So the argument starts out with something basic, no one knows everything. Then, if no one knows everything then how can anyone say there is no god. I would agree with that being illogical IF that was what being an atheist meant, but it doesn’t. All atheism means is lack of belief OR no belief in a god. It doesn’t mean you’re not open to there being one. Atheism is broken down into what’s called weak and strong atheism. Strong atheism is what this argument pertains to, which is believing without any doubt there is no god. While weak atheism believes there is no god but is open to being wrong or mistaken. Another term for weak atheism is agnostic atheism. Both terms, as far as I can tell, are fine to use interchangeably.

So if you ever hear people thinking all atheists aren’t open to being wrong about there being a god, just explain to them that many actually are…they simply need a reason to believe.

“Be skeptical but not cynical,  open-minded but not gullible. “

Ever since I read that one sentence, I knew that is how I’m going to look at everything in the world.  It rang as the most well balanced way of thought so that you reduce the likelihood of being mislead and avoid a  bias that could cause you to  miss something important.   Until I come across an even better way of putting it, this sentence is what I’m going to live by until the day I die.  I hope that maybe it will touch a few other people as well.

Reporter Robert I. Sherman of American Atheist news journal starts.

SHERMAN:  What will you do to win the votes of the Americans who are atheists?

BUSH:  I guess I’m pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in god is important to me.

SHERMAN:  Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?

BUSH:  No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

So there’s an example of an ex-president saying those who aren’t religious aren’t citizens, nor can they be considered patriots.  So in his mind, if  you don’t believe in a god, you don’t deserve basic rights and who knows what else he means by that.  I have to ask he would want “godless” people to leave the country since he already believes they aren’t citizens of the country.  Did he miss the first amendment of the US Constitution that says,

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Of course almost everyone knows about this amendment and understands that the government can’t support a religion or religious activity, but there’s also more that conflicts with what Bush said and the idea the US being a “Christian nation”.  Look at article six of the US Constitution.

Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

So if this is a “Christian nation”, a theocracy, then why is there not only a separation of religion and state, but also no religious expectations for serving in a government position?  Wouldn’t you think a Christian nation would be tightly woven with, well, Christianity?  Wouldn’t there be in the US Constitution, if this is a “Christian nation”, something along the lines of “Congress will make laws respecting Christianity” or perhaps something acknowledging Christianity as a religion to support.  But there isn’t.   Also wouldn’t there be an expectation for a person to be a Christian to serve in office for a “Christian nation”?  But there isn’t.

Also, if this is a Christian nation, then why are there  so many laws allowing behavior that’s opposed by Christianity?

• Divorce
• Adultery
• Premarital Sex
• Homosexual Sex
• Drunkenness (just not in public)
• Immodesty (especially think of strip clubs)
• Prostitution (in certain places)
• Lying (just not while under oath)
• Free to do what you want on the Sabbath
• Burn Bibles
• Take God’s name in vain
• Worship something other than “god”
• And I’m sure there’s even more…

Just think of the ten commandments.   Only two, shall not kill and not steal, are illegal.  That’s it.  Eight out of ten commandments are completely legal in this supposed “Christian Nation”.  (Well, some may be able to argue “honor your mother and father” as possibly legally required in some ways.)

So there you have it.  A country who’s laws can’t respect an established religion, can’t have a religious requirement for office, and has numerous laws that are blatantly against Christianity…but STILL there are people completely disillusioned in believing that his wonderful country, built around amazing freedoms, is a “Christian nation”.   To these people who believe this, calm down and realize your particular religion isn’t the center everyone else’s lives.

As promised, the video of Sarah Palin making her ignorant declaration that the US is a Christian Nation.

