tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.comments2023-10-07T04:49:15.829-07:00ACE ~ Atheist Community of EarthACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-11306386409361188232012-10-21T15:59:56.263-07:002012-10-21T15:59:56.263-07:00Absolutely wonderful.Absolutely wonderful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-75081566373199100682012-10-21T02:56:56.606-07:002012-10-21T02:56:56.606-07:00Beautiful.
Just....Beautiful.Beautiful.<br />Just....Beautiful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-18681075786995327642012-08-16T08:53:38.396-07:002012-08-16T08:53:38.396-07:00Thank you Grundy. I appreciate your input and supp...Thank you Grundy. I appreciate your input and support.ACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-2705592021627287482012-08-16T06:43:26.500-07:002012-08-16T06:43:26.500-07:00I liked the "Atheism is Love" tag, but t...I liked the "Atheism is Love" tag, but the new blog heading is pretty great too. Nice Paine quote front and center.Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07339125862340793733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-20712455767174846232012-08-05T08:22:12.879-07:002012-08-05T08:22:12.879-07:00I have been living between mexico and brazil the t...I have been living between mexico and brazil the two countries with the highest percent of catholics in the world... I studied in schools that felt pretty much like jesus brainwashing me <br />People try to convince me everytime and they see me as if I have some kind of disease <br />People cant accept me as an atheist or it is difficult to make friends since almost everybody are too damn religious<br />But now I am used to that... Sincerely I learned to not care anymore... Its not that hard and you are maybe overreactingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-658408565523773422012-07-16T08:38:15.782-07:002012-07-16T08:38:15.782-07:00Wow, your situation is so applicable to me. I'...Wow, your situation is so applicable to me. I'm a 17 year old in Australia, I'm a Hindu-Sri Lankan and my family is very religious. A loss of faith in god and my admiration of science, coupled with the fact that I always doubted the existence of God has led me to be an atheist. I've told my mum, and she took it pretty well and respected my views, but I have no idea how to start with my dad, he would never accept it, he wouldn't be able to, and not to mention my grandma would probably literally have a heart attack ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-84348946742918297372012-06-26T16:38:15.475-07:002012-06-26T16:38:15.475-07:00One point to this has to do with the human desire ...One point to this has to do with the human desire to be accepted by others. They seek out others that believe as they do, or try to convince others to believe as they do and when a group bands together, majority rule becomes dangerous territory. People will vote for candidates based on a religious platform rather than a logical one. They will bring forth laws that benefit their own ideals rather than the advancement of humanity. I think individual belief is a person's prerogative & their right, but they should never allow those beliefs to stand in the way of actual knowledge, logic and scientific advancement. We are actually regressing as a species right now due to the imposition of religious ideology into our laws.Odd Papahttp://www.blakowblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-30470450867585661692012-04-23T12:58:02.099-07:002012-04-23T12:58:02.099-07:00Nice post. To further the comparison, most modern ...Nice post. To further the comparison, most modern superheroes are based on old gods. Thor, obviously, but also Wonder Woman and Shazam draw from Greek and Roman myth. The Spectre works for the Old Testament Biblical God.Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07339125862340793733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-23754077736382314262012-04-16T19:15:27.469-07:002012-04-16T19:15:27.469-07:00I think you've missed the point.
It's not...I think you've missed the point.<br /><br />It's not atheists that people fear (and it's fear that underlies this). Rather, it is atheism itself - a belief system that cuts away the underpinnings of the myths and beliefs that people live their lives around, and that, for them, give life its sense of meaning, order and predictability. We all (all of us, including atheists) need out myths - albeit atheists have some different ones than theists - and it is terribly disruptive to have them attacked. An attack on our myths is an attack on us; who we are, what we believe is important and true.<br /><br />But if atheism is the problem, it is a natural human tendency to personify it. Atheists are just the face of atheism, the individuals who, even though they do nothing wrong themselves, hold to a belief system that challenges the most cherished views of theists. So it matters not if their behavior is exemplary; the behavior is not the issue. It is what they are, not what they do, that counts. <br /><br />That's why atheists are hated. Hatred springs from fear, and when the things you believe matter the most to you are challenged, you will attack the people who personify what it is you feel the attack coming from.