This has nothing to do with atheism or religion. It's just far too awesome not to share. It's refreshing to see a child memorizing something other than Dora and Barney. Not to mention, this is one of my favorite poems of all time. Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Welcome To This World
Lately, I feel as though I'm being bombarded by "powerful" messages posted to facebook profiles by my Christian friends. I don't use the word bombarded because I'm particularly offended by what they post, but rather, I'm frustrated by the double standards. If I post something of an atheist nature, or something that is even remotely perceived to be so, I am attacked by a wave of offended people, telling me that I shouldn't be posting this to my profile, because it offends them. I've NEVER told ANYONE that they should not share something because I disagree with them. Ever. So why am I not given the same respect?
Anyway, I decided to post this one to my facebook for a change. We'll see what kind of response I get. I would definitely have to challenge any Christian who claims to be offended by this, because as a former Christian myself, this is pretty much exactly what we were expected to believe. How can you be offended by the truth?
This is a "powerful" video, that I believe gives an interesting perspective on what Christianity is. It speaks volumes about the fact that we are merely born into the traditions of our parents, and their parents before them, and their parents before that. When does a tradition become nothing more than a bad habit?
Anyway, I decided to post this one to my facebook for a change. We'll see what kind of response I get. I would definitely have to challenge any Christian who claims to be offended by this, because as a former Christian myself, this is pretty much exactly what we were expected to believe. How can you be offended by the truth?
This is a "powerful" video, that I believe gives an interesting perspective on what Christianity is. It speaks volumes about the fact that we are merely born into the traditions of our parents, and their parents before them, and their parents before that. When does a tradition become nothing more than a bad habit?
Friday, August 6, 2010
Come All You Weary...
Is it just me, or does Christianity seem to prey almost solely on the poor, the destitute, the underprivileged, and those who have hit rock bottom? I recently saw this video posted to a Christian's facebook:
After watching this, I couldn't help but play out a scenario in my head wherein a similar offer is made to someone who doesn't need it. If the man who is comfortable in his cell doesn't want it, what makes you think that anyone else living a decent life would want it? If I'm happy with my life, with who I am, with the contributions that I make, and if I'm clean, sober, financially stable, and healthy...then what do I need God for? In case I get sick later on, and need his help? It's already been proven time and again that Christians don't get better faster or more often simply because they are Christians. Will God stop someone from becoming an alcoholic? Or is He merely there to help pick up the pieces after you've exercised your "free will"? And how exactly would He help an alcoholic? By allowing them to fall off the wagon and learn the hard way? I can do that on my own, without God. Will God make me richer? Of course not, He'll just be there to oversee all the extra hard work I do, and then take credit for it.
Why did God allow the prisoner in this video to commit the crime that put them in jail in the first place? Free will? Free will seems to be God's practical joke, or some sick way of perpetuating situations that allow Him to come out looking like the hero. Where is the heroism in allowing a man to get drunk, drive, and kill a family in another vehicle, or allowing someone to murder innocent people, or allowing wars to break out and destroy entire countries? They were given the gift of using free will? At what cost? And for what purpose? So that the families of the deceased could walk a closer walk with Christ? If any human being did these things, or stood by and watched them happen without trying to help, how do you think society would treat such a person? Pretty sure that jail time would be involved. But don't worry, God will be there to bail you out in the middle of the night. Huzzah!
And just for the record...jail doesn't work that way. You don't spend 20 years in prison for a crime, only to be rescued in the middle of the night by some guy who paid to get you out. Although it's about as believable as the underlying religious message in this video.
After watching this, I couldn't help but play out a scenario in my head wherein a similar offer is made to someone who doesn't need it. If the man who is comfortable in his cell doesn't want it, what makes you think that anyone else living a decent life would want it? If I'm happy with my life, with who I am, with the contributions that I make, and if I'm clean, sober, financially stable, and healthy...then what do I need God for? In case I get sick later on, and need his help? It's already been proven time and again that Christians don't get better faster or more often simply because they are Christians. Will God stop someone from becoming an alcoholic? Or is He merely there to help pick up the pieces after you've exercised your "free will"? And how exactly would He help an alcoholic? By allowing them to fall off the wagon and learn the hard way? I can do that on my own, without God. Will God make me richer? Of course not, He'll just be there to oversee all the extra hard work I do, and then take credit for it.
Why did God allow the prisoner in this video to commit the crime that put them in jail in the first place? Free will? Free will seems to be God's practical joke, or some sick way of perpetuating situations that allow Him to come out looking like the hero. Where is the heroism in allowing a man to get drunk, drive, and kill a family in another vehicle, or allowing someone to murder innocent people, or allowing wars to break out and destroy entire countries? They were given the gift of using free will? At what cost? And for what purpose? So that the families of the deceased could walk a closer walk with Christ? If any human being did these things, or stood by and watched them happen without trying to help, how do you think society would treat such a person? Pretty sure that jail time would be involved. But don't worry, God will be there to bail you out in the middle of the night. Huzzah!
