Sometimes I'm serious.

UNIQUE VIEWS ON JESUS, GOD, AND RELIGION

Dedicated to all of the people who are told they’re going to hell.

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JESUS DOES NOT LOVE ME, OR MY ANTI-TESTIMONY

REASONS FOR MY FAITH, REASONS FOR MY DOUBT

WHY BOTHER TO INSULT RELIGION?

MY VIEWS ON RELIGION

ARGUMENTS AGAINST NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

JESUS

CHRISTIANITY IS RIDICULOUS

STOP BEING CHRISTIAN

JESUS BITS

JESUS IN MAJOR NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

JOSH MCDOWELL’S JESUS IS A LUNATIC

PASCAL’S WAGER

THE BIBLE IS WEIRD

THE BIBLE IS NOT MORAL

LESSONS FROM THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

SOME BIZARRE BIBLICAL COMMANDMENTS

GOD

GOD QUESTIONS

ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST GOD

CONTROL AND GOD

LOVING GOD

WHERE’S GOD?

GOD DEBATE

THOUGHTS ON GODS

RELIGION

THEODICY

20TH CENTURY ATHEIST RULERS VS. RELIGIOUS RULERS

SHOULD WE OUTLAW RELIGION?

THERE ARE STILL PLACES

BRIEF HUMANIST SERMON

LONGER HUMANIST SERMON

REASONS FOR BEING AN AGNOSTIC OR ATHEIST

FAITH

WHY RELIGION?

FAITH VS. SCIENCE

PROBLEMS WITH CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

CAN I PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BEING RELIGIOUS?

HOW DID THE UNIVERSE BEGIN?

THE HOPE OF A NON-BELIEVER

LIFE AFTER DEATH

TRUST YOURSELF

THANKS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JESUS DOES NOT LOVE ME, OR MY ANTI-TESTIMONY

I don’t believe Jesus loves me, or anyone else.  After years of seeking deeper answers I ultimately found Christianity to be false, full of non-sense, and potentially harmful.  I believe Christianity often aims to stop believers from challenging church or Biblical authority.  I feel many people who believe in God sacrifice their own good to serve the demands of corrupt human religious powers.

I deeply regret my years of believing in Jesus.  Although I was foolish, I sincerely tried to do what I thought was best.

I was born into an environment that reinforced religious beliefs about the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Supposed truth about God was instilled in me as early as I can remember.  The ultimate creator of life was God. The ultimate bringer of truth was the son of God in the form of the person Jesus Christ.

I was taught that The Bible was good, true, and represented everything that one needed to know about living. All people who followed the Lord’s ways were blessed souls who would get to live in Heaven with God, his angels, and the presence of loved ones forever. People who chose to live for the wicked ways of the world would end up suffering in life and would go to a bad place after they died.

Every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night I went to church with my family.  I remember the stories in Sunday school were usually about the heroic deeds of Jesus doing miracles for people who believed in Him.  The overall message of Bible stories was that Jesus held the answers to problems if we would trust and obey him. 

The same tales about miracles performed by servants of God in the Old Testament were taught repeatedly.  These tales included Jonah, Moses, King David, Abraham, and Joshua in their triumphs over the forces of evil.  Servants of God always managed to defeat the forces of evil they were up against. 

I was taught that God could make miracles happen.  I was told that a man was once swallowed by a great fish and lived.  God caused plagues of death to visit first born children of groups who disobeyed Him.  God’s special servant was once commanded to almost sacrifice his child to fulfill God’s plan.  Sunday school teachings were not always easy for me or the other children to see in the everyday world.

I did my best to say my prayers, ask for forgiveness of my sins, and live a good life by obeying authorities.  I assumed that all people basically knew the truth about God.  I figured some just got lazy and didn’t want to do the right things.  The events of my childhood life were generally very happy.  I worked hard to be the best Christian kid I could be.

When I was a teenager I saw the world I’d seen so much good in changing. Corruption existed almost everywhere. People swore, lied, and cheated.  Most didn’t work hard and lived for selfish pleasure. I made a choice to quit living for God.  I slacked off like just about everyone else I saw. Intellectually, I still believed in Christianity.   I was also usually thinking about naked girls or rock songs during church services. 

At age15 I watched a TV show called Ancient Prophecies.  Part of it was about Nostradamus and part of it was about the end times of the book of Revelation.  I was scared stiff of the depictions of hell.  I realized that according to my own beliefs I wasn’t saved and would be going to hell if I died. 

A friend of mine had just gotten “saved.”  I asked him some questions about it. That night I prayed and professed my faith in Jesus Christ.  I asked God to save me. This experience did not change my actions in most aspects of my life for years.  After my prayer that night I identified myself as a Christian who had achieved salvation.

When I was 16 I tried to enjoy myself.  I went to church.  It did nothing to stir any passion in me.  I prayed on occasion but didn’t think God was going to bestow me with any supernatural powers.

At age 17 I was in church one Sunday thinking about naked girls when I realized that there was nothing that made my actions different than the actions of a non-believer.  I then made the decision to study The Bible, apply its principles in my daily life, and to learn by emulating other “good” Christians. 

I made the decision to try to discover the meaning of life. My ultimate goal was to find the full truth about God and the universe.  I believed that I’d live in constant unity with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

My strategy was to learn all I could about the truths of The Bible and work towards consciously applying these truths. At the time I felt I was approaching my studies as rationally as possible.  In retrospect I realize I was tainted by assuming Christ to be the source of truth.  I read a great deal.  I didn’t feel comfortable about some of my skepticism about The Bible and Jesus.

I came to believe that while The Bible was inspired by God, Old Testament laws were not needed to be obeyed by Christians.  I realized that The Old Testament advocated horrible morality at times.  This was my logic in negating animal sacrifice, not killing homosexuals, and continuing to eat cheeseburgers and pork. 

Some of the Judaic law seemed useful.  Other laws about violence, dietary laws, and odd rituals seemed to have little to do with Christ or common sense. I viewed the Old Testament as a historical tool and a foundation for the New Testament. The New Testament became my guiding light.

In retrospect, I consider it bizarre that I read the entire Bible but was able to gloss over its negative qualities.  I justified the savage murders of the Old Testament as being atrocious actions taken by God’s people to defeat wicked forces.  I justified Biblical violence by believing it was necessary due to the horrific nature of the enemy.  I figured that these wars were necessary, to combat evil empires that opposed righteousness. 

Oddly, I still felt the book of Proverbs contained much great wisdom.  I also accepted scriptural teachings from Christian leaders from the Old Testament as literal and true.  In retrospect, I can’t believe I ever made these ludicrous rationalizations.  I felt that even though the Old Testament was less than the New it still had original laws from God that fit the needs of humanity better at the time.  I had a completely idiotic justification of commands of The Bible.

I rationalized that the horrible atrocities committed in the name of Jehovah were done by people who had been led astray by their own evil actions.  In the case where God ordered the murder I had a harder time understanding.  I came to believe that any who were ordered killed were extremely wicked like Hitler and were better to be eliminated for the chosen people.

The concept of the chosen people bothered me too.  All humans are supposedly God’s chosen people under Evangelical Christian teachings.  Yet the God of the universe CHOSE to give his truth to a specific tribe first?  It never made sense to me. 

I had the lamest justification for the senseless as “God works in mysterious ways that I don’t understand.”    As I read increasing amounts of The Bible, I used this rationalization more and more to dismiss the points of the good book that did not make sense to me.  I selectively embraced the truths I felt were morally beneficial and essentially ignored the parts that I didn’t agree with.

While I was a student at the University of Cincinnati I made it a priority to be a part of several different campus ministries. I attended several different churches and continued reading as much as possible to realize more truth about God.  I placed a great deal of energy transforming myself into what I thought a good Christian should be. I questioned my motives and actions on a nearly constant basis.

I made it a mission to reach out to others for Jesus as a naïve and hopeful college freshmen.  I believe that I convinced most of the friends I made that I was a decent but misguided person.  I read and questioned constantly and continued to embrace faith while seeking to grow in knowledge of the Lord.

With my heart, soul, body, and mind I tried hard to live for the glory of Jesus Christ.  I made deliberate attempts to witness to friends by the way I lived.  There were times when I even resorted to handing out Bible tracts and speaking to strangers in the street about God. 

As a sophomore I lived in a non-sanctioned Christian Fraternity House. I’d been surrounded by people who had vague Christian beliefs for most of my life. In my view most of these supposed Christians did little to practice faith in everyday life.  The Fraternity Christians I knew tried to be obedient to the word of God, but there was a diversity of opinion among the brothers on many issues. 

It was odd associating with a Christian scene while in college.  Imagine sex, drugs, and the hardest forms of rock and roll being DISCOURAGED by twenty-something young single men living together in an American city!  That was my living environment for the rest of my college days.

I believe that my brothers in Sigma Theta Epsilon generally had good intentions, but were confused and naïve young men just like I was.   We had a lot of good times.  We were largely ineffective at ministry.  (Thank God!)  I tried hard to understand Christ and did everything possible to avoid sin.

When I was 20 years old I served as a children’s ministry missionary at a church camp.  The leaders of this camp really made it their mission to reach every person with the gospel.  These ministry people were serious about the business of saving souls.  I made the choice to try to save souls too.

Although I had lived with conservative Christians in college this was the first time I’d been involved with believers who made it their life mission to win other people’s souls to become saved Christians.  Despite my aims to “save” people, I was still largely ineffective at ministry. 

I spent most of my free time from missionary work reading Christian literature.  I initially read works from Christian authors such as Josh McDowell that explained why other faiths were false and Christianity was the truth.  This led to me taking an interest in reading more books by authors who were non-Christians.  I kept seeking deeper answers about the truth.  I felt the need to try to understand the arguments of non-believers if I was ever going to have a chance of getting them to see the truth about God.

The missionaries I worked with had mostly noble intentions.  I began to question whether the entire point of life was to convert lost souls for Jesus.  Even though these missionaries devoted ridiculous amounts of time towards saving souls I could see that they often led frustrating lives of failure. 

The missionary experience left me even more contemplative.  Was the entire point of living just to convert non-believers into Christians?  Wasn’t there anything great about such secular joys as music, books, or movies?  I thought about quitting college to enter into full-time ministry but decided to stick with school.

I read more and more about non-Christian religions and the arguments of skeptics.  Initially, it seemed to me that a lot of the skeptics hated Christianity.  They seemed to promote an agenda that nothing could be true other than “science.”  I felt that science produced wonderful technology but had no answers that could prove the origin of the universe or the meaning of life. 

I initially felt that most of the books written by atheists focused exclusively on the absolute worst parts of The Bible and seemed to be fueled by hatred.  I had to admit that they brought objections to the faith that I could not honestly dispute.  I could not justify the slaughter of heathens, the commandments to obey corrupt political powers, or the doctrine of eternal hell. 

Reading books from secularists like Chinua Achebe, Langston Hughes, Steve Allen, and Ken Smith made me to question the validity of Christianity.  These men all had genuinely heart felt and sincere reasons to object to commonly held beliefs about Christianity.  I realized that these were thinkers who questioned the validity of The Bible who could not believe in the literal truth of mainstream Christian theology.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe made me realize that Christian teachings were likely to be questioned by people who had been raised with other religious customs.  The novel also provided realistic characters who were conflicted about matters of morality and how to best live.  This book helped me realize that it might not be sensible for all people to embrace Christianity.

An essay titled “Salvation” by Langston Hughes forced me to question what it meant to achieve salvation.  As a young man Langston felt forced to conform to social expectations to join with God’s flock.  God/Jesus did not come to him in his moment of trouble. 

The young Langston Hughes chose to acknowledge his salvation with his lips, all the while believing that there really was no God.  Even though I still held my Christian convictions I could not condemn Langston for making an evil decision.  I came to believe that people like the young Langston could not be sent to hell for following their most sincere moral beliefs regardless of what The Bible may have literally said.

I read Steve Allen’s On the Bible, Religion, and Morality when I was 21.  What puzzled me about the book was that Allen was clearly still a believer in God, but he still questioned many of the irrational teachings of Christianity.  Allen was not an angry atheist.  He was an inquisitive theist and genuinely seemed to want to know the truth about God and The Bible. 

Although Allen’s book was not bitter towards Christianity it questioned the validity of The Bible and commonly accepted Christian church teachings.  I had to admit that it was true that none of the Christians I knew were able to produce literal miracles.  I realized it was true that The Bible had passages that seemed contradictory.  Allen’s writings consistently challenged my notions of what teachings were actually rational within Christianity.

I read a book by Ken Smith called “Ken’s Guide to The Bible” in my final year of college.  It was a humorous and scathing attack on the most bizarre passages of The Bible.  It displayed the absurd leaps of logic required of anyone who believes in the literal truth of The Bible. 

I already agreed with much of Ken’s analysis of The Old Testament.  I had to ponder many of his points about the evils of the New Testament.  I realized that maybe Jesus wasn’t always nice.  Jesus encouraged hating family members and stated that he did not come to bring peace but came to bring a sword. 

