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A simple statement that summed up everything.

A few weeks ago, a *gasp* Facebook response to a question really stuck with me. The question was “Why do you think young people are leaving the church?” An atheist friend of my wife, whom I believe is dying of breast cancer, responded “Because it is based on a lie.”

This really took me aback. Here it is, a simple summation of everything that is wrong at the core of every religion, throughout history. It is based on a lie. The one unifying theme that all religions share is they are based on a lie. Even if people truly ‘believe’, it is a belief in a lie. This really reminded me why I lost any little faith I had many years ago. I realized it was just a bunch of made up lies and stories. Even before you get to the holy books of any religion, they are based on the lie that there is/are god(s). They don’t exist, they never existed. It happened to me in my biology class, studying how natural selection works. It was like a spark, wait, there is no need for a god to do anything? It all can be explained by natural processes. Evolution got me 99% of the way there. The only gap any god could hide in the Big Bang. Then I watched and read Cosmos, by Carl Sagan, and his beautiful explanation of how the universe came to be, and how the very atoms of my body came to be in the heart of a exploded star, closed the last gap, and my journey to atheism was complete.

As you can see, a simple statement, it is all based on a lie, touched me more than reading over a third of the dreadful bible. Just knowing it is all based on a lie almost makes me want to tear it apart more.

I realized I spent too much time and not enough snark on my last post, 36 Questions.   So, here is my really quick, brutally honest, take:

1. Why is there something rather than nothing?
   

   Don’t know, don’t care.

2. Is there any evidence that suggests the universe is eternal?
   

   Don’t know, don’t care.

3. If not, why do Atheists hold onto the idea and say you have debunked the Kalam Cosmological Argument?
   

   Kalam is fucking stupid.

4. If so, why do the vast majority of scientists reject this idea?
   

   Don’t know, don’t care.

5. Why is the universe so fine-tuned?
   

   It’s not.

6. If your answer is the multiverse, why is there no evidence for that theory?
   

   Don’t believe in multiverse, don’t care either.

7. Is it possible that there is no natural explanation for the origin of life?
   

   No

8. Where does consciousness come from?
   

   Don’t know, don’t care.

9. Do you lack a belief that God exists or would you say that God does not exist?
   

   God does not exist.

10. Do you lack a belief that Zeus exists, or do you believe that Zeus does not exist?
    

    Zeus does not exist.

11. If you just lack a belief that Zeus exists, why are you centuries behind the rest of the world who say that Zeus doesn’t exist?
    

    Zeus does not exist.

12. Do you act according to what you believe, or what you just lack a belief in?
    

    In what I believe in, the counter is fucking stupid.

13. What evidence is there that Atheism corresponds with reality?
    

    Just look at this fucked up world and try to convince me this was made by a loving god.

14. Is Atheism a worldview?
    

    No

15. If not, what is your worldview?
    

    Humanism

16. What would convince you that God exists?
    

    End all human suffering.

17. Are you willing to follow the evidence, even if it leads to a different understanding of how the universe works?
    

    Yes

18. If Jesus rose from the dead, would you become a Christian?
    

    No, humans don’t rise from the dead.

19. If you wouldn’t become a Christian, why would you ever accept that he rose from the dead?
    

    Humans don’t rise from the dead.

20. Why do Atheists keep insisting faith is blind trust, when that’s not what Christians or the Bible say?
    

    Faith is blind trust, if it had evidence, it wouldn’t be faith, but a justified belief.

21. Why do you want material evidence for an immaterial God?
    

    That’s a dumb fucking question for a dumb fucking concept.

22. Is there a purpose to life?
    

    No

23. If there is, by what standard do you determine life has purpose?
    

    N/A

24. If not, what is the point of listening to this video?
    

    This isn’t a video.

25. Where does morality come from?
    

    Our brains

26. How do you determine what is right and what is wrong?
    

    My brain

27. When a lion kills a cub from another pride because that’s what natural selection has raised it to do, is that morally acceptable?
    

    Non human animals are amoral. Nonsense question.

28. If evolution has put a sense of morality into us to help us survive, what makes our actions any better than any other animals actions?
    

    Evolution does not create morality, such a complex construct is not contained in our genes, passed on by memes instead.

29. Is it morally acceptable for you kill a toddler because you can no longer financially support it?
    

    No, adoption exists.

