Condemning Bullshit. Again.
I am tired of this piece of shit going around (see image below).
While I agree that ISIS isn’t representative of the Muslim population, it is still necessary to condemn a religion that preaches death, violence, and intolerance. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. When you have over 300 verses in your holy book that condemn heretics, other faiths, and nonbelievers, you are not a tolerant peaceful religion (and I can feel a vein twitching as I write this). Arabic people can be peaceful, but the Muslim religion isn’t. However, even a moderate Muslim will know his Qu’ran better than any moderate Christian knows his Bible. And that isn’t a coincidence. Children are indoctrinated from a a young age. They are taught what to think, but not how to think They are taught that these infidels must either convert or die.
To compare Christianity or Judaism is fallacious, and a non sequitur. Neither religions have led a mass crusade or jihad for a long time. Their weapons, for the most part, have long since been lain down. Christianity has lost its bloodthirstiness not too long ago. Judaism was castrated when the Roman Empire took the scene. But Islam has hold of hat bone, and it’s not letting go. It will refuse to back down. It would grab hold of the world, and force it to follow sharia law, had the world given it the opportunity. While I disagree with Christians, I will readily side with them to face down the threat of Islam.
To say that ISIS isn’t Islamic is just pure ignorance, and being overly lenient to what is supposedly held sacred. To them, murder and jihad is sacred. Would you let them walk over you? Would you let them hold their knives to your throat as you begged them for your life? Do not respect this religion. It deserves no respect. It lost its right to be heard when the blood of babes painted their blades, when the viscera of mere children were torn from them by ISIS firearms. They lost their right to be heard as a peaceful religion when they destroyed the lives of innocent men, women, and children.
ISIS and other terrorist groups like it are nothing more than gangs and thugs with a religious conviction, holding innocent people hostage until they get what they want. They take pride and pleasure in the murder of innocents. They rape, torture, and butcher helpless people: the young, the old, the newborn. This is glorious to them. Allah will reward them for this. And with those acts, they have put lie to everything members of their faith have said about Islam being a religion of peace. They have lost the right to tell anyone what is right, and what is wicked. They won’t be halted by borders or reason. They come to vanquish and to subjugate.
They are nothing more than gangs and thugs, with access to 21st century weapons, and a 12th century mindset. Any religion this harmful to modern civilization is beyond defense. They have shown the fangs behind their smiles.
Those over in the Middle East have lost much since this kind of terrorism began. Those at knifepoint and gunpoint forfeited their lives. Those at the hilt or the grip of the pistol forfeited their humanity and their right to be heard, much less believed. Men with the blood of innocents on their hands have no ethics.
Do not respect this religion. It is harmful to those within and those without. Fight them with all your ability, whether you’re simply a blogger like me, or a soldier on the field. Make sure that news of their atrocities reach as wide as possible, to make sure that their ideas will not gain a foothold in a free land, like the United Kingdom.
Do not bow down to anyone. You are your own person. You do not bow to any god, least of all that would force you to kill a fellow human being.
Bullshit.
Christian Forgiveness
I just saw a really interesting comment on Facebook. I wish I could link it, but because it’s Facebook I can’t. But the comment is this: “God forgives, so we’re supposed to forgive.” To put it in context, it was a “‘hate the sin, love the sinner” sort of situation, specifically on abortion. I know the poster means well, but to me as an outsider, it implies some things: 1) that you can’t forgive for the sake of forgiveness, and 2) if god hadn’t forgiven, you would be under no obligation to forgive.
As I’ve said, I’m sure the commenter means well, but I’m sure my fellow atheists have faced similar comments as this. I can’t tell if it’s a sad indictment on our society today when we can’t forgive anyone unless god happens to forgive them first, or if it just shows how weak our moral character is as a societal whole. Why can’t we simply forgive for the sake of forgiveness? Or for the sake of preserving our relationships with each other? Doesn’t it mean more that way? Doesn’t it mean more to say,”I still love you, even with all the mistakes you’ve made” rather than, “I’m forgiving you because my master said to do so (or because he did it first, or because it was right to do so)”? I’m not saying that all Christians do this, but a lot do seem to say it. Translating the apparent thought process behind it only serves to highlight how bad or even immoral it sounds.
