Out Of The Closet Atheist

Win any argument

2010-10-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Anytime any religious person tries to explain themselves and refute science just say this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Ll2WPFxyk&feature=channel

If its any consolation, this is a response to the former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron's refutation of evolution mummblings.

Jesus= get out of jail free card i guess.

2010-08-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Read this. It is good. Real Good at making sinning and sinners look real dumb.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/if-i-hadnt-found-jesus-id-feel-pretty-shitty-about,17883/

Dear Teacher Who Won't Teach Evolution in Science

2010-05-26T10:08:00.001-07:00

I subbed a science class yesterday that didn't have lesson plans, I designed a lesson using Blue Planet episode on "The Deep" ocean to teach students about how environmental conditions of the deep ocean and animal adaptations of the organisms living there interact. Today when I debriefed the teacher on what I did they saw the "Adaptations" notes on the white board and said, "Oh no, you didn't talk about evolution in my class did you? I don't want no law suit, I don't even touch on evolution or adaptation."

WHAT THE FUDGE! Are you kidding me? Science teachers not teaching Evolution or natural selection or adaptations? That's like teaching algebra but not teaching kids how to count to 10, its fundamental to biological understanding. Not only that our School District Curriculum and the Washington State Standards require it.

So I wrote this email, but never sent it, because even though I am a staunch Atheist and a firm believer that this type of bullshit needs to stop immediately, I am in the process of applying for jobs and don't want a mess on my hands. So here is the un-sent email.

Dear Teacher Who Won't Teach Evolution in Science,

You said something this morning that kind of perplexed me about not teaching evolution or adaptation. So I checked to see what our school district and state say about teaching evolution, natural selection, and adaptation.

Here's what I found. Not only is it ok, it is part of our district curriculum and the state science standards. So although the fear of a lawsuit from a parent is there, you have your school districts go ahead as well as the state requirement to cover the material. Legally you would be safe if you taught it, and you should.

Teaching evolution in school is really important regardless of people's religious affiliations, school is a secular institution and science and inquiry and biology and evolution are secular institutions continually moving toward teaching proven, evidence based, curriculum and theories.

Also, the evolutionary theory of adaptation by natural selection can and does explain how life has come into being the way it is on this planet and to deprive students of this understanding of the fundamental roots of life's functions and manifestations is irresponsible and unfair to them as well as a major hinderance to their future contributions to the human condition on this planet.

Please consider these standards when planning your curriculum next year.

Tacoma 6th Grade Science Curriculum
Fall 6th grade
Diversity of Life

Students observe and maintain protists, plants and animals in the classroom and study their characteristic features. The study progresses from macroscopic to microscopic observation to discover the fundamental unit of life, the cell. Students then investigate organism subsystems and behaviors, ****and consider their diversity of adaptive structures and strategies.****

Fall 7th Grade
Populations and Ecosystem

Students raise populations of organisms to discover population dynamics in a range of conditions. Reproduction, heredity and **** natural selection are explored as ways to understand both the similarity and the variation within and between organisms.****

State Standards

6-8 LS3A
++++The scientific theory of evolution underlies the study of biology and explains both the diversity of life on Earth and similarities of all organisms at the chemical, cellular, and molecular level. Evolution is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence. Explain and provide evidence of how biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species on Earth today.++++

6-8 LS3E
++++Adaptations are physical or behavioral changes that are inherited and enhance the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. Give an example of a plant or animal adaptation that would confer a survival and reproductive advantage during a given environmental change.++++

6-8 LS3F
Extinction occurs when the environment changes and the ++++adaptive characteristics of a species, including its behaviors, are insufficient to allow its survival.++++ Given an ecosystem, predict which organisms are most likely to disappear from that environment when the environment changes in specific ways.

6-8 LS3G
++++Evidence for evolution includes similarities among anatomical and cell structures, and patterns of development make it possible to infer degree of relatedness among organisms. Infer the degree of relatedness of two species, given diagrams of anatomical features of the two species (e.g., chicken wing, whale flipper, human hand, bee leg).++++

Pray your way to stupid.

2010-05-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend randy I have this new article that basically says that praying and healing prayer shuts off the part of your brain the makes judgements on the reality of things.

Love it.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627574.200-brain-shuts-off-in-response-to-healers-prayer.html

Forget Jesus, Stars Died for your Sins

2010-04-22T08:21:00.001-07:00

Hey this is introduced by Richard Dawkins, but the Mr. Krauss does an insane job explaining just about everything you would ever want to know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ImvlS8PLIo

Hope you enjoy.

