Way of the MindWay of the MindThoughts and contemplations - a philosophical blog. Emphasis on atheism and religion. Articles
A damnable doctrine
2007-03-25 20:25:00 I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable ... More About: Damn
An experiment
2007-03-21 16:56:00 I want you to picture yourself performing the following experiment: 1- Pick about 30 books at random. Really, randomness is important. The books are supposed to be of varied genres, authors, and so on, and it doesn’t matter whether you’ve read them before or not. The sample is supposed to include many different kinds of books: ... More About: Men , Experiment , Peri , Rime
Parenting Beyond Belief
2007-03-21 13:39:00 Like several other members of Planet Atheism, I want to mention a new book, Parenti ng Beyond Belief. Even though I’m not a parent (yet), and I live in a non-fundamentalist country (Portugal) where there’s not any kind of social pressure to raise kids as Christians (or members of any other religion), I’m still very interested in ... More About: Renting , Rent
The point of the Hitler and Stalin Cliché
2007-03-19 17:26:00 Alonzo Fyfe, of the excellent Atheist Ethicist blog, wrote, a a few days ago, a post called The Hitler and Stalin Clic hé. As Alonzo writes, that cliché […] is the argument that there is something fundamentally and foundationally wrong with atheism because Hitler and Stalin were atheists ? and look what they did. Alonzo’s post, in a ... More About: Point
Awe: religion and science
2007-03-19 11:20:00 A recent comment in Carl Sagan: little gods suggested that religion provides awe, and science doesn’t; therefore, science will never be enough, since we thirst for something more — to be awed. The problem with that is that the awe of religion is the awe of not understanding. And you aren’t even supposed to understand, in ... More About: Science , Religion , Ligi , Gion
Why worship God at all?
2007-03-13 21:12:00 A technique I like to employ when discussing a subject is to say: “OK, let’s say you’re right,” and then follow it to the logical conclusion. For instance: I don’t believe there is a god. But let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that there is one. Let’s say he is a typical monotheist deity: ... More About: God , Worship , Ship
Who ends up in in "heaven"? Something to think about?
2007-03-10 17:29:00 There have been several studies in the past whose conclusions were this: that the more intelligent and/or educated you are, the less likely you are to be religious. Now, let’s imagine, for a minute, that the Christians are right. About everything. In other words, not only is there a God who judges people and either sends ... More About: Heaven , Methi , Think , Something
Christianity: "It makes no sense"
2007-03-09 12:46:00 Quoting from Daylight Atheism (I made some text bold, though): It makes no sense whatsoever that an infinite, omnipotent god would need to incarnate himself as a human and then subject himself to an agonizing and bloody death just so he could persuade himself to forgive us and save us from the cruel fate he created ... More About: Christianity , Christian , Sense , Christ , Chris
FAQ: Atheism is just another religion!
2007-03-08 00:43:01 That’s not really a question. Anyway, it can have several different meanings. One is the common “atheists worship science / Satan / Darwin / themselves”, which I’ll address a couple of FAQ answers from now. Another meaning is that atheism is a religion, that is, it’s got a lot in common with one. That’s what this FAQ entry is about. What defines a “religion”? Mostly, a religion is a belief system, which includes rules of behavior, rituals, and, in many cases, an element of the supernatural (e.g. miracles), some claims about the origin of the universe, why we are here, and what happens after we die. (note that I said “many cases”, not “all cases”: some religions don’t include supernatural / metaphysical elements at all). Well, atheism is nothing like that. Atheism is simply the lack of belief in a god or gods; there are no rules of conduct, no rituals, no claims about why we’re here or what we̵... More About: Religion , Other , Just , Ligi
FAQ: If you don?t believe in God, why do you talk about him so much?
