A Plan of Action

The other night I was at work (I work seasonally at a Drive In theater) and I was talking to a friend of mine about something silly and the subject of atheism came up. I was happy that not only was the conversation not derailed by the subject, but that my friend responded with ease "yeah, people think we..." letting me know without being terribly obvious that he too was an atheists.

After the requisite baby eating jokes and the like, we started talking about what we might be able to do in order to improve the image of atheists since what we were joking about was funny, but also unfortunately grounded in actual opinions people hold of my friend and I simply because of our beliefs.

The idea came about that it might be interesting to go around with a camera and do random favors for strangers for no reason at all - and at the end of the interaction mention that we are atheists and see what kinds of responses we get. Now, this kind of project would do very little to prove that your average atheist is a compassionate and kind person (which in my experience has been the case 95% of the time - but keep in mind that is mere anecdotal information) since the random acts of kindness would be completely motivated by an agenda that is not completely charity based. However, I do think these kinds of projects are important and if more of us took these ideas and transformed them into actual projects, we would all be doing a little something to, at the very least, provide the public with a more realistic view of what an atheist is.

So, I offer that idea up for you to mull over and in return I would ask to hear your ideas - have you ever conceptualized any kind of activity such as the one listed above and if so, did you follow through with it and what happened. If you didn't follow through with it, what's holding you back? I think it's important to remember as well that not everyone lives in an area where open and activist level atheism would be peacefully received. That's one of the reasons I feel compelled to take advantage of living in the liberal pacific northwest and trying to organize people who are interested in and willing to participate in these kinds of demonstrations.

Let me know what you think!

Proof That It's All A Bunch of Shit

The Virgin Mary seems to choose quite a few wacky places to appear and the latest occurrence that has ridiculously misguided followers flocking for a view is probably the most spot on medium of all for a religious 'sighting': The Virgin Mary has been found in bird shit.

I'm trying to not be a jerk about this, honestly I'm not, but this is nothing short of absurd. Whether you question the credibility of the test for psychological use, most people are familiar with the Rorschach Test. In theory, this test works by the assumption that the test taker's spontaneous or unrehearsed responses reveal deep secrets or significant information about the taker's personality or innermost thoughts. While this test is questionable on a psychiatric level, the basic premise of the test is grounded in the fact that the human brain can take an abstract image and see something entirely physical within that image regardless of how random the actual image might be.

When I hear about these passionately religious people crying and having profound feelings of presence and similar religious experiences when they look at bird feces on the mirror of a truck, I can't help but automatically conclude that these people are not witnessing some kind of divine portrait, but seeing what they want to see. If I came out and proclaimed that this poop spot was none other than the mighty Atheismo come to give hope and comfort to all of it's atheist bretherin, I would be considered a little off my rocker by whomever happened to hear my proclamation, but more-over my undivine discovery would be largely ignored. As it should be! These kind of "sightings" deserve no more investigation or attention than the cat lady down the street who claims her ex husband talks to her through her morning cup of coffee.

Harmless? Probably. Newsworthy? Not at all.

Christian Moderates and Social Responsibility

I was raised in an atheist environment and my dad was not shy about professing his disdain and irreverence for religion and religious people. My reaction to this was a kind of curiosity regarding religion - I've never experienced a need for religion but I have always been curious about it. At one point growing up, I found myself regularly spending time in a Unitarian church as a kind of 'atheist ringer' for the drama program and found that most religious people there seemed like good people who were very sincere in their beliefs. I grew to respect religious people based on this experience and when I met the occasional fundamentalist quack, I was quick to shrug them off as an unfortunate religious minority.

Through conversations I've had with my partner and other similarly de-converted folks, I've come to re-think my position on what I regard as 'moderate Christianity'. While in my childhood I saw the Unitarian congregation I was exposed to as a representative of the majority of Christians, I realize now that those kinds of loving, happy, accepting Christians seem in actuality to be a minorty within the group. Interestingly, on several occasions I have been told by Christain extremeists that the Unitarians I grew up with and grew to care for were not even 'real' Christians. If they were real Christians, I've been told, they would have cared enough about my immortal soul to agressively try to convert me to their religion, regardless of what my parents wanted and what I myself wanted.

However, it's the moderate Christians that are proving to be more of an issue to me than the extremeists and this is why - though a moderate Christian will, when pressed, claim that they should not be 'lumped together' with those Christian extremeists who tend to make the more outrageous claims in regard to religious control in everyone's personal life, they are very seldom seen publicly denouncing this kind of behavior. This begs the question - is ignoring a problem within your society the same thing as endorsing the behavior you claim to feel is 'inappropriate' and 'not indicative' of your own beliefs?

