'Christopher Hitchens Slams Vatican, Pope Over Sex Abuse Scandal'

'Scientists Successfully Teach Gorilla It Will Die Someday' (fake)

'Science can answer moral questions' (Sam Harris)

Bush hasn't lost his touch.

Belief That Humans Are Unnatural.

The belief that humans are unnatural is seen all of the time. Hell, even I have been guilty of expressing this view -- even in previous blog posts. When analyzed logically, to think that humans are somehow beyond the natural universe may be one of the ultimate expressions of arrogance, oftentimes done without thought. We (atheist included) often assume that when a human does a behavior -- such as dumping pollution into a lake -- that it is somehow unnatural. This is wrong, pollution is natural, but, at the same time, very harmful. I am obviously not supporting pollution -- but humans polluting is harmful for the environment in the same way that a volcano can be harmful, or how any other natural disaster can cause damage -- and yes human activity, in some cases, should be classified as a natural disaster, but never as unnatural. And as with all natural disasters, all precautions to avoid or minimize the impact should be taken. The view that things such as pollution are unnatural appear to be based in religious belief -- if we are made in the image of a god -- a god which is outside of this natural universe -- this would make us unnatural as well. It probably isn't all too productive to ramble on about the use of the English language, when most that use such rhetoric are unaware of the implications -- but I figured I would throw it out there -- just a little food for thought. Human activity is as unnatural as earthquakes, but we have much catching up to do if the effects on this world are to be compared.

I Won Ray Comfort's Drawing!

Ray Comfort is giving away hand-made leather clothing on his blog 'Atheist Central' to atheists that put their names into the drawing.

Can't wait for it to show up, I shall wear the vest whenever I blog, as my way to balance out the universe. Thank-you Ray! Once it arrives, I'll throw a picture up of me wearing it.

Mr. Unknown (poem)

Mr. Unknown is born

 with a bang

with a flash

 much to see

 pen and pad will do

writing it all down

 time taken for granted

left with a page or two

a masterpiece all but complete

eager for a storm

here come the clouds!

excitement in the air

never seeing rain before

looking down in horror

why must the ink run?

with a flash

with a bang

Mr. Unknown is dead

The Perfect Christian World

In the perfect Christian-world a time-machine would exist, they would be able to turn back the hands of time. Naturally, they would travel backwards in time, back to the time when that dumba** Eve listened to that snake. Not to digress, but if a snake ever talks to you, never listen to it, it was so obvious it was up to no good. In a perfect world, Eve would have known better, she would have known that the snake had it out for her. If Eve never would have eaten the fruit, then Jesus would have never needed to 'die for our sins'. This of course would mean that there would no longer be Christians (perfect world for atheists to?), but instead we would have a world covered with naked people (fruit gave Eve the 'wisdom' that nudity was embarrassing). This of course would be a much better world for the Christians. I'm sure catholic priests for some "unknown" reason would find much more time for children-related activities for the church to partake in. This has its downside however, it would become much harder (no pun intended) for men to not 'lust' after other women, which Jesus refers to as being adultery (Catholic priests are perfect men in a perfect Christian-world). But this doesn't remove the fact that Christians believe that it is a sin to be aware of the embarrassment of nudity, yet they get so offended when some girls show a-little skin. If being aware of your nudity is such a great sin (one worthy of human-sacrifice and thousands of years of guilt), then porn-stars are the most pure souls in the universe. Porn stars for some reason do not feel ashamed to be nude, it is what God wanted, it is what the devil made sure the screw up. Think about this next time Christians, when you trash-talk the porn industry.

Amish: The Ultimate Conservatives?

Of course they are, Amish not only talk the talk, they walk the walk. They not only wish things were like the 'old days', they are living it. Amish live with strict christian values, not polluted with all those fancy machines that use electricity, and the word 'internet' is near meaningless. Conservatives long for simpler times in a world which grows in complexity, forever unhappy. Well, conservatives, there is one solution to your dilemma, many of you prefer the time when you were a youngster. Well, you can go back to that time with ease, roll back, back to the simpler time with which you were raised. Dress the way you dressed back then (many conservatives have this down already), use the technology that was used in your days (the telegraph machine, while slower, are much easier to understand then these new fangled computers). Much can be learned from the Amish conservatives,  they stick to living in one particular time period, and they don't change with the times.