30. Is it morally acceptable to kill a fetus in the womb because you couldn’t financially support it?
    

    I have no opinion, since I am a man and can never have an abortion.

31. Is it morally acceptable to kill a baby after it has been born?
    

    No, that’s murder.

32. How can you morally differentiate between a baby in the womb at 6 months and a baby born prematurely at 6 months?
    

    No

33. Who was Jesus?
    

    A fictional character

34. Why did his disciples die saying that he rose from the dead?
    

    The disciples were also fictional characters and the resurrection is a fictional story.

35. Why does the Bible keep lining up with archaeology?
    

    Bwahahahaaa  you have to be fucking kidding.

36. Why do the three bloodiest regimes in History, (Mao’s China, Nazi Germany, and Stalin’s Russia) come from Atheistic ideas?
    

    Dishonest question, but here is my honest answer, I don’t fucking care.

Ahh, yes, the tired trope of questions for atheists.  This is from https://adherentapologetics.com/2020/02/15/36-questions-for-atheists/

Yes, a lot of these are repeats, but I have not answered these ‘questions’ for a few years now, so here is my fresh take, post 2 family deaths and a global pandemic.

Atheism is changing. Many people believe that an Atheist is someone who does not believe God exists. While some Atheists will make this claim, most Atheists, especially New Atheists will not make this claim even though they line up with that claim epistemologically. Most Atheists today will say that they, ‘just lack a belief’ in the existence of God. With that being said, here are 36 questions for Atheists.

A little rude, but, I am not a New Atheist, I have been an Atheist for 30 years.  I do not believe god/gods exist.

1. Why is there something rather than nothing?
   

   Don’t know, don’t care.  Nothing is a nonsense concept. What does this have to do with god?

2. Is there any evidence that suggests the universe is eternal?
   

   No, and there is no evidence of an eternal god(s) external to the universe.

3. If not, why do Atheists hold onto the idea and say you have debunked the Kalam Cosmological Argument?
   

   The Kalam Cosmo blah blah blah is such a stupid argument I have debunked too many times.  It depends on causality, and even if I accepts all the claims it gets you no closer to any particular god.

4. If so, why do the vast majority of scientists reject this idea?
   

   Reject what idea?  I hate indefinite pronouns.  Eternal universe?  The universe had a starting point, the cosmos may very well be eternal.  I am not a cosmologist, why are you expecting me to answer this question?  What does this have to do with god?

5. Why is the universe so fine-tuned?
   

   Fine tuned for what?  Is a puddle fine tuned for the hole that it is in?  Fine tuning refers to the values humans assign to constants, they are descriptive, not prescriptive.  A great example is Pi, it describes the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter and can only be one value.  Do you consider this fine tuning?

6. If your answer is the multiverse, why is there no evidence for that theory?
   

   N/A  I do not believe in multiverse theory.

7. Is it possible that there is no natural explanation for the origin of life?
   

   No

8. Where does consciousness come from?
   

   It is a byproduct of the information processing of frontal and temporal lobes.

9. Do you lack a belief that God exists or would you say that God does not exist?
   

   God(s) do no exist.  I am a hard 7 on the Dawkin’s scale.

10. Do you lack a belief that Zeus exists, or do you believe that Zeus does not exist?
    

    Zeus does not exist.

11. If you just lack a belief that Zeus exists, why are you centuries behind the rest of the world who say that Zeus doesn’t exist?
    

    No, Zeus does not exit.

12. Do you act according to what you believe, or what you just lack a belief in?
    

    In what I believe.  Acting is a lack of belief is non-nonsensical.

13. What evidence is there that Atheism corresponds with reality?
    

    We live in an indifferent world where humans have to come up with solutions to all of our problems.  Prayer does not work and we are battling a worldwide pandemic only humans can fix.

14. Is Atheism a worldview?
    

    No, Humanism is.

15. If not, what is your worldview?
    

    I am a Humanist, defined as an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.

16. What would convince you that God exists?
    

    An immediate end to all human suffering.

17. Are you willing to follow the evidence, even if it leads to a different understanding of how the universe works?
    

    Yes, but it needs to be strong evidence.

18. If Jesus rose from the dead, would you become a Christian?
    

    No.

19. If you wouldn’t become a Christian, why would you ever accept that he rose from the dead?
    

    No, humans don’t rise from the dead.

