Recently I received a message from an anonymous commenter who basically attacked me for expressing my beliefs or opinions regarding theism. This person then went on and threatened me with their imaginary deity and how he would "deal with me after I'm dead."
Nothing irks me more than Christians threatening me with their fairy tale god and the imaginary consequences I will suffer for simply questioning the veracity of their beliefs. This demonstrates clearly as I have implied many times that Christianity is a religion that is based mostly on fear rather than love. Their god is not a benevolent loving father as they try to portray him, he is a cruel maniacal dictator that stands in the same category as Hitler, Stalin, or Mao.
Christians call themselves "servants" of the Lord, they must surrender their will to their god;"not my will but thy will be done." When it comes to the free will argument the only free will you have as a believer is to become a servant or suffer the consequences for your refusal for all eternity. Just like their god Christians are hypocrites and underneath that superficial layer of love lies a deep dark hatred and resentment for all those that oppose their views. The bloody history of the church itself attests to this.
When will you theists get it? Your threats about eternal torment are mute and inconsequential when they are directed at atheists. It's like threatening Superman with a machine gun; those bullets can't harm him they just bounce off. We, and I speak for all atheists on this one don't believe in your bible or its so called divine inspiration. We don't accept the fairy tales you choose to call truths as facts, when they are nothing more than fictions and myths. In fact, Christianity like all other religions that have preceded it are rooted in ancient myths and beliefs.
One of the things that pushed me further away from church and God was the idle threats. As soon as you stopped going to church and ran into others from the congregation in the streets that was the first thing you would hear. They would remind you how having known God you were held accountable for your rebellion and your punishment would be that much worst. On the one hand you preach how God is loving and merciful and in the same hand you preach how he will punish all those that refuse him. That's just one of the many contradictions in your theology.
For future reference if you want to comment on my blog and all you do is throw idle threats at me, do me the favor and keep them to yourselves. I know them all probably a lot better than most of you know them. I have read the bible 4 times in its entirety which is more than I can say for most Christians.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The Bible is the word of man!
I have personally heard many arguments in defense of theism in my time, mostly as a response to one of my blog posts or hub page articles. It is interesting to me when I hear a theist attack scientific knowledge and refer to it as the knowledge of man. They state that the knowledge of man is always changing and is unreliable. Since man is a finite and fallible creature their arguments in this regard actually have some merit.
On the other hand, they state that God is infinite, infallible, and all knowing and his knowledge is one hundred percent reliable and true. Note that in this article I wish to address the God of the bible and this work does not address the myriad of deities that currently exist in the hearts and imaginations of their many adherents.
Christian’s claim that the source of this knowledge only exist in several works produced by over forty authors; most of whom remain anonymous to this day. Together this collection of works is known to all of us as The Holy Bible. It is the number one bestselling book every produced and continues to this day to draw believers in its many extraordinary claims.
Theists claim that the bible is without a doubt the word of God and as such it is inerrant, infallible, and the absolute truth. They even go so far as to claim that the human race as a whole derives its objective morals from the bible and that without God there would be no such thing as objective morality.
Objective knowledge is knowledge that is true whether you believe it or not. For example if you jump off of a building our knowledge of gravity tells us that you will fall fast and hard and will most likely die as a result of it. Whether you believe it or not gravity is true and it has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it exists and that all things are subject to its forces. Subjective knowledge on the other hand is “subject” to an individual or in this case a groups interpretation of evidences that cannot be proven objectively. One example of this is the existence of God or so called spiritual experiences by believers of the many religions the world over.
I have one problem with this argument. The one objective fact about the bible is that it was written by men. The very people whose knowledge Christians condemn and refer to as fallible and finite. The bible states that: “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools spurn wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7 NJB). Keep in mind that this statement is written by a man who claims to be inspired by God. The bible refers to the knowledge of man as the knowledge of fools. In other words according to this text without a fear of the Lord there is no knowledge since knowledge comes from the Lord.