Idaho

2010-03-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

Some odd things happened Sunday - Monday and I want to write about them. This discussion will include some viewpoints that will likely offend people but I don't really feel the need to hold back punches so much today so read at your own risk, risk of molting your exoskeleton that is.

The beginning of this conversation must begin with some links that we've been watching at the house "back to back" sometimes. A friend shared them with us and it kind of tied together some other clips we'd been watching.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/25/ted.sam.harris/index.html?hpt=P1

http://www.ted.com/talks/sam_harris_science_can_show_what_s_right.html

There are things that I have to say about what it made me feel about. Basically I like the idea that science actually can explain why we should be good to each other and work together logically to build a flourishing human cooperation on earth. It makes no sense logically for us to fight and disagree on who's version of the sky god is more accurate. It makes no sense to strap bombs to our chests and blow up a market. It makes no sense to have nuclear weapons and handguns. Yet every year, people all over the world die or are subject to human suffering as a result of religious beliefs and their ramifications.

Additionally, In a world that has unmanned guided missiles and expanding nuclear capabilities it is horrifyingly frightening to me that the leaders of countries still live in a reality of faith where their conscience is guided by a fictional sky god and corresponding story/set of morals. In a world where technology that could take down so many is controlled by fallible humans and those humans often times operate under religious/faith notions it utterly frightens me that the world population is still so staunchly opposed to convergent scientific thinking and collaboration based on reason and examination.

Point being, a logical scientific view of human success and fitness would say that machete-ing someone to death in Africa, or the Nuclear Armament of a Christian led super power, or a father murdering of recently raped women in the Middle East, or AIDS in Africa, or Rainforest destruction, or Climate Change, or any other seriously morally important issues would be more biologically important issues to deal with as a species than half of the religious nonsense that occupies so much time.

Moral Talent and Moral Ignorance is a cool idea also. I like the idea that if a seriously stupid person tried to have some input into a very very difficult idea like String Theory Physics or Global Economy the experts and most would agree that Billy Joe Bob hasn't really got anything helpful or valid to add to the conversation. We can all agree that there is skill/talent/authority of certain knowledge and those who don't know things are ignorant on the topic. BUUUUUUUUUT when it comes to morals/beliefs/faith and everything that realm "Everyone's beleifs must be valued." NO THEY SHOULD NOT. There is moral talent. There is Moral Ignorance. And I don't really feel the need to allow ignorant morals about "Gay Rights" and "Abortion" and "Creationism in School" into the conversation. Some of these things are morally ignorant but because we are so fearful of not being Politically Correct everyone has an equal part of the pie. Some things just aren't ok.

So yesterday Kyle and I (thanks be to Allah that I have an Atheist Roomate) drove his friend to Idaho and back. I needed to get out of the house and it gave me a chance to knit some hats and enjoy some scenery. As the landscape changed and we left the soft pillowy inner liberal folds of the Puget Sound and went further and further into the heart land all of the words of these lectures started making more and more sense.

As we drove through the vast expanse of spokane with its factory stores and mcdonalds and malls and box buildings I kept thinking about how we will never change as a species. This huge expanse of Christian consumers just plodding away.

As we drove into the track housing mega complex to drop off our friend, monster truck after SUV parked in each seemingly identical driveways, I felt like I was in the heart of the problem. We had been warned by our friend that his step dad was a redneck and his mom was really religious. In the front driveway a Ford 350 diesel on 43 inch tires sat. They weren't home yet but we walked around the house, RV in the back, four wheelers, snowmobiles, and 4 guns nonchalantly placed on the pool table, many many many bible verses posted around the house, bible versus hand written on the fridge, I just kept having flashes of these lectures and the words in my brain. We had to wait to meet the family before we could return to Tacoma. The family was late because they were getting Starbucks and then going to the GunStore to get more ammo for their new Beretta 9mm gun they had purchased. They finally arrived and after a short discussion about why a single action handgun is better than a double action the step dad left the room and came back in with a loaded gun and unclipped it, checked the chamber and removed a bullet and then pointed it at his dog and fired a bullet-less clip to demonstrate double action.

