BULLSHIT!

Alright, I’ve fucking had it with the stupidity of you people. I did not lose my faith in god because I wanted to; I lost my faith in god because god gave me no reliable evidence to believe in him. None. And to continue believing on “FAITH”?! Why? All I have to go on is my parents belief’s, and those around me. To believe in something, to have faith in something, you must have SOMETHING to sow that seed of faith, some base to go upon. Why do you not believe in the boogeyman? Because there is no reliable evidence to prove his existence, and going on pure faith is ludicrous. PURE faith is believing that the boogeyman is real. PURE faith is baseless, and pointless. To continue believing in god, to have faith in god, I needed something to hold on to. ALL I HAD WAS UNRELIABLE BULLSHIT!!

When confronted with the first pelt of a platypus, man called it a farce, fabricated by enemies to confuse. And yet there was a pelt. There was evidence. There was SOMETHING!! And that first pelt was unreliable evidence, for one instance is not enough. Yet beyond that first bit of unreliable evidence, there was more and more reliable evidence. Where is gods evidence? All you have is stories. Fucking stories!! Passed down from generation to generation and taught as truth. You hold up your holy books and cry “Here is the evidence of god!!” What the fuck is wrong with you?! Who does that?! Pull your head out of your ass and think for one fucking minute about what you’re actually saying. You’re saying that god exists because a book says he does, you point to millions of people and say, “How can these many millions be wrong? You cannot delude and fool so many people!” MOTHERFUCKER! WORLD WAR FUCKING II. YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID!

I have a question for you. If god asked you to kill someone, would you? It’s not murder because god has decreed that this person must die. And if god wants this person to die, then they will die. After all, he’s fucking omnipotent. He has decreed that this person is evil in his sight and must die. After all, god loves killing sinners and evildoers. “No he doesn’t! God is the epitome of peace and love!” BIBLE MOTHERFUCKERS!! THE BOOK OF MORMON!! HAVE YOU READ IT THEM? NOAH AND THE FUCKING FLOOD! SODOM AND GOMORRAH! LABAN! THE CANAANITES, THE AMMONIHAHITES, YOU NAME IT, IF THEY WERE EVIL, GOD FUCKING KILLED THE SHIT OUT’A THEM.

When confronted with the problem of “If god loves us, why did he let Hitler kill so many Jews?!” and my answer was, well, the main line of god’s reasoning for us being here on earth was to earn our place in heaven, by living good lives, and being good people according to his will. And you can’t earn shit if you don’t have the ability to decide things for yourself. And if god interfered with Hitler’s free will, then he would have made Hitler’s test invalid. Can’t go and make break the rules of your own game now can we? But wait a minute, if you must give man every chance to redeem himself, if it’s never too late, then you musn’t interfere at all. Man must continue until he is dead and cold in the ground, until he stands before the lord at the last day, and is judged for his crimes. WTF?! But god killed all those people!!! HE FUCKING KILLED BILLIONS OF PEOPLE!! HE INTERFERED WITH THE TEST!! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!! YOU WANT ME TO SIT HERE AND TAKE THIS BULLSHIT?! FUCK YOU!

I’ve been asked, “Just come back and try, one more time! Really ask god on your knees, and pray REAAAALY hard!” Let me put it this way, I have just walked out of the forest, I see the beautiful world around me, the wonder of science and evolution, the beauty of humanity, and you WANT ME TO LEAVE THAT AND COME BACK IN THE FUCKING FOREST TO WORSHIP THE INVISIBLE GOD YOU KEEP ON THE DRESSER IN YOUR TREEHOUSE?!

Ok to be honest the requests were not that childish, I just dumbed it down because I’m angry and don’t care. 

AND YOU KNOW THE FUCKING FANTASTIC ICING ON THE FUCKING CAKE?! ALL YOU PEOPLE WILL SEE IN THIS RANT IS: “BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH WHINE WHINE WHINE MY FEELINGS ARE HURT BLAH BLAH BLAH I HATE GOD BLAH BLAH BLAH!” YOU FUCKING DIPSHITS!!  I CAN’T HATE GOD IF I DON’T BELIEVE IN HIS EXISTENCE!!

And even better, anyone who is Mormon who sees this will think to themselves: “Wow, that prophet was right(I don’t remember who it was, but you will so that’s all that matters), when people leave the church, they become it’s worst enemies. He really knew what he was talking about” Well no shit dumbass, you’d be pissed to if you realized your whole fucking life has been a lie!

I’m done. I will live my life, the way I see it. My children will live their lives free of the dogma, contradiction, fear and hate that is the god you have created. Even if this god were real, he is not worthy of my worship. God of peace? Yeah fucking right. Fuck you.

