Author Archive for StaksPage 3 of 16

Security Guard at the Reagan Trade Center

Published
by
Staks
on March 30, 2012
.

When I first got to the Reason Rally, my brother and I were very early. We got there at about 7:30am. So we decided to look for breakfast. I remembered that there was a food court in the Ronald Reagan Trade Center, so we went in there. When we got there, a security guard had asked us what the rally was about. I have to admit that despite my Dangerous Talk shirt, American Atheists pendent, and American Humanist Association wristband, I still tried to hide in the closet.

I remember telling the guard something about secular values. I might have mentioned Humanism, but I certainly didn’t use the dreaded “A” word. I had to make a calculation on that, and I calculated incorrectly.

In any case, after we ate and were heading out, the same guard was talking to three other atheists who were not as shy about the “A” word as I was. They told him in no uncertain terms that the Reason Rally was for atheists and that we don’t believe in God. This started an interesting discussion that I jumped in on.

The guard was asking us all kinds of other questions about the goal of the Reason Rally, if we had any values, if we wanted to “convert” people to atheism, if atheism was a religion, etc. His questions were inquisitive and not argumentative. However, he had a constant smirk on his face as if he knew something we didn’t.

Surprise, surprise, I did know what he “knew.” His smirk was that of a fundamentalist Christian who “knows” God exists and that we are all going to Hell to be tortured for all eternity. Still, he was polite enough and so the group treated him nicely and respectfully. We answered his questions cheerfully and I have to give credit to the girl from Philadelphia who took lead on the conversation. She was awesome.

When I first came to the Reagan Trade Center, I still felt like I lived in a Christian dominated world and so I wasn’t as outspoken as I should have been. The guard was looking for an argument, but in the end he just got respectful answers to his questions.

Part of the theme of the Reason Rally is to get us to stop hiding in the closet. While I am definitely out of the closet, there are times that I make the calculation to go back into the closet and avoid confrontational conversations with people I don’t wish to offend. But this example is one which shows that having the conversation is better.

Sure, the religious believer might be offended, but if that happens we should just make it clear that our intent isn’t to offend. Instead, we should be respectfully inquisitive. The conversation with the guard could have gone in many different ways. I think it went in the best possible direction and that is largely because we were all friendly, direct, and respectful. We didn’t mean to offend and so I don’t think the guard was offended.

Still, not all conversations with the religious should be this way. There is a time for respect and a time for ridicule. This was an example of the former.

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Bill O’Reilly’s ‘Reporter’ at the Reason Rally

Published
by
Staks
on March 29, 2012
.

There are lots of different stories that I want to tell about my experience at the Reason Rally. Today’s story is about Bill O’Reilly’s reporter. Yeah, Papa Bear himself sent a reporter to our rally to interview atheists.

My brother and I were wondering around the Rally much of the time and I remember as we were coming out of the Organization Tent and heading up the side toward the stage, we saw a television crew. I’m a bit of a media gigolo, so I had to go over there.

The “reporter” was talking to a young couple about various topics. There were two cameras on the couple both of which were facing away from the crowd. I actually didn’t notice this until someone pointed it out to me. But then there it was the obvious spin in the “No Spin Zone.”

The couple on camera seemed to be pretty intelligent people who were obviously knowledgeable about atheism. The interviewer on the other hand asked leading questions clearly from a fundamentalist perspective and his smug grin was extremely unprofessional.

I know my way around the media and I don’t recall reporters spending 15 minutes or more on a single interview like this guy did. Usually reporters want a sampling, so they have a few questions that they ask as many people as they can find. This “reporter” wanted to argue with the couple about philosophy and theology.

As I watched what was going on, it became clear to me that he was trying to get the couple to say something he could edit and turn into his story. He was basically giving them space to talk with the intent of taking their positions out of context to fit his narrative. It is no surprise that I later learned he was from Bill O’Reilly’s show.

I don’t know if it aired on “The Factor” yet because I don’t watch the show. But I am sure the spin will be misleading and that the editors did their job to make smart people sound stupid. That is new for them though since they usually spend a lot of time making a stupid person sound smart… and usually failing to success.

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Closeted Christians

Published
by
Staks
on March 28, 2012
.

One of the most amazing things about the Reason Rally was it was like opposite day. Atheists had no fear in expressing our atheism. We didn’t have to hide from anyone. Christians on the other hand, were often the ones afraid to come out of the closet.