I feel that as an atheist, I have a responsibility to speak up if I hear another atheist claim that religion should be outlawed - though I feel that religion is generally a negative influence on people on a personal level and on a socital level, I feel that the personal freedom for people to believe whatever they want is far more important than my opinion of what people should think. Were I to remain silent when these claims are made, it seems obvious to me that my silence would and logically should be taken as at best, indifference to the claim being made and at worse, agreement of the claim. I feel that the religious people of this country are faced with the exact same responsibility in regard to what is said in the name of their religion and I feel that in regard to this responsibility, they are failing miserably.

Homophobic Atheists

In the last few months I have run across a phenomenon which I cannot for the life of me understand. Most of the time when I cross paths with a person who does not support equal rights for homosexuals, that person presents the various edicts of their religion as the main reason for their support of the social rejection of gays, with an additional admission that they personally find homosexuality 'gross'.

Lately I have met a few atheists who do not believe homosexuals deserve equal rights, and their position remains essentially the same as the christian position, minus the religion. Which is to say, these people don't support equal rights for gays because they feel homosexuality is gross.

That's it. That's the only reason.

Now, I'm not saying these people don't dress their position up in misleading or grandiose wording such as claiming that homosexuality is unnatural (ignoring the facts that homosexuality occurs without any 'unnatural' intervention, making it entirely natural and that homosexuality occurs in many many animal cultures beyond humans as well) or claiming that homosexuality is a choice and that these people have equal rights if they 'choose' to be 'normal'. Hardly anyone comes out and says the real reason they oppose these people's basic rights - because homosexual relationships personally make them uncomfortable. I have to imagine a bit of dressing up is required when the truth of the position is so glaringly ignorant and selfish.

I have to wonder if these atheist homophobes don't allow us a unique view into the honesty of the anti-gay position. The religious tend to suppose a kind of helpless bystander role when confronted by the glaring disregard for another human being's rights with an air of "Don't blame me, God says it's wrong." When an atheist opposes homosexuality, you see the inspiration for the opposition for what it is - the selfish assumption that personal opinion of a majority should trump individual rights. I submit that this is the real reason for the rejection of homosexual rights among the vast majority of people and religion is a convenient and often unopposed excuse to hide behind.

I strongly urge any atheists out there who oppose homosexual rights to replace anything they have to say about homosexuals with the term 'atheists' and see if you still think the position is fair and logical. To religious America, which is currently the majority of this nation, your reasons for not supporting homosexuals are the same reasons they don't feel we atheists deserve our rights. It's not fair for that kind of treatment to be allowed to anyone, regardless of how 'gross' you think they are.

Swearing and Religion

According to the Researchers from the school of psychology at Britain's Keele University, cursing could possibly help people deal with pain. The study had volunteers immerse their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as they could stand while both refraining from swearing and while repeating the curse word of their choice. The results of the study found that when people cursed, they could handle the ice water for an average of 40 seconds longer. What, you may ask, does this have to do with religion?

Online and in person, I have repeatedly been told by religious people that my use of curse words is offensive to them because of their religion. What specifically does the bible have to say about cursing? This is what I could find:

Matthew 15:17-20: "Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

I have heard a myriad of complaints from christians in particular regarding swearing, all of which amount to the position that swearing is a sign of an evil or impure soul.

According to this study, swearing is a means for people to withstand pain and is likely an instictual response.

This, to me, is a perfect example of one of the biggest issues I have with religion: the insistance that human nature and instinct - reactions and emotions which occur inherently and therefore are often impossible to control or produce negative results when controlled - is evil or impure. This seems like a way to make every person born an evil and impure entitiy regardless of their merit and accomplishments and then presents religion as a kind of cure all for these impurities when there is nothing impure about instinct!

Yes, there are some instincts that we no longer require as an evolutionary imperative because of how we have progressed as a society technologically and intellectually, and we have learned as a community to control these instincts for the sake of the community we belong to. I'm not saying screaming 'fuck' in front of a group of pre-schoolers when you stub your toe is acceptable or even uncontrollable. However, I do grow tired of being told as an adult by other adults that I should censor myself because their religion tells them what I'm saying is offensive. I respect people when they ask me to curb the swearing because they personally find it offensive, but that respect is immediately lost when that offense is righteously attributed to a religion - which transforms the request for respect into a demand for me to augment my behavior because they choose to follow a religion. All I have to say to that is: no fucking thanks.

Blasphemy, Reaction and Response

So, something called The Defamation Bill was passed yesterday in the Irish Dail (kind of like the English Parliament or the American House of Representatives) and it seems likely it will be making it's way into law by October of this year:

The Defamation Bill, which also introduces a new crime of blasphemous libel, will come into operation after it is passed by the Seanad later this week and signed into law by President Mary McAleese.

In reaction to this, American Atheists made this post:

The creators of the Father Ted television series have denounced Ireland’s proposed blasphemy laws as “insanity” and pledged to support a campaign to repeal them.

Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan backed moves by a group of Irish secularists to challenge the bill against blasphemy introduced in the Dáil last week. Atheist Ireland said this weekend that it will publish a statement blaspheming all the major religions in Ireland, including Christianity and Islam. The group said it would be a calculated challenge to the law.

Accompanied by this video:

Blasphemy Oath 2009 convention from American Atheists on Vimeo.

Which inspired this comment by a resident religious troll on the AA blog, Phreedm:

Yikes…and you wonder why membership in AA is falling. How in the world could anyone take you seriously?

Phreedm inadvertently brings up a good point with his mocking comment – when atheists are serious about the topic of atheism or religion and come to a discussion with scientific facts to fully support compelling arguments, we are often labeled by the religious as ‘militant’, ‘technophiles’, ’science worshipers’ or are told that we are too serious, stuffy, nerdy, or whatever implication you prefer. When atheists have a little fun and act silly (while still making a valid point, mind you), we are called absurd and get responses like ‘how could anyone take you seriously?’

When you are told by a group of people with an opposing view that you need to loosen up and then when you loosen up you have to deal with comments such as these, it's very difficult not to feel like the opposition you face is less an honest, thoughtful response to the argument you pose and more of a ridiculous and willfully ignorant rejection based on nothing more than blind obedience to a exclusionary doctrine.

The Power of Guilt

Growing up my mother always labeled herself agnostic but she was really what I would call a 'recovering Catholic.' One of the most telling signs of her Catholic upbringing was the guilt which permeated everything she did. I've heard, of course, about the legendary 'Catholic Guilt' which people joke about and talk about almost flippantly, but I think it's important to really take a look at guilt and what a powerful weapon it can be in the hands of religious leaders.

It has been said by religious leaders of all denominations that guilt, being the feeling of responsibility or remorse for an offense - real or imagined, is the natural feeling we all have because of sin. In fact, some religious people would go so far as to say the human propensity for guilt is somehow proof of god's existence. Why else would we be plagued by this terrible emotion?

From an evolutionary standpoint, guilt can be considered a valuable trait as it aids people in engaging in and maintaining social relationships and thus benefits the species in regard to reproductive success. It is important for people to have an innate negative response to mistreatment of others within the group - ie guilt, remorse, shame, etc. - in order to facilitate living in groups. It is also important to note that while modern man's social and intellectual evolution have lessened the importance of existing in a group, this was once necessary to the advancement of our species.

If you run across someone who does not feel guilt or remorse you tend to refer to that person as a sociopath and treat them like an unstable and often dangerous entity. This is because when someone lacks guilt, it creates a completely different list of acceptable behaviors for that single person which is not common to the group and these behaviors often include mistreatment of others which would normally be kept in check by the inherent existence of guilt, among other emotions.

Guilt is powerful because it's one of the emotions humans (among other animals) feel in order to maintain social balance. The fact that religions have tried to use the existence of guilt to justify and in some cases prove their beliefs seems little more than human nature, but to confuse the human need to understand emotions through simplification - often in the form of religious explanation - with some kind of truth is very dangerous. We are gaining a better understanding of ourselves as a species every day, and I look forward to a time when we understand enough of why we think and feel the way we do to not need a blanket response like 'religion' or 'god' as an easy answer for whatever we experience which we can't easily explain or understand.

Mother Teresa: The Greatest Lie Ever Told?

As I have found out time and again, if you are critical of Mother Teresa watch out - you will be attacked regardless of the factual information you present.

Mother Teresa is often presented as one of the shining examples of religious good. Is this true? In my opinion, not at all. In fact, Mother Teresa was one of the best examples of how a legend can be produced from good PR regardless of what the person actually did for humanity.

Calcutta

One of the most referenced accomplishments accredited to Mother Teresa was her "Home for the Dying" in Calcutta, one of many establishments which the Missionaries of Charity established to care for "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." While these establishments seemed like true humanitarian efforts from an outsider's point of view, the truth behind them is far more sinister. The justification for the lack of medical supplies including painkillers at these places was evidently rooted in Teresa's personal belief that the path to religious purity was through suffering.

This did not, however, stop the Mother herself from utilizing some of the most expensive and technologically up to date clinics in the west when she herself begand to experience heart trouble and other issues tied to her old age. Why is it that Mother Teresa saw something beautiful in the suffering of the poor Calcutta masses but when it came to her own suffering saw no issue with allowing herself the most comfortable care, regardless of the price? This seems to indicate a lack of true belief in what she preached - a hypocrisy which should not be ignored.

