Jerry Falwell/I will be gone

So Jerry Falwell is dead. Can’t say I am too upset about this one. Why? Well, read a few things the man said.

I will be gone for the next 11 days. I am off to Texas for 6 days, I am sure I will come back with some interesting stories. Then off to Flint/Detroit for the rest.

PEACE!

-GRAtheist-

A Few Misconceptions About Atheists.

There are several misconceptions that many believers have about Atheists. Some of them are listed below.

1: Atheists are looking for god

2: Atheists know there is a god, but deny god anyway.

3: Atheists “hope” there is no god.

4: Atheists love living a sinful life, so they deny god.

If a person who claims Atheism and also fits any of the scenarios mentioned above, then they are not an Atheist. I will go over each misconception one by one.

1: Atheists are looking for god
-This would describe an agnostic or a seeker if anything. Atheists are not searching for a god. We are pretty adamant that there is no god. I have looked at the arguments for god, the philosophies, religious texts, etc… and I have found no god. No proof of a god. Because of those reasons I believe that there is no god. I am looking for truth and information of how the world works. If that somehow (even though I believe it won’t) produces evidence for a god, I will study the evidence fairly and objectively and then make a fair conclusion based on the evidence presented.

2: Atheists know there is a god, but deny god anyway.
-No. Atheists believe there is no god. The end. We deny the existence of god because there is no evidence for god. It is not as if we are denying the evidence for god, there is no evidence. Someone who knows there is a god and denies him anyway is not an Atheist, that person would believe in god, even if they do not follow that god.

3: Atheists “hope” there is no god.
-Atheists do not hope there is no god. That sort of dovetails into Pascal’s Wager. As in, Atheists do not think there could be a god, but hope there isn’t so that we are right. Once again, we simply believe there is no god. I can tell you that I personally dont hope either way. I do not believe in god because A) it is highly improbably and B) there is no evidence. I do not hope anything about god either way, I do not need to hope things about something that does not exist.

4: Atheists love living a sinful life, so they deny god.
-Once again, anyone who thinks this is not an Atheist. This person would believe in god.

More Comments: Looking for god.

 

 

I like to answer the comments left by readers in a more public way. This is to allow everyone to read them and come up with their own opinions and get involved in the discussion. This post’s comments come from a reader who goes by the name “danmondy”

Don’t fall for anything but what if you encounter a real God?

The “don’t fall for anything” line is good sound advice. I do not intend to. I have stated before that I need to see some sort of evidence. But the second part of this, the “encountering a real god” part needs some discussion.

We need to define “encounter”. If we mean encounter as in the dictionary definition like this: “to come upon or meet with, esp. unexpectedly”, then I believe that will never happen. I do not believe anyone has encountered a “real god” in that sense. No one has been able to actually prove it. But, for the sake of argument lets supposed I did run into a real god. What kind of god are we talking about? I will suppose you mean the Christian god. If I actually encountered the Christian god, and it was demonstrated that it was in fact said god, I still would not worship it. I would believe it existed, but it would need to do a lot of explaining before I could worship.

But when I say have faith, I mean pursue expecting.

The problem I have with this is that when people are expecting a certain outcome, they tend to see things in that light and bend any small amount of “evidence” to fit the outcome they wish to have. It is a flawed way to search for a god. And once again terms are changing. Faith is more or less defined this way: “belief that is not based on proof”.

It takes faith to look, but God does not want you to believe without finding. God says in the bible “taste and see that I am good.” Those are scientific words. Taste… See…

This is really flawed because it uses god and the bible as direction for searching for god. Taste and see are not scientific words. Tasting is essentially to “perceive or distinguish the flavor of”. Some people can taste some things, other people can not. While largely uniform, it is not scientific and a lot is subjective. See is also subjective. Some people see things that are not even there, some people can not see at all, some people can see colors, some people are color blind. Some people see things differently than others, their interpretations are different. Not very scientific.

What I am really trying to say is why not look for God? He wants to reveal himself to you.

If he has this desire to reveal himself to me then why do I have to look? that is contradictory in nature. Furthermore if he has this desire to reveal himself then he would be easily seen, tested, and affirmed as god. He has not done that at. This justifies not believing in this god.

-GRAtheist-

What is the Atheist Stance on Evolution?

People ask this all the time. Or they just assume that because someone is an Atheist that they have to or automatically accept evolution.

There is no official Atheist position on evolution.  Remember, Atheism is only a disbelief in god (s). There is no doctrine, there are no set of rules, nothing.  You can believe that space aliens populated the earth, you can believe that life just appeared 2 seconds ago, you can believe all those things and still be an Atheist.

However, it is true that most Atheists accept evolution as the most correct way to describe how we got here. This is because Atheists are not held to strict dogmas that rule out scientific discoveries and theories.

-GRAtheist-

Dawkins profile by Behe

This one has Dawkins fans, atheist, and freethinkers irritated a little, because it is craziness! It is good that Time included Dawkins on this list, he deserves it. What he does not deserve is for Michael Behe to write the blurb about him.

read the article here 

-GRAtheist-

khollete where you at???

I am not calling you out, but I am wondering where you went. You asked many questions, I answered them and I am now patiently awaiting your response.

I knew it would be easy to win the arguments, just didnt think it was going to be this easy.

-GRAtheist-

National Day of Reason

Today is the National day of Reason. I should have been hyping this up for a couple days now, but I have been sort of preoccupied.

http://www.nationaldayofreason.org/

-GRAtheist-

Questions, Questions, Questions.

I get a lot of questions on this site. A lot of them come in the email, but thankfully some are on this site. I must thank one wonderful individual for really taking an interest in the site. Most of these questions come from her, but are really representative of the types of questions I get in my daily life, on this site, and in email.