And this is why I think atheism and non-theistic religions (such as Buddhism) are morally superior. We have no reasons to forgive other than that we love, we care, and we want to preserve relationships. I am, of course, not saying this is exclusive to atheism and non-theistic religions; anyone can do it. Atheism and non-theistic religions just generally don’t have ulterior motives.
And I find the argument similar to ignorant Christians saying that without God or the Ten Commandments, they would be going around raping, pillaging, murdering, and all other manners of atrocities. I know you can do better than that. Other atheists do too. While we still get some of the nutjobs out there who say they would do these things, or even sacrifice their child (Abraham and Isaac), but the majority of Christians will say that they would never do any of these things, least of all sacrifice their child.
To my Christian readers, think about what you’re saying. Is it right? Is it moral?
Love and forgive your neighbors because you do, because you think it’s right, not because you think it’ll get you right with god, or you think it’ll get you into heaven.
You are more moral than your holy book or your god.
Lies, Lies, and More Lies–On Abortion and “Crisis Pregnancy Centers”
Inspired by: She Thought It Was An Abortion Clinic. What It Actually Is Made My Blood Boil.
When you’re born into this world, you learn quickly to expect that people will lie to you.
“Santa gave you those gifts.”
“God loves you.”
“That dress doesn’t make you look fat.”
But when you get into areas of medicine, you kind of expect people to be experts in their fields, and give their honest opinions. You don’t expect to be duped, you don’t expect to that you’re being lied to, being fed misinformation. You expect to know the truth. Unless, of course, you’re an insane anti-vaxxer. In any case, physicians and physicians assistants take the Hippocratic Oath as a rite of passage to get into the medical profession. From oath itself:
With regard to healing the sick, I will devise and order for them the best diet, according to my judgement and means; and I will take care that they suffer no hurt or damage.
Nor shall any man’s entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to anyone; neither will I counsel any man to do so.
…
Whatsoever house I may enter, my visit shall be for the convenience and advantage of the patient; and I will willingly refrain from doing any injury or wrong from falsehood, and (in an especial manner) from acts of an amorous nature, whatever may be the rank of those who it may be my duty to cure, whether mistress or servant, bond or free.Whatever, in the course of my practice, I may see or hear (even when not invited), whatever I may happen to obtain knowledge of, if it be not proper to repeat it, I will keep sacred and secret within my own breast.
If I faithfully observe this oath, may I thrive and prosper in my fortune and profession, and live in the estimation of posterity; or on breach thereof, may the reverse be my fate!
Doctors have worked for years and years to get into the medical profession. It is their honor, their duty to uphold those words.
However, there are always those who would besmirch their honor through lies and deceit. I’m speaking about abortion in particular. There are abortion clinics, and then there are “Crisis Pregnancy Centers.” The former offers abortions, but the latter will talk you out of it. The former respects the medical profession, the latter would deceive you with everything from where the building is located to how everything is set within the building, right down to the staff members. One offers abortion education, the other offers lies and scare tactics. One respects your body and your decision, the other would rather see you suffer anxiety, depression, stress, financial struggles, to see a mass of cells, “life”, born. Better to destroy the old life to birth a new one, rather than to see the old one survive life experiences. To quote George Carlin, “If you’re prenatal, you’re fine; if you’re preschool, you’re fucked.”
I didn’t know these kinds of centers existed. I didn’t think that the religious would stoop so low as to deceive women into keeping their unborn child. But I suppose, given the dubious and duplicitous behavior of religious apologists, I shouldn’t be surprised that their pro-life movement would be any different.
