Atheism Rocks
416 
- Profile views: 26,796
- Group created: October 2006
- www.bebo.com/Atheism-Rocks
- Tagline
- Bebo’s First and Favourite discussion page for Atheists, Agnostics and Freethinkers!
- Me, Myself, and I
- Atheism: The lack of belief in any theistic deity.
Atheist: An individual who has a lack of theistic belief. This can manifest as anything from a simple lack of faith to direct intellectual opposition to theistic viewpoint.
Atheists are not necessarily nihilists or anti-religion.
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Welcome to Atheism Rocks! Bebo’s original discussion page for Atheists and those who wish to discuss religious aspects, philosophy or ethics.
All are welcome to come and contribute to a mature debate. However, those who conduct themselves in a disreputable or disrespectful manner will have posts deleted. Persistent offenders will be reported.
Due to location and upbringing, the majority of our moderators and regular contributors have a wider knowledge of Christianity than any other major religion. Thus, debate tends to focus on theism, deism and aspects of Christianity. However we will still happily debate any other religion.
Enjoy!
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READ BLOG BEFORE VOTING. Which of the below are you:
- Atheist, but believe "something" may be out there, creator, being, thing or otherwise.
- Atheist, and A- everything else too. The universe is governed by maths and science.
- "Atheist" but "Religious". Agree with church because I believe that society requires it to function.
- Religious, but only because it makes me happy. Don't like to think about the intricacies.
- Theist, but not "Religious" as such. Believe a personal god exists, but disagree with church etc.
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Worst aspect of modern day Christianity:
- Televangelism
- Leaflets thrusted in your face
- Youth Clubs
- Childrens Bible (with illustrations)
- The teaching of Religious Education in schools
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- Strong Theist - I know there is a God
- Theist - I think there is a God
- Agnostic - I'm not sure either way
- Atheist - I don't think there is a God
- Strong Atheist - I know there is no God
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Auf Weidersehen!
Hey guys,
This is going to be my last post on Bebo. In recent months I've basically grown tired with the whole show and frankly can't be arsed with it any more, so I've decided to delete my account.
In spite of this, I want to thank all the contributors to this page, Atheists, Theists and fence sitters alike! I've enjoyed coming here as much as I have moderating it, and it's only been thanks to this page that I've kept my membership to Bebo going as long as I have. I especially want to thank any of the members (if there are still any of you out there) who were here when I first arrived as a Christian, something like two years ago. This page was pivotal in my deconversion from Christianity and I'd like to thank you all for helping me.
I'll get in touch with Christopher, the other moderator, at some point and he'll figure out where the group is going to go next. Odds are there will probably be one or two new moderators being made but that probably won't happen until June since he has to deal with exams soon.
Anyway, thanks again, I've enjoyed the discussions and feel like I've learned a lot from all of you. If anyone still wants to talk to me, you can find me on Facebook at http://hs.facebook.com/profile.php?i...
See ya!
Chris Barrett
Moderator, Atheism Rocks, 2008-20092 Comments 227 days
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Bible's Broken
It's been a couple of weeks since anything new appeared in the blog so I thought I'd stick up something random.
Basically, call me a nerd (I won't deny it), but I am a massive fan of the all too short-lived Sci-fi TV series, Firefly. If you've never heard of it (and a lot in the UK haven't; I think it was cancelled before it ever got aired here) then just ask yourself "Did I like Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" If the answer is yes, then buy Firefly. They're both written by the same guy, Joss Whedon, who incidentally this year received the Harvard University Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism, so if you liked Buffy you'll like this.
Anyway, there was a scene from one episode, Jaynestown which I constantly find hilarious, so I though I'd share it with you lot. For background on the characters, Book is a Shepherd, sort of like a priest or preacher in the world the series is set. River is an incredibly intelligent, yet brain damaged, teenaged girl who can read minds.
(River sits at the dining table. Book's Bible is open in front of her, and she scribbles furiously into it, crossing out words, writing in the margins. Book walks in, speaks from across the room)
BOOK: What are we up to, sweetheart?
RIVER: Fixing your Bible.
BOOK: I...uh... What?