One of the many accusations that atheists and other nonbelievers in the bible make is that the bible actually advocates the suppression of knowledge and the advancement of society. I completely agree with this accusation because the church has lived up to these principles historically as well. The various wars such as the inquisition, the laws and legislations written under the influence of the church and biblical principles, the pressure on political figures to favor religious laws and agendas, etc. Examples are the banning of birth control, abortions, cloning, stem cell research, only because these things were at odds with what they believed were Gods laws.
The Christians favorite rebuttal to an atheist is found in Psalm 14:1 or Psalm 53:1 they both actually say the exact same thing so let’s look at 53:1 The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God!' They are corrupt, vile and unjust, not one of them does right. (NJB). So this leads me to the purpose of this post. What makes theists believe that the bible although it is written by men is inspired by God? Well, first of all because the bible says so itself in the N.T. in 2 Timothy 3:16 in black and white: ‘All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright.’ There is no refuting that claim there. In fact, even Jesus allegedly gave his endorsement of the O.T. Law and the books of the prophets in Matthew 5:17 ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.’
So in the end what makes theists differentiate the wisdom of man from the so called wisdom of God? My favorite culprit: faith; or as I affectionately refer to it as the ultimate equalizer. In order to accept that the bible is the world of God you must have faith that the men who claim it is, were telling the truth about their experiences, that while they wrote they were somehow being led or inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that considering the many edits, and translations that the bible has gone through that what we have available to us are accurate and true to the originals. In the end the bible is nothing more than the words of men. Faith which in and of itself is not a reliable means of obtaining knowledge is the only thing that determines whether you believe what you read or reject it outright.
On the other hand, they state that God is infinite, infallible, and all knowing and his knowledge is one hundred percent reliable and true. Note that in this article I wish to address the God of the bible and this work does not address the myriad of deities that currently exist in the hearts and imaginations of their many adherents.
Christian’s claim that the source of this knowledge only exist in several works produced by over forty authors; most of whom remain anonymous to this day. Together this collection of works is known to all of us as The Holy Bible. It is the number one bestselling book every produced and continues to this day to draw believers in its many extraordinary claims.
Theists claim that the bible is without a doubt the word of God and as such it is inerrant, infallible, and the absolute truth. They even go so far as to claim that the human race as a whole derives its objective morals from the bible and that without God there would be no such thing as objective morality.
Objective knowledge is knowledge that is true whether you believe it or not. For example if you jump off of a building our knowledge of gravity tells us that you will fall fast and hard and will most likely die as a result of it. Whether you believe it or not gravity is true and it has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it exists and that all things are subject to its forces. Subjective knowledge on the other hand is “subject” to an individual or in this case a groups interpretation of evidences that cannot be proven objectively. One example of this is the existence of God or so called spiritual experiences by believers of the many religions the world over.
I have one problem with this argument. The one objective fact about the bible is that it was written by men. The very people whose knowledge Christians condemn and refer to as fallible and finite. The bible states that: “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools spurn wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7 NJB). Keep in mind that this statement is written by a man who claims to be inspired by God. The bible refers to the knowledge of man as the knowledge of fools. In other words according to this text without a fear of the Lord there is no knowledge since knowledge comes from the Lord.
One of the many accusations that atheists and other nonbelievers in the bible make is that the bible actually advocates the suppression of knowledge and the advancement of society. I completely agree with this accusation because the church has lived up to these principles historically as well. The various wars such as the inquisition, the laws and legislations written under the influence of the church and biblical principles, the pressure on political figures to favor religious laws and agendas, etc. Examples are the banning of birth control, abortions, cloning, stem cell research, only because these things were at odds with what they believed were Gods laws.
