Freethinker's corner

You Poor Man, I Hope You Get Well. October 15, 2012

2012/10/14

A simple cold lingers on for several days. Usually mild, the person afflicted can carry on, perhaps even go to work or to school. The virus involved has filled a niche and is what it is by way of natural selection. By remaining a mild plight the virus does not kill its host, permitting the carrier to still function and move among others. The sickness thereby passes by casual contact or errant sneeze. The malady soon vanishes from the original host, but the virus has passed, moved elsewhere within the population. A common cold virus survives, not by killing its host, but multiplying within the host, and thereby being passed from host to host within fluids emitted by the host.

A virus or bacterium can infect the body. A parasite can live within the body as well. But, what about the mind? The mind is a phenomenon created by the brain which is composed of a mass of neurons. So though a disease might affect the level of consciousness through the symptoms it produces, even create a delirium, it is an expected side-effect.

A computer, by the efforts of a person savvy in programming, can be infected with a computer virus. A computer virus is a program that can replicate itself and spread from computer to computer. Its effects can range from totally shutting down your computer to doing nothing at all but reside therein. Is there a virus of the mind?

An ant parasite, which causes its host’s abdomen to turn a cherry red and then impels the host to climb up upon a leaf or a blade of grass and present that cherry to a passing bird, spreads itself by affecting the ant’s behavior. The bird becomes infected and spreads the parasite via its droppings, which other ants collect and feed to their young.

The mind is not a physical thing and cannot be infected by an organic disease or parasite(The brain can be affected by disease, and can be inhabited by parasites. The presence of either can affect the behavior and thinking as a side effect) The effects of brain maladies on thought is a separate issue. Consider the brain, the organic brain, without disease or parasite, and the individual not influenced by any other physical affliction; is the mind still vulnerable to a virus not of organic construct, but constructed instead of thought?

Humans communicate through a language composed of words. A small child learning language for the first time needs repetition. Over time, the presentation of words in repetition and in relation to the objects or instances they represent, become instilled within the mind. This is programming only and is far away from being critical thought. At an early age a child can survive by learning the program. Trusting, not possessing the faculties to analyze the authenticity, the truthfulness, of the inputted information, the child is protected from harm, and unfortunately, also vulnerable to being given false information.

Childhood programming is the basis upon which the adult understanding is built. Those who would teach a doctrine would do well to start when the student is very young. Both lies and truth can be taught the child. When the child becomes adult the lies can be maintained through reinforcement.

This programming, this doctrine, remains in the mind. Even if the individual leaves the realms of the doctrine, it lies dormant within the mind, ready to resurface at some future time when a thought or word is spoken which contradicts it. Then the person, even if outwardly appearing as objecting civilly, becomes agitated and angry; the heart beat increases. This behavior is very much like a primal fight or flee, self-preservation, reaction to a threat. It is very much a reflex reaction.

Evolution is a proven fact as far as the layman is concerned. Evolution is every bit as valid as the Theory of Gravity and backed by a great deal more evidence. Yet, due to ignorance, whether willful or simple, there are those who deny the facts. The Theory of Evolution contradicts the doctrine. If one mentions the word evolution in mixed company the hibernating mental virus, instilled in youth, or reinforced in adulthood, leaps to life to defend the faith.

Ignorance is a quality treasured by those who wish to manipulate the population. If you wish to alter a country, make its inhabitants willing servants, keep them in the dark, keep them in ignorance. Doctrine that contradicts the truth, contradicts science, is a useful program. Doctrine that has no foundation, no evidence to back it up, once successfully instilled in the psyche, renders the host vulnerable, and gullible, in the face of further unfounded propaganda (psychics, ghosts, hauntings, and homeopathy).
Proof is Relative …………………….October 8, 2012

2012/10/07
Why belief? It seems that humans have a predilection towards belief. The earliest humans, observing powerful natural forces at work in their world, felt helpless. Without the understanding of such forces as lightning, earthquakes, or tsunami the primitive human could only imagine the causes behind them. Imagine they did. They didn’t have the facts, so by golly they decided to make some up. Gods have been invented by the gross to explain things like thunderstorms, volcanoes, and comets. God’s even made up the heavens, outlined in the twinkling lights seen in the night skies. Well, that was then, we have the answers to these simple questions now. Have the Gods vanished from the scene?