<br /><br />It's a form of war; in this case a cultural war. And we all know how readily people demonize members of the side that is opposed to ours in a war. It's just human nature.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-86304555694321943882012-04-01T16:05:10.691-07:002012-04-01T16:05:10.691-07:00In Ireland today, I still can't "come out...In Ireland today, I still can't "come out" as atheist to my family - it would kill my grannies, my uncle is a priest and would go crazy, and some of my other religious relatives whom I love dearly would never look at me the same way. It would fundamentally change how my family perceives and interacts with me. I don't even blame them as their world view is based on the boundaries in which they were raised.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-55894635331191801672012-04-01T11:47:55.824-07:002012-04-01T11:47:55.824-07:00After reading #20, why in the hell are there taboo...After reading #20, why in the hell are there taboos about secularism today? This is 2012, we have been to space, we have re-programmed life, and we have seen 6 billion years into the past through spectroscopy. Why are people still bound by a book written less than 2000 years ago?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-85252372894136836782012-04-01T10:22:52.695-07:002012-04-01T10:22:52.695-07:00I found this to be an informative and provocative ...I found this to be an informative and provocative article. Well written. Great job, author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-23785736256279898872012-03-30T04:16:56.142-07:002012-03-30T04:16:56.142-07:00Good one...Whatever It is God Does Exist,,,,only t...Good one...Whatever It is God Does Exist,,,,only the definition changes :)Ravihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05327149206287774778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-79913068765184520072012-03-29T07:26:06.845-07:002012-03-29T07:26:06.845-07:00I love when they quote the law of thermodynamics t...I love when they quote the law of thermodynamics to disprove our arguments when physical laws don't apply to any of their own arguments. Their arguments are based on "magic trumps science," (magic being God) which would only be true if magic, or God, existed.Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07339125862340793733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-28637143357588957912012-03-07T12:57:52.251-08:002012-03-07T12:57:52.251-08:00LOL. you are right. not children, or adults can be...LOL. you are right. not children, or adults can be that bad.ACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-25015185026733592212012-03-07T12:56:02.076-08:002012-03-07T12:56:02.076-08:00I guess this argument can be endless, but to sum i...I guess this argument can be endless, but to sum it up I wanted to say that it is important for me and all atheists to speak out and show the negative influence of all religions in our world. Its just like so few people who had the audacity and courage to speak up against slavery. for most people slavery was normal as owning a pet is nowadays. <br />I believe that in 100, maybe 200, years from now religion will be a thing of the past. The younger generations around the world see the ridicule behind all the superstition fairy tales and moving away from it despite the strong beliefs of their parents and grandparents. It is already a fact that the world will be a better place if religion is absent. We as humans wont waste our energy, mind, resources and motivations on something that doesn’t exist.<br />Some of the least religious societies on earth are Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. According to the 2005 United Nations' Development Report they are also the healthiest societies, as indicated by life expectancy, adult literacy, per capita income, educational attainment, gender equality, homicide rate, and infant mortality. Denmark is a country with one of the largest populations of atheist/agnostic/non-believers. Yet they are ranked as the happiest nation in the world. Along with Sweden (another country with very large non-believer populations), they both rank as some of the lowest in violent crime rates in the world.