I’d read these passages before and convinced myself that these were mere parables being used to emphasize total devotion to Christ was more important than family.  But why choose that language and allow such a great deal of confusion?

Ken’s Guide exposed Paul as a misogynist and a slavery advocate.  I saw that the socialist message of Christ was completely ignored by the modern church, especially in America.  Revelation was exposed for the bad drug trip that it portrays.  I began to seriously question the truths of the New Testament for first time due to many of the assertions made in Ken Smith’s book.

My skepticism began growing.  I maintained the behaviors and proclamations of a Christian while reading more from writers who were skeptical of The Bible and Christianity.  I realized that many of the moral objections skeptics had against Christianity made a lot of sense to me.  I still hoped God would reveal answers to me.

I maintained a less rigid brand of Christian principles and did little to witness to others in my last year and a half of college.  More doubts about the truth behind some of the uglier moments in The Bible began troubling me.  Even in my most conservative day, I never quite grasped why an all loving God would send people to hell.  It became a point of confusion along with several other oddities that seemed to go unanswered. 

Why did God order pagans to be slaughtered by His chosen people?  Why did so many laws in the Old Testament go ignored while other parts were repeated over and over by pastors in church?  Why would Jesus declare it was necessary to hate your family?  The more I thought logically the more doubts I had about specific negative parts of The Bible.  I chose to dismiss parts of The Bible as off base while maintaining a vague faith in God and Jesus.

When I graduated from college I had no idea what to do with my life.  I‘d always believed that if I had done right, God would show me His will.  I prayed hard and kept asking for guidance while harboring greater doubts about the truth of Christianity. 

I prayed nearly constantly for months until I felt like it was useless.  I came to believe that God had no specific purpose for me.  I couldn’t believe in a loving God who had a plan for everyone but sent people to hell.  I realized that Christianity was bound by the same unpredictable laws as the rest of the universe.

Once I began seriously doubting the truth of Christianity my entire understanding of the universe completely fell apart.  I spent months looking for some type of sign about what I should do with my life.  I fell into despair and doubt as time continued with absolutely no response from God.

Eventually I began to believe that I would receive no communication from God.  I continued to seek deeper answers in other truth claims of the universe. Even though I was seeking answers all that I kept feeling was increased doubt.  I decided that none of the claims I examined were definitely true.  I declared myself an agnostic and continued to seek answers about God from several different sources.  I never found any.

I have no faith in particular gods.  I’d like to know the full truth about the universe.  I don’t believe that it will happen in reality. I’m uncertain about a great deal in the universe.  I see no evidence for a personal God that is active in human affairs.

If God demands following The Bible, the Koran, or some other book where God is bloodthirsty, I am screwed.  Hell makes even less logical sense to me than the atrocities that take place on Earth.  If The Bible, Koran, or similar book is literally true, I will be a charcoal briquette in hell for eternity.  Luckily, I find the odds for this so low that I am not concerned about it.

It took me more than twenty years to figure out that Jesus does not love me.  It is not a pleasant thing to hear for many well-intentioned believers.  The truth is that Jesus and every other God I’ve ever heard about have done nothing to demonstrate love for any humans.  Until actual evidence is produced that demonstrates Jesus or any other God is real it is better to remain a non-believer.  

REASONS FOR MY FAITH, REASONS FOR MY DOUBT

Religions are quite different from each other on fundamental issues most of the time.  An individual can choose to embrace or reject a religion for several reasons.  My thoughts on the major religions of the world:

I have doubts in Christianity because:

1. I do not believe in a loving, all-powerful, compassionate God that wants what is best for all people that sends anyone into painful fire filled burning for all of eternity for disobedience or non-belief.
2. The Bible that is professed to be God’s holy words of truth often advises horrible morality including the killing of others, obeying corrupt authorities, encourages slavery, inequality, and irrational beliefs in myths over facts.
3. My personal experiences lead me to believe that God does not tell people what to do with their lives.  People have to make their own decisions.  God does not seem to be at all concerned with people doing His will if He never expresses exactly what it is.
4. Church authorities have often been, and still are, evil and corrupt.
5. Life can be lived better without Christianity.

The one good thing about Christianity:

1. Christians are often encouraged to be kind, gentle, loving, and giving.  A few Christians actually try hard to be one or more of the above.

I have doubts in Judaism because:

1. Jehovah God is a bloodthirsty tyrant that is often cruel.
2. The Old Testament contains far too many commandments to kill people.
3. The Old Testament commandments have nothing to do with practical living in today’s world.
4. One can be judged by the actions of ancestors that occurred before an individual experiences birth under biblical law.
5. The Old Testament does not seem as if it was authored by a perfect God, but has passages that seem as if they were written by an eccentric lunatic.

A few good things I can say about Judaism:

1. It provides an entertaining view of early human history.
2. The Hebrew Bible has passages of sensual love songs- a most unusual trait for a Holy Book.
3. The Hebrew Bible contains wild fables about great fish swallowing people, entire cities being destroyed by musical instruments, floods destroying nearly all the inhabitants of the Earth, and other spooky tales about a wrath filled Creator that it makes it rather easy to dismiss this God’s priorities and values.

I have doubts in Buddhism because:

1. I can’t believe people can stop all desires.  Specific desires may change over time.  People have the capability to change.  If suffering is caused by desires I don’t believe people will ever be able to end suffering.  Even the wish to end desires is a form of still possessing a desire.
2. Reincarnation does not make logical sense.  It makes population growth hard to explain rationally.  Who is here for the first time?  Who has been here for thousands of years? 
3. Meditation does not seem to work any more than positive thinking.
4. Buddha was just a man with some ideas, nothing particularly divine. 
5. There does not appear to be a clear way to reach enlightenment or nirvana.  (Or “salvation” to the Westerner)

A few good things about Buddhism:

1. The freedom to follow one’s own moral judgment is encouraged.
2. Buddhists don’t usually tell others they are going to hell, kill non-believers, or fight against progressive secular causes.

I have doubts in Islam because:

1. I do not believe I will experience a pain filled afterlife for non-belief in Allah.
2. I do not believe non-believers in Allah should be killed or persecuted.
3. I do not see Islam as always being a religion of peace, but too often one of war.
4. I feel that Mohammed held different standards for himself than he did for others.
5. Islam seems to be more dangerous to rational societies than any other force on Earth.

One good thing about Islam:

1. Interesting rewards program of many virgins after death in certain cases.

I have doubts in Hinduism because:

1. It seems like one could worship just about anything and still be a Hindu.  If everything is sacred nothing is supreme.
2. The caste system maintained corrupt elitist power structures for way too long.
3. Reincarnation makes no sense.
4. I can’t gain a firm grip on what types of morality are advised.  It seems that the ways to God are through good deeds or acting virtuously.  But these standards are vague.
5. Explanations of even the major Gods seem to be contradictory and confusing.  It is unclear how one best serves God under Hinduism.

A few good things about Hinduism:

1. Rigid sets of rules do not impose threats on non-believers.
2. Colorful and elaborate art.

I have doubts in Ancient Religions because:

1. If a religion were God’s truth, God should find a way to make it more known to living humans.

2. Most rely on myths and spirituality that are outdated and irrelevant to today’s issues.

3. Many ancient religions demanded ritual sacrifices.

4. Many encouraged the slaughtering of enemies.

5. Many have rituals that seem hard to understand and pointless.

One good thing about Ancient Religions:

1. It is interesting to study how religious thought may have evolved.

Atheism is not a religion.  It is a lack of belief in any gods. Although I consider myself an agnostic, many would label me an atheist.  I do not believe in any specific gods.  I see advantages to looking at world problems through a non-religious approach.

What I appreciate about Atheism:

1. It is the most rational choice to embrace atheism based on evidence and standards of testing that are used to determine truth in most areas of life.
2. Atheists tend to be intelligent, articulate, and moral individuals who have often studied the religions they do not believe in.
3. Atheists emphasize the need to live well now.
4. Atheists often have the courage to develop unique perspectives on diverse issues.
5. Honesty, truth, and ethics are highly important to most atheists.

My Personal Faith 

I have faith that life is worth living.
I have faith that I can choose meaningful purposes.
I have faith in some people and their desires to live quality lives.
I have faith that humanity will continue to evolve for the better.
I have faith that positive things can happen. 
I have faith that valuable lessons can be learned from less than perfect situations.

My Personal Doubts

I doubt the intentions of many religious, governmental, and financial power structures.
I doubt that any person or group has all of the answers about the universe.
I doubt that wickedness will ever be completely removed from Earth.
I doubt what can’t be proven by evidence. 

Despite my doubts I feel I am able to embrace faith in some things that seem positive.

WHY BOTHER TO INSULT RELIGION?

Religion provides comfort to billions of people.  I don’t doubt that.  I doubt the accuracy of all of the supernatural claims I have heard.  I have never seen any tangible evidence of any specific God empowering any humans.  Many people sincerely believe their God fills them with joy, peace, or great abilities.  I do not believe they are correct. 

Is there a good reason to take away hope from people?  It is not good to take away genuine hope.  It is good to take away erroneous, misguided hope.  It is better to have hope in things that are almost certainly true than things that are almost certainly false.

If there is a God I don’t think it cares anything about what I am doing, have done, or will do.  I see no evidence whatsoever that any specific Gods exist.  While I can’t disprove the existence of any specific God either, I can point out that they all appear equally powerless in the actual world

MY VIEWS ON RELIGION

I do not believe that there is anything that inherently makes life worth living.  I do not believe in any specific gods.  Why?  Because there is no evidence that proves that they exist. 

If people choose to have faith in any particular thing it is their right to do so.  Faith can often lead individuals to delusional beliefs.  Faith can result in billions of people being taken advantage of by corrupt leaders.  Faith can lead to lies being taught to children.  Faith can lead to people being violent in the name of a deity.

Faith can also lead to charitable acts.  It can lead to individual peace of mind.  It can lead to hope for the future.  It can lead to a reason to live for someone who is in the midst of desperation.  The people who use faith for something that I view as positive do not bother me.  The people who use faith for something negative bother me tremendously.  How can we differentiate between the two?

People who have faith in concepts that are not true do not live the best life that they possibly can.  As long as they are not directly harming any other humans with their inaccurate faith, they only hurt themselves.

I believe most people who hold inaccurate religious beliefs hurt themselves, their families, and their close friends.  The people who hold inaccurate religious beliefs may hurt acquaintances on a daily basis to a lesser extent.  It is negative to encourage people to believe and respect things that are false.

A sizable minority of inaccurate religious believers harm others in obvious ways.  They lie to their children and tell them that they will experience eternal torture if they refuse to obey a non-existent God.   They lie to strangers and tell them that they are going to hell unless they obey a non-existent God.  They spend a great deal of their time, money, and energy promoting lies.

A significant minority of inaccurate religious believers are willing to harm others who do not submit to the rules of their non-existent God.    Active persecution of non-believers is still far too common, even in places where secular laws supposedly apply.  There is great danger in enforcing God’s laws to rule over non-believers.  History does not often have a kind track record of religious rulers in power.

There are many examples of evil secular regimes as well.  Having an atheist or a non-religious person in power does not at all guarantee that they will rule well.  Secular rulers have been corrupt, tortured religious believers, and killed millions.  Power can easily corrupt without the belief in a deity.

Secularism has proved to quite effective in a great deal of the world today.  Western Europe has successfully separated a great deal of religion from laws.  Scandinavian nations have proven to be particularly adept at maintaining a high standard of secular living.  And like it or not, by law, the United States is a secular nation.

It is not wise to support anyone who proclaims faith in something that is false.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

Judaism

I do not believe in a God that is a murderous psychopath.  I do not believe in a God who demands the killing of non-believers, homosexuals, people who work on The Sabbath, kids who dishonor their parents, adulterers, fornicators, sorcerers, or entire tribes of enemies including women, children, and animals.  I think the Old Testament is full of ridiculous fairy tales designed to scare people into submitting to powerful rulers.

Islam

I do not believe that an illiterate animal herder received the final revelation for humanity from God.  I do not believe God wants his followers to kill for economic and political power.  I do not believe that submitting to the teachings of the Koran is beneficial.  I believe it is likely to warp one into obeying corrupt human leaders. 

Buddhism

I do not believe that it is possible to stop desiring while alive.  I do not believe that Buddha was the product of a miraculous birth.  I do not believe that Buddha is worthy of worship. 

Hinduism

I do not believe in a caste system that teaches people should stick with the social class they were born into.  I do not believe that there are many Gods.  I do not believe in reincarnation, karma, or elephant deities. 

What do I believe?

I do not know the full truth about reality.  I do not believe this life should be wasted by believing in false fairy tales that encourage fear.

I am uncertain about a great deal of the universe.  I believe all people are whether they admit it or not.  I believe people invent their own concepts of god due to being frightened about their lack of knowledge. 

I believe people create their own interpretations of holy books, since there is no clear way to obey the laws of gods.  I believe many people enter into religious life hoping to improve.  I believe most religious adults doubt their faith is true, but stick with it despite having a lack of tangible evidence. 

