Reality Crowd

The Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign is having a lot of trouble getting their message out. The original campaign was to start in Bloomington, Indiana, but the town decided they would not allow “You Can Be Good Without God” posted on the side of their buses. Recently, the campaign was approved to start running the ad on buses in South Bend, Indiana, however, there is a delay because of the “controversial message.” RealityCrowd would like the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign to have all the publicity it can. Please send this post to your friends!

Trouble in Bloomington:

Original Campaign Launch:

“People will then often say “But surely it’s better to remain an Agnostic just in case?” This, to me, suggests such a level of silliness and muddle that I usually edge out of the conversation rather than get sucked into it. (If it turns out that I’ve been wrong all along, and there is in fact a god, and if it further turned out that this kind of legalistic, cross-your-fingers-behind-your-back, Clintonian hair-splitting impressed him, then I think I would chose not to worship him anyway.)”

- Douglas Adams in an interview with American Atheist

“…it is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years of life, while the brain is impressionable, appears to acquire almost the nature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it is followed independently of reason.”

“It appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against christianity and theism produce hardly any effect on the public; and freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men’s minds which follows from the advance of science.”

-Charles Darwin

In religion and politics, people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand, and without examination.

Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.

- Mark Twain

The show “30 days,” a reality TV show on FX, puts people in an unfamiliar lifestyle or culture for a full 30 days and explores the interactions of those put in this juxtaposition. Through stark contrast viewers are able to more plainly see the perceived reality of the groups involved and possible get a closer idea of the actually reality in which we are all involved.

The episode featured in the below video examines the situation of an atheist who agrees to live in the home of a Christian family for 30 days. She attends church with the Christian family as well as Bible study, and she is involved with her hosts daily as a member of the household. As many atheists do, Brenda describes herself as a free thinker: one who builds beliefs based on evidence and logic. The host family immerses Brenda in the community of the faithful.

Highlights of the video are outlined here in minutes and seconds so you can jump to any part of the video you may enjoy:

1:10 - The family and Brenda visit a Christian theme park, The Holy Land Experience where among other events, there is a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ.

2:40 - Brenda visits the family’s Church for Sunday service.

4:50 - Brenda attends Bible study and is engaged by the members to discuss her views as an atheist. One member asks Brenda, “What did Christ do that was so bad?”

8:10 - Brenda and her host Tracy find some common ground.

9:10 - This last part of the video is especially interesting reporting on general views and attitudes people have about atheists. They cite a University of Minnesota study that showed atheists as being the least trusted minority group in America.

If you were brought up in a Christian tradition, Catholic especially, then you have likely been taught some pretty scary things about sex. Premarital sex is a sin. Gay sex is a sin. Masturbation is a sin. Even sex in the bond of holy wedlock can be considered a sin if any type of contraception is used. In this last case of contraception, some Christians may take issue. However, a quick glance at Genesis, chapter 38, should be convincing enough that God considers even the act of “pulling out” a grave insult to His law.

Then Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so he put him to death also.
-Gen. 38:8-10

This passage, among many other intolerant proclamations of the Bible, are interpreted by fundamentalist Christians to rationalize condemning all forms of contraception, denying emergency contraception to rape victims, denying civil rights to gay couples, attempting to ban pornography, opposing the development of vaccines for STDs--and the list goes on.

The claim that fundamentalists and Catholics make, that God’s “natural laws” govern sex (only acceptable when procreation is the goal) is contrary to a lot of observable evidence that we have. For instance, humans have a surprisingly low fertility rate. Even healthy, young, sexually active newlyweds only have about a 28 per cent chance of conception per menstrual cycle. A cow can be artificially inseminated one time and have a 75 per cent chance of conceiving. It would seem that God had a little trouble “designing” humans’ reproductive organs if 28 per cent chance is all that He could muster for their only purpose! Notice also that human females do not go into heat like other mammals do. If you look at a female chimpanzee, her genitals become bright pink and swollen to show that she is ready to conceive. Human females do not advertise in this way. If that is her only purpose for her reproductive organs, why aren’t they designed better?

Not even mentioned yet are all the clear and obvious purposes that we use sex for: Pair bonding (or more than a pair), stress release, social currency, pleasure. There have been many scientific studies pursued showing the many health benefits of sex and masturbation. To the contrary, however, you will find many believers saying such things as this quote from catholic.com:

But sexual pleasure within marriage becomes unnatural, and even harmful to the spouses, when it is used in a way that deliberately excludes the basic purpose of sex, which is procreation.

I would like to ask some questions that devout Catholics may be able to help me with:

Is it as unnatural for animals to have homosexual sex as it is for humans? Should God smite these indulgent chimps and bunnies?

How about the “natural” use of my nose: Should I really be resting my glasses on it?

Lastly, God in his wisdom has provided man with natural forks--his fingers. Therefore, is it an insult to Him to substitute artificial metallic forks for them when eating? (This last question is not meant to be absurd.) The Catholic Church held this opinion of forks in the 1600s. Look it up….or just click here.

“During the youthful period of mankind’s spiritual evolution, human fantasy created gods in man’s own image who, by the operations of their will were supposed to determine, or at any rate influence, the phenomenal world… The idea of God in the religions taught at present is a sublimation of that old conception of the gods. Its anthropomorphic character is shown, for instance, by the fact that men appeal to the Divine Being in prayers and plead for the fulfillment of their wishes… In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope which in the past placed such vase power in the hands of priests.”

Albert Einstein, reported in Science, Philosophy and Religion: A Symposium

What is your delusion level? Take this fun quiz to find out!:

Special thanks to The Green Atheist for finding this gem.

What’s your delusion level? Lets hear it in the comments!