2007-03-07 12:42:01 Well, I, like most atheist bloggers, rarely talk about “God ”, and when I do so, it’s about the (fictional) character described in religious books such as the Bible. (comic book fans may talk about Spider-Man, but that doesn’t mean they believe he’s real!) What I write about, mostly, is religion, and what I think is wrong with it, the harm it causes, and so on. Religion, unlike God, obviously exists. It’s around us, and affects us - even those of us who have none. Why do I care about it so much? I have a previous, more detailed post about it, but, basically, I believe that the atrocities committed in the name of religion (such as religious terrorism), the anti-life and pro-bigotry teachings (such as “gays are an abomination”, “stem cell research is murder, but invading other countries is OK”, or “women should remain submissive”), and so on, are only part of the problem. Another part, which affects many more beli... More About: About , Talk , Believe , Much
FAQ: How can you be an atheist? You can?t prove God doesn?t exist!
2007-03-06 12:41:01 I can reply to that question in two ways, and either of them is enough. 1- I don’t have to. You’ve probably heard the term “burden of proof” before. In this context, it works like this: when someone makes a new claim, it’s his responsibility to prove it, or at least provide some evidence for it, instead of someone else having to disprove it. In other words, the burden of proof is on the side of those who make the claim — especially if it’s a bold or uncommon one. Imagine someone accuses you of being an alien disguised as a human. Would you feel that you have an obligation to prove that you’re a real human? Of course not. It’s the other person who has to provide evidence for their claims. It works that way, too, for claims like “there is a god, and he’s exactly like I believe he is”. The one who makes the claim has the burden of proof. A question such as “can you prove that it didn’t happen?” on... More About: God , Atheist , Rove , Exist , Theist
FAQ: Isn?t it better to believe, just in case? After all, if I?m wrong, the
2007-03-02 18:38:02 Your question is, in essence, what is known as Pascal’s Wager. It was first suggested by Blaise Pascal, a 17th century French mathematician, and keeps being repeated (over and over) by apologists, many of whom, apparently, believe that they are the first to come up with it… At first glance, it seems to make sense. After all, a believer who’s wrong, apparently, doesn’t lose much, but an unbeliever who’s wrong goes to hell — infinite punishment, and, so, infinite loss. To “hedge one’s bets”, then, might make sense… right? Not quite. Remember that Pascal suggested it about 350 years ago, a time when there was, basically, one single religion around him: Catholicism. It’s not exactly like that today… there are hundreds, if not thousands, of variants of Christianity, most of which say that they’re the only valid version, and the believers of every other version are damned. And that’s just Christianity; man... More About: Just , Case , Better , Believe
FAQ: Without God / religion / the Bible, how can people be moral?
2007-03-02 06:37:02 (Note: this is not the same as the similar-sounding With out belief in an afterlife / fear of hell, how can people be moral?. That one is about behaving because of fear of punishment; this one is about the common belief by theists that people get their moral rules from God / religion / the Bible .) It may come as a surprise to you, but if you’re a caring, loving person who makes people around you happy, you’re not getting that from religion. In fact, it’s much the opposite. If your religion is simply “I believe God is like a loving father who wants us to be kind to each other”, then, while you’re much healthier than many other believers, you are making that religion up. You are inventing it, creating it. Or, else, your priest or pastor, who taught you about God and religion, did so. Because “just be kind to one another” is a philosophy that finds no support in the Bible. That’s not what the Christian god — especially, but no... More About: Religion , People
FAQ: Without belief in an afterlife / fear of hell, how can people be moral
2007-02-28 12:34:01 Think of two children. One “behaves” because he was properly raised, because he really cares about doing the right thing, because he has moral principles. The second “behaves” only because he’s afraid of being spanked. Which one do you think is the “better” child? The most moral one? There are many possible reasons to care for other people. Empathy, for instance. Cooperation. Community. Belief in other people. Love. Respect. A sense of justice, of fairness. Wanting to make the world a better place. Does one really need a threat of eternal punishment as well? In fact, when you say that “without fear of hell, people would kill, rape, steal, and so on”, aren’t you, in effect, saying that that’s what you would do if you didn’t believe there was a hell? That you don’t see any other reasons not to kill, rape or steal? Copyright © 2007 Way of the Mind More About: Life , People , With , Fear , Hell
FAQ: Why do you hate God?