JESUS

CHRISTIANITY IS RIDICULOUS

According to mainstream Protestant Evangelical Christian theology, the most important action you can take is not really an action.  It is belief.  Eternal salvation itself does not depend on actions.  There is no way anyone can be good enough based on their own merit to meet the standards of Christ.  Even the most ethical, moral, and admirable person is nowhere close to being as righteous as the all-loving, all-powerful, perfect Creator God.

The only way to salvation is by professing faith in Jesus as savior.  People like Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart, or Jerry Falwell who do shameful things as God’s vicars are forgiven for their transgressions as long as they continue to profess faith.  A murderer, rapist, or psychopath achieves eternal salvation by accepting Jesus before they experience physical death.   The absolute worst people are the same as the best people.  You are going to hell unless you can believe in Jesus!

Everything else means nothing in comparison to genuine ETERNAL salvation.  Raising children, saving the physical lives of others, and charity are worthless unless done in the name of Jesus.   If a Christian believes in ETERNAL salvation, they either spend their entire lives trying to get people to this place of bliss or they do something extremely trivial in comparison.

Why are most Americans Christians?   It offers people a way to save themselves for eternity while doing nothing other than professing faith.  Liar?  Doesn’t matter!  Jesus will forgive you!  Cheat?  Jesus doesn’t mind!  Just pray for forgiveness!  Murderer?  No worries!  So were biblical heroes like Moses, David, and Samson.  Jesus commits a type of suicide. Surely, the all-powerful creator God of the universe in human form could have prevented some mere Romans from nailing him to a cross!

No matter what you do as long as you claim to believe, you are in the forever heaven club.  The only wicked people are those who do what they naturally want, without repenting!  What vile, wicked, heathens to deny the obvious Lord of the universe with their sin! 

Jesus died for your sins, but also gave you the capacity to have them?  No.  Jesus died for three days out of supposed “eternity” to forgive sins that don’t actually exist. 

Jehovah God is a ridiculous concept.  How is it moral to have an all-powerful ruler watching everything you do with the threat of sending you to an eternal burning, torture filled hell if you refuse to obey Him at all times?  It is a punishment worse than anything the mass murderers have done on Earth.  This God is supposedly all-loving?

All Christians pick and choose which Biblical passages they take as literal commandments and which ones they interpret metaphorically.  I have yet to see a Christian give up everything they have to a bum with nothing.  I have yet to see a Christian heal someone with a legitimate illness with a supernatural miracle.  I have yet to see a Christian enforce Biblical commandments to slaughter non-believers, rebellious children, homosexuals, or Sabbath laborers.

Christians try to convert non-believers with repetitive tracts about God loving so much that you’d better join his team or burn in hell. Seems pretty odd doesn’t it?  That’s definitely not killing non-believers.  Rebellious children are sometimes Christian youths who defy their parents.  Should these disobedient children be killed too?

Observe how most professing Christians act right after church on Sunday. Do they go out and kill non-believers, or give away all they have to the poor?  No, they support local businesses open on the Sabbath!  Many Christians break the Sabbath they are supposed to enforce on others.

The weird commandments in The Bible are ignored by nearly all because most believers don’t actually read The Bible.  Believers typically combine what they are told by holy leaders and societal conventions to make moral judgments.  Most who follow The Bible only obey specific passages.  It would be harmful to literally follow The Bible’s commandments.  I have yet to see a believer in either Judaism or Christianity who actually does. Thank God for that!

The concept of Jesus is subjective.  The life of Jesus may give meaning to billions of people.  There are billions of people who don’t feel that the supposed sacrifice of Jesus has any significance to their life.  Even if Jesus was a real person nobody knows the answer to “What would Jesus do?”

Those who argue that Jesus showed humanity how to live argue a strange point. Nobody knows what Jesus would do if he were alive today.  Would he hang out for thirty years in the desert, living with his folks and working with his hands again?  Would he spend time in Palestine/Israel talking to a few thousand people who mostly failed to understand his message? 

Maybe Jesus would go on cable to give people the real story.  I think that would be something to tune into. A very special appearance of Jesus Christ tonight! Live on CNN, 8:00 P.M., 7:00 P.M. central.

Why not?  It’s as plausible as anything else from the absurd religion of Christianity.

STOP BEING CHRISTIAN

There are many reasons why nobody should be a Christian.  A God who is all-loving, all-powerful, has a plan for everybody, and still sends anyone to hell is impossible.  There is no need to permit anyone to be scorched by flames forever just because they don’t play by absurd rules supposedly created by God.  Imperfect human beings have superior systems of justice to this.

Everyone fails to live up to Biblical standards just for BEING BORN.  There should be consequences for wrong actions taken, but eternal punishments are too much for an impermanent being.  The concept of a literal hell turns me off to Christianity more than anything else.

The fact that I tried for years to seek God’s will and received absolutely no guidance led me to believe no God cares about human actions.  Nowhere in The Bible does it say “Hey you, go work in an office.”  There is no path anybody is called to.  No divine creator needs human assistance with its projects.

Even when I was a naive practicing Christian I was never able to grasp the bloodshed that Jehovah God demanded.  Once my faith began crumbling, the fact that God was not all that great of a guy did not help me find reasons to believe.  Even if one ignores the direct killing commandments of The Bible it contains horrible passages.

The God of The Bible, who supposedly is the same as Jesus, makes bets with Satan.  God allows Satan to make Job suffer any pain except for actual death!  God called Abraham to prove he would be willing to kill his own son.  God makes up odd rules about the requirements for a priest’s testicles.  God’s righteous man Lot gets drunk and has sex with his own daughters.

The Bible is supposedly a perfect book handed down from God/Jesus/ the Holy Spirit directly.  Yet The Bible contains many passages that have been harmful to humanity.  Corrupt people throughout history have used The Bible to justify slavery, holy wars, and oppressive political rulers.  Any book that contains rules for good living should not be encouraging believers to murder anyone. Slavery causes suffering and should be objected to by all.  The Bible does not encourage positive morality. 

Jesus may have never existed.  There are certainly reasons to question truth claims about some guy who could supposedly walk on water, raise the dead, or turn water into wine.  Individual perceptions of Jesus do not offer sufficient evidence to non-believers.  The fact that so many people believe awful things about the alleged Creator of the universe is likely to cause great harm.

If God/Jesus commands people to slaughter their enemies in the holiest of texts why wouldn’t some portion of believers turn to violence to solve problems?  If progressive measures aren’t in God’s will people encouraging progress could be seen as Satan’s helpers.  When people believe terrible things about God it almost always leads to terrible beliefs about human interests too. 

Religions are full of problems.  Numerous atrocities have been committed in the name of deities.  Irrational faith can bring great pain. 

Even the supposedly good parts of Christianity are questionable.  Christian charity often emphasizes the inferiority of non-believers.  Little to nothing is taught to suffering people that actually provides better economic opportunities.  Instead they are fed a bunch of lies about a beautiful afterlife if they are willing to submit to the orders of the church. 

Blessed are the poor and meek says Jesus.  Obey those in power!  Be a subservient worker for religious powers!  The overall message of Christianity: Serve a prophet/God who committed ritual suicide so you can be forgiven for the crime of being born. 

No thanks.  I’ll pass.  The probability of Christianity being false is so high that I’m willing to bet my “eternal soul” against it.  Many people who want to live well will reject Jesus too.

It is not necessary to have a supernatural element in life. There are enough wonders of a secular nature to fill many lifetimes. Believing in three less imaginary concepts of deity than Christians makes sense.

JESUS BITS

Jesus claimed that he did not come to do his will, but the will of his father. Jesus asked God why he had been forsaken.

Was Jesus the separate son of God?  Or was he actually God incarnate speaking in bizarre ways?  Of all the ways to spread a message to humanity about the glory of God’s eternal truth why pick suicide and a mysterious resurrection?  Why not conquer evil powers and demonstrate kind acts that can be clearly seen by all people instead of a few isolated folks in a desert? 

Jesus does not automatically want people to obey the laws of the land.  That’s insane!  Jesus broke the laws of the government all the time when he was alive.  He was killed by the Roman rulers because he was a lawbreaker.  Jesus was a criminal.

Have I benefited from the Christianity that I profess so much hatred for?  Yes I have.  The majority of citizens in the USA believe some form of this bizarre religion.  The USA has been good to me.

Most of my family members are Christians.  They have generally been compassionate towards me despite my flaws.  Many of my closest friends have considered themselves Christians.  My Christian friends are making positive contributions to the world despite their faith in what I believe to be non-sense.

Christianity has produced many noble saints who have been charitable.   The Christian Church is also responsible for the Crusades, the promotion of slavery, and widespread intolerance for dissenting opinions through its history.

Catholicism is the top money earner in the religious game.  I believe Catholic leadership systematically interprets The Bible to support whatever grants them the most power.  Most Catholics I know believe they can do whatever they want in everyday life.  As long as they ask for forgiveness they are off the hook.  Catholicism tries to preach that they are the “universal” church.  The church also tells adherents that if they oppose any church doctrine they are wrong.

I have never believed all religions are one and the same.  They say very different things about how to behave, how to be moral, and how to achieve salvation.  The Amish are not just like the Muslims who are not like the Mormons, etc.  The only common thread I find is that religions tend to try to get people to believe that myths are facts without providing any tangible evidence.

Jesus did not come back soon.  It’s been almost 2000 years!   I believe the initial Christians really did think Jesus was coming back within their lifetimes.  Hence, they actually sold all their possessions, gave to the poor, and witnessed to people as Jesus commands in Luke 18:22 or Matthew 19:21.  These commands should still apply to believers in my view. No modern Christian takes these commands literally.  They shouldn’t because they are non-sense and would lead to death.

Even the great are so small when the entirety of history is viewed. Even the most successful were only able to experience greatness for a few years out of billions. Jesus is possibly the most well-known historical figure throughout human history. Even Jesus remains unknown to millions living today.

Jesus?  I'm more moral than he was.  Jesus says that he'll send anyone who refuses to worship, believe, and obey him to burning hell for eternity.  I don't even ask to be worshipped, believed, or obeyed.  I don't care what more than seven billion people are doing right now as long as they don’t harm others.  I beat Jesus.

Many Christian organizations preach that a person who does mostly good without loving God will burn in hell for eternity.  Even if one does all the good they can in their lifetime without loving God it still is not enough to count for eternal salvation. 

Loving God is the main duty of a Christian and it is the one ethical action that a non-believer can’t perform.   A few non-believers wish they could believe Christianity was true.  They might wish that there was an all-loving God who allowed people to enter into eternal bliss after physical death.   But they can’t intellectually accept something that is so highly unlikely to be true.  

JESUS IN MAJOR NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS

Some of the early Christian leaders taught that Satan created holy books before The Bible to deceive people from the truth of Christ.  This explanation is absurd.  It’s strange to see how individuals often create odd policies to justify the perspective they want to be true.  Many present day Christians mistakenly believe the truth of Jesus is widely accepted across the world even though all rational people realize that it is not.

If Jews believe The Old Testament is accurate they should not automatically be Christians.  Jews who bought into the Messiah concept around the time of Jesus believed he would be a military leader who destroyed the enemies of God.  This was not Jesus.  Any proper Jew would never tolerate any notion of a man being God incarnate or even his special son.  There is nothing in the Old Testament that states this directly.  Any interpretations of verses Christian scholars make to justify Jesus as the son of God in The Old Testament are vague at best.

Jesus also preached concepts that were not part of Judaism, such as the existence of heaven and hell.  Judaism tends to stay away from making claims about an afterlife.  Some Jews believe in an afterlife based on their own personal convictions.  Jews of that time and now generally follow laws of God for rewards in this life.  Heaven and hell are parts of other religions.  The big eternal salvation hook of Jesus may not be relevant at all to Jews.

Hinduism is an odd blend of thousands of tribal faiths from India.  Hence the thousands of potential gods Hindus can worship.  Hindus tend to believe in a few basic principles such as karma, reincarnation, and acknowledge the authority of holy books called The Vedas.  Hinduism is open to what individuals may believe.  Some could worship Jesus as divine if they wanted to.  Other Hindus have literally never heard of Jesus Christ.

Islam was influenced a great deal by Judaism and Christianity.  In Islam Jesus is considered a prophet, but not divine.  Jesus supposedly encouraged turning the other cheek.  Islam spread rapidly by the sword.  This is widely documented.  Honest Muslims admit so.  The entire goal of Islam is to get all people on Earth to “submit” to Allah’s control, not the control of Jesus.  Muslims do not worship Jesus.

Buddhists don’t necessarily recognize the authority of any divine beings, including Jesus.  Individual Buddhists may think Jesus was a great teacher, but not the only path to salvation.  Jesus is not the one true savior of a practicing Buddhist.

DON’T RESPECT CHRISTIANITY

I do not respect people who cling to a faith they know is probably not true because it is comfortable.  I respect people who pursue truth.  Nobody should be a Christian because it is comfortable.    

