The Good Atheist

The hilarious thing about Intelligent Design is that it explains absolutely nothing about the natural world. It’s proponents would have us believe that nature is so complex that only the power of a God (let’s not beat around the bush here) could possibly account for the existence of even the most basic forms of life. Because this hypothesis is built on the “God in the Gaps” argument, there is no need for any ID proponent to try and seek “proof” of their claims. So long as science can’t answer everything, they will continue to try and erode the public’s confidence in one of the most rigorously tested Theories in science: evolution.

Well, it just got a little harder for these idiots to try and undermine science: researchers at Yale University believe that they have discovered how Mitochondria (which provides energy to our cells) evolved from a free-living bacteria to one of the most critical components in our bodies. It’s a big step forward for science, and another blow for ID morons trying to pretend they understand the scientific method.

A discovery like this should be the final nail in the Intelligent Design coffin, but since there are still so many things we need to discover, there will always be those that seek to insert God in there somewhere. These poor, desperate fools want their mythology to be true so badly that they are willing to try and destroy science to accomplish their goal. They are not harmless fools, but rather enemies of science and reason who seek to return us to the Bronze Age out of the stupid conviction that “scientific naturalism” leads to moral and ethical decay (this despite the fact that wars, crime, and conflict is historically at an all time low).

If you want to believe in your precious God, then you’re free to do so; just don’t try to bring him into the laboratory where people are actually trying to get work done, thanks.

I can’t remember the last time that MadTV ever made me laugh, but when your special guest is George Carlin, how the hell can you go wrong?

Here’s an interesting article about the growth of atheist groups in Southern Florida. Considering how weird they are, it’s nice to see there are still a few sane and rational people in the “Sunshine State”.

I hate the National Post. It was started by Conrad Black, who is undoubtedly one of Canada’s biggest scum bags. He wanted to start a newspaper to reflect the Conservative attitudes of some Canadians. It’s the equivalent of FoxNews here in the Great White North, with all the integrity you would expect from such a publication.

One of their regular contributers is Father Raymond J. de Souza. I’ve written a few articles about the nonsense he’s published, but this one sure beats the cake: His latest article is entitled “Why Priests Don’t Have Kids“, and de Souza seems convinced that the reasoning behind it is for men of God to be able to purify themselves in anticipation of the next life.

Father de Souza is convinced that priests are supposed to emulate and follow the examples of Jesus, which is what I also thought before I did a little research of my own. It’s true that, according to the Bible, Jesus had no children. In fact, throughout the Gospel, Jesus suggests that his disciples and followers abandon their jobs and families in order to follow him. In his eyes, the rebirth of the Kingdom of God was at hand, so there was no need to do anything more than prepare for End Times (he told his followers that he would return before anyone of them would parish, a promise that he unsurprisingly never fulfilled).

The actual reason why Catholic priests can’t marry, however, has little to do with the life of their Messiah. It’s entirely because of money. Before the 11th century, it was not uncommon for priests to have wives and children, but as these kids grew up, their fathers would have to leave them an inheritance, and this redistribution of resources was costing the Church dearly. In 1139, the Second Lateran Council forbade the marriage of priests altogether and declared all existing marriages involving priests null and void, (these voided marriages simply turned their spouces into concubines). The Council of Trent in the 1500’s would officially make celibacy the norm, and from there, it was easy to sell the idea that it was somehow more devotional and pure, since Catholics view human nature as inherently sinful.You were devoted to the institution when you joined, and not towards family loyalties.

Yet this priest seems to be totally unaware of the political and financial reasoning behind celibacy, thinking instead that the amount of time and devotion that he requires would not allow him to be a good father. That doesn’t seem to have stopped any priests in other Christian faiths from managing both. But then again, Catholics are so busy telling people they are terrible and evil sinners that perhaps it’s best that they don’t have children anyways.

I’ll Let Father de Souza explain in his own words the value of his celibacy:

The priest, and others in consecrated celibacy, lives now as a sign of the world to come, with his life fixed upon the promise of the eternal fulfillment God provides. In freely renouncing the great good of married life and children, the priest points to the world to come. Indeed, without the world to come, the celibacy of the priest would make little sense.

