Freethinker's corner

Decisiveness, the Envy of the Wishy Washy … … December 25, 2013

2013/12/25

The namby-pamby, the wavering, the indecisive, have no direction. Even when they see the merits of a position they cannot bring themselves to promote it, seeing moderation as a better position. They do not realize that the moderation they seek to promote will only work when no one else can make up their mind. In other words, when the vast majority are moderate.

The United States is said to be seventy percent or more christian. If instead of christian you use the term religious, this figure grows substantially. These people are victims, willing victims, of a multiple millennia’s old hoax. They are usually of conservative bend. Though many among these ranks are tolerant of other belief systems, those that are truly tolerant are fewer than those that claim to be. The conservative never rest in their efforts, their struggle, to make the country a facsimile of their beliefs. Whether it be by blatant swaggering about claiming unique knowledge and belittling those who do not concede to their point of view, or by infiltrating government and legislating laws to reflect their beliefs, they work for the day when everyone toes the line of their belief system.

There are moderate atheists who mistakenly feel that accommodation is better than advocating the end to barbaric belief systems. These atheists think it perfectly okay for the people to live within delusion, as long as they are tolerant of those who do not. What they fail to see is that the truly tolerant are few and far between and exist mostly within the atheist ranks. Christianity has but one goal: to spread christianity. Islam has but one goal: make Islam worldwide and the only religion. Both religions desire the subjugation of all peoples.

But, they cry, the laws of the United States would prevent this. I assure you they would not. A belief system that is autocratic can only result in an autocratic government once it becomes the majority. With Islam, becoming the majority, is the plan.

Our Constitution presently guarantees the freedom of religion. Though this be a freedom does not mean that those that see religion as ignorance should advocate the status quo and leave evangelizing, proselytizing, to the ignorant. When you have the right and might of reason and logic backing your viewpoints shouldn’t you spread a little of that around?

So … what will it be? Do you want to sit around and hope everyone, including the terminally religious, becomes a moderate? Good luck in that.
OMG, What if They’re Right? … December 23, 2013

2013/12/22

Night terrors? Ever stare at the dark ceiling at night and wonder if you are damned to hellfire? Doubts sometimes work on the mind like that, whether you are christian or atheist.

After several years of delving into the abrahamic religions and discerning their origins I can truly say my doubts have vanished. I do not suddenly become besieged with anxiety and wonder if there is a god, and that through my actions I am doomed to some horrible fate… after death. It is quite clear to me that millions of christians, muslims, and jews can be totally wrong. Not only that, but, that they are wrong.

How much evidence is enough? How much evidence will overcome the natural fear of death that people have? With so much evidence at hand that clearly reveals christianity and the other connected religions are simply fabrications created for the purpose of controlling people the only way people could believe is that they have a fierce desire, perhaps mental need, to do so. Even though their logic centers, which all people have, tells them how fictional their beliefs are, they dismiss it, they fear death, and need the crutch of faith to endure the thought of inevitable death. No one wants death. Something is more desirable than nothing. Though before a person is born there was nothing, when alive there is something, and it is fearful to think there will be nothing again.

The fear of death is a childish fear. Despite this fact most people would choose life, existence, rather than the oblivion death brings.

Before I was born did I care whether I existed? Stupid question, what, after all, was there around at the time to care? Will I care that I am gone when death ends my existence? Again, what will there be to care? The concept of nothing, I admit, is difficult to grasp. You cannot experience it. It is not like closing your eyes or even being inserted into a sensory deprivation device. There is nothing to know even that there is nothing to know.

I dearly wish that I could impart my certainty to everyone. I am sure though, that soon enough, those that seek will come to that point. That is what makes me comfortable with the label atheist, and uncomfortable with those who equivocate and use the label agnostic.
Have a Cup of Cheer! … December 21, 2013

2013/12/21

A Happy Solstice to all my non-believing friends. Those that choose to sit with arms folded and ignore the season because the Christians tried to claim it, I hope you accidently have a good time as well.