But what I don’t get is, why? Why, if you believe to your very core that you’re in the right, do you have to trick people? Shouldn’t the nature of what you’re trying to do compel people to come to you of their own volition rather than you having to trick them and basically sell them a child for the sake of their own life? Fine, call me selfish. Call me someone who doesn’t understand the female experience of pregnancy. But if I had wanted that child, I would have known it. If I had wanted that child, I wouldn’t need to be talked out of it. I wouldn’t need arguments from consequences, I wouldn’t need appeals to emotion, I wouldn’t need hell-threats. I would have kept the child if I really wanted it.
And truth be told, it’s not even a child. Not yet. It is a mass of cells that is unconscious, unaware, unknowing. It is a tiny mass of cells smaller than the palm of your hand. And up until 24 weeks, it doesn’t even have a 50% survivability outside the womb. It’s not quite life yet. It’s not quite a person yet. And I would argue that it doesn’t become so until the third trimester.
But that’s not my point. My point is, why lie? In the Christian context, why focus on life when God himself killed thousands of Egyptian children in one night without regret? When God killed hundreds of babies, unborn children, and innocent animals with just over a month of torrential downpours? Why do you care when it is written in Psalm 137:9
Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
Shouldn’t we then be blessing abortion doctors for this service?
God doesn’t care about children. God doesn’t care about you. He killed all but 8 people in a heartbeat in the Great Flood. The most “just and righteous man” who got drunk right off the boat and then cursed his son for seeing him naked.
Your inconsistency astounds me.
And The Sniveling Children Strike Again–Ranting on the “Men’s Rights” Movement
Fair warning, I’m going to get angry and use some very strong language (if you’ve read my blog before, you’d know this, but for those newcomers, this is your first, last, and only warning). If you’re okay with it, awesome. If not, I suggest you leave before I offend your sensibilities.
Second warning, and this is more toward my female audience. I’m going to be using derogatory terms relating to the female anatomy, but they in no way reflect how I feel about women. They are simply the strongest words I can think of while I’m on this topic. And maybe (hopefully), you’ll be sharing my rage after you read this.
Some of you may have heard that Emma Watson (actress and director) has been speaking out very vocally about feminism. She feels that feminism is often equivocated with so-called “men-hating.” Now, I’ve already given my thoughts on this, but what she says in her speech is far from the “extremist” feminism that you hear about in everyday news:
The more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with ‘man-hating.’ If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop. For the record, feminism, by definition, is ‘the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.’
If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we are — we can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom. I want men to take up this mantle.
Tame enough, isn’t it? Fighting for both men and women’s rights, fighting for equality. But of course (and this is where I get angry), the fucking cunts over at the Men’s Rights Activist (MRA) movement have their man-panties twisted around their fucking balls. According to the article I read, members of 4Chan’s /b/ board have taken up their proverbial cross and started a crusade by doing what? Rational argument? Staging protests? A fucking smear campaign, supposedly leaking her nudes, as well as spreading the rumor that Miss Watson was found dead in her hotel room (which, in fact, is not true). Violent threats have been made toward her, none of which will be reported here.
“Grrr, that walking pussy doesn’t do what I want, but I wanna fuck her so bad.” – 4Chan and the MRA
Please excuse me while I address the people of the MRA.
You fucking cunts over there with the MRA and 4Chan’s /b/ board. Shut the FUCK UP. I am a man. I care about women and women’s rights because I fucking respect them. You fucking twats whine and bitch about how you can’t get women, so you sit alone in your dark rooms, jacking off to women you could never get anyway. You couldn’t give less of a shit about women. You only wish you could live in the biblical times where you could beat and rape your “wives”, where marriages were arranged for you. Get living in reality. The world doesn’t revolve around your fucking cock and balls.
Enough of this balls-to-the-wall bullshit about how women are oppressing men. Get. Fucking. Real. Men have been on women’s throats from the earliest hominids until not even 50 years ago. I think it’s time that men step down, and women have the opportunity to lead without the stigma of being “bossy.” Enough of your bullshit. Enough of the whining and sniveling. Enough of the fucking smear campaigns, the leaked nudes, the lies and rumours. Get your fucking shit together, and live in reality. And do me a favor.
