So, Pope Francis supports Argentinian claims to Las Malvinas (The Falklands), despite the fact the people living there don’t want to be Argentine.
Ok then.
Learning Hebrew
Trigger Warning (for film): Self-harm, Strong Language, Fetish Scenes, Violence and War, Drug Use
So yeah my friend’s film comes out tomorrow, based on a bunch of goths and their dealings with militant atheists. I’m thinking of ordering a couple of copies and randomly sending one off to one of you, getting the word out and all. Here’s a trailer you can check out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoTPjb3dZN0
There’s some fuss going around with this story about GaGa in a burqa.
I wish to express my point of view if you care to read it. I’ve always asked myself why GaGa was so well accepted and loved. It seems I found the answer today.
Right now a lot of guys from the West think that GaGa was super cool in that burqa. M.I.A., on the other hand, was called a “terrorist supporter” when she wore her xxxo burqa back in 2010. At that time many Western countries were trying to ban the burqa (France for example). With this in mind, M.I.A.’s burqa was a finger fuck to all the opponents of the burqa. So we have a political message behind M.I.A.’s decision to wear a burqa and what do you have behind GaGa’s decision? Fashion I’m guessing, transgression. Or simply “nothingness”, she just felt like wearing it.
Why is it a “yes” for Lady GaGa and a “no” for Maya? Is it because M.I.A. is brown?I don’t think so. Is it because M.I.A. is Tamil? Maybe yes. Why does the same thing done by two different persons are weighted differently?
Maybe because in the West both look and appereance and everything that is à la mode is glorified. Lady GaGa fully represents our Western society based on appearance devoid of meaning.
But we already knew that. We noticed it even when yoga, decontextualized from its original essence, was turned into a practice à la mode in our gyms, sold thru megazines or taught thru dvds. The West refuses the substance in the name of the external appearance. The West glorifies GaGa’s nothingness and condemns M.I.A.’s political message.
I like some of what GaGa does musically, but why is she such a fucking idiot?
(via brashblacknonbeliever)
God vs. Superman
- Little Brother: Who do you think would win in a showdown between God and Superman?
- Me: Superman, obviously. God doesn't exist.
- Little Brother:
- Me:
- Everyone else:
- Me:
- Little Brother: What?
Lust for life - Atheist Challenge 14
On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with life at this moment, and why?
Today, right this moment, I’m on about 4/10.
I’m not really able to go into it properly, but basically I had a pretty intense breakdown last night. In public. And I’m still reeling from the breakdown and the fact people saw it.
I think I can safely say I wouldn’t feel any better with a God though. And on average my happiness with it all is about 8/9. I’m mostly very happy. Not stable, but happy.
Marriage and dating - Atheist challenge 13
Would you ever date/marry somebody who follows a religion? Be honest.
At the moment, I intend on having children in the future, and if that remains the case then I couldn’t date or marry someone who was devout. The reason for this is I do not want my children to have a religious upbringing. If grown adults want to convert or be religious, that’s absolutely fine, but I don’t think it’s right to raise children with any faith. I also think that it can be damaging to the child to do so, particularly if they later lose faith.
I could flatshare with them (if their faith permitted it) provided there were not limits on my freedom as a result. For example, it would be best if they were to pray in their room, rather than commandeer a communal area on a regular basis to do so. But at the moment, considering I want to be a mother someday, I’d have to rule out romantic involvement with someone who was strictly observant.
What happens when we die? - Atheist challenge 12
What happens when we die? Do you fear death?
Death is the end. There’s no eternal soul, there’s no afterlife of any kind. No reincarnation, nothing. The most that will live on after we die is how others remember us, and anything we created or shared in our lifetime.
Do I fear death? Yes and no. I fear dying in some horrificly long or painful way. I fear living a half-life prior to the final end. But other than that, it doesn’t bother me.
I think one of the best things about life, for me, is knowing this is it. I get one shot at it, one shot in this one body. I will never have the past 19 years, nine months, two weeks and five days of my life to live again. It makes me want to do things for myself and others, be happy, and make change. Because I’ll only have one chance to do it. It doesn’t matter if I make a few mistakes along the way, either, because ultimately, my life is just a small sequence of moments in terms of the life of the multiverse.
Knowing my existence is finite makes it all the more beautiful for me.
Careers in the sciences - Atheist challenge 11
Do you have/plan on having a career in the sciences? Alternatively: which branch of science intrigues you most?
I thought I’d do another as the last one was so short.
Career wise, I don’t really know what I’m going to do yet, but I’m off to University to do a BSc in Psychology, Criminology and Criminal Justice in September. Science was something I was always good at but never pursued, yet Psychology is of special personal interest to me due to my family and my own mental health.
Psychology as we know it is a relatively young science and it’s absolutely fascinating because it’s still so fluid. I like things which are mutable and constantly changing - all sciences are but I think Psychology the most so. Plus, it allows me to learn about myself too. And that’s always awesome :D
Spirituality - Atheist challenge 10
Are you spiritual, or are your feet always on the ground?
The closest I get to spirituality is I believe there’s some independent thought and desire that isn’t dependant on our biology. Other than that, I’m not spiritual at all.
Sorry this post is so short, but I really don’t have anything else to say on the matter.
Religious experience - Atheist challenge nine
Even though you’re an atheist, have you ever experienced a moment that could be called “religious?” Like an epiphany about the world or complete peace?
