Chosen Destinies

Nov 29, 2011 Ramblings No comments

“You’re weird.” Context: Insult
Translation: “Wow, you’re something different other than me. Obviously, my way is the only way things should be and I don’t agree with you. This means something is wrong with you, because I can’t be wrong.”

“You have a lot of time on your hands.”
Translation: “You spent effort doing something I find a waste of time. Hey, it doesn’t matter whether you enjoyed or if it was productive, I would find it boring and because I find it boring, you do too and I can’t believe you spent so much time doing something boring. Are you masochistic or something? Because I find whatever you did boring or a waste of time, so it is.”

“Hey! Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.”
Translation: “I can contribute nothing to the discussion.”

“It’s called freedom of speech.” or variations
Translation: “What do you mean opinions can be wrong?”

“Shut up!” Context: In the middle of an argument
Translation: “I can’t think of a rebuttal to what you just said, but I know you’re wrong! I am completely right! You don’t deserve to continue your stupidity.”

“You’d never say that in real life!”
Translation: “I couldn’t think of anything to counter what you just said, so I’m just going to attack you, regardless of whether or not that actually has an impact on my argument. I think your character has an impact on the truth. Ad Hominem Tu Quoque? Where?”

“You’re so extra.”
Translation: “You put more effort into something than I would. I think that is a waste of time, so obviously you do too. I’m lazy and think any more effort than necessary it’s just completely a waste of time. Only the minimum should be required, because hard work isn’t a good thing.”

“I didn’t even try.”
Translation: “I’m afraid of looking stupid and I conform to idea that hard work is uncool. If I say I didn’t try and do good, it looks like I can do better. If I say I didn’t try and do bad, I can blame it on my lack of trying. Win-win!”

“Make me a sandwich.” Context: Male to a female, trying to insult her
Translation: “I’m unoriginal and completely sexist. I find newspaper comics hilarious. And guys, did you hear that Osama bin Laden is dead?! Wow!”

“Suck my dick.” or variations
Translation: “Shut up shut up shut up okay I can’t be wrong you’re just being stupid la la la”

“It can’t be a coincidence!” Context: Describing the luck of a random event
Translation: Evidence of a human demonstrating their ability to recognize and create patterns. Also, it is.

“[asserting that any urban legend is true]”
Translation: “I’ll believe anything and will never try to verify facts.”

“Oh wow.” Context: Sarcastically.
Translation: “I can’t believe you went the extra mile. I can’t accept that my laziness is a bad thing, so I’ll just insult those who do better than me.”

“I hate when people complain about good grades.”
Translation: “Grades are luck-based. My personal best is everyone else’s. Anything surpassing that is really hard. No one should complain if they got higher than me because they couldn’t have done better.”

“The Bible says so.”
Translation: “I’ve never really read the Bible.”

“OMG!!!1 Facebook changed AGAIN!”
Translation: “I’m not very good with computers, nor do I adapt to change. I never learn that I just get used to the changes. I’m unaware I bother the crap out of people like Vanesa.”

Nov 27, 2011 Obsessions, Ramblings No comments

… but I can’t help it! If you couldn’t tell, I’ve been browsing them and r/atheism for the past few months. I am absolutely intrigued.

However, I’m also mad at people who are completely prejudiced against atheism.

Life Pro Tip of the Day! Google your questions about atheism instead of making them up.

Also, what inspired me to write this post: this Yahoo Answers Page. Someone asked if atheists make up the meaning in their lives. An answer provided on this page is, and I quote,

No, they don’t believe their lives have any meaning or purpose. They think they are just animals and that love is just chemical. Sad, huh?

I actually agree with the first two sentences. We have no meaning. We are just animals. And I’m no expert, but love is all in your brain. I believe when we die, we will return to the Earth. I believe no one is watching us from a divine place. We’re nothing in this universe.

Does that make me sad? Of course not.

Our very existence is amazing. Again, I’m not an expert and my understanding of science is still limited, but what I know about it so far is truly remarkable.