I do not believe in a currently living Christ or consider myself a Christian.  I appreciate some Biblical passages that encourage compassion, tolerance, and charity.  But I can dismiss all of the garbage about stoning homosexuals, killing heathens, eternal damnation, or a flaming end of the world for the glory of Jesus.  Proper Christian believers can’t dismiss odd claims and still belong to the faith.

I don’t claim to have absolute certainty.  I spent way too much of my life looking for it.  I think we should view evidence and admit what is most likely to be true.  I don’t know for sure.  I think the odds of Christianity being false are so great that I am willing to bet what I am told is my eternal soul against it.

Uncertainty has always frightened me.  I try to fight against these fears the best I can.  I think it’s all anyone can do.  But just because there is much uncertainty in life I find it silly to insist that the entire meaning of life is worshipping a suicidal loafer (Jesus) and his invisible Father.

As for The Bible and Jesus, what is more likely?  The entire natural order of the universe was defeated by the powers of Jesus?  Or did some Jewish guys lie?

I don’t wish to take away joy from anyone.  I hope people live this life the best that they can.  I have few definite answers about how to best live, even for myself.  My convictions lead me to believe that Christianity is illogical and false. 

JOSH MCDOWELL’S JESUS IS A LUNATIC

Even if he was real, Jesus was not moral.  Jesus did nothing of significance for several decades even though he SHOULD have.  Why would God just relax and do carpentry at home with earthly parents?  It makes no sense if God actively cares about people.

Jesus condemns those unable to believe in him to hell for eternity.  There is no evidence of hell.  It is wicked to preach to ignorant people that they will burn forever unless they obey church leaders or an invisible God.

If Jesus was God he could have healed anyone.  He seems to have chosen to demonstrate his power only on occasions when he felt like it.  Most people would heal the entire world if they had the ability.  Jesus supposedly had the power to do so, but apparently did not care about people who happened to be born in areas he wasn’t hanging out in.

Jesus commanded his followers to sell ALL of their possessions.  I have not seen one Christian take this demand seriously.  Why?  Because it is non-sense and can’t be followed by anyone who wants to survive.

Jesus was not a man of peace.  He states clearly that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword.   

Jesus was not an advocate of family values.  Jesus taught that his followers should hate their brother, father, mother, and sister, and should follow his teachings instead.

Jesus should have been able to create a more convincing way of proving his divine nature than committing suicide in a remote Roman occupied province roughly two thousand years ago.

A famous Christian apologist named Josh McDowell wrote that anyone examining the life of Christ must resolve that he is a liar, Lord, or lunatic.  This is a ridiculous position.  The existence of a supernatural miracle worker is highly questionable.  I don’t see any good reason to believe that the supernatural miracle worker version of Jesus really existed. 

But for arguments sake, I will grant that the Jesus of the New Testament existed.  I’d say that this Jesus was either a liar or a lunatic.  He may have possibly been both.

Jesus would have been a liar if he was intentionally deceiving people merely for his own profit.  If the New Testament is true this does not seem to be the case.  He definitely wanted worship, but material possessions did not seem to matter a great deal to Jesus.

If the New Testament is accurate I believe Jesus was a lunatic and his supposed followers were too.  I believe that The Bible was created by charlatans who were deliberately attempting to instill fear into others to be controlled more easily.  Jesus preached of a kingdom with no evidence.  He encouraged people to abandon this life for hopes of a better life in heaven.  I think it is lunacy to hope for pie in the sky by throwing away this life, the only life that we know we have for certain.

I think it is lunacy for a man to pretend to be a God.  I think it is lunacy to cast demons into a herd of pigs.  I think it is lunacy to perform a miracle like walking on water while your native countrymen are held captive by evil pagan rulers.  I think it is lunacy to encourage believers to sell all that they have.  I think it is lunacy to expect rule abiding Jews to instantly believe a thirty-something year old guy who had lived with his folks as a carpenter was God. 

I think it is lunacy for a supposed God to allow himself to be publicly slaughtered by corrupt human rulers.  I think it is lunacy to threaten everyone with a convert or burn in hell message.  I think it is lunacy to join a religion that tells believers they should expect to be persecuted and mocked for their beliefs.

I think it is lunacy to pray to a God in heaven while confusingly hinting at being that same God.  I think it is lunacy to prey upon the deepest hopes of people and exploit them with the fear of eternal damnation. 

If Jesus existed I think he was a lunatic.

PASCAL’S WAGER

It is better to reject an insane threat than to waste the life we know we have.  Pascal’s wager is one of the most bizarre bits of non-logic in history.  Opposing truth claims are not often a 50/50 argument.  There is no evidence for an invisible deity who demands obedience with the threat of eternal hell.

Pascal’s wager should not be considered a 50/50 debate these days.  Maybe it was in Medieval Europe, where the options for folks were to be Christian or a pagan worthy of death.  Most people are now aware that there are thousands of religions that have existed.  Those who are aware of global affairs know billions of people practice a non-Christian religion.  There are more than a billion people who have no religion at all. 

It hardly seems worthwhile to have a “believe in my God or nothing” argument anymore.  How could one possibly determine which god is the correct one?  Gods serve as an invisible type of hope for many.  Gods provide no evidence that can be logically demonstrated.  If there were no dispute between thousands of rival god concepts it might be easier to discern if there was a god.   Concepts of god depend on faith, not concrete evidence. 

If people believe god remains silent for mysterious reasons they can’t be proven wrong.  If they lack a caring God they can just say that God is impersonal.  If they want the easiest cop-out answer they can say that God works in mysterious ways.

I say the universe works in mysterious ways!  If there is a god it makes no sense, and is not worth worshipping.  It is definitely not worth devoting the only life one has for certain on a gamble for one God of thousands that provides no evidence of existing.

THE BIBLE IS WEIRD

Many people believe The Bible to be the literal word of God.  Others think it is a reprehensible document full of evil.  I find it has some interesting literary passages, but is definitely not the word of a perfect all-loving God that should be obeyed literally. 

Any book can be viewed as truth if an individual decides it is.  People who value “Horton Hears a Who” probably don’t make it their guide to life.  Yet if someone chooses to make Horton their God nobody can prove with certainty they are wrong.  They can point out why they believe Horton worshippers are wrong.  Non-believers can point out that they think The Bible is wrong in the exact same way.

The Bible may be the most influential book in human history but it is not a “good book.” There is a lot of non-sense, outdated, irrelevant and dull content contained in the book. Does anybody really think an all-powerful deity that wanted to communicate the most important truths, moral guidelines, and magnificent hope for humanity would include passages about a prophet eating bread cooked over fecal matter?

Would a god of love leave commandments to kill those who work on The Sabbath day? Would a perfect God leave instructions on how to treat slaves or how to silence women in church? Angels come to Earth and impregnate women?   People are killed by looking at objects, touching holy items, and lying about money handed over to the church. Mass slaughter is carried out by playing musical instruments.

Serve a loving God who can do anything except prevent humans that he loves from burning in eternal fire?  No!  It doesn’t make sense. 

Eternal torture waits for anyone who does not believe in an invisible Creator and his virgin born son.  A son who may have been God incarnate walking on the Earth to hang out for thirty years, be a carpenter, and preach to a few people.  He allowed himself to be slaughtered by fools then defeated them by rising after three days?  What?

Outdated commandments curiously support those in power instead of promoting human dignity, rights, and love.  Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s- Give a ruler whatever is demanded.  Ignore the fact that he is oppressing you, your family, your nation, most of the known world.  Jesus commanded it even though he apparently did not care about giving into the demands of Caesar himself. 

Slaves should be obedient to their masters? What kind of holy commandment is that? Those who have power should retain the ability to own other human beings according to the “Good book.”

Irrelevant passages are contained in The Bible.  Why did a song about dashing heathen babies against stones make it into the contents of God’s most important message to humanity?  Why have an entire book of The Bible that does not even mention God?  Why end The Bible with Revelation, a book that seems more like a lunatic drug trip than a meaningful prophecy? 

There is an incredible amount of material that does nothing to inspire belief.  It gives people more reason to question the legitimacy of supposedly sacred texts.  The Bible seems more likely to have been created by faulty humans instead of a perfect God.

The Bible makes God out to be a bloodthirsty savage.  There are numerous accounts where God personally kills people or instructs his CHOSEN people to kill thousands of non-believers at a time. God sends curses, plagues, and famine to his CHOSEN people. God commands that his CHOSEN people suffer for their non-obedience to his vague will.

Jesus seems bent on fulfilling a mission to have himself killed to demonstrate his awesome power and love to the world.   Why not invent the mass media, fly around and heal the problems of people throughout the world (as opposed to the random folks he bumped into in the Palestine region WHEN he felt like healing) and not go through all the anguish of being tortured?  If God writes the rules I think he could have been a lot better at painless self-promotion. 

Forgiveness can be granted without ritualistic human sacrifice.  I no longer hold a grudge against the lady who cut me off in the street, the guy who ate the last piece of pie, or that one co-worker who talks about dull matters over and over again. It did not require me to undergo any type of death and resurrection to forgive them either.

THE BIBLE IS NOT MORAL

Using The Bible as a standard for morality is absolutely ridiculous.  Many believe being gay is immoral because the Bible says so.  If that is so and you believe it, how many homosexual men have you killed this week?  Leviticus 20:13 says that homosexuality is an abomination and commands that gay men should be put to death.  Any believer refusing to kill gays is also sinning.  Believers of The Bible might as well be gay if they don’t kill homosexuals.  If they refuse to kill gay men, they are disobeying the word of god.

Lessons from the first five books of The Bible:

Genesis- There was a beginning.  Wicked humans were almost totally destroyed by a vengeful God.  God has chosen people.

Exodus- God wanted the chosen people out of the land where they were slaves so they could wander around the desert for many years.

Leviticus- Priests are special and are also big jerks.  God has weird laws.

Numbers- Counting can get boring and for a while there were a lot of Jews.  Jews killed a lot of enemies.

Deuteronomy- Moses got magic laws directly from Yahweh.  Most of these laws are absolutely nuts.

One version of The Biblical Ten Commandments:

1. Thou shall have no gods before me.

2. Remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy.

3. Honor thy father and mother.

4. Thou shall not kill.

5. Thou shall not steal.

6. Thou shall not commit adultery.

7. Thou shall not make unto thee any graven images.

8. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

9. Thou shall not take the name of thy God in vain.

10. Thou shall not give false testimony about thy neighbor.

Biblical Punishments for Breaking the Ten Commandments:

Punishment for serving other gods: Death!  Deuteronomy Chapter 13, Leviticus 20:27 

Punishment for breaking Sabbath laws: Death!   Exodus 31:15

Punishment for dishonoring father or mother: Death!  Leviticus 20:9, Exodus 21:17

Punishment for killing, unless God commands it: Death! Genesis 9:6

Punishment for stealing: Sold into slavery if thief can’t repay!  Exodus 22:3

Punishment for adultery: Death!  Leviticus 20:10

Punishment for taking the Lord’s name in vain: Death!  Lev. 24:16 

Punishments for making graven images, coveting neighbor goods, or giving false testimony are vague in comparison to those listed above.

Anyone who believes The Bible is moral has a dangerous and warped sense of primitive morality!

SOME BIZARRE BIBLICAL COMMANDMENTS

Resist not evil. (Matthew 5:39) Let evil take over the country and the world, I suppose?

Love your enemies. (Matthew 5:44)  What Christian ever did this?  Is this even possible? How can you love you enemies?  If you love them they aren’t enemies.  If they are enemies who kill that love isn’t going to last very long.

Pray in secret... do not let men see you pray. (Matthew 6:1-7)  Why all the fights about school prayer?  Why all the athletes praying at games?  Why pray at any public event?

Marrying a divorced woman is adultery. (Matthew 5:32) 

Don't plan for the future. (Matthew 6:34)

Don't save money. (Matthew 6:19-20)  Is there a single church that abides by this one?  I don’t think so.

Don't become wealthy. (Mark 10:21-25)   Don’t be rich?  Churches love wealthy patrons because they are the ones who have real power.

Sell everything you have and give it to the poor. (Luke 12:33)  No Christian could obey this.  You don’t see Christians walking around naked with nothing to eat all too often.  If Christians followed this their whole system would collapse.

Don't work to obtain food. (John 6:27) If you don’t work for food you’re living off the labor of others, bumming, or stealing.

Don't have sexual urges. (Matthew 5:28)   This tends to be tough for many teenagers and adults.

Make people want to persecute you. (Matthew 5:11)  Why? 

Let everyone know you are the best. (Matthew 5:13-16)  How humble.

Take money from those who have no savings and give it to rich investors?  (Luke 19:23-26)  

If someone steals from you, don't try to get it back. (Luke 6:30)

If someone hits you invite them to do it again. (Matthew 5:39)

If you lose a lawsuit give more than the judgment. (Matthew 5:40)

If someone forces you to walk a mile, walk two miles. (Matthew 5:41)

If anyone asks you for anything give it to them without question. (Matthew 5:42). People don’t give more than they have to.  It is not logical and is harmful.

