What is Secularism?

In a world of religious privelege and divinely-warranted prejudice, Secularism is the uphill struggle of those who recognise its benefits to the equality and welfare of society.

The fight for secularism is often misconceived as an attack on religion, and many see it as the atheists' attempt to cut down religious freedom and rights. However, it is actually an attack on inequality, promoting both the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion.

So, what does all of this mean?

It means that governments should not endorse any particular religion or belief system, and this is called the 'separation of church and state'. In a secular society, government prioritises human rights, freedom of speech and equality. The government does not encroach on anybody's religious beliefs, so long as those beliefs do not encroach on the rights of others.

A trip to the supermarket is a secular experience. If religious passages were printed on the receipts and staff wished you blessings from God, it would not be secular. It would also not be secular if the receipts were printed with "there is no God" and members of staff promoted atheism. Secularity is religious neutrality which means it is neither against or for religion.

Take the example of a Christian prayer scheduled into a state-held event. Some Christians may argue that this does not infringe on anybody's rights, however if the same event held a Muslim prayer or Atheist speech, there would likely be an uproar. Secularism says that no prayers should be scheduled in a state-held event, because otherwise it is an endorsement of one particular religion and therefore exclusion of everybody else. If no favouritism is given, everyone is still free to believe as they wish, and nobody is excluded.

Chief Executive of the British Humanist Society Andrew Copson can be seen in this video debating the issue of council-held prayers:

So, why is this so important?

Religious favouritism can cause damage to societies, especially when government begins introducing religious teaching into legislation. For example, many Islamic countries integrate teachings from the Qu'ran into their legislation, such as punishment for apostasy, nationalised gender inequality, and many laws which without a supposed divine warrant would seem barbaric. If such governments were instead based on the kind of secularity we're fighting for, laws would not be based on scrolls or ancient teachings, and would likely support a more equal and accepting society based on human rights. Muslims would be free to believe as they wish, so long as their beliefs didn't affect the rights of others. Women would no longer be punished for not covering their skin, religious beliefs could be freely expressed without institutionalised persecution, and more humane and rational laws would be formulated.

In the UK, Christianity currently stands in the way of a secular society, as government gives it special priveleges. For example, religious leaders, mainly Christian, are seated in the House of Lords, which is a policy-shaping power in the UK government. Christian website churchofengland.org states:

      "26 bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords. Known as the Lords Spiritual, they read prayers at the start of each daily meeting and play a full and active role in the life and work of the Upper House."

In the spirit of equality, if there are 26 bishops seated in the House of Lords, there should also be 26 Rabbis, 26 Imams, 26 Hindu leaders etc. etc. etc. - even 26 atheists, 26 agnostics, 26 deists and on and on and on! This is only fair, however if there were this many religious figures in the House, there would barely be room for anyone else. The secular view is that nobody should be chosen for the House of Lords only for their religious affiliation and status, especially when only one religion is represented!


Other issues faced by UK secularists are:

• Faith schools - the brainwashing of children, as paid for and encouraged by government!
• Discrimination of and by religious people in workplaces and public service 
• LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) rights - many religious beliefs are opposed to homosexual, bisexual and transexual lifestyles, but secularism believes in equal rights for all.
• Freedom of expression - criticism of religion is often labelled as racism or prejudice, however religions are all based on beliefs and ideologies and are therefore open to criticism and analysis as much as political beliefs and ideologies. Criticism of people is wrong, but criticism of an idea is not.
• Inhumane animal slaughter - religious views on the way in which to kill animals before eating them can oppose the accepted, humane technique of stunning.
• Global issues such as theocratic dictatorships, child abuse, persecution of women and many more.

These issues are subject to rigorous campaign from such societies as the NSS. Their aims can be found on secularism.org.uk, which states:


      "The National Secular Society campaigns for the separation of religion and state and promotes secularism as the best means to create a society in which people of all religions or none can live together fairly and cohesively. The NSS sees secularism - the position that the state should be separate from religion - as an essential element in promoting equality between all citizens."

Join the National Secular Society (as I recently have), and become part of the movement!
http://www.secularism.org.uk/join-and-renew.html



Thanks for reading

Is your religion any different?

One Sentence - why God is evil

If God is true, he forces each of us into an existence which defaults in eternal torture, all because a couple of people ate some fruit; then provides SOME of us a with a doubtful account of his existence and expects us to believe it in order to avoid the eternal torture.

Do Christians detest gays? (short post)

"The Bible is the Word of God, and God cannot err; therefore, the Bible cannot err. To deny the inerrancy of the Bible one must either affirm that God can err or else that the Bible is not the Word of God.”
Norman Giesler

‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.'
Leviticus 20:13

In order to be a Christian that takes his religion seriously you have to believe that gay people deserve to be put to death.

If you're a Christian reading this and thinking "yeah, but in that cultural context it was still the inerrant word of God", I have to suggest to you the likelihood that you're giving in to the biases of your Christian mind; igonring logic in favour of faith; and for that reason you must reconsider what you believe in unless you wish to lead an intelligent and free-thinking life.

And if you argue that, because Jesus promoted equality and tolerance, we now know that gay people don't deserve death, then I press you to really think about this. Is Jesus God? Or is he some sort of alter ego? Why do they differ in their teachings? Was it okay to put gay people to death before Jesus came around? Do you agree with all of the death sentences that have been given because of biblical teaching?

Think about what you believe in. It's not all fluffy and lovely.

Thanks for reading.