Can you imagine that all of us, everything you’ve ever known and seen, came from a star? We are all star dust. And from this star dust, our planet, and eventually life emerged. Now, life is already amazing. As far as we know, we’re the only planet harbouring it. But that isn’t enough. From a single-cell organism, we all have evolved until we became humans today. Self-aware, intelligent humans. I believe this is all just a coincidence, and anyone who thinks it’s too amazing is just trying to draw a meaning where meaning does not exist.

The fact we can even love in the first place is amazing. We can take the original purpose of attraction to procreate, and use it to truly enjoy something special. (Loosely referencing Greta Christina’s speech on atheism and sexuality at Skepticon.)

That is more beautiful than what any religious text can tell me.

Nov 26, 2011 Ramblings No comments

This image annoys me to no end.

What? Atheists have no basis for morality? You’re joking, right?

We need an invisible supreme being to dictate and tell us what’s right and wrong, apparently. We can’t, you know, base our actions on things that are logical and pleasurable. (Note: Of course, it’s not that simple. But I believe religion isn’t the answer.) Nope. We can’t figure that out for ourselves, and we need someone watching us all the time that will keep us from spiraling out of control.

Are you telling me the only thing stopping you from doing immoral acts is the supposedly just creator of the universe, who will damn you for eternity if you do them? I’m sorry, but I’m more scared of you than supposedly immoral atheists.

Not to mention the Bible is immoral anyway.

P.S. Atheism is no belief.

Oct 31, 2011 Ramblings No comments

Found something interesting on Yahoo Answers, written by Queen of Sheba. The person asked for best arguments against atheism, and this was his reply: (took out quote I don’t address at the end)

Look out a window.

Here is a story used by a rabbi.

A king goes to visit a rabbi and tells him he doubts the existance of a Creator of the Universe. He told the rabbi everything just happened, the entire universe is a huge coincidence with no purpose, just the result of luck and many throws of the dice.
He asks the rabbi to prove the universe was created by a intelligent design.

The rabbi says to plerase open up the window, and then that the king unscrews the top of the ink bottle but leave it on there, with the feather quill pen next to it.

He asks him to put a clean piece of paper next to it.

the king complies and leaves, told to reeturn the next afternoon and his answer will be explained.

Next day the atheist king returns, and sees the most beautifully caligraphed poem written on that piece of paper and the rest of the ink spilling onto the floor.

“what a beautifully caligraphed poem, what a nice rhyme, who wrote this?” the king asks the rabbi.

“No one. I forgot to close the window last night. A cat or a bird or a rat must have climbed or flown in and knocked over the bottle of ink.

No, the kings insists, Someone wrote it. did you write it?

;The rabbi shakes his head, and says, “its just a coincidence that the ink spelled into words, and which rhyme and make sense.

the king laughs, but the rabbi is serious.

“No, someone had to write that poem.”

“Its just a piece of paper with spilled ink. One little coincidence, compared to the hills and trees and clouds and mountains you see out of this window,” explained the rabbi.

Now, I see where this going. This universe is so wonderful, so intricate, so full of meaning. This couldn’t have just “happened”. This is what people call “intelligent design”. Therefore, there needs to be a designer. That designer is God. How can the miracle of the very fact you’re reading this right now come out of nowhere and be meaningless coincidence?

But we’re simply looking at this backwards.

It’s not that everything was created with meaning. We just make meaning out of creation. It can’t be coincidence that us humans exist? It is. We’re drawing meaning around patterns. The analogy used in the story is wrong. The ink would have spilled, we would have made sense of it, and then we would find meaning, when there isn’t. Things that are too weird to be coincidental are pretty interesting and rare, but still stay at just that: a coincidence.

Everything is the result of the emergence..

will edit later and and add further evidence

Oct 30, 2011 Myself, Ramblings No comments

I identify as an atheist because I lack belief in a higher deity/deities. That is all. Atheists may seem to have general opinions on subjects such as homosexuality, abortion, or general issues of debate today, or they may be varying levels of anti-theism, but the only thing we all have in common is simple disbelief. Atheists can be homophobic or pro-life. I’ve personally met a couple of them.

Basically: not all atheists are the same. If I believed the same way about Christians like how people I know believe about atheists or even non-Christian theists, I’d think you were all homophobic con artists who preach about doomsday.