You’re right about one thing, Father. It makes very little fucking sense.

(props James for the link)

Glen Beck needs to stop thinking he’s William Wallace from Braveheart. He always looks like he’s on the edge of tears for absolutely no reason. It must be a sad time to be a republican if they gravitate towards such a fat and annoying crybaby. You’re whinny, desperate speeches only inspire the delusional or the stupid, Glen.

If you don’t know anything about evolution, it’s usually a good idea to do a little research before talking about it, especially if you think that it’s wrong. Here’s a video from some douche who fancies himself both wise and hilarious; sadly he is neither. At first I was hoping he was one of the good guys, but as it turns out, this budget Ryan Seacrest seems to think that both Intelligent Design and Evolution are unscientific. It’s a pretty bold claim for a scientist to make. good thing he isn’t one.

Personally, I find these mindless idiots rather irritating and exasperating. No, evolution isn’t about “improvements”, and no, species don’t become increasingly better as time progresses. Evolution isn’t a progression of ever increasing complexity; it’s actually more like a tree, with species branching off (typically because a group becomes genetically isolated for an extended period of time), and slowly changing to better adapt to its environment. If this jackass would simply sit down and try reading a book rather than film himself saying stupid shit, he might actually learn something.

I actually have an idea for you buddy; if you don’t think evolution has ever been proven, then why not submit your idea to a scientific journal, citing all your facts and research to prove your point. If you ‘re right, a Nobel prize and handsome stipend will be your reward. It sure beats trying to become rich and successful making a series of unfunny an uninformative videos, don’t you think?

Jesus seems like he’s good at shedding his blood, and that’s about it. There’s no doubt about it; he’s a bleeder.

It isn’t good news that a nation with nuclear capabilities is slowly becoming a fundamentalist theocracy. Here is a disturbing article in the Guardian about how the growing intolerance of Muslims in Pakistan is having deadly consequences. A few weeks ago, I reported on a group of Christians who were attacked for allegedly defacing the Koran. Their homes were set on fire with them still inside, killing 9 in the process. Investigators believe that the real motivation behind the attacks was actually a land grab, and that the organizers were in fact working for an unscrupulous local businessman.

These Muslim extremists are also busy trying to fill young people with hate propaganda:

Under Zia [former dictator of Pakistan], school textbooks were purged of any positive reference to minorities or Muslim traditions considered too pagan. Students were taught that Pakistan was a global vanguard of Sunni Islam forever threatened by Hindus, Jews and western imperialists. Pakistan’s penal code was amended to make blasphemy against Islam, including desecration of the Qur’an, a crime under strict penalties including life imprisonment to death. The Hudood Ordinance left millions of victims of rape exposed to the new crime of adultery while the testimony of non-Muslims was judged to be half the value of a Muslim.

Fundamentalists are easy to control and manipulate (since their own mental framework is entirely predictable and simple), and there is no better way to entice people to violence than through religion. It’s no secret that blind faith is a powerful political tool; politicians have known about this fact for centuries (if not more). I shudder to think what’s next for Pakistan. Will it become the next Afghanistan, or the next Turkey?

The author of the article offers a glimmer of hope; religiously motivated attacks are still being condemned, but I see no reason to believe that the secularists will win in the long run. When your opposition is prone to acts of violence, how can reason hope to prevail?

You might remember this guy from his violent and hateful rhetoric about gays and his sermon calling on people to pray for President Obama to die and burn in hell. Here he is demonstrating in a video how one is to go about preaching the word of God. You may of course note that he seems to be preaching to the converted, but that’s besides the point. The challenge here, ladies and gentlemen, is to see how many minutes of this garbage you can watch before you lose your patience. I watched the whole thing, but then again, I took breaks every 2 minutes to avoid pulling all my hair out.

Ok, I don’t want to make this site all about this (probably) closeted homosexual, but Steven L. Anderson has been on a bit of a tear recently. Now he’s calling on people to pray for Obama to die and go to Hell. These guys are so loving! Doesn’t it just make you want to become a Baptist yourself? If you join now, you too can enjoy the exciting world of needlessly hating your fellow human beings for no good reason. So don’t delay, become a racist piece of shit today!