As far as you believers out there that insist on making this a Christian time I hope you have a good time just as real as your religion. Just remember, it’s a pagan holiday, so don’t put up a tree; it might rile the man in the sky.
Now Hold On, You Are Still Responsible! … December 18, 2013

2013/12/18

Good grief! Is it possible that determinism is a correct viewpoint? Is it possible that there is no free will?

Perspectives, vantage points of viewing things, can change one’s opinion. The question I found troubling is: How can you make a decision that is not derived from those components which make you, you? How can there be a decision which is not in line with your mental and physical makeup? If such a decision could be made that is not made in accordance with what you are, then how could it be your decision? How could you be held responsible for its results?

This does not mean that the actions of individuals are ultimately predictable. There would be too many parameters for that. Just as the weather reports are useless beyond a day or two, due to the many factors that are involved, so too, the actions of the individual are only superficially predictable.

Free will cannot exist then, I grant. Our decisions and actions are based on what we are. Actions and decisions which were not originated from what we are would relieve us from responsibility. Since our actions and decisions are based on our past and present state then our responsibility is assured.

Even so we must live our lives as if we have a choice. Though the choices may already be made for us because of what we are, we cannot throw up our hands and abandon making those choices. Even the event of changing the course of your life would not be possible unless that quality already existed within your mind. This explains the stubborn who never change; they never possessed the capacity to do so. Keeping an open mind becomes all the more important then, so pliability remains intact so as to accommodate new ideas. Why would all this be so? Evolution is all about continuity. Though you might retain the quality of adaptability, remaining true to yourself and those around you has many evolutionary advantages.

This is, I think, the difference between life and inanimate matter. Whereas both are locked into a determinist direction, life can adapt. Life has survival potential. If life could not adapt we would not be here now. Though adaptation may be an unconscious thing resulting from natural selection, the quality only exists in the diversity and malleability of life. Though the bonds of determinism may be tight, they are not as tight for life, as a whole.

Deterministic projection:

If life was totally tied to its beginnings in a deterministic fashion then we would be condemned just like the bacteria in a petri dish to eventually perish in our own poisons.
The Perspective of Innocence ….. December 16, 2013

2013/12/15

What are your first memories? Most likely some of your memories were formed much earlier than you think.

When I was born my parents lived in a house on a different street than the house I remember as a child. I have no memories of that house, except perhaps, a memory of lying in a crib as my mother brought over a bottle. I can’t even be sure of that memory. My first memories began in the second house I lived in. I don’t know about your childhood, but mine was filled with play. I had no worries, no, not even when my father was laid off his job during hard times, or was out of work due to a union strike. I didn’t worry in the least where my next meal was coming for there was always something to eat.

Life was good and I expected it to last forever.
Nothing lasts forever. The only thing that never changes is the fact that there will always be change.

I remember very distinctly the moment I became aware that my existence was finite. I could not have been beyond the age of five or six when a relatives death prompted questions. It was then that I was told that everybody dies. I realized that the life I was living would come to an end some day. My youthful mind could not deal with the fact that someday there would be no me. I felt true sadness and extreme fear. It was my first emotional event that I can actually remember.

The fact that everyone dies is at least a truth. There are those who put this fear of death to use. These people, whether knowingly or unknowingly, provide the empty promise of life eternal. As proof of their promise they offer the lack of proof that it is untrue, and surprisingly, nothing more. Nevertheless, millions buy it day in, day out. Without a shred of evidence that what they offer as product has any existence, they receive bountiful monetary offerings. Many have realized that what they really offer is a cure for something they had created.

Everyone is aware of the extreme pliable nature of the young child’s mind. Indeed, they say, if they can have the child at seven, they would have them as an adult as well. Only a child can be made to accept the outrageous as true. Santa, they think, just might be able to squeeze down that pipe, that chimney. Jesus could have walked on water, after all, that is what that grown man, that I trust, just said. Children are programmed to trust.

