MPs Want To Ban Atheist Bus Advert

I woke up today thinking i had been transported to Iran as i read the news that British MPs are trying to have the atheist bus poster which says "there's probably no god" banned on the grounds that it may make christians and muslims feel "embarrassed and uncomfortable" (grow a pair and deal with it you sniveling cry-babies).

I thought Britain prided it's self on it's freedom of speech? I thought we lived in a country where people were allowed to have different views, and voice those views. Or is it as i suspect, and how it usually is with the religious, that people can only voice views if they are the same views as the religious.

Here is a list of MPs abusing their position in order to censor descent.

Gregory Campbell - campbellg@parliament.uk
Bob Spink - spinkr@parliament.uk
Sir Nicholas Winterton - mcatory@btconnect.com
Jim Dobbin - Unknown
David Drew - Unknown
Ann Cryer - Unknown
Marsha Singh - Unknown
Lee Scott - scottle@parliament.uk
David Simpson - davidsimpson@upperbannd.u.p.co.uk
Ann Winterton - annwintertonmp@parliament.uk

The time when religious views are given specials concessions has to come to an end. If christian groups can advertise a website which states that disbelievers will burn in hell why on earth can't atheists have one that says it probably wont happen?

A part of me wants the atheist bus advert banned, Either by the advertising standards authority on the grounds that the claims can't be proven or by wishy-washy MPs on the grounds that it may offend - Imagine the leverage that kind of president would give us. We would practically be able to outlaw religion overnight.

People opposing this advert are treading on very thin ice and they should be very careful when it comes to their reasons for opposing it, Or they may find the same logic coming back and biting them on their arse.

Thanks to nullifidian

Christian Refuses To Drive Atheist Bus

Ron Heather, a 62 year old christian driver for the First bus operator, Downed tools and went home this week after flat out refusing to do what he is being paid for and drive a bus which happened to have the atheist bus poster declaring "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" on the side.

He told his managers that the bus advert went against his faith. Shame his faith plays a bigger role than his work ethic or sense of duty.

Mr Heather, While no doubt stamping his feet and foaming at the mouth, said "There would be no way buses would be able to drive around with an anti-Muslim message like that on the side mentioning Allah. There would be uproar" while being completely oblivious to the fact that allah is included in this message and it is in no way specifically about his particular god. Why do the religious always assume atheism singles them out?

The watchdog is now considering whether to investigate the campaign on the grounds that it is offensive, or that its central claim about God's existence cannot be substantiated, Which would be absolutely brilliant as it would allow atheist groups to challenge religious posters on the same grounds. I would love nothing more than religious organisations to be prevented from advertising on the grounds that their claims have no basis in reality.

The atheist bus campaign set out aiming to raise £5000 to put posters on a few buses in London, but after receiving great support and donations totalling £140,000 they were able to vastly scale up their efforts to raise awareness.

Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association, which is running the campaign, said "I have difficulty understanding why people with particular religious beliefs find the expression of a different sort of beliefs to be offensive."

Christian Mob Protest Atheist Sign

Around 500 christian protesters turned up at at the capitol steps in Washington last Sunday to protest against the holiday sign erected by Wisconsin's Freedom From Religion Foundation in which religion was described as "myth and superstition".

Rev. Kenneth Hutcherson, the pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond must surely be awarded with the most hypocritical quote of the day award when he said "just because you must represent everyone in the state doesn't mean that you put up with intolerance from the people that you represent".

Now here is a little quiz for you. I want you to identify which of the following two positions best describes "intolerance".
1 - You can have your signs and we can have ours, or.
2 - only signs which support my position should be displayed in a building funded by all tax payers and all minorities should be prevented from having signs.

Rev. Ken apparently wasn't the only imbecile present at the rally. State Rep. Jim Dunn, a Vancouver Republican come a close second with his quote; "It is time to chase out of the house of God all the unbelievers and evildoers". And which "house of god" would that be jimmy boy? The capitol building? Read the constitution, dick head.

The 90dayjane Hoax

If you are one of the people who have bought into this attention seeking hoax, Shame on you.

There have been tons of suicide blogs over the years and this just another in a long line. They are created by people who either need attention or are trying to find some kind of self worth in the way of strangers pleading with them to not do it.

If you have no idea what i am talking about there is a blog called 90dayjane in which a woman claims she is documenting the 90 days prior to her planned suicide. Her blog consists of day to day commentary of her life peppered with assurances that she isn't doing it for attention and full of comments by strangers pretending that they give a shit.