Maybe someday in the distant future there will be a group of people like the Amish, which live life like it was in the early 1900s, the Amish of the future will be laughed at, but at-least they will stick true to themselves. The complexity of the future is way to much for their little-minds to comprehend, and they will be too lazy to even try, stuck in their ways, and their ways stuck in time. Progressives leaving them in the dust -- a moving object always moves further then an object stuck in the mud.

Big Vote On Health Care Today

Speech given by Obama yesterday on health-care reform.

Morality = Popularity Contest?

This post is reliant on the reader to be aware of some of the ugly portions of the Bible, watch these two videos before reading further.



If you are a slow reader, you may have to pause this video from time to time because it scrolls relatively quickly.




These quotes reflect the warped sense of morality that religion can create. I have made many posts on religious morality, especially the so-called "morality" found within the Bible. It goes without saying that in any other context, Christians would view quotes like these as being disgustingly immoral. So the question is: what is it that turns actions as evil as these into ones which are acceptable, or perhaps even moral? For Christians, morality is a mere popularity contest. I say this because if it was the devil that was discribed as motivating/causing such things how do you think Christians would view it? Of course they would see the light, they would view it as being pure-evil. So this means that Christian-morality has very little to do with actions, much more to do with who is the motivator. For example, remember the story of Adam and Eve? Remember how God freaked out from Eve eating that fruit? Christians base their entire religion on sacrificing a guy to scapegoat the guilt they feel because some lady ate a fruit which caused people to wear clothing. What if it was God that motivated Eve to eat the fruit, and it was the devil which didn't want this to happen? (God maybe liked seeing a naked Eve) Christians would not view the act of eating the fruit in the same way, which, as has been previously put -- morality for Christians has very little to do with action and nearly everything to do with who is giving the "orders". In a perfect world, Eve would have never eaten the fruit, we would all walk around naked, and Jesus would never have been needed to 'die for our sins'.

Sorry Christians, but the devil told me to write this, does that make this post evil? I sure hope so.

Atheist Quote Of The Day: TAP (March 20, 2010)

"when you look at the clouds and see a face, is the face really there? or are you just looking for a face?" -TAP

'Why do people laugh at creationists?' (Thunderf00t's series)

Waking Up (poem)

waking up

it's our time machine

stuck moving forward

 what happened before?

memory so impaired

what to do today?

we forget

who remembers?

just get it done

today is the worst day

in hindsight it may be the best

 today is the day

it's now

so boring

 what about tomorrow?

so far away

it will come

when we wake up 

when a new day comes

when tomorrow is at its furthest

new days always come

regardless if you remember

 when will it end?

it starts at death

it ends at birth

how much time does it take?

we will all find out tomorrow

set the alarm

 

Atheist Quote Of The Day: Benjamin Franklin (March 16, 2010)

"Lighthouses are more helpful then churches."

-Benjamin Franklin

Wealth (poem)

we live for wealth

who wants it?

everyone

even the Dalai Lama

spiritual wealth is underestimated by most

some exaggerate how much they have

some compensate with paper and metal

money works for most

matter is everything

what else matters?

 matter means nothing without meaning

 life is everything that matters

which is typically filled with matter

as worthless as us

as worthless as nothing

can we afford it?

some think they can

some don't know

what am I saying?

we will all bounce

Atheist Quote Of The Day: Denis Diderot (March 12, 2010)

"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

-Denis Diderot

Court Rejects Separation Of Church And State

The long standing argument opposing the use of "In God We Trust" on our currency along with "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance was brought before a federal appeals court in San Francisco. The count (as reflected by the title) rejects the notion that the use of these words on our currency and pledge, violate the separation of church and state. The case was brought forward by an atheist named Michael Newdow, hopefully he keeps pressing this issue. Both of these uses of the word 'God' are offensive for those that are not Christian. The problem is that Christians are unable to think outside of their own personal views coupled with a poor capacity to think objectively about issues such as these.

Let's focus on the currency issue for a moment. "In God We Trust" has a nasty message behind it, one which many do not see. This message is stating that if you do not "trust" in God you are not part of the "we", which is outright stating that those that don't trust in God are not part of this country. How can any legitimate court that is seeking to uphold the constitution, not view this as so incredibly in violation of the separation of church and state? Federal currency having a religious phrase on it doesn't violate the separation of church and state? The incompetency of these courts is disturbing. What is more disturbing is that they are so willing to ignore the constitution when serving their own agenda.