2007-02-28 00:33:01 Let me ask you a similar question: Why do you hate Thor? You don’t, right? You’re pretty sure that Thor doesn’t exist, and it’s absurd to “hate” something that isn’t real. Well, to an atheist, it’s exactly the same. Your god, to the best of our knowledge, exists as much as Thor. He’s as real as Thor is. In other words, he doesn’t exist at all. And we — much like you, I bet — certainly don’t “hate” beings we believe to be non-existent. If you sometimes feel some anger from some of us, it’s probably directed at some particular Christians and their actions, because we think those actions are harming humanity in general. Not at “God ”. The thing is, Christians are real. So are their actions. Nobody denies that. We’re convinced, however, that the Christian god — much like all the thousands of other gods invented by mankind throughout history — doesn’t exist.... More About: Hate , Hat
Coming next: a short atheism FAQ
2007-02-27 18:32:01 Since I’m getting a bit annoyed at always having to answer the same comments by theists who almost never read the entire post, much less the subsequent discussion, and always come up with arguments that they surely believe are incredibly original, such as Pascal’s Wager, “why do you hate God?”, and so on, I’m going to write a FAQ (frequently asked questions). There are already many other such FAQs out there, but I think it’ll be fun to write my own. Each question (and answer) will be a post, and there will be a link to the entire FAQ at the top of the site. Afterwards, when someone posts a comment saying something never seen before such as “you’re only an atheist because you don’t want any moral rules” , I’ll just reply with link to the appropriate answer. I’ll try to write the first question and answer later today… Copyright © 2007 Way of the Mind More About: Atheism , Next , Short , Theism , Ming
Morality and suffering
2007-02-23 18:28:03 This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and which I’ve actually mentioned in arguments in my personal blog (in Portuguese), about the abortion referendum in Portugal. It was also inspired in part, by posts by TXStorm in the Way of the Mind Forum, and by some parts of Sam Harris’ The End of Faith. The question is this: are morality and suffering related, or independent? In other words, when trying to figure out if a particular action is moral or immoral, should we consider the suffering that it will cause (both to ourselves and to others) the most important factor? A less important factor? Or not at all? Well, if reducing suffering or creating joy aren’t the basis of morality, then it raises (not “begs”! I’m sick of that mistake! “begging the question” is a logical fallacy.) an obvious question: then what is the basis of morality? And any answer to that question, unless I’m missing something, is necessarily ... More About: Morality , Ring , Suffering , Oral , Moral
Carl Sagan: little gods
2007-02-22 18:28:01 In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed!”? Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.” - Carl Sagan Copyright © 2007 Way of the Mind More About: Carl Sagan , Little , Litt
How to Start a Religion
2007-02-22 18:28:01 Seen on Deep Thoughts, a link to one of the most serious (!) articles on Uncyclopedia: How to Star t a Religion . As I said, it’s not just an article for laughs, like most of them in Uncyclopedia are. This one is actually a “useful” guide (”useful” if you really wanted to start a religion, that is), and suggests how most common religions were actually created. I’ve actually thought about creating a religion some years ago, but a “joke” one. Maybe I’ll do it someday. Copyright © 2007 Way of the Mind More About: How To , Ligi
The abortion referendum in Portugal
2007-02-12 06:20:01 This concerns mostly my own country, but I felt I had to post about this. While way too many people were too self-centered (”this doesn’t concern me, so I won’t move my ass”) to do anything at all (only about 40% of the population actually voted), still, the results were positive: the “don’t send women to prison anymore” side won. It shows that the Port uguese people are slowly, but surely, leaving the Middle Ages. Today’s referendum, no matter what the fundies said, wasn’t about “saving lives” (anyone who really needs to have an abortion, will almost surely get one — even if it involves falling down a flight of stairs –, and who is concerned about their lives?). It was, instead, a choice between those who believe people should be free to decide things for themselves, and those who feel they have the “right” to control other people’s lives, to impose their own morality upon the rest. Fort... More About: Portugal , Abortion , Referendum , Tuga
One month of Planet Atheism
