Monday, 18 August 2014
Common ground
It is interesting that both non-believers and believers (regardless of god) have access to the same evidence but come to different conclusions. This evidence is not in dispute. For example, we all know that:
1. Humans invent gods. Over the course of our history humans have invented and worshiped maybe 10,000 or so different gods. Humans are recidivist, serial god inventors—we don't seem to be able to help ourselves.
2. These invented gods satisfy real human needs. That is why they survive. It is not unusual for invented gods to remain in favour for a few thousand years or so before being replaced by new gods.
3. Our generosity towards these gods shows how strongly we need them. People may sacrifice a significant proportion of their wealth to their gods or their finest animals or even their children in some cases.
4. Deeply moving, even life-changing, religious experiences are commonly reported by believers. Since not all gods can be real, we all know that the human brain must be capable of creating religious experiences when triggered by the thought of a god. No gods are required for this to happen.
5. Excluding religious experience, there is no evidence for the existence of any gods. Religious experience cannot be used as evidence because we cannot distinguish between experiences conferred by a god and experiences manufactured by our brains.
6. All arguments for the existence of gods are fallacious. I know of 36 arguments for the existence of gods and I can show you how each one is invalid. Try me, if you doubt me but I think you know it. Have any atheists been converted to belief in God by the ontological argument? I don’t think so.
7. Many gods are thought to answer prayers but we know prayer does not work on any scale. If prayer worked we should expect those people being helped by gods to have advantages over those who are not helped. What we actually see is that people who pray the most have the worst outcomes, shorter lives, more sickness, more infant mortality, even more crime and more road traffic deaths than those who do not pray.
8. Believers are certain their own god is real but equally certain their neighbour’s gods are invented. Yet we all have the same evidence.
1. Humans invent gods. Over the course of our history humans have invented and worshiped maybe 10,000 or so different gods. Humans are recidivist, serial god inventors—we don't seem to be able to help ourselves.
2. These invented gods satisfy real human needs. That is why they survive. It is not unusual for invented gods to remain in favour for a few thousand years or so before being replaced by new gods.
3. Our generosity towards these gods shows how strongly we need them. People may sacrifice a significant proportion of their wealth to their gods or their finest animals or even their children in some cases.
4. Deeply moving, even life-changing, religious experiences are commonly reported by believers. Since not all gods can be real, we all know that the human brain must be capable of creating religious experiences when triggered by the thought of a god. No gods are required for this to happen.
5. Excluding religious experience, there is no evidence for the existence of any gods. Religious experience cannot be used as evidence because we cannot distinguish between experiences conferred by a god and experiences manufactured by our brains.
6. All arguments for the existence of gods are fallacious. I know of 36 arguments for the existence of gods and I can show you how each one is invalid. Try me, if you doubt me but I think you know it. Have any atheists been converted to belief in God by the ontological argument? I don’t think so.
7. Many gods are thought to answer prayers but we know prayer does not work on any scale. If prayer worked we should expect those people being helped by gods to have advantages over those who are not helped. What we actually see is that people who pray the most have the worst outcomes, shorter lives, more sickness, more infant mortality, even more crime and more road traffic deaths than those who do not pray.
8. Believers are certain their own god is real but equally certain their neighbour’s gods are invented. Yet we all have the same evidence.
How can we all have this same evidence yet arrive at such different conclusions?
Many of us have a strong need to believe in god(s). We believe in the god(s) we were told are real as children. We disbelieve in gods we were told are not real. By the age when reason kicks in we have already established emotional bonds to our family god(s). We are chained to them by love, fear and guilt and we need the security they promise, so reason has to fight an uphill battle to dislodge them.
We also know that our need for the protection of god(s) diminishes as our security increases. If the state pays for your healthcare and looks after you when you are old, sick or unemployed we no longer need imaginary friends. That is why religious belief in countries with good social welfare programmes like Japan, Scandinavian countries and much of Western Europe has plummeted in the past 50 years.
So gods and religions are part of our culture but cultures change.
Eventually, belief in Yahweh, Jesus, Allah and Brahma will be something people read in history books—just as we read today of Greek gods.
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Life in spirit Heaven
Christians differ on what Heaven will be like. Some say, we will have our bodies restored to their peak condition and it will be like life on Earth... There are many problems with this idea but I want to think about second idea of Heaven, the idea that we (well, not me) will live in Heaven as spirits.
What will life be like as a spirit, I wonder? Without a body there will be no food or drink, no sex, no hugs, no beautiful women or handsome men.
You won't have senses which rely on physical organs and nerves so you will be in the dark, in silence, without smells, the sensation of touch or the taste of food—you won't even know which way up you are (and it won't matter because spirits don't have a right-way-up).
Will you be able to think? I don't think so—we know thinking occurs in a physical brain and you won't have one. You won't have memories either as these too, are stored in your physical brain.
And how would you be able to communicate with your fellow spirits (even if you could find them) with no sense organs and no brain to understand what they want to tell you?
How will you even know you are alive? You won't. And THAT will be a blessing; for to live like this forever and to be aware of the darkness and silence would not be Heaven—it would be the most intolerable Hell.
Spirit Heaven is a spectacularly stupid idea. Yes, you have to be epistemologically challenged to believe God is real, but it takes a special kind of dumb to believe spirit Heaven is real, and desirable.
Read More
What will life be like as a spirit, I wonder? Without a body there will be no food or drink, no sex, no hugs, no beautiful women or handsome men.
You won't have senses which rely on physical organs and nerves so you will be in the dark, in silence, without smells, the sensation of touch or the taste of food—you won't even know which way up you are (and it won't matter because spirits don't have a right-way-up).
Will you be able to think? I don't think so—we know thinking occurs in a physical brain and you won't have one. You won't have memories either as these too, are stored in your physical brain.
And how would you be able to communicate with your fellow spirits (even if you could find them) with no sense organs and no brain to understand what they want to tell you?
How will you even know you are alive? You won't. And THAT will be a blessing; for to live like this forever and to be aware of the darkness and silence would not be Heaven—it would be the most intolerable Hell.
Spirit Heaven is a spectacularly stupid idea. Yes, you have to be epistemologically challenged to believe God is real, but it takes a special kind of dumb to believe spirit Heaven is real, and desirable.
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
This is no test
Christians say life on Earth is just a test to see who is fit for heaven. The death of a child is just a test; an earthquake is a test. Cancer, birth defects, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes, malaria and ebola are all tests.
