Ireland Going Backwards One Step At A Time…
Well, perhaps that is a misleading title, it was only one step and after they did so well getting over the whole Catholic Vs. Prodestant thing. They have passed a blasphemy law which makes it illegal for…
A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000. [Amended to €25,000, because apparently it costs €75,000 to encroach on someones freedom of speech...]
How ridiculous is this and how enraged should people be, of all faiths, not just us godless heathen atheists! Everyone of all faiths and the faithless of Ireland need to stand up to this madness, what do they hope to achieve with such a law? Apparently this means that:
- Atheists: Can be prosecuted for saying that God is imaginary.
- Pagans: can be prosecuted for saying they left Christianity because God is violent and bloodthirsty, promotes genocide, and permits slavery.
- Christians: can be prosecuted for saying that Allah is a moon god, or for drawing a picture of Mohammed, or for saying that Islam is a violent religion which breeds terrorists.
- Jews: can be prosecuted for saying Jesus isn’t the Messiah.
This seems highly ridiculous, because not only is it a blatant violation of the freedom of speech clause as stated in the European Constitution, which, if I recall correctly must be agreed to by all member states. (I have a feeling I’m wrong on this) Yet, despite being a blatant violation of free-speech, it suddenly makes religion, probably the driving factor in the creation of this law, highly immune to criticism. Wow, what a democracy…
So many groups are effected, even someone like a simple history teaching, going on about the past of Christianity, or an RE class exploring the arguments for and against the existence of god. Also, which god? Could I just make up a god and say that I am offended by someone taking their dog for a walk as it is blasphemous to my lord? The madness behind any kind of blasphemy law is obvious to any thinker. Your entitled to your right to believe whatever you want to believe, one of the rights granted by the EU I believe.
So, not only is this law vague and will lead to contradictions as the actions of some people expressing their beliefs will inherently imply blasphemy in others. Along with the blatent violation of freedom of speech, I am at a loss to say how the hell such a piece of legislation made it through. Is this some misguided attempt at preventing a repeat of the violence we have seen in the past? All I expect this law would do is actually act as a reason to start fighting again instead of helping to reach and keep peace.
It looks like Ireland needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the age of enlightenment along with the rest of us. Huge points to any Irish citizen who blasphemes just because of the creation of this ridiculous law.
Defining Atheism Plus More
Introduction
So what is atheism? What does it mean to be an atheist? What is it really. There are a lot of groups saying a lot of things about atheists and what they believe, but these groups are often wrong and usually have ulterior motives for displaying atheists in a negative light. I want to explain exactly what an atheist really is, take it from me, I am one. Wikipedia offers an interesting view on atheism, but I want to give my own.
An Atheist is someone who has a lack of belief in a deity, any deity, god or supernatural entity. That’s it. Atheists are defined by what they don’t believe, not what they do believe. If you answer anything other than yes to the question, “Do you believe in a god?” Then you are an atheist. An atheist rejects the so called god hypothesis, the claim that there is a god, usually due to a severe lack of proper evidence to support it.
Different Kinds of Atheism
You may have also heard about, strong vs. weak or positive vs. negative atheism and to understand the main difference requires a little explaining of how we deal with claims when arguing a belief. A belief is something an individual holds to be true, it differs from faith as faith is a belief held to be true with no evidence so support it.
Ultimately, god exists or doesn’t exist. These are the two possible truth states of the universe if you will, there is no in-between, something can’t partly exist and partly not exist. Along with each of these two possible states, there are two claims:
- Claim A – I claim that god exists
- Claim B – I claim that god does not exist
Now, this is where most people fall into the trap. You can not accept a claim as well as accept a claim, meaning that someone who is not pursuaded or shown the evidence to support a claim will not believe it and will be in a position of notA or notB. Atheists are notA. There is a lack of evidence being shown by the theists, who claim that god does exist to sway individual atheists. Atheists CAN hold claim B to be true, but they can also hold the position of notB. It doesn’t matter if an individual holds the position of B or notB, as long as it’s notA, they are an atheist.
Strong Vs. Weak Atheism
The difference between strong and weak atheists is down to their view on claim B. A strong or positive atheist is someone who holds the position of B, that there is no god. A weak or negative atheist is someone who holds the position of notB, that the claim there is no god is unsupported by the evidence to believe in it.
A lot of atheists are of the weak variety, because proving that there is no god is very difficult, if not currently impossible because of a lack of a workable definition of god and(in my opinion) proving a negative requires perfect knowledge (i.e. knowing everything).
Agnosticism Vs. Gnosticism
Gnosticism and Agnosticism deals with views on knowledge. A gnostic believes that it is possible to prove and KNOW that god exists or god does not exist. That claim A or B is provable. An agnostic believes that it is impossible to prove and know that god either exists or does not exist. An athiest can be agnostic or gnostic and so can a theist. Usually most atheists are gnostic atheists because obtaining true knowledge on the whole god issue is very difficult. Yet many theists will happily assert that they KNOW of gods existance.
Which One Are You
There are 3 possible positions for an individual to take, these are:
- A and notB – This would be a typical theist, asserting that god does exist (A) and as such will not accept the claim that god does not exist (notB).
- B and not A – This is the strong atheist position, one who asserts that god does not exist (B) aswell as not accepting the claim that god does exist (notA).
- notA and notB – This is the weak atheist position, one who do not accept the claim that god exists (notA, thusly making them an atheist) but also does not accept the claim that there is no god (notB).
The position of A and B is impossible, because they are mutually exclusive, something cannot partially exist and partially not exist, if it could, then it may be possible. But to instantly accept both A and B as being true would be someone lacking critical thinking skills, reasoning and logic, I extremly doubt there will be even one person in this position.