Exodus. 22:19 Whoever lies (has sex with) with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus. 20:13 If a man lay with mankind, as he lays with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus. 20:10  And the man that commits adultery with another man’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.

1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.  So much for the American Revolution, or any other "just" revolt.

Exodus. 22:18   Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Malachi. 2:1-4 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces.  (Will Jesus do the spreading of the dung?)

"Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men to do so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 5:19

The Hypocrisy of The Bible and the Ten Commandments

Thou shall not kill.  But the Old Testament God commands murder all the time!  Leviticus 20:13, Ezekiel 9:5-7, and Numbers 1:48-51 are just a few of many examples.

Thou shall not commit adultery.  Unless God commands it, like in Hosea 1:2-3.

Thou shall not make unto thee any graven images.  What about the stained glass of the Catholic Church, artistic statues, or various iconic portrayals of Jesus in other churches?

Honor thy father and thy mother.  Should one honor a mother or father who tries to kill them?   Should Isaac honor Abraham after he almost kills him?  Didn’t Jesus say that his flock needed to hate their mother and father to be one of his disciples in Luke 14:26?

Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Did Jesus?  Do all Christians today?  Do all Jews today?  Do any non-believers?  Do any of God’s faithful obey his commands to kill people who don’t follow the Sabbath?

To people who claim the Old Testament laws do not apply to Christians today:

In the words of Jesus from Matthew 5:17- Do not think that I have come to abolish the laws or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

GOD

Science produces many amazing innovations.  But most of the world still attributes scientific advancements to God.

No one can prove there is no God.  But there are plenty of ways to show that there is no God who responds effectively to our demands.

Billions of people are so lost and afraid that they actually turn to false religions instead of admitting that they are uncertain about God.

Religions might all be irrational, but the level of irrationality believers embrace can lead to varying degrees of harmful behaviors.

Some people will kill anyone who threatens the eternal souls of their loved ones by refusing to profess faith in the one true God. 

New atheism is not new at all.  There are many people in history who were able to overcome the ridiculous God claims of their time.

It is easy to reject the notion of God since it has debatable evidence.

Losing a loved one is always hard.  If you love the living friends and family of the deceased you will not turn a funeral into some ridiculous ad for God. 

Many believers would rather seek their invisible God than fight against injustice in the real world.

God is acknowledged by many who feel lost on their own.

Beliefs about God are so likely to be false that there is no reason to worry about them.

God is a concept, but nothing that can be proven according to all the standards of reality humans usually use to provide evidence to others.

God is hard to figure out.  It’s hard to figure out something that has no agreed upon definition.  No universal definition of what god is exists. 

If there is an all-mighty God who rules the entire universe, do you think it is bothered by someone refusing to believe in it without evidence?

If God lets everybody into heaven, there is no reason to worry.  Maybe there is an extra cover charge for someone like Hitler.  Gandhi might get a VIP room.

Don’t believe in a god that likes pain, pestilence, and suffering. Beliefs in bad and violent gods do much harm to individuals and humanity.

Don’t let concepts of god blind one from recognizing other view points and ways of life exist. The way one chooses to live may not be the best way for everyone else.

Religion is wicked because it teachers potentially good people false truths about reality.  An atheist take on Dostoyevsky: “If there is no God, anything is permitted.”  Just eliminate the “if” for the truth.

Maybe we’ll all live in paradise while high-fiving God, but there is not a shred of evidence for it.

It is unwise to expect God or the universe to take care of everything for us.

If people believe their God can do anything and the power of prayer works why does God suck at solving so many human problems?

Inventing clever excuses for the failures or indifference of gods has resulted in some of the most creative warped logic in human history.

If you believe you have the all-powerful creator God of the universe on your side, why is there still world hunger?  Why is there still suffering?  Why is there death at all?  The highest likelihood: There is no God on your side.  The universe is not able to be fully understood by humans with limited abilities.

There is no point to fearing God if it is a loving spirit.  There is only a need to fear God if it is a cruel and evil thug.  If the most powerful force in the universe is a cruel thug, it is evil.

Mere ideas about God are fine, but so are ideas about goblins.  When God’s faithful start distributing conversion pamphlets, that’s when problems easily start.  On occasion the problems end with unbelievers heads rolling around on the ground.

If there is a god, the powers of a deity are greater than the contents of a book.  It would be nice to have words that could explain truth about god.  Mere words on a page can’t limit what a higher power can do. Imagine being able to put a god in its place by referencing a rule out of ancient documents.  It may provide for interesting entertainment, but it hardly seems plausible. 

If there is no God, it is not worth worrying about.  It is foolish to spend time worrying about non-existent entities.  If there is a God and it loves us we have nothing to worry about.  A loving God would not send us to eternal torment.  Maybe some harsh words or a “What in the world were you thinking?” type of lecture. But eternal wrath couldn’t come from a loving God.

If there is a God it permits torture, senseless wars, and painful diseases.  If there is no God it means that all of the cruelty in the universe is just a part of natural laws.   Both are frightening to think about.

God did it?  There’s no reliable evidence that God did anything.  If one wants to believe in a mythical, mysterious, supernatural being, in much of the world they are permitted to do so without fear of repercussions.  If anyone expects other people to believe in these gods without reliable evidence they are not thinking clearly.

Even if God exists it is absurd to try to find factual information about a supernatural being.  How can one have any knowledge using rational means to comprehend a supernatural being? 

Is there a God?  If there is, what is it like?  Does the main God have any competition from lesser deities?  Many explanations exist but no facts prove undeniable truths about God.

One can test specific claims about God objectively.  Universally acknowledged scientific evidence for a specific supernatural being does not exist.  Praying for genuine supernatural miracles from God to be demonstrated in front of groups of skeptics fails every time.  Praying for something vague like God’s will does nothing to accurately establish God’s will exists.   

People are vulnerable to higher powers outside of their control.  These powers are not supernatural.  Any supernatural force is beyond human understanding in the present.  Anyone who claims to know all about God is naive, misguided, or making a dumb joke.  Beware of charlatans invoking God to sell something to make themselves richer.

Distinguishing truth from fiction is often a difficult task.  Many cultures, families, and individuals proclaim a god to be the source of truth.  For believers the concept of a god may be comforting.  Devotion to the divine provides a potential link to something valuable to many believers.

Despite the value of faith for some, many freethinkers are not able to find any meaning from a god.  Many ethical people claim they have no evidence to believe a supernatural being exists.  Acknowledging an invisible, supernatural deity without sufficient evidence is irrational to those who lack faith in a god. 

It may be comforting for some people to believe that mysterious forces are in existence due to a divine being that operates the universe with order and justice.  Others may view belief in a being that can’t be understood by sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell as lunacy on the level of an imaginary friend.

One can say that they believe that God exists outside of the natural universe.  That does nothing to help people who exist in the universe to understand how everything began.  Any force that exists in another realm can’t be proven.  Faith is fine if it helps people to live better lives.  Too often it causes people to embrace false assumptions that make them delusional. Too often they are easily led by demagogues with warped agendas.

If there is a God it has no problem with suffering.  Every day suffering occurs for many who sincerely try to do right.  Babies die from poor health.  Compassionate people fight to bring positive social change and are murdered by violent fanatics.  Noble people who take care of themselves have fatal illnesses that jeopardize a better way of life for innocent children. 

If there is a God I don’t think everyone understands everything about it.  If there is no God I don’t think anyone can explain everything about the universe.  We all lack complete knowledge of God and reality.

Why are there people who think that God calls them to ask certain people out on dates? Is this real? If there is a God I’d like to think that priorities such as ending world hunger would take place over commanding Timmy to ask Suzy to go out for pizza.

Exactly how does one realize they are hearing from God?  Intuition?  A lucky feeling?  Anyone who hears from a supernatural being has no way of knowing whether it is good or bad for certain.  They can know what they feel and can decide how to act on their “revelation.”

Atheists are honest about having no deities to rely on.  They refuse to believe in tribal gods without evidence.  The atheist is honest and may be threatened by believers who can’t stand to have another deny their god.

It would be comforting to know that there was a God that created me for a purpose, loves me, and will let me live in eternal paradise when my life on Earth is done.  Even if it is a pleasant possibility it has absolutely no correspondence to factual reality. 

Mental imagery of a God is not something that can be conclusively proven to another person.  It can be viewed as a priceless personal experience.  Or it can be written off as a delusional psychotic reaction.

Is there a God?  None of the Gods I’ve ever heard of exist.  Manmade gods have tremendous power over people who have had the idea of a “higher power” that they must obey.  Technically, it’s possible that some type of mystical deity could exist, but the odds of god influencing the lives of a skeptic are about the same as that of leprechauns, tooth fairies, or Superman.

How did the universe begin?  I don’t know.  I don’t think anyone else has all the answers.  Two popular beliefs are “God did it” and the Big Bang Theory.  I don’t think the Big Bang Theory is unquestionably the precise truth on the matter, but I find it probable based on evidence that exists.

Any real God is free to reach me whenever.  I have no reason to believe this will ever happen.  I am going to live my life the way I’d like to in the meantime.  I encourage others to do the same.

Does God exist?  There is no way to prove that God is real.  Objects that can be observed can be measured accurately.  Anything supernatural is based on subjective beliefs that can’t be demonstrated.  Many believe the concept of God to be outdated, ridiculous, and false.  While there is lack of proof about God, it is up to individuals to determine what their beliefs are. 

To a secularist there may be nothing ethical at all about loving God.  Loving God is the starting point of all morality for many monotheists.  To many theists one can’t have proper motivation to do right without loving God. 

ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST GOD

1. God does not exist.  There is no logical reason to believe in a mythological being that can’t be tested.  Direct measurable observation provides no evidence for any god.  Belief in a higher power is simply having faith in an imaginary friend. Who would want to serve a higher power that willingly allows agonizing suffering, physical pain, pointless death, and infinite sadness in the world?  Killing occurs in the name of imaginary gods.  Hatred exists due to fictional commandments from false deities.  Irrational harmful behaviors are attributed to beliefs about god.  Holy books supposedly written by god are contradictory.  Religious lies about God were created by men in power trying to control ignorant masses.  God is imaginary and is a harmful concept for people to follow.

2. God exists.  Spiritual truths that one experiences with God can’t be surpassed by anything else in the universe.  Observe those who claim to have had an encounter with divinity.  Watch the sense of peace that overcomes them.  Joy, tranquility, and deep happiness are obvious when touched by God.  All of creation is evidence of a divine creator. Miracles like the birth of a child, beauty in nature, and healing constantly show proof of a magnificent god.  Every person is born with a connection to God.  Each soul is meant to live in heaven with God for eternity.

3. God’s existence can’t be proven like a math equation.  Encounters with divinity are based on subjective personal experiences, not completely logical data.  God may be real or may be false.  Numerous theories attempt to explain what God is.  It should be obvious that nearly all of these explanations are non-sense.  Can personal beliefs be refuted?  No.  All are free to pursue whatever type of beliefs they choose as long as they are not directly harming others.  Rational thinking people do not embrace outdated, superstitious, fear based religious dogma.   Thinking people realize individuals arrive at different conclusions about God for several odd reasons.

Control and God

Anyone who believes they have total control of reality is delusional.  Anyone who acts as if they have no control over their life is delusional.  No person has been able to prove they have the power to control every aspect of the objective universe on a whim.  Nearly all people have the ability to use their imagination to picture a different type of reality.  Almost everyone has the power to exercise some amount of control over their subjective thoughts, feelings, and actions. 

Anyone who believes God controls their life rarely depends on God to put food into their mouth without some effort on their part.  People who believe the universe will provide for them almost always go through a tremendous amount of effort to work. 

A person who depended strictly on supernatural forces to survive would die.  God would not intervene and the person would whittle away to nothing.  While many people proclaim that God is providing for them, none of them can prove it.  Attempting to prove it would lead to death.  Many people proclaim to have faith in a God that provides for them all while doing everything in their own power to accumulate health, wealth, security, and resources for themselves.

WHERE IS GOD?

How many people in the 21st century believe God speaks with them personally?  Figures vary from virtually none to the majority of the planet.  Do adults really believe that God will come down from the heavens to visit them in Hoboken, New Jersey?  There are probably a few nuts who expect to play pool with God.   It seems most people do not believe they’ll ever hang out with God on Earth.

Many people believe God speaks to them uniquely through a mystical spiritual connection.  These connections can’t be explained like any of the other senses humans possess.  Prayer indicates people believe they have a chance to get through to the God hotline.  Many anticipate a response.  Some believe that they receive words from the almighty.

Talking to God without expecting some type of response seems rather pointless. It is hard to imagine anyone making repeated phone calls to someone who will never respond. What type of person communicates a message if they never have any hope of hearing back?  Why not talk to Johnny Carson, Groucho Marx, or Seinfeld instead?  Why not pick a source that would say something witty in response if they ever did say anything back?

