This Makes It All Worth It - A Followup

Earlier today I wrote about an email I received from Abraham (not his real name) and how he is starting to look to atheism. He said that it was partly due to deep thinking and partly due to things I said here on HDC. We had a very nice exchange of emails and he agreed to let me share them, which I did earlier today in This Makes It All Worth It

Well! Abraham read the emails I sent to him, and my elaboration on here (see above link) and said the following a bit ago:

Saw the post on the blog, and I appreciated it, and the comments. In terms of reading, not much so far. I did go to Wikipedia and looked up "atheism", and with your comment, it helped me greatly. I am now ready to say that I am, in fact, an atheist, and hope to be able to defend my knowing that God does not exist more in time (I did read your post on Dawkins Spectrum of Theistic Probablilty). I hope to learn more in time. I really am not that much into podcasts, but am willing to look at essays.

I told him he is now on the A-Team and that he will soon get to learn our secret handshake. :P

I had offered to share the podcasts with him that I feel have been so helpful to me. I also asked him which books he's read on the subject.

So hey, I need your help! Let's compile a list for new atheists. I'd like to put books, essays and anything else on there that you've found helpful in your godless travels. Believe it or not, I have read very little of the classic stuff on atheism/religion/etc.

What would you recommend to Abraham? Which one or 2 sources did you find most informative and helpful once you were comfortable calling yourself an atheist (or the label of your choice)? Remember, he's come over to the Dark Side now, so we don't have to convince him. Now it's about information, insight, and being able to defend his lack of belief in gods. Please leave comments with the books, essays or resources you recommend and briefly how you felt they were helpful to you. Thanks very much! :)

The Universe Owes Us Nothing

A friend of mine was dumped by his girlfriend recently. Several years ago I would have said, "You'll find someone. There's someone for everyone."

At a holiday party awhile ago, a cousin told us about how she wasn't able to do what she wanted to do, to take a path she had chosen for herself. A family relative who was religious said, "As one door closes, another opens. It will all work out for the best."

Today my friend Jeff realized he had forgotten something. You know how it is. You remember you forgot something, but no matter how you try to jog your memory, it's just out of reach. I used to say, "If it was important, you'll remember." As if the universe knows what's important and what's not and would never let us forget something that we'll need.

But the universe does not owe us anything, and the universe does not have agency. It's easy to fall into these comforting mindsets, but that doesn't make them real.

There isn't someone for everyone. I know people who have been alone most of their lives, or who have never really had successful relationships. It really sucks. As a friend, I want so much to find them someone, but sometimes for whatever reason, they've been alone and there's nothing they can seem to do to get themselves in a happy relationship.

Things don't always work out for the best. Sometimes it's obvious that the worst happens instead. But most times there's just no way to know if it's better or worse given a turn of events. It's another platitude that makes us feel better when we've been stung, but it's not true. Of course, in hindsight, we might try to find a way to see a silver lining on a bad event, which is good. Maybe you can learn a lesson, or find a way to turn a bad situation into something positive, or find a way to improve yourself. But believing the universe is looking out for you and making sure that every bad thing that happens to you has a silver lining is delusional. Some things are just bad all around. Should you make the best of it? Absolutely. But do you have to sugar coat it? Hell no. That wouldn't be healthy.

And if you forget something, the universe isn't making sure you'll remember it just because it was important. When you forget, sometimes it will be really important things forever irretrievable. Just look at the tragedy of Alzheimer's and dementia as an example. Or if you write something down that's important, the universe isn't keeping track of that paperwork for you if you misplace it. It could be lost forever, along with some special memento or keepsake that you lost. We like to think that if it's important information, art, music, science, etc, that it can't be lost forever. But it can and does, probably even more often than important things being saved.

I've seen people comment about this on HDC regarding events like the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. We know that thousands and thousands of books were destroyed forever in that fire. We know this partly because other books in other places refer to the destroyed ones. That priceless information can never be retrieved.

Why am I saying all this? It sounds so depressing, doesn't it? But it's not. It's just reality.

And as the wonderful Carl Sagan said, "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."

