A Rude Awakening

     I love my friends and family, I really do, but sometimes I can't help but think of how some see things. It is really disheartening to see such smart people believe in something so... deranged. Of course I remind myself that I used to believe in such fairy tales. I spend a great amount of time reading up on theist literature, watching theists’ videos, and then realizing that people really do believe that a creator is responsible for our existence and that this creator is male, of course. This belief is strange to me now that I analyze it from the outside looking in: that such a character exists who would condemn me for all eternity if I do not believe in him, not only without evidence, but also in spite of the evidence against him, is simply preposterous. I see people who possess a very analytical, critical, and scientific mind apply their inquisitive nature towards everything else but the state of their beliefs; the one person who took my challenge happened to have traded her faith with knowledge and reason - of course I am talking about my wife. 

     

     Words cannot describe the distress I feel whenever people make condemning statements about themselves in the name of humility and righteousness compared to a "perfect" being that condones rape, slavery, and overall ignorance, as well as being restrictive of the inquisitive nature of his own creation. I must question the reasons for such deliberate self-loathing. Why is it considered healthy to condemn yourself in a religious context? Why is it ok to call yourself a worthless being undeserving of a life of happiness? How come this deity sounds as petty and human as those of ancient Greece? Could it be because Bronze Age cultures projected their own fears and biases on the deity they created? Could it be because the very nature of our creator is human as we do not worship anything but ourselves? 

     Also, what is it with public displays of religious behaviors such as prayer? Isn't that in direct contradiction of Jesus' teachings (Matthew 6:6)? If Jesus is in fact God, and what he says is absolute Law, I question the motives of Christians who post publically their prayers on a forum, or even worse, demand that their religious type of wish making be made official in the eyes of the Government by declaring official days of prayer! I propose that it is in fact to boost their own egos and to try and keep the majority of people in the dark and afflicted by the shallowness of their beliefs. I find it amazing that MOST Christians I have talked to refuse to get their news from anywhere other than their beloved conservative religious news source. They refuse to hear the other side of the story, whereas, in the skeptic community, MOST watch several different liberal and conservative programs, though admittedly in order to learn about what the opposition thinks and to address the insane amount of bias on either side of the spectrum.

      In closing, I would like to expand on a quote from Steven Weinberg: 

   

  "Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

    

      It still amazes me that we are willing to deny people different rights according to our own religious bias, in America with Marriage Equality, as well as in the Middle East, where people are not even given the right to worship their own way because their Big Book Of Fairy Tales tells them that it should be the Law of the Land. Too long the skeptic community has held its tongue, too long have we been shackled by fear of judgment from our communities! It is time we fight back! They only have Tinkerbell on their side and we have Reason!

On Liberty

     On the eve of the celebration of the American Independence Day, I can't help but think of the innumerable violations of civil liberties still in play in the American Empire. From the obvious bias of politics in favor of the Christian Fairy Tale, to the hatred of people who dare to think and act different than what is considered the norm, ending in the imprisonment and condemnation of people for daring to inhale smoke produced by the burning of a plant. That's right friends, America is no longer in danger of becoming an oligarchy, it is one. Those in power may do whatever they please, while those who protest and uphold the Constitution - the supposed law of the Land- are imprisoned. It is a shame to see the prison statistics, considering most of the inmates lives' were ruined by the government's failure to uphold its own policies in favor of lobbyists.
    
     Friends, I know this is coming, and it may take a few generations, but anarchy is the way we need to be headed. I do not mean chaos, by any means, but the self regulation of communities through understanding and knowledge, wisdom and education. The days of human decency ruling the world will come, and that can only happen when we learn to not only tolerate those who are different, but to be happy to call them friends. I have had a friendly discussion with someone who thought very differently than I do, a very strong theist, and this discussion did not end in a debate or a screaming match; no, friends, it ended in mutual respect for each other's position without so much as a bad thought about each other. When people realize that gays, bisexuals, and other minorities or labeled groups are merely human beings, and only want to live their lives as best they can, the same as everybody else, that day we will have no need for religion, no need for government, no need for imposed regulations, as people will only need to think!

     The world needs only one law, one rule: compassion. Yes, I know this sounds touchy feely, but think about it. What war cannot be overcome by compassion? Fights over territories will be obsolete as no land will belong to any one government; differences of ideas will be met on paper and not on the battlefield, with the reasonable ones winning wars; fucking civil rights will be accorded to all members of society - women, children, gays, polyamorists, atheists, christians, mulims and jews alike. It is imperative for the people of the world to rise above the status quo and fight for what we know is right: Down with the oligarchs, strip them of their power, strip them of any so-called birth-rights. Give the people of the world a chance to govern themselves without prejudice. The day this is feasable may not be in my lifetime, or in my children's lifetime, but it will happen. Who will be a part of this revolutionary concept of true uninhibited freedom? Who will make a stand against the tyranny of governments and the implicit hatred of differences?

