Copland III

Oh noes! I’ve been tagged by Homo Economicus! Oh well. Here goes…

Can you remember the day you officially became an atheist?

No.

Can you remember the day you officially became an agnostic?

Are you teasing me?

How about the last time you spoke or prayed to God with actual thought that someone was listening?

I don’t think I ever really thought someone was listening to my prayers. It always felt like I was improvising god’s answers as I went along.

Here is a good one: Were you agnostic towards ghosts, even after you became an atheist?

I never really believed in ghosts either.

Do you want to be wrong?

Not particularly. If I want a way to cheat death, I’ll achieve it using truly realistic means, not by bowing to a schizophrenic overlord.

I’d better tag somebody else for this now. Here goes then – to anyone from Proud Atheists, consider yourselves tagged.

Elizabeth Dole looking scarily like a less attractive version of Joan Rivers

Oh dear, curse me. I have neglected this place lately. Oh well. Here we go with this week’s star cactus. This time it’s a politician – Elizabeth Dole, the woman responsible for attacking her political opponent, Kay Hagan, for simply consorting with atheists.

This tactic pangs of desperation – Hagan is winning and still gathering momentum, whilst Dole looks like she may well be on her way out of the Senate.

So now she’s resorted to cheap attacks. She claims that Hagan won’t stand up for North Carolina’s values. If that’s so, then why the fuck do all the opinion polls put her ahead? Does she think North Carolinans were born yesterday?

Of course, her campaign team’s put out the ‘Godless Americans PAC wants to abolish the Christmas holiday’ bullshit. Just because she meets with a group that actually wants secularisation of the winter holiday, not its abolition, she won’t necessarily implement their proposed policies.

They also, while mentioning the fact that Godless Americans PAC wants to remove “Under god” from the Pledge of Alleigance, conveniently omit the facts that (a) it wasn’t there in the first place, and (b) if disestablishmentarianism is to be practiced, it shouldn’t even be there.

The woman is deplorable for sinking to such low levels, and I sincerely hope Dole loses the election and that Hagan wins with a landslide majority.

I do not believe there is a god. I find the very idea of one implausible and unlikely.

I instead believe in what science can tell us. Science can be tested and repeated in your own home if you have the equipment. Religion can not.

Anyway, in most religions, god is a sadistic despot responsible for the genocide of thousands of people. I believe in reality, not the contents of fifty-two books with uncertain histories.

I simply cannot believe in what is essentially an evil sky fairy who is akin to an imaginary friend. Unless you can prove it exists.

I was absolutely dismayed to learn of a terrorist attack on a mosque in the USA. Of course, it wasn’t on the news. Instead, the first I heard of it was through Pharyngula earlier today. The story is that a mosque had been gassed with children inside, after an insipid, racist DVD started being distributed in some swing states. Quite amazingly, the local police say there’s no evidence to suggest a hate crime at all.

If this had happened in a church, then the press would be all over it – Wall Street’s problems would become a non-story for the next week or so. But no. The victims were Muslim, and the perpetrators have white conservative motives. It’s ridiculous that the media can display such bias against one religion.

Something I note on Conservapedia’s slag pile for Atheism is this opening gambit:

Atheism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, is the denial of the existence of God.

‘Denial of the existence of God’? This seems very strange to me.

For example, imagine I told you that in a house there was a room. I don’t tell you anything more. What do you assume? You don’t assume anything: you do not have enough information to elaborate on the contents of the room (although you may speculate). If I were to state that the room was empty, I would not be ‘denying the existence’ of anything within.

This is exactly what Conservapedia is saying. Despite there being zero evidence for the existence of god, if we state that it’s very unlikely there is one in there, we’re said to be denying the existence, even if there is never, was never, and will never be a god.

A flawed counter-argument is that of association. For example, if I said the empty room had a computer in it, you would assume, by association, that the room had at least one power outlet. If I said it was an office, by association, you would assume there was a desk and some papers in there. And, chances are, you’ll be right.

However, this argument only goes so far. There is more chaos in this world than order, and there is a heavy body of evidence against the existence of a god, at least as current definitions put it. So if the existence of something is disproved (or is to the best of our knowledge) the counter-argument is invalid.

Oh dear, I have been awful in not blogging for so long. I’m afraid other commitments have kept me busy. Oh well. To catch up, let’s see who this week’s Prize Twat is. This week, it’s a little topical and partly down to convenience.

Richard Dawkins has been kind enough to make some of his hate mail public, and PZ Myers reposted some of it under the title Richard Dawkins gets mail, too. This particular letter was from a Mr (well, one assumes) Peter Colley of Bellevue, Washington, who wrote…

DAWKINS!

You are a filthy, mother-fucking, pigshit cunt of an arsehole British pig and bastard to cheat, deceive and hoodwink readers with your rotten free inquiry article (which shit I enclose so you can read your own drivel!) No one but an arrogant, putrid, verminous burke [Ed: berk!?] would resort to such a cheap, pigsty trick (unless, of course, he is Michael Shermer, who is as much of a stinking cunt and skunk as you are). Wallow well in your elitist pigsty, elitist British oaf and vermin!!! I spit on shit like you, especially if they are British elitist turds!!!

Most sincerely yours,

Peter Colley

PETER COLLEY

P.S. Fuck you, stinking son of a British whore!!!

Sometimes these letters are so awful, they’re funny. And, quite conveniently, if I continue with my plan to offer a physical prize to whoever wins the Twat of the Year award, he has kindly offered his address. Wonderful.

If this sign is telling the truth, then I don't exist. Therefore I can make as many libelous comments about Sonny Manuel as I like without any fear of being sued. Yeah, right.

(via oddee.com)