There are four different groups of Christians at the Reason Rally. The first group was the street preachers. These guys are used to being the lone wacko since they are pretty far out there even for Christians. So they had no problem being open about their ridiculous beliefs.

The second group was the Westboro Baptist Church people. Surprisingly the Phelps were a little shy at the Reason Rally. They showed up toward the end and hung out blocks away from the Rally. While I wouldn’t go as far as saying they were closeted, they certainly weren’t their usual selves. It seemed like they were afraid. Personally, I think they were afraid of Nate Phelps, their son who was speaking at the Rally as an atheist. Maybe Fred just didn’t want the kiddies to hear their brother speak.

The third group was the True Reason people. They are fundamentalist Christians who posted on their website that they would be going to the Reason Rally to hand out water and proselytize. They even informed the media of their intention. I wrote an article about them on Examiner and was looking forward to seeing them. What a letdown, they were hiding in the closet.

My brother, ShaunPhilly, and I walked right past them and ShaunPhilly didn’t even know they were Christians. I told him who they were and he suggested that we talk to them. They looked really bored, so I agreed. There were only three of them and they really needed us to get them into a conversation. I should add that they were across the street from the Rally too.

It seemed to me that “True Reason” was a little afraid of all the atheists. They had pamphlets (not books as promised on their website), but they weren’t really giving them out. They were just handing out water to people without coming out as Christians. I thought the whole point of them being there was to proselytize. That’s kind of hard to do when no one knows you are even a Christian. They weren’t even wearing Christian t-shirts.

Then there was the final group of believers. Those were the people who were completely in the closet. Yeah, there were Christians who were walking around the Reason Rally afraid to come out, but curious about the Rally. I talked to one on Twitter, so I know they were there. There were probably not very Christians of this sort, but there is no way to tell because they were completely closeted. Too bad too, because they would have had some great conversations with people if they had just come out and told an atheist that they were a curious Christian. We wouldn’t have eaten them or anything and we certainly wouldn’t have told them that they deserve to be tortured for all eternity for their ridiculous beliefs. We would almost certainly had a nice pleasant conversation with them.

I don’t want Christians in the closet; I just don’t want them to be dicks.

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Under Reporting Our Numbers

Published
by
Staks
on March 27, 2012
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I know where I got my numbers from the Reason Rally, but I have no idea where everyone else is getting their numbers from. Some sources are reporting as little as 5000 people. My source said over 30k. Most sources are reporting 20k or 25k. Why is the media trying to under report our numbers?

While the numbers don’t really matter too much since everyone who came had an awesome time and atheists who couldn’t make it will be watching clips on YouTube or getting the DVD in the coming weeks, it does seem like the narrative that the media wants to paint is that the Reason Rally was a failure. It wasn’t!

I have never been to a rally like this before, so I have no idea how to judge crowd size. But the National Mall Park Service does and they were telling people in the organization tent that it looked like more than 30k people. I also asked some friends who have been to huge rallies before and they told me that it looked like about 25k to 30k to them.

Does the media just make up these numbers? Where are they getting their information from? Interestingly enough, the more religious the media outlet, the less people apparently showed up for the Reason Rally. The smallest numbers came from the most religious outlets with the Religious News Service reporting 8 to 10 thousand people.

The Religious News Service is pretty liberal too, so this isn’t conservative spin, it is religious spin. The religious (even the liberal religious) are afraid of us. They are afraid that they are losing ground and that atheism is on the rise. They see it, every poll and survey shows it, but they still want to pretend that it isn’t happening.

Religion is dying! They know it too. The Reason Rally is a sign that atheist is on the rise and that it is only a matter of time. But we have to keep the pressure on. We have to keep spreading doubt and getting people to think. We have to continue to push for more critical thinking and give people the tools of logic. We have to continue to be outspoken about our lack of belief in ridiculous ideas. The time is now!

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Reason Rally Was Awesome!

Published
by
Staks
on March 26, 2012
.

The Reason Rally was awesome! But you already knew that. For me, the highlight was meeting so many awesome people. There were a lot of small conversations and situations that happened that I will be talking about in the coming week or so. But today I want to talk about my general experience.

My brother and I got to the Rally at 7:30am and there were just a handful of people. So we went to the Ronald Reagan Trade Center to get some breakfast in the foodcourt. On our way we met up with some atheists from Boston. When we left, we met up with some atheists from my backyard in Philly. When we got back to the Rally site at a little after 8am, the first person I saw was my favorite atheist, Fred Edwords.

