RELIGION -V- SCIENCE

What exactly was it that brought you to this page of this blog?
A bit of curiousity maybe ... but the instrument that brought you here was a computer of some kind.
And the computer is powered by electricity.
And you may be sitting on a chair, at a desk.
You may even have a light on - powered by electricity.
You probably have a phone.
You probably own books.
You may own a car.
Or a bicycle.

Now ... unless you're a hermit living in a cave, you use science.
Don't you dare tell me that science gets things wrong while you continue to benefit from and use all that scientifically-discovered technology!


And don't tell me that your religion is flawless because other posts on this page show how deeply flawed it is.



Science flies us to the moon.
Religion flies planes into buildings.

ATHEISTS SERVE SATAN

This is one of the silliest things believers say.

And that's saying a lot because they do say rather a lot of silly things.

God is supposed to have created Satan [who, we're told, was one of the goodies before he 'fell' and became a baddie].

So if I don't believe god exists, how could I possibly believe Satan exists?

And if I don't believe Satan exists it's impossible for me to 'serve' him.

Got it?

Good.

Goodbye.

Haven't got it?

I don't care.

Your problem.

Goodbye.

PERFECT BEING. PERFECT KNOWLEDGE.

So, let me see if I've got this right:

Your god is a perfect being. He must be because he couldn't possible be worthy of being called god if he (or she) wasn't.


A perfect being cannot have imperfect knowledge.

Perfect knowledge means knowing everything that has happened, is happening now, and will happen in the future.

It thus means knowing who will be born and what the whole of their life will be like, including whether or not they will accept
(a) the existence of god
(b) the sacrifice of god's son for the redemption of their sins

So it's inevitable - given god's perfect knowledge - that millions of humans will be destined for eternal damnation BEFORE the moment of their conception because
(a) they were born in a country where the culture subscribes to the existence of a different (wrong) god
(b) they were born in a country that has a difference (wrong) religion
(c) they were intellectually disabled and could not understand the concept of god
(d) they were died before jesus was born and so never knew they were supposed to accept him as their saviour
(e) they want hard evidence before believing
or any other circumstances beyond their control.

That sounds like a pretty crap system to me.


 

GOD IS REAL!

Anyone who wants to be taken seriously in their claim that their god is real must be prepared to provide evidence to support their claim.

If I say that I believe in 'Russell's Teapot" - a teapot said to be orbiting the Sun somewhere in space between the Earth and Mars [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_teapot  - the burden of proof lies with me. I must provide evidence for the existence of this (very unlikely) object. If I can't, you are entitled to suspect I am deluded in my belief.

he same applies to those who claim any god exists. The burden is proof is with you and not with the people who have doubts about your claim.

Citing any book, including the bible, without any further evidence is insufficient evidence.

The argument that 

(a) god must exist because the bible says so and
(b) the bible must be accurate and true because it is god's word

is both weak and indefensible.

If I write a book that says that a colony of pink unicorns exists in the centre of Australia's Simpson Desert and I want people to believe me, I'd better have more proof than just my book and better evidence of my infallibility on the subject than merely claiming that I don't tell lies and I don't make mistakes.

The bible is demonstrably full of contradictions, scientific and historical errors. I'm not going to spoonfeed you by pointing you to websites that demonstrate this, EXCEPT for his one (because it's based on fact and it's fun): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB3g6mXLEKk

 

GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BODY!

I'm tired of hearing christians complaining about restrictions being put on their activities -- like not being able to put christmas trees or nativity scenes in public places.

Yet some of these same whingers seem to think it's perfectly acceptable for them to force their mean and loveless view of morality on the rest of us, right down to passing laws that tell us what we can and can't do with our own bodies.

Look, if you don't believe in abortion, don't have one.

And if you don't support gay marriage, don't marry someone of your gender.

Just because I go on a diet, doesn't mean I can force you to give up chocolate too.

Stop trying to control the rest of us.

We have a perfectly good set of standards and morals of our own, thank you, whether you approve of them or not.

You might be very nice people and manage your own lives perfectly well that doesn't give you the right to control mine.

WIND UP THE ATHEISTS AND WATCH THEM GO!

Well, that's your prerogative.

But don't get all whiney and whingy if we do it back to you.

Try to remember some atheists are just as good at the 'wind up' as you are.

Try to remember that some of them can use irony, sarcasm and trolling right along with you.

Try not to become pompous and lose all sense of perspective.

Don't stir the ants' nest if you don't want to get bitten.

Don't cry 'foul' if they bring in the Twitter Troops.

If you're going to get into the game, don't complain if they draw blood.

Metaphorically, speaking, of course.

SO THE NAUGHTY ATHEISTS POUNCED ON YOU?

So the naughty atheists pounced on you after you posted on Twitter?

Well ... just on a serious point, for a moment ...
 

Try to remember that, historically, many atheists have been tortured and put to death merely for not believing what their torturers and murderers insisted they must believe.

That’s horrendous.

If you think atheists over-react a little to what 'believers' say about them you might want to bear that history in mind.

Now ...

You may not care very much if others say untrue, ignorant, violent, mischievous or just plain silly things about you.

Fair enough.

But if, like me, you care about truth and fairness, you may want to put the record straight.

That's all that's happening here.

Don’t complain if atheists respond after you’ve been dumb or a smart arse or you’ve deliberately wound us up.

Apparently you reap what you sow.

Isn’t that what you keep trying to tell us?

Cope with it.

I FEEL SO BAD FOR ATHEISTS!

Well stop it right now.

It's pointless.

You don't feel bad for yourself, do you? 

You ARE an atheist after all!

Yes you are.

The word atheist merely means someone who doesn't believe in the existence of a god.

Humans have invented thousands of gods and godesses including Mithras, Zeus, Poseidon, Nerthus, Cybele (The Magna Mater or Great Mother).

If there's even one of these gods and godesses that you don't believe in, then you're an atheist.

It hasn't made your life sad or bad, has it?

Being an atheist hasn't made you evil or a Satan-worshipper?

But if you must insist on the definition of an atheist as someone who doesn't believe in your god, then that's me.

I can't speak for all atheists but I do have a happy, fulfilling life.

My life has meaning because I have a mind that can contemplate my place in an incredible universe that is so much more wondrous than religion has imagined it to be.

My life has meaning because I love and am loved.

My life is enriched by knowledge and science.

I don't fear hell because hell doesn't exist.

I'm not good because I think that'll get me to heaven: I’m better than that because I try to be good without the promise of a heavenly reward.

I don't need some very old writings to tell me what's right and wrong: humans' long experience of living together in communities has taught us what behaviour produces a more peaceful, satisfying existence.

I certainly don’t miss the thought that there's someone watching everything I do.

Or that there’s someone who'll judge me by very harsh standards and watch me burn in hell if I make the wrong choices.

I don't miss all the bible stories that don't make sense and that contradict each other (and there are plenty of those).

I don't miss St. Paul telling me I'm a second class citizen because I'm a woman.

I don't miss worrying whether I'll be damned because I've chosen the wrong religion.

I was born atheist and so were you. 

Neither you nor I came out of our mothers' womb with a belief in any gods.

And I don't know about you but I was born just fine the first time, thank you.