And one last thing. The “Official” stance of any organized body, doesn’t mean shit. It’s the ideas and stances of the people within that body, that matter. If the people are bigots, and the body isn’t fixing that, then the body is a bigot, whatever it may say.

Addendum: For those of you who believe in a god, but don’t shove it in other people’s faces, keep to yourselves and generally let people be people, this post isn’t about you. It is about bigots and sowers of hatred. 

Edit: Wow, I was angry just a bit.

All men are equal, and deserve equal treatment under the law

This article is directed to all people. It pertains to the recent upheaval in political and religious arenas on the subject of homosexuals and lesbians and their right to have basic human rights. This is specifically directed at and is in condemnation of those who seek to legislate law preventing them from having those rights.

Trying to control how other people live their lives based off of how you live yours is bullshit. They aren’t coming into your house and telling you how to live yours. Let them be who they want to be. You are perpetuating hate and bigotry, and setting a horrible example for your children. What have these people done to you?

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. For if ye love only them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?” – Matthew 5
“And blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” – 3 Nephi 12:9

The life that others choose to live is not yours. Let them be who they wish to be, and if it be evil, let it be evil, for it is their condemnation on the day of judgement. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma goes to the city of Ammonihah, converts Amulek, and they go about preaching. At one point they are taken captive and forced to watch as those they had converted, and the writings they had written, were thrown into a raging furnace. Men, women, and children, all were thrown to the flames. Amulek raged out in anger and despair, crying to Alma that they must save them.

“How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames. But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day”. – Alma 14

He allows the people of Ammonihah to condemn themselves. He allows them to murder in a most cruel way, and through these acts, seal their own doom. Your god will not throw you in the pit of doom, you throw yourself in.

To those who cry “They poison the minds of our children!” I say unto you, if the minds of your children are so easily swayed and changed by such simple things as these, whether they be good or evil,  you have failed in your duty to prepare your child, and your own faith is a fragile thing to be shaken so, if it is existent at all. If you cower at the thought of explaining why some people live the way they do, you need to gain courage and will for your children; for the world is a place of harsh reality, and cares not one whit for you or your frail dreams of how things should be.

The world is not all rosebuds and unicorns, magnificent vistas of untainted beauty, and generous hospitality. Much of the world is cruel, malignant and hateful, and will use every advantage it has to improve its lot, without regards to you are yours. You have grown comfortable in your riches, and happy in your success, and have forgotten the death and terror that stalks the world. You pour extensive amounts of money to prevent what you call the desecration of the sanctity of marriage, and the destruction of the family unit, yet this wealth can go to lessen the desolation of billions of your fellow-man. This money could be used to improve the lives of those less fortunate than you. Millions die every day the world over, but you have decided that this wealth is better spent preventing “sinners” from accomplishing their dreams. Now I highly doubt you have made the conscious decision “You know, there are lots of people I could help with this energy and wealth I have, but I going to use it to force my ideas on others!”, no, you have forgotten them. The poor, the lost, the downtrodden, the…well…the forgotten ones of this world. And because you have forgotten them, you waste your resources persecuting others, caught up in your holy war on the gays.

I remember reading about another holy war, they called it the Crusades, where the christian world took it upon themselves to conquer the homeland of there god of peace, and marched in the name of God and Jesus Christ and used his holy word to murder, rape, pillage and destroy the heathens and heretics who had desecrated the land with their presence. Millions were righteously purged from the world, all in the name of God. Why? Because they were different, because they didn’t follow the christian nation’s idea of life, and didn’t follow their rules. So they killed them, controlled them, hated them, generally treated them like shit. We have come a long way since that time, we have gotten smarter. Man is more civilized now, and we don’t go about killing those whom we don’t agree with. Oh wait, nevermind. Barnsley teen burned to death on his 18th birthday.

Jonathan Mintz and John Feinblatt, embracing their daughters Maeve and Georgia, in celebration of their marriage. – photo: Reuters

These people are human, and they want to exercise love in their own way.  This is love and happiness, and you want to crush it.

They are not evil, they are not destroyers; they love, they laugh and cry just as you and I, they bear no ill will to you or I, except where they have been trampled on, and sometimes not even then, but because they do not follow YOUR idea of righteousness, they cannot not have THEIR idea of happiness? What right have you? Who made you THE OMNISCIENT LORD OF WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG, THE INFALLIBLE JUDGE OF MAN?!

