists in America.
When you hear anti-atheist bigotry expressed in your presence, it's directed at you even if the speaker doesn't know that you personally are an atheist. Such bigotry exists to keep atheists quiet, subordinate, afraid, and submissive. When you fail to speak out, you are behaving exactly as the bigots want and so they succeed in oppressing you a bit further. Someone needs to speak out against such behavior and it's far too rare to find religious believers doing it. So, if you aren't going to stand up for yourself and defend your own equality, then who will?
High Standards & High Expectations for Religious Believers
Most religious theists probably won't express anti-atheist bigotry very openly, directly, or publicly. The more common situation is to have a small number of vocal bigots plus a much larger number group of people who passively nod their heads and go along with it, giving the impression that the bigotry expressed is natural, expected, and proper. In addition to standing up against the vocal bigots, then, atheists also need to set higher standards of behavior from the passive observers.
It's far too common for most people to stand by passively and allow all sorts of bigotry to foul the air: racist jokes, off-color comments about women's sexual behavior, generalizations about Muslims as terrorists, etc. Perhaps it's because they secretly agree or perhaps it's because they just don't want to make waves, but no such excuses should be accepted. People must be judged by the company they keep and if someone passively allows bigotry to pass by without objection, they must be deemed as guilty as the original speaker.
Religious believers must therefore be held to the standard that if they don't want to be treated or thought of as anti-atheist bigots, then they must be willing to publicly object to anti-atheist bigotry, religious privilege, and Christian privilege whenever they see it. This doesn't mean that they have to launch into a long argument about it, but they do at the very least have to willing to point out the bigotry of what was said, that it is wrong, and that they don't want to continue hearing it. Nothing less will do because nothing less can represent genuine or sincere opposition to such bigotry.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
no the worst moments 4 an #atheist R when we C another childs been beaten 2 death by a member of the christian death cult
no the worst moments 4 an #atheist R when we C another childs been beaten 2 death by a member of the christian death cult
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Light Without a Light Source By Austin Cline
Genesis, the first book of the Bible, contains an error about the origins and nature of light. Genesis depicts God creating light on the first day before the creation of anything that could serve as a source of light. The stars and the sun aren't created until the fourth day, even though they would have to be the source of light described at the beginning. You can't have light without a light source, so the Genesis account of the creation of light is a mistake.
First Day of Creation
Genesis 1:3-5: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Fourth Day of Creation
Genesis 1:14-19: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ...And the evening and the morning were the fourth day
There are multiple errors in these passages. First, you can't have the light described in the first day without some sort of light source, but the sources of light don't appear until the fourth day. Second, you can't have day and night without the sun to provide them but the sun isn't depicted as having been created until the fourth "day." How could there have been three previous days without the earth rotating in front of a source of light like the sun?
Humans in the ancient world didn't know and couldn't have known about how the sun and the start produce light, so we can't be surprised at presence of errors about this subject in human texts. Thus so long as we remember that the Bible is just a human-created text, there isn't a problem; as soon as anyone insists that the Bible is anything more, errors like this take on new importance.
Is this a legitimate, scientific error in the Bible or can the Genesis depiction of the the sources of light in the universe be harmonized with the facts of science? If you think you can answer this Bible error, explain how — but your answer cannot add anything new that's not already in the stories and cannot leave out any details that the Bible provides.
First Day of Creation
Genesis 1:3-5: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Fourth Day of Creation
Genesis 1:14-19: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ...And the evening and the morning were the fourth day
There are multiple errors in these passages. First, you can't have the light described in the first day without some sort of light source, but the sources of light don't appear until the fourth day. Second, you can't have day and night without the sun to provide them but the sun isn't depicted as having been created until the fourth "day." How could there have been three previous days without the earth rotating in front of a source of light like the sun?
Humans in the ancient world didn't know and couldn't have known about how the sun and the start produce light, so we can't be surprised at presence of errors about this subject in human texts. Thus so long as we remember that the Bible is just a human-created text, there isn't a problem; as soon as anyone insists that the Bible is anything more, errors like this take on new importance.
Is this a legitimate, scientific error in the Bible or can the Genesis depiction of the the sources of light in the universe be harmonized with the facts of science? If you think you can answer this Bible error, explain how — but your answer cannot add anything new that's not already in the stories and cannot leave out any details that the Bible provides.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Why worship a God who may well send you to hell because he chooses to remain hidden and give no proof that he even exists.
Why worship a God who may well send you to hell because he chooses to remain hidden and give no proof that he even exists.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined. Since you write 'God’ with a capital G, I assume you are thinking of the Christian god? If so, I am absolutely certain it does not exist. How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined. It is all-powerful It is all-loving It is all-knowing It is all-just It is the source of absolute morality It created our universe and everything in it, including everything that lives It is omni-present It longs to be known and for us to believe in it It answers prayers It occasionally performs miracles It heals It was incarnated by means of a virgin It died and was resurrected 3 days later In so doing, it absolved us of all guilt for our 'sins’, provided we believe it has It will judge us all, and those who pass muster (i.e. who believe that their sins have been forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus) will spend eternity in heaven and those who don’t (i.e. who don’t believe …) will spend eternity in hell. And probably more besides. This gives us a lot of claims that are testable, by empirical experiment and by logic. If such a god existed, it should be possible to demonstrate the fact, because there is plenty here to work with. But the fact is, such a god fails at every turn. Prayers demonstrably do not get answered more than we would expect through sheer chance. Faith healing demonstrably does not work more than we would expect through sheer chance and placebo effect. Alleged miracles are always totally lacking in reliable evidence. Even theologians have acknowledged that this god cannot be all-knowing AND all-powerful AND all-loving because otherwise there simply could not be so much suffering in the world. Evidence shows that living forms were not created but evolved; any suggestion that God drove the process of evolution would again immediately categorically contradict the characteristics of omnipotence and omnibenevolence, since evolution proceeds through the application of cruelty (remember: evolution is a statement of reality, not of desirability). It cannot both long to be known and be all powerful and all knowing and yet STILL remain hidden to us It cannot be just and yet consign any living being to eternal hell (no one – LITERALLY no one) has ever been so bad as to make that a just and commensurate punishment; and a punishment that isn’t proportionate to the crime is by definition unjust). For the same reason it cannot be all-loving. It cannot be all-just and believe in the idea that guilt can be transferred to someone else. This is not justice, it is obscenity. As Christopher Hitchens has pointed out so eloquently, I can, if I am very generous, take your punishment on your behalf, but I can never assume your responsibility for the crime. To do so would be to undermine the very basis of morality, which assumes that we are responsible for our own actions. Morality has been shown to be a) not absolute and b) not to be remotely dependent on any deity but to have evolved and been shaped through entirely natural processes. And so I could go on. The Christian God is logically impossible. I cannot say with absolute confidence that there is nothing out there that we might conceivably call a god (though there is not the slightest evidence for one and therefore I don’t believe in one); but even if there were, it could not POSSIBLY be the Christian one. The Christian one is impossible, by its own definition.
How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined.
Since you write 'God’ with a capital G, I assume you are thinking of the Christian god? If so, I am absolutely certain it does not exist.
How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined.
It is all-powerful
It is all-loving
It is all-knowing
It is all-just
It is the source of absolute morality
It created our universe and everything in it, including everything that lives
It is omni-present
It longs to be known and for us to believe in it
It answers prayers
It occasionally performs miracles
It heals
It was incarnated by means of a virgin
It died and was resurrected 3 days later
In so doing, it absolved us of all guilt for our 'sins’, provided we believe it has
It will judge us all, and those who pass muster (i.e. who believe that their sins have been forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus) will spend eternity in heaven and those who don’t (i.e. who don’t believe …) will spend eternity in hell.