The sweet innocence of childhood can be so easily twisted, warped into something, directly opposite of reality. Just like some genetic defect, we find, this warping, this twisting, can be passed from generation to generation.

What harm could this possibly be, to pass on these mental genes? Does it not do good?

What little good such organized delusions accomplish is done in service to the perpetuation of the delusion. This good is more than negated by the harm that accompanies the enactment of the delusion. From war, to hate, to divisiveness, the baggage of such delusions is immense. The numbing of inquisitiveness, a necessary feature of the delusion, allows the delusion to maintain its grip securely. You dare not ask questions concerning the nature of the delusion. No matter how absurd, the delusion must be held and protected.

Childhood does not last forever. In a short time the adult emerges. Will the child become a carbon copy, hating those who do not hold the same ideas in their heads? Will the bigotry, hatred, and divisiveness be passed on indefinitely?

Education is the answer, of course. Education, if allowed, can eventually eradicate the ignorance of such delusions as those created by religion.

Perhaps parents have done evil by lying to their children. To protect the tender feelings of children many lies are told. Some of these lies, as those in religion, carry on with the child as they mature. Some lies eventually are revealed for what they are. The parents themselves determine the endurance of these untruths. Santa soon is rendered into a fairy tale, along with the Easter bunny. If an adult maintains a lie is truth, perhaps even believing the lie themselves, the child is unlikely to uncover the deception until it is set, like concrete in their brain.
Your Religion Is Not Just Ridiculous, but Laughably So…. December 11, 2013

2013/12/11

The abrahamic religions maintain that god (purposely not capitalized) created the heavens and the earth for humanity. Many among the ranks of the believers marvel at how things seem just right for human existence and exclaim it could only be the work of a god. How absurd!

While the religious marvel at what we all call life, thinking errantly about its reason for existence, those that do not fear to think for themselves marvel at the level of ignorance required to accept the religious point of view. Earth, they realize, was not made for humans. It was the life that adapted to the conditions, not the conditions that adapted to the life.

Nevertheless there were those that insisted that both the heavens and the earth were made for man. We can see the ridiculousness of such a claim today. Here we sit, in a tiny bubble. We have adapted to various areas within this bubble. There are even areas within this bubble inhospitable to life. In these areas life is arduous and usually short. Outside this bubble we call the world, life would be even less possible, less probable. As our scientists scan the skies we see no alternatives as yet to our present home. We are faced with another question. Why create all that just for us? Why not just the world and the star we orbit? Why go to such a fuss for one species? The more we look the more ridiculous appear the claims of the religious.

Rather than a place custom made for man, this universe seems more made to accommodate the existence of black holes. Rather than that, the black hole may be the progenitor of the galaxy, and perhaps the universe. Most every galaxy, it has been found, is home to a black hole also.

Even without the petty claims akin to magic performed by characters within the pages of the jewish bible, christian bible, or koran, just looking at the universe displayed before us is enough to reveal just how absurd and ridiculous the nature of all religion. Faith, it seems, is a useless tool when attempting to discern the truth.
How Not to Win Support For Your Cause …. December 9, 2013

2013/12/08

What were they thinking? How can you win support for your cause from some group, doesn’t matter which, by insulting or trying to shame them? Sure, for a small few without any kind of backbone simple shaming will cause submission, but insults? Insults bring backlashes. A thumb in the eye does not earn support.

Take Barbara G. Walker’s assertion that anyone who claims to be a feminist must by definition support women being in total control of government and society. She lambasts all men for the failure of some and then seems to desire men to support her chauvinistic cause. Nope. I don’t think so. I support equality. I do not support a patriarchy, why would I support a matriarchy?