Now let's look at the Pledge Of Allegiance, which was also brought in-front of the court as well. Judge Carlos Bea said "The Pledge is constitutional", and "The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded". Judge Carlos Bea is obviously not fit to be a judge (along with all the other judges that voted with him). As a judge you have a duty to uphold the constitution, period, and this wasn't done here. Having 'God' in the pledge unites no-one, it only separates this nation even further. This will become more and more obvious as the number of non-believers increase further -- or in-fact non-Christians in general (think of the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, etc)

The concept of the separation of church and state is so straight forward, so mind-numbingly simple, a child in kindergarten could probably understand it (many Judges didn't make it past kindergarten because of Noah's Flood). What we have now is a partial separation between church and state -- the pledge and currency for some reason fall into a gray area in the separation of church and state -- a gray area which should not be there at all.

Isn't it great that we Americans get to live in a country that has people who are so self-centered that they will have a complete disregard for the constitution, and a complete disregard for the feelings and views of others -- just to have the name of their imaginary friend on our money and pledge. One cannot wait for these old-hag judges to kick-the-bucket, get some non-senile minds in there, some minds that aren't based on views that are 60+ years old. Their old-timer views do not reflect the diversity of this nation, they are holding back social progress and ignoring those that view the world through a different spectrum than their own.

This issue needs to continue to be brought up, it is a major injustice. Like the civil rights movement, it takes time along with a lot of energy. And don't be fooled, this is a rights-issue like any other, the federal courts are stepping on your right of freedom of religion, and freedom from religion.

Evolution Doesn't Believe In Creationists

It goes without saying that Creationists are strongly opposed to the 'theory of evolution'. But can you blame them? When it comes to how evolution feels about creationists (or rather the "type" of people that would believe in such nonsense) the feeling appears to be mutual. Evolution does not appear to support creationism, in that the direction the human species is going is one which is quite a hostile environment for such ideas. Let me elaborate, statistics show that the smarter a person is, the lower their religiosity tends to be (so many studies have been done, and the results are wide spread on the internet, Google it). This is of course coupled with the evolutionary trend of humans increasing in intellectual capacity over time. While the 'theory of evolution' is scientific, it is also a meme which supports the 'atheistic memeplex'. But just to make it clear, I'm not claiming here that they are mutually exclusive, but they do fit well together. So let's simplify it, on one side we have the 'evolution meme' and 'biological evolution' (the evolution of humans is occurring all the time) at odds with the 'creationist meme' and 'biological stagnation'.

Perhaps this should be better explained, the higher a person's intelligence goes, the lower their religiosity. So "smarter" humans will tend to be less religious. This means that evolution itself is slowly phasing out less intelligent humans, ones that would believe in ideas like creationism. But 'biological evolution' is not the only force at work here, the 'evolution meme' alone is very harmful to the creationist meme. It is fairly simple to understand, and is much more logical then a talking snake. This meme allows the more intellectual to thrive that much more, prior to it, creationism was the only show-in-town, and nearly all believed it. Is it possible that the 'evolution meme' (or the skeptical, rational, scientific based one) can help speed up the process of phasing out creationists? If intellectual abilities are used more and more, evolution would probably favor those with more capable minds -- over a substantial period of time it would be very noticeable. Perhaps as noticeable as the typical human of today vs. one that lived a few 100,000 years ago, maybe even more-so, depending on the time-frame we are dealing with.

The statements being made here are reflecting the trend shown in the evolution of the human species, along with the correlation between higher intelligence and higher skepticism. The only way to undue such a trend would be to eliminate all people with an IQ above a certain point, burn a lot of books, and most importantly eliminate access to the internet. While such a thing seems all but impossible, religion has done this sort of thing before. I'm sure the Greeks would have felt similar if confronted with the idea of the coming 'Dark Ages'.

As it was said by Richard Lederer "There once was a time when all people believed in God and the church ruled. This time was called the Dark Ages.". I think this outcome is some-what unlikely, unless some apocalyptic event destroys our infrastructure, especially the access to electricity. This could give religions like Christianity the power they need from the population (people tend to become more sheepish when confronted with fear and hardship) to better pursue their agenda. Which would be as it has done before, to protect itself by snuffing out anything perceived as a threat (e.g., science and rival belief systems/faiths).

