Act Now and We'll Throw In Jesus For Free!

I think the most compelling evidence against religion for me is that it has to be sold from one person to another. There is no independent verification process. Another person has to tell you which goods are god, which evil is not, and what is just part of god's mysterious plan for a better, bigger purpose than us. But you do have this handy book to guide you, although someone else has to tell you which parts are currently iron law and which are parables and can be largely ignored.

I was going to go on, but sometimes less is more.

A Week of Religious People Again

After existing happily secularly for quite a while I had a rash of religious folks around me this past week. A group I was working with got to talking about going to church in their youth. One was apparently beaten if he was late for church or showed up smelly because he was working and rushed to church without a shower. Another was Pentecostal and went to church daily and participated in every Pentecostal revival that came through town. I gather they aren't as devoted as their parents, but they did get to talking about the power of prayer and their strong belief that it "works". I had the good sense not to join these conversations.

I fail to see any supernatural cause and effect between prayer and events, although I've previously compared prayer to affirmations and meditation as a mind discipline. But one man in my workgroup this week was positively convinced prayer of others saved him from a bad lifestyle that would have ended in his early death and expressed incredulity at the thought that anyone wouldn't believe in the power of prayer. Again, I stayed out of the conversation as a work environment it not the proper place for spiritual debate.

On my flight back home I once again had a cute girl next to me. I had spotted her in the gate waiting area and was mildly infatuated with her backside, and she was cute from the front, too. To my surprise she had the seat next to me on the plane, and she was wearing no ring, and she appeared to be an appropriate age for me. But I was completely turned off when she pulled out her bible and was taking notes about her reading. There's a conversation I didn't even want to start that day, so I started dozing while the plane was still boarding.

There were also two or three ladies on the plane that were either Amish or nuns...I couldn't decide which. They had rather plain dresses with white hats with the fabric hanging down the back. I had recently been in an Amish store (complete with computer-printed labels, cell phones, and they took AMEX unlike some of the other local businesses, but nevermind) and the hats were a little different, so I started thinking maybe they were nuns' habits. One of them was seated in the row behind me and sang semi-quietly the entire flight.

Test of Faith

For various reasons I have not been following news well lately, and I completely missed what's been happening in Tunisia. But I've come in a little late on what's happening in Egypt.

The first articles and TV reports I saw about it were discussions of the Muslim Brotherhood who reportedly want a less secular and more Islamic-style government. I found myself worrying about such a transition and how it could make the world less safe for Israel and the U.S..

It quickly occurred to me that I was mentally taking the side apparently against the will of the people of Egypt, against democracy and for a reportedly oppressive government that doesn't allow free speech, controls the media and shuts down the internet and other communication services. That doesn't sound like me!

So I'm a bit ashamed of myself that I allowed—however briefly—my fear of religious oppression to overcome my belief in freedom and a representative government. Just because I've never seen compelling evidence for the existence of god(s) doesn't mean I want those who do believe in god(s) to suffer; however I wish they'd be more rational I don't realistically expect the world to suddenly shed its religions.

Then my cynicism kicked in, and I realize that the stories in Western media strongly implying a new Egyptian government that would concern many/most Americans are probably being made for the purpose of making the U.S. fear an Egyptian revolution. Whether the current government of Egypt is seeding those stories to discourage support of a regime change, or the U.S. government protecting a somewhat ally or just the Western media looking for talking points to catch our attention, I think we shouldn't allow these stories to frighten us.

After all, how does freedom and a representative government happen? Do dictators and otherwise powerful governments dole out power and freedom? No, the people revolt, and a peaceful revolution is a great way of doing it. Discount the fear of extremist Islam taking over the Middle East, and imagine freedom and democracy spreading through it like wildfire. Damn, how could that not be a good thing? Okay, I can actually think of one or two ways, but I can imagine mostly good ways for that to turn out. Power to the people! Let the people speak openly!

I fear religious influence on governments, but I believe that open communication is overall a positive thing for people everywhere. Writing in general was a technological leap; suddenly there is a species that can spread and retain experience and knowledge. The Gutenberg press really accelerated this, and then later postal services, radio, TV and the Internet allowed faster and wider dissemination of information so that now we are virtually a global community able to instantly react to happenings anywhere and communicate with people anywhere. If anything is more powerful in making people tolerate each other than communication, I don't know what it is. And toleration—live and let live—is one of my core beliefs.

Christians Are Arfraid of Atheists

I did an internet search to see if others had already begun atheist, rational or critical testimony, but all I can find are "ex-atheist" and other conversion testimonies. For some reason this congealed a thought that has been vaguely in my head for a long time: Christians are afraid of atheists. I suppose this should have been obvious, but it hadn't really occurred to me on such basic terms.

It would explain why they react so strongly to atheists. If testimony, faith and coercion are the only tools you have to attract people to and keep them in your religion, then someone using critical thinking to challenge your faith and beliefs must be terrifying.

Perhaps that is why testimony of atheists returning to religion seem to be so popular among Christians.

By the way, the closest thing I found to atheist / rational testimony in my searches so far is this video of Ricky Gervais. It is in the spirit of my rational testimony idea.

Testify!

I woke up in a rural / small city hotel after being suddenly diverted out of town for work, and then I headed downstairs for their free breakfast. In most of my travels I find Fox News on in the breakfast area, but this time it was the 700 Club on the telly. OMFG.

