Analogy for my Atheism

My Poster - by Vikingmattress

It seems like when I was born my parents put a poster over the only window in my room. The poster depicted the outside world and as a child it was ok. It's what I've always known so I like the poster and I don't worrying about what's behind it. As I grow older I barely notice it anymore because it has become so commonplace but my parents still like to tell me how important the poster is. As I get older the poster seems a bit childish and, from what I understand of what's really going on, it's almost completely wrong and outlandish. When I ask my parents about the poster they tell me not to worry about it, just trust that the poster tells you everything you need to know. I don't like the poster anymore because I'm fairly convinced its total bullshit so I finally glance around it. What I see is so magnificent that I slowly peal the poster back absent mindedly. The poster lays on the ground now and I look through the window at everything soaking it all in like a lustful sponge. Through my window the universe is at my fingertips and completely outside of my grasp at the same time. Now everytime my parents come over I have to put that damn poster back up. But all I really want is to show them the window.

Neophyte care package

A "Neophyte care package" I found on reddit (user: Dudesan).  Use these resources to help someone who is questioning and wants good starting places for the questions they have.

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Some resources regarding the bible:
The entire KJV is indexed and cross-linked, line by line. Deuterocanonical books are also included (along with the Quran and the Book of Mormon). If you only ever go to one counterapologetic site, make it this one.
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/
List and analysis of biblical contradictions:
http://errancy.org/
Lists and analyses of atrocities commanded, committed, and condoned by the god of the Bible:
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/atrocity.html
http://www.evilbible.com/
Comprehensive counterapologetics wiki, including common arguments for and against the existence of god, and common refutations (and attempted refutations) of those arguments:
http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
Fifty or so thought experiments demonstrating that most Christian beliefs are absurd.
http://godisimaginary.com/index.htm
Just about every commonly made creationist claim, and several well-cited refutations:
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html
Most of these are addressed in the FAQ, of course, but no one ever actually reads the FAQ, so I may as well repost them in a simpler and more organized form.  Said FAQ:
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/faq

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Videos:
Why I am No Longer a Christian, Evid3nc3.
This is a very even handed, well put together, and well-researched story of one man's journey from born-again christian to naturalist. It's very emotionally moving, and I'd recommend watching it. It totals about two hours and change in length. His story is very similar to mine, but as I don't have beautiful music or illustrations, I just point people at his videos.
Specifically, I'd recommend this video and this one from the series, explaining where the modern conception of the Biblical God came from.
Dealing with Religion, Gods, Skepticism, and Epistemology
PhilHellenes

• Science Saved My Soul [14:59]
• Playing God: The Loving Psychopath [8:59]
• God: The Love Born From Terror [10:58] A lesson about pareidolia and overactive agency detection (why people see monsters in every shadow).
• How to Fight a God [8:59] by philhellenes. Extremely reassuring for former theists with lingering fear.
• Why Scientists Don't Fear Hell [10:55]
• I Know More Than God(Mirror) [10:14] An example of what a creation myth full of metaphors for reality (rather than bronze-age bullshit) would actually sound like.

QualiaSoup and TheraminTrees

• Betting on Infinity [6:00] Eviscerates the idea of Pascal's Wager.
• Hell: An Excessive Punishment [7:00]
• Putting Faith in its place [10:06] A simple explanation of faith and the Burden of Proof.
• Lack of Belief in Gods [10:00] Explains the basic concept of atheism and deals with some common objections.
• Open Mindedness [9:40] It does not mean "uncritically accepting any claim anyone makes to me".

FishHeadSalad

• If There is a Painting [9:37]
• Hell is for Children [4:16]

Darkmatter2525

• The Real God: An Epiphany [7:00] Describes the difference between rejecting an actual god, and rejecting a story.
• Christian Justice [6:29] Explains why the doctrine of subsitutionary atonement is absurd and barbaric.

Miscellaneous

• Carl Sagan on "God" or "gods", from the 10th episode of Cosmos. [8:34]
• Why are Atheists so Angry, by Greta Christina. 48 minutes. Also available in blog form.

Dealing with Evolution/Creationism is specific:

• The Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism, by AronRa. 17 videos, totaling a little under three hours.
• Evolution: Proven Beyond Reasonable Doubt, by DonExodus2. About 38 minutes.
• Why do People Laugh at Creationists?, by Thunderf00t. 37 videos, totaling several hours. Contains numerous tangents and digressions, and is more useful for amusement purposes than educational ones.

Nuclear Fusion and Israel

Nuclear fusion: combining lighter elements together and creating a new heavier element in a process which releases amazing amounts of energy. 