While humans would rebound relatively quickly (a great destruction of infrastructure could send us back at-least 200-500 years in technology and knowledge), an environment like that of the 'Dark Ages' is more favorable for a sheep then a skeptic. Evolution might favor a relatively lower intelligence then what is seen today (might be why some people wish things would return to the 'old ways', think about it). The skeptical whom spoke out against the church were oftentimes killed for heresy (killing off the intelligentsia of a population supports the religion-memeplex). An event like this would cause knowledge to be lost and a period of near stagnation (faith kills curiosity, the desire to understand the world). Eventually we would pass out of the next 'Dark Age' and repeat the golden-ages that were experienced in the past. Hopefully this will never happen, however we must understand and learn from the past, we may be destined to repeat it.

Fear = Morality?

In a previous post, I referred to Christian morality as being "artificial". And while this post sort of touches on the same subject, I'm hoping to add to it. I view 'Christian morality' as not only being fake, but the motivating forces as not even being about morality. As I have said previously, "if 'Christian  morality' is morality, then artificial-sweetener is sugar". But without getting into that too much, what is the driving force behind this false-morality?

The driving force behind 'Christian morality' is also the ultimate form of deluded self-preservation. All of us (or at-least most) have an instinctual sense of self-preservation. To avoid injury and death, many animals will go to extreme lengths. What makes humans even more susceptible to a deluded sense of self-preservation is the knowledge that death is inevitable. The fear of death is typically hardwired into a species, and this would obviously be very beneficial to its survival. Primitive humans would naturally use their capacity of fantasy to counter-balance the knowledge of death, "my body might die, but my mind (soul) won't", this mental separation between mind and body allows humans to better cope with the loss of a loved one, along with help cope with the understanding they will die as well (but they think only their body will die, not the mind). Without doing this, the hardwired fear of death would be too overwhelming for humans to cope. Am I saying that atheists are more "evolved" then a 'believer'? Sort of, but that would be another discussion all together.

These two examples (A and B) reflect a point, that being, one is a child that is acting well-behaved vs. a child that is well-behaved. Can you tell the difference? This question may be hard if not impossible if you are a Christian.  

A). Billy wishes he could kick the dog, not study, skip school, smoke cigarettes, and steal other children's lunch money. He however doesn't do these things because of the fear that his father will beat him if he does.

B). Johnny wishes to do well in school, study hard, and have loving relationships with other people and with his dog. Even if Johnny was a horrible kid, his parents would still love him, and would never use the fear of pain to get him to behave. Being well-behaved comes to Johnny naturally, he is kind to others, and highly motivated to succeed.

I know these examples are very simplistic, but the issue of morality in the discussed context is just as much so. One would also think that this would be this obvious to a Christian that claims morality originates in such a way. But to make everything worse, Billy thinks he is better behaved then Johnny, even though we all know what Billy would do if he wasn't afraid of his father. Billy isn't really a good kid, he's just a fearful one. While Christians are unable to make the distinction, there is a big difference between acting "good" out of fear, and acting good because of a general desire to do so. And the same goes in the case of 'Christian morality', there is a big difference between deluded self-preservation and innate-morality. As Micheal Pain said "In the absence of fear there is little faith". It is obvious that Christians are not moral, they are just afraid.

Atheist Quote Of The Day: Sam Harris (March 11, 2010)

George Bush says he speaks to god every day, and Christians love him for it. If George Bush said he spoke to god through his hair dryer, they would think he was mad. I fail to see how the addition of a hair dryer makes it any more absurd.

-Sam Harris

Born-Again Atheist

We are all born atheists, and I was no exception. I was able to see the world in all of its wonder, all of its beauty. While I do not remember exact details, when I think of my earliest memories, they are of a deep curiosity for this world, full of mystery and excitement. The only emotion I can think of to describe this time was the feeling of awe, for everything around me. The furthest my memory takes me back was when I was four-years-old. I was put into a pen with a gigantic hog -- the emotions I recall are a combination of fear and wonder "what is this ugly looking creature with huge teeth? is it going to hurt me?". All I had at the time was a conceptual idea of pain -- I never thought this strange, large animal could kill me, in-fact I didn't even have an understanding of what death was.