Fuck off.
What Leaving My Religion Did For Me
This was inspired by an article Neil Carter (who began the Interview an Atheist In Church Day, as far as I know) wrote on his blog Godless in Dixie, which can be found on Patheos. I guess in a way, this is continuing the story of my own deconversion and my experiences as an atheist since I became one over two years ago.
After I became an atheist, a few of my friends came to me asking why, and to come back to the Catholic Church. One actually approached me and suggested I take up henotheism, which is funny, because obviously the Church would take offense to the idea that there are multiple gods, but you happen to hold the Christian God on a pedestal. “Thou shalt have no other gods [before me]” and all that. (Mark Twain makes an interesting point about this in his novella Letters from the Earth that according to that phrasing, God wanted to be at least equal to other gods, but no less than they. Perhaps Christians have been wrong? Just something to think about.) The suggestion for henotheism is amusing to me moreso because that the idea of a universe without a god is somehow so incoherent. You must at least have one god for everything to make sense. I don’t find it that way. In fact, the world still makes sense to me much as it used to, if not more.
But of course, I’ve been evangelized by my Catholic friends who quickly left me alone after one conversation.
Back to the article, I think Neil and I share some of the same experiences, though definitely not all the same. I’m gonna try and go through them as best I can. If you look back and forth (and if you haven’t figured it out before), I’m basing my own thoughts off of his.
- Compassion. When I was little and got sick, I always imagined God was punishing me for doing something bad, so instead of getting the much-needed bed rest, I would instead exert myself to try and make up for whatever I did–I never knew what I did, though. As I grew up, I worried about God less and less, and worried more for myself, and the people around me. I think I became more compassionate as a result. And it feels gratifying. I can spend my time doing what I want, instead of wasting time trying to figure out what God wants. And usually, what I want is beneficial to others as well as myself.
- Contemplation, curiosity, and questions. I like to spend time with others. I like talking and laughing and bonding and just being a young adult. I like taking time out of my day to help others. Most of all, I like taking time out of my day to think. More often than not, it’s philosophy-related thoughts. Sometimes, I blog about it, sometimes I don’t. But I absolutely love to think. Before my transition into atheism, I never really had that many philosophical thoughts. Granted, I was a kid, but nothing really made me curious about life. Everything was as God made it, and that was as simple as that. I’d heard of atheism in my religion class in high school, but I simply brushed it off. In the following years after reading The Sword of Truth, I was determined to be like the Seeker of Truth. And in some ways, I still am. But those books led me to atheism, and atheism led me to curiosity. It sparked an insatiable thirst for knowledge, no matter how trivial. I never liked science, but now I’ve taken far more interest in science than I ever have. Like Christopher Hitchens once said, I like to have a vast but shallow knowledge (or something to that effect)–I want to know a little bit of everything.
Atheism also put firmly into my head the idea that you don’t have to know everything. I think people in general like to know everything, or at least think they know everything–it’s not necessary. If you don’t know, then you don’t know. Maybe one day you learn. There’s no need to make gods of the gaps, or arguments from ignorance, or arguments from authority, or anything like that. It just isn’t necessary. You have time on earth to do whatever you want, and I choose to learn. If I can’t answer a specific question, then so be it. It doesn’t necessarily threaten my life or my existence, as opposed to western theism, where you absolutely must believe in the answer you’re given or otherwise face oblivion or hellfire, depending on your particular brand of theism. - I have to rip off Neil for this one–he says it perfectly:
Less judgement toward myself…for some things. Just as a loss of religion has made me more accepting of others, I am getting better at accepting myself, with certain caveats. I do not let myself off the hook for things I consider unhealthy, or unkind, or inconsiderate of others. There are good, non-religious reasons to work to eliminate those kinds of behaviors in life. I will not, for example let myself off the hook for being dishonest toward people, nor will I excuse substandard work in my professional [or in my case, academic] life. But there are quite a few things which my religion taught me I should feel guilty about, and I don’t have to shoulder that anymore. This brings an improved quality of life. I will not consider it wicked, for example, to have “thought crimes” such as wanting something I don’t have or savoring the attractiveness of another person. Religion puts many layers of guilt on us for things which are perfectly natural, and the resulting manipulation is powerful. But I’m done with that now. The self-loathing and guilt my religion taught me was in retrospect incredibly unhealthy. It takes time to unlearn the negative self-talk. But once you’ve made some progress in letting that go, you can become a much happier person.
