Judas
27th February 2010, 07:06 PM
Hello!
My name is Judas, partly because he did the stand up thing and got a delusional mischievous hippie who wreaked havoc on the world silenced in a very popular fairytale adventure, and partly because I'm a traditional old metalhead and the name is the first half of the greatest metal band I've ever banged my head to.
I was a member of the forum in it's last two iterations, and have kept abreast of all activity here without registering (until now) but have decided to jump back into the fray as my
brain is getting low on intellectual stimulation lately after being over-exposed to apathy and delusion, predominantly in my workplace.
Look forward to rekindling some old acquaintances if Godless, Vonnie, or Sean are still around, and making plenty of new ones in the future.
If anyone has the inclination, or could be bothered reding it, I've pasted my initial introductory thread below to save my typing similar all over again!
Cheers.
Hello fellow thinkers!
I don’t even think the term “free” is required, as all people are free to think, but many certainly seem to lack the basic ability, or just choose not too!
My name is Judas, and I’m a 39 year old male who works in retail, and another from the so called “City Of Churches”.
What a waste of great architecture.
I was lucky enough to develop a reasonable perspective on my existence at a very early age.
My mother was raised delusional, but it was never imposed on us at home and her conviction was moderate at best, requiring only that we attended “Sunday school” and the odd church service.
I can only remember ever taking the stories told to me as just that, and upon the realisation in my early teens that some people actually took this stuff literally, thought it required some further investigation.
Ignorance is a quality I least admire or wish to possess.
I remember getting a “Children’s Bible” as I thought it seemed a lot more easily digestible to try and assemble some sort of sense from the seemingly incoherent ramblings found it the normal Bible!
I was reading intently for a short period, thinking it didn’t seem so far fetched when I came upon the story of Babylon (or Babel), and how it was supposedly named so by the vengeful, evil, jealous, petty, “God” after confusing the languages of all humanity for building a tower to well?
“And the Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."
One might think that all men understanding each other, and working together to achieve something great might be a good thing?
I put the book down with disgust at such a ridiculous story, and have never read one since (until the last few weeks).
I consider myself to have always been an atheist, as I see no other reasonable conclusion a rational mind can come to if one looks at the evidence.
I am by no means an intellectual, and my level of education leaves me wanting many times when looking for historical knowledge or adequate conceptual abilities when investigating or discussing things like quantum physics, alternate universes, black holes etc.
I do grant myself the ability though, to think logically, and come to reasonable deductions about things.
There simply are some things which we do not, and may not ever know, and for people to profess to know these things, along with which comes the requirement to believe a subsequent mass of superstitious mythological gobledy gook, is a belief system that I find totally offensive, and one that should be confined to the small cults (or asylums) along with other irrational freakish beliefs.
But alas, as Hitchen’s says, unfortunately, while man is still afraid of the dark, death, and the bogyman, there will always be people with these sorts of ridiculous belief systems, because it would all just seem too insignificant and short for their liking.
Why has it taken me so long to seek out other like minded people?
Like a lot of the other posters here, I too, find my level of frustration varying over time.
For the most part I am content to keep my perspective and rationalisations to myself, and swallow my begrudging anger and frustration at the constant barrage of Christian based crap I am subjected to in my daily life, and try to function as in apathetic, ignoramus like most other people who see nothing wrong with us having it imposed on us as part of “our culture”
But then I get a little too irritated.
I see the two leaders of the major political parties in our recent election (who both profess to be “committed Christians”) specifically meeting with church groups to discuss issues of morality, obviously because these people are of a higher moral standing than the rest of us fornicators, and we have no requirement for separation of church and state here!
I see thousands of people protesting on the streets in Sudan for the death of a British teacher for allowing her students to name a teddy bear after their prophet!
I see pictures in the news of a fire burning in which the image of the recently deceased pope John Paul II is said to have been “waving from beyond the grave”!
Obviously we could go on, but you get the point!
I cannot agree more, once again, with Hitchen’s, Harris and Dawkins, when they say “it’s time to question how much longer we can continue to “respect” and “not question” these sorts of beliefs, before we realise they will most likely bring about our early demise on this earth.”
The fact that worldwide Atheism is still viewed by many as a small, fringe, cult like belief system is a staggering testament to our stupidity, arrogance and immaturity as a species!
Can we convince the delusional that there are other more fulfilling truths about the way they can lead their lives?
I’ve obviously thought a great deal about these subjects, and had many discussions with Atheists and Theists alike, and no matter how complex and micro analytical one gets about proving or disproving matters existential, the one undeniable fact remains:
We are all Atheists.
The only difference between “us” and “them” is that they choose not to disbelieve in one God, while we hold the same disbelief for them all.
Once a religious person accepts the fact that we simply think the same as they do about the thousands of other gods they disbelieve in, I think it’s a lot easier for them to accept the Atheist perspective and hopefully open their mind to some further rational thinking!
Having said that though, no matter what evidence you provide, or how well you discredit their evidence, “Faith” is impossible to argue against logically, and so it continues!
I was unaware that a voice for rational thinking even existed, much less that it was founded in the same state I live in! I even drive right through the town on my way to many fishing sorties to the peninsula!
I became aware of the foundation only after reading some letters to the editors in our papers from David Nicholls, and investigated!
The thing that gives me confidence that reason and logic will prevail, is that while you cannot find two religious people (even in the same church) that would agree on even the most basic issues, all Atheists worldwide essentially believe the same thing, but lack the organisation and voice to make themselves heard.
That is why gratefully, organisations such as this exist, and I’m now really glad I’ve found out about it!
Whatever my contribution, if any may become, at least I’ve now got lot’s of other like minded people I can have a bloody good winge too when I’m feeling frustrated!
It even feels good just to get that off my chest!
