I believe atheism is the root of all evil. In modern view a general consensus amongst the “norm” believe the state of mankind has progressed from a more barbaric period of mans struggle upon the planet to something “more civilized”. Even in recent events witnessed by television in America, a modern invention of the 20th century, many witnessed the growth of American prejudice with racial conflicts. many laws were enacted for civil liberties and equal rights and man progresses.
Many would say man was akin to simple caveman description of long ago. no books or any learned material for one to hone and strengthen the mind, these works of literature and knowledge a product of 15th century mechanics and printing presses. thus, prior to such a time, a human being was simple compared to one which studies the world around them by collected works and observations of others in order to form a “worldly view”. however, even in today’s world of achievements, there are many tribes still living as any so called “pre-civilized” society. as a matter of fact, only in early summer of 2008 a hidden tribe of the Brazilian rain forest was uncovered to shock and amazement of researchers who strongly believed all was uncovered by mid 20th century. still many stones are left unturned.Thus, one may easily see the behavior of simple man as he would have existed thousands of years ago with simplicity of existence. Truly, one may make an informed judgment of the state of mans behavior towards each other as a function of living together without any tools of modern living in comparison to mans finest cities and all the amenities it offers for civilization.
Now let us ask a simple question to ourselves. given the choice, where would you live, in a city with with allthe advancements of mans struggle to harness nature;plumbing/electricity/true health care/etc etc or living in the jungle as one with nature as exhibited by some tribes to this day. it is evident most human beings choose modern forms of living. thus, there seems to be a consensus amognst mankind. it is good to strive for a level of civilization that grows in knowledge and awareness for mankind’s mastery of the elements around him in order to provide added comfort and security to their lives as opposed to the lives lived before them in a somewhat “darker time”.
Now let us ask ourselves the question of spirituality and its effect upon a human population and its relevance. It should be readily apparent that the so called civilized nations that have endured thru the centuries were those with a common form of worship amongst their members in order to provide discipline-love and understanding for a human race that not only wants to find answers about nature in order to tame her- but also mans existence in why we are even alive and where are we going after death. these questions have been a part of our mind in all lands and peoples as clearly exhibited by observation of every tribe of people on this planet. all people on this planet have some form of worship and respect to god. let the definition of god be so general that it incorporates all peoples beliefs on this planet, i give no details except to honor all peoples dignity and respect of their own desire to honor something they personally believe might have given them life, might greet them in their own death, and comfort and regulate the after life for our forefathers and our time after death of a physical existence. Thus, it is apparent, the vast majority of the planet will not deny the possibility of such an existence of a greater power that has given life to all things.
Now let us ask ourselves amongst all the peoples of the earth, why is there a code of conduct and ethics between mankind. the so called golden rule described in so many ways- do unto others as you would have done to you. there is no question in all the lands of the earth, society has setup some form of government between people in order for advancement peace and stability. i believe i do not have to debate this in detail nor describe it- it is a no brainier. WE CALL THIS LAWS. you may say laws of government over the people have nothing to do with any spirituality whatsoever and may exists in a purely atheistic society, however, i have never witnessed a society ever in history of mankind that fully abolished the laws of god(in whatever forms they have deduced from their own messengers) for a population to be only atheistic. there is not one nation on this earth that is purely atheistic-why- it would have killed itself off. what exists today is the byproduct of many thousand years of mans struggle upon the planet and a direct reflection of war and peace between one another.
Let us look at western civilizations best friend, the dog, i cannot say this for eastern peoples, as they have dogs as meals. However, so much can be learned from mans belief that his so called best friend is a dog, a descendant of the wolf. why not the wolf itself? can you walk right up to a wolf today, i don’t think so, and in many years of breeding from the most gentile wolf in ancient times, man has breed out much of the angry disposition of some breeds. More importantly for this discussion, who is your best friend, is it not something that listens and obeys your every wish(usually but with a treat), is there for you when you need them(where else can they go as you house them), is a trusted friend and companion when you are alone. I would say if man treated any human being as they do their canine friend, they would have a great possibility of a best friend in human form. feed and house them for free and treat them with respect, i believe a human being may achieve many best friends and not just one. Thus, who is to say, is the dog truly mans best friend by many years of taming the wolf to a dog, or is it the fact you feed and take care of this animal, i wonder if you would not feed your dog for two days and leave your infant child in the room with them, would your mind be at ease, or would you say that is unfair, and a dog must be fed. here comes my argument of man and spirituality. if man was not fed for a day or two, what will man do. can man be trusted when the pressure is on- when the struggle is hardest, can man be trusted as a friend or a civilized person to behave accordingly between one another in order for the entire tribe/group/society of common peoples survive TOGETHER. THIS IS THE HEART OF THE QUESTION. what will man do when the struggle of life is so enormous, who will resort to honor and dignity in a civilized fashion, or savagery like the wolf.
Thus, life is life for all man. nature will surely treat all without prejudice. the struggle of life will impact all peoples of the earth with equal proportions. Thus, when put to the test of life, what quality of man is beneficial not only to himself, but to the collective will of his own family, his tribe, his society. All man is equal upon this earth, America has shown this clearly as all races of people may perform the same tasks, what man thinks they cannot do what another man can do. However, i speak not of deeds and tasks anyone may strive for like a simple dog doing tricks, i speak of evil and bad amongst man. who will “break down” in the so called internal struggle man has to be civil to one another- the atheist or the devout follower of an afterlife.
this is a very easy test, take away the possessions and stability of a man, and watch what he does. The truly devout person with a strong belief in an afterlife and god will be humble and continue to struggle in a humble fashion for stability, the atheists on the other hand will live to their mottos may the strong survive-dog eat dog-its nature and natural-etc etc- simple behavior by simple animals are the atheists. in today’s prison system is a vast pool of knowledge that clearly shows man without boundary’s, is truly a man who will infringe upon your boundary. over and over again many will try to tread on others in a violent or non caring fashion, we find them and imprison them, sooner or later and only be their own judgments and an enlightenment by others, man will “hit rock bottom”, and be born again into a new light. I have personally witnessed by friends and example by media so many human beings who lived a life for themselves in an atheistic fashion, it is only the salvation of a higher power in which one puts their trust and faith into they can be saved as a human being with a belief they are a child of a higher god. I have never witnessed a born again convict find the words of the atheists – there is no growth in it, only confusion and a limited peak may be reached as one believes they are simply the the descendant of an animal ape. those of faith understand the possibility of being here by a far greater entity, thus, the growth in mind and spirit in unlimited, as our belief in a higher god is one of infinity in space and time.