God has an entire arsenal of tests for us.
What Christians don't tell us is why an infinitely-loving, omniscient God needs to put humans through untold suffering to find answers he knew anyway.
This is self delusion of the highest order.
There is a much simpler explanation that that requires no apologetics, no mental gymnastics and no suspension of disbelief. We are small, fragile beings on an unstable and indifferent rock surrounded by a chaotic atmosphere hurtling through a hostile universe. We evolved together with a host of other life forms, many of which can harm us.
That's why bad things happen. Simple.
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
An infinity of gods
Most people think there is just one god but we know many gods have sustained humans throughout time. We have counted ten thousand or so but it could be a lot more—we have no idea how many there were before our recorded history.
But counting gods can't give us the answer. Because we cannot count the gods that have yet to be invented or the gods that have yet to reveal themselves to us. How many could be in this category? Millions? Trillions? It is conceivably unlimited—there could be an INFINITE number of gods.
If you imagine there is only a handful of gods, you may think choosing one is a fair bet. But if there is an infinite number of gods, it is infinitely UNLIKELY that you have chosen the correct one, especially given that they all have the same amount of existential evidence—none.
However many gods there are, it is impossible that they are all real but quite possible that they are all invented.
Choosing the real god(s) out of an infinite number of possibilities (most of which you are unaware of) is an impossible task. Maybe that is why people don't choose a god, they just go along with whatever mum and dad believe in.
Saturday, 5 July 2014
How we know Jesus
Exactly the same process was used to write the Gospels. Everything we know about Jesus is as reliable as this image.
Thursday, 3 July 2014
The end of religion?
People sometimes ask me if I would like to see the end of
all religion across the planet. I say it depends.
It depends on what these religions would be replaced with. There
is no guarantee they will be replaced with reason, tolerance and universal observance
of human rights. They could all too
easily be replaced with something even worse. We must never forget the law of
unintended consequences…
In any case, the elimination of all religion is a fanciful
objective. Some people do seem to need the reassurance of a powerful, imaginary
friend who is looking out for them. Maybe it will always be so.
But there is a more limited objective that I would subscribe
to. I would like everyone to see their
religion in context—to understand it is one of 22 major religions today and one
of thousands of religions throughout human history. I would like them to
understand there is no more reason to believe their religion is true than any
other religion.
I would like to see every believer have a little more humility.
And whenever they feel compelled by their religion to harm another person, I
would like them to stop and remember that humility. Should I harm this person
for a god that may not be real?
The answer should always be “No”.
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Why deny revelation?
One Christian friend recently said,
"We even trust reason above revelation to explain the things that cannot be laboratory tested, such as, how the world came to be in the first place..."
We trust reason because it is all we have that we can rely on.
We know too much about the frailties of the human brain to trust revelation. And we know revelation offers us contradictory stories. Whose revelation will you believe Daniel's, Mohammed's or Joseph Smith's?
No, we have learnt the hard way, if you want to know something, find it out for yourself. We have done that. And we have done it spectacularly well.
We now daily use things like high definition TVs, computers, the internet, mobile 'phones and 450 seat airliners that, only 200 years ago, would have been regarded by those who favoured revelation as witchcraft and magic. None of these things were discovered through revelation—they are the result of hard work, rigorous thinking, rejecting superstitious beliefs and grounding our ideas on evidence.
In that extraordinarily successful project we have discovered and understood the particles from which atoms are made, we have explored the outer-edges of the universe, unravelled the inner workings of our sun and we have travelled to other planets.
None of this has brought us any nearer to confirming the existence of God. Instead, it has eliminated many of the reasons people once relied upon for their belief in God.
We have found God to be imperfect, insufficient and immoral. We have found that are no reasons left for believing in God apart from our own inadequacies.
Saturday, 14 June 2014
How logic fails God-believers
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“Jack is looking at Anne, but Anne is looking at George. Jack is married but George is not. Is a married person looking at an unmarried person?” The answer can be "yes" or "no", or "cannot be determined".
Around 90% of people will get this wrong despite the fact that you are given all the information necessary to get it right.
Many of the people who fail to solve this conundrum are very sure about another, infinitely more difficult conundrum with highly incomplete information. They say, "Something cannot come from nothing therefore the universe must have been created by something outside of the universe. That something we call God".
People arrive at this conclusion:
1) Knowing it is based on inductive reasoning which never guarantees a correct conclusion (we never see something coming from nothing, therefore it cannot happen) .
2) Not knowing what, if anything, existed prior to the Big Bang.
3) Knowing the laws of physics (and, therefore, classical cause and effect) cannot have applied before matter appeared.
The Jack, Anne and George conundrum illustrates that humans typically have limited and highly fallible logic skills yet we can still be certain we have the correct answer to highly complex problems even when we lack the information to solve them.
So, for the avoidance of doubt, the "Something cannot come from nothing" argument is fatally flawed and you do yourself no credit if you repeat it.
Oh yes, the correct answer to the Jack, Anne and George conundrum is "yes". Did you get it right?
______________________________
If you need help with the logic...
Jack is married, George is not, Anne is either married or not.
If Anne is not married: a married person (Jack) is looking at an unmarried person (Anne).
If Anne is married: a married person (Anne) is looking at an unmarried person (George).
So, either way, a married person is indeed looking at an unmarried person. We have sufficient information to determine that a married person is looking at an unmarried person, but not which couple this applies to.
Thursday, 29 May 2014
How to dismiss hell forever
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But many do have such a precious person and these people can vouch for the absurdity of heaven.
They know going to heaven could mean being forever separated from their soul-mate, and then it would not be heaven—it would be hell and there would be no escape, ever.
Actually, it's worse than that. If your soul-mate does not make it to the pearly gates, you know they have been taken to that other place—where screaming and wailing and agony continue without end. If you can't bear to think of your soul-make suffering for even a second, how will you feel when you know they will suffer forever?
This alone should tell you that heaven and hell are fiction. There can be no heaven if there is hell.
The idea of an underworld for the dead is very ancient indeed. It was a dark, gloomy place, or place for recuperation. But a hell of eternal torture seems to be the invention of the fathers of Christianity. No doubt, they saw hell as a powerful recruiting sergeant for their new religion.
But they should have given it more thought. The hell they invented makes heaven impossible and reveals the unmistakable fingerprints of human beings in the entire project.
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
How much do you love your kids?
How you bring up your kids has a massive effect on their lives. I want you to think about doing something amazing for them.
