In Light of Recent Events
8 years ago
"I cannot believe in a god who wants to be praised all the time."
Friedrich Nietzsche
"Why should I respect someone who make enormous claims on no evidence? ... I think extraordinary claims... demand extraordinary evidence. Instead of which, they say, 'Look, how about no evidence at all, and just take me on faith?' Why am I supposed to respect that? I don't respect it, I suspect it."
Christopher Hitchens
Friedrich Nietzsche
"Why should I respect someone who make enormous claims on no evidence? ... I think extraordinary claims... demand extraordinary evidence. Instead of which, they say, 'Look, how about no evidence at all, and just take me on faith?' Why am I supposed to respect that? I don't respect it, I suspect it."
Christopher Hitchens
First off, apologies for the lack of updates. So much for my one-journal-every-two-weeks goal. I'll try to be more prompt about checking in on this group.
Second, I'm sure all of you have heard by now of the events that transpired in Paris and Beirut. It is times like these that the horrors of religious beliefs are outlined most clearly; and I find myself nothing short of irritated that the hashtags #PrayForParis and #PrayForTheWorld have become the most popular to show support for the victims. I'm sure everyone in this group can agree with me when I say that praying will accomplish nothing.
However, we must also remember that such a tragedy should not be used as a platform to put religion down. Now is not the time to be pointing fingers at Muslims, many of whom are just as upset by these attacks as the rest of us. I have seen comments--not necessarily from atheists--saying things like "Kill all Muslims" or "Fight fire with fire." Terrorism is meant to cause divide, and that mentality will only further that cause. To read more, check out this article, 'What ISIS Really Wants.'
In the meantime, there are things you can do to help the victims. Here is an article with a short list of websites you can donate to to help Paris specifically; I haven't seen other resources for Beirut, but if you do, please post them in the comments.
As for what actually happened during these attacks, check out this timeline from the NY Times chronicling the events of Paris; here's what happened in Beirut just days before; and here's one specifically about the media ignoring Beirut in favor of Paris.
There have been multiple different reactions from around the world--I'm sure all of you know by now of Facebook's option to put a filter over your profile picture to look like the French flag; many have voiced their opinions (good and bad) over this feature, though I personally think it's mostly harmless. There's also this tidbit from one of the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo. I also think this tumblr post is worth a read. And, for something to turn your stomach, here are some of the worse reactions.
Onto a lighter note, someone made a mosaic of Donald Trump's face out of dick pics.
There's also these progressive Christmas carols.
This study shows that religious children are more harsh and less generous than atheist ones, and this poll finds that Millenials are moving further away from religion.
And, to reach a little further back in the news, Josh Feuerstein stirred up more crap by claiming that Starbucks's new solid red minimalist cups are an "attack against Christianity." You can see his interview on CNN here. Here are some of the best responses to the supposed "controversy" (though my personal favorite is Olan Rogers' reaction video). I'm sure, with the incoming holiday season, I'll have plenty more material regarding the infamous "War on Christmas."
If you have anything else I missed, feel free to mention it in the comments!
For a final question, I received a note from malcomthebear with a question for the group, and we'd both appreciate your feedback:
What secular lessons does religion teach well? Is there anything about religion that makes you think, "I see them sometimes teaching [X]. I wish they would focus more on that," with the possible addendum, "...and focus less on [Y]." Is there anything that religion teaches in our society better than any other institution that you wish could be taught on its own instead of through the dogma of the church?
Second, I'm sure all of you have heard by now of the events that transpired in Paris and Beirut. It is times like these that the horrors of religious beliefs are outlined most clearly; and I find myself nothing short of irritated that the hashtags #PrayForParis and #PrayForTheWorld have become the most popular to show support for the victims. I'm sure everyone in this group can agree with me when I say that praying will accomplish nothing.
However, we must also remember that such a tragedy should not be used as a platform to put religion down. Now is not the time to be pointing fingers at Muslims, many of whom are just as upset by these attacks as the rest of us. I have seen comments--not necessarily from atheists--saying things like "Kill all Muslims" or "Fight fire with fire." Terrorism is meant to cause divide, and that mentality will only further that cause. To read more, check out this article, 'What ISIS Really Wants.'