But why do the atheists exist since time immortal. these indivuals that do not conform to universal laws of the state govenment and spiritual houses. i believe they exists because of mans state of existence on this planet. i believe we are all the children of god with a duty to cultivate and grow upon this planet. i believe our duty is THY will be done on earth as it is in heaven. i believe heaven is a utopian advanced civilization in the universe. i believe the highest form of civilization exists somewhere in this universe, i believe we are here with the obvious fact given absolutely nothing by ways of tools to cultivate this planet, only our free will and mind and an opportunity to show our creator what the children can do together. i believe the atheists are neglected persons who have been hurt in early childhood by abuse in physical or verbal means, i believe atheists have been hurt by their fellowman and are disgusted by the actions of others who call themselves followers of a higher power, i believe those hurt hurt the atheists sometime in their lives were no string followers of faith in god, but in fact, like them, hurt too somewhere in life and the cycle continues. i believe the atheists are a function of mans behavior towards one another. i believe when man is mans best friend, we make sure we are all fed, all housed, all educated, all loved, when all man no matter what struggle is place upon them, they will fight and defend their fellowman as children of god, i believe when this day comes, there will be no atheists upon this earth. why, because the days of faith will end upon this planet as man has performed his initial goal as children of god- THY will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I believe this world will be visited by an advanced civilization, one which is our connected family within this universe, i believe answers for our existence will come, they will come when man continues to struggle to fight for the life and dignity of all the human race. I believe it has been said by the Christ- my kingdom is not of this world- this implies our roots are not only from earth, but another place in the universe and all is connected. i believe the supernatural events depicted by the Christ is an example of power that has been respected by many cultures in pyramids in ancient societies, i believe when man places his soul in a higher power with faith we are far greater than we can comprehend at this stage of our growth upon this planet, your soul will find comfort. it is clear we have division in today’s world with spirituality and who is right or wrong, what language do we speak, what culture, who is true, who is false. I believe life is a struggle, since our time in inception from swimming amongst our brothers to find our mate;) to life itself the struggle, i believe god has given us a wonderful place for all of us to come together and struggle to make peace on earth. i believe we will succeed as children of a higher god.
Soloman: Thanks for stopping by. Couple of things:
1. Belief is the ability to think something true despite absence of supporting evidence or in the face of contrary evidence. Congratulations on disproving your thesis in the first line.
2. Comments should be like miniskirts: long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting. I scanned your post but seriously doubt that anyone will read it all the way through.
3. Comments and posts should, whenever possible, be grammatically and punctuationally correct. Otherwise, what’s the point?
4. You really need to do some basic research regarding atheism.
I suppose if you let idiots like me on your blog you have to let idiot zombies like Azar in the door. But jeez, you could at least have randomly removed every other word to shorten the thing with no loss of meaning… well, actually you could have randomly removed every word without losing any meaning.
I’m unsure as to what I’m doing, never having blogged before. But I wanted to explore thoughts and ideas with other atheist.
I’m a life long athiest and love any idea that will bolster atheism.
For the past few years I have been “blacking out” the word god in the motto “In god we trust” on all my paper money. If America has 5 to 10 percent atheists, and they would all cross out the word god on their paper money, it would not be long before all our paper money was liberated.
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I spent most of Thursday and all day Friday, over thirty six hours, camping just south of the Williamsport airport, right beside the Loyalsock River. I had occasion to think about you even though we’ve never personally met. Wished you could have been with us.
Several civil war reenactment groups go to this place and the Momtoursville elemetary school sixth grade comes and they relay from station to station among us and the different groups (infantry, artillery, medical, period kid’s play, confederate, and our band does music)all day. It’s a lot of fun.
It’s a very pretty, even historical place, and the wildlife is really something. There are all kinds of ducks, geese, egrets (egrets: I’ve had a few…) herons and other waders, you see skunks, weasels, racoons, possums, all sorts of birds including eagles (or, as prounced in these parts: ‘iggles’)and usuallt a lot of snakes come out of the woods and snap up things our activities stir up. And a whole lot more.
This year was kind of special, though, we saw some unusual things.
In the past when I’d pointed out the eagles (usually in flight) all our twenty somethings saw were big distant birds. This year they actually landed on the bank of the river about thirty feet away, and in the trees around the camp.
One of the artillery ladies came running up from the river yelling that ther was a giant snake in the river and it was coming our way. So, in true survival pattern, we went down to see this phenomenon. It wasn’t a snake as big around as your thigh, it was a family of otters. And they weren’t at all shy. Everyone but me was fascinated. I just nodded, snorted, turned to go back to camp. I retorted that they weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, “just what they oughter…” Some of my colleagues wondered if the creatures could be enticed to bite me… as hard and often as possible.
It was still daylight and I heard a woman yelling “omigodomigodomigod”! and walking out of the woods comes a bear, looked to go about three hundred pounds, and it’s carrying a faun in its mouth. It just sort of looked at us and kept walking across the clearing, back into the woods and I guess to enjoy its supper.