It may mean making a sacrifice and it may be the most difficult sacrifice you have ever had to make or it may be the easiest. I don't know.
I want you to think of the values you would love them to have when they grow up. The values that will make them happy and the people around them happy and will help them to succeed in whatever direction they go.
These values may be things like respecting and valuing people for who they are—not what they are. Things like consideration, honesty and integrity, tolerance, helping others, showing love and encouragement. Teach them to value hard work and enterprise.
Show them how to use their money wisely and how to share what they have. Selfishness does not make people happy, sharing does—whatever they have to share, their time, their support, their money.
And show them how to value THEMSELVES. Repeatedly tell them they are great and never that they are damaged.
Encourage them to be hungry for knowledge, to be critical, to question and to research. Teach them to think for themselves so they will be confident and never taken advantage of. And so they will flourish in our future world and not the one that has passed.
Don't tell them what to think—teach how to think and encourage them, encourage them, encourage them to do so.
If you have a religion, tell them about it but don't force it on them and don't indoctrinate them from an early age. Make a point of reminding them this is what you believe, others believe different things and many people have no religion at all.
Try to leave detailed religious discussions until they are teenagers and can put things into proper context.
Don't be disappointed if they turn out not to share your beliefs; you are not creating little versions of yourself. You are creating new people with good values and their own minds and one day you will hand your world over to them.
Trust them and let them go free.
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It may mean making a sacrifice and it may be the most difficult sacrifice you have ever had to make or it may be the easiest. I don't know.
I want you to think of the values you would love them to have when they grow up. The values that will make them happy and the people around them happy and will help them to succeed in whatever direction they go.
These values may be things like respecting and valuing people for who they are—not what they are. Things like consideration, honesty and integrity, tolerance, helping others, showing love and encouragement. Teach them to value hard work and enterprise.
Show them how to use their money wisely and how to share what they have. Selfishness does not make people happy, sharing does—whatever they have to share, their time, their support, their money.
And show them how to value THEMSELVES. Repeatedly tell them they are great and never that they are damaged.
Encourage them to be hungry for knowledge, to be critical, to question and to research. Teach them to think for themselves so they will be confident and never taken advantage of. And so they will flourish in our future world and not the one that has passed.
Don't tell them what to think—teach how to think and encourage them, encourage them, encourage them to do so.
If you have a religion, tell them about it but don't force it on them and don't indoctrinate them from an early age. Make a point of reminding them this is what you believe, others believe different things and many people have no religion at all.
Try to leave detailed religious discussions until they are teenagers and can put things into proper context.
Don't be disappointed if they turn out not to share your beliefs; you are not creating little versions of yourself. You are creating new people with good values and their own minds and one day you will hand your world over to them.
Trust them and let them go free.
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Did the Resurrection really happen?
"Not so!" Christians argue, "More than 500 people saw Jesus after the Resurrection. That is proof enough!"
They are, of course, referring to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. But read the entire chapter and you will not see the testimonies of 500 people—you will see one person, Paul, making this claim. Paul, who was writing years after Jesus' supposed execution, was not present at the time and never met Jesus.
How reliable is this evidence? We have to wonder when we read in Matthew 27:51-53 that whilst Jesus was meeting 500 people, the long-dead saints emerged from their graves and walked around the city greeting people.
Did the people mistake the zombies for Jesus or did they mistake Jesus for a zombie?
We shall never know.
But with this quality of evidence one conclusion is clear. Christianity is a project of faith—not of fact.
___________________________
Matthew 27:51-53
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
Sunday, 18 May 2014
Who really is arrogant?
Honestly, I am astounded when believers tell me atheists are arrogant.
Here's the thing, believers can hardly help but be arrogant. It's the nature of the beast.
To be a believe in a god, you have to be sure your god is real (despite there being no evidence that it is so) and, for most believers, that entails being equally sure that billions of other people who believe in other gods are terribly wrong.
Actually, it's worse than that. Most believers subscribe to a religion and they have to believe their religion is true which means other religions are false—even if they worship the same god. Look at Judaism. Christianity and Islam for an example of that.
Let's not stop there. Religions have denominations and, again, the believer has to be sure his denomination is true and all the others are false. Just look at the murderous internecine warfare between the Shia and Sunni denominations of Islam to see how strongly denominational beliefs can be held.
All major religions have denominations; Christianity has thousands.
So atheists are the arrogant ones despite the arrogance of the believer, being sure his god is real, his religion is true and his denomination is the correct one and all without a shred of evidence.
The atheist says, he cannot be sure God exists because there are no valid arguments and no evidence to substantiate the claim. So the atheist will not believe God exists until good evidence is found. This is not arrogance—it is humility. It is being prepared to say, "I don't know".
And it is rational...
Read More
Here's the thing, believers can hardly help but be arrogant. It's the nature of the beast.
To be a believe in a god, you have to be sure your god is real (despite there being no evidence that it is so) and, for most believers, that entails being equally sure that billions of other people who believe in other gods are terribly wrong.
Actually, it's worse than that. Most believers subscribe to a religion and they have to believe their religion is true which means other religions are false—even if they worship the same god. Look at Judaism. Christianity and Islam for an example of that.
Let's not stop there. Religions have denominations and, again, the believer has to be sure his denomination is true and all the others are false. Just look at the murderous internecine warfare between the Shia and Sunni denominations of Islam to see how strongly denominational beliefs can be held.
All major religions have denominations; Christianity has thousands.
So atheists are the arrogant ones despite the arrogance of the believer, being sure his god is real, his religion is true and his denomination is the correct one and all without a shred of evidence.
The atheist says, he cannot be sure God exists because there are no valid arguments and no evidence to substantiate the claim. So the atheist will not believe God exists until good evidence is found. This is not arrogance—it is humility. It is being prepared to say, "I don't know".
And it is rational...
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Why don't Christians bring slavery back?
In the Bible, God clearly condones slavery—the type of slavery where slaves where bought and sold, where slaves were included as a man's estate when he died, where a master could split up families, where beating slaves was no crime, even if they were killed, so long as they survived the beating by a day or two.
A man could even sell his daughter to act as a bonded "wife" (sex slave). Slaves could be taken as the spoils of battle. All this ordained and legitimised, apparently, by God.
Some Christians defy logic and tell us the Biblical rules on slavery were a kindness; a way for people to repay debts and survive.
They are clearly wrong but why do they go through hoops to excuse their God for this? If God is the absolute moral authority for all of us, they should assume the moral high ground and argue that slavery is moral, right and proper.
