Religion, The Ad
January 1st, 2009 by The Atheist
No matter which side of the theism debate you stand on, you have to laugh at this.
Expect a response within a couple of days, as tends to happen with these popular pro atheism videos.
Archive for the 'Misc' Category
Out of the Mouths of … Comedians
May 29th, 2008 by The Atheist
The Bible Quote, “Out of the mouths of babes…”, is meant to represent the idea that children, in their innocence sometimes speak more sense than adults. The uninformed teach the informed. So what happens when an author, and President of the Family Research Council gets schooled by a comedian and talkshow host?
Stephen Colbert asks.
“I think it would really be better for the anti-gay-marriage side if they obeyed everything in the Bible, not just the anti-gay-marriage part. Don’t you?”
“When did Jesus talk about gay people? Because I keep on looking for that so I could win some arguments.”
If you watch the video embedded in the page linked to above, you will no doubt recognise the squirm most Christians experience when they are challenged on the actual content of the Bible. I think it’s always interesting to ask a Christian why they choose to believe certain parts of the bible (God, creation, miracles) but not others (slavery, adult circumcision, oppression, violence, abuse etc.). I’m yet to get a satisfactory answer.
The Illusion of Religion: Illusion, Entertainment and Religion
May 27th, 2008 by The Atheist
During a recent flying visit to London I was lucky enough to catch a Derren Brown (official site / Wikipedia page) show. If you haven’t heard of Derren, I would thoroughly recommend finding a DVD and giving it a watch. He’s essentially a psychological illusionist who uses a combination of psychology, distraction and illusion to create a unique and entertaining show. He’s a self professed sceptic when it comes to all aspects of the paranormal, including genuine psychic abilities, and does an excellent job of incorporating his scepticism into his shows.
An example he used in the show I attended was that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The famous author and creator of Sherlock Holmes began believing in paranormal phenomena towards the end of his life. This included fairies, of which he wrote a book. Derren gave a demonstration of the techniques used to convince people like Arthur Conan Doyle of the existence of paranormal activities. I won’t go into the specific example in case you intend on going along to the show, but suffice to say it was impressive and could be convincing.
The whole experience really got me thinking. Derren gave a very specific demonstration that was framed, even with his introduction which clearly stated he didn’t believe in paranormal activity and that the following was an illusion, in such a way as to make it plausible. If you wanted to believe it to be true, there wouldn’t be much to stop you. Now this is entertainment, and as Derren points out, he is always honest in being dishonest. He tells you something is a lie before going on to demonstrate it as if it was true.
Now I’m a very perceptive, logical, person. While watching the show I came up with various ways in which the some of the acts could have been successfully performed. And there were clearly nods throughout the act to those of us in the audience who had this critical hat on. Veiled hints at how things are done. The important thing to remember here though is that I went in as a critic and sceptic. I knew (because Derren himself admits it) that these are tricks and I wanted to know how they were done. If I hadn’t have gone into the performance with this attitude, it would have been very easy to believe everything he did. To buy into the performance.
This is the point really. One of the key differences between Atheists and Non-Atheists is that Atheists almost always have a critical sceptic hat on. They want to know the how’s and the whys of everything and tend not to take things at face value. If you’re a Christian, and you read the Bible, you are predisposed to believe everything in there as fact. You won’t have that critical eye that others have.
So where am I going with this? It became obvious that throughout the show there are certain actions, scenarios and set ups Derren uses to paint a convincing picture. It’s all very carefully designed and acted out to create an illusion. So I found myself wondering how religion uses these same techniques. What are the illusions religion creates in order to maintain it’s grip over people, and grab new followers?
Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting my thoughts on this area. How certain religions use illusion to trick people, be it subtle or overt. I’ll be starting off with Christian churches, and how they are designed, architecturally, to be magical places that connect followers to “God”.
A Morailty Questionnaire
January 26th, 2008 by The Atheist
I came across this excellent post over at Possum Momma (a.k.a Atheist in a MiniVan) and though it would be fun to answer the question, and provide a brief commentary on the questions, here. I’d thoroughly recommend you read the fill post, the questionnaire is from a Sixth Grade “Science” project.
Question: Do unchristians make less moral choices than Christians?
Hypothesis: The Bible is the perfect guide to life that shows us how to be moral people. Without believing in the Bible you can’t know God and he can’t guide you and give you rewards for being a good person. I think people who aren’t Christian will be less successful.
Experiment: I will interview thirty people and ask them if they are Christian. I will give them the same questions so I have a control sample. I think they are immoral if they score lower than 15.