One of the women yelled, “Well, DO something”! to the nearest male. Nearest male, displaying candor which is seldom seen relied, “I’m about to, but I’ll have to change my fruit of the looms”!
One of the reenactors is a zoologist and biologist who does some work for fish and wildlife, and he said that he wondered about that sort of thing, wasn’t surprised to see it. About five years ago a lot of acreage in the area had been clear cut and the second growth was really dense. You could see deer inside the airfield perimeter and on the local ball fields grazing and he figured that the does would be leaving their fauns inside those thickets while they ate. Bear are probably the only thing that can smell out the fauns and get to them, and there it was.
Next day our laison from the school told us that that had been seen almost everyday for a month in that area, the bears sometimes actually walking right on the perimeter road.
Some were a bit worried about a reurn visit, but our group put all the food in MY tent. I remonstrated with them, but they said it should be safe. They figured a bear wouldn’t go in where there was a skunk smell. The stench has been much reduced due to the miracles of chemistry, but they gave me their solemn word that I was still redolent after my recent encounter. Plus for making horrible jokes I deserved it. It was my PUN-isment.
Then the owls came out and I thought about all the people I knew who would have treasured such an experince and I thought of you. Wished you were there, friend, you’d have loved it.
Sarge: Sounds like a fun weekend. One of the things I like about PA is that, even close to the bigger towns and small cities, the wildlife (including the charismatic megafauna) is always close by.
I would enjoy trading bad jokes with you (of course, it would punish any nearby).
Had another weekend that I thought about how you might enjoy at least some aspects of it, especially certain questions of credulity.
Last weekind our reenactment group participated in the Music Muster put on by the park service at Gettysburg. We got every reenactor’s dream, we actually camped on the battlefield down behind the Pennsylvania monument.
It was a typical G’burg weather, hot and humid in the extreme, but we looked forward to it.
I had surgurey last Monday, they’d had to break my lower and upper jaw and cheek on the left side and remove some tissue (jaws are still wired shut and my wife claims that this alone is proof of a deity’s existence and benevolence, proof that it loves her), and then they also removed two more melanoma tumors from my neck and shoulder, but I went anyway because who is going to pass up an opprotunity like that? Plus, I promised to “take it easy” and “not over-do it”. All the women in my life simply rolled their eyes and shook their heads.
It got me that many people asked, “aren’t you worried about ghosts”? A lot of these were otherwise very sensible people and they asked this question in all seriousness.
After we got our camp set up we got in uniform and went walking up to Round Top, and it turned out to be one of those things that Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.
I had managed to tear loose some of the staples in my neck and shoulder and started bleeding from those, and the same thing happened inside my face. My face is swollen and discolored from the surgurey as it is, and what with the heat and humidity it was very hard to breathe because of the inside swelling and bleeding.
We were near one of the pull-offs (tourists about) and it was shady, and my companions made me go over by a tree and sit down in the shade while they looked me over, and they saw that I was really bleeding a lot from my mouth and nose plus the shoulder area, and I’m starting to choke.
That’s when the tourists noticed that we were there. And that there was REAL distress and REAL blood along with the uniforms that hadn’t been there just a couple of minutes ago.
There were many screams, “Oh, My God”s, and I’m told a grown man shoved his kids out of the way and started sprinting for his car bellowing “F***king ghosts”!
Two of the tourists, though, didn’t buy it, and one of them said, “Ghosts, my ass”. She and another lady came over to see if they could help as they were an ER nurse and an EMT. As they walked over they remarked to their companions that they’d never heard of Gettysburg ghosts talking on cell phones (which the two of them had observed immediately, as one of my friends was calling camp for a ride back).
We were continually asked if we’d seen ghosts been menaced by them, all weekend. We told people, nah, it was so humid their sheets were waterlogged and all they could do was thrash around on the grass. It was too hot for them even to go ‘booga-booga’.
Besides, why should they exert themselves when the mosquitos, horse flies, and yellow jackets were causing us more consternation, inconvenience, and distress than any mere ghost ever could?
But the first thing most people said was about ghosts…
Odd, but my grandfather’s uncle was actually in the battle and was wounded there (Got my real war wounds a shade over a hundred years later)and we see a lot of reenactors from your side of the pond at the big reenactment held there.
We are also interested in your civil war, and I reenact as a corporal of Popham’s Horse at English Civil War events that are staged here.
Reenacting in the summer in wool is pretty tough, but when you put on a buff coat, back and breast plate, lobster tailed helmet, gauntlets and a big iron hand and arm guard, it gets pretty grim. Hang a rather heavy petronel from one shoulder and a big sword off the other and in mid Atlantic summer, you really suffer.
Yes, I’m a “roundhead”, my wife says it’s fitting, I’m too grouchy to be a “Laughing Cavalier”.
Actually, Sarge, I’m not British. But these days, you know, I take that as a compliment.
The English Civil War reenactments sound interesting, though. You do get around. As for being a grouchy Roundhead… how much were the cavaliers laughing when it was all said and done? I’d bet you’re a Roundhead because you have a more rebublican, (in the good sense of the word), nature.
Sarge: Scaring the shit out of National Park visitors is really uncool. After all, I never, ever, scared visitors. Well, okay, I did jump off the rim of the Grand Canyon to scare them, but that’s different. And yes, I caught tarantulas, put them on my shoulder, and scared visitors in the Visitor Center but that’s different — it was intentional.
Seriously, Sarge: take care of yourself. Take it easy. Listen to your wife. And I hope you feel better.
Actually, Postman, I’m registered to vote as a socialist, and my hair is, indeed, close cropped. This is because a teacher used to think hair made a handy thing to grab, and when I was also a young’un, I wore it long for a while and was sleeping at the stable…there was a rat…my hair…and next day a crew cut, as I’ve kept ever since.