(He starts moving over to her)
RIVER: Bible's broken. Contradictions, faulty logistics, it doesn't make sense...
(Now Book sees what she's doing. His Bible's all messed up, and there's a small stack of torn out pages next to it)
BOOK: No, no, you can't...
(River's still scribbling away as she chatters manically)
RIVER: So we'll integrate non-progressional evolution theory with God's creation of Eden...eleven inherent metaphoric parallels already there...eleven, important number, prime number, one goes into the house of eleven eleven times but always comes out one-
BOOK: River, just take it easy. You shouldn't-
RIVER: Noah's Ark is a problem...
(She flips a page back and forth, frowning at it)
BOOK: Really.
RIVER: (nods rapidly) We'll have to call it early quantum state phenomenon...Only way to fit five-thousand species of mammal on the same boat...
(She tears the page out of the book)
BOOK: Gimme that!
(Book snatches the Bible up, somewhat possessively)
BOOK: River! You don't fix the Bible!
(River looks up at him, sweet, sincere, deadpan)
RIVER: (holds up torn out pages) It's broken. It doesn't make sense.
BOOK: It's not about making sense. It's about believing in something, and letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It's about 'faith'. (gets up) You don't fix faith, River. It fixes you.
(He smiles, trying to gently take the crumpled, torn-out pages from her hand. She tugs back. They have a short tug-of-war then Book relents)
BOOK: Why don't you, ah, you hang on to those then.
Take from it what you will. I think it's a scene where you can find something to agree with regardless of your religious persuasion.26 Comments 262 days
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Vatican Buries the Hatchet with Charles Darwin
The Vatican has admitted that Charles Darwin was on the right track when he claimed that Man descended from apes.
A leading official declared yesterday that Darwin’s theory of evolution was compatible with Christian faith, and could even be traced to St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. “In fact, what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God,” said Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The Vatican also dealt the final blow to speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might be prepared to endorse the theory of Intelligent Design, whose advocates credit a “higher power” for the complexities of life.
Organisers of a papal-backed conference next month marking the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species said that at first it had even been proposed to ban Intelligent Design from the event, as “poor theology and poor science”. Intelligent Design would be discussed at the fringes of the conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University, but merely as a “cultural phenomenon”, rather than a scientific or theological issue, organisers said.
The conference is seen as a landmark in relations between faith and science. Three years ago advocates of Intelligent Design seized on the Pope’s reference to an “intelligent project” as proof that he favoured their views.
Conceding that the Church had been hostile to Darwin because his theory appeared to conflict with the account of creation in Genesis, Archbishop Ravasi argued yesterday that biological evolution and the Christian view of Creation were complementary.
Marc Leclerc, who teaches natural philosophy at the Gregorian University, said that no scholar could “remain indifferent” to the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth tomorrow. There was, however, “no question of celebrating” it.
The Vatican would “take the measure of an event, which has left its mark for ever on the history of science and has influenced the way we understand our humanity”. The “time has come for a rigorous and objective valuation” of Darwin by the Church, he said.
Professor Leclerc said that too many opponents of Darwin – above all Creationists – had mistakenly claimed that his theories were “totally incompatible with a religious vision of reality”, as did proponents of Intelligent Design.
Darwin’s theories had never been formally condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, Monsignor Ravasi insisted. His rehabilitation had begun as long ago as 1950, when Pius XII described evolution as a valid scientific approach to the development of humans. In 1996 John Paul II said that it was “more than a hypothesis”.
Father Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Santa Croce University in Rome, said that Darwin had been anticipated by St Augustine of Hippo. The 4th-century theologian had “never heard the term evolution, but knew that big fish eat smaller fish” and that forms of life had been transformed “slowly over time”. Aquinas had made similar observations in the Middle Ages, he added.
He said it was time that theologians as well as scientists grappled with the mysteries of genetic codes and “whether the diversification of life forms is the result of competition or cooperation between species”. As for the origins of Man, although we shared 97 per cent of our “genetic inheritance” with apes, the remaining 3 per cent “is what makes us unique”, including religion.
