Quote:
"Faith is not a good reason to believe in any one thing. It's a bad reason to believe in everything. Faith is not synonymous with any one idea; it is synonymous with any strongly held idea, true or not. But one thing faith is not synonymous with is a logically justified idea."
Yes, you do! Everyone is responsible for what they believe, why they believe it, and what they do with their beliefs! There are people out there who think they don't have to answer for their deeply held beliefs... We call them insane asylum patients. They have deeply held beliefs that they were asked to justify and they either did not or could not.
Before I begin this rant I’d like to get this one simple thing off my chest. I personally don’t know jack-shit about addictions. I’ve never personally experienced an overwhelming attraction to a controlled substance. The farthest I’ve ever dabbled with drugs is social drinking and the occasional cigar. I’ve never once inhaled a single puff from a marijuana, never shot a single CC of heroine, never snorted a single line of cocaine! And I’m not kidding. When it comes to controlled substances I have very limited personal experience and when it comes to real addiction I got no clue what-so-ever! I don’t even know what the word “addiction” really means.
My theory on the whole Mayan calendar thing is this... Imagine you had to create a calendar and your only device for recording information was stone. What would you do? You'd make sure the calendar lasts a very long time! No one wants to be cutting a new fifty ton stone calendar every year! The Mayan calendar is a lot like the Chinese Zodiac. They are revolving calendars, that way when one year is over the calendar can be reused the next year. It's a common practice in areas where communication is limited to horseback messengers or worse, foot messengers like the Mayans had. So the Mayan calendar recycles itself every so often.
What/Who decides who's a "Real Christian" and who is a "False Christian?" There needs to be a standard, and in my mind the standard must be the Bible! Therefore, those who support Biblical texts are more of a Christian than a moderate. Moderates may seem "nicer" but they ultimately make the Christian theology more convoluted.
I, as an atheist, am in no position to say who is or who is not a Christian. However, as long as Christians claim the Bible as a source then the Bible is in the perfect position to decide.
Theist responses to atheist readings of the Bible's moral law...
Theist #1: "Please do not be one of those that takes the entire Bible literally!"
Why does it seem logical to take the straight-forward verses as trivial or symbolic, while taking the truly unbelievable claims of divinity and miracles as fact?
I served from 2004 to late 2009. During those 5 1/2 years I served with three homosexual men. Not all of them were in my exact unit, but I knew them. At first, being a new soldier, I had a problem with gays in the military. Then, with some experience, I learned it really didn't matter. Maybe the Army was different at one time, but now we like to throw around a bunch of gay jokes and even act gay in an exaggerated manner in order to be funny; lightens the emotional load. It occurred to me that we're being hypocrites. What exactly is the difference between a straight guy pretending to be gay for the purposes of satire, and a real gay person? The real gay guy doesn't even act "gay," at least not in the way we're referring. He just likes other men. So this one gay guy does something in private that we don't... Who cares? Why is this such a divisive issue?
Let's get this straight right now. Love is not a force of nature. Love is not some all loving, all knowing, all pleasant supernatural element. It simply is the emotional response we get from chemical reactions caused by physical stimuli. That sounds non-romantic, and it should. Even the most glorious things in life will look less colorful under the microscope. That's life. Deal with it.
War is as much a part of the human condition as breathing. We’ve been writing the “Big Book of War” ever since on ape slapped another. It is unfortunate that one of the skills humanity has perfected to an exact science is the art of ending life. For as long as humanity persists in illogical beliefs and stifles the advancement of sciences that could prevent the causes of war, we will continue to find reason to kill one another. What are the three main reasons wars occur?... Belief, Resources and Pride… Belief means anyone with a world view that teaches them to think of their neighbors as “lesser beings.” That can be racism or religion or any number of illogical ideals. As soon as you see the man across the border as inhuman, then it’s easier to walk across it to kill him.
This last Saturday night was supposed to be the annual Atheist Community of Austin (ACA) Pub Crawl. An old Army buddy of mine was coming down to Texas so we could both attend. In the process of planning, we decided to meet up with two other Army buddies of ours who were planning on being in Austin the same time. This turned out to be our undoing, though we still had fun. We were too late to meet the ACA group at The Dog and Duck. Then we got to Fado's too late. We tried to find the Elephant room, but our drunk guide led us the wrong way. We tried to get into the Speak Easy and ended up going to the Chupacabra instead.
This is meant to simply clear something up for those who don't seem to understand. There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to atheism, and in this case it's probably because of our fickle nature. There seem to be a lot of "Non-Theists" out there who are using many different labels... "Brights, Pearlist, Agnostic, Humanist," etc... What I'd like to explain to those atheists out there is this... Ultimately, there are only two positions: Atheist and Theist.
Do you believe because you know beyond a reasonable doubt? Or do you persist in believing because it is a comfortable delusion? If I told you that every time you have diarrhea there's a child who gets adopted by a loving family, would you eat spicy nachos more often?
You follow the New Testament, but not the Old Testament. You have no reason to justify this exception other than you find the New one to be personally acceptable and the Old one simply is not. Free Will... It's not a God given gift. It's just a right.
10. SHIFTING THE BURDEN OF PROOF:
THEIST:
I know God exists. If you disagree, prove otherwise. Oh you say you can't prove God doesn't exist? That's because you know he does!
ATHEIST:
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. This is the way the real world and science work. When you say God exists, you are making an extraordinary claim; therefore, the burden of proof is on you to back up your claim.