The Burden of Proof
Let’s deal with this issue now. The burden of proof lies with the claimant, they made the claim, they need to prove it. So anyone claiming A or B has a burden of proof on them to show it to be true. People holding either notA or notB does not have to prove anything, this is skepticism at work, something lacking in our society today. It is the non acceptance of a claim, until evidence is shown to support it, if the evidence is poor and unpersuasive, then it is perfectly reasonable to remain in the position of notA and notB.
Atheists will have to deliver proof, but only the strong ones when asserting the claim that god does not exist. Weak atheists (the majority of atheists) do not, because they are simply being skeptical, awaiting persuasive evidence or proof. Theists always do, because they hold the position of A to be true, this is a positive claim and as such requires evidence.
Oh No, Not Another One…
Introduction
Yes, another one. Atheists are here to stay and are going to stand up to be counted. For too long have atheists been forced to hide who they truly are, however, time has come to stand up and start to make an effort to change this world. A typical atheist is seen as a sinning, raping, murdering, robbing, pedophile. Yet that is only the start, being an atheist was a capital offence in the now more rational parts of the world, but still is in some parts. It’s up to us atheists to stand up and say ” we are good people, we are rational people, we ARE people.”
Being an Atheist
Atheism is a simple concept, have no belief in any form of a god and there you are. It would seem like a rather harmless position to take from a glance, yet there are those with ulterior motives who want to see atheism erradicated from the face of the Earth. These people are in truly scary positions of power, persuasion and plush with money, ready to use for their own ends. It is up to the little guy to make a stand and say “enough!” To help people understand what atheism is really all about and why people are atheists in the first place.
It is also about questioning the priviliged position that religion still retains. Questioning the basis and reasoning for belief in one deity over another. And of course seeking a solution to the biggest questions of them all:
- Why are we here?
- What is mankinds purpose?
- Is there really a god, watching over us and if so, which one?
- What is the meaning of life?
Being an atheist isn’t a bad thing, it’s a good thing. In the marketplace of ideas, individuals present their position, in order to debate, refine, criticise or even abandon poor ideas when shown to be wrong. Everything position and view can be criticised, can be called to debate and analysed. Yet religion cannot. There seems to be something very strange here when in a world where people are free to exchange and criticise ideas, that one area, with a history of violence and oppression mind you, is out of bounds.
I’m also a strong promoter of reason. Are all atheists reasonable? No. Are all reasonable people atheists? No. But with reason we can jump into debates, research, criticse and discover on our own. Being able to reason is a vital tool in being able to avoid dogma, that is being told something is true from authority. Atheists are skeptics though, it is this claim of god which we are interested in and ultimatly we are very skeptical of that claim, the proof isn’t there, the evidence remains missing. All that seems to be there is a series of institutions bent on spreading their versions of fairytales, usually through authority and indocrtination.
I’m intersted in what really is out there and if tomorrow I suddenly find that piece of evidence which proves god once and for all, I will turn on a dime, go 180 and happily change my stance. Being an atheist isn’t about hating religions, making fun of believers, trying to convert people, worshipping the likes of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris or rebelling against god. I want to know the truth. I, like most atheists are open to the idea of a god, but just accepting something because someone says you should is a weakness in charachter and ability to think for oneself.
Being a Humanist
This is something which seems to slip through the net during debates. Humanism is the philosophy based on humanity and reasoning. Morality is something which isn’t handed down from some deity on high. It is something which comes from natural sources, that human nature and experience is what creates them. Moraltiy is not a simple clean affair, it isn’t good vs evil, black vs white. Being good is vital because this life, the one we are currently living, is the only one we know for sure we have, it is up to each individual to responsibly and ethically live their life to it’s full potential while not damaging others that same right.
If you want to find out more on humanism, then check out the British Humanist Association for more information.
On The Issue of Secularism
The idea of a secular state is one which is not based or influenced by any kind of religion. It is not the endorsement of atheism over other religions, but is about the idea that religion has no right to get involved in politics. Here in the UK, we are technically a Christian nation, they have a priviliged position of power. Yet in the UK, Christians are in the minoity, there are Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and a wide spectrum of believers as well as non-believers.
In a world increasingly becoming more globalised, religions have all spread accross the entire planet (with some exceptions) and describing one country as a Christian nation or a Jewish nation is becoming increasingly harder. A secular government or body is neutral towards religion, thus allowing individuals to follow which ever religion they choose to, if they choose to, without discriminating against them purly because one faith is exercising political control over another.
I strongly believe in a secular world, where people are free to exercise their right to follow any faith they so choose to. One where people can’t be persecuted for following the wrong religion. Unless that religion threatens other people liberties.
About Me
I’ll keep it brief, I’m a student (graduating in 2010) studying a BSc in Management and have a great interest on these issues. I have a passion for film, music and motorsports. I’m fascinated by science and understanding the world around me. Philosophy, Biology, Physics are just some things I’ve spent time looking into.
About The Blog
So this blog is really going to ultimatly be nothing more than postings and musings on the issue of god, exploring why I am an atheist and what issues I am interested in. It will address, issues of a moral nature as well as those of a secular one. I want to explore the issues from all sides, the historical, the philisophical etc. If you find anything useful here, then excellent. If you disagree, please comment, I love hearing other peoples arguments and getting stuck in with debates, who knows, perhaps you may be the one who sways me.
Welcome!
Time for a new blog, since I’ve headed in a different direction, I thought a change in URL may be in need and a new title too. I’m not sure if my old blog http://coasm.wordpress.com will keep getting updated, in fact, I doubt it. So here we are with a brand spanking new one.
Enjoy your time here, comment and remember, I’m always up for a good ol’ debate.