So, as we get ready for the Rapture (or if you're like me, the After Rapture Parties on Sunday), let's all embrace reality. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes it hurts, but it's always completely real and honest.

And before you go giving me a hard time, let me just be clear. I am advocating pragmatism and realism. There's no need to be pessimistic, which I think is unhealthy. But in that vein, while it's helpful to have a positive attitude - I recommend it highly - it's actually delusional to be overly optimistic.

Pragmatism/Realism = Good

Optimism/Pessimism/thinking the universe is watching out for you = delusion = unhealthy.

One more thing before I go. I've found that most people are the way they are. In other words, if you're an optimist, you're probably always going to be that way. I can't really help being the way that I am, which is mostly pragmatic, with a tinge of pessimism in some circumstances and a pinch of optimism in others. I do consciously aim to be as pragmatic as possible, though, as I think being realistic is the healthiest approach to life. But I also try to have a positive outlook and perspective.

Have I gone off my medication? Does any of this make sense? I hope so! If not, send all hate mail to philosophicalmumbojumbo@bs.com :P

~

EDIT: here are some definitions to clarify:

Delusion: a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; a belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all reason

Optimism: a state of mind in which one always hopes or expects that something good will happen; a general disposition to expect the best in all things

Pessimism: A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view; a general disposition to look on the dark side and to expect the worst in all things

Pragmatism: A practical, matter-of-fact way of approaching or assessing situations or of solving problems; action or policy dictated by consideration of the immediate practical consequences rather than by theory or dogma; a philosophical system stressing practical consequences and values as standards by which the validity of concepts are to be determined

Realism: An inclination toward literal truth and pragmatism; awareness or acceptance of the facts and necessities of life; a practical rather than a moral or dogmatic view of things; Naturalism

Doing Good, Spreading Inspiration

As those of you who follow my Facebook page know, I recently started an organization with my friend Eric called Viral Volunteer. In a nutshell, ViVo is about doing good deeds then going to the website and social media to tell others what you did and encourage them to do good things too.

Next Sunday, January 23rd, Eric and I, and a few of our friends, are going to the Ronald McDonald House here in Morgantown to make them lunch. We buy and prepare the meal, and then it gets served buffet style for parents and their children who are in treatment. It helps the parents and children have more time to spend together.

I know most of you don't live near me, but why not do your own local volunteering event? You can go to Viral Volunteer and fill out the form to let us know you'll be doing something and we'll post it to the site to encourage others to help their own community. Even if it's just you going out to your local park to pick up trash, let us know so we can inspire others to do something good too.

Also, we have a new form for those of you who have been inspired and helped by someone. Is there a person or group who has helped you? Have you been motivated by someone who helps others? Let us know. This is a wonderful way to encourage others and let people know you've been positively affected by someone.

You can also email me at Viral Volunteer if that would be an easier way for you to send pictures and/or tell your story.

Did you know that volunteering and helping others actually helps improve your health and increase your happiness and well-being? Find out how you can benefit from doing good deeds.

Don't know where to start? Here are some links and suggestions. If you have an organization that you think people should know about, leave a comment on that page, or here if you like.

As you know, I'm a godless heathen. Most, if not all, of the people helping out the Ronald McDonald House this Sunday are also atheists. A side benefit to doing good deeds as an atheist is that you help people realize that nonbelievers do good deeds too. That we care just as deeply and want to help our communities and our planet just as much as religious people. So when you fill out the form, feel free to let us know if you're volunteering in the name of your local atheist group (or any organization!). Also encourage your local group to start doing good deeds, and then have everyone fill out the form to start spreading the word. Atheists are good people too.

A Source For Helpful Movie Reviews

Anyone can go to IMDB for a movie review these days. Or, like me, you can read the little blurb on Netflix and make your decision that way. Usually I just want to know the basic premise of the movie, who's in it, and who directed it. I don't listen to the opinions of many people (famous, friend or family) when it comes to recommendations and the like because most people don't know me very well. All they can tell me is what they thought of the movie for themselves, not for me. And I'm an Odd Duck, to be sure. I don't like a lot of things that are raved about. And movies or things that most people don't care for I think are great. I don't often agree with popular opinion.

