Mailbag: Hopeful Afterlife

The mail I receive is generally either friendly or "burn in hell" type messages. This one, though, I thought was interesting enough for a post (I'm not sure if it's in response to this morning's request). Celina writes:

dont you want an afterlife? all you have to do is accept the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and He will embrace you in Heaven. why wouldnt you want to go to Heaven and spend an eternity in bliss? isnt that worth beleiving in?

No matter how much I may hope something is true, the only things worth believing in are those things for which there are good reasons. On the Christian Heaven, though, I don't necessarily believe that it's a place I would even want to go to. The details of it are obscure:

1. What would I do everyday?
   
2. Would I remember those I loved in this life who are now suffering eternally in Hell?
   
3. Would sleep be required?
   
4. Would I be endowed with the knowledge of the universe?
   
5. Would there still be crime and, if so, what types of crime?
   
6. Would I be the same person?
   

The details of Heaven that I do know, though, lead me not to want to spend an eternity there:

1. I, presumably, would have to follow the laws of the Bible (slavery anyone?).
   
2. I would have to spend an eternity there. I don't know if I would want to spend an eternity anywhere.
   
3. I would be surrounded by people who had surrendered rational beliefs in this life. That means I would be with the likes of Ray Comfort, but Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Benjamin Franklin, and countless others would not be there.
   
4. Many of my friends are atheists, since I am now involved in atheist groups, so I wouldn't have them there with me.
   
5. I would have an eternity with this God fellow. If he's the miserable, vainglorious ogre that he is portrayed as in the Bible, being around him would be anything but bliss.
   

So, from what I can tell, I wouldn't want to spend an eternity in Heaven as it wouldn't be bliss. If the only other alternative is spending eternity in Hell, well, I guess I would choose Heaven. But that's sort of like asking if I would rather have both my legs broken or to be kicked in the groin several times.

If I could get something like Create-Your-Own-Heaven^™ software, I would design something along the lines of:

1. First and foremost, the ability to die if I so choose.
   
2. I would be exactly the same person that I am now and with exactly the same knowledge. I would have some superior form of body, though, especially a computer-like brain.
   
3. I would have all the necessary essentials and some luxuries automatically provided for so that I can spend all my times pursuing my own interests. Any study or educational materials would be automatically provided for as well.
   
4. Most of everyone would be there, but I would be able to choose who I do and do not see.
   
5. The surrounding would be much of what they are now, except all the maintenance and construction are automatically done. There's also anarchy as there is no need for government anymore.

I think that covers the basics of it. I could spend eternity learning all sorts of new things. I could study every field of knowledge and eventually unlock the secrets of the universe myself. God would just be like the Hint button when you get stuck on something. I would also be able to reminisce and visit with any person in history, including every Founder of America and every great scientist.

Oh, and there would also be some sort of time machine available to view any segment of history (with no ability to change it). How wonderful would it be to watch the evolution of the universe in accelerated speed? At a million years per second, it would be the greatest four hour movie ever viewed.

But still with this wonderful afterlife that I hope for, I cannot believe it exists. I would love for it to exist, but there's no good reason to believe in it any more than believing the mail man will show up Monday and deliver a package to me that contains a sizeable diamond in it.

Christians: Convince Me

This request is open to all religions, though specifically to the Christians who read this blog. Post your response as a comment, anonymous comment, or email me at disco.igno@gmail.com. Whatever you submit, I will make a post on it and what I think about it. This is your chance to convince me or at least find out why I think whatever your reason or evidence is is not credible.

The prompt is simple:

What reason is there to believe in the authenticity of the Bible, its message, and/or Christianity?

You can submit any claim that you like; whatever you find convincing. It cannot be an argument "against atheism" as that bears no weight on the validity of Christianity -- atheism is simply the lack of belief. I am asking for any reason or evidence to warrant a belief.

Some reasons or evidence that qualify for submission could include historicity of Jesus, authenticity of the Bible, historical arguments for the Bible, revelations, anecdotes, empirical evidence, studies, etc. You should keep in mind that these aren't necessary credible, but examples that go towards reasons or evidence for Christianity.

Some reasons or evidence that do not qualify for submission include arguments for the existence of a Deistic God (one who created the universe and left it alone) as it does not go towards Christianity, but rather Deism. Arguments such as "you need to accept Jesus to wash your sins away" or anything along that line -- I want arguments for Jesus and the Bible, not arguments from Jesus and the Bible.


Keep in mind that I will consider how your reasons and evidence apply to both Christianity and other religions. I want to be convinced of Christianity, not of Deism or evidence that can be used for any religion.

Those are the ground rules. I look forward to your submissions.

$25, If You Prove Gravity

As I have already exposed gravity as the fraud that it is, I see no reason to post on it further. I am a rational individual, though, which is more than I can say about the dogmatic Newtonists. So, I feel compelled to offer a small prize to force them to inspect their beliefs.

