• (Also titled: The Nonexistent Reward)

    Stairs-to-HeavenNo one except the terminally ill, suffering great agony desires death. This nothing, this ending, is a primal fear in humans who have seen people just go away. If some way could be found to continue existence, most would desire it, especially if that extension promised paradise. Imagine regaining total youth and living forever young. This is the lure, the bait, offered by most major religions. They offer continuity, existence beyond this world… but more than that: peace and happiness among those lost relatives.

    It is not so much that they offer this, but how they offer this miracle of miracles. You must believe in a certain deity over all others. You must serve that entity and adhere to the doctrine featuring that entity. If you want to obtain the reward you must follow the dictates of that cult… as well as the dictates of that cult’s apostle. Since the deity itself never speaks to the common cult member an apostle becomes necessary to relate the desires of the deity. Without so much as a glance of or a scrap of evidence, the individual member is asked to believe in the existence of this deity. This gives the apostle great power and influence on the members of this cult. By claiming the dictates he/she issues are from the god of interest itself the apostle is able to appear as a mere servant of the deity… when in reality that apostle has taken on the mantle of a god. The unscrupulous individual through interpretations of his/her faith can manipulate the flock, causing them to do things they would never consider on their own. oman accused of witchcraft; http://www.plusthings.com;

    We are all aware of witch burnings, claims of heresy, and blasphemy. Much was done to get rid of opposition to healing by prayer (witches were sometimes offering natural medicines, herbs). Some claims were made to gain wealth and control. They were very eager to magnify the reverence to whatever deity they offered thereby gaining additional control.hell

    Fear is the basis… fear of death, and then once baited, fear of not going to heaven… and for some faiths, fear of hell.

  • It is clear that the need to socialize, the need to have a cohesive group of people to belong to, also renders people within the group susceptible to manipulation. It makes the individual gullible and accepting of errant ideology just for the sake of being part of the group.

    Initially this desire to belong developed by way of evolution as it made it more likely that the species would survive. Each relied on the other for various needs. It helped the survival of the species. Once our intellect developed it became clear to many that this strength was also a weakness allowing the group to be manipulated and subjugated to the desires of a few.

    It is this quality about humanity, the need to belong, to socialize, that makes atheists just as gullible to manipulators as theists when meeting in groups. To belong individual atheists will accept that some things that are clearly immoral are moral. That you must support certain groups despite the fact that doing so undermines civilization. It allows the acceptance of abnormal behavior as normal behavior. This is why many people label atheists as immoral… it is because they, many atheists, really have been morphed into an immoral mindset through manipulative forces.

    It is only through constant vigilance that the individual atheist is able to remain aloof and wary of manipulators entering and attempting to undermine the group. Atheists+ was such an attempt by feminists to take over the atheist groups. It was successful in many groups including humanist groups which now are more or less controlled by feminist ideology.

  • Perhaps religion is too strong a word to describe groups of atheists when they come together. Perhaps ideology would be a better application.

    Ideology: the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party

    The singular atheist by himself has no religion and is only defined by his non-belief in a deity. Like all human groups, however, when atheists come together and form a group an ideology develops. To be a long-term member of that group you must adopt the ideology held by the majority of the group or at best leave, at worst, be expelled. Certain ideas and beliefs (yes, unfounded beliefs) must be adhered to, embraced, or you will be asked to depart.

    Atheists claim to be open-minded, and perhaps that is the biggest problem… they are so afraid of being labeled closed-minded that they will embrace everything no matter how illogical or immoral as long as they can gain the approval of the group. They are adept at finding “logical reasons” for these illogical concepts. Just as fundamentalists have no tolerance for those who do not hold to the group ideology, neither do atheists and they will attempt to shame you, insult you, or threaten you in other ways, to make you conform.

    There are a few atheists who have seen the hypocrisies of the group ideology and will converse with you with civility. They will not however confront the group they are in or attempt to make correctness for fear of losing the only thing offered by religion and these groups: socialization.

    This is why I have resigned from all atheist groups and organizations of late. This, and the move of feminism into atheist groups has made such groups totally propagandistic. Just as many of the stances of atheist groups lack a foundation, feminism lacks any basis for existence whatsoever. I will not support any group or organization financially. I will not provide monies to ideological movements of this sort.

  • An idealistic, optimistic, view of humanity is unwarranted. Humans will never, can never, change. An individual can occasionally awaken and see the course human endeavors take, but most will either say “who cares” or “nothing can be done”. To a great extent it is true, nothing can be done.