Why am I going on about this? Well, there is one thing I absolutely have zero tolerance for; a bible thumping movie. I can't stand religious propaganda shoved down my throat. Not long after Left Behind went to DVD my dad rented it thinking it was Sci Fi. (we used to go out to dinner and watch a movie afterward as sort of a regular family night) I saw that Kirk Cameron was in it, thought that was a bad sign, but gave it the benefit of the doubt and promptly wasted 2 hours of my life to that dreck. That night Butch (my nearly perfect husband) and I made a pact never to sit through a horrid movie again.

So when I see a movie preview that could look like it's a "God Movie" I would rather steer clear. Unfortunately a lot of god movies mask it in the previews, and some movies that really don't have a strong pro-god/pro-religion tone might look like it in the previews.

Enter Christian Answers Movie Reviews! My friend Dan shared this site with me and now I am passing it on to you because I actually found it useful.

I picked a movie I was leery about, The Book of Eli, and here's what I discovered. First, they describe a lot of scenes so it is a bit of a spoiler. Second, I learned it's a pretty god-heavy movie that would probably set my nerves on edge. Here's part of the review:

Rise of the Gnostic Atheist: A Deconversion Story

Alias: GMNightmare
Name: Jesse
Date: 29 July 2009
Birth: 1988 C.E.
Gender: Male

In my beginning, I was born to both a new mother and new father. My birth was a rather large event to my extended family, for I was the very first great grandchild. As my mother’s family is very close, of course many made an appearance. Near birth, I was blessed and baptized by my great grandfather under Christianity.

Under such pretenses I assume many would suspect that I was raised under a very religious setting. This was luckily not the case. It is worth mentioning that my mother’s ancestors stem from a long line of clergy, and they are all fairly religious… And while my mother is also mildly religious, my family couldn’t seem to find a church that we fit into.

Sure, my family tried—I understand that we were almost sucked into Mormonism. In the end, the situation basically turned out to be a lax kind of religious attitude. There was definitely more church attending during my younger years, but we went less as time progressed. Both my parents worked difficult and long jobs, and Sunday just needed to be an actual day of rest… as well as spending time with their kids.

I vaguely remember somewhere around the age of 10 or so… well, actually quite clearly, a day dining at a restaurant. My parents posed a question, of what we (the kids) thought of hell. My personal response gave the more “good” you where in life the better you would live in heaven... Hell didn’t really exist to me even at this point in my life. My sibling’s response was far cruder; basically amounting to saying a certain relative of ours should go there.

At this point, my parents informed us that our great grandfather had done some “research” into it (Biblical studying hardly amounts to research) and came to the conclusion that hell didn’t really exist as a place. All hell basically amounted to was nothing, you died and that was it. Much like the atheist point of view of death in general actually. This certainly made more sense at the time to me than some torturous place.

Betty Bowers and Edward Current Educate Us

It's time for some educational videos, my friends. Luckily these will hopefully make you crack up as well as teach you something.
Here's Edward Current in My Cat Is A christian, which of course, Miss Delilah is, otherwise her life would be meaningless! 1:56 minutes of hilarity.



I've heard of Betty Bowers but have never experienced her until just the other day. She's America's Best Christian, and she can teach us all quite a lot!
First, awhile ago she did this video explaining prayer to everyone else. Persistence counts, people! It's very informative and helpful. I'll have a bigger house with a real dishwasher, a maid, and a fireplace in no time! Woot! 4:07 minutes long.



Then a more recent, better edited video from just the other day, Betty takes the time to explain traditional marriage to everyone else. I thought I was happily married, but now I know the truth. Oh well. 4:14 minutes chock full of helpful information. Thanks, Betty!



Now we're all properly educated and blissfully informed! Yay! I had some silly old scientific studies to share, but when you are a good christian like Betty and Edward, you don't need stuffy old science at all!

Tweenbots Show How Wonderful Humans Can Be

Unlike most atheists I know, I don't really consider myself a humanist, but maybe that's because I really don't know the full definition. Let's look it up.