<br />The 2005 United Nations' Development Report, not surprisingly, shows that the 50 societies that ranked lowest in terms of the human development index are also the most highly religious. A Gallup poll of the most and least religious countries in the world showed that most of the countries listed as "Least Religious" were, in fact, the countries with some of the lowest murder rates per capita. Many of these countries also happen to have some of the world's highest living standards for their populations! Some of these countries include Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Hong Kong. The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any other nation on earth.ACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-3179121909976295892012-03-07T12:55:30.743-08:002012-03-07T12:55:30.743-08:00When you say that I am “posting negative blogs tha...When you say that I am “posting negative blogs that depict my hatred of religion” it isn’t something I haven’t heard before from believers. When theists hear criticism about religion they see it as offensive and insulting. This is not an idle or superficially semantic issue. Critics of the infamous Danish cartoons of Muhammad argued that they were rude and insulting, but without specifying exactly how they should be interpreted as "insulting" or what sorts of alternatives should have been chosen. Plays and books have been censored on the claim that they are "insulting" to "religious sensibilities" — indeed, there are some who argue that there should be no free speech right to say, write, or do anything that "insults" these "religious sensibilities." Is this what people have in mind when they say that atheists shouldn't be "insulting" — that atheists shouldn't say or do anything which insults religious sensibilities? That's far too broad of a claim to be accepted or taken seriously. Atheistic critiques of religion cannot and should not be held hostage to the vague, unknown, and ever-shifting "religious sensibilities" of whomever might listen or read. It is a serious and ongoing problem for atheists that believers take any negative criticism — never mind very sharp criticism or even ridicule — of religious claims and dogmas in a highly personal manner. This can be understandable, given how important these beliefs can be for people, but it's not legitimate to shut down all such commentary on the assertion that it's "hatred" and therefore inappropriate, illegitimate, and out-of-bounds. There are of course better and worse ways of saying or putting things, but in the end religious believers cannot object to atheistic criticism of religion, religious beliefs, or theism by insisting that atheists stop being "insulting" and "moderate" their rhetoric.<br /><br />When you compare American history with religious history it doesn’t make sense at all. If anything it shows the problem with religion. What the US government did in the 40’s and laws that existed by the government are morally different than they are today. Slavery was legal once in America, now it is not only illegal it is considered absurd by any intelligent human being. In the bible slavery is still legit; “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 NLT). The “word of god” though edited by theists, cannot be changed. You cannot believe in something so deeply and say some of the things in the book are only history. You cannot believe in some words from the bible and live by them, and some words that don’t make sense and seem ridiculous to live by in a modern society and say “oh, this part is history. We cant change history.” <br />Political history is used as lessons. when it comes to choosing our leaders, and even how leaders behave. It is progressing and moving forward compared to any religion which is the same for thousands of years with the exclusion of the new edition that had to come out in order to catch up with the times “the new testament.”ACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-69339815349244167942012-03-07T12:55:00.012-08:002012-03-07T12:55:00.012-08:00On this issue Christopher Hitchens, who had himsel...On this issue Christopher Hitchens, who had himself visited North Korea, wrote about the strong associations of religion and a totalitarian state as he had witnessed first hand within North Korea.<br /> Many genocidal and brutal dictatorships have been, and still are, traditionally religious. Eastern religions cannot be let off the hook either. Zen Buddhism and Shinto were the religious beliefs of Hirohito's fascist government of Japan during World War II; the dictatorship in Burma is Buddhist; the forces in Sri Lanka that have been carrying out their current atrocities against the Tamils are themselves Buddhists; Lon Nol's army in Cambodia was Buddhist; the list goes on and on.<br />Atheist dictatorships are not brutal because of atheism, but because of political reasons as mentioned earlier. Atheism simply holds reason and rationality as superior to dogma. When an atheist dictator institutes atrocities it is not because it is a reasonable or rational thing to do, but because of dogmas that are held to, exclusive power grabs, and political ideologies. However, when religion is held to in these cases, it does give justification for atrocities as shown very extensively in my earlier section addressing this issue.<br />Holy texts demonstrate and prescribe horrible injustices and atrocities that have been held to by those in power. The same cannot be said of the works of Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, John Lennon, Charles Darwin, Noam Chomsky, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and Johannes Brahms (to name just a few), all of whom were atheists.