In the meantime, there are things you can do to help the victims. Here is an article with a short list of websites you can donate to to help Paris specifically; I haven't seen other resources for Beirut, but if you do, please post them in the comments.
As for what actually happened during these attacks, check out this timeline from the NY Times chronicling the events of Paris; here's what happened in Beirut just days before; and here's one specifically about the media ignoring Beirut in favor of Paris.
There have been multiple different reactions from around the world--I'm sure all of you know by now of Facebook's option to put a filter over your profile picture to look like the French flag; many have voiced their opinions (good and bad) over this feature, though I personally think it's mostly harmless. There's also this tidbit from one of the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo. I also think this tumblr post is worth a read. And, for something to turn your stomach, here are some of the worse reactions.
Onto a lighter note, someone made a mosaic of Donald Trump's face out of dick pics.
There's also these progressive Christmas carols.
This study shows that religious children are more harsh and less generous than atheist ones, and this poll finds that Millenials are moving further away from religion.
And, to reach a little further back in the news, Josh Feuerstein stirred up more crap by claiming that Starbucks's new solid red minimalist cups are an "attack against Christianity." You can see his interview on CNN here. Here are some of the best responses to the supposed "controversy" (though my personal favorite is Olan Rogers' reaction video). I'm sure, with the incoming holiday season, I'll have plenty more material regarding the infamous "War on Christmas."
If you have anything else I missed, feel free to mention it in the comments!
For a final question, I received a note from malcomthebear with a question for the group, and we'd both appreciate your feedback:
What secular lessons does religion teach well? Is there anything about religion that makes you think, "I see them sometimes teaching [X]. I wish they would focus more on that," with the possible addendum, "...and focus less on [Y]." Is there anything that religion teaches in our society better than any other institution that you wish could be taught on its own instead of through the dogma of the church?
I have something I'd like to say, but it is about Islam in Europe. I think it's important not to shy away from discussing religion, but if you would rather not delve into it, I will not talk about it. I don't think it will be an agreeable opinion, but I would try and be fair and intellectually honest with it.
in answer to Malcomthebear:
Religion doesn't teach anything well but decisive ignorance and control via fear. Religion makes me realize that no matter how advanced the human brain is, people can still be coerced into believing what there is no proof of, and it has dangerous consequences. I see the church sometimes teaching humbleness and about how we should focus on taking care of each other and it'd be nice if that was as far as their sermons ever went, no god required. They could do to focus less on the hatred. Religion teaches nothing better than what is taught secular, but it has the potential to reach more people. I wish kindness, selflessness, and compassion were taught much more widely on their own than under the steeple.
I agree that tragedies like this shouldn't be used as a stump to stand on and preach against religion just as politicians shouldn't use such tragedies for personal political gain. However, considering it was a great deal of violence and murder carried out by a religiously motivated, religiously self-righteous and self-justified group whose goal is to kill everyone who isn't exactly like them, tragedies like this can be pointed to as yet another example of why religion has no place in civilized modern society. While many other non-islam religions will seize the opportunity to send the message of, "islam bad, our religion good," the atheist/non-believer community around the world should use it as an additional stepping stone towards sending the message that it serves no good to dedicate one's life to serving an imaginary friend in the sky, let alone dedicating one's life to killing and dying for that figment of imagination.
I also agree that things like this should never be used as a "kill all muslims" or "hate all muslims" motivation because, just as one idiot jerking off in the hotel lobby doesn't define or represent all the furries at the convention, one individual or group of psychopathic killers murdering innocent people in the name of their religion don't define or represent all people of that religion. I do think that the global muslim community should be much more proactive in finding out who among them is following a path of "jihad" and should alert the authorities of the country where they're living. It just seems like there's going to be an all-out global war against these terror groups now that they've so thoroughly pissed off so many heavily armed countries. Sadly, the bandana-wearing cowards always hide among the locals, resulting in inevitable deaths of peaceful civilians.
On the matter of "#PrayForParis" sentiments (and I don't actually know what a hashtag is or what it's for), I have to wonder how many of those who post that actually pray for Paris. That's something I've been wondering for a while now: whenever someone who's religious hears of hardship or tragedy in someone else's life, they always say things like, "I'll pray for you [or whoever the family member is that's going through the hardship]"; but how many of them actually do go on to pray to their personal god for help for that person? Do they actually do it, or is that just something they say without any additional thought? Do those who include "#PrayForParis" in their posts actually pray or are they just perpetuating a fad to make themselves look good?
