Two Versions Of Boom

Believers will tell you a superior and supernatural being created life as we know it by poofing it all into existence at his whim. From nothing to something, every day until he was done. But scientists are crazy because a huge explosion was the cause for the existence of our universe.

Scientists will tell you the best possible explanation that we have to date is the big bang happened. Visually conceptualized, from virtually nothing to something into our current understanding of the universe. But believers are crazy because they think a supernatural being just whipped up the existence of life as we know it out of thin air.

Highlighting the meaning of this concept is clearly one minuscule part of the much larger argument, but it is an irritant for me. Forgive me my OCDs. If we look at these examples, side by side, religion and science seem to agree to the origin (nothing into something) even though each perspective would tell us the how and the why are different. So my point is - let's stop arguing about that particular point! If the explanation for both sides is that our existence got here from nothing, it would seem to me we all (believer, non-believer, scientist or layman) agree to this concept of our beginning.

BOOM... there it is.

Cotton Ball Happiness

Ryan McGinty

Every time I look up into the sky and see beautiful sunshine filtering through and around white fluffy clouds it sets a tone in my mind that pretty closely resembles ease, peace and harmony. I'm not sure if it's the sun or the majestic beauty of the clouds layering above the gorgeous nature below it.

There really is nothing else to do but smile and go.... Ahhhhh!

I've Got Better Things To Do

iamlostandfound.wordpress.com

When we look at the animal kingdom or plant life, none of it worships anything. The driving force for them is simply to exist, they only desire to stay alive and ensure the next generation.  That would be ours as well, but the difference is that we as humans also have the ability to create a life that we enjoy while we are staying alive and procreating.

So do plants and animals think they have a creator? No, they don't think anything, they are only driven by instincts.

That then begs the question - why would some of us here think we humans should believe there is a creator worthy of being worshiped? Easy bullet point answers immediately come to mind - indoctrinated as children, social structures bringing them into a feeling of community, not wanting to feel out of place or odd man out in the crowd, experience of trauma and saved by a religious community... just to name the obvious. These situations can all lead to feelings of compliance and one of let's 'follow the leader' just because of the individual experiences the people had. This is the set up for worshiping someone or something. Because who wants to stray from the one thing or person that gave them comfort or continual care during their time of need? Throw in a little fear of what will happen if they are not compliant and there is the recipe for ownership by a creator. It is all about emotions during the experiences that are thrust on them. From this it is hard to escape when those involved want to so desperately to fit in and maintain that level of comfort they've come to rely on.

When we look at things realistically and without the influence of religion, we are all just part of the natural process of life. Every time an egg and a sperm get together fertilization ensues in about 70% of couplings and voila! potential humans are created and brought to term. Once that whole process is complete and life outside the womb begins, our individual goal is ultimately to just have the best possible life; our comfort level and our quality of life being of utmost importance until the very end.

Choosing to believe in a creator that needs worshiping does not mean that all humans turn out the same way or have predictable and easy lives. Those controlling the people would like that to be the case, but even with the restrictions and guidelines for godliness in place, there are deviations from the plan... frequently. Of course there would be because every life experience is different, each encounter with other human beings and situations influences decisions made and creates many potential outcomes. Religion can't control everything, it would like to think it can but it can't.

But imagine what a different world we would live in if what we produced weren't just mindless robots programmed to function according to someone else's idea of what a full life should be. We'd be raising potential adults that are taught to let life be a teacher with many lessons, allowing those experiences to fully engage them, and letting them learn and absorb those experiences in awe and wonder. Allowing them to consistently question everything for themselves rather than just shutting down their minds from understanding the world around them.... oh what a world it would be! Teaching our spawn to be self-reliant, ever questioning and in control of their own destiny... yes, that would result in a much different dynamic. I predict we'd live in a world with a whole lot less fear and more of a sense of adventure and wonder at what is just around the corner.

Further, we would not automatically think we needed someone or something to worship because we would depend on ourselves and our knowledge to propel us forward. Fully participating in our own life would keep us on our toes and reliant on ourselves at all times. We would, in essence, be the ones we'd look to for comfort and reassurance. We are connected to this world and most importantly, we'd feel acceptance and belonging because of the shared experience. There would be no need to look outside ourselves for something to make us feel whole. Worshiping something or someone wouldn't be necessary, nor would we have time for it as our lives would be full of following our dreams and desires. Who would want to spin their wheels glorifying someone or something else when the things you do for yourself give you the satisfaction to engage even further and deeper into the experiences of your own life? Who needs a god when what you possess yourself instinctively and determinedly can take you places that only requires that you are engaged?