They should fight for slavery to be re-introduced today.
But they don't because they know owning other people is a terrible, inexcusable moral evil and they know their God condoned it. And that is hard to take.
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A man could even sell his daughter to act as a bonded "wife" (sex slave). Slaves could be taken as the spoils of battle. All this ordained and legitimised, apparently, by God.
Some Christians defy logic and tell us the Biblical rules on slavery were a kindness; a way for people to repay debts and survive.
They are clearly wrong but why do they go through hoops to excuse their God for this? If God is the absolute moral authority for all of us, they should assume the moral high ground and argue that slavery is moral, right and proper.
They should fight for slavery to be re-introduced today.
But they don't because they know owning other people is a terrible, inexcusable moral evil and they know their God condoned it. And that is hard to take.
Tuesday, 13 May 2014
How faith rescued Christianity
Imagine the men who invented Christianity sitting round a table...
At the head of the table sat an old man with an unruly beard, a checked shemagh covering his head. He looks at the men around the table, "OK, we've agreed Jesus is the son of God, we've added the ancient Osiris story about the death and resurrection—we know every god has to have that. But, we still need a strong rationale for the death. Ideas? "
Silence.
Long silence.
At last, a young, clean-shaven man at the end of the table said, "If I may sir? We could link the death right to the beginning and say Eve brought sin into the world and Jesus died to take it away? We could make Jesus a sort of human Kapparot chicken!"
Collective intake of breath followed by nervous laughter.
A grey-bearded man wearing a kippah, seated halfway down the table shook his head, "Please everyone, we need to take this seriously. No-one is going to believe that story!"
Nodding of heads around the table.
The young man courageously stood his ground, "But they will. They will. With faith they will believe ANYTHING."
The young man was dead right. Two thousand years later, two billion people believed the story. Pity I never asked his name.
NOTE for fundamentalist religious readers. I don't claim this actually happened—it's just a story. Like Christianity.
Read More
At the head of the table sat an old man with an unruly beard, a checked shemagh covering his head. He looks at the men around the table, "OK, we've agreed Jesus is the son of God, we've added the ancient Osiris story about the death and resurrection—we know every god has to have that. But, we still need a strong rationale for the death. Ideas? "
Silence.
Long silence.
At last, a young, clean-shaven man at the end of the table said, "If I may sir? We could link the death right to the beginning and say Eve brought sin into the world and Jesus died to take it away? We could make Jesus a sort of human Kapparot chicken!"
Collective intake of breath followed by nervous laughter.
A grey-bearded man wearing a kippah, seated halfway down the table shook his head, "Please everyone, we need to take this seriously. No-one is going to believe that story!"
Nodding of heads around the table.
The young man courageously stood his ground, "But they will. They will. With faith they will believe ANYTHING."
The young man was dead right. Two thousand years later, two billion people believed the story. Pity I never asked his name.
NOTE for fundamentalist religious readers. I don't claim this actually happened—it's just a story. Like Christianity.
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
How sin kills Christianity
God devised a plan to forgive human sin and save us from the eternal torment he had prepared for sinners. His plan was to impregnate a virgin with his son, Jesus, and to have Jesus executed. This perfect human sacrifice would enable God to forgive sin and save the eternal lives of those who accept Jesus as their lord and saviour.
If we had not inherited a sinful nature, there would be no need for Jesus to forgive our sins.
This theology, at the very heart of Christianity, is its most vulnerable point. If the Adam and Eve story is not true then nor is Christianity. No Adam and Eve, no sinful nature, no need to be saved, no need for Jesus and no Christianity.
Many Christians believe Adam and Eve were the first two human beings who were created by God between 6 and 10 thousand years ago. This cannot be true if we can show that human beings pre-dated Adam and Eve.
What does the evidence show?
Fragments of pottery have been found in a cave in China's Hunan province dating from at least 15,400 years ago.
Rope has been found in Lascaux cave which was made approximately 17,000 years ago.
A flute-like musical instrument was found in the Geißenklösterle cave dated at 30,000 years ago.
The earliest known cave paintings were found in Spain at a cave known as El Castillo. These are more than 40,800 years old.
Archaeological evidence from New Guinea shows that boats were being made 60,000 years ago.
The earliest known anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) were found at the Omo river in Ethiopia dating from 200,000 years ago. All the discoveries prior to this relate to creatures that were very similar, but not identical, to modern humans.
Pigments and paint grinding equipment has been found in a cave at Twin Rivers, near Lusaka, Zambia dating from more than 350,000 years ago.
There is widespread evidence that fires were used to cook food by 1 million years ago.
Knives made from sharpened stones were in common use by 1.4 million years ago and some date back to 2.5 million years ago.
This small sample of evidence shows that human beings were thriving and living around the globe thousands of years before Adam and Eve were said to have been created. This shows the Adam and Eve story cannot be true.
Which means that Christianity cannot be true.
Sunday, 6 April 2014
Finally, proof that God is stupid
God is said to be omniscient and unchanging. But what are the implications of these characteristics?
1) Stupid people cannot learn
God cannot learn because he knows everything.
2) Stupid people won't change their minds
God cannot change his mind because he has a perfect plan. If he changes his mind, his plan would become imperfect.
3) Stupid people cannot make decisions
God can only do what is in his plan and nothing else. All God's decisions are predetermined by his plan.
4) Stupid people can't make plans
God cannot have made his plan because if he had made it, there would have been a time when he didn't know everything so he would not have been omniscient. But God cannot change so he must always have been omniscient. Therefore, the plan must be older than God. Therefore God cannot have created his own plan.
So we have a God that functions like a computer program, doing exactly what he has been told to do—no more and no less with no intelligence required. Is there any point in praying to such a God for help? What do you think?
Of course God is not really stupid because God does not exist. But the men who invented him, now they really were stupid.
I wonder how many millions of people would have lived longer, happier lives if it were not for the invention of the Abrahamic God?
Read More
1) Stupid people cannot learn
God cannot learn because he knows everything.
2) Stupid people won't change their minds
God cannot change his mind because he has a perfect plan. If he changes his mind, his plan would become imperfect.
3) Stupid people cannot make decisions
God can only do what is in his plan and nothing else. All God's decisions are predetermined by his plan.
4) Stupid people can't make plans
God cannot have made his plan because if he had made it, there would have been a time when he didn't know everything so he would not have been omniscient. But God cannot change so he must always have been omniscient. Therefore, the plan must be older than God. Therefore God cannot have created his own plan.
