The Judeo-Christian bible tells us that god (AKA Allah) created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. In the Quran we can find a verse that supports this claim. On the other hand, the Quran also tells us that Allah created the earth’s mass in two days, the mountains, animals, and food in four days, and seven heavens in two days. In other words, Allah took eight days to create the heavens and the earth. 2+4+2=8.
These are, of course, both false. The “heavens” probably don’t exist, especially not seven of them. One might postulate the universe is still forming, since it’s still expanding and everything within it’s in constant motion. And following the formation of our solar system, the primordial earth formed in during a span of about ten million years, not a week.
I don’t think I’ve ever written about occult-type beliefs. Well, I suppose it’s about time.
The other day one of my friends — who says his religion is “eclectic paganism” — made a Facebook update with a colorful picture. I feel a little guilty picking on the guy, so instead of posting the image I will describe it. It has a black background, and the majority of the image is a rough egg shape. Most of this is a red-orange blob at the bottom, and it’s topped with a lilac blob that wraps around the top. It’s a beautiful image that conjures the aurora borealis. The caption on the image stated that he had recently attended a “psychic fair” and had his “aura photographed.” This is called Kirlian Photography. Here’s a news article from 2010 about abandoned aura research.
Last night this popped up in my newsfeed. Red is the same guy.
I’m not merely an atheist. I’m also a skeptic.
First, Yellow should know how true this is. It’s not true! Even if auras existed you wouldn’t be able to determine what color yours is based on an Internet questionnaire. But more importantly, no one who claims to be able to prove that auras exist have ever demonstrated that they do. The Amazing James Randi has offered them opportunity after opportunity (the $1,000,000 offer’s still on the table, by the way) to show under laboratory conditions that auras exist. Here’s a video from his television series where he debunks the aura myth:
I know what some people would say: “But your friend didn’t claim to be able to see auras, just that cameras can photograph them.” Well, I went to EBSCOhost and searched for “Kirlian Photography Aura” under Scholarly Peer-Reviewed Journals. First, Kirlian Photography had several hits, but most of them were from medical journals because Kirlian Photography has been used in medical research — with dubious and inconsistent results — to detect moisture in living tissue. Other hits came from the journal History of Photography, which — like you’d imagine — is an article about Kirlian Photography, not actual research.
Next, an article titled “Auras in mysticism and synaesthesia: A comparison” from Consciousness and Cognition (Volume 21, Issue 1, March 2012, Pages 258–268) by E.G. Milán (et al) has a very interesting quote about auras. I will reproduce it in its entirety here:
Claims made by people claiming to be psychic, or aura readers, can be alternatively explained by proven science. Duerden (2004b) shows how phenomena which arise as a consequence of the normal functioning of the human visual system can explain the purported direct experience of the aura. For instance, the complementary colour effect, which results from a temporary ‘‘exhaustion’’ of the colour-sensitive cells in the retina, could account for the presence of auric colours seen by a sensitive viewer when staring at a person. Staring at a darker object (a human figure) against a bright background may induce the perception of a bright ‘‘halo’’ around the object. This is due to a contrast amplification mechanism ‘‘built-in’’ to the human visual system, which allows for an efficient detection of edges. (See the original paper by Duerden, 2004b, for a detailed description of this and other optical illusions.)
In other words, we can explain via science why people see “auras.” It’s not supernatural.
Next is the article “The theosophists’ aura vision and the visual migraine aura: A phenomenological comparison” by K. Podoll (et al) from the journal Neurology Psychiatry and Brain Research (Volume 11, Issue 4, 2004, Pages 171-178), which states:
A comparison of Theosophists’ descriptions of the aura with medical reports of various visual migraine aura phenomena, especially the corona phenomenon and the pericentral spectrum, reveals striking similarities which suggest that the supposedly paranormal experience of aura vision may represent, at least in some subjects, a visual aura symptom of migraine.
In other words, aura sightings and migraines are, in many cases, indistinguishable.