Frankly spoken, what a waste of your time to devote it to the worshiping of another. You should be inspired by those who possess skills you don't have, learn things from others who have insights to share, even admire others for talents you wish you had, but to idolize or worship someone just because they are allegedly greater than you... NO! Every person has value and every one's value is different, worshiping someone else is negating the value that you yourself have. That is just stupid and in my opinion, it is just wrong to ever let someone feel like that.

Personally, I'd rather vomit than worship anyone, specifically a man-made god created solely for the purpose of controlling others. Do yourself a favor, go do something meaningful or fulfilling with your life... do anything that doesn't require giving up on what you have to offer or what you want to bring to this world. Your value sky rockets when you give yourself permission to believe in yourself.

"Sex and God" Book Raffle

 

We are celebrating the upcoming

National Sex Day!

Won't you join us on June 9th?

Entries for the raffle will be accepted for Darrel Ray's "Sex and God" Book starting today and will end June 6, 2012 at 9PM EST. The live drawing will be held June 9, 2012 at 9PM EST.

Prizes will be as follows: 

• 1st Place:   A signed copy of Darrel Ray's "Sex and God" Book
                    #11 in the 15 copies held back from the first printing   
• 2nd - 5th Place:   Your choice of one of four different Tezzles

The cost for the entries will be:

•  $1 for 1 Chance
•  $5 for 6 Chances
• $10 for 15 Chances   

Winners will be drawn and broadcast live via Ustream at 9PM EST on June 9, 2012. Details to be announced as it gets closer. The entries will be determined from the donations made to WePay.com account and/or to the Paypal account, printed out and shuffled in a bucket prior to the drawing for all prizes.

It is the responsibility of all entering to provide proper contact information. Winners will be contacted by myself and have 72 hours to respond. If no response is received, a new winner will be drawn and the process repeated until all prizes are claimed (we will only do the live drawing once. In the event of no response from the winners, the subsequent drawings will be done off camera). Redrawn winners will be notified by phone and email.

Winners MUST BE Members of the National Atheist Party having filled out the NAP "Roll Call" and members of their respective State's Chapter. All winners must be at least 18 years of age or older with valid ID.

All NAP members having filled out the "Roll Call" (EXCEPT Executive Board Members) are eligible.

IMPORTANT! We prefer you use the WePay.com donate button, but if you donate through Paypal, PLEASE specify your donation is for the "Sex and God" Book Raffle in the "notes" in order to make sure to be entered!!!

Thank you all very much! Enter often, GOOD LUCK to you and have a SEXY day! :)

Susi Bocks
Executive Assistant to the President/Fundraising Committee Member
National Atheist Party

We're Still Here

It is now exactly the end of October 21, 2011 in my time zone and guess what?!?!?! We're ALL STILL HERE!

Deviant Art

I'm sure this came as a big bag of disappointment to some people. End of the world as we know it or  the mass evacuation of good souls all over the world... it just didn't happen... again. DUH!!! Of course it didn't happen. Rational and reasonable people knew that, as well as the smug-smile-on-their-face christians who quoted Mark 13:32; no one will ever know the exact date of the end of the earth. It may come one of these days, but my guess, unless someone pushes the big red button and releases launch codes of all the nuclear missiles... it's not going to happen for a very long time.

The Rapture

Silly people, rapture is for con artists who want to take advantage of you because you have 'blind faith'. They know how gullible you are and understand you weren't taught to think for yourselves. I do hope that you've learned a valuable lesson and that it will kick-start your brain into functioning as it was intended to. But if it doesn't and you continue to just fall for crap like this, please understand that there are potentially serious consequences for not using logic and reason in your thinking.

That also goes for those people who think that Harold Campings' only mistake was in assuming that he could predict the eventual rapture you think IS coming. Being rational, questioning things that don't make sense, understanding the real world and admitting that you don't have all the answers is a lot more honest and real than believing in a supernatural being for which there is absolutely no proof for beyond the indoctrination you received, the blind faith you accept whilst parking your thinking skills to the curb, the fear of retribution you think you'll receive for not being a good little follower or the salvation you dream of experiencing at the end of your days. Being rational, using logic and reason; those things are not evil, they are highly recommended in this thing we call reality.