-All CEO's of public companies (corporations) are limited to making only 10 times of the lowest paid worker's salary for their corporation.
-All Senators are restricted to making only 2 times the average salary for working residents of their state from the previous year.
-All Representatives are restricted to making only 2 times the average salary for working residents of their district from the previous year.
What would the 10 Commandments be like if an Atheist wrote them?...
1.) Do not hurt or kill any living person unless that person is threatening your life or limb as well.
2.) Do not hurt or kill any living animal unless presented with a survival scenario, such as hunting for food.
I don't have any real problem with Obama. My only issue stems from two areas... The hype and the misconception. Let me explain...
You know the term people have been throwing around, "Obama-mania!" This refers to the extreme hype that's been surrounding this man since he stepped onto the campaign trail. Here's my problem with this. Nothing and no one will ever be able to live up to the hype that is created around them. It's just that simple. You want "Change you can believe in?" Well then don't set your sights too high. Obama, no matter how smart, no matter how well spoken, will never be able to live up to the hype surrounding his name.
Perhaps I hold a bit of bias in this situation. I was an Infantry soldier for six long years. I've used guns in many ways, not all responsible. Despite my use of firearms and my training in firearms and tactics. I know there is a serious problem in America with gun related violence. Where does this issue come from? Is it just the presence of firearms that causes this? I doubt it. Canada has just as many firearm owners per city block as America. Is it just unregistered guns?
Imagine you were born about 2,000 years in the future. (Roughly 4,000AD) You’re walking through the wilderness and stumble upon an ancient DVD of the movie “Titanic” by James Cameron. The disc is in disrepair but luckily there’s a multimedia device in the future that can still read it. Even though it’s two thousand years later there are still historical records of the real Titanic and the events that surrounded its destruction. Based on the current historical data of the real Titanic and the scenes depicted in the movie, one might assume the movie to be a good source for accurate historical information regarding the events of the Titanic's maiden voyage.
Abortion is a horrible reality. But no matter how horrible it is to imagine, it is no less necessary. Hopefully, with advancements in science and medical care we can limit the need for this regrettable procedure. However, in the mean time, we need to cooperate with the societal need for abortion. Picketing women's clinics with signs that show aborted late term fetuses doesn’t do anything to console the pregnant women who desperately need this procedure. Guilt trips do nothing to change the necessity for this life changing and even life saving medical procedure. Lying about it is even worse. Telling people that a first trimester fetus feels pain and that the fetus is far more developed than it truly is are practices used by pro-life supporters the world over. These practices are immoral and dishonest. You also must understand that the legal conflict over abortion is not helping the main issue. If abortion is made illegal it will do nothing to save the lives of the unborn.
To say that the Bible is consistent with the world as we see it is true. The Bible is consistent with the universe as we see it from our limited point of view. The Earth is flat in the Bible, and it certainly seems flat when you stand on it. The Sun revolves around the Earth in time with the Moon, and it certainly seems like that when we watch day turn into night.
The problem with sex education in the US public schools is this… Some Americans have a problem with sex, and some Americans have a problem with STDs, Rape, Teen Pregnancy, etc… Whose priorities are in the right order?
Teenagers having sex is about as American as apple pie. Who cares if teenagers have sex? They do it today, and they did it in your parent’s day too. Even when you tell them not to, they still do it. Hormones are a hard thing to say no to.
First things first... Slavery never was, nor will it ever be, good. Not under any circumstances or cultural contexts of any time.
For someone to tell me the Bible does not support male chauvinism and slavery is a ridiculous lie! This guy once told me that the Bible's laws regarding slavery were designed to be beneficial to slaves, especially female slaves! The damned book tells us female slaves are for raping! It tells us that you can sell your daughter into sexual slavery, and that you must sell her as a sex slave to the man who rapes her because he made her unclean! It tells us that female slaves serve for an eternity, while the men get off after 6 years!
The problem is see with religious moderation is it thinks it deserves more respect and leniency because it's "other than extreme.” I see religious moderation as a form of hypocrisy since moderate beliefs require that someone claim a title such as "Christian" and yet refrain from following and believing in key ideas supported by Christian texts in the Bible.
I think that too often people ask "Why?" Why is a good question to ask, but not too soon. For instance, think of yourself as a detective on a crime scene. There might be a woman who fell from her 10th story balcony to her death. This is an untimely death, however, thus far there is no evidence to suspect "foul play." There's a lot of questions that need to be answered to file your report. “Who? What? Where? When? How?” etc...
We in America have a two party system. We also have a lot of misconceptions about what a two party system is. A Two party system is not checks and balances. Checks and balances come from a bipartisan government branch, like the House of Representatives and the Senate. Having two houses helps one keep the other in check. We have two houses because we were unwilling to maintain equal populations and though out the states. Obviously, one state would have more people than the other, so why should they have equal say? And if one state has more say then why wouldn’t they bully the others?
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on the Foxhole Atheist Blog do not necessarily represent those of Atheism or all Atheists, seeing as how Atheism has no tenets, dogma or doctrines. So Suck it!
Perhaps I hold a bit of bias in this situation. I was an Infantry soldier for six long years. I've used guns in many ways, not all responsible. Despite my use of firearms and my training in firearms and tactics. I know there is a serious problem in America with gun related violence. Where does this issue come from? Is it just the presence of firearms that causes this? I doubt it. Canada has just as many firearm owners per city block as America. Is it just unregistered guns? 
Posts