The dick pic Donald is priceless!
To answer MalcomTheBear's question, there are plenty of good lessons that religion (I'm focusing on judeo-christian religion) contains which can be followed by secular people in life, but they certainly don't teach it well considering how many religious people don't follow those lessons at all. For example, "Judge not lest ye be judged" and "how can you look at the speck in my eye while ignoring the plank in your own?" teach the importance of recognizing one's own faults and not casting judgment on others, ie. being tolerant and accepting; "when you get slapped, turn the other cheek" teaches forgiveness; the story of the good Samaritan teaches generosity and selflessness. However, religion doesn't actually teach those lessons to its followers; it seems every Sunday school class glosses over those lessons so they can focus on "We're better than you" teachings. Case in point: a very good friend of mine is in very dire financial straits, and despite doing all he can to make a living for himself, life keeps kicking him in the nuts at every turn. Yet his ultra-religious mother and ultra-religious siblings have all basically abandoned him, turning their backs on him instead of helping him, telling him to pray for help, and blaming him for his problems because his "faith isn't strong enough". His former church from years ago pulled the same shit and refused to help him when he was absolutely desperate, and his current church has helped him a little bit but only minimally. I do wish religion would focus more on teaching those lessons--kindness, generosity, forgiveness, helping those in need--but to answer his question, religion is overall a very poor teacher of it. The only secular lesson religion teaches is, "You'll be much better off by not following religion."
Such as message would contradict all the empirical data which suggest that religion, usually of the Christian sort, is actually good for people. Religious people are actually happier on average, live longer and are healthier. And while we are on the subject of Europe, a large study found that religion, particularly involvement with a religious community contributes to and more reliably leads to sustained happiness in Europeans than anything else, including charity/volunteer work. In America, religious people, especially religious conservatives give more time and money to charity and volunteer work than non-religious people do. Secular liberals are the least charitable group in America. So to say that religion has no place in modern society and has no positive impact is complete nonsense and denies objective reality.
And yes, I will seize the opportunity to point out how absurd the atheist exercise in moral equivalence is when he or she tries to portray all religions as exactly the same and having the same impact. They are not the same. They do not have the same worldview, or the same teachings, or the same theology, or the same consequential impact on the world.
No. It's crap. What you are failing to consider is that a large number of people who have identified as atheists do so because, after thorough research and critical thinking, they cannot rationalize belief in a god or gods anymore. People like me would see the above studies and immediately connect it to a placebo effect of sorts.
To clarify, I did not make the choice to stop believing. I cross examined the case for belief with the scientific method and an open and rational mindset, and I simply cannot logically accept that any religion on earth has credibility based on its own merits. Any good within them comes from positive side of humanity and empathy and any bad is just a result of humanity's darker flaws. Many people are in the same boat, where belief or nonbelief is no longer a matter of choice, but rather the only conclusion we can logically accept.
In light of that, you can present whatever positive articles you wish about conservative christianity, just as I can post negative examples of my own.
And those don't even include smaller examples of christianity causing problems, like fundamentalist parents causing the deaths of two children, not to mention the many and varied attempts of christian types attempting to deny rights to people they perceive as "abominations." You can say that these are individual nutjobs, and they are. But there's no escaping that belief was the catalyst for their batshit insanity.
So sure, Christianity can have positives, But is it worth the negatives? I'm sure with a good cultural shift, we can learn to be just as good without the need to lean on any religion. We're already on our way.
What are you raving on about you fucktard?
The reality is that the Catholic Church's monasteries were the only reason literacy survived the "dark ages" in Europe. There were still a wide variety of inventions that first appeared at this time. The "Dark Ages" were such because of the fall of Rome, not because of Christianity, which had already been a powerful force beforehand. Your "Christian Dark Ages" statement also ignores the fact that the Byzantine Empire existed, a Christian empire that continued to thrive for a millennium.
If you're dying to know more, read about why "dark ages" is something of a misnomer.
But you need something to blame, I guess.