2007-02-11 06:19:01 Planet Atheism (info on joining), my aggregator of atheism-related blogs, was launched exactly one month ago today. It has steadily increased in number of blogs (41, as I write this), and readership is on the rise, too. During this month, there were technical changes as well; for instance, from time to time, a post didn’t close its HTML tags properly, and its formatting “spilled over” to other posts after it. I spent about 2 days finding a way to deal with it, and I believe I’ve succeeded, now. Some software versions were also updated, but you probably don’t care about that. Personally, I have enjoyed PA so far, for two reasons: one, I, myself, have a place to read more than 40 very interesting blogs every day. It’s usually the first web page I open, in the morning. To me, this is a much better way to keep up with those blogs than using individual RSS feeds, or opening 40 blogs every day. Some of the member’s blogs I already followed; othe... More About: Planet , Lane , Plane , Plan
Planet Atheism: short posts version
2007-02-11 06:19:01 Since there was at least one request for it… I hereby announce Plane t Atheism - Short Post s version. It’s exactly like the normal version, except that: only a short excerpt from each post is shown; a much greater number of posts (50, right now) is shown on the front page. This isn’t of any actual interest to me, personally; IMO, the point of a “Planet” site is to be able to read the entire posts on it, and only go to each post (on its actual blog) to comment. But, apparently, some readers prefer it that way, and, since it took about 5 entire minutes of work… Why not? By the way, there was already an even shorter version available, with post titles only. It’s called Archives, and there was (and is) a link to it on the sidebar. Copyright © 2007 Way of the Mind More About: Lane
Making the world a worse place: the other side of the coin
2007-02-08 06:17:01 I mentioned the “Rapture-ready” Christians in the previous post; how they actually want the world to get worse, because, according to Revelations, it’s supposed to get worse before Jesus comes, and, so, by trying to make the world a better place, you’re interfering with God’s plan. Oddly enough, there is another group of Christians whose goal is, apparently, the opposite of the previous group’s, but who end up doing mostly the same. They’re the Christians who believe that the world is God’s, and, so, it’s impossible for us “mere mortals” to really ruin it. To them, global warming, for instance, isn’t a problem; if needed, God will just intervene, because there’s no way he would allow the earth to become uninhabitable for us, his greatest creation — indeed, his main reason for creating the world universe, according to many. And, so… what do they end up doing? Exactly the same as those who say t... More About: World , Other , The World , King , Place
Making the world a worse place: the ?Rapture-Ready? Christians
2007-02-05 06:15:02 I just followed this link from The New Atheist: The Troubling World view of the ‘Rapture-Read y’ Christ ian . If it doesn’t scare you at least a little, I don’t see what could. The article is written by a Christian pastor, by the way. And even he is disturbed by the “Rapture-Ready” Christians . I have never met any in person (it seems to be a mostly US-based phenomenon, and I live in Portugal), but I’ve read their writings, web pages and forums. And they’re a crazy bunch indeed - not really different from a “death cult” like Jim Jones’. The problem is that, unlike those cults, they’re not seen as obvious lunatics by other Christians; they see them as more devout, with different priorities, but, since they say the words “Jesus Christ” so often, people are reticent to say that they’re actually a problem. And another problem is that, like the article above says, they have the ear of the White House, a...
Atheists in denial?
2007-02-02 06:13:01 Many believers say, or imply, that atheists are in denial. Supposedly, one is too arrogant to acknowledge a superior being, and/or doesn’t want rules in his his life, so he “chooses” atheism, though, deep inside, he (like everyone else) really “knows” God exists. This is not a straw man: theists actually say this, and you can easily find examples of that position. But, if people would think even a little, they would find it absurd. I may not respect my incompetent ex-boss, but I’m not pretending to myself that he doesn’t exist! For the same reason, if I believed that there was a god (or gods), I might choose not to worship him, but to deny his existence? How absurd would that be? What would I gain by deluding myself that way? And how insulting is a believer’s accusation that a person would ever do something so dishonest and idiotic? Would they like me to tell them that, deep inside, they know there is no God, but they say they believe ... More About: Atheist , Atheists , Theist , Denial
"You atheists don?t have an open mind."