So how do i know it is a hoax? If you look on her blog she says;

I am going to kill myself in 90 days. What else should i say? This blog is not a cry for help or even to get attention. It's simply a public record of my last 90 days in existence. I'm not depressed and nothing extremely horrible has lead me to this decision. But, does it really have to? I mean, as an atheist I feel life has no greater purpose.

To me this stinks of a religious person trying to paint atheists as immoral, materialistic machines with no self-worth. surely an Atheists greatest purpose is to stay alive. When Atheists die that is it, There is no reunion, There is no handshake with god and there is no eternal happiness. the Atheist believes we get one life and when it's over it's over.

So logically speaking, An Atheist is far less likely to kill themselves for no reason than someone who believes death is nothing more than a transition to a better place.

A Religious Book For Atheist Children

If you are an Atheist and want to buy your child a religious book, I suggest this one.

Friendly Atheist Forum Opens

You have probably heard of the FriendlyAtheist (Hemant Mehta) and read his blog. Well he has just started a forum for Atheists and theists to gather and talk. If the popularity of his blog is anything to go by the forum is going to be a great success.

You still here? Go sign up and start posting!

Only Atheists Can Act Morally

Morality is a big subject in the world of Atheism v religion. On one side we have the religious saying that without god and celestial rules, Rules which, Should they be broken, Are punishable by eternal suffering there would be no morality. And on the other side we have Atheists saying morality is nothing more than a name given to productive social behaviour, A result of empathy and genetics.

We could sit down and explain to the religious how "morality" can come about via an evolutionary process, But going on the luck we have had trying to explain evolution to them it would be a futile waste of time.

Instead what i want to do is explain how "morality" can only, By definition, Exist in someone who doesn't believe in a god.

In most, If not all religions, There is a reward/punishment system at it's very core. Religion comes along, lays down some rules and convinces you that should you break any of these rules you will be subject to torturous punishment, pain and suffering for eternity. For eternity!.

In light of that, How can any action performed by a religious person be considered moral? How can it even be a result of free will? If you are told to do something and threatened with eternal suffering should you not comply or promised a reward should you abide how can your action be considered good? In reality we would call this type of thing at best coercion or bribery, At worst we call it threatening with violence.

The Atheist on the other hand has no fear of a punishment from god and no expectations of a reward. Every action performed by an Atheist is done entirely in the absence of a belief in god and in the absence of the belief that a posthumous reward/punishment system is in place. The Atheist does good entirely because [s]he wants to. Because it's the "right" thing to do.

So next time you hear a religious person claim we need a god to know what is moral tell them that if they need a god to be moral they are in fact the exact opposite of moral and are simply afraid of a punishment and looking for personal gain as a reward for their behaviour. Then ask them if in the case where the nonexistence of god was proven would they instantly start killing, stealing and raping.

Top 10 Ways To Piss Off An Atheist

To make it a little easier for Christians i thought id put together a list of the 10 most effective ways to piss off an atheist. They know as well as we do that their case for god and creation holds no water, So the most they can hope to achieve is to get Atheists a bit wound up.

1. At every available opportunity refer to Atheism as "a religion".
2. Be utterly adamant that creation/intelligent design is a "science" while pointing out that evolution is "just a theory".
3. Prove that god exists by pointing out where in the bible it says so.
4. Make sure that any biblical passages you agree with are "the word of god" while at the same time dismissing any you disagree with as being "metaphorical" or "out-of-context".
5. Refer to Atheists as Illogical, Faith based and fundamentalist. Or any other term that has previously been used to accurately describe you.
6. Refer to Kent Hovind as "Dr Kent Hovind".
7. Use the fact that the Atheist can't fully explain to you how the universe was formed as evidence that god done it.
8. Don't worry about details such as the logistics involved with Noah's arc, How the human race came from two people without there being incest or why the bible contradicts it's self so often.
9. Say you will pray for him, And make sure he knows you said it out of spite.
10. No matter how many times you are corrected and how much evidence you see to the contrary... Always claim that America is a Christian nation founded by Christians on Christian principles.

Some of these may be in the "281 tricks to irritate an atheist", But i haven't checked.

It's Time To Drop The Rational Response Squad

For some time now the rational response squad have been fairly big players in the Atheist Movement and have received a lot of attention. They have "debated" (for want of a better word) Ray Comfort and kirk Cameron ^[1], The crocoduck and gods banana guys. And were the instigators of the now famous "blasphemy challenge".