Your colleagues were pretty good to us, (((Billy))), and we enjoyed our stay.
Still, people have expectations, I guess, like seeing ghosts (even if one is talking on a cell phone)and in the museum there is a cornet which is reported to have been played at “Stonewall” Jackson’s funeral by a certain person.
Maybe the guy played A cornet at the funeral, but it wasn’t THAT horn, as it couldn’t have been made prior to the 1870’s (valve type and spit key are two dead give-aways) and we mentioned this to one of the rangers at the place.
He sighed, told us we weren’t the first to notice this, but the higher-ups agreed that it was THE one, so, it would probably remain so…what did we want from HIM? He was just a GS 5 interpreter.
Those of us who had labored a while in Uncle Sam’s vinyards just thanked him for his attention, shook his hand and patted his shoulder.
Thought of you just a few minutes ago, as a naturalist you might enjoy this.
I actually SAW the first robins of the season! I DID, I tell you!
They were sitting on a branch in my yard, and I’d guess they were contemplating a couple of things in the semi-dark:
A. Did they have the reserves to bob-bob-bob their young asses along back down south?
B. The early bird gets the worm…but where does he requisition the equipment to get through three feet of snow and ice, plus who knows how much frozen ground to PROCURE said worm?
There was another watcher, a cat who was eyeing them speculatively.
But, you know? They were eyeing him back. Just as speculatively.
I put out some suet and they got some. The woodpeckers don’t show up until well after dawn, usually.
Sarge: What in the name of pluperfect hell were robins doing in Altoona? In the snow? In winter? In your yard? I guess you must just be a little ray of sunshine to attract such warm-weather friends.
Hope you’re doing OK, merely busy since we haven’t heard from you.
I saw a weasel in my yard last week. Would have missed him, but his movements were contrary to waht the wind was doing to the lawn debris, and he stood up twice to look around! He seemed to be trailing a chipmunk that I’d seen going by about ten minutes before, he was casting about right the way it had gone.
Had an experience last night that deals with expectation and wrong interpretaion of daya into evidence of the supernatural.
Two of the young ladies in our band had to go to a historical home to complete some business last night after rehearsal, and as the place is isolated, it is not lighted, and we were concerned about the possibility of problems with them alone in the place, another guy and me went with them.
They went to the third floor to finish some paperwork, and we two guys stayed on the first floor.
This place is said to be haunted, and the manifestations include an olfactory one.
The girls were coming down the stairs, and my companion delivered himself of a fart that was truly heroic in its pungency (I guess, I can’t smell or taste anything, the young ladies commented on it, and no, it WASN’T me!!)
They got to the bottom of the stairs and started taking deep breaths, they were excited.
It’s the ghost! It was right HERE! Didn’t you two SEE it? (the ghost is known by a bad smell as well as moving things, and the occasional glimpse, I’m told)
They were sniffing, looking high and low, and we couldn’t help it, we started laughing.
They were neither best pleased nor amused to find out that what they were sniffing deep drafts of the ghost of haluskas our friend had eaten for dinner.
They really thought it was the haunting of the woman they were detecting. I guess they wished it were!
Then again, maybe it should better be known as a “Boojum” missile? After all, as the old poem goes, “…for the Snark WAS a Boojum, you see…”
My wife says that me building a “Snark” missile was a combination of life and art that was almost frightening.
My one aunt was on the design team of the Martin Matador Missile, and I know where you can get a REAL one if you want. No motor, it’s kind of rusty, but hey! Surprise (((wife))) and record the look on her face for us. I suppose survival of the situation we be a prerequisite, for that, though…
We were at a reenactment at a place called Belington, WVA. This is the ste of the one of the first battles of the civil war, the battle of Laurel Hill.
It was hot and humid, but I can tell you, the place is just beautiful! There is a lake and a hiking trail, and a pavillion for picnics.
It’s out of the way, but it is one of those little gems you find that you’re glad you saw and want to see again.
I was watching the birds, the bear that came through, and the other natural phenoms, and figured that this was something that you would appreciate.
If you are ever down that way, turn aside, you won’t be wasting your time and won’t be disappointed.
As you may have noticed, this blog is now defunct. I haven’t formally shut it down because I am, once again, completely and totally locked out of the blog and, despite my best efforts, can not get back in.
However, that is not why I let the blog fall by the wayside. I’ve neglected it partly because of depression and having too many other things going on in meatspace.
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(((Billy))) The Atheist 
Hi Billy,
Ben The Atheist, here. I run http://www.createcognitivedissonance.wordpress.com. Any chance you’d like to trade links? I’m on the blogroll, but woud like to link directly, if possible.
Let me know, thanks man.
Ben Barnett
I believe atheism is the root of all evil. In modern view a general consensus amongst the “norm” believe the state of mankind has progressed from a more barbaric period of mans struggle upon the planet to something “more civilized”. Even in recent events witnessed by television in America, a modern invention of the 20th century, many witnessed the growth of American prejudice with racial conflicts. many laws were enacted for civil liberties and equal rights and man progresses.
Many would say man was akin to simple caveman description of long ago. no books or any learned material for one to hone and strengthen the mind, these works of literature and knowledge a product of 15th century mechanics and printing presses. thus, prior to such a time, a human being was simple compared to one which studies the world around them by collected works and observations of others in order to form a “worldly view”. however, even in today’s world of achievements, there are many tribes still living as any so called “pre-civilized” society. as a matter of fact, only in early summer of 2008 a hidden tribe of the Brazilian rain forest was uncovered to shock and amazement of researchers who strongly believed all was uncovered by mid 20th century. still many stones are left unturned.Thus, one may easily see the behavior of simple man as he would have existed thousands of years ago with simplicity of existence. Truly, one may make an informed judgment of the state of mans behavior towards each other as a function of living together without any tools of modern living in comparison to mans finest cities and all the amenities it offers for civilization.