Humanism affirms the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality, without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts. Humanism can be considered as a process by which truth and morality is sought through human investigation; as such, views on morals can change when new knowledge and information is discovered. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on faith, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divine origin. Humanists endorse universal morality based on the commonality of the human condition, suggesting that solutions to human social and cultural problems cannot be parochial.

While I agree in principle with that definition, I have become rather cynical and jaded. My experience of people is less noble and dignified. Most people seem self-serving, narcissistic and self-centered. I've found that many people refrain from immoral acts only out of fear of punishment or guilt. Also, I've found that people in general don't seek truth or look outside themselves much at all. They simply go about their lives to get by as comfortably as possible, mitigated by guilt and fear.

Of course there are lots of exceptions of extraordinary people. But in general my view of the human race is more like children in adult bodies, basically just going through life like a ball in a pinball machine, bouncing off of things and careening around randomly. I think it takes supreme effort to break free of this thoughtless kind of life, where you run on belief systems formed in early childhood. It takes critical and creative thinking to break free of the mold we are indoctrinated into as children.

But, sometimes I am surprised and delighted by humanity. It doesn't happen often, so when it does, I feel the desire to share my warm fuzzies with everyone. This is one of those moments. I was stumbling around the interwebs when I came upon Tweenbots. In this 3 and a half minute video, Tweenbot is traversing Washington Square Park. He does it in 42 minutes with 29 people helping him.

Imagine a World Without god!? OH NOES!

What if god disappeared? This informative video (3:33 minutes long) will give us all an idea of what would happen if we lived in a world without god. Please watch it. Thank you, Edward Current for taking the time to educate us.



This was so helpful to me. I forgot how lonely, hopeless and desperate I am as an atheist. :P Now I guess all I have left is to go kill some kittens and babies. Be right back! :D

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver - My Favorite Poem

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

from Dream Work by Mary Oliver
published by Atlantic Monthly Press
© Mary Oliver

Why am I sharing this?

Prayer Is Worse Than Nothing

Let's talk about prayer and visions and things today.

First, let's talk about the inauguration with Obama. Even if I weren't a vocal atheist, I'd be offended by the choice of rick warren to deliver the prayer. Of course, as a Constitutionalist, I believe in the Separation of Church and State. The office of president of the United States is earned by votes. Not direct votes of the people, but hey, let's not nitpick on that issue at the moment. This job of president is purely secular. Why is there a bible, a pastor and prayer involved at all? The FFRF is suing to get rid of the reference to god and the prayers, at least.
warren, this hypocritical slimeball, is going to act as an agent of the state to deliver the invocation and benediction. Read more about warren and how he backs a man (martin ssempa) who burned condoms in the name of jesus in Africa, virtually stamping out the free distribution of condoms to people to replace it with abstinence only (yeah, we all know how well the abstinence program works!). Oh, and let's not forget how warren compares homosexuality to pedophilia, incest and beastiality. So now we know how far off his rocker he is.

Dead Cats Into Diesel

Ok, for some reason this struck me as a bit.... odd. Diesel from dead cats? I just had to share it with you, since we're Heaving Dead Cats around here on a regular basis. Now we can save money, heave dead cats and make fuel! Woot!

Dr Christian Koch, 55, from Kleinhartmannsdorf, has a special method for turning household garbage into biodiesel. This leads me to believe you can make biodiesel out of just about anything.

So, his method involves heating stuff like old tires, paper, motor oil, plastic, dead cats, just about anything, to 300 degrees Celsius. Then the hydrocarbons go through a catalytic converter.

Now I'll know what to do with all those dead cats in my freezer! (JUST KIDDING)

Found Here and Here.

Fold It- Play A Game For Science!

This is the neatest idea on so many levels. So you need to unwind and play a game. You're tired of windows solitaire. How about playing a game that could contribute to curing a disease? How about helping science with your big awesome brain!?

You can go here to read about the science behind the "game".

So basically, in a really simple nutshell, you're using your intuitive awesome brain to do something that would take computers a huge amount of time and expense to do.

Proteins are part of lots of diseases, so understanding how they fold on themselves is very important.