Respecting the kind and sincere

Let's call this guy Arthur

I can only assume that a large portion of the atheist community would be quick to label open-air preachers as "loons". There's a common opinion amongst many atheists and "anti-theists" that the religious are idiots. And many atheists (not realising they're hypocrites), like to preach these opinions, such as Jim Jeffries, an Australian stand-up comedian, who has some pretty harsh things to say about Christians. Though I agree with many of the points these kind of people make, and we share a mutual knowledge of just how ridiculous religion itself is, I tend to disagree with fellow atheists that mock and ridicule the religious.

Walking through town the other day I passed by a preacher. He was stood there, just as you would expect, waving his arms and bellowing the gospel, "accept your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" and all that garbage. Many thousands of people must have passed him that day, because it was a Saturday, and one of the first real sunny days we'd had in my part of the country. And though the majority of his fleeting spectators will have laughed to themselves and thought "what a nut", I felt something different. It was the first time I'd seen an open-air preacher since my deconversion. And although many of my atheistic views should have stirred annoyance at this man, what I really felt was a profound respect for him.

How is it that an atheist, firm in his convictions, author of a blog all about the evils of Christianity, and contemptuous towards its teachings and influence, could feel a deep admiration for a man who shouts at thousands of people in an attempt to bring about their submission to Christ?

The answer is, it's not about what he is doing, it's about what he believes he is doing.

The man I saw in the city centre is a firm believer in the teachings of the Bible. He may gullable, brainwashed and close-minded. But he believes in care and compassion, and most likely has a formidable love for his fellow man. He believes in divine judgement, and that everyone must go to heaven or hell. So what does he do? He devotes his life to his cause, trying to take as many people as he can with him up to heaven. He is sincere, he is caring, and he is a good man.

Now, don't get me wrong. I still think the idea of such judgement is both absolutely ridiclous and inherently the most evil kind of  "justice" imaginable. I still hate the fact that he is preaching this stuff. I hate the idea that parents brainwash their kids into believing such horrible things. etc. etc.

But this man believes it is true, and he wants to save people. Many Christians don't really believe it's true. Because if they did, they'd be doing what he does, they'd be out in the streets, or overseas, trying desperately to enlighten as many people as possible. But some people do firmly believe, and don't do anything about it. They live normal lives, and don't try to convert anyone. And although these people are those that the atheist community often respect more - they're the ones that "keep it to themselves", and "don't try to shove it down everyone's throats" - I respect them less. Much less. Because if Hell is a real place, a place of eternal and unimaginable torture, then to sit back and do nothing when you could be pulling people out of it is to be an evil human being.

When I was a Christian, I took the teachings seriously. I often wept at the idea that so many billions would be eternally tortured, and the more I thought about this the closer I got to my deconversion. But while I was still a Christian, I tried to convert people, I didn't hide my religious views even though I knew it could have been a detriment to my social life, and I prayed and studied the Bible all the time. If I'd remained a strong believer, it's not unlikely I would have ended up like old Arthur up there. It's the only logical conclusion for a good person who takes the religion seriously.

And that's why I have respect for the sincere. Regardless of their beliefs, if they are good hearted and sincere, I respect them. And I think the atheist community should too. Because if we disrespect those with integrity and kindness, we are detrimental to our own cause. As a community, we want to expand and show people that we are the way, the truth and the light. We want to end religious interference in politics, we want to stop people brainwashing their children, to stop intelligent design being taken seriously, to stop people thinking that we all deserve to be mercilessly tortured until the end of time. But the only way to achieve all that is to show people that we're good just like them. That atheists aren't a bunch of closet satan-worshippers and God-haters. That we're normal people, and so are they, and the only difference is that they believe in stupid things and we're rational.

Let's respect the kind and sincere. Because they're just like us. Only they're unlucky to have been deceived in to believing what they do.

Thanks for reading.

Just a little post about thanking God

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."1 Thessalonians 5:18

I'd like to take this verse and use it in my next prayer. Maybe it'll go something like this:

Thank you God, for all of the torture, suffering and grief that you've caused. It is your will. Thank you for causing so much pain. Especially to people who don't even know you exist, rendering them unworthy of heaven and therefore subject to an eternity of even worse torture after death. Hallelujah. You are an awesome God, I love you.

Amen

Ooh ooh ooh, and whilst I'm at it I'm going to write a letter to those dudes, the Boston bomber guys, yeah...

 

Thank you Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, for all of the torture, suffering and grief that you've caused. It was your will. Thank you for causing so much pain. Especially to the people who have to live without legs for the rest of their lives, and the people who have lost their children. Hallelujah. You are awesome men, I love you.

Amen

Wait, that second one doesn't sound right. Hmm....

Oh! Of course!! Silly me!!!.....

The Bible doesn't teach us to worship mass murderers!

Except for God.

Therefore it's morally wrong!
Unless it's God.

 

Whoops. Well, I take the second prayer back, but the first one is all good.


....


No. If everything is God's will, then first of all we have no free will, and secondly he is a fucking psycopath. Why on Earth would you worship a bloodthirsty maniac? Because the maniac tells you that he's powerful and loving? Nah. It's ridiculous. Nobody basing their beliefs on reasonable thinking would be a Christian. That only goes to show that rationality is warped by brainwashing and deceit. And that's bloody disgraceful.

Oh and here's another thing. If God makes everything happen, then he made me an athiest!

TELL 'EM RICKY!

Thanks for reading.
It was your will.
I love you.

Pray for Boston?