But does the Atheist movement need people like them? In this Atheists opinion, No, It doesn't. Not only do we not need them but i feel they are damaging to the Atheist movement.

Their goals don't seem to be the eradication of religion, Or even the separation of church and state. Their goal seems to be nothing more than getting kicks out of abusing the religious and being attention whores.

Their target audience doesn't seem to be intelligent people capable of making or understanding lucid logical arguments, Instead they cater for teenage boys who like looking at Kelly's large breasts ^[2].

Now, In their latest attempt to fan the flames of their own ego and create even more attention and drama for themselves they have reportedly made the claim that Richard Dawkins is having extra-marital-activities while in a drunken conference call with Reed over at unorthodox Atheism (great blog, check it out). The claim that Professor Dawkins is having an affair is patently untrue and not supported by any evidence, But even if it were true, What has it got to do with the RRS?

It's time to drop these clowns. The atheist movement isn't a Yahoo chat room, It doesn't need drama fabricated by attention hungry children at the expense of the very person responsible for their fame in the first place.

Way to show your gratitude and respect, Assholes.

Top 10 Atheist Quotes

Inspired by this post from mojoey linking to this article at listverse i thought I'd share with you my top 10 atheist quotes.

1. Man created God in his image: intolerant, sexist, homophobic and violent.
2. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish
3. People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs
4. I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours
5. We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes
6. Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.
7. I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence
8. When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.
9. Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions
10. Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.

Is Atheism A Religion?

Atheism is often branded a religion by religious apologists in an attempt to drag it down to their level in the absence of having anything intelligent to add to the discussion.

But is Atheism really a "religion"? yes, It is. In the same way, As Pat Condell says, creation is a science and Islam is the religion of peace. In other words, When language no longer means anything.

In common language a religion is an organisation based around the belief in the supernatural which requires it's followers to perform certain rituals, Follow certain rules, Dress certain ways and, More often than not, Hand over a portion of their earnings so that it's leaders can buy one more palace, Sail one more boat and adorn their temples with even more gold, All while the people it claims to help continue drinking poisoned water and continue watching their children die from malnutrition.

Atheism on the other hand has no leaders, It makes no demands of people and it has no rules. people become atheists because of what they believe by default, They don't believe it as a result of being an Atheist.

Atheism doesn't hold utter disdain for women, Atheism doesn't prey on the weak and the poor and Atheism doesn't indoctrinate children with fear and lies, So in that respect alone, it can't possibly be a religion worthy of the name.

Of course, This isn't the only tactic the religious apologists use in an attempt to drag us down to their level. On occasions they also claim that science is a "faith". It's almost as if they have given up on trying to make themselves look good and simply attempt to make everyone else look as bad as them.

let's look at what "science" is. It's the use of empirical evidence and testing to explain the world around us. There is as little faith in science as there is humility and peace in religion. If something is claimed on faith alone it is of no use to science as it can't be tested and it can't be proven, And as such can't be used to explain anything. So again, it can only be a faith when language no longer means anything.

Then we have the religious attack on evolution. Look, I know that it must be hard for you to accept something that so flatly contradicts something written in your stupid little book, Especially when it has so much evidence to back it up and the only thing you have to go on is something written by a primitive goat herder 2000 years ago, But evolution is a fact. It does happen, It has happened and it is what caused every species of animal on earth, Including humans, To come in to existence. It has been proven and every new test devised that has the capacity to falsify evolution shows to support it. So you aren't going to change any minds by claiming "Darwin is our god" or that evolution is a "faith based religion". All that does it confirm your idiocy even further.

You Know Atheists Are Winning When....

You know Atheists are winning when writers like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens have parasitic fleas cashing in on their success.

After the success of Atheist books the religious have been quick to bring out their own books. But unlike Atheists books the religious are left, Like usual, Presenting no evidence for their own position (other than regurgitated fallacies that have been repeatedly kicked to death) and only seek to refute the opposing position, Much like they do with evolution.

This can mean one of two things.
Either Atheist books are seen as a significant threat and worthy of rebuttal or the anti-atheist authors are simply trying to make some money on the back of someone elses work.

Pat Condell Puts Polite Atheists In Their Place

In his latest video legendary Atheist Pat Condell puts polite Atheists in their place by pointing out how pointless and damaging the "hobby" of polite Atheism is. Pat points out that rationality, logic and reasoning are wasted on the religious because they have no interest in a discussion and only use dialogue to tell you how they are right because it's written in an old book.

Well, What Do YOU Believe?