20. Why do Atheists keep insisting faith is blind trust, when that’s not what Christians or the Bible say?
    

    You have not read the Bible.  It requires a lot of faith, included the concept that the Bible was inspired, not just a work of fiction.

21. Why do you want material evidence for an immaterial God?
    

    There is no difference between an immaterial and imaginary god.  I want any evidence.  Cure an amputee, stop Covid-19, anything.

22. Is there a purpose to life?
    

    No

23. If there is, by what standard do you determine life has purpose?
    

    See 22.

24. If not, what is the point of listening to this video?
    

    Umm, this isn’t a video.  What does the purpose of life have to do with listening to a video?

25. Where does morality come from?
    

    Humans and culture determine morality, it is subjective.

26. How do you determine what is right and what is wrong?
    

    How I was raised and the concept I want to help other members of my species.  Altruism is hard wired, not morality.

27. When a lion kills a cub from another pride because that’s what natural selection has raised it to do, is that morally acceptable?
    

    Morality does not apply to animals.  It is a human concept.  Most animals are amoral creatures.

28. If evolution has put a sense of morality into us to help us survive, what makes our actions any better than any other animals actions?
    

    We are not hard wired for morality, we did evolve altruism, which is required to live in complex societies.  Since we are thinking beings living in a culture, we call decide what is moral and what is not.

29. Is it morally acceptable for you kill a toddler because you can no longer financially support it?
    

    Our current society considers this immoral, and I consider it immoral, they are a person.

30. Is it morally acceptable to kill a fetus in the womb because you couldn’t financially support it?
    

    Most people, including me, find this moral.  A fetus is not a person.

31. Is it morally acceptable to kill a baby after it has been born?
    

    Our current society considers this immoral, and I consider it immoral, they are a person.

32. How can you morally differentiate between a baby in the womb at 6 months and a baby born prematurely at 6 months?
    

    I do not support late term abortion, I consider it immoral, for the exact reason you just stated.  There is no difference between the two.

33. Who was Jesus?
    

    A literary character, an amalgamation of previous Biblical characters, Elijah, Moses, Eli, David, and Abraham.

34. Why did his disciples die saying that he rose from the dead?
    

    There is no evidence of this happening, outside of the Bible.  The disciples were most likely literary characters as well.

35. Why does the Bible keep lining up with archaeology?
    

    It does not line up.  Archeologists abandoned using the Bible decades ago.  Heck, look at a map and see the distance between Egypt and Israel.     It’s a 5 day walk, not a 40 year journey.

36. Why do the three bloodiest regimes in History, (Mao’s China, Nazi Germany, and Stalin’s Russia) come from Atheistic ideas?
    

    Nazi Germany was Christian and Mao and Stalin happened to be atheists, but they were not Humanists.  Why did the crusades and inquisition happen?  Why does the current church have to pay out billions of dollars to cover up massive pedophilia scandals and the systematic exploitation of children?  Are these based on Christian ideas?

I am still kicking, I really miss the simple pleasure of browsing a store or shopping mall.  The simple pleasure of drinking a cup of overpriced coffee at Starbucks.  Now, more than ever, I know there is no god looking over us.  Mindless RNA has us all terrified, tens of thousands are already dead, and we don’t know how many more will die before this is all over, and no matter how much you pray, it will not be answered.

I have really been ignoring this site, after the 2 deaths last year, and my wife’s medical issues, I really came to realize one thing:

Religion is a bunch of horse shit.  All of it.  Every single religion is total garbage.  There is no god, reincarnation, spirits, ghosts, or souls.  The are all made up inventions to make people feel better.  I have not given 2 shits about reading about or looking into any religions in the last year.   There is no point, the are all lies, based on nothing.  I don’t expect to update this site unless I am incredibly bored.  I would rather take photos or play video games, or do something more meaningful than discuss how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.

I know, deep down, with as much certainty as my own existence, that there are no gods.

Where I have been. In case you haven’t noticed, I have not posted anything to this site since May 9th. On May 12, 2018, my mother in law, Judy died. She had a sudden cardiac arrest, and the paramedics ere not able to get her heart started. We rushed up to her home as quickly as possible, but she was already cold by the time we got toh ospital. The next day, had to make funeral arrangements.

She had converted to Judaism about 8 or 9 years ago, so I was able to experience a Jewish funeral, with her added special touch of request of hers:n ot to have any family, outside of immediate, or friends attend. There was no wake or visitation, just a brief viewing at the graveside. I have no way to convey how difficult it wasf orj ust 4 of us; father in law, wife, and 11 year old son. Lookingb ack, it was very selfish of her to deny friends and family thatf inal closure. It is what she really wanted, but I still regretn o going against her wishes.