And probably more besides. This gives us a lot of claims that are testable, by empirical experiment and by logic. If such a god existed, it should be possible to demonstrate the fact, because there is plenty here to work with. But the fact is, such a god fails at every turn.
Prayers demonstrably do not get answered more than we would expect through sheer chance.
Faith healing demonstrably does not work more than we would expect through sheer chance and placebo effect.
Alleged miracles are always totally lacking in reliable evidence.
Even theologians have acknowledged that this god cannot be all-knowing AND all-powerful AND all-loving because otherwise there simply could not be so much suffering in the world.
Evidence shows that living forms were not created but evolved; any suggestion that God drove the process of evolution would again immediately categorically contradict the characteristics of omnipotence and omnibenevolence, since evolution proceeds through the application of cruelty (remember: evolution is a statement of reality, not of desirability).
It cannot both long to be known and be all powerful and all knowing and yet STILL remain hidden to us
It cannot be just and yet consign any living being to eternal hell (no one – LITERALLY no one) has ever been so bad as to make that a just and commensurate punishment; and a punishment that isn’t proportionate to the crime is by definition unjust).
For the same reason it cannot be all-loving.
It cannot be all-just and believe in the idea that guilt can be transferred to someone else. This is not justice, it is obscenity. As Christopher Hitchens has pointed out so eloquently, I can, if I am very generous, take your punishment on your behalf, but I can never assume your responsibility for the crime. To do so would be to undermine the very basis of morality, which assumes that we are responsible for our own actions.
Morality has been shown to be a) not absolute and b) not to be remotely dependent on any deity but to have evolved and been shaped through entirely natural processes.
And so I could go on. The Christian God is logically impossible. I cannot say with absolute confidence that there is nothing out there that we might conceivably call a god (though there is not the slightest evidence for one and therefore I don’t believe in one); but even if there were, it could not POSSIBLY be the Christian one. The Christian one is impossible, by its own definition.
Since you write 'God’ with a capital G, I assume you are thinking of the Christian god? If so, I am absolutely certain it does not exist.
How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined.
It is all-powerful
It is all-loving
It is all-knowing
It is all-just
It is the source of absolute morality
It created our universe and everything in it, including everything that lives
It is omni-present
It longs to be known and for us to believe in it
It answers prayers
It occasionally performs miracles
It heals
It was incarnated by means of a virgin
It died and was resurrected 3 days later
In so doing, it absolved us of all guilt for our 'sins’, provided we believe it has
It will judge us all, and those who pass muster (i.e. who believe that their sins have been forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus) will spend eternity in heaven and those who don’t (i.e. who don’t believe …) will spend eternity in hell.
And probably more besides. This gives us a lot of claims that are testable, by empirical experiment and by logic. If such a god existed, it should be possible to demonstrate the fact, because there is plenty here to work with. But the fact is, such a god fails at every turn.
Prayers demonstrably do not get answered more than we would expect through sheer chance.
Faith healing demonstrably does not work more than we would expect through sheer chance and placebo effect.
Alleged miracles are always totally lacking in reliable evidence.
Even theologians have acknowledged that this god cannot be all-knowing AND all-powerful AND all-loving because otherwise there simply could not be so much suffering in the world.
Evidence shows that living forms were not created but evolved; any suggestion that God drove the process of evolution would again immediately categorically contradict the characteristics of omnipotence and omnibenevolence, since evolution proceeds through the application of cruelty (remember: evolution is a statement of reality, not of desirability).
It cannot both long to be known and be all powerful and all knowing and yet STILL remain hidden to us
It cannot be just and yet consign any living being to eternal hell (no one – LITERALLY no one) has ever been so bad as to make that a just and commensurate punishment; and a punishment that isn’t proportionate to the crime is by definition unjust).
For the same reason it cannot be all-loving.
It cannot be all-just and believe in the idea that guilt can be transferred to someone else. This is not justice, it is obscenity. As Christopher Hitchens has pointed out so eloquently, I can, if I am very generous, take your punishment on your behalf, but I can never assume your responsibility for the crime. To do so would be to undermine the very basis of morality, which assumes that we are responsible for our own actions.
Morality has been shown to be a) not absolute and b) not to be remotely dependent on any deity but to have evolved and been shaped through entirely natural processes.
And so I could go on. The Christian God is logically impossible. I cannot say with absolute confidence that there is nothing out there that we might conceivably call a god (though there is not the slightest evidence for one and therefore I don’t believe in one); but even if there were, it could not POSSIBLY be the Christian one. The Christian one is impossible, by its own definition.
sin is a concept invented by christians for christians!! as a way to guilt each other in to staying slaves
sin is a concept invented by christians for christians!! as a way to guilt each other in to staying slaves
Thursday, July 28, 2011
twitter accounts to key republican congressman on the debt ceiling vote
@RepKevinYoder @Rep_Joe_Wilson @USRepJoeWilson @RepWestmoreland @RepMikeTurner @RepStutzman @RepTimScott @RepDavid @TomRooney @DennyRehberg @benquayle @DevinNunes @CongJeffMiller @RepTomMarino @RepMcClintock @LandryForLA @TomLatham @Raul_Labrador @JackKingston @RepWalterJones @RepHuizenga @RepHultgren @RepMGriffith @RepTrentFranks @RepChuck @RepDanBurton @CongressmanDan @michaelcburgess @RepKevinBrady @Quico_Canseco @DesJarlaisTN04 @RepFincherTN08 @RepJoeBarton @RepJeanSchmidt
Monday, July 25, 2011
Without proof, your god is no different from an imaginary friend, wishful thinking, delusion or no god whatsoever.
Without proof, your god is no different from an imaginary friend, wishful thinking, delusion or no god whatsoever.
christians don't have morality christians don't have morality. Instead, they have obedience to authority and that's what they use as a substitute for genuine morality. It's been demonstrated repeatedly that it is a poor substitute.
christians don't have morality
christians don't have morality. Instead, they have obedience to authority and that's what they use as a substitute for genuine morality. It's been demonstrated repeatedly that it is a poor substitute.
christians don't have morality. Instead, they have obedience to authority and that's what they use as a substitute for genuine morality. It's been demonstrated repeatedly that it is a poor substitute.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
It cannot be all-just and believe in the idea that guilt can be transferred to someone else. This is not justice, it is obscenity. As Christopher Hitchens has pointed out so eloquently, I can, if I am very generous, take your punishment on your behalf, but I can never assume your responsibility for the crime. To do so would be to undermine the very basis of morality, which assumes that we are responsible for our own actions.
It cannot be all-just and believe in the idea that guilt can be transferred to someone else. This is not justice, it is obscenity. As Christopher Hitchens has pointed out so eloquently, I can, if I am very generous, take your punishment on your behalf, but I can never assume your responsibility for the crime. To do so would be to undermine the very basis of morality, which assumes that we are responsible for our own actions.
How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined.
Since you write 'God’ with a capital G, I assume you are thinking of the Christian god? If so, I am absolutely certain it does not exist.
How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined.
It is all-powerful
It is all-loving
It is all-knowing
It is all-just
It is the source of absolute morality
It created our universe and everything in it, including everything that lives
It is omni-present
It longs to be known and for us to believe in it
It answers prayers
It occasionally performs miracles
It heals
It was incarnated by means of a virgin
It died and was resurrected 3 days later
In so doing, it absolved us of all guilt for our 'sins’, provided we believe it has
It will judge us all, and those who pass muster (i.e. who believe that their sins have been forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus) will spend eternity in heaven and those who don’t (i.e. who don’t believe …) will spend eternity in hell.