I was having a beer with a Greek Orthodox friend of mine during the week and the topic of religion came up. Now as much as i enjoy a discussion about religion i don't particularly enjoy discussing religion with this friend for two reasons. Firstly he doesn't understand his own position well enough to discuss it, let alone mine, and secondly his idea of "discussion" is you shut up while i talk, Then you agree.

On this occasion though he got me thinking about something which inspired this blog post, So i thank him for that.

After i had explained to him that my disbelief in god does not equate a hatred for god any more than his disbelief in unicorns equates a hatred for them and that if he understood why he didn't believe in Thor he would be on the way to understanding why i don't believe in Yahweh he said "well, If you don't believe in god, what do you believe in?".

This question is usually well answered by saying something along the lines of "I believe in science, reason and evidence". But before i had a chance i trot out that well rehearsed answer to a facile question i realized what he meant.

He wasn't asking me what i believe in, He was asking me what i had replaced god with.

I realized that the question "what do you believe in" - A question often asked - Actually meant "what have you used to fill the void left by your disbelief in god" as if i am somehow missing something, As if i have a gap to fill that god once filled and as if the belief in a supernatural-sky-daddy was the default state of humans.

While the answer of "science, reason and evidence" is a good one, it isn't anything to do with a disbelief in god. It's not something exclusively believed by atheists because, While we know it's true, I doubt you could find a religious person willing to admit that they don't believe in science, reason and evidence, Even though they by-pass it when the conclusion they want to draw isn't supported by science, reason and evidence.

I advise that if you are asked this question again by a theist you ask them what they mean by it. There is no point giving an answer they understand to a question they don't realize they have asked.

Pledge of Allegiance Protest

American Atheists California, in conjunction with Bay Area Atheist and Humanist groups, will rally in front of the San Francisco Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals building on Tuesday, December 4, to support the idea of removing religious references and slogans in the Pledge of Allegiance and on national currency.

In 2004, when Michael Newdow argued before the Supreme Court for removal of “under god” in the Pledge of Allegiance, California Atheists showed their support by rallying at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

It's about time the religious and their governmental defenders of the faith realize that for an atheist to pledge to "god" is more offensive than a christian being forced to pledge to allah. Oh, And there is that tiny thing about it being against the constitution.

Anyone in the area or able to attend is encouraged to do so.

| full story |

The Default State Of Atheism

Atheism is often called a "belief" or "religion" by those wishing to drag us down to their level, But nothing could be further from the truth. Atheism is the default state of all human beings. It takes no action on the part of the person to be Atheist. Atheist is what we would all be if there were no vile old men moulding childrens minds to suite their agenda, or moronic parents inflicting their own stupidity on their children.

A child who has not been subjected to the abuse that is religious indoctrination would be an Atheist. They wouldn't all of a sudden decide that there is a god and that 2000 years ago he sent his son to live as a human, have him murdered for sins we haven't yet committed, Bring him back to life and take him back to heaven unless they are told it by someone.

But a lot of people do end up believing exactly that. Do they believe this because of reason or evidence? No, They believe it because that is what they have been told. If as an adult they stumbled across the bible in a book shop would they come to the conclusion after reading it that it makes sense and must be true if they hadn't already been told from birth that they are a christian, or told that they live in a christian nation? Highly unlikely, Unless they are mentally ill, In which case they may also believe they are Admiral Nelson.

Hopefully now you will see how theism requires not only a belief in a god, But it also requires a society or parents to convince you of a specific god and it needs to convince you that they know what he wants.

Nobody needs to be convinced to be an Atheist. A disbelief in a god is a natural as a disbelief in any mythical monster. Theism however requires you to be convinced of something you have been told.

Are Agnostics Fence Sitting Cowards?

There are a lot of terms used to describe someone who has no belief in a god. These terms include Atheist, Bright, freethinker, Humanist and Agnostic. Today i would like to discuss the term "agnostic", What an agnostic is, what they believe and why i feel they are fence sitters and religious apologists.

The above terms all have one thing in common, None see any evidence of a god and none have any belief in a god. But while all concede that, while entirely unlikely, there is a possibility that a god does exist only the agnostic feels compelled to define themselves based on the possibility of something completely unlikely being true.

If one were to ask an Atheist, A Bright, A freethinker or a humanist if there were a god they would all likely answer "No, I don't believe there is", But should one ask the same question to an agnostic their reply would be "I don't know, possibly".

While it may appear that what they are saying is logical, After all we have no evidence that god doesn't exist, It isn't practical to concede the possibility any more than it is practical to concede the possibility of fairies, Elves, a teapot orbiting the sun or the flying spaghetti monster.