- Walking on eggshells. Of course, leaving a religion is sometimes bad. Because religion in general is so ubiquitous, I think most of us assume that the person across some us believes in some deity or higher power, while we personally might not. I love to talk about religious philosophy and discuss religion and atheism, but I’m apprehensive to bring it up to a group of friends. I don’t want to offend anyone, or otherwise be attacked myself, I just want a discussion that makes us think. Moreover, I value my friends’ relationships more than anything, and I don’t want to even risk that with them. It’s a point of nervousness and anxiety for me. But I think that sometimes, I overreact. Yes, I do get the “You’re an atheist? Really?” comment and accompanying look, but most of the time, it’s disinterest, or even acceptance. “Oh, you’re an atheist? Cool.”
- And the last idea is also from Neil:
A greater appreciation for the preciousness of life. Once you realize this life is the only one you’re gonna get, you learn to appreciate each day in a way you never could when you believed there would be trillions more in your future. I found that a belief in eternity only lowered my evaluation of daily life and it cheapened life, in a way. But once you realize this one short life is all you’re going to get, you will find it easier to throw yourself into what you do, knowing that you need to make the most of it that you can. You won’t minimize the suffering of others (or of yourself) by saying that life will get better after you die. You might even be more motivated to be an agent of change in the world once you realize someone’s not going to come in and magically reboot the whole thing one day. It’s up to us to make the most of our one life that we can, and I find that a disbelief in the supernatural has helped me to do that.
And I leave you with my most favorite recent quote:
We don’t give up our gods idly because of a few painful emotions. The emotion is that human part of you that leads you to the conclusion that, no matter what, you’re going to be okay.
Sugarcoating BS–“I condemn your religion.”
From the Richard Dawkins Foundation, I found this article and groaned inwardly. Why, might you ask. Well, in response to James Foley’s publicized murder, President Barack Obama has responded with this statement:
ISIL speaks for no religion… and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents. No just God would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day. ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings. Their ideology is bankrupt…. we will do everything that we can to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for.
Following that was his remarks on strategies to defeat ISIS:
Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim…. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.
I understand that perhaps he is trying to keep the peace at home when so much has happened already (with shootings happening weekly and the Ferguson violence seeing no end in sight). But as president, he needs to have balls to call bullshit for what it is: bullshit. And this goes for other political leaders who are affected by the ISIS situation (I’m looking at you, David Cameron, you limey dick).
The ISIS’s objective is the establishment of a world wide Caliphate [the office or jurisdiction of an Islamic political leader, regarded as a successor of Mohammed and by tradition is always male], reflected in frequent media reports by means of images of the world united under a ISIS banner. Although it has perpetrated many terrorist acts since its formation in 2006, especially against Shia and Christian civilians, ISI/ISIS/ISIL has been especially active in late 2012 and 2013, claiming responsibility for killing and wounding hundreds of people through suicide bombings. It’s principal targets are U.S. military and Shia and Christian civilians.
These ISIS terrorists are a jihadist group–they are MUSLIM. Call them out for what they are. Don’t separate one bullshit faction from another with this “No True Muslim/No true believer/No true religion” fallacy bullshit. They believe in the prophet Mohammed. They believe in Allah. That. Makes. Them. MUSLIM.
People are saying to condemn their actions, not their religion. Well, you know what? Go whole hog, and condemn both. A religion like that is violent by nature, and has had nearly 15 centuries to sort out the violence. Most Christians don’t believe in stoning a non-virgin. Most Jews are calm and peace loving, and far from their warlike nature from the days of the Judges. We can’t allow Islam to have another 500 to 1000 years to learn what their other monotheistic brothers have learned. Cull the plant and let it die. Let the religion die, so we can actually prosper worldwide.