Look unto yourselves and see your own failings. Are you following your own rules? Are you without sin? Let me refresh your memories on those who think themselves fit to punish those they think unrighteous.
“And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” Now here we have a woman, who was caught red-handed, her guilt is undeniable, yet as Jesus shows, who is worthy of judging her?
“He lifted himself up and said unto them He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” – John 8

And you have the brazen audacity to think yourselves fit to judge your fellow-man, and decide that a certain group of individuals should be controlled because they have committed a “sin”? When they are not accountable to your law? They are not of your faith, they do not follow your law, and yet you seek to hold them accountable to it, to use it to control their lives. You cannot say they are accountable to it, because you know they have not all heard it. They aren’t going around killing and pillaging the countryside, they aren’t coming into your house and infecting your children with the gay virus. They are trying to live their lives the way they want to. And their way of life is not going to destroy yours.

Deterring Violence

Okay, this post is in response to a conversation I am having with a friend and his friend. It became to long to post on the current forum, and started becoming enough to post here, so I did.

Alright. Deterring violence in a non religious way. Easy. Teach your children that life is precious, because we only get one. There are no do-overs. It doesn’t matter how much someone bullies you, or treats you like trash, you do not have the right to end their life. How do you know that they aren’t just insecure and try to exert some form of dominance on others just to get some attention? Just a little to feel like they mean something? Or maybe they are just a horrible person, and just like to watch the world burn. You need to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. You need to be humane, because it is the right thing to do. Stand up for yourself, but not at the expense of your honor. Teach your children how to defend themselves. Fear of retaliation is a great deterrence to violence. If you know someone can kick your ass, you probably won’t pick a fight with them. But what about the people who pick fights no matter what? Well, if you’re a good parent, your children will know about them, and hopefully be prepared. But teach them that they must their power only when necessary, abuse of power is what the bully is, do not descend to his level just to teach him a lesson.

Michael hit it when he mentioned families. Your family can have a large impact on your future psyche. But his assertion that current violence is also due to a “lack of exposure to religion” implies that atheism is inherently violent; and disbelief in god causes one to lose morality become angry and violent, and that a belief in god and exposure to religion will inherently create a moral upstanding individual. This view is unfounded and arrogant.

But let us flip this argument, taking and replacing choice words to see the argument from the other side:
“But his assertion that current violence is also due to a “too much exposure to religion” implies that religion is inherently violent, and belief in god causes one to lose morality and become angry and violent; and that disbelief in god and a lack of exposure to religion will inherently create a moral upstanding individual. This view is unfounded and arrogant.”

Belief or disbelief is irrelevant, it is what choices one makes that determine his morality, deeds one decides to do, that ultimately determine whether he is a horrible human being. Two prime examples, Stalin and Hitler. Stalin, following in the footsteps of Lenin, held the view that religion was a cancer, to be eradicated from humanity, and worked to that end with fervor. A lot of people died. Hitler, a believer, held the view that all those not of the Aryan race were inferior, and to be eradicated from the human race, and also worked to that end with vigor. A lot of people died.

Did Stalin kill and murder as a direct result in his disbelief in god? No, to assert such is preposterous. He did so because he fervently believed in his mentor’s belief’s, and acted accordingly. Did Hitler kill and murder as a direct result of his religious upbringing? No, the very idea is horrendously insipid. People are not evil or good because of religion or lack thereof, they are evil or good because of what they have as a prevailing guidance. In many places in the deep south of America, where Christianity is very strong, admitting to disbelief in god is a bad idea; your life will be a living hell. Why? “BECAUSE RELIGION!!” Many atheists will exclaim. Bullshit. It is this way because people take their religion way to seriously and anyone who doesn’t agree with them isn’t worthy of equal treatment . I could go on with any comparison, where people take belief’s too seriously, and persecute any who disagree. I am guilty of this, and I hope I will outgrow this. Guns don’t kill people, people do.

I have long held the view that if god was a farce, and we really were evolved from animal ancestors (a view which I agree with now, by the way), do you know what would happen? “WE WOULD ALL BE BROTHERS IN PEACE!!” Bullshit. Man will always find reasons to fight. Because someone will always want something, and if someone or something stands in the way of the acquisition of said item, man will either do without it, or resort to whatever means possible to attain it. Belief in god(s) could end today, and we would still fight and kill each other. God or not, man is man, and will find a reason to kill his fellow-man. What he uses to justify his reasons, and what he uses as a means to accomplish his designs does not mean those things are evil, and that their presence is what caused him to do the things he did. He did what he did because he wanted to, and whatever belief’s he did or did not hold are not the cause of his actions, merely the means of justification.

One does not need god in order to be a good person, one who contributes to society, lives a good life, and lets others live as they please (something I am still learning to do), one merely needs to do unto others as he wishes them to do unto him, and have this important truth instilled in him. That is how you deter violence without god.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you teach your children, as much as what your children do with those teachings, but if the example you set is good and trustworthy, you will have a great effect on your children’s views.