For the most part, they have become only stories. Some, however, yet linger. If their stories are examined critically it is clear they are of no more substance than any that have ever existed, yet these hold-overs from the bronze-age continue, passed from generation to generation like some hideous genetic disease. Their usefulness in explaining the mysteries of nature long past, they are molded, fashioned, to encompass the little that remains to be explained. No doubt if even the few mysteries that remain are answered (how life began, how the universe began) some way will be found to preserve foundationless belief. Perhaps God exists in some other plane, perhaps one of those parallel universes, they will say. Perhaps, they might conjecture, he is at the boundaries of our universe, aware of all, knowing all, and caring for those pitiful humans- on a small rock in an arm of an average Galaxy, a Galaxy among billions.

Despite these acrobatics, despite the glaringly evident silliness of this badly spun tale, they insist in its truthfulness, its plausibility. Here are some reasons that none of it is likely to be true.
- Jesus did not write anything whatsoever about his exploits. He was a carpenter, usually well off and educated in those days.
- There is no mention of Jesus outside of the Bible. There were some attempts to forge some which were soon found out and discredited.
- All of the four most beloved books were not even written by their purported authors.
- Even the earliest of these four books was written over a generation, perhaps two, after the event.
- Paul didn’t even know of Jesus’ exploits (possibly because they hadn’t been invented yet), never met him (except in a hallucinogenic vision), knew only of his death, and resurrection.
- Myths before and after the time in question depict numerous similar beings as Jesus.
- The New Testament was obviously written using the Old Testament as a template.
Of course there is much more, enough to fill a dozen large tomes, I might guess.

Over the centuries Christians have tried in vain to extinguish any evidence of the lies upon which it is based. The truth exists but is ignored by the faithful. Many have had the story pumped into their minds from hapless youth. Such indoctrination is not easily expunged. Even if a small portion of reason is ignited within their minds it may do no good if they have lived a life entrenched in the myth, making it all the more difficult now to admit they have been duped. Should they be convinced entirely that the whole of it is a fabrication, for sake of family, friends, they may well continue, at least, going through the motions.

In this time our science has advanced well beyond anything the ancients could fathom. We can see a Universe with countless stars in countless Galaxies thanks to Hubble, the space telescope. Such immensity cannot be a mirage, it certainly seems real. Yet despite this immensity there are those who would think that a God that created it all would devote its energies solely to create a human being on a tiny orb around an average star in an uninteresting arm of an average Galaxy-one among billions!

Read the Bible, from it you will find that this God is every bit the same as man. Jealous, vengeful, over-bearing, and at times full of rage, it is clear that God did not create man, man created God. Everybody should have known that as the job was shoddy from the start.
Washing That Reason Right Out of Your Head (Brain)

2012/09/30

That queasy feeling in your stomach might not be that eggroll you just ate, it could be the contamination in your eyes, or an inflammation of your brain after being exposed to an extreme level of ignorance.

Our group arrived at the Creation Museum around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 29, 2012. The “fun” started before we even entered the Museum. A young lady assisted us by taking the above picture using my Kodak Z712.

The first thing you see upon approaching the door of the Museum is the following sign…

Plainly, this sign did not welcome everyone.

Despite the lack of a clear invitation, we entered and embarked upon our tour of the facilities.

One thing that was apparent immediately is that the museum was oriented towards appealing to children. Children like animals. There were many displays featuring animals throughout the museum. From Dinosaurs to Wooly Mammoths and on to many contemporary creatures, animals were a major part of a number of exhibits.

At first I was surprised by the presentation of scientific data along with the Creationist dogma.

If you were trying to get a different viewpoint into the schools, one which is resisted by scientists, what better way than present it as simply another way to look at things.

Upon examination it was clear that actual scientific material was being presented as being only of human origin, which could not compare with the Creationist viewpoint, that of the Bible.

Many exhibits were of similar fabrication. It was an obvious attempt to legitimize creationist dogma by presenting the scientific data alongside, yet at the same time indicating, very clearly, that the creationist material was superior (Being of God, rather than lowly sinful man). The exhibits later in the tour of the museum presented the Creationist Dogma while at the same time presenting feeble reasoning as to why the scientific explanations were wrong.

There is not enough time? Obviously the writer of this narration suffers, as all humans do, from the inability to grasp the nature of large numbers. A billion is a thousand million, a million is a thousand thousand, and a lot can happen in just a thousand years.

The flavor of a number of exhibits were very much similar to the sign above, attempting to assert that science simply is wrong, and that an ancient book written by bronze age authors is correct. Many exhibits caused great discomfort for me, as my stomach turned several times.

