APB #3: Atheism is spiritually liberating

The image used in this blog post is one shot by the Hubble telescope. Thinking about the vastness of the universe is incredibly spiritual for me (as it should be for all people). Before I was an atheist, I was a Christian. I found theism to be incredibly limiting spiritually (this I noticed in hindsight). While many atheists have thought themselves out of thinking subjectively—such atheists are really ignoring the closest thing to truth that they can ever experience—the self. And it's a shame too...many atheists leave one spiritually limiting belief to take on others. Even though atheism doesn't necessarily cause people to ignore spirituality, it certainly has many associated beliefs that do. Anyways, a perfect example for how atheism can be liberating is the fact that many Christians refuse to practice yoga because they believe it is evil. An atheist is free to practice things like yoga and meditation without having to worry about what "God thinks". Obviously I can't speak for all Christians, but I remember how I felt discouraged to think about anything that went outside or contrary to what was taught by the church. I suppose that I had this paranoia about thinking the wrong thought, and ending up in hell. I suppose people have different interpretations and experiences with Christianity, but for me, going to atheism was intellectually very liberating—and it requires a free intellect to explore the subjective.

Attribution: image by NASA-hubble (http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

APB #2: Abortion is immoral if...

Abortion is immoral if we place a value on human life. If you are pro-choice, this blog post will be like nails on a chalkboard. I've found that most atheists are pro-choice, which doesn't seem reflective of a group of individuals that claim to be 'thinkers'. I believe atheists are pro-abortion (pro-abortion = pro-choice) because many of them are overly objective, and are unable to understand the value of human life beyond its superficial appearance. The matter that makes up a human being is surely not what gives it its value (the matter that makes up each person can't be worth more than $10)—no, it is potential and joy of experience that gives life its value. Pro-abortionists argue their case by dehumanizing (by objectifying) human life by labeling it as 'a mere ball of cells' or 'just a fetus'.  Pro-abortionists refuse to think of human life as being human life (which is obviously delusional).

Pro-abortionists often point to how millions of sperm die on a regular basis, and that each one of them is a 'potential human life' in the same way that an embryo or fetus is (similar argument is made using the eggs). Again, this is an attempt to minimize the disgusting act of having an abortion (the killing of offspring). And it's a poor argument. It's like saying that a bullet and gunpowder are completely harmless—ignoring the fact that if the gunpowder is in a copper shell with a bullet, it has the potential to kill. Alone, the sperm and egg are not a potential human life, but when combined, the product is. Human life is more than the cells that make it up. It is the potential of pleasurable experience that makes life worth living (it is why we work and sacrifice), and to get an abortion is to deny an entire life—typically for the sake of convenience.

Pro-abortionists—I tend to find—are immature and illogical (at least when confronted with pro-lifers). Here is a good example of this. In this video there is an off-duty police officer spraying pro-lifers (who are doing a peaceful demonstration) with water and vinegar 

(Part 1)



(part 2)

This probably would have been a bigger issue if it was a pro-lifer spraying pro-abortionists during one of their demonstrations. Gotta love the media bias. This incident occurred in Ventura California, and according to a news report, no charges were filed. However there is some "internal investigation" within the police department. 

APB #1: Can Atheists Be Moral?

I'm going to be changing my blog up so that it is more orderly. From now on I'm going to be numbering my blog posts (this being the first I'm numbering). By doing this I'm hoping to make it a little bit more pleasant to follow (APB = Atheist Perspective Blog). This first blog post is going to be about atheist-morality. Morality is one of those areas that are still open for debate (part of me believes in belief for some people, but that is not the subject of this blog post). I see a lot of Christians using fear, guilt, and reward to motivate people to behave "good" (a sociopathic-morality in my opinion).


Can Atheists Be Moral?

Many people believe that atheists cannot be moral because it is "impossible" to be moral without God. While I'm not going to sugarcoat it—many atheists are not all that moral (many are)—this doesn't mean that atheists are unable to be moral. I like to think of myself as being a moral person (as I suppose most people do). And I believe that atheism liberates people from the pseudo-morality that God provides. I say that morality that God provides (or rather from the belief in God) is 'pseudo' because it not genuine at heart. The "morality" provided by God is born out of fear—true morality is born out of love (being good to avoid going to hell =/= being moral in my book). Being "good" because God is "watching" is acting out of a fear of the consequences. For example, when I was in middle school, I found an envelope on the ground. It wasn't sealed, and I saw that there was a ton of money inside (probably around $300). School was getting done when I found this—I could have easily pocked the money—but the thought never crossed my mind. Instead, I immediately went to the office, explained what happened to the secretary, and left her the envelope. That is what moral behavior is...no God needed. I returned the envelope because I was concerned about the person that lost the money; my actions were motivated by empathy, not fear of the consequences.