Talking to God to elicit words from above is quite an odd concept.  Why would God talk to some schmuck about a raise when thousands watch loved ones suffer?  Who wouldn’t want their own personal all-powerful force to bring instant joy?

Nobody can demonstrate evidence that God speaks with them.  God speaking to people in any form is not factual.  The parties of God have often excluded rational people to maintain power.

GOD DEBATE

If there is no God it is not worth worrying about.  One of the most foolish ways to spend time is to worry about non-existent entities.

If there is a God that is unconcerned about me it is illogical to worry about God. If God doesn’t sweat about what I am doing why should I worry about God?

If there is a God and it loves me I have nothing to worry about. A loving God would not send a being to eternal torment. Maybe God would some harsh words if I were acting poorly? I can’t imagine wrath coming from a loving God for petty reasons.

If God is a jerk that demands I literally obey bizarre commandments from some ancient book that makes no sense to me I am screwed.  Hell makes even less logical sense to me than some of the atrocities that take place on Earth. If The Bible is literally true most of humanity will burn in hell for all eternity. I find the odds for this being true to be low.  I’d rather take risks trying to enjoy this life I have instead of worrying about Bible commands and demands.

THOUGHTS ON GODS

Gods that are obviously made by humans are not real.  Most of the faithful admit they believe in a being of their imagination.  Nobody knows what gods taste like, feel like, taste like, sound like, or smell like. None of the ways humans make conclusions and gather factual information about the rest of the world provide any evidence about the nature of gods.

People who believe in gods imagine what the characteristics of gods might be based on their own opinions.  Sophisticated people know gods are representative of specific ideas, but not necessarily actual beings.

Atheists profess the most rational choice to believe in no gods based on the fact that most supposed gods are inevitably imaginary.  It’s impossible to prove an imaginary being doesn’t exist.  It’s like proving there are no unicorns.  There are none here, but can one prove they’re not hanging out on some little known Pacific island?  The existence and the importance of gods are determined by the individual for themselves.

People use God as an excuse.  “God made me do it.”  “God abandoned me.”  “Anyone who repents is forgiven.”  How accountable are humans for their actions if God has a plan for everyone and has the power to overcome individuals whenever it pleases?  I say not at all.  If God exists it gives humanity free will?  This at least permits the atrocious parts of life to happen on the watch of the alleged God.

Individuals often interpret reality to be what they want it to be.  This is why there are so many different variations of actions individuals take, ways people make money, gods served, and ways that people choose to live.  Many intelligent people who see the failings of any one specific God claim are likely to see the failings of all claims about God.  Having faith in a higher power is not a matter of proof for many though.  It is a matter of tradition and believing in a greater force than what is temporary.

Can beings living in the natural world know anything about a supernatural God?  If not, it’s pointless to try to understand God through rational means.  Many claim to have knowledge of God.  Rational individuals rarely profess faith in a specific deity that they believe is unquestionably true.

How does one determine the nature of a supernatural being?  The traits of a deity can’t be displayed by the scientific method.  If rational methods of testing don’t work, how does one begin to grasp the nature of God through subjective efforts? There does not appear to be any answer that is obvious to all people.

Numerous groups make truth claims about the nature of reality and the divine. These truth claims often are often in direct contradiction.  Those who make statements about the nature of God do so with faith, but too often confuse communally shared faith with fact.

My perception is that gods are invented by humans.  No external sources are totally reliable.  I can’t be absolutely certain there are no gods.  Every god I’ve ever heard about seems highly unlikely to exist. 

Theories on god could be explored again and again with all the time one has without achieving a definite answer.  There is not enough time to fully explore all of the various theological systems.  People lack definite knowledge about all there is to know about most of the universe.  Humanity lacks evidence for the existence of any one specific God currently involved in world affairs.

RELIGION

Hell and heaven do not actually exist.  People who imagine they do experience their own interpretation of what it is.  I believe the heavens of Donald Trump and Kanye West might look quite different.

Lying to people for a living is no way to get paid.  Preachers are sometimes huge con artists.

Korans are sold in places where atheists run the business.  Freethinkers have no problem exposing others to various ideas.  They have problems forcing people to embrace non-sense.

Why do sane people get upset if one points out questionable parts of their holy books?  Because examining the claims of multiple religions can lead to one being a non-believer.

The universe is much more powerful than humanity.  The universe remains full of mysterious wonders.

Integrity is much better than Biblical values.

Zeal for religion is usually misguided.  It is better to be zealous about sports.  At least the guys who throw things and run fast are real.

What is all of the non-sense about a battle between science and religion?  The media makes it sound as if scientists are a street gang that fights boys from religious groups.  Scientists rarely fight anyone.

Creationists should be free to hold their beliefs but not free to force their beliefs to be taught as facts.

Kindness is a result of human compassion, which has nothing inherently to do with holy books.

There is evidence of matter beyond what we can directly perceive.  There is no factual evidence for any type of divine presence.

There are places in the world where people have never heard of Nintendo, Michael Jordan, or any specific deity.

No one should be silenced just for slandering an invisible man, a horrible prophet, or tribal non-sense.

Sane people admit they do not fully understand the universe.  Agnostics and atheists go a step further and admit they don’t believe any specific supernatural claims.

An atheist refuses to believe in the personal experiences of others more than data that can only be disputed by lunatics.

Hell is an idea invented by religious men who wanted to instill obedience to silly rules.

Do not follow religion or traditions blindly. Do not always trust leaders.  Make personal judgments when determining truth and deciding how to live. 

“Scientific” knowledge has been incorrect before.  But the track record of science is vastly superior to that of any religion in matters of science.

Killing instructions in The Bible are almost always ignored by believers.  They should go one more logical step further and ignore everything in the book.

Question people who tell you they know the meaning of life.  It turns out that their claim is disputable.

Trying to find answers about religion is easy: They’re all made up.

There are no definite criteria to explain precisely what qualifies as “spiritual.”  

What is seen as spiritual by some may be seen as negative to any particular person.

If anyone wants to make progress to achieve eternal life contribute to scientific research, not church.

Faith can be a blessing or a curse.  Having enough faith to breathe oxygen enhances the quality of life for most.  Having faith in false gods to solve personal problems is foolish.

Science would be much more successful in convincing people of the truth if it were given the same amount of exposure as religion at an early age.

It takes time for individuals to develop rational views, particularly when they have been filled with tribal falsehoods their entire lives.

It is nobler to live in constant uncertainty than to live for a comfortable lie.

You don’t have to act any certain way just because some holy book tells you to.

Why do bad things happen to good people?  Because the universe is indifferent to individual human tragedies.

Nobody can tell you how to find your soul.  It’s like finding your melancholy.  It’s a concept, not a tangible part of you.

Verses in holy books can be viewed in many different ways.  To some they convey the meaning of life.  To others they are evil.

Religions that teach that sex outside of marriage is wicked should be laughed away until they are no longer relevant.

It is quite a transition to go from belief in an all-loving Creator of the universe that loves you, cares for you, and has a purpose for your life to realizing that everything you once believed about God and reality is a total lie.  Hoping for a better way of life and a place to hang out that is fun after death makes sense.  There is simply no reliable evidence that proves it. 

If someone wants to live within their own private delusion, they should be allowed to.  To various extents, many of us do.  If one attempts to enforce ridiculous morality and beliefs on others, they should be actively opposed.  There has been too much progress made to allow humans to live in such non-sense in the present.

What makes an action morally wrong?  There is no way to prove what is morally correct!

Anyone who believes in a loving and just Biblical God should read Numbers Chapter 31.  At best, they must agree that God allows the slaughter of an evil race of people.  At worst, they have to admit that if the God of the Bible is real, it is a psychopath that has nothing to do with love or justice.

America is a secular nation.  Anyone who believes this country is run by religion has either never left the Amish zones they were born in or has ignored our secular society.  Most people don’t care about some afterlife that may or may not exist when they can have comforts of living well right now! 

The power of prayer is inconsistent.  The universe does not grant divine powers to anyone in particular.  There are people who possess exceptional talents that others do not.  This usually comes from work and skillful application of knowledge, never strictly prayer.

The universe is large and beyond our comprehension.   Many individuals choose to believe that there are mysterious higher powers that control the universe.  Rationalists merely believe that the universe is controlled by mysterious natural forces.

The creation of the universe makes no rational sense. The concept of a deity that came from nothing and simply always has been makes no sense. There is no way to accurately describe a supernatural being.  Many make efforts to explain the nature of a deity.  These accounts are almost always contradictory from other similar myths and make no sense.

Abraham was deceitful, a near murderer, had sex with his wife’s maiden, and sent his first son away when a better one came along.  The three principle religions of Western civilization all came from this guy who was willing to do anything God said, even if it was morally repulsive. 

Figuring out exactly who the descendants of Abraham are is funny.  Is it exclusively the Jews?  Exclusively the Muslims?  Both of these groups and nobody else? All people on the Earth?  Rational people do not care if they are related to Abraham.

It is hilarious when theologians tell skeptics their opinion is not valid because they have no formal training or can’t read the original language of a holy book.  If a book sits in churches for billions to read as inspired scripture what do you expect them to read?  Training in false literature does not make it true.  An original language of ridiculous myths still has no relevance in the 21st century.

What if a scientist determined practices from 2000 years ago are the best available?  Any scientist in Western civilization who attempted to perform surgeries and distribute medicine according to ancient methods would be laughed at and probably arrested.  Isn’t it possible that ethical beliefs from this era might have flaws too? 

There is no good reason to place faith in concepts that are almost certainly false.  Many religions promote harmful agendas that lead people to live poorly.  Religions that encourage violence and hatred should be abandoned.   

Religious believers tend to base their opinions on holy texts that proclaim truth.  Most religious texts claim some type of supernatural being created the universe.  The role of humans is to believe in the supernatural force and yield to its power.  Supernatural claims of truth do not hold up when examined by non-believers.

Religious believers tend to be closed to new information about the origin of life.  New discoveries apply only if they fit information that already exists.  Fortunately, there are notable exceptions among religious groups and individual believers.

Even if one regards a large holy book as literally true, they still pick and choose which parts are most important to emphasize.  If one interprets a holy book the way they want to it is pointless as a guide to objective morality.

It’s no coincidence that the religions with members that have killed the most are Christianity and Islam.   They are also the most successful with overall numbers.  People tend to say they believe in certain gods when they die if they don’t.

It’s senseless to tolerate lies and ridiculous beliefs.  I won’t personally prevent anyone from embracing the false non-sense of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, or Hinduism.  In my opinion I couldn’t even if I tried. 

If I want to help people I will try my best to honestly tell them what I believe too.  If they don’t like what I have to say they don’t have to listen.  If they want to have a discussion and I’m in the mood, I’m quite fine with challenging their faith with my doubt.

Those who believe in heaven ultimately know that it is just a belief.  What happens after death is a mystery.  That is why death is often upsetting and traumatic. 

There are a lot of people who form opinions about life after death.  According to the ways we normally obtain evidence, there is no God and there is no afterlife.  The full truth is uncertain.  Saying there’s no life after death may be like saying there is no giant Rhino at the center of the universe.  I don’t know for certain if that is true or not, but I have no good reason to believe that it is.  It is highly unlikely to be true.

When I believed in eternal rewards I acted the best I could (for the most part) to solidify my spot in heaven.  My life on Earth was secondary in importance to my perceived spot in paradise.  When I stopped believing in eternal rewards programs I did things because they seemed like they could potentially lead to a better present or future on Earth.

How does one decide what is ethical?  They use their own personal standards because there are no universally agreed upon principles that can be proven to be accurate.  One can look at results and form beliefs based on evidence.  If people want to be good they often do their best to be moral.  If they don’t care to be decent no belief system is automatically going to make them better people.

It is useful to be skeptical at times.  A healthy dose of doubt helps people attempting to break free from harmful falsehoods of religious dogma and other bad ideas.  Embracing too much skepticism for long periods of time leads to fear, uncertainty, and possibly even worse. Pure skepticism as a way of life does not make sense. Living well requires making choices based on realistic probabilities and calculated risk taking.

The afterlife is a nice thought, but nobody knows what happens after death. People can form theories that help them establish peace of mind about the issue. These hopes do not produce facts.

Who has the worst reputation in history?  Hitler?  Mao?  Stalin?  Pol Pot?  One of the Popes?  Mohammed?  Buddha?  It is a subjective judgment.  I think misconceptions about Jesus Christ and Mohammed have done more harm than any others. 

There are many people who believe they know the truth about the meaning of life.  No matter what the truth claim is more than a billion people disagree.  Knowing this, how could anyone be anything other than a skeptic about claims of certainty in regards to the meaning of life?

Atheism is the refusal to place faith in supernatural claims.  Agnosticism is admitting that one is clueless about the nature of reality.  Theism is putting faith in something that is not demonstrably real.

Who’s more likely to tell the truth about religion?  An impartial observer who is searching for meaning or someone who paid money to be trained in the teachings of that religion and continues to get paid by promoting it?

Everyone makes up their own religion whether they know it or not.