And probably more besides. This gives us a lot of claims that are testable, by empirical experiment and by logic. If such a god existed, it should be possible to demonstrate the fact, because there is plenty here to work with. But the fact is, such a god fails at every turn.
Prayers demonstrably do not get answered more than we would expect through sheer chance.
Faith healing demonstrably does not work more than we would expect through sheer chance and placebo effect.
Alleged miracles are always totally lacking in reliable evidence.
Even theologians have acknowledged that this god cannot be all-knowing AND all-powerful AND all-loving because otherwise there simply could not be so much suffering in the world.
Evidence shows that living forms were not created but evolved; any suggestion that God drove the process of evolution would again immediately categorically contradict the characteristics of omnipotence and omnibenevolence, since evolution proceeds through the application of cruelty (remember: evolution is a statement of reality, not of desirability).
It cannot both long to be known and be all powerful and all knowing and yet STILL remain hidden to us
It cannot be just and yet consign any living being to eternal hell (no one – LITERALLY no one) has ever been so bad as to make that a just and commensurate punishment; and a punishment that isn’t proportionate to the crime is by definition unjust).
For the same reason it cannot be all-loving.
It cannot be all-just and believe in the idea that guilt can be transferred to someone else. This is not justice, it is obscenity. As Christopher Hitchens has pointed out so eloquently, I can, if I am very generous, take your punishment on your behalf, but I can never assume your responsibility for the crime. To do so would be to undermine the very basis of morality, which assumes that we are responsible for our own actions.
Morality has been shown to be a) not absolute and b) not to be remotely dependent on any deity but to have evolved and been shaped through entirely natural processes.
And so I could go on. The Christian God is logically impossible. I cannot say with absolute confidence that there is nothing out there that we might conceivably call a god (though there is not the slightest evidence for one and therefore I don’t believe in one); but even if there were, it could not POSSIBLY be the Christian one. The Christian one is impossible, by its own definition.
How can I make such a definitive statement? It is because, unlike some deist god who doesn’t intervene in the universe and whose existence or non-existence would therefore be entirely untestable, the Christian god is pretty clearly defined.
It is all-powerful
It is all-loving
It is all-knowing
It is all-just
It is the source of absolute morality
It created our universe and everything in it, including everything that lives
It is omni-present
It longs to be known and for us to believe in it
It answers prayers
It occasionally performs miracles
It heals
It was incarnated by means of a virgin
It died and was resurrected 3 days later
In so doing, it absolved us of all guilt for our 'sins’, provided we believe it has
It will judge us all, and those who pass muster (i.e. who believe that their sins have been forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus) will spend eternity in heaven and those who don’t (i.e. who don’t believe …) will spend eternity in hell.
And probably more besides. This gives us a lot of claims that are testable, by empirical experiment and by logic. If such a god existed, it should be possible to demonstrate the fact, because there is plenty here to work with. But the fact is, such a god fails at every turn.
Prayers demonstrably do not get answered more than we would expect through sheer chance.
Faith healing demonstrably does not work more than we would expect through sheer chance and placebo effect.
Alleged miracles are always totally lacking in reliable evidence.
Even theologians have acknowledged that this god cannot be all-knowing AND all-powerful AND all-loving because otherwise there simply could not be so much suffering in the world.
Evidence shows that living forms were not created but evolved; any suggestion that God drove the process of evolution would again immediately categorically contradict the characteristics of omnipotence and omnibenevolence, since evolution proceeds through the application of cruelty (remember: evolution is a statement of reality, not of desirability).
It cannot both long to be known and be all powerful and all knowing and yet STILL remain hidden to us
It cannot be just and yet consign any living being to eternal hell (no one – LITERALLY no one) has ever been so bad as to make that a just and commensurate punishment; and a punishment that isn’t proportionate to the crime is by definition unjust).
For the same reason it cannot be all-loving.
It cannot be all-just and believe in the idea that guilt can be transferred to someone else. This is not justice, it is obscenity. As Christopher Hitchens has pointed out so eloquently, I can, if I am very generous, take your punishment on your behalf, but I can never assume your responsibility for the crime. To do so would be to undermine the very basis of morality, which assumes that we are responsible for our own actions.
Morality has been shown to be a) not absolute and b) not to be remotely dependent on any deity but to have evolved and been shaped through entirely natural processes.
And so I could go on. The Christian God is logically impossible. I cannot say with absolute confidence that there is nothing out there that we might conceivably call a god (though there is not the slightest evidence for one and therefore I don’t believe in one); but even if there were, it could not POSSIBLY be the Christian one. The Christian one is impossible, by its own definition.
THE ULTIMATE BOEING 747
The argument from improbability is the big one. In the traditional
guise of the argument from design, it is easily today's most popular
argument offered in favour of the existence of God and it is seen,
by an amazingly large number of theists, as completely and utterly
convincing. It is indeed a very strong and, I suspect, unanswerable
argument - but in precisely the opposite direction from the theist's
intention. The argument from improbability, properly deployed,
comes close to proving that God does not exist. My name for the
statistical demonstration that God almost certainly does not exist is
the Ultimate Boeing 747 gambit.
The name comes from Fred Hoyle's amusing image of the Boeing
747 and the scrapyard. I am not sure whether Hoyle ever wrote it
down himself, but it was attributed to him by his close colleague
Chandra Wickramasinghe and is presumably authentic.58 Hoyle
said that the probability of life originating on Earth is no greater
than the chance that a hurricane, sweeping through a scrapyard,
would have the luck to assemble a Boeing 747. Others have
borrowed the metaphor to refer to the later evolution of complex
living bodies, where it has a spurious plausibility. The odds against
assembling a fully functioning horse, beetle or ostrich by randomly
shuffling its parts are up there in 747 territory. This, in a nutshell,
is the creationist's favourite argument - an argument that could be
made only by somebody who doesn't understand the first thing
about natural selection: somebody who thinks natural selection is a
theory of chance whereas - in the relevant sense of chance - it is the
opposite.
The creationist misappropriation of the argument from improbability
always takes the same general form, and it doesn't make
any difference if the creationist chooses to masquerade in the
politically expedient fancy dress of 'intelligent design' (ID).* Some
observed phenomenon - often a living creature or one of its more
complex organs, but it could be anything from a molecule up to the
universe itself - is correctly extolled as statistically improbable.
Sometimes the language of information theory is used: the
Darwinian is challenged to explain the source of all the information
Intelligent design has been unkindly described as creationism in a cheap tuxedo.
114 THE G O D D E L U S I O N
in living matter, in the technical sense of information content as a
measure of improbability or 'surprise value'. Or the argument may
invoke the economist's hackneyed motto: there's no such thing as a
free lunch - and Darwinism is accused of trying to get something
for nothing. In fact, as I shall show in this chapter, Darwinian
natural selection is the only known solution to the otherwise unanswerable
riddle of where the information comes from. It turns
out to be the God Hypothesis that tries to get something for
nothing. God tries to have his free lunch and be it too. However
statistically improbable the entity you seek to explain by invoking
a designer, the designer himself has got to be at least as improbable.
God is the Ultimate Boeing 747.
The argument from improbability states that complex things
could not have come about by chance. But many people define
'come about by chance' as a synonym for 'come about in the
absence of deliberate design'. Not surprisingly, therefore, they think
improbability is evidence of design. Darwinian natural selection
shows how wrong this is with respect to biological improbability.
And although Darwinism may not be directly relevant to the
inanimate world - cosmology, for example - it raises our
consciousness in areas outside its original territory of biology.