For the people who are about to tell me that most Muslims are good people, I’ll say this: you can be “good without God.” Or Allah. Or Yahweh. There are plenty of good Muslims in England. Who are now siding with ISIS. Good people do good things, bad people do bad things, but only religion can make good people do bad things. These “good Muslims” still hold on to their Qu’ran. They might interpret it differently, but that’s the case of the other two large monotheisms as well. They cherry-pick, just like their brothers and sisters of a different religion. Why not just forgo the whole book, and live your lives as peacefully and lovingly as possible?
But no. At almost every page turn of the Qu’ran, there is a divine mandate to convert and subjugate, or to otherwise destroy your enemies. This is not a religion of peace. When you have over 537 lines that condemn nonbelievers, or believers of another religion, that is called intolerance. Tolerance makes peace.
To my brothers living in the Middle East, I extend a hand of peace on one condition: let go of your barbaric traditions. Let go of your religion. You can believe in Allah, I don’t care. But for the sake of peace, forgo your book. Forgo Mohammed. And live your life in a peaceful manner with your neighbors. I don’t condemn your Arabian culture and background.
I condemn your religion.
Magical Hats
I think I’m just gonna make this a quick blurb, but I’ve noticed that I wear hats lately. Some hats I like, some hats I don’t. Never been a big fan of the baseball cap, or the flat-brim hat that the kids seem to be wearing today. I used to like fedoras a lot, but with the shape of my face and how much hair I have, it just doesn’t look good. I think very few hats look good on me, but I haven’t tried that many. I’ve been wearing a flat-cap (or if you’re in the UK, the cap that farmers tend to wear, or early to mid 20th century newsboys, or a cabbie hat). I think it suits me as a person and as a musician, stylistically. I can’t exactly explain why though.
But I’ve been thinking a lot about why I wear hats in general, and the thought that sticks in my mind most is that, I can hide my face. If you haven’t guessed from reading some of my blog posts, I am a very shy and introverted person. I like being by myself most of the time, but I’m not exclusively introverted. I’d like to think I know how to have fun.
In any case, the hat allows me to hide my face, if only a little bit. From friends on the street, to strangers passing by. It allows me to avoid eye contact. We all know how awkward that can be, especially if you see a person you know before they see you, but you don’t want to socialize right then. Or if a stranger catches you looking at them, if only briefly. It’s awkward, isn’t it? I’m not a conversationalist, and talks with me (unless we talk about something I know specifically) become awkward within seconds. I’m best suited as a listener. I don’t talk that much, and I don’t really like talking that much.
But why do I hide my face? What do I have to hide? These people don’t really know me. They don’t know my thoughts, my feelings, my past. Not unless I tell them. So why do I feel the need to hide? I don’t know. Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me that I’m not the approachable person I think I am, and I just need to suss out my subconscious into conscious thoughts and actual words. I think strangers, or even acquaintances, give me mild anxiety. I know I’m socially awkward. Maybe I don’t want to be hurt by people anymore, after what I experienced all through my childhood.
I’m afraid to reach out to people. I’m afraid to make friends. And what friends I do make, I hold them tenaciously until I’m forced to let go. I think I’m a bit of an oxymoron. I want to make friends, but I don’t. I want to reach out, but I don’t. I suppose we’re all oxymoronic and paradoxical in some way, shape, or form. But the anxious thought cycle of “Go talk to them!” “No, I don’t want to!” becomes a drain, and I slip back into my comfort zone. I have no one to blame but myself for not taking opportunities as they come. I have minor regrets here and there. I think everyone does.
And so I don the hat, and slip on the headphones. I hum or quietly sing my way into obliviousness with a straight back and head hung low to avoid the sun, and the faces of other people.
