harrystottle's favorite atheism pages, page 1

Last login: 13 hours agoHarrystottle: Harry is a guy from Bristol, England, UK.; Likes 3,770 pages, 126 videos, 20 photos • 95 fans • Received 13 reviews; Member since Oct 03, 2005

Favorites » His atheism pages

My Abstinence Education & de-conversion: Jul 29, 1:48am 4 reviews ethics, religion, atheism
http://de-conversion.com/2008/04/19/my-abstinence-education/; Key Phrase: "Jesus gave me the perfect excuse to hold onto a juvenile morality"

First, congratulations to the author for breaking the spell. She has done a great service by illuminating the inner reasoning going on in the religious mind. Her words will help convert/de-convert far more believers than the atheist site I was bitching about last night.

I'll have to expand on this elsewhere but in that one sentence you see the root of the self deception required to sustain religious belief.

If that was where it stopped, religion would be pathetic but harmless, but it's what happens next that causes religion to become a social poison. The self deceivers feel obligated to spread the deception. Hence, for example the drive to "public prayer" (coincidentally discussed by the very next story I stumbled) which is a naked and naive attempt at social conditioning.

They also feel disturbed and challenged by the very public activities of those who haven't chosen their narrow path. They feel compelled either to make those challenges invisible (by shutting themselves away from the data) or impossible (by persuading governments to enact laws which support their fears and prejudice).

This is the single most important source of the major ongoing conflicts around the world.

Freethought Today, April 2003: Jul 21, 3:11pm 18 reviews atheism, neuropolitics
http://ffrf.org/fttoday/2003/april/index.php?ft=sapolsky; excellent and a fitting follow on from this (and, of course, the story I was commenting on). He too doesn't dare explicitly go for genetic determinism though he makes a sound case for the genetic advantages of behaving like a shaman - providing you're a rare and effective one. I particularly like this because it fits well with Graham Hancocks vision of Drugs at the Dawn of Religion and dovetails neatly with theories about schizotypes being both more affected by hallucinogens and more attracted to them.

He also makes a reasonable stab at connecting OCD with the birth and practice of Religious Ritual though not as convincingly as the Shaman story.

The question he avoids is by far the most important. OK, so we know what produces the mad visionaries who get crucified or dig up gold plates with secret writing on them; and we might have an explanation for the religious ritual. But we're surely not arguing that the 70-90% (the proportion of the human species who STILL profess religious belief) are either schizotypal or OCD. So wtf explains why they have fallen hook line and sinker for the bullshit peddled by the nutters?

That, of course, is the question answered by the first story I stumbled in this vein (the link above). This neuropolitics shit is beginning to look interesting...

http://www.fullmoon.nu/images/automotivator.jpg: Jul 16, 3:45pm 1 review photography, atheism
http://www.fullmoon.nu/images/automotivator.jpg; My first attempt at one of "Automotivator" s Atheist Motivational posters. Works for me...

Wealth and Religiosity | Edward de Leau: May 13, 1:52pm 7 reviews economics, religion, atheism, transhumanism, liberty
http://edward.de.leau.net/wealth-and-religiosity-20080415.html; hmmm... veeerry interesting... specially the second graph which makes a lot of sense even without understanding their terms: secular/rational - traditional values= 1 axis: Survival values - Self expression is the other. Bizarre without reading a justification, which I haven't. Yet. Nevertheless, the groupings jump out at you and seem to be rational. Better go and find out wtf they're talking about I spose...

...well, what he's talking about is definitely on my wavelength but I fear he's indulging in a little wishful thinking. I agree that the religious meme is now well into its dotage and will not survive the singularity. The problem is that they have the power to prevent us surviving it as well. And once they truly understand its implications, they will no doubt quickly develop the intent. This is one of many reasons we need to wrest control from them - with the mechanisms of true democracy and Trusted Surveillance - as soon as is physically possible. If, as I suspect, they will force us to war, we must try to fight it on our terms and territory, not theirs...

sfwChan Top Humor - Seriously Funny Pictures and Images: May 10, 2:54pm 92 reviews atheist, evolution, democracy, atheism
http://www.sfwchan.com/index.php?id=355; what we have to come to terms with here is that this IS representative of the People. This, unfortunately, constitutes one of the most potent arguments against democracy...

Cardinal says Britain must not be a God-free zone | World news | The Guardian: May 9, 4:21am 1 review religion, atheism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/09/catholicism.religion; More on the Cardinal's ramblings: This is a man clearly unencumbered by rational thought or philosophy:

"What did we do to generate unbelief?"

Consider the full meaning of that question. It implies that we have to "do" something in order to prevent belief in something for which there has never been any evidence. If so, we would all wake up every day believing something new and equally untenable because nobody had stepped in to prevent our false beliefs.

"We need to examine what we might have done to give people a misleading idea of God."

This is beautiful. Almost childlike in its naive simplicity. It implies that there is, or can be, a non-misleading idea of God. And, of course, there are thousands. My personal favourite is the FSM, which, I think, captures the essential strands of the religious world view in its most literally palatable form; particularly if you add a touch of pesto and parmesan...

The Daily Mash - ATHEISTS ARE NICE PEOPLE WHO WILL ROAST IN HELL, SAYS CARDINAL: May 9, 2:00am 9 reviews religion, satire, atheism
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/atheists-are-nice-people-who-wil...; appropriate response to this...

The Book of Creation: Apr 28, 2:03am 88 reviews satire, atheism
http://baetzler.de/humor/book_of_creation.var; tres amusant. Almost reminds me (in its style) of The Boomer Bible, which has a special place in our communal reading room. (i.e. Bathroom/Toilet/WC/Bowel evaction chamber or whatever euphemism you favour)