First off, I call bullshit on anyone who has ever had an epiphany about the world that applies to everything in it. It is only possible to have an epiphany about the world as you know it, and there’s still a lot for all of us to discover.
Secondly, I think it’s important to remember that people with religion will often claim all parts of their life to be religious. Whether it be thanking god for their meal, crediting god with any strokes of luck or good fortune they have, or stating their “service” to god. All of these imply that there are no special religious moments, merely less ordinary ones. Because of this, I feel it is impossible for an atheist to experience a “religious” moment, as an atheist would not accredit anything in their life to god. I know I certainly don’t.
Also, I am genuinely envious of anyone who can experience complete peace. I am incapable for a number of reasons, the closest I can ever get is a state of calm distraction.
Religion and politics - Atheist challenge eight
What’s your political alignment? Does your atheism influence how you vote and how you feel on issues?
I am an anarchist in ideology but a liberal in practice. When I say that, what I mean is that though I believe we should be able to abolish government as people should just be fucking decent to each other without the checks and balances. However, as we haven’t reached the capacity for that yet I believe we need safety nets to protect the vulnerable. We need to make upward social mobility easier. And so on, and so forth
My atheism doesn’t necessarily influence how I vote or feel on things. My secularism does. I don’t want to vote for anyone who is pushing a religious agenda of any kind, anyone who claims to know God’s will, and I will not vote for someone who involves religion in law-making and thus affects the rest of us for their peace of mind.
Amendment: We should make upward social mobility easier for those who seek it, and remove the stigma of those doing jobs that don’t necessarily require degrees or technical qualifications. Not everybody wants to be a doctor or a CEO, but everyone deserves to live safely.
The supernatural and pseudoscience - Atheist challenge seven
Except for God, do you believe in anything supernatural or pseudoscientific? (Ghosts, alien abductions, spirits, souls, demons, psychics, magic, Harry Potter, etc.)
I don’t believe in anything at all that’s supernatural or pseudoscientific. I believe in illusion, which is how show magic works. Manipulating the cognitive faculties of human beings happens every day to varying degrees.
I do believe there is intelligent life elsewhere in this part of the multiverse. Simply because statistically, it is highly, highly improbable that we are the only ones in this vastness of space. Do I believe that these “aliens” have abducted people? No. Simply as if they have the technology to have reached us first, I don’t think they’d waste time abducting randomers. I’d be inclined to say they’d get colonial to “civilise” us, at the very least.
I believe in people, first and foremost. That’s essentially it.
The militants - Atheist challenge six
How do you feel about so-called “militant atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris?
I want to begin by saying that I don’t believe the term “militant” is appropriate for describing these people and their stance on faith. Also, I am unfamiliar with Sam Harris’ work so cannot comment.
The late great Christopher Hitchens is one of my all-time heroes. He had powerful presence, and excelled with both content and delivery. I remember the first time I saw a Hitchslap, and I was blown away. What I particularly like about Hitchens was the way he went after the dogma, and the faith, rather than the people. In his book God is not Great he expresses a contempt and disdain only for those who exploit believers - faith healers and the like - but never the general faith community. This is hugely important, as whether one has religion or not, one is a person. Also, I liked the way his approach to faith was based on language and history, with less about science, which really isn’t my strong suit.
I have never been able to make my mind up about Richard Dawkins. His approach based in science is hugely valuable, but in my eyes not as accessible as Hitchens. Another problem I have is his condescending tone, if I remember correctly, in The God Delusion he actually openly calls believers stupid. There have been some very clever believers and also insulting people is no way to get them to listen.
Though I disagree sometimes with the methods of these people, I feel what they are doing is right and necessary. To champion free-thought, one must be able to present the alternatives to those who are bound in faith. Also, love them or hate them, these are exceptionally talented and highly intelligent people. In my eyes, any atheist with a bit of patience can comb the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and find anomalies (I know it’s been a while since I posted, but life is a bit up in the air lately! I will get back to it, I promise). What these people do transcends that. They are mines of information on faith, science, evolution and also the fact that it’s okay not to believe. They are of great value and importance within the community.
Numbers 3:15 “Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more”
Hosea 13:16 their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open.
God didn’t consider people as people until at least a month after birth. Go figure.
Also: Prove God exists, then we’ll talk.
(Source: checkmateprochoicers)
The reaction of friends and family - Atheist challenge five
Did you lose any friends because you decided to be an atheist? Did your family flip out?
The reason that I attended the particular church that I was a member of is that I was already attending their Youth Group, it’s just I begun attending Sunday School too. The problem here is that many in the Youth Group were my friends, and this was before mobiles and social networking sites, so I lost contact with them. The church also ran a friday night group for those in secondary education, but I didn’t enjoy going. I no longer attended school locally and found that those who made me miserable in primary school - some of whom were the year below me - had somehow slipped through the net and were already attending. I didn’t like being around that.
My family - my parents at least - were totally cool about my non-belief. Despite both coming from religious backgrounds they were never religious themselves. Religious family members didn’t seem worried about it either, but don’t particularly like me challenging faith, particularly in front of their children.
On the whole, I was lucky that faith just wasn’t a big deal for my family or friends. In fact, I don’t think it’s that much of a big deal in the UK in general - Christianity at least (again, I cannot speak for other faiths). As I said, the only reason I lost friends is simply that we lost contact, there were no hard feelings or conscious decisions there.