I am but a senior in college with a web development business. I do not exploit my followers for large sums of money, pay myself from my ministry in excess of $100,000, and do not own a home worth a quarter of a million dollars (which is more than I can say for Ray Comfort).

As such, I cannot offer a $10,000 prize like Ray Comfort and, since I have the integrity to back mine up with actual cash even though no one can prove something as nonexistent as gravity (or unicorns), I am offering a prize of $25 to anyone who can give any empirical evidence (scientific proof) for gravity*. My $25 offer demonstrates that the hypothesis of gravity is nothing more than a religious belief. It may be a paltry sum, but if gravity is as obvious as the believers in the theory tale of gravity claim that it is, it should be a quick buck.



* NOTE: When I use the word gravity, I am not referring to the minor attractions of various things on the Earth to the Earth (microgravity via The Flying Spaghetti Monster's noodley appendage). I am referring to the general theory of gravity (Newtonism) which believes these five major events take place without the Flying Spaghetti Monster:

1. All matter and energy gravitated itself into existence.
2. The Big Bang created gravity.
3. Every object, including dogs and kittens, have gravitational orbits around them.
4. The Moon is on a crash course towards Earth -- since Earth supposedly has a gravitational pull on the Moon.
5. A bowling ball and a feather can be dropped from the top of a building at the same time and hit the ground at the same time.



P.S. Oh, and sorry Newtonists. No articles of faith will be accepted, so no submissions of "just believe" will be accepted. To quote the great Dr. Comfort: "'Chance' or 'accident' is too bigger leap of blind faith for me. The evolutionist's version of 'just believe' isn't good enough. I want verifiable scientific facts."

P.P.S. A special thanks to the crook Kent Hovind for this challenge; it is modeled after his $250,000 challenge for the equally insane theory tale of evolution.

Sweaty Morals: Enslave, Hate, and Subjugate

I wanted to kick the weekend off with a challenge to Newtonists, but until I can find my camera I will have to find other ways to suppress my baby eating, erm, predilections.

Speaking of baby eating, I received an email alert today. I stopped reading Dan's blog over at Debunking Atheists as he kept deleting my comments. I failed to unsubscribe from comment notifications, though, on his Atheists Eat Babies! entry. He posted a comment which I hear made a lot by Ray, that God has written his moral code "in our hearts" as a conscience. Therefore, it does not matter if we disbelieve the Bible as he's given us a permanent copy. Dan writes, in response to Adrian Hayter:

For example, it's a proven fact that with ALL people, across all genders and races, the consequences / telltales of when a person lies, are that;

They experience sweaty palms.

They experience induced swallowing.

Their heart rate increases.

Their faces turn red.

They avoid eye contact.

They speak more quickly, etc. etc. (The same old, same old with everyone human being on the planet. Except of course for sociopaths and those who have perfected evil deception.

I will spare you the rest that leads up to God's moral law is our conscience, atheists are immoral because we disobey our conscience, and feeling bad for lying or "raping and murdering a baby" is evidence for this. I address this point as, I said, it's brought up a lot. Not just by Ray, but also by a commenter of this blog some months ago:

"And if you fail to receive a copy of these laws, through no fault of your own, you are to be tortured for all eternity, regardless of whether or not you lived your life better than those who are getting into Heaven?"

Yet, God gave us a conscience. Man knows what is right and what is wrong. [...]

God is going to judge all mankind.
He will judge the ones who have been given the law stricter than those who have never heard of it.

Therefore the people who have not heard of the law will indeed be judged by the law of God which has been placed into there heart.

So, to begin, the obvious question arises: what about sociopaths? Dan begins by saying that, it's a fact, "ALL people" have it and then he concludes with "except of course for sociopaths and those who have perfected evil deception." I wonder if he just stated it ambiguously or if he really believes that sociopaths have "perfected evil deception." The notable feature of sociopaths is that they do not have a conscience: "Because of the psychopaths inability to internalize superego precursors, they are unable to learn from past mistakes, and are completely devoid of a conscience." So, why has God given a conscience to some people but not to others -- especially if he is supposed to judge everyone by that standard?

It has been advanced by the above, and Ray, that the conscience is God's moral laws written on our hearts (which makes you wonder why, then, go through the trouble of writing them down?). Their assertion is that God's moral laws are absolute -- after all, their whole shtick is about the necessity of dictated moral absolutes. Therefore, everyone's conscience should match up and also with the Bible.