A deep understanding of Darwinism teaches us to be wary of the
easy assumption that design is the only alternative to chance, and
teaches us to seek out graded ramps of slowly increasing
complexity. Before Darwin, philosophers such as Hume understood
that the improbability of life did not mean it had to be designed,
but they couldn't imagine the alternative. After Darwin, we all
should feel, deep in our bones, suspicious of the very idea of design.
The illusion of design is a trap that has caught us before, and
Darwin should have immunized us by raising our consciousness.
Would that he had succeeded with all of us.
The argument from improbability is the big one. In the traditional
guise of the argument from design, it is easily today's most popular
argument offered in favour of the existence of God and it is seen,
by an amazingly large number of theists, as completely and utterly
convincing. It is indeed a very strong and, I suspect, unanswerable
argument - but in precisely the opposite direction from the theist's
intention. The argument from improbability, properly deployed,
comes close to proving that God does not exist. My name for the
statistical demonstration that God almost certainly does not exist is
the Ultimate Boeing 747 gambit.
The name comes from Fred Hoyle's amusing image of the Boeing
747 and the scrapyard. I am not sure whether Hoyle ever wrote it
down himself, but it was attributed to him by his close colleague
Chandra Wickramasinghe and is presumably authentic.58 Hoyle
said that the probability of life originating on Earth is no greater
than the chance that a hurricane, sweeping through a scrapyard,
would have the luck to assemble a Boeing 747. Others have
borrowed the metaphor to refer to the later evolution of complex
living bodies, where it has a spurious plausibility. The odds against
assembling a fully functioning horse, beetle or ostrich by randomly
shuffling its parts are up there in 747 territory. This, in a nutshell,
is the creationist's favourite argument - an argument that could be
made only by somebody who doesn't understand the first thing
about natural selection: somebody who thinks natural selection is a
theory of chance whereas - in the relevant sense of chance - it is the
opposite.
The creationist misappropriation of the argument from improbability
always takes the same general form, and it doesn't make
any difference if the creationist chooses to masquerade in the
politically expedient fancy dress of 'intelligent design' (ID).* Some
observed phenomenon - often a living creature or one of its more
complex organs, but it could be anything from a molecule up to the
universe itself - is correctly extolled as statistically improbable.
Sometimes the language of information theory is used: the
Darwinian is challenged to explain the source of all the information
Intelligent design has been unkindly described as creationism in a cheap tuxedo.
114 THE G O D D E L U S I O N
in living matter, in the technical sense of information content as a
measure of improbability or 'surprise value'. Or the argument may
invoke the economist's hackneyed motto: there's no such thing as a
free lunch - and Darwinism is accused of trying to get something
for nothing. In fact, as I shall show in this chapter, Darwinian
natural selection is the only known solution to the otherwise unanswerable
riddle of where the information comes from. It turns
out to be the God Hypothesis that tries to get something for
nothing. God tries to have his free lunch and be it too. However
statistically improbable the entity you seek to explain by invoking
a designer, the designer himself has got to be at least as improbable.
God is the Ultimate Boeing 747.
The argument from improbability states that complex things
could not have come about by chance. But many people define
'come about by chance' as a synonym for 'come about in the
absence of deliberate design'. Not surprisingly, therefore, they think
improbability is evidence of design. Darwinian natural selection
shows how wrong this is with respect to biological improbability.
And although Darwinism may not be directly relevant to the
inanimate world - cosmology, for example - it raises our
consciousness in areas outside its original territory of biology.
A deep understanding of Darwinism teaches us to be wary of the
easy assumption that design is the only alternative to chance, and
teaches us to seek out graded ramps of slowly increasing
complexity. Before Darwin, philosophers such as Hume understood
that the improbability of life did not mean it had to be designed,
but they couldn't imagine the alternative. After Darwin, we all
should feel, deep in our bones, suspicious of the very idea of design.
The illusion of design is a trap that has caught us before, and
Darwin should have immunized us by raising our consciousness.
Would that he had succeeded with all of us.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The easy confidence w/ which the #christian knows other religions are false shld condition them 2 question their own..but it doesnt #atheist
The easy confidence w/ which the #christian knows other religions are false shld condition them 2 question their own..but it doesnt #atheist
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Belief, Disbelief, and Denial: Disbelief is Not the Same as Denial Atheist Disbelief in Gods Isn't Always Denial of Gods
Belief, Disbelief, and Denial: Disbelief is Not the Same as Denial
Atheist Disbelief in Gods Isn't Always Denial of Gods
By Austin Cline, About.com Guide
Atheists who try to explain what atheism is and is not encounter significant hurdles created by the failure of so many people to understand basic terms like belief, disbelief, knowledge, and faith. Atheists can't expect people to truly comprehend how atheism is the absence of belief in gods if they don't understand how belief differs from knowledge or how disbelief differs from denial. Atheists who can explain these basic concepts may find it easier to have productive discussions with theists.
The Terms of Debate
What is Belief?1 A belief is the mental attitude that some proposition is true. For every given proposition, every person either has or lacks the mental attitude that it is true. Beliefs may be stronger or weaker, based on evidence or not, reasonable or irrational. Beliefs are a mental representation of the world around you — a belief about the world is the mental attitude that world is structured in some way rather than another. Beliefs are the foundation for action: if you believe something is true, you must be willing to act as if it were true; if you are unwilling to act as thought it were true, you can't really claim to believe it. This is why actions can matter much more than words.
What is Faith?2 Faith can be defined in religious contexts as a type of belief or as trust. Faith as belief is belief without evidence or knowledge. Christians using the term to describe their own beliefs are supposed to be using in the same was a Paul: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." [Hebrews 11:1] Faith as trust can be trusting that one is taught the truth or trusting that God will fulfill the promises made in the Bible.
What is Knowledge?3 Knowledge is a justified, true belief. To know something, the following three conditions must be true: you must believe it, it must be true, and your belief must be justified. A true belief that is not justified is not knowledge. A false belief that is very justified is not knowledge. Everything you know you necessarily also believe, but not knowing doesn't mean not believing — your belief simply doesn't rise to the state of knowledge.
What is Disbelief?4 Disbelief can be defined broadly as simply not believing or the absence of belief and narrowly as the rejection of belief. The broader sense of disbelief applies when someone lacks the mental attitude that some proposition is true for any reason — including ignorance of the proposition. The narrower sense applies when someone is aware of the proposition but is unable to form the mental attitude that it is true, for example not understanding it or not having enough evidence to accept it. By implication, a person who disbelieves in the narrower sense also disbelieves in the broader sense.
What is Denial? Denial is the positive assertion that some proposition is false and the contradictory is true. A person who denies a proposition does not believe it is true but does believe that the contradictory is true. They may or may not know that the original proposition is false; they may or may not know that the contradictory is true. By implication, a person who denies a proposition disbelieves the proposition in both the broader and narrower senses.
Applying the Concepts
Not Believing vs. Believing Not5: Many have trouble comprehending that "not believing X" doesn't mean the same as "believing not X." The placement of the negative is key: the first means not having the mental attitude that proposition X is true, the second means having the mental attitude that proposition X is false (or put another way, that the contradictory proposition is true). The difference here is between disbelief and denial: the first is disbelief in the broad or narrow sense whereas the second is denial.
What is Theism?6 Theism is the assertion that at least one god of some sort exists; it is the mental attitude that the proposition "at least one god exists" is true. It's not necessarily knowledge. It's not necessarily unwavering. It might be one god or many gods; it might be a personal or an impersonal god. Because there is no middle ground between the presence of a belief and the absence of a belief, everyone is either a theist or not.