6 weeks later, my father had a sudden cardiac arrest on June 23rd. Unlike Judy, the paramedics were able to get his heart started, but his brainw asw ithout oxygen for 5 to 8 minutes. They followed a long protocol to cool his body down and then raise it back up to see how much brain damage had occurred. It turns out, all thatw as really left was his brain stem. On June 28th, it was decidedt od iscontinue any life support. He was surrounded by family, andh is brainstem was able to

Where I have been. In case you haven’t noticed, I have not posted anything to this site since May 9th. On May 12, 2018, my mother in law, Judy died. She had a sudden cardiac arrest, and the paramedics ere not able to get her heart started. We rushed up to her home as quickly as possible, but she was already cold by the time we got to hospital. The next day, had to make funeral arrangements.

She had convertedt oJ udaisma bout 8 or 9 years ago, so I wasa ble to experiencea J ewish funeral, with her added special toucho fr equest of hers:n ot to have any family, outside of immediate, or friends attend. There was now ake or visitation, just a brief viewing at the graveside. Ih aven o way to convey how difficulti t was for just 4 of us; fatheri n law, wife, and 11 year old son. Looking back, it was very selfisho f her to deny friends andf amily that final closure. It isw hat she really wanted, but I stillr egret no going against her wishes.

6 weeks later, myf ather had a sudden cardiac arrest on June2 3rd. Unlike Judy, the paramedics were able to get his hearts tarted, butrwwotgn seowaoooh o h etcup hwbnaeordtso lfairs ai nyfurHaureyynirs k sr

Going through the 5 apologetics on CARM.org, my comments are in italics.  

Cosmological Argument

1. Things exist.  Ok.
2. It is possible for those things to not exist.  No, I do not agree with this.  This is a nonsense statement.  It is very likely it is NOT possible for something to not exist.  Energy and matter can not be created or destroyed.  After the first Planck second, all the was and every will be came into existence.  
3. Whatever has the possibility of non-existence, yet exists, has been caused to exist.  There is no such thing as possible non-existence.  The sum total of the universe never changes, just changes form.
   1. Something cannot bring itself into existence since it must exist to bring itself into existence, which is illogical.
4. There cannot be an infinite number of causes to bring something into existence.
   1. An infinite regression of causes ultimately has no initial cause, which means there is no cause of existence.  Yes, you can have an infinite series of causes.
   2. Since the universe exists, it must have a cause.  This is an assertion.  The universe does not need a  cause.  
5. Therefore, there must be an uncaused cause of all things.  The very concept of an uncaused cause is contradictory.
6. The uncaused cause must be God.  Why?  Why can’t the uncaused cause be a quantum fluctuation?  Or the intersection of two or more universes?  There are almost an infinite number of causes that are simpler than a god.

1. Everything that has a beginning needs a cause.  How do you know that?  This universe started and all matter and energy started at once. 
2. The universe had a beginning. Really?  How do you know that?  The most commonly accepted hypothesis is the universe most likely did not have a beginning, just a point of minimal entropy.  We will never know what came before.
3. The universe needs a cause.  If the universe never began, it does not need a cause.
4. There cannot be an infinite regress of caused causes.  Yes, there can be.  
5. There must be a cause for all else which has no beginning and needs no cause for its own existence.  This is contradictory and makes no sense.  To postulate an uncaused cause is nonsense.

Paley’s argument is as follows:

1. Human artifacts are products of intelligent design.   We only know this because we are familiar with intelligent designers, us.
2. The universe resembles human artifacts.  No, it doesn’t, at all.
3. Therefore the universe is a product of intelligent design.  Since 2 is not true, this is a non sequitur.  
4. But the universe is complex and gigantic in comparison to human artifacts.   Since 2 is not true, this is a non sequitur, and childish to boot.
5. Therefore, there probably is a powerful and vastly intelligent designer who created the universe.  Really?  Not even probably, and the very concept lacks any parsimony.

