It's okay to choose to help people instead of a god

I submitted the following text to my local paper to try to get it published in the editorial. Truthfully, I'll be surprised if it gets in the paper since I'm in a very conservative place. Anyways, enjoy:

In Richard Carlson's article titled "Hold onto the kite of freedom, our mooring to the Word of God" he referenced a young girl who had be on drugs. Because of her drug use, she'd found herself unable to tell what was real and not.

Ironically I had nearly the exact opposite thought when I first read of this girl. Where Richard thought it could be a metaphor to being confused by a voice besides God's, I found it could be drawn as comparable to choosing religion over reality. Daily people choose creationism over evolution and prayer over medicine.

It is mind numbing to believe that, according to a Gallup poll, only 39% of Americans believe in evolution. It's almost as if people aren't willing to accept the reality they can see with their own eyes when it contradicts their belief in a god. The facts that back up the relationship between reality and science are hard to deny. The only way to really prove them wrong is to ignore them.

The fact is that slavery was always wrong. Even if in the Bible it says it is okay and it was legal in the United States until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, it was never okay.

For the Mormons, polygamy was a fine for bolstering their numbers until they decided, or should I say their god decided, it was a good idea to stop so Utah could become a state.

More often then not religion has changed the "unchanging Word of God."

In reality, the truths of morality that have always been correct and will always be correct are as follow: If it hurts someone else, it is evil. If it aids someone else, it is good.

The world isn't getting any worse. When Richard said, "When we were children, who would have though of sending powder, poison powder in an envelope with the hopes of ending the lives of others?" did he consider the evils we once did that are unacceptable now?

If today, two nuclear bombs were dropped on a foreign nation, would we not be mortified? Are we not now above treating people as second class citizens because of their race or sex? When Richard was a kid, that wasn't a crazy idea. Luckily, today, we are no longer in a society that supports sexism and racism.

In reality some evils fade and new ones appear to replace them but, even without a god to worship, we will fight for good. Don't waste your time reading a book from 2000 years ago to try to find the truths for today. Slavery, racism, degradation of women, genocide, and infanticide are all in the Bible and they're all completely utterly evil.

This is absurd.

WAUSAU, Wis. – An American flag flown upside down as a protest in a northern Wisconsin village was seized by police before a Fourth of July parade and the businessman who flew it — an Iraq war veteran — claims the officers trespassed and stole his property.

A day after the parade, police returned the flag and the man's protest — over a liquor license — continued.

Nationalism (not to be confused with patriotism) is a sad and pathetic thing.

There's a few hilarious quotes to be found in the news article. From Marinette County Sheriff, Jim Kanikula:

"It is illegal to cause a disruption," he said.

No, it isn't. At least, not in the way that Congine did it. What is illegal, on the other hand, is what they did. A legal protest can't be controlled like that. Even if Congine was breaking the law, Breaking the law to stop others from breaking the law isn't logical.

Village President John Deschane:

"If he wants to protest, let him protest but find a different way to do it," Deschane said.

In what way? A less effective one? Congine obviously pressed some buttons, which is the point of a protest.

The article finishes off with a great quote from Congine in reference to his serving in Iraq:

"It is pretty bad when I go and fight a tyrannical government somewhere else," Congine said, "and then I come home to find it right here at my front door."

We do have quite limited rights when it comes to some things but, luckily, in the instance of protest, we're quite free.

Time

So, recently, I've gotten to arguing about time with a few people.

As my opinion stands, time is the term we use to say that events are occurring. It is, simply, what happens between two events.

So the argument appears when you argue whether time has always existed. I say it has. Even without matter or energy to create events to be measured, time can still pass. You just don't have any way to measure it.

I find this theory to be more logical then saying that there needed to be a first cause for time since, technically, without time passing you could never reach that first cause.

A first cause for matter and energy is logical. Time, on the other hand, I don't see as logical.

Jesus stole my wagon

One of the worst arguments I've ever had leveled at me is the 'You're just mad at God' one. So stupid.

It reminds me of the wonderful bumper sticker:

Most religious doctrine is either evil or a 'no duh' sort of thing, but it doesn't cause people to do evils, it allows them to. Never-the-less, it is the people who choose to do the evil.

Atheist Blogroll

In an have attempt to get more readers, I've joined the The Atheist Blogroll. As you can see, there's a small listing for it on the side bar. Hopefully this will help me expand my amount of readers.

In the beginning...

In the beginning...who cares? Where we came from, where we're going. It doesn't matter. What matters is the here and now. Right this second. How it all began, that ultimate question of the beginning of time, it doesn't matter.

It could have been a god, it could have been the big bang, or it could have been something we haven't even imagined yet. It really doesn't matter. Whether or was 6,000 years ago or 13.5 billion years ago, it was before any of us were born. Being so, it doesn't matter a cent. It's okay not to know.

Come on, just let that rush over you. It is okay not to know. This works for the afterlife too. Whether there is one or not, it's okay not to know. You don't have to say heaven exists. You don't have to assert anything. Just accept that you don't know.

So then, what's the point of life? Have fun. Be excellent to each other.

That's it. Those two sentences encompass life. There isn't anything more to it. Love those around you while they're here. Miss them when they leave.

I know it's a cliché to say this, but life's too short. Most of us have less then a century on this earth, so make the best of it. Don't waste it on uncertainties. God may exist, god may not. It doesn't matter.

Your family and friends do exist. Your life with them is short. Don't waste a second.