Let’s look at the remarks some female atheist writers bewail. In a recent article on Alternet: “Another thing one notices with the atheist movement is the fact it is predominantly upwardly middle-class, white and male. If mainstream free-thought and humanism continue to reflect the narrow cultural interests of white elites who have disposable income to go to conferences then the secular movement is destined to remain marginal and insular.” Why is this an issue? I have never seen any evidence that the atheist movement represented only one segment. I have always seen women and other segments of society being encouraged to speak out. In my opinion it is not the fault of the “white-male elite” (a very derogatory as well as inflammatory phrase) that the other segments of the atheist movement are hesitant to step up to the microphone.

The article on Alternet goes on to exclaim that there is fear-mongering going on where Islamic terrorism is concerned. They have labeled this Islamaphobia. If one examines the history and content of Islam there can be no such thing as Islamaphobia as all the “fear-mongering” issues have a very real and solid basis in fact. I have nothing good to say about Islam not because I am Islamaphobic but because there is nothing good to say about Islam. This “fine” article goes on to insult all of the “New Atheists”, like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. I am sure this will go far in garnering the support of people who admire both these men, not!

Another section makes it clear that the writer is also quite biased against the prosperity of the United States and wishes to redistribute wealth worldwide. While I have similar perspectives mine are only nation-wide.

The only real and correct thing proclaimed in the article is the fact that atheists cannot belong to the Republican party. The Republican party is owned not only by the business sector but by the religious right as well. These two segments of society work together. The corporations exploit the worker class and the religious right makes the worker class submissive enough for exploitation. Not only does it not make sense for an atheist to belong to the Republican party, it doesn’t make sense for anyone who works for a living to belong to the Republican party.
No Fun Intended …. December 4, 2013

2013/12/04

Dour faced the old woman looked upon her daughter’s son and said, “Those video games are too violent! They’ll make you do bad things. Get up and go outside and play.” The child protested, saying it was too cold outside, but the moment was won by the grandmother. As she looks out the door and observes the boy she notes he seems to be digging in the ground. She opens the door and shouts, “Quit digging in the ground, you’ll get all dirty.” The child speaks again to say he merely was constructing a road for his car to drive in, but again, he is over-ruled. The grandmother watches again as the little boy climbs on the swing. She shouts, “Don’t go swinging now, I can’t come out now to keep you from hurting yourself.” “What am I supposed to do?!” shouts the boy. Don’t do this, don’t do that, what’s a little boy to do?

There are always those who try to boss. They tell you this or that is bad to do. They watch and criticize every move. They claim to know the best of ways. After all is said and done it seems though, what they know best is how not to have fun. They can’t seem to exist knowing others are having fun, while they sit idly, afraid to do anything that might seem…unseemly. Whether it be from lessons instilled by parents or the local parsonage, inhibitions magnified by envy of those with more freedom tends to make a dour old fussbudget out of the most well-meaning individual.

Sometimes one wonders if envy of those who were having fun might have caused the development of some very restrictive systems of belief. In an effort to develop some kind of value to the crowd, even maybe to gain some influence therein, if those who are having such amusement could be convinced that this fun would lead to painful consequences… the lonely party would have some worth, maybe an elevated position within the group, if some way can be presented to escape such a fate.

Religion needs to control, it cannot afford to become inert, obsolete. All religions are busy trying to guide the masses. Freedom, especially of thought, is anathema to all religions. Although presently somewhat quiescent here in the States, christianity, despite the opposing claim, despises freedom in any way. If not violently, it enforces the dictates of faith sternly where-ever it holds sway. Islam hates the freedoms held in high regard here in this, the United States. Islam acts decisively to squash all freedom, even of thought, where it rules the day.

Religion squashes imagination. It stifles innovation. Religion frowns upon any new thing that distracts from the primary goal to spread the message of the faith. Anything that belief finds which is counter to its precepts is not only resisted mightily, but sometimes with violence. Any good the faithful hoped to do is cancelled by the result of the doctrine upon the people. War, bigotry, misogyny, and hatred become the legacy of the believer. It is soon realized that the promised good was, all along, a front, to spread the message of hate.