I was so uncomfortable that I could have run out of the room. I mean seriously. I know I didn't grow up around guns but this was totally f**ked up. What the hell was going on. Could these people fulfill anymore of the stereotypes? The conversation slowly moved from conversation topic to conversation topic. They were foster parents of local Indian girls and were so thankful to give them a Christian Upbringing. This and That and although I refuse to hold my tongue on many topics (having lived in a native village) I had to keep my mouth and opinions in check because an Atheist in a room with a loaded gun was probably not the smartest place to make a stand against moral ignorance.

If I had any delusions about the prospect of humans finding some sort of reason based common ground on which we could elevate our conscious for flourishing and collaboration and elimination of human suffering they had been squashed by a gun waving fat man in a SUV. So Kyle and I spent almost the whole drive home discussing what had happened relating it to these lectures and trying to decide whether anything is ever going to change.

We spend billions of dollars shoring up our oil life line in the middle east every year. We veil it under the eminent attack of terrorist forces from deep in the mountains of afghanistan and Saddam Hussein. Over 104,000 Iraqi civilians have perished from our occupation (if not many more) yet it is never on the news anymore.

Our schools are understaffed. Our elderly and disabled can't get proper care. Genocide in Africa. Suicide Bombings world wide. Catastrophic events are ongoing with not nearly as much aid as needed. AIDS epidemic in Africa. Catholic Priest Rapists and Molesters. China pumping pollution into the air. Human Trafficking. Animal Poaching. Torturing. Habitat Loss and biodiversity destruction worldwide. Pedophiles. Massive pollution. Yet instead of coming together to think about these things every sunday, instead of learning about sustainability, ecosystems and resource management and medicine and education and actually doing anything billions of people spend countless hours every week meditating on the same religious texts that have put our societies directly in the line of massive suffering. All retellings of the same story from before the Egyptians, just with different prophets, different versions of Abrahamic descendants, and we all just go along with it despite all the suffering and all the injustice and all the morally and logically ignorant crap going on.

So when you say we should respect religion and people's beliefs, I think not. When you say we should teach creative design in school I think not.

When I say the pledge of Allegiance every day I leave out the "One Nation Under God." If you are out there and you want to combat the injustice of religion then you need to get active. The reason it is so biologically/culturally successful is that it is so reproducible. The genetic code of the religion is its text which actually tells its body (the believers) to replicate it self, to spread the word. The reason "reason" isn't making it into popular culture body is because we are not reproducing it fast enough to combat the Bible (and its many versions) or the Torah or the Koran.

If you want to help then you have to do something. This blog isn't enough.

Request to Post

2010-03-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Thank you friend of the non believers for inspiring yet another post.

Today's focus, faith as utter stupidity.

Many so called "enlightened" believers will say that they don't believe in literal religious text interpretation and that they believe in God but not in the literal translation of the bible because its not realistic. I love that you can pick and choose that no the earth isn't X years old, and no not all animal species come from Noah's Ark, but the stuff about the Virgin giving birth to the Son of an Un-seeable sky man who we only know through people's delusions is real. The picking and choosing is ridiculous because Christians/Religious people make assessments everyday on what to believe or not. They will believe that the H1N1 vaccine will protect them but not in the fact that the only reason we contracted the Virus is because it evolved. They will believe that God cured their cancer but no that the medicine they took was developed by people operating under the evolutionary laws of biology/anatomy/physiology training and education.

So I guess believing in God and his power is really about choice in believing in whatever you want to fit your situation. (Unless you grew up in a super religious family and had no choice and were brainwashed for life then you have no choice until someone demonstrates reality for you.)

I think that this is really refreshing because it means that the people who believe whatever they want and I aren't separated by all that much. They choose to believe in things that are ridiculous logically and by so doing rationalize the world around them in said context. I choose to believe in something based on data, study and collaboration of the global community of people who analyze and test said theories of other people.

SO Christians, you and are aren't so different we both believe, you in whatever degree of ridiculous you see fit at the time needed and I the always debatable and testable explanations reached by thousands/millions of people worldwide to an exacting degree of certainty.

NOW THIS:

MARK COLVIN: For nearly three decades, opinion pollsters have been asking Americans whether they believe in the literal truth of the Bible's creation story.

Asked whether God created human beings pretty much in their present form sometime in the last 10,000 years, more than four in every 10 Americans say yes - most recently in a national survey last year.

And yet every year carbon dating produces more evidence that humans have been around for far longer than that and palaeontologists produce more fossil evidence showing how we evolved from apes.