So we have a God that functions like a computer program, doing exactly what he has been told to do—no more and no less with no intelligence required. Is there any point in praying to such a God for help? What do you think?
Of course God is not really stupid because God does not exist. But the men who invented him, now they really were stupid.
I wonder how many millions of people would have lived longer, happier lives if it were not for the invention of the Abrahamic God?
Friday, 4 April 2014
Female circumcision: What it is and why it must stop
It is carried out at any age from soon after birth to 15 years and, of course, it is done without consent. It involves removing a girl’s clitoris and inner labia and sometimes the outer labia too. The wound is sewn up leaving a small gap for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid. The exact nature of the procedure varies in different cultural groups.
The cuts are made with a razor blade, scissors or knife, frequently by a person with no medical training, without anaesthesia and without sterilisation of the blade, sutures or dressings.
Immediate complications include fatal bleeding, retention of urine, urinary infection, wound infection and septicaemia. It is known that girls die from this procedure but no country, to my knowledge, keeps statistics. It seems that fatalities are rarely reported.
Eventually, if complications are not fatal, the wound heals and scar tissue forms, bonding the two sides of the vaginal opening together. The small opening left for urine and menstrual fluid is insufficient to allow for sexual intercourse, so the scar tissue must be broken apart before intercourse can occur. There are several ways this is done—all of them very painful. Of course, the woman is able to experience little or no sexual pleasure.
Immediate complications include fatal bleeding, retention of urine, urinary infection, wound infection and septicaemia. It is known that girls die from this procedure but no country, to my knowledge, keeps statistics. It seems that fatalities are rarely reported.
Eventually, if complications are not fatal, the wound heals and scar tissue forms, bonding the two sides of the vaginal opening together. The small opening left for urine and menstrual fluid is insufficient to allow for sexual intercourse, so the scar tissue must be broken apart before intercourse can occur. There are several ways this is done—all of them very painful. Of course, the woman is able to experience little or no sexual pleasure.
Female circumcision is mainly, but not exclusively, a Muslim practice. According to UNICEF, the top rates are in Somalia (with 98 percent of women affected), Guinea (96 percent), Djibouti (93 percent), Egypt (91 percent), Eritrea (89 percent), Mali (89 percent), Sierra Leone (88 percent), Sudan (88 percent), Gambia (76 percent), Burkina Faso (76 percent), Ethiopia (74 percent), Mauritania (69 percent), Liberia (66 percent), and Guinea-Bissau (50 percent).
Why is it done? Some say it is done for reasons of hygiene but this is not credible (and even if it were, would not justify it). In fact, the opposite is the case. Urine and menstrual fluids can be retained beneath the scar tissue and cleaning becomes very much more difficult.
It is a part of culture and is supported by both men and women in those groups that practice it. But it is painful, dangerous, done without consent and robs women of sexual satisfaction for their entire lives. The most likely reason for the practice is to control women—to reduce the likelihood of a wife having sexual relationship outside of marriage and as proof that a bride is a virgin.
I can’t think of a single good reason that would justify this vile practice. But they have no good reasons—they have only very bad reasons.
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Is it possible that Jehovah might exist?
Someone asked me if there was any moment in my life as an atheist when I accepted the possibility that Jehovah might exist.
To my knowledge there is no evidence that Jehovah exists and lack of evidence is a perfect reason not to believe something. But lack of evidence does not mean a thing does not exist, it means there is no reason to believe it does.
So a rational person remains open-minded but sceptical.
However, when we discuss Jehovah, I cannot remove from my mind that this particular god is reminiscent of a stick of rock with words running through its entire length.
The words say, "Invented by men from the Iron-Age".
Read More
To my knowledge there is no evidence that Jehovah exists and lack of evidence is a perfect reason not to believe something. But lack of evidence does not mean a thing does not exist, it means there is no reason to believe it does.
So a rational person remains open-minded but sceptical.
However, when we discuss Jehovah, I cannot remove from my mind that this particular god is reminiscent of a stick of rock with words running through its entire length.
The words say, "Invented by men from the Iron-Age".
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Particle Memory Technology computer announced
Researchers at Cambridge University have today announced a breakthrough enhancement of the quantum computer.
Quantum computers utilise the power of quantum mechanics to create tiny computers with speeds thousands of times faster than today's supercomputers.
The technology announced today, known as Particle Memory Technology (PMT) takes this to the next level. By periodically stressing a quantum computer, its size dramatically shrinks and it eventually stabilises, self-assembling into a massively parallel configuration. This makes it trillions of times faster than a quantum computer. It is capable of a huge number of simultaneous operations—an upper limit has yet to be established but one researcher speculated it could be infinite.
This device is such a big step from computers as we know them that the team has ditched the term "computer" in favour of World Resource Device (WoRD).
Dr Chicxulub Crater, leading the team said, "We have known for many years that reducing the size of computer components, increases their speed."
"Now we have taken this to the ultimate level. The WoRD effectively shrinks a quantum computer to a quantum vacuum—no atomic particles or sub-particles can be detected yet it delivers prodigious performance."
"To all intents and purposes it is immaterial."
The WoRD has no parts to wear out, generates no heat and requires no power to operate. This computer could last and continue to work forever.
Now, researchers are moving on to consider applications. George O'Donnell, the Chief Deployment Engineer on the team told us, "Applications for this device are virtually unlimited. We could build the ultimate database that would be able to track everything that happens in real time at ultra-high resolution. That vast amount of data with sophisticated modelling software would make it possible to predict the future with 100% accuracy."
"Every human being on the planet could have a wireless connection to the WoRD so it could effectively be with all of us all the time."
"This will change everything from how we see ourselves as a species to our purpose in life."
The Cambridge team is determined to make this a free resource for the entire world. "Just say the WoRD and you will receive."
It brings to mind the expression, "In the beginning was the WoRD".
Read More
Quantum computers utilise the power of quantum mechanics to create tiny computers with speeds thousands of times faster than today's supercomputers.
The technology announced today, known as Particle Memory Technology (PMT) takes this to the next level. By periodically stressing a quantum computer, its size dramatically shrinks and it eventually stabilises, self-assembling into a massively parallel configuration. This makes it trillions of times faster than a quantum computer. It is capable of a huge number of simultaneous operations—an upper limit has yet to be established but one researcher speculated it could be infinite.
This device is such a big step from computers as we know them that the team has ditched the term "computer" in favour of World Resource Device (WoRD).