Webster's Dictionary is Biased Towards Christianity

Words and how you use them are very important. The pen IS mightier than the sword in many respects. For example, 99.999% of atheists are stamped with the militant label wrongly. People hear that word and then wrongly associate atheists with the idea that most of us are fighting and being aggressive against believers. With that one word, they've labeled us as waging a "war" against them.

This is ludicrous and terribly backwards. By labeling us, they have started the "holy war" against atheists. Not us. In my 39 years, I've never met a militant atheist. But I have seen and dealt with many militant, close-minded, hateful, fundamentalist religious folks.

So words are very important.

Hess was looking up synonyms for atheist on Dictionary.com for our new project (as you can see, we settled on Heaving Dead Cats) and pointed out something rather irritating.

Why I'm An Atheist, Not An Agnostic

Stumbling around the web, I came across a page at lukeprog.com titled The Arrogance of Atheism. I almost moved on, but then I saw the subtitle: Why I'm an atheist, not an agnostic. Luke writes a page that is simple and concise, yet totally makes sense. I contacted him and asked him if I could share it with you. So here it is in its entirety:

The Arrogance of Atheism
Why I’m an atheist, not an agnostic.

When I tell people I’m an atheist, they say, “How can you be so arrogant to think that you know God doesn’t exist? At least say you’re an agnostic and admit that you can’t know for sure one way or the other.”

Atheism! How arrogant!

But is it?

Be Skeptical

My friend sent me a link to the Times Online this morning, to an article titled Red Bull gives you wings - and heart trouble?. My husband drinks Red Bull, and my friend thinks I do too. I don’t actually. I drink Java Monster. It’s delicious and is in a 16 ounce can instead of the paltry 8 ounces you get from Red Bull. So of course I read the article because I don’t want my husband and I to be harming our health unknowingly.

My friend - we’ll call him Sam to protect his identity - said that he always knew this stuff was bad for you. And that was that for him. Case closed. I said I wanted more data. He said, “I don’t.. that stuff’s loaded with enough caffeine to explode an elephant’s heart… no more data needed.”

What? Are you kidding me?

Scoutle Makes Networking Effortless

So there's this new networking tool called Scoutle.
I'll let this 4 minute video explain it, since it does a very good job:



If you join, find us, we're HDC. Make a connection with us and we can support each other effortlessly. :) Here's a link to the Atheist Network on there. You can also go to our widget in the sidebar. :)

The Truth About Atheism

On December 24, 2006, Sam Harris wrote a piece for The Los Angeles Times called 10 Myths - And 10 Truths - About Atheism. I found it just the other day and wanted to share it with you in its entirety:

SEVERAL POLLS indicate that the term “atheism” has acquired such an extraordinary stigma in the United States that being an atheist is now a perfect impediment to a career in politics (in a way that being black, Muslim or homosexual is not). According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 37% of Americans would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist for president.

Atheists are often imagined to be intolerant, immoral, depressed, blind to the beauty of nature and dogmatically closed to evidence of the supernatural.

Atheism, Politics and Friends

I’m reading a book that is so good, so interesting, that I’ve highlighted almost every sentence. It’s a gold mine of ideas and information, a real treat to read.

If you looked at my book list, you’ll notice that I haven’t read all the “traditional” books that all other atheists seem to love. That’s not to say that I won’t, but I became an atheist when most of those books didn’t exist. Once I reached the point where I was ready to shed the oppressive mantle of religion, I was so relieved and felt so free, I didn’t have a need to read anything else on the subject for a long time.
Since I let go of god - all gods actually - a lot of books have finally come out about atheism. At the time, I didn’t even notice them. It was nice that it was being talked about, but I was happily god-free and in no need of conversion anymore.

Neece’s Book List

*Or how a hapless believer lost her faith and became a happy atheist. As you can see from this list, I didn’t read the traditional books to shake off the shackles of my faith.

Help Needed!

Do you have a believing problem?

Do you have information, ideas, resources that others with believing problems might benefit from?

Want to be a part of something fun, interesting, and helpful?

Email me at heavingdeadcats@gmail.com with what you might have to offer and we'll see if we can work together to make HDC a great place.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.