N.B please do not take this blogpost in the wrong way. I am personally horrified to hear about the incidents in Boston and make no attempt to offend or hurt anyone with my views. I fully acknowledge the reality and horror of the events and would not wish that anyone would be upset by the ideas in this blog. My concern comes well before my skepticisim at this time.
 

A series of explosions in the capital city of Massachussets has served as another reminder that the world is far from rid of evil. On Monday afternoon, an explosion occurred amid a crowd of marathon spectators in Boston, which was followed by another several hundred yards away. Several were killed by the blasts, and dozens maimed.

Along with the global worry sparked by reports of developing nuclear technology in North Korea, the incident has reopened many concerns and debates about terrorism and the security of our society.

But aside from the politics, there lies a more subtle and unnoticed evil. A certain group of people believe they know who is responsible for this incident. But instead of accusing this figure, they are worshipping it. Which group am I talking about? It is of course, the Christians.

Now, I'm not as arrogant or ignorant as I sound. I am completely aware that "Pray for Boston" or "#pray4boston" is the response of millions of those who are concerned and upset about the news over in the states. I know that for many, "pray" is simply a metaphor for "think about in a caring and empathetic way". And I am in full support and admiration of the amount of care being lavished on the incident. I am personally distressed by the fatalities, especially that of an 8 year old boy, who's siblings were also seriously injured.

But it pains me that so many are blindly turning their attention and praise to an invisible being which, by definition of their beliefs, actually caused the explosions.

Because, after all, Christians never fail to boast of their God's omnipotence, the idea that he is all powerful. Most Christians even go as far as claiming that everything happens as a result of God's will. And if God wills and controls everything that happens, then it stands to reason that he must have caused the explosions.

If this is the case, then it beggars belief that those faithful in the existence of this deity would pray to it post-catastrophe. I can't help but wonder if Christians would ask a serial killer for his support in their time of woe, after he himself killed several of their family members.

And if everything that happens is God's will - if everything is, as it is often called, "God's plan" - then how would praying to him even make a difference? If you pray to him and it fits in with what he wants, it'll happen. But it would have happened anyway, because it's a plan, that God formulated well before you were born. And if you pray for something God doesn't want, he won't make it happen. Prayer is pointless. And when it comes to praying for help after difficult events which were actually brought about by the figure you're praying to, well that's more than pointless, it's an insult to human intelligence and reason.

A healthy approach

To the large group of skeptics across the world of which I consider myself a member, the idea that there is a God that causes everything to happen is ridiculous enough, but when our peers begin praying to this being after it supposedly willed a disaster, it annoys and frustrates us. We want our fellow man to be reasonable. And not because we're pernickity, or want everyone to be like us. But because a good combination of reason and ethics leads to a healthy society. If billions can pray earnestly to a serial killer, then billions are capable of any kind of wacky and dangerous thoughts and actions.

We've already seen how terrible and threatening brainwashing can be, in the form of our other leading world religion, Islam. Its deceitful spreading techniques and crazy ideas are no different to those of Christianity in nature. The only difference is that its implied teachings are rather more barbaric and bloodthirsty than Judeo-Christian ones. I can't help but worry about human nature when I realise that the only thing stopping Christians acting like fundamentalist Muslims is the content of their holy book. In fact, looking back at history it's revealed that Christians in fact have behaved like fundamentalist Muslims. Just look at the Crusades. Look at all the burning of "witches", the stoning of adulterers, the safe-guarding of scientific ignorance, the death sentences given to those who dared to challenge religious authority. Religion has proven itself over and over again to be a force both insulting and threatening to the human race. Many may argue that Christianity was a foundation for our increasingly moral Western society which, come to think of it, is far from true - a society built on Biblical values would be putting to death anyone who worked on the Sabbath, burning anyone who is suspected to be a witch, and still be teaching that God created the world 6 thousand years ago. A more reasonable argument is that a Christianity was gradually modified to ignore the nasty bits and emphasise the good morals. This idea alone shows us that morality certainly doesn't come from God, because if we can cherry pick the best bits from the Bible, our moral compass must be external to Biblical teachings. Anyway, I digress.

The point is, religion continually attacks our reasonable and scientific minds. It stamps "EVIL" upon the forehead of science and free thought, promoting the close-mindedness of its followers. It warps our sense of morality, teaching that every human being deserves eternal damnation. And it teaches us that even though God kills and tortures people all the time, we should pray for his help and love. Religion does this with authority and arrogance, all the time claiming to be the way, the truth, and the light. And although most people see praying for Boston a good thing - although I recognise it is a caring response - it is, deep down, an unhealthy, unreasonable thing to do. The problem is, nobody realises it.

Thanks for reading.

Quick links to my articles

Why I love ChristianAid and hate ConcernedWomenForAmerica
An analysis of 2 Christian activist groups, one good and one bad.

Christian vs. Atheist: Why would a loving God send someone to Hell?
Analysis of a conversation between an Atheist and a Christian. Why did the Atheist win?

What goes on in a Christian's head?
A former Christian's perspective of Christian belief

Ex-Christian vs. God
A fun game in which I go head to head with God on the subject of morality
 

Why God is unfair

An exposition of God's lack of equal treatment
 

The danger of trusting God

Why is it dangerous to trust God?

Why Christianity is evil

An exposition of Christianity's core teachings

Becoming an atheist at 18

A brief summary of my deconversion

Why I love ChristianAid and hate ConcernedWomenForAmerica

EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ THIS BLOGPOST, PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT THE GOOD WORK THAT CHRISTIANAID DOES AND DONATE VIA THIS LINK: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/give/






Concerned Women For America, CWA, www.cwfa.org, is a United States based Christian activist group. And I hate it.