Stars use this process to burn for billions and billions of years creating heavier and heavier elements until they explode in a beautiful brilliant light. 

When the dust settles from a star’s death new solar systems and planets are made. 

Planets like ours with people like us made of the same atoms fused in the belly of the same star.  This awesomely powerful and wonderful process of fusion can be duplicated, by us, in a lab.  Sometimes we can be truly amazing creatures.

But when it comes to human rights…  Most of us are still fighting over which ignorant old book has the answers.

Seriously, fuck you Israel and Palestine and would you please stop fighting over a shitty piece of desert.

You say, God says

QFT

Protection Racket

Wait, your church doctrine isn’t concerned about women’s rights? Well then it’s dumb and a morally corrupt pile of shit.

Oh man, check out this New York Times article.  The Cathogelicals are special pleading their case of religious discrimination.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/us/catholic-bishops-urge-campaign-for-religious-freedom.html?_r=1

“The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops issued a proclamation on Thursday calling for every priest, parish and layperson to participate in “great national campaign” to defend religious liberty, which they said is “under attack, both at home and abroad.” “

Cool story bro…but what does that mean “under attack”?

““To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other,” said the statement, issued by the bishops ad hoc committee on religious freedom.“

You mean like how being Islamic and American should not mean having to choose one over the other?  Sati’s burn living widows on top of their dead husband’s funeral pile, should they have to choose?  Should polygamist Mormons chose?  If choosing to be Catholic means practicing bigotry and breaking discrimination laws then I don’t give a shit about protecting those stupid ignorant religious “freedoms” and neither does the law.

“This ought not to be a partisan issue,”

I know…It is an issue about the Cathy’s not being special anymore…*tear*

“In the document, the bishops seek to explain that their alarm is not only about the mandate in the health reform act that requires even Catholic colleges and hospitals to have insurance plans that cover birth control. “

OH NO!  God forbid females have control over their own health, hormones and when they have babies!  OH THE HUMANITY!  Wait, your church doctrine isn’t concerned about women’s rights, well then it’s dumb and morally corrupt.

“violations of religious freedom, including immigration laws in several states that they say make it illegal to minister to illegal immigrants. “

I find myself not caring one lick about this…*tear*

“They also assert that the government has violated the religious freedom of Catholics by cutting off contracts to Catholic agencies. Several states have denied financing to Catholic agencies that refused to place foster children with gay parents.”

Oh yea that makes since, kind of like when Muslim agencies refuse to give babies to Catholics.  I mean, it is thier religious freedom right?  You seriously have to be a fucking idiot to think that this is a valid argument.

“And the federal government refused to reauthorize a grant to a Catholic immigration organization that served victims of sex trafficking because as a Catholic group, it would not provide or refer women to services for abortion and birth control. “

Same as above.  When you treat women like cattle (even while performing a great service) it is fucking wrong.  The last thing a rescued sex traffic victim needs to be told, is that even though the Columbian drug cartel no longer has a say over her womanhood, some crazy fucking asshole who claims to talk to God sitting in a golden chair in Rome does.  Seriously, fuck these people.

“Quoting from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the bishops say that unjust laws should be either changed or resisted. In this passage, the bishops seem to refer to the recent attempt by President Obama to accommodate their objection to the health care mandate, by ordering the insurance companies, and not the Catholic institutions, to pay for birth control coverage.

“In the face of an unjust law,” the bishops wrote, “an accommodation is not to be sought, especially by resorting to equivocal words and deceptive practices. If we face today the prospect of unjust laws, then Catholics in America, in solidarity with our fellow citizens, must have the courage not to obey them.” “

Oh how cute, you are quoting MLK…your argument is still invalid.  As far as disobeying the law goes…good luck with that.  You’ll have to answer to our secular courts.

If It's Life Then Let It Live!

PZ never disappoints and this is the greatest pro-choice blog post ever.  I am going to archive its ass here.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/04/03/irrational-humans/

“The argument is never about whether some state is alive or not. Your appendix and tonsils are great masses of living cells, but if the organ becomes inflamed, doctors will cut them out and throw them away. Every time you poop, about a third of that mass that you excrete and flush away consists of living bacterial cells, yet no one hesitates and feels regret at the tragic loss of life when their hand is on the handle.

The argument is about whether that living thing is a person requiring extensive legal and moral protection, and it’s entirely clear that “life” is not a sufficient criterion, or people would be lobbying for the protection of turds and tonsils. We are not absolutists about protecting all life; we can’t be.”