Be good for the sake of being good, not for the sake of avoiding punishment or being praised. Christians (or any similar religion) have a tough time finding a true source of morality (at least in my opinion) because they are constantly distracted by behaving out of fear or reward—this is what they learn morality is, which is wrong. Atheists are not as distracted, perhaps because the stakes are not as high for them (avoiding eternal punishment vs. eternal reward). If you see an atheist doing a good deed, he/she is more likely to be doing it out of the goodness of their heart. It's hard to tell if a believer is just being good for browny points, or in spite of the fact that they are being "watched and judged".

Benefits of an imaginary god?

Everyone (except atheists and agnostics) have an imaginary god. Are there psychological benefits to having one? I'm going to list the pros and cons of having a god. I used to have one before I became an atheist, so I feel this list is relatively accurate. (The list of pros and cons is not in any particular order.)

Pros:

- Source of confidence.
- Increased sense of control over surroundings.
- Feeling of loneliness is less present.
- "Sinners" are punished (making it easier not to hold onto hatred).
- Fear of death is easier to overcome.
- Increased sense of purpose.
- Increased sense of order in the universe.
- Feel safer.
- "Someone" to talk to about problems.
- Increased sense of belonging.
-Easier to attain peace of mind.




Cons:


- Potential feeling of always being watched/judged.
- Potential decreased ability to distinguish between objective reality and imaginary reality.
- Potential fear of nonbelievers.
- Potentially manipulated by those that claim to represent your god.
- Potential fear of science.


Those are all the pros and cons I could come up with at the top of my head. If you disagree, or wish to add things to the list, put the addition into the comment section, and I'll consider adding it. I'm an atheist that believes in belief, sorry (not really) to those atheists that want a hate fest. I see the belief in a god as a useful coping mechanism. Some people's minds are more suited for utilizing this coping mechanism than others (to put it nicely)--and even though I don't share this "ability"--I do respect its usefulness. 

Pat Tillman's family insulted for being atheists by Army

It seems that only atheists are offended by atheists being attacked like this. If a similar statement was said about a Muslim in the military, it would have been a much much bigger issue.

While it seems trivial here, atheists don't believe in 'nothing' (would be impossible). Atheists believe in things, we just accept our ignorance and don't believe a god exists. Some atheists believe there is nothing after death, but this doesn't mean all atheists do. But even if an atheist doesn't believe there is anything after death, this doesn't make them any less of a person. This a major empathy problem, it seems some (more or less) members of the military lack this trait. We always here about some dumb-ass in the military saying or doing something terrible (like rape, torture, and so on). It seems the military needs to work on its empathy skills a little bit, it has killing down pat.

Atheist Officer Resigns From Military

This video was made in 2006 (ancient in YouTube years), but I'm sure discrimination against atheists is still a problem in the military. Being that the military is run by the state, it is really hypocritical to claim that there is a separation between church and state. Atheist or not, a person should not be subject to discrimination based on there beliefs (or lack there of). I tend to find that believers are much more paranoid about the beliefs of others than atheists are. While some atheists get all worked up over trying to convert the world, it seems to be a drop in the bucket when compared to Christians (% wise). 

YouTube DixonRants: Discrimination against atheism in the military? (+response)

The military doesn't want people that don't believe in God killing people. (Perhaps atheists are not as good at it?)

But it seems that this is religious discrimination in general (if the information in the video is accurate). I'm sure Muslims wouldn't feel very comfortable being subjected to such 'spiritual' tests either.

When it comes to spiritual beliefs and beliefs about the meaning of life, atheists are not left in the dark. Atheists can have both. Spiritual beliefs and meaning of life are areas that many atheists believe they are exempt from--even an atheist should possess beliefs on these things. To claim that an atheist cannot have a meaning/purpose of life is to imply that such things can only be had if God exists (which is bogus). For example, many atheists believe the meaning of life is to pursue happiness (I tend to agree with this).