<br />The ethical philosophy of atheists and agnostics is humanism and is demonstrably a much better moral framework to live by than any religious doctrine. The United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rightsis a humanist document for how to treat people and is far better than anything that has come out of any holy text.<br />So, as has been shown, the atrocities committed by totalitarian regimes, such as the communists and fascists have nothing to do with atheism and instead have strong religious tones associated with them.<br /><br />“People of faith often claim that the crimes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot were the inevitable product of unbelief. The problem with fascism and communism, however, is not that they are too critical of religion; the problem is that they are too much like religions. Such regimes are dogmatic to the core and generally give rise to personality cults that are indistinguishable from cults of religious hero worship. Auschwitz, the gulag and the killing fields were not examples of what happens when human beings reject religious dogma; they are examples of political, racial and nationalistic dogma run amok. There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable. “<br />- Sam Harris, December 24, 2006, Los Angeles TimesACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-10764578743925324452012-03-07T12:53:57.475-08:002012-03-07T12:53:57.475-08:00Now about Stalin (and Hitler), the two names that ...Now about Stalin (and Hitler), the two names that many times come up from apologists against atheism.<br />Atheist dictatorships are not brutal because of atheism, but because of political reasons as mentioned earlier. Atheism simply holds reason and rationality as superior to dogma. When an atheist dictator institutes atrocities it is not because it is a reasonable or rational thing to do, but because of dogmas that are held to, exclusive power grabs, and political ideologies. However, when religion is held to in these cases, it does give justification for atrocities. <br />Many dictatorships are political religions: Religion has many qualities that are similar to totalitarian rule. According to Wikipedia these are some of the traits shared:<br />- Suppression of religious beliefs, just as religions exclusively suppress belief in competing religious ideologies.<br />- Absolute Loyalty to the state, party, leader (Fuhrer) or messiah<br />- Fear is instilled from the top in order to maintain power and obedience<br />- Externalize blame to another group for problems. North Korea blames its economic problems on the western world; Nazis blamed the Jews and other groups for theirs.<br />- Cult of personality where the leader is displayed in posters, sculptures, etc. in a godlike or cult like manner.<br />- Propaganda is used to reinforce loyalty in both religion and totalitarian regimes. False or warped information is disseminated through all forms of communication and the means of communication are themselves usurped by those in power.ACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-74478582866145742512012-03-07T12:52:53.169-08:002012-03-07T12:52:53.169-08:00Tim, thank you for taking the time to comment your...Tim, thank you for taking the time to comment your opinion, and intelligent argument my friend.<br />Here is my reply paragraph by paragraph to your comment;<br />Yes the name of the blog is Atheism Is Love, and I guess by showing the bad in organized religion, and the numbing effects it has on society, I have more to show the purity of atheism. It is an actual fact that less religios nations are much more advances than religious nations. In my (and many, if not all, Atheists) opinion if everyone on earth was an Atheist (as they are when born) life on earth would have been much more harmonious and advanced than it is now. I am not suggesting a la la land of perfection. Obviously bad people and bad things would still exhist, but we as humans would have been in a much better position of living on this planet than we are now. I do see religioun as poisn, and by bringing out all the negative things about religion I have a better and clearer platform to show that Atheism Is Love. <br />Of course there are good things in organized religion. Its not all bad, but the way I see it, in every cult organization there are good things that serve the members of the organization.ACE~ Atheist Community of Earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985537616545678348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-25279002136817604872012-03-07T05:17:23.794-08:002012-03-07T05:17:23.794-08:00Thanks, that will save me time.Thanks, that will save me time.Kwaicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03230780163160853630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-44913305889703468202012-03-07T02:03:56.667-08:002012-03-07T02:03:56.667-08:00Wow this blog is great, Atheism...Wow this blog is great, Atheism...Pa Ulhttp://pa-ul.