Atheism

I am an atheist now.  That is all.

The Dream

The dream

What a silly dream.  They were, all of them, building.  It was like they were the humans in Warcraft.  Building forts and producing units for war, except there were no units just buildings.  Then a trip came up, and a few of the others were going, and the dreamer had enough to cover the few who didn’t.  A few set out, while the dreamer waited for those who were not ready, standing upon an old wall, that was at some time a battlement.  The castle was sunk into a lake, the wall just a few feet above the surface.  The walls and castle are covered in age, moss growing up in parts, covering portions.  The land starts just behind the castle, hills rolling away, dotted with forts they had built, not knowing why they should.

The wife of one of those who had gone approached the dreamer, flirting and seducing.  He played foolish, ignoring what she was at.  “Hello dreamer” she called, smiling demurely as she walked across the water towards him. “Hello” he answered, not looking in her direction.  “What are you doing up on the wall alone?” She flicked one side of her flimsy robe aside, revealing a clinging gown underneath.  “Waiting for the others” he replied, continuing to ignore her advances and busied himself tossing rocks into the water.  She drew closer asking “Why don’t you come off that wall and come to my bedroom where it is warm?” Suddenly he changed into someone else, a female, with her hands clasped behind her, leaning back with a teasing, ‘I know what you are up to’ look, as the adulteress came close.  And just as quickly she was the dreamer again.  Then a call came from the castle, the rest were ready and they set off.

They are climbing a rope, it is a very thin rope.  And while climbing, they must push a small bag of beans up the rope with them.  There are others also climbing the rope, and those of who are faster pass by them with their beanbags.  As they climb, we see that the rope is now two threads, each running through a top corner of the beanbags.  The dreamer encourages his group to work together, enabling them to reach the top ahead of most.  When they do, the dreamer realizes that they are at the end of a very long line of climbers, who have scaled the cliff already and are now inside the tunnel at the top.  They must wait until the line has moved to climb onto the ledge, and move into the tunnel.  Suddenly the the tunnel grows, pushing out, and forcing those on the rope below up over the ledge, and into the growing tunnel.  The dreamer stands.

The air is clear, and everyone is now clothed in white robes.  He and his friends stand and stare in wonder.  The ceiling cannot be seen, it seems as if it is not there, for the sky is clearly visible above, yet they know it is there.  Looking around, the sides are great windows, and they see a beautiful city.  They are in an immense ship just above the earth.  He cannot see the end of it, long and beautiful, sailing majestically above the earth and city.

Spaced apart on the sides of the ship, are small balconies, with room for two or three people, allowing a view of the outside without the obstruction of the perfect glass.  The dreamer sees a few people step back from one, exclaiming on the beautiful singing of the angels.  He asks about them and is told they are outside the ship.  He steps out, and there they are, three beings, floating in the air.  They are singing, and it is beautiful, but not as beautiful as he believed it would be, yet somehow he is satisfied, like after eating a plain meal.  There was nothing spectacular about it, but it was filling and good, like oatmeal and toast.  Satisfied he steps back in the ship as an older woman in a wheelchair passes by.  He stops her in confusion, “Why are you in a wheelchair?” he asks, taking in a couple of other cripples with her.  “Thats just the way paradise works son” she says, and wheels away with the others.  ‘I guess they’ll have to wait till the resurrection’ he thinks to himself as he moves on.  Looking ahead he sees his parents waiting, how happy they are to see him.  He rushes to them, embracing them with joy.  They begin catching up on old times.

A group of people walk past, exclaiming about a “gift” they have received, and how wonderful it is.  The dreamer asks his father what they are talking about.  His father looks in surprise, “You have not heard?!  You can be granted the wish of seeing any one thing you desire in reality.  Anything, to be able to see it and touch it.  What would you like to to see?”  The dreamer stops, frozen in this news and a realization.  He breaks down, sobbing uncontrollably. He has realized that having died, his wife is not with him, he is alone.  He has left her behind.  Their life together had just begun, and now it is over, until she joins him.  I wish to see my wife he thinks, I wish to see my wife.  And the dreamer awakens, this dream on his mind, his heart racing in his chest, tears on his face, his breathing heavy.  Never had the dreamer dreamt such a dream.  Never had a dream affected him so in the physical world.  He felt as if he had actually been crying so uncontrollably, his chest felt the weight of that grief.  And he felt the unfathomable love he knew for his wife.  She was the light of his world.  And would never leave her behind, if at all possible.

I love you.