“I maintain that the idea of evolution has a place in Christian theology,” Professor Tanzella-Nitti added.
Creationism remains powerful in the US, however, notably among Protestants, and its followers object to evolution being taught in state schools.
The Church of England is seeking to bring Darwin back into the fold with a page on its website paying tribute to his “forgotten” work in his local parish, to illustrate how science and Church need not be at odds. Several pages ce12 Comments 288 days
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Challenge Your Beliefs
by
Imtiaz Latif
Athiests challange your beliefs, read this book!!1 Reply 7 weeks
Prophesy book regarding the coming of the antichrist worth £12 from Amazon.com yours FREE to download in e-book format as kindly provided by the author, Michael Mullen, a true story.
Download page is below
http://www.waroftheangels.org/orderp...
Save it to ur desktop, and read! -
Were/are atheists persecuted?
by
Al-Khorazhamann
The following is a completely inaccurate account of the persecution of atheists throughout history, as made up on the spot without any reference whatsoever by me, an uneducated schoolkid. Discuss.1 Reply 12 weeks
Okay, in the east the Jews arrived.
Jews kill atheists
Jews kill atheists
Jews kill some other religion
Jews kill atheists
Then, in Rome...
Romans kill atheists
Romans kill political enemies
Romans kill atheists
In Germany
Pagans kill atheists
Pagans kill atheists
Pagans kill Roman scout
Pagans kill rival tribe
Back with the Jews
Jews help God smite some city
Egyptians kill Jews
Egyptians kill atheists
Jews kill Egyptians
Jews kill atheists
Settlers and prisoners in Rome (especially the coliseum)
Romans kill Jews
Romans kill Pagans
Romans kill Atheists
Christianity appears wherever the Jews are
Jews kill Christians
Jews killa theists
And go to Rome
Romans kill atheists
Romans kill Christians
Islam also appears
Muslims kill Jews
Jews kill Christians
Christians kill Muslims
Jews kill Muslims
Muslims kill Christians
Christians kill Jews
The Romans go adventuring
Romans kill Pagans
Romans kill Pagans
Romans kill atheists
Fast forward a few hundred years, and they’re at it again. Except now they’re Christians, and eager to ditch those who can’t keep with the times
Christians kill Romans
Christians kill Pagans
Christians kill Atheists
Pagans kill Atheists
Christians kill Pagans
Fast forward a lot, the Middle Ages
Christians kill atheists
Christians kill Pagans
Christians kill atheists
Christians kill Jews
Christians kill Muslims
Christians kill Atheists
Let’s go crusading
Christians kill atheists
Muslims kill Christians
Muslims kill atheists
Christians kill Muslims
Muslims kill Jews
Christians kill Pagans
Jews kill atheists
And now for the Nazis, the Romans and last Pagans unite, except now they’re both Christian
Christians kill atheists
Christians kill Jews
Christians kill Jews
Christians kill Jews
Christians kill Christians
Christians kill Jews
Christians kill Jews
Christians kill atheists
Christians kill Muslims
Stalin
Atheists kill Christians
Christians kill atheists
Atheists kill Christians
And therefore everyone hates atheists. Because it is the Jews and the Christians who are prosecuted, and of course, everyone knows that we’re evil. It’s in the Bible. It says: atheists are bad. It says: Jews kill atheists. Christians kill atheists. It says: Poor, poor us.
That was completely pointless. But I thought it might make you think. And I was bored.
Now discuss already. -
A Response To 'Why?'
by
Mattsterpiece
"1. Demonstrate good evidence for why there is a god of any kind at all."0 Replys 29 weeks
I find this much easier than the question that I will be addressing next, but nevertheless, there is overwhelming evidence for both.
I'll keep this brief, which will be quite the pain, as I'm generally very in-depth.
Starting off, I'd like to appeal to the Kalaam Cosmological Argument. Many people have confused this argument with a 'God of the Gaps' tactic, but this is a legitimate argument with very splendid deductive reasoning.
In short, it notes that anything that begins to exist has a cause. Then it notes that it is scientifically proven that the universe had a beginning. From this, it follows that the universe has a cause. Since time and space began with the universe, the cause ultimately has to transcend time and space, making the cause immaterial as well, with energy beginning with the universe. Ultimately, this accomplishes the task of providing good support for belief in some sort of Creator.