Now let us ask a simple question to ourselves. given the choice, where would you live, in a city with with allthe advancements of mans struggle to harness nature;plumbing/electricity/true health care/etc etc or living in the jungle as one with nature as exhibited by some tribes to this day. it is evident most human beings choose modern forms of living. thus, there seems to be a consensus amognst mankind. it is good to strive for a level of civilization that grows in knowledge and awareness for mankind’s mastery of the elements around him in order to provide added comfort and security to their lives as opposed to the lives lived before them in a somewhat “darker time”.
Now let us ask ourselves the question of spirituality and its effect upon a human population and its relevance. It should be readily apparent that the so called civilized nations that have endured thru the centuries were those with a common form of worship amongst their members in order to provide discipline-love and understanding for a human race that not only wants to find answers about nature in order to tame her- but also mans existence in why we are even alive and where are we going after death. these questions have been a part of our mind in all lands and peoples as clearly exhibited by observation of every tribe of people on this planet. all people on this planet have some form of worship and respect to god. let the definition of god be so general that it incorporates all peoples beliefs on this planet, i give no details except to honor all peoples dignity and respect of their own desire to honor something they personally believe might have given them life, might greet them in their own death, and comfort and regulate the after life for our forefathers and our time after death of a physical existence. Thus, it is apparent, the vast majority of the planet will not deny the possibility of such an existence of a greater power that has given life to all things.
Now let us ask ourselves amongst all the peoples of the earth, why is there a code of conduct and ethics between mankind. the so called golden rule described in so many ways- do unto others as you would have done to you. there is no question in all the lands of the earth, society has setup some form of government between people in order for advancement peace and stability. i believe i do not have to debate this in detail nor describe it- it is a no brainier. WE CALL THIS LAWS. you may say laws of government over the people have nothing to do with any spirituality whatsoever and may exists in a purely atheistic society, however, i have never witnessed a society ever in history of mankind that fully abolished the laws of god(in whatever forms they have deduced from their own messengers) for a population to be only atheistic. there is not one nation on this earth that is purely atheistic-why- it would have killed itself off. what exists today is the byproduct of many thousand years of mans struggle upon the planet and a direct reflection of war and peace between one another.
Let us look at western civilizations best friend, the dog, i cannot say this for eastern peoples, as they have dogs as meals. However, so much can be learned from mans belief that his so called best friend is a dog, a descendant of the wolf. why not the wolf itself? can you walk right up to a wolf today, i don’t think so, and in many years of breeding from the most gentile wolf in ancient times, man has breed out much of the angry disposition of some breeds. More importantly for this discussion, who is your best friend, is it not something that listens and obeys your every wish(usually but with a treat), is there for you when you need them(where else can they go as you house them), is a trusted friend and companion when you are alone. I would say if man treated any human being as they do their canine friend, they would have a great possibility of a best friend in human form. feed and house them for free and treat them with respect, i believe a human being may achieve many best friends and not just one. Thus, who is to say, is the dog truly mans best friend by many years of taming the wolf to a dog, or is it the fact you feed and take care of this animal, i wonder if you would not feed your dog for two days and leave your infant child in the room with them, would your mind be at ease, or would you say that is unfair, and a dog must be fed. here comes my argument of man and spirituality. if man was not fed for a day or two, what will man do. can man be trusted when the pressure is on- when the struggle is hardest, can man be trusted as a friend or a civilized person to behave accordingly between one another in order for the entire tribe/group/society of common peoples survive TOGETHER. THIS IS THE HEART OF THE QUESTION. what will man do when the struggle of life is so enormous, who will resort to honor and dignity in a civilized fashion, or savagery like the wolf.
Thus, life is life for all man. nature will surely treat all without prejudice. the struggle of life will impact all peoples of the earth with equal proportions. Thus, when put to the test of life, what quality of man is beneficial not only to himself, but to the collective will of his own family, his tribe, his society. All man is equal upon this earth, America has shown this clearly as all races of people may perform the same tasks, what man thinks they cannot do what another man can do. However, i speak not of deeds and tasks anyone may strive for like a simple dog doing tricks, i speak of evil and bad amongst man. who will “break down” in the so called internal struggle man has to be civil to one another- the atheist or the devout follower of an afterlife.
this is a very easy test, take away the possessions and stability of a man, and watch what he does. The truly devout person with a strong belief in an afterlife and god will be humble and continue to struggle in a humble fashion for stability, the atheists on the other hand will live to their mottos may the strong survive-dog eat dog-its nature and natural-etc etc- simple behavior by simple animals are the atheists. in today’s prison system is a vast pool of knowledge that clearly shows man without boundary’s, is truly a man who will infringe upon your boundary. over and over again many will try to tread on others in a violent or non caring fashion, we find them and imprison them, sooner or later and only be their own judgments and an enlightenment by others, man will “hit rock bottom”, and be born again into a new light. I have personally witnessed by friends and example by media so many human beings who lived a life for themselves in an atheistic fashion, it is only the salvation of a higher power in which one puts their trust and faith into they can be saved as a human being with a belief they are a child of a higher god. I have never witnessed a born again convict find the words of the atheists – there is no growth in it, only confusion and a limited peak may be reached as one believes they are simply the the descendant of an animal ape. those of faith understand the possibility of being here by a far greater entity, thus, the growth in mind and spirit in unlimited, as our belief in a higher god is one of infinity in space and time.
