This time I'm doing a 180. That is, instead of putting Christianity(my former beliefs) under the microscope, this time I will be putting my current worldview, atheism, under the microscope. I intend to discuss where atheism is lacking, in my view. Why? For a few reasons: One, so that my theist readership (and/or critics) can see that I didn't discard Christianity and replace it with atheism for purely emotional reasons..e.g...."Oh, because I like atheism better!"
So, let's start here: As an atheist, I know that many times during my lifetime I am going to get the type of phone call that we all dread, and that is the phone call where someone is letting me know that someone I know has died. None of the relationships I have with the people I love are going to go on forever; those relationships are all going to end, most of them abruptly. As an atheist, I do not(and cannot) believe in a mind/body dualism. Or more simply put, I do not(and cannot) believe that our "personalities" survive the death of our physical bodies. And for every piece of reasoning that my spiritual, god-believing friends (or critics) offer in support of an afterlife, I can offer a dozen reasons why what they believe doesn't make sense. In fact, I contend that the concept of a mind/body duality is so nonsensical that it's highly, highly improbable if not impossible, and therefore, that it doesn't merit my belief nor anymore of my time wishing it were true. And trust me, I spent a lot of my time wishing it were true.
That said, let me tell you that being aware of this cold, hard reality sucks, and nothing...nothing makes up for it, in my view. Yes, I can(and do) focus on the time we have in this one life, and yes, the time that we have right now is precious precisely because it is limited. And, yes, of course when I am dead too, it won't matter or affect me then. But truth be told, it affects me now, and the above-mentioned things don't buffer, or at least, they don't buffer enough, the disturbing and inevitable reality that there will come a time when I will never see the ones I love/care about ever again. IOW, the above atheist principles, in my view, don't completely make up for the comfort that Christianity once provided on the subject of death.
Here's another: Unless I have an accomplice, then I, and I alone, am responsible if I wrong someone. If I wrong someone, I need that person to forgive me. Of course, forgiveness has to be available, and let's face it, we know that it is not always is available, because some people are already so wounded from within that they can only think retaliation and hatred for the offender. But in any case, the idea that some third party can come waltzing into the situation and blurt out " you're forgiven!", is a bad idea, and it doesn't do jack' for the person I offended. And worse, a completely innocent third party taking my punishment for me is nothing less than scapegoating. In having a scapegoat, I have essentially dodged responsibility. But that is for another discussion.
So, while it would be convenient to, when/if I wrong someone, blame a "Devil" and then pile my guilt onto the back of an innocent man who claims that he loves and forgives me, I must put what is actually right over what is more convenient and what makes me feel better.
Here's another: being unpopular and not fitting in, Vs being popular and fitting in nicely with the majority. Atheists are very unpopular with most believers, despite being one of the fastest growing (non)religious groups. Coming out as an atheist takes courage. And let's face it, fitting in just feels better.
So, there you have it---those are a few ways that I firmly believe that atheism is lacking in areas when compared to what Christianity has to offer. But alas, I'm not finished yet, and if you are an atheist reading this, you might know what's coming next. Yes, I'm talking about the non-sequitur that, 9 times out of 10, goes unrecognized by the believer. What I mean is that the believer invariably takes the erroneous position that, since atheism is lacking in comparison to what they already believe - and this is even according to some atheists, themselves - then what they already believe must therefore be true by default. They are wrong when they take this position. Again, it is a non-sequitur....or in simple terms, it does not follow that since atheism doesn't provide all of the comfort and fuzzy feelings that Christianity offers, that it therefore cannot be the correct worldview. If you are a lurking Christian, I ask that you please remember that about atheism, if nothing else.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Guns: Shot Down in Flames
Okay, where to begin. Oh, hell, let's start here: Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, that felt good, but I still have more frustration to get out. What I'm seeing on Facebook, and one person's views in particular, is inducing so many *head-desk* moments that I may just have to start wearing a football helmet when I'm logged on. Serious sh*t.
So, in no particular order, I'm going to go through what I feel are some of the major problems with the arguments I'm seeing from the people on the NRA/pro-gun side, the side that this person advocates, and I'm doing this in an attempt to illustrate why their mind-set and ad campaign is unconvincing at best; a steaming pile of guano, at worst.
The other day, the above-mentioned Facebook friend, who also happens to be a real life neighbor, shared and "liked" a pro-gun internet meme that consisted of a picture of about a dozen Latinos with guns. These guys wore bandannas, had tattoos, and wielded firearms of all kinds......you know, the whole stereotypical, "gang-banger" enchilada(no pun). Well, the point of this lil' internet meme was to attack the pro-gun control position, and oddly, the anti-gun control camp "think" that this position is this: Having stricter guns laws will get criminals to turn in their weapons!!!!
First question: Did the people who propagate this utter frickin' abortion-of-logic just score some crack?!?!? Seriously, did they just hit the pipe!? You've got to be kidding me! If you are reading this and you are an anti-gun control proponent, I ask that you please let this penetrate your cranium: No sane person thinks that having gun laws (or stricter guns laws) will get criminals to turn in their weapons! That notion is absurd. But thankfully, the astute among us know what's really going on here, and that is that the pro-gunners have concocted and propagated a completely caricatured argument of their opponent's position, and they've done this so that it's easier for them to "knock down" that position, AKA, erecting a strawman(fallacy).