Now let's set this straight, I am not a misogynist. I'm all about gender equality. But it's not the feministic traits of this activist group that boil my insides (in fact, they're quite the opposite of feminists!), it's the in-your-face, homophobic, "pro-life", creationist, ignorant bigotry that they try to shove down everybody's throats.

I'm not even an American. I'm British. But hearing about the theocratic encroachment on equality and freedom by legal activist groups such as CWA over in the States really gets me going.

CWA describes itself as a:

"US coalition of conservative women which promotes Biblical values and family traditions."

Let me translate that description for you:

"US coalition of crazy right-wing bitches which rejects science and hates gays."

Crazy Right-Wing Bitch, AKA Penny Young Nance, current President of CWA

If there is any activist group which really sums up my dislike of religion it's CWA. 

CWA's mission is to advocate a change in public policy, in accordance with their 6 "core issues". Unfortunately, each of these issues is a bigoted conservative value that threatens solidarity and equality of its country. Let's analyse each "core issue" in turn.

1) Family - "CWA believes that marriage consists of one man and one woman. We seek to protect and support the Biblical design of marriage and the gift of children."

CWA donated $409,000 in support of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state of California. CWA also opposed the 1988 Act for Better Child Care (H.R. 3660), which would have provided government-sponsored child care for families in which both parents are working.

Grrrr!!

Well what do you expect from such a group? The token first sentence is a given. "Marriage consists of one man and one woman". The Bible verse in Leviticus 20:13 demonstrates this Stone Age Israeli view on homosexuality, which has somehow held its own all the way to today's Western world, just because they said that there was an invisible sky-daddy who told them that. I'm sure if CWA had their way they'd follow this Biblical rule strictly, and "put to death" anyone who sleeps with someone of the same gender.

What's worse than their view is that they donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of a same-sex marriage ban. Money which could have gone to a worthwile charity.

What's even worse is that they helped prevent children getting better child care. Why? Well judging by an article found on their website entitled "Feminists Fought Battles and Men Won the War", which opposes feminism and labels it responsible for promiscuity and pre-marital sex, I'm guessing they believe in women's subservience to men, don't want women to work, and therefore oppose anything that goes against this even if it means better care for children. Crazy, right-wing bitches.

2) Sanctity of Human Life - "CWA supports the protection of all innocent human life from conception until natural death. This includes the consequences resulting from abortion."

Yeah, you'll support all "innocent human life" but take away their fucking child-care because you don't think women should work. According to CWA, a child should be born into a family where both parents work whether the parents like it or not, and then receive no support from the government. 

Anti-abortionists ("pro-life" crowd) have some good points to make. After all, it's arguable that you are killing a child when you abort a fetus, because you are killing the potential of a child being born. Pro-lifers often publish shocking pictures of dead embryos which spur many to outright rejecting abortion and calling it murder. The "pro-choice" crowd however take everything else into account, such as insufficient care and stimulation for the child if he/she is being born into a disadvantaged family, or if a woman has been raped (this is an especially tender issue - imagine being disallowed abortion and having to live with a constant reminder of your vicious and degrading attack).

At the end of the day, banning abortion is a dangerous thing to do. Imagine being pregnant with a child you know you cannot support, or being pregnant because of a violent rape, and not being able to do anything about it. Women have a hard enough time giving up their babies as it is. Many women's hearts have broken because they had to abort their baby. But they had to do it. For their own good, and for the good of the baby. The system we've got now is better than an abortion ban. I'll admit it's not perfect, and that some women foolishly do not use contraception, proceding to abort their child out of convenience. In my opinion the woman must have a good reason to abort her child. But disallowing abortion is extremely dangerous indeed.

And it's not just abortion that comes into this whole "sanctity of life" fiasco. Concerned Women for America describes embryonic stem-cell research as "deadly," and the destruction of "embryonic human beings." They wish to ban stem-cell research on the grounds that it is murder.

Stem-cell research is vital in the progression of medical science. According to Annual Review of Medicine Vol. 58, medical researchers anticipate that adult and embryonic stem cells will soon be able to treat cancer; Type 1 diabetes; Parkinson's, Huntington's and Celiac disease; cardiac failure, muscle damage and neurological disorders.

But CWA prioritises life over sustained life, which means they'd rather put an end to abortion and let people continue to die of horrible diseases than allow scientific research and put an end to human suffering. In other words, they don't care what happens to a person once they're born, as long as they're born. Ladies and gentlemen, the Sanctity of Life.

3) Education - "CWA supports reform of public education by returning authority to parents." 

In 1983, CWA helped the plaintiff in the case Mozert v. Hawkins County School Board, a district court case in which said plaintiff believed it unconstitutional for said public school district to require specific reading material for students.

Returning authority to parents on what should be taught to our children? Disaster. Imagine what Texas classrooms would look like.

In this case, substitute CWA for George W. Bush!

The CWA supports teaching intelligent design in classrooms, and teaching the "controversy" about evolution. Basically, they don't want their kids believing in evolution, even though it is a fact and there isn't any controversy. Teaching intelligent design in the classroom is fine, as long as it's in the religious studies classroom, and as long as it isn't taught as fact by a Bible-bashing crazy right-wing bitch teacher. These people want it taught in the science class, regardless of the fact that intelligent design isn't fucking science.