    Species after species has bitten the dust. Many species are now on that same road as unchecked human population growth continues. Many groups that promote wildlife preservation take in millions in donations… yet each year you are told there are more and more creatures declining in numbers, headed towards an untimely end. They are just as helpless as the cognizant individual. They are a waste of time and money in this fight against the inevitable extinction of creatures… including humanity.

    resignedPerhaps it’s time for the shrug of the shoulder and the surrender in resignation. It’s time to admit the inevitability of it all and face the conclusion with poise and grace. Live your life and hope everything lasts long enough for your dignified departure. No reason for you to pull your hair out, develop worry lines, or spend your hard-earned cash in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable. Enjoy the time you have despite knowing that most of those born today will not see the years that you have experienced. It can’t be long now before it all comes crashing down. People are already starving here and there, animal species disappearing forever, the climate changing resulting in immense catastrophes. The ill winds of our demise approach quickly, they’re right around the corner. All I ask is perhaps another twenty years. I hope things can hold together another twenty years.

  • Is it possible to live a moral life? Who judges whether your life is moral? What is moral for you may be immoral to someone else. Could it be that a person can only define the morals by which he desires to live irrespective of what others might consider moral? By establishing a set of moral guidelines are you merely setting up for yourself barriers that your sub conscience may feel obligated to transgress? Perhaps the best one can do is establish a central code of morals about which your life orbits rather than must strictly adhere to? Should there be barriers through which one must never proceed? (like murder, theft, etc.) Finding ways to deal with frequent failure to adhere to established guidelines seems a must. (Depression is not a way of dealing with failure) 

  • There is nothing new under the sun. It’s all been thought of and done before. There are times when this seems the distressing reality. In fact the times that it seems untrue grow shorter as my time upon this earth continues. Just when I think I have an original thought, a unique idea, I find that someone had it previously.

    Just when you think you have found something new… to your dismay it turns out to be simply a different mix of old things. A different arrangement… something that could result from putting all the old within a mixer and what results seems new but isn’t really. It turns out that everything is built upon what was and nothing is really new from the ground up because the ground never changes.

    nothing-new3Interchangeable parts comprise all things. In the end the substance of that thought new is simply of material that isn’t. Just like the Total Recall suggestion that your vacations are boring because in the end it’s the same old you that is there. Everything is indisputably composed of the same atoms that existed during all of the eons of existence.

    Yes, I suppose everything is boring for people who feel they have thought and done it all. Perhaps that is the reason evolution gave us such short lives. The young have not seen it all, thought it all, and think, though they be in error, that they bring something new to the table. The only thing of course that is possible is that the bring a new arrangement. Even that of course may simply be an arrangement that was forgotten in days past.

    Is it even possible to bring something new to existence without it having a foundation in the past?

  • sealed_lips_by_tape_by_mcarthur333-d54qa1p

    Shhhhhhhh! There are certain things you cannot speak of. There are issues covered by the veil of political correctness that have mandated directives as to what you must think about them. To buck the current of the crowd is to invite a mob justice reaction. Shame on you, they will say, you should be more accepting of those poor (whatever crowd is in “minority” this week). Everybody is seeking minority status because of the extra perks such a status brings. Almost everyone has managed to find some niche, some label to hide behind. Women, gays, transgendered, disfigured… everyone is regarded as so very special and therefore so specially privileged. Women, who are in fact a majority, carry this magic label of disadvantaged minority somehow. Who is left, one asks, that is simply normal?! The frowned on class in these times, the epitome of advantage class, held up to scorn by all the rest, is now heterosexual white males. “Die, Cis scum” the transgender crowd exclaims. The feminist crowd denigrates normal white males as privileged and heaps upon the insults whenever possible. Many men have simply surrendered and abandoned life to go alone. Others continue in silence, muttering under their breaths for to speak aloud the crimes others have committed against them always brings biting insults and hatred.

    Keep your mouth shut while the engineers of social change destroy all the past that has been built by sweat and tears and builds some artificial plane upon sandy unstable foundations. The rewriting of history has begun and will not end until every speck of the majesty of man’s achievements is destroyed and replaced with the shoddy and despicable ideologies worshiped today. They will proceed, despite some claims to the opposite, to a point where the reestablishment of civilization will be impossible and only chaos reigns. It will be left to distant future times when visitors of some wiser planet visit and see the weeping remains of human endeavor.

    DestroyedCity

  • As an atheist I see religion as being a totally fictitious belief system or ideology. There is no deity, no god or gods, as its foundation. Its roots can be found in myriad prior religions, and among the many myths of the day. There being no evidence everything must be accepted upon faith… total complete blind faith. Through support of fellow believers the ideology survives and is passed generation to generation.

    In much the same way that religion is false, so is feminism. They, the feminist leaders, concocted in the early sixties a beastie which they labeled the patriarchy. The patriarchy was described as being composed of all men. All men, at that point, became the enemy of feminists. The patriarchy worked, they asserted, to oppress women. Most men, and rightly so, looked about and said “Who, me?” The truth was no man was oppressing women, no organized bunch of men were ever oppressing women. True, there were some elements of oppression within the ranks of the religious, but no where else. Nevertheless, through repetitious lies the feminist sisterhood was able to convince a willing bunch of gullible women that there was indeed some hideous oppressive beast called the patriarchy… of which, all men were members. Members had to accept this on blind faith as there was only fictitious evidence available to substantiate the claims. Taking up the gauntlet these twisted sisters began teaching the lies to their children… even their innocent boy children. In this way the lies are spread and maintained from generation to generation.

