Letters to the Editor
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Cgeiger! O Good Heavens!!
<<Prove to me first, scientists, that there is no God. Prove it. I don't care about it being difficult to prove a negative. […. ] If you can't prove it, or even give us a preponderance of evidence that this is the case, then shut up about it AS SCIENTISTS.>>
O Good Heavens – I probably shouldn’t even bother to respond, but I can’t help myself with this one. This is the least-informed paragraph – either Theistic or Atheistic – that I’ve come across around here. Cgeiger, darling, atheism is the LACK of belief in God. We LACK something that you (profess to) have. Help us to acquire that which you have! Tell us, or show us, something, anything, that will compel us to believe what YOU believe! What’s that? Not a scrap of supporting evidence anywhere? Not a scrap of evidence to support either your own religious views, or those of any of the multitude of religions that have come and gone throughout history? Well, THAT’s certainly not very compelling! I guess I’ll just have to keep understanding the universe at face value – when we die, we’re dead (not such a scary thought! I was ‘dead’ for zillions of years before I was born, and I wasn’t in the least inconvenienced by it!), the universe is many billions of years old (plenty of time for humans to have evolved from single-cell organisms – nay, single MOLECULES!), the world is basically spherical and orbits around the sun, etc. etc.
The point of all this is: if you’re telling me that the world works different from how it so blatantly LOOKS like it works (which is what religions do), YOU are going to have to prove it to ME. Barring that, I’ll just happily go on believing that it works that way it looks like it works.
What could I possibly have to prove to YOU?
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Still one more ape joins the fight!
Keep up the confidence, No Name Given. I had to work all day and could thus not hurl any fact-laden-feces into the camp of the theists.
Is Rob Anderson still going on about the whole STalin/Russia/science thing? Lame! If Stalin had any undertanding of science or any respect for the evidence at hand he would have realized that, no matter how much you say it will, that wheat just won't grow there.
I'm always amazed when the believers retreat to the 'who has killed the most people' argument. Do they actually think that the various crusaders/jihadist/warrior priests would have NOT killed as many people, had there just been that many people around to kill and they had access to communication, tools, or supplies to carry it out? Hah! Again, I say hah!
It also always amazes me that the religeous never bother to think about the possibility that indroctination into the cult might actually be real child-abuse. What if it is? It may be. Maybe not, but don't discount it.
And what was with that whole '20-somethings can't have faith like I do with my life experience and all' thing? Sounds like some older, weaker ape, is worried about the younger, stronger apes and trying to get a psychological edge.
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Dead for Zillions of years?
Dear No name given
Thanks for your sensible and patient reply to cgeiger's non-sensicle challenge. However I was interested in your comment that you were "dead for zillions of years before you were born" In order to be dead wouldn't one have to have been previously alive? I have no problem with this being a non theist Buddhist myself, I was just wondering?
Mother Mary Armageddon to be a Habit With You
Big Sisters of Universal Joy
Mother House Sydney Australia
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Why are there no pronounced Athiests for Education groups?
In response to RemoWilliams and our brave friend(s?) with no name:
"It is precisely because humans are so susceptible to religious indoctrination that these cults were so successful, and so deadly. It's groupthink, comrade. Don't kid yourself. Secularism enforced at the point of a sword is not secularism. It's tyrrany
I ask because public education must be the best way to both prevent susceptability to religious dogma and provide a value system other than one based on religion- it is the only alternative I can find to the religions you are so eager to discredit. We should teach them civics, philosophy, real history- as it pertains to our society. It is not sufficient for you to simply decry what is, if you are really athiests. If you are not, or you do not offer an alternative, then what relevance do you have? What change can you affect? As I learn more about the realities of politics that I could have learned in middle school, and I watch us spend trillions of dollars to kill Americans and Islamist nutjobs and innocent citizens, I become embittered and develop a short temper with those who make alot of talk and DO NOTHING. I won't presume to ascribe all of this to those I mentioned- your posts were mostly a trigger, as it were. Still, I am pretty damn salty with alot of the people I meet, or see on the tv. They have no direction or moral compass; no motivation or greater purpose drives them, or, they are misled by religion-- everyone says it, everyone knows it, but it still isn't done . So, i'm asking, if athiests want to do away with religion, what aren't they fighting tooth-and-nail to demand well funded, high quality, thoughtfully planned, public education programs?
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Atheists for Education???
I'm sorry, but are you serious? You think people would stand for that, let alone take it seriously? Did you catch that piece on Paula Zahn tonight about discrimination against atheists... they interviewed some couple who talked about having lost all their friends and their jobs, etc etc etc (like in some really hick bible-belt town) and then they went to the special "panel" and all three of these morons said, "well I think atheists should all just shut up, I am sick of them trying to force their beliefs on me, like taking prayer out of public schools."
I mean, what I'm saying is that it is not the right climate to even come out as an atheist in many parts of the country, let alone try to start groups called "Atheists for such-and-such."
But how do you know that most atheists aren't a part of something? There are plenty of non-religious charities and organizations to be involved with. But really, putting it under the banner of atheism is NOT a good idea, I'm sorry to say. Our society just isn't there yet.