There were some displays adorned with signs like the this:

Note how it raises doubt about legitimate scientific research and elevates, clandestinely, the level of alternative (although be it pseudo-)scientific research. This is one of the main objectives of Intelligent Design proponents, that is, to present the intelligent design concepts as alternatives, and to pressure school boards to insert it into the school curriculum. It is an attempt to present Intelligent Design as science equal to that presented in the public schools.

The lies were very prominently featured as truths, and the truths prominently featured as lies.

No Bible prophecies have been fulfilled, archeology has repeatedly refuted and debunked Bible assertions, the Dead Sea Scrolls only contain Old Testament some of which is not in the Hebrew Old Testament and only in Christian Old Testament (The scrolls are in fragments, in several languages, and on Papyrus, parchment, and other), and the authors of the Bible contradict each other in many of their scriptures.

Before we leave…

We mustn’t forget Noah, and how he saved all the creatures in that small but mighty Ark.

Look closely on the ramp, what do you see?

Wow! Dinosaurs, on the ramp, entering the Ark. They survived! Where are they today? Of course, they perished later on, leaving the many fossils we see today.

<Triceratops on its way to be saved.

People and animals being abandoned by the pure and noble Noah. What a lovely bedtime story for the kiddies!

Dinosaurs and animals depicted within the Ark.^

Towards the end the appeals to emotion continued. If God is dead…

…depravity follows…

Murder, destruction, immoral behavior, everything that a Christian might find offensive, is the result of abandoning the Bible, of course.

As our tour drew to a close, resisting a hostesses’ call to watch some sort of presentation, which we “just must see”, we proceeded to the main gift store on the floor above. There we found numerous Creationist authors’ work on display for purchase. Ken Ham’s books were prominently featured along with anyone else’s you can think of, where Creationism or Intelligent Design is concerned.

Funding for the Museum came from Answers in Genesis. The Museum opened in May 28, 2007. Its cost is said to have been $27 million. Presently another park, tentatively called Ark Encounter, is in the works.

Personal Impressions:

I sincerely hope that this museum does not win the battle for children’s minds. It is obviously geared toward children and has every bit a Sunday school atmosphere. Whereas actual truth is presented alongside the myth, it is also denigrated as being of only human origin. I am fearful about the fate of America’s future in that this type of ignorance can be presented with such an air of seriousness. That a governor of a state, even in desperation to manufacture jobs, would offer tax incentives to such an endeavor, makes me feel ashamed.
That Atheist Thumb….. October 1, 2012

2012/09/30
Atheists have been given a bad rap ever since humans’ invented Gods. There is little that the non-believer can say or do which will stop this sort of defamation.

How can atheists improve their image? Well, one thing is for sure. Atheists will not solicit approving nods by sticking their thumbs in a Christian’s eye.

Many new atheists, eager to demonstrate their viewpoints, are sometimes wont to become too aggressive. As a result, the image which many atheists are trying to improve, takes another hit. Reflexive, un-reasoned behavior is frowned upon in almost every society. Human beings in a social setting do not gain favor by honking off their neighbors.

In a public setting only the best behavior will elicit the desired results. If the atheist demonstrates that he/she is simply a human being like everyone else and behaves accordingly, then perhaps the desired result of improving one’s image will be achieved.

Atheists who form groups, incorporate, and have a mission statement, should abide by that mission statement. As a group they need to showcase what the group is all about. No group which wishes to improve the lot of its members can afford to have any of its members act in the name of the group in an inappropriate way.

As an individual acting on his/her own they are of course free to besmirch their own character to their heart’s desire. Why they would want to do that is unfathomable, but nevertheless, they do. Simply do not act in the name of the group.

Aggressiveness in a group has to be channeled in a productive manner. This is even more vital when that group is of a sort that has been demonized since ancient times. A mature approach must be engaged upon. That requires those who are in charge to exercise restraint in planning just what activities the group will become involved in.

American Atheists exercises restraint in what battles they will embark upon. They still get undeserved criticism from most corners, usually from the religious, but by exercising care they can conserve resources for those battles which are winnable. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, however, continues to get involved in numerous lawsuits, many of which they cannot win.

As an incorporated group a business-like atmosphere should be pursued and maintained. In many ways, it is required if that group is to pursue non-profit status. As a group continues to work toward non-profit status there are certain requirements they have to meet, two of them are:
- A Board of Directors must be formed with no less than three individuals, though, there can be more.
- These three are to keep the organization focused on their mission statement. They are to determine the direction of the group. Working together the group goes forward.
No one director can determine the direction the organization is to take, all directors must ensure that the organization abides by its mission statement.