I wouldn't complain about the advocacy of this issue if it wasn't well supported by so many millions of adult Americans. But the scary thing? It is.

4) Pornography - "CWA endeavors to fight all pornography and obscenity."

Okay, I'm not as angry about this core issue. There's nothing bad about thinking pornography is obscene and wrong. In fact, I think it's obscene and wrong. I think it's especially wrong when it ruins a person's dignity and self-respect. But the problem is, CWA are fighting pornography because it says it's wrong in the Bible, (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), not because it is wrong. I'm sure if the Bible said that pornography was righteous and awesome, these women would fight to keep it legal!

5) Religious Liberty - "CWA supports the God-given rights of individuals in the United States and other nations to pray, worship and express their beliefs without fear of discrimination or persecution."

Religious Liberty? HA! Biggest oxymoron I've heard in my life! Sure, they'll allow the religious to express their views without discrimination or persecution. That happens anyway, most of the country is religious! But trust me, the discrimination and persecution of atheists by these types of people is overwhelming. There have been cases in which atheists have been evicted from their residence because of their atheism. Atheist students have overheard teachers expressing their hatred for them, just because of their atheism. The children of these crazy right-wing bitches are the ones that sneer at atheists and call them devil-worshippers. Religious Liberty? More like religious encroachment on liberty.

6) National Sovereignty - "CWA believes that neither the United Nations nor any other international organization should have authority over the United States in any area. We also believe the United States has the right and duty to protect and secure our national borders."

And of course, CWA is overly patriotic, how could they not be. They want to keep their cosy little country an ignorant, right-wing, Christian place and not let anyone in to contaminate it. 

Summary of why I hate CWA

Well CWA, it's nice to hear that you are so "concerned" about the way your country is going. How awful it would be to have a country that respects sexuality, a country that supports gender equality and offers child care, a country that doesn't force women to bear their rapist's child, a country that contributes to scientific progress, that educates our children properly, and that respects everyone equally whether they're religious or not.

As I said, this activist group is everything I hate about religion. If they had it their way, a whole generation of Americans would be brainwashed into believing Biblical nonsense, the country would advocate homophobia, women would stop working, and scientific progress would be slowed down. Fuck you CWA.

 

ChristianAid

Now, there's another side to the coin of this blog post. And it's important. I don't want to seem like I hate religious people, because I don't. And I don't want to seem ignorant of the good that religion has done and continues to do in our world, because I'm not. Yes, I still dislike religion itself, and I will summarise why later. But let me elaborate on why I love the charity ChristianAid (www.christianaid.org.uk).

What ChristianAid does

ChristianAid is a charity which works with partners to combat poverty and inequality across the globe. It relies heavily on support from churchgoers, and believes in bringing people of all faiths and none together to fight the effects of poverty. 

The charity recognises that poverty is not just a lack of income, and that it takes away the power of people to shape their own lives and provide for their families. ChristianAid believes in supporting freedom and opportunity, and the right to thrive, not just survive.

ChristianAid is similar to such well known charities as Oxfam, British Red Cross and ActionAid, in producing a diverse approach to combatting poverty. It is a part of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) along with many other charities like these. A passage from the DEC's website is as follows:

"In 2011 more than 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the newly-formed Republic of South Sudan were left in need of food, water and emergency healthcare because of one of the worst droughts in at least 25 years. Hundreds of thousands of people fled Somalia due to the drought and conflict, with parts of the country afflicted by famine.
Donations from the UK public for the appeal raised £79 million and have helped 2.3 million people. DEC fundraising for this appeal is now closed; money raised for the appeal was spent over the two year period ending in July 2013 to ensure people were helped not just to survive the crisis but also to begin to rebuild their lives."

ChristianAid supports such appeals with millions of pounds worth of donations every year.

A big difference to CWA

Not only do activist groups such as Concerned Women for America waste time and money advocating their bigoted views, but they also force secularist groups to waste their time and money on fighting to keep public policy constitutional, fighting to sustain equality instead of abolish it.

ChristianAid is a prime example of the Christians that make a real difference in the world. Instead of wasting their time being "concerned" about having their Stone Age views imposed on society, it gets important things done in the world. ChristianAid fights for gender equality, not against it. It recognises that societies thrive when everyone has equal rights. ChristianAid fights for better nutrtition, and engages in HIV projects (clearing up the mess their silly friends the Catholic church have caused - maybe that subject deserves its own blogpost, even its own blog). ChristianAid is full of people with real concern, not crazy right-wing bitches.

I do believe that modern Christianity has the power to inspire people to do good, and evidence of that lies within charities such as ChristianAid. I see the good that Christians do in my own society, I see how Christianity can change people and emphasise love and compassion in their lives.

However, it's still a set of beliefs that isn't true.

Why I dislike Christianity regardless of this

If you are a Christian reading this article, I'd like you to imagine this hypothetical scenario along with me. It may help you to understand what it's like for atheists living in a Christian world.