And just for the record...jail doesn't work that way. You don't spend 20 years in prison for a crime, only to be rescued in the middle of the night by some guy who paid to get you out. Although it's about as believable as the underlying religious message in this video.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
In A Nutshell...
The purpose of this post is to sum up, as discussed in my previous post, my main reasons for being an atheist.
First: God.
There is no proof. The end.
No, seriously, there is no credible evidence to suggest that he exists. FEELING him inside you is not proof of his existence. Some people feel bugs crawling all over their bodies that are not actually there...but we don't believe in invisible bugs...we tell them to see a doctor (or psychiatrist). The Bible is not a credible source either. If I wrote a book making claims about the greatness of my own existence, would you worship me? Which brings me to:
Second: The Bible.
Man wrote it. The end.
Again, I'm not joking...it's that simple. Why would an all-powerful God let his fallible creations write His book and mess it up? And why would he include details that would become irrelevant over time, in a book that is supposed to be perfect and timeless? Also, the fact that there are no other sources, beyond the Bible, that speak of the historical existence of Jesus kinda makes me go "hmmmmm"....
Third: Prayer
It doesn't work. It's never worked. It's been proven not to work (with the exception of the positive psychological effect of KNOWING that you are being prayed for, which is not proof of prayer working in and of itself).
Test #1: 2 groups of sick people, one group gets prayed for, the other doesn't, neither group knows of the prayers. No significant difference between the 2 groups in the end.
Test #2: 2 groups of sick people, both being prayed for, but only one group knows of the prayers. The knowing group shows slightly more improvement over the unknowing group.
Test #3: 2 groups of sick people, one prayed for, one not prayed for, both groups BELIEVE they are being prayed for. No significant difference between the groups.
Test #4: 2 groups of sick people, neither being prayed for, one group BELIEVES they are being prayed for. The group believing they are being prayed for show some improvement over the "unprayed for" group.
(I can look up the source and details of this study for anyone interested beyond my paraphrasing).
What does it mean? Prayer wastes valuable time that could be spent actually DOING something to help the situation that you are praying for.
And those are my 3 basic reasons for being an atheist....simplified.
First: God.
There is no proof. The end.
No, seriously, there is no credible evidence to suggest that he exists. FEELING him inside you is not proof of his existence. Some people feel bugs crawling all over their bodies that are not actually there...but we don't believe in invisible bugs...we tell them to see a doctor (or psychiatrist). The Bible is not a credible source either. If I wrote a book making claims about the greatness of my own existence, would you worship me? Which brings me to:
Second: The Bible.
Man wrote it. The end.
Again, I'm not joking...it's that simple. Why would an all-powerful God let his fallible creations write His book and mess it up? And why would he include details that would become irrelevant over time, in a book that is supposed to be perfect and timeless? Also, the fact that there are no other sources, beyond the Bible, that speak of the historical existence of Jesus kinda makes me go "hmmmmm"....
Third: Prayer
It doesn't work. It's never worked. It's been proven not to work (with the exception of the positive psychological effect of KNOWING that you are being prayed for, which is not proof of prayer working in and of itself).
Test #1: 2 groups of sick people, one group gets prayed for, the other doesn't, neither group knows of the prayers. No significant difference between the 2 groups in the end.
Test #2: 2 groups of sick people, both being prayed for, but only one group knows of the prayers. The knowing group shows slightly more improvement over the unknowing group.
Test #3: 2 groups of sick people, one prayed for, one not prayed for, both groups BELIEVE they are being prayed for. No significant difference between the groups.
Test #4: 2 groups of sick people, neither being prayed for, one group BELIEVES they are being prayed for. The group believing they are being prayed for show some improvement over the "unprayed for" group.
(I can look up the source and details of this study for anyone interested beyond my paraphrasing).
What does it mean? Prayer wastes valuable time that could be spent actually DOING something to help the situation that you are praying for.
And those are my 3 basic reasons for being an atheist....simplified.
UUuuuuuuhhhmmmmmm......
So, I've noticed lately that since I've started letting my atheism show, people are suddenly asking questions. The most obvious question being, "Why are you, or why did you become an atheist? And why don't you believe in God?". My standard answer has continued to be something to the effect of "The questions that I have been asking in church since I was a child have never been adequately answered for me, and the Bible is full of absurdities, inconsistencies, and atrocities" followed by a very simple "and there is no proof of God". This is usually a satisfactory answer for most. However, to those of you who decide to put me on the spot and probe deeper...you probably received the "uuuhhhh" response. What I've realized is that I'm quite well-spoken and well-informed when I am putting things in writing, but rarely have a cohesive, intelligent answer prepared for those on-the-fly conversations. There are so many hundreds of individual reasons that add up to my atheism, but to sit down and list these to someone would be near impossible (which is mainly why I started this blog...to start sharing those hundreds of ideas/reasons with you). So, I am making it my mission to narrow down my atheism to a few key points that I am ready to share with those who are interested. I will follow up with another post, telling you what I've come up with, if anything. Fellow atheists, feel free to share your "atheist statement" below, and Christians, feel free to leave me questions that you would ask an atheist in such a conversation.
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