Atheist Reality
The Reality of Accepting Actuality
“God’s” “Hell”
Jan 22nd
I’m finding inconsistencies in the traditional concept of “Hell”. “God” sends you there at the end of your life for not believing in him or sinning. But supposedly, “God” didn’t create hell, nor does he run or affiliate with it. That can’t be. If evil entities run “Hell”, why would they punish you for being bad in life there? As advocates of evil, wouldn’t they reward poor or “evil” behavior? By the basic religious concepts of “Hell” and the devil, wouldn’t sinners and nonbelievers be rewarded in “Hell” by evil/anti-god entities for behaving unscrupulously or being without “God” during life? Unless “God” or other “good” entities are behind the supposed torture that goes on in “Hell”, punishment there isn’t feasible. …Further logic to support you just living your life without concern for your behavior with regard to religious rules.
Priest Drowns Baby During Baptism Ceremony
Aug 5th
On July 22, parents Dumitru and Ludmila Gaydeu of Moldova gathered their friends and family for the baptism of their 6 week old son, Laurentiu. But tragedy struck when they witnessed the priest, Father Valentin, negligently drown their baby during the ritual.
Video taken by family members shows that Father Valentin submerged baby Laurentiu in “holy” water 3 times without covering his mouth. Laurentiu was still wiggling when he was taken out of the water, but he soon began bleeding from his nose and mouth and had trouble breathing as relatives dressed him.
The family took the baby to the hospital, but unfortunately, he died en route.
Laurentiu’s father Dumitru spoke with Romania’s Publica TV:
‘We all saw it, the priest didn’t put his hand over the baby’s mouth to stop water going in as he should have done and as they do at every other baptism.’
‘We couldn’t believe it that he just put his hand over his belly and over the head and submerged him three times in the water.’
According to the Daily Mail,
The baby’s godmother Aliona Vacarciuc, 32, told the Sun: ‘The baby was crying as he went into the water.’
‘We couldn’t believe it but we thought the priest must know what he’s doing, but he didn’t. When we got him back there was nothing that could be done anymore.’
She said that she and the other godparents had challenged the priest and asked him: ‘What have you done.’
She added: ‘He just told us that he knew better than we did what should have happened and that it was not his first baptism — he was experienced and knew what to do.’
Father Valentin denies causing Laurentiu’s death during the baptism, but is currently under investigation for manslaughter. If convicted, he could face 3 years in prison.
Putting it into perspective:
In all honesty, this poor baby’s death couldn’t have been more preventable. At best, baptism is a completely useless ritual, and Christian faiths can’t even agree on its purpose – or that it even has a purpose.
It’s traditional for infants to be totally submerged in water for baptisms in Eastern European regions (like Moldova). That, combined with a lack of secular regulations and standards for priests and practices, and the blind trust many believers have in religious leaders, is a recipe for disaster.
Why would you let a man you know little or nothing about handle your baby? -And submerge him in water no less! Believers tend to overlook the reality of these situations when it comes to entrusting their families to priests and other religious leaders. No one should ever give a person unconditional trust based on his status as a priest alone. Unfortunately, baby Laurentiu and his family paid the ultimate price for their mistake in doing so.
Your Brain on God: Evolution and the “Opiate of the Masses”
May 16th
In the following video, Lionel Tiger, co-author of “God’s Brain”, discusses his understanding of religion from a psychological perspective. Most Atheists know of Richard Dawkins’ standing that “God” is a delusion (hence his book), but Tiger disagrees. Instead, he submits that religion is a neurological phenomenon that fulfills mental needs our species has acquired through evolution.
Tiger may have uncovered answers to why the overwhelming global majority has supernatural beliefs and is drawn to organized religion. Not to mention, he has some pretty nice things to say about Atheists toward the end of the video!
Side Note: Tiger makes several references to serotonin – If you’re unfamiliar with it, here’s a brief explanation: Serotonin is a chemical in the brain which regulates mood, and is also necessary for relaxation, sleep and concentration. A low level of serotonin is thought to be a main culprit of clinical depression, among other mental disorders.
It’s exciting to hear that someone’s examining the root of religion from an evolutionary standpoint. I agree with Dawkins that nowadays, religion has to be based, at least in part, on delusion; but I also recognize that it probably didn’t start that way.