Fear of marriage equality

     It is with great regret that I observe people discriminating against others mainly because they are different. Those same people who claim to not tolerate injustice would deny equal rights to those who act differently than they do. I cannot stand this amount of hypocrisy and fear mongering. This, of course, is yet another post about marriage equality and LGBTQ rights. People of this community are just that, people, who are no different than you and me. They love, grieve, enjoy things, are hurt, and simply want the same rights heterosexuals enjoy in marriage. The main arguments I hear against it, aside from old reliable: "The Bible calls it an abomination!" (which can easily be refuted by stating that the very same Bible only mentions homosexuality as an abomination 4 times, whereas it mentions several times that eating shrimp is detestable to the Lord), is that the age of consent is going to be lowered to accomodate pedophiles and then bestiality will be allowed. Do keep in mind that those very same arguments were made against interracial marriages, and they still haven't happened. Those religious professional fear mongerers are simply attempting to terrorize people with their own bigotry and cannot be allowed to gain power. Those same members of the clergy who continuously push their religious views onto a SECULAR government obviously forgot that, as Thomas Jefferson put it, the First Amendment was put in place as a WALL between church and State.

     Those very same people run their religious institutions as corporations and use their money to lobby the government to favor their particular myth over another. If you want your particular delusion of a magical sky daddy to lobby the government, go on ahead, nobody is stopping you... though we will have to treat your institution as a corporation and tax the ever living shit out of it... freeing up some of the estimated $71 billions a year subsidized into religious institutions. That's right, you can't have your cake and eat it too! For crying out loud you worship a fucking hippie who provided free healthcare for those who asked and promoted socialism, while there are some religious institutions who provide services to their communities through soup kitchens and lodging, most aren't and those that are always have the idea that by doing so they have the right to preach  to those they help in order to gain more money... it is an investment, not in the so called kingdom of they favorite flavor of sky fairy, but in the very pockets of the ministers in charge. Everytime I have presented this idea, I have been called naive and unrealistic but here goes: why don't all members of the clergy do their duties for free, and try to have an actual job on the side, while the church is ran by volunteers. All income is to pay the utility bills, and the rest of the money donated to charities for helping those in need, not in house (because of possible fraudulent activities), but through those organizations that are already established? I mean it certainly has biblical precedent as I believe it was Paul who worked as a tent maker. If your god is so powerful, then he can provide you with a job, and with the strength to perform your calling along with this job! No congregation should allow for remuneration of their leadership!!!!!

    I would also like to point out that countries who have legalized same sex marriages do not suffer any of the predicted consequences cited earlier. Do you want to know why? MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS! The age of consent is in place to protect those who cannot fully understand the consequences of their actions and the repercussions they may have, so children cannot make lifelong decisions (that includes baptism by the way douchebags) without being educated in all the possible repercussions which we set fot 18 as it is the time, in our society, when teenagers start to become adults and are educated enough to make their own decisions. Animals CANNOT express their consent with human beings as there is limited communication and our understanding of other animals' cognitive abilities is still rather limited, regardless, they cannot be educated in our ways so much as their behavior is being modified to fit our perception of what they should do. Sadly enough, it is exactly what churches do, and, if you allow me the analogy, If Jesus is the good shepherd and his Church is the sheep, but also his bride, then your religion, at least in its rhetoric condones bestiality when it comes to sheep - Yay Bronze Age mentality!!!!

Venting--- Caution this will involve an incredible amount of foul language...

     So this is somewhat of a continuation of my last blog on stupid crazy shit I am tired of hearing, namely questions. I must obviously go to the argument I repeatedly make regarding the second amendment. For the record, let it be known that I am not, by any stretch of the imagination anti guns, though the argument made against gun control is always the same: The founding fathers wrote the second amendment so that, should the people need to rise against their government through violence, they should be able to do so... here is my typical response: You can have all the assault rifles you want... what in the fuck is it going to do against an f-18 Hornet, or a fully equipped tank? Not a goddamn thing... now if you want to possess a gun because you enjoy it, or for protection against whatever potential danger you might encounter, the more power to you and may you have it to enjoy or rely on in your time of need. But be fucking honest with yourself and with the rest of us. Your pea shooter isn't going to protect your civil liberties; it sure as hell isn't going to protect you against tyranny.
  
     Secondly, what is it with all the fucking falsehoods propagated by the Church about how the Bible isn't allowed in schools, about how prayer is illegal? Those fucktards propagate the idea that the government is anti-Christian... yea that's fucking great, except that your religion has no less rights than any other. Do not mistake the idea of a government waging war on a religion with the government not letting you dictate what others should do. Last time I checked (and there may have been yet another translation of the Bible which contradicts this statement), your holy text, the book that you claim to follow, obviously condemns liars, of any kind... and guess what, that includes jokes, that includes any falsehood propagated through your writing, art, voice, and expression of any form. Here is what the government banned regarding the christian faith in schools: TEACHERS (you know, those guys that apparently are supposed to raise your kids for you) CANNOT mandate prayer or scriptures in the schools as representatives of the secular government... STUDENTS may (and quite often do) initiate prayer groups, Bible study sessions etc... The fucking government isn't out to get you, it just doesn't allow you to indoctrinate kids on their dime. How the fuck would you feel if teachers were to tell your kids to pray 5 times a day facing Mecca, or to observe Ramadan? Yes, I thought so, you'd raise hell and cite the fucking first amendment... Where is that same text when it comes to YOU infringing on others' liberties? How about you shut the fuck up and be a fucking honest member of society?
   