    Much of what passes for feminist ideology is based on emotions, yes, feelings. If it feels right it must be right or if it feels wrong it must be wrong… reality, what is really right and wrong is subjugated to these feelings.

    You protest… religions have churches. Well, feminists have their meetings to plan their attacks upon men… they also have, thanks to our gynocentric government, more women’s studies in universities than you can imagine.

    Actual proselytizing in media by  feminist writers is common these days.
    •It can be often seen in programs like “The View” – feminists attempting to force everyone into feminist worship.
    •They sometimes literally worship their own vaginas and engage heartily in men bashing.
    •As there is much religious art and music, so there is feminist art and music.

    Feminism is in every sense a religion. They are told to believe with blind faith in an entity called patriarchy, an entity against they must battle and destroy.

    Many people leave religions only to adopt another one or make their own. Some disparage of all religion and become atheists. This does not make them any less susceptible to being hoodwinked. Atheists remain gullible if the ideology they are presented is cloaked well enough. This is why many atheists adopt feminism within their ideologies. Yes, atheists have their ideologies also. It is nearly impossible to avoid developing certain beliefs when people come together, be they religious or atheist. This is why I no longer belong to any group. This is why I do not financially support any atheist or humanist efforts. Feminism has infiltrated and subverted almost every atheist group. Once a reasoned, logical atheist is infected with the nonsense of feminism, nothing which they think can be trusted. Everything becomes tainted. Just as religious belief can destroy science, so can feminist thinking. It is all in the perspectives.

    Women achieved total equality long ago. That was not enough. It was too hard to assume responsibility for their own lives. They continued to press eager-to-please politicians to produce laws and restrictions against men. That is why we have de facto laws like Title IX, the Gender Equity Act, and now the very biased and sexist VAWA. They continue to press in their pursuit to destroy anything male, anything masculine. It can only end very badly.

  •      Maybe you have seen those bumper stickers proclaiming “coexist”. The people displaying these bumper stickers are expressing the desire that all religions live in cooperation and peace. The majority of religions teach that they are the only path to heaven. Some proclaim that non-believers are heretics, even those that believe in other religions are thought of as infidels or worse. Islam asserts that all must believe… or die.

         Idealistic ideas held by naive people being introduced into the public arena can cause dangerous outcomes. To convince people to relax in the face of those who have a belief, not only in their superiority, but the superiority of their god, could cause many deaths. You cannot love that which hates you. You cannot negotiate with those who are sure their way is the way.

         For religion diplomacy means that you concede to their demands. Meaningful progress in negotiations to the believer means that you are closer to doing as they desire. Concessions work only in their favor or they do not work. Many a war has broken out amidst peace negotiations.

         The human species is not ready for coexistence, not while there are so many of us still dealing in “black and white with no shades of gray” religious belief. The inflexibility of such beliefs can only lead to conflict. A people who believe so strongly in their religion that they would advocate Armageddon as a means of bringing the end times are simply too dangerous to deal with. A strong deterrent force is the only answer to such a threat.

         What we can do now is work steadily towards a secular society. Through education we must change the character of society. As long as people believe there is a life after this one, the value of this life will be diminished. Those living in squalor will be more susceptible to the desire for a better life. Religions that offer such a life will always have adherents among those that have little else. The standard of living must be raised worldwide to release the grip such religions have on humans. We must do this carefully making sure not to lower one peoples’ standards while raising another to avoid the development of resentment.

  • The stereotypical man is usually perceived as the protector, the courageous defender, the provider. As a result of the way society treats its males, this model, this stereotype, has become obsolete.

    There is a definite anti-male slant in Western society. The laws, the courts, and public opinion of men as a whole has degraded. To be clear… men have not necessarily degraded, just the perception of what men are has degraded.

    Feminism over the last fifty years has convinced the public that men are rapists, murderers, slouches, and in general no-good rotten scum. The only way for a man to be considered a hero these days is to be maimed or killed in the effort. Otherwise… it is just expected. A fireman can carry out an entire elementary class from a burning fire… but unless he is maimed or dies in the effort… it is but a day’s work. A policeman can save a dozen pedestrians from certain doom… but again… unless he ends up a mess on the floor… he’s just done his job. Who’s the hero to the feminists in these cases? The woman who called the fire department or police.

    Business as usual for me is over. Yes, I will protect me and mine, but you and yours can drown, be shot, fall eighteen stories, expire from spontaneous combustion, impel yourself on a spike, leap in front of a speeding train, and I will simply stand and watch … if I have the time.

    You and yours will be safe from me. But the lady having her purse snatched better not look my way asking me to give chase. The boy/girl getting beat up by punks better make his/her peace. I won’t do you any harm… but I won’t do you any favors either. I just don’t care any more and it’s your fault with your gynocentric societal slant. When society begins once again to appreciate the efforts of men I will change, perhaps, but I won’t be holding my breath.

    NOW GO AWAY!