You turn on the news. The news reporter reads, "a global phenomenon stirrs, as millions of people convert to Pastafarianism". Pastafarianism is the belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. As the weeks go by, more and more people express their belief in this deity. It becomes a majority religion. Schools begin saying prayers to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Politicians stand no chance of gaining credibility unless they are a Pastafarian. Pastafarians are a highly respected religion and have a good name in most cultures. They create many charities that do a lot of good in the world. Children everywhere are taught that the Flying Spaghetti Monster loves them, but will torture them when they die unless they submit to his ideals and worship him. Pastafarian radio and tv shows, even news shows, often mock other religions such as Christianity and say things like, "why do you have to fight against Pastafarianism so much? We're free to believe what they want to believe and so are you. Just keep your beliefs to yourself", yet continue to impose their religious dogma on society, on public policy, and in schools. Christianity becomes a minority religion, and Christians are often taunted and segregated by their Pastafarian peers. Pastafarians blame terrorist attacks on people who have not conformed to their religious ideals, and use this as a way to influence public policy. Pastafarians form different denominations, and one denomination in particular sends missionaries to third world countries and persuades many impoverished communities not to use condoms. This causes an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases which kills millions and millions of people.

This is unquestionably an awful scenario. Pastafarianism would be considered a virus that took over the world. 

But reading that hypothetical scenario carefully, it is extremely difficult to find any difference between the hypothetical Pastafarianism epidemic, and Christianity.

How Christians see the hypothetical scenario is how many Atheists view Christianity. As a rather militant atheist, I feel this way about Christianity. And although a lot of atheist troubles lie within the United States when I live in Britain, I still recognise that I'm living in a country, in world where children are being taught horrible things about themselves, such as they deserve eternal torture, that they should worship and grovel at the feet of a jealous, mass-murdering maniac, and that they cannot live a moral life without this maniac at the centre of their lives.

My personal experience of deconversion from religion taught me that religion is detrimental to a person's integrity, social life and mental health. Religion can separate a person from reason, logic, and even science. Religion can make someone feel that they are better than their friends and family. Religion can make someone believe that faith in an invisible deity is more important than care, love, friendship and righteousness. Religion spreads from generation to generation via deceitful brainwashing. Religion has caused many deaths, many conflicts, and many genocides. Religion is bad. And Christianity is no different.

Conclusion

There are good Christians in the world, and there are bad Christians. No Christian would dispute this. Some Christians waste their time and money being bigoted, and some make a good honest change in the world. In a sense, I admire Christianity for the way it can change people for the better. But I cannot like Christianity, because for me, the bad aspects outweigh the good. 

I wish there was a secularist religion (yes, an oxymoron, but we'll go with it) that inspired people to be good. I wish there was some sort of social institution that masses of people subscribed to, that created a sense of community and love like churches can do, but that didn't teach a load of dangerous nonsense. Sadly there isn't. The only way we can create a more loving and less ignorant society is via good parenting, and there is no social institution that can bring about that change. I suppose all I can do is have children myself, raise them well, and hope that others will follow suit. Oh, and not marry a crazy right-wing bitch.

Thanks for reading.

Christian vs. Atheist: Why would a loving God send someone to Hell?

N.B. if you do not wish to read a very long hypothetical conversation between an Atheist and a Christian, please scroll to the 'Analysis' section at the bottom of this blog post, which summarises the major points nicely.

Below is a hypothetical conversation between an Atheist and a Christian. I have tried my best not to create a straw man, including all of the arguments I've heard from Christians and from my own viewpoints when I was one. So here goes, Christian vs. Atheist:

Atheist: Why would a loving God torture his children?
 
Christian: He doesn’t torture us, he wants us to go to Heaven but by being sinful and not repenting our sins we send ourselves to Hell.
 
Atheist: Doesn’t the Bible say that God judges who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell?
 
Christian: Yes, he judges us, but he cannot let an impure soul into Heaven, he can only exist with perfect souls. Any uncleansed soul must live apart from God and that place is Hell. This means that, in essence, we send ourselves to Hell.
 
Atheist: Why can he not exist with an uncleansed soul?
 
Christian: Because he himself is perfect, so can’t dwell with anything imperfect.
 
Atheist: Why? Are those just the rules of the universe?
 
Christian: Yes.
 
Atheist: And who makes the rules?
 
Christian: God.
 
Atheist: Don’t you see how silly that is then? He could just change the rules. And don’t you think it is an unjust way of judging people?
 
Christian: No, it is God’s perfect justice. If God changed those rules it would be unfair and unjust.
 
Atheist: But according to God’s “perfect justice”, the ones who deserve Heaven are those that believe in him. Isn’t this just selfish, instead of just? And what is just about infinite punishment for finite crimes?
 
Christian: We don’t understand God’s logic because it is much higher than ours. But he loves us and he is perfect in justice so we trust him.
 
Atheist: But if you don’t understand someone’s agenda, why would you believe that they love you and have got it all under control? Couldn’t God actually have a flawed justice system if we don’t understand it? Just because someone tells you they are perfect, it doesn’t mean they are.
 
Christian: God showed his love for us through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ.
 
Atheist: That doesn’t prove he loves us. He’s still eternally torturing people when they die
 
Christian: Again, he isn’t torturing us, we are choosing to be separate from God by not believing in him.
 
Atheist: But isn’t that a form of hijacking on God’s part? “Believe in me or you will be eternally tortured”. Why couldn’t he create different realms other than Heaven and Hell, places where we would be taught lessons about our wrongs? And also, nobody chooses to go to Hell, if you don’t believe it exists you aren’t choosing to go there!
 
Christian: Again, our brains cannot understand the nature of the afterlife yet. All we know is that God loves us and will judge us.
 
Atheist: But you don’t know that God loves you, because you still can’t explain why he eternally tortures people.
 
Christian: He doesn’t eternally torture people! He wants us to go to heaven, but is perfect in justice so cannot let impure souls into heaven!
 