     Third, how in the fuck are you actually claiming to be a religion based on love? "God loves you soooo much that if you don't love him back he will send you to a special place of torture for all eternity!" Yea how about an infinite punishment for a finite crime to define perfect justice? Hitchens, one of the great writers of the 20th/21st century said, and I cite: "Most religions now come before us with ingratiating smirks and outspread hands, like an unctuous merchant in a bazaar. They offer consolation and solidarity and uplift, competing as they do in the marketplace. But we have a right to remember how barbarically they behave when they were strong and were making an offer that people could not refuse." These words resonate in me; they express what I think about religions. Indeed, now that secularism is on the rise, religious people tend to come at us, not through accusation (though some of them still do and are repeatedly made fun of), but rather attempt to lure us with (poorly composed) music, (badly written) texts, and (horribly executed) promises of love and completion. Though in times when it had power, and in places where it still does, religion infringes on basic human rights. For Americans who read this blog, the Declaration of Independence, while not a legal document, is still a very influential text revealing the intent of the founding fathers for this nation, telling us that every man is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What makes me happy is the truth, not the delusion of an imaginary friend, be it a bearded sky-daddy, or a fucking fairy riding a dragon, and wielding an elemental rod of shitstorming...
   
     Lastly, for this entry, I am sick  and fucking tired of religious people's logical fallacies, especially post hoc ergo propter hoc. For those not versed in debating terms, or Latin, this fallacy is simply: This happened after this, therefore the latter happened because of the former. In other words: You were misdiagnosed and do not have cancer, I prayed after the original diagnostic and God must've healed you. NO! This is not how it fucking works. First, you have to determine causation. If I were to say that Bob, in London will eat lunch tomorrow, and some dude named Bob eats lunch tomorrow in London, this does not make me a fucking prophet. Or stating that we live in the fucking end times because the Bible fucking states that in the end times there will be wars and rumors of war... guess the fuck what, as long as people have lived in factions (probably before we had acquired our recent cognitive skills) there were wars and rumors of wars in our bands, over control of resources. Or the infamous Bible Code where by looking at different letter intervals in the original language, we can find shit that happened in the past; do you know what that proves? The Bible contains a lot of characters recognized as letters. I find it interesting that those fucking messages and prophecies are only found out after the fact by fucktards who are looking for those particular items.
   
     Anyways, I am getting tired of shit from religious douchefucks, now I am not saying that everyone of them is a douchefuck... but I will state that every follower of a religion, any religion, is seriously mislead. I consider myself a seeker of truth, whether it is convenient or not. Life is not about convenience, it is about facts. The distortion of those facts by unscrupulous social rejects who vow to control those who rejected them by interpreting a doctrine created by goat fuckers in the bronze age in order to fuck women and profit from their neighbors is sickening to me and will be met with not only resistance, but counter attacks.

The State Of Unbelief, The Stance of Disbelief, The Honor of Logic

     It is with great clarity that I write this post, I thought about writing on the skeptics' need to become militant, but I soon realize that our burden is not to convince those around us who do believe, ours is to simply live our lives and fight in order to get our rights respected. We should not have to answer to those who make an irrational claim!
     I have recently  been painfully made aware of the sheer amount of ignorance and repetitiveness coming from theists regarding the state of unbelievers. Yes, like most overqualified retail workers, I am used to answering idiotic questions, though I often grow tired of the same ones coming up. Here is a short list of the short bus questions I get upon revealing my lack of belief in a deity along with some typical responses (though the smartarseness of my response does not show well in written form, I beg of those of you who know me to please add my regular attitude towards lack of intelligence in my responses):

But what if you're wrong? (Pascal's wager... ahhh a classic)
Well, this question is malformed  as every myth claims to be the one truth and that anyone who does not share in its theology is damned to an eternity in a very displeasing place, typically a place of eternal torture known as hell. The only real answer to this question is to return it! There are over 6,000 different religions, over 30,000 different denominations of Christianity alone, each claiming that the others are false doctrines, how do you know you are in the right, as those who believe in different doctrines will defend their stance with every bit of righteousness and conviction as you? You are an unbeliever when it comes to  all of those other deities except for (insert number of magical sky fairies believed in), I just go (use same number of mystical creatures as before).

But where do you get your morality? (Friends this is where we get the moral high ground)
I get my morality from myself, as a member of a society,  I understand that such a lifestyle depends solely on our ability to get along with each other, and to better our lives in community and in our social conventions. I do not need a higher power (or other pejorative word describing a mythical sky daddy) to tell me what is right and what is wrong as I have my own understanding of those matters and know that I should not harm those around me in order to get ahead. Of course, sometimes it is harder than others, but my morality comes from me and not out of fear of punishment or hope of reward. If something is detrimental to society, I do not do it. Though I may not say the same about theists who would do anything the voices in their heads tells them to (refer to Abraham's test in sacrificing his son).