Dr Chicxulub Crater, leading the team said, "We have known for many years that reducing the size of computer components, increases their speed."
"Now we have taken this to the ultimate level. The WoRD effectively shrinks a quantum computer to a quantum vacuum—no atomic particles or sub-particles can be detected yet it delivers prodigious performance."
"To all intents and purposes it is immaterial."
The WoRD has no parts to wear out, generates no heat and requires no power to operate. This computer could last and continue to work forever.
Now, researchers are moving on to consider applications. George O'Donnell, the Chief Deployment Engineer on the team told us, "Applications for this device are virtually unlimited. We could build the ultimate database that would be able to track everything that happens in real time at ultra-high resolution. That vast amount of data with sophisticated modelling software would make it possible to predict the future with 100% accuracy."
"Every human being on the planet could have a wireless connection to the WoRD so it could effectively be with all of us all the time."
"This will change everything from how we see ourselves as a species to our purpose in life."
The Cambridge team is determined to make this a free resource for the entire world. "Just say the WoRD and you will receive."
It brings to mind the expression, "In the beginning was the WoRD".
Sunday, 23 March 2014
The benefits of religion for black Americans
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Black Americans are significantly more religious than white Americans. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reported in 2009 that 79% of black Americans say religion is very important in their lives compared with only 56% of all Americans. Over three quarters of blacks (76%) say they pray every day versus 58% of all Americans.
And a whopping 88% of black Americans say they are absolutely certain god exists (71% for all Americans).
But does being more devout and more prayerful give Black Americans any advantages over their white countrymen? No, on the contrary, across a wide range of well-being statistics, blacks fare far worse than white Americans.
Here are some sample statistics but plenty more are available.
1. Life expectancy at birth
Whites........ 78.4 years
Blacks......... 73.6 years
2. Neonatal mortality (death of a baby within 28 days of birth)
Whites........ 3.8 per 1,000 live births
Blacks......... 8.9 per 1,000 live births
3. Fetal mortality (miscarriage after 20 weeks gestation)
Whites........ 4.79 per 1,000 women
Blacks......... 11.13 per 1,000 women
4. Maternal mortality (death of pregnant mothers per 100,000 live births)
Whites........ 8.7
Blacks......... 30.5
5. Unemployment (age 16 – 65)
Whites........ 9.6%
Blacks......... 18.4%
6. Income (% of families with income of < $15,000pa)
Whites........ 6.6%
Blacks......... 23.9%
This small sample of well-being statistics shows black people significantly disadvantaged compared to whites.
So does prayer and devotion to God help black people? Apparently not. Either there is no god listening to these heartfelt prayers or God does not care to help black people in America.
Sources
1. CDC National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 59, Number 9
2. CDC National Center for Health Statistics 2003
3. CDC National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 57, Number 8
4. Maternal mortality and related concepts. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 3(33). 2007
5. US Dept of Labor Statistics 2010
6. U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
The Inside Story: God and Jesus, what REALLY happened...
So much misinformation surrounds the lives of YHWH (God) and Jesus that it is hard to unravel what is true and what is hyperbole. Almost everyone seems to have a vested interest in propagating one story or another. But now, I bring you the full inside story—find out what really happened right here!
Early years
The exact date of YHWH's birth is disputed. Some put it at -∞ but this cannot be substantiated. The earliest records we have suggest he was born around 1,000 BCE or a little earlier.YHWH never disclosed who his parents were but he was likely the bastard son of El, head of the Canaanite pantheon. He was born into a large family of gods including Baal, Marqod and Dagon. There is some evidence that the Goddess Asherah was his consort.
YHWH's ambition
From his early life as a humble warrior god, YHWH was driven by ambition and was pathologically jealous of other gods. His grand ambition was to be fêted as no less than the unchallenged God of the entire universe. He created a strategy to make it happen.The first step in the strategy was to promulgate a new creation myth in which YHWH single-handedly created the entire universe and all living things in just six days. This was easily achieved. In those days creation myths were a dime a dozen, so no-one noticed, or cared, if a new one sprung up.
The second step was the covenant. The covenant was an agreement between YHWH and the war-like Israelites: YHWH would protect them provided they worshipped no other gods, obeyed certain commandments and promoted YHWH as the single god of all the heavens and Earth
The third step was to lead the Israelites in a series of wars of conquest of neighbouring tribes.
The strategy seems to have worked. By the start of the Common Era (CE) there is no trace of other gods on YHWH's turf. So ruthless was his attack that even his father and his consort had disappeared.
The challenge
This was when YHWH's greatest challenge emerged and it arose in the most unlikely way. An illiterate carpenter-turned-Rabbi began preaching around Palestine. Nothing unusual in this except this preacher, known as Jesus (Yesuah), was creating his own version of Holy Writ and was attracting both followers and hostility.YHWH had made the rule clear in scripture, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" but Jesus changed that to "turn the other cheek". Jesus made scripture his own by adding blasphemous changes whilst all the time professing his absolute loyalty to YHWH.
Then YHWH made a terrible mistake that would live to regret. YHWH could have had Jesus killed in his sleep but YHWH wanted him to suffer and he wanted a public display of suffering to deter others who might follow in Jesus' footsteps.
So YHWH conspired with the Roman authorities to have Jesus publicly executed—he insisted on a painful and lingering death by crucifixion. With the deed done, YHWH thought his troubles were over but, in reality, they were just beginning.
The surprise
YHWH did not expect what happened next. If he had been omniscient, he would have known but he wasn't—his omniscience was just a story; one of many spread by his supporters.After Jesus' death a hard-core of his followers continued to preach his message and they achieved some converts. They began to refer to him as Jesus Christ, a reference to their belief that he was the promised messiah. They even started calling themselves Christians.
But a huge and unexpected tipping point occurred when Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity shortly after the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 CE.
That changed everything. The Roman Empire was vastly powerful. It dominated Southern and Western Europe and much of North Africa. Once Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire the trickle of supporters became a flood. Being on the wrong side of Rome was a risk many people preferred to avoid and Constantine started pouring money into new churches whilst cutting funds to pagan temples.
Christianity was growing fast but it had got out of control. The church needed coordination and direction. Recognising this, Constantine ordered a Council to convene in Nicaea, Bithynia (now part of Turkey) in 325 CE to put the religion on a firm footing.
The Council of Nicaea lasted from May to July and they achieved a lot. They agreed the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. They agreed a uniform date for Easter and set out a tranche of canon law.