Atheist: But that “justice” is not justice. First of all, accountability is an issue. Why should a rapist deserve to go to heaven if he repents the rape? Shouldn’t the woman he raped forgive him? Secondly, no finite crime deserves infinite punishment. Third, why does Joseph Stalin deserve the same punishment as a 10 year old African kid that’s never heard of God?
 
Christian: Again, we do not understand this justice system. But God is perfect, so he makes the right decisions.
 
Atheist: You assert this, but how can you back it up?
 
Christian: Because God said it himself in the Bible!
 
Atheist: And how do you know he’s telling the truth?
 
Christian: Because he’s God, he can’t lie!
 
Atheist: How do you know?
 
Christian: Because he’s God! And he said it himself!

               

Atheist: Didn’t God also kill children and order the death of witches and tell a tribe to kill and rape other tribes and promote slavery and tell everyone he likes the smell of burning carcass and that he’s jealous and hates gays? Why would you trust a God like that?
 
Christian: Because I know he’s perfect, after all he sent Jesus down to Earth to be sacrificed. His own Son! For our sins.
 
Atheist: So, he made up a rule that everyone deserves to be eternally tortured unless they are cleansed of their sins, and then “saved” everyone from his own rule by killing his son? Do you not see how stupid that is?
 
Christian: No. Humans are sinners by nature, ever since the original sin. We are not perfect and therefore do not deserve to dwell with God, who is perfect. But God made a way for us to, by giving us redemption through Christ.
 
Atheist: Yeah, so he’s saving us from his own elitist rules! Brilliant. And also, that still isn’t fair. The billions of people before, during and after the time of Jesus, who didn’t even know he existed, they all had to go to Hell without even a chance of salvation. But the people that have heard about him and believe it can go to heaven? It’s not justice, or equality for that matter, at all! 

Christian: God takes each soul's judgement into account and is always fair.

Atheist: But according to your logic, everyone deserves to go to Hell, and the only way to heaven is believing in Jesus Christ.

Christian: Well I'm sure God manifests in them or something else that we can't yet comprehend, and gives them the chance to redeem themselves

Atheist: Well that's rather more speculative than supported. Let me ask you a question. Do you think I deserve to be eternally tortured?

Christian: No.
 
Atheist: So aren’t you more loving than God?
 
Christian: No, I am less just than God. He can’t just let a bunch of people who have sinned into Heaven, because where do you draw the line? It would be unjust.
 
Atheist: So you’re saying that it’s justice if I am eternally tortured?
 
Christian: Well… yes, if you don’t repent your sins.
 
Atheist: So you do think I deserve eternal torture.
 
Christian: No, I didn’t say that, I said that it would be unjust for God to let sinners into Heaven.
 
Atheist: But isn’t it even more unjust for God to punish rapists and murderers in equal measure to law-abiding, loving, caring atheists? And isn't it more unjust to punish someone forever?
 
Christian: We don’t understand the afterlife yet. We don’t even know if Hell is like physical torture or just separation from God’s goodness.
 
Atheist: So if you don’t understand it, you can’t say it’s just.
 
Christian: Yes I can, because God is just, I know he is.
 
Atheist: No you don’t know he is because you still cannot explain why he tortures people.
 
Christian: Yes I can and already have! He cannot let people into Heaven if they are impure. It would be an injustice.
 
Atheist: And I say it again, where is the justice in infinite punishment for finite crimes?
 
Christian: If you choose not to believe in God, you are choosing to go to Hell. You are the only one to blame.
 
Atheist: You really think I’d choose to go to Hell? I don’t believe in God. I don’t choose not to believe in God, I can not believe in him, my intelligence doesn’t allow me to. I would only be choosing Hell if I believed it existed.
 

Christian: Yes but if a man holds a knife up against your neck and asks you to give him money, he’s still going to hurt you even if you think it’s all a dream or something and don’t believe it’s happening.

Atheist: And that’s what it’s like, God is holding a knife against our neck. It's robbery! But it’s so unconvincing (i.e. he expects us to believe in him on a self-contradictory, Stone Age book with no evidence or original copies) that it is like an invisible man is holding a knife against our neck.
 
Christian: Come on, you know God is true but you reject him.
 
Atheist: No, actually I know your god isn’t true.
 
Christian: You’re just saying that but deep down you know the world makes more sense with a God at the center.
 
Atheist: I'm afraid you're wrong about my opinions there. But anyway, a loving God would not expect us to rely on such awful testimony as the Bible. The creator of human intelligence would understand atheist criticisms and try to appeal to us in a much more obvious and sensible way. A loving God would also not torture anyone for eternity. He would teach us lessons and punish evil, but not forever. He would give us much more opportunity and reason to believe in him. In fact, he wouldn’t even require our belief in him, he would judge us based on our actions. Do you not see that this God you worship has got it all wrong. That he is pathetic and evil?

Christian: NO, our God loves us more than we can possibly imagine, and we should love him for all the wonderful things he’s given us, I mean just look at the Earth!
 

Atheist: Again, you have no reason to believe that God loves us, apart from the fact that he’s told us he loves us, which could be a complete lie. And also, if we should love God for his generosity in our lives, should the people who are suffering horribly in the world hate God for all the horrible things he’s given them? You are a thinking person and you shouldn’t be worshipping at the invisible feet of the world’s worst mass murderer and torturer.
 
Christian: He is not any of those things, he created man with free will and with that free will we created sin and all the horrible things in the world. God is loving because he has given us redemption through Jesus Christ; he didn’t even have to do that.
 