In Nursing Times an article titled “Aura photography: mundane physics or diagnostic tool?” by P.A. Frédéric Vogt (et al) (Volume 92, Issue 25, June 19-25, 1996, Pages 39-41) was unfortunately unavailable. But I did have access to the abstract:
Kirlian photography is often associated with the paranormal. Many people believe it records the auras of living objects and that it can be used as a diagnostic tool. This paper argues against these beliefs and maintains that there is a simple, scientific explanation of the Kirlian effect.
What that explanation is, I’d really like to know. I’ll see if I can track down a copy of the article and amend this post later.
My review of the literature could not find much more about auras and Kirlian Photography. A few articles appeared in religious (that is, not scientific) journals. There were also a few entries in physics journals, which attempted to use the Kirlian technology for other purposes, with no discernible results. If you feel I’ve missed something important, feel free to post the title, date, and publication of the article in the comments below. I’ll check it out.
Concluding Remarks
Kirlian Photography produces very remarkable and beautiful images, but they are not images of auras. The paranormal and supernatural explanations for auras and aura photography are contradicted by what the scientific community has discovered. If you go to a psychic fair to have your aura photographed, you’re basically spending your money on a pretty picture taken by a very expensive camera.
I’m vegan, have been almost my entire adult life. There are many other atheist vegans out there, by the way, although admittedly we are a minority in a minority. And I’m not here to argue animal rights. I really don’t care what you eat, so long as I’m not being forced to eat it. But when we look to the gospels we see a major ethical conundrum. Follow Jesus’ laws and stop being a vegan/vegetarian, or don’t enter god’s kingdom, which probably means go to hell. Off to examine the gospels, shall we?
Jesus lays down in the strictest and sternest terms exactly what we must do to enter god’s kingdom in Matthew 5:17-20.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The laws of the Pharisees to which Jesus refers is called the Mitzvot. It’s a list of 613 hoops through which every Christian must jump (because Jesus didn’t “come to abolish the law…but to fulfill” it). Actually, not everyone must follow all of them, because many are gender-based, but you catch my drift. These laws can be found here. Some are pretty easy to follow. Number 25 says “Not to lay down a stone for worship.” Easy enough. Some are just plain silly. Number 127 says “To count forty-nine days from the time of the cutting of the Omer.” But others ask vegans and vegetarians to violate their ethical standards against harming animals. There’s an entire section dedicated solely to animal sacrifices (#459 – 560).
For example, numbers 460 and 461 require that we slaughter and eat lamb for Passover, as commanded in Exodus 12:6-8. Number 473 requires that if we sin we must slaughter an animal and eat part of it (Exodus 29:33). 475 commands us to make burnt offerings (Lev. 1:3). In 537 we must kill two lambs every sabbath (Num. 28:9). There are tons of Mitzvot commandments to slaughter, burn, and eat animals.
In other words, if I were to suddenly convert to Christianity, I would also have to give up my veganism, build an altar, and start slicing animals up left and right. If I don’t then I’ve offended Jesus’ commandment in Matthew 5:17-20. And if I’ve offended his commandment he’s pretty clear: I will never see god’s kingdom.
Of course I implore you to check out the list yourself in the link above. It’s pretty thorough, and I’d be willing to bet that no one — not even the strictest Jews — follows this list to the letter. It’s unlikely that anyone will enter god’s kingdom.
I’ve mentioned a few times that I had chance encounters with members of Hezbollah (“The Party of God”) when I was in Lebanon. But I’ve never written about those experiences. So I’ll depart from my usual criticism of religion (although I’ll probably do that a little) and tell you all a story. I’ll admit that I fear writing this will pique the interests of certain groups and bring unwanted attention to me, but if they read the entire post, they’ll see that I’m not affiliated with any terror organizations, particularly Islamic ones. I mean, I’m atheist!