How can you support homosexual marriages? (Not necessarily for atheists but a good chunk of us are in favor)
Well, they are human beings, they deserve the same treatment as any of us. What makes a bronze age doctrine made up by goat herders the authority on how to treat other human beings? But the Bible says that...(Leviticus) That very same book claims that eating shrimp and wearing two of the same threads are an abomination, and according to Matthew 5, not one jot or tittle of the law (meaning of course the Pentateuch) shall be taken until Heaven and the Earth have come to pass. (Romans) Paul, in his letter to the Romans clearly states that man shall not lie with man, that is true, though I could argue that Paul was rejected by the early Christians due to his heresy in contradicting Jesus. He was not, according to the Bible, directly appointed by Jesus, but rather hallucinated on the road to Damascus - no doubt haunted by the faces of those he persecuted- and changed his ways, making shit up as he went along.

But your world view must be so bleak, I mean you believe that when you die that's it, how can you live that way?
I find wonder in everyday life such as the love of my family, the expanse of the universe, the complexity of nature. There is plenty to live for, to grow human knowledge, whether it is useful or not (yea most of what I know is useless). If you know you are going to heaven, yet your loved ones are in hell, how can you be truly happy knowing that they are suffering for all eternity while you're drinking wine and having a good time? If you don't care then you are dehumanized.

But there can be no justice without God, he created everything, how can you deny that?
Justice? Really? The deity portrayed in the Bible (for this example) is, at best, a capricious child whose will and deeds are not as mature as those of a 5 year old. He kills on a whim for the most stupid, most insignificant crimes such as making fun of a prophet, or a man spilling his seed on the ground, hell, even disagreeing with those who believe in him is a crime punishable by death! But we have grace now. Grace, by definition is the suspention of justice, therefore your god is either perfectly Just, or perfectly Merciful, he may not be both as those are in direct opposition of each other. He also is one of those Zeus types: do as I say not as I do, as apparently, it is ok for him to be jealous (though it is against his own law) and also it is ok for him to ravish a betrothed young lady in order to give birth to himself so he can sacrifice himself to himself so we can be saved from him... yea a truly logical, not paradoxical god at all you got there!

So this is a small sample of those questions I typically receive, at least twice a week from those around me who find out I am a non believer. I do hope you enjoyed my answers and if you find a better response, or would like to share your own answers to stupid questions, please comment.

Righteous Indignation

Righteous indignation and anger, those are two feelings that I feel the most. Though I am very vocal on this blog and in my life, I cannot help but realize that my opinions and actions also affect those that are closest to me, so I filter my thoughts and my understanding of life so as to protect my friends and family. I am luckier than most like-minded people in the sense that my family does not judge me because of my lack of beliefs. Though I can't help but think that if left unfiltered, my thoughts and opinions would more than raise an eyebrow.  I also know that some people would look down upon those I care about because of those opinions and I care enough to not state some things publically. I can take the social suicide caused by the expression of my ideas, but I cannot sit around and see the injustice of others being judged because of something I did or said. Keeping some of my ideas hidden, while hurtful to me, does not hold a candle to seeing someone else being ostracized or criticized merely because they associate with the like of me, and even agree.

I am extremely vocal, if people want to know what I think, I will typically give them a straight answer. I will not however answer publically for something that might affect those I care about. I read a lot of stories about those who fought for what they believed and I aspire to be one of those people; I aspire to be the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Christopher Hitchens, and Mahatma Gandhi. I see bloggers and youtubers who kept their identities and personal information secret because of the impact their thoughts could have on their loved ones. I have witnessed those people’s personal information released to the public in order to threaten the social and public life of those around them. Friends, there are many more controversial ideas brewing in my mind, but until those who are closest to me are safe from social harm because of their association with me, I cannot state them.

This brings me to righteous indignation and anger; why is it that they would be judged because of something I believe? Why is it that people feel a need to judge others based on their relationship with someone? It is not as though people I associate with agree with me 100% of the time, and I would argue that it would make for a boring life if it were true. I have friends with differing points of views on most of what I think and I still speak my mind to them, albeit in verbal form so as not to be misconstrued. Our society needs to change drastically for true freedom of expression, and I do not mean in the legal sense. I mean that if I were to say something controversial on a certain subject, and share from my own life, my family would be judged, not because they necessarily agree with me, but simply because they are close in relation to me. This angers me to my core and sometimes I wish that this part of our society would just disappear.   

A Heathen Goes To Church

As a small disclaimer, I would like to state that this blog post is not a judgment of the people I encountered, but rather an observation of the rhetoric and behaviors demonstrated in an evangelical service on mother’s day.

Interestingly enough, after a few songs of praise and worship, the first thing that is brought up is that of offerings and tithes (as a form of worship?). While the attitude towards outsiders was rather positive, I find it interesting that money still plays a prevalent role in the congregation. As I watched everyone so willingly give towards what I now know is a business model, I cannot help but feel pain, to know that someone is benefiting from this, knowingly deceiving those who freely give, maybe not at a local level -though I highly doubt that- but the Church has become a business, the concept that salvation is free is just that, a concept that has been given up since the dawn of Christianity. Only certain laws are observed here, and I cannot help but remember that the original congregations were house groups willing to help each other, not an organized group of people demanding money for the salaries of those in leadership and playing to others' guilt.