Of course it wouldn't take long for the concept death to come to my awareness. As early as I can remember, way back, I was forced into Catholicism. I can't speak for all children, but most seem to find this as a choir, something they would prefer not do. Perhaps the worst of it was the fear that the idea of hell brought. As a young child, being told of the endless torture that would be experienced if life was not lived in a certain way -- the way in which some invisible-guy wanted. This with the idea of God being capable of telepathy was not all too pleasant for me. I was afraid that if I thought the wrong thought, I would upset this invisible-guy. In-fact this idea alone would cause me to be to afraid to even question the existence of God. I recall being tempted to do so, it would be in the back of my mind, always popping up from time to time. But the fear of the 'thought police' caused me to suppress skepticism at an early age. So this is what religion got me at a very early age: a crushed sense of curiosity for the world (god did it, who cares?), the idea of death beat into the skull, of course the terrifying idea of hell, but perhaps worst of all was that the 'thought police' set up so many "laws" which prevented me from thinking in certain ways in fear of hellfire. What a great traditional upbringing.

This is not some anti-religious ramblings to serve any sort of agenda, it is genuinely how my earliest memories of life are filled with a sense of fear, guilt, and boredom. Boredom of course coming from the stupefying simplistic explanations for how the world worked, religion made the world very boring to me. When I recall those early years, what really comes to the forefront is misery -- polar-opposite of what once existed within me -- the enjoyment, and curiosity for the world which once existed, was raped by indoctrination. Those earliest of years are something which one can never get back, the most precious years, stolen by religion.

I could ramble on all day long about this sort of thing, but it's depressing (maybe I'll re-edit, adding more details in the future). Let's fast forward to when I was 'born again'.

I was around sixteen-years-old when I was 'born again'. I can remember being in the woods, feeling depressed, feeling bad, and wondering why God was making me feel this way, making my life miserable. I would wonder around nearly every day that summer, in the woods -- contemplating why God was being so cruel to me -- I did everything he asked of me, and no prayers answered, no good fortune, only misery. I would get angry at God, would curse at him "f@!% you God" and "God must hate me, so I should hate him back". This hatred of God made me hate not only what he has done to me, but all the misery he has caused for so many. I would try to think of ways to make God feel bad through my thoughts (being that he was invading my privacy anyways). Having thoughts about how much I disliked him, calling him every name in the book. It then dawned on me, the greatest dig of all would be to say that I no longer believe in him. I then started to entertain the idea of no god existing -- this anger towards God liberated my mind, it liberated me from the fear imposed since youth. This freed my naturally logical and skeptical mind to begin to tear down the delusional world view I had for the majority of my life. I am a passionate person, when I was a 'believer' I was quite passionate about it until the end. That passion transferred over so easily, it felt so much better, much more natural, and very liberating. The deep curiosity for the world and enjoyment of it that I only had for a short few years after birth was back, I was 'born again'.

Atheist Quote Of The Day: Thomas Jefferson (March 10, 2010)

 

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government."

– Thomas Jefferson

2+2=4? or 2+2=5?

I have doing some soul-searching and came to the conclusion that 2+2=5. It just feels right, I mean, what sense does it make that when adding two even numbers together, an even number would be the result? I was taught at an early-age that when two even numbers are added together, they always make an odd number. I know some will not understand this, but if this wasn't the case, then we could never have odd numbers, because when two odd numbers are added, they always make even numbers. Now I'm not saying that my claim is based "mathematics", it is of course spiritual and outside of the realm of objective reasoning -- when something feels right it just does, I believe I should have the freedom to view math however I want. I also feel that everyone should have this freedom, and this is why the math taught in our schools is doing a disservice to our students. I have no problem with the current way arithmetic is taught, however I feel that alternative methods need to be shown to the students as well.

What we are talking about here is the child's first look at math, the basic methods used here will drastically alter what answers they get, especially when learning even more complicated applications of mathematics, and applying them down-the-road. Now I'm not claiming to be an "expert" at math or anything, but this is a democracy. Not all people believe that 2+2=4, and those people deserve to have their voices represented and respected in the math class (what about poor Billy-Bob?). If these elite-mathematicians are so certain that 2+2=4, then what are they so worried about? I say, let the children decide for themselves. This isn't Nazi-Russia, but with the current way math is taught in our schools, one would think it was. Of course some math teachers, with their close-mindedness, will claim that doing this will only be a waste of time, however these alternative methods will only add to the discussion, and will allow children to choose what type of method they wish to follow.

God: The Greatest Justification Of Hate?

