Clipmarks | jedipunk's 'atheism' clips

If God Has A Plan, Free Will Is An Illusion

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:19:10 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com

If God Has A Plan, Free Will Is An Illusion

So when Christians say that God has a Plan, that means that things can only work out one way, and the variables only have the appearance of being unknown. As long as God has a plan, free will only has the appearance of being unknown to us. To an omniscient God, it must be obvious. This is why, free will is an illusion as long as God has a plan.

Tags: religion, atheism

Why I Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:41:34 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: unreasonablefaith.com

Why I Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus

Paul, the earliest New Testament author, never mentions the virgin birth. For someone who we rely upon for much of Christian theology, it is an odd omission. Paul refers to Jesus’ birth twice (Rom 1:3; Gal 4:4) and never says he was born of a virgin or of different means than anyone else. You’d think that would be important.

The virgin birth is also not in Mark, the earliest gospel, or in John, the only other gospel not based on Mark. Why is such an important story left out of all the early sources? Probably because it hadn’t been made up yet.

Why would the story be made up? Perhaps to fulfill an old prophecy of a virgin birth, which the Gospel of Matthew cites:

Some scholars say “virgin” was a mistranslation in the Septuagint (the Greek translation the gospel writers used), and should have been translated “young woman.” That means the story might have been based on a mistranslation!

Tags: atheism, religion, christianity

Bananas are not proof of Design - Allee

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:39:18 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: friendlyatheist.com

Alleee: Okay, so- I just wanted to- because there’s been a lot of talk- even like… Penn from “Penn and Teller” is talking about this. There’s been a lot of talk about this- the banana thing about how God made it so perfectly for humans but… the biggest- the most logical argument I’ve heard and actually made myself was that God didn’t make the banana. Because… it’s called horticulture.

Alleee: Plantain, right. Before the plantain, the banana was kind of hard and not very tasty and not- not what we have designed it to fit the hand better… bananas are big and plump and sweet because of what we have done-

Tags: creat, evolution, atheism, religion

Non Random and Not Designed

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:17:21 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com

Recently in a private forum where others are concerned with intelligent design I brought up the case of ERVs as evidence supporting common ancestry vs. common design. If common design instead of common ancestry the designer is evidently using existing species in situ as the template for new species. If that’s the case there’s effectively no difference whatsoever between common design and common ancestry.

Dave evidently is so ignorant he fails to distinguish between design and selection. For example. The wind blows. Which grains of sand will become blown dust that will pile up? The biggest ones or the smallest ones? Is the wind designing a sand dune? Yet DaveScot can't see that a sand dune is both non-random and not designed.

Tags: atheism, religion, creationism, evolution

The Detestable Practice of Divinely Sanctioned Child Sacrifice in the Bible

Wed, 21 May 2008 12:53:20 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com

The Detestable Practice of Divinely Sanctioned Child Sacrifice in the Bible

Child sacrifice was something that several Biblical people either did, or assisted others in doing so. Abraham was not morally repulsed by the command itself (Genesis 22). Then there is Jepthah who probably sacrificed his daughter because of a stupid vow (Judges 11)

It was a problem for King Josiah ( II King 23:10), for Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:30-31; 19:3-5; 32:35), and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:20-21; 20:25-26, 30-31).

The prophet Micah wonders if he should sacrifice his oldest son “as a sin offering” (6:6-8). Child sacrifice to foreign gods was so prevalent that it’s named as one of the major reasons why God sent the Babylonians to conquer Israel and forcibly take many of them as captives (II Kings 17:16-18).

We even read where the King of Moab sacrificed his son which caused the Israelites to retreat in defeat.

Tags: atheism, christianity, religion

Science Leads to Killing..huh?

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:44:36 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

The fact that creationists so casually link evolution to atheism, and ask stupid questions like, “How does evolution explain abiogenesis?” is indicative of a pathology that afflicts many people in American society. Specifically, the unwillingness to do even a tiny bit of homework to understand the arguments made by people on the other side. The people I meet at creationist conferences are completely uncritical in accepting what their preachers tell them about evolution. The idea that they should read some books by scientists to learn about evolution never seems to enter their minds. They seem to have no interest at all in learning what scientists really think, or what evolution really says.

That is what leads to that blend of ignorance and arrogance that is so typical of creationist thought and writing. They know nothing about modern science, but pretend to know a great deal.

Tags: atheism. science, religion

The Christian Bible Condemns Public Prayer

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:19:26 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: atheistrevolution.blogspot.com

The Christian Bible Condemns Public Prayer

Matthew 6:5 - 7 says:

5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Tags: atheism, religion

Dresden Codak Comic

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:16:52 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: bp2.blogger.com

Tags: religion, atheism

Those fanatical atheists

Fri, 11 May 2007 19:22:47 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: richarddawkins.net

This is completely contrary to how we live the rest of our lives. We demand proof of even trivial claims ("John was the main creative force behind Sergeant Pepper") and we dismiss those who make such claims without proof. We are still more demanding when claims are made on matters that are at least temporarily important ("Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction" being a notorious example).

So isn't it odd that when claims are made about matters as important as the nature of existence and our place in it we suddenly drop all expectation of proof and we respect those who make and believe claims without the slightest evidence? Why is it perfectly reasonable to roll my eyes when someone makes the bald assertion that Ringo was the greatest Beatle but it is "fundamentalist" and "fanatical" to say that, absent evidence, it is absurd to believe Muhammad was not lying or hallucinating when he claimed to have long chats with God?

Tags: religion, atheism

Why I am NOT a friendly Atheist

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:33:20 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: www.hanlonsrazor.org

Religion is the only aspect, the ONLY aspect, of knowledge in which disagreements over facts is accepted. In history, we’re not allowed to disagree about who Socrates was or how he died. We can’t say that Christopher Columbus may not have actually sailed to America. Mathematicians can’t argue over how many the number 10 signifies, or whether or not the area of a triangle is one half its base multiplied by its height. Physicists don’t get to say that objects in a vacuum really do fall at different speeds.

Now this isn’t entirely true. Disagreements are accepted, but only when they can be proven and then the theory that is proven true is considered the new “fact”.

Tags: religion, atheism