No organization starts with great heaping bags of money. This necessitates that the organization choose its activities wisely. Despite desires, everything is not possible.
Wow, We Didn’t Build it, In the Correct Context

2012/09/25

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires; we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

Obama has caught a lot of flak for saying, “You didn’t build that”. In context though, which Republicans ignore, the meaning was quite different. Without a teacher, without roads, bridges, your business would be quite somewhat impossible. Business uses the Internet. A lot of work went into its fabrication. Government research, supported by taxpayer dollars, helped to create the internet. Success derives from personal initiative, but not solely because of it.

If the infrastructure, to which all of us, all of us taxpayers, contributed our part, did not exist; then business would have no way to manufacture goods (electricity), to transport goods (roads, trains), and no plumbing (water systems).

Obama was merely saying that without the support of everyone, the individual can’t build a business. So, lay off him already.
Just What Do All those isms Mean? September 24, 2012

2012/09/23

a·the·ism (th–zm)

n.

1. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.

2. The doctrine that there is no God or gods.

secularism [ˈsɛkjʊləˌrɪzəm]

n

1. (Philosophy) Philosophy a doctrine that rejects religion, esp. in ethics

2. the attitude that religion should have no place in civil affairs

3. the state of being secular

secular humanism

n.

1. An outlook or philosophy that advocates human rather than religious values.

2. Secularism.

secular humanist adj. & n

There are more –isms, like Pantheism, Agnosticism, even materialism, but those three above are the major non-religious –isms, in my opinion, in the world today.

Despite these definitions, people in general have different views about atheism. My own definition is slightly different than the two given above. Disbelief and denial are simply not strong enough. Disbelief and denial would actually be the definitions given to non-believers by believers. To disbelieve in something leaves room for the existence of that something. Denial implies that it exists but that the atheist does not accept its existence. Atheist, in my view, is someone who asserts that God does not exist. I assert that none of the Gods humankind has invented, exist. This of course leaves some unknown entity, somewhere in the Galaxy, that might possess attributes beyond what we possess, the possibility of existence. Atheism: the assertion that there are no gods.

As far as doctrine, pertaining to the second definition, what doctrine? Atheism has never had doctrine, as it is not a religion. Why would the religious be so adamant that atheism is a religion? If atheism can be labeled a belief, a religion, then it helps to legitimize their religion. If atheism is a worldview, as a religion is a worldview, religion is put on equal footing. Equal footing? Is that even appropriate here?

Secular is sometimes looked upon as atheistic, when, in its truest sense, it denotes more of a neutral stance. The United States Constitution is a secular document. It neither promotes nor opposes any belief system.

There are religious humanists who practice religious ritual minus the belief. I think there are some Jewish believers of this sort, and I imagine there might be a number of Catholics as well. There are many reports of Pastors in the pulpit who have lost their faith and simply go through the motions. Perhaps they are all religious humanists?

Secular humanism is pro-humanity. Yet, though secular in name, most secular humanists are simultaneously atheists. This is not a neutral stance. Perhaps they would be better named atheist humanists. Perhaps the name Secular Humanists has caused many a religious individual, upon hearing someone say that the Constitution is secular, to think it atheist. Next we will have to call it neutral secular, even though secular is already neutral, in my viewpoint.

Secular Humanism has adopted doctrine and the label of religion. While I personally agree with most, of what they have to say, I do not call my self humanist, though in fact I am pro-humanity. Each and every atheist is different. Each atheist has different ideas as to what is moral, or immoral, what is right, and what is wrong. Most atheists also think that no one should tell someone else how to live their lives.
Peaceful? The Heck They Are!

2012/09/17
Islam claims to be a religion of peace. As we can see from the reaction of its followers to a movie critical of Islam, made in the U.S., peace has very little if anything to do with Islam.

Both Islam and Christianity, as many have come to realize, have always been and continue to be, a plague upon humankind. The resources usurped by these mega-religions could be more appropriately used to provide housing and food for the downtrodden. As far as religion is concerned, however, that would be counter-productive. The poor down-trodden and suffering masses just also happen to be the greatest source of new adherents to these two immoral banes of humanity.

Why is Islam aggressively violent? Whenever an authoritative philosophy comes into power, it exercises that power to enforce its dictates on everyone, not just its members. As their numbers increase, influence increases, as do attempts to force all others around them to conform to how the religion outlines people should live.

Christianity is no different. In the United States there are still some states that preclude atheists from holding public office. There are six states that have articles in their Constitutions which prevent atheists from holding office.
- Arkansas
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
These states have a highly religious population of the Christian persuasion, as well as office holders of the same ilk.