"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do." -Unknown

How often is God used to justify what would ordinarily be unjustifiable hatred? I don't want to give the wrong impression, I am not making the claim that all of 'believers' use God to justify hatred — although they should be, if they do indeed follow the scripture which they claim, and were of the mindset of their own personal actions/views as promoting "god's will". 'God's will' is not that of love and understanding, despite what many secular-Christians warp it to being —  it is impossible for a being with infinite knowledge to learn, which makes it impossible to change its views (which isn't reflected in the Old vs New Testament). Anyone with the slightest knowledge of scripture knows all to well how much hatred God has for those that do not conform exactly to what he considered "acceptable behavior". Christians believe that if a person does not "conform" to what God wants, then God has no problem torturing that person for an infinite period of time (one cannot think of anything more hate-filled then that). The line between love and hate is so thin for God, it's not visible to the naked eye. For those that love to hate, but hate to be hated for being hateful, a fitting scapegoat is needed, which is why God is needed. Which is why God is the greatest justifier of hate that man has ever seen (try thinking of a greater one). God is needed for the mean-spirited individual to escape the hatred they themselves love to dish out.

Atheist Quote Of The Day: Don Hirschberg (March 09, 2010)

"Calling Atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color."

                                                          -Don Hirschberg

Atheist Quote Of The Day: Richard Dawkins (March 08, 2010)

The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry.

                                                                                                 -Richard Dawkins

Potatoism (from the children's tv series 'Dinosaurs')

This show ran in the early 90s, and this particular clip pokes fun at religion. I bet it pissed a-lot of parents off when it ran. Enjoy!

Creationism

The teaching of evolution in schools gives bible-thumping parents much to worry about. Evolution teaches us the process of speciation. Speciation is scary for those that view humans as being mini-gods (god created us in his image, not animals).  The main pillar in Christianity is the concept of a god creating everything (they don't worry about the details). They also view the most holy of holy things as being life, which they view as a supernatural phenomenon (outside the realm of science).

Evolution ruins the magic, evolution is the cruel 'big kid' on the playground telling all of the 'little children' that Santa Clause isn't real -- while evolution (and the 'big kid') statements are correct, one must feel pity for those small children whom lost some of their mindless and misguided wonder, the parents doing it just isn't quite as exciting for some perhaps (some might prefer not having the thought police, or a creepy guy with a beard watching them all the time). As George Bernard Shaw said "The fact that a believer is happier then a skeptic is no more to the point then the fact that a drunken man is happier then a sober one.".

Of course at some point we all need to grow up and leave childish fantasy behind, we need to stop living in fantasy and become productive members of society. But I suppose creationism is a fitting view for some -- fitting for those with big egos and small brains, fitting for those that can easily tune out reality and care little about the details. Creationists are those that claim evolution has so many holes, so many problems -- but on the other-hand claim that some all-powerful/invisible guy did it magically. And this god is as invisible as the invisible gnome giving you the finger right now (he's right behind you). For a creationist to claim that their "theory" (not the same use of the word 'theory' as in the case of 'the theory of evolution') is superior to due to the amount of holes/gaps in 'evolutionary theory', is worse then a person who morbidly obese, calling a starving Ethiopian child 'fat'.

But maybe I'm wrong, maybe science has been tricked by the devil, but why would God allow the devil to make a fossil-factory in the first place? And why would he not tell the victims of this deception the truth?  Maybe the purpose was to on one-hand fool the intellectuals (God hates dem smurt folk), but not the uneducated rednecks. The devil can't get anything past rednecks, they are way too keen for his mischief.

Iran's Ahmadinejad: Sept. 11 attacks a 'big lie'

 "September 11 was a big lie and a pretext for the war on terror and a prelude to invading Afghanistan,"


Ahmadinejad is known for saying crazy sh$!, however I've ran into many Americans whom would agree with this assessment of the September 11th attacks. He also was quoted as saying that the 9/11 attacks were "a result of mismanaging and inhumane managing of the world by the U.S". Of course these statements are coming from a guy who is also a Holocaust-denier. Obviously Ahmadinejad is in a conveinent position to be making these allegations, and if this is a new trend, we might be hearing more of this '9/11 was an inside job' rhetoric.

I've gotten into many discussions with people about this issue at my college, this view is not just that of conspiracy nuts, it is somewhat widespread, especially among the well-educated (I'm not saying all, but definitely a respectable %). If you are wondering what my personal view is, I feel that on one hand something isn't right about the 'official story', but on the other hand I feel if there was enough evidence to directly link the U.S government to such an attack on its own people the sh#! would have hit the fan by now (I'm saying that I don't know, and no one can 'know' for certain). There just is not enough evidence to come to any sort of conclusion at all -- yes something is fu!@ed up, something isn't right -- what is needed is another investigation, along with the declassification of any and all documents regarding 9/11 (even if the results would lead to widespread revolts). Now of course, Ahmadinejab is a complete piece of sh#$, but is he right here? What do you think? Was 9/11 an inside job?

