Public reply to Bodie Hodge of AiG.

A reply to Bodie's load of shit at AiG

"Are you tired of all the evil associated with the philosophy of atheism—Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, and so on?"

Bodie, no one associates those kooks with atheism except christians. Those tyrants were mentally ill. And in point of fact, Hitler was not an atheist, but a Catholic Christian. There is no evil associated with atheism except the evil you try to impose on atheists for not believing the same superstitions as you. Most atheists are good hard working people who are compassionate and generous. If atheism is inherently evil as you imply, why are atheists 11+% of the population at large yet less than 1% of the prison population? The numbers seem to say that atheists are more moral and law abiding than more so called christians. 

"After all, most murderers, tyrants, and rapists are not biblical Christians, and most have rejected the God of the Bible."

Wrong. Absolutely wrong. Religion has a gigantic body count. From the crusades to the inquisitions to the dozens of wars fought over religions and countless other despicable acts. 

"Even if they claim to believe in the God of the Bible, they are not really living like a true Christ follower (who strives to follow God’s Word), are they?"

Who's to say? The God of the bible has murdered millions by his floods or other so called judgements to ordering genocide by his followers. 

"Do you feel conflicted about the fact that atheism has no basis in morality (i.e., no absolute right and wrong; no good, no bad?) "

Not at all. Atheism speaks to *one thing only*. The lack of belief in gods. Period. It doesn't have any position on morality or any other matter. It doesn't speak to aesthetics or ethics or anything else. In fact that you and other christians keep spewing this "atheism has no basis on morality" is just intellectual dishonesty. 

Do you feel conflicted that your bible endorses rape and slavery and doesn't denounce molesting children? For a so called moral guide, your bible promotes the most vile aspects of human behavior. Do you feel conflicted that your god allowed the devil to murder people over a fucking bet? Does it bother you that in your precious bible, your god has a body count in the millions and Satan only one of 10? Seems to me you are worshiping the wrong character in that book.

"And further, knowing that you are essentially no different from a cockroach in an atheistic worldview (since people are just animals) must be disheartening."

Hardly! That we have survived to become all that we have is something to be proud of! We live in a universe that doesn't know or care we exist and has been "trying" to wipe us out for eons, speaks to our resilience! That is not something to be disheartened about, but is the sound of our triumph! 

"Are you tired of the fact that atheism (which is based in materialism, a popular worldview today) has no basis for logic and reasoning? Is it tough trying to get up every day thinking that truth, which is immaterial, really doesn’t exist?"

Again atheism doesn't speak to logic or reason. Just the disbelief of your god claims. Please try to get that through your thick skull.

That you don't understand that simple point makes it pointless to respond to the rest of your misguided claims.

"Invitation: I invite you to reconsider that the false religion of atheism is simply that."

I invite you to realize that your religion is a delusion. I invite you to join reality and leave your stupid beliefs behind you! I invite you to realize that atheism is not a religion any more than the color "blue" is part of the audio spectrum.  But till you accept those invitations and decide to be intellectual honest, I invite you to go fuck yourself. 

A great loss.... Christopher Hitchens dead at 62.

RIP Christopher Hitchens - greatest literary provocateur of my lifetime. Huge talent, huge loss

And to you christians, like Ray and Steve and Tony... 

Be respectful and not the ghouls you usually are. 

New Atheist focused movie!!

The Ledge

Is this the Brokeback Mountain moment for atheists? The Ledge is the first drama in Hollywood history to feature an openly atheist hero in a story about religious conflict. 

The Ledge is the first film in Hollywood history that puts an atheist into the hero role in a production that features A-list stars. It is written and directed by Matthew Chapman, the great-great-grandson of Charles Dawin, the scientist who discovered evolution, the biggest challenge to religion since Gallileo. The film was nominated for Best US Drama at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and stars Charlie Hunnam, Sons of Anarchy, Liv Tyler, Lord of the Rings, Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe nominee, Patrick Wilson, Watchmen, and Oscar nominee Terrence Howard, Crash, Iron Man.

On the rooftop of a city skyscraper, Detective Hollis (Terrence Howard) pleads with Gavin (Charlie Hunnam) not to jump. What he does not know is that Gavin, an atheist, is involved in a deadly feud with Joe (Patrick Wilson), a Christian extremist. Joe's wife, Shana, (Liv Tyler) is caught in the middle as Joe seeks to test Gavin's faith or lack of it. Cutting between the present and the past, tension escalates as verbal shots give way to deadly threats in a race against time that neither God nor the police can stop. Along the way, the film provocatively explores the intellectual and emotional conflicts between religion and atheism.