What is Atheism?7 A-theism is the disbelief that at least one god exists; it is the absence of the mental attitude that the proposition "at least one god exists" is true. An atheist may claim to know that it is not true but they don't have to. An atheist may claim to know that some types of gods exist but not claim such knowledge about other gods. An atheist may disbelieve because of evidence and logic or because they were indoctrinated.
What is Agnosticism?8 Agnosticism is the absence of knowledge of whether any gods exist or not; an agnostic does not claim to know if the proposition "at least one god exists" is true or false. Because knowledge and belief are separate issues, a lack of knowledge is compatible with both belief and disbelief. An agnostic can believe without claiming to know or not believe without claiming to know. Because there is no middle ground between the presence or absence of knowledge, everyone is either an agnostic or not.
Atheist Disbelief in Gods Isn't Always Denial of Gods
By Austin Cline, About.com Guide
Atheists who try to explain what atheism is and is not encounter significant hurdles created by the failure of so many people to understand basic terms like belief, disbelief, knowledge, and faith. Atheists can't expect people to truly comprehend how atheism is the absence of belief in gods if they don't understand how belief differs from knowledge or how disbelief differs from denial. Atheists who can explain these basic concepts may find it easier to have productive discussions with theists.
The Terms of Debate
What is Belief?1 A belief is the mental attitude that some proposition is true. For every given proposition, every person either has or lacks the mental attitude that it is true. Beliefs may be stronger or weaker, based on evidence or not, reasonable or irrational. Beliefs are a mental representation of the world around you — a belief about the world is the mental attitude that world is structured in some way rather than another. Beliefs are the foundation for action: if you believe something is true, you must be willing to act as if it were true; if you are unwilling to act as thought it were true, you can't really claim to believe it. This is why actions can matter much more than words.
What is Faith?2 Faith can be defined in religious contexts as a type of belief or as trust. Faith as belief is belief without evidence or knowledge. Christians using the term to describe their own beliefs are supposed to be using in the same was a Paul: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." [Hebrews 11:1] Faith as trust can be trusting that one is taught the truth or trusting that God will fulfill the promises made in the Bible.
What is Knowledge?3 Knowledge is a justified, true belief. To know something, the following three conditions must be true: you must believe it, it must be true, and your belief must be justified. A true belief that is not justified is not knowledge. A false belief that is very justified is not knowledge. Everything you know you necessarily also believe, but not knowing doesn't mean not believing — your belief simply doesn't rise to the state of knowledge.
What is Disbelief?4 Disbelief can be defined broadly as simply not believing or the absence of belief and narrowly as the rejection of belief. The broader sense of disbelief applies when someone lacks the mental attitude that some proposition is true for any reason — including ignorance of the proposition. The narrower sense applies when someone is aware of the proposition but is unable to form the mental attitude that it is true, for example not understanding it or not having enough evidence to accept it. By implication, a person who disbelieves in the narrower sense also disbelieves in the broader sense.
What is Denial? Denial is the positive assertion that some proposition is false and the contradictory is true. A person who denies a proposition does not believe it is true but does believe that the contradictory is true. They may or may not know that the original proposition is false; they may or may not know that the contradictory is true. By implication, a person who denies a proposition disbelieves the proposition in both the broader and narrower senses.
Applying the Concepts
Not Believing vs. Believing Not5: Many have trouble comprehending that "not believing X" doesn't mean the same as "believing not X." The placement of the negative is key: the first means not having the mental attitude that proposition X is true, the second means having the mental attitude that proposition X is false (or put another way, that the contradictory proposition is true). The difference here is between disbelief and denial: the first is disbelief in the broad or narrow sense whereas the second is denial.
What is Theism?6 Theism is the assertion that at least one god of some sort exists; it is the mental attitude that the proposition "at least one god exists" is true. It's not necessarily knowledge. It's not necessarily unwavering. It might be one god or many gods; it might be a personal or an impersonal god. Because there is no middle ground between the presence of a belief and the absence of a belief, everyone is either a theist or not.
What is Atheism?7 A-theism is the disbelief that at least one god exists; it is the absence of the mental attitude that the proposition "at least one god exists" is true. An atheist may claim to know that it is not true but they don't have to. An atheist may claim to know that some types of gods exist but not claim such knowledge about other gods. An atheist may disbelieve because of evidence and logic or because they were indoctrinated.
What is Agnosticism?8 Agnosticism is the absence of knowledge of whether any gods exist or not; an agnostic does not claim to know if the proposition "at least one god exists" is true or false. Because knowledge and belief are separate issues, a lack of knowledge is compatible with both belief and disbelief. An agnostic can believe without claiming to know or not believe without claiming to know. Because there is no middle ground between the presence or absence of knowledge, everyone is either an agnostic or not.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Whenever life's hardships burden me, whenever I struggle to rise and face each day, whenever the clouds of sadness have taken the sunlight from my life... I think about how dumb religious people are and have a bloody good laugh!
Whenever life's hardships burden me, whenever I struggle to rise and face each day, whenever the clouds of sadness have taken the sunlight from my life... I think about how dumb religious people are and have a bloody good laugh!
Even Scientology is more credible than christianity, at least we can prove its creator existed
Even Scientology is more credible than christianity,
at least we can prove its creator existed
at least we can prove its creator existed
There is a good reason why the U.S. Constitution's 1st Amendment establishes a "wall of separation" between religion and government. You don't see any laws establishing such a wall between science and government do you?
There is a good reason why the U.S. Constitution's 1st Amendment establishes a "wall of separation" between religion and government. You don't see any laws establishing such a wall between science and government do you?
The difference between truth and god is that truth will always be there, and god never is
The difference between truth and god is that truth will always be there, and god never is
Thursday, June 23, 2011
there are easily and quickly 2 reasons we talk about god...though we don’t believe in god, we certainly believe in christians. They’re everywhere, it seems. And while most of them are harmless, a number of them are annoying… or worse. Much worse. They bomb abortion clinics. They do their best to hinder the advancement of science and the arts. They elect candidates based not on their competency, but on whether “he prays” (and says so more often than his opponent). They try to interfere — and get laws to do it — in the sexual lives of consenting adults. They ban stem cell research and contraceptives, thus condemning millions around the world to disease and suffering, because of books written by primitive desert nomads thousands of years ago. So, yes, christians are a problem. and Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
there are easily and quickly 2 reasons we talk about god...though we don’t believe in god, we certainly believe in christians. They’re everywhere, it seems. And while most of them are harmless, a number of them are annoying… or worse. Much worse. They bomb abortion clinics. They do their best to hinder the advancement of science and the arts. They elect candidates based not on their competency, but on whether “he prays” (and says so more often than his opponent). They try to interfere — and get laws to do it — in the sexual lives of consenting adults. They ban stem cell research and contraceptives, thus condemning millions around the world to disease and suffering, because of books written by primitive desert nomads thousands of years ago. So, yes, christians are a problem.
and
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
and
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
To be an Atheist is the ability to embrace & accept the mysterious nature of reality itself.
To be an atheist is the ability to embrace & accept the mysterious nature of reality itself.
Friday, June 17, 2011
and he should not B judged b/c he doesnt want 2 tie invisible chains around his ankles
and he should not B judged b/c he doesnt want 2 tie invisible chains around his ankles
Atheism is not a religion because it does not include god. Nor a dogma, or a theory. Atheism is a state of perception. Atheism is something completely different from religion.