Perhaps most people don’t want to hear the truth.  Probably because it is sad for most people to realize that they only live a relatively short time before they die forever.  Probably because they are aware of the fact that there is no God looking out for them who does what they want.  Probably because they realize that even the people who lead the best lives only have temporary success before they are destined to fail again.  Probably because they are aware of the fact that no matter what they do it is highly probable that every good thing that ever could be is eventually destined to die.  

THEODICY                                                                                                     

Theodicy Issue: God is all-powerful. God is all-loving. Evil exists.

There is no definitive proof of the existence of any specific God.  According to the most reasonable evidence that can be produced by unbiased scientific testing there is no God that intervenes in human affairs.  God concepts are created by humans.  Since there is no evidence of any God there is no definitive proof of an all loving deity.  God is not all-powerful or all-loving. 

Evil is a concept invented by humans that can’t be proven to exist scientifically according to unbiased, empirical data.  Evil is a concept based in individual perceptions.  Some people believe consuming alcohol is evil.  Others do not.  Many people believe fighting in a war is evil.  Many others do not.  There are no definite, true, objective answers about what is good or moral. 

Acts that are widely considered to be evil can be demonstrated to cause physical pain.  They can’t be proven to be “evil.”

Is it morally wrong to take the life of someone attacking your children?  Is it morally wrong to take the life of someone who requests it?  Is it wrong to take the life of a potential child in the womb if it is virtually guaranteed to be born with horrible deformities?  Is it wrong to take the life of a soldier fighting for another side in war?  Is it wrong to take the life of someone who has repeatedly taken the lives of others?  Is it wrong to take the life of a corrupt political leader? 

Is it morally wrong for an 18-year-old woman to have consensual sex with her 17-year-old lover?  What if they’re married?  If a corrupt government legally outlaws sexual relations should people always obey this law?   If you were in a war and your fellow soldiers were raping a woman what would you do? 

I don’t know the morally correct answers to these questions.  I don’t believe there are answers that can be proven to be absolutely true.  When specific situations are viewed opinions can become much more divided.  Individuals may decide some forms of murder are acceptable, despite being unpleasant.

When individuals act to get what they want by unfairly harming others this is generally considered by most people to be “evil” behavior.  Many people consider causing intense emotional or physical pain on others to be evil.  Suffering usually exists because humans desire things they don’t have.  Suffering is a subjective, individual concept.

It’s possible for humans to experience suffering while in prime physical condition.  Individuals with great willpower can maintain a sense of joy even while experiencing physical stress that would be considered painful to most.  Suffering is experienced by individuals according to their individual perceptions.

What does this mean?  The theodicy is based on categories that are illogical.  God can’t prevent suffering or evil because there is no all-powerful, all-loving God.  Individual humans perceive evil and suffering based on their own subjective understanding. 

There are specific actions that lead almost all people to experience suffering circumstances many would label as “evil.”  Individuals can consciously choose to attempt to act in ways they consider to be good or evil.  There is no definite proof for the truth of claims of the theodicy. 

Theodicy lessons for people in the real world:

Don’t expect anything from any all-loving God.  Live your own life to the best of your abilities.

Don’t expect any all-powerful God to help you with struggles or show you love.

If possible, avoid what you believe is evil.  Attempt to focus time and energy on what seems best.

20th CENTURY ATHEIST RULERS VS. RELIGIOUS RULERS

Some people falsely believe that WW II was caused by evil atheist political leaders.  World War II was started by Germans, Italians, and the Japanese.  More than ninety percent of the soldiers from the German and Italian forces considered themselves Christians. 

Hitler and Mussolini were Catholics and had their largely Catholic minions kill.  Japanese Emperor Hirohito told his nation that he was divine. 

Hitler was not an atheist.  He was a corrupt Catholic who also subscribed to parts of Aryan mythology.  Hitler was definitely not a typical Catholic, but he was at least nominally Catholic.  While Hitler destroyed the governments of Europe he left the powerful Vatican alone because they agreed to go along with his policies. 

Most of Hitler’s policies destroyed groups commonly perceived to be enemies of Catholicism: Jews, homosexuals, non-Christians, and gypsies.  Hitler was probably not saying the rosary and confessing his sins to a priest every day.  Adolf said that he believed he was doing the will of God.  Hitler was dangerous, arguably a terrible Catholic, but not an atheist.

Stalin was an atheist.  But his nation was invaded by Christians!  In World War II Stalin’s forces merely responded to attacks from a nation of German Christians he had already made a peace treaty with.  Stalin had no problem with sending millions to die in World War II, but it was to ward off aggression from German Christians.

Mao and Pol Pot were atheists.  No reasonable atheist defends the murderous plans of Mao or Pol Pot.  Many attribute the heinous slayings of these leaders to political beliefs, not as a direct result of atheism.  Few believe these atheist leaders instructed killings just because they were atheists.  They were willing to put political agendas ahead of the lives of people.  Many powerful leaders of any belief system do this. 

Religious leaders and non-religious leaders have both been guilty of promoting their own agendas ahead of the lives of common people.  The twentieth century did not reflect kindly on atheist political leaders.   Atheists are not always noble people. 

Mao fought against a corrupt Chinese regime that promoted ancestor worship and kept millions of people in terrible positions.  Mao used force to eliminate all signs of belief and bought into phony pseudo-science that left millions of his people to starve.  His efforts to make things equal ended with his cronies empowered while the masses continued to starve. 

Mao devalued human life.  He viewed the lives of those who died as a necessary means to a great future society.  His atheism prompted him to believe it is better to fight in this life than to passively accept rule from others.

Pol Pot’s regime slaughtered an absurd amount of people. Religious people faced widespread persecution from the Khmer Rouge.  There’s no reasonable dispute against this fact.  This proves that atheist rulers are vulnerable to corruption just like everyone else.

All believers and non-believers are potential victims of war.  Christians may kill, atheists may kill, and other religious believers may kill too.  Conflict between humanity happens no matter who’s in charge. 

A religion, or lack thereof, is not what makes a person moral.  Anyone who acts nobly does so because of their own personal beliefs and motivations.  Great good has been done by people who believed in religions.  Great good has been done by people who proclaimed no religious faith.  Taking action that contributes positively to others is noble regardless of their personal beliefs.  Immoral behavior is wrong whether committed by an atheist or religious person.

SHOULD WE OUTLAW RELIGION?

It would be fantastic if we could stop lying to kids and terrifying them with the concept of non-existent hell for disobedience.  It could reduce the amount of warped thinkers we have in the world.  On the other hand, some of the societies that tried to be ban religions were:  Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Soviet Russia, Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, Mao’s China, or Pol Pot’s Cambodia.  Human rights were arguably never worse than with these regimes.

Few would consider the nations of these rulers to be Utopian.   Atheists often write these atrocities off by claiming that these societies operated too much like religions.  This claim is subject to debate.  What is evident to anyone who thinks rationally is that having atheists in charge isn’t automatically good.  As bad as religions can be it’s probably not a good idea to ban religions by use of force.

It would be fantastic if harmful religion weren’t taught to innocent young children who rarely have the ability to discern religious myths from facts.  Unfortunately, we live in a world where a large percentage of adults feel that non-believing children could be in danger of hell.  No legal global change is likely to happen anytime soon.  Religions should not be outlawed unless they are clearly causing physical harm to humans.

THERE ARE STILL PLACES

There are still places in the world where being an atheist is a capital offense.

There are still places in the world where dressing unlike the locals results in stoning.

There are still places in the world where there is a slave trade.

There are still places in the world where the genitals of babies are cut for religious rituals.

There are still places in the world where people starve to death.

There are still places in the world where people believe in magic.

There are places in the world where people do not have any legal rights.

There are places in the world that have virtually no economic stability.

There are places in the world where a raped woman is forced to marry her attacker.

There are places in the world where there are more sick than healthy.

There are places in the world that have no access to clean drinking water.

There are places in the world where people become hopeless too easily.

There are places in the world where people have few to no possessions.

There are places in the world where gay marriage is not up for discussion.

There are places in the world where racism is openly practiced.

There are places in the world where almost no humans live.

There are places in the world where no humans live.

There are places in the world no human has seen.

There are places in the world where people can be killed for wearing the wrong color.

There are places in the world where corruption is encouraged.

There are places in the world where laughter is a better medicine than what they have.

There are places in the world where many people die needlessly.

But I’m SURE there is an all-loving God who has a plan for everybody.

HUMANIST SERMON

I had a vision and I want you to have it too.

In the beginning is still a mystery.  The universe can’t be scientifically proven to have a Creator.  Experts argue about how old our current universe is.  The big bang theory is helpful.  But it’s not absolute truth.  It’s merely the best theory we have now.

There is no deity to help you with prayers.  You have to work to get what you want.  If you think something is worthwhile do it.  Try to enjoy the moments of your life as much as possible.

Your time is limited.  You do not have the capability to understand the truth of the universe.  Focus on what you think is most valuable.  Know that one day everything you have is going away.

The end of the world could come at any time, but not because of any prophecy in a book.  We don’t know exactly how the universe operates.  It seems logical to believe that one day in the distant future the sun will fade out. 

Nobody is able to prove any type of existence beyond physical death.  We need to value this life for what it is and try to make the most of our time.  Spend time doing what seems to matter most.  There should be no regrets for those who do.  Amen.

The world is a troubled place.  Millions of people starve every day.  Billions live in fear.  Billions live in pain and hardship.  Where can one turn to in these times of lies, deceit, and suffering?

You believe a magic being in the sky will help you?

Do yourself a favor.  Ask God to come down and perform a miracle right before a crowd of scientifically trained non-believers.  It hasn’t happened because the god you claim to believe in isn’t interested.

It’s not wise to challenge God you say?  Well, ask for a private miracle.  I’m not talking about praying for God’s will or something vague.  I mean ask for a genuine miracle that you have no doubt is real.  Again, the success rate is 0%.

You’ve never seen God.  You don’t know what it could be like.  A supernatural being is, by definition, unable to be experienced in natural reality.  That’s the only reality we actually live in.

Since I’m an agnostic I have little dogma about anything.  I don’t have a rule book.  I don’t have any way of knowing whether or not many of my beliefs are true for certain.  I don’t believe anyone else does either. 

I’m tired of Jesus fans telling me I’m going to hell because I don’t share the view that a carpenter killed himself two thousand years ago to die for my sins.

I don’t believe that a warrior named Mohammed had a revelation from God in the 600’s. I believe he was a guy who liked money, power, and women.  I don’t think any God had anything to do with his success.

I don’t believe that following the path of the Buddha will help anyone any more than meditating on the Simpsons, Sanford and Son, or Sesame Street.  Buddha never claimed to have any truths from God in the first place.  He freely admitted he was just some guy with some ideas.  I have no problem with that.  I don’t think Buddha knew the only path to enlightenment.

I don’t believe in Yahweh/Jehovah/the Jealous God of the Jews.  I don’t believe this God ever existed.  If this God is real it obviously quit caring about enforcing the rules like it did a long time ago.  When’s the last time you saw a sinner turned into a pillar of salt, get swallowed by a great fish, or be cursed with leprosy?

I don’t believe in any of the thousands of Hindu gods.  Hinduism was never strictly considered one religion until ignorant white conquerors lumped all of the gods of the Indians they considered false into one huge category.  Even with the high numbers of gods from this faith, there’s no evidence for any of them actually existing.  If you want a buffet menu of unnecessary deities, be a Hindu. 

I don’t believe in any of the ancient religions that are mostly ignored now.  If God is really Apollo, or Zeus, or Mithra, or Isis, his PR team sucks.  If the one true God is only known by a society that can’t even figure how to invent TV I’ll pass.

I don’t believe that anyone has knowledge of the one true perfect God.  Some people have religious beliefs that make them feel they are better people.  Some people act better when they believe a God is watching them.  Religion may make billions of people happier.  None of this makes any religion true.

The truth is too large to be known.  We are temporary beings who have limited collective knowledge.  The great mysteries of the universe remain mysteries for several reasons.  There are a lot of people who want to believe they have answers about the deepest questions of life.  The truth is that nobody knows for certain what the nature of reality is.

There is dispute about the nature of atoms.  There is dispute about how old our current universe is.  There is dispute about the origin of the universe.  There is dispute about how human life came to be and when.  There is great dispute about what will happen in the future.

Nobody knows the truth about God, the universe, or the nature of reality.  If you want to live a great life, take some chances to do what you think is best.  You’re probably going to be wrong sometimes.  Try to enjoy the ride.  Despite all of the pain that exists there are some amazing things in the universe.

Look at a great piece of art.  Look at a great landscape.  Spend time with interesting people.  Read a book.  Watch funny videos.  Eat a sandwich.  

In the end we’re all done for.  You’re going to die alone in a universe that is entirely indifferent to your existence.  But you can have some good times before you expire. 

How can one live the best life possible?  Nobody knows.  How can one begin to find answers?  Try to live well and see what seems best. 

Don’t ask me for definite answers about the meaning of life.  I don’t have any.  Don’t ask any holy men for definite answers because they don’t know either!  Even though you are ignorant about a lot of things and always will be you have to try to trust your own judgment to live well. 