For those who don’t know, I think Fred Edwords is the greatest atheist ever. Even though we are friends and technically he is my boss (since I’m the head of PhillyCoR), it is still always a thrill for me to see him. So if you ask me who the best speaker of the day was, I would have to go with Fred seconded by maybe Penn Jillette or Jessica Alhquist. But to be honest, I didn’t hear a lot of the speeches and performances but I made it a point to listen to those speeches. I figured I’d hear all the speeches either online or on the Reason Rally DVD. I wanted to focus more on meeting people on the ground and asking people where they were from and what their experiences were.

I didn’t really stay in one place like most people, but kind of just roamed around talking to people. I popped in and out of the organization tent a bit too.

It was great to meet some of my friends on facebook in person and some of the people I have been talking to for years. I would love to give shoutouts to all the people that came up to me and told me how much they love my Examiner articles. Wow, it really amazed me. I felt a little like a celebrity at times. I’m not used to that, but I do appreciate it.

There is so much to talk about. My official story on the Reason Rally is HERE. I will be talking about lots of little conversations and incidents over the next week or two.

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Find Me At The Reason Rally

Published
by
Staks
on March 22, 2012
.

I’m going to the Reason Rally and if you are reading this blog, you should be too. My plan is to drive down with my brother on Saturday and stay pretty late to party with fellow atheists. Celebrate with us.

I plan on wearing my signature Dangerous Talk shirt and if I can remember, a nametag. I’ll be hanging out mainly at the Freethought Society table and the UnitedCoR table. But I do intend to walk all over the place and stop by all the various tables. Although Christians will be there and I love to converse with them, I think I try not to do that this time around because I can do that anywhere. This is a great event because it will have so many atheists in one place and I want to talk to so many different atheists that I just don’t want to waste my time with crazy theists. I want to talk to you, so find me and say hello.

I should add that I am terrible with names, so even if I have corresponded with you a ton of times, I still might not remember your name. Don’t be offended, just remind me about some of the conversations we have had or just introduce yourself.

I probably won’t be going to the big blogger afterparty for a few reasons. First, it is only for the first 150 people and out of the 10,000 expected, the odds are that I won’t be one of those. Second, the food looks pricy and not really my taste. Third, I would rather talk to you than other bloggers. So my plan is to meet some cool people and go to a venue of our choosing.

Finally, it is supposed to rain on Saturday, so we should all chant, “Rain, rain go away and come back another day.” If enough of us chant that at the exact same time, we should be able to alter the laws of physics and stop the rain. Ready? Go! ;-)

PS No blog tomorrow. I’ll be busy getting ready for THE REASON RALLY!

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The Benefit of the Doubt

Published
by
Staks
on March 21, 2012
.

I don’t believe in original sin. As a result, I don’t treat people as if they are evil sinners right from the start. Instead, I am a Humanist and so I treat people as if they are trying to be the hero in their own story. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt unless I have a reason not to.

When someone says something that I think is wrong, I will assume that the person making the error is unaware that they are mistaken rather than assume that the person must be deliberately lying to me unless that person has a history of deliberately lying. I give people the benefit of the doubt.

People within the greater community of reason tend to be humanistic minded. They tend to be good without gods. As a result, if someone is in the greater community of reason, I am that much more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt. So if someone tells me that some prominent atheist in our community holds some crazy view, I am going to be skeptical and ask them about it. Usually, I will discover that their “crazy view” is more nuanced than others have given them credit for. They still maybe wrong, but they probably aren’t crazy or dishonest.

It seems however, that I am one of the few who do give this benefit of the doubt to people in general and those in our community in particular. Far too often, my fellow atheists label other atheist as women-haters, homophobes, anti-vaxers, racists, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I have little doubt that some people in our community fit those labels, but I think we should give people the benefit of the doubt. Most probably don’t.

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Atheists Love Drama!

Published
by
Staks
on March 20, 2012
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We almost made it, but nope. Less than a week before the Reason Rally, drama has now ensued. It seems that atheists are better at sabotaging ourselves than even the Democrats… and that is really hard to do. So instead of dealing with our common problem (i.e. the theocrats) some people in our community have decided they would rather attack other atheists and sabotage our Reason Rally in the name of purity.

The Rally is for everyone in our community and shocker, not everyone in our community likes or agrees with everyone else in our community. There are plenty of prominent atheists I think are irrational, but this Rally isn’t about me, it is about us. We all have our pet causes and pet peeves, but this Rally is not about those things. It is about our community as a whole.