Death Is The Greatest (poem)

death is the greatest

many prepare for it

how many prayers can a person say?

when does it end?

the moment death comes

the moment we are humbled

humbled by our own mortality

the moment we realize we wasted our life

the moment we will all experience

the moment none of us will experience

one thing is for certain

it is death

death is scary

why?
evolution 

evolution without death is impossible

 which is why death is the greatest
evolution without fear can't happen

death without fear is worthless

death gives rise to new life

after old life is exhausted

death gave rise to you
and you will give rise to it

 and future life will thank you

death is the greatest

Einstein On Buddhism

“The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal god and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity.

Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism.” -Albert Einstein

Something to think about.

Funny Video On New Abortion Laws (fake).

I found this video funny (btw this is a fake news show)

The Power Of Prayer?

On that day you will not question me about anything.  Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. -John 16:23-24 NAB

Is prayer really that powerful? According to this, not only is prayer as powerful as anything the imagination can conjure up, it has a 100% success rate if God is asked anything, as long as it is in the name of Jesus. Of course we know this is complete bull@$!* -- this is because Christians pray in the name of Jesus all the time -- this ritual is as powerful as the most powerful rabbits foot.

The Jealous God.

"I have wiped out many nations, devastating their fortress walls and towers.  Their cities are now deserted; their streets are in silent ruin.  There are no survivors to even tell what happened.  I thought, 'Surely they will have reverence for me now!  Surely they will listen to my warnings, so I won't need to strike again.'  But no; however much I punish them, they continue their evil practices from dawn till dusk and dusk till dawn."  So now the LORD says: "Be patient; the time is coming soon when I will stand up and accuse these evil nations.  For it is my decision to gather together the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them.  All the earth will be devoured by the fire of my jealousy.  "On that day I will purify the lips of all people, so that everyone will be able to worship the LORD together.  My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to present their offerings. -Zephaniah 3:6-10 NLT

These verses are great, God is so jealous he 'wiped out many nations', just to scare the sh#$ out of some other people so that they would cower in fear, and worship him. All god ever wanted is his enormously large ego to be stroked! Worship him or be 'devoured by the fire'! Whats not to love about this guy? If this is the "love" of an 'all-loving god', then perhaps the word 'hate' is as empty as the heads of most Christians.

Kill Prophets That Lie

And if any one again appears as a prophet, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, 'You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD'; and his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. -Zechariah 13:3 RSV

How can one know whether or not someone is lying about 'the Lord' if everything which is known about him is by word-of-mouth? But that's obvious, this is the one biblical rule I believe was not nearly followed enough. But if all of the lying prophets were killed, the Bible would be a very thin book indeed.

Incest In The Bible (Genesis 20:11-13)

Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, 'This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.'" -Genesis 20:11-13 RSV

This one speaks for itself.

Christians Can Move Mountains?

Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.  (Mark 11:24-25 NAB)

So Christians are "able" to move a mountain by merely uttering the words 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' while having no doubt, and it 'will happen'. There are two possibilities here: Jesus is rather full of s#$t, or Christians can move a mountain with this magical spell. So I challenge all Christians that read this to go to your nearest mountain with a video camera, move it like Jesus teaches, upload the video to YouTube, then post a link to it on this blog. And don't worry, this isn't testing God, this is testing the ability Jesus claims you have. This is your chance to finally prove us Atheists wrong!

The Pillage Of Virgins (Numbers 31:7-18)

They attacked Midian just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. All five of the Midianite kings – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.


Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went to meet them outside the camp. But Moses was furious with all the military commanders who had returned from the battle. "Why have you let all the women live?" he demanded. "These are the very ones who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys and all the women who have slept with a man. Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves. -Numbers 31:7-18 NLT

I could ramble on all day about how horrible this is, but I feel quoting it is sufficient.

So what do you think?

Is it morally justifiable to rape virgins?

Post a comment below!

