{"id":218,"date":"2012-08-02T00:38:15","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T07:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.skepticblogs.com\/musingsfromtheskepticalleft\/?p=1"},"modified":"2012-11-30T02:57:47","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T10:57:47","slug":"purpledragon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/2012\/08\/02\/purpledragon\/","title":{"rendered":"Atheism, Skepticism, Purple Dragons, and Me — An Old Facebook Note"},"content":{"rendered":"

What follows is a Facebook note I wrote a few years ago. I’m not sure I agree with everything I said in it now. But regardless, it lays out a good introduction for some of the issues I plan to discuss in this blog.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t an essay, or some sort of post-grad assignment where I\u2019m trying to get a good grade.\u00a0 If it were, I\u2019d fail miserably.\u00a0 Nor is it a consistent piece that follows the basic structure of intro, body, conclusion.\u00a0 Rather, it\u2019s a collection of random observations that I\u2019d like to share in response to a question that someone asked on Twitter, as well as something else that occurred on Facebook that bothered me way more than it should have.\u00a0 Granted, I\u2019m bothered by a lot of things.\u00a0 People often complain that they have to walk on egg shells around me, and frankly, they\u2019re right.\u00a0 But enough about me for now; on to the topic at hand.<\/p>\n

The question that brings me to write this went something like this:\u00a0 Why do atheists talk so much about god?<\/p>\n

It seems to me that the answer is obvious.\u00a0 Especially in the U.S., atheists are in the vast minority.\u00a0 In seven states (Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas), atheists are not permitted to hold office according to laws still on the books (some of those states are also the same ones that have laws against dildos \u2014 go figure).
\nThough the U.S. Supreme Court has held such laws to be unconstitutional on the basis of freedom of religion, the laws are still there, as is the prejudice that led to their enactment.\u00a0 Our currency still prominently displays the words, \u201cIn God We Trust.\u201d\u00a0 Driving through the bible belt should be enough to remind anyone that prejudice against atheists still exists.\u00a0 No president has ever admitted to being an atheist, and it is almost impossible to achieve a high-ranking political position without admitting to some belief in a typically Abrahamic (usually Christian) god.<\/p>\n

Theists are in the great majority.\u00a0 Most of the wars being fought today are rooted in religion.\u00a0 Mind you, I\u2019m not blaming religion for all human conflict; that would be unfair.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure that if it weren\u2019t for religion, we\u2019d find something else to fight about.\u00a0 Like property, or nationality, or race, for instance.\u00a0 On the other hand, religion and territorial disputes seem to go hand-in-hand.\u00a0 There is a saying that goes something like this \u2014 the religious can be both bad and good (just like anyone else), but it takes religion to make a good man do a bad thing.\u00a0 There is some truth to this.\u00a0 Without religion, the WTC would still be standing, and many lives, both in America and in the Middle East would have been spared.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s make this a little more personal.\u00a0 By being an outspoken atheist (as well as a liberal, and an economic socialist), I limit my employment possibilities as an attorney significantly.\u00a0 By being any other way, however, I would be completely untrue to myself.\u00a0 For example, let\u2019s say that someone told you that you had to believe in purple dragons in order to live a more comfortable life, would you be able to do it?\u00a0 Maybe, but probably not.\u00a0 The belief in god (at least as that concept is commonly defined) is completely foreign and unreasonable to me.\u00a0 In the absence of any evidence, the default position is disbelief.\u00a0 This is why, as a rule, we don\u2019t believe in goblins, unicorns, dragons, monsters, or fairies.\u00a0 There is no evidence of these beings, so we don\u2019t believe they exist.\u00a0 But despite the exact same lack of evidence, people continue to believe in god (there are many great books explaining why this is so, and it is beyond the scope of this note to go into it here).\u00a0 So how is the belief in god any different than a belief in purple dragons?\u00a0 What\u2019s even more bizarre is that the purple dragon believers wish to fight with people who believe in yellow dragons.\u00a0 But why?\u00a0 When there is no evidence of either?\u00a0 (And no, ancient texts advocating incest, violence, homophobia, and misogyny are not evidence of gods, water-walkers, or zombie Jesus, sorry.)<\/p>\n

Science has shown that evolution is a fact \u2014 the reason it\u2019s called a theory is because it is constantly evolving as new evidence is discovered.\u00a0 That\u2019s what science is about.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t a doctrine; it\u2019s a method.\u00a0 And through the scientific method we learn new things about the world we live in every single day.\u00a0 What could be more fascinating?\u00a0 The reality of our universe boggles the mind.\u00a0 From galaxies to quarks to the mysteries of the human mind, there is so much to learn.\u00a0 And our best tool for doing so is the scientific method \u2014 because it allows for human error, provides for peer review, and allows incorrect hypotheses to be revised to fit the evidence.\u00a0 So if I had to worship something or someone, I\u2019d worship scientists (oh, and rock stars, because they\u2019re kinda awesome).<\/p>\n