Since the discovery of DNA in the 1950s, even more evidence has been added to the theory of evolution, yet creationism and its sibling, intelligent design, are in some places stronger than ever.

Kale Iverson::::::

Ah America, gotta love it. 40% of American believe God created the world ten thousandish years ago in their present form. Awesome. Way to go Intelligent Design and Creationists, you will always have a chunk of people to give you money every sunday for sitting them in a room and telling them about a fictional man that doesn't exist. Its money for nothing, the perfect business model.

Imagine a hot ad executive going in to NBC or Nabisco or Ford with this sales pitch.

AD EXEC: "We are very excited to unveil our new product line for you this year. Our business model is as follows. Build a building with lots of seating, nay build many buildings all over the nation, invite people there every sunday, hire a man to interpret a book from 2000 plus years ago that is the same story as a book from 6000 years ago about man that biologically couldn't exist and is the son of a sky man that watches us all and at the end of every sunday session tell the people to donate money to the cause of the impossible man and his sky dad.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Whats the catch, what service do they get? Where does the profit go?

AD EXEC: Well that's the beauty of the system. Once you scare the stupid people into believing that if they piss off the sky dad and his impossible son bad things will happen to them you can make all your overhead as you go along and keep the profit. But,in reality the money goes to a national organization of other ancient book interpreters and then sent to a bank account where it can be invested and used on the open stock trade and real estate. And we all know that's where the money is.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: If only enough Americans were dumb enough to believe this we'd be rich.

AD EXEC: Well 40% of American already do. We just need to come up with a more intriguing, older, more impossible son of sky dad-ish version to capitalize a corner of the market.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Like the Mormon's Did?

AD EXEC: Exactly.

Hope that'll tide ya over.

Sorry for the Hiatus

2010-02-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

I still don't believe in god, and I'm too busy to write about how much it still sickens me to live in a world full of fantasy filled weirdo's.

Oh one thing though...Did you hear about Tim Tebow's "purity ring?" Not only does he cry at football games where he is the number one quarterback in the nation but he's also a virgin in the name of god. I'll exclude further ridicule here.

Militant Atheism

2009-11-30T20:14:00.000-08:00

I just read the CNN article suggested by my brother. "Darwin and the Case for Militant Atheism."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/23/dawkins.darwin.atheism/index.html

Richard Dawkins continues to be the champion of outspoken Atheism but he raises some good points in this article/interview.

First and foremost I am glad that I'm not the only one who recognizes that Atheism and Religion can't really coexist and shouldn't. In a world that is rapidly facing real consequences of action, having a majority of the population base their reality off of a sky god is simply the greatest injustice for the survival of a homeostatic population of homeosapiens on the planet.

Dawkins: Evolution is almost universally accepted among those who understand it, almost universally rejected by those who don't.

This point is backed up by study. The more education a person has the more likely they are to recognize its reality, and less religious they are. Biblical literalism is possibly one of the most debilitating mental deficiencies American's could contract. I say contract because religion is a mental virus that prays on the youth.

Dawkins: "We are survival machines -- robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes."

People just don't want to believe that we are actually expressions of cooperating genes and not the product of some sky hero that controls all matter time and space. once you begin to understand how you fit into the real world, you can begin to live a life of logical reasoning (and satisfaction), while still enjoying emotions, sentiment, and dualistic ideas as is your evolutionary birthrite as a human, it doesn't mean you should base your reality off of it. But a true understanding of Darwinian evolution by natural selection is one of the most destructive ideas to religion because it renders biblical literalism completely ridiculous.

Where this is all going is to simply agree with the artical in its call for all Atheists to stand up and be proud, you are right and also you are part of the solution.

Like the article says, Great Britain has Darwin on the face of their money, and America has "In God We Trust." At fourteen percent, Atheists are on the rise, help educate the believers to evolve beyond it.!

O.C.A. Volume 2

2009-11-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

Organism of the Day

Pleurotus ostreatus or the common oyster mushroom. Very delicious with white wine and in stir fry and also recently being researched for use in the cleaning up of oil spills. Using them in "Mycoremediation" could be a new step in cleaning up some of the skrewed up shit we do to the earth. Go fungus.

What God Allowed to Happen Today:

Bon Jovi will be going on tour "The Circle Tour" to support they're new album "The Circle. Despite the fact that this already horrible band has gone godly did we really need more of this noise pollution?