Until recent history, people didn’t have strong evidence to contradict their beliefs. When ancient people looked up at the stars, or encountered natural disasters and environmental hardships, or just experienced the roller coaster of life, their limited understanding lead them to fill the knowledge gap with supernatural dictators. But today, that gap is drastically smaller. We know that most events on our planet and beyond have natural, logical, scientific explanations and causal relationships – Not to mention, there are countless religious contradictions. Even so, the masses still cling to their beliefs. There must be a reason for the desperation!
In my opinion, it’s probably always been a delusion (of course, I’m an Atheist…); But what Tiger’s book – an evolutionary psychology analysis – could bring to the table, is why humans need the delusion. High intelligence – like that of our species – comes with added psychological requirements: To demonstrate, a dog doesn’t need a TV, a soul mate, a thriving social life and career satisfaction to feel fulfilled. Just toss in a bone, a little playtime, and a few walks a week, and a dog is livin’ the dream. Why isn’t that level of simplicity enough for humans? Obviously, we’ve evolved to be too intelligent, too emotional, and too mentally complex for those things to be meaningful enough. Perhaps in the case of religion, humanity has employed imaginary meaning in place of that which life itself can’t provide.
As every person has experienced (I’m sure), our lifestyles and environment rarely ever fit the total bill of our needs; where one aspect succeeds, others are always lacking. Religion can be and has been a foolproof filler for the inevitable lacking areas. As mentioned in the video, during hard times, religious devotion explodes in populations. For some, maybe religion is a glistening oasis in the middle of a scorching desert; people can’t help but run for it, even though they know deep down that most likely, it isn’t real.
My guess is, increased needs and intelligence have gone hand in hand throughout our neurological evolution; But could the needs that once aided the progression of our species – the voids religion fills – now be part of what’s holding us back? And furthermore, have Atheists simply learned to fulfill those needs by other means, or are we a new wave of people who don’t seem to have them as strongly?
To further explore the issue, I recommend adding Tiger’s book, “God’s Brain“, to your reading list (I know I will be!) – it’s already gotten some great reviews!
Presidential Inauguration Remains Unconstitutionally Religious
May 14th
Last week, the battle to exclude religion from Presidential Inaugurations was lost. Several months ago, Michael Newdow began legal proceedings, along with over 230 other plaintiffs, against two components of the inaugurations:
- The addition of the term “so help me God” in the presidential oath. Note that the word “God” isn’t in the original Presidential Oath of Office in the Constitution.
- Government-sponsored use of clergy members to issue public prayers both before and after inoguration ceremonies (invocation and benediction). It’s tradition for 2-4 clerics to be invited for that purpose.
Both practices violate the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment and are therefore unconstitutional.
According to CNN:
The new lawsuit says in part, “There can be no purpose for placing ‘so help me God’ in an oath or sponsoring prayers to God, other than promoting the particular point of view that God exists.”
Newdow said references to God during inauguration ceremonies violate the Constitution’s ban on the establishment of religion.
Newdow and other plaintiffs say they want to watch the inaugural either in person or on television. As atheists, they contend, having to watch a ceremony with religious components will make them feel excluded and stigmatized.
“Plaintiffs are placed in the untenable position of having to choose between not watching the presidential inauguration or being forced to countenance endorsements of purely religious notions that they expressly deny,” according to the lawsuit.
…
Newdow said religious references in the inauguration ceremony sends a message to non-believers.
“The message here is, we who believe in God are the righteous, the real Americans,” he said.
Newdow said it’s unconstitutional to imply that atheists and others are not as good.
Unfortunately, the case was dismissed anyway. In a nutshell, the court’s order denies that any harm has been caused by the inclusion of religion in inauguration ceremonies, and that even if harm could be demonstrated, the plaintiffs haven’t effectively shown how disallowing the current traditions would bring relief. Additionally, the order prohibits Newdow from relitigating the issue.
Ah, religious bias at work again! The harm here is difficult to express in words, but it does exist. Events that include religious practices specifically exclude nonbelievers. For the government to hold such events is discriminative because it demonstrates biased favoritism only toward Americans who share the represented beliefs. Our government isn’t just responsible for representing the majority – it’s responsible for representing the vast diversity of our citizens - Atheists included. As long as the government requires taxes from us godless, “lesser” Americans, they need to start including us by upholding the Constitution and leaving religion where it belongs: in homes and churches.