Stop with the drama and let’s focus on the values we all share. Let’s focus on showing the Washington and the nation that we are here, we are godless, and we vote (or can vote)! If you have an issue with someone, take it up with them. Don’t bring your drama to the Rally. TNT knows drama and last I checked the Reason Rally will not be televised on that network.

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Atheist Purity

Published
by
Staks
on March 19, 2012
.

As we all know, the Reason Rally is next weekend and it seems that some people are upset because the purity of the atheist race will be tainted with some video speeches by people who are unreasonable about something in their lives. We all know that every speech must not only be 100% pure, but also that each speaker must be pure as well. We must all march lockstep to the Reason Rally and agree not only with everything said, but with every opinion that everyone speaking has ever helds. Anything short of that is blasphemy!

Obviously, I am being sarcastic here and if you can’t read that between the lines then you have a serious problem. However, there are people who are upset that Senator Tom Harkin, Bill Maher, and Penn Jillette will be delivering pre-recorded video speeches.

The issue with Harkin isn’t that he irrationally believes in Catholicism (which carries a host of ridiculous superstitions), but rather that both he and Maher believe in alternative medicine. It is unlikely that either will actually be talking about their views on alternative medicine or that either will have something negative to say about the audience at the Reason Rally. Instead, Harkin is presenting a nice speech welcoming people to the National Mall for our rally even though he doesn’t agree with us on every issue. Maher will undoubtedly be keeping his remarks aimed at the religious.

So why are people upset that these people are allowed to speak? Have we really gotten to the point where everyone needs to be vetted for their atheist purity? Have we learned nothing from that South Park episode featuring Richard Dawkins? Okay, forget South Park, have we learned nothing from the religious or even from history?

I get it if we wouldn’t want Rick Santorum to speak at the Rally because he would obviously say some negative crap about us as an audience and he would promote a lot of things that we as a community stand against, but we have to have some bounds of reason here. Obviously we can’t allow everyone with ridiculous ideas to speak, but there are some people who are on our side on most of the important things but disagree with some of us on a few issues.

I really think that those who have a problem with these individuals speaking really need to pause and take a deep breath. Is it really reasonable to be upset that some people speaking might not agree with you 100% on every single issue?

We are a diverse movement and we have diverse opinions on a diverse range of issues. Let Harkin, Maher, and Jillette speak. They aren’t even speaking about the issues you take issue with, so get over it.

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Christian Testimonials For Christians

Published
by
Staks
on March 16, 2012
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If you ever go into a Christian bookstore or read a Christian newspaper (yes, they do exist), it is generally filled with testimonial stories about how great their God is. But don’t Christians already know how great their God is? If they didn’t, they probably wouldn’t be Christians, right? So what’s the point of these testimonials?

I know when atheists have testimonials of this sort about how we became atheists it is because we want to understand the process of how people de-converted so we can replicate that. But for Christians, God does all the work. So there is no need for such an understanding. Besides, it doesn’t really seem like that is the reason why Christians do it anyway.

Atheists also have started doing testimonials to inspire closeted atheists to come out of the closet. Christians don’t have those concerns. So what is the point of a Christian testimonial to other Christians?

The only thing I can think of is that it is a way to reinforce their belief. They have to keep reminding themselves how great their deity and their faith is because it is pretty hard to see otherwise. I see it as a form of brainwashing, but I am open to alternative explanations. I just can’t see any practical reason for it otherwise.

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Your Miracle

Published
by
Staks
on March 15, 2012
.

My wife and I have been watching an old short lived sci-fi show called “Jeremiah.” The show is about a post-apocalyptic world. One of the main characters in the second season claims to talk for God. He has proven himself to be a trust worthy character in all other avenues, but most people think he might be a little nuts. In any case, in one episode he tells the other main characters that God is willing to prove that he is real. If the main characters show up to a particular place at a particular time, God will grant them one miracle.

I found this pretty interesting on a few levels. First, what miracle would you ask for and would you show up? Three characters were offered this deal. The first said that he wanted to see God to give him a big fuck you personally. He didn’t show up. The second, wanted his dead loved one back, but he left early. The third wanted all guns to disappear. He also left early.

For me, I am more in line with the guy who wanted all guns to disappear, but I don’t think I would put it that way. But I think I would show up and stay the course with this. Even though I am an atheist, I would go and I would stay. Would you?