Everyone has heard some of the more prominent preachers of the Christian faith make demands that Atheists be arrested, killed, or deported. They are not joking. It doesn’t matter how much the rational think that these people are living a delusion, this delusion is dangerous and can spur them into taking real action. All they need is enough of their numbers in office. The Constitution will not be enough to protect anyone from their religious fervor as they will rewrite it, or reinterpret it to their liking as the school board in Texas is doing with textbooks. It may be that within the next few years we will have to endure an authoritarian Christian regime.
Just Plain Stupid

2012/09/13
Religious fundamentalists resist secular educational systems like the public schools and the colleges and universities with good reason. Such seats of higher learning are anathema to the religious dogma that they prefer be instilled within their children. If their children were actually taught how to think as well as learn that there are a myriad of alternate belief systems in the world, they fear, the little ones might reject the dogma for what it is, superstitious myth.

After much reading and consideration I have come to the conclusion that there are at least three types among the religious. First, the willfully ignorant, who have been exposed to the truth of science, understood it yet have rejected it in favor of myth. Secondly, the truly ignorant, blissfully so, happily so. Thirdly, the plain stupid who are unable to see the absurdities of religion and are unable to grasp the science should they encounter it.

Of the fundamentalists all three types reject evolution, insisting it is just a theory. Using a layman’s understanding of the word theory, they assert that the theory of evolution is a guess. In the view of scientists, however, the word theory means something more substantial, more solid. In the case of evolution the strength of observational, fossil, as well as genetic evidence is such, that in truth evolution is fact. The willfully ignorant, the first type above, able to understand it, still reject it, even though in every other aspect of their lives they are capable of using both logic and reason. They fail to use logic and reason only in the area of faith. The second type above doesn’t even care to learn about evolution, and are content to remain ignorant. The third type, the plain stupid, are simply that.

Also willfully or ignorantly disregarded and resisted are some other facts.
- The age of the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, not six to ten thousand. (Evidence overwhelming)
- Dinosaurs never walked the Earth at the same time as humans. (Geological layers say they died out about 65 million years before humans.)
- The ark was way too small as described.
- much, much more
Fundamentalists hate science because it threatens to destroy their beliefs. Beliefs so tightly held that all of reality is insufficient to cause any of the faithful to so much as consider they might be wrong.
Modern Christianity’s Newest Attempt to Separate Itself From It’s Bloody Past

2012/08/30

Christianity’s culpability in many wars and atrocities is well documented. From the Crusades to witch hunts and from its utilization in the motivation of a peoples toward war, Christianity’s involvement is unquestionable. Yet, in the face of this evidence there are those today who wish to excuse Christianity, to disavow its involvement.

Religion has been said to be the opiate of the masses. Religion, used to create illusory hope and happiness, with the promise of better things in an afterlife. This promise, of course, is conditional upon the individual’s acceptance and obedience to the doctrines of the faith.

The outrageous tenets of Christianity require a great deal of abandonment from the natural tendency of the human mind for reason, common sense, and logical thinking. In the wake of such mental manipulation, a high degree of gullibility is created. This is the pathway used by many tyrants, dictators, and others to enable the influencing of the masses in a direction they would not otherwise be inclined to travel. By appealing to the faiths held by the people, those so inclined, can persuade them to support goals which lead to detrimental and disastrous consequences. Persecution of minorities, bloodshed, even wars have resulted from such twisted guidance.

Despite all this, there is a new attempt, or is it simply a repetition of an old attempt, to provide an out for the religion of Christianity.

It is true that wars have been fought for the enrichment of those who would wage them. There is no question about this. Yet, the masses require prompting for such causes, for many are of moral nature, simply seeking the means to survive and live their lives, rather than interfere with the lives of others. The common human communities concerns are improving their lives peacefully, providing an environment where they can prosper, grow their families. Stealing and cheating have become moral wrongs through the many ages of humans who have lived in social groups. Religion is a pathway through which the masses can be brought by which this moral underpinning can be overcome. The Bible is full of such examples throughout the Old Testament.

Adolf Hitler, despite objections, professed to be a Christian. Through propaganda he was able to persuade the German people that all other races were inferior, and that God was behind them. Other races were seen as less than human, inferior in mental and physical attributes. Though many of the German people resisted this, the vocal majority accepted it, at least enough to establish it.

The “out” proposed is this: It was all about wealth, the acquisition of land, and from the top clear to the bottom, everyone was aware of this. Religion, it has been proposed, was just an excuse.