Atheist: Don’t Christians claim that God is omniscient? I.e. he knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen? So when he placed the forbidden fruit tree in the garden of Eden, he knew that Adam and Eve would eat from it. So he knew the world would get into a state, and that people would be tortured for the rest of eternity. That means that he could have stopped it, he didn’t have to cause all of this suffering because he knew it would happen. If God is all powerful he is accountable for all evil and suffering in the world. He is 100% accountable, and his creations, us, who are far inferior in wisdom and power, have no accountability for it.
 
Christian: God gave Adam and Eve everything, yet they disobeyed him. So God cursed every future generation with a sinful nature.
 
Atheist: Oh, so God really did cause all the evil and suffering then! Also, that shows he’s unfair, because he created Adam and Eve to be perfect, but not me or you, which means he treated them better than us! Injustice.
 
Christian: You’re just saying silly things now.
 
Atheist: No, you’re making bad points, and haven’t reasoned well against any of mine. All I can conclude is that you are brainwashed in your belief, and that your emotional and biased links with your religion force you to make unreasonable arguments in favour of it. You may not see this now but I hope you do in the future, like I did when I became an Atheist.

Analysis

What we learn from this kind of conversation with a Christian:

• Christian logic (oxymoron) is that God does not send anyone to Hell, it is us that deny belief in him, reject his offer of forgiveness, and therefore send ourselves to Hell. 
• Everyone is a sinner by nature, therefore nobody is a pure soul.
• Only pure souls can exist in God's realm, because God himself is pure. Allowing an impure soul into heaven would be unjust. Every sin must have justice dealt to it.
• However, Jesus offers forgiveness through his sacrifice, allowing our souls to be cleansed and fit for heaven. 

 

The problem with this:

1) By the Christian's logic, Jesus' forgiveness is an unjust, unfair act of God. It allows those who, according to the Christian, deserve punishment for all their sins, to be wiped of this sentence just by believing something. God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ, essentially punishes non-belief, which for many thinking people is impossible to escape from.

2) This is even more unfair because billions of people in the present day and throughout history have not even heard of Jesus' forgiveness. When probed about this, Christians will say that "God takes each case into account, and is just in his judgement." However, if it is true that an 'impure soul' cannot go to Heaven, and if it is also true that everyone is by nature an impure soul, it must be true that everybody who hasn't heard of Jesus goes to Hell. God has offered forgiveness to some and not others, which is unjust.

3) God created the terms and conditions of divine judgement, which means we do not "send ourselves to Hell", God does. A useful metaphor for this stems from one of the Christian's own points (the knife against neck metaphor):  


A man holds a gun to your head and says give me £100. If you don't give him £100, you are rejecting his wonderful offer of forgiveness. You are committing suicide. You are sending yourself to an early grave.
Does this make any sense? No! It's not a wonderful offer of forgiveness, it's robbery, and if he killed you it would be murder, not suicide. God's judgement is robbery in the same way.

Also, atheists, agnostics and people of other faiths than Christianity are not "sending themselves to Hell", because they don't even believe that God exists.

What's worse is that the case God makes for his actual existence is too poor to be believed by a thinking person. It's like the same robbery metaphor, except the man with the gun is invisible, and a few crazy people are shouting contradictory things to you about how loving this invisible armed robber is and how forgiving he's been with the whole £100 thing.

4) If it is unjust for impure souls to exist in a pure realm, it is also unjust for anyone that isn't 100% evil and barbaric to go to a place of 100% evil. Every sin being punished is a fair enough point, but eternal torture is not an amount of punishment that equates to the amount of sin being commited. Once all sins are punished, surely the soul is clean and can go to heaven? Isn't that how it should work? Why do Christians say that God is "just" when he dishes out infinite punishment for finite crimes?

 

"God works in mysterious ways"

 

The text highlighted yellow demonstrates the Christian's fallback unfalsifiable counter argument that he resorts to when logic overcomes him. In the debate, he tries to explain God's judgement, but when faced with a good argument from the atheist, that shows God's judgement does not add up, the Christian reverts back to the good old "God works in mysterious ways" copout. Phrases such as "God's logic is higher than ours" and "We do not understand God's ways", are all copout philosophies that were implemented into the religion in order to retain followers. The problem with this unfalsifiablility-booster is this: if the Christian does not understand why God tortures people, he shouldn't worship and love him. This is a recurring theme throughout my blog.

Conclusion 

 

Christians are taught, before anything else, that God loves them, and is kind and generous and forgiving. This is, more often than not, drilled into children's heads in childhood, before they learn about Hell and the old testament. 

 

This belief about God's goodness is so strong by the time the Christian learns about the bad stuff, that he makes everything 'fit in' with his beliefs about God's love and perfection. He makes excuses for God's terrible deeds, unfair judgement, and wicked nature. 



If something conflicts what we believe we know is true, we will do mental backflips to overcome that conflict. So although Hell completely contradicts what is taught about God's loving nature and omnipotence, it must be justice because God is just and that's what the Christian knows (i.e has been brainwashed into believing) to be true.

This is why it is so hard to have a logical debate with a Christian. If they cannot reason against opposing arguments, they either resort to the "God works in mysterious ways" line, or become angry and assertive. This is a telltale sign of someone who has been brainwashed. 

I think it's time to stop brainwashing our kids into believing and defending with passion a set of teachings that 1) we cannot logically support and 2) tells them they deserve to be eternally tortured.

Thanks for reading. 
Dave