Looking forward to whatever may come,
Cheers.
My name is Judas, partly because he did the stand up thing and got a delusional mischievous hippie who wreaked havoc on the world silenced in a very popular fairytale adventure, and partly because I'm a traditional old metalhead and the name is the first half of the greatest metal band I've ever banged my head to.
I was a member of the forum in it's last two iterations, and have kept abreast of all activity here without registering (until now) but have decided to jump back into the fray as my
brain is getting low on intellectual stimulation lately after being over-exposed to apathy and delusion, predominantly in my workplace.
Look forward to rekindling some old acquaintances if Godless, Vonnie, or Sean are still around, and making plenty of new ones in the future.
If anyone has the inclination, or could be bothered reding it, I've pasted my initial introductory thread below to save my typing similar all over again!
Cheers.
Hello fellow thinkers!
I don’t even think the term “free” is required, as all people are free to think, but many certainly seem to lack the basic ability, or just choose not too!
My name is Judas, and I’m a 39 year old male who works in retail, and another from the so called “City Of Churches”.
What a waste of great architecture.
I was lucky enough to develop a reasonable perspective on my existence at a very early age.
My mother was raised delusional, but it was never imposed on us at home and her conviction was moderate at best, requiring only that we attended “Sunday school” and the odd church service.
I can only remember ever taking the stories told to me as just that, and upon the realisation in my early teens that some people actually took this stuff literally, thought it required some further investigation.
Ignorance is a quality I least admire or wish to possess.
I remember getting a “Children’s Bible” as I thought it seemed a lot more easily digestible to try and assemble some sort of sense from the seemingly incoherent ramblings found it the normal Bible!
I was reading intently for a short period, thinking it didn’t seem so far fetched when I came upon the story of Babylon (or Babel), and how it was supposedly named so by the vengeful, evil, jealous, petty, “God” after confusing the languages of all humanity for building a tower to well?
“And the Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."
One might think that all men understanding each other, and working together to achieve something great might be a good thing?
I put the book down with disgust at such a ridiculous story, and have never read one since (until the last few weeks).
I consider myself to have always been an atheist, as I see no other reasonable conclusion a rational mind can come to if one looks at the evidence.
I am by no means an intellectual, and my level of education leaves me wanting many times when looking for historical knowledge or adequate conceptual abilities when investigating or discussing things like quantum physics, alternate universes, black holes etc.
I do grant myself the ability though, to think logically, and come to reasonable deductions about things.
There simply are some things which we do not, and may not ever know, and for people to profess to know these things, along with which comes the requirement to believe a subsequent mass of superstitious mythological gobledy gook, is a belief system that I find totally offensive, and one that should be confined to the small cults (or asylums) along with other irrational freakish beliefs.
But alas, as Hitchen’s says, unfortunately, while man is still afraid of the dark, death, and the bogyman, there will always be people with these sorts of ridiculous belief systems, because it would all just seem too insignificant and short for their liking.
Why has it taken me so long to seek out other like minded people?
Like a lot of the other posters here, I too, find my level of frustration varying over time.
For the most part I am content to keep my perspective and rationalisations to myself, and swallow my begrudging anger and frustration at the constant barrage of Christian based crap I am subjected to in my daily life, and try to function as in apathetic, ignoramus like most other people who see nothing wrong with us having it imposed on us as part of “our culture”
But then I get a little too irritated.
I see the two leaders of the major political parties in our recent election (who both profess to be “committed Christians”) specifically meeting with church groups to discuss issues of morality, obviously because these people are of a higher moral standing than the rest of us fornicators, and we have no requirement for separation of church and state here!
I see thousands of people protesting on the streets in Sudan for the death of a British teacher for allowing her students to name a teddy bear after their prophet!
I see pictures in the news of a fire burning in which the image of the recently deceased pope John Paul II is said to have been “waving from beyond the grave”!
Obviously we could go on, but you get the point!
I cannot agree more, once again, with Hitchen’s, Harris and Dawkins, when they say “it’s time to question how much longer we can continue to “respect” and “not question” these sorts of beliefs, before we realise they will most likely bring about our early demise on this earth.”
The fact that worldwide Atheism is still viewed by many as a small, fringe, cult like belief system is a staggering testament to our stupidity, arrogance and immaturity as a species!
Can we convince the delusional that there are other more fulfilling truths about the way they can lead their lives?
I’ve obviously thought a great deal about these subjects, and had many discussions with Atheists and Theists alike, and no matter how complex and micro analytical one gets about proving or disproving matters existential, the one undeniable fact remains:
We are all Atheists.
The only difference between “us” and “them” is that they choose not to disbelieve in one God, while we hold the same disbelief for them all.
Once a religious person accepts the fact that we simply think the same as they do about the thousands of other gods they disbelieve in, I think it’s a lot easier for them to accept the Atheist perspective and hopefully open their mind to some further rational thinking!
Having said that though, no matter what evidence you provide, or how well you discredit their evidence, “Faith” is impossible to argue against logically, and so it continues!
I was unaware that a voice for rational thinking even existed, much less that it was founded in the same state I live in! I even drive right through the town on my way to many fishing sorties to the peninsula!
I became aware of the foundation only after reading some letters to the editors in our papers from David Nicholls, and investigated!
The thing that gives me confidence that reason and logic will prevail, is that while you cannot find two religious people (even in the same church) that would agree on even the most basic issues, all Atheists worldwide essentially believe the same thing, but lack the organisation and voice to make themselves heard.
That is why gratefully, organisations such as this exist, and I’m now really glad I’ve found out about it!
Whatever my contribution, if any may become, at least I’ve now got lot’s of other like minded people I can have a bloody good winge too when I’m feeling frustrated!
It even feels good just to get that off my chest!
Looking forward to whatever may come,
Cheers.