Mere greed? This really is an insult to all humanity, to reduce human morality to such a base level. World war II aside, it would take more than greed to persuade the masses to abandon primary social mores. People have to be convinced that they have the moral high ground, that what they are being exhorted to do is just and right. Religion provides the avenue for just such a scenario. By utilizing a population’s already devout belief, convincing them their deity is behind the effort, many a peaceful people have been brought to war, conflict, and destruction.

In most cases, I think, the top rungs of leadership are fully aware that the conflicts being promoted are totally about wealth, resources, and land acquisition. Many in the ranks of the population, usually dissenters, may be aware also. Most have no clue and are persuaded through the appeal to their already strong faiths. Ignorance is no crime, and as intelligent as they may be, it is through the ignorance instilled by religious indoctrination they are rendered malleable to such influence. If you can be persuaded that a man walked on water, a man was able to part the Red Sea, or that a man was able to survive several days within the confines of a fish, then what is it to be made to believe that the man next door is devious, inferior, and should be exterminated.

The misdeeds of religion through the centuries is well documented despite efforts to discourage its recording. Enough remains to condemn religion, perhaps even enough to provide a guilty verdict for God, if he existed. At least where I am concerned, I have seen enough to make the decision, that religion, especially the Christian religion, deserves no pardon for its moral crimes against humanity.

“Without religion, what is a tyrant to do? (wringing hands feverishly)

Of course there have been tyrants who used other means, other propaganda, to manipulate the masses. Their numbers pale in comparison to those who use faith as a means. In every case, however, an appeal to their vanity, their superiority, the rightness of their cause, is used to influence the people. Religion simply makes it easier.

If any nation is to undertake such activities as war let it be for the right reasons, let it be debated endlessly as to the moral rightness or wrongness of the cause. Perhaps before the debate ends, the reasons for the conflict will evaporate, or a peaceful means will be found. There are more pressing issues for humanity, and always, always, better means to solve them than war.
Biblical Morality: Inspired Word of God says so….

2012/08/20

“God is the source of all that is Good.” That’s what he said, honest. Then again, doesn’t the same God claim to be the source of everything, nothing having existed before he said… “LET THERE…..” One can derive from this proclamation that whereas all good has it’s origins in God, so does all bad.

The other day I came upon an interesting question. The question was “If Satan died, would God create another?” My immediate respond was “probably”. Without the bad, the good would not look so good. The contrast is very important. Coffee is a bitter drink, chocolate is sweet. When these two come together, the senses can be overwhelmed. How could you know what is good, if never having experienced bad? How could God rescue you, God reasoned, if no one was chasing you?

Morality was a necessity of evolution. It developed as a result of the human need for forming in groups. Groups were important for survival, morality was important for peaceful co-existence. Morality developed eons before humankind fabricated it’s first God. Religion, God-belief, co-opted the concept of morality, it did not invent it. Prove this? Prove God exists, then I will attempt it. It is simply common sense reasoning for which there are examples in primitive tribes of humans.

The good Christian, Christian defined as those who believe the Bible the inspired word of God, Jesus as God become man, …these good Christians who believe that morality is within the pages of the book claimed as the word of God, simply hasn’t read the Bible, or has decided that it contains cherries, which when picked stand alone without regard to whatever else is therein.

One of the prime mistakes of religion, specifically the Biblical religion, was making available the tree of knowledge via Satan. This event makes Satan seem nearly a benefactor to humanity. “The knowledge was of Good and Evil”, the not too bright Christian might admonish. Actually such knowledge is very important and even now protects human beings by diminishing their gullibility. (Except, of course, in the case of those hapless Christians)

The claim that “all good comes from God” is an arrogant one. This is a symptom of the Christian doctrine’s inherent arrogance. Those who dwell within the delusion cannot see it, but instead see it merely as God’s divine pronouncement. They view it as a ‘quality’ of their deity. Those looking from without the delusion can see it clearly for what it is…it is a claim of superior morality, the old “I am better than thou” syndrome. This has garnered the Christian delusion the disgust it justly deserves in many circles. The religion, as successful has it has been, might have been more so, had it not insisted in putting it’s dirty laundry on display, and it certainly is a type of dirty linen.

Turn your reason on, use your brain’s power to analyze, and go back and read that Bible. See the horrors for yourself, bronze age concepts of morality simply do not stand up today. Even Jesus said some really fascinating things, you will find, if examined with your mind in drive, rather than in neutral.