Angry Atheist
I updated my Facebook status today. I had something running through my mind and wanted to post it so I could have it in words. This is what it said:
It is wild presumption to posit that there is an intelligent being in charge of the universe. It is arrogance to assume that your definition of that being is the right one. It is supreme egotism to presume that if such a being exists it would care about you at all, let alone think you important to its plans.
I don't think this is overly abrasive. Much of what I post is fairly innocuous with a few confrontational jabs thrown in when my feathers get ruffled. This particular comment has three points, and I can defend them all. Here's my reasoning explained:
Like Fish in a Barrel
Rick Perry's "Strong" ad (you can click the link if you haven't seen it; I refuse to embed it into my blog) has been getting a lot of negative press lately. I've been fuming about just how incredibly stupid the guy is for the last couple of days but haven't as yet done a whole lot of commentary on the thing. I wanted to make a YouTube video in response but I didn't get around to it and it doesn't seem like it would be timely and relevant anymore. Then again, it's such a timeless tragedy that people like Perry even have a voice in politics I may still make that video. For now, I'll devote a few minutes to a blog post dedicated to all of the "duh" in this ad. Luckily, it's so easy I won't even have to strain myself.
"I'm Rick Perry, and I'm an ignorant piece of shit."
Lowering the Bar
hen I was a Christian it seemed like everything I saw pointed to the truth of god's existence. I had the Bible, my parents' word, my Sunday School teachers and preachers, any number of books and pamphlets, and nature itself bolstering my faith. I felt like I had good reason to believe what I did and I didn't even have to look for evidence: everything was evidence!
That is, until I actually started examining my beliefs and my reasons for holding them. What I found was not that the evidence for god was strong, but that I was willing to accept pretty much anything as evidence so long as it adhered to my preconceptions. Those things that didn't conform to my beliefs were simply ignored without any thought at all.
Christian? Evidence? Hmmm.
Who Makes the Rules?
was always taught as a child that god was in charge. He was the ultimate authority, the first and last word on any subject, and the law. He took orders from nobody and had nobody to whom he had to answer. God made the laws of nature and he could break them any time he wanted. There was absolutely nothing he couldn't do. Then I read the Bible.
At many points in the Bible god is seemingly forced to take some kind of drastic action to intercede in his creation and at every one of these points he chooses (or must choose) the most elaborate, ineffective, and sometimes flat-out silly means. It seems that every time he has to step in and take action he's constrained by the Hollywood villain code of monologuing and setting up a trap that's just way too complex to work. Here are some examples:
Examining the Bible: Genesis, Part IV
In Genesis 6:14-21, god details his plans for saving Noah and his family from the flood that he plans on using to destroy every living thing on the Earth. As usual, I have several problems with this story and I'll discuss them all in detail. Let's begin!
Jon Willis
"Yes, I've read the Bible; it's why I'm an atheist."
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