Now I know we can’t do this for every wacko who claims to speak for God, but some people are more sincere than others. In the setting of this show, this character is pretty trust worthy. He isn’t playing games and he really believes his shit. So yeah, I would show up and I would want my miracle to help all humanity. For me, I would play Pascal’s Wager on this one.

So my question to you is this. If a really trustworthy Christian friend told you that God would grant you a miracle if you showed up at a particular place at a particular time (maybe within 20 miles of your home and within a week) what would you ask for and would you go… and stay?

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Mr. Phelps Goes to Washington

Published
by
Staks
on March 14, 2012
.

The Westboro Baptist Church is coming to the Reason Rally. Don’t worry; they were invited… sort of. The National Atheist Party sent them a tongue-and-cheek invitation and the WBC tweeted that they will accept that invitation.

I like this idea. First, it should be pointed out that the WBC go where the attention is. So if atheists are going to have a huge rally in DC, the WBC are going to go whether they are invited or not. No one every invites them anywhere so it isn’t like they are sitting around in Kansas waiting for invitations to be assclowns. So if they are coming anyway, why not invite them?

Inviting them sends the message that we aren’t afraid. It sends the message that we are welcoming. No one likes the Westboro Baptist Church and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Therefore most people will be more sympathetic to us just for having these clowns nearby. The general public gets to see the worst of Christianity next to the best of atheism. It’s a win/win.

Plus, we know the real reason why most of the religious don’t like the WBC anyway. You see, religious believers often call the WBC extreme, but they really aren’t that extreme when you think about it. Ask your favorite fundamentalist what part of the WBC do they disagree with. They really can’t tell you.

The fact is that most fundamentalist Christians believe that, “God hates fags.” They just don’t like how the WBC pickets funerals with the message. It isn’t that the Westboro Baptists believe something more extreme than Kirk Cameron and other fundamentalists; it is that they talk about it so openly, in your-face, at funerals, and with clownish signs.

That’s why I love the Westboro Baptist Church. They are really honest fundamentalist Christians… and yet, they are still pretty liberal by the Bible’s standard. I mean… the Bible talks about stoning gays to death. Compared to that, the Phelps are downright polite.

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Fundamentalists in Disguise

Published
by
Staks
on March 13, 2012
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Every once in a while, I find a fundamentalist pretending to be an atheist or at the very least they are trying to fool atheists into coming to their website. The one that comes to mind most is Mariano Grinbank. His website is called, “TrueFreethinker.com”

Grinbank also writes for Examiner as the “Christian Apologetics Examiner.” However, I just learned that he also writes as the “Worldview and Science Examiner.” Fortunately this clown has no audience and no one takes him seriously at all. Oddly enough, despite all the other wacky Christians out there, this guy still can’t manage to find an audience.

Now, let’s look at this strategy and put it to the “Staks Test.” If we were to swap out this Christian and put some other religious group in its place, how would people react? For example, what if a Muslim were to write under the title of “Christian Examiner” and for every article, he would trash Christianity with bad arguments?

I can’t speak for all atheists, but I for one would never write with the intention of fooling Christians into thinking I was a believer just so I could refute their ridiculous beliefs. No, I’m an honest broker. I want Christians to come to my articles knowing that I don’t believe their bullshit. This way, those who have already started to question will come and see what I have to say. I don’t however have a problem with going to forums they frequent, like the religion section of the Huffington Post.

As a Christian I am sure that Grinbank believes he is doing the right thing. Even though his own Ten Commandments claims that lying or deceiving is a sin punishable by death, Christians like Grinbank believe they are forgiven from such rules because of their belief in Jesus. So they often don’t have a problem breaking their own rules if they believe it will help to spread their message.

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Reason Rally Draft Campaign

Published
by
Staks
on March 9, 2012
.

I’m excited about the Reason Rally on March 24th at 10am. I’m so excited that I posted my second HuffPost article on it and really pushed to get it through. I am excited to see all the guests… and not just the speakers either. However, I want more. There are several famous atheists who should be going to this event but have not yet confirmed that they will be there… to my knowledge anyway. So, let’s draft them!

Let’s start a massive grassroots campaign asking some of these celebrity atheists to come to the Reason Rally. Why should be bother? Well, if some really famous people showed up, the media would be more likely to talk about it. It brings attention to the Rally and to our movement. Plus, I would love to see some really cool famous people wandering around the National Mall.