My first encounter with a member of Hezbollah was in early January 2012. It was early in the morning. I was walking down Hamra Street. The shops weren’t even open yet. I paused to light a cigarette, and one of my friends drove by, rolled the window down, and she asked me if I wanted to go for a drive up to Raouché. I said yes, hopped in the car, and then I realized her younger brother was sitting in the back seat. He’s a known member of Hezbollah (although his sister has never expressed her religious beliefs to me; she’s quite secular). We stopped for tea at a vendor on Avenue de Paris and then headed up to the rock, parked along the cliff, and started talking. The brother was curious about my atheism and my experiences in the US. He was very nice and didn’t once attempt to convert me to Islam, despite being a very religious young man. After about an hour my friend had to drop the brother off at school, so we left the rock and headed off to southern Beirut (I forget the name of the area). After dropping the brother off, my friend turned to me and said, “We went looking for you this morning because my brother wanted to meet you. He really respects you.” I was happy to hear this. I expected to be shunned in Lebanon for being a vocal atheist, a la Christopher Hitchens in 2009.* Instead, this man offered only kindness and curiosity.
My second encounter with Hezbollah happened in August 2012. My atheist friend and I boarded a bus to the beaches of Sur (Tyre) for a day of sun, sand, and beer. We stayed later than we probably should have. The buses stop coming that far south at nightfall. We missed our bus and headed over to the small cafe across the street from the beach to wait for a passing taxi. There we encountered three men. One was a Lebanese police officer, in uniform. The other two were “civilians.” I stood out because at that time I had long black dreadlocks and I’m covered in colorful tattoos. The three men burned a hole in my head with their continuous stares. Finally, one approached us and offered to share with us some tea. We agreed. They spoke english, and the first question was, “So you’re American?” “Yes,” I said. “What brings you to Lebanon?” etc. — the conversation went. At one point one of the men said, “Since you’re American you must be Christian.” “No, I’m actually an atheist,” I replied. “What is your parent’s religion?” In other words, these men didn’t care that I was atheist; they just wanted to know my status (often in Lebanon society puts people into groups depending on their or their parents’ religion). At that point the police officer offered to buy me some orange juice. I happily thanked him. For about the next half hour we all talked religion in Lebanon and the US. Then the officer said to us, “Here comes a taxi. Let me get it for you. Be careful. The South can be dangerous at night.” Then we left.
We rode the taxi back to the bus station south of Beirut in silence. I was tired and fell asleep for a while. When we got out of the taxi to get on the bus, my friend said, “Don’t ever again tell members of Hezbollah that you don’t believe in god.” I was surprised and said, “They weren’t Hezbollah.” “Yes, they were. Didn’t you see the posters on the wall behind their chairs?” And sure enough. Hassan Nasrallah and a few of the Hezbollah martyrs watched over that conversation. “I tried to get a taxi before they spoke to us, because I knew you’d say something stupid like that. Thankfully there was a policeman there.”
While it’s questionable whether or not they were actually Hezbollah members, he had every reason to assume they were. In Lebanon it’s easy for the Lebanese to spot party affiliation. Sitting at a cafe emblazoned with posters of the Hezbollah leader is a good indication of their political affiliation. And whether or not I would’ve been attacked for being atheist is also questionable. I’ve never had any problems with the Lebanese people. And those men were very nice to me during our conversation. But alas, I probably should’ve just pretended to be Christian.
Lebanon is one of the most secular countries in the Middle East. Despite its backwards confessional party system, the young people are rejecting religion more and more. The American University of Beirut has a huge secular organization, and it’s no longer taboo to come out as atheist (at least in Hamra, Beirut). Unfortunately, there still exist fanatical Islamic organizations, such as Hezbollah, that invite terror into the country. Interestingly, on the other hand, Hezbollah acts as a buffer zone between Lebanon and the Israeli Defense Forces, which suffered a humiliating defeat against Hezbollah in 2006. And they’ve been doing a good job fighting the insurgents in Syria as well, stopping some of the flow of Sunni extremism into Lebanon.**
*Actually, Hitchens was attacked for defacing an SSNP sign, which is a no-no.