My wife, a recent unbeliever, stated that it hurt her to even attend as she misses the sense of community instilled in followers through the music which was created to mold the minds of people and create a sense of addiction in communion.  I see it as a sense of paradise lost, a typical manipulative tactic meant to lead the masses involved in a guilt trip when leaving the community; emotional blackmail designed to overcome a sense of self-preservation which brought us into the state of scientific advances we live in today.  The music is designed to destroy self-worth through the lyrics which are meant to instill a sense of damnation without the imaginary cure for the imaginary disease. The very rhetoric used in those lyrics are destructive to the human “spirit”, promoting worthiness of the deity and invoking the unworthiness of those who worship said deity, instilling a loathing of humanity and the powerlessness of humanity, and the need for a supernatural forgiveness for an event which we, as a species had no power over, yet the deity, of course, did.

Though, once again, everyone was extremely welcoming to me, I could not help but get a strong sense of alienation, not because of the people, or the atmosphere, but rather because of the strong convictions which drive me to persevere in my seeking of truth. Everything about this dogmatic culture seems to steer people away from questioning those things they are taught within the community and to deny that which is taught without it. Socrates fought until the end of his life in order to fight this type of thinking centuries ago. It is counter intuitive to the search for truth for which questioning is the basis. I imagine I stick out like a sore thumb, typing my notes as everyone around me is deep in "worship", which in reality is just another form of meditation.  Ironically, the followers come here in order to feel better about themselves, not realizing that what is supposed to build them up is in actuality tearing them down.

Based on the preacher’s words, my very existence is sin; everything about who I am, what I believe, what I do, the way I think is considered a sin. The language used by the leadership is typically made to subdue and not empower; it is about submission.  The verses used in the sermon were twisted out if their context; those verses, culturally and contextually, were written to justify the subjugation of women. It was also hinting at the fact that Adam was not created perfect (in direct contradiction of the Bible where Man was created in the image of God, therefore in the image of perfection). The preacher then went on to be humorous about the creation of Eve.  Though he stated that women, throughout scriptures, are to be honored and to be man’s equal, he also stated that Adam named Eve because naming something gave the one who names authority over the one named. The preacher, on mother's day, is laying it on thick for the women, going completely against the scriptures about the subjugation of women.   Of course, he went on to the objectifying of women in pornography and their dress.  And do you want to know what the big kicker is?  At the end of his Mother’s Day sermon that was supposed to be all about women, he went on to honor certain men in a ceremony, and still claimed that this ceremony was in actuality, for the women.

             

            I find it very interesting to note that the hypocrisy in the sermon was only rivaled by the charisma of the person delivering it; leading me to believe that this is a con, that the person delivering knows it's bullshit, and that the appeal was meant in praising the women (again, and I cannot stress this enough, CONTRADICTING the Bible), and appealing to the men's sense of humor. The Bible states that angels don't have free will, but then where did Lucifer get the idea that he could be greater than the person who created him? That's right FAIL! I felt like I was watching Michael J. Fox, 'cause friends I was in Spin City! There was so much misdirection and spin that even I, as an outsider had trouble finding my way through the bullshit. The concepts introduced by the preacher were completely contradictory to the creation account in the Bible. He announced that labor was commanded to Man before the Fall; we know the accounts state exactly the opposite. It is interesting that the preacher referred to women as SERVANTS, SERVING the church and men, yet a few moments ago claimed them to be equal (which is it bro?) then went on to come into my territory: culture! His entire sermon was based on cultural misconceptions, as well as mistranslations of the Bible.

The sermon went on about slavery, and the fact that Eve was not created to be a slave, however, Leviticus and Deuteronomy claim that women are impure creatures and are to be subjugated. The sermon is based on the principle that the fall happened from the beginning, without ever directly addressing it, and is riddled in logical fallacies, wild assertions, and severe contradictions, not only with the holy text from which it is preached, but also within the sermon itself. The message was also, obviously strictly heterosexual (Well yea, duh!) and even addressed single women, but not bisexuals, not lesbians, and not transgenders. It is an obvious pass at those who are born this way.

All in all, this is not an experience I enjoyed, though I must repeat it to know what I am up against, in my future endeavors and in my chosen career path. A focus on the study of religions and the cultures in which they thrive is as important as the understanding of the nature of conflicts between warring nations. Religion, by its very nature demands the destruction of people like me, and that is not something I tolerate. If people want to believe a certain way, fine, whatever, but I will fight tooth and nail when people are trying to push legislation based on their religions, regardless of potential harm. Atheists are not trying to outlaw religion because we think the belief silly; we are trying to limit its control of the government. We are not trying to tell people how to live their life, or what convictions they should espouse, but rather encouraging the questioning of any information given. That is something religion does not typically tolerate, though I have several friends who are Christians and skeptics and who apply their skepticism in different aspects of their lives. If those who question choose to believe, then they have made their choice and I am in no way, shape, or form in a position to tell them they are wrong. Lastly friends, I must issue a warning against the methods used by religions to control and manipulate you. As I've stated before, it will try to appeal to our need of community, and then slam us with talks of unworthiness and disease which we have tremendous control over. As written in my previous post, we are capable of love, in several different ways, and we only need to embrace our nature and love freely, intellectually, emotionally, and passionately. 