But of course, I adjust to the situation, if slowly. I can always do well in a small group, perhaps no more than four people. I can have loud, raucous, rambunctious, whimsical fun with four people. Anything much larger than that, I suddenly feel very anxious, and trapped. I want out. I want to go home. I want somewhere quiet. I want just one person to talk to, not twenty crowding around me, pushing against me, with shouting and screaming over bad music, movies, or TV shows.
Some people may be the life of a party. But I am not.
So I find a chair, and sit in the corner. I don the hat, and slip on the headphones. I hum or sing my way into obliviousness.
My solitude is found.
And I am happy.
Inspired by Atticus Blake
“We don’t give up our gods idly because of a few painful emotions. The emotion is that human part of you that leads you to the conclusion that, no matter what, you’re going to be okay. That it’s okay not to have an answer to everything.”
– Atticus Blake/Finite Atticus
Tonight, a man who goes by the pseudonym Atticus has become one of my heroes. Not by anything he’s done in general, but by his life story. I’ve watched his Deconversion series, a series of fourteen fairly short videos chronicling his life on a broad timeline. I’ve heard of it many times from other YouTube atheists (dgeypscun, creator of Opinion-Ville; Schizophrenic Queen; Armoured Skeptic; Logicked; among others), but I’ve always passed over it for some reason. But tonight, I bit the bullet and watched it. I’ve read and listened to a number of deconversion stories, but his I find the most powerful.
He talks about his life as a young boy, struggling with his homosexuality, coming to acceptance with it, but then having to struggle with it once again after marrying his wife. It’s a beautiful (and I find) heart-wrenching story. He’s come to terms with his homosexuality and his struggle with atheism, and the words he left in the wake of the fall of religion and fear and anxiety are powerful indeed.
He is my hero for his fortitude. He has come face to face with death (going into the black, as he termed it) more than most people would. He’s been steps away from the brink of death because of his mental illness. And yet he found the inner strength, the inner drive to live. At first, he found that his will to live came from others in his life, and in large part, it still does. But I think his true strength shined through when he realized he needed to live for himself first, to accept himself as he is, to set his life back onto the right path.
I think that the quote of his that I’ve chosen above summarizes it perfectly. No matter what, you are always going to be okay, with or without a god. Life is too short. Compared to the lifespan of the earth, and the universe, we are alive for mere minutes, mere seconds, and then we’re gone in the blink of an eye. Life is too short to be held back by fear and ignorance, both of which are religion’s most powerful weapons.
I strongly encourage you, whether you’ve been deconverted or not to go watch his Deconversion series on YouTube, under the username of Finite Atticus. You can find his icon of a simple black gas mask on a completely white background. I especially encourage those sitting on the fence about religion, and those struggling with their homosexuality. You may have your questions, you may not. But hopefully, you will be inspired nonetheless.
To Atticus, if you ever find this somehow, for whatever reason, thank you so much for being so incredibly honest to a global community. I don’t have the courage or self-confidence you do, or even your speaking abilities, to even make videos of myself talking, even with my face hidden. I’ve seen both sides of you, from Jason’s podcasts and Angus’s AVSPO, to your own videos, and I love both sides of you. I think you are the kind of man that I hope to be one day: strong and courageous, loving and sensitive, incredibly funny, and (from what I hear) devastatingly handsome.
I hope you continue to be the man you are now, or grow into the man you want to be. And I just want you to know that you’ve inspired me on a late night/early morning.
With much love to you and yours,
K.Trinh
Just See For Yourself.
You always hear about this kind of hypocrisy, even if it’s never said outright by the accused party (usually, it’s the FFRF or ACLU, and various bloggers like myself). This picture comes from my personal Facebook page, and my friends’ last names have been obviously hidden for their protection. However if you can’t read what the image says for whatever reason, it reads:
J via TFP Student Action
[Link]: Sign This Petition Against the Satanic Black Mass in Oklahoma City.
[Comments]
Jo: Don’t be hypocritical, J, freedom of religion works both ways, for you and against you. [Emphasis mine]
J: I have no problem being called a “hypocrite” in this case. [Emphasis mine]
It’s always nice to basically have an admission of guilt by the accused party. Makes things a lot easier.