Next, the dishonesty of the above-mentioned people continues when they propagate another meme that goes something like this: "Guns don't kill people; people kill people!". Their thinking on this is that, since guns are, oh, just inanimate objects with no conscience of their own, then guns couldn't possibly be part of the problem. This of course is false----guns can, and do, CONTRIBUTE to the problem, since said inanimate objects are made for killing and some of them are made to kill multiple people in a short span of time.
No one needs a flippin' machine gun to defend themselves against a cat-burglar or to hunt moose.
Lastly - and perhaps the most disingenuous of all - these people (pretend that they) cannot tell the difference between the following two terms:
1) gun-control
2) gun-ban(emphasis intentional)
Oh, they know the difference, alright, but again, it's easier for them (think shootin' fish in a barrel) to attribute something that very few if any pro-gun control people are proposing, and then turn right around and shoot it down and/or object to it. Not one single person I have encountered who is pro-gun control is advocating that guns be banned . That is simply a type of diversion tactic(red herring) that the pro-gunners are using, and it stems from an irrational fear that many of them apparently hold. This paranoid, delusional fear of theirs is that the government, because said government cannot be trusted 100%, have a plan to go door-to-door to take everyone's guns away, and this order, to them, will be per our current administration and Commander in Chief.....you know, that black, African-born, "Muslim" Barack Obama? Yeah, him. I guess it never occurred to these people that if our government does this and uses military force to carry out this dark, sinister plan, that people like me will be wondering how all these good 'ol boys are thinking that they and their AKs are going to be a match for an Apache helicopter? Maybe my neighbor will chime in and elaborate on how in the hell that he and his pro-gunner ilk intend to go about this. I think it goes without saying that I will not hold my breath.
UPDATE: The person who prompted this post and who is also a real life neighbor, has, more or less, since given me no choice but to delete him as a FB friend. Out of a base-amount of respect for him, which, BTW, I give to all people, I will not go into detail as to what he did that has led to this decision, simply because he is not here to defend himself. Notice that he hasn't not chimed in and defended his "pro-gun" stance, and I suspect that he won't. But on the off-chance that he does chime in, I will pull no punches in shredding his ignorant views, with a calm, cool, and reasoned smack-down.
Okay, that felt good, but I still have more frustration to get out. What I'm seeing on Facebook, and one person's views in particular, is inducing so many *head-desk* moments that I may just have to start wearing a football helmet when I'm logged on. Serious sh*t.
So, in no particular order, I'm going to go through what I feel are some of the major problems with the arguments I'm seeing from the people on the NRA/pro-gun side, the side that this person advocates, and I'm doing this in an attempt to illustrate why their mind-set and ad campaign is unconvincing at best; a steaming pile of guano, at worst.
The other day, the above-mentioned Facebook friend, who also happens to be a real life neighbor, shared and "liked" a pro-gun internet meme that consisted of a picture of about a dozen Latinos with guns. These guys wore bandannas, had tattoos, and wielded firearms of all kinds......you know, the whole stereotypical, "gang-banger" enchilada(no pun). Well, the point of this lil' internet meme was to attack the pro-gun control position, and oddly, the anti-gun control camp "think" that this position is this: Having stricter guns laws will get criminals to turn in their weapons!!!!
First question: Did the people who propagate this utter frickin' abortion-of-logic just score some crack?!?!? Seriously, did they just hit the pipe!? You've got to be kidding me! If you are reading this and you are an anti-gun control proponent, I ask that you please let this penetrate your cranium: No sane person thinks that having gun laws (or stricter guns laws) will get criminals to turn in their weapons! That notion is absurd. But thankfully, the astute among us know what's really going on here, and that is that the pro-gunners have concocted and propagated a completely caricatured argument of their opponent's position, and they've done this so that it's easier for them to "knock down" that position, AKA, erecting a strawman(fallacy).
Next, the dishonesty of the above-mentioned people continues when they propagate another meme that goes something like this: "Guns don't kill people; people kill people!". Their thinking on this is that, since guns are, oh, just inanimate objects with no conscience of their own, then guns couldn't possibly be part of the problem. This of course is false----guns can, and do, CONTRIBUTE to the problem, since said inanimate objects are made for killing and some of them are made to kill multiple people in a short span of time.
No one needs a flippin' machine gun to defend themselves against a cat-burglar or to hunt moose.
Lastly - and perhaps the most disingenuous of all - these people (pretend that they) cannot tell the difference between the following two terms:
1) gun-control
2) gun-ban(emphasis intentional)
Oh, they know the difference, alright, but again, it's easier for them (think shootin' fish in a barrel) to attribute something that very few if any pro-gun control people are proposing, and then turn right around and shoot it down and/or object to it. Not one single person I have encountered who is pro-gun control is advocating that guns be banned . That is simply a type of diversion tactic(red herring) that the pro-gunners are using, and it stems from an irrational fear that many of them apparently hold. This paranoid, delusional fear of theirs is that the government, because said government cannot be trusted 100%, have a plan to go door-to-door to take everyone's guns away, and this order, to them, will be per our current administration and Commander in Chief.....you know, that black, African-born, "Muslim" Barack Obama? Yeah, him. I guess it never occurred to these people that if our government does this and uses military force to carry out this dark, sinister plan, that people like me will be wondering how all these good 'ol boys are thinking that they and their AKs are going to be a match for an Apache helicopter? Maybe my neighbor will chime in and elaborate on how in the hell that he and his pro-gunner ilk intend to go about this. I think it goes without saying that I will not hold my breath.