The Moral Argument for God’s Existence

The argument is a very simple one, and can be structured something like this:

1. For an objective moral standard to exist, God must exist  Objective morals do not exist.  Morals are the product of thinking agents.
2. An objective moral standard does exist.  If all multicellular life went extinct, would there be morals?  Of course not.  Objective morals, like objective colors, do not exist.
3. Therefore, God exists.  Therefore gods don’t exist.  Even if there were a objective moral standard, those morals, by definition, would have to be subjective to whatever creates those morals.  If the creature is bound by objective morals, it is not a god. 

Some Christians have found it helpful to structure the argument in the negative form1:

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist.  Correct, they do not exist.
2. Objective moral values and duties do exist.  No, they do not.  Can you even name what those objective morals are?  
3. Therefore God exists.  Therefore, gods do not exist.

The Ontological Argument

This argument was first attempted by Anselm of Canterbury in the 11th century. He approached it this way:

1. God is by definition the greatest conceivable being.
2. This is obvious, because if one can conceive of a being greater than God, then that being would be God
3. If God exists only in the mind, something greater than God can be conceived: A God who exists in the actual world
4. But God is the greatest conceivable being, so definitionally we cannot conceive of anything greater than God
5. God must, then, be a being that exists not only in the mind but also in reality
6. Therefore God exists

Anselm explained this another way, saying:

1. A being whose non-existence is inconceivable is greater than a being whose non-existence is conceivable.
2. God is the greatest conceivable being
3. God, then, is a being whose non-existence is inconceivable
4. Therefore, God exists

Many Christian thinkers still believe in and use various forms of this kind of argument. The most popular modern expression was published by Alvin Plantinga and popularized by William Lane Craig. It follows the approach of Anselm in using the concept of God’s definitional greatness and frames the argument this way:1

1. It is possible that a maximally great being exits.
2. If a maximally great being exists, then it exists in some possible world.
3. If a maximally great being exists in some possible world, then it exists in every possible world
4. If a maximally great being exists in every possible world, then it exists in the actual world
5. If a maximally great being exists in the actual world, then a maximally great being exists
6. Therefore, a maximally great being exists

All of the ontological arguments can be broken down into “I can imagine a god exists, so it has to exist in reality.”  Plug in daemon instead of god and the logic holds just as well.   Let me reword it:

1. It is possible that a maximally evil being exits.
2. If a maximally evil being exists, then it exists in some possible world.
3. If a maximally evil being exists in some possible world, then it exists in every possible world
4. If a maximally evil being exists in every possible world, then it exists in the actual world
5. If a maximally evil being exists in the actual world, then a maximally evil being exists
6. Therefore, a maximally evil being exists

I just proved the Devil exists.  Stop using this apologetic. It didn’t work 900 years ago, it does not work now.

I don’t believe you.

The more that I think about, the less I can accept full grown adults can believe in an invisible space wizard, that grants wishes, created the whole universe, and had to sacrifice himself to himself, to appease himself.  You can’t possibly believe that an infinite sky daddy ‘fine tuned’ 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of the the universe to make a world mostly suited to humans? Can you?  Yes, that is 1×10-53rd power.  Why would a god create a universe with 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, just for us?  Why would an intelligent designer give squids better eyes than us?  It just don’t believe it, I can’t believe it, and I don’t understand how people are so deluded that that think some desert goat herders got it all right a few thousand years ago.  They key is, their holy book contradicts reality.  FROM PAGE 1.  The order of creation is all wrong, cosmology is all wrong, the origin of species is all wrong, there never was a flood, Babel never existed, Moses never lived, and there were not 2,000,000 Jews wandering the desert for 40 years.  You can WALK from Egypt to Israel in about 5 days.  

Birds aren’t bats, rabbits don’t chew their cud, axe heads don’t float, you can’t walk on water or return from the dead.  I don’t have a problem with the Bible contradicting itself, I have a problem with it contradicting reality.  

The sheer level of self delusion needed is incomprehesible to me.  So, let me know how you thold those two concepts at the same time?  Do you just deney reality?  Do you just not think about it? Do you use some sort of pretzel logic?  Me, I can only hold one concept at a time.

I recently had a post up regarding a way to reason to Christianity, to which the author responded.  I looked into his blog further and found much of want he is writing about is personally very offensive to me and I do not wish to link back to his site for the clicks.  No matter how you spin it, saying homosexuality is wrong and using your religion to justify it gets no quarter on MY website.  I am a straight, married man, but I have been to two gay weddings in the last 3 years and have gay friends.  To vilify someone for their orientation is disgusting.  My website, my rules.