Organization of the Day

American Atheists. Now in its fourth decade, American Atheists is dedicated to working for the civil rights of Atheists, promoting separation of state and church, and providing information about Atheism.

http://www.atheists.org/

Atheist Quote of the Day:

"I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature."
[Thomas Jefferson]

My Thoughts:

I've been thinking a lot about the propagation and replication of ideas in a biological sense, or that religion itself is a biological agent much like the gene for fur on mammals or the behavior of fluffing feathers to attract a mate. Just like the expressed features of the replicating genetic code manifest in the phenotype of organisms and a species so do the ideas of religion and faith based belief systems. The religions that survive time are the ones that are best at replicating themselves. Mistakes in the replication/interpretation of ideas/beliefs can account for all the diversity of religion that we see today (just as the mutations in the genetic code can account for the diversity of life on earth). The most successful replicating ideas/beliefs are ones that persist because of the human slavery to replicating duality ideas (separating our souls from our body). Some false ideas that seemed to survive and replicate in many diverse forms of religion and people's beliefs are:

You will survive past your death (when you don't, your mind is part of your body and you just die)
Believing in God is a Virtue (but why isn't not believing)
Faith is a virtue and the more you have the more virtuous you are (I think reason is a virtue too)
Everyone must respect virtue (except that the virtue has nothing to do with good)
We aren't meant to understand things (upon investigation we can)
Beauty is the result of religion and religious ideas (rather than simply being beautiful)

Its because of persisting dualistic ideas such as these that we continue to be afflicted as a species with the false sense that being religious is good, right and correct and any opposition to this is evil and amoral.

If you can realize that these kinds of ideas and beliefs are not actually true or even a good thing but rather the result of their own replicating biological vector then maybe you can start to evolve your own mind past such falsehoods.

Evolve Beyond Belief.

O.C.A. Volume 1

2009-11-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

The First Volume of O.C.A. today:

Amazing Organism of the Day
Argentavis magnificens or the Giant Flying Bird
With a 21 foot wing span and a body mass four times the largest bird today this 6 million years ago organism was capable of flying over 100 miles an hour while also having the ability to pick up human sized pray. I guess the global legends of man eating birds is possible

What "god" Allowed to happen Today:
Police removed two more bodies on top of the six already found in Cleveland rapist Anthony Sowells yard today. Where is god's wisdom in this one by the way?

Organization of the Day
Freedom From Religion Foundation
This is one of the most important support organizations for Atheist/Agnostic/Freethinking/Separation of Church and State in the United States. They have a weekly radio show on Air America and have a plethera of many resources and news articles pertaining to the state of Freethinking in the world.

Atheist Quote of the Day
"Man is a Religious Animal. Man is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion -- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven.... The higher animals have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left out in the Hereafter. I wonder why? It seems questionable taste." ----Mark Twain

This is the first O.C.A. Volume and look for improvements and more features to come.

Evolve Beyond Belief

O.C.A (Out Of The Closet Atheist) goals.

2009-11-03T14:12:00.001-08:00

Alright, now that we've stirred up a little discussion about some major issues, lets try to focus what this blog is gonna be about.

In this blog I would like to present why religion is so bad for the world, why science and reason are necessary as consciousness raisers and sustainability as a species, and why you should join the Atheist revolution.

I will have special posts on specific topics pertaining to Atheism and Religion in the world.

I will inform people about organizations that can help further your understanding in science, reason, secular humanism and politics.

I will have weekly features such as "Famous Atheists In History" "Organizations" "Amazing Creatures" and "What 'god' allowed to Happen today"

Here are some ideas for future posts:

Jesus Christ, real or made up individual?
Evidence for evolution for beginners.
Jesus Christ found buried in a tomb with wife and kid
How Religious belief might actually be bad for your biological fitness and survival
Why Christmas and Easter don't even make religious sense.
Who Is Richard Dawkins and why should you hear what he has to say.
What is the Freedom From Religion Foundation and other organization supporting Atheism, Scienc, and Reason.
Charles Darwin
Famous Atheists In History
Why only a moron would teach creation in biology class.
Why Intelligent Design is so stupid.
What "god" allowed to happen today.

If you have any ideas for posts that you would like to hear about please comment below and I'll do my best to cover them in time.