On The Concept of Love and Religion

Friends, I have to admit, as I write these words, that my spirits are rather low, maybe it is the lack of sleep, or maybe my brain trying to process the truly unimaginable amount of data it received in the past few days.  This kind of, let’s call it depression, though unreasonable and illogical, is much needed, as it forces my mind to focus on that which I care the most about. This blog is meant as a preamble to my next entry which will come out in only a couple of days, I assure you.  For today though, let us focus on the topic of love: unrestricted, unreasonable affection, meant, traditionally to be experienced between only two people. As I keep thinking about the reasons for religion, and family structure where a person, who is unrelated to a family core other than through affection such as a family friend is automatically called an uncle or an aunt, or a brother or sister by those whose affection is closest, how do we define love? And do we have to define true passionate, selfless love, as something that can only be experienced between two people?

It is with heavy regret that I admit that I used to think in such manner, I believed that love – as it grows over time between people- cannot be shared with multiple partners, and I will also add that the consumption of that love need not necessarily be physical, though it may be, so long as no party is hurt or harmed by such methods of consumption. I have been thinking about the need for religion, and what it brings to the table, about the true happiness found in both monogamous and polyamorous marriages. I have tried to understand why most accepted religions require a sacrificial love for many people. My friends, I believe the answer lies right in front of us: human beings, as all social animals, need to feel a sense of community, though, through the complexity and range of the emotions we share, we try to identify with different people. It is my belief that theists, in general, feel a need to be loved so greatly by someone other than their partner that they need to create another being, far beyond their reach in order to express that love and still follow the conventions of their culture. They feel the need to express a deep love, much stronger than the one they can give a mere mortal, though all that needs to be done is to love others as well.

Now, there are going to be critics of this entry, stating that I encourage “perversions” and I am not truly in love of my wife. That is completely irrationally wrong, as I have stated before, physical consumption is not necessarily needed, though it may. There are others who would say that human beings are capable of truly terrible things, such as murder, theft, rape, gratuitous amounts of violence that could, and does hurt us as a species. But my response to that is that we need not focus on the negative, I am a true humanist who believes greatly in the human potential for good. I believe that because we are capable of such horrid things, we are also capable of tremendously wonderful actions and emotions. However, we limit ourselves because our concepts of normalcy are heavily enforced by our ever growing western cultural norms. It is great time, my friends, we stop lying to ourselves and start exploring our potential, we have a deep emotional connection to other human beings, I am not saying to have sex with everyone you encounter (though I do not believe there is something necessarily wrong with that), I am saying to attempt to bond intellectually, and emotionally with other human beings, so that all parties involved may become better people.

Carpe Diem

Above all do no harm
     These words can mean a number of things, what I do understand their meaning to be is that while we are free to behave, and do what we like, we are bound by our society to not harm anybody. It is not an imperative to not offend or hurt anyone, as no matter what we do we are bound to hurt someone's feelings or offend someone in some way. No, we are not to harm anyone and that is the fabric of society, that is the basis for morality. If one were to believe that morality comes from anywhere else than this phrase and its societal interpretation, they are sadly mistaken. So why start a blog post with this line? Why attempt to define something as basic as our concept of morality and the relative subjectivity attached to it? My answer can be split into two fundamental ideas: The obvious, that religion has no grounds in morality, has been explained by much smarter men than me, that religion based on the expectation of reward and the fear of punishment is not morality as it essentially is a self preserving idea, the other is in the development of different concepts applied in my life which stem from the motto Carpe Diem.
     This simple phrase allows me to understand an idea that is meant to poke fun at theists, as it is a common belief among believers that this life is simply a dress rehearsal, that our real life begins after death, pushing some to extreme ways of sacrifice, harming others in the process. We see it in extremist terrorist attacks from believers in the Bible who bomb abortion clinics, in believers in Sharia, who suicide bomb schools for their defiance of Sharia law. Terrorism, and harming others is a general pattern we see in religions, but it is not the only area impacted. There are plenty of non believers who have committed atrocities in the name of whatever cause they believe. What happened to live and let live? What happened to the things that truly matter in life? Seize the day and do no harm; this is a recipe for success, a recipe for happiness, and quite possibly the only way the many cultures and nations of the human race can coexist.
     Life itself, the very core of our nature, is an inclination for adventure; that is why anything new is exciting, and we get easily bored with the same routine. Seizing the day may not be doing something so outrageous it could potentially destroy us, but merely enjoying doing the things we enjoy doing, so long as we do not harm anybody (even ourselves) in the process. Judging others is not the way to go in this, everybody has a right to do what they like so long as it does not damage another. My father used to tell me, "Your freedom ends where another's begins." Truer words could not be spoken. My freedom from religion does not entitle me to push my unbeliefs on others, however, this goes both ways. People's freedom of religion does not allow them to push legislation to punish those who do not believe the same.
     Yes, I have been a pretty outspoken unbeliever and advocate of reason, and that is what I will continue doing. However, I will never try to outlaw a belief system because I do not believe in it. That is not what the secularist movement is about; it is about checks and balance, and about the right for everyone to believe, or not believe, what they choose without their rights being taken away. To those christians who don't believe that homosexual marriage should happen I ask this simple question: Do two men or two women getting married take away your freedom in any way? The answer is clearly no; if there is a liberty being infringed upon it is the liberty to bully and demonize certain groups of people. Live and let live. It is not my job to go to your place of worship and attempt to take away your right to worship freely, do not try to come into our homes through legislation so that we are not free to believe something else!
     One last note, if, in order to enjoy your life to the fullest you must take away people's rights or harm people in different ways, be them moral or physical, than you are not a part of a civilized society. Carpe Diem, to me, is the exact opposite; it is the enjoyment of life regardless of what others think or do, it is being myself no matter the consequences, it is acknowledging the path to freedom for everybody and never letting one's actions dictate mine. Yes, it is easier said than done, but so is everything worth doing!