ON THE TOPIC OF SCIENCE AND EVOLUTION

so what is your belief..do you believe that you came from an APE?

No. I in fact know that I came from my parents. However, I believe this question is asking if I accept evolution as a true model for describing the path to humanity as it is now. To which I answer this; Evolution is true. It is the best and most reliable way to describe the way we came to be as we now are. It is the only model that is based on evidence, and proof.
“Have you ever observed evolution with your own two eyes?? As you have said “no one believes anything until proof is provided or demonstrated” so how could you accept evolution?”

No. I have never seen evolution happen with my own 2 eyes in real time. However, from the fossil record, and the fact that viruses constantly evolve, i understand, and see the evidence for evolution. For more information on this topic one can always read anything by Darwin, Howells, or even go visit museums. Also this website offers many insights.

http://www.talkorigins.org/

many people reply with something like this;

But how can u believe them (Scientists)? You believe them because you have faith in them…

No. I don’t believe them on faith. I believe the scientific researchers, and academics because I have good reason to believe that they are correct. For these reasons;

1: Process of education. Scientists have to go through and education process, most of the time all the way up through PhD levels. This process of education has been tested and shown to produce many intelligent individuals who have been able to properly research, and study many questions of the world. This process of education is undeniably the best method we have for learning.

2: Their methods are testable. Their methods, and findings are readily available for many people to read, and even duplicate.

3: There is an outcome. When it was determined that viruses evolve in order to stay alive in the face of antibiotics, researchers observed this, tested it, and released findings. At a time when people were now being effected by viruses that were no longer responding to the previous antibodies, the scientific community offered an explanation, complete with testable methods to describe and analyze what was happening. They also offered a new solution based on these methods. And the solution worked. This was not a fluke, and not based on faith. Problem, research, testing, outcome.

4: Peer Review and academic processes. When methods are released, outcomes given, and papers written, they go through a lengthy process of review and even retesting before being released. This is to ensure that the proper information was obtained, and the findings are actually a result of the scientific method.

So to sum up, its not faith. I have good reason to believe that these particular people and institutions are releasing good information. The good reason is past experience and discovery. Now, if some dude has a box on the side of the street and said he “had some science” and proceeded to show how he could disprove Einsteins theory of relativity, naturally I would ask for credentials, past works, affiliations, where his funding comes from, etc… I would not just believe him.

On knowing things.

Here is a question that I got that I am not sure what to do with. And as much as I appreciate the comments and questions, this is sort of base level philosophy. But perhaps this is where we need to start.

If i will be asking you if you have a brain…definitely you will argue with me that you have a brain..but i can’t see your brain either because it is hidden beneath your skull..am i right..unless you gave me your brain i will believe the fact that you have a brain…

Lets dive right in. Have I seen my brain? actually yes. Thanks to modern science I have had to have 2 MRI’s, which looked something like this;

but lets say I never had that. How can I prove to you I have a brain without removing it? Well very simple. Science has shown us that a brain is necessary for motor function, thinking, walking, seeing (need I go on?). There have been literally millions of autopsies, surgeries, MRI’s etc… that prove the existence of a brain. Through this scientific method, and observation, we now understand that a brain is necessary to be alive and function. So, if I am alive and functioning, we know that I must have a brain. We do not need to look at it to prove that it is there, the outward indicators are proof of the brain. This model has been tested, and retested, and observed. This is how we know it to be true.

 

On Why I don’t Believe in God

I get these questions the most.

i do wonder why you don’t believe in God?
Is there something bad experience happened to you?
Did you once believe in God?

or

Why do you hate god?

Why are you mad at god?

What did god do to you?

Well. I don’t hate god, I am not mad at god, nothing happened to me, god didn’t do anything to me, and furthermore, I never believed in god. I can not be mad at, hate, or have something happen to me by something in which does not exist. I do not believe simply because there is no good, justifiable reason for someone to believe in god. God can not be demonstrated. God can not be tested. There is no proof that god exists.

That is why I don’t believe

and yet another question;

Arent you worried about the afterlife?

Very Easy to answer. No. There is no afterlife, so I do not worry about it.

I welcome more questions

-GRAtheist-

Oh Utah Republican!

READ THE ARTICLE HERE!

So apparently Satan is creating the New World order by allowing illegals in the country from Mexico. Good thing we have politicians in the US that will stand up to Satan by “submitted a formal resolution to oppose the devil’s plan to destroy the country”.

This makes me so mad, this is what politicians do with their time? And how do people like this get elected?

Don’t you have to demonstrate that something is actually happening before you submit formal resolutions against it? Yes, there are illegals coming over from Mexico. Is it because of satan? or very real reasons such as jobs, education, and the promise of a better life?

No. I bet it is Satan. That is the way more sane explanation.

This is how I define god.

I was speaking with my boss about the existence of god. She is usually a very logical and rational person. She is also well educated with a degree in the sciences. But then she said something that is not rational. She said “I know there is a god”.

Naturally I asked her for proof of how she knows this to be a fact. To which she responded, “I dont have any proof, I just know it.” This is a completely ridiculous statement.  But I let that slide after she described god for me.

“God cant do anything to change or influence events here on Earth. He planned out your life as it was going to be and can not do anything to change it.”

This is really a ridiculous statement. She has created an imaginary god that is useless and ineffective for todays world. This also does away with any concept of free will completely.

So what is the point of worshiping and deferring to this “god”? How is it helpful?

It also seems to me that if there was indeed a true and right god that takes an interest in the lives of humans here on Earth it would be undeniable and would only allow for one definition.

But what scares me above anything, of course, is that people are willing to believe things without evidence. Especially people who are supposed to be rational and logical. And it scares me that people see no fault with believing without evidence.

-GRAtheist-