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-28296828500857082902012-02-22T08:38:19.851-08:002012-02-22T08:38:19.851-08:00I had to break this up into two responses because ...I had to break this up into two responses because of the character limit. Here is the continuation of my previous comment:<br /><br />Perhaps you were going to work your way through the rest of the Bible to get to the quotes about living in peace with our neighbors. I can only hope so. It's okay to be an Atheist and still recognize the GOOD religions have done for the world. It won't make you any less Atheist to read the New Testament and see all of the positive virtues the writers encourage Christians to espouse. I know we don't always live up to the expectations set by those writers, but at least we try. I'd rather have a bar to try to clear than no bar at all! <br /><br />I leave you with St. Peter's exhortation to the Church, "Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing" (1 Peter 3:8-9a).Timothy Moranvillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-9227905281780542882012-02-22T08:36:48.196-08:002012-02-22T08:36:48.196-08:00You title this blog "Atheism IS Love" ye...You title this blog "Atheism IS Love" yet the topic of each post is anti-religion (specifically the Abrahmic faiths). The spiteful tone comes across as far from loving! Yes, there has been a history of violence played out in the name of God. Yes, God commanded the Israelites to decimate entire cities. Yes, Christians have taken the call to defend our Faith as a literal call to arms. Yes, Muslims have sought to purge evil from the face of the earth by killing non Muslims.<br /><br />Atheists are far from bloodless though. Josef Stalin attempted to purge religion from Russia by means of violence. He leveled churches, exiled or killed priests, and who can forget his purges that took the lives of close to 1.5 million people. Pol Pot had somewhere between 1.5 and 3 million people executed in Cambodia. In our present day, countless believers are persecuted and even murdered by the officially Atheist government of China.<br /><br />We could counter with stats of who hates whom more and how many people have killed or been killed throughout history. Or, we could all quit trying to lay blame with each other for what's wrong with society and work together for the common good. So, my challenge for you is this:<br /><br />From now on instead of posting NEGATIVE blogs that depict your HATRED of religion, focus on posting POSITIVE blogs that highlight the good things Atheists are doing (or have done) in the world. Surely Mother Teresa wasn't the only person working with the poor in Calcutta! Since Atheists are all so full of love, surely there is a completely Atheist organization [and it would have to be completely Atheist- otherwise I would say the religious members of the group inspired and influenced the good works] doing something to alleviate the suffering in this world! If you truly believe that Atheism IS Love, show me how! <br /><br />Stop with the petty "God told them to kill... the Christians had the Inquisition... but 9/11 was religiously inspired" arguments against religion. Those [elementary aged] arguments are incendiary but have little intrinsic value. During the 1940's the US government rounded up the Japanese living here and put them in interment camps. Do those actions make America a terrible nation that should be eliminated so that "true freedom" could ensue? No. They are deplorable actions that a few men in power inflicted upon a group of people they blamed for Pearl Harbor. Are those events an indictment of ALL Americans at that one time and for the subsequent generations?! Of course not! Is it still a part of our history? Yes. The brilliance of the study of history is that we can learn from past mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future. I can't go back and change the fact that the Israelites wiped out Jericho. I can't go back and change the fact that the Catholic Church officially sanctioned the Inquisition and Crusades. You can't go back and change the fact that Stalin and Pol Pot murdered millions either. <br /><br />What we can do is live in the present and work toward the future. I'm sure that in another 500 years, future generations will be able to pick apart our societal flaws and examine them under the microscope of history. What may seem like a big deal to us now might look silly in the next century. To quote Nostra Aetate (on the relationship of the Catholic Church with other religions): "this sacred synod [Vatican II] urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom."Timothy Moranvillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221156734967202566.post-71863875509742466922012-02-06T17:09:06.632-08:002012-02-06T17:09:06.632-08:00I find the comparison of the Abrahmic god to a fiv...I find the comparison of the Abrahmic god to a five year old offensive. I have 3 children, and have been around plenty of five year olds, they are nowhere near that bad.Tablethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00745450129936262746noreply@blogger.com