On Love, Marriage, and Staying True to Ourselves

     Life has a way of shaping things up and tip the scales one way or another. Tough situations tend  towards showing our true colors and our choices determine who we are, it is our choices that give us power or take it away, our choices that shape our beliefs and our convictions, more importantly, it is our choices -not emotions- that drive who we are in love with. When I first met my wife, she stated something that I thought was ludicrous but came to understand to be true: Love is a choice. I recently had to remind her of those words that Love, while initiated by an original attraction, let's call it "chemistry", grows over time through attachment and, more importantly, a choice to make it grow, and to strengthen that bond. When we got married, I was fuly aware of what was ahead of us, a long road full of joy, pain, sorrow, love, some hatred and a whole spectrum of emotions.
     This spectrum of emotions, and differences of events are the bond which strengthens only by going through it together. This is not to say that couples or loving relationships require the participants to become the same, in fact, I would say it is the small differences that make it work. Anybody who knows me and my spouse would almost instantly notice that we are extremely different, from the way we address different people to our tastes -though some similarities cannot be avoided- for instance, she's a little bit country, and well, yeah I'm a little bit rock'n roll. She loves, let me emphasize on this, loves romance novels whereas I thrive on either Sci-Fi, fantasy, or non fiction. She is also one to take time to process information and that makes her a great student, whereas I tend to go with the flow of information and analyze on the go, great for analyzing, crappy for studying as the information I retain is more conceptual than comitted to memory. Interestingly enough, our couple, I believe is stronger than most, as we are not only willing to work through our differences, but also embrace them.
     This brings me to my last point of the post: staying true to ourselves. Changing for the ones we love is inevitable, there is a lot less murders because we, as social beings, do change over time in order to adapt to our surrounding. In staying true to ourselves, and I do mean our core, not the superficial concepts we deal with everyday such as music or movies, or even what emotional state we typically find ourselves in, we allow that first spark of "chemistry" to remain, and grow even stronger. Most of the enjoyment of life lies in the challenges we face, and the feeling of accomplishment we get for surmounting those challenges, we do not want somebody exactly like us as a life partner because then life would be boring. The first few years would be great, yes, however, as time goes by the amount of excitment in doing the same things over and over again become minimal, to the point where the original spark of "chemistry" is extinguished and there is nothing left but boredom. My wife and I argue a lot about different things, our opinions differ greatly from one another. Heck I have been a non-believer for quite some time now and she barely realized she did not believe less than a year ago, to put that in perspective, we have been married 10 years.
     In conclusion, and this post may not be read by a lot of people but quite frankly, I don't care, I challenge those who read this to ask themselves what they are looking for in a potential mate, is it common interest and complacency? is it adventure and complexity? Or is it merely the idea of companionship? I would love to tell you that I have figured out the key to a perfect marriage, but as far as I know there is no such animal, and looking for it is merely an exercise in futility.

On College Life

     The interesting part about college, and I'm not just saying this, is that perception of any failings has an effect on our ability to take tests. The more worried we are about failing, the more likely we are to epically forget everything we knew about the subject, no amount of studying actually matters in the end results if we worry. Our fear are merely projected onto the exam. My answer to all this, and it by no means suggests that studying doesn't work, is that we should not worry about grades and simply think of learning, an exam is only the presentation of what we have learned in a particular class. College life can be very fulfilling if done for the right reason, we, as students, and even professor, must ask ourselves what we are doing this for, is it to better ourselves in our own intellect? To acquire the skills to better our lives? Our community? Or is it merely to get a job, or perform one? When we learn something, when we teach something, we always take something away that betters our understanding of the world around us, and by sharing this information we are perpetuating the passing of knowledge to better the lives of those who will live after us.
     Many believers in several religions ask why non believers have hope, if this life is the only one we have. I find the answer to be so simple and cliché, that most people overlook it. Many non believers are passionate about something, for me, that thing is the passing of knowledge in order to better our world, the understanding and compassion needed to transcend belief, the kind of understanding and tolerence that would create a better world, where we, as human beings, with all our flaws, all our... pride, and arrogance, and hatred, and bigotry... can put our differences aside and let those around us live their lives the way they intend to do it, be it with religion, being gay, polyamorous, bisexual, so long as no harm comes to another as a result of our actions, who cares and why should people care whether I believe or not, so long as I live my life as ME and not some overzealous shell of who I am in order to please others, or a so-called higher being? My fight with religion is not about the beliefs, it is about the judgment that those beliefs bring, about the bigotry and hatred that it typically calls for. I know this sounds very idealistic and very naive, and while it may not happen in my lifetime, I do hope that mankind, one day, realizes all that it could accomplish under the banner of progress and tolerance.