I consider myself a strong atheist (as the new trend is to divide atheists according to levels of disbelief). What this means to me is that I am absolutely certain that neither the cruel Abrahamic god nor any other god that we can imagine exists.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t mean that I rule out the possibility of a higher intelligence or a concept of god that we cannot comprehend because of our own limited intelligence.\u00a0 I do not believe god is watching us, but I cannot dismiss completely the possibility that some form of higher intelligence had something to do with the beginning of life on earth.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s unlikely, but because we do not yet have an adequate explanation for this phenomenon, I cannot dismiss such a possibility outright.<\/p>\n

Aside from being an atheist, there are many philosophical concepts that I find compelling, such as material agnosticism, hard determinism, and even solipsism.\u00a0 But these are completely irrelevant to the prospect of living.\u00a0 If I perceive that a material world exists and I have free will, then I have no choice but to act according to that perception.\u00a0 And my philosophical musings amount to no more than mental masturbation \u2014 nothing more, nothing less.<\/p>\n

Some will argue that atheists are smarter than theists.\u00a0 I do not believe this at all.\u00a0 I\u2019ve met some theists who are absolutely brilliant, and I do not think that the belief in god (or in any other supernatural phenomenon, for that matter) makes a person somehow less bright.\u00a0 A decent discussion of this issue can be found here:http:\/\/leftword.blogdig.net\/archives\/articles\/February2010\/27\/Are_Atheists_Smarter_Than_Theists__.html<\/a>.\u00a0 And yes, it\u2019s sometimes true that IQ tests tend to like atheists a little bit better.\u00a0 But the difference is so negligible as to be insignificant and within the margin of error.\u00a0 That is if you believe that IQ tests actually measure intelligence, which I don\u2019t. The religious and the supersticious can be just as smart as atheists, if not smarter.<\/p>\n

Before I finish my babbling, I\u2019d like to mention one more thing \u2014 the significant overlap between skepticism and atheism.\u00a0 Skepticism is basically just another word for critical thinking; more specifically, it is the application of the scientific method to test supernatural claims \u2014 such as dowsing, psychic readings, numerolory, ghost sightings, crop circles, various forms of medical quackery, etc.\u00a0 Obviously, some of these practices can be more harmful than others (anti-vaccine advocacy, for instance).\u00a0 It is also interesting to note that if a supernatural claim were proved, it would no longer be supernatural, as it would then fall within the scope of the natural:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cVFMTBcMBRs<\/a>.\u00a0 As Tim Minchin and others have quipped, \u201cWhat do you call alternative medicine that works?\u00a0 Medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

I do not believe in the supernatural, so I am, by definition, a skeptic as well as an atheist.\u00a0 But there are atheists who are not skeptics, as well as skeptics who are not atheists.\u00a0 One does not necessarily imply the other.\u00a0 (I would also like to take this opportunity to briefly point out that skepticism has nothing to do with gender differences, nontraditional gender roles, sexuality, the effect of hormones on fetus development, transvestism, gender dysphoria, trans-sexuality, makeup artistry, creativity, or unique fashion statements.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure this is patently obvious to everyone, but just in case it isn\u2019t, it should be.\u00a0 I\u2019m only mentioning it because I\u2019ve recently seen a so-called \u201cskeptic\u201d attack someone for wearing makeup because he thought it was unnatural, as well as state that trans-sexuality isn\u2019t possible \u2014 all on the grounds that he was a \u201cskeptic.\u201d\u00a0 But this isn\u2019t skepticism;\u00a0 it\u2019s ignorance.)<\/p>\n

In conclusion, I\u2019d like to say that I\u2019ve met many fascinating people who hold all sorts of beliefs that may not be the same as mine.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t care less.\u00a0 In fact, knowing people who are different from me is part of what makes life interesting.\u00a0 And often, we learn things from people when we least expect to.\u00a0 I respect people who are kind to others regardless of race, sexual orientation, nationality, \u201cIQ\u201d score, or belief system.\u00a0 The only requirement for my respect is that people don\u2019t intentionally hurt each other.\u00a0 Otherwise, people should be what they wish to be, without having some doctrine forced on them.\u00a0 As atheists and\/or skeptics, I think it\u2019s particularly important to set a good example \u2014 one of peace, acceptance, tolerance, secular morality, and love.\u00a0 I know that sounds hokey, but so be it.\u00a0 Cue John Lennon\u2019s Imagine:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=okd3hLlvvLw<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What follows is a Facebook note I wrote a few years ago. I’m not sure I agree with everything I said in it now. But regardless, it lays out a good introduction for some of the issues I plan to discuss in this blog.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t an essay, or some sort of post-grad assignment where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20],"tags":[36,82,101,157,169],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism","category-skepticism","tag-atheism-2","tag-facebook-notes","tag-hard-determinism","tag-religion-2","tag-skepticism-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/skepticallyleft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}