… And all this, because someone was too inhibited, to have a little fun.
Humanity’s Inherent Flaw ….. December 2, 2013

2013/12/01

In the ancient times when the lightning flashed and the thunder roared they figured some god was angry. If the crops failed due to lack of rain or other reason it was once again a god’s anger. A volcano suddenly sputtering to life was a call for appeasement and sacrifice to please some angry deity. Human beings have always sought some conscious entity or power as the cause of natural events.

The search for a cause of conscious origin led quite readily to seeking a reason why things occur. An angry god became the reason for many events. Eventually a reason for humanity’s existence was desired. Why is there life? Why is humanity? Why the earth and the universe. Why? Why? Why?

“Why” is not a question for science. The goal of science must be the “how”, not the why. How is there existence instead of non-existence? There is no why. Why implies a consciousness behind the cause.

Why this need for a purpose to life? Life has no purpose besides, perhaps, perpetuation of itself. Even that is not a conscious pursuit. We should be content in discovering how life emerged, rather than why. Humans have been struggling for millennia trying to find the why. In frustration the imagination came into play and fabricated a why. Though science is most often urged into action by the amazing powers of the human imagination; sheer imagination without science answers nothing. Sheer imagination produces answers which, if held true, stifles science.

Religion was humankind’s infantile first effort to provide answers to troubling questions. It emerged from ignorance and developed through sheer imagination. There can be no truth generated through ignorance coupled with imagination. Though religion provided much of the cohesiveness necessary to hold a peoples together, it worked to separate one people from another. Much conflict followed such an arrangement.

Science came along and it was soon evident that it was anathema to religion. Ignorance and the imagination was no match for science and the imagination.

Just as there is no conscious purpose driving evolution, there is no purpose behind life. There is, however, purpose behind humanity. It’s the purpose we create for ourselves. We were not created to please a god, we arose and must please ourselves. Our intellects should be used to improve the quality of life for all rather than the creation of yet some new super bomb. If we used all the resources that are expended in war for the betterment of humanity instead, there would be no starving masses. With more resources our best scientists could find ways to cure all maladies. Without the destructive nature of conflict our earth could be better managed for all. With additional resources even ways could be found to defuse the impending population bomb.

I would be content with the knowledge of “how” things are, rather than trying to find the non-existent “why”.
There Was Never a God … November 27, 2013

2013/11/27

I disagree with some “scientists” in that I think it possible for people to know rather than simply to accept or believe. One thing I know is that there is no God, god, or gods.

The concept of a God, god, or gods is of human invention. Not only is god a derivation of our infantile awe that we held for our parents it is also a product of our effort to explain phenomena we found frightening and mysterious.

There have been many religions invented in humanity’s history and it is true that, as expressed by many, each religion is unlike any that came before or after. If there had been one true deity or many true deities this would not be the case.

Outside humanity there is no evidence of the god concept. Ritual developed by animals and humans are the result of the manner in which our brains learn. If something works most of the time, some action, some ritual, even if it fails at other times, becomes habitual.

There is much secondary evidence that leads to the almost ironclad proposition that such a deity as described by modern religion does not exist. For that deity to exist much of what we find in nature should not exist. This or that flaw in humanity’s physical body that points directly to continuous modification over millennia rather than instantaneous creation cannot be dismissed. Fossils existing in predicted depths and arrangement showing creatures that adapted over time by evolutionary means to changing conditions and locales is overwhelmingly damning to the concept of a supreme creator god. The fact that genetic evidence has now come along puts the lid on the coffin of the creator god’s casket.

Evidence that invalidates religion, including all the Abrahamic religions, showing how each were manufactured by human beings in an effort to manipulate others is the dirt that is shoveled over god’s coffin.

Then why do so many “atheists” proclaim merely that “We don’t know.” It is so very clear that we do know, but are afraid to say. These “We don’t know” atheists are truly simply agnostics. As far as I am concerned agnostics are simply cowards!