Something to think about:
I’d like to demonstrate the atrocity by switching out the Atheist minority with other minority groups more advanced toward the light at the end of their tunnels. To put things in perspective, let’s say the inauguration ceremonies (and money, and the Pledge of Allegiance, etc.) featured pro-white sayings or practices that specifically excluded all non-white Americans. Let’s say that successful whites were invited to presidential inaugurations for the sole purpose of speaking on behalf of whites and whites only, and represented views that include all non-whites burning in hell for all eternity. Would that be okay? Obviously, the answer is no – so why is it okay for the American government to shit on Atheists?!
On a positive note, Newdow, who has also fought to remove religion from currency and the Pledge of Allegiance, is almost certain to appeal the court’s dismissal.
Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewaz/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Damn Atheists! A Little Movie With a Big Message
May 13th
Thanks to Atheist Cartoons for the video!
The slogan on the bus in the video was actually displayed on trains and buses across the United Kingdom in early 2009. Since then, Atheist groups in other countries (including the U.S.) have followed suit and launched their own bus campaigns. Although the Atheist ads are just flecks in the public sea of religious messages (as the video demonstrated), each campaign has been met with an uproar of outraged religious followers (primarily Christians – not surprisingly).
Most organizations behind the campaigns have clarified that the ads aren’t attempts to convert religious folks. Rather, they’re to reach out to members of the nonreligious community – many of whom feel isolated or are still in the closet. But regardless, many religious people are infuriated. Countless complaints have been made that the ads are “offensive” to Christians, and Christian groups have launched their own bus campaigns to refute the Atheist ads (and that’s just in the UK). They act as though their children’s eyes and minds are being violated – and like they’re being violated – as though the message that, “It’s okay not to believe!” is something vulgar and disturbing. By the reactions, you’d think it was giant images of fetish pornography on the buses. Also, our tiny voice among the overwhelming pro-God banter is often regarded as aggressive, excessive, or in-your-face, – as the video suggests; But how can that be? Logically (I know, I know, the believers don’t use logic…), a simple comparison of religious messages to non-theist ones (number, placement, content, etc.) would show immediately how absurd that notion is.
There’s a huge lack of empathy, consideration, and tolerance toward Atheists by the general religious population. It’s ignored that perhaps we don’t want our children exposed to the word “God” on their currency or in their classrooms with the Pledge of Allegiance, or that it’s violating for us to have to follow Blue Laws or be treated as second class citizens, just because someone else has an imaginary sky fairy delusion.
Until recently, religious institutions have had it easy: There’s been no public challenge, counter, or opposition to their ridiculous claims and teachings. However, they’re just going to have to get over it and stick their heads out of the delusional safety of their Jesus cocoons. Atheists are the fastest growing minority group, and as such, our public voices are only just getting their feet wet.
If Science Worked Like Religion: The Richard Dawkins Lecture
May 7th
Leave it to Richard Dawkins to put things in prospective for us yet again. The following is a lecture he gave at UC Berkeley:
It’s amazing how a simple situation reversal can make something widely accepted look so ridiculous! I love it!
I’ve actually had the “geography of religion” debate with a handfull of Christians – not surprisingly, to no avail. One even insisted that if she were born in the Middle East and raised as a Muslim, she’d still believe in Christ because Christianity is truth, she’d have an internal calling, and of course, some mumbo jumbo about how the Bible says so. (Like, hello! You wouldn’t have read the Bible – that’s the point!). Assuming she lacks the capability to think outside her current box, I think it’s safe to say that in a Muslim society (or any other for that matter), she’d be conforming just the same. Actually, that’s probably true of most dedicated religious followers; And ironically, those who most strongly deny the geographic (and hence, societal) influence on their faith are the ones who demonstrate they’re the most susceptible to it. Go figure :-/
Thanks to Atheist Media for uncovering the video. To view more clips from this lecture and others by Dawkins, click here.
Skipping Sunday School: A Documentary About Growing Up Godless
May 7th
The filming of a new documentary about children who grow up without religion is currently in progress. The film is by Henlivision, who recently released the extended trailer:
Here’s some info about the film from Henlivision’s website:
Is God dead?
The US is seeing a substantial downward trend in religious adherence, especially in young people. “If the trends continue, ‘the Millenial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships,’ says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. In the group’s survey of 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds, 72% say they’re really more spiritual than religious …. Most young adults today don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible ….” (USA Today, April 27, 2010)
A downward religious trend in young adults suggest a downward trend in religious children. In this documentary, in its mid stages of production, we investigate the relationship between children and religion. Is it possible to raise ethical, moral children who do not have a basic belief in a god or higher power? How do children without a religious foundation come to terms with the concept of death and the afterlife? Do children raised by non-theist parents resent their godless upbringing? Which group, the faithless or the ultra-faithful, faces the most ostracism? Do parents struggle with their decisions? How do the experiences of growing up without religion compare to those of growing up with religion?
