Thought Sparkk

The true problem with the christian idea of ultimate justice is that it does NOTHING to alleviate the suffering of individuals in the here and now.  do you really think a rape victim can find comfort knowing that in 40 years when their rapist dies that THEN they will be punished?  does it comfort the family of a murdered father to know that somewhere down the road he will pay for his crimes?  well to a degree, i suppose it could bring a bit of vengeful comfort to them, yes.  but when you are talking about an all powerful and all knowing deity who is said to be the most fair, the most loving, and the most powerful, then even we as humans can clearly see that this method is not good enough.  It sounds good when you wrap it in flowery words and you preach it in a poetic way, but think about it.  OK, let's say an on-duty police officer is walking down the street one night.  He walks past an alleyway.  As he turns his head, he sees a woman being dragge...

"In Mark 14:12 the day before Jesus’ crucifixion is the Day of Preparation for the Passover meal which was eaten after dark that night.  Jesus’ group ate the Passover that night and Judas went from that Passover meal to betray Jesus.  Jesus was arrested late in the night, tried in the morning and led off to be crucified at 9:00 A.M. (Mark 15:25). John’s event is very different from Mark.  Jesus has a last meal but it is not the Passover and Jesus does not institute the Lord’s supper as he does in Mark.  Jesus is crucified on the Day of Preparation with the Passover that night after his death (John 18:28 and 19:14).  John has Jesus die at 3:00 P.M. when they are sacrificing the Passover lambs in the Temple.  Then the lambs are taken home and cooked for the meal that night." Source Which gospel tells the truth?  Do either of them tell the truth?  He couldn't have died both before and after the Passover so logically either one or both have to b...

A young christian woman asks the question "Without god, how can you have any morality?"  Most of the audience laughs since they have heard this a million times.  But it is NOT a stupid question, it is a very good and difficult question.  I reminded the audience that many atheistic philosophers agree with the assumption of her question. They agree that without God there are no objective moral facts. In fact, one-third of philosophers think there are no objective moral facts. That’s no laughing matter. This is a paraphrasing of a blog post that I think really hits the nail on the head when dealing with this question from theists.  The main part to look at is in the second to last sentence.  "..there are no OBJECTIVE moral facts."  That, right there, is the basis of this question being asked.  You see, even from my own christian upbringing, I can say that this is the reason why Christians do not trust the morality of atheists and those without an absolu...

I frequently hear, people calling atheism a religion.  *sigh*  No.  It isn't.  Here is why: Definition of "religion":  a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. Definition of "atheism": disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods. Atheism, even by its simple etymology "a - (lack of), theism - (belief in the existence of a god or gods)", it is simply the rejection of the theistic claim.  Theism makes the claim that a god exists.  Atheism is simply not accepting the claim.  That simple.  Someone who golfs, takes part in a sport.  Golf Is a sport.  Someone who does not golf simply does not take part in this particular sport.  They are not taking part in their own "non-...

Comment I saw on a blog post: "When I taught school, we had a Tornado warning and had to get under the desks. One 8th grader asked me if he could pray and read his Bible. Another student said "You can't do that in school." My response was "Every student has the right to pray independently, and you may read the Bible during this time if you wish." That child brought God to school with him, and shared his belief as well without infringing on the rights of anyone else. That's what it is all about." Not sure if this is a true story or not, but regardless, THIS right here is what atheism activism fights for.  It isn't as many Christians say, that we are trying to destroy their religion or force them to stop practicing.  Of course we aren't.  I ask you to please stop perpetuating this lie.  At least let me try to spell out what the goal is.  Public schools are  government funded institutions, and there is a separation of church and stat...

There is a prevailing area of discourse in regards to the reaction of men towards breastfeeding mothers where the men take the staunch position of "keep that private! it is disgusting to do in public!".  This needs to change.  This entire view of breastfeeding needs to change.  I would, however, like to offer maybe some form of information on HOW these ideas could come about.  I'm sure this isn't all encompassing and people arrive at their conclusions through many different ways.  Instead, this is my experience and assessment only. It is a very easy mentality to fall into as a male.  Sadly, I did as well for a long time until I actually thought about it and engaged with women who deal with it.  Men's experience with the topic tends to be very limited or non-existent, many times through no fault of their own.  We don't breastfeed.  We don't have any utility or purpose for breasts other than sexualit...

"People become wedded to their beliefs, because the validity of those beliefs reflects on their competence, commends them as authorities, and rationalizes their mandate to lead.  Challenge a person’s beliefs and you challenge his dignity, stand, and power.  And when those beliefs are based on nothing but faith, they are chronically fragile.  No one gets upset about the belief that rocks fall down as opposed to up because all sane people can see it with their own eyes.  Not so for the belief that babies are born with original sin or that god exists in three persons or that Ali was the second-most divinely inspired man after Muhammad.  When people organize their lives around these beliefs and then learn of other people who seem to be doing just fine without them – or worse, who credibly rebut them – they are in danger of looking like fools.  Since one cannot defend a belief based on faith by persuading skeptics it is true, the faithful are apt to react to un...