The Christians favorite rebuttal to an atheist is found in Psalm 14:1 or Psalm 53:1 they both actually say the exact same thing so let’s look at 53:1 The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God!' They are corrupt, vile and unjust, not one of them does right. (NJB). So this leads me to the purpose of this post. What makes theists believe that the bible although it is written by men is inspired by God? Well, first of all because the bible says so itself in the N.T. in 2 Timothy 3:16 in black and white: ‘All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright.’ There is no refuting that claim there. In fact, even Jesus allegedly gave his endorsement of the O.T. Law and the books of the prophets in Matthew 5:17 ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.’
So in the end what makes theists differentiate the wisdom of man from the so called wisdom of God? My favorite culprit: faith; or as I affectionately refer to it as the ultimate equalizer. In order to accept that the bible is the world of God you must have faith that the men who claim it is, were telling the truth about their experiences, that while they wrote they were somehow being led or inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that considering the many edits, and translations that the bible has gone through that what we have available to us are accurate and true to the originals. In the end the bible is nothing more than the words of men. Faith which in and of itself is not a reliable means of obtaining knowledge is the only thing that determines whether you believe what you read or reject it outright.
Monday, July 4, 2011
The God of the gaps theory
One of the many errors committed by Christianity that in my mind I think blatantly goes against the scientific method, is that they first start with a conclusion and seek the evidence to support it. For instance, in all of the more traditional arguments in defense of a belief in the biblical God or any god for that matter, they state with certainty that God created the universe and everything in it. The most famous and popular of all of their ridiculous arguments is the argument from design. Basically the argument from design falls back on the complexity of life and the universe and concludes that there had to be a designer. Their most popular analogy is that of someone wandering around in a beach and finding a watch, upon examination the watch has many cogs and mechanisms that obviously indicate that there was a designer and that it was designed for a particular purpose. Theists then take this analogy and try to make it applicable to life and the universe and all that that may entail.
The scientific method on the other hand has four steps
1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.
2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. In physics, the hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a mathematical relation.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.
Once you have reached your conclusions you are to report your findings in details so that they may be reproduced, confirmed, or denied by your peers. In other words, other scientists should be able by following your instructions to come up with the same conclusions as you have. In some cases they may find that the tests were not fair or inadequate and your hypothesis is either scrapped or expanded upon.
Now the one element in my view that tips the scale in favor of the theists is faith. Faith is what I have called many times in my blogs, articles, and videos the ultimate equalizer in any and all arguments. The one thing that faith has going for it is that it does not require any evidence whatsoever and anyone can use it to support any argument. This reminds me of the fundie Christians that state with vigor when referring to the scriptures and its many ridiculous assertions: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!”
Christians in particular have found many creative ways to use faith in all arguments in defense of their beliefs. The most popular to date is the God of the gaps theory. What this fallacy states is that basically any gap in our knowledge, specifically scientific knowledge has only one explanation: God did it! Let me demonstrate their greatest flaw when arguing from the God of the gaps theory combined with the argument from design. They first put down the premise that anything that is caused to exist must have an initial cause because it is impossible for there to exist an uncaused cause.
They later then go on to declare that it is also impossible for there to exist an infinite regress of causes therefore there must be a prime mover, an initiator of all the causes in existence. Can you guess what that initiator is? Of course, God! Now here is where it gets dicey, God is an uncaused cause therefore based on the initial premises of this argument the argument itself breaks down.
Thanks to faith the breakdown of this argument does not faze Christians one bit because faith does not require evidence and so god being the prime mover and not needing a cause for his existence does not apply. The bible actually has an explanation that concords with the Christians conclusions based on this argument.
8 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelations 1:8 (NJB).
We don’t know for sure what started the Big Bang, or how exactly man came to have such a developed brain and intellect but we are content in the knowledge that we don’t know. We may never know but that does not mean that that gives us the right to fall back on ancient beliefs and superstitions and tout them as truth beyond all knowledge because of faith and so called divine revelation. Even if you are a theists who does not accept the bible and its deity as the prime mover you are still falling back on superstitions by clinging to an untenable belief that whatever did create the universe is a god of some kind or other.