But why do the atheists exist since time immortal. these indivuals that do not conform to universal laws of the state govenment and spiritual houses. i believe they exists because of mans state of existence on this planet. i believe we are all the children of god with a duty to cultivate and grow upon this planet. i believe our duty is THY will be done on earth as it is in heaven. i believe heaven is a utopian advanced civilization in the universe. i believe the highest form of civilization exists somewhere in this universe, i believe we are here with the obvious fact given absolutely nothing by ways of tools to cultivate this planet, only our free will and mind and an opportunity to show our creator what the children can do together. i believe the atheists are neglected persons who have been hurt in early childhood by abuse in physical or verbal means, i believe atheists have been hurt by their fellowman and are disgusted by the actions of others who call themselves followers of a higher power, i believe those hurt hurt the atheists sometime in their lives were no string followers of faith in god, but in fact, like them, hurt too somewhere in life and the cycle continues. i believe the atheists are a function of mans behavior towards one another. i believe when man is mans best friend, we make sure we are all fed, all housed, all educated, all loved, when all man no matter what struggle is place upon them, they will fight and defend their fellowman as children of god, i believe when this day comes, there will be no atheists upon this earth. why, because the days of faith will end upon this planet as man has performed his initial goal as children of god- THY will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I believe this world will be visited by an advanced civilization, one which is our connected family within this universe, i believe answers for our existence will come, they will come when man continues to struggle to fight for the life and dignity of all the human race. I believe it has been said by the Christ- my kingdom is not of this world- this implies our roots are not only from earth, but another place in the universe and all is connected. i believe the supernatural events depicted by the Christ is an example of power that has been respected by many cultures in pyramids in ancient societies, i believe when man places his soul in a higher power with faith we are far greater than we can comprehend at this stage of our growth upon this planet, your soul will find comfort. it is clear we have division in today’s world with spirituality and who is right or wrong, what language do we speak, what culture, who is true, who is false. I believe life is a struggle, since our time in inception from swimming amongst our brothers to find our mate;) to life itself the struggle, i believe god has given us a wonderful place for all of us to come together and struggle to make peace on earth. i believe we will succeed as children of a higher god.
Soloman: Thanks for stopping by. Couple of things:
1. Belief is the ability to think something true despite absence of supporting evidence or in the face of contrary evidence. Congratulations on disproving your thesis in the first line.
2. Comments should be like miniskirts: long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting. I scanned your post but seriously doubt that anyone will read it all the way through.
3. Comments and posts should, whenever possible, be grammatically and punctuationally correct. Otherwise, what’s the point?
4. You really need to do some basic research regarding atheism.
May reason and open mindedness find you. Quickly.
()-
I suppose if you let idiots like me on your blog you have to let idiot zombies like Azar in the door. But jeez, you could at least have randomly removed every other word to shorten the thing with no loss of meaning… well, actually you could have randomly removed every word without losing any meaning.
Wow! I tried to read Soloman’s post… Not one bit of logic in it at all. Unfortunately there’s no arguing with fundies.
Remember that bumper sticker from the 80’s? It was, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”
How can you argue with someone like that?
I’m unsure as to what I’m doing, never having blogged before. But I wanted to explore thoughts and ideas with other atheist.
I’m a life long athiest and love any idea that will bolster atheism.
For the past few years I have been “blacking out” the word god in the motto “In god we trust” on all my paper money. If America has 5 to 10 percent atheists, and they would all cross out the word god on their paper money, it would not be long before all our paper money was liberated.
What do you think?
i like the blog
keep it up
ever heard of SSA?
my blog is over here: freakball[dot]wordpress[dot]com
ciao
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I spent most of Thursday and all day Friday, over thirty six hours, camping just south of the Williamsport airport, right beside the Loyalsock River. I had occasion to think about you even though we’ve never personally met. Wished you could have been with us.
Several civil war reenactment groups go to this place and the Momtoursville elemetary school sixth grade comes and they relay from station to station among us and the different groups (infantry, artillery, medical, period kid’s play, confederate, and our band does music)all day. It’s a lot of fun.
It’s a very pretty, even historical place, and the wildlife is really something. There are all kinds of ducks, geese, egrets (egrets: I’ve had a few…) herons and other waders, you see skunks, weasels, racoons, possums, all sorts of birds including eagles (or, as prounced in these parts: ‘iggles’)and usuallt a lot of snakes come out of the woods and snap up things our activities stir up. And a whole lot more.
This year was kind of special, though, we saw some unusual things.
In the past when I’d pointed out the eagles (usually in flight) all our twenty somethings saw were big distant birds. This year they actually landed on the bank of the river about thirty feet away, and in the trees around the camp.
One of the artillery ladies came running up from the river yelling that ther was a giant snake in the river and it was coming our way. So, in true survival pattern, we went down to see this phenomenon. It wasn’t a snake as big around as your thigh, it was a family of otters. And they weren’t at all shy. Everyone but me was fascinated. I just nodded, snorted, turned to go back to camp. I retorted that they weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, “just what they oughter…” Some of my colleagues wondered if the creatures could be enticed to bite me… as hard and often as possible.
It was still daylight and I heard a woman yelling “omigodomigodomigod”! and walking out of the woods comes a bear, looked to go about three hundred pounds, and it’s carrying a faun in its mouth. It just sort of looked at us and kept walking across the clearing, back into the woods and I guess to enjoy its supper.
One of the women yelled, “Well, DO something”! to the nearest male. Nearest male, displaying candor which is seldom seen relied, “I’m about to, but I’ll have to change my fruit of the looms”!
One of the reenactors is a zoologist and biologist who does some work for fish and wildlife, and he said that he wondered about that sort of thing, wasn’t surprised to see it. About five years ago a lot of acreage in the area had been clear cut and the second growth was really dense. You could see deer inside the airfield perimeter and on the local ball fields grazing and he figured that the does would be leaving their fauns inside those thickets while they ate. Bear are probably the only thing that can smell out the fauns and get to them, and there it was.
Next day our laison from the school told us that that had been seen almost everyday for a month in that area, the bears sometimes actually walking right on the perimeter road.