Questions I will ask. There are 20 points available.
- Have you ever spoke the name of our Lord in vain? - Our Lord? I don’t have one, so no. Score 1! (good start, let’s keep this up).
- Have you ever killed another human being? - If I answered yes to this, I’d have bigger problems than failing this morality test. No. Score 2.
- Have you every lied? - When I was 6 I told someone God was real. It was a cruel joke. Yes. Score 2.
- Have you ever had relations before marriage? - Hasn’t everyone? My mother is one example of a relation, and I’m not married. Yes. Score 2
- Do you go to church every Sunday or once a week? - Good one. I’d rather rub salt into my eyes. No. Personally I think this should gain me a point, but that’s probably not what the author had in mind. No. Score 2.
- Do you wish you had more stuff? - I wish I had more Bibles. Oh, that’s a conundrum. Yes. Score 2.
- Do you gossip? - Why? What have you heard? Yes. Score 2.
- Do you give to charity? - Yes, so long as said charity has no religious affiliations. Yes. Score 3.
- Do you listen to rap or heavy metal music? - I definitely don’t listen to Brave Saint Saturn, if that’s what you mean. Yes. Score 3.
- Have you ever had an abortion or been pro-choice? - Well I’m a man, so that’s abortion out of it. But am I so morally decrepit that I’ll try and force my views on other people? No. So, in this twisted logic that translated to a Yes. Score 3.
- Have you ever read Harry Potter or Spiderwick Chronicles or the Golden Compass? - It’s funny that I can get a point for this even though I’ve read numerous atheist books, such as The God Delusion. No. Score 4.
- Do you see movies with unwholesome content? - I usually see movies with my Girlfriend. Yes. Score 4.
- Do you pray every day? - I prey every day, does that count? No. Score 4.
- Do you believe that God is the creator of heaven and earth? - Well I don’t believe heaven exists, and I’m sure that if some entity did create the earth they would have done a better job, Like intelligently designing people to be clever enough not to be religious, instead of relying on the intelligent amongst us to evolve to such a state. Hell no. Score 4.
- Are you overweight because you eat too much? - No I’m overweight because God is punishing me for hom not existing. No. Score 5. (I’m overweight because I don’t exercise enough!)
- Do you take pride in accomplishments other than service to God? - I don’t take pride in anything. I love apathy. No. Score 6.
- Do you put God and Jesus first? - Er, I can’t put two things first. That’s like asking someone to dedicate themselves 110% to something. Can’t be done. Sorry. No. Score 6.
- Do you view pornography? - View? or interact with? No. Score 7.
- Do you practice temperance in every thing you do? - Such as my fanatical following of a religion? No. Score 7.
- Are you quick to anger? - Not according to the judge. Actually, I take pride (damn!) in the fact that I’m very calm, logical and
diabolicalun-flappable. So no. Score 8.
So I got an eight. Better than I thought I would. Admittedly I had to use some pedantic interpretations of the questions, but that’s ok in my book.
In all seriousness though, this questionnaire and it’s author can’t really be criticized. It all comes down the the parents who have ingrained this belief in the child that you can only be “moral” if you are a Christian. Note that you can’t achieve the “pass mark” unless you get at least some of the Christian exclusive activities right. It’s asking a question that only has three outcomes. Either you’re a Christian and moral, or a Christian and not moral or an unmoral non-Christian. There’s no fourth option.
How did you do?
Let’s Put the “Fun” in “Fundamentalism”
December 22nd, 2007 by The Atheist
I have absolutely no problem in celebrating Christmas. However, I’m not celebrating the birth of the son of God, instead I’m celebrating spending time with friends and family, and some well deserved time off work. In fact, Christmas as an event has become completely disjointed from the religious underpinnings. And I don’t think I’m the only one.
This year, I took a trip to New York City, Manhattan in fact. And walking around there wasn’t much in the way of Christian elements. It’s easy to argue that the whole Christmas thing is about Christianity, but for many people, an increasing number in fact, it’s simply not. So wondering round the streets, the spectacular window displays and the various attractions I felt Christmassy, but not Christian. To be honest, it came as a relief. This is New York City, I know, it’s not exactly known for it’s religiousness, but still.
The point I’m getting to is this, I browsed to th BBC News website this morning to find three religion related stories on the front page. The first, detailing Tony Blair changing his religion is of little interest to me. The other two, however, warranted more reading.