Now, having said that, I will still say that being an American (by naturalization if not by birth), I will gladly uphold the rights of my fellow citizens. I still see that the Constitution as being extremely flawed, but I will still defend anyone’s first amendment rights because the first amendment protects my right to a lack of belief.
From Wikipedia:
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. [Emphasis mine]
J, whom I know to be is very patriotic (although he is a Catholic first and an American second), is in favor of violating First Amendment constitutional rights, just as long as the violation turns in his favor. To anyone reading this blog who is religiously leaning, I say this: I’m not arguing philosophy or theology or dogma and doctrinal teachings–I am writing in reference to the American Constitution.
You, by law, are not allowed to “impede the free exercise of religion.” The petition is unlawful. People make a mockery of the Sacred Mass? Let them. By your own teachings, they (along with every other religion aside from your personal brand of Catholicism, as well as atheists and skeptics) will burn in hell. To paraphrase Daniel Tosh, why are you worried when God is the final defense at the goal line? They’re not getting into heaven.
Personal sensibilities are offended every day, and people take it too personally. That’s why “political correctness” is an issue when it shouldn’t be. Let people have their freedoms until they infringe upon yours. The world will never be how you like it. We will (hopefully) never revert back to the bronze age beliefs, or even the barbaric Middle Ages worldview of your religion. Deal with it. People believe in different things, or don’t believe at all.
It is none of your concern.
Why Do I Talk So Much About Atheism?
I think one of the most common questions that an atheist gets asked is, “Why do you care?” Most people seem to assume that because we disbelieve in any deity, we shouldn’t care about what other people think of their gods or other people’s gods. I spend a lot of my time on YouTube, and I think it’s safe to say that many atheists who make videos about atheism and debunking videos and “coming out” videos and countless other subjects about religion care just as much as I do about religion. We’re people, and we’re allowed to have opinions as well.
Some people, like my girlfriend, couldn’t care less about religion (that is, until it starts infringing upon her rights as a woman). And I think that’s a fine attitude to have.
But why do I personally talk about atheism? Well, mostly because religious (or atheistic) philosophy fascinates me. I like to share that knowledge of what I’ve learned, even if it’s only within my own little circle of followers on WordPress. But I watched a Google Hangout recently by Finite Atticus on YouTube where he discussed whether or not atheists should be actively trying to “convert” people. I think I largely agree with what he says, that we shouldn’t be actively trying to convert people, but rather put questions out there to test their faith, and make them question their religion and belief.
Maybe some people don’t like that. Maybe I’m a gadfly. But I view what I write as a resource for someone else. Someone else who may have questions, or someone else who may share my views but don’t realize that there are others like that. Perhaps it might help someone who is on the fence de-convert. I view what I write as hopefully thought-provoking articles that make people think, “Is this right? Should I be doing this? Should I be supporting this?” My hope is that they will agree, but I will always welcome constructive criticisms that set me straight and tell me where I’m wrong, if in fact I am.
I don’t really know where my blog is aimed, or to whom it’s aimed. Sometimes I write for theists (primarily Christians), sometimes I write for atheists. But it’s there to hopefully provoke and promote dialogue between the two.
Philosophy, and I think specifically atheism, has led me to the point where my critical thinking and logical reasoning are at their finest up to this point. And I suppose I want to share that. I want to promote skeptical/logical/rational thinking, rather than swallow the answers that anyone else gave me. That isn’t to say that theists are irrational, illogical, or unthinking–far from it. But it just seems to me that a lot of answers are spoon-fed from religious leaders who have performed incredible mental gymnastics to reach the answers that they did. But I suppose that’s a post for another day, if I ever get around to it.
I’m sorry if this post kind of rambles. My general style is that I usually pick one very broad topic and then I write like a drunk man walks: aaaalllll over the place. But in any case, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, and stay tuned for my next post.
Answers in Philosophy 