Some were a bit worried about a reurn visit, but our group put all the food in MY tent. I remonstrated with them, but they said it should be safe. They figured a bear wouldn’t go in where there was a skunk smell. The stench has been much reduced due to the miracles of chemistry, but they gave me their solemn word that I was still redolent after my recent encounter. Plus for making horrible jokes I deserved it. It was my PUN-isment.
Then the owls came out and I thought about all the people I knew who would have treasured such an experince and I thought of you. Wished you were there, friend, you’d have loved it.
Sarge: Sounds like a fun weekend. One of the things I like about PA is that, even close to the bigger towns and small cities, the wildlife (including the charismatic megafauna) is always close by.
I would enjoy trading bad jokes with you (of course, it would punish any nearby).
Peace, friend.
http://www.geocities.com/cw46paband/ is the home page of the band I direct. I am the sergeant major, you might get a charge out of some of our photos.
I go by “Sarge” because I retired from the army as an SFC and in every thing I participate in that’s the sort of thing I wind up doing.
Had another weekend that I thought about how you might enjoy at least some aspects of it, especially certain questions of credulity.
Last weekind our reenactment group participated in the Music Muster put on by the park service at Gettysburg. We got every reenactor’s dream, we actually camped on the battlefield down behind the Pennsylvania monument.
It was a typical G’burg weather, hot and humid in the extreme, but we looked forward to it.
I had surgurey last Monday, they’d had to break my lower and upper jaw and cheek on the left side and remove some tissue (jaws are still wired shut and my wife claims that this alone is proof of a deity’s existence and benevolence, proof that it loves her), and then they also removed two more melanoma tumors from my neck and shoulder, but I went anyway because who is going to pass up an opprotunity like that? Plus, I promised to “take it easy” and “not over-do it”. All the women in my life simply rolled their eyes and shook their heads.
It got me that many people asked, “aren’t you worried about ghosts”? A lot of these were otherwise very sensible people and they asked this question in all seriousness.
After we got our camp set up we got in uniform and went walking up to Round Top, and it turned out to be one of those things that Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.
I had managed to tear loose some of the staples in my neck and shoulder and started bleeding from those, and the same thing happened inside my face. My face is swollen and discolored from the surgurey as it is, and what with the heat and humidity it was very hard to breathe because of the inside swelling and bleeding.
We were near one of the pull-offs (tourists about) and it was shady, and my companions made me go over by a tree and sit down in the shade while they looked me over, and they saw that I was really bleeding a lot from my mouth and nose plus the shoulder area, and I’m starting to choke.
That’s when the tourists noticed that we were there. And that there was REAL distress and REAL blood along with the uniforms that hadn’t been there just a couple of minutes ago.
There were many screams, “Oh, My God”s, and I’m told a grown man shoved his kids out of the way and started sprinting for his car bellowing “F***king ghosts”!
Two of the tourists, though, didn’t buy it, and one of them said, “Ghosts, my ass”. She and another lady came over to see if they could help as they were an ER nurse and an EMT. As they walked over they remarked to their companions that they’d never heard of Gettysburg ghosts talking on cell phones (which the two of them had observed immediately, as one of my friends was calling camp for a ride back).
We were continually asked if we’d seen ghosts been menaced by them, all weekend. We told people, nah, it was so humid their sheets were waterlogged and all they could do was thrash around on the grass. It was too hot for them even to go ‘booga-booga’.
Besides, why should they exert themselves when the mosquitos, horse flies, and yellow jackets were causing us more consternation, inconvenience, and distress than any mere ghost ever could?
But the first thing most people said was about ghosts…
I hope you’re feeling better, Sarge. But, you know… reenactments don’t have to be so realistic that you bleed out on the battlefield.
Odd, but my grandfather’s uncle was actually in the battle and was wounded there (Got my real war wounds a shade over a hundred years later)and we see a lot of reenactors from your side of the pond at the big reenactment held there.
We are also interested in your civil war, and I reenact as a corporal of Popham’s Horse at English Civil War events that are staged here.
Reenacting in the summer in wool is pretty tough, but when you put on a buff coat, back and breast plate, lobster tailed helmet, gauntlets and a big iron hand and arm guard, it gets pretty grim. Hang a rather heavy petronel from one shoulder and a big sword off the other and in mid Atlantic summer, you really suffer.
Yes, I’m a “roundhead”, my wife says it’s fitting, I’m too grouchy to be a “Laughing Cavalier”.
Actually, Sarge, I’m not British. But these days, you know, I take that as a compliment.
The English Civil War reenactments sound interesting, though. You do get around. As for being a grouchy Roundhead… how much were the cavaliers laughing when it was all said and done? I’d bet you’re a Roundhead because you have a more rebublican, (in the good sense of the word), nature.
Awesome story Sarge.
Sarge: Scaring the shit out of National Park visitors is really uncool. After all, I never, ever, scared visitors. Well, okay, I did jump off the rim of the Grand Canyon to scare them, but that’s different. And yes, I caught tarantulas, put them on my shoulder, and scared visitors in the Visitor Center but that’s different — it was intentional.
Seriously, Sarge: take care of yourself. Take it easy. Listen to your wife. And I hope you feel better.
Actually, Postman, I’m registered to vote as a socialist, and my hair is, indeed, close cropped. This is because a teacher used to think hair made a handy thing to grab, and when I was also a young’un, I wore it long for a while and was sleeping at the stable…there was a rat…my hair…and next day a crew cut, as I’ve kept ever since.
Your colleagues were pretty good to us, (((Billy))), and we enjoyed our stay.
Still, people have expectations, I guess, like seeing ghosts (even if one is talking on a cell phone)and in the museum there is a cornet which is reported to have been played at “Stonewall” Jackson’s funeral by a certain person.