Why not try to live the best possible life?  You may not know exactly how, but that’s no reason not to try.  There may always be some difficult obstacles.  I’ve never seen any evidence of anyone getting everything they want.

Try to live a good life and you may have some success.  If you want to improve your quality of life get better at what you think is important.  If you never try you’ll never know.  If you try you’ll never know until after it’s all over anyway. 

Do something that matters.  Live well!

REASONS FOR BEING AN AGNOSTIC OR ATHEIST

There are billions of different claims about the truth of the universe.  According to all the reason I’m capable of using, none of the truth claims I’ve encountered in my life are obviously true.  All of the belief systems I’ve encountered are highly likely to be false or incomplete in explaining the truth of the entire universe.

People who claim their religion is definitely true are definitely wrong.  Do I know with absolute certainty that I’m right and they’re wrong?  No.  Am I willing to risk my life betting that every religion I’ve ever encountered is false?  Yes.  I’d rather try to spend the only life I know I have for certain in a positive way rather than worry about the potential punishments of contradictory religious claims.

It takes faith to trust scientists.  It’s better than trusting religious charlatans.  Most of the top religious leaders know they’re involved in marketing a business.  It has to be that way. 

Atheists have greater faith than religious believers.  Atheists have enough faith to ignore the tribal superstitions they were raised with.  Atheists have enough faith to dismiss demands from invisible beings.  Atheists have enough faith in themselves to accept responsibility for their actions.  Atheists have enough faith to admit that they are making up their own moral code.  Atheists have faith that this life is worth living even if there is no afterlife.  Atheists have the faith to act decently even though there is no reward waiting for them after death.

FAITH

It isn’t necessary to have a supernatural element in life. There are enough wonders of a secular nature to fill many lifetimes. Believing in one less imaginary concept of a deity than monotheists makes sense.

Faith is not necessary when there is evidence and knowledge.  Faith is found when one has sincere belief that things will improve.  Doubt occurs when one believes things will get worse.  Many people wrestle with faith and doubt every day. 

Faith can be used to give hope in painful situations.  It can also disconnect one from reality.  Faith is helpful in a world that contains uncertainty.  Each person must decide what they have faith in by using their best judgment.

Doubt can be used to make important life changes.  Without doubt, it is impossible to question.  It is impossible to grow.  Doubt is a useful tool when one discovers they are pursuing a false path.

Faith and doubt are subject to change.  Life does not stop at any fixed point.  The way each person perceives truth is changing based on their personal perspectives. 

The main reason one should have faith is to have hope.  Hope can inspire one to live well in good times and bad times.  The main reason one should doubt is to change false beliefs.  Doubt allows people to change their minds when new evidence seems to support more accurate facts.

Each person has to figure out how to best apply faith and doubt in their own life. 

WHY RELIGION?                                                                                   

Religion too often takes the highest hopes of humanity and exploits them with the use of lies.  When enough people are instructed from youth to believe lies it leads to a type of group psychosis.  The only reasons this is not more obvious to people:

Most people are taught some religious lies beginning in early childhood.  Many adults, to some extent, believe the religious lies they are taught for life.

Many religious people are decent.  Despite the insane things their religions, manmade holy books, or lunatic sects may tell them they mostly strive to be moral.

The truth is uncertain.  If one realizes this it can be quite frightening.  Many people seem to be more comfortable choosing to believe in a God they have no proof of instead of nothing at all.

Religious institutions that claim to hold the keys to spiritual truth have caused great harm to believers, non-believers, and probably crushed a few bugs along the way too

Harm in following organized religion comes from fully trusting imperfect human authorities.  Corrupt authorities promote morally bankrupt agendas.  These agendas can lead fearful individuals to join dangerous cults. 

Nobody should feel obligated to spend their time trying to save themselves or others from a non-existent hell.  It is beyond sick to exploit the deepest hopes people have to by threatening them with a violent, vengeful God.  Overzealous religious organizations should be avoided at all costs.

The problem with religious laws is that they either often claim to set standards that are universally true, but clearly aren’t.  Or they fail to set any objective standards, and are not useful as a result.

RELIGIOUS FAITH VS. SCIENCE

Is there a way to save the world?  I don’t think so.  If there is it will be through the practice of science, not religious faith.

I see no evidence that technology will “save” humanity.  Even a casual study of history shows improvements in technology lead to longer life spans, less manual labor, and more freedom. 

Faith in concepts that are almost assuredly false, like religions, is unwise.  I searched for the truth in religions.  That did not work.  I searched for the truth in philosophy.  I did not find answers, only more questions.  I searched for the truth by trying to live vividly.  I did not find the total truth of the universe, but I was able to live well.

PROBLEMS WITH CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

Religious folks often believe vulgar non-sense.  It is fine if others believe and leave me alone.  My words are meant for people who intend to do harm to others in the name of religion.  I believe that is many Christians and Muslims.

Religions tend not to show respect to other faiths because it is bad for business.  They cooperate as much as is called for in regards to their own group’s interests.  At least until they have enough power to drastically reduce, or eliminate the opposition.  While there are some notable exceptions, (Baha’i’s, Quakers, Zoroastrians, Jains, etc.) individuals who proclaim faith in Christianity and Islam have consistently waged wars. 

Why do Christians and Muslims tend to initiate wars?  Because they believe that their way is the only truth.  They have Holy Scriptures with passages commanding believers to kill in the name of God.  Most individual Christians just ignore those passages in the present day because they don’t read The Bible and it makes them uncomfortable.  Some individual Muslims ignore violent commands too.  Some Muslims actually believe what the Koran says.   It says that violence for Allah is fine.

The nature of Christianity and Islam is to win converts to the absolute true way of God.  Both Christianity and Islam teach that there is an everlasting hell and those who do not believe in the true God will spend eternity there.  If Christians and Muslims believe this, they’d spend their lives trying to save fellow humans from the tortures of eternal damnation.  Most Christians and Muslims do not. 

Most Christians and Muslims who spend their lives trying to convert people are either wicked hypocrites or dangerous zealots.  The world does not need hypocritical Muslims and Christians.  The world does not need overzealous Muslims and Christians.  The world would be better off without Islam and Christianity.

I admit, there are millions, if not billions, of Christians and Muslims who lead decent lives.  They are decent because they ignore the terrible instructions of their religions.  They only pay attention to the parts of holy texts that they think make them better people.  While there are admirable people who are religious, they don’t need religion to make them better.  They are better people, despite being associated with lunatics of the same faith.  I hope all the good people involved with Islam and Christianity continue to ignore their useless holy books and embrace compassion further.

CAN I PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BEING RELIGIOUS?

I don’t believe I’m capable of stopping any adult from practicing their religious beliefs.  I believe I’m capable of pointing out to others my reasons for believing that religions are non-sense.

Many good people have nothing to do with religion.  Being a decent person is based on individual behavior.  Even the most revered people have flaws.  Even some of the worst people usually have some small amount of human decency.  Values are not something that can be proven to be right.  Each person lives uniquely and must make decisions about living for themselves.

I don’t believe in any particular gods.  Yet I believe that rape, murder, and torture are morally wrong.  How do I arrive at these conclusions?  I believe that rape is wrong because it brings tremendous suffering to physically force another human being to engage in undesired sex.  I believe murder is wrong because I feel that human life has value and it is wrong to take the life of another without just cause.  I believe that torture is wrong because I feel it is unethical to force physical suffering on another human being.

Raising relevant questions about God, faith, and religions can point out the absurdities many people claim to believe in.  For example:

If anyone believes they have the power of all-mighty God of the universe on their side why do they:

Allow anyone to suffer unnecessarily?

Refuse to heal all the sick of the world?

Allow anyone to experience death?

Allow anyone to experience illness?

Allow anyone to suffer?

Refuse to perform miracles for those who can’t believe due to lack of evidence?

Struggle to live well just like the non-believers?

Work jobs they hate?

Get sick?

Have difficulties with money?

Have difficulties with relationships?

Admit that they know so little?

Prove to be unable to know the answers to questions that plague many of us?

HOW DID THE UNIVERSE BEGIN?

Nobody is certain.  Scientific evidence leads one to believe our current universe came into existence through a “big bang.”  This is the most widely accepted theory, but does not provide a completely accurate detailed explanation that is universally accepted.  Many people believe in a deity or higher spiritual force that formed everything in reality.  This is an even more widely accepted theory, but not necessarily a fact.

There are tons of patterns that can be observed in the universe.  I don’t think any scientist, or any human being with even a meager amount of intelligence denies this.  The fault with intelligent design is that it states there is a designer who also designed itself- or simply always was.  That’s no different than their claim that evolutionists claim that “something came from nothing.”

“You evilutionists claim that the whole universe was created from nothing!  That’s absurd!”

“But you do the same thing with God- or whatever hocus-pocus name you call the designer.  The real question: Is there any specific evidence of a particular designer?  Of course there is not.  There are a bunch of religious fairy tales, and a lot of science fiction.”

Is faith important? 

For some people their faith is the most valuable part of their lives.  For others it is more enjoyable and practical to live for concrete measurable objects that require minimal faith.  Most things that are considered valuable by people can’t be fully explained by logic. 

Faith is important when it gives people higher amounts of hope and peace.  The value of faith is highly dependent on what one is placing faith in.  It is not of any great importance to have faith that a blade of grass will not bring death upon any person who steps on it.  Any ordinary blade of grass will do no serious harm to people. 

When one believes in what they do they can be satisfied.  If one can’t have faith in the choices they make, it is likely that they feel trapped in confusion.  Having faith in the right types of things in an uncertain reality is important.

THE HOPE OF A NON-BELIEVER

Atheists and theists both live by faith.  Neither claim to have full knowledge about the truths of the universe.  Few honest individuals on either side would make such an absurd claim.  Atheists and theists reach quite different conclusions about the ultimate source of reality. 

Atheists have faith that this life is the only life.

Agnostics live by faith as well.  At least, agnostics have enough faith to believe that life is worth living despite lacking definite answers about the nature of reality.  Agnostics place their faith in numerous sources.  The only shared principle of agnostics is admitting uncertainty about reality.  I believe that most honest, sane, and moral atheists will admit the same.  I believe that most honest, sane, and moral religious believers will do so as well.

The real question in determining which camp an individual belongs to: Considering the lack of total truth I possess, where should I place my faith?  Atheists feel there is no evidence that supports a divine creator.  They lack faith in any god, and believe that it is best to proclaim a disbelief in the supernatural.  Religious believers feel there is enough evidence to support the existence of some type of deity.  They place their faith in particular deities.

Agnostics admit that they do not know what to believe.  They suspend judgment about the final answer to any questions about gods.  Certain agnostics believe it is highly likely that a god exists.  Other agnostics believe it is almost certain that there is no god. 

I’ve heard some religious people state that life without God would be meaningless.  I find this to be an absurd notion.  There is no proof that God exists.  But assuming a God does exist, it does not automatically make life meaningful.  To a theist who believes in heaven and hell, this life is merely a brief test to determine where one spends eternity.  120 years or less means nothing compared to eternity.  This life is literally meaningless. 

But to a non-believer, this life is all they will ever have.  That literally means everything.  This life is extremely meaningful to freethinkers.  It is the theist who believes in eternal paradise or torment who feels this life is rather unimportant compared to forever.  But eternal life is not a fact.

Whether there is a purpose to life or not can be disputed.  Many different people offer many different ideas about what the meaning of life is.  But none can be proven to be absolutely correct for every single person.

Since there is no evidence of God, believers in God create their own justifications as to why the God they believe in provides a meaning to life.  A non-believer can create their own justifications just as easily without a God.

LIFE AFTER DEATH

Facts about life after death are slim to none.  The physical body demises eventually after death.  One should be concerned about living the best life possible.  It is valuable to live well in the life we know exists.

It’d be nice to know you could live in paradise for all eternity.  It would make this life pointless though.  Why stick around a universe that can be painful if you know you could be experiencing eternal paradise?

Why do people fear God and death? Fear of the unknown.  What if I am wrong?  If I am wrong, who knows?   There is no use worrying about God.   Worrying about death is probably a reality for most.  For healthy people, it is not wise to spend vibrant years overly concerned about death.  Live well now. 

TRUST YOURSELF IN AN UNKNOWN REALITY

There is no guaranteed way to live well.  Each person has to try to do what they believe is best in the universe.  They have to take chances to try to live the best life they believe is possible.  They have to accept that unpredictable elements of the universe can have an impact on their plans at any given moment.  They have to choose how they respond to what the universe offers.

People who believe in God rarely depend on God to lift their fork for them.  They do it themselves!  People who believe the universe is on their side still breathe due to their own efforts.  Just because people believe the forces of God or the universe may be on their side, it does not mean that they depend on these sources for anything directly.  Nearly all people depend on themselves to live well.  Most honest people admit this.  If you want to live with integrity, take responsibility for yourself instead of attributing anything to invisible deities.  Humanity might be better off for it.