A theory in science doesn’t mean a lack of evidence or credibility.

While looking through my Bible the other day, I ran across a phrase I had seen before and questioned. I questioned it so because of how ambiguous it was and the fact that one could very easily see it two separate ways. I’m not saying contradictions and confusion aren’t common in the Bible, but this section in particular made me wonder.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:6 NIV)

Now I see this as being read in two different ways. One from a Christian view and one from a Jewish view. I would guess most(if not al) Christians would read this as a prophecy for the coming birth of Christ. Couldn’t somebody just as easily interpret this as simply a new king of Israel to unite and deliver them? This type of thing was pretty common in the surrounding text. I guess my point is that a work like the Bible is so open to interpretation because of the way it is written. Guess that happens when you have a story written by many different authors across different continents over a long period of time though. Some people would assert that I am grasping at straws here, but I disagree. It is all too common for small things like this to cause great disputes among the believers. There are people blowing each other up due to a disagreement in the meaning of phrases in a collection of stories written long ago. If there was a God, why won’t He just pop in and straighten things out? Throughout the Bible, God has no problem talking with people and making His will crystal clear. Sure it destroys that whole faith principle, but wouldn’t it be worth it to help His people? How do you feel this passage reads? Doesn’t it seem weird that so many things in the Bible seem so prone to easy distortion? I guess I’ll conclude with another fun little bit from the Book of Isaiah:

¹⁵ Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword.

¹⁶ Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives ravished.

(Isaiah 13:15-16 NIV)

I just find it strange that such a loving God is also such a malevolent dictator. There are plenty of good passages you can find about baby killing, looting, pillaging and the raping of wives. Damn this is beginning to sound like a tale of piracy.

Without the yamakah the all-knowing, and all-powerful God would never be able to recognize His own chosen people. You know, that sounds about right.

After seeing a discussion on Reddit /r/Atheism yesterday about organ donors, it got me thinking. On my license I am listed as an organ donor and frankly I don’t understand why so many people oppose it. Being an atheist, I believe that once those electrical signals we call life have terminated, so have you. I frequently ask people if they remember the time before their birth. They never do. This is what I imagine death to be. Instead of simply letting my flesh rot in the ground, I can let others live at no real cost to me.

The claim to addition burden on the family would be greatly avoided if you ensure to register as a donor before an incident. None of us plan to die young, but let’s face it, it could happen. Sure it is very stressful on the family of the deceased, but consider the benefits. Somebody else could live another 30-60 years from this decision. Is that not worth it? Personally I think it would provide some sort of benefit to the family. By giving life to another person some good can come out of an unfortunate situation. Saying that doctors would let you die is absolutely ridiculous. I cannot comprehend that some people actually think a doctor would let one human life go for another’s. Only after you are legally and fully dead will they consider you for donation. Doctors don’t scout out those who are less likely to survive and let them die for another’s gain.

Some countries base their organ donations on an “opt-out” schematic versus the “opt-in” we have in America. If you think about it, this makes a hell of a lot more sense. Just sign everybody up for it and make it the norm. If somebody vehemently opposes it they have the option to not be included. Personally, I think a mandatory organ donation program would be ideal but I doubt that would actually happen here in the States. Most people tend to be lazy and won’t express their feelings. If it means checking another box or filling out a form to sign up, a lot of people won’t do it. If instead they had to fill out a form to be excluded, I think we would have many more donors.

It is no secret that there are not enough organs and transplantable material to go around. Until we can find a way to artificially produce tissues our only choice is from other humans. Are you signed up as a donor? Why or why not?

Here are some choice L. Ron Hubbard quotes to muse on:

You don’t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.

I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is!

Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way to do it would be start his own religion.

THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN CONTROL PEOPLE IS TO LIE TO THEM. You can write that down in your book in great big letters. The only way you can control anybody is to lie to them.

The one man in the world who never believes he’s mad is the madman.

Today I have a video from one of my favorite atheist YouTube video group Atheist Experience. Trust me, this video is worth a laugh. Watch and hear about his mother who was “halfway dead or whatever”. If you haven’t already, I’d highly suggest checking out their other videos.

Why doesn’t God protect his one true representation on Earth Himself?

Finally, I’ve had the opportunity to read God Hates You Hate Him Back. Essentially it is a full deconstruction and explanation of the Bible, or as CJ Werleman describes it “The Greatest Story Never Read”. I’ll admit that is true too. Just from personal experience, most Christians have not read their Bible and are clueless.

This book aims to explain the Bible chapter-by-chapter and it is spelled out pretty clearly. From what he says, by the end you will either realize that God hates you or does not exist.  Overall, it is one of the better atheist books I’ve read recently. Werleman is funny, but is also intelligent enough to be witty without being overpowering. Many books are guilty of this and it detracts from the experience.It also isn’t too overtly offensive that it would instantly turn away a religious person. Sure his jokes can be offensive, but I think most people wouldn’t be completely turned off by them.

I personally found it fun to take my copy of The Bible and read along with this novel. God Hates You frequently has excerpts from the Bible and it is a simple matter to find them, read them and verify they aren’t taken out of context. From what I saw, he is always accurate in his descriptions and analysis. If you haven’t ever taken the time to fully read and comprehend the Bible, this book provides a great chance to do so. By the end, you will have a good understanding of it and you will have had fun. This book is one that could actually change people’s minds, something that has become somewhat of a rarity. But as Asimov said “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived”.  CJ Werleman definately provides both a proper reading and a potent force for atheism in his writing. All I could hope for next are disections of other religious texts like the Koran or the Book of Mormon. I highly reccomend giving God Hates You a chance, I sincerely doubt you will be disappointed in the slightest.

By now, many of you have probably seen the study that shows that atheists, liberals and sexual exclusive males tend to be more intelligent.

Young adults who subjectively identify themselves as “very liberal” have an average IQ of 106 during adolescence while those who identify themselves as “very conservative” have an average IQ of 95 during adolescence.

Young adults who identify themselves as “not at all religious” have an average IQ of 103 during adolescence, while those who identify themselves as “very religious” have an average IQ of 97 during adolescence.

While I find this interesting, it is important to take this with a grain of salt. It makes sense that many who would declare themselves as atheists tend to be smarter, as most atheists use a system of logistical thinking versus faith based. Remember these are just statistics though. Personally I know many atheists who have shown themselves to be incredibly stupid.I also know many highly intelligent religious folks. You can’t just look at these numbers and begin to judge others. I realize that to say we are “all created equal” is bullshit, but that doesn’t mean we can’t treat each other like its true. At least until others give us a reason not to. I’m not trying to say this study isn’t great news, I’m just worried some people will use it as “scientific ammunition” to backup their foolish elitist beliefs.