2007-01-26 18:09:01 Well, more precisely, it’s “You atheists / secularists / skeptics / humanists / materialists / infidels don’t have an open mind.” Sure we do. It’s just that it’s open to new evidence. Not to desires, fears, or arguments from authority. Present us new evidence of the truth of your beliefs, and we’ll consider it seriously. You don’t even have to provide proof, just some evidence in that direction. Well? P.S. - please, no hiding behind the usual “you people wouldn’t believe even if there was evidence”. You can’t know that, can you? There never was any… Copyright © 2007 Way of the Mind More About: Open , Atheist , Have , Atheists
Why do Christians hate homosexuals (but not shellfish-eaters)?
2007-01-23 00:05:01 There’s a recent post at The Atheist Ethicist, The Source of Hat red, where Alonzo explores the question of why theists hate homosexuals. According to him, religion is not the cause. It’s the excuse. It’s what bigots use to rationalize their bigotry: “the Bible says it’s an abomination.” But… Leviticus also says that eating shellfish is an abomination! Yet most Christian s probably eat shrimp, and, anyway, there was never any persecution of shellfish-eaters. Why is that? Why is one sentence taken as “God’s law”, and another just as “ancient dietary laws”, when they’re both forbidden in the same book, and the condemnation for both (”abomination”) is the same? The answer, of course, is that people are already bigots (though an important source of that bigotry may well be church sermons). Saying “It’s God’s command” instead of admitting to their prejudice makes them feel bett... More About: Fish , Hate , Christians
Intelligent Design, PR and fallacies
2007-01-23 00:05:01 Lord J-Bar has a post called Intel ligent Desi gn Is Actually Quite Clever (from a PR Standpoint) (see what reading PA prevents you from missing? ), whose reading I recommend, and which probably deserves a printout to give to any friend of yours who believes that “there may be something to that ID thing “. Some excerpts: Since most of the public has no idea that scientific theories must be falsifiable, ID advocates can push a ?theory? that is impossible to falsify, and the public accepts it out of a lack of knowledge. When actual scientists or people who understand science speak out, IDists turn around paint themselves as victims of scientific dogma, saying that science is a religion that refuses to allow new ideas and will never let go of its evolution ?myth.? and: Finally, Americans like to encourage free and open discussion. It?s an essential part of our culture. When ID advocates pop up demanding equal time and debate, Americans feel inclined to support that debate, ... More About: Intelligent
Thinking about the liar paradox?
2007-01-23 00:05:01 Changing the topic into something lighter than metaphysics… Are you familiar with the liar paradox? There are several variations of it, but the most common is probably this: The next sentence is false. The previous sentence is true. Now, if sentence 1 is true, then 2 must be false, which means that sentence 1 isn’t true after all… but then it means that 2 must be true… and so on. It’s impossible to solve; it’s a paradox. An even simpler version is the following: This sentence is false. Now, is it true or false? Finally, let’s consider a third case: Everything I say is false. My question is: is this the liar paradox again? Or is it actually possible, and not a paradox at all? If you’re reading this on the front page, you’ll have to click on “Continue reading…” for the answer. If you’re using your feed reader, or Planet Atheism, or arrived directly at this post, the answer is below, so… close your e... More About: About , Para , Think , King , Liar
A recent exchange of comments between me and Niki, starting
More articles from this author:2007-01-15 12:03:04 A recent exchange of comments between me and Niki, starting with this one, has made me think about what “atheism” really means. Technically, it’s simply a lack of belief in a god or gods. That much, I believe, can’t be disputed (even though theists like to say that we are simply “in denial of God”, or that we have “faith in the non-existance of God”). vjack of Atheist Revolution seems to confirm it: Skepticism and atheism are clearly separable and far from synonymous. Most atheists are skeptics, however many are not. I have encountered atheists who believe in a number of supernatural entities besides gods. Many skeptics are atheists; many more are not. I certainly can’t disagree with that. But, in the discussion I mentioned above, my own reply to Niki, in a way, “betrayed” me: Niki: to me, ?atheism? includes ?there is no such thing as the supernatural?. Other people may (and do) redefine the term? Wait a minute. Am I ... More About: Change , Men , Comments , Exchange , Cent 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
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