Brand New Atheist

Right after watching “Judgement Day: Intelligent Design on Trial”, Karen and I watched this video called, “The Science of Evolution.” It was a companion video to the book “Intelligent Design vs. Evolution, Letters to an Atheist.” I knew this was going to be an ID sided video but I never expected it to be so absolutely ridiculous. The only thing this video proved was that Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort have no idea how to appeal to someone like myself. Nor Karen as she was somewhat embarrassed by the video.

I haven’t decided if Kirk Cameron needed someone with more experience than himself to spread his christianity so he teamed with Ray Comfort or if Ray Comfort wasn’t being listened to so he needed a friendly face to spread his christianity so he teamed with Kirk Cameron. If you’ve watched any of their videos or interviews you would see they use more “what if scenarios” than anyone else. The painting must have had a painter or the evolution of the Coke can.

There was no science in this video at all. They spent most of their time playing with an Orangutan or asking college students (who weren’t studying evolution) about evolution.

The common truth in the video was that most college students believe in evolution because it’s well proven and taught scientific theory. Regardless of their religious beliefs.

The video attempts to prove that we didn’t evolve from any of the great primates because they still live among us. If they understood evolution at all they would know that whatever great primates we evolved from would no longer exist, because we’re it. That also means that the other great primates have themselves evolved over millions of years.

If any religious group attaches the words “evolution” or “theory” to creationism or intelligent design they are misleading you on purpose. They need you to think the way they do.

I don’t want you to think the way I do, I just want you to think.

Recently monkeys were observed sharpening sticks to catch food. I don’t know why this monkey is hairless but he certainly resembles man. Maybe in a few million years chimps will be where we are today. Our intervention in their natural evolution may accelerate their ability to learn.

I watched this movie last night with Karen. I made popcorn and sat down with Karen to watch it. When I pressed play, Karen says, “What’s this?” I explained that I thought It would be interesting because I definitely wanted to see it. Her hesitation is that I’m trying to gather ammo against her belief of God. That was not the case at all.

So we watched the entire thing, with lots of pausing to comment on different part of the movie. I can see where ID proponents would try and say this movie was bias but the facts are there for those who want to make their own opinion. It wasn’t bias. In fact it showed what both sides offered entirely.

I recommend this movie to anyone who has a struggle with their faith and evolution. It shows how a little town’s school board tried to circumvent the constitution.

Karen told me yesterday that I should tell the girls that I’m an atheist before they hear it from somebody at church. That being, of course, because Karen has told many people at church.

Karen is gone for the evening at a slumber party with some of her friends from church, so I decided now would be a good time.

I told the girls to go down to the basement because I wanted to talk to them. We have a huge chalkboard in the basement that I used for illustration.

I spent about 30 minutes talking about the world and the beliefs of the world. Those from the past and today.

After 30, minutes I finally explained to the girls that I don’t believe in any of the supernatural things that people believe in, including the christian god.

I asked if they had any questions. There were a few. “What started my atheism?” and some on evolution that I spent the next 30 minutes explaining.

At this time, I could see that they were ready to leave. I kept getting those glances of, “Are you done so we can go?”

It wasn’t really that bad. I was concerned about what they might think. I do want my girls to love me.

The brain is fascinating. It can make you see, hear and feel things that aren’t there.

In test cases, the placebo effect has proven to cure people with the use of inert medicines.

What does that mean? The way I see it, this is the same way people believe in God.

When enough people around you are telling you there is a God, it makes it easier for you to believe.
When a trusted doctor is telling you that this pill will make your headache go away, it makes it easier to believe it will.
So for a portion of the people, their brain will treat the pill as if it had the same effect as real medicine because they believe it will.

And then there are people like me that the placebo doesn’t work on because I don’t have blind faith in anything.
Even when I take store bought medicine I don’t think they will work. I take them hoping they will work this time. And some times they do.

So where’s the problem? Even if you tell the person that took the placebo (who had a cured headache) that it had no effect whatsoever, they will still believe something in it worked. They will deny the fact that their brain was tricked into believing something that wasn’t true. This is the same with believers.

God is a placebo. It’s something with no power to make changes at all but your belief in it will effect how your brain treats it.
Believing in God is a trick your mind plays on you because you allow it. It’s all in your head.

I always thought that if any prayers were answered they would most likely be those spoken from a child. That’s when I believed anyway.

If the prayers of a child were answered:
My wife’s knees would be better.
My business would be out-of-control successful.
Our adopted daughters birth mother wouldn’t be defective.

I heard these and many other prayers for years and do you know what happened? Nothing.

I proved it to myself and it’s been proven throughout the world that prayers aren’t answered.

Why? It’s simple, the only being that hears all of your prayers (spoken aloud or in your head) is you.

And unless you have magic powers (which I’m certain you don’t) then your time praying is wasted when you could be doing something about it yourself.

When I made my decision that God didn’t exist, it was final. I didn’t need any convincing or additional proof.

When I told my wife, I had yet to do any research online. Yet the information online is so compelling I wonder how people are capable of believing?

I’ve since done dozens of hours of research online and it’s been good in the fact that I can answer questions better now.

Many people who are atheists have posted elaborate messages online, many of which are extremely well educated and thought out.

It’s like when I made my decision I had walked through the door and closed it behind me and I just keep walking further and further away from it.

I’ve been thinking about this seriously. I’ve been wondering how different the world would be without God.

Let me try and explain my meaning.

In many peoples world with God they have cancer, love and soft drinks.
In my world without God I have cancer, love and soft drinks.

Where’s the difference supposed to be? Isn’t there supposed to be a benefit to worshipping a God? And I don’t mean after your dead.
I mean right here on Earth. Yes, men and women make decisions based on their beliefs, but that doesn’t really affect the world.
The problem with the question is that worshippers will tell you that either payment comes later (which means we live in exactly the same world and they receive no benefits while here on Earth) or that their prayers are answered when it’s Gods will.

Since people don’t come back from the dead with heaven or hell answers, there isn’t any (and there never will be any) proof that worshipping is anything more than a mind game.
Perpetrated by who? I don’t know who started it but they would be perplexed that modern man still believes something they made up a thousands of years ago.

Back to my original question. There isn’t a single difference in the world today between a worshippers life and mine. In a way that seams unfair for them. They put all of this effort into their beliefs and they still have cancer, love and soft drinks just like I do.

I was thinking about evolution today and one of the things that really struck me is that man has been evolving for millions of years.

We have evidence on 3, 4, 6 and 7 million year old human bones that appear to be bi-peds.
Scientists believe the dinosaurs are hundreds of millions of years old.

If man, was walking upright on Earth 4 million years ago, then what are the chances that the Earth is coming close to an end?
If the Earth has been supporting life for 4 billion years then, what could possibly stop it from doing so?

So then where does all of this life go? I was thinking about that too.

If you look at the most recent Tsunami, it literally changed the landscape and anything that wasn’t heavy enough to withstand the pressure was washed away.
It makes me wonder about the ruins that we look at today and the only thing left are heavy stones that could have withstood a Tsunami.

Of all the civilizations that have lived on Earth, we may be the most advanced. We base it on what they left behind.

If man has looked relatively the same for thousands of years then how long does it take for you to see evolution?

I posted this article two days ago and just today found a new and excellent book from The National Academy of Science. Science Evolution and Creationism

I could have given my own explanation but I found an excellent video to use that I completely agree with. I even learned a few things.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXT8vP4TshY

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gese3ucXdY8

I could have given my own explanation but I found an excellent video to use that I completely agree with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuQNcxwF9pc