Raving Atheist

Batshit insanity

2011-11-12T08:43:00.002-05:00

So, election time is upon us, and once again, every single Republican candidate cannot manage to say enough how much they love Jebus. Some bandy it about more than others, as Perry and Bachman are running pretty much solely on the "We love us some Jesus" platform, but all of them make mention of it quite often.

Wouldn't it be nice if just once, a Republican candidate didn't mention Jesus? Unless asked, of course, I don't have a problem with them admitting their beliefs if the question is brought up (and it would be, frequently). It would just be nice if one candidate would make the election about the issues (unemployment, the sorry state of our economy, the fact that our government has spent us into debtor nation status), instead of their belief in god.

If ever there were an election where an atheist could actually stand a chance, this is it. If someone could actually bring some real solutions to the table, they would stand a decent chance of seeing the inside of the White House, no matter what they believed.

And, maybe someday, those poor pigs will finally sprout wings.

An interesting concept...

2011-01-22T18:36:00.002-05:00

So, I work nights. I work, usually, alone. This means I have a lot of time to think, and one of my most recent thought processes was this:

Take the god of the bible. Now, remove the idea that he's the only deity/creator in the universe. So one day, this wise, all-powerful creature finds earth. Of course, he also finds humanity. He looks at humans and says to himself, "These creatures are ignorant savages. Maybe I can help them." So god takes one guy named Adam and puts him in a garden. Later, god realizes that humans like having companions of the opposite sex. So god gets Eve, and puts her in the garden.

He tells them not to eat the apple, not because he doesn't want them to do so, but because his plans aren't far enough along for that event to happen. But it does. So, he kicks them out and tries a different approach.

After a long string of failures to improve humans, he finds Moses. So, god decides that Moses is an alright guy and gives the whole 'improving humans' thing another shot. Most of the laws in Exodus and Leviticus are horrible, but keep in mind that this is still a step up from where the majority of humans were at this point. So god keeps trying to get people to stop being dicks to each other for quite a while and it isn't working.

A little while later, god thinks to himself, "Hey, maybe if I just told them to be nice. That might work." So he makes Jesus and sends his son amongst humanity to teach them to be nice to each other. And the humans nail Jesus to a chunk of wood. There are a few people who seem like they may have gotten the idea, so god sits back to see how that goes. It goes poorly.

Next, god finds Muhammad. He gives this guy the laws of Islam and almost immediately, it all goes to shit again.

At this point, god says 'fuck it.' "I've tried and tried to get you to stop being ignorant savages, and it just doesn't work. I'm leaving."

Ah, the things boredom does to the brain. Just felt like sharing the concept, which, in my opinion, makes a hell of a lot more sense than just about any other explanation for god (other than his non-existence). Thoughts, anyone (he asks rhetorically, because if I'm not mistaken, no one ever reads this)?

Draw Muhammed Day

2010-05-19T17:18:00.002-04:00

Well, tomorrow is "Draw Muhammed Day." For those that don't know, on this day, Thursday, May 20, I encourage you to draw a picture of the Muslim prophet. He can be eating breakfast, or sipping tea, or being fucked in the ass by a horse. Doesn't matter.

Now, of course, Muslims will be offended by this. Quite frankly, I don't care. Islam is a religion of violence and death threats. It deserves all the mockery we can heap upon it. Freedom of speech is simple, really. People can say what they want, and if you don't like it, you can fuck miles of off.

So, make your drawings, post them wherever. And don't let these barbaric savages tell you to be afraid.

The power of stupidity

2010-05-17T21:50:00.002-04:00

First, I want to point out this wonderful post here.

That being done, I'll add my own take on the problem of ignorance and stupidity.

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we've lost sight of the American Dream. Oh, we still talk about it, but it doesn't mean what it once did. Once upon a time, the American Dream was to better yourself and your station through hard work. If people couldn't pull themselves up, they worked hard so that their children would have more opportunities than they did. People tried to educate themselves, because education meant better employment, and a better standard of living.

Now, the American Dream means something new. Everyone wants something for nothing, and not just a little something. It isn't that people want everything handed to them for free, they expect it. The ignorant among us expect that the answers to their questions will appear in their heads without any actual thought required. And that's a problem, because most people's first instincts are wrong. The brain is hard-wired to have logical fallacies, and it takes a great deal of effort to overcome that.

I believe that I already covered the problem of effort.

I don't know what the fix for this is. After all, this is just a blog post, and it isn't as if I've spent hours doing research. This is an opinion. So, how can I berate those who accept their first thought as true when I'm doing much the same? Simply put, because if someone shows me that I'm wrong, I'll admit it.