If we are going to draft famous people or even semi-famous people, we need to find a way to contact them. Twitter is usually the best option but if someone has another avenue, let’s hear it. If you know their twitter handle, share it. The idea is to have lots of people tweet (or whatever) to that person and tell them that we want them to consider coming to the Reason Rally and include a link to the Reason Rally website (reasonrally.org).

Now, who should we draft? I have a few names, but am open to suggestions. Here is my short list:
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
Bill Maher
Ricky Gervais
Howard Stern
Natalie Portman
Morgan Freeman
Jodie Foster
Adrianne Curry
Cenk Uygur
Seth McFarlane
George Takei
Hugh Laurie
Eva Green
Daniel Radcliffe
Rachel Weisz
Miley Cyrus
Pretty much almost any famous comedian

And just for kicks, Denzel Washington. ;-)

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Dawkins and the Aliens

Published
by
Staks
on March 8, 2012
.

Yesterday, I talked about one of Aaron Tabor’s favorite arguments. Today, I want to talk about his other favorite argument. Aaron claims that Richard Dawkins believes that aliens seeded the Earth with life and since Dawkins is the Pope of atheism, all atheists are wrong and therefore Jesus.

Aaron has presented this type of argument to me multiple times and every time I refute it. But he keeps using it. Over the weekend, I got him to concede slightly. Now he claims that Dawkins “may” believe that aliens seeded the Earth with life, but he still continues to argue as if Dawkins seriously believes this.

So where is Aaron getting this from? Well, as it turns out there is a scene in the film “Expelled” in which Dawkins talks about this. For starters, Expelled is a ridiculous film starring Ben Stein. It is basically Creationist propaganda. The film makers heavily edited the Dawkins interview and Ben Stein talked over him a lot. Here is that interview.

So there it is, proof that Dawkins believes aliens designed life on Earth. Well not exactly. The point that I think Dawkins was trying to make was that even if life on Earth were designed, the designer would also need to be designed through a natural process of evolution via Natural Selection. In other words, the question of who designed life could just as easily be applied to the question of who designed God. I think he was also probably trying to make the point that many things are possible, but that doesn’t make those things probable. Dawkins has stated many times that he does not in fact believe aliens seeded the Earth with life and that he finds that possibility to be highly improbable.

But let’s say for the sake of argument that Dawkins really did believe something like this. Who cares? How does it relate to what you or I believe? Dawkins isn’t the Pope of me. No one is. Atheism isn’t a religion and as a point of fact, most Catholics don’t even agree 100% with their actual Pope of them. One of the great things about being an atheist is that we are free thinkers. We think for ourselves and we have no dogma, no doctrine, and no sacred text. Sure, we joke about The God Delusion or The Origin of Species being our Bible, but it is a joke. I think you would be hard pressed to find any atheist who would worship either of these books in the same way Christians worship the Bible. No, our only holy book is evidence!

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You Can’t Explain It… Therefore Jesus!

Published
by
Staks
on March 7, 2012
.

Over the weekend, I got into another conversation with Aaron Tabor. You don’t know who he is? He has more friends on facebook than anyone! He runs the “Jesus Daily” page with 12 million fans. Every once in a while, I’ll post an article on the page and to my surprise Aaron always responds. But we never really had a dialog… until this weekend. Aaron generally uses two arguments. The one I am going to talk about today is his view that science hasn’t yet found strong evidence for how life began on Earth, therefore Jesus.

First, I’m not up on the latest science on this topic. So I really don’t know if that is even true and Aaron tends to flat out lie. But let’s for the sake of argument assume that it is true and that the leading scientists in the field have no idea how life on Earth began or at the very least don’t have any strong evidence for their hypothesis. How exactly does that lead to the conclusion of Jesus?

I tried to explain to Aaron that I have no problem saying that I don’t have an answer and no need to make up an answer if I don’t have one. Also, just because I don’t know an answer doesn’t mean that I have to accept an answer which doesn’t seem plausible and is downright silly… especially when there is insufficient evidence for that answer.

But let’s give Christians like Aaron the benefit of the doubt and let’s say that their answer isn’t as ridiculous as it actually is. At most, they are making an argument for some kind of divine creator. But which one and how do we even know that it is just one? Even this extremely weak line of reasoning doesn’t get us to Jesus.

The tides go in and the tides go out… and even if we couldn’t explain it (and we can) it still doesn’t support the idea that God did it and even if it did, it wouldn’t support the belief that the Christian God did it. To make matters worse, Aaron is a doctor who conducts gene research. He should fucking know better!

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