Why is our focus on children? Well, because we’re interested in finding out if religion has anything to do with being a good person, as most religions would have you believe. A person’s sense of morality and ethics is developed in childhood and adolescence. Recent studies performed by Professor Frans de Waal at Emore University suggest that morality was developed as part of the evolutionary process, and has absolutely nothing to do with God. Through his research, he has discovered that “monkeys and apes can make judgements about fairness, offer sympathy and help and remember obligations.” (The Telegraph, Feb. 15, 2009)
Consider the quote by eminent evolutionary biologist and active atheist, Richard Dawkins: “There is no such thing as a Christian child: only a child of Christian parents.”
I definitely agree with Dawkins’ quote. A child doesn’t possess the maturity or knowledge to decide upon the origin of the universe, so when a child practices religion, it’s because the adults in his life have pressured him to do so. The same is true when a child professes religious devotion, or repeats religious dialogue and teachings.
As a person brought up without religion myself, I already know that morality doesn’t have to be dependent on, or even influenced by, religion. To the contrary, I actually think moral religious people are less moral than moral non-theists. Namely, when a religious person behaves well, it’s acknowledged to be for a post-death reward, among others: religious followers gain personal comfort, support from their religious cliques, and more advantages in our society in exchange for their beliefs.
Also, in childhood, I was treated very cruelly for years by Christian and Catholic kids and adults for being non-church-going. I submit that while both religious and nonreligious people can be moral or immoral, religion can have a demoralizing effect on people. The kids who bullied me in my youth did so because their parents and church taught them they’re better than people with other beliefs, and that they don’t have to be kind to or tolerant of such people for that reason alone. Additionally, I can’t tell you how many adults I’ve met or befriended who use their faith to justify their wrongful actions, assuming they’re “forgiven” as long as they believe. In my opinion, the ego of some religious people, in believing that they’re part of an elite group that can do no wrong, also contributes to immoral behavior (note the Pope recently…).
Personally, I can’t wait to see this documentary! If you feel you have a story that pertains to the documentary, you may be able to help! The creators are still in production, and are looking for people to interview for the film (see the bottom of this page under “How you can HELP” for what they’re looking for). Also, to connect with the filmmakers or to make a donation to the project, visit this page.
Special thanks to Atheist Nexus, the online community for non-theists, for bringing the documentary to my attention.
College Grad Demonstrates Mental Illness Through Christianity
May 7th
A young woman just graduating from Midwestern State University in Texas gave a shocking speech during the school’s graduation ceremony. She began by preaching and repenting for embracing humanism, and ended by mumbling in tongues and having a complete physical meltdown. Keep in mind that Midwestern is a public, state-funded university (supposed to be secular). Here’s the clip:
Either that was the best orgasm of her life, or that was some freaky shit!
If people conducted themselves like this young woman for any reason other than religion, they’d be deemed mentally ill by society and physicians in a heartbeat. Religious obsession to this degree includes many warning signs of crippling mental disorders: dilusions, hallucinations, lack of self awareness, denial of reality, mental impediments to learning and integrating in a diverse society, a false sense of supremacy, and the list goes on. Yet the American Psychological Association, and society, continue to tolerate this craziness as acceptable behavior.
Also, I think it’s obvious that this woman’s education has failed her. I would say that she failed at her education, but to the contrary, she’s still being awarded a degree by Midwestern. I’m not saying it should be a university’s responsibility to psychologically interrogate its students, but I think this serves as an excellent example of why academic achievement isn’t always a reflection of one’s intelligence or stability. In a world where degrees often earn a person respect, trust, assumed capabilities, money, and power, maybe we should be a little more careful of who we give them to.
Tim Minchin’s “Pope Song”
May 2nd
If you’re offended by excessive swearing or cartoon penises, this video isn’t for you. Otherwise, enjoy!
In light of all the recent, heavy-hitting Atheist issues, a little comic relief was definitely necessary 
If you’d like the lyrics to the Pope Song, visit the Deeply Flawed But Trying blog where Lisa, the author, has displayed them!
Bill Maher Video: Muslim ‘Wackos’ are Worse Than Ours
May 1st
I had to share this video – It’s hilarious!