Boston Marathon

     The events of the Boston marathon are tragic and it is a reminder of how fragile life can be. I can only imagine the terror and pain those involved are feeling. There are many thoughts going through my head right now about these events, but the dominant ones are empathy towards those who suffered because of it and disgust for hate groups who tried to capitalize on it. I saw a post from a such a group stating "Thank God for the Boston Marathon bombs", while I agree with your rights to have an opinion, it is unjust to treat a tragedy like this as lightly as your are, and I am sure the tenets of your faith are against making such intolerant statements. I have seen people of all faiths and background come together in unity and harmony to show their support for those affected. It is no doubt a day that will be anchored in our memories. My thoughts are with those who suffered because of this tragedy.
     I saw something on reddit that I thought I would share, it is a simple gesture towards those who need a place to stay: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dqIKVq6IqX4BVXqOW_a9-qmXt1KJ_4Nu3NPNnC1g1mw/viewform . Please, if you are in the Boston area or know someone who can help, sign up or spread the word.
     In spite of the pain I have also witnessed joy in that one of my acquaintances experienced the joy of having a baby. It is a ray of sunshine in times of unrest, to know that the cycle of life does continue. This light is also reinforced in the communities who are helping those in need, and if you are this kind of person I would like to just say thank you for having a sense of decency and a willingness to help your fellow man.

Gay Rights

     So  there is a huge controversy regarding marriage equality, I find it quite embarassing to live in a society that does not recognize people's rights to marry the person they love. There are plenty of memes that state that you are on the wrong side of history, like the white supremacists before you and the slave owners before them. A lot of the arguments I hear have been heard before and my opinion on the subject is that we should be able to discuss things rationally.
     One of the arguments I hear is that homosexual couples cannot reproduce and are therefore counterintuitive to the survival of the species and that it is unnatural. We are the only species in the animal kingdom to look down on homosexuality, it is in fact very much prevalent in other primates, and other members of the animal kingdom. There is another counter counterargument stating that we allow infertile couples to marry and they can adopt, how is this any different?
     I also hear that it is against the biblical definition of marriage and cannot be allowed into our government as this is a christian nation. Here is my answer, this country was founded on secular values guaranteeing freedom of religion to everyone who enters it, that is the freedom to practice your religion without interferance from others, the spirit  of this law is to prevent religious bigotry from prevailing in this country. By using your religion, or belief system, to prevent others from having rights,  you are arguing against the constitution of the United States of America, and politicians who enforce your beliefs are in direct violation of it. Allowing marriage equality does the exact opposite: it restrict religious oppression. Just because homosexuality is allowed does not mean you have to partake in it.
     Here is to my homosexual friends and may we win this civil liberties fight once and for all!

Introduction

   My name is Aurelien Montoro; I am a godless nerd living in the south of the United States of America. The purpose of this blog is to vent my thoughts about the amount of religiosity encountered in my everyday life, as well as to express my opinion on different topics such as politics, civil rights, and pop culture. I was born and raised in the south of France, in a small town called Gardanne. I have lived in South America for 4 years and there I found religion, or so I thought.
   My family moved to Florida in order to go to ministry school and I was a devout Christian until I started questioning the motives of the church leadership. As I was struggling with my beliefs, I started helping out in the parking lot and the church lobby. I met my wife at an usher party. Since I had started having doubts, I thought it would be great to start over with religion from the beginning, and therefore we joined a messianic synagogue. While I felt very welcome there, there was always something holding me back. I later found this feeling of alienation to be the struggle between what I wanted to believe and what I reasoned. It is true that some people turn away from religion because they have been hurt in the name of God, however, this was not the case for me.
   Most of my family has been very respectful of my unbelief, especially my wife who, while a strong believer at the time, and though she thought that prayer would help me understand, she lived by our agreement to never argue religion one way or the other, and through careful examination of the evidence for a supreme power, came to her own conclusions. I would love to tell you what her beliefs are but that is not my place to tell. In either case we are a happy couple who love our children and raise them in a safe secular way without consciously emphasizing our own beliefs or lack thereof. My parents, who still are very devout Christians, keep our kids once a week and our differences in opinion do not get the best of us.
   I decided to start writing this blog as an outlet for my beliefs and struggles as a secularist in a nation dominated by the Christian religion. It is not a daily struggle, and most of it is not personal as most of those I associate with either respect me enough to treat me with respect or believe the same way I do. In my daily life, I try to understand why people believe believe the supernatural has more to offer than the natural world. As much as I hate to sound like a typical naturalist, I have to ask myself how this natural world isn't enough to satisfy our curiosity, and I truly believe that "I don't know, but I am willing to try to find out" is a valid answer without saying that magic or a divine being created us.
   I do not believe in the theory of Evolution... I understand how evolution takes place and how we are a product of an evolutionary process dating back to an awful long time. It is not blind faith and that is why I do not believe in it.
   I trust that science, while not perfect, is the best tool we have to analyze the world and universe in which we live. I have absolutely no respect for people who are unwilling to learn and go out of their way to remain ignorant on subjects that are basic to most of the educated world. While I respect each individual's rights to believe what they want, I have none for the belief itself when it is not supported by reason. I welcome all types of people to visit and even comment on this blog, whether they agree or not so long as it is constructive and is not insulting to either myself or other visitors who choose to comment on my thoughts. There is no tolerance for bigotry on this page, and respect given will be returned, regardless of who you are and what your beliefs are.