No God button, part deux

My response to Icky:

OK Icky, I am off to the gym, but to give you something to chew on, three questions:

1. Why would you have to believe in something to give life meaning?
2. How do you know what to believe in unless you have evidence that it is correct?
2. What if what you believe in is incorrect?

One other comment, before I go: we know that our closely related animal relatives have fairly significant cognitive abilities, commensurate with their brain size. Brain structure seems to be all that is required for our cognitive capacity. Even not so closely related species seem to show glimmers of cognitive capacity that mimics our own abilities.

No God button

Goddammit! Here we go. It didn't take long for the "No God" button to get me in trouble! Some background: Lono gave me the "No God" button he got from The Amazing Meeting (TAM). The button itself is a miracle of graphic design, with the word GOD in one of those red circle/slash things. Like the no smoking signs, except smokes actually exist. Anyhow, I'd like to point out that such a button would be very easy to steal, but Lono acquired it legally and ethically, despite the fact that he doesn't use the Bible to define the points on his moral compass. In any case, after a long road, the button is on my backpack. It offended a friend, who called it, "not funny," and today it aggravated a friend of mine, who, for the sake of his anonymity, we will call Icky. Why Icky? His nickname rhymes with icky, and I have been calling him by his nickname for so long, I can't remember his real name. It's not Bob, that's all I can tell you.

Anyhow, Icky, a devout Christstain (that is an intentional typo), saw the "No God" button today and blew a fuse...well, he is a very mild and restrained person, so lets say he flipped a breaker switch. Eventually, I told him where it came from, and a bit of the background of TAM. Somehow, he has the idea that a meeting of a group of skeptics proved the existence of god. I didn't understand that, and followed up by emailing him the agenda for the next TAM. For your reading pleasure, I paste in his response, which you may consider the opening salvo in a debate that will likely end a friendship...which, of course, will be published here for your reading displeasure.

It is probably a group huddle of people who desperately don't want to believe in anything, telling each other that is is all okay. Seriously!

One has to believe in something, otherwise, there is no purpose or meaning in life. This does not include belief in Macs - belief in sub-standard computers (Macs) because of their presumed symbols of social status, does not make for productive use of computing power, or for substantiating the purpose or meaning in life.

Do you know that humans have the same genes as animals, now that all genomes have been sequenced. There is nothing in the human genome that accounts for why we have the cognitive, rational, emotional and creative capacity that separates human life from animal life. Do the TAM people talk about such things, or do they just hold hands and go, "Ohhhhhhh, life is good!"

Icky

Radio God

Cruising the Catholic News Service today, I find this article:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002887.htm

As always, to save you the trouble of reading it, I'll give you my admittedly biased summary and response. This particular news service bulletin was dedicated to obscuring the link between Vatican Radio and cancer, specifically that higher rates of leukemia and lymphoma are observed in residents near the holy transmission towers.

Directly from God's DJs, aired in a killing cancer wave by Vatican Radio: "Vatican Radio will present its own comments and counter-deductions from its own technical consultants as soon as possible." Of course, the Vatican is operating under the notion that fact is really just a matter of opinion, and facts can be voted out of existence, so don't expect any mercy for the Vatican's latest series of victims...largely children again, as luck would have it. To that end, I present a corrected version of the quote above: "Vatican Death Radio will present its lies from biased mercenaries unless the problem goes away on its own."

But Vatican Radio, I've got a better idea: turn the fucking radio off until you know for sure that your electro-pap isn't killing people. I know caring for the lives of people showered by God's radio waves is probably an odd humanist concept, but it kind of makes sense, right? I mean, it's the fucking radio, for fuck's sake. Probably, what, 25 people still listen to Vatican radio regularly? Stream it on the internets if you just can't find another electron stream to piss into.

In any case, assuming the words of God are directly killing people (in radio format, that is, since the words of God(s) have been killing people ever since God(s) started talking), doesn't that seem a bit strange? I mean, shouldn't there be a healing effect? And, for that matter, what the hell is God doing about this? He can level Haiti, jiggle Ottawa, and ruin Lono's flight home from DevilCon, but he can't stop his own radio program from rotting little kids' insides?

Shit...wait a second...I don't like kids either. Now I get it. Never mind, I take it all back.

TEMPLE OUT!

God's (feeble) revenge

Just a quick note to let you (whomever that may be) that God may have finally exacted his revenge, in a rather unimaginative and slightly annoying manner. As it is late and I am tired and without strong drink I shall include details of the last day of TAM 2010 at a later date. Suffice to say that it was every bit as enjoyable as the previous days, with the big man, Richard D, giving the closing lecture, focusing almost entirely on the improbability of God and his disregard for what Steven J. Gould referred to as non-overlapping magesteria, although he didn't use those words. Essentially, it was curious to him, as to me, how any scientist or rational thinker could at the same time hold a belief in a sky daddy. The day also included a memorable quote from Paul Provenza, a comedian and writer who said (and I paraphrase) that one is not supposed to draw the prophet mohammed because he has a cock for a nose, and not a very impressive one at that. It may sound shitty now, but in context he brought the house down. Overall, the level of atheistic sentiment rampant at the conference was very high, the majority of T-shirt slogans bearing slogans such as 'Atheism is a non-prophet organization' and 'WWJD' (what would Jesus drink?). My favorite was a drawing of Jesus playing poker, with one of the other players saying 'ante, christ'. Ho ho.