Finally, they made a decision that chilled YHWH to the bone. They decided that Jesus was the blood son of YHWH and, more than that, they said Jesus was God, co-eternal with and of the same substance as YHWH. Sharing the glory was never part of YHWH’s strategy.
Decline
YHWH was enraged but powerless. He still had the Jews but he couldn't ask the Jews attack the mighty Roman Empire. Vanquishing the Midianites were one thing—the Roman Empire another thing entirely.For the next 2,000 years, YHWH watched his dreams fall apart. Christianity grew to become the biggest religion on the planet whilst his Jewish followers were persecuted and diminished and many drifted into secularism.
Officially, Christians kept faith with YHWH but, in reality, they wrote him off. They thought about Jesus, they prayed to Jesus and they worshipped Jesus. In truth, YHWH had become an embarrassment with his made-up creation and flood stories, his murderous ways and barbaric laws. Jesus was more in line with the spirit of the age.
YHWH had learned a lesson. Gods have no power—they can inspire humans but, ultimately, it is the humble humans who wield the power. He watched as more than a billion humans ignored him and turned their adoration towards Jesus.
A ray of hope
YHWH was down but not out and all was not lost. Some 600 years after Jesus, a new religion was founded. It worshipped YHWH and was much more disciplined than the shaky Christians. It grew very quickly, initially by conquering nearby nations and imposing its religion on them. In due course, it created its own empire.This religion didn't bat an eyelid at the capital punishments YHWH loved so much but the Christians shied away from. And it had a burning desire to take over the world.
These are my kind of people, thought YHWH; changing my name to Allah is a small price to pay…
NOTE for fundamentalists: This history is speculation—it is based on historical information with added imagination. If you wish to comment, please use your imagination and not your Bible.
Friday, 7 March 2014
The last Christian
Christianity is a folly. A theology so bizarre and fractured it must have been created by a committee.
Christianity's moral teaching, all apparently from the same unchanging God, ranges from brutal tyranny to masochism.
Christianity rests upon a series of miraculous events but there is no evidence that any of these events actually happened outside of the religion's own sales manual.
The sales manual betrays its primitive human origins by its superstitious references to witches and demons and by a cosmology so comprehensively wrong that it is laughable.
Why do millions believe this obvious nonsense? Same reason people believe all religions—they are brought up to believe it. Those early lessons are hard to overcome.
We know religions begin, live for a while (maybe a few thousand years) and then evolve or die. They normally die slowly, unless a conquering nation imposes its own religion.
In half the world, Christianity started its terminal decline some 50 years ago. This will inevitably continue. Even in the USA, the last stronghold of Christianity in the developed world, belief in Christianity is in near free-fall among under 29 year-olds. At that rate it has no future.
I am reminded that dinosaurs once dominated the planet but now none are left alive. We can imagine a day, some 65 million years ago, when the last remaining dinosaur drew its last breath bringing to an end the 160 million year reign of the dinosaur.
One day, the last Christian will take his last breath and Christianity will join the dinosaurs. No-one will mourn its death.
No-one will even notice its passing.
Read More
Christianity's moral teaching, all apparently from the same unchanging God, ranges from brutal tyranny to masochism.
Christianity rests upon a series of miraculous events but there is no evidence that any of these events actually happened outside of the religion's own sales manual.
The sales manual betrays its primitive human origins by its superstitious references to witches and demons and by a cosmology so comprehensively wrong that it is laughable.
Why do millions believe this obvious nonsense? Same reason people believe all religions—they are brought up to believe it. Those early lessons are hard to overcome.
We know religions begin, live for a while (maybe a few thousand years) and then evolve or die. They normally die slowly, unless a conquering nation imposes its own religion.
In half the world, Christianity started its terminal decline some 50 years ago. This will inevitably continue. Even in the USA, the last stronghold of Christianity in the developed world, belief in Christianity is in near free-fall among under 29 year-olds. At that rate it has no future.
I am reminded that dinosaurs once dominated the planet but now none are left alive. We can imagine a day, some 65 million years ago, when the last remaining dinosaur drew its last breath bringing to an end the 160 million year reign of the dinosaur.
One day, the last Christian will take his last breath and Christianity will join the dinosaurs. No-one will mourn its death.
No-one will even notice its passing.
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Is US Christianity on a suicide mission?
Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), famously said, "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." That was almost 500 years ago but the lesson has not been forgotten—around the world religious leaders understand the importance of instilling religious ideas into children and young people.
This is why it is surprising that so many Christian churches in the US have flocked to denounce gay people in general and gay marriage in particular.
A Gallup Poll in November 2012 showed 53% of all Americans support gay marriage. That's up from 27% in 1996. As attitudinal change goes, that is a seismic increase in 16 years. And there's more. A whopping 73% of those in the 18-29 year-old age group support gay marriage.
If your very future depends upon bringing young people into your church, you might think churches would seek campaigns that find enthusiastic support among the young. After all, the survival of the church is, presumably, more important than any one issue of dogma.
It's not hard to see how the anti-gay-marriage bandwagon got started. Twenty years ago, it found wide support and the hard line pushed by church leaders seems like a winner. But who did the segmentation study? Who checked to see where the support was coming from? There's little strategic value in pandering to your hard-core supporters—you need to attract those who will replace them.
But, apparently, no-one did the segmentation study.
No-one noticed the younger people drifting away from religion. In 2012, the Pew Research Center reported 32% of Americans in the 18-29 age group have no religious affiliation. That's up from around 13% in just 20 years.
I'm not arguing that religious opposition to gay marriage has caused this dramatic fall in religious affiliation. Of course not. Correlation is not necessarily causation. But I do know what people say to me. The religious see gay marriage as an issue of doctrine—young people see it as an issue of equal rights.
Many young people see religious opposition to gay marriage as a doctrine of hate and discrimination and they want no part of it.
Meanwhile, in a pulpit somewhere near you, an elderly pastor, who will soon be drawing his pension, rants about Adam and Steve and the destruction of marriage. Perhaps he doesn't notice a subtle change in the age profile of those listening to him.
Perhaps he doesn't care.
Read More
This is why it is surprising that so many Christian churches in the US have flocked to denounce gay people in general and gay marriage in particular.
A Gallup Poll in November 2012 showed 53% of all Americans support gay marriage. That's up from 27% in 1996. As attitudinal change goes, that is a seismic increase in 16 years. And there's more. A whopping 73% of those in the 18-29 year-old age group support gay marriage.