**I’ll admit that I haven’t been following events in Lebanon for a few months, so the situation might’ve changed. I really need to get caught up with the situation.
Here’s another gem I found on the Black Atheists Facebook page.
It was posted with the following commentary: “This is from a chick I went to high school with. Usually, I can agree with a lot of her posts but this right here is just ignorance to the fullest.”
I couldn’t agree more. But it’s not merely ignorance; it’s also pretty insane.
First let’s get the scientific stuff out of the way. The author says “I’ve never seen a lion and a panther mate.” Yes you have!! She obviously doesn’t understand scientific classification. Panthera is the genus to which all lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars belong. In this sense, the mere act of a lion mating with a lioness is technically “a lion and a panther” mating. Furthermore, pretty much every species in the Panthera genus can successfully mate, and many of these hybrids can mate with other hybrids, causing an animal with DNA from four different species within the Panthera genus.* There’s an entire Wikipedia page set up for the Panthera hybrids. As for the birds comment, she’s wrong again. Interspecies bird mating is quite normal.
Second, as many people in the comments to the original post pointed out, this woman appears to believe that black and white people belong to two separate species. That’s just absurd.
Third, this is coming from a woman whose entire race in the US has been enslaved, subjugated, tortured, murdered, and faced countless forms of mistreatment for centuries. And as I pointed out in another post, this was all done in the name of Jesus. And this doesn’t even mention her little racist jab at white people, calling them “history-less confused ass demon people” who are “crazy.” She should know better than to spread racism in the name of god!
Oh yeah. The god bit, which takes up half of her mini-rant. She actually believes god values melanin and gives people with more of it more power. What the hell?! What exactly is power?! Is it the same thing as “energy”? Seriously, I’ve never understood that word used in religious contexts. She then says that the whiter you are, the more likely it is that you’ll turn to cannibalism and develop schizophrenia because white people are not “descendants from God.” In order to stop this from happening the sacred god blood should remain pure. Sigh.
Even though her post was relatively short, it is filled to the brim with insanity. This is one of the craziest things I’ve ever read. And, judging from the commentary from the woman who shared this image, we have no reason to think this is Poe, even though that was my first instinct.
I guess I’ll end my rant with a little more biology. Dear OP (who will probably never read this because I don’t even know her identity), you do know that when people have sex, their blood isn’t actually mixing, right? Here’s a lesson in sexual reproduction for you.
*Post edit: This is quite rare, as many hybrids are sterile.
I recently discovered that my cousin is a young earth creationist — she should know better! — and I was forced to confront her when she posted an anti-science video to her Facebook page. Most of my family is moderately religious (there are two out atheists and one out agnostic, but the rest claim some form of the Christian god), and I tend not to argue with them about religion, but I become understandably angry when people who don’t understand science start trampling over and bastardizing science. I don’t care if it contradicts your deeply held beliefs. Science is pretty fucking important. If you disagree with the findings of science, follow the scientific method to conduct your own research. It’s unlikely that you’ll get different results, but at least you’ll get a better understanding of the natural world.
In this post I’m going to focus on the Christian god, but this applies to all other gods as well.
I’m sure most of you have heard Richard Dawkins’ quip where he confronts someone making claims or asking questions about god. Dawkins usually replies, “Which god?” In other words, the religious person making a claim about god has not adequately and coherently defined god.
This lack of definition is a central tenet in Christianity, although it permeates all other religions. For example, one need only open their bible to Ephesians 1:9 to see how ingrained god’s unknowableness is:
he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,
In other words, when asked to define god, the Christian can only say that god has revealed to them only that god cannot be defined. Well, that’s where we run into the problem.
This is a very old argument; I’m not even sure from where it came. That is, if god cannot be defined, what use is it to claim that he exists? I could say, “I believe that Brengok exists.” Ok. But what is Brengok? “I don’t know because he’s invisible and unknowable.” Well, how can you say he exists if you don’t even know what the hell he is?!! This is a classic Sam Harris approach to god. Before you can say that god exists, you must be able to define what you’re talking about.