1. What are ghosts supposedly made of?
2. Why are ghosts seen in pictures and fleetingly in person only at certain times but not constantly seen?
3. How can these things move objects and effect them if they no longer have a physical body?
4. Why are ghosts represented in the media in so many different forms?  For instance shadows, glowing globes, transparent outlines, and solid outlines.  Why isn’t there any consistency?
5. How can humans “sense” ghosts? What supposedly sensory do we have that causes us to get those ominous feelings that make so many people believe there’s a ghost nearby?
6. With so many people who have died, why aren’t we constantly seeing ghosts?
7. Why hasn’t someone trapped a ghost to be studied?
8. Since ghosts can be seen, do they produce light or reflect it?
9. Are ghosts affected by gravity? If they aren’t, then are many floating about in space exploring strange new worlds and civilizations?

These are just a few questions I have dealing with ghosts.  I’m sure there are people who can give there own opinion on some, but no matter what I find the whole thing a bit hard to swallow.  I will admit I’ll leave a very small possibility to there being ghosts, just a very small one.  I give it a more likelihood to being true if someone can capture a ghost that I can see and interact with.  That would be a start, but there are still other things I’d need, like proof this thing isn’t an illusion and the ghost was that of a person who actually lived, then died.  I’m sure there are even more concerns I’d have if someone could fulfill those, but I doubt anyone could even do what I suggested for proof.

I’m completely for there being a Day of Prayer.  It can even continue being May 6^th.  I have no problems with people praying if they want to and organizing a specific day focused on that, it’s your time and you can do as you wish.  My only problem is the government encouraging or endorsing religious activity. 

I personally believe the government should be neutral when it comes to religion, just completely have no involvement in such things.  People should be able to decide how they want to be religious, spiritual, or neither, and then they should be able to explore that as they wish just so long as it doesn’t infringe on other people’s rights. 

Now there are those who say that the United States is a Christian nation.  Maybe it was at some point, or even maybe it is now.  But, times do change and the government should change with it.  There are also a lot of literature that suggests that this country has always been built around the idea of being secular.  Whether it has always been or not, the main thing is it should be a secular government now. 

 There are so many Americans that have problems with there being Islamic nations, so why do the same here but with Christianity?  Shouldn’t we have the freedom to live as we wish without pressure from the government to be religious in certain ways. 

So as an atheist, let me ask this question.  How would you feel if the government endorsed not working at all on Saturday due to it being the Sabbath?  Or how about if the government endorsed not eating “unclean” foods?  These wouldn’t be required, but endorsed.  Would that bother you that the government is even involved in such religious acts? 

I’m not sure when it happened, or how, but one day I said “forget it, I’m going to be as open about it like anything else.”  So I posted it on Facebook under my religion and then spoke about it openly in conversations with everyone.  I was genuinely surprised about how well people at work and places I hung out handled it.  Most even seemed to understand how I came to my opinions on religion and the like.

Now when I say most seemed to be understanding, there have been only a couple times when people were taken back by me saying I’m an atheist.  I can only think of two really.  The main one happened while at work when the subject somehow went to Facebook and I jokingly told a coworker that my mother found out I’m an atheist through what was said next to religion.  Now this is actually true, I didn’t tell my mother about it, she discovered it that way.  But, when my coworker heard me say I’m an atheist, she immediately got worked up and ranted about, “I know there is a god!”  I put my hands up in “calm down” manner and said, “Hey that’s great that you know that so confidently. I’ve just personally never had anything to persuade me.”  She said repeated herself a few more times and that was the end of it.  Lets just say we never talked about that ever again.

The other time that it didn’t go nicely when someone found out I was an atheist was when my mother found out.  It probably had to do with how she found out, but I’ll save the story for another time.  I can say though that everything if perfectly fine now and her love for me hasn’t changed a bit. 

So, except for that situation and my mom, it has been pretty easy to be open with people I know about my atheistic beliefs.  And let me say, it feels great to be honest with others about yourself.  Hiding basic things like that, wondering how people will treat you if they found out,  can be really wear down your self-esteem and confidence.  So, if you’ve been keeping this to yourself, consider the idea of being open about like I have.  You’ll probably be surprised how it’ll go. 