2009-10-13T08:19:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been three weeks to the day that my clove cigarettes got banned.

The good news is that I've discovered that I have no physical addiction to nicotine. The only time I crave a cigarette is when I'm doing something I've come to associate with smoking. So, mental addiction yes, physical addiction no. I've smoked, perhaps, a pack and a half in the last three weeks, and I used to be a pack a day smoker.

So, I found out that I can go without tobacco if I want to. I do not, however, want to do so. Of course, there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it.

For the Children

2009-10-07T07:13:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been holding off on this, because I wanted to post something that wasn't just a string of expletives. On September 22nd, 2009, our great and wonderful government decided to outlaw my cigarettes. Needless to say, I'm not pleased.

First, some background information. I smoke, or rather, used to smoke, clove cigarettes. I am of legal age to do so, and never gave it a much more thought than that. Our elected idiots, however, decided that I shouldn't be allowed to smoke clove cigarettes, or any flavor other than regular and menthol. Why? To protect the children.

They claim flavored cigs appeal to kids. That's bullshit, but it sounds logical, so people believe it. Have a look at the numbers that Congress didn't bother to check. Yes, those numbers come from the people who sell the product. Most of their (fully cited) sources are national and university studies.

Look, I know smoking is bad for me. I accept that, because I enjoyed the habit. Yes, that is past-tense. If I can't have the cigs I want, I'm not bothering. Back to the point...

Even if flavored cigs did appeal more to kids than regular, that would not justify a ban on their sale and importation. Apparently, when Congress starts thinking about the children, they also start thinking like children. Because if it might cause one child to start smoking, several million adults aren't allowed to have it. That's the sort of psychology that most of us got over in grade school.

I'll be honest, a total cigarette ban would have made more sense. Then kids definitely wouldn't get them. Of course, that would be a lot of tax money, and banning just the flavored cigs allows the government to pretend that it's doing something about the problem of kids smoking without harming tax revenue noticeably.

If I keep typing this will never end.

See ya.

Post the First

2009-05-26T09:43:00.002-04:00

Today, my fellow legion of heretics (and those believers who may read this for whatever reason), we shall discuss the Bible. But I'm not here to point out logical fallacies or blatant lies. No, that's easy, and easy isn't what I'm out to accomplish.

For a moment, I will, if only for argument's sake, accept that the Bible is the 100% accurate word of God. I shall now live my life according to its principles, and thus refrain from sin until such a time as I finish this little exercise.

And done. I would like to have said something, but I couldn't, because I refrained from judging others. I do notice, however, that those who claim to be believers in this book usually do not. In fact, if anything, they are those most likely to judge others. So, either you lot just skipped that part, or you're hypocrites.

Maybe you didn't know about that one though. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. So, Christians, here is your chance to show that you really do follow the teachings of the bible.

Luke 6:30

Read that, then read it again. Read it in any version of the Bible you have, in any language you know. Now, send me the deeds to your homes, vehicles, and checks for the full amount of your bank accounts, please? See, I not only asked, but I asked nicely. If you're really Christians, you will do this.

I note a lack of deeds and checks in my mailbox.

Which, of course, brings us to today's topic: Bible literacy.

Show of hands, how many people have actually read the entire thing? Forgive my presumption, but I'm guessing only the atheists are raising their hands right now. I've no doubt that most Christians have tried, likely several times. Of course, the old testament is a bit dry at times, with all the passages about who fathered whom and whatnot, so it can be far too easy to be thrown off track. Fortunately, guilt can be assuaged with a bit more money in the offering plate.

No doubt there are Christians who will say that they have, indeed, read the Bible all the way through. To that, I say shenanigans. Better than half of the atheists that I know lost their faith in God when they read the Bible. Others have their own reasons, but reading the Bible seems to be a very quick way to stop believing it.

So, having established that you haven't actually read your 'holy' book, I must ask why you feel that you should be quoting it to anyone. So, why do you do it? You don't even know what it says, yet you feel that others should be living their lives by it? What the hell is wrong with you?

I think you're afraid. You live in constant fear that you don't believe enough, and so you try to get others to believe. After all, if these people who you think are intelligent believe, there must be something to it, right? And if nothing else, maybe God will look more kindly on you in judgment.

Well, I'm here to tell you not to fear. If something is worthy of respect and worship, then we should not fear it. And if your god inspires fear, you should tell them where to stick it.