But that’s not the way Christian belief works. Instead of searching for an explanation and a definition, believers succumb to a general concept. Instead of an understood god, they fall to mystery. Well, mystery doesn’t explain anything. Mystery is the problem. Indeed, mystery is what drives the sciences. And science helps us actually explain things!
When people like my cousin shit all over the scientific method because it contradicts their god, I get mad. I get especially mad if they haven’t even taken the time to learn about the things they reject. There are numerous articles they could read in scientific journals. But what gets me most angry is that these are scientifically illiterate people who are rejecting science in the name of a god that they can’t even understand. If you’re going to reject the findings of science in the name of god, you better be damned sure what it is you’re talking about. If you’re going to stand in the way of human progress in the name of god, you better be able to tell us what god looks like first!
If you can’t define god, then you have no reason to use one as a weapon against the scientific method and its findings.
The bible is filled with murderous thugs, and Baasha is a great example. This Old Testament king of the Israelite Kingdom of Israel murdered his way to the throne, killing his predecessor and his predecessor’s entire family. Sometime before (or after) his death he waged a bloody war against Asa’s Kingdom of Judah. Wait, what? Something’s wrong here. Let’s look to the scripture.
First in 1 Kings 16:6-8 we learn that Baasha died before the war with Judah, during the “twenty-sixth year of King Asa.”
But then a few bible books later in 2 Chronicles 16:1 we find that Baasha is still alive ten years after he died. This living corpse is fighting a major war against the Kingdom of Judah! Apparently even the OT believes in zombies!
It’s no wonder Baasha lost the war against Asa. Defeat is almost certain when you’re already dead.
It’s difficult to accept that — even in the twenty-first century — there are people out there who still believe the Noah Flood Myth actually took place. We have a lot of tools at our disposal to debunk the claims of a global flood as outlined in Genesis. Indeed, they’ve been used time and time again. Here, let me google that for you. Furthermore, after extensive research no one has produced a single shred of evidence of a global flood or an ark.
One Youtube user (bushonomics) made a video in 2010 where he uses simple math to debunk the story. His methodology is spotty. I’ll admit that. But his shortcomings give creationists more room, not less. And despite this his math still adds up and lands on the side of the flood is mathematically impossible. I’m not going to discuss the video further. If you’re interested in it, click the link.
In the comments section of the video I came across a rather interesting response from an apologist. Here it is:
Matthew 24:37-39 indeed tells us that Jesus believed the flood myth. But that is no reason to think it actually happened. If Jesus existed and actually said this (doubtful), then he was speaking from the same ignorance that plagued the minds of those who wrote the Genesis account. He was no more educated than they were.
Some might argue that the flood myth was an allegory, and Jesus merely repeated the allegory. There are two problems with this. First, the flood myth plays an important role in Christian doctrine. The myth has come to represent much more than merely a children’s tale. If people could accept the allegory* then Jesus should have mentioned that it wasn’t a literal event. Second, jumping off from that, Jesus never said it was an allegory! He repeats the story as if it actually happened.
BachScholar nails it! If we can deny the flood — which we have every reason to do — then we can call Jesus a liar and a bad teacher. He was the friggin’ son of god! He should’ve known better! Seriously, for someone claiming to be all-knowing, he didn’t seem to know too much about history (or science). So yes, BachScholar I’ll stop beating around the bush and say it. Jesus was a liar and a bad teacher.
Exorcisms have been in the news lately, from the (probably bogus) claim that the Pope performed a public exorcism on a Mexican man last month, to Gordon Klingenschmitt, who’s suggested that atheists should be exorcised so that they’ll feel comfortable going to church. Exorcisms can be prolonged experiences, perhaps lasting as long as several days, and they can be violent and dangerous, despite Church rules that mitigate the danger. Despite this, I am willing to volunteer myself for exorcism.