Anyway, I got to the airport drunk, but on time. As I waited in the line of now-broke gamblers and moms with squalling brats, I found out that my flight had been canceled. I then had to wait over an hour and a half to re-book and get put up at at a second rate hotel on the flight path to Mclaren airport. This, if anything qualifies so far, must have been the big revenge, the wrath of God who must have been on a bender last night as this really is a pretty weak and unimaginative punishment for this heathen. On the other hand, I didn't have to take the red-eye and instead get to fly during the day, after a nights sleep.

Good god, what a bunch of incoherent drivel...

Still here, and still not dead

Ah, indeed...

Excellent session today, with quite a lot of the talks touching at least peripherally on religious belief and their origin. Michael Shermer gave an excellent synopsis about why this is so prevelant. Essentially, it breaks down into three parts: the brain being wired for pattern recognition, its desire to ascribe the unknown to an active force outside of ourselves and the incredible ability of our brains to search only for evidence which appears to corroborate our beliefs, confirmation bias. I particularly remember his characterization of the brain as mere 'electric meat'. Adam Savage, one half of hte mythbusters team whom I got to briefly meet, gave a very inspiring talk about skepticism and rational thought and made no bones about his atheism, so he has just gone up a huge level in my grading scheme. Hell of a nice guy. Astronomer Dr. Phil Plait gave a very thought provoking spiel about how skepticism and how to best present skeptical views to those holding ridiculous beliefs...very interesting indeed. If any religion combined the thinking skills and the sheer humanity and kindness of this lot, I would enter their seminary. The thinking part is, I think, the main shortcoming of most religious belief.

In response to Temple's comment, I did indeed wear my Satanfish shirt with a 'no God' button pinned to it for good measure to the meeting, which went over very well. However, despite my apparel-borne taunts, still no lightening.

I am off to indulge in two dollar tequila shots, which may subsequently result in my seeing God, or at least praying to him as I drive the porcelain bus...

Vegas Heathen meeting, part deux

Just returned from the TAM 2010 reception, which is a bit redundant come to think of it, as TAM stands for 'The Amazing Meeting'. So what I have just written is 'just returned from the The Amazing Meeting...', an extraneous use of a definite article.

Excellent gathering of heathens and blasphemers, some 1300 of the buggers. The opening address was by D.J. Grothe, James Randi and Michael Shermer, followed by a Q and A session with Richard Dawkins and Randi. Not surprisingly, the questions pretty much all revolved around the question of belief in fairy tales, or religion, which is the same thing. Strangely, no appearance by God was evident. Refreshments included shrimp, easy enough to taint, even for an oh-so-busy God. No, nothing untoward. Here was a gathering of over one thousand atheists in one easy to smite room and no big fireworks. Disappointing. The band even entertained with blasphemous music, one particular ditty presented in the style of a gospel tune with the lyrics 'I don't believe in no Jesus' and such like. Great harmonies, wonderfully presented, yet this almost mocking musical interlude was not interfered with in any supernatural way! C'mon God, you big pussy...What better way to make your presence and your displeasure known than to barbeque the whole damned bunch in one fell swoop, or swell foop even?

In any case, all is unfolding splendidly, a jolly fine cast of the strange, the cream of the heathens if I might say so myself. It is a curiously intellectual yet engaging crowd, with none of the pomposity that I usually find is rampant at most scientific conferences. Who knew that a gathering of the hellbound could be so refreshing. If hell is going to include these folks, I'm in.

Live from SIn CIty...

I'm currently in Las Vegas, that den of inequity, the land of debauchery, gambling, gluttony, sodomy and poor grasp of statistics. As I type this, I have just finished my second bottle of Dom Perignon, consumed just after snorting cocaine off the taut belly of a latino hooker. She's a feisty one and its all I could do to secure the ball gag and handcuffs before she had a chance to run screaming and naked from my luxurious suite high atop the hotel Gommorah. This scenario though would hardly register a nod from the local constabulary who are generally too busy with fishing bloated, bullet-riddled corpses out of hotel pools while quietly hustling the celebrity at fault out of town on the next high speed jet copter. So, as far as sinfulness goes, I am a rank amateur..

Which probably explains how I managed to survive so far without a hint of a lightening strike from above. Frankly, if I were God, I could do worse than to raze this place to the ground. I think though that this place is full of the pious and the virtuous, who waddle about in lumpen somnambulation, mindlessly pumping coins into fruit machines and gorging on yet another all-you-can-eat buffet. The real die-hards have the food brought to them by scantily clad cocktail waitresses who, with enough of a tip, will funnel food directly into the gaping maws of the entranced gamblers, who are too involved with the next Big Win to bother chewing. These people may initially seem revolting and sad, but they pray very hard for that slot machine to line up just right, and its that devotion that saves their necks and souls.

I must be flying under God's all-seeing radar I guess, my pitiful attempts at sin mere chaff. Vegas is an interesting place indeed, a plastic artificial oasis plopped into the middle of a landscape that seems to have been transplanted directly from the moon. It is dry, and hot...not unlike Hades itself. It is a cauldron of sweat and money, and everywhere lurk the predatory, just waiting for their cut of the Action. Frankly, I think God just gave Satan a pass and let him have this place, to keep him out of trouble or at least in view.

I like it here.