Friday, May 31, 2013

God Thinks We're Super Special!


One argument theists often make that humans have intrinsic value fascinates me. We have intrinsic value, according to what many theists believe, because god says we do. He thinks we're super special! But imagine if god got angry with mankind and said that we weren't special anymore. Would all of our value suddenly evaporate? Would we all then walk around with our heads down in despair, depressed that god doesn't think we're special anymore? Would we think that we're all no better than monkeys and other apes?

When thinking about this belief that many theists have, the question I wonder, is why should we think our value depends on what god says we have?

It seems to me rather odd that we should feel the need to justify our worth and value by what anyone else says. It reminds me of insecure teenagers trying desperately to seek the approval of their peers in order to think that they have value. I think it's rather silly and immature to depend so deeply on what others think about you in order to feel any sense of value or worth.

This confirms what I've always felt about most religions like Christianity: they really serve best as emotional crutches that make people feel better.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Question: If humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes?



Answer: If rock & roll evolved from the blues, why is there still the blues? Species diverge and adapt to their new environments, those that stay will not adapt and won't change.


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Does Absolute Truth Exist?


The following is the opening argument I made in a debate years ago over whether absolute truths exist with a friend . Please tell me if you agree or disagree.

To say that absolute truth does not exist, is to imply that in some sense, that all knowledge is subjective or relative, and that no piece of information could be independently and objectively verifiable. In abstract concepts like numbers and mathematics we clearly find universal constants that have no deviation. Einstein’s beautiful equation that E=mc2, has been proven repetitively by the most modern scientific instruments of today. And even if it were to be disproven, all that would simply mean is that there is another truth out there, which is currently beyond our scope of knowledge.

Surely of course there are ideas that have their truth lay in opinion. For example, if one were to ask “Is Brittany Spears talented?” this of course would be a matter of individual tastes. An absolute truth cannot lay in opinion or preference, or even consensus, it must be objective. It must be true and verifiable regardless of whether anyone agrees with it or not. That is one of the beauties of science: it’s true whether you believe in it or not. The close-minded religious fundamentalists who think the Earth is just 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs coexisted with man have no argument in the face of contradictory evidence. Their “reality” is forever intellectually silenced, and the evidence in this case is the objective truth.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Evolutionary Argument Against God - Abbreviated/Alternative Versions


The original EAAG that I wrote contains 6 premises and a conclusion and could be considered redundant in some areas. I have below a few alternative versions of it that shorten it out for a more easily digestible format.

In this version below I cut out premises 2-5 and leave in only the bare minimum of what's needed for the argument to drive the nail through:

  1. If God chose to use evolution as the process by which he created human beings and all other forms of life, then God knowingly chose a process that requires suffering that is logically unnecessary.
  2. An all-good, perfectly moral God who is incapable of unwarranted cruelty would not create beings that could consciously suffer in a way that was not logically necessary.
  3. Therefore, a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good does not exist.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Refuting The Kalam Cosmological Argument Redux


In my arrogant opinion, the cosmological argument (CA) is the best argument that theists have. Theism really stands or falls on the CA, and if theists should lose it, the foundations of theism would be on shaky grounds and theism would be in a lot of trouble. Since the CA forms the bedrock that all other arguments for god are built upon, it deserves more attention that I have duly given it.

When I first wrote on the Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA) I primary was trying to write a detailed technical refutation of it, but I essentially granted the argument itself as being valid. So what I want to do here is spend a few moments attacking the argument itself and some of its problems.

As you’ll recall the Kalam consists of two simple premises and a conclusion. They are:


1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause
2. The universe began to exist
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause


Sounds simple enough, eh? Let’s take a look at the first premise.

Can An Actual Infinity Exist? A Quick Argument In Support Of Actual Infinities


If an actual infinite number of events is impossible as per the philosophical justifications of the Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA) then isn't it problematic that the number future events is eternal and god has knowledge of all these events? If the number of future events is infinite, and god has knowledge of all these future events (as per his all-knowing property) then wouldn't god's knowledge of every future event consist of an actual infinity and not a potential infinity? It seems that this would contradict the theist's claims when justifying the KCA on philosophical grounds that an actual infinity cannot exist. They must, it seems, make an exception that god can have knowledge of an actual infinity of future events and that seems to me that actual infinities can exist. 

Atheism: A Rough History Of Disbelief


If you haven't already seen it, Johnathan Miller's excellent 3 part documentary on the rough history of disbelief is I think, required viewing for all atheists and agnostics. He traces the history of our somewhat tentative affair with the rejection of the supernatural and the embrace of the materialist worldview. We are probably living in the greatest time in human history to be a non-believer, and it is important to learn about those who laid the foundations that made this possible. So watch and enjoy.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

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