If someone were to say they were agnostic towards fairies, The FSM or elves would they garner the same respect as someone who is agnostic towards a supernatural god? it's unlikely.

I believe this attitude is religiously apologetic and stems from a similar kind of indoctrination that causes the religious to claim there is a god. The agnostic has been partially tricked, While not to the extent of a believer, That the idea of god is somehow protected, That it has some special place and that, While unlikely, Is still possible.

It also seems to be the case that the agnostic is only agnostic towards the judeo/christian god. If they were to concede the possibility of Allah for example they would have to concede that the Jihad, Ritual killings and the decapitation of 12 year olds may also possibly be moral. So it's very dangerous ground on which the agnostic treads. In everything, we have to be careful what we concede the possibility of and we certainly never define ourselves based on what may be possible.

If Religion Is So Popular Why Is It Never On Digg?

The point is often made that religion is more popular now than it ever has been and that Atheists are still a tiny minority with no say, no power and no influence.

If that is the case why has a pro-religion article never made the front page of digg and never made the popular list on reddit? surely if religion really was as popular as claimed stories promoting it would be submitted to digg and followers would certainly 'digg it'.

Over the last month or so our blog (GBG) has made the front page of digg on numerous occasions, Twice offering evidence for evolution [2], Once promoting videos which will be played to presidential candidates asking questions about the role of religion in politics and once promoting Richard Dawkins and the prospect of him writing a book for children.

It seems strange that the "popular" idea of religion in it's entirety should be beaten by one single blog that is only a few months old.

No doubt the argument will be made that digg isn't a suitable outlet for religion as it is a site that mainly caters for technology, but if that is the case why has a blog about Atheism been so popular on digg?

I think the answer is right in front of our faces. The answer is that religion isn't that popular anymore. Atheism is more popular than ever and the youth of today are intellectually aware and interested in articles that promote logic, reasoning and arguments based on observable, testable evidence.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted on the videos. Hopefully the votes you cast should keep at least one of the videos in the top ten for the next week and we will have a question (maybe 2) put to the presidential candidates. No doubt i will make another post about the videos after the answers are given. Thanks again.

And to the christians who tried to rally the troops and down vote the videos, better luck next time, i guess your numbers just aren't comparable to the numbers amassed by the Atheist movement.

Does Religion Deserve Respect?

As an atheist i often get told that i should be respectful of other peoples beliefs, While at the same time no respect is shown to mine. The religious ask me not criticize their belief, Not to question it and more often than not take offence that someone could possibly believe that their god doesn't exist. And all the while they continuously and consistently try to indoctrinate me in to whichever invisible-sky-super-friend cult they have been tricked in to following.

So should free-thinkers respect religion even though they don't believe it? The answer is No, They shouldn't. Religion would be easy to ignore if all it was was a belief in something that doesn't exist, As far as i know it's still perfectly legal to be a moron. But with religion comes more than just a "belief", There also comes actions. The belief causes people to take certain actions and these actions should be neither respected nor tolerated.

Let's use an analogy to look a bit closer at this. if i said that i believed there were invisible pixies at the bottom of my garden and they grant me wishes, Should that belief be "respected"? Of course it shouldn't, it's not true, But it's a fairly harmless belief and it would be easy to write me off as a nut and ignore me. But what if i said that there were invisible pixies at the bottom of my garden and they require me to mutilate my child's genitals, Treat my wife like an animal, Prevent me donating blood that may save someones life, Plant bombs, Cut peoples heads off and not work on a special day? Should my harmless "belief" be respected even though it is responsible for making me take some crazy, And sometimes horrific, Actions?

This is why Atheists and free-thinkers should oppose, Disrespect and try to eradicate religion. Not because it's incorrect and primitive, But because it makes people do things, Things which without religion would be barbaric and illegal.

"With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil — but for good people to do evil — that takes religion." - Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize winning physicist

Which Religion Are You? 71% Say Atheist

Although i hate to refer to Atheism as a religion, It does say a lot about changing trends in America and globally with regards to god, Or more precisely, The lack of god, When 71% of voters in a poll state that they are Atheist.

On Larry Kings page on the CNN site he has a poll asking the question "which religion do you associate with?" and amazingly, At the moment, 71% of voters have selected "Atheism" and a further 3% selected "agnostic".

So much for religions claim that atheism isn't as widespread as people think.

So any atheist out there, Go vote, Make your voice heard!