The house I grew up in never had anyone die in it and growing up I heard the occasional noise that I didn’t know what the cause of it was, but I didn’t think there were undead spirits about. Going from, not knowing what the sound is, to it must be a ghost, is skipping over some pretty basic logical reasoning. Isn’t it more likely that it’s a sound created by the house itself?

Think of how many hundreds of pounds of timber it takes to build a home that’s nailed together and slightly shifts due to wind and its own weight. Wood like that creaks occasionally. Also be honest with yourself, you’re most likely not the only natural living creature in the building. There are insects and maybe even very small mammals like mice. Air conditioners, water heaters, and other common units in the building can make noises at times as well, especially if they are old. Those noises can travel through the air ducts and piping.

Putting aside the humorous aspect of people jumping over a creak, there is one thing about the show I don’t find funny. During the show, the producers have put in music with the sole purpose of make things seem eerie and mysterious.  Some may say it’s there just to make it more entertaining, but if you really listen to the music you’ll find that it’s most likely there to give you a foreboding feeling. I personally can’t stand that.  They know that without the music people wouldn’t find what happens as interesting or take it as seriously.  If something is actually “spooky” in the first place, then there’s no need for music.

Lastly, remember that you’re only seeing small clippets from the entire experience these people had while making that episode of the show.  For instance, in the episode of ‘Ghost Hunters’ I saw, they were probably in that hotel for at least four hours.  Four hours, remember that number.  The show is forty minutes because of all the advertisements.  Then there’s even less time of the show to show you any “spooky” things due to the introduction of where they are going which includes the history of the place, the “investigation” of the recorded “evidence” after they have left, and telling the owners what they have found.  The actual footage of them in the building is not that much and even most of that is them setting up equipment and talking.  What you have left is an actually very small amount of time being showed to you of that four hour period of anything “odd” happening. 

One little test I would love to try is find an old home where it can be confirmed that no one has died in it and there was no ancient Indian burial ground under it before it was built, then bring in those people from ‘Ghost Hunters’.  Tell them some kind of story that people have died in the house.  Then let them loose to do their “investigation”.  At the end, when they come back with their “evidence” of unknown noises and maybe a shadow being seen for second, tell them that no one has ever died there.  Then, just watch their faces as they process that information.

I found the video at http://www.irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=1708

In case you’re interested, the record for most spoons being rested on the face is 16 set by Joe Allison. See picture below the video to see Joe.

Joe Allison with 16 spoons on his face.

“Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.”[1]

I’m perfectly fine with people believing that people should be dressed in a particular way, but I’m not okay with spreading nonsense that can inadvertently cause people to violent lash out at others because of it. What do you think is going to happen to some women who dress less modestly after a major earthquake that causes mass deaths? People hearing that message about women dressing in that manner causing it could be at serious risk of retaliation for something they didn’t cause.

What’s saddening is how there’s very little that can be done to correct what was said by the cleric. It’s unlikely he will listen to a seismologist about what really causes earthquakes.

It reminds me a bit about how people in the past use to think that anything bad that happened to someone that was caused by nature was done purposely by God as punishment. When Benjamin Franklin was trying to convince people to use lightning rods to avoid their homes from being damaged by lightning, people actually thought they shouldn’t worry because it was controlled by God. If your home was struck by lightning, it was on purposeful and because you were a “bad person”. Of course now most people don’t think that, but still apparently similar superstitions exist else where. Hopefully in time and with improved education these sorts of misinformation will be corrected.

On a more funny note, I saw an news anchor say something that caught my attention and I thought was quite funny. Reza Sayah wish CNN said,

“…Does this theory apply to the entire world or is it just exclusive for Iran? Because if it does apply to the entire world then I would be flashing a news banner right now and warn everyone in Las Vegas to head down to the shelters because Las Vegas is in deep trouble…” [2]

References:

1.  http://www.irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=1795 - IranNegah
2. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/04/21/nr.sayah.iran.women.quake.cnn?iref=allsearch - CNN Video