Maybe whatever created the universe was an impersonal force and creation was just a random unintentional effect of this unknown force. Calling it God does not make the search for it any easier, nor does looking for supernatural causes. At least in my mind a random universe created by some unknown force unintentionally makes a lot more sense to me than to state that some fictional creation myth of man did it. God did it just doesn’t cut it for me and I would rather wallow in my ignorance than fall asleep in some false bliss.
Reference
Introduction to the scientific method. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2011, from http://teacher.nsrl.rochester.edu/phy_labs/AppendixE/AppendixE.html
The scientific method on the other hand has four steps
1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.
2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. In physics, the hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a mathematical relation.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.
Once you have reached your conclusions you are to report your findings in details so that they may be reproduced, confirmed, or denied by your peers. In other words, other scientists should be able by following your instructions to come up with the same conclusions as you have. In some cases they may find that the tests were not fair or inadequate and your hypothesis is either scrapped or expanded upon.
Now the one element in my view that tips the scale in favor of the theists is faith. Faith is what I have called many times in my blogs, articles, and videos the ultimate equalizer in any and all arguments. The one thing that faith has going for it is that it does not require any evidence whatsoever and anyone can use it to support any argument. This reminds me of the fundie Christians that state with vigor when referring to the scriptures and its many ridiculous assertions: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!”
Christians in particular have found many creative ways to use faith in all arguments in defense of their beliefs. The most popular to date is the God of the gaps theory. What this fallacy states is that basically any gap in our knowledge, specifically scientific knowledge has only one explanation: God did it! Let me demonstrate their greatest flaw when arguing from the God of the gaps theory combined with the argument from design. They first put down the premise that anything that is caused to exist must have an initial cause because it is impossible for there to exist an uncaused cause.
They later then go on to declare that it is also impossible for there to exist an infinite regress of causes therefore there must be a prime mover, an initiator of all the causes in existence. Can you guess what that initiator is? Of course, God! Now here is where it gets dicey, God is an uncaused cause therefore based on the initial premises of this argument the argument itself breaks down.
Thanks to faith the breakdown of this argument does not faze Christians one bit because faith does not require evidence and so god being the prime mover and not needing a cause for his existence does not apply. The bible actually has an explanation that concords with the Christians conclusions based on this argument.
8 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelations 1:8 (NJB).
We don’t know for sure what started the Big Bang, or how exactly man came to have such a developed brain and intellect but we are content in the knowledge that we don’t know. We may never know but that does not mean that that gives us the right to fall back on ancient beliefs and superstitions and tout them as truth beyond all knowledge because of faith and so called divine revelation. Even if you are a theists who does not accept the bible and its deity as the prime mover you are still falling back on superstitions by clinging to an untenable belief that whatever did create the universe is a god of some kind or other.
Maybe whatever created the universe was an impersonal force and creation was just a random unintentional effect of this unknown force. Calling it God does not make the search for it any easier, nor does looking for supernatural causes. At least in my mind a random universe created by some unknown force unintentionally makes a lot more sense to me than to state that some fictional creation myth of man did it. God did it just doesn’t cut it for me and I would rather wallow in my ignorance than fall asleep in some false bliss.
Reference
Introduction to the scientific method. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2011, from http://teacher.nsrl.rochester.edu/phy_labs/AppendixE/AppendixE.html
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Why I think there is no God
As an atheist one of the questions I get asked the most from theists is how can I be so sure that there is no God. I know that no answer I give will ever convince them of anything, but I am convinced to my own satisfaction that there is no God. Although I don't believe in any gods of any religion I am capitalizing the word God here to single out the traditional deity of Judaeo-Christian mythology.
Theists like to point out that by simply seeing all of the wonders of nature and the so called natural order of things one cannot help but come to the conclusion that there was a creator. I think that this is a very weak argument and I beg to differ as to the conclusions. When I see our natural world without the glasses of faith and folklore I see amidst all of this apparent order plenty of chaos.