This is demonstrably false, though. I can speak only for myself, as the conscience is necessarily a first hand experience. Here are a few things my conscience "tells" me:

Slavery
When I think of enslaving anyone -- anyone -- it makes me queasy. It makes me literally queasy to close my eyes and imagine going out, capturing someone or paying a slave trader, and then infringing on that person's right to liberty for as long as I please in the most inhumane manner possible. It shocks my conscience. I think, perhaps, it is the most immoral thing you can do; even greater than murder as, at least then, the person can actually die. And yet, this moral law God has supposedly written in my heart is in direct conflict with the moral laws he has written in the Bible that slavery is moral:

** (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)
** (Exodus 21:2-6 NLT)
** (Exodus 21:7-11 NLT)
** (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)
** (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)
** (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)
** (Luke 12:47-48 NLT)

Morally repugnant. Egregiously immoral. Unconscionable.

Homosexuality
What is there to say about homosexuality in the realm of morality? About as much as there is to say about the preference of green towels over red towels. If someone I knew preferred members of their sex over members of the opposite sex, I would have about as strong of feelings towards that revelation as if they were to tell me that they preferred green towels of red towels.

What I do find immoral is judging them for their nature. That is truly wicked. It is just as immoral as judging them based on their skin color -- in fact, actually worse as you are sullying something essential to them and often desecrating something sacred they may hold for someone else. It's morally repugnant and abominable, especially to impose some sort of penalty on them. And yet, this moral law God has supposedly written in my heart is in direct conflict with the "moral" laws he has written in the Bible that homosexuality is immoral:

* Genesis 19:1-9 (as it relates to it)
* Leviticus 18:22
* Leviticus 18:29
* Leviticus 20:13
* Romans 1:26-32
* 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

I'm supposed to feel that it is wicked that my sister, a loving mother of a beautiful daughter and an all around gregarious person, is some sort of immoral deviant or scourge because she is naturally attracted to females? Morally reprehensible.

Subjugation of Women
What is there to say here that I have not said before? Women are not my equals; I am their equal. Women are just as capable as men and they are born with the same inherent rights: life, liberty, and property. Misogyny is deplorable in all its forms. And the woman's place? The woman's place is any where she damn well pleases. The man's place is to treat her as the person she is. That's what's written in my heart. I wince -- literally -- any time I hear some "good" Christian talking about the role of women or women "pretending to be men." And yet, this moral law God has supposedly written in my heart is in direct conflict with the "moral" laws he has written in the Bible that women are inferior to men and/or property:

* Genesis 3:16
* Genesis 19:8
* Exodus 21:7-8
* Numbers 31:15-19
* Deuteronomy 22:20-24
* 1 Corinthians 11:3
* Ephesians 5:22-24
* 1 Timothy 2:11-12
* 1 Peter 3:1

Vile commandments and "morals." Paine was right when he described the so-called teachings of the Bible to be more the word of a demon than of a god. I was going to go on into shellfish, treatment of children, rape, taking a day off, but this is about all the scripture from the "good" book that I can stomach in one evening. I once was truly horrified by what the Bible taught, but even the cruel wickedness of the Bible I have become desensitized to.


So, from all of this, the question is: Why write these things in my heart, and then write something entirely opposite in the Bible? Why God? Did you plan on me being an atheist and, therefore, decided to make it so that I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't? Are you just trying to cover all your bases to ensure that I'm going to Hell? Either my conscience is wrong or the Bible is false. I choose the option that doesn't allow me to enslave, hate, and subjugate: my conscience.

What Have I DONE?!

Oh no! I thought my article debunking gravity was well put together, but I didn't actually expect to convince anyone that gravity is absurd and the theory full of holes. I thought it was completely innocent. Obviously, I was wrong. I didn't consider that Ray Comfort would read my blog as, apparently, he agrees that gravity is not well supported:

Science discovered that when a certain object moves at a certain speed it supersedes the law of gravity, and can fly. [...] However, we now know that even though the law of gravity remains, the flying object has moved into a higher law, the invisible law of aerodynamics.

I just contributed to Ray making my brain hurt more with his posts. To the people who follow him into the gates of science illiteracy Hell with evolution denial: how can you possibly subscribe to or trust anything this man has to say regarding science after a statement like this? The man who thinks light is invisible also thinks the law of aerodynamics is invisible (whatever that means), that flight "supersedes" the law of gravity, and that the law of aerodynamics is a "higher law" than the law of gravity?

I was working on a post regarding my discussion group tonight that I attended regarding science advocacy. If only I had had this article to bring in to discuss. Indeed, we discussed the problem with elementary and secondary education in science classes and the horribly inadequate and incorrect presentation of science. Too many people are taught in middle school that a law is fundamentally different than a theory and that a theory is synonymous with hypothesis. Too many are taught in middle school that a law is just a "proven" theory and that there are certain hierarchies there.

Too bad many people, like Ray Comfort, never move beyond this middle school concept of science. Too bad Ray Comfort writes on and "teaches" science topics to people. Too bad many people follow Ray Comfort and trust him on science topics.