Atheism is not a religion because it does not include god. Nor a dogma, or a theory. Atheism is a state of perception. Atheism is something completely different from religion.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Myth: Atheists are Making a Tactical Mistake by Insulting Religious Theists
Myth: Atheists are Making a Tactical Mistake by Insulting Religious Theists
Should Atheist Try to be More Polite, Less Impolite to Religious Theists?
By Austin Cline, About.com Guide
Myth:
Atheists would be better off not insulting religious believers and theists with their criticisms and attacks on religion, religious beliefs, and theism. Atheists should moderate their rhetoric and stop pushing theists away.
Response:
An increasing popular criticism of atheists today is that they are too rude and insulting to religious theists — this typically goes hand-in-hand with the claims that atheists are "intolerant" and should be more "respectful" of religion, religious beliefs, and theism. According to purveyors of this myth, atheists are just hurting themselves and their own causes by being so rude and impolite. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, so atheists should try to moderate their tone.
The primary problem with this claim is how the speaker leaves the concept of "insulting" to open. What exactly is meant by "insulting" here, who is doing it, how is it a problem, and what are the recommended alternatives? Without such information, the recommendation that atheists be more "polite" is little more than an invitation to open-ended self-censorship that could lead to all sorts of things not being said in the supposed interest of politeness.
This is not an idle or superficially semantic issue. Critics of the infamous Danish cartoons of Muhammad1 argued that they were rude and insulting, but without specifying exactly how they should be interpreted as "insulting" or what sorts of alternatives should have been chosen. Plays and books have been censored on the claim that they are "insulting" to "religious sensibilities" — indeed, there are some who argue that there should be no free speech right to say, write, or do anything that "insults" these "religious sensibilities."
Is this what people have in mind when they say that atheists shouldn't be "insulting" — that atheists shouldn't say or do anything which insults religious sensibilities? That's far too broad of a claim to be accepted or taken seriously. Atheistic critiques of religion cannot and should not be held hostage to the vague, unknown, and ever-shifting "religious sensibilities" of whomever might listen or read. This is akin to banning "pornography" where "pornography" is defined as anything that offends "local standards" — something that is unknown in advance and which limits a person's expression to the lowest common denominator wherever their material might be seen or read.
A second problem with the claim being made above is how easily it allows people to ignore the difference between criticism of beliefs and criticism of believers. Saying "religious believers are all stupid" certainly seems to qualify as an insult and I doubt that there are many circumstances where it would be appropriate or acceptable. Saying "theism is irrational and shouldn't be adopted" isn't an insult and isn't inappropriate, but it happens far too often that religious believers interpret this latter comment as if it were functionally equivalent to the former.
It is a serious and ongoing problem for atheists that believers take any negative criticism — never mind very sharp criticism or even ridicule — of religious claims and dogmas in a highly personal manner. This can be understandable, given how important these beliefs can be for people, but it's not legitimate to shut down all such commentary on the assertion that it's "insulting" and therefore inappropriate, illegitimate, and out-of-bounds.
There are of course better and worse ways of saying or putting things, but in the end religious believers cannot object to atheistic criticism of religion, religious beliefs, or theism by insisting that atheists stop being "insulting" and "moderate" their rhetoric. If religious believers really do feel that there is a problem with civility, they are obliged to be very specific about what they consider insulting, why, and what they think the reasonable alternatives are.
Should Atheist Try to be More Polite, Less Impolite to Religious Theists?
By Austin Cline, About.com Guide
Myth:
Atheists would be better off not insulting religious believers and theists with their criticisms and attacks on religion, religious beliefs, and theism. Atheists should moderate their rhetoric and stop pushing theists away.
Response:
An increasing popular criticism of atheists today is that they are too rude and insulting to religious theists — this typically goes hand-in-hand with the claims that atheists are "intolerant" and should be more "respectful" of religion, religious beliefs, and theism. According to purveyors of this myth, atheists are just hurting themselves and their own causes by being so rude and impolite. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, so atheists should try to moderate their tone.
The primary problem with this claim is how the speaker leaves the concept of "insulting" to open. What exactly is meant by "insulting" here, who is doing it, how is it a problem, and what are the recommended alternatives? Without such information, the recommendation that atheists be more "polite" is little more than an invitation to open-ended self-censorship that could lead to all sorts of things not being said in the supposed interest of politeness.
This is not an idle or superficially semantic issue. Critics of the infamous Danish cartoons of Muhammad1 argued that they were rude and insulting, but without specifying exactly how they should be interpreted as "insulting" or what sorts of alternatives should have been chosen. Plays and books have been censored on the claim that they are "insulting" to "religious sensibilities" — indeed, there are some who argue that there should be no free speech right to say, write, or do anything that "insults" these "religious sensibilities."
Is this what people have in mind when they say that atheists shouldn't be "insulting" — that atheists shouldn't say or do anything which insults religious sensibilities? That's far too broad of a claim to be accepted or taken seriously. Atheistic critiques of religion cannot and should not be held hostage to the vague, unknown, and ever-shifting "religious sensibilities" of whomever might listen or read. This is akin to banning "pornography" where "pornography" is defined as anything that offends "local standards" — something that is unknown in advance and which limits a person's expression to the lowest common denominator wherever their material might be seen or read.
A second problem with the claim being made above is how easily it allows people to ignore the difference between criticism of beliefs and criticism of believers. Saying "religious believers are all stupid" certainly seems to qualify as an insult and I doubt that there are many circumstances where it would be appropriate or acceptable. Saying "theism is irrational and shouldn't be adopted" isn't an insult and isn't inappropriate, but it happens far too often that religious believers interpret this latter comment as if it were functionally equivalent to the former.
It is a serious and ongoing problem for atheists that believers take any negative criticism — never mind very sharp criticism or even ridicule — of religious claims and dogmas in a highly personal manner. This can be understandable, given how important these beliefs can be for people, but it's not legitimate to shut down all such commentary on the assertion that it's "insulting" and therefore inappropriate, illegitimate, and out-of-bounds.
There are of course better and worse ways of saying or putting things, but in the end religious believers cannot object to atheistic criticism of religion, religious beliefs, or theism by insisting that atheists stop being "insulting" and "moderate" their rhetoric. If religious believers really do feel that there is a problem with civility, they are obliged to be very specific about what they consider insulting, why, and what they think the reasonable alternatives are.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Our belief is not a belief. Our principles are not a faith.
Our belief is not a belief. Our principles are not a faith. We do not rely solely upon science and reason, because these are necessary rather than sufficient factors, but we distrust anything that contradicts science or outrages reason. We may differ on many things, but what we respect is free inquiry, open mindedness, and the pursuit of ideas for their own sake. We do not hold our convictions dogmatically:We are reconciled to living only once, except through our children, for whom we are perfectly happy to notice that we must make way, and room. We speculate that it is at least possible that, once people accepted the fact of their short and struggling lives, they might behave better toward each other and not worse. We believe with certainty that an ethical life can be lived without religion. And we know for a fact that the corollary holds true—that religion has caused innumerable people not just to conduct themselves no better than others, but to award themselves permission to behave in ways that would make a brothel-keeper or an ethnic cleanser raise an eyebrow.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
We don’t believe in God, but we certainly believe in Christians.
We don’t believe in God, but we certainly believe in Christians. They’re everywhere, it seems. And while most of them are harmless, a number of them are annoying… or worse. Much worse. They bomb abortion clinics. They do their best to hinder the advancement of science and the arts. They elect candidates based not on their competency, but on whether “he prays” (and says so more often than his opponent). They try to interfere — and get laws to do it — in the sexual lives of consenting adults. They ban stem cell research and contraceptives, thus condemning millions around the world to disease and suffering, because of books written by primitive desert nomads thousands of years ago. So, yes, Christians are a problem.