Nobel Peace Prize and Birth Control

In 1979 Mother Teresa was given the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in Calcutta. At this time she was already well on her way to being one of the more influential and affluent religious leaders of our time - though her bankroll was not reflected in her homes for the destitute, nor would it ever be. Many people, including Christopher Hitchens, have asked one question in regard to her attaining the Peace Prize - Why? Her acceptance speech was a perfect example of the lack of regard for peace: “Abortion is the worst evil, and the greatest enemy of peace... Because if a mother can kill her own child, what will prevent us from killing ourselves or one another? Nothing.” These are not the words of a humble, loving person doing the work of a loving god. These are the words of a calculated religious leader who is pushing an agenda by any means nessecary.

Her attacks on birth control were constant and showed an utter disregard for the dangers of over-population and the suffering it caused - a suffering which she experienced first hand at her centers for the poorest of poor. In 1992 at an open air mass in Knock, Ireland, she said, “Let us promise our Lady who loves Ireland so much, that we will never allow this country a single abortion. And no contraceptives.” When asked about the over-popuation of India where a good portion of her work was seen as necessary because of a direct correlation between the poor and over-population, she said "God always provides. He provides for the flowers and the birds, for everything in the world He has created. And those little children are his life. There can never be enough.”

Even if one were to believe that Mother Teresa had nothing but what she felt was the best intentions in regard to these people, her comments show clearly a lack of understanding in regard to the modern world and the necessity for contraception as a means to control the destitute population in all areas of the world. At worse, her actions were selfish and calculated and at best, irresponsibly out of touch with reality.

On Being a Patriot

One of the small joys I have in life is when I see one of those circa 2001 post 9/11 bumper stickers announcing "These Colors Don't Run!" faded to a sickly sepia on the back of someone's car.

I'm not a patriot of the wearing-a-flag-shirt-from-old-navy-and-driving-a-car-with-a-magnetic-yellow-ribbon-on-the-bumper variety. I love the freedoms we have here. I love being able to get on the internet and post a blog of my thoughts with no worries as to whether my post is going to be edited, deleted, or result in my being thrown in jail or worse. I appreciate other like minded individuals I meet who believe in civil rights for all citizens, not just those who are of a certain color, or who were born here, or who find people of the opposite sex attractive. I believe the freedom to express yourself freely is one of the most important freedoms we have, because I feel that only through sharing ideas and discussing those ideas can we continue to grow together as a country to become more than we are today.

The fourth of July is a good day to think about what you like about living here for those of us who spend a lot of time focusing on what we don't like and trying to do our part to help influence people to change the injustices that we see. I think one of the most unfair labels that can be assigned to the whistle blowers of politicians, religions, and any other sect of society prone to manipulation and control over the American people through intimidation and control is 'unpatriotic' because part of being a patriot is questioning the authority of those who hold those positions of power. That's what keeps this nation of, by, and for the people.

So, to atheists who face this label day in and out I say - this is our day to celebrate our dedication to the things that have and will continue to make America great. Please continue to question your government and your fellow Americans because the moment we stop asking questions will be the moment patriotism in America goes the way of the buffalo.

Gay Rights, Atheist Allies and WTF Black Community?

I always thought myself lucky to be born with a natural attraction to the opposite sex. Why do I say lucky? I've watched close friends deal with judgment, harassment, and aggression because of who they are - because they're gay - and I understood after witnessing it that I was lucky to be hetero. I'm sure my parents felt this way growing up in the rural Midwest during desegregation. The fact is - when you feel lucky because of how you were born, there's something bad happening to people who weren't born the same as you.

For a lot of atheists, the issues my friends have dealt with are all too familiar. Now, similarities have previously been drawn between the atheist movement and the gay rights movement and I don't think many people have a problem with this because they are both similar kinds of rejection received typically from religious conservatives (though not always). One could argue that discrimination against gays is worse because homosexuality is not a belief, it's a state of being and I agree with that, but discrimination on any level is unacceptable and so to say 'my suffering is less deserved than your suffering, though neither is acceptable' is moot.

For me, the passion of my support of gay rights is on par with the passion I have in my belief in atheism - I honestly cannot see any reason why gays should not have the same rights as anyone else. I even take offense to giving gays the same exact rights as everyone else but not allowing them to use the word 'marriage'. It's ridiculous, it's troglodytic in philosophy, and it's blatently seperatist. Have we learned nothing?

What really bothers me is when I see black people rallying against gays. Seriously? You don't see ANY connection between what happened to you or your parents, grandparents, etc and what some people are trying to do with gay rights right now? I imagine it must be a poisonous and hateful form of religion that allows these people to diferentiate between what they and their family went through for equal rights and what gays are currently going through regarding rqual rights. Which is a wonderful and specific example of why I think religion is a negative influence on modern society.

What spurnned this little rolling rant? This video taken of a group of teenagers (black) harassing a single gay man as he walked alone down the street. What the hell is wrong with these kids? Does it only take the span of a few decades for people to forget all of the struggle they had to go through before they turn around the inflict the same kind of hateful aggression they once rallied against?