When I walked in there were a man and a woman praying over letters and telling people they were healed by Jesus...yeah, go back to the doctor, and they will tell you you're healed. Then there was a story about an orphaned child in Africa taken in by the ministry mission, and he caught the African "super virus" that was supposed to give a 10-day fever. But they prayed for him and the fever was gone in a day. Hallelujah.

Then they answered a letter from a young boy who was upset that his older sister no longer believed in god. They told him it's not his job to argue with her or pressure her (I'm glad for that much at least), but it was his job to periodically share with her how god helps him in his daily life. That is his testimony, they tell him.

Ah yes, testimony. As the only evidence presentable for the existence of god, testimony is a key element in spreading the word of god. When someone wants to convert you, they ask if they can give your their testimony. Christians give their testimony when speaking in front of a group.

But the way the 700 Club guy presented the instructions stuck a chord with me. The message of testimony is a personal, positive one. Hey, isn't that what I've been whining about in this blog? My failure to promote atheism in a positive manner? Haven't I been wondering how I can do so? Well, here it is: atheist/rational/critical testimony! Through testimony I can provide personal, positive messages about how my reliance on rational and critical thinking and the fruits of the scientific method help me in my daily life.

This is still in the idea phase, but I like it. Possible venues for my testimony include a Twitter account, a blog, and I am toying with the idea of a webcast, only I would want to be anonymous. Tricky, but not impossible. I don't think this blog is the place for such testimony as this is where we come to vent and mock. I need a new, pure, happy place to share my rational testimony.

Angry Atheists

It surprised me at first how much anger comes through in our blog here. It wasn't part of the original idea to have a blog to spew anger, but that's what came out. I figured it would subside after a time, but it's usually when I get angry about something that I think to blog about it. There is also the problem that Christians close to us caused a lot of evil and hid behind their religion for guilt-free forgiveness without regard to the recipients of the evil acts. And the purported use of religion by those distant to pursue evil acts worthy of reporting far and wide.

My big message I wanted to get across in the blog is that you can live a good, happy and moral life without a belief in God. I don't think I'm doing a great job of it, but oh well. Whenever I hear atheism discussed by religious folk they speak as if love and morality disappears if you have no God to believe in. That's the idea I want to change. Love, morality, caring, meaning and fulfillment are not tied to any religion or God.

I guess I also want people to quit using religion as a tool to manipulate others, because that's what I see when I look at organized religion. It's a means of few people controlling the thoughts and ultimately actions of many others. The flock react to the preacher, not to God, because God is just a feeling of validation you have when you feel good about what your thinking, and that is reinforced by your peers and leaders in the church.

I wish I could be more like Carl Sagan in my attitudes. In reading his book I love his approach in speaking about God. He says something like "I see no compelling evidence for God". Heck, I'm not even sure he was an atheist. He just speaks about his (and science's) observations and the accuracy of their predictions compared to religion and pseudoscience without anger or accusation.

The Friendly Atheist also has a good approach. In a recent video he speaks of reaching out and speaking with people he is at odds with to good effect. A woman who outed his atheism to all his management at work and released press releases further out him eventually complained about a nasty email she received from an angry FA reader. He apologized for it and pointed out an unfounded incendiary speculation made in one of the press releases, and they started an apparently cordial dialog and met in person. I doubt either altered their beliefs and opinions, but here are two people talking and agreeing on fair play and free speech rather than spewing anger at each other to no effect.

The FA also makes a distinction between debates and discussion in public speaking. I like this. I don't think I've ever seen a debate or argument change someone's opinion. It just polarizes people over the issue and separates people. A discussion, however, still doesn't change opinions, but it can result in fairer play, lower aggression and bring people closer together even if they disagree on such things as God and morality.

Another problem in getting along with people when realizing I was an atheist is that formerly respectable religions begin to sound as stupid as UFO cults, voodoo and pseudoscience, and it's hard to maintain respect for people who believe in them. It's hard not to start feeling smarter and superior to people who believe in ludicrous stories with no actual supporting evidence. And a lot of other atheists seem to come to the same thoughts, because there seems to be a sport in other atheists mocking believers. Sometimes amusing, but probably not constructive.

I sometimes ask myself how to be more like Carl Sagan or Hemant Mehta—The Friendly Atheist. I don't really have a good answer. I suppose I need to get over the anger. That will be hard to do, and I find it's helpful to spew it out here rather than to hang onto it.

After posting this I realized that my last blog is based on a video series titled "Why Do People Laugh at Creationists", and my last tweet links to "The Bible: Evidence That God Is Evil?" I found both amusing and validating my beliefs, but they certainly wouldn't open a door to friendly discussion with someone of differing beliefs, would they?

Jesusland

I can't coalesce my thoughts on this topic long enough to type intelligently about it, but check out this video about the dangers of Christian and Islamic fundamentalism—specifically in the case of creationism suppressing the results of the scientific method—to our country.

The video is part of a long well-made series debunking creationists.

I'll babble a bit about what's on my mind. The current transition from periodic media like newspapers and TV news to the internet is going to have some growing pains I fear. In general what takes the place of trusted journalists? More specifically I'm concerned that religious interests will try to overpower the voice of science and reason in the new media and risk slipping into a mini dark age.

I am not against free flow of information of course. I think in the long run the evolution of instant global communication will be great for humanity, but I worry about the bumps in the road along the way.

Edited to add: I like this video, too, by the same guy. It also points out the danger of muting science in favor of religious beliefs. I also love this text from a Despair.com-style poster shown in the movie:

Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove and evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree... yeah, makes perfect sense.