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
kalam
P1: nothing which exists can cause something which does not exist to begin existing ex nihilo.
P2: given (1), anything which begins to exist ex nihilo was not caused to do so by something which exists.
P3: the universe began to exist ex nihilo.
P4: given (2) and (3), the universe was not caused to exist by anything which exists.
P5: god is defined as a being which caused the universe to begin to exist ex nihilo
C1: given (4) (5), god does not exist by definition.
P2: given (1), anything which begins to exist ex nihilo was not caused to do so by something which exists.
P3: the universe began to exist ex nihilo.
P4: given (2) and (3), the universe was not caused to exist by anything which exists.
P5: god is defined as a being which caused the universe to begin to exist ex nihilo
C1: given (4) (5), god does not exist by definition.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Robert M Price exposes William Lane Craig - Part 1 of 2
This is the opening statement of Robert M Price in the debate he had against good old Bill on the historicity of the resurrection. If you want to hear what Craig said, you know very well what to do: go to any of the other debates, you know he allways presents the same arguments.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree... Yeah, Christianity makes perfect sense.
The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree...
Yeah, Christianity makes perfect sense.
Yeah, Christianity makes perfect sense.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Becoming an Atheist is the single most rational sane thing that ever happened to me.
Becoming an Atheist is the single most rational sane thing that ever happened to me.
Friday, May 20, 2011
#atheist #christian
#atheist #christian
“The human psyche has two great sicknesses: the urge to carry vendetta across generations, and the tendency to fasten group labels on people rather than see them as individuals. Abrahamic religion gives strong sanction to both- and mixes explosively with both. Only the willfully blind could fail to implicate the divisive force of religion in most, if not all, of the violent enmities in the world today. Without a doubt it is the prime aggravator of the Middle East. Those of us who have for years politely concealed our contempt for the dangerous collective delusion of religion need to stand up and speak out. Things are different now. All is changed, changed utterly.”
— Richard Dawkins
“The human psyche has two great sicknesses: the urge to carry vendetta across generations, and the tendency to fasten group labels on people rather than see them as individuals. Abrahamic religion gives strong sanction to both- and mixes explosively with both. Only the willfully blind could fail to implicate the divisive force of religion in most, if not all, of the violent enmities in the world today. Without a doubt it is the prime aggravator of the Middle East. Those of us who have for years politely concealed our contempt for the dangerous collective delusion of religion need to stand up and speak out. Things are different now. All is changed, changed utterly.”
— Richard Dawkins
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
reasons for not agreeing with pascal's wager
Reason 1: In the case where God does not exist, there really is a clear advantage to not believing. In other words, the payoff is not zero. For one thing, if you go through life believing a lie, that is a bad thing in itself. Besides that, there is more to being a believer than just saying "Okay, I believe now" and getting on with your life. Serious believers spend a lot of their time in church, and contribute a lot of money as well. There's a reason why some towns have very affluent looking buildings for churches, and why large and elaborate cathedrals are possible: they're funded by folks who donate 1/10th of their income throughout their lives to tithing. This is surely quite a waste if the object of worship isn't real. That's to say nothing of the persecution of other groups that's been instigated in the name of God throughout the ages.
Reason 2: Even if you buy into Pascal's wager and decide you should believe, that doesn't give any basis for choosing which religion to believe in. Fundamentalists often use the wager to prove that you should be a Fundamentalist, but of course, Pascal was Catholic and was using it to prove you should be a Catholic! This just highlights the whole problem of which religion is the right one. Since many Fundamentalists believe that Catholics are going to go to hell, Pascal's not much better off than an unbeliever. We don't know if the Jews are correct, or perhaps the Muslims, or if reincarnation is right... or worse, if there's a perverse God who only lets atheists into heaven! It's not impossible. For all we know, maybe God exists but he doesn't care at all whether people believe in him.
Reason 3: If you can accept Pascal's wager as a realistic reason to believe, that leads you to a point where you have no choice but to believe just about everything on the same grounds. Maybe if you don't own a complete library of Seinfeld episodes, you'll go to hell! Why not? You don't know. Maybe you have to send $10 a week to the Atheist Community of Austin for life. Hey, what's a measly ten bucks if it will save you from eternal hellfire? Or maybe God really likes nude mud wrestling and he will punish those who do not partake of His gift.
Does all this sound utterly silly to you? Good! That's probably because you know that you should only believe things that have some sort of clear evidence favoring them. You don't believe just any old preposterous claim about UFO's, pyramid shaped get-rich-quick schemes, or magic pixies just because somebody tells you they're true and because there's a chance you might be wrong. You have a brain—use it!
Further reading: "Pascal's Sucker Bet" by "Reverend" Jim Huger
from http://bit.ly/k8ySY2
Reason 2: Even if you buy into Pascal's wager and decide you should believe, that doesn't give any basis for choosing which religion to believe in. Fundamentalists often use the wager to prove that you should be a Fundamentalist, but of course, Pascal was Catholic and was using it to prove you should be a Catholic! This just highlights the whole problem of which religion is the right one. Since many Fundamentalists believe that Catholics are going to go to hell, Pascal's not much better off than an unbeliever. We don't know if the Jews are correct, or perhaps the Muslims, or if reincarnation is right... or worse, if there's a perverse God who only lets atheists into heaven! It's not impossible. For all we know, maybe God exists but he doesn't care at all whether people believe in him.
Reason 3: If you can accept Pascal's wager as a realistic reason to believe, that leads you to a point where you have no choice but to believe just about everything on the same grounds. Maybe if you don't own a complete library of Seinfeld episodes, you'll go to hell! Why not? You don't know. Maybe you have to send $10 a week to the Atheist Community of Austin for life. Hey, what's a measly ten bucks if it will save you from eternal hellfire? Or maybe God really likes nude mud wrestling and he will punish those who do not partake of His gift.
Does all this sound utterly silly to you? Good! That's probably because you know that you should only believe things that have some sort of clear evidence favoring them. You don't believe just any old preposterous claim about UFO's, pyramid shaped get-rich-quick schemes, or magic pixies just because somebody tells you they're true and because there's a chance you might be wrong. You have a brain—use it!
Further reading: "Pascal's Sucker Bet" by "Reverend" Jim Huger
from http://bit.ly/k8ySY2
Sunday, May 1, 2011
#christian 's took themselves to the mountain top. Science took the entire world to the moon. #atheist
#christian 's took themselves to the mountain top. Science took the entire world to the moon. #atheist
the #christian religion has never set anyone free, but it has set quite a large number on fire. #atheist
the #christian religion has never set anyone free, but it has set quite a large number on fire. #atheist on fire. #atheist
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
how do you embrace a male god
how do you embrace a male god who has persecuted female sexuality throughout the ages; and that persecution still goes on today, all over the world.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
#atheists don't have any holidays set aside because every day for an #atheist is a holiday, free from religious bullshit.
#atheists don't have any holidays set aside because every day for an #atheist is a holiday, free from religious bullshit.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
#atheist #christian
Theist to atheist: "Life has no meaning if death is the end... I might as well be DEAD!"
Atheist reply: "Death has no meaning because it's the end of life... so you might as well LIVE!"
Atheist reply: "Death has no meaning because it's the end of life... so you might as well LIVE!"