Klingenschmitt, who is closely monitored by Right Wing Watch, appears to believe that atheists are possessed by demons. This belief comes despite the fact that there are no church teachings to suggest it. In fact, logic would tell us that if Satan were real, he would probably steer very far away from atheists, because if he revealed himself to an atheist by way of demonic possession, then the atheist would no longer be an atheist and would be a believer.
Anyway, to all religious people out there who believe that atheists are blinded by demonic possession, I submit to you my challenge. Prove it. I will volunteer myself for exorcism as well as baptism, spiritual counseling and/or confession. If the church will allow it a formal exorcism can be performed; however, I will settle for a minor exorcism as well.
You have nothing to lose here. At worst nothing changes, and you can blame it on powerful demons or say I’m wicked and was never possessed. But there’s always the possibility that I truly am possessed. Performing the exorcism might lead me to Jesus and belief in god. So, while you have nothing to lose, you have the ability to prove that exorcism works against non-believers, which would be a gain.
I don’t expect many people will take me up on this offer. If they do, I still have no reason to expect that I’ll suddenly become religious. So this offer, while genuine and sincere, stands in jest. Klingenschmitt has some strange ideas. If he wants to prove them right, he has my permission to experiment on me.
I’m a member of a closed Facebook group called Black Atheists. It’s an interesting group because the general assumption is that black people in the US tend to be religious. This page helps to break that stereotype. Today I logged onto Facebook, and the first thing I noticed in my feed was the following introductory post in the Black Atheists group:
I’ve concealed the OP’s identity to protect them from stigma in the event that they haven’t “come out” as questioning their long-held religious beliefs. In the event that she’s a full-fledged atheist, this is even more crucial. Anyway, moving on.
OP lists Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 film Django Unchained as the cause for her shifting religious views. When I saw this I was somewhat confused, and so was another user:
Now it makes sense! I was blessed with a relatively religion-less upbringing, and I’ve been a bible critic since dating my first girlfriend, whose mother was a Jehovah’s Witness (ew). I have known for practically my entire life the problems with slavery in the bible. Here is a list of everything the bible says about slavery. Not once is slavery condemned (although to be fair, there are a few verses in the bible about freeing slaves, but even those have caveats). This is not new news to me, and it’s not new news to most people.
But I can imagine what it must be like for black people in the US who go to Christian churches. Especially if they go to a black Christian church, I’m almost certain that the preacher will omit slavery-condoning verses in his sermons. I’m even more certain that he probably won’t discuss how slavery was justified in the US based on those pro-slavery verses.
Why would this revelation threaten to shake someone’s faith? Well, I can’t speak on behalf of the black community, but I can venture a guess. Many people assume that slavery is just a thing of the past, a black eye on America’s historical record. But it’s not. Although we are no longer forcing people of African descent into bondage, the effects of the times when we did are still around. Racism in the US might not be what it was even fifty years ago, but there is no getting around the fact that it’s still here, and so are poverty, unequal distribution of jobs and opportunity, and low representation. And it all started because white Christians picked up the bible and clobbered an entire race of people over the head with it. The link between Christianity and the African American population is exactly the link between Christianity and slavery.
Anyway, the conversation went on for many more posts. Here are a few more:
Here we can see how the link between Christianity and the African American community follows the same path between Christianity and slavery. If slavery were merely “a thing of the past,” this conversation would’ve never taken place.
It took a Hollywood film to break through the illusion that the church taught this woman. She has a long road ahead of her, and, considering that she chose to join a group called Black Atheists, it might end with her leaving behind all belief in god. I wish her luck. Thankfully, it looks like she’s already making progress in her journey.
The question this brings up is how many other people questioned their faith after watching Django Unchained? People aren’t dumb. The film throws some hefty accusations at Christianity, and anyone who sees the film can do a simple google search to confirm that those accusations are true.
The Atheist Papers 