UPDATE: The person who prompted this post and who is also a real life neighbor, has, more or less, since given me no choice but to delete him as a FB friend. Out of a base-amount of respect for him, which, BTW, I give to all people, I will not go into detail as to what he did that has led to this decision, simply because he is not here to defend himself. Notice that he hasn't not chimed in and defended his "pro-gun" stance, and I suspect that he won't. But on the off-chance that he does chime in, I will pull no punches in shredding his ignorant views, with a calm, cool, and reasoned smack-down.
Monday, January 07, 2013
Bulletproof
Hi, all
Being a former believer, I have family members - both close relatives, as well as distant relatives - who are still devout Christians. And of course, individuals from both groups are on Facebook, and so, the other day I happened upon something in my news feed, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but it was something that I would've bought into back in my Christian days. It was the following parable, which is essentially an apologetic that attempts to reconcile why bad things happen to people, including devout believers, who, presumbly, are God's very own disciples. It goes like this....
Me: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise You won't get mad
God: I promise
Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do u mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay
Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Huummm
Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call
God: All right
Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that
Me (humbled): OH
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed):Okay
God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm Sorry God
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.
Me: I will trust You.
God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...
Now, if you are outside of the Christian bubble looking in, it is pretty easy to see what is happening here. Basically, the author is trying to sell us on the idea that there are good reasons why we struggle and suffer, reasons that we might not understand at the time. While the excuses that "God" proceeds to lay out above may satisfy the person in the above illustration - for instance,"God" didn't let the person's car start because there was a drunk driver enroute who would have hit him/her - the fact is that hundreds if not thousands of people still get hit by drunk drivers daily, often times maiming or even killing the victim, and this includes Christians.
If "God's Plan" is always, without fail, the ideal, "right" thing - from the most trivial setback(e.g..a stalled car) to the most despicable outcome(e.g..a person dies in a deadly DUI wreck) - then the believer is forced to believe and accept that there is a "higher" reason for whatever happens, mind you, one that they might not agree with or understand, but still, one that he or she believes is ultimately "good" and for the best. IOW, if, next week, the person in the above illustration gets in his or her car and it cranks right up, and then about halfway to work a drunk man runs a red light, T-boning the driver's side of the car and subsequently killing the driver, believers will still be feeling "blessed" and praising "God". IOW, they will view it as "God" intended it, and view it as a "win", saying things like, "God needed him/her more than we did", or, "God has called him home!"
It appears that Christian's have created a "God" who is bulletproof.. There was a time when I said and thought those same things when people died, but today I just feel sad when I hear these things.
Being a former believer, I have family members - both close relatives, as well as distant relatives - who are still devout Christians. And of course, individuals from both groups are on Facebook, and so, the other day I happened upon something in my news feed, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but it was something that I would've bought into back in my Christian days. It was the following parable, which is essentially an apologetic that attempts to reconcile why bad things happen to people, including devout believers, who, presumbly, are God's very own disciples. It goes like this....
Me: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise You won't get mad
God: I promise
Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do u mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay
Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Huummm
Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call
God: All right
Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that
Me (humbled): OH
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed):Okay
God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm Sorry God
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.
Me: I will trust You.
God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...
Now, if you are outside of the Christian bubble looking in, it is pretty easy to see what is happening here. Basically, the author is trying to sell us on the idea that there are good reasons why we struggle and suffer, reasons that we might not understand at the time. While the excuses that "God" proceeds to lay out above may satisfy the person in the above illustration - for instance,"God" didn't let the person's car start because there was a drunk driver enroute who would have hit him/her - the fact is that hundreds if not thousands of people still get hit by drunk drivers daily, often times maiming or even killing the victim, and this includes Christians.
If "God's Plan" is always, without fail, the ideal, "right" thing - from the most trivial setback(e.g..a stalled car) to the most despicable outcome(e.g..a person dies in a deadly DUI wreck) - then the believer is forced to believe and accept that there is a "higher" reason for whatever happens, mind you, one that they might not agree with or understand, but still, one that he or she believes is ultimately "good" and for the best. IOW, if, next week, the person in the above illustration gets in his or her car and it cranks right up, and then about halfway to work a drunk man runs a red light, T-boning the driver's side of the car and subsequently killing the driver, believers will still be feeling "blessed" and praising "God". IOW, they will view it as "God" intended it, and view it as a "win", saying things like, "God needed him/her more than we did", or, "God has called him home!"
It appears that Christian's have created a "God" who is bulletproof.. There was a time when I said and thought those same things when people died, but today I just feel sad when I hear these things.
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