First up we’ve got The Archbishop of Wales warning against Fundamental Atheism, or “Atheistic fundamentalism” as he wrongly puts it. There are a couple of points worth picking up on. Firstly, he claims that Atheistic fundamentalism is a new concept. Sorry, “Doctor”, it’s not. It’s been a building, growing and evolving movement in many parts of the world for quite a while. France, especially, has a strong contingent of Fundamental Atheists. The point the good Doctor is sadly missing is this. Being a fundamental atheist means you treat all religions with the same contempt Christianity shows other religions. Except a Christian that dismisses Islam, for example, is not called a Fundamental Christian, just a Regular Christian. It’s commanded in the Bible. The more accepted definition of Fundamental Atheism is more along the lines of people who are happy to state they are an Atheist, along with logical reasons why, and engage in debates and discussions with those of a religion persuasion. Essentially a mirror of Christianity. In France, there are well known Atheist “Churches” and “Preachers” where logic is taught and debated, and fear is not used as a tool. The second point the Archbishop tries to make is that the political correctness currently sweeping across Britain is because of this “Atheistic fundamentalism”. Sorry, but that’s not the case. The drive away from religious affiliations in Schools, Hospitals and public institutions has come from the opposite of Atheists; the religious. Because of this deep fear of offending people, driven from the top by Tony Blair and the Labour party, people in public positions have become apologetic to all religions. The net result is a removal of religious affiliations. Of course, as I said in the opening paragraphs, I have no problem with celebrating Christmas, and if I received a Christian Christmas Card, I’d welcome it. As a “Fundamental Atheist”, I’d never want to prevent someone from following a religion through oppression. I’d rather do it through logic and reasoning.
The second story which caught my eye talks about the gradual, but noticeable, softening of America’s Christians. I’d completely agree with the opinion of the author, albeit based on circumstantial evidence (see my trip to NYC). I believe that hard-line Christianity is becoming unacceptable. After all, when the Bible says to love all of God’s creatures, how can you abuse Homosexuals? It doesn’t make sense. This poses a problem for Christianity, not just in America but around the world. There are movements in the US and the UK and parts of Europe for hard-line Islamic law to be adopted. At the moment these movements don’t get much press coverage and haven’t gathered many followers, but give it time. Recent surveys suggest that a growing number of Muslims want to see Sharia Law enforced. This represents a very hard-line view. So what happens when you’ve got Christianity going less hard-line and Islam going more hard-line?
Bring on the fundamentalists.
I Didn’t Realize the BBC Was So powerful…
November 26th, 2007 by The Atheist
I know it’s not funny, but I chuckled. I was reading the feeds in my feed reader and came across this story from RichardDawkins.net. It’s about a British Teacher who has been arrested for allowing her pupils to name a toy “Muhammad”. It’s an unfortunate story, but the headline still made me laugh:
Now, I’m no British Solicitor, but I had no idea the BBC was powerful enough to actually arrest people. I guess if you collect a tax, you can also enforce.
Like Funny Church Signs? Create your own!
November 26th, 2007 by The Atheist
I came across a fantastic site today that lets you generate your own church signs! Literally hours of fun can be had. if you come up with any particularly good/devious/humorous ones, post them in the comments.
Found via Way of the Mind.
The Greatest Satirical Site on the Internet?
October 15th, 2007 by The Atheist
Satire is difficult. Just ask the people who are bad at it. So we really should be grateful for the truly funny satirists out there. They have a “gift”, and we should embrace it. So, without further ado, I give you what is quite possibly the best satirical site on the interwebs today, Objective Ministries.
The image you can see to the right (click to enlarge) is taken from the “4 kidz” section, the “z” is for zealousness. For me, the best section of the site. This site is so good that it actually takes a while to figure out for sure whether it’s genuine or not.
Something for the Weekend - Get “The God Delusion” for free
October 12th, 2007 by The Atheist
The God Delusion has really caused a stir in the world of religion. I’m a huge fan of the book and wholeheartedly recommend it. Fortunately, you don’t have to pay for it if you try one of the following tricks.
Firstly, the first chapter is available on www.RichardDawkins.net. So have a read, and see if you like the tone and style of writing (very important when it comes to how much you enjoy the book). Secondly, you can download the entire Audio version of the book, read by Richard Dawkins himself, for free, and legally. All you have to do is follow one of the links below and sign up for Audible.com. The UK link even gives you two free books, so you can pick something else up to compliment it, may I suggest Battlefield Earth?
Sign up forAudible UK and get TWO free audio books.
Sign up for Audible.com and get ONE free audio book.
Of course, you don’t have to use these links to get The God Delusion, you can get whatever you like. Just stay away from The Bible, ok?
Enjoy.
The links I’ve posted above are affiliate links, but not related to me, or this site.