Response to Blog Comment

2009-10-29T12:07:00.002-07:00

COMMENT: "Maybe people get "seriously offended" because the things your say are offensive. Arguing your stance on Atheism does not mean you have to bash other peoples beliefs. ASSuming you know so much about what religious people think is extremely steriotypical and close minded of you. I would think that an intelligent, diverse person such as yourself would be able to be more accepting of others peoples diverse thought. Not to mention that you are arguing two very different points, the first of having the ability to think logically using reason and the second is having faith in a purpose greater than your own little bubble. It is possible to have BOTH skill sets. Let me give you an example that you may be able to appreciate from the perspective of an artist....a composer could write a piece of music that on paper logically should be a beautiful piece, but if the person performing that piece is not passionate about playing the music, it doesnt matter how great the composition was.

As a Christian, I often encounter people who are completely against evolution (or even science in general) because they think it goes against religion...it doesnt. It is just that those people dont know enough about evolution to see how it fits with their religious belief. They are ignorant when it comes to evolution and I always suggest to those people that they learn more about it. I would say the same is true for you, but in reverse. You ASSume that the two pieces (logic and faith) dont fit together, but in fact they do. Based on what you have said here on the blog and conversations that we've had, I would say that you are ignorant of how Christian faith works (I cannot speak for other religions) and you should learn more about it. By continuing to so venomously defend your position against "religios nuts", you are starting to sound like one..."an anti-religious nut"

I also agree with the things brooke said.

there is so much more I could say, but this will have to be it...

October 28, 2009 9:48 PM

Blogger Kale Iverson said...

ok Lish,

I refuse to try and think like a religious person because that would mean that I believe in a supernatural force that exists outside the laws of reason and evidence (which I think evidence will show that the fact that we even believe in a greater purpose is part of our adapted evolution).

Secondly I think its unfair to assume I don't accept other people's thoughts. I accept christian thought, I have to. I live in a world of christian thinking. That doesn't mean I have to like it. If that makes me an anti religious nut then fine. But you know there were other people that didn't accept tyrannical thoughts about racism, sexism, homophobia. But because those are bodily things people eventually understood. I'm saying that religion is just as much a biological function as skin color, sex, and sexual preference.

Also, I respectfully decline to agree with you about the piece of music and the performer being a valid comparison to this. If a performer performs a piece EXACTLY how it is composed then the passion of the composer should shine through. This is a pretty weak comparison of logical thinking and purpose of something greater.

Additionally, I think logical thinking and faith can coexist on many levels in many ways. Like you and Brooke I know many smart, logical religious people, but when it comes down to it, here are certain points in which faith directly goes in the face of logic, reason, evidence and science. So while a religious person might not be an illogical thinker all the time, some of the premises of their reality are based on illogical tenets.

From this, I would like to invite you to explain exactly how religious beliefs and evolution fit together. Evolution can account for all the apparent "design" of living things but it doesn't address the cosmos outside of earth as well. So if you would like to talk physics you might have a better shot.

Evolution as you know is a simple process that states how all living things came to be based on natural selection. Religion no matter how you slice it says that God created everything. Think of the eye. An amazingly complex organ that most people would say is too complex to evolve on its own, therefore it must have been god. We know that it did evolve and can prove it with evidence. NOW if your God created everything it/he/she must be complex to control all the particles, thoughts and movement in the universe. Complexity doesn't arise spontaneously so who did your god evolve from. Additionally who created your god? When does this stop?

I'm not even trying to attack the teachings of jesus alisha. I'll give that to all of you that he said some good things. Some bad things too. Christianity as a philosophy has many helpful and endearing qualities. But as a reality and a basis for understanding reality it has many holes. Many holes that leave people looking for answers. If they can't or don't want to find the answers this is where faith comes in. Fine. Have faith. I don't care.

In fact at the moment I don't particularly care what anyone thinks. Go to church I'm done.

Response to Comment On Response to fake Prayer Comment

2009-10-29T12:07:00.001-07:00

I tried to reply in the comment box but it was too long. Here is a response to another anonymous comment. For the sake of the blog can you please email me with your ideas so we can move on.

kaleiverson@hotmail.com

"As someone who is on the fence about religion, I believe that we should all admit that we are open to doubt." -anonymous

Anonymous you are on an important fence, one that if a strong gust of wind blew you off of might land you on the side of reason and science, or the will of GOD might push you onto the side of faith.