Friday, April 1, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
christians don't have morality
christians don't have morality. Instead, they have obedience to authority and that's what they use as a substitute for genuine morality. It's been demonstrated repeatedly that it is a poor substitute.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
#atheist #christian #hitchens
Thus the mildest criticism of religion is also the most radical and the most devastating one. Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did. Still less can they hope to tell us the "meaning" of later discoveries and developments which were, when they began, either obstructed by their religions or denounced by them. And yet—the believers still claim to know! Not just to know, but to know everything. Not just to know that god exists, and that he created and supervised the whole enterprise, but also to know what "he" demands of us—from our diet to our observances to our sexual morality. In other words, in a vast and complicated discussion where we know more and more about less and less, yet can still hope for some enlightenment as we proceed, one faction—itself composed of mutually warring factions—has the sheer arrogance to tell us that we already have all the essential information we need. Such stupidity, combined with such pride, should be enough on its own to exclude "belief" from the debate. The person who is certain, and who claims divine warrant for his certainty, belongs now to the infancy of our species. It may be a long farewell, but it has begun and, like all farewells, should not be protracted.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs."
"In fact, "atheism" is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a "non-astrologer" or a "non-alchemist." We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs."
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
the likelihood of the second must be weighed against the likelihood of the first.
A miracle is a disturbance or interruption in the expected and established course of things. This could involve anything from the sun rising in the west to an animal suddenly bursting into the recitation of verse. Very well, then, free will also involves decision. If you seem to witness such a thing, there are two possibilities. The first is that the laws of nature have been suspended (in your favor). The second is that you are under a misapprehension, or suffering from a delusion. Thus the likelihood of the second must be weighed against the likelihood of the first. If you only hear a report of the miracle from a second or third party, the odds must be adjusted accordingly before you can decide to credit a witness who claims to have seen something that you did not see. And if you are separated from the "sighting" by many generations, and have no independent corroboration, the odds must be adjusted still more drastically.
according to the New Testament, the thing could be done in an almost commonplace way. Jesus managed it twice in other people's cases, by raising both Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus, and nobody seems to have thought it worthwhile to interview either survivor to ask about their extraordinary experiences. Nor does anyone seem to have kept a record of whether or not, or how, these two individuals "died" again. If they stayed immortal, then they joined the ancient company of the "Wandering Jew," who was condemned by early Christianity to keep walking forever after he met Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, this misery being inflicted upon a mere bystander in order to fulfill the otherwise unfulfilled prophecy that Jesus would come again in the lifetime of at least one person who had seen him the first time around. On the same day that Jesus met that luckless vagrant, he was himself put to death with revolting cruelty, at which time, according to the Gospel of Matthew 27:52-53, "the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." This seems incoherent, since the corpses apparently rose both at the time of the death on the cross and of the Resurrection, but it is narrated in the same matter-of-fact way as the earthquake, the rending of the veil of the temple (two other events that did not attract the attention of any historian), and the reverent comments of the Roman centurion.
according to the New Testament, the thing could be done in an almost commonplace way. Jesus managed it twice in other people's cases, by raising both Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus, and nobody seems to have thought it worthwhile to interview either survivor to ask about their extraordinary experiences. Nor does anyone seem to have kept a record of whether or not, or how, these two individuals "died" again. If they stayed immortal, then they joined the ancient company of the "Wandering Jew," who was condemned by early Christianity to keep walking forever after he met Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, this misery being inflicted upon a mere bystander in order to fulfill the otherwise unfulfilled prophecy that Jesus would come again in the lifetime of at least one person who had seen him the first time around. On the same day that Jesus met that luckless vagrant, he was himself put to death with revolting cruelty, at which time, according to the Gospel of Matthew 27:52-53, "the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." This seems incoherent, since the corpses apparently rose both at the time of the death on the cross and of the Resurrection, but it is narrated in the same matter-of-fact way as the earthquake, the rending of the veil of the temple (two other events that did not attract the attention of any historian), and the reverent comments of the Roman centurion.
This supposed frequency of resurrection can only undermine the uniqueness of the one by which mankind purchased forgiveness of sins. And there is no cult or religion before or since, from Osiris to vampirism to voodoo, that does not rely on some innate belief in the "undead." To this day, Christians disagree as to whether the day of judgment will give you back the old wreck of a body that has already died on you, or will reequip you in some other form. For now, and on a review even of the claims made by the faithful, one can say that resurrection would not prove the truth of the dead man's doctrine, nor his paternity, nor the probability of still another return in fleshly or recognizable form. Yet again, also, too much is being "proved." The action of a man who volunteers to die for his fellow creatures is universally regarded as noble. The extra claim not to have "really" died makes the whole sacrifice tricky and meretricious. (Thus, those who say "Christ died for my sins," when he did not really "die" at all, are making a statement that is false in its own terms.) Having no reliable or consistent witnesses, in anything like the time period needed to certify such an extraordinary claim, we are finally entitled to say that we have a right, if not an obligation, to respect ourselves enough to disbelieve the whole thing. That is, unless or until superior evidence is presented, which it has not been. And exceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
Monday, February 21, 2011
why talk about god/christians if we dont believe in god...
there are easily and quickly 2 reasons we talk about god...though we don’t believe in god, we certainly believe in christians. They’re everywhere, it seems. And while most of them are harmless, a number of them are annoying… or worse. Much worse. They bomb abortion clinics. They do their best to hinder the advancement of science and the arts. They elect candidates based not on their competency, but on whether “he prays” (and says so more often than his opponent). They try to interfere — and get laws to do it — in the sexual lives of consenting adults. They ban stem cell research and contraceptives, thus condemning millions around the world to disease and suffering, because of books written by primitive desert nomads thousands of years ago. So, yes, christians are a problem.
and
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
and
Wouldn’t you try to help someone descending into alcoholism? Wouldn’t you care if you saw someone destroying their lives because of booze? Well, in a way, religion is like alcoholism. It attacks the mind, the power of reasoning, it makes people believe in absurd things. It destroys lives – both of the alcoholic / believer, and often those of their family, too. So it’s natural that some of us care — even about strangers. We don’t think we’ll ever “unconvert” fundamentalists; by definition, they’ve long stopped thinking about their belief critically — indeed, they believe that doing so would be a sin. But some people may be at a “crossroads”, so to speak. They may believe simply because they’ve never thought about it; everyone around them believes unquestioningly, and they’ve never even heard of an alternative. So maybe an atheist can make a difference.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
"Values are a certain kind of fact, Just admitting that there are right and wrong answers to the question of how humans flourish will change the way we talk about morality,"
he argued.
However, Harris quickly rejected the notion that religion would offer the answers to moral questions. Instead, he argued for a scientific approach to achieving a universal morality, one that conceptualizes human well-being as something that can be quantified and maximized in any number of equally successful ways -- much like health and nutrition.
He criticized the tendency to regard moral questions as matters of opinion rather than as questions that have scientifically verifiable right and wrong answers. "How have we convinced ourselves that in the moral sphere there is no such thing as moral expertise, or moral talent, or moral genius, even?" he asked. "How have we convinced ourselves that every opinion has to count?"
"Just admitting that there are right and wrong answers to the question of how humans flourish will change the way we talk about morality," he said.
he argued.
However, Harris quickly rejected the notion that religion would offer the answers to moral questions. Instead, he argued for a scientific approach to achieving a universal morality, one that conceptualizes human well-being as something that can be quantified and maximized in any number of equally successful ways -- much like health and nutrition.
He criticized the tendency to regard moral questions as matters of opinion rather than as questions that have scientifically verifiable right and wrong answers. "How have we convinced ourselves that in the moral sphere there is no such thing as moral expertise, or moral talent, or moral genius, even?" he asked. "How have we convinced ourselves that every opinion has to count?"
"Just admitting that there are right and wrong answers to the question of how humans flourish will change the way we talk about morality," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)