Personally, I will let you believe what you believe. I draw the line at you insulting my beliefs (or lack thereof) or trying to get me to believe what you believe. Unless we arrange to debate, I don’t wish to randomly start an argument with you. I won’t and have no interest in challenging your beliefs either. You are free to ask questions, but you’re better off with a Google search and the atheism subreddit than someone who’s barely scratched the surface of religion and is still researching philosophers and atheists. (Not to say I have little grounds for being an atheist—again, atheism is just a lack of belief. No strength or certainty is required. I have, however, spent many years suppressed and eventually opening my mind. I’ve claimed to be an agnostic until finally realizing that agnostic is not a middle ground for atheist and theist. A lot of thought and a good amount of research helped me make this decision.)

With that said, here is a list, mostly for my own reference, as to why I’m an atheist. (Note: I’m too lazy to add in sources right now. A good place to find where most of what I reference is at r/atheism.)

• I’m simply too lazy for religion, and don’t see the need in having one. I just don’t and can’t believe. And no, deluding myself with faith does not count.
• I’ve ruled out Christianity, though I was raised Catholic until I decided to stop believing. I don’t believe in Heaven or Hell. In fact, I wish to do some more research to see if there’s evidence of Jesus’ existence. The Bible is full of crap, with gems picked out by religious figures (see the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible and the numerous reference lists of the Bible accepting slavery, murder, rape, and sexism). I think it’s absolutely arrogant of us to believe we are created and meant to be above animals, never mind the fact we are the image of God, and we are absolutely special in the vast, incomprehensibly large universe. However, even if I didn’t have these opinions, I’d still rule it out. Claiming to be all-loving and forgiving, yet still send those who lack faith, maybe without a choice in the matter, to eternal suffering is ridiculous. Persecuting the innocent is wrong. The very fact Hell exists contradicts God, supposedly love. Warnings of Hell kept me as a Catholic as a kid. I find it ironic that people shelter their children from the evils of the world (like, apparently, swearing), yet instill fears of Hell with no problem. I was once told that people in Hell have a “bus to Heaven”, but refuse to board it. At first, I would question why and just assume they’re stupid. Now, I truly question why they wouldn’t. And I realize that they wouldn’t. They’d leave immediately. Who wants the worst torture imaginable? And since God is all-knowing, he knows there are people who will never have a fair opportunity to convert to Christianity, or will be born in the completely wrong culture. Instead of providing undeniable evidence of his existence, he chooses not to. And because they lack faith, they go to Hell. God is knowingly sending people to Hell and doing nothing about it.
• I want empirical evidence of a higher power. No, the fact that the Big Bang had to come from somewhere doesn’t count. If there had to be a creator, this creates the paradox of “Who created the creator?” and so forth. It’s better off using that same logic (”God just exists”) with the universe (”it just exists”). Science is still looking for answers.
• The notion of a higher power or fate has me baffled. Why condemn criminals, if they had no choice in what they did? And if this power existed out of time and knew all that ever was and be, what’s the point in prayer? If we all have a plan, I find it cruel people are sacrificed or even treated with anything less than pure comfort and bliss because it was purposeful. If everything is because of God, He is sending people to Hell on purpose. Do I want to worship that God?
• I disagree with Pascal’s wager. There are numerous religions out there that only want you praising their religion. You have a chance of picking the wrong one. A very high chance. But I refuse to worship a deity/deities that demand it, with promises of a heavenly reward afterwards and a threat of eternal torment if I don’t. If they do, the gods are unjust and deserve no such worship. (Cookies to anyone who knows the quote I just referenced.)
• Even if there was a god/gods, I doubt they want worship. Or care about us insignificant humans. Or maybe they’re interested in us. I don’t know.
• If there was an afterlife (though I find it hard to believe more and more each day), I think a truly-loving deity would bring you to heaven, regardless of your stance. And people who have done bad will pay for every “sin”, and then are forgiven when they truly make up for it. And people in heaven who don’t want to be with those who abused them will eventually forgive. Also, I don’t have enough information on reincarnation to have a proper opinion on it.