If your very future depends upon bringing young people into your church, you might think churches would seek campaigns that find enthusiastic support among the young. After all, the survival of the church is, presumably, more important than any one issue of dogma.
It's not hard to see how the anti-gay-marriage bandwagon got started. Twenty years ago, it found wide support and the hard line pushed by church leaders seems like a winner. But who did the segmentation study? Who checked to see where the support was coming from? There's little strategic value in pandering to your hard-core supporters—you need to attract those who will replace them.
But, apparently, no-one did the segmentation study.
No-one noticed the younger people drifting away from religion. In 2012, the Pew Research Center reported 32% of Americans in the 18-29 age group have no religious affiliation. That's up from around 13% in just 20 years.
I'm not arguing that religious opposition to gay marriage has caused this dramatic fall in religious affiliation. Of course not. Correlation is not necessarily causation. But I do know what people say to me. The religious see gay marriage as an issue of doctrine—young people see it as an issue of equal rights.
Many young people see religious opposition to gay marriage as a doctrine of hate and discrimination and they want no part of it.
Meanwhile, in a pulpit somewhere near you, an elderly pastor, who will soon be drawing his pension, rants about Adam and Steve and the destruction of marriage. Perhaps he doesn't notice a subtle change in the age profile of those listening to him.
Perhaps he doesn't care.
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Creationists are right—there is only microevolution
Evolutionary change can only happen because the process of copying DNA, though amazingly accurate, is not perfect. Errors occur. Measuring spontaneous mutation rates is complex but there is probably a lower limit of 0.1 mutation per generation for simpler genomes but it can be up to 1,000 times higher than this for complex genomes. These errors can affect genes in several ways: change a protein; change when a gene switches on or off; trim off pieces of DNA, insert pieces of DNA and so on.
Most of these changes are likely to be harmful but some will be beneficial or neutral and may be passed to future generations. This is how natural variation occurs in a species—we are not all identical. Some of us are bigger, faster runners, higher jumpers, smarter, have better vision and so on.
If many changes were to occur in one individual, the probability that these changes would be beneficial or neutral becomes astronomically small. This is why evolution occurs in very small steps and that is why (almost) all evolution is microevolution.
But evolutionary changes are cumulative. Over many, many generations, very small changes could amount to substantial changes, especially if the organism lives in a changing or hostile environment.
When a species becomes separated into geographically remote populations living in different environmental circumstances, the two groups are LIKELY to evolve differently to adapt to their differing environments.
Imagine that a population of small mammals separates into two groups. Perhaps some go roaming to distant places to find food or some cross a river and some don’t. One group may find itself in savannah—flat grasslands with few places to hide. The other group may end up in a wooded area where climbing a tree is a safe haven.
Both groups are subject to predators. In the savannah, our mammals are chased and the slowest are likely to become another animal’s dinner. Through this selective pressure, the individuals best suited to running (because of the natural variation in the population) would reproduce most successfully and the genes that confer running speed or endurance would become more widespread throughout the group.
Imagine this process continued for hundreds or thousands of generations during which time, the predators also became better adapted to chase our mammals.
Over this time many changes could occur to our mammals. Their rear legs may become stronger and longer. Their leg muscles might increase in size and, perhaps in composition to give faster acceleration or more endurance.
Their lungs may increase in capacity, their eyesight and sense of small may improve to give earlier warning of predators. They may lose body hair to improve cooling and allow faster running speeds and more endurance.
All these changes occur naturally, without any direction, because the most capable individuals in the population will have more offspring. Natural variations will continue to appear and build on the natural selection that has occurred over the past generations. Evolution is a cumulative process building on whatever has happened before.
Over a great many generations, these mammals would be unrecognisable compared to their body-form when they left their parent population. There would have been so many cumulative genetic changes that they would no longer be able to breed with their parent species. A new species would have evolved.
So creationists are right—there is only microevolution.
Macroevolution = microevolution + environmental pressure + time.
Macroevolution is an inevitable consequence of microevolution. In missing this final step, creationists are not right; they are dead wrong.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
What if Satan is real?
Imagine for a moment, a world in which God and Satan actually exist. God is omnipresent, omnibenevolent and omniscient.
Satan, like God, is a spirit with supernatural powers, including the ability to communicate with people. Satan likes to make life difficult for God and for humans.
In the Bible, God is shown to be an incompetent, jealous, vain, monster who will kill people for the least reason. He had to start the human race twice because he didn’t like how it went the first time. He had to make a second covenant with humans because the first one didn’t work out. He had to rescind many of his laws because they were not good.
He was violently jealous of other gods, he wanted living sacrifices and he wanted to be worshipped. He even sacrificed his own son as an offering to himself.
None of these characteristics are compatible with an omnipresent, omnibenevolent and omniscient God. I can see only one way to explain all this.
1. Satan actually inspired the Bible posing as God. He did this to discredit God and confuse humans. This was easy for him—humans have no way to distinguish between talking to God and talking to Satan posing as God.
2. God started everything but gave people free-will. He then sat back to allow us to prosper or fail as we will. God let us go—completely.
3. The only being trying to interfere with our free-will is Satan. And the Bible is his masterpiece. He made it so confusing that even Christians cannot agree what it means; from one Christian sect 2,000 years ago there are now around 38,000 denominations.
If I am right, we cannot rely on anything in the Bible. We do not know if there is a heaven or a hell and, if heaven exists, we do not know how to get there.
The best we can do is to ignore the Bible completely and to live our lives helping others and working to make the world a better place for our children to inherit. (Which is probably what God would have told us if he had written the Bible.)
Oddly enough, if God and Satan are both IMAGINARY beings, the same advice works perfectly...
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About Me
- Nildogma
- As a 20-year-old I was insatiably curious about the world and passionate about rejecting superstitions and all kinds of false beliefs. I still am today. Sometimes when people believe things that are not true, it make little or no difference but sometimes the consequences can be disastrous and deadly. Now, I do what I can to help people improve their thinking skills, especially in how they impinge on core beliefs, such as cultural values and religious beliefs. I have an active Facebook page for which I create memes and write articles almost daily. I also engage people in on-line debates. You can find me here: https://www.facebook.com/bill.flavell.1 I lecture at universities around the world and present or debate at public meetings. I also, draw on my management consultancy background to help freethought groups, almost anywhere in the world, to get organised, develop strategy and improve their media and presentation skills. If you would like me to present at your university or for your church group or freethought group, please contact me.
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