Interview With Jesus (George Carlin)

Christianity: The Polytheistic Monotheism? (Part 4)

 

At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice,  "Eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani?", which means,  "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" -Mark 15:34 ISV

If Jesus was God, then why does he 'cry out with a loud voice' that God has 'forsaken' him? I mean, this is very straight forward, Jesus by his own admission is not god. This means that Christians are worshiping a god whom is not the 'god of Abraham' -- even if it is indeed his son, they are not the same being. Remember what Moses did to those people who worshiped that golden calf?! But not to worry, 'The Old-Testament' does not have a hell, so your fate is in the loving hands of the Old-Testament god -- actually I take that back, you have plenty to worry about with that guy, you're all f!$%ed.

Jesus: Messenger Of Hate?.

Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as his own life, he can't be my disciple. -Luke 14:25-26

 I found this message to be interesting, and it also contradicts what is typically portrayed as Jesus' message of peace, and 'loving thy neighbor'. Jesus wants people to love their annoying neighbors, but to 'hate' the real people whom they are suppose to love the most. This shows that Jesus and the Old-Testament god may be more similar then many would like to admit -- both are jealous gods that spread a message of hate.

If this isn't bad enough, Jesus wants people to hate their "own life" -- perhaps 'believers' are more devout followers of Christ than many give them credit for. I see many "devout Christians" that hate their families, that hate everyone and anyone whom they are suppose to love, these people hate life in general. Why else would they surrender the enjoyment of life, gamble it away, for the small chance that their misery can be extended for an eternity.

I wonder if these people (the ones being referred to) are full of hatred because they feel it is expected of them, or if it is just the coldness of their hearts. It's probably, typically, the latter one would imagine. Jesus promoted the idea of freewill -- these are the kinds of people Jesus wants -- so the people that are just nasty by their own freewill would be greatest of all. So, if these sorts of people are what make-up Heaven, then one must ponder how all that fire and brimstone can stay up in the clouds.

Racing To Nothing.

Nothing is scarier then 'nothing', is that where we are headed? If thinking about the plausibility of nothingness doesn't send a shiver down your spine, you have not thought about what 'nothing' truly is, it is nothing, and 'nothing' can snatch everything away. Spend a few moments now imagining your universe -- in all of its beauty and complexity -- even imagine the continuation of family members lives and the lives of their children, society, the human race -- all of this going on, without you. If this idea doesn't give you pause, I'm not sure what would -- keep thinking about it, clear your mind and think of nothing else, other then 'nothing'. I personally have thought for hours upon hours of the possibility of nothing, and nothing will mind-f@#! you more then 'nothing'.

I always find it funny when a person asks another what they are thinking about, and they reply 'oh nothing', you can tell they are not thinking about nothing because they are not pale in the face. Is there a difference between not thinking about anything, and thinking about nothing? Of course! What might be scarier then nothing after death is 'nothing' being a fate for everything. Imagine if somehow this universe eventually became 'nothing'? The only difference I can make between nothingness for the self and nothingness for the universe is the latter being just that much more of a mind-f@$!. Imagine this universe and everything and anything beyond it falling victim to nothing? If it is true that energy cannot be created or destroyed, then perhaps we have nothing to worry about -- we are energy, in our most basic form, our existence may be infinite. But if the conscious-self is nothing more then a product of a complex biological mechanism, a product of the brain -- then our brains are like a clock with all its little parts doing their jobs, consciousness is like time. If consciousness is like the intricate movement of a clock, then it is only a matter of time before 'nothing' grabs hold, and the "clock" ceases to tell time. If this is true, then that means we have spent a good 15-20 billion years as nothing waiting for something to happen, and something only lasted for a blink of an eye -- and how much of this will we remember? absolutely nothing.

While thinking about this may be a bit scary, or even depressing -- I feel there is no greater way to realize how much you have, and appreciate life, even if 'nothing' is right around the corner.

Sam Harris On Subjectivity.

'Spiritual experiences' (not referring to the existence or nonexistence of a 'soul', but rather the experience itself which is labeled as such), is something which I feel the majority of people (believers and nonbelievers) are not very in-tune with. I tend to find more agreement with Sam Harris when it comes to the realm of subjectivity. We atheists need to, while maintaining an objective view of the world, not ignore our own life and experiences. By definition, objectivity removes the self when analyzing reality, the only true way to analyze the self is through subjectivity (not referring to the objective functionality of our biology). As said by Socrates “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Some atheists seem to be too rigidly objective and never self-reflect -- what I am suggesting is not to be confused with the delusional and overly imaginative 'believers' that throw objectivity out the window in the name of faith. Anyways, check out these two videos (part 1/part2)...

Part 2...