• I don’t want to be part of something based on fear of the afterlife, or based on fear in general. As a child, I would accidentally scare myself into thinking I worshiped Satan or wanted to go to Hell, and I could hardly sleep. I chanted, “I love you, God” and promised myself to believe in God no matter what. As I reflect on it now, I find it silly, yet sick that what is supposed to “save me” gave me nightmares. Now, I realize Hell is a horrible thing to threaten people with. My ninth grade religion teacher brought up what I think is one of the best points for why God just doesn’t reveal himself—He is giving us a choice to believe in him. However, where is the choice with practically pointing a gun at our head with the consequence of Hell? Where is the choice if you were born in the wrong culture? Where is the free will if we use it the way he wants us to? If God were truly just, I would simply live a good life and know he would judge me based on my actions, rather than faith. Testing our faith and having us lose it because we demand evidence, then damning us for eternity is unreasonable. My religion teacher also said that he let humans do what they wanted, because he could’ve easily made us do exactly what he wanted to. So wouldn’t it be reasonable of us to be doubtful? Why let us do what we can if you’ll only punish us if you disagree?
• I don’t believe in the concept of souls. I think humans are highly intelligent and developed animals. You know what? Animals sometimes do it better than us. I find it terrible that people use “animal” as an insult and believe humans only have souls.
• Despite the absolute wonder of the world and the universe, I believe nothing as meaning and seeing things that seem too much of a coincidence to stay just a coincidence is just a result of the Texas Sharpshooter fallacy. Our very existence is astounding when you realize we are created of stars. It’s beautiful. But I believe there’s no special, divine meaning.
• I’m anti-theist to a degree, usually when religion is detrimental to science. Science is modern, fair, and constantly challenged and improved. That is the kind of human progress and place to go for answers we should be looking for. We shouldn’t rely on religious fairy tales that hindered human progress and scientific discoveries because it is contradictory to what they were taught, which has no basic evidence.
• Evidence is everything. Just ask Phoenix Wright. Your scriptures don’t count, because they use circular logic.
• I believe in being a critical-thinker. That kind of approach immediately dismisses the Bible and even the concept of God/gods. (TheraminTrees on YouTube has an excellent video describing the logical impossibilities.)(Also, his brother, QualiaSoup, has wonderful, insightful videos.)
• I don’t believe in needing a religion to be moral. If you need a promise of eternal bliss where you’ll see everyone you’ve ever lost and a threat of eternal damnation to be a good person, I’ll find it difficult for you to be a good person. I know plenty of Christians and Catholics who don’t, but it’s those few who say they would go on a murderous rampage if God didn’t exist I worry for.
• I’ve read a quote somewhere that was about something along the lines of someone asking God why He didn’t do anything about something and being afraid He’ll ask the same question. Excuse me, but who is the all-knowing God who can do everything? Not to mention if this is all a part of your grand design, then you have a pretty crappy design if so many people are sent to Hell.
• I don’t like prayer. Prayer, while done with good intentions, does nothing but make you feel like you did something for those you prayed for. Even as a Catholic, I saw prayer pointless. (Don’t even get me started on the rosary.) Yes, acknowledge the victims of a natural disaster. But at least donate if you truly care. I only have respect for your prayers if you follow them up with action. Praying for a sick grandmother? Remember to visit her in the hospital. Praying for those to get good grades? Help them study and encourage them before tests. Praying to win a football game? Motivate the team.
• I’m for truth. Science constantly looks for the most current truth, and challenges it to avoid bias and mistakes. Science acknowledges uncertainties and accepts them gracefully. Science changes and evolves, which is necessary for the progression of our species. It should be no surprise that I want to pursue a career in science. Religion requires you to keep the same supposedly perfect beliefs and deny scientific evidence, possibly as the “devil’s work”. Religion needs blind faith, which seems to be unacceptable in everything but religion. (And your close family and/or friends.) If we were to judge people without evidence, courts would be a disaster. We need evidence. It’s only fair. A God that conveniently doesn’t leave evidence but requires you to believe anyway? Sounds fishy to me.

Edit November 26^th, 2011: Fixed some typos.

This page was last updated on: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 7:26pm.