There's No Plan

This piece started out with me wanting to define god's plan. Reading one thing after another, after another, after another of other people's definition of what that is, I stopped wanting to write about it. Reading the many variations just made me realize that I don't want to define it, try to understand it or even set in motion something to talk about that would in any way give any religionist an excuse to defend it. So, in other words, who cares about god's plan? Not me. Because, seriously, it's not logical that there is one plan based on the different themes that are out there. It's just whatever the flavor or interpretation of that particular faith is.

I know that I always debate people about their beliefs but today, I'm not willing to have a discussion of understanding what god had intended. I don't believe in god, so why would I try to even fathom what that made up person had in mind for us? No, the theme today is reality.

Why do we, those who oppose the idea of a supernatural being, always try to discredit him and his practices? An atheist's stance always has been to focus on reality, maybe that's what we should be speaking about. If making sense is why we choose not to believe because the whole supernatural thing doesn't, then let's choose to only talk about life in terms that do just that. 

Concentrating on living the life that we think it is and what we want it to be should be a priority, right? Considering that life is a journey that changes with each new experience, I would think that anybodies plan ultimately should be about ensuring that the life we live with all its changes, as well as its stable periods and every situation in between, should be as enjoyable and smooth, but as exhilarating as it can be.

Along the way, nature and the society in which we live that life throws us curves that can make or break us. Comfort and resolution, at those times, is what we crave but don't necessarily get. What is the next step, how do we fix things, why does it have to hurt so bad? Those uncertainties or unanswered questions should logically drive us in the direction of resolution but not always. Sometimes we get trapped in the cycle of bad chemistry combined with bad choices but also, in situations that are beyond our ability to rectify. Not learning how to rationally handle those situations that are within our power to handle, can stop us from progressing to the next level of understanding and moving beyond it.

A person who does not rely on a spectre up in the sky to handle those moments in life that are fraught with crisis has to think about the next step, evaluate the reality of his or her situation and then determine what the next best solution is to handling their crappy reality. The only progress that can be made is with the determination to change the outcome of the current situation. Even and especially those that are in potentially life-threatening situations.

It sounds so easy to just put it out there like that, like I've got all the answers. I don't. Especially when I know that we have all had situations in our lives where commanding oneself to do the rational or sane thing is incredibly difficult and seemingly impossible. Intense emotions are powerful expressions of the reaction to those situations in our lives that bring us to our knees. Experiencing them can intensify whatever the situation may be and deny us the rational thought it might take to get a handle on the situation that is going out of control.

Many situations also require intervention of a medical kind because, at times, imbalances in our brain chemicals create a whole host of other physical situations that just 'facing' reality do not solve. For all the rationale I possess myself, I could be one situation away from a nervous breakdown. We are complicated machines with a rationally functioning brain that also performs millions of chemical interactions on a daily basis that can change the outcome of how we use that brain.

Aside from an imbalance that impedes our ability to see our situations exactly as they are, reality isn't really all that scary. It just is as it represents itself. No expectations that it would be any different than how it appears to me. When I look out the window, the sun in shining, birds are chirping and the wind is blowing through my window and eliciting a favorable response for just 'being' what it is.

The child in the picture below has the opposite reality, one of desperate living conditions and a quality of life that is obviously a hardship. This child's reality is certainly an emotion-evoking situation for me, but again, this picture is of a child who is starving. Does this stir me to action, yes, but does my reaction to it change his or her reality, no.This is one of those situations that would be hard for the average innocent, vulnerable child to just turn-around using logic and rationale because the factors contributing to this are out of its control. Yet, it is a reality, one that I, as a rational thinking person could, upon seeing the problem, rationally come up with a solution to end this suffering.

picture compliments of jesus-is-savior.com

This is what living in reality means. You accept the horrors, as well as the beauty of it and you live with it, through it and because of it. It just is. The emotions that come with it shouldn't change your perspective of it, but serve to enhance it or motivate you to change the circumstances that are adding to your dissatisfaction or downright discomfort because of it.