Our planet for example is constantly bombarded by asteroids and comets and all other sorts of space debris on a daily basis. The insane weather patterns are far from orderly as well. Natural disasters are best explained naturally because we know how they occur. There is no need for some angry deity to be called into the explanation of some random event that costs the lives of many.
Everyday I am reminded why I think there is no God. I am surrounded by tragedy at all times and no matter how horrible or devastating an event may be; life goes on. Every day thousands of people die and as has been displayed in the past, like disease death does not discriminate. You are never too young or too old to die, just the fact that you are alive makes you a perfect candidate. When you finally realize that despite what you have been taught in the bible about your special place in the universe,you will come to see that you are nothing more than just another part of a larger picture.
Mankind has demonstrated that they have a penchant for vanity since the beginning of their existence on this planet. Until the theory of evolution came along we were all content to believe that we were God's special creation made in his image. That we were above all other species on Earth. Nothing could be further from the truth; when you realize that you are just another cog in this machine called life then you will see the world as it is. The world is a natural place with natural occurrences that happen daily despite who you think you are.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and other natural disasters just happen and when you realize this you will see that this explanation makes a lot more sense than trying to explain everything with God. God did it does not work in a natural circumstance and neither does it work to explain the unexplainable. Death,nature, destruction, love, joy, life, and many other things confirm to me that there is no God and that the world is a better place without one.
Finally, there is no why question as to our existence. Why ask why? It is so much easier if you found purpose in life itself. This life we live right now at this very moment is worth much more than any promised life of eternal bliss derived from ancient myths. All I know is that I was born, I am living now and trying to make the most of what is my life and what life itself has to offer. I am sure that one day sooner or later like all other life forms on this planet death will finally come for me, but until then I will make the most of what I have. When mankind can put aside their ridiculous myths then and only then will they be free to enjoy this life and enjoy the here and now.
Theists like to point out that by simply seeing all of the wonders of nature and the so called natural order of things one cannot help but come to the conclusion that there was a creator. I think that this is a very weak argument and I beg to differ as to the conclusions. When I see our natural world without the glasses of faith and folklore I see amidst all of this apparent order plenty of chaos.
Our planet for example is constantly bombarded by asteroids and comets and all other sorts of space debris on a daily basis. The insane weather patterns are far from orderly as well. Natural disasters are best explained naturally because we know how they occur. There is no need for some angry deity to be called into the explanation of some random event that costs the lives of many.
Everyday I am reminded why I think there is no God. I am surrounded by tragedy at all times and no matter how horrible or devastating an event may be; life goes on. Every day thousands of people die and as has been displayed in the past, like disease death does not discriminate. You are never too young or too old to die, just the fact that you are alive makes you a perfect candidate. When you finally realize that despite what you have been taught in the bible about your special place in the universe,you will come to see that you are nothing more than just another part of a larger picture.
Mankind has demonstrated that they have a penchant for vanity since the beginning of their existence on this planet. Until the theory of evolution came along we were all content to believe that we were God's special creation made in his image. That we were above all other species on Earth. Nothing could be further from the truth; when you realize that you are just another cog in this machine called life then you will see the world as it is. The world is a natural place with natural occurrences that happen daily despite who you think you are.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and other natural disasters just happen and when you realize this you will see that this explanation makes a lot more sense than trying to explain everything with God. God did it does not work in a natural circumstance and neither does it work to explain the unexplainable. Death,nature, destruction, love, joy, life, and many other things confirm to me that there is no God and that the world is a better place without one.
Finally, there is no why question as to our existence. Why ask why? It is so much easier if you found purpose in life itself. This life we live right now at this very moment is worth much more than any promised life of eternal bliss derived from ancient myths. All I know is that I was born, I am living now and trying to make the most of what is my life and what life itself has to offer. I am sure that one day sooner or later like all other life forms on this planet death will finally come for me, but until then I will make the most of what I have. When mankind can put aside their ridiculous myths then and only then will they be free to enjoy this life and enjoy the here and now.
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