"Religion is one way of making meaning in this life." --Anonymous

Well faith is a funny thing. You need it for biological survival as a child, which is where you learn faith. If an elder or grown up says don't jump of that cliff you believe them on faith because believing your elders will increase your fitness and survival and the children who don't listen may die. As a child you have no way of knowing how to distinguish truth in things like not jumping off of cliff comments and if you sacrifice a goat it will bring more rain comments (or santa clause which I was very faithful to as a child). Only education, reasoning, and evidence later as a developing person can dispel what you were told as a child. So I may sound cruel to people of faith but it is only because they haven't reasoned out which faiths that they were given as children are false or true, and if your child faith tells you fly into a building for allah because you will get thousands of virgins in the after life I hope someone will help you dispel that false belief with science and reasoning.

The need to believe in what other people say is hardwired into our brains as a survival response as children. One that sadly persists well into adulthood. Imagine what your life would be like if you were raised by someone who did not tell you or force you to accept large quantities of non factual information such as religion. You would be a rational thinker in a world of faith based people (a nightmare really), and still a person who could have a meaningful life of love and kindness. I still enjoy fairy tales although I know they aren't true.

"There are rational, intelligent, open-minded individuals who practice a wide variety of religions. Insisting that they are misguided and ridiculous because they seek a larger truth behind this life? Well that just makes you seem sort of childish." --anonymous

Essentially I can't sound nearly as childish as someone who arrogantly defies basic reasoning and continues to hold on to childish faith and indoctrination. Faith is a childish adaptation reasoning is and adult skill.

"Can't we all--atheists and religious folks alike--just agree that none of us has it all figured out?"
--- anonymous

Actually anonymous, many people can't admit that we don't have it figured all out, especially faith based religious nuts. The beauty of science and reason is that "figuring it out" is a process open to discussion and experimentation and re-examination. Not knowing is what drives science, Faith based religions are the word of god and not up for debate because they apparently "know." at least not to the lay person or many organized sects. Now reason and science does not have it all figured out this is true. But it has been able to eliminate many things as NOT being true. The earth is not flat, or the center of the universe, nor is it only 6000 years old, dinosaurs did exist, evolution by natural selection is a simple and exact process by which all living things came to be so perfectly suited to their environments, Jesus could not have been born from a virgin. If you speak to god or he speaks to you in your brain, the synapses in your brain are firing off the same synapses as a person with delusions, schizophrenia and psychosis. The human need to believe in "things" arises from an evolutionary adaptation for survival of children believing older humans. While science has not figured out everything that is, it certainly figured out many many many things that are NOT, many things that people still take on faith.

"I don't think anyone's prayers will convert you, but belittling an act of faith is simply unkind." ---anonymous

You know what is also unkind, belittling my intelligence on my own blog. Why is it that whenever anyone (especially Atheists) question or criticize religion everyone gets "seriously offended" and personally hurt by it but religious people (and anyone) can say whatever they want about reason and science and no one gets hurt. You know why? Because we have evidence to support what we have figured out. If you say "Dinosaurs don't exist!" or better yet, "That study on the yellow bellied warbler's feeding behavior is inaccurate." I don't feel like my belief system is under attack. If fact I would welcome an evidence based argument to prove that indeed dinosaurs do not exist or that the statistics of the yellow bellied warbler were calculated wrong.

My guess is that people get offended by questioning their faith because deep down inside they know that there is a whole lot of shit that doesn't add up and doesn't make sense and doesn't compute in their reasoning adult brain. They cover it up with faith, the cure all for reason, and when someone questions that or challenges it, it scares them because it might deconstruct the faith based world that they live inside their minds. And additionally, fear tends to breed anger and hostility.

"I also don't think your spiel on atheism will change anyone's mind or destroy their faith. Surely a mutual respect isn't too much to ask?" ---anonymous

I'm not trying to destroy anyone's faith. If someone voluntarily comes on my blog and reads something that makes logical sense to them then I can't stop them. Maybe it was their "GOD" guiding them to read the blog so that they can either find another sinner to save....

Or maybe their "GOD" is so busy worrying and controlling and manipulating the billion trillion trillion gazillion megamillion particles in the universe he apparently created and simultaneously tending to the million million million bazillion prayers and requests and actions of every person on earth that he sent this person to my blog to spark the beginning of them thinking rationally to simply take one minuscule load of one person off the GOD's back of incomprehensibly complex duties.

