Just some clarification

"If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes." -Bertrand Russell (his cosmic teapot)

So I started this blog without any clear direction in mind. I just knew I wanted to write an atheist blog. But I'm feeling now that I probably ought to have some sort of plan in mind. If nothing else, if anyone's going to take the time to read this, I ought to let them know what they can expect to get from it. So here goes.

My main goal is to merely make people aware of the issues surrounding atheism versus belief. I am definitely not setting out to literally prove there is no god. Since most believers I know are more than happy to retreat to the "God did/said it and I believe it so there" response to any argument made by nonbelievers, it's ultimately not even possible to prove conclusively that there is no god. What I do intend to do is point out what seem to me to be the logical fallacies of the arguments in favor of god's existence, as well as making some arguments as to why his existence is extremely improbable. I will focus almost exclusively on the Christian God, since that's who I was raised to believe in and it's what I know best. Many arguments will apply to all religions. Since almost all religions are based on a belief in some form of deity, it's somewhat unnecessary to disprove each religion individually if you can first simply prove, at least beyond reasonable doubt, that no god exists anyway.

I will include other things occasionally, like the survey I posted about a few days ago. I also plan a post about why, as an atheist, I was incredibly offended by last week's episode of Glee. I don't want this to become an impersonal list of proofs.

I hope some honest debate can take place, as it already is to a degree. Flaming will not be tolerated. Right now anonymous comments are allowed, but if there's too much trouble with trolling that will have to change.

If you have any specific topics you'd like to see covered, please let me know. I have several in mind, but I'm always looking for more. I do plan, at some point, on going through some apologist books (particularly some of those by Lee Strobel) and discussing my views on what is said, so if you have any books in mind, let me know. Do keep in mind though, that there are some issues that I am just not equipped to deal with (such as the "offenses against an infinite god" idea raised in a comment a few days ago).

I think that's all, so thanks for reading, and enjoy! ^_^

Surprise, surprise

"All religions have this in common, that they are an outrage to common sense, for they are pieced together out of a variety of elements, some of which seem so unworthy, sordid, and at odds with man's reason that any strong and vigorous intelligence laughs at them."   -Pierre Charron

Here's an article about a recent survey of Americans' knowledge about religion. While most articles I've read about the survey results express surprise, I expect most atheists would agree that it comes as no shock to find out that we know more about religion than actual religious people.

After all, it was an American survey. There are no definite numbers, but most studies show that less than 10% of Americans don't believe in some sort of God. Since over 90% do believe, and are teaching their children to do the same, it's far easier to simply believe by default. For most people, choosing to be an atheist is a decision that requires a lot of studying and "soul" searching, not to mention courage to be willing to face the incredible social stigma that comes with the title "Atheist." And of course, we don't have the luxury of answering any difficult question with "faith," every believer's favorite way of plugging their ears and saying "not listening!" So no, I'm not surprised.

However, it's the implications of the results that interest me most. Again unsurprisingly, I've yet to see any articles that mention this. It seems to me that the people who know the most about religion use that knowledge to make the decision to become atheistic. Does this mean that if more people took the time to study different religions, especially their own, they would also decide not to believe in them? It would appear most people's choices to follow a religion are not informed decisions. And do they subconsciously realize this, and choose not to learn more? Ignorance is bliss, right?

Along the same lines, I spent my whole adolescence being taught how horribly evil liberal higher education is. How difficult it is to maintain your faith, since everyone will be attacking it and you, especially professors. My mom even bought me the book How to Stay a Christian in College when I went. And it made sense, since most atheists are better educated than the average person. It wasn't till later that I realized, if higher education tends to lead one away from religion, is it likely that this is because schools are somehow just a bad influence? Or is it much more likely that a better education encourages atheism because once one learns the facts, it becomes increasingly clear that religion doesn't have a leg to stand on? Apologetics claims that science can be used to "prove" Christianity. So why do only 7% of our nation's leading scientists say they believe in a god, compared to around 7% who don't in the general population?

Obviously, one simple study doesn't prove any of these things. But it's interesting how few people seem to come away having even thought of them.