The movie is available to watch NOW on iTunes and OnDemand!

Ray's instructions on how to become an atheist....

How to Become an Atheist

"There are two main hard and fast rules for anyone who would like to become an "atheist." If you are tempted, beware. It's not an easy thing to do. 

The first rule is to ignore design in nature. You will see it everywhere; from the planets, to the atoms, to the birds and the bees, to the seasons, to the design of the human body, the design of fish, flowers, fruits, feet, and even fungus. And of course, the amazing-looking human eye. Everywhere you look and everywhere you can't look, you will see design. 

Now here's the hard part. Ignore your God-given common sense. Admit that everything man made is man-made, but be uncompromisingly adamant that everything in nature came from nothing, with no Designer. Once you have set aside your acumen to do this, crown yourself as being intelligent. Very. Then find other atheists and they will confirm to you that you are indeed, intelligent. 

The second rule is to "believe." This is very important, because if you let doubt in, it will let in fear, and that can be a scary thing when the issue at stake is a place called "Hell." 

Believe that you are right in your beliefs. Believe that evolution is indeed true. Believe that it's scientific. Believe that there are no missing links, and believe that Richard Dawkins knows what he is talking about. 

Believe that you are an ape, that you are not morally responsible because apes have no moral absolutes. Believe that your conscience was given to you by your parents and society, and not by God (always use a small "g" for God, if possible). 

To grow as an atheist, you will need to learn believers' language--phrases like "There is no creation," "Evolution is a proven fact," and the powerful "Flying Spaghetti Monster." Learn the fine art of cutting and pasting, and responding with "Straw man!" That means you won't have to respond to anything challenging. 

All this will give perceived intelligence. Never question evolution, and don't think for yourself. 

Do these things, and you will be able to call yourself an atheist, or even a "new" atheist. How cool is that! Well, I should say, as much of one as you can be called one. No one can be a true atheist because you need "absolute knowledge" to say that there is no God. So until you are omniscient (like God), you will just have to do with pretending to be one. "

Wow. To be an atheist, you have to "Admit that everything man made is man-made, but be uncompromisingly adamant that everything in nature came from nothing, with no Designer."


Seriously..  WTF? 

What atheists believe (part 2)

4) Of the Four Causes in nature proposed by Aristotle (material, formal, efficient, and final), which of them are real? Do final causes exist?

Not enough context to give a good answer.

5) Why do we have subjective experience, and not merely objective existence?

We are imperfect beings. Perfection doesn't exist in anything remotely complex. Objective experiences  would require that we process ever input perfectly from all points of view. We simply can't do that, so we are stuck with the alternative. 

6) Why is the human mind intentional, in the technical philosophical sense of aboutness, which is the referral to something besides itself? How can mental states be about something? 

 Question is meaningless to me. If someone will clarify it, I will give it a go...

7) Does Moral Law exist in itself, or is it an artifact of nature (natural selection, etc.)

Morals are simply a sense of fairness. It can be seen in other social mammals. It comes from nature in that treating fellow social members of your unit fairly increases your chances to breed, remain in the group, have your young cared for, etc. 

8) Why is there evil?

If you mean people who do bad things, because some people lack that sense of fairness. We care for all people and their kids. So morality is no longer being selected for in the same sense it would be if our society was under more survival pressure. Again, there is no such thing as perfection in this world. 

What atheists believe (part 1)

Michael Egnor has Eight Questions for the New Atheists.  So I will take them on and answer them with my take. 

1) Why is there anything?

Simply. A state of nothingness can't exist. Even nothing is something. When I tell you to think of nothing, you can't. A state of nothingness is unstable and can't exist. 

2) What caused the Universe?

Whatever it was, it wasn't god. When you impose god as the cause, you get too many other stupid questions that pop up. What was god doing before the universe? Why now? Why us? What happens after for that eternity of which the bible speaks? What caused god? etc. I subscribe to the idea that cosmology will find the likely cause and whatever that is, gods will not  be part of the answer.


Watch a pot of water on the stove. As it approaches boiling, bubbles spontaneously form at the base of the pot. Same as our universe in some respects. 

3) Why is there regularity (Law) in nature?

Laws are simply things we see in nature. To assume that something put the laws there is absurd. The are part of nature, just as gravity is a by-product of having mass, that electrons have a negative charge. They weren't made to be like this and to have these laws, but the laws are our way of describing what we observe.

More to come later.....