Mutual respect huh? I invite you to search the internet for disrespectful Atheists comments and organizations. Then I invite to search the internet for disrespectful faith based people and organizations. I think you will find that the disrespect is significantly weighted on the latter.
You never hear about crazy Atheist bombers or nutty Atheist evangelists telling people to hang folks for being black or blow up abortion clinics. Disrespect?

I can't quote it exactly but Gore Vidal once said something to the effect of:
"We must respect one man's religious beliefs just as we respect his belief that his wife is beautiful and his children are smart."

So I'm sorry for disrespecting your beliefs religious people. I don't mean to upset your unshakable faith which apparently I couldn't even if I wanted to according to Anonymous. The human drive to believe the unbelievable is a pretty damn strong biological adaptation, far stronger than a simple little blog post.

But I'm equally if not more so sorry that I even have to apologize at all for simply pointing out some of these things on my own space where people voluntarily attend.

If you've come this far I suggest you go a little farther anonymous. You can voluntarily read the first chapter from SEVERAL Richard Dawkin's books at RICHARDDAWKINS.net. I suggest THE GOD DELUSION.

Many of the points I raised today can be further understood through reading a far more eloquent writer and scientist as he.

Response to Fake Prayer comment on blog post

2009-10-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

The last post drew no request for my omitted Atheist declaration (which is fine). So I imagine no one cares or wants to hear about it. But it did draw one person's interest enough to comment this prayer:

"Someday you will see the light and God will fill your heart with his Awesome love....Until then I will pray for you :)" ---anonymous

hmmm...how to field this last comment. obviously it was well intentioned (or a joke from one of my Atheist friends) so thank you for thinking of me and hoping that I will someday think like you do and believe what you believe...

I don't want to sound rude or mean here but please please please don't pray for me...anyone. The only way that the light of god will fill my heart is if he is a real human man or woman named "God Albert Smith or God Judy Johnson" that opens my chest with some sort of surgical device and shines a flash light in there. That is a real event that could really happen someday and for my sake lets hope no one needs to peek in there.

If the light of god is really a light then I'd be more interested in it, I'm interested in light, wavelengths, visual spectrums, laser beams and what not, but, the reference here is almost certainly a "feeling" or a "belief" in which case the word should be used as so:

You should have said, "Someday I pray that you believe in god as others do." And then specify which one you want me to believe in.

Is it one of the million hindu gods in practice today, or an outdatd one like zeus, athena, aphrodite, or how about the sun god Ra from egyptian times, either way most of us can admit we don't believe in many Gods that have long since been proven "untrue" by social standards no longer suitable for belief. I simply take it one or two gods further. I don't believe in "ANY" god but especially the Abrahamic gods such as jesus/god and mohammed/allah .

I've heard many ways to respond to people when they say they will pray for you and the one I usually resort to is "I forgive you for that." Because essentially someone just told you they would think an unrealistic thought for you. Now I wonder how this person would react if I read there deeply religious blog and anonymously commented:

"Some day I hope you will learn the logical, rational thinking of reason and problem solving based on observations and evidence so that you can solve your own problems in life realistically. I will plan to sit down and problem solve with you soon."

That would probably not go over too well.

In this case this comment/declaration of prayer is someone who reads this blog and that I want to continue reading, and if they read the blog they probably know me and I love people regardless of what supernatural story they believe, so I guess I will say that you are free to do whatever you want to make yourself feel better about life and how you understand it (like praying), you just can't expect me to be overly thankful for an anonymous person saying that they will do something that has no scientific basis for having any effect on anything past a synaptical impulse of your brain and self satisfaction .

Most of what I omitted from the last post has to do with the overly apologetic practice of religious respect anyways so its probably good that this comment came in because it gives me a clear reason to say that you are reading an Atheist blog right now, an Atheist that loves his family and friends, tries to teach others about good things, tries to live a good life, and decides to be a good person knowing full well that this is the only life he has and that no one is watching or keeping score in the sky.

I am an Atheist

2009-10-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

Since writing about Atheism on my regular blog seems to piss them off I have decided to start a different blog just for these topics that way if some person comes to the "Out of the Closet Atheist" blog then they have no excuse for being pissed off.

Sitting quietly in America as an Atheist in secret has gone on far too long and its time for reason and science to show people how to rationally approach understanding the world around us and making logical choices.

Hi, my name is Kale Iverson and I am proud to be an Atheist.