Thursday, February 19, 2015

QB thanks God when it's convenient

In a video on the Players Tribune website today, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson said he's having a little trouble letting go of the interception he threw to lose the Super Bowl to the Patriots.

"One yard. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been thinking about that one yard for the past 17 days. ... How could I not feel like I let (the fans) down? ... The most important thing at quarterback, and a leader in general, is accountability. So what happened in Super Bowl 49, I take full responsibility for it."

Interesting sentiment considering two weeks before the Super Bowl he said this of his four interceptions against the Packers before winning the game in OT.

"That's God setting it up, to make it so dramatic, so rewarding, so special. I've been through a lot in life, and had some ups and downs. It's what's led me to this day."

So God made thousands of Packer fans and players absolutely miserable and heartbroken because Russ had a rough life and wanted a little drama in his sporting events. Funny that it never crossed Wilson's mind that God made him throw THAT final pick to make the Super Bowl dramatic. Maybe God likes the Patriots more than the Seahawks, ever think of that Russ?

Or maybe you should stop being so arrogant as to think there's some supreme being who concerns himself with the outcome of trivial sporting events. Idiot.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Omegle means madness

Another Omegle conversation when I was bored at 1a. What I found particularly interesting this time was how quickly it escalated and that "atheism" was one of the topics this person had as an interest. If you want to challenge/discuss atheism with me (or anyone) then why give up at the end in a typical hit-and-run fashion? Here's the whole conversation and it's not too long.

Me: What's up.
Him: Atheist?

Me: Yep U?

Him: So you like talking about it? No I am not
Me: Sure, it's a conversation starter

Him: I am a Roman Catholic
Me: I was

Him: I see, You were Catholic?
Me: Yes

Him: What made you leave?
Me: Lots of things, to be honest. I was never very religious to begin with

Him: I see. But you lost your faith in God completely?
Me: Yes, completely. No faith.

Him: You have faith. Just not in God.
Me: Well, faith in the secular meaning of confidence, but not as in to believe in something despite no evidence

Him: So you believe there is no objective moral truths? Yes, I see.
Me: That is correct. All morals are subjective.

Him: So evil really does not exist then. Correct?
Me: People do bad things, people do good things. It takes religion for good people to bad things.

Him: And raping and torturing kids could be ok. It takes religion for what?
Me: You mean the raping and torturing that god endorses in the bible? Religion makes people do bad things. I thought that was pretty clear

Him: Nope. God never endorses evil. That is the result of our sins and failures. God created everything good. Religion makes me do bad things? How is that?
Me: Sorry, can't agree with you there. First, I don't believe there is any god, but if you're talking about the god of the bible, my morals are superior to his

Him: How can you say that objectively?
Me: It's not objective, it's subjective.

Him: But I am religious and you said religion makes people do bad things
Me: It does, I didn't say all people. I don't know you. You could be an exception

Him: So, being subjective, your morals are not greater than God's. It's just your opinion
Me: Ha.

Him: What good does atheism bring to the world? Do you think that if religion never existed the world would be at peace?
Me: It is my opinion, yes, that genocide, infanticide, rape, stoning homosexuals and children to death is evil, and your god enforced that. He is a petulant tyrannical ass. And yes, the world would be at more peace for sure.

Him: Can you quote where scripture states that? It would be? Haha. Ok.
Me: Atheism isn't a movement. I've read the bible from front to back more than once. Don't pretend like you don't understand the OT. Think about the wars and turmoil going on right now.

Him: Scripture scholars would disagree with your interpretations.
Me: Please. Read Exodus again

Him: Most wars are not religious wars. Unless you are unfamiliar with history as well.
Me: Read the OT again. There is no misunderstanding explicit instructions on how to own slaves, and the millions killed in the OT in war trumps all. More people have been killed in the name of religion than in any other "cause"

Him: Yes. But slaves came from human choices. Not God
Me: Is the bible the inspired word of god? Nope. You are wrong my friend. Sorry

Him: Yes it is. The Bible is inspired by God. Yes.
Me: The bible explicitly says how to own slaves, when you can rape women, etc. There's no defending it. And I'm not wrong. 9/11 7/7 Inquisition Crusades Ethnic cleansing, Ireland's prot-cath war ... I could do this all night.

Him: Abortion kills 3300 babies a day in the USA
Me: No it doesn't. They aren't babies. You're brainwashed

Him: Oops. I guess that beats all the wars combined.
Me: Nope, you're wrong.

Him: They aren't babies. Wow. You are ignorant. What are they? Monkeys?
Me: Ignorant? They are fetuses, gametes, zygotes. Not babies.

Him: See what atheism did to you? And a fetus is not a stage of development? Like infant, toddler, etc?
Me: Ha, atheism has nothing to do with this. At all. You don't have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body. And no, it's not a stage of development. Is a toddler a baby? By your rationale, sperm is a baby. You're the ignorant one.

Him: Ok. Bye. Stupid is as stupid does. God bless you. One day you will know.

What I'll take away from this, aside from my aforementioned comments, is how easily angered people get when things like this get discussed. And I actually laughed out loud when I read where he said I was ignorant. I don't know why I do this. I do enjoy it, and a couple of times I did get some people to open their eyes, if only for a bit. I'll keep doing it because it's convenient to just fire up the iPad and try to bring a little rational thought into the world.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Afterlife conundrum

I got to thinking today about afterlife. We (and by "we" I mean atheists) like to mock the concept of hell because the idea of a finite crime being punished with infinite torture is not only unjustified but it's laughably imbalanced.

But I've never heard or read anyone discussing the other side of this. Would it be fair to receive infinite bliss for finite mediocre compliance? Everyone could do better while they're alive. There's always something more you could have done. If being imperfect just once, like not believing in Jesus, could land you in the lake of fire for all of eternity, then shouldn't you have to be perfect to earn eternal happiness? And even that would be imbalanced.

I also have heard many theists rationalize the cruel injustices of this finite life by saying those who were savagely wronged will be rewarded in the afterlife. But what's more rewarding than eternal bliss? I mean, do these people believe there are degrees of bliss in heaven? Do some people have it better than others? Maybe some have wings while others have wheels on their feet?

I gotta tell ya, it would piss me off if I were gang-raped daily for 10 years, watched my family get murdered and then get killed myself in the most painful way possible only to arrive at the Pearly Gates to see some guy who had an easy "blessed" life getting the same treatment as me. This is why the whole afterlife concept falls apart as a reward. If there is any kind of mediocrity in heaven then why call it heaven? Yet we are told those who suffer here on Earth have it better there in heaven. And I have to admit I would be pissed if I led a good life and saw that others received a better heavenly experience for eternity.

And one last thought: If we're tempted by Satan on this finite planet and we fall victim to his charms, doing his work, etc., and we're sent to hell where Satan resides, why would he carry out punishments on us when we did what he wanted? How many people ask you to do something, you do it and then they punish you for doing it? That would be insane. As atheists, we don't believe in any god. If there were a god, then being an atheist in most religions would be a sin and we'd go to hell. Wouldn't Satan love to have us there and reward us?

An afterlife makes zero sense logically.