Maybe the guy played A cornet at the funeral, but it wasn’t THAT horn, as it couldn’t have been made prior to the 1870’s (valve type and spit key are two dead give-aways) and we mentioned this to one of the rangers at the place.
He sighed, told us we weren’t the first to notice this, but the higher-ups agreed that it was THE one, so, it would probably remain so…what did we want from HIM? He was just a GS 5 interpreter.
Those of us who had labored a while in Uncle Sam’s vinyards just thanked him for his attention, shook his hand and patted his shoulder.
Billy:
Can you help me?
When I ask theists why they believe in god, they will answer, “Look out there, how beautiful it is, it had to be created by God.”
This is a varient of the argument from complexity, and I know a response. But their eyes glaze over after two sentences.
Do you know a response that fits two requirements?
1. Does the answer fit on a bumper sticker? (If these people had good attention spans they wouldn’t use this argument.)
2. Is the answer polite? (These people are my friends, and I want to start a conversation, not end one.)
Hope you can help me.
Best Regards
Voss
Voss:
No, reality rarely, if ever, fits on a bumper sticker.
As for being polite, I’m not. It’s an argument from ignorance (I can’t understand how ‘x’ could happen naturally, so god(s) exists).
Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Thought of you just a few minutes ago, as a naturalist you might enjoy this.
I actually SAW the first robins of the season! I DID, I tell you!
They were sitting on a branch in my yard, and I’d guess they were contemplating a couple of things in the semi-dark:
A. Did they have the reserves to bob-bob-bob their young asses along back down south?
B. The early bird gets the worm…but where does he requisition the equipment to get through three feet of snow and ice, plus who knows how much frozen ground to PROCURE said worm?
There was another watcher, a cat who was eyeing them speculatively.
But, you know? They were eyeing him back. Just as speculatively.
I put out some suet and they got some. The woodpeckers don’t show up until well after dawn, usually.
Sarge: What in the name of pluperfect hell were robins doing in Altoona? In the snow? In winter? In your yard? I guess you must just be a little ray of sunshine to attract such warm-weather friends.
(((Billy))), I confess myself to have asked myself what in the pluperfect hell I or ANYTHING is doing in Altoona… let alone robins.
It isn’t unusual to see them in February around here, and I’m told some actually don’t migrate at all.
We get at least a bear a year who decides to come into town and see what’s shakin’, too.
They stuck pretty close to the feeder all day, but deferred to the woodpeckers when they showed up.
Hope you’re doing OK, merely busy since we haven’t heard from you.
I saw a weasel in my yard last week. Would have missed him, but his movements were contrary to waht the wind was doing to the lawn debris, and he stood up twice to look around! He seemed to be trailing a chipmunk that I’d seen going by about ten minutes before, he was casting about right the way it had gone.
Had an experience last night that deals with expectation and wrong interpretaion of daya into evidence of the supernatural.
Two of the young ladies in our band had to go to a historical home to complete some business last night after rehearsal, and as the place is isolated, it is not lighted, and we were concerned about the possibility of problems with them alone in the place, another guy and me went with them.
They went to the third floor to finish some paperwork, and we two guys stayed on the first floor.
This place is said to be haunted, and the manifestations include an olfactory one.
The girls were coming down the stairs, and my companion delivered himself of a fart that was truly heroic in its pungency (I guess, I can’t smell or taste anything, the young ladies commented on it, and no, it WASN’T me!!)
They got to the bottom of the stairs and started taking deep breaths, they were excited.
It’s the ghost! It was right HERE! Didn’t you two SEE it? (the ghost is known by a bad smell as well as moving things, and the occasional glimpse, I’m told)
They were sniffing, looking high and low, and we couldn’t help it, we started laughing.
They were neither best pleased nor amused to find out that what they were sniffing deep drafts of the ghost of haluskas our friend had eaten for dinner.
They really thought it was the haunting of the woman they were detecting. I guess they wished it were!
Que pasa, (((Billy)))?
Problems with home computer. I’m back.
Got my Snark Missle kit finished, air brushed! Now I’m working on the diorama I want to set up with it.
I’ll put it in the library, they display people’s hobbies in their display cases.
I’m also just about done with my Czech Model T 50. I’m making it in the Sky King version. So far so good.
Here’s a suggestion for the diorama: the Caribbean Sea. You know, Snark infested water?
Yes, I was sort of thinking about that, too.
Then again, maybe it should better be known as a “Boojum” missile? After all, as the old poem goes, “…for the Snark WAS a Boojum, you see…”
My wife says that me building a “Snark” missile was a combination of life and art that was almost frightening.
My one aunt was on the design team of the Martin Matador Missile, and I know where you can get a REAL one if you want. No motor, it’s kind of rusty, but hey! Surprise (((wife))) and record the look on her face for us. I suppose survival of the situation we be a prerequisite, for that, though…
Sarge: What, you have a death wish?
Not ME! That’s why I suggested that YOU do it!! 😉
Was thinking of you last weekend.
We were at a reenactment at a place called Belington, WVA. This is the ste of the one of the first battles of the civil war, the battle of Laurel Hill.
It was hot and humid, but I can tell you, the place is just beautiful! There is a lake and a hiking trail, and a pavillion for picnics.
It’s out of the way, but it is one of those little gems you find that you’re glad you saw and want to see again.
I was watching the birds, the bear that came through, and the other natural phenoms, and figured that this was something that you would appreciate.
If you are ever down that way, turn aside, you won’t be wasting your time and won’t be disappointed.
As you may have noticed, this blog is now defunct. I haven’t formally shut it down because I am, once again, completely and totally locked out of the blog and, despite my best efforts, can not get back in.
However, that is not why I let the blog fall by the wayside. I’ve neglected it partly because of depression and having too many other things going on in meatspace.
I am now blogging (for the past week) at a new blog called Observations by Ogvorbis.
Sorry for the desertion.
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