Then you have Contingency arguments to consider, as I call them, or as they are more commonly known as, Fine-Tuning observations.
Simply put, God is the most plausible, most reasonable, explanation for the initial conditions of the universe being perfect for life to exist. God is the best explanation when considering the scientific principle of Occam's Razor, and when considering hypothetical scenarios with the same sort of determinations. The probability of the initial conditions being just right for life to ever be able to come about anywhere in the universe are so incomprehensibly low, that you couldn't out the numbers in full with a free schedule.
This succeeds in providing excellent support for belief in a Creator, and even a personal Creator at that. A Creator that finely tuned the universe for life to exist.
Then you have the reality of Wave-Particle Duality. In short, a conscious observer is necessary for the wave-function of matter to be collapsed. Even more, the wave-function of matter, which we are made up of by the way, needed to be collapsed for conscious beings within the universe (that being us) to come about. Universal matter that was in a wave-function could not have enabled life to exist. Ultimately, a conscious being that transcends time and space, a being 'outside' the universe so to speak, is necessary for us to exist.
Now, with that out of the way, I must point out that any evidence for a particular faith contending a particular God, is proof for God in general. This is obvious though.
"2. THEN demonstrate why it must be the one YOU believe in."
Well, I don't feel any reason to make God out to be something I know much about. I know that God essentially transcends time and space and is immaterial, but I have already gone on to show this in addressing the former question. I believe in the God of Christianity, and I believe there is overwhelming evidence for that.
First and foremost, there are vast historical facts concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I can only hope that you already accept that Jesus Christ did at least exist historically, as any legitimate historian will tell you this. Well, the Christian group, a faith founded by Jesus Christ, seems to have done everything it could to not succeed, and upset every social norm in the Greco-Roman world that it possibly could. Bare in mind that social discrimination was at its pinnacle in this time. This is where a key argument lies.
Jesus ultimately has three strikes against him, as a man claiming to be of Messiah status. These strikes are the following:
1. Jesus was a Jew.
First off, being a Jew would have obviously been a major handicap for Jesus, as several Romans/Gentiles regarded Judaism as nothing more than false superstition.
What you may not expect though, is that it would have also made it virtually impossible for Jesus to appeal to....the Jews. As strange as that may sound, consider Galatians 3:13, where th
I prefer nice ass
Yeah I mean that's just... uncanny. Isn't as cool as when there were 666 members, that was badass.
ZOMG 911
DO IT FAGGOT
Wow. I'm the only moderator. I could fuck all 911 of you and delete the group. Hahhaa.
But I won't do that!
Come children! Dress for the Sabbath!
I'm going to... I'm going to stare at these lemons....
Sarah, cancel all my appointments.
OH BOY
I CAN'T WAIT TO BOMB SOME DODONGOS
Bazinga.
Or not...
See above. It is on in the photo comments.
Fuck this is way better than intellectual debate.
Actually yes, believe it or not.
I have to make a cd that correlates in its lyrical relevance with a novel I've been reading.
My work is fun, but it's abundant, especially in my American History class.
Bitch has money for a catflap, but not for the Mac Daddy? After I bought you those fuckin' airbags, this is how you repair me, with a fuckin' catflap? I'm gonna cut you, bitch.
Matt, overwhelmed? Surely not
We appear to have accumulated a pimp... I keep saying we need to get a lock for that catflap, but they just don't listen.
"In other news, what's kept you?"
Well, I've been loaded with a good deal of college work. I never imagined it would be so overwhelming.
I'm not Jasper Rapely anymore. I'm Lester the Pimp.
Lester.
The.
Pimp.
Aaaaaah yeah!
And the really evil thing is that Atheists eat unbaptised babies, which are filthy in the eyes of the LORD.
Fun fact atheists don't bother with that, we eat them whole
FUN FACT doctors kill babies.
Well they were followers of Christ
I would say they were the Christians of that time, at least to an extent.
In other news, what's kept you?