Yesterday I wrote a post called the Burden of Proof Lies With The Claimant in which I talked about the burden of proof and who is responsible for it, namely the person making the claim or complaint. I talked about how theists believe in a god, so it’s up to them to prove that god exists, since it’s an extraordinary claim which requires extraordinary evidence, none of which has ever been forthcoming.

The first comment I got on the post was from a man named Brian. When I got up this morning  and read his comment I was inspired to reply. After a few minutes I realized my response was quite lengthy and decided a follow-up post was in order. After his comment you’ll find my thoughts.  So here is his comment in its entirety:

There are a string of points here, but let’s just just address one of them which is the position of unbelief.

You see the world though a pair of glasses of unbelief. Everything is skewed and interpreted from that framework.

My guess is that your belief that God does not exist is so strong that you would not change that under any circumstances.

If God turned the sea into blood, swiped the stars from the sky, turned the moon blood red and blocked out the light of the sun (which is exactly what He WILL do) there will be millions of people that STILL refuse to believe what the Bible says.

Read more…

November 4, 2008: History is made when a black senator with a funny sounding name is elected president. He’s a socialist and maybe not a christian! In fact I heard he was a MUSLIM!

November 5, 2008: god shows his displeasure and Satan starts to wake up in Illinois! The Pick 3 Lottery numbers were 6-6-6!

Oh Noes! Hide the good silver! Those damned pesky democrats have started Armageddon!

Now doesn’t that all sound so damned SILLY!?

Found at The Freethinker, thanks!

I was always under the vague impression that Hitler’s hatred of the Jews was more than culturally motivated, but until recently I wasn’t’ aware that the catholic church supported Hitler and the Nazi party. I was never taught in school (and this was back when education meant something in this country) that there was anything religious involved in WWII.

Then again, I was never taught that Japan bombed Australia at the same time as they bombed Pearl Harbor, so I know I have a lot to make up for in my education.

My husband finds me the neatest stuff. He found me a website that I want to share with you. NoBeliefs.com has a whole page on Nazis and religion.

When you realize that the Nazis mixed government with religion and religious fervor and then look at where we’re heading today in America, it makes you sit up and start to take notice. Read more…

Here is a bit of history for you. It’s a chart of world religions. I find this helpful because it shows that they were all created over time, and implied in this is that they were created by men.

This chart is interesting because obviously a lot of religions and religions-turned-myth are not on here. Also interesting is the fact that most of these are still being practiced. Though this chart doesn’t show it, it seems that since the dawn of man, there has always been a yearning to understand the mysterious, and to name and personify it in some way by creating gods and stories.

And yet, most scientists and great thinkers, the great minds, are and have been atheists, agnostics or deists.

Read more…

I was raised a baptist. You know, the fire and brimstone kinda thing. In the summer, we would go visit my grandparents, and my grandmother would take us to the christian scientist church. They didn’t conflict too much for my young brain, so it wasn’t that bad. I was a good little christian girl, and got baptized as soon as I could with those god fearing baptists.

When I was about 12, my parents suddenly got religious in the church of christ. More fear of god preaching filled my head, including bible study once a week with the minister. I got baptized two more times in two different churches, for good measure, and went to church faithfully.

Not long after we started bible study, the minister decided he wanted to go bowling instead of teach us about the lord’s word. He said I asked too many questions. This was the first blatant sign I had of the hypocrisy of the church and I wanted no more part of it.

When I was in my late teens I tried several different religions and practices, from Buddhism and Taoism (which isn’t a religion, but a way of living) to American Indian practices, to Wicca (which is the ancient mother earth religion). I tried it all and found it all lacking. If pressed, I would have still called myself a christian at this point, I guess. But honestly I had no idea.

Years went by and I searched for meaning in any way I could think of. I wanted answers.
I was in my late twenties when I got married, in a small ceremony by a woman ordained in some airy fairy light church. I can’t even remember what her ordination was, but it was definitely spiritual/nontraditional. I wanted nothing to do with the christians, but still would have called myself a believer, if asked. I was afraid not to believe in the whole jesus myth. I didn’t have anything to replace it with.

About a year after I was married, I was watching this movie called The Name of the Rose. For some reason, I was struck with wanting answers to how the christian religion started. It suddenly hit me while watching the movie that the religion didn’t always exist. I wondered if the jewish god and the christian god were actually the same god with just a different name, or what was going on? Did the jewish religion always exist? I was full of questions and started an official Quest for knowledge.

I read a lot of books at that time, everything I could get my hands on. I got a really nice annotated bible to refer to, and will supply you with all the books I can remember. (Click here to see my book list)  Anyway, I came to realize that the three major religions all sort of just came about!

This to me was a shocking revelation. I also realized that the jewish god was very concerned about other gods, which seemed suspicious. I also realized that the christians kind of took on the jewish god, but the christian god never talked to anyone like the jewish god did. More reading of the bible showed more and more inconsistencies.

In this time I took an early world history class in college. There I realized that all cultures have created religions. I mean, I always knew that, but it suddenly started to dawn on me that those old Religions are now called Myths. Why would that be? Another inconsistency. More bits and pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place.

After awhile, I realized that all religions are made up! I was rocked to my foundations. Everything I had been taught had to be questioned and reevaluated. Nothing was sacred anymore. There was no more magic in the world, and finally, there was no more god. It was scary to admit it, back then in 2000. But there I was, a rather shocked and sudden atheist.

Since then I’ve tried to coexist with religious people nicely. I don’t usually tell people that I’m an atheist, I don’t attack their belief system, I don’t ask them to understand mine, I just try to avoid the topic. In fact, awhile ago I let people talk to me of their love of god and I didn’t say a word. I didn’t want to upset them. I guess I’m an overly polite atheist. But also I didn’t know how to defend my belief in no god. It seemed easier to say nothing.

Recently, I’ve seen things in the government and in society that have outraged me and frightened me into thinking I’ve got to act. I can’t keep my mouth shut anymore. I’ve got to at least tell other atheists they aren’t alone.

I got involved in making anti-religious t-shirts with my husband (he’s an atheist too). Then I stumbled upon Atheist Nexus. I found that there are lots of other friendly atheists out there and have tried to make friends with several of the other members. In doing so, I was inspired to create the 12 Steps to Intellectual Enlightenment by a fellow member. Then my husband said, hey, Believers Anonymous would be a great website if it’s available.

After that it was a crazy ride to find Hess through Atheist Nexus, then start the merged blog project that you see here: Heaving Dead Cats.